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conkers-thecosy · 8 months

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Hi guys!

So, I hear it's Fanfic Writers' Appreciation Day, and as someone who has enjoyed a LOT of Bagginshield fanfiction this year, I thought it would be nice to share some recommendations!

These are just a few of my personal favourites, feel free to share your own!

If I could Give My Breath Away (I Would) by StupidFatPenguin

Thorin loses his memory and quite forgets that the hobbit by his bedside whom he wishes to court and marry is already his husband. Everyone else find this hilarious.

Safe and Distant by Lindzzz

Bilbo never bothers denying that he is a slight, little bit, probably infatuated with Thorin. It’s not something that bothers him. Really. He’s pretty sure that everyone very likely has a little flutter in their chest for the dwarf. He’s something grand and unattainable. And it’s really much safer if it stays that way.

Travelling Songs to Fall In Love To by galehautstomb

When Thorin started to sing, Bilbo had to sit down. It was all he could do not to put his head in his hands. He knew at that moment, that he would be going on this journey, but he was not brave enough yet to voice it.

Unspoken Choice by snarkymonkey

In the wake of war and all else, Bilbo decides he needs to do something for Thorin that isn't related to dragons or gold or anything else. Nothing simpler than the offer of a trim, right?

Best To Move Forward by sharkbait33

“Thorin,” he greeted, a small smile forming on his lips. Thorin did not smile, though his expression softened just a bit. “Master Baggins.” The professionalism made Bilbo flinch, his expression falling, and the hobbit dropped his gaze to the floor. Though he should have expected this, should not have such heartache faced with the truth, he had been quite hopeful. “Bilbo.” The dwarf’s tone surprised him, so quiet and gentle, if that was even possible. Two large hands came into view, one cradling Bilbo’s cheek, the other finding a place beneath his chin, using two fingers to tilt his face up so their eyes met. “Bilbo,” Thorin repeated, and this time there was a sad smile gracing his features, small, but still there. “I am truly, very sorry for all the hurt I have caused you.”

As Is The Custom by ever_yours

After everything, Bilbo becomes an integral part of castle workings—and honestly, there’s not much waiting for him back at the Shire. So he stays, and decides to learn more about dwarrow culture while he’s at it. As it turns out, dwarf kings are significantly more affectionate than he’d expect...

A Moment When by elementalist

All those precious moments when a look, a touch, a smile, all come crashing together into a single, inescapable truth.

Call You Home by northerntrash

In which the Company are entirely too nosy about matters that are supposed to be a secret, and Bilbo learns that being concerned about propriety is overrated when you could be making friends instead.

The Riven Crown by BeautifulFiction

‘We may have won the battle, but I fear the war with winter is just beginning.’ The aftermath of war is no laughing matter. Those who died must be honoured, those who are wounded must be healed, and those who remain need food and clothing, peace and sanctuary. With Thorin's life hanging in the balance, it is up to Bilbo and the rest of the Company to rule the rag-tag remnants of Erebor in his place.

I Love You Most (but I'm not worthy) by rowanguerrin

Something desperate and keening bade him look once more at the Thief— at Bilbo— and, before he could even think of doing anything else, his eyes shifted to the body pinned down before him. Bilbo looked up at him with wide, wide eyes, his lips parted as he breathed heavily, afraid and— And sad, so so sad, as if it were not his body Thorin was about to throw over the ramparts but his heart instead.

Eye for Eye and Tooth for Tooth by Chrononautical

Bilbo is kidnapped by dwarves looking to hurt the king. Though he manages to escape, he is badly injured and no longer feels safe in Erebor. Thorin, furious at the harm done to his burglar, seeks vengeance. Unfortunately, all he really wants is to find a way to make Bilbo comfortable at his side once again, and that is more difficult.

The Road Delivered Us Home by Keelywolfe

In the years since Bilbo left Erebor, he has lost his respectability, gained a nephew, and gotten on with life at Bag End. He'd left aside adventure for the comforts and peace of his little Hobbit hole, and for the love of a child who needed him. Though perhaps, adventures can yet find him.

A Passion For Mushrooms by Chrononautical

There are many trials for a hobbit attempting to make a life among dwarves. A hobbit wants a garden. A hobbit wants to eat regular meals. A hobbit wants friends, good books, and comfortable chairs. Bilbo does his best to carve out a little hobbit life for himself in the mountain. If only there were not one final obstacle. For a hobbit heart wants love, and among dwarves that is a sticky subject.

Something Blue by lapin

Thorin marries Bilbo after the Battle of Five Armies, a marriage of convenience, not love. Slowly, they must come to make the best of it, Bilbo resolves. After all, he's a Hobbit. They make the best of things.

Cold Sheets by plotweaver

Thorin is angry when Bilbo's new duties as Master of Agriculture for Erebor make him bring his work home.

Dragonhearted by LordOfTheRazzles

The grandson of a greedy king and his dwarvish companions fall under the curse of literal dragon sickness - at least for Thorin. Bestowed by Smaug the Terrible, an enchanter whose other form is also that of a dragon, the vilest of fire drakes from the north, is seeking riches at the end of a hard trial for the prince of Erebor. The decades roll by and the curse shows no sign of lifting, for Thorin was tasked with proving that his heart was worth saving and that he would not be corrupted by gold lust like his grandfather. All seems bleak until the arrival of one quirky little hobbit of the Shire with his mother’s stubborn streak and his father’s gentility. Bilbo Baggins, a prisoner of this draconic beast, soon begins to show Thorin just what a heart worth saving feels like.

The Letter by objectlesson

Once Bilbo arrives in the haunted stillness of Bag End, his chest aches to realize the house does not feel like a home anymore. He at first chalks it up to having been empty: to a year of disuse, to odd scents filtering their way in and settling like cobwebs in the absence of his usual routine, tea and baking and the drying of herbs. Perhaps, once he begins these things again, it will not feel so cavernous, so lonely, so strangely and painfully bare, like a tree stripped of its leaves come winter. But weeks pass, and nothing changes. So maybe it’s not the emptiness, but the fact (which he is trying his very hardest to dutifully ignore) that he left his heart behind to crystalize in the caverns of the Lonely Mountain.

The Things You See In The Market by GothicMama

Krelven just wants to explore the market on his day off. But instead he gets thrown for multiple loops when he sees two extremely familiar faces.

You Should Be Safe With Me by fantasyinallforms

Thorin is haunted by the guilt of almost losing Bilbo in the battle of the five armies. As Bilbo settles in the mountain, many are enamored with the new Hobbit, and some wish him harm. How will Thorin react to Bilbo's newfound attention or the threats to his life? Is it even safe for the hobbit to stay within the mountain?

Songs in the Dark by leoandlancer

After the resolution of the Battle of Five Armies and the beginning of the restoration of Erebor, Thorin and Bilbo are still carefully, and respectfully, distant to each other. Each certain the other wants nothing to do with them after the betrayals they've committed. However, trapped by a cave-in while exploring the lower halls, Thorin and Bilbo are suddenly, and unavoidably thrown together and slowly they begin to sort things out.

#bagginshield #fanfiction #the hobbit #bilbo baggins #thorin oakenshield #bilbo x thorin #thorin x bilbo #thilbo #fanfic writers appreciation day

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jaytoons7 · 1 month

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I haven't drawn MLP next gen kiddos since like, 2016. So... Throwback time!

It was really fun to design these little ponies (Plus dragon)!

Notes: I didn't use bases, But I did use show screenshots as a starting point. I cheated lol

I am not 100% caught up on MLP (I originally drifted a bit from a show by about season 7) but I do have an idea how things end.

