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floatingcatacombs · 4 months

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Go Nagai was insane for this one

12 Days of Aniblogging 2023, Day 8

I like to always have manga of dubious quality on tap for when I’m having trouble sleeping. Ideally, reading a few chapters will distract me, but I won’t want to stay up late shotgunning volumes. Devilman Lady was the ideal manga for this, and this is maybe the last time anyone will ever describe Devilman Lady as "ideal".

An extremely brief introduction is in order. If Osamu Tezuka is the godfather of manga, then Go Nagai is manga’s weird horny uncle. He’s arguably just as influential, the two of them just moved in different circles, each reifying entire genres. Nagai is more or less responsible for magical girls, super robot, and ecchi, and also spent a lot of time in the sphere of supernatural and post-apocalyptic manga. These are fundamentally genres of extremity and ridiculousness, and Nagai dials every one of his works up to 11 by the end, one way or another. Devilman is probably his most famous work over here, and it’s a stone-cold classic for a reason. Nagai has kept revisiting it over the years, with side stories, alternate universes, manga cameos, and even entirely new series that function as stealth sequels such as Violence Jack. But his most notable attempt is Devilman Lady, which is far more than a simple gender-swap of the original.

Devilman Lady is about swimming deep in filth. It’s easily the most disgust-provoking manga I’ve read, with pretty much every content warning under the sun applicable. This is a truly rotten and conspiratorial world that Nagai is depicting. Societal decay manifests in countless forms, including rape, child abuse, homophobia, militarism, and hatred towards immigrants. Anything that could be potentially understood as fanservice is placed right next to or directly within the atrocities at hand, and it's genuinely unclear how much Nagai intended that as commentary. His intentions throughout this whole manga are a bit of an enigma, but what's clear that he is firing on all cylinders.

This is an extremely zeitgeisty 90’s work, with intelligent design debates, the mapping of the human genome, new age paranoia, religious zealotry, and anxiety over pollution all playing out on the pages. Where it breaks from many of its contemporaries is a decisive rejection of the end of history. This is the kind of thing you write when you’re still reeling from the subway sarin gas attacks and your country's role in the Gulf War and subsequent militarization. It’s the perfect manga for capturing a time period when ten to twenty percent of Japan’s population were estimated to have belonged to a new religious movement.

The punchline to all of this is that he doesn’t know how to draw women.

By the back half of Devilman Lady, Nagai’s depictions of hellscapes and grotesque monsters reach near-Berserk levels of detail and technical competency. And yet his female protagonists are still drawn in a drastically simpler 70's style, only now with giant spheres grafted to their chests. Either humans and the infernal are two completely different skillsets, or this was a deliberate artistic decision, and both are difficult to swallow. Either way, we just have to accept the juxtapositions.

one of my favorite pages to show people devoid of context

The finale is just nuts. Go Nagai makes textual the homoeroticism and gender deviance of the original Devilman manga, as the world burns in both nuclear warfare and demonic hellfire. The story starts accelerating at an unfathomable pace, the most inscrutable double mobius reacharound yaoiyuri occurs, and the universe resets once or twice. It makes the endings of Jojo Part 6 and 7 look tame by comparison. There is no way to parse this like a normal manga with a plot and narrative. It is raw id.

This has been a year where I’ve tried to deliberately broaden my comfort zone by engaging with more potentially upsetting works if I think they'll have something interesting to say. This was like jumping into the deep end. Devilman Lady may very well be Go Nagai’s magnum opus. It’s not nearly as tight as the original manga, but it’s a glorious mess, just as radical to its own time as Devilman must have been in the 70s. It made for spectacular insomnia reading. And there’s no way in hell I can ever recommend it.

At age 19, Nagai went through a bout of diarrhea so bad that he convinced himself it was colon cancer, and that he was at death's door. He vowed to leave something behind for the world to remember him by, and began laboring away on manga. And for the last 60 years of his career, he’s written and drawn with the fervor of a man who’s about to shit himself to death. Maybe that’s the real secret.

#12 days of anime #devilman #devilman lady

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frankingsteinery · 7 months

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victor and elizabeth were not the first grooming case nor the first pseudo-incest relationship in frankenstein: that would be alphonse and caroline.

alphonse was a friend of caroline’s father, beaufort. this is how they met, and so there was a significant difference in their ages. after beaufort dies, alphonse and caroline marry. take a look at how beaufort’s passing is described:

Her father grew worse; her time was more entirely occupied in attending him; her means of subsistence decreased; and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar. This last blow overcame her; and she knelt by Beaufort’s coffin, weeping bitterly, when my father entered the chamber. He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care, and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife.

while "orphan" does not strictly mean the person is a minor, orphan still is most commonly used to describe a minor whose parents are both dead. if we interpret orphan in that sense, then caroline would have been a child when alphonse first took her in. the fact that he waits two years after this event to marry her also hints towards this, almost as if he was waiting for her to become legal and the age of consent. this is further supported by the diminutive language of “poor girl” used to describe her, who is in juxtaposition to the paternal “protecting spirit” of alphonse whom she commits herself into the care of.

even if caroline was not a minor, there was a large enough gap in their ages - and the fact that alphonse “saved” caroline from poverty, creating an economical reliance on him - that there was an unhealthy power balance in their relationship. because of this dynamic, it really does read like grooming: alphonse houses caroline till she is (supposedly) old enough to marry, and by that time she would have been pushed into consenting to the marriage because she relied on him for money and housing, and could have some sort of emotional obligation to him as well for supporting her in a time of need and grief, and he is a significant link to her deceased father. this difference in their ages is highlighted again when victor notes that alphonse was in the decline of his life by the time he and caroline were having children together, and by the time victor is 19 alphonse is old enough that he is physically incapable of traveling to ingolstadt.

in this way their relationship is pseudo-incestous, because alphonse (her father’s age) swoops in to support caroline (a child) after her father dies. this makes himself the father figure replacement, and caroline his daughter. once she is of age she transitions from the role of daughter to wife, and during her marriage caroline will go on to repeat this cycle of abuse, and recreate this same dynamic - except this time, it is in a situation that she can control: through victor and elizabeth.

from the beginning caroline deliberately sets up parallels between herself and elizabeth. she wants a daughter, and adopts elizabeth specifically because elizabeth reminds her of herself, but grander: like she was, elizabeth is also a beggar and an orphan and homeless, but her story is more tragic, she is more beautiful, her debt to her caretakers more extreme, and her romantic relationship will go on to be more explicitly incestous. caroline calls elizabeth her favorite and grooms her into becoming a second version of herself, so that she can recreate the traumatic event of her marriage with her two children.

so, as caroline dictates the marriage between victor and elizabeth, victor becomes to elizabeth what alphonse was to caroline: a man, who is also a familial figure, that she must marry in order to have a stable social and economic life. the frankensteins have provided elizabeth with everything she has, and the threat is there that they can also take it away if she does not comply (through marrying victor), which is the same kind of looming, unspoken threat that hung over caroline and alphonse’s marriage.

#rob.txt #frankenstein #frankenstein the modern prometheus #victor frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #caroline frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #tw incest #tw grooming #gothic lit #analysis

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squash1 · 9 months

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THANK YOU FOR ALSO LOVING GREYWAREN that book made me go from slightly obsessed with this whole little universe to being VERY obsessed, and I suspect I'll never stop being a menace about it <3 it did THINGS to my psyche

i know u just said some favorite scenes from greywaren, but as a fellow lover of that book, I just have to know: what are some other things u really love about it?

