#especially the wedding dress they go to every single showing and tailoring without fail and refuse to miss it

[seoafin]

gojo and geto seem like the last people to be overly domestic but they take to it so easily it surprises everyone

#they're so dedicated and meticulous about your wedding they're planning and organizing every single aspect of it down to the napkins #especially the wedding dress they go to every single showing and tailoring without fail and refuse to miss it #you know just in that off chance that you might let them fool around with you in the dressing room #the two of them are just not available during the period of planning your wedding their phones are just . off. #you wake up and find the kitchen decorated with cake samples everywhere. they make it a party. #sorrynotsorry i think all men should act less like they're being chained down for life in marriage and more like they get to spend the rest #of their lives with the person/people they love #like you always expect the girl to be super excited about the wedding and the dress and everything #and the guy is like whatever you want no opinions on his side #but stsg are so invested in your wedding and honeymoon and designing your new home #aka geto has a very specific image in mind for the house #down to the type of furniture he wants he seems like a home digest type of guy tbh #they want everything to be perfect #ripmc is the one that does not care at all btw she's fine with a paperwork marriage truly #has never heard of the color fuchsia in her life #poly au

[ask-ethari-anything]

I am BLOWN AWAY that a) no one has asked for and b) you haven't yet told your wedding story. We should fix this. Go! *waits, eagerly, chin on hands*

No no no, don’t ask Runaan, he won’t tell it right. This story takes a while, and I needed to be in the right frame of mind for it, but I’m here now. Sitting comfy? Here we go.

The day dawned bright–for the Silvergrove–and I woke up for a moment, unsure where I was. One of the many Moonshadow wedding traditions is to spend your last night before your wedding in the place that represents what you’ll bring to your marriage. For me, that was my workshop. My gifts had already kept Runaan safe, my skills made him more efficient. I knew that was going to be my role in our union. So I slept on the floor by my forge, nice and toasty. 

Tiadrin was my heartguard all night–she parked herself outside my door and stayed awake with a sword in her hand. Sometimes Moonshadows test the heartguards by trying to sneak up on them to see if they’re actually awake, because what’s a Moonshadow ritual without the occasional sanctioned prank? But Tiadrin chased everyone away and never even woke me up.

She and about a dozen other Moonshadows made me the biggest breakfast I’ve ever seen. Moonberry syrup on everything! And Tiadrin cracking dirty jokes that set everyone giggling, but only when I’d just taken a bite of my breakfast! She did it on purpose that way, I know she did. That evil grin of hers… I don’t usually blush, but she got me very blushy that morning. 

When I was stuffed to the gills, they helped me get all fripped up in my Moonshadow finery. Shimmering white trousers under a floor-length, split-sided white tunic covered in embroidered runes full of love and good fortune. I felt so pretty. And kind of badass. The tailor managed to make my shoulders look even wider than they are–enchantments everywhere, you know–and I got to wear my pretty white slippers for the first time. I got my turquoise hornflowers attached and the mantle hooked into my doublet so I’d look all swoopy walking down the stairs. All the silver rings I’d made, with all their swirlies and gems, winked on my fingers and my ears. Tiadrin even coaxed a few beaded braids into my hair and tucked in a couple of dark lovebird feathers. Lastly, several of them brushed some glittery mothdust on my cheeks so I’d be especially gleamy in the light.

When she was done prettying me up, Tiadrin looked me up and down and teared up a bit. “Runaan’s going to be speechless,” she told me.

“Don’t worry. He always finds other ways to express himself,” I replied.

Apparently saying that on your wedding day is hilarious. Cue more blushing from me!

When the time came, my friends escorted me out and down the long winding staircase, with Tiadrin taking me by the hand and leading the way, and honey, let me tell you, I could hear the gasps from the elves down below. The whole village had crammed itself around the edges of the pool and up above the stone steps across the way, all in their own finery. But I only had eyes for Runaan. 

He stood below by the pool, watching me like a hawk as I came around the curve of the stairs. Dressed very like me, but with darker hints in the embroidery on his tunic, and the hornflowers he wore were deep purple. I couldn’t help it–I blew him a light little kiss from my fingertips. I may have sparked it with a bit of moon magic because I was so excited! The way he reacted, you’d think I was some hero of myth deigning to look his way for the barest second. He practically fangirled! Made me feel very loved.

Tiadrin made sure I didn’t fall off the stairs, and she led me to Runaan, who had his own heartguard in Lain. The two of them joined our hands for us and stepped back, and Runaan and I just stared and stared and smiled and smiled. With Runaan, you can have a whole conversation with silent expressions, and boy did we have one then. He was nervous and excited and relieved and exhausted and so ready to be married to me. I wanted to hold him close and never let go. But our day was just starting.

We promenaded together around the ritual pool three times while the village sang a traditional wedding song for us. Then Lain and Tiadrin wrapped our right wrists with pieces of white ribbon, Once the Binding of the Hands was complete, we led everyone up to the village green where there was a lot more room for the actual ceremony. Runaan squeezed my hand tight as we walked side by side, and his palm was damp and hot. I squeezed back even harder and nudged his shoulder. “I’ve got you, Runaan. Now and always.”

Moon help me, the look on his face. Like he couldn’t quite believe it, but it was exactly what he needed to hear. He hovered somewhere between grinning like an idiot and crying with overwhelming love. “Still up for marrying me, then?” he asked.

“Only because your horns are so cute.”

“I grew them special, just for you.”

“Such dedication! I’ll be sure to admire them thoroughly every morning, along with the rest of you.”

At that, Runaan blushed hard. Wedding days are so much fun.

The village council gathered around us in a circle, holding hands, while Runaan and I held each other’s hands in the middle. They asked us the ritual questions in turn until we’d gone all the way around. I knew my answers, of course. But seeing Runaan stare deeply into my eyes and recite the ways he would care for me for the rest of my life… hoo, that went straight to my soul, and my hands were the ones that got hot. He got a little misty when I answered the question about the ways I’d love Runaan, and my answer went on about putting my gifts in his hands so he could perform his duty and serve his people. I could’ve said lots of things there, but I knew that answer would please him most.

The final question was this, chanted by the whole council at once: “You’ve spoken your intent. Runaan, Ethari, how will you show us that you have chosen each other as your beloved match and bonded your hearts together, forsaking all others and holding to these new-made promises, in life, in death, and in the balance thereof?”

Runaan and I turned to our heartguards then, and Lain and Tiadrin stepped into the circle, each bearing a soft pillow with a pair of horn cuffs on it. Runaan slid his pointy cuffs with the turquoise gems onto my horns, and I slid my swirly cuffs onto his. Moon above, he looked so handsome properly cuffed. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest!

And then we kissed. We joined our right hands together, the bindings glowed white, and we totally made out in front of the whole village.

Lain and Tiadrin shouted the loudest, but the whole village lost their minds and tossed handfuls of flower petals around us. In the middle of a blue-and-white floral rain, I got to pull my husband into my arms and kiss him for the very first time. I know I was happycrying first, but Runaan let his feelings pool in his eyes, too.

And way before we were ready to let go of each other, the big drums started across the green. Lain and Tiadrin dragged us over for dancing, and we stood in the center of several concentric rings of elven pairs and danced our first wedding dance together. It’s still one of my favorite things to do with Runaan, that exact dance.

We danced the morning away, ate lunch, and danced some more. I danced with just about everyone in the Silvergrove! So did Runaan, but he vastly preferred to dance with me instead. After lunch, the games and stories came out, and everyone relaxed for a while on the grass. Lain gave a long and rambling speech about how Runaan had been too flustered to tell me how much he loved me and needed some friendly assistance. Tiadrin’s speech was far more, ah, direct, and her comments on the speed and content of our courtship left Runaan moonberry red amid teasing laughter. I held his hand tightly and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll fix you right up tonight and we’ll really give them something to talk about.”

Well, that didn’t help with his blushing, but he looked me right in the eye and said, “We’d better leave the window open so they can quote me properly.”

