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#and yet. they were both willing to sacrifice others for the sake of their own greater goods

general-cyno · 6 months

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to add to the angst of thriller bark zolu, I keep thinking 1) of the parallel between zoro's words to luffy when he agrees to join him and his sacrifice 2) of sanji's words in the aftermath of TB and 3) the consequences of zoro's sacrifice bearing weight in sabaody.

1) while zoro choosing to pretend nothing happened at thriller bark makes sense, since he's not the type of character who'd go boasting about this sort of thing, it also makes even more sense when you think of this,

in the context of this other bit:

zoro, who believes and proclaims his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman is all he has, accepts to become part of luffy's crew on the sole condition that he'd never make zoro abandon that dream - otherwise, well, he says it. it's not gonna be pretty. luffy proved he understood the significance this held for zoro later at baratie, to the point he stopped johnny and yosaku from interfering in zoro's duel against mihawk, even though luffy himself was greatly upset abt mihawk hurting him.

overall, luffy is someone who places great importance in ppl's dreams and is willing to go through yet greater lengths to protect those he cherishes and befriends, especially his crew. this is an aspect of luffy's character that shines through in pretty much every arc of the story and something that zoro himself knows well since he's been with luffy the longest. which brings me to,

to say luffy wouldn't have reacted well to zoro's deal with kuma is an understatement. imagine if monkey d. "I won't lose a single member of my crew even if it kills me" "defies the world government itself to save his friend/crew member" luffy were to find out that zoro willingly cast aside his dream and life for him, putting luffy's own dream and safety above his. bc to zoro, as the story progresses, his own ambition means nothing if he can't protect/save luffy, his captain. just imagine.

worse, if we take into account that:

3) thriller bark is the reason why zoro was significantly vulnerable at sabaody. even back before they arrived at the archipelago, zoro was visibly exhausted and injured, which brook notices:

and while zoro fights to the most he can despite the circumstances, his injuries after absorbing luffy's pain eventually leave him open to both kuma and kizaru.

now considering this is how luffy reacts to the whole ordeal when zoro's life is in danger and gets sent away by kuma,

just imagine how luffy would feel if he knew it was zoro sacrificing himself for his sake, which is already painful in itself, that led him to be so much weaker and vulnerable here. oof.

#zolu #tp #long post #yes I'm still thinking abt it no I will never recover from thriller bark #on a less angsty note there's still more to find out abt what roger and ray's relationship was like but #the parallels between ray and zoro are kind of insane actually that was good #anyway back to suffering through impel down #jay reads op

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sukifoof · 5 months

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HI WATCH OUT FOR UNDERTALE YELLOW SPOILERS . ANYWAY

watched the ut yellow neutral end and ohhh i am losing my MIND... just. thinking about how flowey is only willing to move on in the true pacifist route. the route where he sees kindness and a genuine want to help others in a human child. asriel died to save humans because of the people he was surrounded with. toriel asgore and chara are people who feel very strongly for those around them and he couldn't take human lives when the only human he knew was chara. a kid who cares enough about the people around them to sacrifice themself, just like the way his parents are.

flowey comments on toriel letting herself go because she cares so much and how we wouldn't have to feel so bad if we simply didn't care. his whole coping mechanism is distancing himself from others and Not Caring because if he allows himself to feel it'll just completely destroy him. he felt for the humans on the surface even when they were attacking him and the way he treats clover in neutral vs pacifist says a lot about his want to see good in others.

hes constantly pushing frisk to go with options that benefit everyone and while he worries about clover caring about those around him he seems to really appreciate it. at any moment he could just do whatever he wants with clover's life. the only route in which flowey allows them to make their own choices with their life is when they're being a good person and he just can't help but call them a friend because that's the type of person he's always wanted to be around. that's the type of person that's home to him!!

and i keep thinking about how he just couldn't let clover live out their life with toriel in the ruins. something something toriel trying to make up for feeling like she failed asriel and chara and flowey feeling replaced and clover being stuck in a small place for the rest of their life. i have thoughts on this that i don't know how to put into words but i'm not at all surprised flowey wasn't okay with that. of Course he wasn't. hes flowey. he has every issue ever. i think that allowing clover to live with toriel would make flowey feel like he really has to accept that he can't just go back to the past and he's not ready to come to terms with anything that's happened yet

flowey always insists he doesn't care and he can't feel as a result of his trauma but it's so clear from his regret and fondness for people who are compassionate that compassion is something he always strives for. even though he doesn't understand and can't understand it's always something he wants to see in others. it hurts to be compassionate and to love others and it's why he blocks it out but at the end of the day he's the same person who sacrificed himself and his sibling to save who knows how many people both in the underground and surface, and the same person who let go of what he believed to be the only way he could stay "himself" for the sake of freeing monsters.

he's such a fascinating character... his mind and heart are at war with each other and i love how undertale yellow goes into this with the way they portray how he reacts to clover's death in the pacifist route. "maybe you've earned your rest" and calling them a friend after trying to act tough... he really respects when others are truly kind despite what some might consider common sense. i don't know where i'm going with this anymore but i hope u guys get it. just imagine i am gripping ur shoulders and pointing at flowey frantically

#flowey #flowey the flower #asriel #asriel dreemurr #undertale yellow spoilers #undertale yellow #undertale #utdr #utdr analysis

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enderpearlll · 1 year

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Yandere!Kevin Headcanons.

Needed a break from writing Bob. Pretend Kevin isn’t dating Streber in for the sake of the story, please. Sorry if this is too OOC, based it off of the song “Go-Getter Greg” by Ludo.

Gender-Neutral reader.

TW/CW: Yandere content, harsh language, stalking, harassment, creepy behaviour, etc…

• Kevin was a friendly guy at first, rather awkward and off standish. It was oddly charming in a way. When you first started working at the Candy Club he was more than eager to show you the ropes. The place was always short staffed so Kevin was overjoyed to have a new coworker that was reliable.

• The two of you clicked quickly, seeing as you two were the only competent employees there. Now, you liked Kevin but you weren’t willing to take the friendship out of work just yet. But Kevin couldn’t help but fall for the cute new employee. You were just so amazing and he felt the need to impress you, to get to know you better.

• Now Kevin is usually an uptight cynical guy that had no patience for bullshit, but around you he just becomes the most mushiest, soft, and attention seeking guy. You just have an effect on him that he doesn’t understand. It’s like Cupid shot him in the head twenty times over and over. Kevin is the most lovesick fuck around you and it’s sort of terrifying because everyone can tell he has a crush on you.

• He always helps you out around the shop and will let you take longer breaks than him. Kevin is a fucking simp. He is glad to do anything for you if it means you’ll give him attention. Are you struggling with restocking the shelves? Don’t worry, he can handle it! Gotta clean out the back? It’s okay, he can do it by himself! Kevin will happily sacrifice his own time for you.

• You feel bad, but he is really, REALLY persistent. You’re essentially getting paid to sit on your ass all day while Kevin does your job for you. It’s sort of creepy in a way… You try to tell him that it’s okay but he’s stubborn. Weirdly stubborn. Kevin does it to impress you, can’t you see that?

• He is an anxious person, so it’s only natural for him to worry about you 24/7, it’s normal behaviour for him. So he starts to follow you home. It’s just to make sure you make it there safely, honest! Oh, sometimes he’ll bump into around town when you’re both off of work, what a coincidence! Or you’ll even cross paths at one of your favourite cafes, and wow, he can’t believe that you both like the same drink!

• Kevin usually butts into any conversation you have with other coworkers, and will often pull you away with an excuse. Even if you’re having a friendly conversation with a customer Kevin will always interrupt or intimidate the customer. Especially if they’re a guy. “You’re holding up the line. Hurry up already. ” “… There’s no one here, dude.”

• Kevin is secretly a nerd and is into a lot of movie franchises and comic book series, so if you even mention or reference one of them he is on your case immediately. He can’t believe his crush likes the same stuff as him, it’s unbelievable! But if you have any other interests that Kevin doesn’t know about, he will pour hours of dedicated research into it. Then when he brings up random facts and what not, you’ll definitely want to talk to him more!

• Kevin blushes at just the tiniest amount of physical contact with you, it’s unbelievable. You could reach over to grab something from him and your skin will barely hover over his and he will explode internally. He stutters and stumbles over his words when you get remotely close to him, especially if you have a huge height difference.

• Kevin is definitely one of those people that dress to impress, so he always makes sure to look his best around you. He feels embarrassed if there’s even a string out of place on his uniform, since he wants you to see him at his absolute best. If you compliment him, Kevin will literally melt.

• Kevin is always trying to invite you to do stuff outside of work, but you had other friends and what not so it was always a no. He feels defeated at times but that doesn’t mean he’ll give up, no way. You think it’s scary, since he does it almost everyday.

“S—so, um, d—did you want to go watch a movie tonight?” “Um… Not tonight, Kevin.” Your friends also think this is creepy behaviour.

• Hell, your stuff even goes missing at work because of him! You’ve lost more lip balms than you could count, you lost your wallet, gloves and hats go missing, and you even lost your favourite hoodie! You quickly begin to suspect Kevin, but when you ask he vehemently denies it. He’s a horrible liar, by the way, if you didn’t notice. Kevin feels horrible, but it’s so wonderful to have your stuff for his own.

• Now, one can’t see all of this and not pick up on the ungodly obsession he has with you. Especially if you’re the target of said obsession. You slowly start to avoid Kevin when you can help it, and you begin to distance yourself from him. Your friends constantly beg you to quit but your budget was tight at the moment and you couldn’t exactly find another job immediately.

• So you tried to make excuses for Kevin, desperately trying to delude yourself into believing that he was a good guy. It wasn’t until you witnessed him dig through your jacket that you finally snapped under the pressure. You felt like you were going to puke. You quickly gather your stuff and leave, ready to call your boss in the morning to report everything that was going on. You were done.

• Kevin quickly notices you approach and is mortified. You pull your jacket on silently, before leaving the store without a goodbye. He quickly followed you out like a lost puppy, pelting you with a million apologies. You’re trying to stay rational, but dear god you wanted to punt him. This is also when you begin to notice that he was the one following you around, and when he tries to lay a hand on you that’s when you snap.

• “You’re a fucking creep, Kevin! You better knock it off before I call the police on you!” You screamed, pure anger in your voice. Kevin is frozen in his tracks, disbelief evident on his face. No, this couldn’t be… “No, wait! I can explain, please!” Kevin cried, falling to his knees and clutching onto the fabric of your pants. “I love you so much it hurts, please!” He rasped, tears welling in his eyes.

• “What the—?! Get off me, you sicko! I hate you!” And with those three words, Kevin’s world came crashing down around him. You… Hated him? After all he’s done for you? You kicked him off of you and ran down the street, leaving Kevin behind with a broken heart.

• No, no, no, no, no— This couldn’t be happening! He needed you to live, without you he was nothing, he’s never felt more alive when he was with you. Kevin needed to do something to win you back, and quick. Before he loses you forever. He doesn’t care if he loses his job, he doesn’t care if he gets in trouble with the police, all he needs is you.

#yandere headcanons #yandere blog #yandere fic #yandere x reader #yandere spooky month #yandere writing #yandere x you #yandere #spooky month x reader #spooky month #spooky month kevin #sm kevin #yandere kevin #kevin x reader

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toffeechad · 4 months

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✰ BATTLE IN LOBOTOMY CORPORATION: THE TRUMPET OF TWO AU INFO ✰

⚠ TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF DEATH, ALIVEN'T AND ALSO N00SE RELATED IMAGERY INCLUDED. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. ⚠

Do you want to proceed? (Click the read more block if yes, don't click the read more block if no.)

MAIN INFO

This AU has some parts of LobCorp & BFDI jumbled up together. The Agents get to take part in challenges. If their teams fail, one of the losing team's members get sacrificed to the Unnamed Fetus. You may be wondering, what would the abnormalities look like? Good question. For the abnormalities that have human-like bodies such as The Queen Of Hatred & Laetitia, they'd probably be based off the object that'll fit their design. For the abnormalities related to other categories such as Punishing Bird or CENSORED, they'll remain with the same design.

AGENT & SEPHIRAH INFO + DESIGNS (TW: N00SE INCLUSION ON FLOWER'S DESIGN)

Specifically by pattern, not only the line patterns on the robot are the same as the other, but also the colors are the same as the main color of that character's asset as well.

The sacrifice order of the AU is related to the BFB (presplit & postsplit) elimination order along with the TPOT elimination order.

These drawings were done way before tpot 9 truly came out, don't expect me to update their designs however!

OTHER INFO

SEFIROT BIOS

Loser: He was once a celebrity who was adored by his fans a lot, especially for Cake. He tried his best to aim for the perfect results and never gave up... but what he was trying his best to aim for became a personal obsession of his... it led him to a trap.

Black Hole: He's very strict when it comes to analyzing Abnormalities in the facility. But whenever he sees an employee from another team or his team die by being sacrificed, he gets extremely anxious. He has Thanatophobia.