THANK YOU FOR ASKING. FINALLY. SOMEONE ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

declan lynch autistic child core. as a child i was exactly like child declan and it warms my heart.

jordan and declan are the best couple and if anyone tries to say they’re not u should shut up. (i love all the couples equally but i love them more).

hennessy is so fucking funny like what an icon. her hatred of pennsylvania is so special to me. i don’t even hate pennsylvania i just admire her commitment to the cause.

the thing with declan’s moth. enough said

also declan and adam bonding and (this is mister impossible but whatever) meeting up to have a Ronan Lynch Support Squad Consultation….yes.

THE MATTHEW-BRYDE DYNAMIC. “YOU ARE THE SADDEST DUDE IVE EVER MET!”

the juxtaposition of niall and ronan in the chapters at the barns. aghhhhhh. and the glimpses into niall’s past like…..i wouldn’t call it a redemption arc but the careful way he is humanized WITHOUT being redeemed. and seeing what ronan saw in him. but also what declan saw

DECLAN LYNCH GANGSTER ERA

on the seventh day the lynch brothers became friends again. BECAME FRIENDS AGAIN

but basically. if trc is a coming-of-age series where you see these kids delighting in and struggling with the magic on the edge of adulthood. the dreamer trilogy is like the loss of childhood innocence. cdth and mi are ROUGH at points. it’s much harsher feeling than trc, more heavy and sad and action-packed and suspenseful. and greywaren is like…the tentative peace you make at the end of the transition to adulthood. ronan’s finding his feet, seeing old friends, proposing. declan is settling down, letting go of his childhood wounds. it’s not an ending really but it’s where things start to be okay. and that’s how it feels. and that’s why (for all the plot holes and rushed pacing blah blah blah) it’s so. fucking. good.

AND CAN I JUST SAY. all the ppl who say that post-TRK pynch became “bad” and “toxic” and “isn’t as good as in trc” and “they shouldn’t be together anymore”……..i hate those ppl w my whole heart bc. i’m sorry, but if you read the scene in greywaren where their, like, celestial soul energies found each other in dreamspace and reconciled and apologized and forgave (in. disembodied dream soul form…whatever) and WERE WANTED THEY WERE WANTED THEY WERE WANTED and decided to love and help and heal one another and you STILL think that???? i just don’t know how to help you!!! sorry u can’t enjoy mature healthy relationships where people have gone through bad periods and so the relationship suffered for a while and then they recalibrated and decided to continue to grow together, but i’m built different :))

#ask #all the love in the world to anyone who disagrees no tea no shade it’s fine ur just wrong #greywaren #trc #ronan lynch #adam parrish #the raven cycle #pynch #adam and ronan

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mana-jjk · 5 months

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finally someone who actually understands inuokko and doesn't mischaracterize as an alpha sigma male and Toge as an uwu boy! bestie you don't know how happy I am that you came up on my fyp.

omg hi anon !! 🥺🫶

i love analyzing characters way before any shipping, i could actually read nothing but found family fics because i just feel like they always catch the perfect dynamic. with yuuta and toge specifically, i do feel like you can appreciate aspects of how their dynamic is on an appearance level or how they fit certain popular tropes, but i don’t think it’s the driving force behind what makes them so good together.

i do acknowledge that if we default to the stereotypical gay men tropes without tangible reason, it’s more indicative of getting used to knowing how to write LGBT+ relationships and tending to default to what we might be used to in straight relationships. i say that without any offense intended, it’s just a part of the writing process. especially with toge as a character, who has so much of his characterization sprinkled outside of the manga and anime. a lot of his backstory and characteristics are derived from the fun facts, light novel, and now even the unreleased game has given us so much more content. but i also think that’s why he’s so popular, there’s so much freedom in exploring him, especially if you haven’t discovered the existing content. taking that with yuuta who is honestly a fan favorite of the chad dude straight bros and gets a little too much ‘alpha male’ treatment from them, it can be a little confusing. (it kills me a little to see some one say he’s an alpha male with a bad attitude and smoking guns when manga panels will literally have him looking like this (・・?) 😭)

i do have preferences in how both yuuta and toge are portrayed, but that’s just because i care about them so much as individual characters.

for me, toge is soft and kind, but he was also born as a weapon and has spent his life sacrificing himself over and over. you can still have that softness and kindness, even more so when experiencing certain things, but there’s also a degree of hardening from trauma. i do characterize him to be less overtly an instigator lol, but that’s personal preference in how i see him combined with canon material. i find a lot of his trolling to be slipped in and more of a double take than full on gremlin, but that’s less mischaracterization and more preference. i find his relationship with living and death so, so interesting, especially in how he tries to shield the first-years and yuuta from having any kind of blood on their hands. it implicates him to have done that very thing, and he spends his life silencing himself because of it. i do believe his language barrier is almost a relief, because it acts almost as a self-imposed wall. but despite that wall, he still reaches out because while he himself is okay being alone, the thought of someone like yuuta, someone he sees as exactly like him, suffering by himself is painful to him.

for yuuta, i am a big advocate for the continued acknowledgment of his anxiety, depression, and low key craziness. he had a normal childhood, but that somehow makes the transition to everything with rika so much worse. because he had that normalcy and it was shattered completely. he’s hurt, maimed, and killed people both unintentionally and intentionally. but he sees it as necessary in protecting the people he cares about the most. in a lot of ways, i think his dubious morality and how far he’s willing to go is an expression of his love. for example, killing getou in his eyes is the ultimate act of service to gojo, so he himself would not have to kill him. his character is such a juxtaposition compared to everyone we’ve been introduced to. here you have these child soldiers, ready and willing to sacrifice themselves, where death and suffering is more feasible than ever living their life to entirely. then they give us yuuta, who wants to live so badly in happiness that he’s willing to inflict and do everything for and against their society. it’s almost an unhealthy relationship to a degree, but it’s the only kind of relationship any of them know how to have.

together they work so well, because like i’ve said before, they defy each other’s expectations in what they ever believed they could have or deserve. despite their rough edges, the blood on their hands, the years they’ve lost to fighting battles they never started, they treat each other so gently. as if they are the better half, yet simultaneously knowing exactly how much they have done. yuuta who sees violence almost as a love letter, who absorbs toge’s curse as if it’s something to admire and adore. toge who sees himself as unforgivable in his crimes, who self-enforces isolation and barriers yet took a step out just to comfort yuuta from a mild spell of anxiety, because he couldn’t stand to see him suffer even in a minor degree.

i have so many feelings about them so i’m so glad that they come across the way i want them to !! i love all content, and i’m always willing to share my thoughts, but ty so much for the validation bestie, i’m sure i’m eating up your content as well !! 🥺

#inumaki toge #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #yuuta okkotsu #inuokko #ottoge #i have so many thoughts

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syrena-del-mar · 3 months

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BL Meta Masterlist

Hello! If you've landed on my page, it's likely that you came across one of my various BL metas that I've posted. I watch way too many for my own good and I try to write as much as I can when a show captivates me (though half of them become half-finished drafts rotting away). The actual number of meta that I have written in the last year, since La Pluie aired, has increased so much that I've have started to lose track of what I've written. So I'm compiling them all onto this list, which will be regularly updated with the new posts that I write.