Character lore below the cut (It gets long):

Fizzle Dust:

Uses She/They pronouns interchangabley

Fizzle was spellborn from Twilight and Tempest, But surprisingly ended up being an earth pony. She is a bit taller than most ponies their age since her parents are both pretty tall

Ever since they were little, She's always wanted to be a royal guard

They feel like they have a lot of expectations on her shoulders, Since Tempest is a royal guard and Twilight is a princess. She tries to hide that though

Raspberry:

Uses any pronouns

Nopony was sure what the child of Fluttershy and Discord would end up looking like. Turns out, Discord's chaotic genetics seemed to awaken Fluttershy's dormant bat pony genetics, Thus ending up with Raspberry

Raspberry very rarely speaks, Using mostly squeaks and chirps

Unfortunately, She was bullied a lot as a kid, Not just for being a bat pony, But because he had a lot of weird interests growing up

They have a pet snake named Banana Sundae

Topaz:

Uses She/Her pronouns

Topaz was found as an egg with her birth parents being nowhere to be found. Fluttershy and Discord took her in to make sure she hatched safely

Unlike her Raspberry, Topaz is very talkative. She sometimes ends up going on for hours

She wants to care for animals like Fluttershy

She might be a part of this gen's CMC

Chocolate Fudge:

Uses She/Her pronouns

Chocolate is Pinkie and Cheese's second child

While she isn't quite as energetic as the rest of her family, She's still really bubbly and sweet

She has naturally straight hair but she makes it curly, Which is why it looks a little weird at the ends

She loves baking and wants to take over Sugarcube Corner someday

Prism Spectrum:

Uses She/Her pronouns

Prism was adopted by Rainbow and Gilda

She was born without a right hind leg, So she tends to fly more than she walks

She is the definition of chill

She sometimes struggles to show her emotions, Similarly to her parents

Apple Jewel:

Uses They/Them pronouns

Jewel is the spellborn child of Rarity and Applejack (They had Twilight's help though)

They are a wonderful artist who recently opened an art studio in Ponyville

They have always been heavily inspired by both of their parents since they're such hard workers

They sometimes paint so long, They forget to sleep, Which is why they often look tired

Blue Bow:

Uses She/Her pronouns

Blue was adopted by Coco and Rara

She lived most of her life in Manehattan. She moved to Ponyville where it's a bit quieter

She's a very talented song writer, But is too nervous to perform what she writes

However, She has a secret stage persona (Think of it as a Hannah Montana situation) named Golden Symphony. She's a lot more confident with her stage name

#my little pony #mlp #mlp oc #mlp next gen #oc: fizzle dust #oc: raspberry #oc: topaz #oc: chocolate fudge #oc: prism spectrum #oc: apple jewel #oc: blue bow #my doodles

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starboyshoyo · 9 months

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Fairytale Beginning

Pairing: Gepard Landau x reader

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail

Genre: fluff

A/N: This is part of the Masked Fools' August collab, Fairytale! Check out our other awesome writers there <3

Gepard Landau is so much more than just your fairytale ending.

Ever since you were little, you had always wanted to live out a fairy tale.

At first, you wanted to be the knight who slayed the dragon and saved the kingdom. People would cheer and call you their hero, and throw flowers at you- blooms that you had never seen in real life. Then, as you grew up, you wished for a gallant prince to come and save you from the depths of the Underground where the Supreme Guardian had halted transport between the two worlds, trapping the less fortunate down in the dark. Finally, when the blockade had been lifted and the Stellaron banished, you made your way up to the surface, and met the prince you had always wanted.

Gepard’s eyes were deep and honest, and so very blue. The first time you saw him, you had thought to yourself, they’re the color of the sky. It was a comparison that you hadn’t been able to make until that morning, when you emerged from the caverns and saw the azure light above you for the first time. When you spoke to him, he made you forget the darkness that stretched below the surface of the city. He took you to a cafe with flowers in the window and made you smile and laugh and dream for the first time since you stopped wishing to be a knight, and started wishing for a prince.

It seemed too good to be true when you started dating Gepard. How could one man be so kind and wonderful? But as you would come to learn, Gepard wasn’t perfect- he had his quirks like everyone else. He wouldn’t eat meat that was overcooked, and needed his bathwater to be scalding before he even thought about stepping foot in it. He couldn’t grow flowers for the life of him- he had left an entire planter full of ball peonies he was saving for your one-year anniversary in the sun for too long and cried when he saw that they had wilted. And of course, as the captain of the Silvermane Guards, he spent more time on the front lines than he did in your arms, and left you wondering just when you would see him again.

But despite it all, you loved him. You loved him more than the sky and the grass and the flowers you had always dreamed of seeing. So when he got down on one knee in front of the Everwinter Monument and pulled out a sapphire ring, you said yes- and later on, I do.

On the day of your wedding beneath the vast blue sky, hands joined with your lover’s in holy matrimony, you finally realized that Gepard Landau was not your fairytale ending- your lives together were only just beginning.

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

#honkai star rail #honkai x reader #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #gepard landau #gepard landau x reader #gepard x reader #landau siblings #birdie.masked fools

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yns-world · 2 years

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hi heart <3

I hope you are having a good day/night :) if you have time I want to request dialogues intros from Erron Black, Kano, Kotal Kahn, Shao Kahn and Rain with their son from the future who looks like them but has the personality of his mother( as if the reader were sarcastic, arrogant and rejected them all the time saying things like that she would never be with them that she doesn't like them and things like that and boom they meet their son who comes from the future).

Thank you very much in advance for your time and for writing such wonderful things <3 your posts are simply incredible :^ you are without a doubt one of my favorite writers <3

a/n: you're too kind 😭😭 you guys are so sweet and it makes me so happy to know that y'all enjoy this <333

i don’t take intro requests anymore but this was requested a week ago and i’ve been wanting to write this because i love the concept so much :)

MK Characters Meeting Their Future Son

Characters: Erron Black, Kano, Kotal Kahn, Shao Kahn, Rain

Y/S/N = Your son’s name

Erron Black: “Y/S/N, is it?”

Y/S/N: “Keep my name out of your filthy mouth.”

Erron Black: “You’re forgetting who you’re speaking to, partner.”

Y/S/N: “Great. I’ve found the hillbilly.”

Erron Black: "Hillbilly blood runs in your veins."

Y/S/N: “You don’t know how much I hate being remotely associated with you.”

Erron Black: “What kind of a mother harbors this much hate in a child?”

Y/S/N: “This hate wasn’t her doing, that was all you.”

Kano: “Ain’t no way you’re my child, I pulled out!”

Y/S/N: He rolls his eyes. “Real classy.”

Kano: He winks. “Just like how the ladies love ‘em.”

Kano: “You’re a fine looking fella, we could definitely use a lot of ya in the Black Dragon.”

Y/S/N: “I’m nothing like your third-rate gang.”

Kano: “Oh, but ya is. You’re my flesh and blood.”

Kano: He smirks. “How’s your mother doing?”

Y/S/N: “She’s counting on me to kill you. I never disappoint.”

Kano: “It’s gonna break her poor heart to find her son’s head at her doorstep.”

Kotal Kahn: “The heavens have blessed Y/N and I with the birth of you.”

Y/S/N: “You had no part in the blessing.”

Kotal Kahn: “You are of my seed, I’ve had just as much part as did your mother.”

Y/S/N: “The only thing you did was treat her like a whore and left her to fend for herself. I am of her creation.”

Y/S/N: He scoffs. “So the rumors are true.”

Kotal Kahn: “What rumors?”

Y/S/N: “That the sun god had his ass handed to him by some lowlife gangster.”

Y/S/N: “Does Jade know?”

Kotal Kahn: “There's nothing to tell.”

Y/S/N: “I guess I'll introduce myself after I kill you.”

Shao Kahn: He barks with laughter. “A son! Who knew Y/N would finally prove herself useful for once!”

Y/S/N: “You can rest easy knowing that I won’t fail like your daughters.”

Shao Kahn: “Fail at what?”

Y/S/N: “That I won’t fail to kill you here and now.”

Shao Kahn: “Your Tarkatan blood runs deep, child!”

Y/S/N: “It’s a shame your legacy ends here.”

Y/S/N: “You were always a monster.”

Shao Kahn: He smirks. “But your mother ran to me like how Red Riding Hood ran to the Big Bad Wolf.”

Y/S/N: “You forgot the part of the story where the wolf dies.”

Rain: “Do the gods deceive me?”

Y/S/N: “Not as much as you deceived my mother.”

Rain: He smirks, amused. “Ah, you’re Y/N’s boy. You carry her silver tongue.”

Y/S/N: His grip on his dagger tightens. “And I carry her hatred for you.”

Y/S/N: “You’re nothing but an egotistical bastard.”

Rain: “Ironic coming from you, no?”

Rain: “It’s good to know that my godhood passed down.”

Y/S/N: “Your pride will be the death of you.”

Rain: “Not before it kills you first.”

a/n: if you enjoyed this then please consider reblogging :) that helps my account more than likes <3

tipping also helps a lot!! any amount is much appreciated <3

i’m also considering writing commissions but i want to know what y’all think about that.

as always, check my pinned post for request rules and i hope y’all have a great day!!

i’ll catch y’all in the next post ;)

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weirdozjunkary · 2 months

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Ranting about the G5 MLP reboot, cause it annoys me cause it could be so much better. (This is very sporatic and has no set points so just go along with it)

Overall I don’t think that the G5 reboot for MLP is that bad. It’s fine for what it is, especially being aimed for the kids of today.