We giggled so hard, with our foreheads pressed together and our fingers interlaced, stealing kisses like the lovestruck fools we were. I told you wedding days are fun.

The sun set and the full Moon finally rose, and we danced and danced some more. Things get pretty wild when everyone shifts into full Moonshadow form and dances after a few glasses of moonberry wine. Flowers and bracelets and shoes tossed everywhere. Some of the couples disappeared into the shadows. Runaan and I tossed our mantles aside and really upped our dancing game. His hair came loose and swirled around us, and I lost my hornflowers to a spiraling dip that left me dizzy and gasping in Runaan’s arms.

There’s a fun tradition where the wedded couple tries their best to sneak away from their own wedding at the end without getting spotted. It’s very Moonshadow, and it hardly ever works. But Runaan was determined to get away with it, and he enlisted Lain and Tiadrin to help us. Around midnight, everyone paused for refreshments and stood chatting excitedly. Runaan and I stood together in plain sight and murmured to each other, seeming like we weren’t going anywhere, until people stopped watching us to see if we were sneaking off. Then Lain and Tiadrin picked up our mantles–and my hornflowers–from the other side of the green, put them on, and darted along the treeline just long enough to catch someone’s eye. The moment the cry went up that the newlyweds were trying to slip off together, Runaan and I held hands and dashed in the other direction. I was trying not to giggle, but Runaan was very focused and didn’t make a single sound.

We got away clean, of course. Runaan’s plans never fail. Once we reached the tree house, I pulled off my white slippers, and Runaan’s–totally stained green with dancing on the grass–and set them carefully aside. Wedding slippers are a sign of good luck if they’ve been well danced in.

And then we started a different dance. We did leave the window open, and I helped Runaan with some very memorable quotes for anyone listening in. Couldn’t let the village wonder if we’d made it home safely together, could I?

Because we were home. Together. And we always will be. Runaan is my home and my heart. I knew that, way before my wedding day. But I loved, so much, sharing the moment when I changed my life to let Runaan into it, fully and completely. Moonshadow weddings are an absolute delight, and mine is one of my favorite memories of all.

#ask ethari #runaari wedding #moonshadow weddings #ethari's wedding story #story time #runaan x ethari #elf husbands

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, CARA! You’ve been accepted for the role of HIPPOLYTA. Admin Julie: Cara, you’ve once again blown us away with your app. From your plots, to your para sample, to the reason why you were drawn towards Halcyon, everything about the woman we see here is incredibly human in a very gripping way -- and we know that’s not easy to pin down when it comes to Halcyon. It was a joy to read. The additional writing sample especially drew me in, and by the end of it, I was totally hooked. We’re thrilled to see you bring her to our dashboards once again, and we cannot wait for you to put what you have planned for Hal into play on the dashboard. Set her loose! Go wild -- we’re watching with anticipation. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Cara

Age | 34

Preferred Pronouns | She, Her

Activity Level | Please describe how active you think you’ll be in a few sentences. - I’m able to get online everyday and do replies. Depending on how many and the length, I can write one to three replies perday. I do have a busy schedule during the weekend, so these would be my less active days.

Timezone | EST

How did you find the rp?  | I’ve been aware of it since it’s first run and was happy to see it back last year. I’ve been checking in often, waiting for the right moment to apply. And now, after being inactive, I’m back.

Current/Past RP Accounts |

https://ofhippclyta.tumblr.com/

https://laraxrutherford.tumblr.com

https://theninalowell.tumblr.com/

IN CHARACTER

Character | Hippolyta, Halcyon Santos

What drew you to this character? | I’ve been eyeing Diverona since it opened and the character I always come back to is Hippolyta.

To say she’s resilient would be an understatement. There’s something amazing in her, in a woman who falls from grace like her, someone who had everything and still defied the odds and wanted her own path. Her label being the Phoenix is only proof of that. Halcyon is a woman who sacrificed a lot to the idea that others had of herself, who she was or should be. Being good of heart, like she once was, doesn’t make it less a sacrifice. Halcyon existed for others only for a long time, something that she didn’t challenge. Her purpose served others until her time came.

The strength she showed since Cosimo came after her is not something she showed before. Not in such a raw way. It was one of the most determining moments of her life, when she asked to be taken to him, and it was her first taste of another kind of power. She didn’t accept death because there’s something stronger inside of her, a  will to live on her own terms. She had nothing left to lose, she had been betrayed by everyone she ever loved and trusted. She saw an opportunity and took it, something that is very interesting to her. She has the ability to see steps ahead, of being able to size her opponents the minute she sees them. It’s something that most likely comes from all her years of sitting quiet, of observing the world around her without making a move.

Halcyon is a complex person, with two sides. She is kind, something that hasn’t changed in all those years, surprisingly. Her kindness is mostly shown through her work for the Church. Halcyon always had a want and a need to help those who were less fortunate than she and she’s still doing it. But that kindness has hardened over the years. Halcyon has been holding her breath for so long, that when her husband died and she knew the Capulet would come for her, in a way, she started to breathe again. His death was the final push she needed to let go of the life she lived and to forge a new one.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

Rising higher. Halcyon is ambitious, there’s no denying. She is deeply loyal to Cosimo and Vivianne but what about the others? How far will her ambition take her? I would like to have her be confronted with the opportunity to do something, maybe double-cross one of her own, in order to rise higher. Or even be faced with the choice of choosing between Vivianne and herself. Because as much as Halcyon isn’t selfish, how far would she go, in terms of sacrificing herself? Her loyalty to Cosimo is strong but weaker than the one to herself. Breaking away from the Capulets wouldn’t be easy, if even doable, but if her life was at stake,, or if Cosimo betrayed something she strongly believed in, she  would try to keep her head high and rise from the ashes of that betrayal, one again.

The ties that bind. When it comes to Halcyon, blood doesn’t run deeper than water. At least not anymore. Her parents caused her too much pain. But could she go as far as hurting them? Halcyon cares deeply about Verona, but what if her parents stood in her way? She never fully let the darkness and ugliness stain her, but would going as far as to cast out her own blood be the thing to push her over the edge? Killing for others is easy, but killing for oneself is harder. In a moment of anger, Halcyon would be confronted with the ghosts of her past and seize that opportunity to completely severe her current life from her past life. Because there is a darkness inside of her, despite all her goodness, and having that balance tip when it comes to her parents specifically would be something that completely unleashed that darkness inside of her.

Greatness. I see Halcyon has still being adored, even if not as much as she used to be. Those who watched her fall and get up, more than once, might have even more faith in her. But I want that faith the people have in her, the symbol they made her be, to eventually fade, either because they turn their backs  on her or because she did. Though I imagine if they knew what she was really up to, they would be the ones to cast her out. It would also test her faith, and that’s something I’d like to have happen to her, to wonder who or what she is without God.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes. Death is needed for this kind of group and while I adore Halcyon with all my heart, killing her would be a good plot. I would just like her to have been developed and written a bit before, so that her death could be more meaningful and that she would have her moment to shine.

IN-DEPTH

In-Character Para Sample: Again, write as much or as little as you need to get your interpretation across.

SAMPLE I

It had been a strange request, to dye a wedding dress in red, but the Santos name held too much for the tailor to turn it down and the hush money helped too. “Why do you need two dresses?” her future husband had asked, his tone bored. It was an arranged wedding for him as well, and he hoped to gain a dutiful bride. He had been assured that it would be the case.

Halcyon and Callum had gone on a few very public dates, the wedding being regarded as the event of the year. The Santos and Pardi, united as one. Halcyon Pardi, the woman hated the sound of that. Where Celia had insisted they both keep their maiden name, Halcyon was expected to shed hers as soon as the vows would be pronounced. Nonetheless, she smiled on these outings, nodded when he talked and voiced the right opinions only when prompted. She knew that her life would be just like that and she wanted to feel Celia one last time, to feel passion before losing it forever. And so, she had Celia’s wedding dress dyed crimson, a sign of the fire that burned her and the blood her heart had bled.