Be My Favorite

Embracing the Waters of Uncertainty

Exploring Enclosures and Privacy in 'Be My Favorite'

Folklore of Flowers: Wisterias in 'Be My Favorite' Episode 6

Kawi's Journey with Self-Worth and Pisaeng's Reassurance

Dead Friend Forever

An Ode to Older Siblings: New in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 9

Celestial Pleasures: Miscellaneous Thoughts on PheeJin's NC Scenes

Dead Friend Forever is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation

Echoes of Guilt: Exploring the Thin Line Between Tee's Redemption and Salvation in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 11

Examining the Use of Movie Posters in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 8

On Non's Medications: Lorazepam

On Non's Medications, Part 2: Quetiapine Fumarate

Selfish Desires and the Class War: Dead Friend Forever, Episode 10

The Nine Circles of Hell: Dead Friend Forever, Episode 7

KinnPorsche

Interlocking Narratives: Exploring the Chains of Kim and Chay

La Pluie

A Jungian Perspective on La Pluie

Balancing Self-Absorption and Love in La Pluie

La Pluie: A Tale of Tender Hearts

La Pluie meets Nora Roberts

The Depths of Inner Turmoil: Exploring Isolation, Connection, and Vulnerability in La Pluie Ep. 10

Third-Child Syndrome: Birth Order Theory in La Pluie

Last Twilight

Blind Spots of Motherhood: Last Twilight, Episode 10

Moonlight Chicken

Alan, the Textbook 'Nice Guy'

In Support of Uncle Jim

Only Friends

Boston, the Machiavellian Prince?

Notes of Desire: Sand's Possible Soundtrack

Threads of Boston's Intimacy: Crochet, Cotton and Connections

Very Rarely Do Men Know How to Be Altogether Wicked or Altogether Good

Step by Step

Carnation Flowers: Motherhood, Weddings and Juxtaposition of Sexualities

"Foliage, Flowers, and Feelings, Oh My!" in Step By Step Ep. 8.

The Birth Order Theory: The Only Child in Step By Step

Shorter Dive on Birth Order in Step by Step

Twins

Volleying Hearts: Navigating Love and Insecurities in Twins the Series, Ep. 10

Miscellaneous Metas

Revisiting Houses of Thai BL: Dead Friend Forever and Deep Night *NEW*

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thephantomcasebook · 2 years

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Team Green Highlights for 1x09 “The Green Council”

As usual - well, newly usual - here are my “Spaghetti Night” notes and observations for the current episode.

Note: As I’m writing this the site I usually use does not have the screencaps for the opening - which you’ll see is very important below - and the backup site I use has not updated with screencaps yet.

So if I post this and there’s no screencaps of the opening credit sequence than that’s why.

Alright, let’s get on with the music.

1.) A Sapphire for Aemond.

We see - for the first time - Alicent’s dial in the opening credits. Viserys blood lines meets with hers and we get three blood lines (No not four, LET ME FINISH!)

We see a spider sigil for Helaena’s dial, A bound naked woman for Aegon, and a sapphire for Aemond which - if you read the book then you know - he wears instead of a fake eye.

A little hint of what’s to come next episode.

2.) Enter the Hero - Daeron Targaryen.

Right off the bat we’re introduced to a new character via the Opening Credit’s sequence - probably the first time any show has ever introduced a character in such a way.

We see a dial placed all the way to the left of Alicent’s sigil.

This is Daeron Targaryen, youngest son and child of Viserys and Alicent who has not appeared or been mentioned in the show.

Apparently there was behind the scenes infighting which Miguel Spotchnik did not want Daeron to be a part of the show - but Martin insisted on it. And once Spotchnik was fired, George announced Daeron’s inclusion in Season 2 - which is still two years off.

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A quick overview of Daeron. He is Alicent’s favorite child and person in the world. Though, with that being said, the book does not go into detail why, but he was sent away at a young age to be raised by Otto as a ward in Old Town and is nearly a man grown when he returns to King’s Landing.

The reason I suspect that Spotchnik didn’t want Daeron in the show is because he is very much cut from the Jon Snow and Robb Stark cloth of being a clear cut classic fantasy hero archetype. He is the bravest of all the Targaryens - Green and Black - and is extremely honorable and just. He is a contrast to most of his family, but all of the Greens are very protective of him - Criston and Aemond basically puts him on Alicent guard duty for most of the war to keep him out of danger. Daeron is also fiercely loyal to his siblings - and to Alicent - to the very end. There are two times that the Greens (and the realm) offer him and insist that he take the Iron Throne. But both time he refuses out of loyalty to Aegon.

He also has a very different relationship with his dragon Tessarion, because, he hatched and raised him away from the Dragon Pit and Valyrain dragon tamers, with only ancient books in the High Tower and Citadel to guide him. So Tessarion and Daeron’s bond will be quite different than the other Targaryens with their dragons. His relationship is much more akin to Daenerys and Drogon than the usual Valyrian way of doing things we’ve seen in the show.

At the end of the war, he is the last man standing on the Greens, and becomes an incredibly important and almost main figure in the finale of “The Dance of Dragons” conflict. He is also considered one of the greatest battle commanders in Westerosi history - King Daeron II “The Young Dragon” is named after him and “Daeron the Daring” and his legacy is still held in reverence nearly two-hundred years later by knights and soldiers across the Seven Kingdoms.

In the books he is Jon Snow’s childhood hero.

My guy loves his mommy, his books, and kicking ass.

And Rhaenyra is gonna learn that the hard way when she takes his mommy away.

3.) A+C=D confirmed?!

Alright!

This is kinda big and I’ve been hyping this up.

So, when we see Daeron’s dial it is strangely placed in juxtaposition to Aegon, Helaena, and Aemond. Daeron’s dial is on the extreme left of Alicent’s dial, above and away from her other children.

(As you can clearly see there is more than enough room for four dials at the bottom of the ravine.)

Also, a big reveal is that the blood line that comes to activate Daeron’s dial trails off from Alicent’s dial, not Viserys blood. You can see where the blood splits off and that the angle is clearly coming from Alicent’s dial.

I take this to mean that the graphic is showing clear ambiguity of not being entirely sure that Viserys’s blood is activating the dial or if it is purely Alicent.

More over the placement of Daeron’s dial on the far left, away from his siblings looks like a family tree in which a said member has a t-shape branching for children with multiple partners.

(Exhibit A)

If you look at the way this official promotional family tree is placed notice how Rhaenyra is placed versus, Alicent and her children. How it is a direct line from Viserys to Rhaenyra.

This is exactly how Daeron’s dial is almost directly under Alicent’s with a weaker trail of blood that is coming directly from Alicent.

Now, I know the argument people will make.

“Fuck you, Matt! You Alicole son of a bitch! This is just the show showing that Daeron is away from home right now!”

I hear you unreasonably angry Tumblr user. But, the problem with your theory is that never - not once - has the show used someones’ geographic location to move their marker. Viserys, Daemon, and Rhaenyra’s markers have stayed absolutely consistent from the Pilot and onward no matter where they went.

So, logic dictates. Daeron put on the left of Alicent and away from his clear Targaryen siblings is the show trying to introduce the concept that there are clear questions of if Daeron is actually Viserys son. And it could be that he is far on the left, because there is a missing dial of his true father to mix with Alicent’s blood who remains a secret.

in the immortal words of Aemond Targaryen ...

“Mm”

4.) The Waifu Protection Squad: Fuck Around and Find Out Division

So we see an immediate call back to 1x08 with parallels to Daemon and Criston protecting the honor of Rhaenyra and Alicent.