Book: She's a dictionary trying her best to help out everyone with their problems so that she'd be appreciated. She has a habit of questioning her own sanity. Ever since Taco has been sacrificed, she's willing to befriend Bomby and Nickel during her breaktime in the facility.

Golf Ball: She's a scientist and mechanic who was formerly a responsible leader... but after suppressing the first 38 sacrificed victims together with the other employees, she tried apologizing to Puffball and Fries (with lowered cogito filters)... Yet she wasn't forgiven yet. They just stared at her angrily as if they're both in the brink of mutiny. Therefore, she then feels helpless whenever a trusted teammate of her dies.

Pencil & Match: Pencil's immature, whereas Match is positive at first. Both of them seem to only trust anyone that's affiliated with their alliance or their team.

Leafy: She was once a happy-go-lucky team member... until she was sacrificed. She just wanted to suppress abnormalities for the sake of helping out the facility. Although.... she's taking her duty too far.

Coiny: He's Pin's really sleep-deprived and mature best friend. While drinking his coffee, he mostly pretends to care for the other employees. While he was in his meltdown state, he struggles to control his own mind as if he had a mental breakdown.

Basketball: She's been through numerous agonizing moments ranging from 8-Ball's sacrifice to Robot Flower's memory loss. Someday, she'll find a way to get her back.... She deeply cares for Grassy's safety as well. She's in charge of handling physical materials for the facility. After the aforementioned events, she yearned for Bell to die soon as she'd enjoy seeing her suffer.

Clock: He's calm and collected. He doesn't really think there's a point to bond with Winner anymore. He's now in charge of recording everything that happens in the facility, especially for sacrifices. He has knowledge about time and cycles.

i suck at writing anyways, thank you for coming to my ted talk

#bfdi #tpot #bfb #the power of two #battle for dream island #battle for bfdi #battle for bfb #bfb au #tpot au #bfdi au #lobotomy corp #lobotomy corporation #lobcorp #project moon #lc

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guess-that-ship · 5 months

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S8 Round 1

Married in an old way

cw: spoilers

Character A is a necromancer, eons old and something other than human. Character B is his husband, and is an undertaker from an ancient civilization. When A reminisces on how they met, he says that they met by a river, with B noticing him hiding in the reeds. A says he has no name when B asks, and says that he eats shadow, which B responds as being a fine thing to do. A calls B very fine, meaning mankind in general, but certainly seeming like he meant B in particular, and B says he's flattered. A is also a necromancer because of B being an undertaker.

In the present time, B is long dead, but his souls lives on with A. A can no longer remember what B looked like, but deeply cherishes what he does remember, such as their first meeting. A has kept the same form for so long that he's beginning to have trouble with his necromancy, and yet he will not give it up because that means relinquishing B. B loves their found family just as much as A. When A is betrayed, he pleads for just a few more minutes so that he can let B go while fully accepting and giving in to his own death. When he is nearly killed he tells B that he will condemn the world if it means he doesn't have to sacrifice what's left of B, but B convinces him to do it anyway because of A's purpose, protecting humanity, and because of the love they both have for humanity and the effort they both put into keeping them safe from the horrors.

Divorced dads

These two characters (let's call them Short and Tall) are basically a divorced couple, despite never having actually been together.

They are both dads, to the same kids. They start out pretty much hating each other, and for good reason. They have a… complicated past, to say the least. Tall's actions ended up permanently changing Short's life, without Short actually having a say in the matter. Short had a hard time dealing with these life-altering changes, and Tall had no remorse, fully believing that his actions were justified.

However, years later, Tall ends up going through some character growth. At the insistence of one of the kids, who believes in second chances and just wants his dads to get along, Tall and Short slowly begin to work through their past… although, not without some bumps along the way. They bicker a lot, and their newly-formed trust is rather fragile. But they both care about their kids (now, at least), and are willing to try for their sake. They might not be a traditional family, but they are a family nonetheless.

#s8 #tournament poll #s8 round 1 #spoilers

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linkspooky · 2 years

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Jujutsu Kaisen, Chapter 202 Thoughts.

The most interesting aspect of Kenjaku as a character to me, is how much he is a hypocrite to his own stated ideals. He claims that everything he does, torturing Choso’s mother, dragging innocents off into the Culling Games, and even threatening to feed practically every non-sorcerer to Japan into a cursed spirit is because of his desire to see something new and outside of his predictions and control, but Kenjaku himself is a control freak. Kenjaku and Tengen are the focus of this week’s chapter, and they foil each other in an interesting way because they are both hypocrites.

1. Kenjaku the abusive Father (And Mother).

Before I start writing letmeexplain the title. Kenjaku is literally an abusive parent because he abandoned Choso and his brothers after deeming them failures, and also treats Yuji as his expendable tool. Kenjaku is also metahorically an abusive parents, because he’s a representative of a pattern within Jujutsu Society as a whole.

What is an abusive parent, if not someone who is supposed to protect and raise a child, but neglects that duty and harms them instead?

The central conflict of Jujutsu Kaisen, and the ideals that Gojo and his students are fighting for is that the previous generation shouldn’t be harm the youth. Jujutsu Society is one where the children instead of being raised and protected are treated as expendable, and often harmed so the old guard can remain in power.

This is repeated in many of the backstories of the characters. For instance, if you want an extremely direct exmaple Ogi the parent of both Maki and Maiblames his lack of sucess on the family head on his “worthless children.” Rather than Ogi serving his duty as a parent protecting and raising both of his daughters, he thinks his daughters exist for his own sake.

The microcosm of parental abuse in a single household, is also a metaphor for the macorcosm of the ills of Jujutsu Society as a hole, children are continually sacrificed instead of being raised. Children exsit to serve the elders, the elders don’t put any thought into raising the next generation.

The discussion of this chapter consists of Tengen, and Kenjaku, both being entities that regularly use children for their own sake. Tsukumo directly calls this out, Tengen was willing to accept child sacrifices for generations. When it failed however, it turned out she (They?) didn’t even need to do them in the first place that they were capable of living on without sacrifices.

Which means the children weren’t sacrificed because it was an absolute necessity, but rather repeating this pattern in Jujutsu Society that children must continually give up their youths and everything else, to protect the current status quo and the people in power. Riko is the ultimate metaphor for a lost youthin the series. Everything about the current conflict went wrong starting with Riko’s death.

If Riko had lived, Geto would never have become disillusioned with the sorcery world. If Riko had lived, Geto and Gojo wouldn’t have fallen into conflict, eventually resulting in Geto’s death, and Kenjaku taking over his body. RIko is important because she’s a metaphor for Maki, for Mai, for Megumi, for Yuji, for Nobara, for Yuta, for Inumaki, she is another child who just wanted to live out the days of her youth and grow up. Riko had the right to grow up and live in the future and be surrounded by friends just like everyone else, but Tengen considers her ultimately expendable.

Why is Tengen more important than Riko? Because she’s immortal? Because she’s powerful? If Tengen was capable of evolving all along then there was no reason Riko had to die, and yet Tengen simply accepted both Riko and every single sacrifice before her as inevitable, because that is status quo, because that keeps the power in the hands of the powerful.

Toji, the one who killed Riko was also created by the abuse of the previous generation on the next one. If Toji had been accepted by the Zenin clan rather than continually punished for simply being born as he was, he could have been as powerful and as great a sorcerer as Gojo, and instead abused and harassed all his life he turns into the immoral sorcerer killer. Yet another person sacrificed pointlessly, because the old guard wants to resist change.

Here is where, Kenjaku and Tengen might seem to be opposites, but they are in fact exactly the same. They claim to represent opposite ideas, Kenjaku desires a world of unpredictability and change.

But, Kenjaku ignores the fact that he never lets things grow and change on their own. He essentially takes a stranglehold on things with all of his manipulation. He always has to be the one in power, he has to be the one inciting change. He even says he wants to bring up something he can’t imagine, but in the same breath he then says he’s going to put the world back to the way it used to be in the golden age of sorcerers.

Tengen is an all knowing entity, he talks about everything that’s predetermined and destined. Everything is inevtiable. Nothing can be helped.

Kenjaku and Tengen seem to represent opposites, a pre-determined fate, and a future of possibilities and chaos beyond imagination, but they actually do the exact same thing. They are both, continually sacrificing children in the name of a status quo. They both act like all-knowing, all-seeing entities, who really just repeat the way things are. It can be seen in the difference between the way Kenjaku and Choso regard Choso and his siblings. Kenjaku expected great things from them, and then immediately gave up on them and lost interest because they were too normal. He made no effort at all in nurturing them. Choso says he wanted cursed spirits to evolve along with sorcerers, but he literally ate all of his cursed spirit allies, including Mahito, before they even had a chance to change.

Whereas, Choso’s ideals are the opposite of Kenjaku’s entirely, and fall in line with what Gojo is fighting for. While Kenjaku neglects his duty as a parent and sees his children as existing only as tools for his own benefit, abandoning them immediately when they stop being useful, all of Choso’s pride comes from his role as a big brother, and his duty he has in protecting his younger brothers.

Choso argues back, that his role as the oldest to nurture the younger ones that come after him. Whether eh’s superior or inferior, whether he makes terrible mistakes he’s always going to serve as an example, that’s why he does everything he does for the sake of the ones younger than him.

Therefore we have two confrontations this chapter, Tsukumo Yuki and Choso both believe that it is their duty and responsibility towards others to try and protect and not forget the younger and more helplessly lives.

Then there are Kenjaku and Tengen who have already written those people off as expendable. The former is capable of imagining a better world, while the latter will always be stuck and stagnant due to their lack of imagination.

#jjk 202 #jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen 202 #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen #kenjaku #noritoshi kamo #tengen #tsukumo yuki #choso

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sweetracha · 10 months

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Gimmeeeee, Dark v Light royal AU storyboard , im craving it tbh

Dark & Light Kingdom AU

For as long as there has been a world, there has been darkness. With this darkness came light, its opposite yet equal counterpart. Centuries passed fueled by war and bloodshed from these two forces. They weren't physical or tangible, yet they felt the need to survive. The two could not exist at once. Two loves destined for an eternity of animosity. They watched creatures, both born of light and dark, come and go. However, when they met their first human, they were fascinated. Some were drawn to the warmth the light brought, while others lived in the comforting shadows of the dark. A truce was made between the two cosmic entities. They would live in peace and harmony for the sake of their precious humans. To ensure this lifetime of order, they two created kingdoms from their own beings. Generations later, they remain.

The Kingdom of the Dark:

The King

To rule the land of the dark you must be smart, strong, sly, and willing to sacrifice it all. No longer do you belong to yourself, you are now the kingdom's. The sitting king watched as the children grew. Once he made a decision, the child of darkness would bound their lives to the kingdom, an honor only few will ever receive. Bang Chan was the clear choice for years before the challenge came, he was practically raised in the castle before he was selected as the prince. He was a perfect relfection of what the kingdom embodied. Darkness had a way of being labeled as scary and cold, yet Chan knew the solace it could bring. His one true goal as king is to keep darkness safe and let people embrace it for its true nature.

The Prince

The prince of the kingdom is selected on the same day as the king. Typically a younger candidate would have been chosen but Chan saw how the night glimmered behind Seungmin's eyes. The prince acts as an assistant of sorts to the king, one day to take his place when the night decides to claim him. Seungmin had a mischievous side, like most born to the darkness. He is constantly getting into trouble and finding himself sat quietly next to the 'old man', as Chan reminded him of his duties as the prince. What they didn't see was the kids of the kingdom laughing instead of crying in the middle of the night.

The Head of the Royal Gaurd

Stone cold and fearless, legends wrote of the man who once defeated the night beast all on his own. Minho was revered as a man who embodied the spirit of the night. He trained in the old ways of the cosmic entities. The first-ever humans who devoted themselves to protecting the darkness, now found homes within Minho's mind. His uniform was adorned with white to pay respects to the man who held his post during the day. They were not at war anymore, instead, they fought the same battles. He would do anything for the kingdom and anything for his king. Minho found comfort in the Prince. While he was a pain to deal with daily, their minds worked in similar ways. The mage soon came to be his best friend, however. Something about the one born to magic called Minho to protect him with his life. Many may not see it, but the man with the sword was graced with a soft smile.

The Mage

It was the first time in centuries that two souls crossed the kingdom lines. Those picked for royal status were blood bound to the kingdom they ruled. When the Dark Mage called for the Moon, the Light Mage should have disappeared with the kingdom. But for a fleeting second, Han remained. He saw what looked like his guard but in reversed attire. The look on the other's face was horrified as he ran towards the mage, sword drawn. Then there was nothingness. When Han came to during the light, something inside him felt wrong. Could he have been born on the wrong side? His magic came in the form of song, to which the children of the kingdom alike to a lullaby. A word Han had never heard before. Later when he began to call away the sun, he saw 4 figures. One he recognized, but the other three he didn't. One he presumed was the king, next to him must have been the prince. So that meant the hand now outstretched to his was the mage. When their hands met everything seemed brighter to Han, like he could see in the darkness. His clothes were now stark black, and the mage he once held was gone.