“Everyone except me to have one for the wedding and another for the ceremony. A woman has to be trusted on these things dearest.” The words sounded sweet, they all did when they came out of her. But they tasted bitter to Halcyon, bile rising into her throat. They ached, every single one of them. They cut through the very fabric of her soul. And she bore them, like the children she would never give him, refused to give him. She was thankful for the pills she could take, until she wasn’t fertile anymore, so that she would never give this man and her parents what they hoped; an heir. Her two biggest rebellions, she thought as her finger ran through the fabric of the dress, now tucked away in her closet, never to be worn again. Celia was gone and she was now someone’s wife.

A voice was heard and Halcyon rushed into the master’s bathroom, avoiding the man she kissed every night. His voice sounded angry and she knew he was talking about them again, the Capulets. Her husband was greedy, money wasn’t enough, he wanted power. And the Capulets had the one thing he really wanted, Verona. Halcyon ran the bath’s water, creating a diversion. She played the almost empty headed wife so well, he often forgot she even had thoughts that weren’t his. Callum felt safe around her, too safe. Pressing her ear against the shut door, she could hear everything he was saying. He had been trying to buy the police department lately, thinking that if he had them in his pockets, the rest would follow easily. But they were not easy to bribe and he was going at it all wrong. He was playing a dangerous game, pretending to help Cosimo while working against him. He wanted to be mayor and he needed more than the few businessmen that stood in his corner.

Halcyon could see all this unfolding before him and the man still thought he was on top of everything. Every little mistake he made, she predicted, finding some sick joy in it, in watching him be a fool. She kept quiet and maybe, just maybe, if he didn’t expect her to be nothing else than an accessory, would she have helped him see what was coming. But with every day that passed, he kept asking why she wasn’t pregnant when it was all she had to do. He kept treating her as if she was failing at the only thing she was supposed to be good at, bearing children. She pretended to cry and despair as he badgered her about it. But that was her secret, at least one of the many she was starting to collect.

As she stood there, holding her breath so that not even that would make her miss a word, she could see too well the choices she had in front of her. If she talked, if she said it all, surely he would understand his mistakes and be able to stay alive. And wasn’t that her duty, as a wife, to help her husband? Hadn’t she vowed, in the Cathedral, to stand by his side, for better or worse? It was a holy bond and Halcyon respected the Church. But she knew her words had been empty then, they meant nothing if they weren’t spoken to the woman she loved. It was there, in their bathroom, that she was conscious, for the very first time, that she would let this man walk into his death. From the outside, it would look as if she had been passive in all this, not involved. But the reality was different, every moment she chose to stay quiet was bringing her one step closer to her freedom and she knew that.

Maybe one day she would understand that he had been her first kill, her first taste of the darkness that was buried inside herself. And years later, when Vivianne would suggest she infiltrated the police department, she would smile, knowing that she would succeed where a man failed.

SAMPLE II

A delicate flower, that’s what they had built her to be. They gave her poise and grace, told her she was the best and deserved the world. And in return, she smiled, nodded and extended her hand to those who needed it. She had walked among them, an angel, her light inspiring others. Never did Halcyon let it alter her, her heart remaining pure. She had loved, believed in it. Like an innocent girl, not yet the woman she was today, she was bound to wed. The fire that consumed her gave her strength, made her better. Halcyon was naive, she believed that everyone was like her, good, or at least, that those who raised her were as good as she saw them. She had been wrong, fooled by her faith. When her fire ended in ashes, she had to get up. She rose above herself with a burnt mark that would always follow her, a scar forever etched on her heart. Had it been a mistake, to nurse her broken heart and not turn the city upside down looking for her missing  half?

No matter how deep the bullet lay, reality was ugly. The woman she loved could be bought. And by none other than her parents. It was with trembling hands, already feeling the blow in her heart, tears coming down, that she had taken the note that was left with the wedding dress. A soft finger ran  over it, even when she couldn’t see the words anymore obscured by her vision. That’s when the light had gone out. There was rage that first night, something that she was ashamed of. She had sought out her confidante the next morning, feeling herself calmer in the hot air of the Cathedral. She was told that God had a plan for her and she believed it.

Halcyon draped herself in her sadness, coming out of it even more beautiful than before. Her failed engagement wasn’t a secret, the Santos’ were well-known in the city. And it wasn’t long before talk of another wedding ran through the streets.

“I can’t,” she cried many times. “Please don’t make me do this.”

“You’re marrying him. We gave our word.”

“Mama, please,” she appealed to her mother, the one who had nursed her, taken care of her.

“Listen to your father. He knows what’s best.” And Halcyon knew, she had left her mother’s womb for good.

“Stop being a child, Halcyon,” her father snapped. His final words on the subject.

She smiled the day of her wedding, she was gracious to the guest, she played her part. And she played it well. There had been too many tears, too much pleading that had lead to this moment. Her parents had as good as killed her the day they gave her hand away, sealed her faith in a magnificent ceremony, a funeral where she was dressed in white. It wasn’t the fact that she didn’t love him. It was the fact that they extinguished her light, put her in a cell and threw away the key. Halcyon didn’t exist, the shadow that walked this world instead was not her. And they didn’t care, for they all had what they wanted. Her parents gained more money and her husband gained the most beautiful woman in the city. A trophy, polished regularly, something that people took pride in, a simple object. Never did she let others see  any of this. She was only his wife, but she was a good one, a dutiful one. Devoting herself to charities, the only thing she was allowed to do, and the halo on her head grew bigger. Little did they know, her hands would soon be bathed in crimson. When her husband was killed, the tears weren’t for him. They were for her, for finally being free from him and from her family.

Halcyon knew Cosimo’s men would come for her. Against everything, she hadn’t fled the city. Verona was her home and like a Queen, she would never leave it behind. Her blood would soil the city if needed, her pain and anguish visible for everyone. A martyr. She had left the door unlocked, knowing there was no need to try and protect herself. Cosimo was powerful and a locked door would not stop him or those who worked for him. Her back was to them when they came in as she looked at the city she called her own all her life. It would all be over soon. “Please,” she started. Make it quick. Her life flashed by, the faces of those she helped and of those who caused her pain. But what troubled her, even more, were the words she heard all her life. Fragile. Useless. Deviant. Wife. Martyr. Fiancée. Beautiful. Kind. Icon. Weak. One word was missing, one word had never been spoken to describe her. Determined. Never before had she felt such courage, or rather, had she been aware of it. “Take me to him.” The words were said as she turned to face them, an angel awaiting her death.

All her life, Halcyon had stood by, quiet, observing. The world unfolded in front of her and she watched it, in awe. Never before had she thought that all her observing would pay off for her, that being quiet would serve her. A presence quick to be forgotten, a pretty face deemed nothing more, the woman has listened. And learned. Until this moment, until her life hung in the balance, she never understood how precious that gift had been. It paid her in information. Her husband was dead, killed by the Capulets. And they thought, foolishly, that all of his secrets were buried with him. They had been wrong. Information was precious, the most powerful currency there was. Information would be her most powerful weapon. “There’s more he doesn’t know.” The words were a whisper as the woman slowly found her voice, the one that had been muffled all her life. She could be valuable, something she saw for the first time in her life. Every moment led her to this, right now, she could finally see it. They thought they had put her down for good, but she got up, stronger than ever. The shackles  on her hands were gone.

SAMPLE III

It hadn’t been long, or so it felt like, since Vivianne was in the hospital and now it was Halcyon’s turn to be freshly out, or almost. The days following her release had been spent trying to patch the hemorrhage, a word that could be taken to its most literal meaning. The Capulets were bleeding despite all their physical wounds being, at last, and yet things still felt too fragile. The capitana could be seen at all hours at the headquarters, working relentlessly to find a way to make the Montagues pay double for their actions. Halcyon herself had come close to losing too much, with Theo laying unconscious in a hospital bed for days, a player so precious to the woman, she had been on edge. A short breath of relief had been exhaled when she learned to other had woken up, something she felt on more than one level, some form of friendship forming with the informant.