My only gripe is the absolute shit writing in the Make Your Mark series on Netflix. There is little to no consistency for characters or anything, like do any of the writers communicate with each other?

One major example I can recall is during the small Dragon Lands ark, Pipp enters the portal and is like “shit, there’s no signal, we can call for help.” And that’s fine, that’s normal for her character from what they’re trying to do with her (make her less obsessed with social media). But then after the episode ends after they go back inside, the next episode when they go back to it Pipp is like “NO THERES NO SIGNAL HERE! OH NO OH GOD!!!” And like…. You already knew there was no signal????

Another gripe I have is with Sunny. Like I get that she’s supposed to be the positive one, but literally her only thing is to be positive, to be the spokesperson. Just “we can do this if we set our minds to it.” There were so many parts where something important to the magic is at risk of being stolen, but she is all just like “it’s fine!” And just doesn’t do anything to protect it or keep it safe? Also she lowkey gaslights Zipp when she expresses concern over the magic. I love Sunny, but in the MYM show she just pisses me off so much.

Hitch and Izzy are the most normal, other than Hitch turning into a dad. But Hitch still stays mostly in character despite being a bit dumb and overprotective sometimes.

OH BUT THE EPISODE THAT ACTIVELY MADE ME PEEVED WAS THE ONE WHERE EATH PONIES GET THEIR MAGIC AND HITCH SETS RULES. Oh my god. Yes, hitch was being VERY strict about it. BUT HE HAD A GREAT FUCKING POINT?????

Earthy ponies were just getting used to learning new magic, and this caused someone to NEARLY GET CRUSHED by a large fruit, so hitch sets rules. Everything goes haywire because no one is using the magic. AND SOMEHOW THEY TRY TK GASLIGHT HITCH AND THE VIEWERS THAT THERES SHOULD BE NO RESTRICTIONS OR RULES???? Like did you forget that before someone nearly died or at least got seriously injured because ponies were just using it Willy nilly?

I get that this show is for kids, but come on, you could do so much better than this. I’m not even getting to Opaline. (I think she’s alright as a villain, but her character feels so forced).

I hope to god that if they make more stuff for this reboot that it would actually be good. There’s so much wasted potential and such weird and bad writing, it makes me wanna claw at my skin.

#rambles #rants #text post #mlp g5 #mlp make your mark

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mooncalfe-art · 11 months

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Weird question, please bear with me.

So I was in the turtle group chat talking about different methods of turtle shell repair, as one does, and then I remembered Donnie's Terrible, Rotten, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and his metal shell.

Seeing as a turtle's shell IS their spine and a significant portion of their ribcage, does Donnie now also have a prosthetic metal spine and ribs? and all the Important Stuff that's in the spinal column - the nerves and the fluids and the like... I'm not really asking for you to explain the Deep Biology of mutant turtle skeletal structures, but I AM asking what is up with their spines - are the fused, separate, some secret third thing? inquiring minds want to know.

I think about this same thing every so often, haha. Most artists (even Peter and Kevin back in the day) draw the Turtles with a flexible plastron unlike real turtles, which you can either chalk up to artistic license and cartooning, or you can take it more literally to mean that the Turtles have a more human-type skeleton and their plastron and shell are more spongy sort of armor plating rather than bone like real-life turtles. If I was the only one working on TMNT I'd probably delve more into the biology of it and have it at the outset that the carapace is part of their skeleton and is rigid like real turtles, but it's impossible to set that kind of thing up in a series with a ton of people working on it and expect it to remain the same across the board, so I usually just don't worry about it. I'm also kind of boxed in a bit by Donatello losing his shell and, thanks to the ooze, somehow receiving a new one that Fugitoid I guess just sticks onto Don's back and he's good to go. There's a panel in that particular issue (I forget which one it was) where Don is about to be operated on and he's lying on his back on the medical bed, but I always wondered what's under his shell, then? If he has no shell I'm guessing it was a huge exposed wound, and if so why is he lying ON the giant gaping wound?! Haha. And then it's like if the Turtles' carapace is flexible in IDW TMNT, that must mean it's NOT part of their skeletal system and in that case why would Don even need a new shell? Clearly thinking too deeply about it, haha.

In any case, since I took over as writer, I've tried to go by those rules that Tom set up as much as I can, like when I had Don's old broken shell (which Tom never accounted for, where did it go after Fugitoid removed it??? So I decided to draw the old shell having been tossed into a dumpster, lol) be attached to Venus, like if the surgeon has a healing agent like ooze or the Dragon scales the way Fugitoid and Dr. Barlow did, it seems like they can just graft components (whether organic or inorganic) onto anyone however they like regardless of what the internal mutant biology is. In Venus's flashback in my Alliance #4 issue, I did draw her spinal column visible when the shell is being grafted on though, sort of as a nod to the skeletal system thing but not explicitly solidifying the biology of it.

Another way I think about it is that mutants haven't undergone any sort of evolution as a species, their biology doesn't have to "make sense" or be useful in a natural selection evolutionary way. The mutagen kinda removes all the specialized traits from an animal, so the Turtles' carapaces have lost whatever traits gave rise to regular turtles' shells over millions of years. Mutants are outside the evolutionary process, so the Turtles' shells don't have to be biologically useful or advantageous or even really have anything in common with normal turtles. The mutagen reconfigures an animal into humanoid form and it'll recode their DNA to any extent to acheive that end result, so maybe it built the Turtles' a new skeletal system and their shells are purely vestigial.

I feel like I'm getting way too deep here and it only makes it more confusing, lol. So to answer your question, if I had to pick one of the options you listed, I would pick "secret third thing." ;)

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digitaldoeslmk · 7 months

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multiple questions. Is Lady Bone Demon alive or did she die in the same in JTTW.

Is macaque alive and is he literal metaphor of Wukong like his a “clone” of Wukong or is he a complete separate being from from Wukong and just represents what evil Wukong can do.

Are yellow camel gang (forget their group name) still supplementing the demon warlords not like they do anything special all you have the DBK, speak of him is the jade face fox still around.

What is Mei doing to do the Samadi fire isn’t split up so what she got to do (the writers really fumble the ball with her well that happen when you are given 10 MINUTES PER EP LIKE WHAT HELL LEGO)? Speaking of the gang are they the same guys or are they still recantations?

What is this demon-human truce I keep hearing about how did it happen? After Wukong sealed DBK?

Is flower fruit mountain still in same place like in the show? Because I can see Wukong using his 10000 ft tall from to pick up all of FFM and pick up a big chunk of the fire ring mountains (I forgot the name of that place too) then place it in the middle of the ocean to be life alone. yes I know volcanoes don’t work like that but come on this world is all really violating the natural norms of our world so what’s one more violation.

OHO MANY QUESTIONS!! :DD

1. LBD makes an appearance but she's just a small fry yaojing like in JTTW, and more of a lackey then the big bad. she did get killed by Wukong but she escapes the Diyu with some help

2. Macaque also an escapee from the Diyu and takes role of bbg on S3. he's his own person, but he feels himself equal to Wukong in power and merit, and he resents him for being given the chance at Enlightenment. not that the option is never denied to him, he can do it on his own accord, but not if he can't gain fame and renown from it like Wukong did.

3. the Camel Ridge Trio aren't part of the Brotherhood, they're their own thing but they got deleted by Wukong in the journey and that's that lol his Brotherhood tho is still around in their own way, and they do resent him for ditching them for Heaven. they arent big bads in S4 but they get roped into a vengence plot by Macaque.

4. Jade Faced Fox as well as the Immortal Compliant are still around but they're on PIF's side while DBK got sealed away. They got only minor roles though villains of the week demons for MK, like Yin and Jin.

5. IM TAKING MEI AND GIVING HER A FIX UP MAKEOVER!!!!! She's overall still like her S1 self, but her arc is more tied to her dragon ancestry than stealing Red Son's thunder. the Samadhi Fire isn't a McGuffin hot potato in S3, her arc is about learning to master her water and weather manipulation powers, and learning how to fly on her own. Chinese dragons need a "protusion" in their head to fly which im just reworking as its an age thing, so best she can do half the time is hop around on clouds, and since Megapolis in is a desert and has weather control.... not much chance to stretch herself. Also she has a full proper dragon form, not just a floating hologram form.

