#of the like top 3 worst written characters
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Every now and then I remember that Malbolge exists and I get to spend the better part of an hour cry-laughing at the world’s worst programming language
already starting off strong, but it gets worse
Wow! Sounds easy and intuitive to use! What’s the “crazy operation” you ask? We’ll get to that later. For now let’s see what a program in this language looks like :)
Thanks! I hate it!
it’s so difficult to work with that the first program was written by another brute force search program
mmmmm delicious base-3 arithmetic, what could go wrong? (For reference, that means this program forgoes the usual “0/1″ values of binary code in favor of a much more fun “0/1/2″ set of values)
ah.
Here’s how the language actually figures out what to do. It’s got 8 “simple” commands that can be executed easily by *checks notes* running the code itself through the modulo operation and taking the result.
As a bonus, on top of all that every single character in your code will now alter what every single other character does. So I hope you’re alright with cracking a cipher every time you add a new letter to your program!
oh god oh fuck.
behold, Malbolge’s primary arithmetic operation and what you’ll be using for most of your math while programming with it :)
This looks specifically designed to be the least logical math operation you could make, and knowing what the rest of Malbolge is I’d wager that’s precisely what happened. I never want to ever use this and it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever seen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbolge
Anyways here’s the wiki page if you wanna read through it more deeply, I’m gonna sit here holding in my laughter staring at the hello world program again.
#malbolge#esoteric programming#programming#crazy operation#computer science#esoteric programming language#programming languages#lavender speaks
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since you are a person of angst, i was thinking about spencer x reader where in the heat of an argument, spencer says he will only forgive her when she dies.
so in one of the cases the reader is shot by spencer and sighs "now you can finally forgive me"
happy or sad ending, whatever you want
muah 💘
forgiven [ s.r ]
Summary:
You lied to him with good intentions, but when he finds out the truth he says something detrimental in the heat of the moment. After weeks of radio silence any chance of reconciliation is almost lost after you get critically injured in the field.
WARNINGS: SPOILERS FOR IAN DOYLE ARC, harsh arguments, death wishes, gun mentions, major character injury, details of gun related injury
pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader
genre: ANGST with a happy ending
wc: 3.7k
masterlist!!
a/n: left the ending up to majority vote and majority vote said happy ending, you guys are so boring /j
happy ending or not this is still nice and jam packed with angst for all my angst enjoyers <3
Emily Prentiss had been buried for seven months.
So how on earth was she stood five feet away from Spencer with a half guilty expression on her face like she’d put salt in his coffee rather than the fact that she’d been in Paris, fully alive and well whilst he mourned her ‘death’ for months.
But he couldn’t be mad at her. Of course he couldn’t.
Instead his gaze turned towards the way Hotch, JJ, and you were stood at the head of the table, completely unfazed whilst the rest of the team stood in shock at the fact that the friend that they’d buried was still alive.
He couldn’t help that small feeling of loathing mixing with the shock when Emily pulled him into a hug, his arms loosely rested around her back as his eyes narrowed slightly in your direction.
He’d let you see him at his absolute worst, an emotional, crying, pathetic mess of a person who was desperately mourning over the loss of one of his closest friends.
And you’d let him. Whilst knowing that Emily was still alive.
His emotional state had gotten so bad over the last few months that you’d even temporarily moved him in with you to make sure he wasn’t endangering himself.
He’d spiralled into a state where he couldn’t be trusted to live on his own. And you’d let him.
He didn’t speak to you during your drive home that night, and you knew why.
You knew he was going to be angry at you, and you couldn’t blame him for it.
What you didn’t expect, was for him to immediately start unrooting himself from your apartment; Clearing out drawers and stuffing his clothes in the suitcase hidden in one of the cupboards.
“Spencer what are you doing-” You barely manage to step out of the way before Spencer walked right into you with an armful of books in his hands as he pulled them from the bookshelf in your living room.
He stacks them neatly in the corner of the open case laid on top of his bed as you stand in the doorway of your guest room turned Spencer’s bedroom, clear concern written all over your face.
“I’m going home.” Spencer’s reply is blunt, flat, with the tiniest amount of hurt lacing his tone if you were to listen closely enough.
“Spence-” You block his exit from the room with your body as he attempts to make a second trip to clear your shelves of his books. “Can we just take a second to talk about this?”
“About what? The fact that you lied to me for seven months?” He takes a step back from you as you block the doorway, looking you directly in the eyes to make sure that you could read every semblance of hurt, loathing, and betrayal that swam in his irises.
“The fact that I trusted you to the point where I let you see me at my lowest and you knew everything I was grieving over was a lie?” Spencer had given up trying to leave the room, clearing out anything left in the bedroom instead and zipping the suitcase shut.
“The fact that you let me spiral to the point where I was considering relapsing and couldn’t be trusted to live on my own?”
“Spencer-”
“I confided in you. I told you everything. All those nights I spent sobbing in your arms talking about how I just wanted the pain to stop and you left me in the dark.” He was borderline shouting at you by now, his eyes glassed over with tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks and a lump in his throat that rended his composure shattered.
“I wish I could’ve told you Spencer but I couldn’t-”
“You couldn’t?” Spencer cuts you off before you have the time to try and explain yourself. “Or you wouldn’t?”
“I couldn’t- Spence I wanted to tell you I really did but Emily’s life was in danger-” You try to explain yourself whilst he’s giving you the time to do so, words falling out of your mouth as fast as your brain will let them form. “I couldn’t say anything without risking breaking her cover and sending her right back into Doyle’s grasp..”
“What about my life?” Spencer’s voice cracked slightly as he looked at you, a light flush covering his face from his frustration. “I spent ten weeks under 24/7 supervision because my mental state was so bad-”
“You know me. You know I wouldn’t have said anything. And you let me ruin my own mental state anyway.” The end of his negation of your explanation is marked by the suitcases wheels hitting the wooden flooring.
“Look i’m sorry okay? I didn’t-”
“What? didn’t mean to let it go so far? Didn’t mean to let me consider relapsing and washing any progress i’d made over the last four years down the drain?” He pushes past you with considerable force to make his way towards the front door of your apartment with his suitcase in hand. “Well it’s too late for that isn’t it?”
“Spencer wait-” You grasp at his wrist in a moment of desperation, silently begging for him not to leave. “I’m sorry,”
“I’m so, so sorry and you have every right to be angry at me and I know that keeping it from you was wrong-” Your desperation shows through your voice, through the stray tear that rolls down your left cheek and pools under your chin. “Just- let’s talk about this, please,”
“We just did.” Spencer’s voice is much harsher than you’re used to, although he removes your hand from his wrist with a whisper of his usual gentle nature that you wish would take over the rest of his personality as he pulls your door open to leave.
“I was just trying to protect her-” Your voice hitches at the end of your sentence, stray tears turning into a steady flow that dapples your white shirt in damp circles. “..please forgive me…”
Your voice is hardly a whisper by the time you’re finished, although Spencer’s expression does not match the softness in your tone.
Nor does his response.
“I’ll forgive you when you’re six feet under like she was.”
“Spencer-”
You barely have time to be shocked by his words before the front door of your apartment is closed harshly in your face, Spencer’s presence replaced by the ghost of his cologne and a sharp coldness that runs its way up your spine.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It’d been three weeks.
And aside from asking Morgan to keep an eye on him you hadn’t so much as mentioned Spencer once.
It was a little difficult considering his desk was directly opposite yours, but a mix of wanting to respect his personal space and still being hurt by his comment allows you to keep to yourself no matter how close he was.
You’re thankful that the team hasn’t said anything, but you’re sure they’ll only respect your privacy until it interferes with the case you’re working on.
Emily had tried to talk Spencer down from his underlying anger to no avail during the plane ride, and despite the countless times that Hotch had taken full responsibility for keeping Emily’s living status a secret, it didn’t stop Spencer from sending you half-glares across the station or refuting any suggestion you gave with an overcomplicated explanation of why you were wrong.
By the fourth day you were on the verge of snapping at him, the Texas heat melding with his snark and making you want to tear all of your skin from your face.
You definitely weren’t in the right mental state to enter an active shooter situation, but as you followed Morgan into the building with your 9mm planted firmly between your hands, all you could think about is the conversation you were going to force Spencer into having with you once all of this was over.
You were so tired of being in this stalemate with him, you just wanted your Spencer back.
The one who would trap you on your couch so he could explain the Doctor Who lore in explicit detail with that bright starry look in his eyes the longer you let him ramble.
It was just radio silence. And you couldn’t bare it anymore.
Your mind was clouded by your own thoughts as you swept the building, and you suppose you only have yourself to blame for not hearing the unfamiliar footsteps behind you until it’s too late.
You turn on your heels towards the noise, expecting it to be Morgan or even Spencer, finished with sweeping the floor and ready to move on.
Instead you’re met by a sharp bang that rings through your ears and a pain in your throat that makes your breath catch and your legs fail underneath you.
Your left hand comes straight to your throat, immediately coated in the dark red liquid escaping from the new hole created in your body, and you manage to fire a shot in the direction of your assailant as he runs, although whether you actually hit him or not you’re not sure.
It takes less than ten seconds for your team members to arrive at your side, and you desperately point in the direction that the UnSub had ran off in as you try and refrain from coughing up blood and in turn flooding your lungs.
Morgan and Emily share a look before running off in your pointed direction. Spencer however, ignores your arm completely and rushes to kneel at your side, dropping his gun on the floor in the process and frantically holding the radio button on his watch to yell out his need for medical services.
“You’re going to be fine- Everything’s going to be fine-” You can practically feel the panic emanating from his body, his hands trembling as he tugged his bullet proof vest from his chest to tear at the hem of his shirt and use it to block the bullet hole in your throat as your hand compression weakened with your blood loss.
You can tell he was trying to reassure you, but it didn’t sound all that convincing, even to himself.
His right hand added a copious amount of pressure to the front of your throat as he aided you into the recovery position, checking the nape of your neck for an exit wound. Nothing.
A soft “two minutes” echoes back through the radio speaker in his watch and though he tries to mutter it under his breath to not freak you out any further, you can hear his uncertain “that’s too long,” even through the tinnitus plaguing your ears.
You cough up the clotted chunks of oxidised blood stuck in your oesophagus onto the floor beneath you, and Spencer makes an effort to protect your head from the floor by elevating it on his thigh.
“You’re going to be fine-” Spencer sounds more panicked than you as his eyes blink with tears, unable to be wiped as they fall down his cheeks from the red staining against his fingers and the ever present pressure he’s adding to your injury.
“Does this mean you’re going to forgive me now?” You choke out the words alongside what could barely be considered a laugh as it leaves you hacking up more blood through your mouth, your attempt at lightening the mood falling on deaf ears as it sends Spencer into a fit of tears.
“I’m so sorry-” Spencer’s tears run hot against his cheeks, pooling at his chin and falling onto the ripped fabric of his shirt he was using to try and stop your throat from bleeding. “I’m so sorry for yelling at you and barging out and just being awful to you I’m sorry-”
The distinct sounds of sirens sound over Spencer’s profuse apology and you can see the relief flood his face as he hears them. “You hear that? You’re gonna be okay, they’re gonna get you to a hospital and you’re gonna be fine,”
He nodded determinedly at you, more like he’s trying to convince himself than convince you.
He neglected to tell you about the fact that gunshot wounds to the neck held a 78% mortality rate, or how when they obstruct major airways that number jumps to 92%.
It was fine. You would be fine.
He can hear the pounding footsteps of the medical team as they breach the building, yelling out in their direction with as much composure as he can muster.
He helped the medical team carefully position you on a stretcher so they could rush you into the ambulance, and he runs alongside you, giving the EMTs as much information as he can.
“They were shot by a 7.5mm two minutes and forty seconds ago, it breached their trachea but there’s no exit wound so it’s likely lodged in the back of their oesophagus-” Spencer speaks through heaved breaths as his body fights to take in oxygen over his will to help the EMTs treat you as quickly as possible, following them into the back of the ambulance.
“They’ve been conscious the whole time this far but I think they’re going through pulmonary edema and-”
“Spence-” Your voice is barely audible through your struggle to breathe, joined by the pressure on your throat as well as under your diaphragm as one of the EMTs checks for signs of your lungs being flooded. “Don’t backseat doctor-”
The fact that you’re still conscious enough to lightly chastise him makes Spencer feel a little less panicked, although removing a pebble from a mountain doesn’t affect its height.
By the time you reach the hospital, you’re unconscious but not yet critical, and he almost follows you right into the OR until he’s blocked from the door by one of the nurses and escorted into the waiting area.
“Well let you know the second anything changes Dr Reid,”
He nods hastily as he sits down, fiddling with his fingers and tapping his feet against the linoleum floors.
You weren’t critical yet, but that didn’t mean that you’d pull through. You had flooded lungs and a bullet lodged somewhere in the back of your throat that they were going to surgically remove.
If something went wrong, that was it.
Spencer spends the first thirty minutes mentally beating himself up.
Why did he lash out at you? You were only doing what you thought was best to protect Emily.
Why did he say he’d only forgive you if you died? You didn’t mean to cause him any harm.
Why was he constantly managing to ruin anything positive that was happening between the two of you?
Maybe he was cursed.
Cursed to live a life of eternal suffering as the perpetual cost for the gift of his intelligence.
He would give up every IQ point he had if it meant that you would recover with no complications.
He would sacrifice his eidetic memory in an instant if it meant he got to make new ones with you.
He’d give up everything that he was prided on as long as you were okay. You needed to be okay.
The next forty-five minutes was spent in an anxious silence. The team had rushed to the hospital as soon as they’d secured the UnSub’s incarceration, only amplifying the tension in the waiting area.
As the nurse calls out your name to the room, the team immediately stands to rush over, everyone silently praying that you’re okay.
“We’re glad to say that the surgery was a success,”
Those words are enough for the anxiety to dwindle in the group, a wave of relief overtaking it.
“They’ve had to have a temporary tracheotomy, and due to the placement of the bullet lodged between their vertebrae, a spinal excision, but both procedures progressed with no issues, meaning they should recover perfectly fine,”
Morgan and Emily share a audible sigh of relief, overshadowed by Spencer’s voice, less anxious but still filled with adrenaline. “Can I see them?”
“They’re currently under supervised care to make sure they don’t destabilise, but if you leave your mobile number we will contact you when they wake,” The nurse passes Spencer a small post it note and a biro pen from her clip board and he doesn’t hesitate to scribble his name and number down before handing them back.
“They’re strong, most patients don’t remain conscious for more than a minute or two after an injury like that,” The nurse takes the pen and post it from Spencer with a small smile. “I have full faith that they’ll recover perfectly fine,”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Spencer extends his stay in Texas indefinitely.
The rest of the team had left for Quantico two days ago to file out all of the necessary paperwork for the case, with Spencer opting to remain in Texas until you were fit to fly home with him.
Home. He wonders if you’ll let him come home with you. To stay with you in your apartment again and live side by side with him once more.
Maybe he can convince you through your recovery; That patients recovering with spinal injuries need 24/7 attention just in case something happens.
Yeah. That sounded like a good idea.
Spencer’s plans for taking you home were interrupted by the shrill ring of his cellphone, the screen lighting up with an unknown number.
His heart rate increases as he picks the phone up from his hotel room’s coffee table, his hands trembling by the time he holds it up to his ear. “Hello?”
“McAllen County Hospital, am I speaking to Doctor Spencer Reid?”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Spencer is in his rental car almost before he hangs up the phone, driving the speed limit as he tries to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
He runs what he’s going to say when he sees you over and over again in his head on the way there, but by the time he reaches your hospital room his mind goes completely blank, and he just stands in the door staring at you.
“Hello to you too,” Your voice is very clearly strained and raspy, still recovering from the emergency tracheotomy you’d been given during surgery.
The sound of your voice, as dry and strained as it is, immediately sends Spencer into a fit of tears, and he rushes to take a seat on the plastic chair beside your bed with the most upset, regretful expression you think you’ve ever seen. “I’m so sorry,”
“Spence…” You reach out your hand out from the hospital bed, laying it against his lower thigh and squeezing it lightly.
“I shouldn’t have lashed out at you I know you were doing what’s right and I didn’t mean what I said I don’t want you to die I promise-” He takes in a sharp breath through his nose once he’s finished his ramble, and you wait a few seconds to make sure he’s actually finished before speaking yourself.
“You’re fine Spence…” Your hand trails up to grasp at his own, intertwining your fingers with his and giving them a small squeeze. “You had every right to be angry,”
Spencer shakes his head adamantly at you. “No, i’m sorry. What I said was wrong and you didn’t deserve that,”
Spencer exhales softly through his nose, his voice wavering and his hands trembling against your own. “Can you forgive me..?”
You question whether to make a joke about whether he’s close to dying or not, but opt out of it considering his fragile emotional state.
“How about we both forgive each other and call it even?” You let out a small chuckle at the end of your question, turning into more of a cough as it dries out your throat, and Spencer grabs the glass of water left on your bedside table with his free hand.
He holds it up to let you drink from it rather than unlinking your hands to let you hold the cup yourself, placing the styrofoam back down once you’re finished.
You give him a mildly embarrassed smile that he returns with one of his own, leaning forward to gently rest his forehead against yours.
If you weren’t recovering from a spinal surgery he would’ve had you in a bone crushing hug by now, but holding your hand and leaning his forehead to yours would suffice for now.
“Forgiven?” You allow your eyes to flutter closed at the soft contact, exhaling slowly through your nose.
“Forgiven…”
#criminal minds#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#mgg#criminal minds x reader#criminal minds angst#spencer reid angst#asks 🫶
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Writing Fictional News
Eee this is one of my biggest pet peeves in movies, games, stories, anything… As someone who reads and edits a lot of news articles for my job, I can tell soo instantly when fictional news articles or broadcasts were written by someone who has never written news before. I’m constantly saying, “hmm, they’d never publish that.”
So here’s what you gotta know about writing (fictional) news stories.
1. They’re to the point… but not like that
This is the biggest thing I see in fiction that has news in it. People tend to write headlines that have the worst, gory details. For example,
“Student Sadie Walker murdered by 50 stabbings last night.”