Like Daemon with Vaemond, Criston does not immediately react in violence to Lord Beesbury’s rant.

But when both Vaemond and Beesbury start crossing the line, that’s when Criston and Daemon both make up their mind about what is going to happen next.

And just like when Vaemond calls Rhaenyra a whore and Daemon cuts his head in half. When Beesbury accuses Alicent of murdering Viserys - impeding her honor and integrity - Criston responds in anger, smashing his head into his attendance sphere.

Both Rhaenyra and Alicent are momentarily shocked by these violent displays, but quickly brush it off as the price for insulting them.

Also both Daemon and Criston are confronted by the Kingsguard for both murders - but are summarily exonerated under the royal clause of “Fuck Around with the women we I love’s Queen and Princess’s reputation and find out” code of chivalry.

Just like they drew the law up.

5.) The Beast Under the Boards

Alright, we cut to Aegon and Helaena’s apartments where Helaena philosophizes to the nanny that she thinks that people basically want what they can’t have and often take it from others that have it.

I think we’re led to believe that she’s talking about the twins ... but, uh, well, we’ll get there.

So Alicent sits by Helaena to break it to her gently that Viserys is dead - of which I’m pretty sure Helaena knows already, and probably has known for years. And Helaena interrupts Alicent snarling “There’s a beast beneath the boards!”

Now, while, I think that we’re supposed to infer that she means the Dragon at the end of the episode ...

Uh, rap for me a moment.

What if she’s talking about Aemond?

Remember, what she tells Nanny about wanting what others have.

We know that Aemond wanted Helaena from early in childhood.

And even as an adult he’s visibly pined and longed for her.

He also tells Criston later that he should be King.

It seems to me that Helaena is channeling Aemond and his inner turmoil, perhaps sharing in his anxiety through some psychic connection between them.

This would not be the first time in the show that Helaena and Aemond were connected.

Remember the first time we met her, as a tween in 1x06 the very first scene - before Alicent even had a chance to ask what happend to Aemond - Helaena looks up worriedly and say in distress “He’s done it again!” as if knowing already what’s happened to him.

Also, deeper cut, is that the dragon that Aemond approaches in the Dragon Pit in 1x06 is Dreamfyre ... Helaena’s Dragon.

And of course we know the famous line.

“He’ll have to close an eye.”

It seems that all of Helaena’s prophecies are always connected to Aemond in some way.

This brings it all around that I pretty sure that “The Beast Beneath the Boards” is Aemond and his ambition and desire for what Aegon has been given but never earned.

And I believe, this look when Aemond comes in ...

Is Helaena realizing for the first time that all the emotions and anger she’s been feeling has been Aemond. I also believe in this realization is the sudden dawning that Aemond had been in love with her for years and maybe ...

She feels the same way.

Also a point of emphasis this is shot very similarly to when Alicent was questioning Criston about Rhaenyra and Daemon.

Another scene of a surprise confession of a secret love affair.

More on this later.

6.) Intermission!

Time to get out your lighter and sway to the montage of screencaps and edits of the journey so far to the quintessential Alicent/Criston song.

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(These images aren’t bullshit by the way. If you go back to the pilot there are two distinct times that they close in on Criston and Alicent notice each other from afar. Yeah .. I know, listen, I know. I was impressed that they set it up that early too.)

Okay, we good?

Cool ...

Back to the Marathon

7.) Aemond is in The Know.

Now, for the scene of scenes in which we get almost concrete evidence - nigh proof - that Alicent and Criston are in love.

(They’re basically touching foreheads for crying out loud!)

Side Note: I usually don’t like watching reactions on Youtube to this show, cause it’s basically a bunch of filthy casuals who stan Team Black under the ridiculous assumption that “Rhaenyra is progressive gurl-boss that slays!” ... like that shit is a thing in Westeros.

But I do love seeing people’s reaction to this scene - the gasp or emotional reaction to “Everything you feel for me ... as your queen!” for everyone who hadn’t realized how they feel about each other, yet.

Anyway, back to the long post.

Beyond my love for this scene ... on interesting detail is the fact that it seems they’re unafraid to have this deeply emotional and revealing moment in front of Aemond. It seems that he is fully aware of how his mother and Criston feel for each other, probably for a long time, and is cool with it.

If you think about it, Criston is probably more of a father to Alicent’s kids than Viserys ever was - so I’m sure that most of Alicent’s kids know and are good with this courtly love. They were raised by it.

However, more interesting, is despite knowing that Aemond knows, Alicent and Criston still maintain a facade and level of decorum to have a private and emotional conversation. That they still refuse to fully let the side down.

We see Alicent give Criston a verbal hint.

Then, Criston turns to Aemond with a look of permission.

And finally, Aemond makes his trademark “Mm ...” and turns his head away.

Only then do we see that Alicent lets her guard down fully and goes to Criston to have the emotional and revealing conversation.

It’s fascination that even in private - with a trusted party - that they hold back from saying or admitting their feelings for another. I always postulate that they know that if they slip, even once, that they know they could never reel it back in ever again.

They’re so tortured and in love ...

and I’m here for it.

8.) What Others’ are Given Freely that You Must Toil For.

We get a great scene between Aemond and Criston on the street, where Aemond verbalizes frustration in wanting to be King - that Aegon is unworthy of ruling (or being married to the woman he loves). And we get a father-son talk from Criston that he knows what it is to toil for what others are given freely.

Now, I’ve seen online discourse about how this is about Rhaenyra or his lower classes origins.

But I think that he is talking about VIserys taking Alicent for granted. In the show we’ve seen Alicent be incredibly caring, loving, and generous to Viserys and he has either laughed about it or spurned it. And we’ve seen Criston Cole be in attendance to some grievous ones.

in 1x04 when Alicent is trying to help VIserys patch things up with Daemon and Viserys makes fun of and humiliates her in front of the entire court.

in 1x06 when Alicent is upset and distraught about how Aemond is being bullied and Viserys doesn’t seem to care.

also in 1x06 when Alicent does a lot of work to make an ailing Viserys comfortable in his chambers, only for him to make her and her efforts the butt of jokes to Lord Strong, then thoughtlessly toss her comforts aside, and finally expect her to do it all again.

in 1x07 Criston was standing right there when Viserys humiliated Alicent in front of everyone by caller her Aemma.

(Look at the rage in this manz eyes because of the hurt in Alicent’s.)

Also in 1x07 we see that when Alicent was distraught and afraid when Aemond’s eye was taken, Viserys only seemed to care about the names that Rhaenyra’s children were called - not that his his son lost an eye.

I think this one haunted Criston, cause Alicent called upon him to help her, to support her, when she needed someone, anyone, to be on her side in that moment. But he was helpless to protect her and make it better.

I think, for 16 years, Criston has resented bitterly how taken for granted and abandoned Alicent and her children have been, especially when he would probably give up anything to be her husband and their father.

9.) The Beast Under the Boards II

Now, we come back to where we left off in 5.).

It’s interesting to see that since Helaena has given that sudden look of recognition to Aemond that she had become suddenly very lucid and cognizant. . More so, she also is shown to be incredibly incredulous and stern.

Almost as if since she realized that it’s been Aemond she’s been feeling and in tune with - since perhaps she learned he’s in love with her - she has begun to feel what Aemond has for years and years. Angry at what was taken from her ...

A husband that would’ve loved her.

In this sequence we several interesting things.

We see Helaena glaring hatefully at Aegon as he’s being anointed .

