#and speculates that it was because she had more influence with her brother than her husband and son | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

charlietheepicwriter7 · 4 months

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R̸̜̈́u̵̟͘t̶̺̓ḧ̵͇l̷̟̋ē̶̘s̵̨̎s̵̩͒ṋ̵̋e̵͙̐s̵̡̈́ś̸͙

Get in the Water prompt Storm alternate version Animatic Fanart

There was a spell, Constantine had explained after his own trip to the afterlife. Something to contain Danyal's soul long enough to resolve his unfinished business, to keep him still and away from the influences of his fellow dead. And if that didn't work, Constantine continued, then there were ways to force a spirit to rest. It was better for a ghost to move on by themselves, but if there was no other choice...

Damian hoped Danyal would choose to rest on his own. That he'd let him explain, finally.

Danyal had been weak. Strong in a fight, but too weak to kill, and that infuriated Damian. But he was scared more than he was angry. Because that weakness would get Danyal killed, could get Damian killed, could get the League killed. Even the newest recruits had a stronger desire to kill than Danyal.

He was the weakest link in the chain. And while their mother had taught them to be ruthless, Danyal had remained limp with mercy.

They needed Danyal's body. It would be Danyal's tie to the earth, Constantine explained as he joined them on the Batplane. The souls of the dead don't often linger on the mortal plain. The magician had speculated that the only reason Danyal had managed to manifest in the waters below Gotham was because of Damian's presence, but his remains would keep him stable this side of life for however long it took to heal his soul.

But was that even possible?

"I don't know, kid," Constantine admitted during the plane ride. "Wish I had a better answer for you, but... Your brother is a siren now. And from the sound of it? He really wants you dead."

"Then why didn't he kill me?" Damian argued. "He had hours to do it... or minutes..." The time he spent in that green world felt longer than the ten minutes Father couldn't find him, but... "He had me in his grasp and let me go. Doesn't that mean he didn't want to-"

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'Playing with your food?'" Constantine asked instead. "Sirens aren't known for letting their prey go. If we're out here, its because he wants us here."

They--Damian, Father, Constantine, Grayson, and Todd--landed in Nanda Parbat after a few hours. There was a crypt inside for members of the Al Ghul family who didn't use the Lazarus Pits. It was there Danyal's body was entombed. They would have to steal it.

And it was unfortunate that Constantine got them caught within five minutes of entry.

Damian glared daggers at the man as they were led towards the Lazarus Pit. Constantine shrugged. "What? I don't want assassins chasing after me because of some light grave robbing! Besides, we need to explain the situation anyway-"

"And what, precisely, needs to be explained?" asked a woman from inside the chamber. The heroes were pushed inside, only to see Talia Al Ghul standing where her father should have been. The Lazarus Pit hissed and boiled behind her, casing the cave in a ghoulish light.

Damian could hear laughing.

Father stepped forward. "Talia. Where's Ra's?" Grandfather was the biggest threat to their plan succeeding.

Mother... looked away, unable to meet his gaze. "I do not know. At the present moment... the Demon Head is missing."

You could hear a pin drop. "What do you mean?" Father demanded.

"It's as I said; he is missing. Yesterday, he was alone in the Pit, and hours later, no one could find him." She glanced behind her, at the waters, before looking back at them. "I had assumed he'd left to care for the League's interests. Now-" She tilted her chin up, looking down at them. "What exactly do you need to explain? What is so important that you break into my home to tell me?"

Stepping forward, Constantine explained. Mother looked grim as he spoke of Danyal, but did not interrupt. "We want to put his soul to rest. But for that, we need access to his body-"

"You dare ask for such a thing?" Mother snarled. "As if I even believe you. My son would never-"

"Your son?" Grayson snapped. "From the looks of it, you didn't care for either of your children!"

As the group descended into an argument, Damian heard laughter again, Danyal's high pitched giggle harmonizing with something deep and bone shaking. The Lazarus Pits loomed over him, beckoning him, whispering. Damian took a step towards it as his mother said, "I don't even have his body!"

"What?" Damian snapped at his mother, focusing back on the conversation. "But the crypts-"

"After your brother's murder, the Demon Head ordered for the culprit to be found. But they were never discovered." Because the culprit was Damian, he knew, and no one else ever learned about it. "I wanted to place him in the Pits immediately, but I was ordered to stay my hand until the murderer was caught. But..."

"He never was," Damian finished for her. "And then you put Danyal into the waters?"

"Yes." She closed her eyes. "And he never came back out. Even if it was too late, he'd still come back as the undead, but he never rose from the waters."

"Then this is entirely my fault."

"Finally," Danyal whispered in his ear, breath chilling his skin.

Damian did his best to ignore it. Danyal was haunting him. Danyal needed to be put to rest. If they couldn't do it Constantine's way, then they had to put him to rest another way.

Grayson looked troubled. "Robin, it's not your fault-"

"I'm the one who killed him," Damian confessed. Everyone stared at him. Grayson, horrified; Mother, blank; Father, betrayed. Damian continued, "I overheard you and Grandfather arranging a fight to the death, and I knew who would win. I couldn't... I couldn't allow Danyal to die without the Al Ghul name, in disgrace as the one who wasn't good enough. So I killed him, assassinated him, and now he's haunting me for revenge." Damian looked at the Pit. "So go ahead, Danyal."

"Damian, what are you saying?"

"Danyal wants revenge on the person who killed him; I'm giving it to him." Todd was staring at him. Damian might not be able to see past his helmet, but he could feel the respect coming off the man. "Danyal, I know you're here. Please come out." If he focused long enough, he could just making out wheezing breaths. "I can hear you, please-"

Father grabbed Damian by the shoulders. "Damian, listen to what you're saying! You're offering your life up for nothing!"

"B's right." Grayson placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's got to be another way. You don't have to do this!"

"Yes I do!" Damian ripped himself out of Nightwing's grip. "I'm the one who killed him! I'm the one at fault! My brother is suffering because of me, I have to save him-"

Stepping between them all, Mother slapped him across the face.

And the Pit's whispers fell silent.

Damian stared up at his mother, cheek throbbing with pain. She glared back. "Cease this behavior at once," she snapped. "There's no need to get so worked up over a ghost, of all thing-"

"T̴̯̃al̵̬͂ị̴̿a̵̮̕ ̵̼͐A̴̗̕l̷͈̆ ̴͚̓G̵͎̀h̷̻͒u̶̜͋l̴͍̀."

This time, everyone could hear Danyal's voice, filled with static and corrupted. Damian swallowed as his dead brother continued,

"D̸͕͠o̶̪̅ ̸͍̆ỹ̵̗ö̸̲ũ̸̧ ̶͖̚k̶̻͊ņ̸͐o̸̹̚ẘ̸̙w̷̛̹ḧ̸͚́o̷͉̅ ̵͈̑I̶̪̽ á̵̞m̶͙̂?̸̻͂"

The cavern shook as the Lazarus Pit bucked, a wave forming in the absolute center of the water. The wave rose, pillaring up above their head and brushing the ceiling. A cold wind rushed through the room and blew out the torches on the walls, leaving only embers and the occasional florescent behind. Damian braced himself for the waters to rush out and flood.

Instead, the water fell back into the pit, like it had never risen in the first place, leaving behind a lone figure in its wake.

"Danyal," Mother whispered.

And the dead boy glared back at her with pure contempt.

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jedimaesteryoda · 2 months

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One trend I've noticed a lot lately in the speculation of Tyrion meeting Daenerys is how he'll influence her. The argument often is that Tyrion will encourage her more "fire and blood" destructive tendencies when they get to Westeros. However, this view is often one-sided as it's always about how Tyrion will influence Daenerys but never about how Daenerys will influence Tyrion.

"Daenerys, I am thrice your age," Ser Jorah said. "I have seen how false men are. Very few are worthy of trust, and Daario Naharis is not one of them. Even his beard wears false colors." That angered her. "Whilst you have an honest beard, is that what you are telling me? You are the only man I should ever trust?" He stiffened. "I did not say that." "You say it every day. Pyat Pree's a liar, Xaro's a schemer, Belwas a braggart, Arstan an assassin . . . do you think I'm still some virgin girl, that I cannot hear the words behind the words?" "Your Grace—" She bulled over him. "You have been a better friend to me than any I have known, a better brother than Viserys ever was. You are the first of my Queensguard, the commander of my army, my most valued counselor, my good right hand. I honor and respect and cherish you—but I do not desire you, Jorah Mormont, and I am weary of your trying to push every other man in the world away from me, so I must needs rely on you and you alone. It will not serve, and it will not make me love you any better." -ASOS, Daenerys IV

Daenerys is not the sheltered child Aegon was who Tyrion could easily manipulate as shown when she called out Jorah for trying to isolate her from other men. Even Tyrion admitted to Aegon, having never met Daenerys that "she is strong" and "fierce." Daenerys was more worldly at 14 than Aegon is at 16. Even as a small, frightened girl at age 13 in the beginning of the series, she had more street smarts than her adult brother Viserys and has shown to be a prodigy in the series. Tyrion would not be able to manipulate her easily, especially since would initially be wary of him for being a Lannister.

Tyrion at the end of the day would be serving as her subordinate, him being largely dependent on her. Tyrion largely is the way he is because of the toxic family he grew up in. The Lannister vision has no idea of a Good Society, it's just pure self-aggrandizement by any means necessary. As the adage goes, rot always starts at the head. The monarchs Tyrion served as Hand, Joffrey and Cersei, were both cruel, incompetent tyrants with senses of entitlement that outweighed their actual abilities. They also had no concept of the duties of a monarch to their subjects, and instead just abused their power over others, including sexually. The one who actually ran the show for the Lannister regime, Tywin, was a cold, abusive Machiavellian who brutalized the smallfolk and his children, seeing them as pawns in his schemes. Tyrion could be cunning and brutal, because it was both encouraged and necessary for the winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog world of the Lannister court. It was an environment designed to bring out the darker side of his nature.