6. the gang is not reincarnations of the pilgrims, the lads are all in their celestial posts post-JTTW and they make some appearances here and there, mostly in a support role. Tang is one of Tripitaka's disciples who also got given a few reincarnations as a mortal to build merit and cultivation. Wukong saw that and went "hey yknow what would be really funny?" and so pilgrim group electric boogaloo happens xD

7. after the journey, Wukong became a boddhisattva, and helped over the years to build trust between humans and demons, proving that they can not only coexist but support each other. Megapolis was the first mixed city to be built as proof-of-concept that a demon-human truce could work, and after a few decades, the truce was codified into law both in the mortal and celestial realm. basically demons will be treated as equals among humans if they don't eat or kill humans, and they can be redeemed if they choose to drop a warlord's lifestyle after community service and reparations are given. to maintain the peace, quite a few immortals keep an eye on the mortal realm for any breaches on that truce, so it can be investigated and punished accordingly.

8. JSBDHSHDJHD TRUE THAT!! But FFM is not sealed away so zealously, everyone knows Wukong didn't vanish, he just went to the celestial realm to work as an intermediate between mortals and immortals and yknow, boddishattva duties. FFM got plucked closer to the shore, and after Megapolis was properly established, it even got a few tourist traps along the shores. there are still monkey yaoguai living there quite happily, those villages we see arent deserted, and sometimes scholars and pilgrims are allowed to climb the mountain for an escorted visit. its pretty lively there!

#lmk au #by the book au

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daylander1000 · 11 months

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Will you watch season 2 of HotD or you've lost interest in the show? I wasn't thrilled with season 1, but I do like some characters and I'm curious to see if they'll do them any justice in the next season(s). I'm still trying to be optimistic (which is definitely against my nature 😁), although the latest leaks from Spain (which I desperately hope to be false) doesn't sound promising.

Idk it you read Fire & Blood, but that book is often overrated imho, almost all the characters there are painfully one-dimensional, shallow and bland, while the plot is full of illogical things (especially the Dance part) . So, as you can see, I'm not the biggest book fan, and I do believe that the show did some things better and gave a bit of depth and complexity to certain characters and fleshed them out. However, at the same time it seems to me that they didn't complete what they started, like, you see the potential of the characters and understand their motivations, but then out of the blue they do or say something totally nonsensical and OOC. Take Alicent at the end of episode 8. Rhaenyra says something nice to her and she suddenly forgives everything and forgets that's the same woman who wanted to "sharply question" Aemond after her son Luke maimed him over an insult (a fact, actually), the woman her husband always favoured at the expense of Alicent's own children and finally, the woman who is married to Daemon, the sociopath who hates Alicent and her children and who will kill anyone (and apparently with Rhaenyra and Viserys' blessing) without remorse if it benefits him and his side. I mean, the guy even had the gall to look annoyed during the prayer for Vaemond. Still, according to the show, Alicent somehow needs to "misunderstand" Viserys' last words to crown her own son, and not because it's probably the only way to keep her and her children alive and safe and because her son actually has the strongest claim to the throne according to Westerosi laws avd tradition. And don't get me started on the Velaryons who are collectively depicted as "Dae and Rhae fan club". Like, what is Corlys even thinking?! I won't ask about Baela and Rhaena because they obviously don't get to think and are just unconditionally supportive of Rhaenyra and the Strong boys. Rhaenys is contradictory and inconsistent. It's frustrating, really. Also, the fact that the narrative/the framing of the show heavily favours team black is also off-putting. Nevertheless, I'm still curious and just a bit hopeful that season 2 will balance these things a little. Maybe I'll just be terribly disappointed, but oh well. Sorry for the rant :D

Anyway, as a fan of your fic, I would like to know your opinion. Does the show deserve our optimism and what are your predictions regarding season 2?

S2 predictions? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Why would you ask me this? This is a show where someone in a professional HBO writers room said, "So what if a dragon just bursts up from the underground?" And the showrunner was like "Fuck yeah!"

I don't think they even thought to do a camera pan of the carnage. It's like they wanted to make Rhaenys look badass but did a Koolaid Man scene instead.

Tell me that this isn't Rhaenys

Predictions? This is not Leftovers where you could do a whole video essay on foreshadowing and subtext and hidden clues. This is a series where there's a horse running loose in a writer's room and nobody knows what it's going to write next.

This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.

My prediction for S2 is that during the time off at least one person realizes that they failed to make Aegon into Joff 2.0, that instead of having him be affably evil, he's onscreen affable and offscreen evil, and they'll try to double down on actually showing that he's evil and actually showing that he's worse than Daemon and Rhaenyra.

We've seen Daemon in brothels, grooming and marrying children, killing Rhea, killing innocent people and murdering lords at court, but we've only been told (by very minor characters) that Aegon is a baby-eating rape monster. It's all extremely "tacked-on."

I think Aegon's the biggest problem that they have to work on. Just getting at least this one character to make sense moving forward.

When Jahaerys is killed, I think they'll use that to really commit to making him the bad guy. Like he'll have to be killing a baby or raping someone or eating someone so that it's not Rhaenyra and Daemon killing a child but "Look at what this bad man was doing instead of protecting his son."

As far as predictions go, that's all I can see. If they only develop one character in S2, it needs to be him. Rhaenyra has Rockstar!Daemon, Rhaenys and Corlys on her side, so they'll have to upscale the green threat otherwise it's a bunch of grown people and veteran soldiers fighting two children who have no experience at anything because the oldest one is a 20-year-old frat boy and his brother is still a teenager. Aegon's going to have to really be villainous.

I feel like there's a reason all his nude scenes are with his mother, it's one of the few consistent things between them through the time skips and actor changes, and I feel like they're going to go fully 500% in that Commodus direction

and have him just be creepy and rapey with her in a "bad incest," how-the-turntables, "be careful what you wish for" way. Alicent's defining trait seems to be "perpetual victim," so I feel like they'll go this way and frame it as if she's getting what she deserves for slapping him around. Ten extra points if they have Rhaenyra or Rhaenys there on hand to be like "Is this your king?"

I don't see them doing anything with Rhaena besides sending her away, and I actively don't want to see Baela going out there getting her dragon killed and her face burnt off in defense of Rhaenyra.

I honestly try to not think about s2 of this.

I was a hardcore asoiaf fan but I didn't like Feast or Dance. I read Dunk and Egg, but he didn't finish that either. And when F&B came out, I got the audiobook and I listened to it for a few hours, probably less than five, and I couldn't concentrate because I kept thinking "Did this bitch seriously package his story notes as a novel for sale??? This is an insult to storytelling."

And I deleted it.

It's the quality for one thing. It's the lack of diversity, it's the author not finishing anything, it's the fandom being 20% fantasy fans, 80% trump rally...

Like, in just 10 episodes HotD has managed to give a voice to pro-rape feminists. Didn't even know that was a thing until I saw it on Twitter.

I saw some of the leaked pics of Helaena at the funeral on my feed, didn't have to scroll far to see people just casually r-wording Helaena and acting like having six fingers is a killing offense since eugenics rhetoric is apparently thriving in this fandom.

And on top of all that, the story doesn't even make sense.

I don't want to be like "dramaturgically speaking" but narrative coherence is a thing. Just from bing chat (yes, I'm using bing 😣):

Narrative coherence is the degree to which a story makes sense. Coherent stories are internally consistent, with sufficient detail, strong characters, and free of significant surprises. The ability to assess coherence is learned and improves with experience. Individuals assess a story's adherence by comparing it with similar stories. The ultimate test of narrative sense is whether the characters act reliably. If figures show continuity throughout their thoughts, motives, and actions, acceptance increases. However, characters behaving uncharacteristically destroy acceptance.

This show has curb-stomped narrative coherence.

Like, take that scene where they killed Vaemond. The way they write it, Rhaenyra has come back after 6 years of never visiting her father to drag him off his deathbed so he can support her in taking Driftmark, the seat of house Velaryon, away from Velaryon people to give it to her son by Harwin Strong. Vaemond is killed for telling the truth.

With different lighting and music, that's peak tyranny. That's some Mad King Aerys shit. In full view of all the lords at court. Every single person in that courtroom is aware that Luke is a bastard and they've just witnessed a lord like themselves get beheaded over it. This isn't Daemon killing commoners. He's killing the lords and ladies of Westeros.

But there's no fallout. Nothing. All the lords of Westeros cease to matter. It's just another Tuesday to them.

Hell, they go even further and frame the scene like Viserys is Old Theoden fighting off the curse of Wormtongue. Otto, Alicent and her goblin children all but shrivel and wither from the sunlight that Rhaenyra brings as Vaemond is cut down by noble Daemon. In that scene, Dark Sister might as well be Andúril, Flame of Old Valyria, sword of justice.