She can’t bare to look at him being crowned. Also, we see her look away, turning instead to Aemond for comfort while in Anxiety - something she also did in 1x08

Once more feeding into my theory that Helaena and Aemond are psychically connected some how.

There is also a strange detail that while the crowd his starting applaud King Aegon and cheer, we see in the background that Helaena is leaning in hard to Aemond and seems to be having a conversation with him. We see her talking intensely while Aemond is nodding slightly.

Now this could be just be the two actors - who have worked together on multiple projects already - not realizing that they were in the shot or that they were filming. But, either way, it made it on camera and now it’s canon.

We also see a big character step for Helaena when Rhaenys springs out from below the Dragon pit - Like daises!

While Rhaenys is committing a stunning and brave war crime of girl-boss levels of carnage toward innocent people that I’m sure will not affect the Blacks reputation to the common people at all - *shot of me making the Jerk-off motion with rolled eyes to the sky* - we miss a very small detail.

We get a close up of Aemond and Helaena watching “ YESSHH,Quweeyn Slaaayyy!” And there is a very subtle piece of characterization.

As Aemond is putting a protective hand on Helaena’s belly ... we see that Helaena is stroking Aemond’s arm as she watches in hypnotism.

(Go back and watch, it is super clear she’s stroking his arm.)

It’s a pretty big character progression for someone that doesn’t like to be touched and or touch others - to stroking Aemond’s arm.

I’m telling you, people are sleeping on that earlier scene of Helaena being awoken by Aemond when he strode into her apartment.

10.) Get Helaena!

No, big reveal here. I just wanted to highlight the ‘Been Married for 16 years’ chemistry between Alicent and Criston in this scene.

At first we see Criston standing protectively in from of Alicent as she is clutching his arm, terrified of the (S)hero breaking that glass ceiling of murdering innocent people.

But once she turns her dragon on the family, both Alicent and Criston go into full parent mode and go to protect the kids.

Cinematic Poetry!

Alright, that’s all I got.

Congrats, reader, you’ve survived to the end of the post!

youtube

#House of the Dragon #Alicent Hightower #Criston Cole #Aemond Targaryen #Helaena Targaryen #Daeron Targaryen #alicent x criston #Alicole #Helaena X Aemond #aemond x helaena

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narrators-journal · 1 year

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Peek-a-boo, I see you

Tiktok put a gun to my head and made me aware of Wally Darling, so have a random little fic for him to exorsize this bastard from my brain lol.

The creator is Clown shaped coffin if I remember his name right, and this is entirely non-canon fun. Just enjoy it as a spoopy kind of x reader junk food, and RESPECT THE CREATOR’S BOUNDARIES YOU HEATHENS.

Old tv shows were a mixed bag. Some were cheesy, dated, and full of misinformation, especially old children's educational shows, and some were sketchy and blatantly unacceptable by the modern standard. Which proved to be a fun betting game for you and your friends. So, when you found a box of dusty, sun-yellowed video tapes in your attic that had likely been left by a past resident, relics from the olden days of cable and the first VHS's, You thought a watch party of sorts would make for a fun night for you and your friends. Which, it had been! Even if finding a VHS player in today's modern time was a hassle, Welcome Home was a fun mix of colorful and energetic, simply oozing a charming abundance of cheese for your little group to enjoy. Which, made it all the more enjoyable to commentate over the child-friendly plots and loveable characters. From playing the low-stakes plots far too seriously, to wolf-whistling and making sly jokes about characters like Frank, Poppy, or Eddie, you and your friends had a blast as you watched about half of the first season. Which, was more than enough time for one particular character to wander his way into your heart and make it his home. Wally Darling. Wally Darling was easily a favorite amongst your friend group as soon as it was brought up how long he took to do his hair each morning in one episode. Which, had earned him quite a few playful comments and jabs, while the lot of you watched. Plus, he had been such a sleepy, relaxed character in juxtaposition to the light-hearted energy of Barnaby, or the bubbly extrovertism of Julie, so you found yourself putting the cheesy kids show on even after your party. "Geez Wally, are you only going to paint apples?!" Julie asked the main character on one of the occasions you had the third season playing for white noise during chores. "He could paint something a lot pervier, Julie." You said while folding clothes on your bed. Repeating a joke you had admittedly made more than one time at the episode and still laughing at your own implication as the episode obliviously played. Going through the motions of the bubbly girl dragging the yellow-skinned, blue-pompador'd artist around to find a muse that wasn't his favorite fruit. You, meanwhile, sat and half watched while you folded a towel and mulled over your to-do list for the day until the tape ended and you had to rewind it yet again. "Have you ever wanted to have a chat with your bestest friend, Wally Darling?" The Salesman in the opening ad asked, sounding as if he'd chugged three Monsters before recording the pitch. Showing clips of the aforementioned doll as he continued, "Have you wanted to ask him a question, but didn't know where to send a letter? Just say hello and how much you enjoy the show? Well, fret no more! for 25 cents a minute, you don't need to write him, you can call!" His words making you chuckle. After all, phone services nowadays were almost extinct, if they weren't more aligned with...adults than children. So, hearing the man pitch an outrageous price for a simple phonecall with someone claiming to be a cartoon character to assumedly children, was amusing. Though, to have such a wild price for a call must mean this show was fairly popular. Wonder why I've never heard it mentioned, You mused while the first episode began to play. Only to have a sudden thought pop up in your mind, Wonder if I could call the number still. It was a rash, impulsive thought. The number was almost certainly defunct and abandoned, it was bound to not go through and be a waste of time to try. Which, you knew very well. But, that didn't keep you from digging around in the scattered piles of folded and rumpled clothing until you found your phone half hidden under a stack of bed sheets. After that, dialing the number was a breeze since you'd heard that ad so many times. And, to your surprise, the call even seemed to go through! Just as fast as your curiosity shot up though, you jumped at a sudden, shrill scream of an old phone ringing. Yet, the only phone you had in your home was your cellphone, which was singing out a different chime into your ear. Which, only left one possible source for the sudden ringing in your room. The television. Granted, the phone on tv ringing normally wouldn't have been an issue. Wally was the Elmo of Welcome Home, he obviously got plenty of phone calls from his friends. It was just that...Wally wasn't supposed to have anybody calling him this episode. The episode was all about seeing a day in the life of Wally Darling. From his hour and a half of hair care, to his bedtime routine, the viewer was meant to follow him through the entire time. And, while yes the episode did have a one or two minor conflicts he helped with, they came up while he was out and about. So, by all forms of logic, his phone shouldn't be ringing. "Oh, seems we have a phone call." Wally drawled in his lazy, spacey voice. Pausing his explanation of what he often ate in the morning and what made a balanced diet to head for the land-line he had sitting on it's own little table beside his favorite armchair. However, before he could pick up and maybe speak to you, you smashed 'end call on your phone's screen and watched with no breath in your lungs as Wally's phone went silent as well. Earning a simple, "Oh. I guess they changed their mind. We'll have to be faster next time, neighbor." and a smile from the puppet. That wasn't in the script. The thought kept circling your head, taking over every possible sense with a fresh coat of fear with each lap. That wasn't in the script. Wally never gets a phone call in this episode. He never says that. You didn't know what to do with that information. It wasn't like you could blame a coincidence after all, you'd seen this entire tape from beginning to end more than once, and not a single time had Wally gotten a call this episode, or mentioned one. Yet, there he was. Acting as if your attempted call had been almost expected, and just returning to his script as if you weren't physically shaking like a small dog in a thunderstorm. What do I do? Do I tell my friends? Google it? Get a check-up? You thought, watching Wally go about doing the morning dishes blithely and mention his need to go to the shop for some groceries. Yet, that impulsive voice returned when Wally paused at the door, "Though, let's wait a moment. Just to see if that neighbor calls back." He suggested to the camera, "I'll give it two minutes, after that I really do need to go see Howdy." Yet another change from the script. An invitation, by all accounts. As if Wally somehow knew you were there. Watching him, still holding your phone, and debating trying to call again. I should call my friends. I shouldn't poke at this. The rational side of you said, leave this shit ALONE. Yet, you did neither. Instead of calling one of your friends to get their advice, you hit the redial option and looked back to the screen. Watching the puppet's bright red phone ring again, and the blue-haired...creature, pick up. "You know, neighbor. It's very rude to hang up so abruptly when you were the one to call." He hummed, his spacey, quiet voice drifting into your ear as crisply as if your best friend were speaking. Not only that, but he'd somehow known who had called him despite his land-line having no form of caller id. Wait, why is he- is he SMUG about my calling? You asked yourself, putting a hand to your chest to mindlessly try to slow your racing heartbeat while your brain whirled with panicked thoughts. Was it just a lucky guess that he knew you were calling back? Did he just know? Could he see you? As if to answer your questions, you honed back in on the episode, and sure enough. Wally was simply sitting in his arm chair, smiling and staring at you with large, bottomless voids for pupils. "Hello? Hello~" He sang finally, forcibly grounding you and assuring you that yes. This was reality. "Cat got your tongue, neighbor? Is there something you needed?" he asked, as if it were nothing more than one of the usual calls Julie or Frank might make. Yet, you could still hear the knowing tone laced into his ambling voice. Wally Darling, knew all too well what he was doing. Instantly, you wanted to simply hang up and shut off the tv. You wanted to unplug the thing and chuck it out your window like a frisbee. Yet, you couldn't bring yourself to move an inch under that haunting stare of the cartoon character. So, you instead dry swallowed the lump in your throat and squeaked out, "H-hi..." "Oh, there you are." Wally hummed, "Was there something you wanted to talk about? Or did you perhaps need my help with something?" "N-no..." You forced out, barely a whisper through the terror that rooted you to your bed in a shocking state of calm. Adding quietly, "I just...tried this number." "Oh, well I sadly can't stay to chat. I have to go shopping before I forget." He told you innocently, giving you a sweet smile that now seemed sour as he added, "I would love it if you called again at a later date, though. Then, we can have a nice, lengthy chat. Good bye neighbor, I love you." With that, Wally put the phone back in it's cradle and the episode seemed to go back to utter normalcy. Wally going out to shop as if the conversation had never happened. Just, leaving you physically shaking on your bed with your laundry forgotten. And, admittedly, you stayed like that, utterly frozen, until the tape once again reached its end. Only then, you found you could launch yourself at the vhs player to snatch the black rectangle out of it. Quick to slap it back into its yellowing case and gather the other videos. All of a sudden, you could understand exactly why the original owners might have abandoned those seasons in the attic.