While dramatic (and informative), I don’t see this as a news headline. The same situation (Sorry Sadie) may actually be reported as,
“Young woman passed away after involvement in stabbing late last night.”
While news articles are to the point and informative, remember that they’re written for the general public. We often don’t get the super gory details (at least, not in the headline).
2. They have a pretty specific voice
While most journalism is meant to be free of bias, news is the most importantly objective. This tends to result in articles written in a more formal tone. They also follow a structure: the most specific details to the most general.
Imagine you’re writing a piece that you’re expecting the reader to drop out at any moment. The headline is the attention grabber so your first line has the most important details of the story, so that someone can read it and know the jist.
Following our example, the first paragraph might be,
“Last night in June County a young woman was found unconscious, having suffered severe injuries. The woman was identified as Sadie Walker, a 21-year-old student attending June County University nearby. According to police reports, Walker had been walking between campus and the student dorms around midnight when she was struck and stabbed 30-50 times in the chest and back. Walker was found by a peer returning home an estimated hour after the attack and taken straight to Red Mill General hospital, where she passed away shortly after. The perpetrator is still unknown at this time.”
Remember the 5 W’s and 1 H. Your first few lines should inform the reader of Who, What happened, Where did it happen, When did it happen, how it happened, and maybe why if you know—though since news is so timely, often the answer isn’t known right away.
3. Where the article is found in the news is telling
While a story like our example might make the front page of the paper (especially if nothing else is really going on in June County), only one story can make this top spot. Some papers are divided between the top and bottom of the page, known as “above the fold” and “below the fold”. It’s a bit more traditional format, but the ‘above the fold’ spot is the best one, because that’s the story people see when they’re passing by the newsstand, while ‘below the fold’ is another important story making the front page, but one would have to pick up the paper and unfold it to read it.
Not to mention all the stories found inside the paper. Consider how important your article is--not to your characters/plot, but to the general society your fictional newspaper is serving. Would your MC’s win at the local dog competition make the front page of big city news?
Any other news writers on here? What did I miss?
#creative writing#writing#writers#writing community#screenwriting#writing inspiration#filmmaking#books#film#writing advice#writing news#writing fictional news#news writing
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2023 Year End Stats
Not to be stereotypical or anything, but for me at least, 2023 was an odd year. I bled for 6 months straight, dealt with the worst pain I still can't comprehend, had a hysterectomy, moved in with my partner, got some cats, dealt with a lot of stress, watched the world burn. Yeah, it's been pretty good to outweigh the bad.
But anyways! I've done the math and put together a list of my stories that performed the best this year. At least in terms of notes anyways. I'm also going to share my stories that didn't perform as well and hope they get the love they deserve.
Anyways, let's get on with the count down. Forty total stories have published on Tumblr this year. Sixty-six were published on Patreon.
Top monsters were orcs (7), Vampire (3), Fae, Minotaur, Romm Monster, Lich (all 2).
Top Ten Stories:
10. Kahann the Naga
This one would probably be in my top ten favorites to write of the year. This dark, twisted romance between a lonely, isolated girl shipwrecked on an island with the dangerous and sexy Kahann struck the dark romance itch I've been wanting to scratch.
9. Keir the Orc
Comfy farm romance that features annoyances to lvoers. What else could you want? Orcs are always fun to write, I feel I could do it with my eyes closed, but thankfully I don't wanna do that.
8. Atharo the Lich
The pink lich, this one had imagery in it I couldn't get out of my head. the visions of this pink lich still huant me and I wish I could conjur such sstrong imagery still.
7. Asier the Drider
A simple premise we cann understand. Getting packages and ordering online is probably yhe msot fun we can have without leaving our homes. But what if your neighbor was annoyed by this? And what if that neighbor was a drider?
6. Auberon the Room Monster
The enchanted library. i think I've written more about the romance and mystery of bookstores an libraries more than anything. But this story was special, with lots of worldbuilding wrapped like a blanket around these characters. The room this monster stays in is the library, and who doesn't wanna spend time with that guy?
5. Marek the Vampire
This murky, dark, and swampy tale is one of those that stays with me. The idea of a different sort of vampire, one in the bogs and wetlands of a strange peninsula that gets flooded every year haunts me. The image of him is one of my absolute favorite creations and I hope I get to visit this peninsula village again.
4. Placide the Paralangua
This story marks the beginning and growth of my Charcourt universe. Liek Hearthway Hollow it's a town filled to the brim with straneg creatures, only it's the Paralangua, alligator type monsters who throw a festival every year to celebrate their history and the continued growth of Charcourt. Is it a cult? Maybe. There's a new five part tale of this area up on Patreon now.
3. Ben the Werewolf
Enmies to lovers, I think most people get on board with this trope. This tale of Hearthway Hollow delves into the relationship between two high school enemies who reconnect after years and manage to put aside their competitivness to find one another. The lead in thisstory is also Rowan's little sister.
2. Leraye the Demon
Demons are always fun. My demon characters have ways of weaving themselves in and out of the world we know, sometimes as proper members of society, often not. Leraye is one of those that visits our world as a full time member, seeing out the comforts of a Chinese bakery whose owners are a family with ties into the reality he avoids.
Florenz the Vampire Bat
This would for sure also be on my favorites of the year. This dark story wove together elements of fantasy, horror, and romance that I love to death. The lead is sophisticated and dashing, the lead is adventurous and excitable. The chemistry between the leads while writing this tale was so good.
The Ten Least Appreciated Stories
10. Juniper the Tiefling
I am deeply disappointed this didn't do as well as I expected. This story was based on characters me and my bff made for a one shot DND session. So this story was more personal to me than others. but more than that, I feel it had some of my best banter!
9. Rocco the Guard
Another personal tale based on ideas me and my friend came up with during a visit where we watched the Owl House together. I also greatly enjoyed the leading lady who was smart, spunky, and chaotic in the absolute best ways.
8. Ozzie the Werewolf & Tryfon the Naiad
It has a trans lead, it has polyamory, it was set in hearthway Hollow! I thought this story was serving up gold on a platter. But maybe people weren't in the mood for gold. The comedy in this is top notch, at least I thought.
7. Laertes the Fae
Another story where the dialogue I feel sparkles and pops with every interaction the characters had. This did only recently come out, so maybe it'll grow after this.
6. Ransom the Shapeshifter
Another personal story based around lore me and my bff created for our Stardew Valley characters. It also featured a nonbinary lead and monster, I thought people would be excited for this. I loved playing with the avant-garde sci-fi aspect and being a little weird. But maybe that's why people didn't like it too much lol
5. The Leshy
Another story that would be in my top ten for my personal favorites to write. I loved the complexity of the leading lady and crafting her has made her a personal favorite. The characters and world of this story will be one that stays with my thoughts as I think about the cozy, dark streets anfdthe moss covered steps of the buildings.
4. Jaqueline the Dullahan
This story has it all! Chocolate, Halloween, a sexy dullahan chef, and it's a lesbian romance. Maybe I don't have enough wlw readers but this story came from a ko-fi prompt I wrot and just grew into a full fledged story. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this story and how it felt like a cozy fireplace with hot cocoa.
3. Beast the Symbiote
Beast is a character I have been wanting to get out into the world for years. She's such a complex villain character, and who doesn't love that. I feel like she is one of my coolest characters. Lucky Devil was also a character I had been dying to get out, she's been in my head since I watched Magi Madoka and she took form slowly over the years. She is in part based on me, and I want to do more with this lovely couple.
2. Fia the Selkie
I'm starting to see a pattern here. Male reader stories aren't ya'lls cup of tea? Too bad, I have some amazing male readers and commissioners I adore working for. Fia was this comforting warm blanket of a story. A struggling musician and the lovely Selkie he's come to be with. I really love this story, please check it out if you want some comfort.
1.Ria the Orc: an AU
I'm actually a wee bit pissed about this one. Another male reader, and Ria is a character I've come to absolutely love. This was written for a commissioner I've come to consider a friend, and writing for him has become an amazing experience. Ria and her beau have also become such real, loving characters in my head. This was an AU of the modern monsters Ria where she is in Obresh and participates in the Reaping. Who doesn't love Reaping stories? C'mon folks, give these ten stories the love they deserve!
Thank you all for an amazing year! Next year I will hopefully publish and you're going to see bigger and grander things from me, I owe that to all of you. Keep a look out for my Ozren novel hitting the shelf soon. Thank you so much and I hope I continue to write stories you love.
#top ten#year in review#2023#monster romance#monster fuqqer#monster smut#orc#vampire#lich#fae#writblr#writing community#creative writing#personal
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Bridgerton Twitter is the absolute worst.
1. Some of y’all don’t know the difference between romantic tension and chemistry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with polin’s chemistry. The entire point is that it’s been one sided so far.
2. The trope elitist people need to grow up. Every trope can be top tier if it’s written correctly. The way people act about friends to lovers is weird. I don’t even like that trope but condemning an entire season because of a stupid trope is ridiculous.
2. I’m sorry but Colin doesn’t owe it to Pen to be in love with her. That’s not how relationships work. Yea what he said at the end was awful but it’s so weird that y’all can’t stop and look at this from his pov for 5 seconds. Just because he doesn’t return her feelings doesn’t mean he doesn’t genuinely care about her.
3.The underlying issues with Nicola & Luke not being up to certain beauty standards is just gross. I know people want to be attracted to the male lead but denying Luke is charming & handsome just makes you look dumb. As a plus sized person I’ve always loved seeing Pen and the idea of her leading this show is exciting but it’s clear that some people don’t get that this type of representation is important too.
I do not understand the need to pit the characters & relationships against each other. The way that season 3 is being criticized before we even got any kind of preview is wild. Polin isn’t your cup of tea? Great. But why ruin it for people who are actually looking forward to it?
#bridgerton#colin bridgerton#penelope featherington#nicola coughlan#luke newton#polin#sorry I’m#being super ranty#twitter is garbage
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LONG ASS MESSAGE UNDER CUT!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!! I’ll tag everyone whose made a star for this drawing in the replies- if I’ve missed anyone or if you wanna be added, PLEASE LET KNOW!!!!!!!
At the time of writing this, there’s about 40 minutes let of 2023, and I’m VERY DETERMINED to get this posted before 2024 so I am in a bit of a rush so alas, this may not be as well-written as I’d like it to be but that’s the price I must pay alas HDNEHENEJDN
I wanna start this by saying I’ve always had a lot of anxieties surrounding the New Years, and things changing- even just seeing posts that were from the year prior always seems to give me anxiety. Things change, people move on, while I stay with the same interests- it’s always been something I’ve struggled with, but making this has helped me come to terms with all of that and I’m glad.
Theres no better words I can say right now other than; Thank You. Thank you so, so, SO much to my friends, both new and old- my friends who’ve been here since the very beginning and have stuck by me through this whole rollercoaster- and to all of my new friends, who it sometimes feels like I’ve known you all for at LEAST five years and not like, five months or something HDBWHNWUDNDHDJS thank you to everyone who has ever been kind to me, supported me and enjoyed what I’ve created- I’ve recieved probably the kindest words I’ve ever heard in my entire life this year. Thank you to the people who stuck by me when times got tough and helped me through my own seemingly very insignificant or silly problems HDNEJENSK
This year has easily been one of the best years of my life. 2022, to keep it short, was awful- I came out as a Transgender gay man to my parents and it went awful. I was dealing with the worst mental health of my entire life and there were times it felt like there was no hope. On top of all of that, my childhood dog passed away- so all and all, I wasn’t looking forward to the future. But my loving partner introduced me to Resident Evil, and as a result the community as a whole- and to say it changed my life would be an understatement.
I know it’s obviously no secret that I have a favourite character, Luis Serra Navarro- but to say his character has changed me as a person for the better would also be a MASSIVE understatement. I’ve never ever in my entire life resonated with a character so profoundly before- as a queer and trans man, I saw myself reflected in his performance, and that means more to me than words can even describe. His character encapsulated me in a way no other has done before, and genuinely helped me accept my autism, my queerness and my trans identity as a good thing- I could write absolutely ESSAYS on his character and I have. I’ve consumed more Don Quixote media than I think I ever would have otherwise HDNEHENEJD and to say I’ve genuinely become a more confident and happier person because of his character would, again, be SUCH an understatement. It’s truly hard to describe how much he means to me, but I hope my words give a good idea.
For the first time in a very, very long time, I get to look forward to my future. I don’t see my Queerness or my Trans identity as a setback anymore; I have things to look forward to, plans I’ve made and a future I can look towards. And I cannot thank my friends- all of you know who you are- André and Andrea and everyone in my life and this small little community I’ve unintentionally formed for giving me that opportunity. Words will never be able to describe how grateful I truly am, but I hope this is close enough.
Thank you for letting me fully indulge in my autism and enjoy Luis’ character to the fullest. I’ve never felt happier enjoying something in my entire life.
Thank you everyone. For everything. May you all successfully defeat your own windmills <3
#ericsart#resident evil#serennedy#luis serra#luis sera#leon kennedy#leon s kennedy#serrenedy#serrennedy#luis serra navarro#luis sera navarro#luis sera fanart#luis serra fanart#leon kennedy fanart#leon s kennedy fanart#resident evil fanart#rebhfun#re fanart#re4r fanart#resident evil 4 fanart#re4r luis#re4r leon#re4 fanart#luis sera x leon kennedy#luis serra x leon kennedy#leon kennedy x luis serra#don quixote#don quijote#serennedy fanart#re4 luis
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guys, I sense a lot of tension about this whole buckynat situation XD ... there is even some hate going on on "X" saying they should have stayed broken and stuff... and, listen, I understand, this kind of reunion wasn't what we was hoping for after all these years (10 years?!?!) and of course we had better scenarios in our mind and we were hoping for more good character work (or any characters work at all!), and we want to hear Nat's version (eheh) and these writers are, let's say, uhm, not so good...
BUT
these are american superhero comics for you in 2024. No greatly written for most part, action focused all the time, little or not at all character development, aiming to reach big sales or them get cancelled, flowing with the MCU synergy and stuff. And I tell you as someone who has read comics her whole life (and I had a loooong life, ok XDDD): bad moments in comics come and go, and poor characters run through a lot of shitty writing, and this happens all the time.
Are Lanzing and Kelly good writers? No. HELL NO.
Do I think Cold War was the worst thing written in the media in the maybe last 5 years? YES with a cherry on top! 100% YES.
Is Thunderbolts a good mini series? ... Well, not really. Better than SOL and CW, but still, we're not quite there yet. It was basically random, with a stretched plot that I can't even recall, and really not a team book since it doesn't focused on any of its characters for real. 'Cause you know, I said it before: no character work, just action action and more action.
Is Bucky written by L&K good? No. He isn't. But to be honest he wasn't good in a lot of other comics too, sadly. He has been worse, he has been better. He will improve at some point, that's the cycle.
All this said, am I happy they brought buckynat back? YES. I AM SUPER HAPPY 'cause it opens for possibility!!!
If they gain some more audience as a couple there are more opportunities for them to get more exposure, to be feautured into other comics (in the current cap run written by Straczynski for example?) more and better content, not only together but on their own too! I think them both didn't have a good comic since... 2018??? Nat even earlier probalby, but it's important they somehow stay relevant in the stories 'cause this is how this whole circus works (sad): the characters who sell better get more stories, more comics, better comics from better writers (... hopefully!)! It's bad, but that's the comic market guys.
Idk, it just feels so sad to me that we have waited for so long for buckynat reunion and when it happened finally it left us with just a bittersweet aftertaste... I think this is inevitable 'cause we had so many hopes and we pushed it bigger than life into our heads, and this is reality XD...But realistically speaking, I was never expecting their reunion to be that different from what we got in the end.
It's good to be disappointed, it's right, but let's turn this into a good occasion then, let's try to stay positive and maybe try to exorcise the bad in it by taking a creative angle on the matter: let's write meta about Natasha's pov, let's write fics, let's do edits, fanarts, let's discuss it. But wishing it never happened and dragging them badly...
I know we all feel like they deserved better, and I agree, but let's consider this just THE BEGINNING. It's a starting point and we should keep our fingers crossed for something good to come!
Let's not give up!!!
I'm sorry if this is so long and a whole lot of useless blablabla bhubhubhu, but some of the stuff I'm reading around is starting to be really depressing and a bit too negative considergin the whole situation, and it's a shame 'cause I feel like we should be at least a tiny bit happier here around <3 :D
Let me know what you think of all this mess (or not, lmao) if you want! <3
#buckynat#winterwidow#616 buckynat#thunderbolts 2023#L & K don't have to be tha bane of our ship guys!#it's just an opportunity with them getting back together!
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Oh! the notebook idea is very neat!! So, to take it towards a darker turn, imagine the character seeing the last double spread of the notebook, and every single name in the notebook is our own?
Maybe this was like partway through the healing process where we aren't death seeking anymore but we aren't okay still (hope that makes sense)
Many ways have a great day!!! <3
Oh fuck I didn't even think about how many pages would be just our own names.
Cause in my head before the healing process is that any names written near the end of the list are from them assuming the characters were trying to kill them.
BUT NOW I SEE IT AND OH MY LORD THAT'S SO....the tingles in my brain.
Cause highkey I can see the creator being gifted a new notebook by one of the characters (maybe Neuvillette or Wriothesley since they give me the vibes of being most likely to do it) as a way for them to write out their feelings. And it would read normal at first, but as the pages went on you can see moments of them relapsing. And it would be very scary if any of the characters ever read it cause the pure fact that their god can be as emotionally broken as an ordinary person would really fuck up with your religious mind.
At least I would think so since gods are always considered to be above man in terms of...well everything, even if we consider the more petty interpretations like Greek gods.
Wait...god that makes Sumeru seem like the worst nation to ever being healing at for me because while they would have top notch psychological knowledge....good lord I know some of those characters would probably be questioning way too much and be way too pushy in order to force the healing to be done asap. LIKE ITS WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS, but just geez. Anyway putting a pin in that-
Back to the actual topic yeah this definitely is a very interesting idea that I honestly never considered. So thank you and others for giving me the idea because DAMN the potential. Potential my beloved.
