#i cannot stop thinking about george in this book

[daisyndahlia]

Kipps was all for leaving, like you ordered. But I couldn’t do it. I wanted to go after you, and Holly backed me up.// But you can’t blame us for coming back, can you? // “What happened,” Kipps said from the grass, “was that George went mad.”// And I thought you’d died there. So my numbness went away and I just felt…angry.// “Well, we thought you were dead, didn’t we?” George said. “We were upset.”

#it's been months #i cannot stop thinking about george in this book #JESUS #george cubbins #george karim #ali you would have killed your rotwell scenes #lockwood and co #lockwood & co #the creeping shadow

[lowlypotatofarmer]

going feral over the found family of lockwood and co. please do not touch me for 7-10 business days i need to process my feelings.

#lockwood and co #shut up. everyone stop talking. #they would be the BEST ot3 but like. make it queerplatonic. #(or just a regular ot3 idek i’m not thinking about the romance part) #like lockwoodxlucy bc you have to. but then also george. #not as a third wheel but as a best friend who they both love SO MUCH that they don’t want to exclude him from anything #even their relationship. #just. the three of them cuddlepiling on the couch and reading #and just being comforted by the presence of the others and being able to reassure themselves that they’re within reach #i’m feeling sick rn #the books are en route from the library and i cannot WAIT #sorry i have such bad brain rot i can’t not talk about them or think about them i have so many things in my head

[moonschocolate]

Headcanons about my current hyperfixation: THEOO!!☆

I keep stalking the 'theodore nott headcanons' tag so I might as well write my own headcanons about him

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

this man has social anxiety. prove me wrong.

when he was younger he found comfort in reading fiction books, like pjo

he 100% had an obsession with greek mythology, or mythology in general, and it's still kinda there but not like before

then growing up he got into classics

like one day he was like 'what if I read a Dostoevskij book' and that's where it all started

he prefers reading this kind of books because they teach you more

tallest boy you've ever seen, somewhat taller (only by few centimeteres) than Fred and George

he plays the cello, like kind of, he knows how to play a piece only studying it, i believe this man was never able to play a piece at first sight

surprisingly (to him) he really has a lot of things in common with Luna, when he found out he wanted to spend more time with her

he's really silent, but GOD does he ever stop thinking?? his head is loud af

enjoys being with his friends, they're used to him not shouting in their ears (unlike some other boy *cough cough* Mattheo *cough cough ... cough*)and he enjoys their company and they do too

not the type of boy to run to Spotify or whatever music app whenever he can, but he enjoys some kind of music (mostly smooth piano jazz, dramatic classical music since it's my fav, and he thinks TV girl, Lamp, Ichiko Aoba are cool)

never replies quickly, he's always late replying cuz thinks being on his phone is a complete waste of time, but it's not like he's NEVER on it

chill with Halloween but feral over Christmas (does not show it)

legos. I've said all.

YOU CANNOT TELL ME THIS MAN DOESNT HAVE HIS ROOM FULL OF STAR WARS SETS

despite enjoying english and all that kind of subjects, he is feral, and when I say feral I mean feral over maths. He loves learing new concepts because then it all makes sense and it's just so cool (explained from a person who is also feral over maths, pls tell me you get what i mean)

hyperfixations? oh so many

again, greek mythology

you could tell this man "Hey do you know about the myth of Apolloand Daphne" his eyes would light up and he would tell you the myth, his opinion, and related myths ("there's also this other myht with Apollo where he-")

A S T R O L O G Y

still greek mythology related but

he could stay hours talking about constellations

"hey do you know the myth behind the gemini constellation? No? Can I tell you about it?! Okay so-"

paper stars.

if there's a paper stripe around he'd grab it and make a paper star out of it

looks like the typa guy who'd take a lot of pictures with a canon/sony camera

when he feels anxious he'd do this thing where (get ready for the worst explanation ever) he'd put one of his nails of the right hand in between the skin and the nail of his thumb on his left hand and make the nail go left and right, still in between the skin and the nail (I ALWAYS DO THAT I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE I TRIED TO BE AS SPECIFIC AS I COULD)

He tried to go to a party since Blaise, Draco, Enzo, Theo, Pansy (basically everyone you get it)... begged him to come along

we could sum up his experience in one word

NIGHTMARE

The music was too loud, the people were to close to him, everyone was shouting, there were alcohol and drugs (he still wonders how they got literal drugs into the castle), everyone tried to dance with him and talk to him, that time he got overwhelmed tried to leave, but they were all like 'heyyyy nooo dont leaveeeee stay hereeeeee' but his friends understood it wasn't for him and Blaise went with him to his dorm, waited until he felt better then went back to the party

has never been to a party since then

smart af

like he easily surpasses draco and mione

also theo and mione are really close friends, one time they found eachother in the library reading the same book and chatting they found out they have several things in common

has a collection of stylographs, that stays in his library neatly ordinated

best sense of style (he obv got it from Blaise but he made it better)

he loves movies, he's watched movies like Dead Poets Society, Dorian Gray, but also movies about historical facts like The Darkest Hour, The King's Speech, Hidden Figures, The Pianist (I'm a sucker for this kind of movies honestly)

!! HE HAS DIMPLES !!

He loves professor Lupin, he thinks of him as Keating is dps

secretly listens to Micheal Bublè in Christmas, he loves his Christmas songs

he only buys old books, never new ones, he thinks that already used books, from decades ago, he thinks they hold stories, and it's even better when the books have annotations, maybe he'll erase them, but it's good to hear other's opinions

has a lot of vynils

used to study for his dad, now this became a habit, that's why he's the best in class

his relationship with his mom is not strong, MORE

When his mom died he was 5 so he didn't understand

when he finally knew the truth he cried for weeks, then he would occasionally go out to look at the stars, which he always admired with his mom, and cried thinking about her, thinking that she was watching him from up there

when he was like 10 he didn't cry no more, only if he ever opened up

he shared anything with her

he NEVER let ANYONE call him Teddy, he always though that is what his mom called him, and he didn't want other people to 'interfere' with that, he feels like it's their thing

despises horror movies. gets scared to death watching them, and doesnt find the lore interesting

never walks around with only socks on, has the fear of walking on water accidentally and getting his feet wet and the feeling disgustes him

also, has the whole collection of pjo books (every book. from percy jackson and the olympians to the chalice of the gods)

loves cats so much, he has two cats, but he wishes he had more

he has male brown cat named Monet and a grey cat with some beige spots and green eyes (it's mt bsf's cat, I love her - the cat - and I thought she could be a honourable mention) named Vivienne

defo has an obsession with sharks, but is even more obsessed with jellyfish, he knows a lot of scientific names for their species, for exmample Phylloriza Punctata, or Chrisaora Quinquecirrha, or Aurelia Aurelita, he's obsessed

Fav subject isn't potions, it's astronomy instead

since i live for loser!Theo, im in love with the idea of him stuttering in front of a guy/girl he finds cute or attractive, blushing and being awkward

my man absolutely doesn't know how to talk, he speaks too fast, and when ppl tell him to slow down, then he thinks he's talking too slow

if anyone fatshames any of his friends, or is racist/homophobic towards them, or just insults them, he will try to avoid throwing punches, but lets say he'll exchange a word or two with that person

if he's itchy, he scratches so hard there could be blood (a bit exaggerated but you get it)

could've been a Ravenclaw, but if he did his father would be really mad at him, so he's happy he isn't

another headcanon that I kindly stole rn from @heirofs1ytherin is that he's into poetry. LIKE 100% ✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩ You probably got that I love him HES MY BABY

#loser!theo #theodore nott #theo nott #harry potter fandom #harry potter #harry potter headcanons #theodore nott headcanons #theo nott headcanons #hp #lightning era #hermione granger #mione #blaise #blaise zabini #draco malfoy #mattheo riddle #pansy parkinson #theodore faustus nott #slytherin #slytherin boys #slytherin gang #autistic!theo nott #imagine #thats probably enough tags #i just want ppl to read this #:D

[kitkat-the-muffin]

For fun I reread Cinderella Boy and kept track of everything in the following categories:

What the boys know about Buddy and vice versa:

Buddy:

Knows Chase is 18

Knows Chase takes dance lessons (or more accurately that he’s on a dance team). Amendment: knows Chase took 4 years of dance lessons

Knows that Chase knows basically nothing about the keys and their actual power

Knows Chase has a gluten allergy

Knows Chase is sensitive to gore and violence

Knows Chase is a fan of musicians

Knows Chase loves to sing

POSSIBLY knows Chase’s full name and trademark (if he was actively listening)

Knows Chase is on good terms with Silver

Thinks Chase stole the Heroine and Helper keys

Knows Deacon chose the cat story (this will affect his perception of him)

Knows Chase dislikes boats because he is scared of the water (and that Chase is prone to seasickness)

Knows Deacon likes making plans

Is under the impression that Deacon and Chase met on the bus

POSSIBLY knows about Chase’s grandpa (depends on his eavesdropping abilities during their first meeting)

Knows that Chase found his key with the missing page from the book that supposedly belongs to the “old man” (this further supports the misconception he has that Chase stole them)

Chase:

Is aware Buddy has allies

Knows Buddy is NOT sensitive to gore and violence

Knows Buddy hates singing but likes dancing

Believes Buddy is on bad terms with Violet

Believes Buddy doesn’t know his full name

Knows Buddy is a Drama Queen

Knows Buddy hates getting wet

Knows Buddy is searching for the keys and expected someone else to have Silver

Deacon:

Is aware of Buddy and Ex Libris and pays more attention to that info than Chase does

Believes Buddy does know Chase’s full name

Thinks Buddy is very intense

Knows Buddy is a tsundere lol (or at least I think he’s capable of picking up the hints of the trope)

Knows Buddy is a Drama Queen

Knows Buddy hates him in particular

Knows Buddy hates getting wet

Suspects that Buddy is working for someone else

Additional notes:

Chase used to have a copy of the book he found Silver’s key in as a kid

Buddy says he needs to get the Heroine key back “before the old man finds out something’s missing”

The keys cannot be removed from their user’s person within the story

Chase has a friend named Simon who flakes out on dance practice

Buddy says that there are people more deserving of the keys, implying he has people in mind. He also says “our keys” implying he has allies

Gaining Narratonin takes mental fortitude

It is acknowledged that Buddy uses some kind of unknown method to end up in the same books Chase does

Buddy loves bugs and insects

Boris the horse hates Deacon

In Cinderfella (I), Buddy agrees to stop trying to bully Chase out of the books if he can complete all of the original Cinderella novel

Buddy drew a smiley face at the bottom of the chore list. I just think that’s neat

Buddy is willing to give Chase hints to progress the story

When Buddy tells Chase to water the grave of Cinderella’s mother, the task makes him feel uncomfortable and he asks to opt out of it (which he can’t). He says it hits too close to him :(

Story-relevant clothing disappears once a key-holder is wearing it

Fairytale food has no effect on the digestive system

Chase feeding and naming the birds. I just love that. One of them is named Jake

Silver’s full name is Little Silver

Silver says that entering someone else’s book without having the book on hand is impossible, meaning Buddy is breaking some kind of rule (unless he is a part of Ex Libris and is using an unknown spell)

Narratonin is the pure form of humanity’s enjoyment of stories

There are 12 keys in total

Silver and Violet are sisters. Amendment: Bronze is their brother

Narratonin can heal small wounds

Chase’s mom is named Myra and his dad was named George. George is dead and Myra has cancer

The keys don’t have parents so they likely all consider themselves siblings

Buddy hates Chase’s singing voice

Buddy knows a lot about the keys and claims that it’s helpful to be on speaking terms with them, which contradicts Ex Libris’s ideals

Keys are capable of tasting and digesting food (it is unknown if they produce waste)

The key Chase failed to buy was gold-colored, likely named Gold 🤔

Chase can’t count

Silver loves cheese

Deacon loves horses but horses hate him. Amendment: the same goes for unicorns

Chase loves sparkly things

Buddy is somehow capable of knowing the entire plot of the book he’s in, including obscure stories like the cat one

Buddy was only aware that the Heroine key was missing (likely only after running into Chase for the first time, however) and is surprised to later find out other keys were gone too

Real-world items can be taken into the books, like cellphones and jackets

Buddy knows a fair amount about cats

At the end of Toffee Break, Buddy says that Chase “will be useful after all” after acknowledging his ability to derail the stories. His plans remain a mystery 🤔 since we already know he prefers to follow a story to the letter, what use could he have of Chase who does the opposite?

Punko implied the existence of a Mary Sue key

Chase’s full name is Charlie Everett Hollow. Deacon’s full name is Deacon Everett Hollow. They share a middle name

Chase is 18, Deacon is 20, and Buddy "looks 20-ish"

According to Punko, Buddy would do ANYTHING for a chocolate bar

If Chase’s wedding vows include the phrase “timely jewelry retrieval” we are all legally allowed to make fun of him

Chase's dream husband is a "super crazy hot vampire guy" from the Mistenwood Movie franchise named Caspian Wolfsblood

“After all that… and it’s just a small… weak little thing like you.” This implies many things. After all what? What do you mean by “thing”? We need answers, Buddy! He ends their first ever conversation with “it’s your funeral” which is VERY concerning, as if using the keys incorrectly may kill Chase???? So many questions!