#Welcome home #Wally Darling #x reader #creepy #not canon at all #Welcome Home arg

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crookedactor · 2 years

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My favorite "Slice of Life" movies

These movies are uncomfortable in their realism and don't shy away from negative aspects of the subject matter they portray. if you're looking for a deep, maybe-unsettling movie to sit down and cry to, these are for you.

1. The Florida Project

This movie is soft and colorful - reminiscent of simpler times. despite this, the subject matter of the movie isn't as lighthearted. this film displays everyday economic and social disparities of a single mother and her child living a short distance away from Disney World, Florida. the reason I enjoy this film so much is because of how raw it was. it's loaded with improv, mostly from the children. this dialogue decision was wise because it genuinely feels real to the audience. some would call this film odd or abstract. I call it realistic.

2. Mysterious Skin

this one is probably the most uncomfortable on my list. the color-grading and general tone of this film allows it to be nostalgic, calming, and sometimes fun. this is somewhat of a juxtaposition with the plot, however. Mysterious Skin is a movie about 2 boys who get molested at a young age by the same man. the film displays the difference in reactions to the trauma that the 2 boys have; one becomes a male prostitute, and the other becomes uncomfortable with most forms of intimacy. this film does not shy away from the good, the bad, and the ugly. it's an amazing movie, but I can only watch it once.

3. Mid-90s

this movie is nostalgic as well. see a theme progressing? Mid90s is a film about the struggles of a preteen boy growing up in an economically challenged area in the 90s. this film nails the true retro aspects of what makes the 90s great-- the colors, costumes, and script are good in immersing the audience. it's emotional yet calming, fun yet sad. watch this movie if you want to think about the world.

#indie film #movie recommendation #mid90s #the florida project #mysterious skin

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insertpoetryhere · 6 months

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Dadbastian Week: Setting Sun

"Poetry you're a week late" I know, I had midterms this week and i was cooked alive. But I'm better now and I have this thing to make up for the fact that I skipped an entire day. My official (a week overdue) sendoff to Dadbastain Week 2023!

A huge thank you to @dadbastianweek2023 for organizing such a cool event and for all the participants who might be some of the most talented creators I've ever seen! Also thank you to everyone who helped my indecisive ass pick a name for the dog.

My Baby, My Baby

Escape had been impossible.

Sebastian did not often make a habit of avoiding his young master, but he had to do what had to be done to maintain some semblance of peace. Then again, one of his (former) favorite things had always been his stubborn determination.

And all it took was cornering him in the foyer and ordering him to sit down to render him completely helpless. Now it was just him, Ciel, and the 14 page hand-written essay entitled “why we should get a dog”.

The essay was, as the title implied, an itemized list of every reason he could think for why the manor needed a dog.

Number one: A dog would offer an added layer of protection.

Number four: Dogs were very good for hunting.

Number fifteen: Ciel could not leave his dirty dishes in his study anymore since chocolate would make the dog sick.

Number twenty-eight: A dog would gladly eat anything that fell on the floor.

Number fifty-one: Ciel would allegedly never ever ever ask Sebastian for his assistance on a major purchase ever again.

Sebastian had scoffed at that one, realizing how serious Ciel must be to acknowledge his own lack of control over his pocket money so openly. Usually Sebastian’s status as the keeper of Ciel’s check book was something that the two of them did not discuss. After all, his young master was not a fan of acknowledging his own age and there was a little bit more dignity in pretending that Sebastian was put in charge of the Phantomhive finances by choice.

Regardless of pride, Ciel was still a child. And as a child, he needed Sebastian to sign off any and all money.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate your… dedication.” Sebastian had to cut Ciel off once they reached the part that the young earl had written entirely in broken German as a way to prove that his dedication to his studies would remain unchanged. “But could you not just order me to sign off on this?”

The idea of having a dog in the house made him want to gag, but Ciel’s German was simply where he had to draw the line.

Ciel looked up from his paper, eyeing Sebastian as if he had said something unequivocally stupid. “Of course not, you would just buy the dog and then get rid of it immediately afterwards. Or you would make sure the dog is of poor health so that it wouldn’t last long anyways.” His gaze was steely and serious, a stark juxtaposition to the very childish conversation at hand. “I need you completely and fully on board.”