However, since the beginning we saw hints of the lighter side of his nature such as when he gave emotional support to Jon and designed a special saddle for Bran. He even helped Catelyn when they were attacked by the mountain clans even though she kidnapped him. In A Clash of Kings, we see hints of Tyrion wanting to be something other than the cold Machiavellian like his father when he stands up for Sansa when Joffrey beats her, and he has Morec killed and Slynt sent to the Wall for killing Barra, wanting to "do justice." In A Dance with Dragons, he risks his life to protect Aegon and even in his lowest he looks out for Penny even though she is a complete stranger to him.

Daenerys is a foil to Cersei, whose ruling philosophy is expressed in the statement "Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?" Daenerys tries to live up to the image of an ideal monarch who protects the weak. She liberates the oppressed from slavery and tries to protect them, even performing acts like tending to those afflicted with the bloody flux herself, marrying someone she doesn't want and putting her plan of going to Westeros on hold to achieve peace. Working as Hand to Queen Daenerys, Tyrion may find himself in a change of pace in a different environment where for once his more positive tendencies are encouraged with his fondness for "cripples, bastards and broken things."

In short, in cutting himself off from his toxic family, Tyrion may actually find a new beginning in service to Daenerys. He's the Machiavellian polymath and court politician she needs, and she's the competent, idealistic monarch he needs.

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #queen daenerys #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn #tyrion lannister #house lannister #house targaryen #meereen #queen cersei #cersei

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sgiandubh · 28 days

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Hi, I'm sister Anon. I'd like to say that I got into a controversy about Sam and Caitríona in an Outlander group a year ago precisely because I responded to someone who was saying it was impossible for them to be together and no one had ever caught them . I always use a pseudonym and gave the example of my sister( I said this was a friend btw) but I didn't go into details. However, let me say a few things: in his family only his mother and ONE sister knew about their relationship. In my family, my parents and I knew. Grandparents, uncles, brothers-in-law and nephews didn't know they were together, for them they were just close friends and work colleagues. The rest of the team at work was certainly suspicious, but nobody dared to say anything, because there is a secrecy clause in the contracts. During this period there were speculations of him with at least two models and some Instagram influencers and they laughed, because it gave them exactly the cover they wanted. Anyone who looked at his social media would see a single guy enjoying life, when in fact he was a committed and passionate guy, living a very beautiful love story.

Dear (returning) Sister Anon,

Thank you for coming back with more. I chose to publish your story since the very beginning, because it sounds completely legit. *urv can troll around all day long, now enrolling that 23 year old Brazilian fan/journalist/writer (who doesn't know the plural form of 'gentleman' is 'gentlemen', not 'gentlemans'), she could never prove anything else than people having lunch, not sex, in Kensington. But for her crowd, that is enough.

Also, the Brazilian girl could have been my daughter. And if she were, I would tell her that people questioning her (obviously doctored) story does not mean they hate her. It simply means we are older, less gullible and certainly able to tell when an immature woman is desperately looking for attention. She will probably understand that... in five years or so, but that is not my problem anymore.

I loved every single thing you shared with us. Drop by anytime, you will always be more than welcome. And you are completely right: social media is not real life. And how could it be? Would you read my blog, if I told you all there is to know about my bunions?

You wouldn't. You want me to tell you about business, legal, travel, foodie and obscure Baroque/Renaissance/classical music stuff, right?

Things like this (what I wanted to be last week's Sunday sounds, but hey - drama, drama), for example:

youtube

PS: one of my acquaintances, a rather popular singer, was at one time the lover of a high (very high) profile local politician - a brilliant guy (also a family friend of ours, btw). I had no idea and I kept on teasing her about singing at his party's events, until someone told me to stop, because it made her feel uneasy. The same person was always referring to the guy as 'Michael', when they were talking about him in public (the woman was really smitten, along with tens of thousands of others, nationwide). Michael, my foot and it ended up in the tabloids anyways.

#anon #fandom #shitshow

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chocodile · 5 months

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Hypothetically speaking, what would one of Hyden’s preceding siblings turned out to be like had they survived into adulthood? Doubly so if Hyden still came to be, courtesy of preemptive pessimism for child-viability, and they shared a household. I’d kill to know what sort of absurd dynamic he’d have with an Older Sister or what her appearance might be like in comparison (contrast ??) to his.

That's an interesting hypothetical!

*BELOW IS ALL NON-CANON SPECULATION*

I think many factors could influence this… the biggest ones would be "how good at magic is this hypothetical sibling" as well as "how physically and mentally fucked up is this hypothetical sibling." Going with the "older sister" route, I can see a couple different outcomes:

Older Sister who is much more sickly and/or unable to use magic at all: Hyden wouldn't be that different. He'd still grow up seeing himself as his family's only real heir. He would probably feel some resentment and anger to his sister for "wasting" his parents' time and energy despite being obviously unfit to inherit the family mantle. Otherwise, though, he'd basically act as if she didn't exist. Their mother Aurelia would immediately switch to caring about her magically-inclined son rather than her mundane daughter. The rejected Older Sister might find solace getting along with Arcturus III, their introverted and ineffectual father… which would only deepen Hyden's dislike for her.

Older Sister who is magically-inclined and not on death's door: This would get interesting. As a male heir, he would supersede her in terms of title inheritance--something she would be quite displeased by if she'd grown up planning her life around being heir apparent. So I could see a serious rivalry forming. I think that especially with Hyden's growth disorder making him get really tall at a really young age she'd see him as a noxious invasive cuckoo chick poised to rapidly overtake her life and replace her.

As Hyden has previously stated (?), "madness" runs in his family, though. There are… solutions… to an undesirable usurper poised to steal your title that are available to the morally flexible noble. And, well, he was always sickly, right? If poor, dear baby brother were to pass away in his sleep after something was slipped into his wine glass at dinner… who's to say it wasn't a death of natural causes? Maybe it would even be the kinder option. I mean, the family healer always said that he was unlikely to survive to adulthood…

Baby Hyden's longevity here would probably come down to whether or not he figured out what his sister was plotting and turned the tables on her before it was too late.

A related possible path: He goes against inheritance norms and bows out of the wizard family title battle entirely, giving up on his magic schooling and allowing Older Sister to claim the role of Viscountess. He gets an arranged political marriage to a woman from another noble family and goes into another line of work. Maybe being a political advisor or researcher of magical artifacts something.

As you can imagine, this would be not be voluntary. More of a "Mom and Older Sister have leverage against me that I cannot overcome and were planning to kill me to get me out of the way, so we reached an agreement." Hyden would not be happy feeling like he'd been discarded and cheated out of his birthright. He would probably spiral downward over the years, chronically unable to find fulfillment or satisfaction, which he would blame on the fact that he'd been denied the life he was obviously supposed to have.

There would, of course, be many whispers about why the male heir would give up his title, though. It would be a really bad look. They'd figure there must be something terribly wrong with him.

Long story short: They wouldn't have a good relationship. The Hyden family dynamic is doomed to be a mess no matter what because everyone involved is extremely spoiled, extremely inbred, and extremely desperate to grab whatever power they can. They'd scheme and murder each other until there was one left standing no matter what.

#ask #baby hyden #furry #anthro #doodles #It would be an interesting hypothetical but ultimately he is meant to be an only child... it is a load-bearing plot point :P #*I'm unsure if the 'madness runs in my family' line is in a complete comic or one of my drafts... I know I wrote him saying it at some poin

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pessimisticpigeonsworld · 1 month

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https://www.tumblr.com/blissfulphilospher/748378340909531136/so-i-dont-know-why-i-am-posting-this-but-i-had?source=share

It's funny when these people pretend to like book! Rhaenyra, and when they explain why they like her, they basically describe her in the same way that people who hate her do.

También es irónico cómo estas personas se llaman a sí mismas "equipo de mujeres malvadas" y luego lloran y vilipendian a Rhaenyra porque no quería estar en una fiesta de cumpleaños donde le iban a faltar el respeto, y luego dicen que estaba siendo mala con un niño, del que ni siquiera ha hecho una broma inofensiva. ¿Se supone que debo creer que te gustan personajes como Cersei cuando ni siquiera soportas a un adolescente con razones justificables para estar enojado?

Yeah I've got manyyyy issues with people like op. Like you said, the way they describe Rhaenyra is...telling. As is how they describe Alicent.

First of all: op claims that Alicent tried to "mend the relationship" between Rhaenyra and Aegon. That's just false. Alicent proposed Viserys marry Aegon to Rhaenyra, in an attempt to get Aegon closer to the throne. Which is partially why Viserys refused to approve the match.

Op is engaging in a lot of speculation, like the claim that "Daemon manipulated Rhaenyra" into hating her siblings. There's literally no evidence that Rhaenyra hates her siblings prior to Luke's murder. Is she close to them? Not her brothers, no, but she did have some kind of relationship with Helaena, as is implied by her calling her "my sweet sister, Helaena."

I'm not going to go into how op sees Daemon, but I will say, how they view him and Rhaenyra is basically just how Hess does. Rhaenyra isn't allowed to form her own opinions on her family, negative or otherwise, and Daemon is an evil monster.

I will agree with op that Rhaenyra isn't a good person, however, that's the only time. The things op accuses Rhaenyra of are...really not true other than the fact that she fed Vaemond to Syrax.