There are shows that are easy to watch that we say are "no brain cells required," but HotD is like, "No brain cells allowed. Switch them off or put them on silent so you don't disturb anyone."

I have no hope for season 2. I would never rec this to anyone or say that I think the writing will improve. The foundation is shit. You can't build a strong s2 on a shit s1 unless you're writing a procedural or an anthology where nothing that comes before matters.

You can't undo things like Alicent supporting Aegon as king because of a misunderstanding. There's a limit to how many things you can retcon without destroying all sense of continuity and they've already gone beyond that in s1.

They're past plot holes. They have whole parts of the world that are just void of all thought. Alicent and Rhaenys are characters who respawn and disintegrate from scene to scene as needed. Corlys is three lines of dialogue in a trenchcoat. Daemon Targaryen is somehow, impossibly, a less-developed Damon Salvatore.

No optimism here.

I'm that jaded ex fan who's like, "hotd is a barren wasteland, riddled with racists, ableists and toxic stans, and those are just the writers. The very fandom air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten-thousand Lindelof-level writers could they fix this shit."

But that being said, I have a really bad habit of watching shit TV.

I've seen Catwoman more than 5 times.

Waterworld, Jonah Hex, Elektra, Daredevil (Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell), Battlefield Earth, Supernova. At least 8 of the Fast movies. All the Transformers. Dracula 2000. All the old school classics of bad cinema.

I haven't watched Morbius as yet and the only reason why is because I feel like Jared Leto is intentionally trying to become Nicholas Cage and I don't want to support that.

There is something about the cringe that hooks me. And with a TV series? That weekly cringe? That is peak entertainment.

It used to take me 4 sometimes 5 hours to watch and digest a single episode of Titans because there were so many questions to think about.

I hyperfixate on bad writing. Trying to figure out all the ways it went wrong and why and what they were trying to do. Once I start, I can't stop thinking about it. I'm hoping swhhw gets it out of my system, but I don't know.

Like, anybody can make good TV. Anybody can do that if you try hard enough. But truly horrible TV isn't supposed to exist. It's like 20 million an episode to make HotD? Nobody is supposed to invest that in a show where the showrunner doesn't even know how old the characters are. Bad TV shows are supposed to be snuffed out before they see the light of day.

But HotD is something special.

You don't accidentally end up with a Koolaid Dragon busting up through concrete. A director described that scene to a VFX crew. The actors had to rehearse that repeatedly. They had to do a read-through...

Like, just think about that.

And then they announce that they're going ahead with s2 without writers?!

That is insane. Part of me says look away, and the other part of me says that s2 of HotD will be something the likes of which I'll never see again.

I really don't want to watch S2, but honestly, I might. Not because I think it will be better but because I'm dead certain it can only get worse.

#long ass post #hotd rambling #answered asks #bad writing

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daisysolovely · 1 year

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Aemma Targaryen 2

Aemma’s dragon

Hiiii, first of all, I want to thank you for all the feedback you’ve giving on the last part of Aemma’s story. I was so insecured and anxious when I posted it but your supports helped me tremendously and leaded me to this post. Secondly, this is another story about Aemma and her journey to claim her dragon. I hope you guys enjoy it and if you can, please let me know what you like or dislike about this story.

I think this part will help you understand futher why Aemma didn’t hesitate to take the hit that meant for Aemond and it will also explain for a lot of thing for the future part ( if there is any). It took place when she was a child. But don’t worry, I’ll writing the story taking place after Aemond’s event as well. This one just haunted my mind for so long that I need to write it down ASAP XD

This one is very long btw and I think I might not done it justic but I’ll try to edit it after.

Summary: Aemma’s insecurity leaded Daemon to help her and the only thing to sovles a problem in Targaryen’s style is...dragon.

P/s: I am not native English speaker so please forgive me if there is any grammar mistake in it, I’ll try to edit it. I am unexperience writer as well so feedback would be highly appreciated.

Aemma’s series: Losing an eye, A ruby eye, A Pawn, A Proposal

Anyway, enjoy~~~

Every since Aemma was born, she had been surrounded by darkness. Yet, she didn’t fear darkness like some did. She embraced it instead and found the silver lining in it. For instance, the princess took pride in her hearing abilities and often told her sister and father she could hear their footstep whenever they were near. And she would often reward with praise. Even her brother, Aegon thought she was a genius.

Aemma dragged her brother along with her to the garden. She loved hearing Aegon describe the shape of the cloud even though she might not be able to imagine it. She would never know what a horse look like or a bird look like. But she appreciated Aegon’s effort and his excitement. It filled her with warmth and love.

“That one looks like my dragon.” Aegon pointed out as he excitedly exclaimed. The boy’s dragon had hatched not long after his birth and he had been eager to talk about his baby to everyone.

But the prince quickly shut his mouth when he realised he had just hit a touching topic. Even at the tender age of 6, the boy had learned what he should say and what not to, due to the court’s influence on the boy. He eyed his sister warily, concerned about how she might react.

Much to his surprise, Aemma smiled and sighed in contentment. “I wish I could know what a dragon looks like.” She muttered. “They must be very majestic, aren’t they?”

“They are.” Confirmed Aegon.

“I wonder if Rhaenrya would let me ride her dragon with her, that would be wonderful.”

“When mine becomes big, we can ride together.” The prince suggested and successfully made the princess's smile wider.

Aemma loved Aegon as she did with her family. But during that time of her life, the young princess adored her younger brother, even more than she did her sister and brother. He knew how to make her day, say the right thing and all in all, was a great sibling. For young Aemma, that was enough.

The mention of the dragon, however, stayed with Aemma throughout the day. No matter how hard she tried, the cursed princess couldn’t forget about that conversation. That was when she started to notice things… or rather, words.

The hearing she used to pride in, started to betray her. The young princess began to notice what others had talked about behind her back, thinking she was out of earshot. And a seed of doubt was planted in her young mind.

It started with questioning herself…

Aemma was a Targaryen and proud to be one. But a Targaryen was known to bond with their dragon. Why didn’t she have one then? Was it because she was cursed? And why she couldn’t see like the rest of her family? Was it because her mother died giving birth to her?

Aemma couldn’t understand, and the young child didn’t know how to verbalise her concern. But the longer she doubted herself, the quiet she seemed to grow. You would think that with how doting Rhaenerya and the king were toward Aemma, they would pick up the sign immediately. That didn’t happen, however. Even at a young age, Aemma was skilled in hiding her true emotion.

The princess started to hate her hearing ability and wished under the moon for it to be taken away as god did with her eyesight. The princess prayed every night to her mother and apologised for causing her death. In the young Aemma’s mind, it was all her fault.

____

The Red Keeper was celebrated for the third name day of the second prince, Aemond. And there were more noble arriving to cheer and attend the happy event. To everyone, this was a time for celebration. But for Aemma, it was disastrous.

The young princess loved her brother, naturally. But she was extremely overwhelmed with her surrounding, finding herself bumming into people more than usual and the noise was just too loud for her liking.

When people gathered, they talked as well.

“Have you met the young princess?” Asked a noble lady.

“Ah, the cursed one?” Another lady said in a whisper tone.

“Yeah, that one. The one without a dragon.” The first one said, her tone slightly mocking. “She kept bumping into people and walls, I’ve seen her tripping more than I could count.” The lady told her friend.

“What do you expect from a blind princess?”

“Honestly, if she wasn’t a princess, she would be downright worthless, wouldn’t she? Don’t even have a dragon and couldn’t walk decently to save her own life.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the topic of her marriage would become a burden for the King and the queen.”

The other snickered. “I doubt she could be married off, not suitable to be wife material, wouldn’t she?”

“One might marry for her money.”

And the two laughed cruelly, clerking their goblets to cheer on their conversation.

Little did they know, the mentioned princess had heard every single word they said.

Aemma’s face fell, she gripped her dress and whimpered slightly. The young girl kept telling herself not to cry for the Targaryen wouldn’t tolerate weak links. But her existence was a weak link and burden itself, wasn’t it? In her defence, Aemma had tried to walk on her own, and she did. The other day, she had just walked to the Throne room all by herself and her father even praised her. She simply couldn’t control herself sometimes… But they were right, she supposed.

How was she supposed to marry anyone? She couldn’t even walk straight… And she didn’t have a dragon…

Was she really a Targaryen?

Unknowingly, a tear ran down the young princess’s cheek, then another and another. Soon, she went full sobbing while sitting in a corner. She was surrounded by waves of laughter and giggling, a joyful and merry place.