Sebastian sighed, cursing his consistency and communication skills for making his movements so predictable. “Then may we continue this discussion as I do the housework? I fear I can’t stay seated through- how many more are there?”

“Ninety-four.” Ciel didn’t even look back down at his paper. Which was somewhat terrifying.

“... Walk and talk.” He stood up from the chair(he did not understand why humans felt the need to sit for so long).

Ciel perked up (“Like a dog” is how Sebastian’s brain finished that sentence, which made him frown) and followed behind him as he carried on with his day.

Number sixty-six: Ciel would never complain again.

Laughable.

Number seventy-five: Ciel would never bother Sebastian again.

Again, hilarious.

Number eighty-three: A portion written and performed entirely in broken latin to further show his commitment, which was somehow worse than the German portion had been.

That one was… long.

Number ninety: Please.

Ok, now this was getting to Sebastian.

Number ninety-

“Okay, stop!” Sebastian couldn’t take it. He couldn’t handle the… pleading and the voice and the any of it. Especially not now as he juggled pots and pans in the kitchen, trying to make sense of the mess Mey Rin had left behind in the wake of “preparing lunch” while Ciel ate said lunch in the kitchen with him, speaking even louder so that he might be heard over the sound of metal clinking together.

Ciel looked up, hopeful. As if he had been planning to induce a headache the entire time. “So you are in agreement?”

Sebastian bit his lip. This was psychological warfare and he was losing, goddamnit. His eyes settled on the box of eggs, still left out on the counter despite the fact that lunch had not needed eggs for its preparation at all. He smiled coyly before picking one up and handing it to the young master.

Ciel took it, confused. “What’s this for?”

“That,” Sebastian said pointedly. “Is to show me you understand the responsibility of looking after something too stupid to look after itself.”

It was meant to be a jab at him, but Ciel didn’t react. Instead, he held the egg gentler, staring at it as if it was made of gold. “How long do I have?”

“Until sundown.” Sebastian turned his attention back to the chores, relishing in how much quieter the kitchen had gotten.

“And if I give this egg back to you unharmed, you will approve the purchase of a dog without complaint?” He raised an eyebrow, like he was trying to unpack the ways in which this could blow up in his face.

“Mhm.” Sebastian was only half listening as he put the rest of the eggs away and began scrubbing the dishes.

Ciel stared at the egg suspiciously now. “And this isn’t a trick? I have your word that you-”

“Would you like me to change my mind?” Sebastian interrupted, the seriousness in his voice enough to make the boy shake his head and run off to provide a life for his practice pet. Sebastian sighed, eyeing a clock on the wall. He had bought himself at least six hours, plenty of time for Ciel to either break the egg or lose interest in the activity entirely.

While the idea of either cleaning the remnants of a broken egg or tracking down a rotten one weeks later did not appeal to him in the slightest, anything was better than having to deal with a dog.

In short, he had won.

---

He had expected Ciel to get bored after an hour or so. Either that or break the egg and give up on the whole ordeal. So naturally when the bell in the basement tripped, alerting Sebastian that he was needed in the study, he had thought peace was on the horizon.

What he did not expect was to see the young master seated at his desk, the egg sitting on a plush velveteen pillow.

The egg had its own space on the desk, not too close to the edge and not too far from Ciel in case of an emergency. Ciel himself stared Sebastian down, his list of what appeared to be dog names completely abandoned the moment the door opened.

“Do you need something, my lord?” Sebastian asked after an abnormally long bout of silence.

“No.” He said shortly, still staring at Sebastian intently.

The demon blinked. “... You rang?”

“I did not ring.” Ciel said, still staring. “You must be hearing things.”

“... I see.” Sebastian wondered if behavior like this would warrant regular appointments with a shrink. His boy was staring at him and had an egg on a pillow. Even he found this disturbing and pondered on exactly what kind of monster he had created.

Ciel cleared his throat as the silence persisted. “The egg is well.”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he understood what this was; An official declaration of war. “I see that.”

Ciel continued to stare. “It has a pillow.”

“I am aware.” Sebastian’s cold glare turned to the egg as he pondered ways to turn the tides in his favor. Clearly he had underestimated Ciel’s resolve. Maybe during tea, he could-

“I order you not to touch the egg in any capacity.” He had to be able to read minds. He had to somehow be in Sebastian’s head.

That little bastard.

Sebastian pursed his lips together in a tight, displeased line. “As you wish, my lord.”

Ciel nodded, his gaze a perfect mirror image of the cruel glare Sebastian had become so well known for. “You are dismissed.”

---

It had been Sebastian’s idea for Bard to offer to take Ciel hunting. Partially incentivized by an advance on the cook’s Christmas bonus.

“I’ll take ’im out without the bribe,” Bard laughed, a cigarette tucked between his teeth. “Jus’ not sure why you don’t want to come along.”

Because that was part of the appeal. A hunting trip with Bard (the significantly more fun chaperone) where Ciel was allowed to use the good guns that they kept in the cellar (which he was normally not allowed access to). A level of reckless, irresponsible fun that no teenage boy could refuse.

Evident by the way that he nearly jumped out of his seat, banding his knee against his desk (it did not knock the egg from its perch, sadly) before regaining his composure.

“I suppose, if it will pass the time.” He said passively, trying to rub his injured knee without anyone noticing.

It wasn’t until he looked back down at his desk that the boy seemed to realize why the offer had been made in the first place; The egg could not be left unattended.

He looked up at Sebastian in malice, who only smiled sweetly back. His master was not stupid. Surely he would see this hunting trip as a once in a lifetime offer and wisely abandon this silly egg game for more entertaining pursuits. Triumph at last.

All three men in the room stood in a triangle, each staring at the egg as it sat innocently on its pillow; Ciel in contemplation, Sebastian in cruel victory, and Bard in… confusion. Which made sense, seeing as no one had let him in on the egg deal.

A light bulb may as well have popped up above Ciel’s head as he grabbed the egg off of its pillow. “I shall return shortly.”

The boy bolted out of the room, leaving Sebastian standing there with a displeased glare.

“... Was that an egg?” Bard asked, but received no response from Sebastian as the demon butler glared at the door, waiting for his master’s return. “Why does he have an egg?”

Ciel returned only a few minutes later, a small bag used for carrying dice tied onto one of his belt loops with a secureness that only could have been achieved by Finny. So the boys were in cahoots… lovely.

“Ready when you are.” He announced with a triumphant grin.

Sebastian grumbled. Foiled once more.

---

“Dogs cannot sit at the table` At this point in the day, Sebastian was getting petty. But the hunting trip had not even broken the damned thing, and the only other option he could think of was having Mey Rin shoot the god forsaken thing off of its pillow (something she was disturbingly excited to try). So yes, he was taking some of those frustrations out on Ciel and the egg.

Ciel looked up from his dinner, which he had not yet gotten the chance to take a bite out of. “That wasn’t part of the deal!” He argued.

Sebastian shrugged. “It would prove your dedication.”

He was either going to put the egg on the ground and accidentally step on it, forget it, or finally give up. He had to. Sebastian had no other ideas for how to get rid of this thing (unless he took Mey Rin up on her offer, that is). His migraine worsened as he imagined the sound of barking joining in with the other annoyances of his day to day life.

He needed Ciel to either fuck up or give up.

Ciel glared, taking the egg (still on that stupid pillow) in his hand. Sebastian swore he heard angels singing as Ciel did so, assuming that his plan had worked. But then Ciel picked up his plate as well, and Sebastian watched in annoyance as he took both items over to the wall and sat down.