Boris the horse has been in the house before

Boris ate one of Deacon’s shirts

When Deacon and Chase were kids, they’d play in the attic area above Chase's room and Chase’s dad would warn them not too fall off the ladder

Chase has an Alistair shrine under his bed

Bronze is 100% content with living in an oven mitt

Chase openly hates Deacon’s mom

Chase loves coconuts

Chase tried to take photos of Buddy with both digital and film cameras but they turned up blank. He took a lot of test shots though. A lot

Chase lies when he says he tried to take the photos for Silver, because they realized Buddy was too young for her to recognize him the same day he met her

It can be assumed that book objects can be taken into the real world thanks to Bronze’s request for a seashell from the Beach Boys arc, but as the arc is currently unfinished we do not know if this is truly possible

Ex Libris lore:

They created the keys

They kept the keys in a library and rarely let them interact in their person forms

Silver last remembers being in the “Ex Libris building” which is the society’s headquarters

The Order of Ex Libris had many spells and secrets

Narratonin was discovered before the keys were created, and they were created to collect this substance

The keys were used constantly by lower members of the order and then given to senior members to make wishes

The keys were kept on key rings to keep them asleep, and the keys themselves were stored in a very safe and secure location (presumably a box)

As a StarGoth Enthusiast I will also log every time Chase and Buddy blush in response to each other:

Cinderfella (I)

Toffee Break (II)

Toffee Break (V)

Toffee Break (V)

#cinderella boy #cinderella boy analysis #cinderella boy webtoon #webtoon #webtoon originals #webtoon cinderella boy #chase hollow like and follow #chase hollow #deacon hollow #cinderella boy buddy #stargoth

[abiiors]

under the mistletoe 🎄// ross macdonald x reader (pt 2 of 2)

twelve days of christmas - day 3

a/n: best friends to lovers? no. it's idiots to lovers. this is also part 2 of secret santa cw: kissing, alcohol, very tame and cheesy. there might be typos... wc: 3k

a cheer cuts through the chatter in the room and ross finds himself standing under a mistletoe, liv first in his arms, then standing on her toes and then they’re kissing—sweet, long kisses that make him smile despite the butterflies in his stomach. 

butterflies that should have been a result of the kiss. instead, it feels more like a swarm of bees buzzing in his chest from anticipation. 

ross doesn’t expect to be this nervous. more than that, he doesn’t expect to pull away from the kiss before she does. even when liv looks at him with slight concern. 

he certainly doesn’t expect himself to be so hung up on secret santa. he has bought plenty of gifts for people he cares about before! good ones too; sure, he’s no pro at gift giving but he’s not entirely hopeless. but this time he simply cannot afford to mess up. not when it took him two turns to get the name he really wanted. 

everyone looks festive in some shade of red or green on white—and one silver but charli really pulls it off. liv has a beautiful green velvet dress on, her curly hair piled on top of her head and gold hoops dangling from her ears. liv looks stunning!

it’s her that really takes his breath away—the girl who’s been his best friend for over a decade now. the girl who now stares at him with a tight smile on her face, cheering almost on autopilot with the rest of his friends. she’s in a classic red slip dress and matching red lipstick that contrasts her skin so perfectly that ross almost feels guilty for staring at her longer than necessary. he’s right next to his girlfriend for fucks sake. he needs to focus!

the excitement in the room is off the charts! everyone’s buzzing to get to the main event—the secret santa gifts—and he feels a tiny pit of nervousness at the centre of all his enthusiasm. what if she doesn’t like his gift? what if it’s something she already has or something that’s too personal… too intimate. 

liv breaks his little spiral. 

“you alright?” she slides onto his lap with an easy smile and pecks him softly. 

“yeah, just excited about the gifts! i wonder who got my name.” even with her on his thigh ross can’t stop his knee from bouncing up and down. the weird mixture of anticipation and butterflies is something he’s rarely felt before—not since… well not since her last birthday when he’d gotten her two tickets to the play she’d been dying to go to. 

(if he’s being honest it was not since she’d asked him if he’d like to go with her.)

“me too!” liv beams and it’s as if that’s matty’s cue to announce that they can all finally, finally move to the living room.

the living room is adorned with twinkling lights and tinsel, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere. a decently sized pile of gifts sits under the pretty tree—the current object of everyone’s interest. his nervousness aside, ross feels as giddy as the others do, still like a child on christmas morning about to get the long anticipated pokemon card collection. 

matty gets to the pile and starts calling out names one after the other. 

ross is barely even listening—his mind races with a million different possibilities. what if it’s a shit gift? what if she doesn’t like it or has something similar or doesn’t get the significance of it?

what if she thinks he put no thought into it?

he’s barely even listening when polly coos over the “cutest jumper ever!” or when george cackles over his gag gift or when matty almost goes misty eyed over the vintage book. 

he only snaps out of it when matty calls out her name and envelopes her in a hug. 

“it’s perfect,” he sniffles and ross burns with envy.

not envious of matty. never envious of matty but… a tiny, irrational part of him wishes she were his secret santa instead. that she spent days thinking about him, obsessing over finding the perfect gift just like he had. 

that maybe she spent her nights in bed, wondering a thousand times over if her gift would make him smile (it would, ross thinks. she could get him a £10 bottle of wine and he would still cherish it dearly.)

“ross!” matty calls out and he startles a little. 

matty looks at him with a slightly puzzled expression and wiggles a neatly wrapped gift in front of him. it’s square and thin with a small note attached to it.

he recognises it instantly—a handwriting he’s only recently come to know as liv’s. 

liv. his girlfriend. his secret santa. 

and he’s an awful, awful boyfriend for the feeling of disappointment that rises in him.

his fingers move deftly, tearing apart the wrapping paper until the gift inside becomes visible. the first thing he registers is the word “untitled” printed front and centre in big bold letters. and below it: “divine connection: the last unreleased album”. it dawns on him slowly—the band, their band. the last album from their band. just his and hers. and on autopilot, his gaze snaps up to her.

“ross?”

for the second time that evening liv’s voice cuts through his spiral and he turns around to see her standing at the door to the balcony with a half-drunk champagne flute in her hands. she’s beautiful, he thinks. she’s always been stunning but his heart doesn’t skip a beat when he looks at her. 

“can we talk?” she walks in and stands next to him, shoulders brushing with his. it’s a cold night. it’s silly being outside but he’s in a weird mood. he even kinda prefers it here. 

“yeah of course,” he clears his throat and tries to appear casual. 

“did you like your gift?”

“i did. it was… it was perfect.” at least that much is true. at least that much he can say with 100% certainty. “thank you. really, i mean it.”

“i know you do.”

for a minute she doesn’t say anything but her eyes roam over his face—a scruitinising sort of a look that makes him want to shy away. she’s never been particularly intense but in the few weeks he’s known liv, she’s had a way of guessing his little tells. it takes everything in him to not look away. 

still, he closes his eyes for a minute. 

the scene is still so fresh in his mind—ross opening the gift and looking up. ross staring at her and not liv. ross murmuring “thank you. it’s perfect.” and smiling at her before he even remembered that the gift was supposed to be from liv. 

ross only looks at her, his best friend. and she can’t seem to meet his gaze. 

liv clears her throat and brings him back to the present. she takes another swig of her champagne and offers him the glass. ross studies her lipstick smudge on the rim and accepts the drink gratefully. 

“you’re in love with her, aren’t you?” 

a second sooner and he would have choked on the drink or done a spit-take like a fucking idiot but the question leaves him so speechless that he almost drops the glass. 

“who?”

“don’t play dumb now.” her tone’s a bit sharp but her words aren’t unkind and the thought of being scolded like that makes him blush slightly and straighten up. 

he’s about to speak when she continues. 

“i see how you look at her—how you looked at her when you opened the gift i gave you. you knew it wasn’t from me didn’t you?”

wordlessly, he nods his head. 

“you knew i didn’t think of it. you were right though. i didn’t. i went to her because she’s you best friend.”

“and she told you about the band?”

liv clicks her tongue. “she handed me the record. turns out she had you for secret santa before we picked the names again.”

“oh…”

there’s another beat of loaded silence in which he struggles to maintain eye contact with her and not feel like an utterly shit boyfriend. 

“liv i—”

“i know,” she smiles briefly. “but you can’t string me along, babe. look i like you a lot. i really do and i know… i know you told me you were trying to move on from someone but i assumed that was a past relationship. i didn’t realise you were talking about…your best friend.”

“i’m sorry,” he shakes his head. “i really am. i know that was shitty of me.”

“it was a little.”

none of them speak for a few minutes. ross looks at her champagne again, wishing he’d had a drink with him for this conversation. or maybe not—maybe a clearer head is what he needs. he is getting dumped, after all. 

and yet… there’s no sadness. just a faint sense of disappointment. 

“so this is it i guess?”

in one gulp liv finishes the rest of her champagne and nods. “yeah. this is it. for what it’s worth ross… i have no hard feelings.”

this time when she smiles at him, it’s open and sincere. much to his relief, it’s friendly. liv stands on her toes and presses a kiss to his cheek. it’s chaste and quick—a goodbye, one that he returns by hugging her tightly. 

liv pauses at the threshold just as she’s leaving. 

“why don’t you tell her?”

ross shakes his head in disappointment and feels the familiar ache settle bone deep. the night suddenly seems so much colder than before—no longer the cosy kind that makes you want to snuggle up with a loved one. this feels sharp and biting. 

“can’t,” he shrugs, “i don’t want to ruin years’ worth of friendship.”

he expects liv to understand that. it’s a perfectly normal sentiment—to love someone enough that you’d rather have some of them than none of them. but she just shakes her head at him. 

“wow…” liv sighs, “for a man so smart… you really are fucking dumb.”

and then she leaves him on the balcony, shivering and confused. 

by the time he gets inside, there’s a lull in the party. everyone’s either drunk or loved up or both. well, maybe not everyone. 

ross finds her huddled in front of the fireplace, absently staring at her wrist. at the pearl bracelet he got for her.

a near-perfect match to her beloved pearl necklace from her grandmother.

the fire casts a warm, golden glow on her—on her hair and the curve of her shoulder, the hollow of her throat, and down her chest. he stands transfixed at the threshold, waiting for something to happen. 

maybe matty (passed out on the sofa) will wake up if he moves or polly might need something from him or george and charli might see them and he loves his friends but they have barely any concept of personal space after all these years. maybe he could just do it tomorrow when he’s not half-drunk, half-sober, and fully freaking out. 

“ross?”

too late to hide now. 

“why are you stood there? come on! it’s so cold!” she opens up her blanket cocoon—an invitation for him to join. 

ross, startled by her voice, stumbles into the room. his cheeks flush with embarrassment and he clears his throat, trying to mask the awkwardness that has suddenly enveloped him. 

fuck! she’s pretty. and yes he thinks that every single time he looks at her but it’s moments like these that really hit him like a gut punch. 

liv’s words echo in his mind over and over again. for a man so smart… you really are fucking dumb. was she trying to say what he thinks she was? or is he just delusional and projecting his own feelings onto her. 

her body is soft and warm when ross settles next to her, pulling her into his side and tucking her head under his chin. 

“you were deep in thought.” ross teases a bit, not ready to broach anything serious just yet. what he really wants to ask is about the record—how she’d somehow known his perfect gift before he figured it out himself. 

“just thinking about how good i am at gift giving,” she teases back. “matty was ecstatic.”

she's right but he can’t help but find a different meaning in her words. 

“that you are,” ross murmurs in her hair, resisting the urge to press a little kiss there. it’s too much for him—this intimacy. something like that might just tip him over the edge. 

for a while she doesn’t say anything and ross wonders if she’s fallen asleep. it’s quite late and they’re quite cosy, it won’t be the first time she's fallen asleep on him. maybe, if she is asleep, he might even press that kiss onto her head after all. 

“liv’s not here?” her voice breaks his train of thought. it’s not teasing anymore—she sounds neutral and controlled and… and like she’s trying not to pry. 

“we broke up.”

“what?!”

she almost shrieks and matty stirs slightly but goes back to sleeping again. ross feels guilty for just dumping it on her without any context. 

“i’m so sorry,” she says before he has a chance to speak. “fuck, at a christmas party too! that sucks, love. are you alright?”

“it wasn’t like that. it was…” this is it, he thinks. his one chance to get it right. “i’m perfectly fine. i’m… i’m better than fine. it’s… well she–you… fuck okay!”

he cheeks grow warm. it’s worse now that she’s properly looking at his now, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity; that she’s now an attentive audience to his pathetic flustered words. 

“let me…” he takes a big deep breath and squares his shoulders. “okay. let me get this right. for the next, i don’t know, two minutes, you aren’t allowed to speak, okay? okay. so! liv and i talked.” the skepticism on her face grows and ross tries not to let it deter him. “the gift, the record—”

“was it not good?”

“oi! no speaking, remember? two minutes.” ross scolds lightly and almost laughs at her sheepish face. “as i was saying, the record. it wasn’t her idea, was it? i asked her how she knew and she told me you gave it to her. for me! why didn’t you… why didn’t you give it to me yourself?”

for all her talking a moment ago, now she seems speechless. so much so that she can barely meet his eyes. 

“it was a lovely gift, darling. maybe even one of the best and… i just want to know why, that’s all.”

her cheeks flush a subtle shade of pink, and she fidgets with the edge of the blanket. “i guess i wanted you to have something meaningful without making things awkward. i’d already bought the gift and i didn't want to complicate our friendship with something that felt so… personal, especially with liv being in the picture. and…fuck! if that’s what made you break up, i’m so sorry, i—"

“it didn’t,” he cuts her off firmly. ross can’t help but notice the small details of her face then—the tiny smudges of mascara from no doubt when she sleepily rubbed her eyes, the glitter on her eyelids reflecting the firelight. her big, beautiful eyes and dilated pupils. 

her slightly smudged lipstick…

fuck, it’s the tiny lipstick smudge on the corner of her lips that makes him lose his ability to think straight.

“we broke up because… well there’s someone else,” he speaks in a low volume. subconsciously, she leans forward. 

“someone else?”

the room falls into a heavy silence, broken only by the crackling fire. she waits, her eyes searching his face for any sign that he's joking or playing some elaborate prank. but the sincerity in his expression leaves no room for doubt.