It was late at night and when everything had started to blur she silently made her way to her dear friend and underboss’ office. On a night like this, exhausted like she was, it was the comfort of the friend she was seeking and not the advice of the leader she blindly followed. “Posso entrare?” May I come in? Tired words that followed a soft knock on Vivianne’s door. Something in Halcyon’s voice had the woman looking up from the reading she was doing and beckoned her to the more private area of her office.

There had been whispers of the state the underboss had been in when she learned that Halcyon and not come back from the mission, something she had seen, in parts, herself when she was finally alone with the older woman. Halcyon had seen changes, subtle ones, in her mentor since she got out of the hospital as if a confidence she once paraded so easily was no longer so strong. Maybe the capitana was reading too much into all this, a trick her own emotions were playing on her. It was, after all, so small what she thought she saw. If only she was not looking at the other so often, maybe they would not be here tonight.

The two women shared a bond, everyone knew it, but it was not something that was openly discussed between the two. Halcyon would die for Vivianne, in a heartbeat. But the moments when they talked about how much the friendship meant were rare. Tonight, the younger one needed that, for herself, but she sensed also for the underboss. As they sat down, closer than usual, an action that was deliberate on her part, a soft sigh escaped her. “Too much has been on your mind.” It wasn’t a question, a simple fact that was uttered as big brown eyes searched the blues she dreamed of losing herself into.

It was a rare occurrence, a hand brushing the other, waiting to see if part of the skin she felt like she craved at times would shy away. When it did not, Halcyon’s hand became heavier, a gesture that was meant to let Vivianne know she was there. But suddenly, it did not seem enough. Amidst the chaos, this simple hand, one that would follow the other woman anywhere, felt too little. “Whatever it is, whatever you’re keeping, you are stronger than it.” Without thinking, something she would never do usually, Halcyon let go of the woman’s hand. Light fingers followed by warm palms went to the underboss’ visage. For a woman who could be ruthless, there was genuine care for those she cared about, many of whom had been targeted lately.  “You won’t lose us. You won’t lose me.” They were so close and the touch felt like everything that could soothe Halcyon’s tired body and mind. But Halcyon did not dare allow herself to go further, to let the sudden flushing of her cheeks get what drove the blood there. She did not close the small, too small, space between their lips.

SAMPLE IV

Location: Halcyon’s house

Date: March 25th, 2019

Ever since the hospital, the Capulet forged a second layer around her, another armour that guarded her from the outside. The physical wounds were something she could take, another symbol of the war she was fighting. But the emotional ones were something she tried to shield herself from, marks that were carved too deeply into her soul. Wounds that followed her everywhere, even in her sleep. Days were long, the list of things that had to be done to contain the hemorrhage the Capulet had been cursed with in recent months and the woman always came home later than usual, long nights working at the Cathedral. Some nights she even prayed, the Faith that had been testing her for years never too far. The lights were not turned on as she walked into her penthouse, the dark soothing for the headache that had been building all day. Heels were carefully discarded, joining others that were in the entrance, forming a delicate line. Never would she dare say the words out loud, but there was loneliness lately in coming home to such an empty place, a longing for something more, something well beyond her reach. Her hand could extend, fingers grasping into thin air, and never would she reach what was missing.

The television was turned on, the channel already on Rai News24. It casted a glow in the living room and she went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, the background noise eased part of the storm inside of her. The Santos name was heard distantly just as the kettle started to boil, the whistle of it drowning the noise. Not that it mattered, her father’s business was often in the spotlight. The name barely registered, too preoccupied with the day she had, going over every little detail of everything that was said to her, trying to see if she had missed anything. Absent fingers were running along the edge of her tea cup as she walked back to the living, only then looking at the screen in front of her. Strangely enough, the news was still talking about her father. Breaking News were not words that were usually associated with any of his activities. The images did not make any sense, neither were the words. Was this really how Halcyon Santos was to learn of her father’s death? Not by her own mother but by the coldness of the television. The cup she was holding dropped to the floor, shattering in tiny fragments. Slowly walking closer to the object that was turning her world upside down, finger gently brushing a picture of her father that came with the segment. The woman crumbled on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Halcyon didn’t know if she was crying because her cage was finally broken for good or if it was because the man she once held so high would never be redeemed in her eyes, breaking her heart forever.

Extras: If you have anything else you’d like to include (further headcanons, an inspo tag, a mock blog, etc), feel free to share it here! This is OPTIONAL.

Headcanons

Training Halcyon was easy. Her years of ballet made her graceful and athletic. Hand- to- hand combat came easily to her, it was another form of dance. The woman surprised everyone by how easily and quickly it came to her and soon, she was able to  best more experienced fighters.

She started at the bottom and rose rather quickly because of how determined and dedicated she is. Halcyon directed all her energy and emotions into the tasks that were given to her, breathing and living solely for the Capulets. She was running and quick-thinking, able to see many outcomes unfolding before her. Her charm and apparent sweetness fooled more than one and it played at her advantage.

Halcyon is still nursing her broken heart. Celia was the great love of her life, up until this point. She was a burning fire and Halcyon gave herself completely to her lover., The woman always knew she was attracted to other women. And to men at times, something that was very confusing for her Catholic soul. Never before Celia had she been so open and free with another person . It was Halcyon, timid and fair compared to her passionate lover, who proposed. The ring was exquisite and when Celia said yes, Halcyon thought she could never be happier. In the days and weeks leading to Celia’s departure Halcyon could feel something had changed. She thought it was the wedding’s excitement, as the day was nearing. But when she came home to an empty house and saw the dress, she knew. Her heart hasn’t mended since].

The first tasks she had when she joined the Capulets were easy enough. Her first kill wasn’t. It was a conflicting moment, one where her soul fought the two sides of her, the light and the darkness. Never before did she thought she would or could kill another. But when the moment came, it felt…easy. There was half a confession to Hugo, Halcyon talking of a great sin without naming it. But she found that once you committed something that seemed hard, the next times were easier, until it came almost naturally. There was a war to fight and she was now part of it.

#accepted: hippolyta #accepted

[gregellner]

Promo picture by HBO.

This is unusual for me, but nonetheless I will be reviewing the entirety of the seventh season of Game of Thrones in hindsight, as it is panned out.

In order to keep this all from seeming like nothing more than one side, I will start by acknowledging that yes, there are some elements of this season that I enjoyed. Two parts in particular: Euron Greyjoy’s ambush of his niece Yara’s fleet and Theon Greyjoy’s brutal hand-to-hand fight with a nameless Ironborn raider.

The ambush was well lain out, and made military sense. Euron managed to catch the Dornish-Greyjoy fleet (hereafter called the Targaryen fleet) unawares, and the fight between his men and those of the Targaryen forces included casualties on both sides. Furthermore, unlike the attempted rescue of Theon in Season 4, the main antagonist of this arc actually is hit and suffers some damage, with his armor having meaning beyond being just metal clothing that has been ignored since approximately Season 4. Furthermore, he got rid of some characters who had grated on fans, though admittedly this is more a case of cleaning up the showrunners’ own mistakes than actually good writing in its own right.

Theon’s duel showcased a different kind of fight, one of pure endurance. There is nothing flashy about the hand-to-hand beatdown on the beach, just blood, punches, and kicks. However, the fight goes to show something that many recent fights have ignored: giving character progression in a meaningful way, with the actual possibility of death for a major person. Theon’s castration proves essential to this fight, giving a mixture of triumph, brutality, and even humor to the fight itself.

However, there is only one word that I really need to say when discussing the rest of Season 7 of Game of Thrones.

 Failure.

I see this entire season as a failure on almost every level. While there are a few good character moments, they are few and far between, with far more time spent treading water than actually moving forward in the plot. In order to best articulate this process, I will go into depth on the different elements of the plot, and its different developments, especially how they are presented (which is one of the most important things about the plotting).

First, I’ll go into the general problems that have cropped up in the season, then I will turn to specific elements.

  Fast Travel

For those who are unaware, the phenomenon of “fast travel” is a concept in video games where a player can move across a distance that would normally take a very long time (perhaps half an hour to an hour at times, if not more) in the space of about a minute with a single button press, only having to wait through a loading screen before they are spontaneously at their destination.