His stubbornness knew no bounds.

“I will not fetch anything from the table for you if you are going to behave this way.” Sebastian said, standing firmly by the table as Ciel settled himself comfortably on the floor.

Ciel placed the egg on the ground and his plate in his lap, taking a bite. “I don’t require anything anyways.”

Sebastian eyed the full glass of water still sitting on the table. “Hm.”

Ciel took a big, defiant bite of gravy-less chicken.

---

It was official.

This had possibly been the biggest mistake of his career.

The sun had just dipped down the horizon when he heard the distinct sounds of footsteps running down the stairs. Fitting for Ciel to catch him in the kitchen once again, like the boy was returning to the scene of the crime where he had brutally murdered Sebastian’s pride only hours before.

And in he came, like a bat out of hell, holding his intact egg up in triumph. He had won the war.

His face was bright as the sun, something that Sebastian found no pleasure in as he grappled with his fate.

“... I feel that this test needs another day.” He tried in vain.

Ciel shook his head. “You gave your word. No going back now.”

Sebastian groaned, hiding his face behind his hand as he sunk down into one of the kitchen chairs. He sighed, gesturing across the little table to the chair right across from him. He listened as Ciel shuffled over, taking a seat and setting the egg down on the table with a soft plunk. The kitchen table of negotiation.

“... I have conditions.” Sebastian said plainly, taking his face out of hiding now that he was sure he didn’t look on the verge of tears.

Ciel nodded eagerly and receptively, a much more enthusiastic audience than he usually is.

“The dog will not share the same name as me.” He said sternly, despite it being a ridiculous request.

“The name is already picked out, so there will be no trouble there.” Ciel said, leaning forward excitedly.

Sebastian sighed, still in disbelief that he was agreeing to this at all. “You said you wanted a hunting dog, so you will get a hunting dog. We will go to a proper breeder and collect one that is already housebroken. No puppies, am I understood?”

Ciel did not look disappointed in the slightest. He nodded just as eagerly as before. “Anything else?”

God this receptiveness was disturbing.

“It will not go on any furniture that you would accept guests.” Sebastian said sternly. “I will not have people leaving the manor covered in dog hair.”

“Understood.” Ciel agreed, watching him intently. Sebastian narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what else Ciel wanted.

“... Those are my only demands.”

But he still stared at him, almost like he was losing confidence. It took Sebastian a while to realize that he was waiting for the explicit confirmation, something to set this plan in stone. He sighed. “We will leave in the morning.”

That smile was back, just as bright as the sun.

---

They left first thing in the morning, with Ciel already up and laying out clothing on his own by the time Sebastian opened the door. So he was capable of such behavior. What a miracle.

Sebastian had taken some comfort when they arrived at the breeder’s, who trotted out his most well behaved dogs that he had deemed “fit for an earl” (Sebastian was happy to have an ally in this situation. God knows Bard hadn’t been any help).

But of course, the one that caught Ciel’s eye was a wild-tempered greyhound who nearly topped him over trying to lick his face.The boy had laughed, only half-way trying to push the dog off of him while the other scratched behind the beast’s ear encouragingly.

The breeder, who had initially apologized profusely for the dog’s behavior, laughed at the sight and said “I suppose the Earl is just a boy.”

A traitorous leech if Sebastian had ever met one-

So of course the wretched creature came home with them.

On top of being nearly uncontrollable, the cursed little thing was ugly as could be. Long in every sense of the word and fairly pathetic looking. The only silver lining that could be found in this was that the beast had the decency to ignore Sebastian entirely, lavishing all his ghastly affection on Ciel instead.

This affection did seem to delight Ciel though, who Sebastian had never seen smile as much as he did that day.

So maybe the dog wasn’t so bad.

“He cannot be on the bed!” Sebastian protested, attempting to wave the creature off of the comforter and pulling his hand away when the damned thing snapped its jaws at his sleeve as if Sebastian’s arm was the rope toy that Ciel had wasted his whole afternoon throwing across the garden.

Ciel’s head popped through the top of his nightdress and his attention went right back to the dog (as if it hadn’t been there all day). “I don’t take guests in my bedroom, so he can be on the bed.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, watching in disgust as the thing dragged its ham bone from dinner on the bed right next to it. Ciel climbed in, petting the dog behind his left ear and delighting in the way it threw its head back affectionately, trying to reach the boy’s face in order to lick it. “Good boy, Detective!”

“Call him by his proper name,” Sebastian scolded, lifting the boy up by the armpits and tossing him onto the sheets so he could pull the comforter up to his chin. The dog bounded up after him, letting out a bark that made Sebastian flinch back in disgust with his hands up. “He will never respond to it if you keep calling him ‘Detective’.”

The dog also didn’t deserve such a title. The lights were not all on upstairs.

“Alright then,” Ciel scratched the top of the damned creature’s head as he settled down on top of the comforter, as close to the boy as he could manage. “Good boy, Sherlock.”

Sherlock Holmes was the dog’s full, legal name. Which made Sebastian roll his eyes. “Don’t praise him for such behavior, he wished to take my hand as a souvenir.”

“He would never harm a fly,” Ciel cooed unbecomingly, snuggling closer to the animal. “Would you, boy?”

The dog groaned, both his and his little master’s energy seeming to have left their bodies like a lightning flash leaves a stormcloud. Sebastian moved about the room, picking up the clothing that had gotten scattered around the floor by Sherlock himself, who seemed to think everything but eating and sleeping was a game. In a sense, he supposed that meant he fit his master perfectly.

He could feel Ciel doze off, falling into a deep sleep at an alarming speed. His soft snores filled the room, making Sebastain smile fondly.

“You pulled the wool over my eyes once again, Young Lord.” He whispered, depositing the clothes into a small hamper for washing while the rest of the house slept. “Equal parts clever and cruel.”

Even he couldn’t shake the pride, watching the boy smile in his sleep after his victory. In a way, cruelty was their way of being kind. Not the excessive kind, but the kind that forced their days into a chess game of sorts. And when Ciel was able to pull the rug from underneath Sebastian, it made him feel… significant.

Which was a ridiculous thought to have. He was already plenty significant.

But seeing himself reflected back, growing sharper and harsher, and somehow better than him by the day… It was almost a purpose on its own.

That pride melted away to annoyance when the boy turned in his sleep, his eyepatch still on. Honestly, it was like Sebastian had to do everything.

He set the laundry down, walking over to the bed and reaching his hand towards Ciel’s sleeping form.

That was when a set of sharp teeth snapped down on his hand, forcing him to jump back. He propped his hand away, blood undoubtedly dripping onto the carpet as Sherlock let go of him with a vicious snarl. Sebastian immediately removed his glove, attempting to use it to reduce the mess as he swore under his breath.

He looked back up at the dog, who stood over his boy protectively as he growled lowly at Sebastian. His teeth were bared, still showing evidence of the attack he had given as a warning.

Sebastian went to scold the damned beast when his eyes fell on the contract seal, painted red and exposed now that the glove was removed. It made his voice drop into his stomach with a heavy kind of thud. He supposed in a way, he had been very wrong about Sherlock. He was just smart enough to protect his little master.

And he knew a threat when he saw one.

“Good boy, Detective.” Sebastian said sadly as the dog laid across Ciel’s torso, not once taking his eyes off of Sebastian. “Good boy.”

#dadbastianweek2023 #dadbastainsettingsun #dadbastianweek

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