“you’re my best friend,” he says, “and fuck, do i resent that! how am i… darling, how am i meant to pretend you’re just my friend when you’re the fucking focal point of my world?”

her breath catches so audibly that it’s almost a gasp. he waits for her to say something. anything. instead she leans in an presses her lips to his. 

it’s so unsure at first, almost like she freezes and her brain can’t figure out where to go next. the kiss lingers, soft and tentative—both testing the waters of something uncharted. ross's mind races, trying to process the warmth of her lips against his, the subtle taste of her lipstick. 

she pulls away before he’s even had the chance to kiss her back and hides her face in his chest. 

“oh god, that was too soon, wasn’t it! that was–you just broke up and i—”

“love, don't hide your face, don't…” his hands gently cup her flushed face, making her look up at him once again even when she can barely meet his eyes and in that moment he realises he’s never seen someone so beautiful. 

so this time when ross crashes his lips against hers, he makes sure to pull her closer. to hold onto her tightly. his arms are around her, her hands in his hair and oh she fits so perfectly in the crevices of his body. like a perfect puzzle piece. 

by the time they finally pull apart, slightly breathless and grinning uncontrollably, ross hears her giggle. 

“wow, that was my first kiss under a mistletoe…”

“we aren’t—”

“i know, but we’re next to one so it’s almost the same.”

he looks to where she’s pointing, to the little bunch tied above the fireplace. 

“we could do better, darling.”

“yeah?”

“mm-hmm,” he murmurs, stealing another quick kiss from her. “let me take you home.”

and she agrees in a heartbeat.

lemme know what you think <33

taglist: @scooby-doodoo @partoftheairforce @justgoatsbreakinghearts0855 @beachesgetpeaches @you-muppet @mcabister @alexmarie29 @at-her-very-foreign @hfkait @squishysoupy @sierraeslaprincesa @harrie-fic-center @alien-girl-violet @thereisaplaceintheheart @kennedy-brooke @lolidontknowanymore @theoriginalwhatsername @celestcies @sugarkane1001 @ari-turner @thewaywewereinsaigon @daphnesutton @beliefandsayingsomething @ros3chu @nothingrevealedeverythingdenied @zzzhealy @mattymybeloved @fck-off @indiaamars @sofaritsalrightt @k4tie75 @wondersecret @humptyhoran @indierockgirrl @hanbiior @moreyoulove-moreyouknow @rossgirly @if-my-heart-bleeds @little-lovely-darling @abriefnirvana @renitypoem

add yourself to the taglist

#christmas75 #12 days of christmas #the 1975 #ross macdonald #ross macdonald x reader #ross macdonald x you #ross x reader #ross x you #ross macdonald angst #the 1975 angst #minor angst #matty healy #george daniel #adam hann #angst to fluff??? #in all honesty i kinda hate this because writer's block is a bitch but i can complain here because no one is going to see these tags #yeah. genuinely not very happy with this but also not in the position to rewrite it so we move

[randomthingsthatilike1]

honestly I think the wrong parent was sent to pick up Aly in the ending of Trickster's Choice

the entire book we see through Kyprioths visions to Aly that Alanna, above all, cares for Aly, that she really does see Aly for who she is and worries terribly for her lost, hidden daughter, angry and upset and scared. She's constantly scrying for her with the mirror Thom gave her--her daughter is missing and her husband lied to her about it.

After months and months of worrying and praying, Alanna finally knows where her daughter is. She loves George, she does, but he lied to her about her only daughter's well being. And after the 8 years of her training constantly lying to everyone Alanna is sick of it, sick of doing it and avoids it at almost all cost--but for this? For the love she has for her daughter?

She’s been worried sick, scrying every free hour, distracted and blaming herself for her daughter’s disappearance. She's not needed in Frasrland, not really, not with this stalemate at the border. The killing devices are all gone and nothing is happening there. They don't need her--but Aly does.

She’s been married to George for 20 years and she’s known him for 30--she’s picked up a few tricks on how to go around unseen, how to slip away seamlessly but first there are a few things she has to do.

Her husband with his nondescript features can roam freely.  She cannot. She’s far too distinctive nowadays, but to quote her daughter that is what razors and dyes are for. Her long hair is her pride and joy. After years of cutting it boyishly short, as well as being a good enough fighter she can have long hair--it’s her one vanity.

She loves her hair. She’d topple kingdoms for her daughter.

A short and stocky man with copper red hair isn't the ideal spy, but shes here to find her daughter--its the story she goes with. She’s looking for her daughter, a Tortallan, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Copper Isles.She speaks enough Carthaki to get by and well it’s not like she can’t defend herself, even with just a knife and hand to hand.

The only dead giveaway about her are her purple eyes, but she's a mage, with a powerful Gift specializing in manipulating the human body--if there's a magical way to create an illusion or temporarily change your eye color she would know it. If not, I'm sure George has found a way and she's already used it before.

This barely scratches the surface of what she’d do for Aly. She's a mage, with a powerful Gift specializing in manipulating the human body--if there's a magical way to create an illusion or temporarily change your eye color she would know it. If not, I'm sure George has found a way. She glamors her eyes to look the same as her daughter and her husband. She lightly dyes her hair, making it a more blondish red like Aly's.

She finds a young squire stationed at the border and surreptitiously steals some of his clothes and other supplies around camp, her personal weaponry far too flashy and distinctive.

Aly isn’t the only one who was trained by the King of Thieves.

You can’t tell me she’s never done anything like this with George, not wanting to be stared at by people who recognize the famous Lioness, either getting him out of some scrapes or just relaxing and having fun.

Kyprioth is sweating bullets. There's only so much he can hide, although he has far more power in the Copper Isles than Tortall so he can't stop her but he’ll do his best to hide her from the Goddess but uhhhhhhhh there’s only So Much he can do. 

Alanna is Determined--she will find her daughter and is she maybe less subtle than George was? Sure. But all the same, she’s brought to the Balitang’s home in Rajmuat and makes her way to Lombyn.

It’s the same scene, of Alanna approaching Winnamine , introducing herself as Alan Cooper and asking to buy Aly-- Winnamine realizing “Alan” isn’t really here to buy Aly.

It takes Aly just a little longer to recognize Alanna--and she comes to a halt and is filled with shock because this is the Lioness, her mother who is persona non grata to the Copper Isles due to killing one of their princesses decades ago (and wow that might actually get Ochabu to tolerate her mother) and would probably be either killed or ransomed as a hostage p much on sight, the King’s Champion, one of the most distinctive and famous women in the continent--is here.

She’s here, her hair short and lighter and her purple eyes--they’re very similar to Aly’s now. Alanna letting out a sob at the sight of her daughter--her hair also shorter, eyebrow scar, broken nose, but alive and safe and still with that spark in her eye.

Just. The PARALLELS of both having the explicit approval of their god to deceive and lie and how they both deceived so many people to achieve their goals. Aly seeing her mother engage in spycraft and trickery to try to find her is probably a better apology than Alanna could ever find the words for

Later after Alanna had her Own standoff with Kyprioth she tells Aly she didn’t want this life for her, not because she was a noble or a Trebond but because she’s Alanna’s daughter and she knows how hard it is to keep a secret and deceive the people she cared about, and how much it hurt when it all came out. That’s something George never had to deal with--George has never really had to deceive his loved ones. They’ve always known he’s Crooked and an inkling of what he’s been up to--but Alanna has. She did it for 8 long years and she was good at it too, but the amount of pain it brought her after meant she never wanted that for her daughter.

Alanna earned her shield through treachery, the constant fear of being found out dogging her footsteps and once she got it she made sure no other girl would have to.

For Aly just to be reminded how similar she really is to her mother and begrudgingly putting that together--for Kyprioth to tell Aly that yes George gave her the skills he needed that made Aly his ideal Spymaster and what she’s done so far in keeping the Balitangs safe is why he wants her to stay, but it was Alanna’s actions that really sold him on recruiting Aly in the first place.

(I have other feelings about Kyprioth and Alanna here because d a m n “they say he loves a good trick”--as a girl for 8 years Alanna fooled the Tortallan monarchy and nobility. That’s what his Promised Queen will have to do. And he is George’s patron--it would make sense that both of them loved aspects of Alanna.)

(also while she’s there it’d be hilarious for Sarai to spar against Alanna and have her ass handed to her--it’d be a great nod back to when Aly was observing Sarai and thinking about her own training bc it sure would make Ulasim wonder wait can Aly use a sword????)

(also if anyone wants to write this go for it)

#tamora pierce #alanna of trebond #aly cooper #george cooper #alianne crow #alianne cooper #tricksters choice #tricksters queen #i've been working on this in my drafts since 2022 #kyprioth #alanna of pirate's swoop #alanna of pirate's swoop and olau #alanna the lioness #daughter of the lioness #1.1k words of meta later #meta #dove balitang

[pockeymcmockey]

𝔄𝔫 𝔈𝔶𝔢 𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔄𝔫 𝔈𝔶𝔢 | 𝓐𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓣𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝔂𝓮𝓷

Summary: With [Name] trapped in the Red Keep, Rhaenyra comes to her rescue—or is it the other way around?

Warnings: Major character death, violence, blood, manslaughter, kidnapping? HEAVY angst, marriage, wounded by sword, ooc Aemond? That's it, just a lot of angst.

Author's Note: I have NOT read any of George's books so I have no idea how the story of Fire & Blood ends, so forgive me because I know none of this happens AT ALL in the book. 💀 Also, I have an alternative ending in the making!

𝔓𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔬𝔲𝔰 𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 | 𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 ℑ𝔙 | 𝔄𝔩𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔈𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

What anyone fails to realize is that during war, sacrifices must be made. In this instance, Aemond had sacrificed his woman for revenge against the one boy who ruined him. Now, as she climbs the jagged rocks that led to the entrance of Storm's End, ignoring his attempts at talking it through, he realized that sacrifices cannot be taken lightly—or taken back. The half-sighted princess pulled herself to the top of the cliff, not wasting time to sit upright and brush sand off of her clothes.

Aemond the Kinslayer trailed behind the woman that held his heart as she stomped her boots against the stone road until they came upon Vhagar, nesting in the tall grass. The green goliath recognized the prince, her rider, and the princess whom she almost devoured. The Targaryens of royal descent hopped onto the back of Vhagar, Aemond pulling her reigns and flying them to the Red Keep. As much as the princess wanted to go home to her mother, she knew the death of Lucerys would ruin her.

The kinslaying prince landed his colossal dragon outside of the Dragonpit, climbing off first then offering his hand to his wife-to-be. The woman ignored his act of decency and climbed down on her own, walking passed the one-eyed man into the usurper's home. Guards placed their lances in an 'X' in front of the princess until Aemond turned the corner, then they let her pass. Her expression remained blank throughout this trek, passing by servants, handmaidens, members of the kingsguard and even the Queen herself.

Aemond continued to follow her even up to her own chambers until she slammed the great wooden doors on his face, pushing a lounging sofa in front of it to keep him out. The prince leaned his head against the door and sighed, gripping at the hilt of his dagger before turning sharply and retracing his steps. When Alicent spotted her son returning from the hall that held [Name]'s chambers, she grabbed his forearm, her brow arched and her lips pursed. Aemond stared aloofly at his mother before she pulled him into an unoccupied room.

"Why is she here? Did she come alone? Where's Rhaenyra, did she come too?" Alicent bombarded her son with questions, spitting them out faster than a Targaryen could train a dragon. Aemond hadn't taken his eyes off the room's floor, his mind lost in thought about the last few hours. How is he supposed to tell his mother he lost control of Vhagar and murdered his nephew? She would be disappointed—if not furious—at him and would never let him leave the castle unattended like he was six again.

"Mother," Alicent spoke over her son, asking question after question and ranting with anxiety. "Mother!" The Queen stopped mid-question and stared at her son with eyes like saucers. "Enough. Lucerys is dead, as is his dragon. I lost control of Vhagar and she ate Llanerion. That's why she's here and she-" Aemond paused, caressing the holster for his sword. "She's angry with me. For killing her brother." Alicent nodded, one arm crossed over her chest and a hand covering her mouth as her eyes flicker across the floor. The Queen sighs and takes her son's head in her hands.

"Keep this to yourself, if anyone were to find out you lost control of a dragon then they'd think Targaryens were not meant to have them. And you are." Alicent kissed her son's forehead. "Don't let her leave this place," Alicent referred to the princess. "If Rhaenyra finds out, it will be on her own." The Queen parted with those final words, looking back at her son solemnly before leaving the room. Aemond stood unmoving, staring at the door where his mother formerly stood.

���⚔•

���𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖕𝖆𝖘𝖙...

As the crowned Queen, Rhaenyra, planned their attack for the future, Daemon was pulled aside by a messenger. The man with the news whispered into the Rogue Prince's ear, informing him of Lucerys' death and the missing princess. Daemon waved off the man and let his head fall limply against the stone wall, winding his arm back and fisting the wall with a scream of fury and agony. Daemon did not dislike Lucerys, he was truly like a son to him, but [Name] was his legitimate daughter, his blood. His outburst attracted the attention of those in the other room surrounding the painted table.

Daemon—bloody fist and all—walked around the table that shed a glow of orange, mapping out the realm. He pulled his Queen over to the fireplace and leaned in, his chest still rising vigorously. When Daemon told Rhaenyra the news, she could feel her heart pounding in her own ears, she saw through her eyes with a red lens and she breathed through her nose maddeningly. The Queen turned to the guests at the table, knocking the pieces on the floor with a pained scream. Jacaerys stared at his mother, using his intelligence to decipher what made his mother so angry.

"Mother? Where's Lucerys? What about [Name], where is she? Mother, where's my sister!" Jace slammed his fist against the wooden table, tears threatening to fall as he struggled to keep them in. Rhaenyra ignored her son's outburst and stormed out of the room and outside, where Syrax nested. To see his wife ride on dragon-back with murderous intent would normally make Daemon grin with glee, but his daughter has vanished and he does not know if she's lying around in a corpses body.