This phenomenon seems to have been injected into nearly every single force in Game of Thrones for this season, all in the name of moving the plot along faster. Euron Greyjoy can travel around the entire continent of Westeros over the course of fifteen minutes. A call for aid can travel to the far south of the map and allow for travel right up to North of the Wall (with time for a new outfit to be tailored) in perhaps the same amount of time, if not twenty minutes.

This type of problem would not have a significant effect on some fantasy stories. After all, the only thing anyone needs to say is that “a wizard did it.” The issue is, there is no actual mechanism to allow this kind of speed. In every other season, people would be hard-pressed to find transportation from one place to another. In fact, the entire reason the Red Wedding even came up in the first place was a lie about a deal that had allowed for easy passage of the Northern troops south. If this kind of mechanism were in place, we wouldn’t have ever needed to see the Freys or their castle in the Twins, instead able to just move the characters off screen and magically have them be on the other side of a major river.

The effect is similar to one people had in hindsight about The Lord of the Rings: if Frodo and Sam could have just used the eagles in the first place to just go right to Mordor, why walk all the way and allow so much death? Because it wouldn’t make a good story, yes, but it still relies upon a completely new system that could, logically, have existed earlier. But I digress.

In fact, the only army that doesn’t seem to have that kind of speed is that of the White Walkers. If they did have it, this season would have been over before it began, and, heaven forbid, the Night King would have had to actually do something more than once in a season.

 Plot Tailored to the Audience, not the Story

While television does have its own limitations, they should be tailored to making a good story, not just a vast spectacle or a shocking drama. The seventh season of Game of Thrones seems to fall into the trap of tailoring character actions to a plot for “intensity,” rather than creating an organic, interesting plot through the actions of the characters themselves.

When questions are asked in this section, there is an implicit response you should assume: “Because the showrunners said so.”

  Blackwater Rush

The massacre at Blackwater Rush is highly praised by many a viewer, but there remains a serious issue that people tend to overlook: how would she even know that the Lannister-Tarly forces were still there? How would she get her own forces, her Dothraki horde, across the entire country in time to catch up with them? And perhaps most stupidly, why would she go into battle in nothing more than her regal dress, rather than, say… attempting to wear any sort of armor? Is she aware of the plot armor she has? I will discuss “plot armor” below.

  Great Wight Hunt

This hunt, first brought up in Episode 5, then carried out in Episode 6, is far and away the most infamous example of the plot being tailored to television audiences rather than even the most basic logic.

As anyone who knows about zombie apocalypse stories would know, the idea of grabbing a single member of the undead from a horde is virtually impossible without alerting the others, especially without it being killed. Jon, who has actually faced wights, would have known this and accounted for it, even told the others how stupid of an idea it was, had he been given an ounce of actual logic to use. And, surprise, surprise, it doesn’t go according to plan. Catching one wight led to a bunch of wights seeing the group, followed by some more, and then an entire army. Who could possibly believe this was a good idea?

On top of that, the reasoning for the hunt is completely pointless. If the idea is to bring back a single wight for Cersei Lannister to learn of the imminent invasion, she, being a narcissist par excellence, would ignore the threat and let other people handle it just so that she could gain more territory for herself on the throne. Again, surprise! This is exactly what happens. On this count, Tyrion, the one who has the most experience with Cersei, would have been the one to say how stupid of an idea it was… but the entire plan was his idea in the first place!

Let’s not fool ourselves: the real reason this plot even happened was because of the need for a traditional major event for the penultimate episode of the season. However, it failed at even that, owing to the imperviousness of plot armor (again, to be explained below).

  Sansa and Arya’s “Plan”

Some believe the “plan” that Sansa and Arya Stark had to trap Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish was very clever in hindsight, but that’s all it was: a good idea in hindsight. The actual plotting of the scenes leading up to the revelation in the season finale was idiotic at best, and nonsensical at worst. The two sisters would have had no reason to keep up their act of hostility to one another in private, especially given there is little indication at all that Littlefinger has actual spies in Winterfell. All of his “knowledge” is that which he gains by himself in this season. The only reason to keep up the charade is for the sake of the audience, which, again, does not actually exist in the world. Their scenes play out, especially in hindsight, as if they were acting out in a play to go off of reactions… to something that isn’t even there.

This all could have been solved by using a character with had almost nothing to do this season: Brandon “Bran” Stark. Given his omniscience, all that was needed was a single line after one of the Sansa-Littlefinger conversations about how the former’s brother wanted to speak to her, with her going off to talk to him off screen. That way, it wouldn’t come across as nearly as contrived as it was.

  Impervious Plot Armor

“Plot armor” is the phenomenon of people in a story surviving seemingly impossible, if not highly improbable, situations because they are important to the plot later on down the line, storyline logic possibly being ignored in the process. Game of Thrones once prided itself on the idea of nobody having such immunity, but over time, this kind of story-driven immunity has become more and more prominent. Though the most infamous case was Ramsay Bolton, who could wade into combat against heavily armored foes shirtless and come out fine, this season has given a serious case to all major characters with important roles. The most glaring cases of this phenomenon come in the form of the assault on Blackwater Rush (the battle of the loot train) in Episode 4 and the infamous “Great Wight Hunt” in Episode 6.

In the case of Blackwater Rush, not a single person with a name died in the entire battle (if one could call that massacre a battle at all). The only named deaths came after the fight was over, and were limited to Randyll and Dickon Tarly (who each barely had a role in the story in the first place). On the other hand, Jaime Lannister was tackled into inexplicably deep water in heavy plate armor, which should have been enough to drown him, and not only managed to get away more or less completely unscathed, but apparently managed to, with Bronn, swim the entire length of the apparent lake with said plate armor on, while underwater.

The Great Wight Hunt is even more egregious. There are a grand total of three deaths, and only one of them is even a member of the crew on this completely idiotic plan in the first place. Jon not only offers to give his White Walker-slaying sword back to Jorah (despite the fact he could have tried to do this before leaving Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, outside of wight country), but is saved from imminent death no fewer than four times, including somehow killing two wights off-camera without a single weapon in hand in the freezing water (what hypothermia?). Tormund is seemingly nearly killed, and put into a position where he could logically die, only to be saved by Sandor Clegane because… reasons. Gendry is sent running back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea without any weapons whatsoever, and his only real injury is exhaustion and perhaps cold. Jorah seems to almost fall off of the back of Drogon, only to be completely okay, negating that threat.

The only three deaths in this hunt were all more or less inconsequential (dragon-turned-undead be damned).  Thoros of Myr lost any relevance he really has when the magic system he uses spontaneously changed for the sake of spectacle (more on that far below), with his only real use thereafter being a means to bring Beric back from the dead if he falls. However, there’s only one season left, and Beric doesn’t really add much to the plot anyway, so who cares? Benjen dies as he unlived: appearing out of nowhere to save someone before leaving the narrative altogether without much importance. What interest he did have, from Jon finding out he’s still around (which he barely even mentions) to his employers the Children of the Forest (who are seemingly all dead), is gone, and his plot went pretty much nowhere. Viserion… while there is an interesting thing of an undead dragon (which can somehow still breathe blue [even hotter] fire despite fire being deadly to wights because… reasons), both Viserion and Rhaegal are barely even characters. Their entire role in the story has been “the other two dragons who aren’t Drogon,” so honestly, he wasn’t much of a loss. If anything, he’s marginally better undead (or a White Walker, or whatever) because he has something to actually distinguish himself. The plot didn’t lose anything by having him die; it gained an actual character, and one with somehow less personality than anything else (which given it’s in an army of thoughtless wights, is really saying something).

 Modernization of Symbolic Unimportance

 As said by Tywin Lannister in the “Histories and Lore” video for the Westerlands, “Fools look at the Westerlands and see gold. Fools see our wealth and call it strength. Gold is just another rock. The Westerlands are strong because of House Lannister. From strong leadership comes unity. From unity comes power.” In fact, the strong leadership shown by House Lannister is not because of their gold, but in spite of their lack of it. Their mines long since went dry, but they manage to keep an air of importance due to Tywin Lannister’s careful, ruthless politicking.