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I think they were so worried about not getting a season 3 they ruined both the viewers expecting one and the viewers who would've liked it to end there. they've created an easily destroyable status quo because of course something needs to happen to get everyone back together for season 3. so it's not even a happy ending; it's so fragile, it's designed to fall apart the second that anyone learns that the show is back on. i get not wanting to bank on having a third season and wrapping it up but like. Galavant did that and did it better. WITH THE HEROES RETIRING AND THE TWO MINUTE MARRIAGE CEREMONY TO BOOT. But it gave an outline of where the plot might go from there and how the adventure will continue if it gets to. And it never got to, and season 2's ending is good because it's not /fragile/--it's not a cliffhanger, but you get the idea that they could keep going from there still. whereas this one didn't want to be a cliffhanger so much that they created the most breakable new status quo in history and if there is a season 3 it'll immediately be undone and I'll probably still watch it but like I'll /know/, y'know? They could fix everything in the first episode of season 3 and I'd still have to know that at one point, this was considered an acceptable outcome.
The thing that is driving me absolutely insane is they DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS!
There's so many people looking at it like "well it's a shame that 2x08 clearly had to cram several episodes into one for budget reasons and it made the development weaker but that's the situation MAX put them in" and I cannot emphasize enough how much that is not true.
MAX did not break it to them after episodes 2x01 - 2x07 were written and half filmed that they would have to wrap up the whole plot in 30 minutes. Like absolute worst case scenario they had 10 eps mostly written and budget came back 20% over and they had to reduce to 8 total. More likely they knew they were getting 8 from the start.
It is absolutely nobody's fuck up except David Jenkins and his writers' room if they were unrealistic about what character beats were needed and would fit in the timeframe to reach a satisfying wrap up.
Worries about no S3 were on the table the moment it took until JUNE to get confirmation of S2. This wasn't sprung on them. If they wanted their story to have a "just in case" happy ending and then a "fully realized arc" happy ending, they should have fucking acted like it???
I was shocked when the first three episodes that dropped were so hardcore on destroying Edward's relationships and laying bare exactly how deep his issues went. It only made sense to me if they were going all in on getting a S3 and prepared to spend all of S2 focused on the implications of all that, and then the not-even two week in-universe timeline of the season reinforced my understanding that was happening.
"Shame we don't have time for our main couple to even start addressing their relationship or having moments of self-realization and sharing their issues," says guy who decided to make the first half of S2 about adding more problems on top of well established ones from S1 and the second half of S2 about throwing in a second breakup cycle instead of dealing with the fallout from the first.
Want Edward to end on a beat of feeling part of the found family? Well maybe adding a timeskip after 2x05 and then a crew chat in 2x06 where you make it clear he did an apology tour offscreen could help, but you also could have just not focused hard on him poisoning his relationship with every single one of them in the first place???
There's multiple different ways you can do Act 2 of a three act structure, and they did not have to choose one that ends on another dark cliffhanger beat or right at the open ended turning point toward growth? Like they didn't even do the one they picked in a way they could fit in their season. I feel like by the end of a struggles Act 2 both your protagonists need to have self-realized their issues and maybe had one conversation about it? Edward still wasn't talking about his guilt, and Stede wasn't talking about anything.
They aren't even at the turning point of growth and out of the backsliding / lessons learned era yet, that's why potential S3 will start on another backslide when status quo breaks and Stede starts "that's nice, dear"-ing Edward during the day and slipping out at night to vicariously listen to pirate stories or whatever (and they frame it like he's cheating).
We have two out of three seasons in a show that might only get two, and I feel like the characters have barely moved from their starting position.
Like idk maybe they are really good at coming up with character flaws - ex: Stede is repressed and bottles up his traumas until he mentally checks out / runs away - and just drawing blanks on how to believably "fix" them, but just going "well what if we just used this flaw to throw another miscommunication roadblock in their relationship?" is not getting them where they want to be.
The season was fundamentally designed against their stated goal and did not make what seem to be necessary writing concessions to the reduced screentime if they wanted their finale to land as an even plausibly happy ending. It's hollow.
And possibly not even salvageable in S3 since they aren't demonstrating the skills to salvage it.
#our flag means death#ofmd s2#ofmd s2 spoilers#ofmd 2x08#david jenkins#ask#ladyluscinia#ofmd meta#ofmd critical
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A (very long) list of my (semi) unpopular DC opinions
The Batfam shouldn’t work together as a whole big group as vigilantes. Whenever that does happen it ends up being character suicide for AT LEAST two of them and also usually ends up minimizing all of them to one of the skills/traits they’re good at (or the archetypes the writer wants them to be). The only exception to this is if it’s a long arc covering an actual catastrophe where each issue covers a duo or trio within the big group. Otherwise they should stick to no more than 4 ppl at a time in a team up. Also, this obviously doesn’t apply to them as civilians, they’re literally family obviously they’re gonna hang out as a group.
The Teen Titans (2003) is the best writing but (one of the) worst teams. On the other hand the original Teen Titans run and NTT run are the best teams (imo) but have either really bad or really mediocre writing. We as a society need an OG TT or NTT run written well.
Roy struggling with a heroin addiction has so many more layers and nuances to it than struggling with alcohol because as a non-meta hero most of his fights were against something drug-related. As opposed to alcohol which is now seen as a normal thing for soldiers/heroes/warriors to fall on as a crutch, this medium uses alcohol addiction with every other character. Roy’s addiction to heroin would literally be an opposition to all that he’s ever stood and fought for, all that his family and friends ever fought and stood for, and way more interesting because of that.
Garth (like Donna) is one of the most powerful and interesting characters but is never given enough panel time. However, unlike Donna, writers would rather write him out of the teen titans before they actually write a good interpretation of him. And I don’t know why but his role in the Aquafam too has been dwindling with time.
Garth’s openness about his inferiority complex and his inferiority complex in general need more panel time, it’s one of the most interesting thing to come out of the OG TT run
This is a complicated take because it’s literally two opposites in one take, but the main difference in characters as seen in old comics vs. now is two things. One, the writing of characters was much better, much more realistic, and much more nuanced in old comics. Two, when there is a well-written character in modern comics its usually a more show not tell character so everything is shown to us through actions and stuff rather than straight up words or them psychoanalyzing themselves in their speech bubbles and that just doesn’t work with modern audiences because media literacy is a dying art. Also, there’s the variable of the influence of fanon over how characters are written in comics but that’s a whole other post.
Roy and Donna are literally THE OTP like I don’t even want to hear it, they’re literally DC’s percabeth.
Every single Teen Titan had an inferiority complex, some were just easier to see.
Selina and Bruce and Talia and Bruce are two very different relationships that can’t be compared. Also they will always live side by side till the end of comics, this love triangle was one meant to last, and it will.
Jason Todd as we know him right now should get the YJ Roy Harper treatment, we need to find out that he’s a clone and the real JT is somewhere in Africa working for UNICEF or something, that’s the only way to fix his character.
Also, ignoring the top one, if DC doesn’t want to commit to that because they’re cowards, they should at least not make him a part of the Batfam yet, it’s too soon for either side.
Kara Zor El is the perfect character to be a white lantern, her arc literally matches up perfectly with each of the rings, and she’d wield it incredibly
Kyle Rayner is top 3 GLs
In my opinion, Diana is best written when the most important thing to her in the world is the world itself. Like, usually I hate the whole “hero would sacrifice u, villain would sacrifice the world” thing cuz it mostly doesn’t really apply, but to her it absolutely does. Diana would sacrifice the closest person to her for the world in an instant if it was for the sake of the world. And this isn’t like an angst thing because they all know it and are all ok with it.
Also, Diana is one of the most if not the most powerful characters in all of DC, if DC did a Deadpool kills the marvel universe kind of thing they should totally use her because she is sooo powerful. (Afterthought: that’s why I hate most of her appearances in anything JL because they underpower her soooo bad)
I say this as a batfamily Stan, the batfamily is the worst family in all of DC and sadly the one that gets the most attention.
The OG TT are the epitome of superheroes in the sense that each and every one of them defines every part of a superhero spectacularly and always has.
Kory needs an arc where she leaves everyone and everything for a while because as of right now, not only do the writers only ever see her in relation to others, but she sees herself that way. She needs an arc where she finds herself in relation to herself, who SHE is. Away from the love triangle, and the titans, and the Titans, etc.
Babs is a better character outside of the love triangle than she is when she’s in it. (Also a better character as Oracle but that only really unpopular amongst writers)
Every single woman character in DC is written in relation to the men in the comics, even WW. The only exception is Oracle, not Babs, but Oracle, which is actually so twisted considering that the creation of Oracle as a character came hand in hand with an event that literally inspired the cloning of the phrase “fridging”
BOP is one of the best teams
Harley Quinn shouldn’t be a hero yet, she was abused for over a decade, we need to see more of her struggle to undo all of the manipulation and heal from the abuse as well as try to undo all the damage she’s done. The Animated Series is the best version of her arc but it’s still not good either.
We as a fandom(s) need to normalize the ability to consume and enjoy things we don’t necessarily agree with. For example, as I’ve stated before multiple times, I absolutely hate any kind of abusive Bruce, however, I still read those long posts about it and I still read fics where dck punches him cuz he’s an abusive asshole, it’s okay to consume media that you don’t necessarily agree with. And same with fanon versions of characters, I HATE coffee-addict Tim, I’ve still enjoyed hundreds of fics with him in them though.
Damian Wayne is the most compassionate member of the batfam and one of the Keats likely ones to willingly kill
Blue devil and kid devil have arguably the most interesting story and tragedy in all of DC and the only reason they’re not given a lot of attention is because their tragedies have to do with something we don’t like to see: the wrongdoings and flaws of heroes, especially ones we like.
Speed Saunders should’ve continued as a character
Hal Jordan should’ve stayed evil for a while, the end of the parallax arc sucks and is a stupid cop out because they weren’t ready for a fully new GL. I don’t think he should’ve stayed the villain forever, but maybe for a few years, especially if that meant they would’ve ended the arc better.
Mera is more powerful than Arthur, always has been and always will be.
Wally West does see Barry Allen as a father figure and vice versa, it’s okay to see someone as a parental figure when you still have parents, especially when your parents are (canonically) borderline emotionally abusive and/or neglectful.
Any iteration of ANY hero being abusive is the worst writing ever because what the actual fuck, I’m sorry, but what happened to the whole they’re literally fucking heroes part??
There are so many characters that deserve solo series (or even mini series) but don’t get them because all the series are already being taken up by bigger characters (looking at you batfam)
So many characters get mischaracterized for the sake of other character’s stories (again, looking at you batfam)
Anyone who thinks Superman is boring either doesn’t understand him as a character or hasn’t read enough stuff with him in it (I recommend All-Star Superman and/or American Alien)
Anyone who relates to the Joker needs to turn themselves in at the nearest police station. (Unless it’s LEGO Joker, we like him)
The LEGO Batman movie is unironically some of the best DC media to ever exist
Atlantis and Paradise Island should be allies (especially once Diana, Arthur, and Mera come into the picture), I don’t know why they’re not
Lex Luthor is one of the most despicable villains because he’s a realistic villain, which is much scarier
Kon should be the next Superman
Connor Hawke should’ve stayed Tim’s age and Tim’s friend, it makes the most sense timeline-wise plus I think their dynamic was super cute.
Comic writers not making Roy openly refer to Ollie as his dad even though they’ve been father and son since they’ve debuted basically is actually so crazy to me
These next few are about Talia Al-Ghul because I love that woman:
Talia Al-Ghul Pre-Morrison was one of the best and most interesting characters in all of DC and that isn’t just my opinion, she was really popular amongst fans and writers for that exact reason
However, Morrison’s damage to her is near irreparable
BUT, if DC did want to repair it, I genuinely believe she’d be the best character they’d have character-wise and it would probably pull in a bunch of new fans
But even if they don’t, Talia Al-Ghul is one of the most important characters in all of DC and comics in general because she’s literally the documented history of WOC in media (especially Arab and Asian women) as well as their relation to white men in media. Her character and how it changes is directly tied to mainstream views on WOC at the time.
Talia Al-Ghul is literally of “I Bet On Losing Dogs” by Mitski, personified
Dinah Lance is the perfect example of a complex character done right and interpreted wrong/not interpreted enough.
If anyone should be the therapist within the hero community it should be J’onn or Red tornado, those are the two that make the most sense.
Helena Bertinelli is more important to the batfam than Jason Todd is.
Cassandra Cain shouldn’t be portrayed as mute anymore, it doesn’t make sense for her character or her arc.
The worst thing to happen to Poison Ivy’s character is Harley Quinn.
Mera is made to be a mother, whether to her own kids (Garth included) or as a mother figure to other kids.
On the other hand, Stephanie Brown wasn’t ready and doesn’t/didn’t want to be a mother, she gave up her baby willingly and will almost 100% not go out to look for her.
Lady Shiva’s appearances 99% of the time are out of character for her, the whole “training with Shiva” thing is also OOC for her, and Cass even existing is OOC for her. The reason that this continues though is because she’s been transformed from an actual character into a character tool.
Stephanie Brown and Cassanadra Cain are a good duo and anyone who hates on one but likes the other misunderstood both of their characters.
Dick hating Jason for what he did to Tim IS in character of him, and, in my opinion, correct of him
The rise in people who don’t like heroes’s pacifism is concerning. People calling Bruce a bad person because he doesn’t kill is concerning. People viewing Clark as boring because he’s a good person is concerning. People liking straight up villains more than they do heroes is concerning.
Anyone who recommends mister miracle should also tell them about the TW in the first few pages
Kingdom come isn’t that good, especially to non-Christians
Big Barda needs her own run. We need a Bug Barda run that covers everything from her origins to where she is now, and we need it done by a female writer who’s good at complex and heavy stories
Some of the most hated comic writers are some of the best at what they do
Chuck Dixon is just as much a blessing to any character he writes as he is a curse
Marvel’s comic writers and artists 80% of the town do a better job with their characters and their arcs than DC writers and artists.
DC should have sensitivity readers because the amount of racism in these comics is insane
It’s okay to put down a comic/run because you don’t like the art, it’s your time no one’s gonna judge you
Alex Ross’s art is actually nice, people just like hating
The Trinity should never be shipped with one another
Steve isn’t important to Diana at all, he’s barely in any of her comics actually, he’s less important to her (or at least to her character) than fucking swamp thing
Batfam is better smaller
It’s better to read the first appearances of characters, it helps you understand them better.
Lois Lane is the DC version of Susan Storm, aka the blueprint of women in that company’s comics, but also one of the most forgotten women in that company’s comics
Comics aren’t going to go anywhere arcwise for the characters long term, that’s the whole point. Batman will always have a robin. Love triangles will always be love triangles. They will all always stay young.
Old campy comics were better than modern comics.
Cheshire isn’t a redeemable character and shouldn’t be one. Women in comics should be allowed to be straight up villains and stay that way.
Cheshire having Lian is OOC. Cheshire leaving Lian is a racist trope.
Asian and Arabs are treated horribly by DC.
The New 52 is actually a good place to start for new readers, it was a good idea, but it should’ve just been an alternate universe (like mcu is to 616 kind of) or something (and it should’ve been down with the supervision of anyone who isn’t Dan didio)
DC has some of the best world building in the history of modern day media/literature especially considering how many facets of this world there were/are to build
Team rosters that are constantly changing are better than stationary ones unless they change too much/too fast
Canon is hypocritical 90% of the time, most times canon clashes and crashes and doesn’t make sense, so don’t worry about it, read a comic, count what you want to be canon as canon, throw the rest into to the “never existed” pile
I’m sorry to tell you guys this, but it isn’t an opinion, it’s an unpopular canon fact, one that even I don’t like: Dick Grayson likes pineapple one pizza
Something that I hate that been on the rise a lot lately is the fact that the fandom is so okay with character being sexualized just because they like how the characters look, I feel like we should keep our stances on this as they are with all over-sexualized characters.
Villains of the week are actually so fun, even more then the big villains sometimes.
JSA needs a comeback please and thank you (I’m begging atp)
Cassandra Cain shouldn’t be Orphan, ever, it makes no sense for her to take the name of her abused. The same way it doesn’t make sense for Jason to become red hood.
Complex characters who are dumbed down once can be dumbed down and mischaracterized every time after that, and this has been done A LOT.
The YJ shows is very much overhyped
The fact that DC overpowers their characters makes them more interesting, not less
Selina was right and in character when she left Bruce at the alter. She was not right and in character when she hid Helena from him, she wouldn’t do that.
Bruce Wayne is more fun to read when he has a pipe and fun colored robes, please give him back his pipe and his fun colored robes.
#dc comics#comics#batfamily#teen titans#Roy Harper#Donna Troy#aquafam#garth of shayeris#Selina Kyle#Bruce Wayne#talia al ghul#Jason Todd#young justice#Kara zor el#kyle rayner#green lantern#diana prince#justice league#koriand'r#Barbra Gordon#Wonder Woman#Oracle#birds of prey#Harley Quinn#Tim Drake#damian wayne#kid devil#blue devil#mera of xebel#Dinah Lance
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Okay let's talk about how actually Bill is attached to Ford and genuinely sees him as a friend and maybe even likes him more than literally anyone else which was originally going to mainly revolve around Weirdmageddon, however I absolutely needed to add creator commentary and extra-canon in order to dig into Bill's mentality.
First, I'd like to point out this comment by Hirsch from the Sock Opera DVD commentary about how Bill views Mabel:
“Bill genuinely believes that Mabel’s kinda like him. He sees Mabel as a chaos agent. Like, Mabel has got a little bit of a seed of anarchy in her, she’s a little bit selfish, she likes to have fun at whatever cost. And Bill is all those things times a billion. So he thinks when he lays it all out for her like: ‘How about instead of being lame, you do something fun! And crush whoever you want in the process!’. He thinks that’s gonna go over. And he’s not wrong in seeing that side in Mabel but Mabel is a better person than Bill Cipher.”
as well as this bit from "Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun" written by Bill:
Both which pretty much confirm that Bill likes Mabel and assumes they're alike based on a couple similarities, which adds up when you look at how he treats and interacts with Mabel in the show but let's not derail.