They accuse her of "offering her brothers for Laenor...she hosted a lavish feast in a starving city, she was a woman and let the men do the fighting."

Let's unpack that. The quote op is referring to concerning Laenor is:

"My half-brothers would be more to his taste," [Rhaenyra] told the king.

Fire & Blood: Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession

This is taken out of context in the worst possible way by op. Rhaenyra is arguing with her father about marrying Laenor, trying to convince him not to force her to marry him. She's referencing the fact that Laenor is gay, she's in no way "offering" her brothers to him. This is an intentional choice to interpret Rhaenyra's choices as they're written in the worst possible light.

Op continues this with a very tired argument many Rhaenyra antis use: that Rhaenyra feasted in KL. The only evidence of this happening is from Septon Eustace. A man who wasn't even in KL, was noted by the writers of F&B to be unreliable due to his hatred of Rhaenyra, and who literally crowned Aegon. So, using critical thinking, we can infere that the idea that Rhaenyra feasted in KL is extremely unlikely.

As for the fighting, yes Rhaenyra didn't fight. That was due to the fact that she had no training and was recovering from a traumatic miscarriage. Normally I wouldn't point this out as an issue, but op groups it in with Rhaenyra's "flaws". Somehow, Rhaenyra not fighting in battles is a mark against her as a person. Again, intentionally a bad faith interpretation.

No, I agree with op that HOTD's changes to Rhaenyra are shitty, but the reasons are just very off. For example:

I agree with parts of this, but I do want to point out a few things. Such as, why are they calling out Arya fans? Like what does that have to do with anything? I'm sure it's because Arya is a non-conforming woman, which op isn't a fan of, considering their seeming obsession with femininity. It shows how op's personal biases are influencing their view of both the show and the book.

I'm right there with you anon on the their spiel about Aegon's birthday. Rhaenyra was being disrespected and undermined by everyone after the birth of her brother. Is it any wonder that she wasn't excited to go to an event where everyone was expecting her to be disinherited? Op literally was just saying how they loved Rhaenyra "hating" her siblings lmao.

Op also complains about the white hart incident, as well as Aegon's prophecy. This is very much a revealing complaint. They said they hate Rhaenyra being made into the "protagonist" of the show. This is interesting since Rhaenyra is the protagonist of the Dance in the book too. She's morally gray, but it's still a fact; the greens are the antagonists and the blacks are the protagonists. The white hart was confirmation of Rhaenyra being the true heir, something which is also true in the book. I don't understand how that fact being affirmed is wrong.

As for Aegon's prophecy, this is something almost every single Rhaenyra anti has complained about. This is something GRRM himself told the showrunners he wanted, which some people complain is a retcon. It's not, the books aren't done yet, this is GRRM giving us new information about his unfinished work. It also confirmed how off the rails D&D's ending is according to what GRRM has planned for the books.

Anyway, op also really hates daemyra, another thing that's very much book accurate. Op purposefully chooses to ignore any textual evidence that daemyra was more than a political alliance, but they have a history of picking and choosing canon.

I very much agree with you anon about how shallow op's love of Cersei seems to be. They strike me as the kind of person who refuses to see the grayness GRRM is known for. After all, they are frothing at the mouth at the idea of Rhaenyra being a complex character, so I somehow doubt that they can appreciate Cersei's complexity.

#rhaenyra targaryen #house of the dragon #asoiaf #team black #anti hotd #to be clear #i hate the changes to rhaenyra in the show too #anti rhaenyra antis #daemyra

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mrfippstuff · 4 months

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The most recent chapter of Chainsaw Man gave me a lot of thoughts about Fumiko and Nayuta, I've brought them up before but I feel like this chapter gave me something to work with beyond just speculation.

Fumiko has been in an odd sort of place in the narrative, she had a strong start but then she just sort of hung around, not doing anything in particular to really drive the story forward, but in this chapter she does something that I think really informs about her character. Back when she gave her backstory to Denji, I've seen people say that she was lying to garner sympathies from him, but I ran with the assumption that she was telling the truth, that her parents were killed by Gun Fiend Aki, she saw him cry and came to form an empathy for him and had wanted to protect and keep him safe, but I think she was downplaying how she resented Chainsaw Man not being able to save her parents. For Fumiko, I think her grief has manifested into her having conflicting views of Denji, ones that she cannot compartmentalize, she can be a Denji fan, but at the same time resent Chainsaw Man, with the two viewpoints bleeding into one another.

I am under the impression that those guys who beat on Denji with bats at the karoke bar were plants to try and prove to Denji that he needed a bodyguard, and that Fumiko was supposed to get him there to prove herself. There were a number of ways she could have done this, just showing an interest in him and saying that she wants to go singing would have likely been enough to get him going, but instead she groped him without his consent, told him to suck a tentacle dick for her own amusement, and then let him take the beating because she wanted to keep singing. This was the first hint to me that despite being assigned to protect him, she clearly saw no problem with him being humiliated and hurt, that as long as "he was good in the end", then she could tell herself that everything was good and that she was able to keep him safe.

And then we get this chapter. I've seen people call Fumiko useless and a big coward, but I don't think that's it. Her decision to leave Nayuta behind wasn't some panic-induced fight or flight, but a deliberate choice she made, one she thought about. She wants to protect Denji, but that's not Denji, that Chainsaw Man, and it's not her job to protect him if he gets in over his head, is she supposed to fight the humans she's meant to protect? That's the sort of thing she can tell herself to justify her actions to herself and why she flees, leaving Nayuta in a situation she has little hope of succeeding. Chainsaw Man didn't save her family, so why should she save his?

Then there's Nayuta, and the most fascinating thing is that she can control only so many people at once.

We saw what Makima was capable of, how at the end of Part 1 she had dozens of PS hunters under her control, so many people and devils to do her bidding and who thanked her for it, it's so far beyond what Nayuta can do. The Control Devil's powers work on her perception, how she can control those who she views as her lessers, and Makima held an important position in the government, she had a contract that made her invincible, so many people like Aki, Angel, Violence and the Hybrids showed her love for no other reason than she demanded it, and everything in Part 1 was her just gathering more power and influence so she could get more power and influence. It's system that feeds into itself. Nayuta on the other hand doesn't have that, she has no thralls, no power or influence. The self-perception aspect of this ability needs to have backing to work, it can't just be delusion.

Nayuta is different from Makima because what they want out of life is different, Makima was a conqueror with an army who wanted to change the world in the way she saw fit, Nayuta on the other hand wants to go to the park with her brother. What they want affected who they became, and I've said it before but a happier Control Devil, one who knows love and can love in return, would be weaker for it. Nayuta begged Fumiko for help, Makima never would have done that. Makima killed people without a second though if she felt it could work for her, but Nayuta takes no pleasure in that kind of violence, it's not fun like Denji made it out to be, and she only resorted to killing when Denji was out of there because he told her not to do that.

This was a very strong chapter for these two, it fed into theories I had about them and I am eager to see what happens with them next and where their character can go from here.

#chainsaw man #nayuta #fumiko mifune

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aphroditelovesu · 11 months

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RhaegarWins! Au: Rhaegar killed Robert in the trident, Robert's Rebellion fails; Aerys dies, Rhaegar becomes king and in the end of the war he gets his third head of the dragon. Lyanna gives birth to a daughter not a son (the reader)Visenya.

But not all its sunshine and rainbows for Rhaegar Targaryen, this is an you won but at what cost scenario. First of Lyanna still dies in this scenario and since she's dead and can't tell if she went willing or not people always speculate whether she was abducted or she went willing. The faith has a long standing tradition of opposing polygamy so Rhaegar marriage to Lyanna is not recognized as legitimate, baby Visenya is a bastard, and the northerns and the stormlanders are pissed with the outcome of the rebellion. (Especially the stormlanders).

Rhaegar inherits a broken kingdom and so he goes problem solving. First he is lenient on the rebels. He takes hostages, he takes a little land from the minor Lords but let most of them keep their castles. The starks, Tully and arryns keep all of their titles and since he is walking on thin ice, and doesn't want a conflict with the faith right now,He recognizes that his marriage to Lyanna is illegitimate (the northerns are even more pissed by this), but he has Visenya legitimized and tries to appease the starks he is more lenient to them and Ned gets a royal ward, Princess Visenya.

So house Targaryen it's at its weakest point in history. worst than the dance of dragon's. But Rhaegar being Rhaegar raises Aegon to belive that he is the prince that was promised and tells him that he and his sisters are the conquerors come again and that one day he is going to marry both of them. Now neither Aegon or Rhaenys belive in their father's bullshit because Elia its a big influence in their lives. But one day Rhaegar decides that it's time to Visenya to come home and they both start developing yandare tendencies for her 😈 they may not belive in their father's prophecies but they would definitely use them to trap poor Visenya. Now I ask you what kind of yandare would Rhaenys and Aegon be? What are their differences? What are their similarities? What are your thoughts on this concept?

tw: Targaryen incest (very usual)

I didn't expect to receive this until I read it and I say I need more!! An au where Rhaegar would win Robert's Rebellion was not something I needed until you sent me this!!

Considering that all of history had changed, relations would be strained and resentment would run high, particularly between the remaining Targaryens and the Starks. I like to think that Viserys and Daenerys grew up in King's Landing with their brother, but their bastard daughter, Visenya/Y/n, went to live with the Starks. In that case, I imagine everyone would know that she is not Ned's daughter but Rhaegar's daughter, it would be fun to imagine her dynamic with the Starks.