The Kingdom of the Light:

The King

The light kingdom had a different way of picking their King. While they still were selected from a young age and brought through the castle as a prince in training, they did not focus on strength and whit. Instead, a baby was selected by the current sitting mage. Through aura readings, the mage selected the child who held the ideals of the kingdom. Warmth, comfort, creativity, growth, and nurture exuded from Hyunjin as he lay in his white cradle. As he grew the kingdom was certain he was Light reborn into a physical being. Hyunjin was what their songs described. An angel made of pure light would hold the tranquility of the day and do right by the kingdom of the night. Hyunjin would make sure the skies were always painted for his people. He used his light as his canvas.

The Prince

The selection of the prince remains to this day the most debated topic in the kingdom. It almost leads to the division of light itself. As the Light Mage walked away from Hyunjin, another baby's arua hit him. When he peered into the cot, he saw what he could only describe as pure sunshine. When he looked into the child's eyes he saw a spirit link, one he had only heard tales about. Where two beings were destined to be by each other's sides. They would be connected in every way and on the same day, light would take back their bodies. The mage knew separating Hyunjin and Felix meant the end of their kingdom. While it was not wise, Felix was made prince alongside Hyunjin's rule as king. The kingdom would weep the day they lose both their royals at the hands of fate.

The Head of the Royal Guard

Changbin worked his way through the ranks of the royal guard. He was determined to protect the kingdom he loved so dearly. The day he hit recruitment age he enlisted himself, much to the dismay of what little family he had left. It was in his blood to fight, like the family before him. He wore scars like a badge of honor. He knew the fate that waits for his kingdom but he would make sure it wouldn't come soon. The king and the prince were his priority, everything else could wait. However, when you get to know art and the sun embodied, you begin to get soft. Hyunjin and Felix love to dote on their bashful guard, and even if he fights it, Changbin admits being taken care of for once feels nice. However, the color-swapped uniform he wore with pride reminded him every day, he had a purpose worth fighting for. Though he had never met the dark guard, he felt an unbreaking brotherhood with him.

The Mage

When the head of the guard ran into the sacred mage temple, Jeongin knew something had to be wrong. No one stepped foot in his workplace, not even the king. Here Jeongin would work on his magic as his power was still very young. Many children are born with the ability to harness the spirit of their creators but only one ever got to keep it, Jeongin was the lucky one. Though his magic did alarm the royals. One day he showed the king his newest creation he made to help lost citizens of the dark, he called it a star. But when he showed it to the kingdom fear filled the air. That was no dark magic, that was light. So when the guard began to explain what he saw during the changing of the phases, Jeongin was intrigued. He knew somewhere in the comic realms their souls must have been switched. After informing the king and prince of their discovery they all knew what must be done. The king reminded Jeongin he would never be able to cross the line again after tonight. With a tearful acceptance, they met the scared light mage where the sun goes down. A simple hand was offered without any single word. When they collided, everything went white.

#stray kids #skz #stray kids fluff #skz fluff #stray kids smut #skz smut #🍑 answers #Stray Kids Kingdom #Kindom! au

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aita-blorbos · 8 months

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AITA for putting my little brother in a violent and dangerous situation to free our family and friends?

TW: suicide, racism, violence, violence towards children, child death, referenced child abuse

To briefly summarize the situation, I (12NB) willingly sacrificed my life for his people’s freedom, as part of a plan we both agreed to beforehand, but my brother (10M) failed to follow through after I was dead (reduced to a spirit only perceptible to a single host, which is how I’m conveying this posthumously) by refusing to harm anyone, even in self-defense, which got him killed as well.

For those who wish to further understand what happened, allow me to provide some context. My family’s entire race has been forcibly confined to a small region by another race, which I shall call the Oppressors for the purposes of this post. By killing a small number of Oppressors, their people could free themselves.

My brother and I were the best of friends, perhaps each other’s only friends, even though he was the sort of sensitive person who would cry over a dead butterfly or something, and I was… decidedly not. I had been…suffering, mentally, before the fateful plan was made. Part of my distress was anger at the Oppressors, and I worked with my brother to find a way to aid his people. The crucial fact is, I was adopted - I was born as one of the Oppressors and ran away at a young age, ending up in my *true* family’s small region. By taking my own life, I could give my brother the power unleashed by the death of an Oppressor, allowing him to escape the barricade and kill the six other Oppressors required to gain freedom for his people. I had several Oppressors in mind who deserved it, such as my abusive birth parents. I killed myself by poisoning, and pretended for our parents’ sake that I suffered from an ordinary illness, as they never would have allowed my sacrifice had they known of it. It wasn’t until I had already taken a lethal dose and was on my deathbed that my brother voiced his second thoughts and told me this was a bad idea. It was too late to save my life; there was nothing either of us could do except go forward with what we agreed to. He seemed at first to follow this after I died, telling our parents that I had wished to be buried outside the place his people were confined to and making his escape with me, both hosting my spirit and carrying my lifeless body. When we ran into a group of Oppressors and they attacked him, however, instead of calling on the power I’d given him in death and defending himself, as he needed to do to free his people, he shut down and refused to hurt them, even as they were killing him and I was pleading with him to fight back. In the end he just barely managed to crawl back home before dying of his wounds, further traumatizing our grieving parents. I never meant for him to die; I intended for him to return and be hailed as a hero, and for him to finally be free, along with our parents and everyone we cared about. There would have been relatively little risk to him if he had been willing to use the power I had died to give him. I now regret what I did, however, and I especially regret the way I involved my little brother in it, placing such an awful yet crucial responsibility on such a softhearted, overly sentimental kid.

Knowing all this, would you consider me “the asshole”?

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality #SUICIDE #child death #child abuse mention #racisim #FANTASY RACISM

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hello-nichya-here · 5 months

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Why was Rhaenyra so quick to jump into bed with Daemon both after saying she didn't want to get married and the again shortly after the death of Harry Strong, whom she supposedly loved?

First let's look at the reason why Rhaenyra didn't want to get married: her mother spent years in lots of physical and mental anguish, having one miscarriage/stillbirth after another, and eventually dying while giving birth to the king's long awaited male heir - who died a few hours later, so her sacrifice was all for nothing. People were then immediately trying to covince the king to pick a girl of their families as his new queen, like her mother didn't matter at all.

Obviously this soured Rhaenyra on the idea of marriage, because she feared ending up in the same situation as her mother. The fact that plenty of people were expecting marriage to be her "cosolation prize" so she'd step aside and let Aegon be king obviously didn't help.

And in the middle of all this chaos there's Daemon, her evil uncle. The one that is always making bedroom eyes at her and brought her a necklace of valiryan steel just because. The one person she's always speaking High Valiryan to, as it is the show's way of making clear to us that their connection to each other is different than the one they have with other people.

The one who was giving her emotional support when she had give the order to burn her mother's body. The one who, yes, stole the egg that was meant for her brother, yet the second she calls his bluff and tells him to stop being petty and kill her already so he can be king like he wants to, he immediately drops the act and gives her the egg back, no fighting, no conditions, no "you owe me", no nothing.

The one she felt comfortable enough explaining her trauma about her mother's death to, and to whom she was asking about whether marriage and love always had to be mutually exclusive.

That same Daemon took her to a brothel, explicitly to offer her just a forbidden affair, pleasure for pleasure's sake. He was someone she trusted and was attracted to, AND he was not her husband, therefore didn't get to demand heirs from her as that would be scandal - her own father even gave her moontea later to make sure she would not be pregnant.

But Viserys was, of course, not happy about this mess, so he picked a husband for Rhaenyra and she'd have no choice but to obey - and then in comes Daemon again, letting her know he is now widowed and still VERY into her.

Sure, Rhaenyra is willing to "do her duty" with her husband Laenor - but she also said that once that was done they'd both fuck whoever they wanted, and now here is Daemon, possibly giving her a way out of even that.

We gotta remember that, sometimes, Rhaenyra can be a lot like her uncle. She just wants what she wants when she wants it. She was flirting with both Criston Cole AND Daemon for the first half of the season, and when Daemon didn't go all the way with her, she turned to the "second best."

At that moment, on her wedding night, she does not want her VERY-soon-to-be-husband, she wants Daemon - and since Viserys won't accept her being "dishonored" again, the only that can happen is for them to elope, so she proposes exactly that (after rejecting Criston's offer to run away, because fleeing with him did not include a possible path to being queen).

Rhaenyra has mixed feelings about marriage and kids, but it's clear that thinks Daemon could be her "exception."

Things don't work out as she hoped they would, so they go their separate ways. She falls in love with Harwin and has his children - his BASTARD children, aka she's still in control, because their affair is a secret so if she ever felt like her life was in danger of the pregnancies, she could end them and not have her husband, her lover or her father demand her to risk her life for the sake of the kid, as that kid could mean exposing their (already poorly kept) secret.

Then Harwin is murdered and pretty much everyone knows of their affair, and Rhaenyra is at a super vulnerable position - and once again, in comes Daemon, widowed yet again, clearly still interested in his niece, and still perfectly capable and willing to strengthen her claim to the throne if they join forces to reign together.

OF COURSE she jumped his bones immediately. By her own admission, she believes that her life went all wrong because she didn't marry him years prior. Sure, in episode 10 we see she might not be as safe with him as she thought she would be, but she had no way of knowing that.

Everytime Rhaenyra runs to her uncle's arms, she had very good reasons to do so - and, like I said, she just wanted him, and he full on encouraged her to just take whatever she wanted because she's a Targaryen and not letting the world burn just so they can get what they want is weakness.

#asks #rhaenyra targaryen #daemyra #daenyra #hotd #house of the dragon

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brightymir · 2 years

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𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 "𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨" 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐎𝐓 / 𝐒𝐍𝐊 [𝐝𝐫]

》 contains: manga spoilers, misspellings

》 genre: angst

》 characters: eren, mikasa, armin, levi, hange x gn!reader

》 wc: ±1k

》 author's notes: hehehe i told u guys i'll have something up before my birthday! this one's not fluff though, but i hope i'll have inspiration to write for fluff soon. i think it's the lack of crush but yes. i bought a new book so i might disappear for a few days too. notes and reblogs are appreciated! hope you enjoy this >\\<

— italicized : reader || — red : both

❀ eren jaeger

: but i love you...

: so?

: please let me-

: go.

— you knew well from the get go that it was difficult to love this man, it would not be easy making your way into his heart. he did not give even the slightest chance nor leeway for you to wriggle into his romantic life, and did not glance your way twice.

but you refused to give him up so easily. someone like eren jaeger was like a diamond in the rough, a once in a lifetime. he made you feel so many things that he did not even know he was making you feel, and that only added to the pounding feeling in your chest.

however to him, you were nothing but a pawn he could use, someone foolish enough to sacrifice their life for him so he could achieve his pursuit of freedom. all you were to him was a little idiot who was blinded by love, stupid enough to fall for him.

or so you thought.

he's a lot of things. the founding titan, the attack titan, the warhammer titan, the hope of eldia, the hero of paradis. and above all, the man you love.

and you? you're a soldier, a member of the regiment, quite strong but not so strong, an insignificant someone who was willing to give up your life for him.

however you're not omniscient.

and you can never know that he was only pushing you away for your own sake.

you can never know that he'll orchestrate the biggest crime in the world and paint him as the villain, you as the hero.

you can never know that his eyes always looks for you amidst the sea of green coats embroidered with dual-colored wings.

you can never know his true intentions, his true feelings, his true thoughts.

because nobody knows what's inside of him.

that's how it's always been. and that's how it will always be.

so, go. leave and turn your back on him. because he is humanity's greatest enemy. he is an abomination to the world.

go. leave and turn your back on him. because he is the man that you love. he is the boy who sought freedom.

and between freedom and you? pfft. isn't it obvious which one he'll choose?

❀ mikasa ackerman

: but-

: i love you, so-

: please let me go

— she was one of a kind, figuratively and literally. she always seemed aloof from the world and almost non-existent, yet she is very well aware of everyone's dilemma. and you, little soldier, and your feelings are acknowledged by her as well.

even your other colleagues has their eyes set on her, but it seemed that the woman was only there for her friends, only there to protect them. and although people berated the scouts and called you guys "all muscles and no brain", it wouldn't take too long to see that the girl only has her affection reserved for someone.

she does not know how to deal with the affection and admiration she receieves from others, and often just turns a blind eye to such matters. she, after all, knows better than to give away false hope and motives to other people. her indifference and aloofness, however, pulls you in even more.

and you're not one to give up so easily.

she was so many things. an ackerman, a descendant of the shogun, the hope of hizuru, a strong veteran of the regiment, a big sister to everyone, the woman you love.

and silly little you. a recruit from the garrison, was too afraid to venture beyond the walls, throws up after shooting someone to death. the very opposite of her.

though indifferent, she avoids loose ends all the time.

the most she can do is turn you down as politely as she can, choosing her words carefully.

all she can do is to try to push you away when you persist and throw yourself at her.

all she can do is to avoid contact with you and turn the other side when she sees you across the hall.

all she can do is pretend that you no longer exist in her eyes and that all you are to her is a comrade, for that is all you'll ever be to her.

because her eyes, heart, and soul are for someone else.

that's how it's always been. and that's how it will always be.

please let her go. set her free from the heavy burden of your admiration for her. in the first place, she's not responsible for those feelings.

let her go. are you damn blind and can't see that she'll never reciprocate that love?

it's not a matter of accepting the feelings. it's a matter of whose feelings she'll accept.