The point I'm trying to make here is that if Bill can get attached and relate to a twelve year old he's known for half a summer, it's pretty easy to imagine he probably feels similarly about a guy he's known for thirty years and is the character who by far has the strongest connection to Bill.
Of course for Bill to relate to Ford there has to be some similarity in the first place. And there are! You could compare Ford's willingness to build an interdimensional portal to gain knowledge and admiration to Bill's desire to reach beyond his own two-dimensional world and eventual attain of knowledge and power.
Of course, Ford isn't the first person to attempt to build a portal for Bill. But the similarities run deeper than that.
So you know how Ford's been ostracized for all his life and leaned into trying to be outstanding and special which was encouraged and made worse by Bill?
Because Bill namedrops the author of Flatland in the Bill Cipher AMA when asked about his birth dimension.
and on top of that, in Journal 3 Ford describes a dimension called Exwhylia which references Flatland and suggests Bill could have come from a similar dimension.
To keep it short for those unfamiliar, Flatland is a book about a place of that same name and describes it as a plane where three-dimensionality is incomprehensible, only the heads of society are allowed to know about other dimensions, the social system depends on a strict hierarchy, everything that risks deviating from the norm is shut down, may be worth mentioning here that triangles are near the bottom of the hierarchy too.
Yeah I don't think I need to really explain that Bill would absolutely hate it here and it's really jarring how much this place clashes with him.
Anyway do you see where I'm going with this? Bill probably being shunned by his world and Ford's whole deal?
About the leaning into being special thing, Flatland people are really just. people but shapes. So to me it implies Bill didn't always have his powers (on top of him literally saying "I wasn't always this way" in Weird 3 while talking about his newly gained powers and before talking about his old dimension). Can you imagine how much gaining those brought out the worst in him? I think he was already self-centered before but now he has more reason to see himself above others.
Now obviously, Bill just claimed Ford was special and called him his friend as a manipulation tactic, but it's significant to remember that we're talking about the guy who said this:
and is pretty much confirmed to apply this mindset to himself:
I think that while yes, Ford and Bill's friendship started out as nothing but manipulation on Bill's part, he really grew attached to the guy based on what they had in common.
Unfortunately, Bill does the same mistake with Ford as he does with Mabel and assumed he's more like him than he really is. I mean,
Bill wrote this into the Journal during Ford's paranoid era. And I don't think he's just rambling because he says "don't you understand" and "I ask you" which very much sounds like he's trying to be convincing.
Anyway, yeah I think this scene from Weirdmageddon 1 was really another genuine offer, rather than just plain and simply Bill mocking Ford.
Also Weirdmageddon 2 pretty much proves to me that Bill does see Ford as special. Just look at how he's always carrying golden Ford around in contrast to all the stone-turned townsfolk being built into his throne. Literally special treatment! In a bad messed up way.
Also a big fan of this episode showing that Bill does not care about the well-being of his so-called friends (which is even more outright in the uncut storyboard version of this scene)
really cementing the fact that not only does Bill see himself above mortals, but above everyone and really the only apparent reason they are friends is because they support Bill and he thinks they're fun.
So yeah it is absolutely possible for Bill to regard Ford on a similar level as them, maybe even above them. Finally, let's talk about the penthouse scene because I have a lot of feelings about that one.
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After attempting to charm Ford, Bill's first move in trying to negotiate is talking about his old dimension and how restricting and narrow-minded it was. Already brought this scene up earlier but honestly the fact that he just drops that on Ford is wild to me.
Like, this is the same guy who, according to the Axolotl, yearns for his old dimension but denies to himself that he deeply regrets destroying it. Bill hates showing vulnerability. He hates even acknowledging it. He only cares for vulnerability if it comes from other people for him to exploit!
So him telling Ford that his dimension was awful and he was genuinely miserable there is huge. Not just him telling Ford that, but also just the expression? The tone? This is the most sincere Bill has ever been throughout the show and possibly the most sincere he's been in decades, centuries, millennia, God knows. Even if it's still filtered through a lie he's been telling himself for most of his life.
And yeah obviously, Bill was desperate and needed Ford to help him at this point but I think it would've been "easier" for Bill to just. Maybe try and solve the barrier problem himself. Ford figured it out, so surely Bill can at least try instead of, Idk, laying his heart out to the person who has dedicated his life to killing him.
I think Bill tried to make Ford relate to him in this scene for the sake of getting him to join but also maybe, just maybe, Bill craved connection? Dude's a lot more sentimental than he seems and lets on and spending an eternity only befriending people who you'll put below yourself after killing everyone you've ever known has got to get lonely.
Not that I think Bill truly saw ford as an equal, Absolutely Not, but I think Bill saw in Ford someone who could understand him. Someone who, at least for a short time, just simply enjoyed and appreciated his company as a friend. Maybe even a more naive version of Bill himself who hasn't yet realized what's good for him, which is really ironic because Ford is the one ended up stirring his life into a positive direction where he can be truly happy again, while Bill revels in his own misery.
Well. So much about this eleven second long scene I think about way too hard 👍
Bill then goes into his whole tangent about just trying to free the dimension of restrictions and making it into a fun and better world which is reflected in the Journal 3 messages from earlier and ends up on this:
Because this is what Bill believes to be Ford's ideal. He wants knowledge and admiration? Why here you go! Surely there's no reason Ford wouldn't agree to helping Bill now, right?? He's offering him everything he could ever want! He'd be part of his group! Everyone gets what they want!
And again, yeah Bill could've just made things up and immediately tossed Ford to the side as soon as he would've given him the equation to break the barrier, but that little scene where he talks to Ford about his old home dimension just. Really drives it home for me that he does in some way truly sees Ford as his friend. Y'know, on top of literally everything else I talked about here.
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EDIT: Like the fool I am, I forgot to bring up a point about Bill keeping Ford alive during Weirdmageddon despite Ford posing a huge threat to him which is odd but uuh just read this, it pretty much covers it.
#oops its just another post about how the triangle has issues#gf#bill tag#ford tag#do i put this in the tags. sure why not#gravity falls#bill cipher
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Top 3 Annoying Translation Mistakes I’ve Read This Year (from least to most annoying):
Category I - lazy calques that let you feel the original text under the translation, not in a good way
(English -> French) In the French translation of Hugh Howey’s Sand (Outresable), the word “robe” at one point was mistranslated as... robe. Come on! In French that’s a dress, the English “robe” is what we call a robe de chambre. And it matters! The protagonist is knocking at his mother’s door and she opens it wearing a robe rather than clothes, which (in context) suggests that she was having sex; when you translate it as opening the door in a dress, the reader pictures her looking put together and wonders why her teenage son is feeling angrily embarrassed. Sure there will be more context clues in the rest of the paragraph, but your translation is not supposed to make it harder for the reader to form an accurate mental picture.
Category II - clunky sentences that make the text unpleasant or confusing to read
(I almost used the French translation of Julian Fellowes’ Past Imperfect as an example, but I suspect the original of being clunkily written as well. Still I gave a couple of examples of clumsy sentences at the end of my review that really should have been noticed and fixed.)
(Japanese -> French) Some sentences in the French translation of Masuji Ibuse’s 黒い雨 (Pluie noire) were so clumsy I had to re-read them several times, including the very first sentence. In English it is translated very neatly as: “For several years past, S. Shizuma had been aware of his niece Yasuko as a weight on his mind. What was worse, he had a presentiment that the weight was going to remain with him for still more years to come.”
In French we get this: “S. Shizuma avait depuis plusieurs années le cœur lourd au sujet de sa nièce Yasuko ; et pas seulement depuis plusieurs années, car il sentait bien que ce poids indicible doublerait, triplerait avec le temps.”
If the idea is that this past worry is likely to persist or worsen in the future, “et pas seulement depuis plusieurs années” is a confusing (and repetitive!) way of phrasing it. It suggests something that extends further into the past, not the future... In contrast, the Spanish translation uses the exact same “what was worse” phrasing as the English one: “Y, lo que era peor, tenía el presentimiento de que esta carga seguiría agobiándole indeciblemente aún durante muchos años.”
Another example (among many) where both the English and Spanish translations use the same simple phrasing while the French translator seems to get tangled up in her own syntax:
EN: “In the event, though, he proved to have shown more care than wisdom.”
SP: “Sea como sea, el caso es que demostró tener más prudencia que sabiduría.”
FR: “Or, ces doubles précautions avaient produit un effet en quelque sorte aussi stupide qu’elles avaient été avisées [...]”
This character tried to do the wise / cautious thing and it resulted in something bad, I get it. But the English & Spanish translations are objectively neater and less syntactically muddled than “his double precautions produced an effect in some way as stupid as they had been wise.”
Category III (the worst) - mistranslations that actually influence the way the reader experiences the story or characters
(French -> English) The English translator of Valérie Perrin’s Trois (Three) seemed either confused by or not able to recognise a lot of French slang, which she translated literally. At one point the word “pisseuses”, a derogatory term for girls (yeah it comes from piss) is translated very literally as girls “who wet themselves.” It’s like if the English word “bitches” was translated as “female dogs” in another language where the term is neutral, instead of using a word with equivalent sexist connotations. The word ‘pisseuses’ here is part of a misogynistic character’s internal narration. He’s an adult man thinking of teenage girls as bitches; instead the inexplicable translation “girls who wet themselves” just leaves you baffled.
The same issue pops up again later on, when the same character thinks of an old woman as “la vieille bigote”—bigot means very religious in French, but here it’s not to be taken literally, it’s used as a generic derogatory term for an old woman. The English translation is “the pious old woman”—too literal ! It sounds almost respectful? Or at the very least neutral, when actually the male narrator is thinking of the woman as “this old hag.” Also their exchange had nothing at all to do with religion so you’re left confused as to how he came to think that she was pious.
It sounds like nitpicking but these are pretty big mistakes in that they not only make things confusing but also impact characterisation. You’re not supposed to turn a character’s negative thoughts into neutral ones. The translator does it again to a female character later on, this time with the opposite effect—making her less sympathetic. She is describing her life (married to a rich but controlling man) as “des vacances à perpétuité.” In English, her life becomes “a never-ending vacation”, thus erasing the very strong connotation of prison carried by the French phrase 'in perpetuity’. You could have found some phrasing around the idea of a “life sentence” maybe—we’re supposed to empathise with this character who consciously experiences her life as a gilded cage, and softening the phrase in the translation reduces the reader’s ability to do that by making it sound like this rich woman is just bored with her life of leisure. Sometimes even small mistranslations can end up having a significant impact on how the reader reacts to a story and its characters.
None of the above are awful translations if you take the book as a whole, but all four of these books are by best-selling authors so if they get so many poorly-translated words or sentences what hope is there for the rest...!
#the last examples impact characterisation or general comprehension but there were countless others (for the perrin book) that didn't#really matter but were still translation mistakes#like when ''plus qu'un an avant son diplôme'' became ''more than a year to go before his diploma''#when it should have been ''only one year left to go''#apparently the english translator mixed up ''plus qu'un an'' and ''plus d'un an''?#the ''plus'' in these two phrases have opposite meanings!#as in ''j'en ai plus'' can mean ''i've got more'' or ''i haven't got any left.'' you can hear the difference orally but not in writing#it's kind of an important nuance for a translator of french to be aware of...?
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FE3H OC: Kitt Burgess - Support Conversations and Artwork
From an earlier poll, I wrote support conversations for the top three characters with my FE3H OC, Kitt (they/them). I also did some semi-related artwork. :3
More reading below the cut!
Hapi – Support Level C
Scene: Forest
Kitt: That was a close call. Way too close for my liking. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?
Hapi: I'm fine. Also, I could have handled it on my own without you butting in.
Kitt: I...suppose? Though with a Demonic Beast this huge, I'd rather not take any chances. What happened, by the way?
Hapi: What do you think happened? I was in a bad mood and sighed before I could stop myself. I do that, okay? Sometimes I can't help myself, so spare me your judgment.
Kitt: Right. Okay. That's what I suspected, but I thought I'd ask you first before jumping to any conclusions. No judgment here, I promise.
Kitt: Anyway. Since it doesn't look like you're hurt, I'll just run along and leave you be.
Hapi: Um, hello? Monastery is that way.
Kitt: I... know that? I still have a patrol to finish. But I'll head back once I'm done.
Hapi: Don't you have a report to write up? On what just happened?
Kitt: You want me to report you? That would be giving the Church free ammunition against you. Is that what you want?
Hapi: No, but that's what the Knights of Seiros do, isn't it? Keep an eye on troublesome kids like me and tattle to the Church when stuff like this goes down?
Kitt: Ha. Do I look like one of the Knights to you? That's a little worrisome.
Kitt: I'll just tell Seteth that I took care of a stray Demonic Beast and leave it at that. I'm the only one who knows you were ever here, and I'm happy to keep it that way.
Kitt: Or do you care that much about the rules?
Hapi: Heh. Not if you don't.
Kitt: I thought not.
Kitt: Although, if one of the Knights gets nosy and finds you here, nothing I say will stop them from jumping to their own conclusions. So, better run along now.
Hapi: Wait. Kitty-Cat. I'm sorry I barked at you just now. You probably figured, but I haven't had the best experience with the Knights or the Church.
Hapi: I guess I thought you were just another one of their lackeys.
Kitt: Ha. That's what I get for answering their every beck and call. I'm just trying to put out my best behavior, but Goddess knows they probably have a massive report written up on me somewhere.
Hapi: Huh. So they're keeping an eye on you too, then? They really are the worst. What sort of dirt do they have on you, anyway?
Kitt: I'm not going to tell you.
Hapi: Oh, don't worry. I wasn't expecting you to come out with it. Just thought I'd try my luck.
Hapi: Anyway, thanks for saving my skin. At least I know you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood in case something like this ever happens again. Which, I'm sure it will.
Kitt: Of course. Just come running to me and I'll take care of it.
Felix – Support Level C
Scene: Training Grounds
Felix: Hey, you.
Kitt: Me?
Felix: You skipped out on training today. Again.
Kitt: Huh. So you spotted me. I was hoping to be extra careful that time.
Felix: If you're not here to train, why are you even here? All you do is waste everyone's time, mine included.
Kitt: I was just stopping by to fetch my things. I'll be out of your hair in a second.
Felix: You're looking for your knife, right? I have it here, you know. You left it behind while sneaking off earlier.
Kitt: ...So I did. May I please have it back?
Felix: They say you can dispatch a Demonic Beast with ease, sometimes even a whole nest of them, without anyone helping you. Is that the truth?
Kitt: A whole nest of Demonic Beasts? That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?
Felix: That's what I thought at first. But I've seen you fight before. Why does it seem like you're always holding back.
Kitt: Not sure I understand what you're talking about.
Felix: There you go, with that act of yours. It's like you're afraid of something.
Felix: What's wrong? Is it beneath a slayer of beasts to fight against ordinary people? Or are you trying to endear yourself to others by pretending to be weak?
Kitt: If I was trying to endear myself to you, Felix, I would have gone for a different approach.
Felix: I'll say. Your attitude is really getting on my nerves, and you're not doing anyone any favors here. This is a military academy. Not a playground.
Felix: So instead of trying to fool me, and failing miserably, why don't you show me some of that incredible power I've heard people talk about?
Kitt: ...
Kitt: Because you're not ready.
Felix: Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?
Kitt: I'm not certain you want to know.
Kitt: May I have my knife back, Felix?
Felix: Hmph. Take it and go, already. I've wasted enough time with you.
Kitt: Thank you. Maybe one day I'll let you see what fighting a monster is like.
Kitt exits.
Felix: ... And here I thought the Boar was terrifying.
Claude – Support Level C
Scene: Library
Claude: Hey, Kitt! Perfect timing. There's something I've been wanting to ask you. If you don't mind me prying a little, that is.
Kitt: -sigh- Let me guess. This is the part where you bombard me with personal and invasive questions about my life history, correct?
Claude: Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that...
Kitt: No need to dance around it, Claude, I've seen that look of yours. So do your worst and let's get this over with.
Claude: Cutting right to the chase, are we? Fine by me. Let's start with the basics.
Claude: You were born in a remote village in the southern part of the Oghma mountains, correct? Does that... make you Imperial by birth?
Kitt: Geographically speaking, yes. But there are a handful of remote communities scattered across Fodlan that neither the Empire, the Kingdom, nor the Alliance bother to keep tabs on.
Kitt: Mainly because we aren't important from an economic or militaristic standpoint.
Kitt: My village is - was - one such settlement. We didn't have ties to any of the ruling powers, and we rarely ever dealt with the outside world, unless it was with the Church. With some exceptions.
Claude: Okay. That I can understand, except for one small detail. I'm pretty sure I've asked everyone up and down the monastery. Why does it seem like no one has ever heard of your village?
Kitt: If you're caught up on recent history, you should know that my village doesn't exist anymore. It was wiped out by Demonic Beasts. Things like that happen all the time. Surely you and the others must have heard.
Claude: Well...yeah. But that's what makes the whole thing so bizarre.
Claude: If it was wiped out a few years ago, there has to be a record somewhere. As you say, things like that happen every so often, and it's not exactly secret knowledge when they do.
Claude: But I've searched just about everywhere in this library, and I haven't found anything written in the past decade about a village in the Oghma Mountains that was destroyed by monsters. Let alone one with a sole survivor.
Kitt: I'm not sure I'd call myself a 'sole survivor'. ...I mean, there could have been others, but the Knights never bothered to confirm it.
Claude: Is that so? For a disaster like that, you'd think they'd keep some kind of documentation. ...Unless the documents are missing, somehow. Do you think they were confiscated by the Church for some reason?
Kitt: I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. Books disappear from this library all the time at the behest of the Church.
Claude: But these aren't just books written by some random dissident. These are recent historical records. Without them, it's like your village never existed in the first place! Doesn't that bother you?
Kitt: It's clearly bothering you, though I can't understand why. Exactly how far are you willing to go just to satisfy that curiosity of yours?
Claude: Well for starters, I could ask you the name of your village. It's just a name, but you'd be giving me a lead, at the very least.
Kitt: Perhaps. But that's dangerous knowledge you're chasing after. I'd rather not.
Claude: Hey, hold on a second. You said I was allowed to ask you 'personal and invasive' questions about your life history.