The fall of an ancestral home is seen as a major defeat in most seasons. The fall of Winterfell to the Greyjoys and then the Boltons meant the end of House Stark. Brynden “Blackfish” Tully died holding the line against invader to his own home of Riverrun rather than abandon it.

This season does away with all of that. Jaime sacrifices Casterly Rock to Tyrion, and both of them agree on it being a strategically beneficial move, for the sole reason of the gold mines having run dry. The importance of the fort was not the gold alone, but its symbolic power. By abandoning it, Jaime should have lost favor, as he would have shown its unimportance (and by extension his poverty) to the world, but none of that happens at all.

The increasing importance of the Iron Bank of Braavos can be excused as Cersei dealing with things very differently from her predecessors, but the overt decision to abandon all pretense of wealth doesn’t make any sense from a medieval perspective that the show is ostensibly supposed to use.

 Romanticizing Incest

Earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, while treating some incestuous couplings as loving, did not shy away from the idea that they were disturbed and often resulted in problems, the most commonly cited example being House Targaryen, with Cersei Lannister’s relationship with her twin brother being more up front in how it was shown.

In this season, however, the budding romance between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, unknowingly nephew and aunt, is treated as a true loving pair. The fact that they seem to have absolutely no chemistry aside, their relationship is disgusting to some in a way only outstripped by Lysa Arryn’s… mothering of her son Robin in earlier seasons. Is this relationship supposed to suddenly be okay because it is between two protagonists? Is incestuous romance only looked down upon when it is performed by villains? These seem to be indications by the showrunners.

  Character Developments

 Euron Greyjoy

While the newest King of the Iron Islands is a fun character in his own way, mostly in how he seems to be a more fallible version of what Ramsay Bolton had been before, he has an enormous amount of logistical problems.

First and foremost, his fleet of a thousand ships. Not only did he manage to have them made on a collection of islands that has almost no trees, but he managed to make them all in the span of…what, a week? A month? Not only that, but the ships are purported to be better than the original ones, again without any supplies whatsoever. Raiding can only justify so much.

On the other hand, we have his sneak attack on the Unsullied at Casterly Rock. The fact that his massive fleet that could be completely missed until the first shot is fired stretched credibility far beyond the breaking point. While their assault on the Targaryen-allied fleet commanded by Yara Greyjoy is possible, even well done, this one smacks of incredible stealth skills that do not at all mesh with the borderline psychopath Euron. Not only are his ships still black-sailed, but they are able to sneak up on the Unsullied fleet in broad daylight, rather than using the cover of a storm for a sneak raid.

The only possible excuse for this Euron ex Machina would be the Unsullied being one of the worst armies in the entirety of the world (which, given their incompetence in almost every single encounter they are a part of aside from the one in which they were initially freed, I can’t really deny), but even that discounts the idea of leaving even a single scout.

  Jaime Lannister

Jaime Lannister, infamous as “the Kingslayer,” is portrayed in an extremely bizarre way in this season. After the death glare he gave to his sister in the previous season finale for doing the exact same thing that he had become an oathbreaker to avoid, he spends the entire season, barring the finale, working with her. The only real attention given to the thing that should, by right, have him defecting, otherwise quitting, or outright killing Cersei to save the kingdom is for him to imply he might be afraid of her, after saying he does not hate her (despite his expression in the previous season showing that’s blatantly untrue).

Every single thing about Cersei’s treatment of Jaime makes him seem deliberately weak. She implicitly threatens his life with her “never betray me again.” She ignores his quite reasonable comments about the danger they are in and how the Lannister dynasty would only last a single generation. For all of his talk of being in love, he seems more like a kicked puppy than an actual threat, let alone someone with any real agency.

Yes, he managed to break free in the season finale, but it seems to little too late, and should have happened in the start of the season, even if it meant being rid of him for the majority of the season. In the very least, he should have died in Blackwater Rush to avoid this stupidity from continuing (as mentioned above under plot armor).

  Brandon Stark

When it comes to Bran Stark, it’s easy to say that the actor is playing a completely different character from the previous seasons, and not one that is really all that interesting. Rather than being afraid or uncertain about… anything, he seems to have had all of his actual personality removed.

Of course, that seems to have been the point in the story, but the presentation is extremely poorly handled. While Bran could reasonably have had this personality if he had shown it before, he seemed exactly the same as always when he absorbed all of the memories of the three-eyed raven. As such, Meera Reed’s “revelation” that he “died in that cave” rings hollow, and her surprise at his lack of emotion is understandable, but for all of the wrong reasons. All that needed to be shown was him having this personality after he escaped from the cave in Season 6, when he met up with Benjen Stark. However, this apparently had not been used, and from the sounds of things, was not even considered at the time.

His new identity as “the three-eyed raven” (a designation that makes absolutely no sense for him given his lack of any actual connection to that identity beyond having similar memories and powers) is one of the most stereotypical fictional children: the creepy child with supernatural powers. There isn’t anything really interesting about this archetype, only how it is used, and the showrunners seem to be unable to find any real use for him beyond “be creepy and stay in the corner” until the season finale. Even the chance to delve into the history of the previous three-eyed raven, to learn of his work with the Night’s Watch and his relation to the Targaryen family as Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers, is not even given lip service, which would not be so grating if the show didn’t take its time to repeatedly show how nobody has any idea what the three-eyed raven even is.

  Daenerys Targaryen

If there is one character I am irritated by above all others, it is Daenerys Targaryen. She is the epitome of the creator’s pet to me, someone for whom the narrative bends over backwards to justify every action, and whom fans actually agree with. Actions such as roasting the Tarly heads of house alive are seen as justified because she “gave them a choice” and going back on her word would cause the threats to lose their menace, ignoring the fact that she is the one who came up with the choices in the first place, making her responsible one way or another. It’s hard to take someone seriously as a heroine when their entire character revolves around their own self-importance, such as her “courting” with Jon Snow.

Every single action since the end of Season 2 has resulted in victory, even if she is momentarily captured. When someone is rarely in even the slightest bit of danger, why bother to think they have a bad time anymore? It’s the world of Game of Thrones, after all, and if you don’t have a serious amount of bad luck, you’re probably either disconnected from the plot altogether or you’re one of the villains, and even the latter isn’t a guarantee. Her loss of Highgarden, Dorne, and the Unsullied are glossed over quickly in Season 7 by her aforementioned attack on the loot train going through Blackwater Rush, where her Dothraki horsemen easily slaughter the Lannister and Tarly pikes (which are specifically engineered to hold back a cavalry charge), making any additional army seem superfluous (after all, she doesn’t even seem to need to wear armor to a battle, unlike literally everybody else). The assault is also praised for being “awesome,” but it involves the destruction of food stores rather than bringing them back to the people from whom they were stolen, given Jaime had already discussed the fact that all of the gold had been sent to King’s Landing.

Case in point is the reaction to the end of the aforementioned Great Wight Hunt. Her loss of Viserion (who is barely a character, more a prop alongside Rhaegal next to actual important dragon Drogon), the first real important loss since Season 2, actually gained her the loyalty of Jon Snow, a man who explicitly would not bend the knee to her for sake of Northern autonomy and his place as their king. Contrast the doings of Robb Stark, where his biggest mistakes led to the defection of segments of his army and ultimately led to the vast majority of them dying in the Red Wedding. While he lost everything, including his standing in the North, Daenerys gains even more forces, loses a dragon that hadn’t even done anything important in the series, and as shown by the very next episode, didn’t even permanently lose the Unsullied, who are easily brought back without fuss.

The worst seems to be the fact that enormous amounts of dialogue are about her beauty, benevolence, and overall perfection, including how she is totally not like her father even when she does the exact same things he would have done. It’s not as if I am asking for the showrunners to say she is the worst person ever. But admitting she is flawed in the show and showcasing her as just as much “not always right” as everyone else would be a nice change of pace, especially when it comes to such things as getting Jon Snow, who couldn’t possibly care any less about allegiance to foreign queens over his work with the North and staving off the end times, to bend the knee to her.