Ned grew to love his niece, even though she represents everything that happened to his beloved sister, he still loves his niece. He resents Rhaegar, but he doesn't hate Visenya. She is just a child, i'ts not her fault her father's mistakes. I can't help but think how cool and inconvenient it would be if the entire Stark family became yandere for her. Catelyn came to love the girl as her daughter, because she was not ''Ned's bastard'', as Jon would be, she was the most present mother figure in Visenya's life and she would become delusional to the point of imagining she was really her daughter.

When Rhaegar ordered Visenya/Y/n to return home, the hell would break. The Starks don't want her to go, they don't trust the Targaryens to look after her like they do and she has grown used to the North. But they couldn't ignore Rhaegar's orders, they weren't ready for another war, the last one cost them too much, so Visenya reluctantly returned to King's Landing, meeting with her father, uncle and aunt and siblings.

Relationships would be fun to describe, I think. Rhaegar is definitely very attached to Visenya, due to the fact that she is Lyanna's daughter and he regrets not having seen her grow up, although he knew it was the best thing to do at the time. Elia had reservations about Rhaegar's bastard daughter, it wasn't resentment or hatred, but… Curiosity and she soon finds herself liking her stepdaughter.

Viserys doesn't think much of his niece, he doesn't care, at least at first. She was just Lyanna and Rhaegar's bastard child, why should he care? But Viserys finds himself interested in the way everyone else acts around Visenya and ends up finding himself closer to his niece. Obsessed, maybe.

I would imagine that Visenya and Daenerys would have been born around the same time, so the two would be the same or close in age at the very least. They would definitely be close and Dany finds herself very attached to her niece. Although they didn't grow up together, the two eventually became best friends.

Now about Aegon and Rhaenys… Definitely the trio would be the differentiated version of Aegon I, Rhaenys and Visenya. They might not believe in the prophecy, but they couldn't deny that as soon as they met their sister, things changed. Before her, Aegon and Rhaenys clung to each other, along with their mother, but it felt like something was missing. A hole in the inseparable duo and when they met... It was you who was missing.

Aegon is, in my opinion, the obsessive and slightly overprotective yandere type. He felt an instant connection with Visenya and could not deny her desires for her and as is tradition, he would take her and Rhaenys as his wives. Just like Aegon I did. It didn't matter if polygamy wasn't allowed, he would do it and he would have Rhaegar's support and maybe even Elia's. Aegon is very paranoid about his sister and will not let her leave him and Rhaenys. They were already created apart, he won't allow that again.

Rhaenys would be calmer and gentler than her brother, but she's a clingy, possessive yandere, I think. She would be particularly possessive of her sister and brother, wanting them both with her at all times. Rhaenys would definitely send jealous, murderous glares at people she deems a threat to her and her siblings. Rhaenys would grow sharp and strong.

Who knows the prophecy will not be fulfilled? With this trio. Perhaps dragons come back to life through Aegon, Visenya and Rhaenys. Perhaps the prince who was promised is not only a prince, but... A prince, a princess and a bastard? All Targaryens, different but so... close.

The world of Ice and Fire would be quite different from what we know, but interesting, don't you think?

~ Lady L

#yandere game of thrones #got #game of thrones #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #yandere asoiaf #yandere rhaegar targaryen #yandere house stark #yandere ned stark #yandere eddard stark #yandere catelyn stark #yandere aegon targaryen #yandere rhaenys targaryen #yandere viserys iii targaryen #yandere daenerys targaryen #concept #yandere concept #yandere elia martell #yandere got

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lives4lovesworld · 2 years

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It's always assume that at the very least Sansa will i) out smart Petyr Bealish, ii) regain autonomy and her identity, that iii) in some way or form Petyr's tale will become true such as Sansa securing herself a marriage with Harrold Hardyng and her having such a strong influence on him that he will a) wage war for her 'birthright' or b) aid the North by providing goods, food and manpower. With the Vale enthusiastically doing his every bidding, simply because she is his wife and she asked him nicely/is so courteous and eloquent/he is so inlove with her/its profitable for the Vale.

In this meta I will list (and explain) the problems I have with these speculations that seem to be rooted in wishfullfilment rather than the probability of certain plots being likely to become canon, or if they are even feasible or realistic.

i) How Sansa is suppose to outsmart and overthrow Petyr Bealish, AND remain in power afterwards?

Petyr Bealish is the man that managed to crawl his way up to the ruling elite of Westeros, despite his incredibly (relatively speaking) low birth, lack of power, wealth, family or image (he does NOT fit the feudalistic standards of a man his positions). And yet, he remained in power through several civil wars that brought houses, dynasties and monarchs to fall. Petyr is the man with circa two decades of experiences and had no qualms of sacrificing countless souls, including his self-proclaimed "true love" and lives by this philosophy:

Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. - Sansa V, ASoS

Yet the one to supposedly bring him down is the thirteen year old girl that needed to witness her own father's decapitation for her rosa colored glasses to fall off. And this after she was present to her idol and her "love" ordering her direwolf's murder to mend their wounded pride! This is the same girl that is so quick to build her entire hopes and dreams upon strangers (that shows her a little bit of kindness and fit her conforming prejudices like Margaery and her circle did) and got carried away in her own dreamworld that she could not even follow conversations and plots, even in ASoS:

Sansa wrinkled her brow. "Our true purpose, my lady?" [...] "To see you safely wed, child," the old woman said, as Butterbumps bellowed out the old, old song, "to my grandson." [...] Wed to Ser Loras, oh . . . Sansa's breath caught in her throat. She remembered Ser Loras in his sparkling sapphire armor, tossing her a rose. Ser Loras in white silk, so pure, innocent, beautiful. The dimples at the corner of his mouth when he smiled. The sweetness of his laugh, the warmth of his hand. She could only imagine what it would be like to pull up his tunic and caress the smooth skin underneath, to stand on her toes and kiss him, to run her fingers through those thick brown curls and drown in his deep brown eyes. A flush crept up her neck. [...] "Would you like that, Sansa?" asked Margaery. "I've never had a sister, only brothers. Oh, please say yes, please say that you will consent to marry my brother."

The words came tumbling out of her. "Yes. I will. I would like that more than anything. To wed Ser Loras, to love him . . ."

"Loras?" Lady Olenna sounded annoyed. "Don't be foolish, child. Kingsguard never wed. Didn't they teach you anything in Winterfell? We were speaking of my grandson Willas. He is a bit old for you, to be sure, but a dear boy for all that. Not the least bit oafish, and heir to Highgarden besides."

Sansa felt dizzy; one instant her head was full of dreams of Loras, and the next they had all been snatched away. Willas? Willas? "I," she said stupidly. - Sansa I, ASoS

Some (very in favor for her) could argue there is some desperate small wiggle room here and there for insisting that Sansa has evolved (for the better). (While nonsensically insisting she at the same time is almost stupidly naive and "idealistic", but also these traits are not obstacles to her potentially rise to an autonomous player. No they make her all the better for it.) But even if she had a stellar development; How exactly is she with no true authority suppose to best a man like Petyr Bealish?

After ASoS, Sansa has become a disgraced orphaned female beggar, married to the enemy "Imp Kingslayer", and has become utterly dependent on Petyr Bealish as his natural born daughter, depriving all her limited autonomy and authority from him as Lord Consort.

Petyr Bealish has also managed to gain Sansa's compliance and ensure her loyalty and secrecy to him by filling her head with his wonderful tale of him as her benefactor that is going to gift her all her dreams, while reminding her of her status as wanted by the crown and making her a complice in the murder of her aunt and a participant in his scheme to poison SweetRobin Arryn.

Not to mention that Sansa has yet to express her wish to detach herself from Petyr (in her POV) in the first place, but as of TWoW's releases, Sansa seems pretty content with all the privilege (x, x, x) she has as his daughter. Nor does she not seem to have a problem in being his pawn:

The Merling King's returned to Gulltown, and old Oswell had some tales to tell."

She knew better than to ask what sort of tales. If Petyr had wanted her to know, he would have told her. - Alayne II, AFfC

And as said, even if she would want to due to her involvement in Petyr's schemes as well as her being wanted for kingslaying, she would risked death herself.

But let's assume for the sake of the argument that she does; what sansa would truly need are people to genuinely protect, stand by, believe and defend her in the Vale, and as of now there is no such one, especially after the death of her aunt.

And no, Lord Yohn Royce's question if he had already meet Alyane is NOT the same as actually recognizing Alayne as an older Sansa AND publicly voucing for her on behalf of her identity, despite her stans insisting otherwise. Yohn Royce (like all vale lords) did NOT fought for Robb Stark (Winterfell's heir with an northern army at this back and strong ties to Riverrun), which really does not bode well for the possibility of him fighting for her. And this knows even Sansa:

He will know me. How could he not? She considered throwing herself at his feet to beg for his protection. He never fought for Robb, why should he fight for me? The war is finished and Winterfell is fallen. - Alayne I, AFfC

At best (which would entail the Vale remains oblivious to her involvement in those schemes and have the lords of the Vale not sell her to the crown for the bounty) she would remain a "guest" to her cousin, and likely be married off to the next best suitor that befits her unfortunate status (as Lady Lannister)

ii) A believable explanation (any really) has yet to cross me as to HOW Sansa would (or even could) reclaim her identity without taking for granted that everything will work out in favor for her. 1) which would entail the majority of highborn lords in the Vale unquestionably believing Sansa that she, who was introduced to them as a bastard (which are seen by society as greedy and treacherous) of the Petyr Bealish (known for his schemes) is indeed Sansa Lannister, simply because she makes a teary proclaimation with her pretty Tully blue eyes. And 2) that the lack of a direwolf serving as proof will not be an obstacle 3) nor the lack of a relative voucing for her.