Suddenly, the princess could hear a few heavy footsteps walking toward her and the train of tears stopped almost instantly. The young princess hugged herself tightly, preparing herself for what was to come. This was a stranger, she was certain as their pace was foreign to her.

“Aemma?” Asked the stranger warily. “I am Daemon, your uncle…” He said softly while kneeling at the princess’s level. Despite knowing her disability, the Rogue prince still looked into her eyes as if he was talking to a normal person. The only different thing was the prince was softer than usual.

To say Daemon was shocked to find his niece in the garden this late at night was underestimated. But to see tears on her adorable face? The Rogue prince was concerned, however, he was cautious about approaching her for they had never officially met before. He was exiled after her birth and he doubted the young princess could recognise him. Besides, the prince was worried about how she might react toward strangers. He understood that one could be on very high guard if they couldn’t see.

“Uncle Daemon?” She whispered.

Aemma had, of course, heard the tale about her Rogue prince. In her mind, he was a mighty warrior who went to war for their family and the best swordsman they would ever have. Nobody had ever informed her of the Rogue prince’s notorious reputation or how ruthless his personality could be and that was probably a good thing too.

Naturally, she was elated to meet Daemon. The princess had always wanted to meet him. Sadly, however, she couldn’t find it in her to greet her uncle with a gleeful attitude.

“That’s right.” The Rogue prince hummed softly, his hand going to fix her hair slightly. “What happened, princess? Did anyone do something to you?”

Despite his soft tone, the fire in Daemon’s eyes was anything but.

Aemma’s pouty lips trembled and she burst into tears again once Daemon asked. Her uncontrollable and sudden cry surprised the Rogue Prince. He went to caress her hair while not knowing what to do.

“Am I a Targaryen, uncle?” She asked out of the blue and caught Daemon completely off guard.

Why in the seven hells would she even doubt that? The man thought to himself. One with eyes could see how Targaryen she was, with perfect silver hair and beautiful violet eyes that resembled her sister, but a lighter shade.

“Konir sagon daor sesīr iā másino, dārilaros” That's not even a question, princess, Daemon said as his fingers twirled with the end of her silver hair. The Rogue prince chuckled upon seeing her confused expression. “Have nobody taught you High Valyrian, zaldrītsos?” Little Dragon.

Unexpectedly, the princess shook her head. She had heard her sister and father talking in the language before and Rhanerya even told her about the glorious tale of their ancestor and their origin. Yet, Aemma had trouble trying to learn the language, something that she was deeply ashamed of.

“How’s about I teach you some?” The prince suggested and he seemed shocked by his proposal as well. But it was too late for him to take it back now.

“Really?” The princess asked hopefully, her eyes seemingly glistening up.

“Yes, I will teach you and when I finish, you will tell me what troubles you today. What do you think, zaldrītsos?”

Aemma bit the bottom of her lips, seemingly to be deep in thought. Yet she showed no sign of hesitation, only an act of wanting to negotiate. “We got ourselves a deal, then.” She then smiled.

“Yes, princess, we got a deal. I intend to keep my end of the deal so I hope you will do the same.” Aemma could hear a hint of amusement in his voice and dared to say he was jesting her. For a moment, she wished she could see the infamous Rogue Prince’s handsome face. Aemma bet his smile would be very pretty.

“I’ll.” The cursed princess insisted confidently.

—---

For the next few days, Aemma spent her days learning High Valyrian with her uncle. And it was proven to be a challenge teaching Aemma the language. The princess blushed every time she couldn’t recall the word she learnt last time but Daemon, surprisingly, encouraged her and waited slowly for her to memorise it.

Even a few times, Aemma had improved tremendously thanks to Daemon, who was so proud of his niece. A part of the Rogue Prince was also impressed by how patient he was.

“Have you remembered the phrase?” He asked Aemma, the two sat in the garden, a knight observing the pair from afar. The Rogue Prince took a sip of his goblet as he watched the young princess mumbling repeatedly the phrase he taught previously. “Don’t be scared, we can learn again if you don’t remember.”

Aemma shook her head, a determined expression on her beautiful face. “I think I got it, uncle.”

“Sȳz riña, tell that to your father when you see him. I’m certain he’ll be pleased.” Good girl

“You think so?” The princess questioned nervously. She found spending time with her uncle oddly soothing, contradicting the impression she had from the tale about him. The prince was kind, and patient to her and the young Aemma was grateful for it. A part of her, however, felt guilty for spending all her time with her uncle. She should have shared him with Aegon, who she hadn’t met since Aemond’s name day. The young princess thought that her brother might want to play with their uncle as well and internally scolded her for being so selfish.

She shouldn’t hog him to herself…

“I know so, zaldrītsos” Little dragon. The prince suddenly cleared his throat and Aemma immediately raised her head to the level of his voice. “Now, I think it’s time for you to keep your end of the deal.”

Aemma dropped her face and fidgeted with her fingers. She didn’t know how to voice her though and doubt clouded the young princess. But she wasn’t going to break her promise… Her beloved sister had taught Aemma that a promise was not to be broken or she wouldn’t be trustworthy.

“Why don’t I have a dragon, uncle?” She asked, her innocence showed through her young voice and the naivety on her face made the question sound painful to hear. “Was it because I am cursed?”

Daemon clenched his jaw tightly. How on the seven hells did Aemma have this absurd idea? The Rogue prince wished to know the person daring to say such absurdity and he vowed heads would be rolling when he found out. At that moment, the prince successfully connected the dot and frowned deeply. “Is this why you ask if you were a Targaryen, zaldrītsos?”

The princess shamefully nodded. From all the days she had spent with her uncle Daemon, she saw a lot of Targaryen’s traits in him and the young princess admired her uncle, wishing she could be as mighty as him. She admired how confident he was, wanting to carry herself with the same attitude. To the young Aemma, her uncle was the ideal Targaryen, a model to look up to. But that would soon change with times when she began to see the world clearer…

Sighing, Daemon shifted in his seat and leaned to be closer to the young princess, his hand brushing through her silky hair. “I want you to understand that with or without a dragon, you are a Targaryen, it runs in your blood. Who dares to question it will answer before the Dark sister.” He said. “And you might not have a dragon now, but be patient. I am certain when the time is right, you will meet your dragon.”

“Really?” The princess bit her lips, she wished to believe Daemon’s words but her head kept denying it, drowning her in self-doubt. “But I am the weak link, will I even be worthy of a dragon?”

“You are not a weak link and you will never be!” Daemon shouted suddenly, slammed the table and sent the princess flinching. The Rogue prince took a pause upon the realisation of his overreacting, he sat back down and went to brush Aemma’s silver lock, tucking it behind her hair. For some reason, Aemma’s hair always rested messy. “Do you want to hear a secret?” The prince lowered his voice for dramatic effect and the young princess was immediately intrigued. She had always been a curious little thing. “You are the bravest girl I’ve ever known.”

The young princess blushed at the praise from someone she admired so much and beamed from ear to ear. She mumbled a thank you to her uncle, and appreciated his compliment as somehow, she felt so assured. Perhaps recognition from someone as strong as Daemon was that priceless. Even years later, she still felt pride whenever she recalled this little moment.

Needless to say, Aemma was over the moon. All of her doubts seemed to disappear for now.

Daemon smiled upon seeing Aemma’s reaction. She was a sweet nature child who had the purest soul he ever had the pleasure to encounter, a complete contradiction to her other sibling, Aegon who Daemon detested ever since he was born. The prince watched his niece, his head’s gear seemed to run restlessly until he clacked.

“Princess, do you want to ride Caraxes with me?” He invited the princess, knowing she wouldn’t turn down the opportunity. She had expressed her interest in dragons from the past few days they spent together, particularly in the tale of his adventure on Caraxes’s back.

So, Daemon took his niece’s hand and guided her to the dragon pit. On the way, he didn’t forget to warn her how loud the dragon could be and that she should stay back before he allowed her to encounter Caraxes. Aemma was eager, nodded at every instruction and her step felt lighter.

Caraxes growled loudly as a greeting when he spotted Daemon from afar, the dragon leaned closer to touch its companion. “Nyke jaelagon ao naejot rhaenagon someone” I want you to meet someone. Having the dragon’s agreement, Daemon went to get Aemma, standing closely behind her while guiding her to Caraxes.

Caraxes was sceptical about the tiny human at first, seeming to be on guard as he watched the young princess getting closer to him. But like any Targaryen, the dragon was soon to accept her, leaning for the young princess to pat his head.

Meanwhile, the young princess was smiling from ear to ear. She slowly patted his head, trying to figure out his form in her mind. And surprisingly, Caraxes allowed her to pet him as well. Daemon watched the exchange with a smile, but his stand was wary, ready to get in action if Caraxes decided to harm the little girl.