❀ armin arlert

: i love you

: so please-

: let me go

— it has been years since the genocide, and armin was doing great at his job as a diplomat. slowly but surely redeeming paradis and eldia, continuing the peace talks with other nations of the world and building a desirable place for the next generations.

and he comes home in his house in shiganshina, exhausted and fatigued from all the events and meetings. he closes his eyes and lets the tears fall as he cries out your name, voice cracking to a sob, head buried in his hands as he keeps on weeping.

his reddened eyes sweep over the room and looks for any lingering presence of you. your coat and uniform still neatly hung in the rack. your boots kept clean inside a box. your cape folded neatly and kept in a glass frame.

he's not one to forget so quickly.

he used to be the colossal titan, is the 15th commander of the regiment, is the diplomat representing the island of paradis. he's the man who still longs for you.

you were a veteran like him, a strong and righteous soldier, a brave and driven comrade, a caring friend to all. you're the person who perished in the battlefield, fighting for humanity.

he's a manipulator, being manipulated by his feelings.

he remembers you clear as day, so warm like the sand beneath his feet the first time he saw the ocean.

remembers you so sweetly, like the ice cream you two shared during your first visit in marley.

remembers you dearly, like the nights you spent at solace and peace, like the calm before the storm.

remembers you so happily, like the day you said yes to his proposal and planned a future for the both of you. a future robbed from the two of you.

fate is such a cruel and mean thing, especially to him.

that's how it's always been. and that's how it will always be.

but he can't let you go though. he definitely cannot, not when you live so vividly in his memories, shining brightly like the way the ocean reflects the sunlight.

he can't let you go, with your eyes so soft and full of love in the photo you two took before hell broke loose; that photo framed and placed on his bedside table.

he can never let go, not when you haunt him so lovingly that you're almost his drug.

❀ levi ackerman

: but i love you

: so?

: please let me go

— humanity's strongest soldier isn't the strongest at everything, rather, he has times of vulnerability and weakness. often, it was in his confinement and when he's all by himself, when no one is around to witness such an embarrassing side of him.

the side of him who still yearns for you, your presence and existence — which vanished long ago in the war. it was funny really, that he, who never wanted to walk this path, is the last one to be standing. standing atop a tall mountain of the corpses of his comrades and friends.

he's the one to live a peaceful and serene, quiet life, all thanks to the sacrifice and devotion of other scouts. especially yours. he could never seem to just get rid of you in his mind, you were always lingering there, eager to bother him.

he fell and sank deeper into the abyss called you.

he's levi ackerman, humanity's strongest soldier, a reliable veteran of the regiment, a captain of a squad. he's the man you love, be it when you were breathing and until in the afterlife.

you were a veteran like him, fighting alongside each other, growing tougher as you clawed your way to the top to survive and stand atop the pile of corpses of your comrades.

he's so strong, yet so weak. just a pair of broken shoes.

he had to be drunk on something, what a joke that he also adapted the mindset of his uncle.

he's drunk on something, on your lingering scent and the echoes of your voice even though it was never really there

he's drunk on you, the way you enter his dreams and asking him to let you go and let you rest in peace.

he's drunk on his hallucinations, the false images of you in the kitchen, the garden, the living room. the false warmth he thought he feels in the cold of the night.

you were a liquor he'd gladly take everyday instead of water.

that's how it's always been. and that's how it will always be.

so, don't bother pleading him to let you go and set you free. he didn't beg you to stay, so don't expect him to set you free so easily. he's drunk on you.

and though the love you have to give is a lot and overwhelming, he simply can't take it as an incentive for letting you go, no.

you'll always live in his mind, even if all you are is a smoky haze induced by a liquor.

❀ hange zoë

: but i love you so

: please let me go

— a few months following the reclaim of wall maria, the scout regiment had been busy with a lot of things and missions and naturally, a lot of pressure fell onto hange's shoulders. and you, a veteran like her, had the responsibility of assisting in various tasks.

paradis gradually opened to the world, the same way hange's heart began to bloom feelings for you. perhaps it was the way you two spent the most time together, or it was the two of you who had the biggest sense of responsibility. either way, she did not deny that sensation.

the shift in her treatment towards you did not go unnoticed. she went out of her ways so many time for the sake of your convenience and comfort. even making subtle gestures to proclaim her romantic intentions for you, so often that a person might be blind if they don't see how much she loves you.

however, her affection and advances were overwhelming.

she's only so much. the 14th commander of the scout regiment, the titan freak, the smartest person in paradis. the woman who loves you.

and you? just another veteran who stood beside hange and aided her with her every call for assistance. someone righteous and did not bow down to others when it came to her safety.

with that, a realization struck you while doing paperwork.

she doesn't love you. she loves the memory of him in you.

she loves the way you always stand tall and dominating when facing other people, just the way he did.

she loves the way you stop her from doing something foolish she might regret soon, just the way he did.

she loves the way you never looked down on her despite her craziness when it involves titans, just the way he did.

she loves the way you remain humble and keep a low profile whenever it involves her, but never hesistant when you know she's being taken advantage for. the way she is your utmost priority, just the way he did.

you were a living memory of him, a glimpse of them.

that's how it's always been. and that's how it will always be.

you always silently plead for her to let you go and just see you as yourself, not because you mirror someone she treasured so much.

you know how much hange relied on him, but it was way too unfair that she only made these advances when it was too late. she only loves the image of him in you.

so if she won't let you go, then you will.

you charged at the horde of colossal titans, buying them some time to get the aircraft going.

hopefully, she can let you go now.

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

Text

Rhaenyra Lying to Alicent vs Aemond Claiming Vhagar [HotD]

In episode 4, Rhaenyra goes out with Daemon and sleeps with Criston Cole, and the next morning she lies to Alicent about her virginity status by deflecting and using a technicality.

In episode 7, Aemond claims Vhagar in a duplicitous manner: claiming her while all other possible competitors are reasonably asleep.

Both people became a more settled, decided versions of themselves after having made their deceitful acts: Rhaenyra develops a way to manipulate others to instill doubt or to make them refocus (that's never again really explored in the show apart from episode 7) while Aemond becomes more of a "player" and participant in the game by getting a dragon and doing some of his own manipulations (throwing Aegon under the bus and that quote of "fair exchange").

Both people used duplicity to get what they wanted; but one of them did it for survival, the other more for ambition. (And if the HotD writers had done these characterizations as if this were a consistent adaptation--Aemond, out of real entitlement.)

The Context of Rhaenyra’s Lie in Episode 4

Oh, The Pressure!

Rhaenyra left the Keep with Daemon to let loose from the Viserys passive aggressively dismissing her after coming back from the suiting (quote below) and the overall pressures on her to act in form of the standards of an heir while also still expected to allow her body to be used as a political tool despite her fears of childbirth and motherhood (more below).

Expected to suppress them, she goes out instead and finds herself amongst erotic displays that she would never be allowed near otherwise.

Daemon definitely finagles her into the brothel.

However, Rhaenyra isn’t against it. He finds her very willing to have sex with him and leaves her behind. After which Rhaenyra travels back to the Keep alone and sleeps with Criston Cole. And she sleeps with him not just to expend the sexual energy Daemon stimulated but mainly to act defiantly against him and those societal/parental pressures of conformity that hypocritically pressure her to let her body be used as a dragon baby incubator. for her husband and father’s advantage despite the risk of her own death.

She isn’t allowed the space to review and debate what she wants and is thrust into giving birth before coming to a more settled mindset about it.

In other words, she is not as individualised by her family and society as much as a man would and is.

The hypocrisy of her situation lies in how she, as a woman (and by this time she’s past the age of Westerosi “majority”) must still preserve her virginity for a unknown man and limit both her sexual and nonsexual urges. While a man in her position can do as Aegon II does and sleep or rape anyone and get away with having bastards or ruining any the noblegirls’ marriage prospects and/or any woman’s mental stability.

A man would not be looked at so strangely for coming back into camp covered in blood like Rhaenyra did after killing a boar in episode 3; he’d probably get a few chuckles and some congratulations. Rhaenyra was stared at as if she were an alien (except Harwin, but one in 20 people is not an indication of the “rule” since that doesn’t shape or reveal the overall social environment that an individual navigates. It rather highlights how different Harwin is.).

Again, she’s told (subtly and directly) that her body is a means to produce children for the sake of her father/paternal family’s advancement and preservation and she sees that death is a very real and common risk for that self-sacrifice, yet no real attempt at sacrifice for her contentment or happiness is expected nor made from her father and/or prospective husband (conversation with Daemon in episode 4) to "match" or compensate for the risk and her endangerment.

And the fear of dying but also seeing how women's danger in birth giving is too easily passed over as their "duty", with family members and society not really taking into account how much of a problem it is. We see Alyssa Velaryon (Fire and Blood) who felt the need to birth another child even though she has already birthed Rogar Baratheon's male heir and Aemma giving birth to stillborns or miscarrying several times because her female offspring is insufficient for Viserys/"the realm".

Giving birth is a "job" for these women, so even with the phrase of "battle for woman", this "battle" doesn't have the same societal status or appreciation as male military prowess. It is felt as more a means to an end.

When a woman gives birth, her status nor her rank changes and her husband receives most of the congratulations.

Medieval/Westerosi Noble Male Vs. Female Mobility

And before we exclaim how men can’t give birth and are already risking themselves by the tourneys and real battles, I’m talking about how girls and women are expected to see themselves as just a device to advance their male relatives.

They have all their physical movements restricted to physical spaces that have to be justified by male authoritative allowances (King, father, husband) from a very young age. As young as 8. Since noble medieval/Westerosi girls would be taught “feminine” arts and behaviors (singing, sewing, curtseying) long before they marry, which can be when they turn 12 and get their periods.

Matters of consummation and marriage are left not to them, but to their parents, and even parents can be merciless in the pursuit of whatever benefits come from such marriages being consummated and thus difficult to end.

Girls and women are also never truly alone, despite how HotD has displayed them. No one is, but girls are always "chaperoned" and have some subordinate or septa following them around and ensuring (to observers) that said girl remains "pure", or any act/social interaction that would cast suspicions on her. Men and boys simply do not have this element and level of accompiament-surveillance on them.

Girls and women, societally and usually, are not encouraged to learn how to fight with swords or train in yards. They are told and kept in their rooms or within the castle and occupied with doing tasks that require them to sit and focus on aesthetics: singing, drawing, sewing or stitching patterns, learning how to properly bend their bodies into curtsies--which are a lot more restrictive than the male bow. (Aesthetics are not markers of weakness, but this feudal society makes it so when royal/noble women and girls are relegated to it while royal/noble boys and men are encouraged to learn how to fight more than to read.)

By contrast, men and boys are allowed a lot more physical and verbal freedom and can look to their military education as a way to advance themselves, to physically move around independently more (in comparison). Even nonnoble men can rise to become a knight after he finds a knight to become a page/squire for (an ideal masculine identity). Boys and men can travel to different places of the city, town, realm, and castle (the only restrictions would be direct orders from superiors or from having to stay close to their knight but this is a temporary position and flexible), while girls and women would be looked at and accused for even trying to exit the castle completely on their own with no say-so or permission granted or some sort of personal precedent for it granted by her male relative with he household authority.

And HotD doesn’t really capture this division of gendered behaviors and allowances in their fullest breath.

We don’t really feel Show!Rhaenyra, Helaena, or Alicent’s restrictions because there’s no ladies in waiting or septas in sight, no obvious or focused looks of disgust or shock in court at even Alicent visiting Viserys, no one giggling at Helaena’s oddities or habits....it’s presenting a picture of these women as having more privilege or independence or privacy than any of them have in canon or historical reality.

For medieval people, what we modern folk think of as “privacy” is near nonexistent. But for noblewomen it goes further, suppressing what autonomy they could have had.

Otto and Alicent

Even so, Otto Hightower doesn’t have the right to have Rhaenyra followed and spied on without Viserys’ permission because he is not her father nor her political superior. He’s not an older royal male relative like Viserys or Daemon.

Otto would not have even the same authority over Rhaenyra as Aemma, not even close. Aemma was both her mother and the Queen Consort, while Otto is the Hand and not of Viserys' blood, not in any way related to a Targ or Valyrian.

It is very clear that he only wanted Rhaenyra as heir to block Daemon; he didn't truly see her as an agent--thus a threat herself or as one against him--like he sees Daemon, due to her gender and comparative age to the man. Daemon was always his rival and competition for access and control over Viserys/the Targ dynasty and its future, direction, etc.