Infact her closest, most influential relative's death Lady Lysa's, which occurred while Sansa was supposedly already under her care as her lord husband's natural daughter will also not in any way, shape or form make them wary of her tale. Nor appear like an identity theft and poor attempt to grasp power for their own gain in the eyes of others.

Secondly, Sansa's very identity (the disowned female orphan to an overthrown House, married to the "Imp Kingslayer") does not allow her to be an autonomous player so many want her to be. Robb Stark and House Lannister saw to that. Nor would an identity reveal, even believed by everbody, give her more opportunities than the (relatively speaking) limited ones she already has as the current bastard daughter of Petyr.

iii) Petyr's tale (and why I believe it is just that and not a plan that will actually become canon);

When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. - Alayne II, AFfC

So Petyr Bealish has managed to match a marriage pact by buying all of Waynwood's debts, providing Lady Anya with an enormous dowery and because at this point Harrold Hardyng remains nothing but the son of the perished sister to Jon Arryn and a landed knight sworn to the Waynwoods. His relatively low status at the moment would allow such a "low" match with the bastard daughter of the disliked temporarily Lord Consort of the Vale. However, if SweetRobin truly dies and Harrold indeed becomes the Lord, all the reasons why "Alayne Stone" is unfit for Robert Arryn will apply for Harrold as well:

You are the Lord of the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale, and you must wed a highborn lady and father a son to sit in the High Hall of House Arryn after you are gone." Robert wiped his nose. "But I want —" She put a finger to his lips. "I know what you want, but it cannot be. I am no fit wife for you. I am bastard born." [...] Some call my father upjumped and ambitious. If you were to take me to wife, they would say that he made you do it, that it was no will of yours. The Lords Declarant might take arms against him once again, and he and I should both be put to death." [...] "You must have a proper wife, a trueborn maid of noble birth." - Alayne I, TWoW

Now Petyr Bealish's further step is to reveal Sansa's true identity on their supposed wedding, which would not solve the problem of the bride being unfit for a groom of such a caliber and it holds in and of itself many obstacles that prevent the very plan to unfold.

To start with; (as already said) should Harrold indeed become Lord Paramount he will be showed with marriage proposals by the ambitious feudal Houses of the Vale (as they were already courting widowed Lysa in AGoT) and its rather unlikely that they would grant that position to a "foreign" beggar (which Sansa would be either way, whenever she goes by her real name or by "Alayne Stone".) instead of trying to make one of their own daughters the next High Lady.

Secondly, the marriage pact entails "Alayne Stone", not Sansa Lannister. Petyr's plan to reveal Sansa's identity while she is walking down the aisle risks invalidating that very pact. And while the fandom refuse to acknowledge it, "Alayne" being revealed as Sansa would neither lessen the insult of the lie and betrayal by "Sansa Lannister" being more "attractive" as a political match. And no such a scheme would not simply brushed under the rug.

Yes, Sansa would be high born, but Harrold would get nothing politically speaking from their marriage given the position Sansa is in (as Lady Lannister). Neither will her previous marriage, especially to the House that the Vale believes has murdered their previous Paramount Lord make her more attractive. Whenever Tyrion might be believed dead or Sansa assures her virginity ten times, it more than likely that she would be seen as "sullied leavings" in the eyes of others.

Lysa Arryn likely only allowed a marriage between Sansa and her precious son, because she was her sister's daughter, and despite her flaws, their complicated relationship and her unstable mental state saw Sansa as family. And while Lysa mention Sansa's claim, (which will likely cease to exist as soon as Robb's Will becomes public knowledge) she also saw Sansa for what she was and reminded her of her position as well.

Petyr HIMSELF has pointed out how Sansa would bring nothing to any marriage (excluding her body):

"Joffrey is betrothed to Sansa Stark," Cersei objected. "Marriage contracts can be broken. What advantage is there in wedding the king to the daughter of a dead traitor?" Littlefinger spoke up. "You might point out to His Grace that the Tyrells are much wealthier than the Starks, and that Margaery is said to be lovely . . . and beddable besides." [...]

Littlefinger agreed. "The Stark girl brings Joffrey nothing but her body, sweet as that may be. Margaery Tyrell brings fifty thousand swords and all the strength of Highgarden." - Tyrion VIII, ACoK

And while Petyr has also mentioned Sansa's claim, it should mean little to nothing to Harrold considering that i) House Bolton has been installed as Warden of the North, ii) House Stark lays broken and it would have to re-establish itself as sovereign to the North. A bloody, tedious and costly task with little to no profit as the North is even under its best circumstances poor and hard to cultivate. As soon as iii) "Arya" is revealed as Jeyne Poole, it will even further slim the credibility of her identity reveal. iv) Her claim will be even further catapulted down in the line of succession with Rickon, Arya, Bran's impending reappearances. Not to mention that v) Jon will more than likely involve himself in the matter of succession as well and vi) Robb's Will will disinherited Sansa and make Jon his heir. (x)

And while most has yet to unfold on page, it would extremely OOC for Petyr Bealish (and the story!) to believe everything will work out in Sansa's favor and that Harrold will marry her out of his own volition, (which is indeed a condition in the marriage pact).

Much and more is made of his and Sansa's little playful banter at the tournament, yet what we know of Harrold's character, it's likely that he will pose the biggest threat to Petyr's little "plan".

Harrold is known for his high opinion of himself, his classism and that he has no qualms of fathering bastards on girls, he is infatuated for a brief time and then abandoning them as soon as he stops viewing them as sexually attractive. Petyr has also already stated that Harrold thinks Alayne is beneath him:

This betrothal was never [Harrold's] idea, and Bronze Yohn has no doubt warned him against my wiles. You are my daughter. He does not trust you, and he believes that you're beneath him." - Alayne I, TWoW

And it's not entirely unreasonable to think that Harrold would be insulted at the idea of marrying a girl whose virginity is questionable and who doesn't bring him any ties or wealth as Sansa Lannister. And the fact that she plans to use him and his position for her political gain will likely not make Harrold more sympathetic towards her.

The part hardest to dismantled because no matter from what angle you look upon it, it shouldn't be feasible to become canon;

. . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. - Alayne II, AFfC

So Petyr supposedly plans to use Sansa's marriage to Harrold to mobilize the army of the Vale to reclaim Winterfell in the name of House Stark.

As already said (a dozen times) Sansa (as the orphan married beggar of an overthrown House) should NOT be able to secure the Lord of the Vale as her Lord husband in the first place. Realistically speaking, Sansa should only be able to match such a marriage if she and her family would still hold the same position as of the start of the series, but as we all know, this is NOT the case anymore. House Stark is neither the secure, ancient sovereign of the stable peaceful north nor is Sansa the indisputable maiden daughter of said family. Sansa should NOT be an attractive potential bride in the eyes of the Vale without House Stark retaking the North and it becoming politically attractive enough again for other kingdoms to be of interest and them voucing for her identity.

–> Thus Petyr's entire plan falls apart, before it can even truly begin.

But let's push this all aside for the sake of the argument: Even the concept of the entire Vale doing Sansa's bidding simply because she would be their Lord's newlyweded wife is absurd as well. Her aunt had been their Lady for seventeen years and they still did NOT view her as one of them nor as a authority figure;

Young Lord Hunter said, "Lysa Tully was never truly of the Vale, nor had she the right to dispose us." - Alayne I, AFfC

Also; Why would a girl's birth claim to an entire different region that is uttelry in shambles due to the political uproar after her family's fall from grace matter to Harrold or any Valeman?

If Sansa were to marry Harrold under normal circumstances (if House Stark was still in power and Sansa would have never been married off) what would be expected of her is to rule by his side (if Harrold is progressive enough to allow it) give him children and her place would be in the Eyrie or at the Gates of the Moon. As it would befit (and deem more than sufficient for) any high born daughter that has married into another Great House of Westeros.

Never once in the history of ASoIaF was there ever a High Lord that wage war against another kingdom because his wife wanted her father's seat as well. Nor was there a High Lady that held her father's lands AND was simountanastly the High Lady to an entire different kingdom as well. This would not even be feasible.

The question as to HOW a vale army, (a southern army!) would even reach the instabil (due to the already happening civil wars, the mass exodus of the Free Folk, the famine) war torn North given the lack of a fleet or the renewed impregnability of the Neck in the middle of winter also remains a big question mark.

However, let's brush this essential question aside as well; The assumption of the vale army conquering the North is absurd as well. GRRM has already empathized how a southern army is not fit for the North's harsh climate in ADwD with Stannis Baratheon's suicidal march, contrasting it with the marching mountain clans. Nor is Harrold (a "green" boy commander) likely to win against the seasoned ruthless Roose Bolton, which the lords of the Vale would surely know too. Another reason why the vale army would NOT simply do its new young untested Lord's bidding, if he were to call for war. Harrold will likely need a few years to prove and establish himself before the valemen will willingly follow him into battle, especially into a economically nonsensical war whose favors are against them from the beginning.

And while yes, someone could argue the vale army would be better rested and organized (than Stannis's measly beaten ragtag of an army) and therefore have better chances, even in the best case scenario the vale army would likely lose most of their men in the battles against House Bolton and its banners for a gigantic region that brings them nothing; no wealth, no man power, no minerals, no goods, no trade.

All these points listed above, together with GRRM's comment on how Petyr would never give up Sansa, Petyr's wish to marry her himself (when she was Sansa Stark) and the fact that it would be incredibly stupid of him to ever allow Sansa to detach herself from him (as it would put him at risk due to her knowing so many of his crimes) further marks Petyr's tale in Alayne II, AFfC as a tale to ensure Sansa's compliance and nothing more IMO. Not to mention, which author would tell his audience the plot of a character word-for-word in dialog beforehand?