Soon, Daemon helped Aemma on Caraxes and the two were off Red Keeps. The Rogue prince had something in mind and he need confirmation.

—--

Daemon flew to Dragonstone with Aemma sitting before him, the princess couldn’t stop laughing the entire trip, and constantly asked him about their destination.

“It’s a surprise, princess.” He said.

The Rogue prince even allowed the young princess to take the reign and stirred it with him. He was understanding and encouraging the young girl when she felt timid and insecure due to her disability. “How about we do it together? How does that sound?” Suggested Daemon and earned himself a nod from the cursed princess.

The pair landed near one of the smoking caverns of the Dragonmont. Daemon left Caraxes behind while carrying Aemma in one hand, another a torch.

“You need to be quiet, alright?” The prince muttered to his niece who nodded in return and adorably placed her hand on her lips.

Aemma was curious, she had been the entire time. Not knowing where she has stressed the young princess out and she had to constantly remind herself to trust her uncle. He wouldn’t harm her, she would know if he wanted to. From what she had learned, Daemon wouldn’t even bother to harm her. Her chance of becoming her sister’s heir is little to none. Therefore, why would he hurt her?

If Daemon was aware of his niece’s thoughts, he would laugh out loud. Unlike what the court believed, Daemon didn’t want the throne to himself, not if it meant he would be chained down. Hence, he wouldn’t harm the little princess. Besides, he liked Aemma. That was a convincing reason enough.

The Rogue prince started to sing and Aemma recognised the melody almost immediately as it was the lullaby her sister used whenever she tucked the cursed princess in bed. The young girl perked up in her uncle’s arms, trying to decipher her surrounding with sound. It didn’t take long for her to a roar was heard from afar, scaring the young princess.

Aemma buried her head in her uncle’s neck while making herself focus on her uncle’s voice instead. This was terrifying, the young princess found and she wished to be out of that place immediately, especially when the loud noise hurt her hearing.

Slowly, Daemon put his niece down at a far enough distance from the creature, not forgetting to instruct Aemma. “Stay here and don’t move, princess. I’ll be back soon.” He said, leaving a kiss on her temple before moving toward the sound direction.

Sitting still, Aemma tapped her fingers on her lap, trying to stay calm while paying attention to the smallest sound she could hear. But so far, the sound of the creature Aemma recognised as the dragon was anything but. The young princess figured this dragon must be larger than Caraxes for the latter wasn’t as loud.

Why did her uncle bring her here? Aemma thought to herself.

But she was quick to know the answer. Aemma was picked up by her uncle again, this time, he moved slower until the two were close to the dragon.

“Vermithor, this is princess Aemma.” The prince presented the cursed princess to his grandfather’s dragon and watched in awe as the said dragon observed the princess in Daemon’s arms.

Slowly, Vermithor leaned closer to sniff the young girl, sending her to still while Daemon laughed, and assured her it wasn’t dangerous. After what seemed like forever, Vermithor nudged Aemma and placed its head in her hand when she offered it. Confusing at what had just happened, the young princess absentmindedly pet the large dragon, not knowing she was petting one of the largest dragons the Targaryen had.

Daemon contentedly smirked, “I thought so.” He said to himself, putting his niece down and watching the exchange between Vermithor and Aemma.

The moment Aemma was put down, she was immediately attacked by Vermithor. The large dragon nudged her and let out a growl as a greeting. “Rytsas” Aemma said softly, as she caress the head of Vermithor, a warm feeling ran through her, taking over every inch of her skin like a wide fire. And she knew… just like that, she knew she had her dragon. “Uncle!” She exclaimed out of joy.

“I know, congratulation, princess.” Daemon replied. “Now, no more doubting yourself?”

The princess nodded eagerly, beaming brightly.

Daemon had thought about the Grey ghost and the possibility of Aemma claiming the dragon for its soft nature. But the Rogue prince changed his mind. Aemma was special and a wild dragon was a difficult case for any normal dragon rider to claim. So, he thought about Vermithor who was growing tolerant of the presence of humans and more willing to accept riders. The rogue prince decided to take a gamble and brought Aemma here. It paid off, it seemed.

In the rogue prince’s mind, being dragonless was what drove Aemma to her distressed state. Therefore, by helping her claim a dragon, the prince successfully treated her problem.

If only it was so easy…

—-----

Meanwhile, back at Red Keep, the King went feral when he noticed his brother and second daughter’s absence. His anger went spiralling upon the notice of Caraxes in the sky.

When Viserys ran to the dragon pit, he was in for a surprise. Behind the king was his first son, Aegon who was concerned for the cursed princess’s wellbeing and blamed him for not protecting her. The two didn’t expect what was to come.

The king and the prince watched in awe as Aemma sat on Caraxes with Daemon, and Vermithor trailing closely behind. It didn’t take much to figure out the situation.

Aemma claimed Vermithor!

Aegon cheered in delight, pride-filled his eyes as he watched his sister getting off Caraxes. While the king was equally proud, standing with his eyes heated up at the sight. Viserys never think there was a day when Aemma would be able to claim her dragon. It wasn’t because he doubted his daughter, but for her disability, the king never dared to dream of a day like this.

Under his watchful eyes, his brother whispered something to his daughter, causing Aemma to giggle. Aemma spun around, seemingly to be in search of something. “Father?” She asked.

“I am here, love.” It didn’t take Aemma long to figure out his direction as the young princess turned on her heels and moved quickly toward him, causing the king to walk forward, his arms ready to catch his daughter if she fell.

“Avy jorrāelan, kepa” I love you, father. The word came out of her effortlessly, giving the impression of fluency when in fact, she had struggled with the phrase hours ago. Once she said it, all doubt and fear seemed to fade.

For a second, Viserys thought he misheard his daughter and the man was on cloud nine. He took the girl in his arms, whispering sweet nothing in her ears while smothered kisses on her forehead. “Avy jorrāelan tolī, issa dōna riñnykeā.” I love you too, my sweet child.

They hugged for a second before the king left the princess to her brother who hugged her when given chance. “You have a dragon!” He said. “I am so proud of you, Aemma.”

“Thank you, Aegon.”

“But now I can’t ride with you.” Aegon pouted.

“I think I will still need some assistance.” Aemma immediately offered.

“I will do it.” The prince jumped in instantly, joy filled his tone. He was pleased that he was the one she asked, his sister obviously needed him.

Unknowingly to Aegon and Aemma, their brother, Aemond was watching from afar, hoping one day he could achieve the same thing.

Meanwhile, Viserys walked toward Daemon, his facial holding the same furious expression as previously. “You took her without my permission.”

“I don’t need your permission, brother.”

The King didn’t say anything, only studied his brother… After a moment of intense silence, he decided to confess. “But thank you… for everything you’ve done for Aemma. She is very happy thanks to you.” He said while eyeing the young princess who was gleefully talking to Aegon.

“No need to thank me, I only did what I wanted.” And what the rogue prince wanted was his niece’s happiness.

The two men were having the same goal and different approaches, Aemma’s happiness. If only they knew… that happiness wouldn’t last for long and never came back afterwards.

#hotd #hotd fanfic #daemon x reader #aegon x reader #rhaneyra targaryen #house targaryen #house of the dragon #aemma targaryen #idk what else to put in the tags #idk what im doing

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faroreswinds · 1 year

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Hope you don’t mind me sending you this message but as a casual Fire Emblem fan who is absolutely fascinated (and by fascinated I mean a mix of appalled and laughter) by the state of the discourse I’d like to elaborate on why a lot of Edelstans are (very) off base by their “criticism” of the church is that they are absolutely focusing on the wrong religion entirely. I think I’m qualified to speak about Buddhism and why Houses reflects that. No I will not come off anon but please bear with me. I know you and your mutuals have talked about the Buddhism of Three Houses but I hop you don’t mind if I expand on that.