Though Westeros is not a constitutional monarchy and the councilors really do not have the same power that a constitutional member of the English Parliament did over the real English royal family, imagine if we found out some Parliament member had Mary -- Elizabeth I’s older sister -- followed before she became Queen and Henry VIII died, without permission from the monarch/Henry. Nah, that’s insane and would have enraged Henry VIII--it would be seen as it was that person not acting within their class and position by encroaching on the monarch's authority over their own house, blood, and overall rule. Thus, it is so easy to point this out as treasonous.

So regardless of what Rhaneyra was doing with her body, if Otto was really so saintily concerned with how Viserys might take his only daughter ruining the Targ name, he would/could have asked permission to tail her. But he didn’t because he wouldn’t have had a good reason for Viserys to accept, so he decided to act on that himself.

And if Rhaenyra were to do something that could compromise her position as heir....well, looky there, how convenient for Otto (as it should have been played, since Otto doesn’t ever show himself as particularly close to any Targ in the show and has been very ambitious since day one).

But because Alicent has internalized female obedience to male authority and is too close to Otto, she doesn’t believe or think to question how Otto’s actions are suspect or either amoral or contradictory to even the body of feudal class etiquette and rules she later tries to reinforce.

She has already fully accepted that she will be just the baby factory of a rotting man twice her age (we don’t get a real age for Viserys in the show, but Paddy looks in his late 30s or early forties even before the decay), who she did not choose and is not attracted to in the slightest.

And she accepts that she must be obedient and yielding--body and mind-- because she relies on the Order staying the Order so she can have her suffering justified and have some sort of peace from her own submission to that uncaring patriarchal power.

She needs to see that her “good” behavior is proven as good through everyone else also acting the same, because really her plight is never ending. She will be expected to be a female model of chastity and obedience until the day she dies.

And she genuinely believes this is the only way for a noblewoman to act and have dignity or a right to societal/self-respect, so she helps herself to create her own misery by not trying to find compromises for herself as Rhaenyra did.

In episode 4, we see how Alicent never got to experience games of flirtation or any sort of real sexual thrill apart from being asked for favors in tourneys. Her youth and “teendom” (as we’d call it), like many other noblewomen, is not ever really practiced; but unlike Rhaenyra she decides to play by the rules to a T (if she did have extramarital or premarital sex, it would be shown or suggested; even her taking moontea once would be an indicator).

Through Rhaenyra, we see that a noblewoman can find her own pleasures. And really, if we really see feudal people as people, we can reason that not every noblewomen--at any point in medieval history--were faithful to their husbands. They were just both/either lucky and smart enough to not get caught. Or their affairs and lovers were open secrets.

People also disobeyed direct royal orders and laws -> Roose Bolton practices the right of the first night despite it having been made illegal by Jaehaerys I, so he fathers the hated Ramsay Bolton. (And there is nothing inherently wrong with a person sleeping with many people, or a person sleeping with other people when they and their partner agreed to have an open relationship. The Bolton case is rape, though. The right of the first night is rape.) And despite Jaime being a Kingsguard, Tywin names him his heir so Tyrion cannot inherit the seat after he dies. Kingsguard are sworn to forsake any and all claims to properties, seats, moneys as well as marriage to devote themselves to protecting the King and those the King orders them to protect. Tywin was breaking these rules!

This means that individuals themselves didn’t always subscribe to their own customs, precedents, and moral codes of behavior.

Alicent, however, chose to be faithful and then she chose to believe in the veracity of female chastity.

Rhaenyra and Alicent

Before Rhaenyra leaves with Daemon and after their moment in the garden, the two were still far away from reconciling because neither of them really understood the depth of each other’s inner workings and responses to their situations.

Aemma at least loved Viserys, found him attractive, and didn’t sleep with his rotting body.

Rhaenyra is having to consider marriage as her giving up her body to men who are looking at it as dragon-baby making factory.

Her problem is more than that, though. Rhaenyra sees motherhood (refer to what I wrote in “Oh! The Pressure!”) as a thing that could incapacitate her from participating quickly and sufficiently in political actions because birthing removes her from the room where decisions are being made when it customarily has men who would never be so occupied.

Therefore making it possible for others to undermine her or or contradict her and even some of her commands (Daemon in episode 10).

And the writers still haven’t properly addressed how Rhaneyra feels about Alicent betraying her by marrying Viserys or how Alicent really came to convince him to marry her through Otto’s order. They cut that scene where the two fight in the garden after Alicent’s engagement to Viserys is announced.

Alicent’s need for the conservative Order to justify her suffering prompts her to confront Rhaenyra and use her Queen Consort rank to make demands in episode 4.

Alicent already believed Rhaenyra acted immorally and treats it that way from the beginning of their conversation. To Alicent, she’s justified in pulling rank over Rhaenyra because of her rank, because she believes that Rhaenyra actually having premarital sex and losing her virginity to an unassigned man is amoral, because she doesn't like how she herself cannot leave the Keep nor has a relative willing to "escape" with her or for her, because she herself is far more afraid of the consequences of she did, and because, she learned, Queen is held responsible for making sure that her subjects and/or the royal family acts according to the moral standards laid out for them. At least that’s what is expected of them and the image of queenliness.

Alicent of episode 4 also likely thought that she’s needed to act as the higher-ranked and authoritative Queen to intimidate Rhaenyra into taking her seriously, so she can re-“teach” her her own position and value as both a princess (woman) and the chosen heir representing the Targaryen house beside Viserys. To move herself away from that feeling of vulnerability or inadequacy that Rhaenyra-Daemon going out could have re-inspired in her, re affirm herself through her position as Queen AND all those expectations that come with it.

The limits on a woman/girl--what has made her miserable--became the thing she felt to use against Rhaenyra in order to feel more powerful.

Viserys and Otto are her means of maintaining both the sense of and the socially-allowed avenues of power: condemning "loose" activity, reinforcing the King's desires of the target, assuring her own connection to the King/person with ultimate power, reminding that she is in charge or at least heavily involved with marriages, etc.

She says:

My father has made some worrying allegations about you. Were you with your uncle?

Is it? You Targaryens do have queer customs. And Daemon certainly knows no limit.

My father is no gossip.

I only want to help you, Rhaenyra.

It was foolish of you to place yourself in a position where your virtue could even come into question. The King has strived to find you a good match. And so have I. If that lord were to think that you had been... sullied... it would ruin everything.

I don’t know about anyone else, but none of this sounds like a person trying to act, listen, and be a friend but a person trying to display authority and passing immediate judgement.

Alicent envies Rhaenyra for having something while being blind to how there are heavy consequences for Rhaenyra if she were caught BECAUSE she wants that (in some form) but cannot have it.

However, we saw Alicent was the one to approach Rhaenyra out of her own loneliness (dialogue below) after Rhaenyra stood up for her. So we are meant to see Alicent and Rhaenyra as long-suffering women put down by the man they share a relationship with and trying to take comfort in each other.

And Alicent specifically says that she can't find a person to really talk to like she is doing with Rhaenyra on the bench: "But I am glad you are home. I find I have... few friends lately. I like to believe I'm still the Lady Alicent, but... all anyone sees when they look at me now is 'The Queen.'"

So from that moment, I assumed that Alicent wanted a real friendship again. Like before, when they were close to being "peers" and could theoretically trust each other with their secrets. And Rhaenyra appears to have taken the olive leaf (not a branch, it's not quite sufficient) to stave off her own loneliness and Viserys' passive aggressiveness.

Rhaenyra’s Lie

The Dialogue(s)

Before Rhaenyra left the Keep Rhaneyra sticks up for Alicent, despite the fact that she knows Viserys is upset with her:

Alicent: Perhaps Prince Daemon would care for a tour of the gallery? He hasn't yet seen the new tapestries gifted to you by Norvos and Qohor.

Viserys: Oh, oh. Would you like to see the tapestries? (snorts, laughs ) He has no interest in such things.

Rhaenyra: I'd like to see them.

Viserys: Oh, well, then you should not deprive yourself.

Rhaenyra: I shall enjoy them alone.

Some might say that she was just trying to hide behind Alicent and evade Viserys’ mood. However, if she were just trying to evade Viserys, she would not address him directly and about tapestries of all things.

And this is their conversation alone together on the bench, where it seems that they were beginning to reconcile:

Alicent: I surmise the tour did not go well.

Rhaenyra: I endured it for as long as I could.

Alicent: To have every young knight and lord in the Seven Kingdoms fawning over you... What misery. It is rare for girls in this realm to get a choice between two suitors, no less two score of them.

Rhaenyra: Those men and boys don't fawn over me. They only want my name and my Valyrian blood for their offspring.

Alicent: I think it's rather romantic.

Rhaenyra: How romantic it must be to get imprisoned in a castle and made to squeeze out heirs. Sorry. How angry is he?

Alicent: The King went through great effort to arrange your tour. He is... frustrated. But I am glad you are home. I find I have...few friends lately. I like to believe I'm still the Lady Alicent, but... all anyone sees when they look at me now is "The Queen."

Rhaenyra: I've missed you, too.

Alicent and Rhaneyra’s confrontation scene:

Alicent: What happened last night?

Rhaenyra: What do you mean?

Alicent: My father has made some worrying allegations about you. Were you with your uncle?

Rhaenyra: Oh, I... ( chuckles ) I haven't seen him in years. He took me into the city for some fun.

Alicent: Tell me the whole of it, Rhaenyra.

Rhaenyra: Your father accused me of something. That I drank wine? Left the castle after dark?

Alicent: That you fսckеd Daemon in a pleasure house.

Rhaenyra: This is a vile accusation.

Alicent: Is it? You Targaryens do have queer customs. And Daemon certainly knows no limit.

Rhaenyra: Alicent...Your Grace, sister, you must know I would, I would never. You cannot believe such gossip.

Alicent: My father is no gossip.

Rhaenyra: Well, certainly he's been misled. He could not have witnessed such a thing.

Alicent: Why not?

Rhaenyra: Because it did not happen.

Alicent: He was told that you--

Rhaenyra: Told? Who made these claims to your father? ( scoffs ) I am the Princess. To... To question my virtue is an act of treason.

Alicent: I do not know specifically--

Rhaenyra: What, your father did not tell you?

Alicent: He reported it to the King. I overheard.

Rhaenyra: So you are accusing me of slanders... you overheard?

Alicent: I only want to help you, Rhaenyra.

Rhaenyra: Okay, we... we drank in a tavern. Several... taverns. It was getting late... and I asked to go home. But Daemon wished to continue. As he was my escort, I had no real choice.

Alicent: "Continue"... in a brothel?

Rhaenyra: He took me to a show. I... I was only a spectator. I didn't do anything. And then Daemon sank into his cups and, uh... abandoned me for some whore. I should've known better.

Alicent: So you did not?

Rhaenyra: Must I truly refute that? Daemon never touched me. I swear this to you upon the memory of my mother.

Alicent: It was foolish of you to place yourself in a position where your virtue could even come into question. The King has strived to find you a good match. And so have I. If that lord were to think that you had been... sullied... it would ruin everything.

Rhaenyra: I know... Your Grace. I regret it.

Why I Think this Was Incredible of Rhaenyra (In a Positive Way)

Keeping in mind all the layers of context, we should realize that Alicent is not acting very friendly in spite of her earlier wish for them to act as friends. But if they were true friends like before, Alicent would not allow herself immediately report Rhaenyra's answer to Viserys before understanding her friend. At least if we are meant to see these two as having been at one point close friends and still caring about each other even having also been quarreling and distant.

So even with Alicent wanting a real friendship, it's not possible because she already feels that her position weighs more than her friendship with Rhaenyra, and that acting as a conservative Queen will actually benefit her "friend" more than it actually would. Since those feudal gender standards will actually condemn Rhaneyra to hell and back.

But Alicent doesn't realize this at all, instead going after Rhaenyra with the notion that Otto is in the right for accusing Rhaenyra because he must be, he is her father, older, has served the crown more intimately than other councilors, and Viserys relies on him. She is acting against her own feelings for her duty because she thinks this is right and yet also wants Rhaneyra's trust and, once again, Rhaenyra would have actually been the worse for it.

How? Alicent would have told Viserys that Rhaenyra slept with Daemon and "ruined" herself, and really she didn't even need to, by Viserys' response to her about restlessness and his words to Daemon. But it still would have been her choice and by her own participation to have Rhaenyra condemned if Rhaenyra had admitted her actions.

And before Rhaenyra does some of the best emotional finagling I've seen on TV in a while, she appears taken aback by Alicent's accusative tone and visual stance:

Alicent: My father has made some worrying allegations about you. Were you with your uncle?

Rhaenyra: Oh, I... ( chuckles ) I haven't seen him in years. He took me into the city for some fun.