Now, some believe that instead of waging war Sansa will influence Harrold to aid the North by providing goods, food and manpower, which (fair enough) is only an ounce more feasible than the alternative. Yet, it is still something NOT supported by the books;

For this to happen, Sansa would first need to grasp the gravity of the famine that is plaguing Westeros, and care enough about the (common) people's wellfare.

Which she does not given the fact that she cannot fathom why the commoners love Margaery and as of her last chapter has her organizing a feast with 64 dishes in the middle of winter, amongst these dishes even a 6 feet tall lemon cake that required every lemon in the Vale with her being very proud of herself. Nor does she have any reaction whatsoever to Petyr's plan to cutting the food supply and hoarding food as war tactic, which would hit the common folk the hardest. Not to mention that Sansa's POV never showed her really thinking about... really anything happening in the North (especially its people), neither prior nor post House Stark's fall.

So beside all that, it would also requires the Vale to suddenly become altruistic and humanitarian, given that all possible supplies send by them would essentially all be gifts since foreseeable payment is unlikely given the north's state.

Some even have the idea of Sansa somehow achieving it all in another way on her own (because they hate the idea of Sansa marrying Harrold) (which is even less likely than Petyr turning into her Santa Claus) and exaggerated the potential influence her skills have even more. But has @brideoffires already perfectly explained in her post Sansa has NOT evolved in terms of learning new skills (unlike Arya) and more importantly none of the political plot in the Vale is moved forward through her own knowledge or scheming.

It's all propelled forward and catalyzed by her relationship with Petyr Baelish. [...] As in King’s Landing, Sansa is /being/ moved by the machinations of other people and being induced or compelled to act in certain ways because of the politics around her. - excerpt from @brideoffires linked post

Her particular skillset can only be of use and influential if the priori are Sansa already having strong ties to political thriving male relatives or/and a husband. Otherwise her skillset are not of use as GRRM has already shown throughout the whole series; Sansa can be as charming, courteous and polite as she wants to be, it does not give her agency, protection, support or power.

There is so much unrealistic, unreasonable, OOC nonsense, no one would even dare to suggest if it would be any other character, already taken for granted because it's Sansa. Sansa is always the expection. As always, everything will work out in Sansa's favor.

So why is it that even the ones critical of Sansa believe it all becomes canon anyway, one way or another? The most popular arguments I have seen are the proclaimnation that Petyr Bealish is Sansa's personal antagonist and therefore their "arc" simply MUST conclude with her triumphant. There is no other way.

The other is that SOMEONE has to get the Vale involved in the affairs of the realm, SOMEONE has to mobilize the resourceful Vale for the War of the Dawn and to aid the North's etc... And Sansa is the POV character located in the Vale so logic says GRRM MUST plan for her to be this SOMEONE to accomplish these tasks.

An entirely different reason is the fandom's climate; Basically Arya, Bran and Jon fans seem to concede Sansa these gigantic convoluted unrealistic plots (= a triumphant vale arc) in hopes that her fanbase will do the bare minimum of NOT butchering the story's integrity and the ones of their favs by not stealing their individual importance, relationships, ties, skills and arcs in the North to give Sansa a place in the northern plots (which her fans insist on having).

In conclusion; these reasonings are infuriating and incredibly offensive to the story's integrity and Sansa as a character. And more importantly, this fandom should stop offering to concede and tolerate it all simply because her fanbase is just that incredibly wild.

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mud-castle · 10 months

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I forgot about the kittypet Sandstorm stuff! I think that could be a fun AU, definitely :D

I don't know much about it at all, but I certainly wasn't expecting Fireheart to be related to Tigerclaw. Given Tigerclaw and Rusty's dynamic in canon, I suppose that'll definitely make for some drama between the two.

I wonder how relationships will be this time around, as well. Is it going to be a SandstormxFireheart? Or how about Fireheart's other relationships in general, since he isn't just swapping roles with Sandstorm - he's the oldest (assuming) son of the most well-respected cat in the clan. Is he Goldenflower's child? Realistcally, probably not since Goldenflower had Swiftpaw before getting with Tigerclaw at all, but speaking of Swift, I imagine Fires relationship with him/his other siblings will probably be a Whitestorm/Graystripe thing. Although hopefully closer, but I imagine that depends on how much Fires actually follows in his father's evil pawsteps or whatever.

I have a soft-spot for "aged-up Fireheart" AUs, so hopefully he is cool, and hopefully Sandstorm will give him a hard time because I can imagine Fires as this really good fighter that likes to look cool but also is kind of a huge dork and she relishes in the fact he's not "perfect" like daddy is.

It will probably be more Sandstorm & Fireheart rather than Sandstorm x Fireheart.

He is Tigerclaw's eldest kid and Goldenflower is not his mom, so him and Swiftpaw are more step-siblings. His mom is unknown by anyone in the clan except Tigerclaw. She was might be a kittypet. Don't speculate on that while Tiger is around.

I could write a whole nother post about him and Tigerclaw's relationship. But to put it in a nutshell, Tiger's hard on him for a multitude of reasons. The conscious part of it is Fireheart's other half of parentage, the subconscious part is his resemblance to Pinestar.

As for his relationship with Tigerclaw, well... It wasn't bad, at first, Fireheart thinks. Tigerclaw is hard on him, but he's not cruel. Affection tends to be more of a reward than a given. But Tigerclaw is fairly quick to boast about his son's skills to the clan. He gets a lot of extra training from Tigerclaw when not training with Bluestar all of which quickly makes him the best fighter out of the apprentices, which gets rid of most of the rumors surrounding Fireheart's parentage. So it's all in his best interest clearly. His dad just wants what's best, right? It's not until Bramble and Tawny are born that he notices the stark differences in how Tigerclaw treats them.

Swiftpaw adores him. He knows him as his kickass older brother. And since Longtail is close to Tigerclaw and wants to stay in his good graces there's not really anything to influence Swiftpaw otherwise. Fireheart loves him right back and tries to be a good influence.

He's cool to an outside observer, being the most skilled out of the apprentices due to the extra training and being Tigerclaw's son. But he's insecure and a people pleaser. He's also a massive dork when you really get to know him. No he's not evil.

Him and Sandstorm hated each other through most of their apprenticeship. He's not a bully, but he hangs around her bullies and though he doesn't join in, he won't defend her either. So she's bitter towards him. Sandpaw can't beat him in a fight, but she does leave him in the dust with hunting, which upsets Tigerclaw, which makes Fire a bit bitter. Tiger did not spend his time getting rid of the kittypet rumors surrounding his son just to have him get shown up by a kittypet. They get better eventually though. I honestly see them as platonic, but in a way that can easily be read as romantic.

Sandstorm has ulterior motives for befriending him, but yeah eventually she comes to love his dorky self and finds someone she can relax around. He also likes her for being someone he doesn't have to put on a show for constantly.

#you know that quote that says 'sons don't want to hear i love you from their dads they want to hear i'm proud of you?'#yeah that's not Fire. All he wants is to hear 'I love you.'#kittypet sandstorm au #warrior cats au #warrior cats #firestar #sandstorm #tigerstar #ask #I will push my aroace agenda onto the fireman and sandgal. t they like me fr fr

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waywardstation · 2 years

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Today (November 23rd) is good brothers day in Japan. (With the focus being on the elder brother here)

I know this blog focuses more on PLA Ingo and his adventures in Hisui with his adopted niece/daughter but I really would love to hear some of your favorite headcanons of Ingo and Emmet.

I also think Emmet would be extra friendly today and maybe even getting him his favorite kind of candy. (while I believe they have their times of rivalry and pranks and other sibling stuff they always look out for each other and let the other know how much they care, especially after PLA.)

Oh!! Thanks for letting me know Anon, I didn’t know this!! And no worries, yes, while this is a PLA blog, I love Emmet just as much ^^

And I love your view of Ingo and Emmet’s sibling dynamic; I see it that way too!! I definitely see Emmet doing that for Ingo and yes, especially after PLA ;~;

And now, some headcanons below!! Several are popular ones within the fandom that I’ve latched onto, but some are ones I’ve grown to think for myself too ^^ (featuring Elesa too!)

—————————————

The twins’ hair has always been grey; it’s genetics.

Ingo’s first Pokémon was his Litwick, and Emmet’s was his tynamo - they found them both when they were young, and the Pokémon always followed them around.

Ingo is slightly taller than Emmet, but only by a couple inches. Post-Hisui, Ingo’s slouch gave Emmet the title of taller twin. Emmet holds it over Ingo’s head proudly until Ingo stands up straight again.

Emmet is very knowledgeable when it comes to Pokémon breeding, from his experience with breeding joltik. From time to time he likes to browse forums about the subject and help people with questions they might have, when it doesn’t seem like anyone else will give them an answer.

Ingo and Emmet love Roxie’s music, and they play it sometimes on the battle subway.

Emmet is partial to electric-type pokemon while Ingo is partial to fire-type pokemon. People speculate that it’s due to Unova’s legendary dragons, but really it’s tied to Emmet’s love of electric trains, and Ingo’s appreciation for steam-powered locomotives.

Ingo is the night owl, prone to getting up and going to bed later. Emmet is the early bird, prone to getting up and going to sleep earlier.

Though living in an apartment complex with neighbors who are very loud and not the most polite, sometimes neither sleep schedule is as smooth and restful as they’d like.

Emmet actually likes puns, just like Ingo - his vocabulary is as stuffed with train terms as his brother’s is. He just finds Elesa’s jokes to be low hanging fruit. She knows this full well, and intentionally keeps telling them. Ingo unironically enjoys them.