Churches and “churches” in jrpgs are often just window dressing to add plausibly western details to a plausibly western high fantasy inspired setting, but even if they include crosses and saints and cathedrals the central trappings are very much not western at all and western consumers of japanese products often forget that, especially because japan has a very strong japanizing filter they run almost everything through. This is very much the case with Fire Emblem even though their most recent games have tried to incorporate more East Asian elements like with what we see in Awakening, Echoes, especially Hoshido, but that doesn’t mean that the philosophy is missing from the other games. Fans tend to dismiss the general plots of Fire Emblem as the cast fighting and killing an evil dragon-god but they forget a single crucial detail to that: the evil at the end reminds the characters that as long as humanity has evil in its hearts and continues to make the same mistakes over and over again, then evil will inevitably return and so the cycle of fighting and hatred will start again. This is usually not the case with many western media focusing on a single savior figure who vanquishes the evil and then they all lived happily ever after and it explains the confusion with western fans saying stuff like they can’t believe that what Marth and Alm and Celica did was all for nothing because later Walhart and Grima happened. Yes we can argue about retcons for Awakening and Echoes but thematically speaking it makes sense, not because Marth and Alm and Celica were incompetent but simply because what they did was too limited in scope and fixed the problem temporarily because they’re only humans who are tied to the human realm and all its problems (but also because intsys needs to keep making money with more stories or recycling stories). They are heroes but they are unable to break the karmic cycle.

Now this is more apparent with Three Houses even though it does have a mix of western elements like how the crests represent tarot arcana but generally Fates and Houses are the most eastern of the games because of their themes: Fates is a war between west and east but also the secret literal Middle Kingdom manipulating them, Anankos yes he was basically the deity of Touma but people don’t know that in eastern religions and Buddhism even gods are not immune to being corrupted because they too are bound to the six paths and the dual nature of the world. Anankos enjoyed both heavenly and earthly pleasures but being steeped in them too long made him decay, make costly mistakes that only made him more angry and paranoid instead of being able to reflect on them, and in the end became a creature of death and violence and discord who could only be released through defeat.

Houses especially has the basis of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but Byleth’s personal class Nirvana, confirms also the basis for Silver Snow and the dual themes that would come better if Intsys was a more competent writer:

So the six paths/realms (Im condensing very many details) are upper and lower parts on the wheel of samsara. The devas’ realm, the human realm, and the asura’s realm are the upper three and the best paths to achieving nirvana but they all have their flaws and even upper level inhabitants can be reincarnated into lower levels if they behave badly; the lower three are the bad ones and often have no redeeming qualities because they are meant as punishments, they are where contaminated souls live until their karmic debt has run out in that realm/they have achieved some form of clarity enough to change their ways and it qualifies them to move up a path. The lower three are the realm of animals, the realm of ghosts and angry spirits, and then the hells.

Byleth starts out in the realm of animals, it’s reflecting by their title of Ashen Demon and their description of being emotionless killing machines before Garreg Mach. They don’t care about much, they only focus on their immediate needs like eating and resting and whats immediately in front of them, they have no curiosity or inner awareness of themselves and their world. It is coming to the monastery that they become exposed to positive influences that put them on the correct path, they learn structure and good morals and to care for others and the game says so. I have issues with them but ultimately think they work because they show how even a blank slate, like an animal, can move on the correct path through learning and discipline.

Edelgard is an interesting mix, she embodies a lot of the selfishness of the animal realm but her position also incorporates a lot from the realm of the asuras, which is the realm the agarthans inhabit. Asuras were once divine and occupied the same realm as devas but their drunken wild behavior got them thrown out by Sakka as disciplinary measure. Asuras did not reflect on why they were tossed out, instead they got angry and now wage war on the devas in order to retake what they think belongs to them.

Now asuras are not excluded from the path of reincarnation, everyone has the chance to repent, change their ways, do better and move up the wheel until they achieve arhat and nirvana, but often asuras have negative qualities. They tasted heavenly pleasures but do not understand that acting poorly robbed them of that and so blame the devas instead of working to better themselves; they are addicts to pleasure and immediate gratification but also to violence and fighting, they are envious of others and mostly focus on how much they hate others for daring to be happier then them instead of working to achieve their own happiness. Now these are not qualities exclusive to asuras but they best embody them while humans are more neutral.

The agarthans were humans who became greedy and waged war on each other to accumulate wealth and power and the goddess Sothis decided to discipline them, but then agarthans proved they were (ironically) acting like beasts by deciding that their greed was more important. They could not stand being contradicted and being told that their acts were wrong. So they plotted against heaven and chose to condemn themselves to hell (they live underground in the darkness, Shambhala is supposed to be the name of a heavenly paradise but instead they built it underground to continue their evil away from the eyes of heavens), because what sends anyone from any realm to the hells is knowingly choosing to do major evil and embracing major evil.

Edelgard acts out of ignorance like an animal or common beast, her vision cannot see past her own immediate desires and so she acts on that ignorance and her own selfishness. But what condemns her to hell, what turns her into an evil demon instead of remaining a selfish yet innocent animal is that she turns away from many people imploring her to listen to them and that her actions are wrong and that she is causing suffering. Edelgard being born into a wealthy, powerful family would usually mean that her previous karma has been good despite the tragedies in her later life, but good karma can easily be corrupted. Edelgard has been corrupted from a young age by bad faith actors who have embraced hell and so she has been steeped in corruption and been fed bad information for a long time, with no one stepping in to stop that because her environment was turned into one of corruption as well. But it is ultimately her who makes the choices to persist on a path of evil because she refuses to listen to others and embraces the suffering she causes and has caused as justified in pursuit of her goals.

Now Byleth and especially Silver Snow has shown they rose to being qualified by the good influence of the church and its teaching (even if the game doesn’t show much about those teaching but o well) to achieve higher paths, they have chosen to absorb and enact good. But especially, because the realm of asuras and beasts represent laziness, easy temptations, ignorance and immediate gratification opposed to discipline, hard work, introspection, and renunciation, it makes it more significant when byleth decides to sever ties with her when she reveals that she has not been an innocent student but in fact the flame emperor responsible for the many evil deeds along with the cooperation from agarthans. The act of renouncing such ties in order to enact justice and follow the correct path is what immediately qualifies Byleth to Nirvana and why they keep their divine traits on every path except Crimson Flower (where in Crimson Flower, killing Rhea, their final and most egregious act of violence against heavenly principles, condemns them to losing their divinity and turning back into the Ashen Demon, they lost themselves to the temptations and ignorance represented by Edelgard, safflowers are used to dye the robes of monks but red spiders lilies grow on the banks of the river of the dead).

The act of renunciation means Byleth has learned to forgo harmful attachments to instead pursue the correct path even if it comes with heartbreaks, but the reward for the difficulty is being a step closer to arhat. Because they are not the Buddha but are close to reaching enlightenment they achieve a very high position in Buddhism, which is staying in the human realm as a guide in order to help others on the correct path as well and is righteous.

This is also why i have many more issues with Shez than I do Byleth actually, maybe Byleth is silent but they have their own path to follow. Shez has no path and I’m not even sure what they are supposed to represent. Their personal class is asura, often clashing with devas and representing lack of reflection and selfishness and gratification and violence like I said before, but I can’t find anything in Shez story that actually says anything about that or their preferences and choices. Two out of three times they stray from the correct path and Rhea’s death should mean a violation of dharma because the agarthans have won, but I saw nothing in the game about immediate consequences of that violation or the causing of suffering Shez incorrect paths are causing. In Azure Gleam perhaps it is the story of the asura becoming aware that their past actions have been incorrect and so they must work to correct and better themselves, but they are overshadowed by the story of Faerghus. I love Faerghus but I was a little disappointed by the lost symbolism because it became the story of Faerghus repelling the invasion. Yes the Lions are good and righteous but I missed the story of them in Azure Moon, broken, then correcting themselves after they have temporarily fallen off the correct path and rising from their rut into righteousness.

With the Deer in Houses it was a house content to be stagnant and ignorant until war makes them realize they must instead act righteously and so they also choose the correct path, same as the Silver Snow Eagles who cut ties with Edelgard and perform their own renunciation. So Im not sure what Shez or anyone in this newer game are supposed to represent or be about when I liked Houses for its Buddhist themes.

I’m sorry for such a long message! Thank you for letting me talk.

Hi anon. No worries about the long message. I'm just not sure if my response can do it justice!

This is all very interesting indeed! I have a general understanding of Buddhism, but it is certainly not as deep or as complex as your understanding of it. While I grew up in some of my formative years in East Asia, Buddhism wasn't as prevalent in the local religions of my home.

I do agree that Hopes seems to lose the meaning and messages of Houses, although Houses itself was messy in its own right. And I agree that Western audiences often miss or do not understand the cultural differences that are woven into the world and narrative of many Japanese games. Especially when it comes to religion. I know myself and other mutuals have stated that the Church in Houses is no representation of the Catholic Church, as others have insisted upon.

I wish I could give you a longer response to match the quality and effort of your ask. But honestly, I have very little to add! I just thank you for sharing. I got to learn a little more along the way! :)

#anon asks #Three Houses discourse

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