In the face of such insidious "friendliness", and for survival, Rhaenyra then makes Alicent (and us) aware how Alicent and Otto found out about Rhaenyra even going out and sleeping with anyone was "sus" and unfair and even treasonous on Otto's part.

That Alicent could have considered this and suspected Otto's actions.

That Alicent is not acting very Queenly (morally modular) herself by taking what she learned unofficially and with immediate bias towards her father and insisting on questioning Rhaenyra as if she were already guilty.

She finally uses a hefty keystone of their past friendship--the grief and loneliness after a dead mother--to assure Alicent that she is not lying about sleeping with Daemon, which is the truth of direct wording and statement but a lie of deflection. This a lie since Alicent is getting at the state of her virginity, not who she slept with.

Again, I have to repeat that Alicent has herself has diminished her own trustworthiness through her actions and biases. And there would have been grave, morally unfair consequences for Rhaenyra (if you allow yourself to see that these feudal gender standards of conduct are themselves the problem, first and foremost).

So, I think Rhaenyra's clever, spontaneous thinking was more "forgiveable" (because there was no real wrong done) than Aemond claiming Vhagar, based on the fact that it was necessary.

The Context of Aemond’s Tactic in Episode 7

Book vs TV Versions of the Green Boys and the Child Rivalry

Show!Aemond is different from Book!Aemon on that Book!Aemond had always been "fierce" and volatile since before the Vhagar incident.

Two years later, she produced a daughter for the king, Helaena; in 110 AC, she bore him a second son, Aemond, who was said to be half the size of his elder brother, but twice as fierce.

AND

[After Vhagar] Prince Aemond, despite the loss of his eye, had become a proficient and dangerous swordsman under the tutelage of Ser Criston Cole, but remained a wild and willful child, hot-tempered and unforgiving.

(Fire and Blood; "A Question of Succession")

This "remained" word is key. It tells us that he had always been volatile, even before his eye was cut out.

There is also no specific mention of emotional bullying or that Book!Aegon even allowed the bullying of Aemond--just that both sets of boys dislike each other and never found common ground because the Green boys wanted the throne.

The sins of the fathers are oft visited on the sons, wise men have said; and so it is for the sins of mothers as well. The enmity between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra was passed on to their sons, and the queen’s three boys, the Princes Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron, grew to be bitter rivals of their Velaryon nephews, resentful of them for having stolen what they regarded as their birthright: the Iron Throne itself. Though all six boys attended the same feasts, balls, and revels, and sometimes trained together in the yard under the same master-atarms and studied under the same maesters, this enforced closeness only served to feed their mutual mislike, rather than binding them together as brothers.

(Fire and Blood; "A Question of Succession")

Again, before Vhagar. I doubt that Book!Aemond's "ferocity" would have not been felt and obvious during these forced hangouts.

The repetition and consistency told about Aemond's volatile-ness and Aemond's later actions during the war (the Strong genocide, the reason told behind that, and his razing the riverlands to draw Rhaenyra out after referring to her in sexist language) make me believe in the account told of his character being volatile and dangerously temperamental since way before she claimed Vhagar,.

We'd be correct to say that show!Aemond was bullied. The show also gives us an Aemond that is not "fierce", erratic, or explosive as the book tells us, deciding to make him a calmer and stoic boy who tries to endure the bullying in silence. He then can be seen as undeserving of the bullying and thus more of a victim.

In the show, Aemond not-so-stoically endures the taunts of his brother and the two Velaryon boys in the Dragon pit but later cries to his mother about it and she goes to Viserys about what punishment should be pushed on the boys. But we don't see whether or not Aemond has also displayed some sort of dismissal or bullying toward the Velaryon boys, and let me tell you, even without the book of Aemond has learned that these boys are bastards and taught that they are not worthy of respect from Alicent and Otto AND saw the court side-eyeing these boys, there would have been bullying from him as well.

The problem is that real!Aemond would not have that much of a victim. He definitely would have been dishing out some snaps and snipes and ignored his nephews based on how Alicent taught him to think of them as undeserving brats who “stole” his “rights”.

This is what makes this show more fanfic than an adaptation since this is a direct and deep change for the purpose of, again, making people much more "sympathetic" by making them seem as if they didn't prompt resentment of any kind.

Yet, we don't get to see this. It's only about "poor Aemond".

Plus, we do see that it is possible to philosophize yourself into a compassionate stance even when you're being mistreated by both adults and kids by looking at Jon Snow, Arya, Daenerys Stormborn, etc. Being bullied or oppressed is not the absolute justification for violence and/or a return of consistent bullying, even if it is a prompt.

I can feel bad for Show!Aemond for being bullied but also realize how his position is not as precarious as the Velaryon boys' (if we remember how they would have been looked at, talked about, and not treated as well as their Targtower uncles due to the "allegations" of bastardry AND the niggling fear of someone actually trying to harm them or take away whatever they value from them as a result of this treatmemt and political context. The accusations alone create that unsafe environment) what the writers are doing, what his authority figures have directly taught him, and know that Aemond is still responsible for his own prejudices because he is not as helpless as people may believe.

He is still a prince and can use his undoubted trueborn status to either make his nephews' lives a living hell (for reason already started about how their bastard status could get them daily ostracized) or stick up for them more and try to make more room for them to be in public with less confrontational scornful looks, words, and microaggressions throne their way.

But we know that entitlement and desire for the throne (inspired by and encouraged by Show!/Book!Alicent and Otto), by the book, prompts all the green boys to hate the Velaryon boys.

But no, we got a mewling Aemond instead. And an Aegon that somehow joins in (?) the deliberate, assumedly frequent, taunting of Aemond when he's always/mostly been on his side in the book? If not for love, but for just hating the Velaryon boys and thinking blood before "bastards who are stealing my throne"?

It truly doesn't make sense to call this an adaptation. It doesn't realize the themes and potential of the plot or really assess the implications of the information told by the book so it can tell its own story of victimhood=asylum-from-responsibility that the greens become imbued with so that they can be excused from most accountability.

Driftmark Episode and The Claiming of Vhagar

Let's make this clear: Vhagar did choose Aemond and Rhaena didn't really own Vhagar as if Vhagar was something to be inherited.

However, here are the issues.

A) The Domestication vs Partnership of Dragons

Sometimes I hear the argument that Aemond did nothing unethical on claiming Vhagar. While I agree that dragons have to choose their riders for the bond to exist and the claim to happen, dragons also live as creatures under a new, odd type of "domestication" ever since Maegor built the Dragonpit. Targaryens have essentially trapped and reduced their own dragon's size and power by keeping them locked in smaller places for longer from hatching and feeding them instead of allowing them to hunt for themselves. At the same time, dragons are both higher-thinking companions than dogs or cats or horses but they are also still already "domesticated" enough by the Old Valyrians to be given commands. I imagine it is like magically bonding yourself to a Bengal tiger with the ability to feel deeper and know more than a horse, but:

it's still a wild beast--more "willful" and having more emotional intelligence than most other animals but are still ridden (they are not like the "whales" of Avatar 2

kept in an enclosures built by humans

given commands that even if they choose to follow, still follow them enough for the Old Valyrian dragonriders and Targaryens to be able to wield them in battles and leisure fly sessions

(I would say dragons are similar [not the same] to cats in this way, and cats are still domesticated animals.)

Can a dragon disobey more than a horse would, yes. Doesn't mean that the pseudo magical/spiritual bond they have with some Valyrians and Valyrian-descents can be considered the exact same as human-human bonds.

Point is, it really isn't as black and white to say they are definitely just obedient and simple-minded horses with little will of their own that humans control NOR that were treated like they totally have the ability to make complex decisions by themselves or for humans in matters of politics, economics, etc. that would make dragons and humans totally equal or dragons having social authority over humans. Dragons are both "more" than other animals in ASoIaF, but there is enough human use and command over them to see them as the "higher" beasts and not political peers. AT LEAST HOW THEY WERE TREATED BEFORE DANY!!! (That is what makes ASoIaF so intriguing and gives it its character: this constant and repeated confliction and ambivalence of things resting in one scenario, practice, element, character, scene/situation, etc.)

And every child of the two sets would have felt that this possession-bond of a dragon and their rider still has it's domestication elements, which is why I do not think harshly about Rhaena feeling that she owns Vhagar. Of course, she would think that Vhagar is hers after her mother dies, but even more than that, Aemond knew that the adults would likely allow or encourage her to try to bond with Vhagar first.

Even with Vhagar choosing Aemond and her possibly rejecting Rhaena if the girl had tried to bond with her, Aemond did not know whether or not Vhagar would reject Rhaena. That was the point. He wanted to try before anyone else so that they wouldn't have the chance!

So, one can make the argument that he “stole” that window of opportunity from her.

This should have been properly addressed by the adults around when Aemond and Lucerys were questioned, like how Rhaenyra finagled Alicent's faults in episode 4.

But it wasn't because Viserys' concern is obedience not understanding and all the adults distrust or dislike each other, one side thinking Rhaenyra and her kids are out to get hers or weak enough to allow others to do so and the other side having had to protect themselves from the other's harassment and angry over Alicent's pretentiousness.

And in such a volatile situation, the Show!Alicent made her demand to mutilate Lucerys after Rhaenyra calls for a "sharp" questioning of Aemond.

B) Aemond’s Disregard; Alicent is at Fault for Both His Feeling Toward Kin and His Eye Getting Taken

Meanwhile it was the other way around in Fire and Blood--in that scenario, Book!Alicent had demanded Lucerys' eye before Rhaenyra called for "sharp" questioning.

And there is no evidence as to why we should think that Book!Rhaenyra actually called to torture Aemond before Book!Alicent demanded Lucerys’ eye:

Rhaenyra calls for "questioning" (whether torture or just stern/serious interrogation) AFTER Alicent already calls for Luke's eye.

So unless GRRM comes out and changes what's in the text to Alicent demanding Aemond’s eye after Rhaenyra calls for Aemon’s torture, we know that Book!Rhaenyra was responding to Book!Alicent's violent demand.

***Look in this posts’ comments for the counter argument to the the counterargument that Fire and Blood is heavily biased towards the blacks and Rhaenyra’s descendants.***

Once again, if people calmed down and tried to figure out what happened before trying or punish, this would have been ethically addressed, or at k ast pointed out.

But in the book it's clear Alicent doesn't just want Lucerys' eyes because she is scared--she wants it because she feels entitled to punish others without letting a real investigation happen.

It's arguably excusable since she is a mom with a kid permanently injured and without an eye, but we can't pretend or believe that she is a pure saint that only wants to protect her kids. It's disingenuous and makes us forget that she wants her son on the throne for that reason alone in the book. The show removes her independent political motivation and confuses her overall motivation so that it is now harder to see her as a threat.

Then, there is the fact that this happened at Laena's funeral.

Rhaenyra and Daemon used the opportunity of everyone not paying attention to them (or paying less attention), and Aemond did the same. Both are true.

I already touched on this in point A, but I will go into more detail and refocus. Before there could have been some sort of announcement where Rhaena and Aemond both would have a chance to claim Vhagar, he decided to pursue Vhagar himself at a time that his would-be competitor would be unaware.

And honestly, I would have done something similar if I wanted the prize bad enough--with or without the bullying context.

Doesn't mean that it wouldn’t have been inherently unethical at the same time. (Even if we argued against dragons being free to choose, I'm talking about the events before she accepts Aemond).

Whether people were asleep or in lonely mourning, Aemond saw his chance and took it. It was clever and calculated of him to do so, but it was clearly had more calculation and disregard for the people duped on Aemond's part.

And unlike Alicent, Aemond has no prior basis to believe that Baela and Rhaena even did anything against him for him to think of them as the enemy. He would only think this way because Alicent and Otto have told him so and he himself feels entitled to the throne (more on how much power and advantage the girls actually had over Aemond below).

Baela and Rhaena have been at Pentos with their parents the entire time Aemond and his brothers had to share the Keep with Rhaenyra's sons. They never bullied him, even though it's clear that they went down to confront him with the Velaryon boys and Aemond would have seen this, it's very clear that the girls didn't even know that Aemond was the one who "stole" Vhagar until they saw him. They took the Velaryon boys for added security, but not to victimize or bully anyone.

We also see him call the V boys “bastards” and that they eventually will die “screaming like their ‘father’” as he’s fighting them/holding onto Jacaerys. Which is a real threat that he believed and expressed while riding high on his two victories: claiming Vhagar and winning part of that fight.

He was feeling that these bastards had no right contending with him, the trueborn son of the king. Him, who has finally “proven” himself a true Targaryen in claiming the oldest, baddest dragon. Before this, he was the only other Targaryen besides Rhaena who didn’t have a dragon. Despite him being the son of a king, the son of a man who got to ride and claim Balerion--the Conqueror’s dragon. (Ironically, Viserys himself only claimed Balerion when he was in his late teens/twenties, and Aegon I himself didn't cradle-bond with Balerion but also had to claim him when he was older.) Despite what his mother taught him about bastards being products of lust and human weakness. Jace and Luke both had their dragons hatched in spite of their “untrueness”, which would have made Aemond feel as if he was the “problem” and was "untrue", a defective Targ, also maybe not even a "real" Targ at all. (We also have to consider how the court and Alicent almost operate on the sexist belief that a Targaryen man is the one who passes on his dragon “blood”, i.e., dragon-riding ability, to children, when they could have just reasoned that Targ women also can pass on this to children.)