At a certain point, it becomes entirely plausible that the characters in the story will, one and all, bow down and accept Daenerys Stormborn as their goddess forevermore, such is her perfection in the story’s eyes.

  Night King

On the surface, the idea of the Night King (apparently created by the showrunners, and distinct from the Night’s King of myth) is disturbing. On paper, he is a silent villain who has lived for eons, capable of raising an army easily and a harbinger of an apocalypse. However… what has he actually done? His accomplishments to date have been killing a defenseless old man, standing in place, walking a little bit, riding a horse slowly, raising White Walkers and many wights, possibly bringing a winter storm, and throwing a javelin. He hasn’t even gotten into a single fight, and on the whole, he’s become more of a plot device than an actual character.

His performance in the penultimate episode of Season 7 showcases some of the veritable James Bond villain qualities that this entity has. He has the heroes at his mercy for what seems to be hours, stuck on an island in the middle of a frozen lake. However, as he showed earlier in the season and was explicitly stated by Jon in the same season, he does not merely come with the storm, but rather he brings the storm. If he could summon up a winter blizzard to cool down the water to the point of it becoming ice again, he could have done so, thereby killing all of his enemies with his own forces before they could be rescued.

The use of his ice javelin just makes things worse. First, he could have used it earlier to, if he could not freeze the lake again, at least throw and kill Jon and perhaps some others, who could be seriously injured by such a strike, especially in the midst of battle with wights or exhausted from the cold. Second, his choice of dragon to kill was rather nonsensical, both from the perspective of the character and from the perspective of the plotting. Drogon is the only important dragon in the entire show, let’s be totally clear on that. Everything important that ever happens with a dragon is far more likely to be his doing than that of the other two dragons, to the point that many viewers forget their names and cannot tell them apart easily. He is the one who is most battle ready, and the one who is burning the wights alive in the center of the battlefield, not to mention the only one of the dragons who seems capable of easily carrying all of the remaining heroes and the captive wight. However, the Night King decides, for some reason, to throw the javelin of ice across the entire battlefield to kill Viserion, who, along with Rhaegal, has had almost no importance to the story. If anything, Viserion has more personality as a member of the undead than as one of the living, and losing him feels more like a boon than a detriment. If the showrunners wanted to make an actual impact on the plot in terms of a loss of forces, they could have had Drogon be the one who is killed instead, especially since he is the biggest, and thus the most threatening.

  Rhaegar Targaryen

Rhaegar Targaryen’s annulment of his marriage to Elia Martell is treated in a very bizarre manner. Rather than following the idea of love ruining the realm to its logical conclusion, the showrunners seem intent on the idea that Rhaegar is the one in the right, having his marriage to Lyanna Stark be portrayed as a beautiful ceremony instead of the fact that it ruined any possible standing with House Martell and rendered Elia Martell’s death even more tragic and pointless. The fact that Rhaegar and Lyanna named their son Aegon accentuates the dissonance between the loving atmosphere and the irritating effects, as he took the time to give the name of his son with Elia to his son with Lyanna as well. Did he have no other choices in mind? Did he just not care? Did he forget he had a son beforehand?

Further, this beneficial treatment of Rhaegar also gives Robert Baratheon the appearance of someone who is entirely in the wrong. While he was wrong in his reasons, believing Lyanna to have been kidnapped and raped, he still saved Westeros from a psychotic king, with Aerys II being essentially Westeros’ version of Roman Emperor Caligula.

  Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish

While the excuse could be made that Littlefinger is love drunk while in his plot at Winterfell, this falls apart instantly when one goes through the means he utilizes. He seems to view the North and the Vale, both places with high degrees of honor with some very rare exceptions, as identical to King’s Landing, trying to use his mind games when the people he is manipulating are not mere unknowing pawns, but people who outright despise him. The idea that he would seriously believe that Sansa would fall for Arya, who he can plainly see is more interested in combat than politics, being interested in usurping her position as the Lady of Winterfell is extremely stupid, and even moreso when one considers the fact that he outright stated his intention to claim the Iron Throne with Sansa at his side to her face.

  Mechanical Changes

One thing that grates heavily on those who like a consistent story is a change in the laws of the world to fit a story, rather than changing the story to fit the laws of the story. If there are no set laws, anything can happen, and nothing matters as a result. It all becomes nothing but meaningless spectacle. Season 7 is extremely bad at keeping anything set, to the point of only the most basic rules staying in place, those that could apply to any fiction ever that involves fire or zombies, and as a result are completely unoriginal. The changes in magic are split across several areas: greyscale, White Walker magic, and Red Temple magic.

  Greyscale: From Leprosy to Acne

In earlier seasons, the progression of greyscale was seen to be akin to a supernatural form of leprosy. It would turn the victim’s body to stone over time, or close enough to it, changing them from the inside out. Jorah Mormont’s condition was so horrific because it was likely impossible to resolve easily. Shireen Baratheon’s survival was considered a miracle, needing the help of healers from both sides of the Narrow Sea, and left a permanent scar on the left side of her face. On seeing the fact of how far Jorah’s condition had gone in Season 7, Archmaester Ebrose claimed that there was nothing that could be done for him.

However, Season 7 also shows that “advanced” grayscale is nothing more than magical acne. The treatment of the disease, which leaves not even a single scar, consists of peeling off the infected flesh (which seems to be just a more painful version of peeling off burned skin) and applying a special ointment to the place where the flesh had been. In fact, the flesh itself does not even seem to be infected, but covered by a kind of coating of grayscale that is held on with pus. How exactly was this supposed to be dangerous, again?

  White Walkers and Wights

Outside of the Night King’s ability or lack thereof to call up winter storms, the White Walkers’ magic and their wights’ capabilities changed significantly in this season with no justifiable explanation.

First, we have the wights’ sudden weakness to dragonglass. In past seasons, they have only been weak to two things: fire and being torn to shreds to the point of being unable to even move their disparate parts. What distinguished them from the White Walkers was the fact that the latter had both different abilities and different vulnerabilities, and the lack of an easy win factor made the wights that much harder to fight off. The reason for gathering dragonglass was not to kill the wights, but to kill the White Walkers, who could only be harmed by dragonglass and Valyrian steel. This distinction changed completely, and with no real reason. What does a skeleton care about being stabbed in the ribs with a glass dagger? It doesn’t have functioning organs, anyway. Fire both made sense (destroying the body) and was consistent, in that you needed to change tactics to fight different foes. With the “revelation” (rewrite) of this weakness, which the show treats as though it were always the case, fire actually seems to be less effective, such as during the altogether pointless and poorly shot fight against the wight polar bear. The flaming swords of Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr (to be discussed below) barely do anything at all to the beast, while a single stab from Jorah’s dragonglass dagger brings it down. In fact, using dragonglass weapons, the undead threat seem to be nothing more than another human army, as they don’t even have much real threat at all and can be killed in a single blow in combat.

Another problem is the use of synchronization between the White Walkers and their wights, which flies in the face of everything we have seen before. If killing a White Walker destroys all of the wights it had raised (a common theme in necromancy or other summon magics), why was there no effect on the force at Hardhome after Jon killed a White Walker? To say that there were no wights at that location raised by that White Walker stretches plausibility to the breaking point, especially when one brings into account the fact that the “Behind the Show” segment for the season’s penultimate episode had both showrunners talk about how they were scrambling to come up with a way for most of the people who went on the Great Wight Hunt to survive. Translation: this wasn’t actually an element of the story before. They made it up on the spot. This fact itself would be a problem, but it also fundamentally changes the nature of the story. If all you need to do is kill the Night King (who, again, doesn’t seem to even exist in the source material), then the story turns from one of war and survival to one of assassination. Just send Arya up there if that’s the case. She seems capable of assassinating anyone she feels like on a moment’s notice if you let her go off screen. There, plot solved, we can go home.