Kitt: True. But I never promised that I would answer them fully, honestly, or at all. The Church prefers that I keep my mouth shut, and ... it's better that I play by their rules.
Kitt: I'm sorry, Claude.
Claude: Right, well. It's not like I've done much to earn your trust. So, I don't blame you for playing it safe, especially when the Church is involved.
Claude: I guess that means you don't know the whole truth of what happened either.
Kitt: No. But I don't let it bother me. Everything about my village ... well, it's all ancient history now.
Kitt: ...Good luck with your research, though. Do let me know if you find out anything new.
Kitt leaves
Claude: Huh? I mean... For sure. I'll keep you updated.
Claude: Ancient history, huh...? Not bad for a lead.
#fe3h#fire emblem three houses#fe3h oc#felix hugo fraldarius#claude von riegan#fe3h hapi#fe3h art#cw body horror
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Why Pengolodh of all people is able to stoke such rage within me on his behalf is so bizarre. Like, he's a non-character, a name and some facts Tolkien came up with in his carousel of in-universe authors to keep the layers of narration he loved, but the way he is maligned in this fandom is tragic.
I've touched on before that treating the Silmarillion as if it were written and relayed by a single author is entirely incorrect so I won't go into that here, and honestly I'm sure I've said this all before BUT
The idea that Penny is for some reason *least* suited to write most of the events of the Silmarillion is PATENTLY ridiculous, and I would challenge anyone who says that to a duel, either intellectual or physical (even in my current weakened state... Tulkas is on my side I cannot fail). First of all, the one place where nobody else knows anything about what happened is GONDOLIN, so I think if anyone is going to be writing about most of the events of the Silm, they either need to be from Gondolin or need to live in Sirion with survivors.
OH WHAT'S THAT.... SIRION?!?
Yeah, Sirion! The place where not only are there survivors of Gondolin, but there are survivors of Doriath and Nargothrond AND any remnants of the Beorians, Hadorian, and Haladin. Like, I can think of no other place where the Mannish legends would be able to be recounted, and put on the same level, as the Elvish ones.
"But the Feanorians," you squall. "He's so *unfair* to them, and how could he know ANYTHING about them? That's why we know sooo little about the Feanorians and why they are soooo unjustly maligned."
Ok, first of all, ya basic. Second of all, HE HAS ACCESS TO FEANORIAN SOURCES TOO.
There is Celebrimbor, and all the other former followers of Curufin and Celegorm that could of course tell Penny what was up in Himlad and afterwards while he was in Gondolin. Also, there were probably Feanorians who lived after turning on Maedhros and Maglor during the sack of the Havens who could fill in what happened after The Luthien Incident. So, actually, Pengolodh had multiple sources to literally all of the essential events of the Silmarillion.
OH YEAH THE SACK OF THE HAVENS. Despite living through what is described as the worst atrocity of elf v elf, despite having people we KNOW were friends with him KILLED during that fight, despite having his home destroyed by fellow Noldor, he *really* gives Maglor and Maedhros every excuse. "they felt bad, they're so tired, love grew between them and their victims" etc etc. The Silm is sympathetic to the Feanorians and you can't convince me otherwise (you're not some crazy rebel because you like them!) (They are also Doomed by the narrative, but attributing that to an in-universe author requires getting into the territory of events that occurred not actually occurring and... what's the point if you're going to say that the things that the book is about didn't happen? why are you even here?)
I see people say that the bias is against the 3 Cs, Caranthir especially, which is an ABSURD statement to make in conjunction with the 'Pengolodh, sole conveyer of the Silm' theory. Like, Pengolodh most likely never met any of the 3 Cs or if he did he was very young -- why would he dislike them more than the brothers that massacred his friends? I think the theory here is that he's just such a huge Turgon fan and just absorbed Turgon's opinions on the 3 Cs, which is just conjecture on top of conjecture with no solid footing.
I think there is more credence to him being biased against Maeglin on account of the Fall of Gondolin. But, I ask you, is it really *bias* when the guy is partially responsible for the sack of the city you spent most of your life in and likely the deaths of most of your friends and relatives? And Maeglin too in the published Silm is not without his good qualities! If you hate someone, it can be very hard to admit they're handsome and smart, but Penny does not have that issue.
Anyway, justice for Pengolodh. You didn't write the whole thing, Penny, but what you did write was I'm sure fucking fantastic.
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THE CONQUEROR'S CROWN
MASTERLIST | Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 ; Part 4
GIF CREDIT
Pairing: Aegon II Targaryen x FemOC!Velaryon (Strong)
Summary: The secret of their relationship is out in the worst time possible, but Visaella does not seem to care. Drown into her own madness, the rage of her grief blinded her and left her thirsty for vengeance. Now she will not rest until she gets her revenge.
Tags/TW: death of multiple characters, blood mention, murder, angst, sexual content (nothing too explicit), death threats, grief, mentions of forced marriage, typical sexism of the time, visaella lost her mind, insanity (?), violence, cursing, aegon is emotially attached to the oc, if there's anything else, pls let me know!
Author's Note: we reached the end. everything that is written with cursive are memories, just so you know. firstly, i'm sorry. secondly, the gif is how i imagined Visaella while writing the story, but you are free to picture her as you wish. thirdly, perhaps i will write some blurbs about the happy moments between these two bc it will be a closure to me lmao. lastly, thank you for reading this story and enjoying it as much as i enjoyed writing it, i hope the end make justice to the rest of the story.
Word Count: 16.1k
Taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @clairacassidy @alexandra-001 @stormgirlfriendd @kravitzwhore @poppyflower-22 @bellameshipper
Two tired and sweaty bodies were laying on top of a big blanket in the middle of the woods. They were smiling and throwing breathless laughs to the air, exhausted and overwhelmed. They were lost, living in their own world as they usually did whenever they were alone. The fire beside them made them feel warm so their naked bodies did not feel an inch of cold.
Anyone can start again
Not through love, but through revenge.
Through the fire, we're born again,
Peace by vengeance brings the end.
Aegon turned in order to kiss her delicately, muttering sweet words against her lips, touching the soft skin of her legs while suspiring, utterly enamored by the girl under him. He leaned back afterwards, only to see her rosy cheeks and glossy lavender haze. A soft smile was made on her face once he saw the messy hair of her lover, produced by her own hands. They were like that for a couple minutes, with silly smiles decorating their faces while staring at each other with complete devotion.
“I never thought we would be able to do this outside the castle.” Aegon confessed, biting his lip trying to hide his excited smile. “I thought I wouldn’t see you until my father’s next name day.”
“But here we are.” She said, “Together, and alone. And for the first time, without being scared of someone finding us.”
“You’re a genius, my love.” He left multiple kisses on her face, she chuckled due to the tickles his soft peachy lips produced. “How did you even find this place?”
“I saw it on the map on Dragonstone.” She shrugged, “Then, one day, I took Vermithor here and found that cave where he perfectly fits with Sunfyre. It’s right in the middle of Dragonstone and King’s Landing, and far from the Kingsroad. It’s perfect.”
“It is as if the Gods gifted this place to us.” He spoke with a dreamy voice. Visaella nodded, tangling her legs between her lover’s.
“I guess we should thank them.” She muttered, kissing him once again.
Aegon cupped her face, starting to leave subtle kisses all over it. Her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, her lips. Every single part of her face was kissed by him while she only could hum and whimper delicate words to him.
He pulled away and stared down at her, his eyes glistening with a glow that she had never seen in another man's eyes, but she liked the way it made her feel.
“What?” She asked teasingly.
Aegon shook his head softly,
“I don’t think I'm ever going to get tired of seeing your face.” Aegon whispered. The silence of the night was only interrupted by the sound of his voice, and the breathing of the two large dragons inside the cave; Vermithor and Sunfyre. “You are too beautiful.”
Visaella just laughed, and Aegon fell in love with her all over again. It was such a magical sound, so special and unique. It was the most beautiful sound in the entire world, he was sure of it.
“You are too kind, my sweet prince.” The girl said, wrinkling her nose and brushing Aegon’s hair with her fingers. “I would bet there are a thousand girls who are more beautiful than I am, and I can assure you that because I’ve been witness to their beauty.”
Aegon’s mouth dropped in a gesture of offense, frowning.
“Are you confessing to eyeing other women, my love?”
“Of course I do,” She shrugged, and Aegon started to kiss her collarbones. “And I know you do it too.”
“Why would I spend my valuable time seeing other women when the most perfect one is already mine?” He muttered against her skin, marking her neck and leaving wet kisses that made her sigh. “It’s nonsense.”
“You are lying.” She raised her torso, leaning on her forearms, getting closer to Aegon’s lips and kissing them softly before he went back into marking her breasts. “You are a liar.”
“I’m not lying.” His tongue swirled around one of her nipples before going lower to her stomach. Visaella bit her lip. “I have eyes only for you. You’re the only woman that I will ever worship.”
“Worship?” She asked teasingly, looking down at Aegon’s face buried on her abdomen, filling her with kisses and soft bites. “I’m no goddess for you to worship me.”
“Of course you are.” His lips started to mark trails down her hips, each time he would get closer to her core. “And I will always be on my knees for you.” He gave a soft kiss on the inside part of her thighs, making her shiver under his touch. “Now, let me prove how well I can worship my goddess. Let me serve my queen.”
Her head fell back the instant she felt his warm mouth against her. Aegon hummed against her wet skin after feeling her sweet taste. She opened her eyes, putting her gaze on the darkened sky that was the only witness of their love.
“Visaella.”
The princess was too lost in her memories to even notice her step-father’s voice calling her. The ring on her heart finger was spinning around it while she stared at it with lost eyes; the black band covered with beautiful rubies was the only memory of Aegon she had on her. She tried to get rid of it by throwing it at the wide and open sea, but she could not bring herself to do it.
“Visaella.” Daemon repeated.
The eyes of the girl looked up and saw all the lords looking at her, expecting an answer for whatever they might have been talking about. Jacaerys was at the other end of the table, staring at her with worried eyes. Visaella lifted her chin and quickly hid her hand behind her back, as if she was embarrassed to show the ring decorating her finger.
“Pardon me, my lords.” She said, clearing her throat and putting on a smile. “I’m afraid my mind has been a bit lost these last hours.”
“Your grace, I was expecting an answer from you.” Lord Corlys said, “The fleet will be ready to sail on the morrow from Driftmark to King’s Landing.”
“Remember that the fleet must arrive after me.” She indicated looking at the giant map carved on the table. “We need to make it appear as if I’m there to bend the knee in the name of my mother. Otto will be the first one to die if everything goes to plan.”
“Perhaps you should send the fleet at least an hour before Your Grace leaves on Dragon back.” Daemon indicated. “Or, we can find a place to hide near King’s Landing to settle while you go on your fleet.”
“Isn't it too risky to get closer to King’s Landing?” A lord asked. It was Lord Tully. “With all due respect, your Grace, I think two large dragons are not quite easy to hide.”
But they were. Visaella knew about it because she had been witness to it before. She knew it was possible to hide a dragon, because she knew the perfect place to do so; a site that was full with memories that she would rather forget.
“There is a place.” Visaella spoke, walking around the table. The men moved to let her walk freely. She grabbed a wooden symbol of a dragon and put it on top of the part of the map where it said Duskendale. “The woods of Duskendale.”
Daemon looked at Visaella with an raised eyebrow, remembering that name from the letter she had written to Aegon a few nights ago. She just ignored his judgemental stare and looked at the rest of the guards and lords in order to keep explaining herself,
“There is a cave between the shore and the woods.” She explained. “Large enough to fit at least three adult dragons. Vermithor being one of them.”
“And the other one?” Jacaerys asked, curiously.
Visaella just ignored the question and kept talking, “The woods is right in the middle between Dragonstone and King’s Landing, besides it is also quite close to Driftmark and far enough from the Kingsroad. It is the perfect spot.” Her eyes looked down in the instant those words came out of her mind, having instant flashbacks.
“It is decided then.” Lord Corlys, concluded. “On the morrow, Your Grace and Prince Daemon will fly with their dragons towards Duskendale, our fleet will take all the armies toward the place and then, when the time arrives, we’ll begin the attack to the Greens.”
“That sounds perfect.” Daemon complimented, “Although, I’m afraid we aren’t thinking about something important. Who kills the beast?”
“What beast?” Visaella asked.
“Vhagar is a threat to all of us.” Daemon warned, “We cannot risk being attacked by her, we would lose.”
“There is no need to kill Vhagar. Besides, killing a dragon of her size is almost impossible for a common human being.” She said, “Killing Aemond will be enough to get rid of her, she would be a riderless dragon.”
“Then we need to avoid Aemond from going to Vhagar.” Jacaerys added, “Leave that to me, I will kill him-”
“No.” The eldest daughter said, “Alicent, Aemond and Helaena will be killed under my command, they will die with the flames of Vermithor as traitors to the crown. Leave them to me.”
“What about Aegon?” Daemon asked.
Visaella looked at the table for a minute, brushing her fingers against the wood and taking a deep breath. She turned around to see the older man,
“I will kill Aegon with my bare hands.” She decided, “You can have the rest if you like, I heard you’ve had some tense encounters with Ser Criston, you can kill him if you want. I do not care about him.”
“What about me?” Jacaerys asked, “What am I supposed to do?”
“You are staying here, in Dragonstone.” His older sister informed him. He was about to complain, but she spoke first. “You are my heir now, Jacaerys. Me going to King’s Landing is a big risk as it is, I will not allow you to go too.”
“But I have a dragon, Ella. I- I can help you, I want to help you.”
“You will help me by staying here, by protecting our home.”
The boy was ready to keep insisting on the subject, ready to give a reasonable argument to make her change her mind, but he was interrupted by the words of his grandsire,
“Your grace,” Lord Corlys spoke again, taking all the attention. “That is a matter we must talk about.”
“What matter?” She asked.
“Your line of succession.” Visaella clenched her jaw, and she gave Daemon an uncomfortable look, trying to search for help. He only looked down at his feet, avoiding her eyes. “You are not married, and you need an heir.”
Her hand unconsciously reached her stomach, specifically where her womb was located. She thought about the hundred times when Aegon promised her to give her a child as beautiful as her. She dreamt about it almost every night that now the thought of having a family with any other person feels wrong, even after everything that has happened.
“Jacaerys is my heir.” She clarified. “And after Jacaerys comes Joffrey, or Jacarys’ future children. I have four alive brothers, my lord. I suppose the line of my succession is not at risk.”
“You need a son.” He said, “Or a daughter.”
“And what are you planning to do about it?” Daemon jumped into the conversation, looking at him with a serious semblance, “She is not married, and at least you have a proper suitor, I don’t think there will be any children from her any time soon.”
“What about Prince Jacaerys?”
Visaella felt her body tense, and her breathing stopped for a second. She looked up at her brother who was already staring at her with widened eyes and his frown slightly wrinkled. The princess later laid her eyes on Lord Corlys, glancing at him with a clearly incredulous face.
“What?” Daemon was the first to speak, also shocked by the proposal.
“Targaryens have been marrying between brothers and sisters long before the conquest of Aegon.” He explained, “If I remember correctly, Prince Daemon, even your parents were brother and sister, were they not?”
“They were.” He agreed, reluctantly. “But Jacaerys is already betrothed.”
“A betrothal is just words, there’s nothing done yet. We can call off the betrothal and marry him to Your Grace.”
The fact that they were talking about her as if she was not in the room listening to their words made her furious. Other Lords started to agree with the idea, and Visaella felt sick with just the thought of marrying Jacaerys. She could not do it, and she will not.
“I don’t think it is a good idea.” Visaella said, “Jacaerys is my heir either way, I don’t see the need to marry.”
“You need children, Your Grace.”
“What about Cregan Stark?” Daemon proposed, “His wife passed away a few years ago.”
“He already has children of their own.” Lord Corlys said. “I insist, the best option right now is to marry you both in order to continue the line of succession.”
“That’s enough.” Visaella stopped them before any other person could keep adding reasons to defend the matter. “I will not stand here, hearing how a bunch of men talk about what is best for my reign by trying to sell me away to a husband I do not need.”
“Your Grace-” Ser Corlys said, but she cut his words.
“We shall talk about this matter once I become queen.” Visaella answered fastly, “There is no need to worry about those foolish things now when I don’t even have a crown to claim my rightful position.” Her voice sounded angry and annoyed, Lord Corlys nodded, “Once I sit in the Iron Throne we will discuss my succession. You’re all dismissed.”
Not wanting to talk any more about the matter, she left the council room and walked away. Ser Erryk, as loyal as always, followed her lead. She was heading towards the beach, finding that bench where she used to sit and watch Lucerys train against Jacaerys. Ser Erryk gave her the space that she needed, standing a few feets away from her.
She sat there, releasing a big amount of air that was trapped in her lungs. She looked down at her shoes, playing with the sand under them. The sound of the waves felt empty without the voice of Lucerys. Everything felt empty without him.
She tried not to look forward, knowing that the memories of her brothers training would come to her mind only to make her cry. Visaella allowed herself to let go a couple of tears, she needed to find some kind of relief from all this agony that had been inside of her.
“Baela left with the boys.” A male voice informed behind her back. “Although Joffrey insisted on traveling on his own dragon.”
“Now they are safe.” She was quick to brush off the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks, looking up to find her brother’s face. “Thank you.”
Jacaerys sat on the empty spot beside her sister and looked at the waves crashing against the shore. Visaella just went silent, not knowing what to say. She could perceive how Jace wanted to say something, but the words were struggling to come out of his mouth.
“Ella, I- I’ve been trying to find the right words to talk to you since I came back.” He spoke softly.
“Talk about what?”
Jacaerys tilted his head, looking at her with a softened haze, “About Lucerys… and mother.”
“And what do you want to say about it?” She shrugged, “He’s gone now. He’s not coming back, neither is our mother.”
“It’s not good that you keep all those bad feelings to yourself.” He grabbed her hand, trying to comfort her. “I saw what you did to those men, Ella. It wasn’t their fault, they-”
“You know nothing, Jace.” She chuckled with sarcasm, “Those men made me lay in bed, unable to go to Storm’s End in Lucerys’ place. It should’ve been me, not him!”