The fact that he is able to claim Vhagar then fills him with an imperiousness that then makes him feel that the V boys all are inferior to him and thus do not deserve regard, respect, or compassion, even less so than before when he didn’t have a dragon.

Let's say that there is this set of super-intelligent tigers that one's parent has given commands to that was mostly followed since you were a child. That parent dies, but in your family or society tigers of this intelligence still choose who to accept commands from. You expect to be the first one to be allowed to approach these superintelligent cats first despite how others could take the tigers, especially if you are a child under 12 whose parent has just died and who you have just mourned.

Who would do this to a person who they actually respected or someone who there is already a mutual understanding of first come first serve? Would we really take the pet/possible companion/steed of a relative or "friend" the day, a few hours after their mom was "buried"?

No, we don't do this to people we either like or respect or whose feelings we care about more than our own advantages. No matter the prize and being old enough to be aware of this (as Aemond is like 11 or 12 in the episode), I wouldn't pursue even something as cool as a dragon until I felt sure it wouldn't be unfair to the person who I actually respected and wanted to remain close with.

Claiming Vhagar was not an event where Aemond's confronted by a betrayal and hypocrisy of a friend in a society that would condemn him for taking the action that he did. Him just claiming Vhagar would not have brought the consequence of universal/the realm's disgust and reproach like how if Rhaenyra's "ruining" would have. He was not trying to protect himself from people who would have told him that his agency-building act was him devaluing himself and endangering his family.

If anything, his claiming Vhagar by any means (except kinslaying or terrible murder) would have been seen as cool or surprisingly clever of him by his peers and "Targaryen-things" by some nonTargaryens/dragonriders (detached persons). Ironically, this knowledge juxtaposes Rhaenyra's boar-kill-return scene as Daemon's Stepstones victory does, but again with the purpose of showing how boys vs girls are expected or encouraged to do.

While Baela and Rhaena and the boys all attacked Aemond, Aemond managed to beat them back. Baela and Rhaena also had a moment where they silently pleaded Aemond to leave well enough alone after he made it clear who was stronger and beat them back, but Aemond pursued and stood there both gripping Jacaerys and talking them down as being bastards. Again, if this show were written well, we'd also have him antagonizing the Velaryon boys for years before this without even ever publicly directly calling them bastards.

He had the time to consider how to make his move on Vhagar, like Rhaenyra might have and he had enough time to just leave quickly and avoid more fighting but he didn't because he wanted to be at his nephew and further prove his power. But of course, the adults don't ever get to how Aemond did this because the kids aren't allowed to say anything without feeling the intimidation of their moms screaming and their dad getting in their faces.

Finally, after Alicent drops the knife and slowly finds herself in the spotlight for attacking Rhaenyra, Aemond steps forward to try to mollify the tension and any censure towards her by publicly stating that he now considers it a more than fair exchange, an eye for a dragon. But, as we should know, this actually doesn't mollify him (episode 8 and episode 10) but was just a way to save face for both himself and Alicent and try to bring the focus away from Alicent's “faux pas”.

Some might argue that his pretending for Alicent was very similar to Rhaenyra lying to Alicent but again, not to the same level or consequence. Even if he hadn't said anything about "exchanges" he still would have had a dragon and would not have faced the sort of reproach Rhaenyra would have for "ruining" herself. He shouldn’t have been going around calling people slurs when he’s already “won” by claiming Vhagar.

And that in itself was Alicent’s fault, who’s been working double time to depose Rhaenyra and go against the King’s word/Law.

If Alicent was just trying to do the “right thing” by upholding the conservative values that makes Rhaenyra’s sons sins, her a whore, and Alicent into a mewling sad-face with no concept of her own worth, then she wouldn’t be trying to go against Viserys’ will. The King’s word is final and Law--this is also a precedent and a principle that is part of this feudal system.

That she knowingly goes against him and doesn’t "allow" herself to realize that she’s disobeying a custom and precedent for her own ambitions (denial and dishonesty) makes her a traitor (by the Westerosi ethics), a hypocrite and antagonist of this story.

#rhaenyra targaryen #aemond targaryen #hotd comment #alicent hightower #rhaenyra vs aemond #baela and rhaena #rhaenyra's characterization #alicent's characterization #hotd characterization #westerosi bastards #rhaenyra vs alicent #vhagar claim #aemond's characterization #hotd episode 7 #Rhaenicent #hotd writing #hotd

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honorhearted · 11 months

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Since I'm back on my nonsense, I'd like to take a moment to talk about S3!Ben, and his growth in regards to compassion towards the enemy. At the very start, he was not complimentary nor forgiving -- he merely referred to them as "traitors" and "scum." (As a side note, I did like how during the 3x1 interrogation scene, Ben was furious with H.ickey, but tried his best to get him to confess for the sake of his family:

He then goes on to say, "If you're marked as an a.ssassin, I cannot unintelligible," which I believe to mean he can't save H.ickey's family, should H.ickey be tried as a traitor.)

The next supporter of the Crown Ben encountered was Sarah. Before he learned the truth of her allegiance, she was someone he both liked and admired, and perhaps even believed he was a little in love with. Learning that she supported the king was unfathomable to him, and the realization that his own side had done cruel, despicable things was even more so. This was his true wakeup call that his own commander was capable of the very oppression they were fighting against; that W.ashington was willing to use people like tools to get what the a.rmy needed (i.e. food and supplies). In the end, Ben didn't try and persuade her to come to his side; all he did was beg her to lie to try and save her life. And when he failed and an innocent life was yet again stolen by a C.ontinental s.oldier, something in Ben finally snapped and folded in on itself.

This takes us to 3x10 with Ben and Peggy. After Andre's e.xecution, simply from having seen a sketch of Peggy's eyes and noting that John's gaze was on someone in the crowd, he pieced together her involvement and begged her to seek refuge. S1 Ben might not have done that -- although we as fans like to consider S1 Ben "kinder" and "warmer" since he was a bit naïve and had a sweetly chipper demeanor, he was also very idealistic and "Cause first," so I maintain that BECAUSE of that naïve passion, he would've been more willing to sacrifice Peggy than he was later on; by S3, Ben had seen a lot of needless loss of life and was exhausted by it. Furthering that point, Peggy was different -- to him, she was a second chance. Both Sarah and Peggy were Tories because of the men they loved, and both LOST those men they loved. In Ben's eyes, where he'd failed Sarah, he could save Peggy and give her a chance at life. He couldn't bear to have her end up as yet another victim of the C.ontinental A.rmy. The weight of Sarah's ghost, and all the other victims weighed heavily upon Ben with this moment, in particular:

He mourned that she wouldn't take up his offer, but just like with Sarah, Ben didn't force Peggy to switch sides or change her mind. He merely walked off because she decided to let the chips fall where they may. And when it's all said and done, this was arguably the season where Ben was at his most compassionate, because he could finally see both sides for what they truly were.

#benjamin tallmadge #ben tallmadge #about ben #meta #ben x peggy #my stoofs #I HAD A LOT OF FEELINGS TODAY

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generation1point5 · 9 months

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Sword and Shield

��Do you understand why I chose Providentius over any other Admiral?”

Koter blinked, and glanced over to the human who addressed him. He stared at a cold and dark gaze wreathed in the shadows of the dark safe house they lingered in for the time being.

“Because you’re never one to back down from a challenge,” Koter supposed. Aeos shook his head.

“Nothing so petty. I have observed him and determined him to be the weakest among all the others of the Hierarchy, the most easily levied in times of crisis.”

Koter narrowed his eyes. “Explain.”

Aeos stepped from the shadows, his hard and unyielding stare no lesser for having been revealed in the harsh lighting. Dark hair parted over a sharp brow, a neutral expression made severe for a narrow and piercing gaze, a killer’s intent. “The Hierarchy’s strength relies upon the discipline of its soldiers,” Aeos began. “They must be willing to follow orders of their commanders, or else the coordination of their numbers and firepower will shatter and fall to the cunning of their enemies. A leader of thousands will know that casualties and sacrifice are inevitable, and must instill this willingness to die in their subordinates, even as they themselves must be insulated from such risk. Should they refuse, the loss of leadership will quickly degrade the coordination of their fighting force, even if they retain sufficient numbers to continue fighting. But Providentius refuses this maxim, priding himself on never having lost a unit in combat. He is unwilling to face the realities of his duty in a true conflict, and instead risks his own life than that of his men. He cares surprisingly little for the fact that he would leave his entire fleet rudderless should he die in the attempt. His noble spirit is a liability, not a benefit.”

“In other words,” Koter supposed, “his mind is more valuable than his life, or the lives of everyone it leads.”

“In a manner of speaking,” Aeos agreed with a nod. “A commander worth their salt should know that good intentions are not a rule for winning wars.”

“You are wrong.”

An amused chuckle escaped Aeos. “Oh? And what about my assessment is wrong?”

Koter crossed his arms and regarded his handler with a narrow gaze. “You see the Hierarchy as a cohesive society pursuing its self-interest, sacrificing a limb to save the greater body; as if it were so different from the Alliance in that respect. But you are mistaken; the giving of oneself in our society is shared by both master and servant, by both head and foot. In this, Providentius is the most fearsome admiral of all. Everyone who serves him knows that they are not pawns to be thrown into the fire for some greater purpose they cannot truly believe in; he breaks the barrier between those who leader and follower, knowing the needs of those who fight for him as one who fights alongside them. Not a single turian among his ranks can serve him in a way Providentius himself will not do for them, and he has devoted the entirety of his being to the well-being of his people. They would give their lives for him not out of duty, but of their own free will. His greatest weakness is not his love for his men; it is his greatest strength. He is surrounded by men whose loyalty he has earned.”

Aeos turned to face Koter square in the eye. “Does that include you? Take yourself for an example; you are killed more easily than he is; yet for your sake, he would surrender himself, and become all the easier target for it. You become his greatest weakness.”

Koter did not shrink back, but crossed his arms over his chest. “Have I served under you for so long that I have become a fragile thing in your eyes? Or do you consider me a thing you must protect much the same way you think Providentius himself does?”

This time, Aeos was silent. Smiling a little, Koter continued.

“Our weaknesses are not so different, such that is common to all flesh and blood. They seem to be only to those who don’t understand what makes it our strength. You didn’t choose Providentius because he was an easy target; you chose him because he is more like yourself than you want to admit. But I think that is a strength, not a weakness.”

#writing

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librathefangirl · 1 year

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We All Bleed for a Reason

ao3 (2k+; One-Shot)

(First Holy War Era) It was easy to distrust the Prince of the Demon Realm. It was a lot harder to distrust a demon who would sacrifice himself for a goddess. / Elizabeth introducing them to the Demon Prince turned traitor was a lot more chaotic than Gloxinia had first anticipated. Febuwhump 2023 Day 15: Self-Sacrifice.

Warnings: Blood and Injury.

Read on ao3 or under the cut!

When Elizabeth had first suggested the idea, Gloxinia had been strictly against it. It hadn’t been fear. He was the fairy king, he didn’t have the luxury for fear, nor would he give any demon the satisfaction. No, he hadn’t been scared but he had been apprehensive. After all, this wasn’t just a demon that Elizabeth had claimed as an ally. He was pretty much the demon. The first-born prince and expected successor to the Demon King. Not to mentioned all the rumors and horror stories about him from the battlefield. As leader of the Ten Commandments, Meliodas was as ruthless and skilled as they came, cutting down anyone who stood in his way. Until Elizabeth, it seemed. Gloxinia might not have liked the situation, but Elizabeth did have his trust.

Gloxinia sat crossed legged in the air as they waited, wringing his hands together. Drole glanced at him but didn’t say anything. Gloxinia knew he too had his doubts about this. After all, the idea of a demon in Stigma was absurd. Unthinkable even – but so was the idea of a goddess and a demon together. Now, Gloxinia hadn’t actually seen Elizabeth together with Meliodas, but he’d heard her talk about him, he’d heard the rumors about the two of them that had been circling around for a good while now. He had also heard the rumors about Meliodas turning his back to the demons and leaving the Demon Realm. A demon prince turned traitor, now that was a thought.

When it came down to it, Gloxinia was willing to give Meliodas the benefit of the doubt. For Elizabeth’s sake. To be honest, Gloxinia was curious about him. If nothing else, it’d be an intriguing meeting.

They didn’t have to wait too long before two figures approached them. Elizabeth was recognizable immediately, her pure power unmistakable. The other was almost as apparent. Gloxinia’s hair stood on end at the sinister power that could only belong to someone of Meliodas race and rank. Elizabeth held Meliodas’ hand as they landed in front of them. For a moment their wings entwined around each other like a unification of light and dark. Then Meliodas’ wings disappeared.