The guests ran out of Dragonstone, following their Queen's order to ride on dragon and intrude the barrier of the Red Keep. Rhaenyra was clouded by bloodlust, her mind spinning at a dangerous pace. Her ears clogged with the blaring sound of the wind and the voices in her head saying to burn everything down; to kill them all. Daemon rides beside his Queen, his wife, and the mother of his children, his mind in the same headspace except the madness was slowly slipping out of control.

In the Red Keep, [Name] sat beside her windowsill like the morning of her mother's miscarriage. She's kept herself in her chamber since she was brought back to King's Landing. When the handmaids brought food and water, she ignored them. When the Queen asked for her presence and sent a guard, she ignored them. When Aemond knocked on her door and asked to talk, she ignored him. But when she saw a flock of dragons headed towards King's Landing she didn't ignore it. She pushed the lounger out of the way and ran through the halls, making it to the courtyard before she was grabbed and pulled back.

Ser Criston caged her in his arms with a hand over her mouth and dragged her to the Dragonpit. The Queen awaited her, along with three of her children; Halaena, Aegon, and Aemond. Alicent signaled to Ser Criston to release the princess, whom when was free turned sharply and punched the knight in his nose. She shook her hand, trying to alleviate the pain then turned back to the four that stood in front of her.

"I apologize, Princess, but I must have you stay here. Your presence on the battlefield would only cause more tension between the families, and possibly more bloodshed." Alicent held her by her shoulders, looking at her scarred eye and running a thumb across it. "When this battle has been won, no matter who ends up on top, we will allow you freedom, but until then you must stay hidden. Not as a hostage but as someone who must be protected." Alicent looked to her youngest son and nodded, Aemond placing iron cuffs on his betrothed whom didn't even put up a fight.

Aemond walked his wife-to-be to Balerion's skull and sat her down, allowing her what little rest she could get. The princess leaned against the shrine, her head resting against the pale bricks as she closed her eyes. Aemond paced back and forth in front of her, contemplating if he should say something. Anything to get her to talk to him. The prince ceased his pacing and glided over to the princess in chains. He kneeled before her and grabbed hold of the chain link that bound her wrists.

"Hear me, my dear, for I'm choosing to commit treason for you." Aemond whispered to her, keying the locks on the cuffs. When the heavy metal fell from her wrists, Aemond rubbed his thumbs over them, kissing the reddening skin. "When you leave, don't come back for me. Stay away from King's Landing until your last days. Do not yearn for me." Aemond kissed her lips, softly but sensually, and caressed her cheek before pushing her back toward the door, telling her to run from him, to run to her family.

The princess cried for her lover, their interlocked hands lingering at the fingertips when she pulls away. Tears streaming down her cheeks before she runs to the surface of the Dragonpit and to the castle where her mother awaits her. When the princess arrives, the battle has already begun. A brigade is stood in front of the castle gate to keep anyone without a dragon from escaping or intruding from the outside.

"Rhaenyra! Enough with this- this madness! You're being ridiculous!" Alicent hid behind Ser Criston whom shielded her from Rhaenyra's threatening hands and her husband's murderous stare. "Don't you realize how unreasonable you're being? Aemond meant no harm! It was supposed to be all in good fun! Please, Rhaenyra, call off your dragons!" The Queen Regent, Alicent begged the Queen Rhaenyra, pleading with her.

"You killed my son! You took my daughter and imprisoned her! I should take one of yours, to make it fair." Syrax spread her wings, giving the allusion that they were binded to the back of Rhaenyra. Alicent ordered her guards to protect Aegon, still hiding behind Ser Criston, while trying to negotiate with the Mad Queen. Syrax hobbled closer to Rhaenyra, hovering just above her, waiting for her to to give the order.

"Fair? Was it fair when your son took Aemond's eye and didn't lose one in return? You talk about fairness yet you slither your way out of the consequences!" Alicent fumed. Rhaenyra was about to give the order when her eyes took notice of the blind one staring back at her, fear laced in the woman's expression. Distracted by her daughter's presence, Rhaenyra did not see Aegon unsheathe his sword, charging toward her. Out of instinct and last minute decisions, [Name] ran to her mother, shielding her from the whetted blade pointed at her.

Aemond ran through door and hall to get to the courtyard, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, readying himself to pierce any man in his way. When the one-eyed prince made his entrance, his face fell at the vision of his brother's sword pierced into the back of his lover, whom was gripping at her mother's shoulders trying to keep herself upright. Aemond froze in his stance, his eye of violet narrowing in on the body of his betrothed. Mahogany seeped through the cloth she wore, soaking it from the waist, up.

Aegon the Second dropped his sword to the dust, backing up little by little until Aemond pushed through the bodies that crowded in front of the princess. Rhaenyra dropped to her knees with the body of her child, trembling hands pushing strands of platinum hair from her face. Droplets of tears splattered against her face, looking up to see her mother's sore eyes. The princess smiled weakly at her mother, wrapping both arms around her mother's neck to pull her close, wanting to feel the maternal warmth only Rhaenyra could give her.

"Forgive me, Mother. I should've protected Lucerys, but protecting you was the least I could do..." Her hushed voice whispered to her mother whom held her daughter tightly, lips involuntarily quivering. Daemon watched from the back of Caraxes as his daughter lay, dying, in her mother's arms. His stare blank, but his heart breaking. Resting limply once more, the princess turned to look at Aemond, as did the rest of the company standing in the courtyard. She held her hand out to him, disregarding the sharp glare of swords her mother gave him.

"Aemond, my darling, I want to get married. Right here, right now." Aemond closed his seeing eye, shaking his head and bringing his trembling hands to wrap around her body, stealing her from the arms of Rhaenyra. The one-eyed prince carried her back into the castle to stand before the Iron Throne, calling for a maester to wed them. As the two said their vows, their family spectating behind them, they sealed their marriage with a kiss. It was full of longing, tasting of death and life, a perfect balance.

When the prince pulled away, he expected to see her smiling lips, her eyes open with glee, but instead they were dull. Lifeless. Aemond held her against his chest and carried her once more to the Silent Sisters, asking them to wrap her with golden ribbons, only fit for a woman of her heroics. The Silent Sisters brought out the mummified princess, the Targaryen and Hightower family gathering upon the hill that sat behind King's Landing, looking over the raging sea. Rhaenys, Corlys and their granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena gave their respects, Rhaenys bowing to the only person she truly had faith in.

Alicent and Halaena next, Aegon standing behind them, too ashamed to pay his respects directly but doing so internally. Daemon, Rhaenyra and Jacaerys clustered close, all three placing a hand on the wrappings of their daughter and sister. And lastly, Aemond, who had yet to shed his tears, waiting until he's alone to let his resolve break and his vulnerability to show. The prince did the honors of sending the Targaryen princess to the gods. Uttering "Dracarys" to Vhagar who bellowed sorrowfully before sending her flame to the princess' corpse.

It was during this moment, when the Targaryens and Hightowers were occupied with the ceremony of [Name]'s passing, did she ever feel truly at peace. Her marriage to Aemond still validated by her heart—and his—and how it took her death to finally bring the families together, even if just for a night. Where the Queens really looked at each other, saw each other. Where brothers and sister were truly siblings, where uncles and nephews and nieces got along. Where two families were at the beginning of their reconciliation, their path to becoming one.

Taglist

@daddysfavoritesexkitten @dudfahsn @hey-airam @motherofdragons1998 @kittykylax @icarusignite @lilithskywalker @mintyard @omgsuperstarg @pinkybee926 @helloitsshitzulover @bobamai1 @applepyesworld @chrisevansgirlfriendsposts @caspianobsessed @sonnensplitter @sqrlgrl22 @solorubyjane @amethystwonders11 @marytvirgin @aphroditeisamilf @ephemeralninon @fairyunhappy @mikasakuchiki @shine101 @let-love-bleeds-red @zgzgzh @lilostif16 @landlockedmermaid77 @m1ndbrand @grippleback-galaxy @jeyramarie @gaemon-palehair @padfooteyes @bietchz @moiraiofheroes @stargaryenx @cypherpt5fttaehyung @noisyinfluencerstrawberry

#aemond the kinslayer #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond one eye #aemond targaryen #aemond imagine #x female reader #x fem!reader #fem reader #female pronouns #house hightower #house targaryen #house of the dragon #game of thrones #game of thrones x reader #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #lucerys targaryen #jacaerys targaryen #baela velaryon #rhaena velaryon #alicent hightower #aegon targaryen #halaena targaryen #otto hightower #sir criston cole #ser erryk cargyll #viserys targaryen #rhaenys targaryen #corlys valeryon

[collegetennisoriginstory]

kind of cringe (and by cringe i mean transphobic and antisemitic) to be talking about harry potter when rowling is a well known transphobe and antisemite and trans and jewish people have been saying for a year+ now to stop talking about this series and this author, giving them a platform and keeping them relevant and in the public conscious. i really really like this game and enjoy your writing, but if you cant do the bare minimum of allyship for your trans and jewish readers then i wont be able to keep supporting this game. very disappointing, i hope you can grow and do better

First up, I think you make a very important point in needing to caveat that we disagree with an author's stances/views (I absolutely do not condone Rowling as a person nor her transphobic / antisemitic stances) especially because NOT doing so would, as you say, continue to keep their books in the public consciousness. I've added this caveat to the original post :)

My bottom line is still: I stand with trans people, and Jewish people, and I cannot abide by the things Rowling has said and done and I fully see those deeds and words as an attack on people I care about. I think, like you said, it's important in this climate to reiterate this strongly, and unequivocally. There's no nuance needed here.

However, I think discussion of the author's work ALONGSIDE discussion of the author's transphobic / antisemitic comments can sometimes be more fruitful than simply erasing all traces of this person's existence, because discussion is (to me) always more constructive than erasure.

In other words, I believe documenting / sharing reasons for one's censure is almost as important as the act of cancelling / not supporting the author (because ultimately, statements like "I do not support Rowling's stance on xxx because xxx" will spark important changes to societal attitudes far more than simple silence will—as the latter will simply be an absence rather than a presence of careful, measured discourse.

I have always engaged with both the asks/messages I agree with and disagree with, and I have always been honest and unflinching in my replies. I understand that you might have a different view ("all talk about a work is bad/too much talk", for instance), but I think there is room for us to respectfully disagree on that.

I will continue to engage where I have the energy and time to do so, because I believe these conversations are the only way we can prevent society from becoming echo chambers / isolated, polarised camps. Censorship (including self-censorship with the intention to withdraw support from something) to me is far more nefarious than robust disagreement/dissent (in the vein of George Orwell's 1984 and Swyngedouw's argument that the absence of disagreement is the state of "post-democracy", where everything is always already decided.)

P.S. I think discussion of an author's shitty stances, and reiteration of allyship has to be done alongside cutting off all material / financial support for said author. I'm more than down with the latter. I am fully in the camp of not watching/reading/buying the books and movies, but I do believe continued discussion of the work and the author's stances go hand-in-hand with this.

Cheers!

#college tennis: origin story #ct:os #interactive fiction #if

[malereader-inserts]

Live Slow, Die Old

Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing: Harry Potter x Male!Reader Summary: Just you and Harry being in love Word Count: 1,042

If Hogwarts did awards for the cutest couple, that will go to you and Harry. There was just something different about your relationship than compared to anyone else, or anyone else's love story from previous years.

"Ah, to be young and in love," Sirius teased, leaning his head on Remus' shoulder at the dinner table.

The order meeting had ended and Molly was getting the last of the cooking done, so sat at the dinner table were members of the order that were based in Sirius' house. Remus looked at him funnily, but Sirius knows that look - Remus was curious about what Sirius was going on about.

"You know, Harry and (Y/n)?" Sirius says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "They're the cutest."

"They remind me a little bit of James and Lily," Remus replies as Sirius raised his eyebrow, intrigued, as Remus cannot help but smile stupidly.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Molly placed her two cents in, "I love James and Lily's love story, but Harry and (Y/n)'s is different."

"Enlighten me."

"Harry," You hummed, lying on your back with your head hanging off the edge, "Are you done brooding?"

"(Y/n)! I can't, you know I can't!" Harry exclaimed as you flipped over, your eyebrow raised at him as he stops short with his temper tantrum at your stare, "I'm sorry."

"Harry..."

You beckoned him over as he sits on the floor you lean down to rest your chin on his shoulder. He relaxes under your touch as you let one arm hand over the other shoulder, holding his hands. He distracts himself by playing with your fingers, and it's almost a switch for him - the moment you're touching him, he melts and forget all the struggle in the world.

"You're doing your best, and your best is enough, Harry," You mumbled into his ear, he softens at your gentle words, "You cannot bare everything all at once, don't forget you're still human."

"I'm the chosen human," Harry grumbles as you rolled your eyes.

"Shut up, prat," You chuckled before rolling back onto your back, "Pay attention to me!"

"(Y/N)," Harry giggled, shaking his head as he finds a pillow to smack you with, "I was paying attention to you."

He dives into the bed as you two start to play wrestle before you two came crashing down off the bed and bursting into laughter.

"Oi, have you two idiots done flirting?" Ron asked, entering the bedroom before throwing a stray pillow in your direction.

"Leave them alone, Ronald," Ginny comes following her brother, "You're just jealous of their love."

"Pfft! No," Ron sulked before jumping onto his bed as Hermione came to investigate the noise as Ginny perched on her brother's bed, "They're just annoying."

"And in love," Hermione finished, putting her book down, "Admit it, Ron, you wish you had something like that."

"Well, don't you?"

"I hate to interrupt, but we're literally right here," You spoke out loud, only to be ignored by the three intruders as Harry leans his heavy head upon your shoulder.

"Of course, have you seen them!" Hermione replied to Ron, pointing at the tangled mess of you and Harry on the floor.

"Dinner's ready!"

The five of you come descending the stairs as Hermione and Ron continue to bicker, you can only send Harry and Ginny a knowing look as they return the look back to you. You sat yourself next to Harry as your other two best friends keep going at each other.