The twins met Elesa in grade school when she transferred out of homeschool/private school. Elesa met Emmet first, who then quickly introduced her to Ingo. The twins had transferred to the school themselves a year before and still didn’t have many friends, so they wanted to make Elesa feel welcome when they saw she was struggling with loneliness herself.

Elesa became very popular in highschool due to her good looks and attractive personality (and her family’s wealth became public knowledge); it did not influence her at all though. She did not fall for the fake friends that tried to attach themselves to her, and Ingo and Emmet remained as two of her only real friends through high school (Skyla and Burgh became the other two)

In terms of flavor, Ingo prefers sweet things while Emmet prefers bitter things.

Because of this, Emmet is a bit more lean than Ingo (Post-Hisui, it is more noticeable when Ingo comes back with a bit of a dad bod).

Emmet pokes fun at Ingo for his sweet tooth, saying he doesn’t ‘understand his inferior tastes’ (and Ingo fires right back), but both will immediately side with the other and gang up against Elesa when it comes to her preferred tastes - she LOVES intensely spicy dishes, which the twins cannot handle.

Ingo and Emmet occasionally help Elesa with her model work - their collaborations always brings extra publicity for both parties. Emmet unabashedly loves doing it, though Ingo’s always a little more flustered with all the attention.

Ingo and Emmet love watching horror movies, even if it still freaks them out.

The twins keep candy and gear station pins in their coat pockets to hand to children in the station.

In multi-battles, Ingo always uses his Pokémon to play defensive while Emmet always pushes offensive. (Just like how they’re meant to be utilized in Pokémon Masters EX)

#submas #happy good brothers day Ingo and Emmet #the headcanon list is MUCH longer than I thought #so I added a ‘keep reading’ haha #happy good brothers day to Ingo and Emmet

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placeinthisworld · 8 days

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i am relating to SO much of what im reading on ur blog rn. do not get me wrong - i LOVE ttpd and love taylor. it's kind of one of those things that's like "always have, always will." im always going to be so grateful for her work and this community, and as i said - i AM loving the music rn!

BUT. she feels different, and feels so far away. i know we are not owed her time or attention, but when you've built your entire brand on fan connection and being "different" than any other celebrity in that regards, it's going to feel off and unexpected when it suddenly stops with no explanation. most of her little interaction is on tiktok, which is half the time not with actual fans, but rather anyone who uses her song in the background (which a lot of times is influencers!) ppl say "yeah but now she does so much more for us" .... yeah... so many new THINGS to buy.

i also think she's at a place where she KNOWS she is on top of the world rn (good for her!) but it has come with a complex - she knows now she doesnt NEED to be close with her fans, doesnt NEED to use her platform for good, doesnt NEED to take constructive criticism - because the gp likes her enough to where she doesn't even need a strong centralized fanbase. as of rn, no opposition can make a dent in her fame or income and she knows it. and it feels icky, and honestly makes her feel less human (which is interesting, because the ttpd is imo some of the most raw humanlike work)

the new social circle is off too. i dont hate travis, and i was happy for her, but have come to like him less and less since realizing he's a bit sleazy and is kind of only liberal for pay. he's publicly made r*pe jokes and xenophobic comments in the past couple years (NOT from 15 year old tweets! recent!) his dad is also super transphobic and mahomes brother is a charged SAer yet taylor gallavants w both of them. travis just seems like an oaf and while im glad she had something more easy and fun, it's telling that there's been a lack of backlash towards him when he's exhibited the same behavior as matty and the only things taylor could write ab him were sports and high school references. i hate to even touch on her personal life like this but god forbid this is a forever thing :/ omg this is a lot but yeah im glad we're having this convo

yup!! bestie your feelings are so valid and i feel very very similarly about everything!!

she knows she doesn’t need to appeal to a niche audience of tween girls anymore. she knows she’s beyond that. fate worked its magic and now she’s america’s it girl without any of drama of having to censor her work. and while yes i’m very proud and happy for her, you’re exactly right, she’s more than happy to continue to push things for us to buy in order to feel close to her. she’s already established a group of life long fans by those who she’s interacted with, invited to things, sent money too etc. so she really doesn’t have to do anything else besides make more music and have the world speculate about her personal life. at the end of the day she just feels sooooo disconnected to us now, compared to how we used to have it at least.

ugh i knew icky meathead was sleazy without even needing taylor to bring him into the limelight but now everyone and their mom is obsessed and up his ass too. EVEN with all those gross things about him (we all saw the recent commencement speech excuse 🤢) he’s definitely democratic for pay. i definitely don’t think he’s gonna stick around forever, either he’ll fuck up and get caught w another girl or she’ll get bored of his ass (speculating that this is a legit relationship and not PR at least lol) she’s a girl that needs a new boy every now and then i fear.

generally i’m just disappointed in her now in a lot of aspects. but completely disconnecting from the world, acting like a whole ass genocide is not actively happening, only ever promoting of talking about herself or her own work just seems so bland and selfish. she’s mentioned voting like what, twice this year? in generic ghost written sentences on an IG story?

#answered #anonymous #anon #SORRY IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET TO THIS

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dolphin1812 · 1 year

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I think it’s fascinating that today’s chapter is basically all from Mlle Baptistine’s point of view - not just because it’s a letter from her (I love how this novel is treated like a historical work, so I’m always happy to see the use of documents), but because we’re already seeing Valjean from another person’s perspective. @secretmellowblog has written a wonderful post about how for much of the novel, we’re seeing Valjean as a “mysterious stranger” from the perspective of others. Here, we know who he is, but everything about him is filtered through Baptistine’s thoughts. While it’s true that most of the chapter is just a recording of the conversation at the table, it’s also significant that Baptistine is the one narrating because, since she’s so close to the bishop, her influence shifts the focus from Valjean to him and to his charity. We learn, for instance, that he’s offering Valjean the good wine that he won’t drink himself, highlighting the extent of his hospitality. ("My brother made him drink that good Mauves wine, which he does not drink himself, because he says that wine is expensive.”). She also speculates on the bishop’s thought process, such as when he praises the “innocence” of the people of Pontarlier and then hesitates, likely trying to avoid reminding Valjean of his crime. She stresses that the bishop is behaving as he would on any other night as well, illustrating that he really is treating him as an equal (”he supped with this Jean Valjean with the same air and in the same manner in which he would have supped with M. Gédéon le Prévost, or with the curate of the parish”).

On the one hand, Baptistine’s narration is important because Valjean doesn’t know these details, and the bishop wouldn’t point them out; it feels more organic to learn them from her than from an omniscient narrator following characters who would not know or would not care to mention these things. At the same time, we’ve basically only had two chapters with Valjean now, one where we follow him as a stranger and another where he enters the bishop’s home. While he’s centered as a stranger, here, when we know his identity, he’s in the background, being used to highlight the bishop’s compassion (and Baptistine’s, as she gives him a blanket). Even as the protagonist, he’s so often a lens or an object through which to view others or different phenomena instead.

#les mis letters #lm 1.2.4 #jean valjean #bishop myriel #baptistine

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munku-collar · 1 year

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could you talk a bit about the everlasting cat and that sort of jellicle religion in general? we don't hear much about it other than the jellicle choice and some mentions here and there, but are there any other common beliefs among the tribe? is it something deme converted to when joining or had she heard of it before with macavity? ty <3

Despite appearances the Everlasting Cat is not a god or religion in the christian sense. Every cat, Jellicle or otherwise, is familiar with the Everlasting Cat, and her spirit can be found all around in the positive aspects of life, in a good feeling or a pretty sight, but also in moments where one is most catlike, most close to her image so to speak, and in a handful of truly magical or otherwise unexplainable experiences, that are simply accepted as facts of life.

But the Everlasting Cat isn't some omniscient arbiter that exists to judge cats based on morality or purity or some kind of standard like a lot of religions have. There's no catholic guilt complex for cats, it's all individual morality or group morality, like the Jellicles have an overarching morality code which they have personally tied to her. There's no cat hell or eternal punishment for being a bad cat, and the Heaviside Layer is more of a soft, comfortable resting point for a soul than some tangible or traditional 'heaven,' and every cat will indeed pass through and back, just at different times. The Jellicle Choice is simply an opportunity to skip that resting point and be reincarnated almost immediately.

The Everlasting Cat does not need to be worshipped, or need offerings to be pleased. She may choose to intervene wherever and whenever she wishes, offer a guiding push in one direction or another, but really she just oversees the cycle of death and rebirth and guides souls to where they need to be. So although she technically has "magic" capabilities, to cats she's simply a part of life like oxygen is, simply tied to the spiritual or energetic realm, and although some cats make a point to deify her, and to live by codes which they feel she would approve of, it's not really necessary to try very hard to get her attention or for her to give a push, so to speak. So more than anything it's the Jellicles taking it upon themselves to set an example, to be cats they feel are deserving of love and kindness, and to never forsake or waste their many lives, alongside the kind of every-day influence of the "natural" flow, and the Everlasting Cat is a symbol of that.

They certainly have a few songs written in her honor, and parents often invoke her name as a bit of a boogeyman for their kittens; "The Everlasting Cat wouldn't like that," or "If you're too naughty the Everlasting Cat will turn your ears inside out forever," but they're not really beliefs, just little stories or convenient lessons. There's not quite a need for widespread speculation or numerous beliefs because she is so inherently tied to each and every cat; If a cat looks within hard enough, they can understand her meaning and the meaning of life itself. Profound meditation, rapt contemplation and all that.