“Hey! Sorry we’re late,” Elizabeth greeted with a bright smile. She glanced at Meliodas with a look that clearly meant something Gloxinia couldn’t quite grasp. “We… got caught up in a discussion.”

Meliodas raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head lightly. Gloxinia noticed it wasn’t just the wings that had vanished. The darkness in his eyes and the demon mark on his forehead were both gone now too. Instead, there were eyes as green as Gloxinia’s own forest and a face that, well, frankly didn’t fit the most feared demon around. Huh, definitely intriguing.

“Mmm, still stand by what I said,” Meliodas said, causing Elizabeth to huff. She tugged him even closer by his hand.

“Shush, this is fine, you will be fine,” Elizabeth mumbled quietly – but not quietly enough. Gloxinia shared a look with Drole at that. The same thought crossed both their minds. Apparently, Elizabeth was the only one who had thought this was a good idea.

Gloxinia frowned. It didn’t seem like the – former or not – leader of the Ten Commandments would be apprehensive to meet them. Even if they were the kings of their own races. While Gloxinia would never openly admit it, he was pretty certain Meliodas could take either of them in a one-on-one battle. Depending on how reliable those rumors were. Yet, that was the conclusion he drew from the duo’s conversation. Meliodas hadn’t wanted to meet them anymore than Gloxinia and Drole had initially. Now though, Gloxinia’s interest was definitely piqued. If only he could know for sure what the demon was thinking and feeling, but Gloxinia got nothing. Meliodas was a complete blank in a way Gloxinia had never seen before – which was equal parts intriguing and frustrating.

Elizabeth kept her gaze locked on Meliodas as she waited for his response. He didn’t say anything, just sighed quietly and flashed her a smile. It said I trust you more than it did I agree with you. Elizabeth seemed satisfied at least. She turned her attention back to Gloxinia and Drole, who had quietly observed the interactions between the two.

Elizabeth had barely even opened her mouth when all hell broke loose.

Meliodas was the first one to notice. His eyes turned black and his wings formed behind him before Gloxinia even knew what was going on. Elizabeth and Meliodas tumbled to the ground at the same time the new demon threw his spear. He didn’t last long after that as Gloxinia and Drole both sprung into action. Still, the guilt stabbed through Gloxinia – how could he have missed the demon’s approach? Had he been that focused on Meliodas? Drole let out a sharp curse beside him, snapping Gloxinia back to the situation in the worst way possible.

“Are you two okay?” Drole asked as Gloxinia’s gaze zeroed in on the ground. There was blood in the grass. Bright red and undeniably fresh. There was a lot of it. Shit!

Elizabeth shot up to a sitting position, seemingly unharmed underneath wild locks of silver. Her breath stuttered in her chest as her too wide eyes took in the scene before her.

“Meliodas!” Her panicked cry almost made Gloxinia’s own throat feel raw. He landed on the ground beside her. Like a helpless aid, not even sure how to react himself. This… was not how this was supposed to go. Good or bad; this hadn’t even been an option.

“Hey? Hey, Mel?” Elizabeth breathed and stroked the fallen demon’s cheek. Meliodas was slumped over on his side, the spear sticking out in an angle from both his back and front. Now, Gloxinia definitely wasn’t an expert on demon anatomy, but he couldn’t image that the spear hadn’t punctured something vital. Especially given the blood that pooled around them. How much blood did a demon have? How much could they afford to lose? Gloxinia felt a little startled by his own worry.

“Meliodas?!” Tears fell from Elizabeth’s eyes as her voice cracked. Meliodas groaned. His hand clumsily reached up and grabbed hers. Elizabeth let out a choked gasped, holding onto the hand like a lifeline. Meliodas’ eyes slowly blinked open. Gloxinia let out a long breath of his own. Not dead. He felt more relieved than he probably should for an ally he didn’t trust.

“Yo,” Meliodas slurred and for a moment Gloxinia thought Elizabeth was actually going to hit him.

“Idiot!” she chided, burying her head against his shoulder instead. Meliodas chuckled softly. One hand came up to brush through her hair while the other remained closed around hers. It would have been a sweet sight if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was still skewered on a spear. It certainly changed everything. Not just the imagery, but Gloxinia’s own thoughts too. Ally or not, self-sacrifice was not something he would have attributed to the demon.

Elizabeth helped Meliodas sit up, wincing along with him all the way. She removed her hand from his to instead hover both of hers frantically over his bloods-stained skin. Gloxinia knew she longed to just reach out with her magic and make it all go away, but there was little she could do as long as the spear was still there.

“Why would you do that?” Elizabeth asked. Her voice had gone from panicked and heated, to quiet and soft. Meliodas brushed away the tears from her eyes, even having the audacity to try to smile at her. It failed miserably, looking more like a grimace than anything else, but the intention was clear. Meliodas, impaled through the chest and bleeding all over the ground, was trying to comfort Elizabeth. Either meeting Elizabeth had changed him completely or everything Gloxinia had ever heard about Meliodas was complete and utter bullshit.

“Well, you’ve only got one heart, and I happen to really like it.” Meliodas shrugged casually, immediately gasping at the movement. “Besides, I, ahh, damn… I still got five beating ones.”

“Five?!” Elizabeth’s voice rose in pitch as her eyes widened. Again, not an expert, but Gloxinia was pretty sure Meliodas was supposed to have seven hearts.

“Yeah, ah,” Meliodas smiled sheepishly. “Bad angle.”

“Oh, oh! Okay, uhm, Drole?” Elizabeth steadied Meliodas, wrapping her arms around his and looked up at the giant. “Can you help him?”

“Of course,” Drole responded and knelt behind them. Gloxinia could see the way Meliodas tensed up as Drole grabbed hold of the spear. His shoulders went rigid, and his knuckles turned white around his curled fists. Elizabeth reached down and uncurled one of Meliodas’ hands, tucking her own back inside it. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. Meliodas met her gaze, the unyielding trust in his eyes almost making Gloxinia feel like they were intruding on a private moment.

Gloxinia took place on Meliodas’ other side, bracing against his shoulder to help keep him steady. He noticed Meliodas glancing at him from the corner of his eyes, but Gloxinia kept his own focus on the spear and Drole’s hand. He wasn’t quite ready to deal with – whatever the hell this was. Gloxinia had thought he knew what to expect when they came here today, but that just wasn’t it.

“This is going to hurt,” Drole warned.

“Yup,” Meliodas agreed, closing his eyes tightly. Elizabeth squeezed his hand again. Drole shared a look with Gloxinia and Elizabeth – and then he pulled.

The sound of the spear being extracted was awful. The wet scraping of wood and metal against flesh. The splashing of more blood falling into the grass. The poorly suppressed scream that cut off into what Gloxinia could only image was a vile string of demonic curses.

Drole let the spear drop to the ground with an unpleasant splattering as Meliodas collapsed against Elizabeth. She pulled him even closer, rubbing at his arms and muttering quietly to him. Slowly Meliodas’ breathing evened back out. When he blinked up at her, his eyes were still as green as before. Gloxinia floated back into the air while Elizabeth’s hands instantly hovered over Meliodas’ wounds again. This time there was nothing holding her back. Elizabeth’s magic flowed from her hands into his wounds, willing them back together; willing five beats into seven.

Gloxinia found himself watching Meliodas watching Elizabeth as she worked. It was clear by now that Meliodas and Elizabeth weren’t exactly your average demon and goddess. Their relationship at all was a before unheard thing. There was no basis for this. Yet at the same time, Gloxinia couldn’t help but be in awe at the way Meliodas looked at her. Here he was, a wounded demon, completely at ease under a goddess’ hands, not even paying attention to the magic that touched him. The goddesses might be well-known around Britannia for their miracle healings, but to a demon that was surely the last thing their power was associated with. Despite all that, there was nothing but trust and admiration and – dared Gloxinia say it – love in Meliodas’ gaze.

Intriguing didn’t seem to be quite enough. Watching the two of them was… enchanting.

Elizabeth leaned back slightly when she was done. She watched Meliodas with baited breath, as if she still thought he would crumble to the ground. Meliodas just grinned at her and leaned up to place a kiss to her cheek. Her face flushed with color.

“You are a fool,” Elizabeth muttered, shaking her head.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Meliodas mumbled back, his voice soft as he brushed his fingers across her cheek. “I’m here, Ellie. I’m not going anywhere.”

Gloxinia shared another look with Drole before Drole – bless his soul – cleared his throat and finally reminded the two that they weren’t actually alone. Elizabeth’s cheeks grew even redder, but Meliodas just turned to them with a startingly easy smile playing on his lips.

“Gloxinia, Drole, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Meliodas greeted, despite whatever qualms he’d had before coming here. Then his smile faded as his gaze flickered to the ground. The change was almost as startling. The barely noticeable tenseness to his shoulders, the heaviness in his eyes. The fact that he seemed unable to even meet their gazes. “Under more civilized circumstances that is.”

Meliodas seemed determined to just keep shocking Gloxinia today – proving him wrong even. These were hardly civilized circumstances, not after that attack, but at the same time, Meliodas was right. Things between the four of them could have been so much worse. Meliodas had been the leader of the Ten Commandments. His role was hardly a secret. All of them knew that he very much had had a crucial part in the destructive demonic forces that had cost countless beings their lives. Not just goddesses and humans, fairies and giants too. Of course, every race had some blame in the state of the land, but Gloxinia had never expected Meliodas to acknowledge it all like that.

“Nice to meet you too, Meliodas,” Gloxinia returned, finding himself to actually mean it. Then the serious moment broke as Meliodas gave another crooked, sheepish smile.

“I, uh,” he glanced down at where he and Elizabeth were still seated on the ground, “would have like to not be sitting in a pool of my own blood, but I guess I can’t be picky.”

“Well, it’s quite the impression, if nothing else,” Drole commented, causing Gloxinia to snort. That was a bit of an understatement. Meliodas laughed too, a light and happy sound, as he let Elizabeth pull him up on his feet.

“Well, I do aim to please.”

Yeah, Meliodas was not how Gloxinia had anticipated. At all. Maybe Elizabeth wasn’t so crazy for choosing him after all – No, it definitely was crazy. Insane even. But maybe Gloxinia was just as crazy. Because he had the feeling the four of them would get along just fine.

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alisnikola · 4 months

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20th Century Girl

Do you think I have forgotten...about you?

"20th Century Girl" is a nostalgic movie set in a time when the internet was just emerging, and pagers were still in use. The story revolves around Na Bo-Ra, her best friend Kim Yeon Doo, and Yeon Doo's crush, Baek Hyun Jin. Despite Yeon Doo having to leave the country for heart surgery right after meeting her crush, Bo Ra steps in to learn everything about Hyun Jin, maintaining their connection. Bo Ra becomes close to Hyun Jin's friend, Poong Woon Ho, leading to a complex web of friendship and love. The plot takes a twist when Yeon Doo returns from surgery and meets Woon Ho, who turns out to be her crush, initially mistaken by Bo-Ra. This sets the stage for a journey of self-discovery and the complexities of friendship and love.

It was disheartening witnessing their conflict over a guy when they were both willing to let him go for the sake of their friendship. It gave me emotional distress. I mean, young love doesn't need to be so tangled, especially when it begins with joy and ease.

The movie's conclusion caught me off guard. Despite numerous obstacles in the 20th century, such as Woon-ho leaving for New Zealand and their failed reconciliation, I hoped the 21st century would bring them together, especially with his pledge to return for university. However, he gradually stopped contacting her, leaving me waiting for his surprise return. But as more years passed without word, I pondered his sudden disappearance. Jumping to 2019, two decades since they met, I felt he had kept her waiting too long for a heartfelt reunion. Surprisingly, there was no reunion—the movie revealed his passing without details. This conclusion made me realize that not every story needs a "happy ending," and that events unfold as they're meant to. Despite the lack of explanation, I found the unresolved ending beautifully poignant.

The movie deeply resonated with me as it mirrored a stage I've experienced—young love and the sacrifices it entails for everyone's well-being. Each scene felt like a heartbreak in the most poignant way, evoking memories of my own youthful romance. It prompted reflection on the amusing and awkward moments from that time and raised the question: does recalling those memories bring joy or heartache?

I encouraged my mom to watch the movie to gather her thoughts on it. She expressed profound affection, saying it struck a chord within her, something she'll treasure deeply. Her reaction prompted me to realize that she connected with the movie because it echoed her own high school love story, evoking memories of friendship, young love, and the sacrifices made for others' happiness, despite ending in personal heartbreak.

As we grow older, there are moments of looking back at youth with nostalgia, recalling innocent times filled with self-discovery. This sentiment resonates deeply with me, as I, too, have experienced and cherished similar reflections from the past.

I'd suggest this movie to everyone. It's a beautiful movie, a simple yet unexpectedly rich story. I decided to watch it on a whim, needing something just to watch out of boredom not knowing 20th Century Girl would take a part of my heart.

-Siangco, Nicole S.