"But, you don't see how annoying they can be! You don't share a dorm with them for a whole year," Ron complained before looking at you two, "No offence, guys, you two are like the couple but can't you give it a rest for a minute."

"What's Ron moaning about this time," Fred asked as George snickers.

"Well, annoying or not, I think they're the perfect couple."

"That's saying a lot coming from Hermione," Ron spoke dryly.

"And, who to think, the two most competitive boys of the house get together," Ginny teased as Harry flushed red as you can only chuckle at his reaction.

The adults just watch the bickering and conversation coming from the kids, they can't help but smile at the pure innocent act before them. It makes them forget about Voldemort had returned, watching these kids being kids, seems normal and right.

Fred perked up, looking at Harry with a teasing glint in his eyes, "It only took (Y/n) to accept Harry's date offer, you know, after nine attempts."

"Shut up!"

"You were in love before you even dated him," George sang as the twins bumped shoulders in amusement, both digging into their food.

"Oh, I know," You replied, after swallowing your food, before replying to Harry's disbelief look, "Oh, don't be shocked, honey, you weren't exactly sublet."

"Sounds like someone I used to know," Sirius gives Remus a look, before smirking into their food, "You're much like your father, Harry, you got it easy, James took years to swoon Lily."

"It didn't help that he called her Evans upon seeing her," Remus nodded, telling Harry, smiling at the memories of his time at Hogwarts.

"What's with the Potters not knowing how to address the love of their lives by their last name?" Hermione joked as Harry blushes into a darker shade of red.

"Truthfully, I didn't really catch your name."

"We've shared the same dorm since the first year!" You exclaimed in disbelief.

"I know, and I won't forget your name ever again!"

You sighed wistfully, shaking your head before giving a tender kiss on his cheek.

"You're lucky I love you."

The kids watch with such adoration, knowing that the two of you were bumping knees together under the table. With the look that you give each other, everyone knows that this relationship wasn't going anywhere. And, they're happy for you two, Harry deserves all the happiness in the world and if you're so willing to give that to him - you were just the perfect person for him.

One day, they'll attend the wedding of yours, and they couldn't wait to tell their children the greatest love story of their uncles.

#harry potter x male reader #harry potter imagine #x male reader

[aures-fantasy-nook]

HP characters when their s/o's tired

DISCLAIMER: I do not support JK Rowling :)

also! accepting requests so please send them. drabble or headcanon requests prefered but if something perks my interest you might get more lmao- anyways this took so long, lmk if you want any other characters you want for this

Lightning Era:

Harry

honestly clueless

kid wasn't socialized at a young age

basically you either have to be asleep or tell him

lets say you fall asleep on him

freezes

harry.exe has stopped working

honestly tho he's probably vaguely confused

like he was just having a conversation with you

and now you're asleep??

heh??

next thing running through his mind is how cute you are

i mean he mainly sees you during like class and stuff

rarely does he see you as relaxed as you are asleep

he's kinda in love or something idk

looks to Hermione for help

she doesn't help him at all

eventually shakes you awake

makes you go to bed earlier than him tho

makes sure you get there safely

honestly thinks about the situation for the next week

at some point tells you that you can sleep on him whenever

#--#

Ron

another clueless boy

honestly no ones fault except for his

he’s just Ronald what else can I say

anyways

someone probably points it out that you're asleep

that someone is probably Hermione

kid doesn't even know what to do

like stares and kind of zones out

will wake you up

probably kind of makes fun of you

I mean kid comes from a big household of course he does

jokes about how late you stay up like he doesn't also stay up late

if you get pouty he'll melt and like escort you back to his dorm

i guess you're both skipping class

#--#

Hermione

the best one here

knows all of the signs of you getting tired

immediately suggests you go take a nap if possible

if you randomly get tired like midday?

she's checking in on you in between classes

will share notes with you if you're too tired to take them

only if she knows you got a good nights sleep the night before

or were up like her studying or working on essays

work is always an excuse for tiredness

will give you power snacks

if you're a coffee drinker-

will let you drink coffee later than usual only to stay awake

she usually cuts you off at lunch :(

overall she's supportive and here to help

unless you stayed up doing something dumb, you're on your own then :))

#--#

Draco

notices and literally does nothing /j

for real though he won't like make a big deal out of it or anything

if you guys are in class he'll notice but not

makes sure to make an extra copy of notes for you though

if its just like at the dining hall or like in the common room tho

he's nicer when you guys are more secluded

will like push your head on his shoulder or like tell you to sleep on him

might lightly scold you

but overall very sweet about everything

if its late he'll straight up just take you to his dorm to go to bed

like he changes and has some of your pj's in his room

pretty much cuddle town

he might read to you and play with your hair if he's not super tired

that's the real treat tbh

#--#

Fred

this mf

honestly mean about it

will 100% make fun of you

you cannot tell me that this boy wouldn't

he might be cute but he's an asshole

especially during classes

he will throw paper balls at you if he notices you dozing off

will not help you with academics at all

if you miss it you miss it ig

if you guys are in the common room he's nicer

will sneak you coffee out of the kitchens

doesn't really like to cuddle during the day

yk he has too many pranks to pull and plan

but he will let you like cuddle him while he plans with George

I feel like if its late though he'll not hesitate to sleep

like I feel like once he gets tired he's gone

so if your both tired be happy cause you're getting your way :)

#--#

George

he's nicer than his brother but not that nice

will still mock you but if he sees you getting tiredly upset??

its over- he's done teasing and he's hugging you

will be the type to drop everything and nap with you

if you're tired during classes?

he's carrying your books

making sure you're staying awake

at least enough to be able to do the homework later

he's honestly really sweet about stuff

will let you skip dinner to nap and then bring you food later

or maybe even sneak you into the kitchen later

also if you're a coffee addict

like myself

best boyfriend ever

will give you coffee and makes it perfectly every time

doesn't have the heart to cut you off at anytime

honestly though I love him a lot :)

#--#

Oliver

this little shit

omg

he really needs to not

he's one of those people who like never sleeps but is never tired

just because he's so busy

like mans is a good student

he's also committed his life to quidditch so

he doesn't get much sleep

will often make you stay up with him

and then gets confused as to why you're tired

literally does not have a single clue

he will get you coffee if you want it

he likes to do things for you so he babys you when you're tired

another one that carries your stuff for you

wont let you slack off though

you're doing all of your own work

but of course he'll help you, he just might give you shit for it

overall sweet but clueless

#harry potter x reader #ron weasley x reader #hermione granger x reader #draco x reader #fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #oliver wood x reader #draco malfoy x reader #aure writes

[familysickness]

hii would you have any book recs similar to the carnivorous lamb? just finished it recently and i literally cannot stop thinking about it......

wish i could rec u something that will hit as hard as carnivorous lamb does. but i cant. nothing can compare (in my opinion) but i can rec u some books depending on what u liked best/what u enjoyed in carnivorous lamb:

incest:

gemini by michel tournier - hard to get into but very worth it

house of incest by anais nin - short but so good u'll tear your hair out afterwards

ada or ardor: a family chronicle by vladimir nabokov - cant believe nabokov invented real love w this one

catholicism:

the sparrow by mary doria russell - book of all time & although i obv wouldn't call it a catholic book, i still think someone that liked carnivorous lamb would love this.

concerning the eccentricities of cardinal pirelli by ronald firbank - currently reading this & dont yet fully know what to make of it but its definitely interesting enough to check out.

fascism:

(bit of a disclaimer: none of these are specifically about spanish fascism. sorry. if you're really interested in the franco regime u could read george orwell's "homage to catalonia" but other than that i got nothing for u there)

fear and misery in the third reich by bertholt brecht & the resistable rise of arturo ui (also by brecht) - this is me pushing my brecht agenda (even tho these r plays and not technically books). love brecht's depictions of fascism though, esp in fear and misery

on the frontier: a melodrama in three acts by isherwood & auden - another play

death in venice by thomas mann - alright so this one's a bit tricky. its not technically about fascism (it was written in 1912) but i've seen a number of academic essays that make a case for reading it that way -> the degeneration of europe into fascism. in any case, great book, great prose and although its not actually incestuous, it v obviously plays with the theme of incest

fathers:

incest: from a "journal of love": the unexpurgated diary of anais nin - a classic.

winter of artifice by anais nin - no one got it quite like she did

mathilda by mary shelley - anon, listen to this: "I copied his last letter and read it again and again. Sometimes it made me weep; and at other [times] I repeated with transport those words,—"One day I may claim her at your hands." I was to be his consoler, his companion in after years."

dreams of clytemnestra by dacia maraini - a play again. but trust me on this one, it'll drive u insane.

mothers:

milk fed by melissa broder - actually havent read this one but my (redacted) loves it and it does sound rlly interesting (also i dont know any other books specifically about mothers... sad.)

#(redacted) -> bc im not saying the word situationship in a serious tumblr post lmao #also anon look into the comments. some v good recs there #anon we're suffering from the same carnivorous lamb induced disease. theres a reason y i've read it three times. #i'll come back to this if i find more books #also anon. listen to chapel. married in mount airy. and heart shaped bed by nicole dollanganger. trust me #ask

[ilynpilled]

Aerys & Cersei

I have seen some posts recently that want to paint Dany as the Aerys parallel in the story, as opposed to Cersei, and I want to pick that apart, and argue why it is detrimental to the respective stories of multiple characters, as well as pretty thematically incoherent.

Putting this quote by George in here as a given, as it will be relevant to the content in here:

"Fire is love, fire is passion, fire is sexual ardor and all of these things. Ice is betrayal, ice is revenge, ice is that kind of cold inhumanity and all that stuff is being played out in the books."

Thematically, Dany becoming an Aerys parallel is awful because of the bio essentialist undertones it has. I’ll put a link to the post that goes more in depth into this at the end of this. This is going to be rather long.

People use this argument for the Dany parallel for some reason: later, wildfire in many ways also functions as the Targs’ attempt to recreate dragons (Aerys is the most glaring example). To recreate lost magic, lost power. There are many historical stories of this destroying some of them. When you have a family be the head of a violent construct, like feudalistic hierarchies, it should not shock anyone how power can get corrupted. That is how I always viewed wildfire: the corrupted version of fire. It is an attempt to recreate power. Dany already has dragonfire, she literally brought them back into the world, she already has “power”, and she is learning to wield it (dragons, like power, can be wielded in different ways: plus they are living beings, I think this is key when comparing them with wildfire and its symbolic implications) Cersei’s story foils this in so many ways. Fire already has a rich duality in this series: life vs death, emancipation vs corruption, light vs destruction etc. Now let me get into the role fire & light plays in Cersei’s story:

She is associated with fire and passion in the text. She has a hunger for many things, power, love, respect and so on. She seems to mirror wildfire (directly as per Jaime’s description: “She had been a pretty girl, in truth; dimpled and delicate, with long auburn hair. Timid, though. Prone to tongue-tied silences and fits of giggles, with none of Cersei's fire.” , “Their father had been as relentless and implacable as a glacier, where Cersei was all wildfire, especially when thwarted. [….] her fury had been fearful to behold. She does not lack for wits, but she has no judgment, and no patience.”) She feels that that fire, that power, is absent in her life, leaving her in darkness and turning her ice cold.

By the time they left Maegor's Holdfast, the sky had turned a deep cobalt blue, though the stars still shone. All but one, Cersei thought. The bright star of the west has fallen, and the nights will be darker now. She paused upon the drawbridge that spanned the dry moat, gazing down at the spikes below. They would not dare lie to me about such a thing. "Who found him?"' "One of his guards," said Ser Osmund. "Lum. He felt a call of nature, and found his lordship in the privy." No, that cannot be. That is not the way a lion dies. The queen felt strangely calm. She remembered the first time she had lost a tooth, when she was just a little girl. It hadn't hurt, but the hole in her mouth felt so odd she could not stop touching it with her tongue. Now there is a hole in the world where Father stood, and holes want filling.

Tywin is both a symbol and a person that governs so much of Cersei and her relationship with the world. He owned her, a misogynistic traditionalist that sold her and moved her like a chess piece, with no regard to how it would affect her. He did not allow her individualization solely because of her gender. She even thinks he is in hell in her first AFfC chapter, likely for a multitude of reasons. Yet, Cersei aims to emulate his example. She seeks to fill the hole that he left. She wants to prove to him that she is worthy, even in his death. More so than his sons. His absence means darkness to her, because he and his conditioning is all that she knows. She thinks this is the key to recreating that absent fire. This also juxtaposes Jaime’s thoughts when he looks up the same stars. He associates Tywin with death and a feast for crows. He acknowledges that the sun has set, but he does not connect that light to Tywin, and he also thinks about the faint light of distant stars instead. They also come to drastically different conclusions about the worth of a crown. Cersei is repeatedly associated with death, and I do not think it is just about her own doom, but the feast for crows that she will bring about.

The queen could feel the heat of those green flames. The pyromancers said that only three things burned hotter than their sub-stance: dragonflame, the fires beneath the earth, and the summer sun. Some of the ladies gasped when the first flames appeared in the windows, licking up the outer walls like long green tongues. Others cheered, and made toasts. It is beautiful, she thought, as beautiful as Joffrey, when they laid him in my arms. No man had ever made her feel as good as she had felt when he took her nipple in his mouth to nurse. Tommen stared wide-eyed at the fires, as fascinated as he was frightened, until Margaery whispered something in his ear that made him laugh. Some of the knights began to make wagers on how long it would be before the tower collapsed. Lord Hallyne stood humming to himself and rocking on his heels. Cersei thought of all the King's Hands that she had known through the years: Owen Merryweather, Jon Connington, Qarlton Chelsted, Jon Arryn, Eddard Stark, her brother Tyrion. And her father, Lord Tywin Lannister, her father most of all. All of them are burning now, she told herself, savoring the thought. They are dead and burning, every one, with all their plots and schemes and betrayals. It is my day now. It is my castle and my kingdom.