  Red Temple

The primary rituals of the Red Temple, shown through Thoros of Myr in this season, have had distinct, deliberate differences from earlier seasons, ones that make Thoros himself useless, and his eventual death have no real meaning. 

First comes the ability to see visions in the flames. Thoros does not appear to treat the fireplace in which he has Sandor look, but the latter is able to see their destination and the movements of the White Walkers easily, saying things that even Thoros doesn’t seem to have witnessed. If a red priest can’t see something in the flames that a pyrophobe can, what use is being a red priest at all?

Second, and most importantly, comes the use of the flaming sword magic by both Thoros and his companion, Beric Dondarrion. In its prior usage in Season 3, this magic appeared to need the expertise and faith of a red priest, in addition to Beric’s blood. However, its usage in the Great Wight Hunt has the wielders able to light their swords individually with their gloves on, without having direct contact between the blood and the blade. Furthermore, Beric is able to use the spell even after Thoros dies, showing that the latter is not important anyway.

While Thoros is needed to bring Beric back from the dead, the latter is going into the final season of the show having accomplished very little, if anything. Would Beric’s death even be much of a loss?

In summary, this entire season seems to have been a waste of time, and likely the worst one thus far. There were some bright spots, but Sunday nights are dark and full of terrors, the worst of which being poorly plotted, poorly described, poorly shot, poorly written stories told from the seat of one’s pants for the sake of being the next thing to be trending on the internet.

#game of thrones #game of thrones s7 #game of thrones season 7 #spoilers #weiss and benioff #david benioff #weiss #d.b. weiss #benioff and weiss #daenerys targaryen #jon snow #rhaegar targaryen #lyanna stark #bran stark #night king #thoros of myr #tormund giantsbane #red temple #white walkers #wights #lannister #stark #tywin lannister #highgarden #dorne #martell #drogon #dragons #undead #magic

[voltmagazineuganda-blog]

Brian Ahumuza: Passion drives top fashion stylist Brian Ahumuza is a known name in Uganda’s men’s fashion world. In just seven years; starting in 2010, he has styled and groomed celebrities, modeled apparels, a launched an array of high end fashion shops. And he is just 27 years old and was not born anywhere near the world in which he orbits today. As a young boy growing up in the western Uganda district of Masindi, Brian Ahumuza was passionate about dressing well and appearing smart; a tendency partly pushed by his mother. “My mother was a tailor, an event organiser for weddings, and interior designer. She also made very nice table cloths and was known for that in Masindi town,” says Ahumuza. What is more, his mother was always busy and away. However, she always returned a shirt, short or any clothing for Ahumuza. He was more of a mummy’s boy because his father popped in once in a while to visit as the two were never married. While she was away, Ahumuza always spent most of the early years with a maternal auntie. Even when his mother passed on when he was only eight years, Ahumuza recalls that he had clothes to last him a long time. Her death meant Ahumuza had to cross over to Kampala to live with his father and step-mother. He recalls his auntie advising him “to prepare for the worst”. “Behave well and never expect any soft treatment,” he recalls her words. But life appears not to have been as tough as was feared and today Ahumuza is grateful to his step-mother for having accepted him into her home. In Masindi, Ahumuza had been studying at Asaba Primary School. Even as he coped with urban life, he was thrust into at Bugema Adventist Secondary School. As a “village boy” in the city, he did not expect be ranked among the best dressed boys both at home and at school, yet that is exactly what happened. Even when he joined Crane High School and later Lakeside College Luzira, he was noted for the same glamour and fashion and was openly admired by fellow students and some teachers. All this time, however, it did not cross his mind that his passion could one day turn into a career for him. Ahumuza’s changed during his long vacation after senior six. He landed a cleaning job with a communications corporate company which employed many stylish people. Still Ahumuza stood out. He defied the cleaners dress code overall and rocked sharp numbers instead. Soon, other workmates were cornering him to inquire where he sourced his clothes and many were taken by surprise when he revealed that he bought them second-hand from Owino (the famous St. Balikuddembe Market in downtown Kampala. Some of those cornering him included his bosses and other well-paid workmates who soon were sending him to buy them items like shirts and trousers because he had shown taste and had contact with the traders. When he joined Kyambogo University in Kampala to study a degree in Social Work and Social Administration, he carried on his trade and added fellow students to the list. He also kept his job and studied as an evening student. After a year, he was promoted to Transport and Logistics manager with higher pay. He invested more in his business and in 2010 sub-rented a shop. His label; Abryanz Collections, had been born! It dealt in second-hand men’s clothing. He promoted it with parties in the then-popular Club Silk discotheque to showcase what was available in store. Male musicians and other celebrities joined his clientele. He also rode on the power of social media for marketing. Business boomed and in the third year Ahumuza felt he was ready to hit the high street. He daringly opened a shop at the upscale Garden City Mall in Kampala. “I wanted to stand out from other designers and that is how I came up with an exceptional campaign on men’s fashion,” he says. “Legacy was and is still my aim,” he says. A deeply affectionate man, he has a tattoo in the name of ‘HellenNight’ in memory of his mother and auntie. Brian Ahumuza’s Liteside Any three things we don’t know about you? I am not a person who wants to be out there in the limelight because it paints you in a different image. I live an ordinary life so I don’t keep up appearances. What is your idea of perfect happiness? I am happy when I am making money and witnessing my business growing because it is my life. What is your greatest fear? Dying young without accomplishing my dreams. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I am a loner and yet I sometimes break down with emotions but I have failed to overcome it. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Being lazy yet wanting to live a fancy life; there is a tendency by mostly young people who don’t want to work and yet they want to spend a lot. Such people have so much time on them that they misuse it to insult people. Which living person do you most admire? David Larry the South African fashion designer is one person I admired and yearned to meet. I am lucky to have met him, made, and kept friends to date. What is your greatest extravagance? The internet is something I have come to consider a basic need. It is something I use to communicate with most of my clients. What is the greatest thing you have ever done? Daring stage the Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards at Kampala Serena Hotel in 2015. What is your current state of mind? I am stable. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Social media is an evil to some people who spend too much time on every post as sadists and yet they are not working. One wonders where such people get the money to spend online without a job. What does being powerful mean to you? Power comes with command, influence and authority. On what occasion do you lie? I tell lies everyday as a business person. It is something I cannot avoid especially with business language. What do you most dislike about your appearance? Sometimes I gain weight and have fat cheeks. It’s strange to know that this happens when I am stressed. I also have lame toes and at some point, someone managed to picture them and used it to pin me as a sign of illuminati yet I was born that way. Which living person do you most despise? To despise is just a waste of time. What is the quality you most like in a man? Kindness and respectful. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Hardworking and self reliant. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I often use ‘This is a new year’ to push me to work harder. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My business is my everything and I believe it can get me wherever I want. I live for it. When and where were you happiest? My life for the last seven years has been all about my business. In 2013, I might have put up a smaller show but it was unexpected although 2015 was my break through. Every single year is better for me Which talent would you most like to have? I am a good singer but since I established myself as a fashion personality, I chose to let it go. It’s a talent that I accepted to die even when I have the voice. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? At least nothing for now. What do you consider your greatest achievement? I value the respect and friends I have made throughout my fashion work journey. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? As a human being doing the same things but in a perfect way. Where would you most like to live? Where else apart from Uganda where I was born, raised and work for which most people have known me? What is your most treasured possession? My business is the genesis of everything I have today. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Life is the most important and precious thing. As long as one is alive, they can always maneuver through life’s challenges. What is your favorite occupation? Fashion and designing won so many job battles. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Michael Jackson broke many records as a black person; he is still listed as one of the greatest people to ever grace the music scene. Who are your heroes in real life? Auntie Night is my hero who fought for me until she handed me over to my father. What is your greatest regret? I am sometimes so kind to people yet it may not pay off in the same line. How would you like to die? I don’t mind how I die although I want it to happen in old age. What is your motto? ‘Compete with your own self’ and ‘If I was here yesterday, I can be there tomorrow’.