“What did you do?” He asked, “Why did they try to stop you?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head.
“It does.” He insisted, “What are you hiding?”
“Nothing, just leave.” She muttered.
“I will not. Tell me.”
“Jace…” She begged, “Please, stop asking questions.”
“You never tell me anything.” He spoke, hurted. “You barely speak to me. I know your relationship with Lucerys was different, but I really hope we can live through this grief together… she was my mother too, he was my brother too.” His eyes started to get teary with threatening tears, Visaella’s gaze softened, “Right now, right here, we are every we have left. We need to stick together.”
“And what do you want me to do?”
“I want you to, at least, be honest with me.” He brushed his tears from his face with a careless gesture. “Please, tell me what is going on with you.”
She knew he was right. In that instant, there was only them left. There was no point in hiding the truth from him, no use in lying anymore. One of the biggest regrets was the fact that she did not tell Lucerys the truth before he was gone, he deserved to know it.
And now she realized that Jacaerys also needs to know.
She nodded slowly, understanding what she needed to do. However, she was having an incredibly hard time in finding the words and sorting out her own thoughts to give him the news. A part of her knew that there was a big possibility of Jacaerys starting to hate her for it, but it was the right thing to do, so she just tried,
“I had a thing… with- uhm, with Aegon.” The words were crashing against each other, but Jace was able to understand.
“A thing?” He asked, confused. “What do you mean? Like a- like a rivalry or-?”
“We were together, Jace.” She interrupted him, “In the same way that our mother was with Daemon, in the same way Lord Corlys is with Princess Rhaenys. We were-” She stopped herself before finishing the sentence and corrected herself. “I was in love.”
Jacaerys leaned back, straightening his posture and looking at her with astonishment, as if he had not understood what she had said. Visaella did not look him in the eye, too embarrassed to even dare to look up, and too scared to face him. She was staring at their hands.
“Ella…” Jacaerys whispered, “Since when?”
“Since Aemond’s accident, I think.” She shrugged, “I don’t know, I don’t remember.”
“You’ve been with him for six years?” His voice was demonstrating how shocked he was, it was a bit funny how his expression would change so quickly, “Why? How?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head.
“That’s why those men took you, right?” Jacaerys asked, “You were going to see him and that’s why you were treated as a traitor.”
Visaella nodded, “Perhaps, if I hadn’t been so blinded by the love that I had for him, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Why would you say that? It’s not your fault.”
“He always told me he didn’t want anything related to being King. He even told me that the only reason why he hasn’t escaped yet is because he wanted to escape with me.”
“And did you want that?” He asked.
“I thought about it… multiple times.” She confessed, “Everytime he would say those things, I would spend the entire night thinking about escaping with him to Essos.” She laughed, but it was a bitter one. “Now that I think about it, perhaps it was all an invention in order to take me out of the picture and steal the throne. Aemond has always wanted it.”
“It’s a bit shocking, if I’m honest.”
“You didn’t see it coming?”
“I mean,” He chuckled, “Sometimes I would catch him staring at you from head to toe, but I thought he was only being a pervert.”
“Well, I don’t blame you. He has quite the reputation.”
Both siblings went silent once again. Their hands were still tangled while Visaella was caressing him with her thumb, just how she used to do with Lucerys whenever he –or herself– was anxious or nervous. It was a small gesture that brought both of them lots of comfort. It appeared to work with Jacaerys too.
“You will kill him now?”
Jacaerys voice sounded so soft and low, it was barely audible and easily blended with the sound of the sea. That question brought a hundred of emotions to Visaella, who only managed to mumble some words.
“I guess I’ll have to.” She muttered. “He is the usurper. He stole my mother’s birthright.”
“But will you be able to do it?”
“I really hope so.” She bit her lip, nervously. “I trust in the rage I feel, that it will not let me get blinded when I see him.”
“Let me go with you.” He begged, “I will help you, I swear.”
“You will be more useful here, Jace. Taking control of Dragonstone, this place cannot be left alone in case they decide to fly over here.”
“Ella, please-”
“I can’t lose you too, Jace.” She spoke harshly. He frowned his lips looking down at his shoes, “It’s enough with Lucerys and with mother, you cannot leave too. You already said it, it’s you and me right now. We are all we have left.”
“What if you don’t come back? Then what will I have left?” He raised her voice, “The boys are too little to even understand what is going on, how am I supposed to live with that burden by myself?”
“Then what? Do you want me to stay here and send Daemon alone?” She scoffed, “To leave my own army on their own? No way.”
“I want you to take me with you, I want to fight by your side. We are siblings is what we are supposed to do.”
“It has already been said, Jacaerys. Enough with that.”
Visaella stood up, but her brother’s hand grabbed her wrist, making her stop. She turned around and saw the sadness in his eyes, which caused a slight pain on her chest.
“I sent Lucerys to Storm’s End.” He said, Visaella’s heart stopped, reviving all her inner pain. “Lucerys is dead because I wasn’t there to protect him. Mother is dead for the same reason.”
“Jace-”
“Please, at least let me protect you.” He begged, “Please, Visaella.”
The girl stared at him with the same look as him; one filled with sorrow. She frowned her lips, thinking about what is the right thing to do on that occasion. His begging eyes reminded her of Lucerys’, and then it was impossible for her heart to deny something to him.
She nodded, and Jacaerys hugged her tightly. She felt the pain of her inner wounds, but she decided to ignore it. She hugged him back, stroking his hair and closing her eyes. She felt his tears falling on her shoulders, and his soft sobs were not easy to ignore.
Jacaerys was everything she had left right then.
+
“You’re going to spill the wine inside the tub!”
Visaella laughed, her vision was already blurry due to the effect of alcohol on her body. Aegon hid her face in the crook of her neck, chuckling softly. “Aegon, stop- You’re making a mess!”
“Pardon me, my love.” He said between laughter, leaving a delicate kiss under her ear. “I feel a bit dizzy.”
“Give me that,” She said, grabbing his cup and filling it with wine. She stole a sip from it before giving it back to him. “There you go, my sun.”
Aegon grabbed her and hugged her tightly against his chest, loving how intimately it felt to have her bare skin against his. Visaella leaned her head back, resting on his shoulder. Aegon started to leave soft strokes on her belly, sighing in her ear.
“How I wish I could be here forever.” He muttered, “All my problems would be solved if you were here with me every day.”
Visaella could not help but smile, “Soon we’ll get lucky enough to do it.”
“What if we don’t?” He asked, his voice sounded worried. “My mother is quite eager to marry me off with Helaena.”
She turned around, making a mess on Aegon’s bedroom floor. He chuckled after hearing the water splashing against the carpet, and his smile only widened once he saw her face staring at him. She sat on his lap, and soon he was touching the skin covering her waist and hips. Visaella started washing his hair with care, being completely careful and loving. Aegon started to hum without even noticing it.
“Don’t be so pessimistic, my sun.” She said while pouring water on his platinum hair. “We will be able to be together one day. We’ll just have to wait a bit.”
“How long?”
“My eighteenth nameday is a few moons away.” She thought a bit, “Perhaps, you can come to Dragonstone with that excuse and present to my mother your wish to marry me.”
“I don’t like waiting.”
“I know you don’t.” She laughed, “But be patient for me, please?”
Aegon pouted his lips before nodding. Visaella smiled and kissed him gently, tasting the flavor of wine in his mouth. He held her tight, caressing her back and playing with her wet hair strands.
“I love you.” He whispered against her lips.
Visaella rubbed her nose against him, making him chuckle. “I love you too, my sweet prince.”
The princess took a big breath once her head was out of the water. Her hands quickly went to her face, brushing off the hair strands that were covering it. She looked around her room and she found an empty bed. She looked through the window at her side and noticed that the sun was already up in the sky, announcing the arrival of a new day.
She felt the coldness of air on her shoulders and she hugged herself for a couple of minutes. Lately, every single action has been a reminder of something that she has done with his company; even a simple activity such as taking a bath would be enough to see his face once again. He was carved in her memory, and there was no way to escape from him.
Visaella stood up from the bathtub, covering her naked body with her silk robe. She let her hair loose afterwards, and started to brush it in front of a mirror seeing the water dripping from her head to the floor.
Soon, she got dressed, and she did not wear her typical attires; she wore a black vest that was covered with metal details imitating the scales of a dragon, it was hard material that shielded her whole torso and shoulders, along with black leather pants. It was similar to her rider’s clothes, but this had way more protection.
Later, a maid braided her hair enough to leave her face uncovered. Then she gave her something to eat; it would probably be the first and last meal of the day, so she enjoyed it as much as she could. Perhaps it would be her real last meal.
After finishing it, and before leaving her room, she looked at the ring on her finger, and she made it spin around it. She thought about letting him there, in some random place inside of her chambers. Instead, she just put it back on her heart finger and left the room with her scabbard around her hips, which had her sword and two daggers.
Ser Erryk received her in the hallway, bowing his head in a subtle move.
“Your Grace, Prince Daemon is waiting for you in the dunes along with Prince Jacaerys.” He informed her, “The dragons are ready and the fleets have already left for Duskendale woods.”
Visaella stopped walking and turned to him, looking confused. “Why are you still here, then?” She asked, “Shouldn’t you be in one of the ships, leading an army?”
“Prince Jacaerys commanded me to stay here, protecting the castle.” He replied.
“Nonsense.” She shook her head, “You will be my Lord Commander, they need to see you there.”
“Prince Jacaerys-”
“I don’t care what Jacaerys said.” She interrupted him, “Ser Erryk, you are my most loyal guard, I will need your presence in the battlefield. You're coming with me.”
She started walking again, but soon the guard’s voice made her stop. “But, your grace, all the ships are gone.”
“You’ll be riding Vermithor with me.” She said, shrugging as if it was not a great thing.
“Your grace, I don’t think I could-”
“Grab your sword, Ser Erryk, we need to hurry.”
She ordered him, and the man only nodded and followed her trace. People would bow whenever she passed by them, they would stop doing whatever they were doing only to do that small action. Visaella did not like it, she did not feel like a queen yet. She barely lets them call her ‘your grace’, and it was only because Daemon persuaded her by telling her she was now representing their leader.
She managed to see the three dragons and the dragon’s keepers holding them in their place. Jacaerys was talking with Daemon, who seemed to be giving orders and explaining something. Both men turned around to see her, but only Jacaerys smiled while Daemon only bowed his head as a greeting.
Visaella walked towards Vermithor, and started to caress his bronze scales. Her head leaned against his and she whispered, “Rytsas, ñuha pazavor valītsos (Hello, my loyal boy.)” Vermithor sighed as a response, “Kessa sagon iā bōsa tubis (It will be a long day)”
“He is very fond of you.” Daemon spoke behind your back. “He is a loyal dragon, not everyone can have that. ”
“He is.” She agreed, “I’m lucky to have him.”
Daemon’s hand fell onto her shoulder. She looked at him, and he smirked. It was the first time since the day of the feast that she felt some comfort in him; perhaps it was because he was the only parental figure left in her life, and she felt like she needed some kind of guidance in her life from now on; a guidance that he could provide.
“Your mother and Lucerys would be proud of you.” He said, Visaella haze softened. “I am proud of you.”
“Why?”
He laughed, as if she had just asked something terribly obvious.
“Look what you’ve done.” His hand cupped her face and she did not feel the need to take a step back in order to stay away from his touch. She thought it was rather reassuring. “You are eager to defend your mother’s legacy until your final breath. You finally opened your eyes and saw the Greens for what they truly are; a group of traitors that deserve their punishment.” He spat the last words with rage, while a grin filled with disgust crossed his face. It faded as soon as he looked at her again. “You will be a great Queen, Visaella, as long as you don’t let your feelings blind you.”
She nodded, as if she was wordlessly promising him to follow his advice. And then, Daemon hugged her tightly. It was an odd action coming from him, but she doubtfully accepted the gesture by patting his back.
When they separated, Visaella looked at her side, seeing Jacaerys staring at them with a confused expression on his face. He quickly walked towards them, and stood beside them trying to find some explanation.
“Did something happen?” He asked, addled about the prior scene he had witnessed.
“No, everything’s fine.” Visaella answered. The boy looked at Daemon and then looked back to her sister.
“Why is Ser Erryk coming?” He pointed to the man, “I told him to be here protecting the castle.”
“I told him to come with us,” She replied, “He is my Queensguard, my most loyal guard. I need him in battle with me, not here.”
“Then who will stay to protect Dragonstone?”
“I sent a raven to your grandmother Rhaenys.” Daemon stepped in the conversation, “She will settle here along with Baela. Meleys and Moondancer will be guarding it, with a small group of guards.”
“Problem solved.” Visaella muttered, “Now, stop wasting time, we should leave before it gets late.” She ordered. Daemon and Jacaerys immediately obeyed, walking to their dragons. “Ser Erryk, it is time!”
The knight walked towards the dragon with care, too scared to even stare at it. He saw how Visaella just caressed his scales while using a rope ladder to climb onto the black and golden saddle on top of Vermithor’s back. Ser Erryk reluctantly followed her path and nervously climbed onto the dragon, seating behind the princess.
Vermithor stood up when his rider gave him the instruction to do it, “Sōvētēs, Vermithor.” He shook the sand off of his body in a harsh movement that did not even alter the princess, but terribly frightened the brave guard. He gave two steps before starting to fly in the direction of a very well known place for him; the woods of Duskendale.
During the whole flight, Ser Erryk did not say a word, too terrified to even move. The landing was the worst part; due to his big size, Vermithor was not so delicate, so he always had a hard time arriving on the ground. Visaella was already used to it, but Ser Erryk almost fell.
“How was the trip, Ser Erryk?” Daemon teased him while he was getting off the dragon, smiling mockingly at him. The knight did not answer him, and Visaella rolled her eyes.
The three dragons were kept in the cave resting. Visaella looked around, feeling an uncomfortable sensation in her gut. Thousands of memories came to her mind and it made her shiver.
Lord Corlys was arriving at the shore once they got to the cave, and a few hours later, they joined them to rest and eat before the big attack on King’s Landing.
Visaella was starting to get anxious, a bit nervous too. The pressure might be too much for her, but she knew it was too late to regret the decisions she had made; the day could end on her death or with her being the queen of the Seven Kingdoms, no inbetween.
The idea of having Jacaerys by her side brought her some comfort. He was sitting on a trunk beside her while eating a piece of deer one of the guards had hunted. He was looking around, moving his legs nervously; Visaella put a hand on his leg trying to calm him down, Jacaerys looked at her with his mouth filled with meat.
“You are nervous.” Visaella claimed, “We will be okay.”
“I know that,” He said with difficulty, trying to swallow the food in his mouth,”It’s just I’ve never been in battle before, what if I do something that costs our lives?”
“No need to think about those things, Jace.” She tried to smile, but nothing came out on her face. “We will do fine, we will win this. I promise you.” Jacaerys nodded and he smiled at her. The sweetness of his gesture reminded her of Lucerys and she got teary eyes almost immediately.
When the sun started to set, everybody started moving. The ships were ready to sail, the dragons were fed and it was almost time for the attack to start. Daemon was busy giving orders and revising the plans and strategies with Lord Corlys and Ser Erryk, while Visaella was walking around, trying to compose herself before exploiting.
She walked away from the big group, around the trees and the bushes. She leaned against a tree while trying to take deep breaths of air, a knot formed on her stomach and suddenly she felt overwhelmed; as if she had just realized what she was about to do. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, she felt her heart fastened so her hands grabbed the tree behind her, in an attempt to feel the texture of its trunk and get distracted by it. It barely worked.
She opened her eyes and saw the sky. The stars were starting to come out, she counted them. Aegon always used to say that whenever he was feeling overwhelmed about anything he would count the stars to relax. So she did, and she felt her breathing starting to regulate.
She looked at her hands for the millionth time and saw the ring on her finger; she took it off.
The ring started to spin between her fingertips while her eyes looked at it, observing every detail, color and relief in it. She clenched her jaw, knowing that the ring was everything he had left of the memories she shared with Aegon. She thought about throwing it away for many days now, thinking that it would be better if she could get rid of every piece of him. Perhaps, it would be easy to move on that way.
She saw a hole in the tree behind her, it was small and it was empty. She looked at the ring for the last time before putting it inside. The memories of Aegon will be staying there, in the place where they used to freely show their love towards each other.
It was the right thing to do, she thought.
“Ella!” Jacaerys' scream made her jump. She moved her head to see between the trees, and Jacaerys was moving his arm in order to catch her attention. “It’s time, we’re leaving!”
She saw the ring shining inside the tree’s hole, she covered it with some dirt to avoid someone else to see it and then she walked back towards her brother. Jacaerys was beside Vermax, caressing him while seeing his sister approaching with a fastened pace. His eyes widened with surprise when she hugged him tightly. She closed her eyes and buried her face on his shoulders. He did nothing besides hugging her back.
“Ella-”
“Please, be careful.” She muttered against his shoulder, “I beg you, please, be safe out there.” Her voice sounded shaky, as if she was trying not to cry. “If you see things getting complicated, I need you to promise me you will fly to the Eyrie to meet the children, to take care of them.” She pulled back and grabbed his face with both hands. A motherly look was seen in her eyes, “Please, Jace, promise me.”
“I- I promise you,” He nodded, and Visaella kissed his cheek before hugging him once again. “I thought ‘we will do okay’.” He joked, “You said that yourself.”
“It’s a battle, Jacaerys.” She spoke softly, “We never know what might happen.”
“Everything is going to be fine.” He said, copying her own words. She tilted her head, and Jacaerys remembered, “But if things get ugly, I will escape. I promise you that.”
“Good.” She nodded, “Now, it’s time to go.”
She stroked his hair one last time before going towards Vermithor once again. Once she was already seated on the saddle, she gave one last look back to the woods. It was probably the last time she would be there.
+
When Vermithor landed on the main entrance of the Red Keep, the guards took off their swords immediately, pointing them to the giant beast in front of them. Visaella smiled proudly at her dragon, before starting to go down the rope ladder.
She walked in front of Vermithor, presenting herself to the knights and watching them getting close. They never let their guard down.