Mind you this seed was already planted in ASoS:

Jaime curled up beneath his cloak, hoping to dream of Cersei. But when he closed his eyes, it was Aerys Targaryen he saw, pacing alone in his throne room.

Then, this is as clear cut of an Aerys parallel as it can get. People use Jaime’s description of Aerys and his relationship with fire, and try to project that onto Dany:

“Aerys would have bathed in it if he'd dared. The Targaryens were all mad for fire.”

The traitors want my city, I heard him tell Rossart, but I'll give them naught but ashes. Let Robert be king over charred bones and cooked meat. The Targaryens never bury their dead, they burn them. Aerys meant to have the greatest funeral pyre of them all. Though if truth be told, I do not believe he truly expected to die. Like Aerion Brightfire before him, Aerys thought the fire would transform him…. that he would rise again, reborn as a dragon, and turn all his enemies to ash. (Beyond obvious how well this fits with Cersei’s current and pending situation like lets be serious) :

I am Cersei of House Lannister, a lion of the Rock, the rightful queen of these Seven Kingdoms, trueborn daughter of Tywin Lannister. And hair grows back.

My crown, the queen thought. They took the other crown away from me, and now they are stealing this one as well.

I should not have done this. I was their queen, but now they've seen, they've seen, they've seen. I should never have let them see. Gowned and crowned, she was a queen. Naked, bloody, limping, she was only a woman, not so very different from their wives, more like their mothers than their pretty little maiden daughters. What have I done?

“He has sworn that he will not speak until all of His Grace's enemies are dead and evil has been driven from the realm.”

Yes, thought Cersei Lannister. Oh, yes.

People take the Targaryen aspect at face value, because they love to pick and choose at what times they want him to be an entirely reliable narrator. Again, Aerys never had dragons, he wanted to recreate them. It is not hard to actually navigate Jaime’s bias here as a result of his trauma, especially considering what Jaime himself thinks of Rhaegar (Rhaegar is not a Targ mad with fire in his mind but the ”good king that never was” lol) and the brutal death of his children at the hands of his family. (Aerys trauma affecting judgement regarding bloodlines was present when he almost pulled a #targrestoration for the trolling after they found him and asked him to name a king and he almost named a Targ as king and his father as hand bc it would make Robert #mad and thats funny until he got Aerys PTSD. He fears the ghost of Aerys returning more than anything else. It is a priority over his family’s interests, even back then). Again, the text is not actually bio essentialist, Jaime just has a very intense and dark relationship with Aerys and immense trauma that affects his logic. Not to mention, again, all that Aerys and some other Targs craved, Dany already achieved naturally. I just find it very funny how some of you people pick and choose when you want this man to be a reliable narrator depending on your agenda. Trust it is actually not that hard to figure it out when he is bullshitting in his thoughts or his words. Just look for contradictory actions or words, or whether his trauma and dissociative tendencies are relevant. Also why would you agree with the logic of “inherently evil and mad bloodline” said by the guy who is currently also convinced that he and his twin are one soul in two bodies who are tied together by fate?

Then, Jaime himself makes an actually reliable connection between Aerys and Cersei. No bloodline bullshit here. Cersei is literally his twin.

"That would be an even greater folly than burning the Tower of the Hand. So long as Tommen sits the Iron Throne, the realm sees him as the true king. Hide him under the Rock and he becomes just another claimant to the throne, no different than Stannis.”

"I am aware of that," the queen said sharply. "I said that I wanted to move the court to Lannisport, not that I would. Were you always this slow, or did losing a hand make you stupid?"

Jaime ignored that. "If these flames spread beyond the tower, you may end up burning down the castle whether you mean to or not. Wildfire is treacherous.'

"Lord Hallyne has assured me that his pyromancers can control the fire. The Guild of Alchemists had been brewing fresh wildfire for a fortnight. "Let all of King's Landing see the flames. It will be a lesson to our enemies."

"Now you sound like Aerys."

Her nostrils flared. “Guard your tongue, ser"

"I love you too, sweet sister."

How could I ever have loved that wretched creature? she wondered after he had gone. He was your twin, your shadow, your other half, another voice whispered. Once, perhaps, she thought. No longer. He has become a stranger to me. (Interesting that Jaime repeatedly associates Cersei with death directly, be it subconscious or conscious, and Cersei makes an accidental connection but not a deliberate one)

Other than the obvious fascination with wildfire, Cersei also aims to hurt him here with Kettleblack, because she is uncomfortable with losing her tool, and also because she is losing a source of warmth/love:

Cersei beckoned to Jaime. "Lord Commander, escort His Grace and his little queen to their pillows, if you would.

"As you command. And you as well?"

"No need." Cersei felt too alive for sleep. The wildfire was cleansing her, burning away all her rage and fear, filling her with resolve. “The flames are so pretty. I want to watch them for a while.”

Jaime hesitated. “You should not stay alone.”

"I will not be alone. Ser Osmund can remain with me and keep me safe. Your Sworn Brother"

"If it please Your Grace,” said Kettleblack.

“It does.” Cersei slid her arm through his, and side by side they watched the fire rage.

We have access to Jaime’s thoughts:

Jaime knew the look in his sister's eyes. He had seen it before, most recently on the night of Tommen's wedding, when she burned the Tower of the Hand. The green light of the wildfire had bathed the face of the watchers, so they looked like nothing so much as rotting corpses, a pack of gleeful ghouls, but some of the corpses were prettier than others. Even in the baleful glow, Cersei had been beautiful to look upon. She'd stood with one hand on her breast, her lips parted, her green eyes shining. She is crying, Jaime had realized, but whether it was from grief or ecstasy he could not have said. The sight had filled him with disquiet, reminding him of Aerys Targaryen and the way a burning would arouse him.

Jaime is aware and is bitter about that, but he hones in on a completely different thing. The bitterness over the cheating takes a backseat to him noticing the ghost of Aerys being present in Cersei. Then, this parallel keeps going. Right after Jaime makes a direct parallel between Aerys and Cersei, as well as associating her with death and corpses again, his thoughts drift to Aerys and his skewed relationship with wildfire & sex. Fire is passion, yes, sexual ardor, but again, wildfire is a corrupted version of fire.

whenever Aerys gave a man to the flames, Queen Rhaella would have a visitor in the night. The day he burned his mace-and-dagger Hand, Jaime and Jon Darry had stood at guard outside her bedchamber whilst the king took his pleasure. "You're hurting me,” they had heard Rhaella cry through the oaken door. "You're hurting me." In some queer way, that had been worse than Lord Chelsted's screaming. "We are sworn to protect her as well," Jaime had finally been driven to say. "We are," Darry allowed, "but not from him." Jaime had only seen Rhaella once after that, the morning of the day she left for Dragonstone. The queen had been cloaked and hooded as she climbed inside the royal wheelhouse that would take her down Aegon's High Hill to the waiting ship, but he heard her maids whispering after she was gone. They said the queen looked as if some beast had savaged her, clawing at her thighs and chewing on her breasts. A crowned beast, Jaime knew.

"And this?" Cersei pinched the nipple now, pulling on it hard, twisting it between her fingers.The Myrish woman gave a gasp of pain.

"You're hurting me."

"It's just the wine. I had a flagon with my supper, and another with the widow Stokeworth. I had to drink to keep her calm." She twisted Taena's other nipple too, pulling until the other woman gasped. "I am the queen I mean to claim my rights.”

"Do what you will.” Taena's hair was as black as Robert's, even down between her legs, and when Cersei touched her there she found her hair all sopping wet, where Robert's had been coarse and dry.

"Please,” the Myrish woman said, "go on, my queen. Do as you will with me. I'm yours.” But it was no good. She could not feel it, whatever Robert felt on the nights he took her. There was no pleasure in it, not for her.

She gasped some words in a foreign tongue, then shuddered again and arched her back and screamed. She sounds as if she is being gored, the queen thought. For a moment she let herself imagine that her fingers were a bore's tusks, ripping the Myrish woman apart from groin to throat. It was still no good. It had never been any good with anyone but Jaime.

Cersei seeks to achieve catharsis. She is exploring her own trauma. She wants to derive catharsis from emulating power. From emulating violent men, emulating Robert. But she experiences no pleasure. She experiences no catharsis. This is not enough. This is not what she is looking for. All she has is the fire.

Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

This is what Cersei, like Aerys, will want to achieve in a metaphorical and in some ways literal sense. But with wildfire. It won’t work obviously, but it is all that she has.

Now lets talk about Cersei and swords.

Jaime, above most else, functioned as her sword. He was an extension of her, a weapon she desperately needed in order to punish others, and simultaneously protect herself. It was power. She immediately takes note of it when physical and internal change in Jaime is present:

"He'll have Casterly Rock, isn't that enough? Let Father sit the throne. All I want is you." He made to touch her cheek. Old habits die hard, and it was his right arm he lifted. Cersei recoiled from his stump.

"Don't ... don't talk like this. You're scaring me, Jaime. Don't be stupid. One wrong word and you'll cost us everything. What did they do to you?"

"They cut off my hand."

"No, it's more, you're changed." She backed off a step.

+

Jaime hugged her, his good hand pressing against the small of her back. He smelled of ash, but the morning sun was in his hair, giving it a golden glow. She wanted to draw his face to hers for a kiss. Later, she told herself, later he will come to me, for comfort.

"We are his heirs, Jaime," she whispered. "It will be up to us to finish his work. You must take Father's place as Hand. You see that now, surely. Tommen will need you.”

He pushed away from her and raised his arm, forcing his stump into her face.

"A Hand without a hand? A bad jape, sister. Don't ask me to rule.”

+

"Your turn," she told him afterward. "Pull his mane, I dare you." He never did. I should have had the sword, not him. (Interesting symbolism as to which one of them is opposed to the lions and which one is not)

+

If Jaime had not lost his hand. That road led nowhere, though. Jaime's sword hand was gone, and so was he

Jaime may yet come. She pictured him riding through the morning mists, his golden armor bright in the light of the rising sun.

It should be Jaime beside me. He would draw his golden sword and slash a path right through the mob, carving the eyes out of the head of every man who dared to look at her.

Ofc, who she used the weapon against were usually victims, but that is a big part of Cersei as a character, and the whole commentary about victims & perpetrators. You can have an irredeemable and evil character that the patriarchy still suppresses and affects the psychology of immensely, rendering her a bigger monster. The commentary on the destructive capacity of static social constructs is not lost as a result. A character can turn into the devil of the story due to a world that ceaselessly strips her of her humanity, as well as as a result of the choices she actively makes. Cersei has shown to be capable of cruelty even before her trauma (how she treated Tyrion, her extreme narcissism, throwing her best friend down a well), but this does not change anything. Being a perpetrator does not negate her victimhood, and vice versa. It is also her stubbornness and power hunger that leave her to her ruin in a world that does not allow her the ‘freedom’ or ‘power’ that she desperately desires. It becomes the worst combination of nature and nurturer. Her sword is gone for good. The motif of “sunlight” is once again present. It turns his hair/armor gold. She craves the golden Jaime in golden armor, the Jaime from AGoT. But we know Jaime’s color symbolism is heading in a very different direction:

Even at a distance, Ser Jaime Lannister was unmistakable. The moonlight had silvered his armor and the gold of his hair, and turned his crimson cloak to black.

She did as he bid her. "The white cloak . . ." ". . . is new, but I'm sure I'll soil it soon enough." “That wasn't . . . I was about to say that it becomes you”

When he was done, more than three-quarters of his page still remained to be filled between the gold lion on the crimson shield on top and the blank white shield at the bottom.

“Gold? Or silver?" Cersei plucked a hair from beneath his chin and held it up. It was grey. "All the color is draining out of you, brother. You've become a ghost of what you were, a pale crippled thing. And so bloodless, always in white." She flicked the hair away. "I prefer you garbed in crimson and gold."

(Again, gold is heavy negative symbolism for Jaime, another indication that Goldenhand the Just is an obvious dead end, as I have discussed at length atp. It is an attempt to recreate his phantom and cover it up with a golden lie.)

Then, finally, the conclusion for Cersei during her rebirth:

A shadow fell across them both, blotting out the sun. The queen felt cold steel slide beneath her, a pair of great armored arms lifting her off the ground lifting her up into the air as easily as she had lifted Joffrey when he was still a babe.

This is the reason the sun gets blotted out at the end. I think that is a final statement on how he will never be her sword again. So now she needs a new sword. She has Robert Strong, and she has wildfire. Light & sun is repeatedly absent, and she lands in the cold darkness over and over again. She has associations with ice and wildfire. Unlike Jaime, who is often reborn in light & warmth (1. first POV: “sent them toward the pale pink dawn. After so long in darkness, the world was so sweet that Jaime Lannister felt dizzy. I am alive, and drunk on sunlight.” In contrast with Cersei’s first POV: her awakening in her dark chamber after a dream turned nightmare. 2. when the arakh kills his old self: “sunlight ran silver along the edge of the arakh”, 3. the steaming bath. Robert Strong also contrasts Brienne. Interesting that he lifts Cersei up into the air, while Brienne catches Jaime before he could fall. Robert Strong is “cold steel”, while Brienne’s touch is “warm” (noted twice by Jaime). “The cell began to darken. It was growing cold as well. Cersei began to shiver. How can they leave me like this, without so much as a fire? I am their queen.” Cersei on the other hand keeps being put or reborn in darkness, I assume this symbolically has meaning and is no coincidence. Plus, while Jaime chooses to cut his own hair, Cersei is forcefully stripped from it. What is also interesting is what the both of them have in the dark (Jaime’s weirwood dream) are the flames (for Jaime the flaming sword, for Cersei the torch, and later the wildfire).