Some cats certainly have an easier time with that than others, and can be more closely energetically tied to her, such as Old Deut, which is why he announces the Jellicle choice. He announces the Jellicle choice; The Everlasting Cat selects them. Old Deut's job more than anything is to convey explanation or help others understand the choice, while making it clear that no one can deny it, as he does by allowing Grizabella to explain herself to the Jellicles. Some cats are also given gifts, like the Deut brothers' various auras, or Misto's heightened illusions/sleight of hand, or Tanto and Cori's intuition, but whether these gifts serve a wider purpose or are simply unique imprints in a cat's soul isn't clear.

All that being said, it's definitely common for cats, especially Jellicles, to lean on her strength mentally as people do for all sorts of things. If a cat's feeling nervous they may ask for her blessing, or if they're coming of age it is common to kind of feel closer to her, and of course with the ball there's way less "distance" so to speak between Jellicles and the Everlasting Cat, resulting in pushes here and there (like the heightened urge to couple/usher in more kittens) and that closeness is because they are so adamant on "getting to know her" within themselves. Kind of like an enlightenment deal, in which a cat learns to understand themselves and the world around them better, and feels more interconnected as a result. So it's not that Jellicles are keepers of some special power or religion that can never be experienced by other cats, it's just that they as a culture put in more "work" to be more understanding of the mystical nature of the world.

So to the second question, it was less of a "conversion" for Demeter and more of an increase of self reflection and time devoted to thinking about the forces of nature and how to interpret them, how to feel them and allow them in.

Beforehand most of her mental capacity was preoccupied with anxiety or anger or any number of difficult emotions, and she was quite literally concerned with more important things such as survival and feeding herself. Even as a kitten she did not have much time for such a level of contemplation. And as I mentioned, the Jellicles do have their own sense of morality, which is mostly in line with any average person, so for Deme it was an opportunity to live by new standards and to shed the self defensive and sometimes cruel ways she had lived by thus far.

The songs and dances and celebrations and such took some time to learn, but they're more of a cultural blueprint for Jellicles than a mandatory component. They're folksongs, really. So she kind of went from being a stranger with the Everlasting Cat, and indeed her inner self, to becoming more understanding of the world around her and her own identity, and she of course gained a more loving community in the process.

#my shit #asks #cats the musical #cats 1998 #demeter #cats demeter #demeter cats #JH #the jellicle tribe

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sayruq · 2 years

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I've been reading through TWOW and ADOS speculation on your blog and there was this one post about Jon, Dany and Aegon (can't link it tho bc I am on the app so no permalink RIP) and it was speculation on Jon and Aegon's brother-relationship they'll most likely be having in the last two books. It'll probably not be hostile (bc even Aegon didn't throw Tyrion mfing LANNISTER overboard, so I don't think Aegon will fault Jon for what happened to his family) but to get to the point: 1/

Jon and Aegon will be brothers, Jon is optimistic over this actually (mirroring his relationship with Robb), Dany invades and kills Aegon, Jon will hate Dany (the post was talking about a rather lack of reaction on Jon's part of Robb's death, and that visceral reaction will actually happen when Aegon is killed, his actual real brother). And then my point: in the prophecy of Dany "Three betrayals, for blood (don't even remember which one this was… 2/ was it Viserys or Mirri and Rhaego or something? Idk&Idc), for gold (Aegon's golden crown), for love (Jon) she thinks that love betrayal will be bc the betrayer loves her, but what if it's actually because Jon loves Aegon (not incestuously, but familial love)? And Jon kills her for not just the North, not just for KL, not just for his Stark cousins, but also for Aegon, his actual brother, who he loved? A brother he always wanted and then had but then lost, all within the blink of an eye? 3/ This thought process of mine comes from my lack of faith in a J*nerys romance happening bc …. literally the most unseasoned, unflavored, unspiced, uninspiring, most talentless, dull, stupid, terrible, bad and unimpressive love story I would ever read in my life if GRRM goes through with it (maybe Kit and Emilia's extreme lack of chemistry in the show has influenced me too much concerning this ship but oh well). 4/ I actually sent you an ask a while ago asking if you think J*nerys will really happen and how I thought Jon (white boy) living but Aegon (brown boy) dying is actually BS and that Jon should die too if ASOIAF is all about the Targs dying out. Jon gets to be Lyanna's son and live but Aegon doesn't get to be Elia's son and live? F!ck off GRRM 😒 Did you get that ask? I suspect that Tumblr may have eaten it because the ask was too long :( Hence why I am sending you this ask in pieces :( 5/5

What do you think GRRM will focus on? An incestuous relationship between 2 strangers (quick reminder the Greyjoy brothers will be fighting over Daenerys when she finally reaches Westeros) or a relationship between half-brothers whose mothers died because of what their father did?

An incestuous relationship in which one of them will be more interested in the Iron Throne than anything happening in the North or a relationship in which one brother has been raised to care about the smallfolk but at the same time can't leave the throne to someone who has dragons and the other brother is trying to get him to go North?

An incestuous relationship in which one of them destroys an entire city or a sibling relationship in which one brother is killed just like a different brother but this time Jon can avenge him instead of being forced to carry on?

#Anonymous #aegon vi targaryen #young griff #jon snow #anti jonerys #song of ice and fire #asoiaf speculation

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acrossthewavesoftime · 1 year

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Do you have any particular thoughts about Anne’s feud with William and Mary?

Eſteem'd Anon,

that indeed I do! I do wonder what to call the situation at hand, though, because "Anne's feud with William and Mary" does sound rather like a one-sided grudge.

In any case, regardless what we might call the situation, I think what's at the core is a much more complex dynamic than one against the other (two). it was profoundly sad, and profoundly tragic for all involved.

From Anne's perspective, William had 'stolen' her sister so to speak and taken her away to the Netherlands when she had still been a child; the separation had hurt both sisters greatly, who had only ever, their governess aside, really had had each other growing up, seeing as their mother died young, and Charles II had seen to it that the potential heirs to the throne had been raised away from their parents to prevent them raising their daughters as Catholics.

Anne and William apparently disliked one another enough that they were not above the occasional pettiness, as Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough recorded:

I would cast doubt on whether William, who according to Sarah was unaware of Anne's pregnancy craving, purposefully ate the entire plate to spite her, but one can easily see that the two of them did not see eye to eye, nor made any effort to.

Petty disputes over peas and unflattering nickname's such as Anne's "Dutch Abortion" for William aside, one thing that really complicated the relationship between Anne and Mary and William, was Anne's only surviving son William Henry, Duke of Gloucester.

From the first day of his life on, Anne knew that her son would, in his capacity as heir presumptive, never quite be her own, as even the circumstances of his birth illustrate: both the King and Queen were present for the birth, with Mary remaining at her sister's side throughout and William being ushered in just moments before the baby was born, so as to avoid any speculations of the sort that had sparked the eventual downfall of Mary's and Anne's father James II at the birth of their half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart.

To have one's disliked brother-in-law watch as you give birth, in a state of undress and in a vulnerable and potentially medically dangerous position cannot possibly have a positive influence on an already strained personal relationship.

And matters did not improve as the baby grew up: Anne's closest confidante Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, reports in her memoirs that Anne felt treated badly, overlooked and overridden in her position as a mother by Mary, who considered the Duke, heir apparent to the throne, as much her own as Anne's responsibility and would send in people to look at the baby and report back to her whenever he was sick, using her authority to make Anne grant these people access to the nursery:

One can tell that Mary did not mean any harm to her sister but acted out of concern for the nephew in whom she may have seen a sort of ersatz for the children she had never been able to conceive (and which weighed heavily on her mental health), but it is just as easily to see why that kind of behaviour strained her relationship with Anne, who must have felt as if her only worth to her sister and brother-in-law was providing them with a child to raise as their eventual successor, totally ignoring her both as a mother, and as the then-first-in-line to the throne.

Naturally, the situation did not get any less complicated when the little Duke of Gloucester was growing up and William, then widowed, insisted on handing his education over to male tutors, a situation which has often been represented as a power struggle akin to a custody battle between William and Anne (which it, according to the ways boys were raised at the time was not, but may have felt so for Anne regardless).

The rather tragic battle over the Duke of Gloucester aside, I think it cannot be stressed enough that William and Anne in particular were simply just two people who did just not harmonise well.

They had different political outlooks, different friend circles, bar a few exceptions, and both likely regarded the other jealously as a potential threat to their respective relationship with Mary, whom they both loved.

Mary on the other hand had quite simply ceased to be who she was at fifteen, when she was married off, and both she and Anne had been shaped by their respective experiences that rather caused them to drift apart as adults than reconnect.

As co-monarch with William, she naturally tended to side more often with him than with Anne when it came to political measures impacting her, which further strained their already tense relationship.

Another factor that played, particularly on William's part, an important role in wanting to keep Anne as far removed from funds and political influence as possible, was his own shaky enough claim to the title of King with Anne technically being ahead of him in the line of succession. Not being granted funds, her husband kept barred from any active military service and the use of certain royal residences denied, one can see why Anne may have been frustrated with William and Mary.

Matters reached their climax when in 1692, William and Mary suspected Anne to be part of a Jacobite plot, and Anne's privileges were pruned.

To cut my rambling thoughts short here, I think it boils down to several tales that are as old as time; namely, in-laws not getting along, and that no dynamic among people, particularly within a family, has ever been improved by adding a power dynamic to it.

In the end, it was a sad situation for all involved, marked by repeated tragic losses, with no real winners, and no more or less innocent, or guilty parties. They were adults who had allowed an unhealthy dynamic built on shaky, sometimes sour relationships, reach the point of no return.

#ask #ask reply #anon ask #mary ii #queen anne #william iii #william of orange #17th century #history #british history

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