“My name is Princess Visaella of House Velaryon, and I’ve come in the name of my mother, Princess Rhaenyra, in order to speak with the King’s Hand.”
One of the guards stepped forward and looked at her from head to toe. He intended to move closer to her, but Vermithor moved his head, scaring him away.
“What do you want to talk about with him?” He asked.
“With all due respect, Ser.” She spoke with a fake politeness, “I don’t think that something of your interest. Please, tell him to come.”
“The Hand will only accept a reunion in his chambers.” The guard explained, “We can guide you to him if you wish.”
Vermithor might have felt the despair she felt when she thought everything would come out in the wrong way, because he put his head closer to the guard, in an attempt to intimidate him. Visaella let herself enjoy his terrified face before controlling her dragon.
“Lykiri, Vermithor.” She commanded him. He took a step back before laying down once again. “Now, please bring the Lord Hand, tell him it’s important.”
The guard walked inside the castle while Visaella waited there. The nervousness was consuming her body and soon she started scratching her own fingers, trying to free some of that tension.
Her whole body stiffened up when Otto came to her sight. He had the nerve to walk towards her with a smile, as if they had done nothing wrong, as if Lucerys was not dead because of them. The rage suddenly took control over her body, and her jaw clenched as her eyes darkened.
“Princess Visaella,” He greeted her with a small bow, “I didn’t expect your presence around here.”
“I’ve come to talk.” She declared, “There are some important matters that need to be discussed.”
Otto nodded lightly, “Perhaps we should go inside, I would be more comfortable if-”
“No.” She hurried to say, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a room with only your presence. Not under the circumstances of our present.”
“Well then, so tell me, Princess.” He said, “What have you come to talk about then? Did Daemon change his mind about our terms?”
She frowned, not knowing what he was talking about. She held back the urge to ask him, knowing that she needed to follow a script written in her mind.
“I came to bend the knee,” She confessed, Otto looked at her strangely. Visaella looked quickly at the sky, waiting for Daemon's signal.
“Why?” He asked, doubtfully.
“Beg your pardon?”
“Why are you bending the knee now?” He said, “After your brother’s murder, why?”
She swallowed hard after hearing him pronouncing his name, as if he had the right to do it after everything he had done.
She thought about her answer and she almost bit her own tongue for it.
“Because my love for Aegon is bigger than anything else” The words felt so bitter, so filled with lies. She had to blatantly lie. “I came here to serve him, as- as her loyal friend.”
Otto did not seem to be convinced at all, it was the opposite actually. He stared at her with pure confusion on his face. Visaella gave up then, the thought of her being caught immediately came to her mind while Otto was observing her with an intense gaze, showing how much he did not trust her.
“Allow me to doubt you, Princess.” He looked to a guard and tilted his head. The guard started walking towards her. “But, I must speak with King Aegon before letting you in.”
Vermithor roared when the guard was close enough to touch Visaella, and the man fell backwards to the ground. Otto frowned,
“Princess-”
The sound of Caraxes’ singular shrill roar was heard while he flew above their heads. Visaella felt something in her chest, Daemon heard Vermithor and flew over there to check on her, ruining the entire plan.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Visaella thought.
“What is he doing here?” Otto asked, raising his voice.
Vermithor stood up, spreading his large wings and roaring once more. Otto looked at her, now he was scared, and she gained back the control of the situation. The look of pure terror on the old man’s face will be carved on her memory until the day she died,
“Tell him to calm down!” Otto demanded.
Visaella did not say anything, she just stood there while Vermithor was getting as angry as her. Suddenly, an arrow flew beside the princess and hit the dragon’s scales. It did not do him any harm at all, it barely tickled him, but the Princess saw this as a threat towards her beloved dragon, and she would not allow that.
“What is going on?” Otto asked again.
“You all killed Lucerys,” She said, “You killed my mother and two of my siblings.” She spat, her eyes filled with hatred. “And yet you feel entitled to smile in my presence.”
Otto started to walk backwards, knowing that he was in great danger. Another arrow passed beside her, hitting Vermithor's thick skin once again. She looked up and saw two men preparing their archers to shoot him.
“You stole my mother’s throne, you killed my sweet boy.” She walked, positioning herself under Vermithor’s neck, “Now you will pay.”
“Princess-” He was looking up at the dragon and giving swift glances to her, scared of taking his eyes away from the beast.
“I will burn every single one of you.” She threatened him, “I will burn this entire castle and city if I have to.” The guards were starting to walk towards the entrance door. “My mother did not want to be Queen of the Ashes.” She spoke softly, “But I do.”
“Visaella-!”
“Dracarys.”
Vermithor spat a cloud of fire on the men in front of her, and the ones that were stupidly throwing arrows at her. She started hearing their screams, watching them squirm in the ground trying to put out the flames that were burning their flesh, and she could not take her eyes off of Otto’s burning body. She felt a big relief when she saw him kneel in front of her out of the pain, it was better than any other feeling.
It brought her greater pleasure than any night she spent with Aegon, and that is when knew how good it would feel to kill every single one of them.
She walked between the burning bodies, her chin lifted with pride as she walked inside the main door of the castle and started to make her way towards wherever Aegon was. There were thousands of maids and servants running and screaming while she was walking up the stairs.
They deserve to be scared, Visaella thought, they bent the knee for the usurper and betrayed your mother.
Visaella sneaked inside the castle without being seen. The commotion and panic of the people were quite helpful as less people were paying attention to her. She tried to walk with her head down, always paying attention to her surroundings in case someone would recognize her, but no one did.
She was almost chanting victory when she saw Ser Criston Cole trotting in her direction and being followed by at least twelve other guards. Visaella panicked, and she opened the first door she found, hiding in an unknown room.
Her movements were quiet and stealthy; the door did not make a sound and her steps were barely heard. She went unnoticed, remaining silent until she heard some voices near her.
“I told you this would happen!” She heard a whine from someone she could not recognize. “It was just a matter of time after what the Prince did to that poor boy.”
Visaella peeked from where she was hiding, and saw two maids hiding behind a big piece of furniture. One of them seemed as if she could not stop crying. They had not noticed her presence in the room yet.
“Poor Princess Rhaenyra,” One of them lamented, “I can only imagine her pain when she found out.”
“The worst thing of it all, it’s what the people are saying.” She whispered, “I’ve heard in the corridors that Prince Aemond took Prince Lucerys’ eyes and gave them to his betrothed back in Storm’s End.”
A hole was installed on her chest, and the whistle on her ear came back. Her brow lowered and her lips became a line showing her serious semblance. Her body started to heathen up, and her hands became fists, one of them surrounded the sword handle on her scabbard.
“I heard that the King celebrated with him.” One of them continued, now Visaella’s heart stopped. “He threw a feast for his brother.”
“How terrible-”
The princess made herself seen by the maids, who widened her eyes scared after noticing her presence. Visaella was shaking, she was crying and her face was red. She looked down at the maids with pure abhorrence on her darkened eyes. They saw her hardened stare filled with rage and they closed their eyes, thinking she might kill them.
“Where is Aegon?” She asked, her voice sounding deeper than usual.
“He- he was- he was walking…” The maid was stuttering, deadly scared of Visaella, whose knuckles were starting to get white thanks to the strength of her grip around the hilt of her sword. “He was walking to his chambers…”
“Was he alone?” The maids nodded, “Good.”
Visaella drew her sword before opening the door abruptly, stumping outside the room and starting to walk fastly towards Aegon’s chambers. Raging tears were escaping her eyes, she was fuming; breathing too fast.
A guard caught her, but she was quick enough to cut his throat with her sword. Then came another, and another. Visaella was letting all her anger take control of her senses, being completely numb by it, by the end of the fight she was already covered in blood and her arm was bleeding due to a deep cut.
She knew the path very well, so it was quite easy to arrive at the hallway where Aegon’s chambers were located. She peeked through a corner at the end of the corridor and saw a guard standing outside the room. Visaella picked a stone and threw it on the floor in order to make noise and caught the attention of the guard. It worked.
The guard walked towards the corner with the hilt of his sword in his hand. Visaella waited for him as he slowly went forward. She grabbed one of her daggers, and once the guard was close enough, she stabbed him on the neck in a quick movement, without even letting him react.
His dead body fell onto the ground and she used his white cloak to clean her dagger’s blade. Then, she got inside the chambers.
A certain feeling unbeknownst to her positioned in her gut. She closed the door behind her and looked around, trying to find him. His scent reached her nose and it was a triggering sensation that almost made her cry, it drove her mad and her mind was engulfed with the tons of memories that came to her mind. She even was able to feel his touch on her hips once she closed her eyes.
She shook her head and woke up from the tortuous trance that her own mind put her in, and quickly tried to compose herself. Only then, she had the strength of going inside the room. Her eyes were scanning around trying to find him, until her eyes fell onto his messy bed.
There he was.
Aegon was sleeping, he was shirtless and only a pair of thin pants covered his nudity. His hair was spreaded on the white pillow, and his milky skin was still covered with marks; marks that she had done. He was sleeping on the right side of the bed, leaving the left side completely empty. There was an empty bottle of wine on the nightstand. She looked around and she was surprised to see her red gown with a wine stain on one of the sofas.
Her haze softened a little, but then her mind started poisoning her feelings again. He was there, sleeping safe and sound, seeming so relaxed and calm, while she barely had enough sleep these last days. She had been living in a nightmare, and yet Aegon seemed to be so content in his bed. It was not fair.
He made a feast, Visaella thought, and the madness started to succumb her once again. You were grieving and he was having a feast.
Just as if he was able to feel her presence, he started to move. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and stretched his body. His heart stopped once his vision cleared and saw Visaella standing in front of the bed, he sat up and his eyes softened instantly; he was so bewitched by her presence that he did not notice the stains of blood on her armor. He did not even notice she was wearing an armor.
Her skin shivered, and she did not know if it was for the cold breeze that came inside the room, or the intense haze of Aegon on her.
“My love…” He whispered, astonished. He crawled desperately over the bed until he got close to her. “My sweet love, is that really you?”
He stood up from the bed and walked carefully towards her, as if he was scared she was some illusion of his imagination. He tried to touch her face, but she grabbed his wrist with a strong grip, Aegon widened his eyes, taken aback by her unexpected action.
“You made a feast.” She claimed. Aegon frowned, confused at her words.
“Wh-what?” He muttered.
“Lucerys died… and you made a feast.” Her voice sounded so hollow, so monotone.
Aegon looked at her eyes, and he saw it again; the same hatred that she used to hurt him the last time they saw each other. He leaned backwards, and just then he woke up from her spell and realized that she was covered in blood.
“Are you hurt?” He asked, worried.
“You lied to me.” She accused him, “You used me.”
“What are you saying?”
“You trick me… you used me to take my mother’s crown.” A tear fell from her eye. Aegon tried to wipe it off, but Visaella leaned back. “You fucking liar.” She whispered.
“Ella, I did this to protect you- They forced me to do it.” He explained, frowning, “I’ve never lied to you, why are you saying those things?”
“Protect me?” She scoffed, “Lucerys is dead for what you did… My mother is dead. How dare you call that ‘protection’?”
It seemed as if the news of his half-sister’s death had shocked him more than Visaella expected. His eyes looked confused, almost lost.
“Rhaenyra is dead?” He questioned, astonished.
“Because of what your brother did.”
“What happened with Lucerys was an accident, Ella. Just let me explain everything-”
Aegon’s words stopped once Visaella’s hand started to squeeze his throat. He looked at her with horror reflected on his face while his mouth dropped open trying to breathe. Her grip was strong, even Aegon was surprised by her strength; her eyes seemed to be lost. He tried to escape from her grip, but he could not do it. Then he just closed his eyes, being unable to bear that malignant stare on him again.
“Don’t you dare to say his name.” She spat, “Don’t you fucking dare to defend your murderer brother.”
“I did this-” He spoke breathlessly, searching for air, “I did this so we- so we can marry.” He whined.
Visaella freed him from her grip, and she started to push him. “Stop lying!” She yelled at him, while he was trying to make her stop. “Fucking liar!”
“Stop it.” Aegon said, grabbing her arms and putting them behind her back, she kept squirming trying to escape. “Stop it!”
She started to cry all over again, breaking down in front of him. Aegon noticed the ache of her heart by seeing through her hardened haze. He leaned his forehead against hers, and he felt the warmth of her breath.
“They told me I’ll get to marry you if I accept the crown.” He whispered, “I did it so we can be together, why don't you believe me?”
“You killed Lucerys…”
“I didn’t.” He shook his head, desperately trying to prove his innocence. “Aemond did.”
“Under your command.”
“I didn’t order him to kill him. Please, my love, you have to believe me.”
“You stole the crown, Aegon!” She yelled, her face was covered in tears by then, and burning with rage. “If you would’ve rejected it, Lucerys would be with me.”
“They forced me-”
“You have a dragon…” She interrupted, “Why didn’t you fly to Dragonstone?”
“I sent you a letter.”
“Stop lying!”
“I am not!” He raised his voice, tired of the situation, “Stop fucking screaming and listen to me!” Visaella whined, “I fucking love you, I would leave everything for you, I would do anything for you! How can you not see?”
Her lip trembled, “And yet you did nothing to prevent Lucerys’ death.” He went silent, “You didn’t even punish Aemond for what he did.” She cried, “You knew how much I loved Lucerys, you knew how much this would ruin me, and yet… you did nothing.” She looked right at his eyes, wanting him to see her face once she pronounced the following words, “You ruined my life, Aegon.”
His grip around her hand weakened, her hurtful words made him close his eyes. He wished to be dreaming, he begged to wake up with her between his arms that day when everything started to go down. He pledged to the gods.
“You don’t mean that.” He mumbled.
“I do.” She spat. Her words were venom, and it was burning Aegon’s heart. “You ruined everything! You ruined me!” She managed to get out of his grip and she pushed him far from her. Aegon stumbled, “Look how miserable I am now, and it’s all because of you!”
“Don’t say that.” He whispered, shocking his head while his teary purple eyes looked at her. “Please, don’t.”
“I wish I hadn’t believed in your words, in your lies.” Aegon hummed in pain, “I wish I had never let myself be with you. I was a fool.”
“Ella…” Aegon begged.
“And I warned you, if you ever touch them again I will kill you.” She remembered him. “You didn’t listen, so now I'm here to keep my word... I will kill you.”
Her words were harsh, they pierced through his heart like a dagger and it made him feel miserable. The worst thing of it all is that he wanted to be angry at her, but he couldn’t. He wanted to scream at her, tell her to fuck herself for treating him this way after everything he had done for her, he wanted to yell a thousand of atrocities at her face so she could feel an inch of his pain, of what he was feeling right then. But, he could not bring himself to do that. He had felt abandonment a long time ago by his own parents, being neglected and left aside from his family. No one showed him what love truly was until she arrived in his life to save him. He could not afford to lose her, not after he had tasted her sweetness and devotion. Not after everything they have been through.
So, instead of getting mad, he begged her. He fell onto his knees and hugged her hips so tightly that Visaella gasped. She tried to push him away but he was too strong, and she was weakened by her own sorrow.
“Please…” He whined, “Please, my love, please. I love you, you need to believe me.”
“You don’t love me.” She cried, “You don’t do these things to someone you love.”
“I’m sorry!” His voice broke between his screams, “Please, forgive me!”
Her knees felt weak, they were shaking. Aegon’s face was buried on her belly, not caring about crushing his nose against the cold metal of her armor. He wanted to be as close as he possibly could. Visaella was sobbing loudly, everything started to ache. It was too much, it was too painful.
Too many emotions were drowning her body.
“I love you, I love you.” He repeated. “I’m sorry. Please, love me.” He whined, “I can lose you, please. Tell me you love me too.”
“I can’t.” She spoke. “I can’t love you anymore.”
“No! No, no!” He stood up and he grabbed her face. “Look at me, my love. Please, please!”
“Stop it.” She muttered.
“I love you!” He screamed at her face, touching her skin.
“Aegon, shut up.”
“I love you, my sun. I love you, please!”
“Shut up!” She closed her eyes, not being capable of looking at his eyes.
“Forgive me, my love. I can’t lose you, I love you.”
“Stop it!” She screamed, “Stop it!”
“I love you-”
Her lips smashed against his, and Aegon moaned out of relief and pain. His lips were dry, but they were still as soft as always. Visaella whimpered against him, feeling Aegon’s hands grabbing her body and bringing her closer to his. It was desperate, intense, it was a kiss that made it count for all those agony days without each other’s presence. Aegon felt consolation, he devoured her mouth shamelessly, whining and sighing against her tongue and feeling her taste. Visaella’s hands were tangled on his platinum hair, feeling his softness one last time.
When she pulled apart they were breathing fast, their lips swollen and wet. They stared at each other’s eyes, Aegon’s were filled with love but she could not see it. He smiled at her, feeling unburdened by having her back into his arms.
His eyes were glistening, his purple eyes were softened. Until a shook look took over his face.
His hand covered his throat while the blood splashed on his naked chest and on her clothing. Aegon’s eyes were filled with horror while he started gulping and choking with his own blood. Visaella looked at the front with a lost stare, trying to ignore the sound of Aegon’s body falling dead on the floor.
She was shaking, and her legs were trembling desperately. She fell on the ground and looked at the lifeless eyes of her lover. She let out a loud sob, starting to cry desperately. She hated him, she hated him for making her do this. For forcing her to despise him.
She looked up, staring at her reflection through the mirror; she was covered in blood. Aegon's blood. Her chest was moving fast, she was sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes displaying the hatred she felt. There was no mercy in them, she was blinded by the rage and vengeance. Those sweet eyes were no longer there, there was no kindness left. She went mad, and killing Aegon was the livid proof of it.
Visaella crawled to the balcony, still whimpering and crying, she felt the smell of smoke reaching her nose and once she reached the door frame, she used it as a support to stand up. Her shaky hands grabbed the railing, and she observed the view; everything was burning, screams were heard. The heat of the fire felt so close to her that she could feel its warmth. She looked at the sky and saw Vermithor flying on top of the Red Keep, he stood on a burning building and roared.
She was just starting to get worried about Jacaerys and Daemon when a cold blade was positioned on her neck. She gasped out of impression, and a laugh was heard against her ear.