Again, people want Jaime to be an unreliable narrator here, clouded by bitterness and hatred or something, but I really doubt that is the case. Again, the cheating takes a backseat, and that whole thing is more complicated anyways: it is primarily a catalyst that reveals to him how broken the illusion he created for himself about the relationship is at its very foundation. The whole idea of her love, which is so significant for him, is questioned. There are so many factors that play into their relationship falling apart (they both change, the hand loss, Jaime’s rejection of being Tywin’s heir, his desire to give up power and choose Cersei, while Cersei would never give up power for Jaime, him not understanding the nuances of that as Cersei is inherently more powerless bc of her status and she craves it desperately + differences in nature and experiences. + Cersei asking him to kill Tyrion. Again, they are fundamentally different. This is also a partial reason as to why Jaime rejected her advances post sept scene imo, even if he keeps making inconsistent excuses (location, the dead KG or his father, vows, judgement of the gods [he never really cared about this before: he is a reddit atheist, also did not stop him at the sept]). Some of this is before the cheating reveal.) Jaime does not harm her even if she repeatedly hits him, emasculates him, insults him (he mentioned that he already turned her blows to kisses before) etc. but there is violent anger within him about the cheating. I think this is because that is the one thing that truly creates a major hole in his self-conjured narrative about the relationship (we are one soul in two bodies, destined lovers), as well as something that recontextualizes all the awful things he had actively done to sustain it. Other than all that, let me talk about Jaime and eyes:

Jaime watched her eyes. Pretty eyes, he thought, and calm. He knew how to read a man's eyes.

Bolton's silence was a hundred times more threatening than Vargo Hoat's slobbering malevolence. Pale as morning mist, his eyes concealed more than they told. Jaime misliked those eyes. : Roose Bolton's eyes were paler than stone, darker than milk

He remembered Eddard Stark, riding the length of Aerys's throne room wrapped in silence. Only his eyes had spoken; a lord's eyes, cold and grey and full of judgment.

The clasp that pinned it to her breast was wrought in the shape of a wolf's head with slitted opal eyes. The girl's long brown hair blew wild in the wind. She had a pretty face, he thought, but her eyes were sad and wary. (makes his inaction [link] all the more terrible, his conscience is screaming at him)

"Blue is a good color on you, my lady," Jaime observed. "It goes well with your eyes." She does have astonishing eyes.

The queen's eyes were green ice. "You had best go, ser."

He remembered how Rossart's eyes would shine (another Cersei parallel) when he unrolled his maps to show where the substance must be placed.

With his grim face and deep-sunk hollow eyes, Ser Ilyn might have passed for death himself . . . as he had, for years.

Though his pox-scarred face was grim and his eyes as cold as ice on a winter lake, Jaime sensed that he was glad he'd come.

Sorry, but I am gonna trust what Jaime sees in her eyes at Tommen’s Wedding. His judgement tends to be very accurate. Eyes are the windows to the soul after all.

Every idea that I have discussed at length here is also present in Jaime’s dreams.

Down a twisting passageway he went, narrow steps carved from the living rock, down and down. I must go up, he told himself. Up, not down. Why am I going down? Below the earth his doom awaited, he knew with the certainty of dream; something dark and terrible lurked there, something that wanted him.

The steps ended abruptly on echoing darkness. Jaime had the sense of vast space before him. He jerked to a halt, teetering on the edge of nothingness. A spearpoint jabbed at the small of the back, shoving him into the abyss. He shouted, but the fall was short. He landed on his hands and knees, upon soft sand and shallow water. There were watery caverns deep below Casterly Rock, but this one was strange to him. "What place is this?"

"Your place." The voice echoed; it was a hundred voices, a thousand, the voices of all the Lannisters since Lann the Clever, who'd lived at the dawn of days. But most of all it was his father's voice, and beside Lord Tywin stood his sister, pale and beautiful, a torch burning in her hand. Joffrey was there as well, the son they'd made together, and behind them a dozen more dark shapes with golden hair.

"Sister, why has Father brought us here?"

"Us? This is your place, Brother. This is your darkness." Her torch was the only light in the cavern. Her torch was the only light in the world. She turned to go.

"Stay with me," Jaime pleaded. "Don't leave me here alone." But they were leaving. "Don't leave me in the dark!" Something terrible lived down here. "Give me a sword, at least."

“I gave you a sword," Lord Tywin said.

It was at his feet. Jaime groped under the water until his hand closed upon the hilt. Nothing can hurt me so long as I have a sword. As he raised the sword a finger of pale flame flickered at the point and crept up along the edge, stopping a hand's breath from the hilt.

—- Brienne shows up naked. Jaime cuts her chains. Gifts her a sword. etc.

Brienne's sword took flame as well, burning silvery blue. The darkness retreated a little more.

"The flames will burn so long as you live," he heard Cersei call. "When they die, so must you."

"Sister!" he shouted. "Stay with me. Stay!" There was no reply but the soft sound of retreating footsteps.

— Jaime and Brienne are left to face ghosts, lot of LN imagery and all that. Jaime’s sword’s fire goes out, Brienne’s still burns, he jerks awake before the ghosts rush him with his heart beating. Another moonlight motif happens after he wakes up on a “white stump” and he goes back for Brienne and saves her from the bear etc whatever no longer relevant to Cersei’s story imo

The Lannister legacy is associated with doom in Jaime’s subconscious. Cersei leaves with fire to join the Lannisters, specifically her son and father, and the imagery of death is so prevalent again.

This then mirrors Jaime’s other main dream, where his subconscious mind is communicating with him, right before he burns her letter. Again, overwhelming fire imagery. And it is fire that is destroying her. Like the letter, she is left to burn. First he mistakes his mother for Cersei, and then her leaving him parallels Cersei leaving in the fever dream. His mom, or his subconscious, also presents him with a key reality check:

One. One hand, clasped tight around the sword hilt. Only one. "In my dreams I always have two hands." He raised his right arm and stared uncomprehending at the ugliness of his stump.

"We all dream of things we cannot have. Tywin dreamed that his son would be a great knight, that his daughter would be a queen. He dreamed they would be so strong and brave and beautiful that no one would ever laugh at them."

This is in direct conversation with his last dream (I assume it is deconstructing it. Idk, Jaime, it is almost like Goldenhand the Just is not a real possibility): “Last night he dreamed he'd found her fucking Moon Boy. He'd killed the fool and smashed his sister's teeth to splinters with his golden hand, just as Gregor Clegane had done to poor Pia (we know what he thinks of Gregor, we know this is not good in his mind or ours, it is almost like his subconscious is telling him something). In his dreams Jaime always had two hands; one was made of gold, but it worked just like the other.”

"I am a knight," he told her, "and Cersei is a queen."

A tear rolled down her cheek. The woman raised her hood again and turned her back on him. Jaime called after her, but already she was moving away, her skirt whispering lullabies as it brushed across the floor. Don't leave me, he wanted to call, but of course she'd left them long ago.

Both of their endeavors seem to be dead ends. Cersei is not gonna be the Queen that she always craved to be, despite having the title. Jaime is not and is not going to be the glorious knight, Goldenhand the Just, as he should conclude based on the Riverrun fiasco (this is also why I think Jaime’s very emphasized white/silver/grey replacing gold & crimson color symbolism is not about the KG, it is either something more abstract or it is about the Starks: “White is for the Starks. I’ll drink red like a good Lannister”, ntm how tied Arya is to JB through locations/brotherhood/stoneheart despite their desperate search for Sansa (pointless, she is at the Vale), and horses & wolves, the weirwood, the oath in general, and the fact that WW is half of Ice.) That is his attempt to recreate a fictive ideal that the boy he used to be dreamed of. That is not what true knighthood is about though. It was never about golden glory. These are golden lies. He knows too deep down. He has one hand. He has to look at the ugliness of the stump. It feels like Jaime realizes this, on a subconscious level certainly, and will pivot (especially after confronting what is essentially the embodiment of the worst product of the Lannister regime: a monster created by its sins, the cycle of violence itself, as well Jaime’s specific part in it: Stoneheart) at least I hope so, because that is how his arc would be functional, but Cersei remains steadfast. Also, Cersei remaining passive would feel like her character and the set up did not go anywhere. Whatever she will do with wildfire will be a grand act of agency, and her combatting the state she is in, it is gonna be a very corrupted and poetic act of destruction. She is essentially gonna set herself and the world on fire in order to battle the cold (her enemies, the people that hurt her, witnesses, and the innocents that are a victim to this whole cycle). That is what I would like to see. Jaime’s last AFfC chapter is also supposed to be a point of no return in some form. The idea of “opening the shutters”, winter, is so emphasized. The main reason certain retreading happens in ADwD that some people are obsessed with overanalyzing or misrepresenting (especially bc they need it desperately to justify “Jaime is drawn back to CR of all places to Cersei for no good reason other than he is a codependent addict” so they can get the wildfire + Cersei + KL out of the equation so Dany or whatever can be the Aerys parallel/mad evil kaboom boom person while there still being some lackluster follow through for all of Cersei’s set ups like valonqar etc) is because George’s editor told him to do some retreading with him since he took so long between books that the readers needed a reminder about where these characters were left:

so this entire passage had to be added in to cover these bases. When I read the Feast/Dance combined book it made me laugh how much this part was a “previously on Jaime Lannister.”

But again, he makes a clear choice, motivated by a concoction of things: he goes with Brienne, not back to his King, or back to Cersei. I think he is not ready to face Cersei yet and fears what he would do. I think so many dichotomies were being emphasized in this chapter: Tywin’s dogma, its results, the glory of pursuing the brotherhood, and how it all conflicts with Jaime’s arc in the subtext. I do not doubt he will land back there again, yes, George said they are effectively estranged, the romantic relationship is over, but that does not necessarily mean they will not meet again, nor that they will not hold any relevance in each other’s stories anymore. (Even if valonqar will not be literal, again, he has one hand, and he came to this conclusion in his dreams too in the end, and this fact very much comes in the way of the logistics of “the valonqar will wrap his hands”, if not only literally, certainly symbolically: even if it is the gold chain part two (was one not more than enough George???), I feel like Jaime would struggle with doing it with even that considering his hand situation.) Personally, I would prefer it if that part of the prophecy is subverted and it ends up not being an ex (or any other man for that matter) overpowering and murdering her. George had enough misses when it concerns some misogynistic writing in her storyline, it is 2023 now, so her death not being in anyway “gratifying” for misogynists (see aspects of the framing of Lysa’s death) would be my preference. I would love her death to be on her own terms. I made a parallel about her and Hedda Gabler before, and maybe something of that sort would be the best case scenario. She would rather take herself out in a blaze of glory than let the men (any valonqar, be it Tyrion, Jaime, Aegon etc) do it. That would be tragic as well as in some very dark way her reclaiming agency from fate itself. But honestly I doubt that is the direction George will go. Jaime will probably kill her, and it will be an incredibly grey act. Do not want that to be presented as straightforwardly heroic. I think it will be motivated by a lot of emotion and not just duty. Do not know how this entire situation will go down exactly. Also, really specific detail I noticed regarding prophecy wording, might not be deliberate:

“And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”

Sometimes he even wept, until he heard the Mummers laughing. Then he made his eyes go dry and his heart go dead, and prayed for his fever to burn away his tears. Now I know how Tyrion has felt, all those times they laughed at him.

Drogon killed a little girl. Her name was … her name …" Dany could not recall the child's name. That made her so sad that she would have cried if all her tears had not been burned away.

And then there was no stopping the tears. They burned down the queen's cheeks like acid.

To my knowledge, these three (+ Cat’s tears burning like vinegar) are the only characters with this specific phrasing present. Interesting anyway.

Also, I am wondering how much Cers will even trust Jaime atp. The sun is blotted out, that has to represent disillusionment, no? Ronnet Connington is also back at KL, we all know what Jaime did to that man when it concerned Brienne, and Cersei’s “he would never abandon me for such a creature. My letter must not have reached him” might entirely fall apart even more if he happens to tell her. Nonetheless, Widow’s Wail is still very much at the Red Keep, and that will have to land in Jaime’s hand(s). Also to further address the theory that the twins will be away from the wildfire and die together at CR since I mentioned it, I do not think the twins should go to The Rock. It is a place that Jaime repeatedly rejected, and Cersei is so closely tied to KL, the throne, and her kids are destined to die because of their crowns. Kevan wanted to return Cersei to The Rock, and what happened to him lol. “So long as Tommen sits the Iron Throne, the realm sees him as the true king. Hide him under the Rock and he becomes just another claimant to the throne, no different than Stannis.” “I am aware of that” the Queen said sharply.

I don’t know guys, doubt Cersei will want to hide under the Rock after what happened. Like you are telling me that Cersei, the one that reached into the lion’s cage, the human embodiment of wildfire, will passively accept all this? “That is not the way a lion dies.” So unless it is like a huge irony moment, which I would honestly like less, I do not think I see it or would like it happening. Also, Jaime is presented with the opportunity to die with Cers twice atp, once at the end of AFfC when the letter comes, and then at ADwD he is on his way back there. He ends up not taking it. In ASoS, when Brienne talks him out of passive suicide under the graceful crescent, he makes “Cersei needs me, I cannot die we need to die together”, “Tyrion who loves me for a lie needs me”, and “revenge against Hoat and co” his purpose to keep living. Notice how literally none of these things come to be. He does not even actively pursue the Hoat gang, revenge “lost its savor” once he sees the brutality that happened to Hoat, Tyrion no longer loves him for a lie and he believes he does not love him at all, and look at what is up with Cersei. “Her need is real enough”, + his bitterness about the cheating is still present in the chapter, and yet he does not end up pursuing any of that and chooses the oath to Cat (he abandons his position alone with Brienne, not exactly the safest thing). Like in his dream, he has his own flame right now, Cersei leaves with her torch and is no longer “the only light in the world” like it used to be as a result of their codependent relationship. The essentialist roots of that were completely deconstructed for both parties, Jaime especially (and it is touched upon again in ADwD w Hildy). So I don’t know why and how he would go to CR to Cersei atp tbh. Something will have to draw him to KL imo. Jaime’s dream is not about CR literally either, one it mirrors Brienne’s dreams and she pictures a different location (ntm they are together in Jaime’s whole dream thing anyway, what the fuck would Brienne be doing over there), two he repeatedly thinks and realizes how there is no such place beneath The Rock by the end. The original CR connection is more metaphorical than anything in my opinion. It is Tyrion that is tied to that place in a plethora of ways. It is his character that it is extremely relevant to. Whatever he will end up doing there will serve just as well with the idea of the destruction of Tywin’s legacy. I think the other two siblings will destroy Tywin’s legacy in different ways.

Finally, here is why it being Dany is thematically pretty dysfunctional imo: link

And even if, after all that, you guys still believe there to be another Aerys parallel in the narrative: This is already in the text. Is Cersei’s role just to foreshadow another woman’s path? You want this same narrative to happen again but with a teenage girl? I sure love that guys great message about women and power.

#disagree with some of this now but the symbolism analysis is good imo #asoiaf #cersei lannister #daenerys targaryen #jaime lannister #aerys targaryen #asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #long post

[highladyluck]

13 books tag game, tagged by @amemoryofwot and @asha-mage (incidentally I typoed that as "amemeryofwot" which would be an excellent sideblog concept, maybe snatch that one up?)

1) Last book I read:

Mistress of the Empire by Raymond Feist & Janny Wurts (at the time I started filling this out, anyway… I've been working on this ask for several days) This whole trilogy was a delight, thanks to @sixth-light for telling me I would love Mara!

2) A book I recommend:

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord. It's a quiet little road trip romance exploring grief & diaspora, in a setting that I can best describe as 'if Madeline L'Engle had been in charge of Star Trek worldbuilding'. (If you squint you can see analogues to humans, Vulcans, Romulans, and Orions, but the tone is reminiscent of L'Engle.) There are sequels that follow different characters but this is the first one and it works as a standalone. I feel like it has a lovely light touch on some intense subjects and I appreciate the way each chapter works as a separate story while still fitting into the whole.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

I remember staying up past my bedtime for The Monster Baru Cormorant, I think? At the very least, that's where we first get my beloved Tau-Indi, and the pacing on the climax is kinda weird, about 2/3rds in, so I think I would have read through to it without stopping. I don't know if this question is supposed to be about compellingness or pacing? Probably compellingness, I think I'm weirdly fixated on structure when I read things. But sometimes I think books you 'can't put down' are at least partially that way because there's no damn place to breathe, and I don't entirely approve.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more)

I see from literally everyone who has tagged me in this that this is one of the two free spaces for Wheel of Time, but I'll switch it up: Lifeboats by Diane Duane. It's set between Young Wizards 9 & 10 and deals with an emergency response team permanently evacuating an entire alien population from a natural disaster (RIP their moon and also consequently their planet). This novel is a huge comfort read for me and is undoubtedly the Young Wizards work I've read the most. I don't really know how to explain what it means to me… I wish I had had it when I was living and working in a foreign country.

5) A book on my TBR

A friend recommended Cahokia Jazz (in general, not to me specifically) and it sounds SO MUCH like my jam. I suspect if I can't find it at my library soon, I'll end up buying the ebook.

6) A book I’ve put down

Can't think of a recent one, but if I hadn't forced myself to finish reading it because it was a Hugo Award nominee, I would have DNF'd Project Hail Mary.

7) A book on my wish list

I wish for more Baru Cormorant but I also literally cannot imagine how Seth is going to write that next book. So like, I'm girding my loins for Baru #4 either 15 years from now or never.

8) A favourite book from childhood

When I was really little I loved the Berenstain Bear books and my mom HATED that I loved them ("they were so badly written!" - my mom the children's librarian) but she bought them for me anyway. That's love.

9) A book you would give a friend

You all need to read Middlemarch by George Eliot. I don't care what stage of life you're at, you will find something resonant in it. Read it now, and read it again in 20 years. Give it to recent high school grads. Give it as a wedding present. Take it to the beach. BUT I am specifically recommending it to the WoT contingent, because the characters are so good!

10) The most books you own by a single author

It's actually either Diane Duane or Terry Pratchett, and DD's probably winning because I don't have every Pratchett book but I do have almost every DD book including tie-in novels.

11) A nonfiction book you own

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz. I don't read a ton of nonfiction but the writing is very engaging and I think cities are neat.

12) what are you currently reading

I'm between books but I just finished The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (as I am writing this part several days after question 1). I didn't like it as much as the first one, The Mimicking of Known Successes, but I think it's just a taste thing. I didn't like being in Pleiti's POV very much, her overthinking is too much like mine and it alternately stresses me out and makes me angry, because I can see the assumptions/unhelpful thought patterns but I can't fix them. Obviously, to draw that reaction from me the characters are well-defined, and I like everything else about the series, I just hope it goes back to Mossa's POV.

13) what are you planning on reading next?

WHEN WILL 'RED SIDE STORY' BY JASPER FFORDE REACH MY HOUSE??? I have been waiting like 15 years for this sequel to Shades of Grey and the entire point of preordering it was so I could have it ASAP. I could have walked into a bookstore on May 9th and walked out with it, and instead I won't get it until tomorrow. >:(

I think I am supposed to add a shelfie? The organizing principles(s) of this shelf in my bedroom are very weird…. Classics/adventure, fantasy, popular science writing? Someday I need to reshelve everything in the house according to size/favoriteness/genre/theme/vibes (in that order) but I haven’t felt like it.

I think pretty much everyone I was going to tag already got tagged, so whoever want to do it, go ahead!

#book meme #tag game

[istumpysk]

OPERATION ICEBERG: THE TIER LIST

TIER LIST OVERVIEW:

Guaranteed: These theories have been explicitly confirmed by George R. R. Martin or other authoritative sources.

Near-Certainty: These theories lack official confirmation but are so heavily supported by the text and/or external hints that they're almost certainly true.

Strong Contender: These theories have a lot of textual support, but there are still some elements of uncertainty.

Possible: These theories could be true, but additional evidence is needed, as different interpretations or errors are possible.

Under Consideration: These theories haven't garnered strong or extensive evidence, but they're worthy of discussion.

50/50: These theories are complete toss-ups.

Low Probability: While not impossible, these theories are unlikely based on the current evidence.

Long Shot: These theories are largely speculative, based more on wishful thinking or obscure hints than on solid evidence.

Debunked: These theories have been directly contradicted by the text, George R. R. Martin, or other authoritative sources.

A Joke: These theories are an absolute joke; anyone who believes them is a fool.

Fanfiction: These "theories" are nothing short of delusional fan-crafted fantasies, embarrassingly disconnected from any shred of textual reality.

Alright fam, group project.

For each major theory, I'll present the evidence, and then you all can vote on whether it's correctly placed on the tier list. While I'm open to making changes, know that I have the final say, should you all lose your minds, or should the dumb side of the fandom find the poll.

Let's begin.

THEORY:

Stannis burns Shireen

TIER:

Guaranteed

EVIDENCE:

GEORGE R. R. MARTIN: It wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to give away my books. It's not easy to talk about the end of my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and "hold the door," and Stannis's decision to burn his daughter. We didn't get to everybody by any means. Especially the minor characters, who may have very different endings. - Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series

x

Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss tell EW those conversations included "three holy sh– moments" in particular.

The first: Stannis Barathon sacrificing his daughter Shireen — which was shown during the show's fifth season. - Entertainment Weekly

x

Question: Hello James. From what you know, how much of the show's ending for the major characters (Jon, Dany, Arya, Tyrion, Bran, Sansa) aligns with what George is planning?

James Hibberd: The fabled three big things GRRM told Dan and Dave that they used in the back seasons were Hodor's death (and origin story), Stannis burning Shireen and "who ends up on the Iron Throne." The only thing I can say aside from that is there will be some rather big differences. - James Hibberd's Reddit Ask Me Anything

Also, let's not forget, this is the same man who used blood magic to murder his own brother and had to be stopped from doing the same to his nephew. Bit of a theme here.

VOTE:

NEXT THEORY:

Asha's pregnant

#operation iceberg #asoiaf theory tier list #theory 1 #stannis burns shireen

[its-all-ineffable]

Fandom Focus #41

Red, White & Royal Blue - This one is not leaving me alone honestly. Everytime I think it is, that it's fading, it somehow reignites. And honestly I'm not unhappy about it. I love this movie, and the book, and Alex and Henry so much.

Shadowhunters (mainly Malec) - So I went on a Shadowhunters binge a couple of weeks ago...honestly it was both good and bad. There are good parts of the show (mainly Malec, honestly), but there have always been parts I majorly disliked or even out-right hated (especially as a book fan). On the re-watch I found more to hate/dislike and that upsets me. On the other hand, Malec are just the fucking best and perfection in that show, as are Izzy and Maia. So I focus on that. So reading Malec fics for the win!

Interview with the Vampire 2022 - Um...yeah I've re-watched the show like 3 times in the past few weeks, on a loop...it's back bitches and I cannot wait for season 2! I hope to write some more of my current fic series for it too. God I miss this show.

Mary & George - I went into this show with like, the expectation of watching Nicholas Galitzine being gay and Julianne Moore getting to say fuck and those being the best parts and it being mid... INSTEAD I got one of the best period dramas I've ever seen and I cannot stop thinking about it. It was a fantastic drama, and also taught me so much about that period of history...go watch it if you can, it's FABULOUS!

The ones on the back-burner at the minute are Shadow & Bone show/Six of Crows (bought the collectors edition of it and began re-reading it), and Heartstopper too (season 3 WHEN?!). Also begun a re-watch of The Vampire Diaries for the first time in a while and omg it is soooooo 2000s but it's such good fun.

#fandom focus #fandom focus no. 41 #rwrb #red white and royal blue #shadowhunters #amc iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #mary & george #mary and george #soc duology #shadow and bone #heartstopper #the vampire diaries

[cadmusfly]

Let's post another Dragon Thing! oh shit this is long, insert bad joke about lóng here

napoleonic marshalate dragons au chronological tag

What Are Dragons - summary of biology, dragons falling into cute naps that they need their loved ones and their treasure hoards to wake up from

Dragons in Culture in Not Temeraire Napoleonic Wars With Dragons

In this world, dragons are entwined with human society in interesting ways. The legend of St Martha who in our world tamed and killed the Tarrasque, in that world she tamed the Tarrasque and it became her loyal steed. St George did not kill the dragon but subjugated and tamed it. In the Book of Genesis, the serpent who tempted Eve to eat the apple was thrown out of Eden with Adam and Eve, becoming the first dragon and living with Adam and Eve. This does mean that there's an interesting theme of redemption going on here, and I'd like to name the dragon - thinking either "Seth" or "Naha".

There's a tradition of the "dragon bride" where a human, usually a woman but not all the time, is "offered" to a dragon as a rider, to symbolically say that she has tamed the savage beast. Of course, with the patriarchal attitudes, she is not officially allowed to ride it into battle, but she may ride it for other menial work or for ceremonial purposes.

This is an equivalent to marriage, often arranged but sometimes out of love and affection - for the historical figures who have been reinterpreted as dragons here, often their spouses are interpreted as these dragon riders. This is not to say that dragon-human loving relationships is not a thing, and many of these dragon bride relationships can be romantic (probably not physically, I will leave that to your imagination), but many are out of obligation.

This is more of a nobility or upper class thing, though the concept of dragon brides and dragon riders can very much be present in other parts of society. But it could also be a thing where women who don't want to get married pledge themselves to a dragon or something.

By spending time together, dragon brides/dragon riders will inevitably end up as a treasure of the dragon, so the dragon will be able to sense the dragon bride and consensually possess them and talk to them over slightly larger distances.

Dragon families are represented in nobility, but they tend to be smaller and closer to human sized. Dragons are not explicitly associated with the military - they till the fields, tend the animals (animals raised around dragons tend to be fine with dragons), the smaller ones can be fairly deft with claws and can be artisans, many dragons are messengers and couriers.

(There could be an interesting proto-telephone setup where dragon telepathy is utilised to pass messages really quickly, maybe with a system where two dragons are present at each station in order to try and prevent wilful distortion of messages. I'd need to look into how semaphores and other intermediary communication systems would guard against this kind of stuff. Stop me before I reinvent cryptography.)

About dragons themselves and their position in society... there's a paternalistic thing going on where dragons are thought to need humans to guide and lead them. It is true that the larger dragons benefit from human help, that they cannot manipulate and grasp tools so easily or even at all, but this is not evidence of dragons being dependent on humanity.

In general, the larger dragons are often stereotyped as being lower class/peasants/country bumpkins. Smaller dragons and those who can fit more easily in human sized cities and buildings are often considered to be more acceptable, and there are noble dragon families who tend to be quite small.

(Lannes is small-ish but he's long and snakey, which places him in "awkward shape" territory. Berthier is a very small dragon, either pony or large dog sized, and is Respectable. Soult, Mortier, Massena and others are too large to be respectable. Junot's slightly bigger than lannes but is less awkwardly shaped, and he's bourgeoisie.)

I don't want dragons to be explicitly a metaphor for oppressed or underclass people, because there are genuine prejudice, racism and horrors in the Napoleonic era and I don't want the existence of dragons to displace that. There is prejudice and the whole paternalism thing is reminiscient of certain real world racist attitudes both in history and the modern day era. The Revolution in this setting did bring about increased opportunities for dragons, and there is a level of social change that's unavoidable to address in this setting.

But I'm aiming to avoid a "robots sit at the back of the bus" clumsy representation scenario. I hope by establishing that dragons are people and not isomorphic to specific ethnicities, I can try my best to not be too weird about it. Where there are humans in this setting, there are dragons, in both the upper echelons of society and in the horrors of war and slavery.

So yeah - dragons are people. Scaley monstrous beasts who are persons.

This turned out very lóng so I'll put the stuff about dragons in the military in another post!

#cadmus rambles #cad rambles about dead frenchmen on main #marshalate dragons au #dragons as cavalry au