“Prince Aemond will be thrilled to see what you’ve done to the King.”
He grabbed her carelessly, almost dragging her outside the chambers, forcing her to keep up with his fastened pace. Her legs were not steady, they were crashing against each other making her drag her body around the corridors.
The man never let the knife go, constantly putting it against her flesh and even cutting a little of her neck. Visaella did not fight him at any time, knowing that she was at a big disadvantage, and that she would probably lose any kind of fight at that moment; she was still shaken with what had happened; with what she had done.
“When Daemon finds you, he will kill you.” She muttered.
“Not if Prince Aemond kills you first.”
She did not recognize where they were going, the big castle seemed like a maze and it appeared that not even the guard knew where he was taking her. He was just walking around, as if he was trying to find something –or someone.
The presence of a familiar face came in her way. He stood up in front of the both of them and she frowned; it was one of the twins guards, but she was not able to recognize which, as the light was too dim. She only begged for him to be the right twin.
“Where are you taking her?” The guard said, looking at her covered in blood and then to the other guard holding her.
“To Prince Aemond.” He replied. “Why don’t you do me a favor and tell me where he is, Arryk?”
She tensed after hearing the name, starting to feel unsafe once again.
“No.” He shook his head. “Give her to me, I know where Prince Aemond and Queen Alicent are, I’ll take her to them.”
“Or you could just tell me.”
“No.” He denied again, “Only me and Ser Criston know where the Queen is hiding, I will not give that information to a strange guard.”
The man behind her clicked his tongue with annoyance before removing the dagger from her throat and throwing her to the ground, just by the feet of the guard. He looked down at her at the same time she looked up, he grabbed his flail and Visaella covered her head once he raised his arm.
She closed her eyes, expecting the impact but instead she heard a body falling next to her. The guard's body. The man was continuously beating his face until it was unrecognizable, and it left a huge blood stain that almost reached the princess.
She crawled away from him, and the twin kneeled by her side.
“Your Grace, are you okay?” He spoke softly.
“Ser Erryk…” She answered with relief.
“I was looking for you.” He said, “Prince Daemon wants to see you, he claims to have a surprise for you.”
He offered his hand, and she took it without even thinking twice about it. She stood up with his help and he guided her through the castle. She looked around, and there were dead bodies of white cloak guards laying around on the cold floor. It was a gruesome view, but it was proof that they had won. That thought made her feel some kind of peace within her.
However, Ser Erryk did not let his guard down until they reached the main entrance of the Red Keep once again, Vermithor was the first thing she saw through the open gates, and later she managed to see three wooden poles with three people tied on them. As she was getting closer, she finally recognized the silhouettes of Aemond, Alicent and Helaena.
Daemon turned around and watched her approaching him with a victorious smile. Jacaerys was by his side, standing up straight with his arms behind his back. He seemed to be unharmed, and that made Visaella feel relieved.
“Finally Your Grace is here.” Daemon announced once his daughter reached his side. “That one was tough,” He said pointing at Aemond, who was staring at them without expression at all. Next to him was Alicent, who could not stop shaking, “Ser Erryk was able to catch him before he could escape to find Vhagar.”
“Where’s Aegon?!” Alicent asked, almost screaming in despair. “Tell him I want to see him!”
Visaella ignored the woman’s words and kept talking with Daemon, “Ser Criston?” She asked after not seeing him among the others.
“I took my liberties with him.” He said with a malicious smirk, “But, I assure you he will not be an issue for you.”
“Good.” Her eyes traveled to her brother’s face, “Are you okay?” He did not verbally answer, but he nodded.
“Bring me Aegon!” Alicent insisted, “I want to see my son!”
Visaella turned around at her, expressionless. Alicent looked at her state with eyes filled with terror. The princess’ eyes were orbitated by madness, her whole face changed. The fact that Alicent thought that she would let Aegon live after what he had done to her family was just too insulting for her not to react. She took her words as if Alicent did not think she was strong enough to kill him.
“Visaella, please!”
“Aegon is dead.” She spoke coldly. The woman frowned and her lip trembled, “I sliced his throat open and watched him bleed to death.”
“No…” She denied, incredulous. “You wouldn’t do that. Not to him.”
“But I did.” She shrugged. “The usurper is dead.”
“I don’t believe you.”
The princess walked towards her, nothing was found beneath her purple eyes. Alicent was frightened by her.
“Do you want me to bring you his head?” She asked teasingly. “He still lays in his chambers.”
“He loved you!”
She scoffed, taking a step back and whispering, “No, he didn’t.”
Behind her back Daemon smiled pleasantly.
Visaella walked towards Helaena, who remained serene even after everything she had seen. The silver haired girl looked up to her, she had teary eyes but there was no sign of tears on her cheeks.
“I’m really sorry, Helaena.” She said softly, “You were the kindest of them all… Perhaps you do not deserve such a cruel and ruthless death,” She clenched her jaw and looked down. “But neither did Lucerys.”
Helaena whispered, “The emerald kinship will prevail, a small child with his sire’s face.” Visaella ignored her words, walking towards Aemond.
Being in front of him was as if a wave of rage washed over her body. Her breathing turned sharp as soon as she saw his face, the despise on her eyes was easily seen and her hands were itching to grab her dagger and cut his throat. However, she held herself back by taking a deep breath and say,
“After what you did, I dreamt of many ways to kill you.” She confessed, “I hoped the Gods would make your life miserable, I hoped you would die in the most painful and horrible way possible.” She laughed, “You will die last, because I want you to see. I want you to see while your mother and sister die screaming, so you can feel an inch of my pain.”
Aemond tensed. He tried to make himself look careless, but Visaella knew he was growing desperate as there was nothing he could do by now.
“Was it worth it?” He spoke with a deep and raspy voice, looking down at her. Visaella frowned. “Killing Aegon,” He clarified, “Was it worth it?”
Visaella knew he was trying to touch her nerve and make her break in front of everyone, but she would not let him get the pleasure to see her cry. Instead, she smirked.
“Put him aside,” Visaella ordered, “And make sure he has a good view.”
She walked back towards Daemon and Jacaerys while Ser Erryk along with other guards started to take Aemond off the wooden pole. He was positioned in front of Visaella, watching the scenery in the first row.
Soon, Vermithor started moving towards the women. Alicent closed her eyes the minute she saw the beast getting closer; Visaella watched her as she started to pray to the Seven, and hummed pleased by seeing her despair.
“Queen Alicent Hightower, Princess Helaena Targaryen. I, Visaella of House Targaryen, first of my name and rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms, sentence you to die.” Helaena muttered the same words as before, but once again Visaella ignored her. Alicent took a deep breath and watched her children for the last time. “Dracarys.”
The fire brought warmth to the cold night. Visaella looked down at Aemond who was kneeling in front of her with Ser Erryk holding a knife against his throat in order to keep him still. She smiled, pleased with herself after seeing the despair in his eye. She felt an inner peace after seeing him suffering; she had the same look on her face once she found out about Lucerys, and it was such a pleasant feeling to see the same distress reflected on him.
Once the fire started to fade out, Visaella made a subtle sign to the guards and positioned Aemond between the two calcined bodies. He looked completely wrecked, his hardened look now was a defeated one. If he was going to die, he was glad he would die along with his family.
“I will not even justify your murder by giving you a reason… we both know why I am doing this.” She put her hands behind her back and straightened up her body, “But I will ask you something, and you shall answer; why did you do it?”
He did not speak back.
“You owe me an answer, Aemond.” She spat, “Why did you do it?”
“It was an accident.” He muttered, his voice sounding raspy and low. “I never meant to kill him.”
She scoffed, shaking her head and looking at him incredulously. “An accident.” She repeated, “You fucking liar.”
“I’m speaking the truth.”
“How can I trust in the words of a kinslayer?”
He laughed, bitterly, “You are one too.” He said, looking at her through his eyelashes.
Visaella pouted her lips, and nodded softly. “Yes, I guess I am.”
Her loyal dragon prepared himself once again. Aemond straightened up his body and lifted his chin, showing himself unafraid of what she may do. They were staring at each other’s eyes without breaking eye contact, filled with hate and resentment. Visaella did not bend, she remained still in her position without letting him intimidate her.
She smiled, and Aemond frowned confused at her reaction. “Ipradagon zirȳla. (Eat him)”
The silver haired man widened his eyes after hearing her voice, realizing that he would not have the same death as his mother and sister. Vermithor growled loudly, taking his time. Aemond looked up at him just when he opened his mouth and swallowed him fully. The look of shock on his face will probably be carved forever in Visaella’s mind, as a gratifying memory.
She turned around only to find everyone looking at her. She looked to the faces of the present people, she managed to see fear in some of them. She walked towards Daemon, who arched his eyebrow when he saw her expressionless face, expecting her to be broken and crying until her eyes felt sore. But she was intact, with just a few dry tears on her face.
“Gather the Green Tropes that are left.” She commanded, “Send ravens to every single Lord and Lady in the realm. Tell them to come to King’s Landing to bend the knee to the rightful heir to the throne, or else they will suffer the same consequences as them.” Her head moved pointing at the place where the burnt bodies were. Daemon bowed his head as affirmation.
Visaella looked at Jacaerys who was staring at the floor without being capable of looking at her. She grabbed his face between her hands and forced him to do it; he was crying.
She reached his forehead and left a soft kiss in it, “We won, brother.” She whispered, “Now we can finally live at peace.”
Jacaerys saw her eyes and nodded assuringly. She gave him a soft smile before starting to walk away to the inside of the castle that now belonged to her at the same time that Vermithor flew away.
As she was getting further from the rest, her smile started to get bigger. She had fulfilled her duty, she kept her word and avenged her family, gaining back what belonged to her.
Her smile just showed how relieved she felt. It was over now, she finished the war before it could even start. She knew very deep inside her that her mother would be proud of what she had done for her. Now she could finally live in peace.
+
Two months later all the Lords had come to King's Landing, with Lord Stark being the last one to arrive. They were gathered in the Throne room, along with servants, some peasants, and the guards. They were all waiting for her.
When the gates were opened, everyone turned to see her delicate frame, and a silence took over the place. She was wearing a black gown, with metal ornaments that imitated a dragon’s scales; it seemed like an armor. Her hair was perfectly braided, not a single hair strand was out of place. She was looking completely gorgeous.
The princess started to walk in the large hallway that divided the two big groups of people that were there to witness her coronation. She saw the front, at one side of the throne was the Maester Gerardys along with Daemon, and at the other side was Ser Erryk and Jacaerys. The last one was looking proudly at her.
She saw around the audience the faces of many lords and ladies that she could recognise. Some of them as Lord Stark and Lady Arryn were staring at her with subtle smiles, while others as Lord Lannister and Lord Baratheon were caught with scared hazes; they had supported the usurper after all, and they were afraid of what she might be capable of doing with them.
She felt the weight of everybody’s stare on her, that made her feel nervous. Her nails started to pinch the flesh of her hand, trying to make her calm down and relax. She needed to enjoy her big day after everything she went through to get there.
Once she arrived right in front of the throne, she kneeled before the Maester. He took a vase filled with liquid and started the ceremony. Two stomps were heard before the Grand Maester spoke,
“We gather here, to be witnesses of this great event.” His voice echoed around the room, it sounded loud and clear. “The rightful heir to the Iron Throne, has defeated the usurper!” He dipped his thumb in the water and marked her forehead with it. “May the Warrior give her courage, may the Smith lend strength to her sword and shield.” She looked at Daemon, who was smiling down at her, and then she looked at the hand-shaped pin decorating his vest. “May the Father defend her in her need, may the Crone lift her shining lamp and light her way to wisdom.”
The Maester slowly gave the vase back to Jacaerys, and then he grabbed the crown; Aegon’s crown. He passed it to Ser Erryk, who took a step forward, grabbing it and lifting it up for everyone to see.
“The Conqueror’s Crown passed down through generations, and now it will lay on our Queen’s head.” She held her breath once she felt the weight of the crown on top of her head. “Let the Seven be witness: Visaella Targaryen defeated the usurper, and claimed her position as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.”
He offered his hand, she delicately took it and stood up. He was the first one to bow, followed by the Maester, Jacaerys and lastly, Daemon. She sighed deeply, and she turned around. Joffrey, Viserys and Aegon were on the front row looking at her with excitement; their sister is now the queen, they might have thought. Baela and Rhaena were next to them smiling slightly at her. Everyone seemed pleased to see her with the Conqueror’s Crown on her head.
They were all signs that she had done the right thing.
The Maester cleared his throat, “All hail the Queen!” He yelled. “Visaella of House Targaryen, first of her name. Queen of the Andals, the Rhyonar and the First Men, lady of the Seven Kingdoms, and protector of the realm.”
A silence was taking over the room, until Ser Erryk screamed, “Long may she reign!”
In unison, all the presents repeated his words, creating a deafening echo in the room that made her feel shivers down her spine. Visaella stood up tall looking around with her jaw clenched, and proud of what she had achieved.
However, in a subtle movement, she touched her belly. A small, melancholic tear fell down her cheek knowing that the last piece of Aegon was growing inside her.
The emerald kinship will prevail, a small child with his sire’s face.
#aegon ii targaryen#house targaryen#house of the dragon#aegon targaryen#aegon x reader#oc!female#game of thrones#aemond targaryen#hotd#angst#mini fanfic#multiple part series#lovers to enemies#daemon targaryen#team green#fanfic#hotd x reader#team black#hotd fanfic
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Who get the biggest passes from Buffyverse fans and can you give examples of the worst things these characters do?
Well this is a juicy question.
Spike, and Cordelia.
Interestingly, at some point, both characters were given the role of calling Buffy out on her "crap." James Marsters even talks about how he was brought in as a replacement for Cordelia in season 4, but then was replaced by Anya when they decided to do something else with him.
With Cordy being the mean girl, and Spike the soulless vampire, the writers had the freedom to use these characters to say and do some incredibly cruel things towards Buffy in the name of "brutal honesty," while also excusing their behavior because they weren't meant to be the hero...at least initially.
This worked a little too well, as Charisma and James were amazing in their roles. Each character is charming, beautiful, multifaceted, and extremely funny.
The problem is, you can't keep your characters stagnate, so the writers were forced to give Cordy and Spike character growth, but also find a way to retain who they are. This is incredibly difficult when your character was literally written to clash with Buffy, and is popular for saying mean, biting things in the name of "tough love."
-Cordelia-
While Queen C is more than the resident mean girl, her cruel words and selfish behavior are praised as "truth" and confidence, with her belittling nearly every member of the Scooby gang. She is constantly pitting herself against Buffy; (Homecoming, Halloween, etc) demeaning and belittling her when Buffy has personally saved her life several times. She begins to show signs of character growth in season 3, but once Xander cheats on her, reverts right back to blaming Buffy for everything. Instead of holding Xander accountable for his actions, she makes a wish that Buffy never came to Sunnydale, and then never sees the consequences for her own actions.
Even after her move to LA, she calls Buffy a cry-Buffy, blames her for turning Angel into Angelus, emasculates Wesley, victim blames and shames a SA survivor (Untouched), and is generally just careless about what she says or does, with no thought about how her words effect others.
Personally, while I do see some growth over her time on Angel, I do not buy her characterization in the later seasons where she is drastically changed to become a Champion, and then shoe-horned into a relationship with Angel. On top of that, she never atones for or even recognizes her need to change for her awful behavior, and that makes it very hard for me to forgive her for her past sins, let alone root for her.
It's possible that with better writing and without Joss being a horrible person, that her transition would have been more organic and believable.
-Spike-
For a show about feminism, the writers really spend a lot of time on this man. He steals Buffy's underwear, stalks her, makes a sex robot that looks just like her, attempts to kill her multiple times, boasts about killing and torturing other slayers, justifies it by saying they wanted it, ties her up, then spends a season belittling her just so that she'll sleep with him. THEN when she refuses sex with him, attempts to force himself on her.
And for those of you who say, "oh he just didn't have a soul yet." Fine.
After he had a soul, he boasts about assaulting her, shames her for using him for sex when he knew she didn't love him, shames her for not loving him, and blames her for the reason he's tortured with having a soul. (Beneath You)
He nearly kills Robin Wood, and then mocks him for not being loved by his mother (which is proven to be false in "Damage"), all while wearing the coat that he stole from Robin's mother after he killed her.
Not once does he apologize to Buffy or attempt to hold himself accountable, even after he has a soul. It is not until "Damage" on Angel that we see any sort of unselfish remorse.
Then to add insult to injury, season 7 has Buffy spending so much time taking care of Spike, rescuing Spike, training with Spike, reassuring Spike that he is a good man...all to the detriment of her other relationships. People like to blame the Potentials for why season 7 is as clunky as it is, but I blame the focus on Spike.
Even worse, the show doesn't seem to want Spike to change, as there's hardly a difference between pre souled and ensouled Spike. And that goes against the show's core tenant of choice and growth.
From the very beginning, vampires represent the opposite of adolescence in that they are stagnate and do not change. "Fool for Love" very clearly establishes that Spike's persona is created to compensate for his lack of an identity. Cecily's rejection of him deeply wounds him and he is shown to create a facade to mask his insecurities. So he takes from powerful women and forms a false identity around them to prove that he is not beneath them. The episode emphasizes this pattern with Cecily, Dru, and the two Slayers, continuing in present day with Buffy.
In order to be consistent with the lore and message of the show, ensouled Spike needed to look a lot different from un-ensouled Spike, but the writers knew he wouldn't be as popular.
And so we're left with a half baked season where we're supposed to believe that Buffy is distant from everyone but Spike, who looks the exact same as he did the season before when he tried to force himself on her.
It's just icky. It's the opposite of empowering. It blurs the lines of the lore. And it sends the wrong message.
We can like these characters and even root for them, but we need to be honest about their flaws, and not justify awful writing and problematic characterization.
#buffy summers#buffy the vampire slayer#buffy btvs#tv: btvs#buffy watching#becomingbuffypodcast#sarah michelle gellar#alyson hannigan#buffy anne summers#btvs s5#anti spuffy#anti spike#anti cordelia#bangel#buffy and angel#buffythevampireslayer#not really anti#i dont hate them
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