#i hated how he went through with his threat of murdering elias

[sparrowstarsandsorrow]

You ain't no firing squad, you piece of shit!

#the fight scene was hella intense #the way barnes just went straight for elias throat #JESUS CHRIST #i know its platoon and its meant to be violent and about a very real terrible war #but damn #barnes was so brutal #i hated how he went through with his threat of murdering elias #no matter how damaged the war made him that was unforgiving #chris knew that #but #fucking respect for elias fighting a man twice his size #FUCKING GO ELIAS HELL YEAHHH!!! #hes got TRUE FUCKING COURAGE!!! #hell yes ✊️✊️ #(most of the soldiers are terrorified of barnes in a way) #its his reputation #platoon #elias grodin #sergeant elias IS A FUCKING REBEL #willem dafoe #sgt. barnes #tom berenger #oliver stone #1986 #⭐️ #bob barnes

[dragonsfromthemoon]

Just because Rhaegar told Elia that 'There must be three heads' doesn't mean that she would have known anything and everything that is there to know about Rhaegar's prophecy. An intelligent woman would have smacked Rhaegar on his head and said to take his head out of prophecies and asked him to deal with his deranged father instead.

Also, is it realistic that anyone in their right mind would ask their husbands to go and humiliate them in front of the entire Seven Kingdoms ??? Not happening. Besides there are Rhaegar fanatics who blame Elia for his pursuit of Lyanna, actually thinking that Rhaegar absconded with Lyanna because of Elia's failures.

Such claims of Elia showing the greenlight to Rhaegar/Lyanna relationship doesn't necessarily makes it better. That would naturally have Elia dirtying her hand with the start of the war and sent ten thousand Dornishmen off to die, including her own uncle.

Babies are cute yes, but let me ask you one question. If you were ever placed in a situation where you have to choose between your own child or some other child of a friend/stranger, who would you choose ? You could only ever save one of them ? Who would you choose or anyone else ? I pray that no one find themselves in such a situation but everyone is going to save their own child. No matter how cute the other baby is, or how important the other baby is, to a parent their offspring comes first. And as such Elia would naturally prefer her children over Jon.

Besides Jon is in a position where Daemon Blackfyre exactly was. And there was a Blackfyre rebellion in the recent memory with Maelys the Monstrous. People can say, Elia is of Dorne and Dornish don't hate bastards and such, but is that how Myriah Martell's mindset would have been when Daemon Blackfyre was hoping to murder her sons and usurp their claims ?

Elia is a Dornish princess, on her way to become queen, and the Dornish have never been popular in Westeros. She can't afford to look despised, cuckhold, weak or naive. Especially if she wants what is best for her children, which definitely wouldn't be allowing a threat to their throne go around freely.

Anon, the truth is that we do not know the extent of what Rhaegar told Elia. How much she knew of his plans. We could argue back and forth all day; we would be merely speculating and having our own biased headcanons. However, let’s work with the canon material we have to build an argument.

ONE. By the way, the scene you mentioned is ambiguous in itself, because it happens to be a vision in the House of the Undying. Dany herself cannot be sure who Rhaegar was addressing.

"Will you make a song for him?" the woman asked. "He has a song," the man replied. "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way. [Daenerys IV, ACOK]

Here, I even highlighted the passage for you. Not hard to understand we cannot take it at face value, right?

TWO. Rhaegar had plans to deal with his father. The only one who had a pacific way of deposing Aerys, actually, through a Council. 

But if indeed there was a shadow, who was he, and why did he choose to keep his role a secret? A dozen names have been put forward over the years, but only one seems truly compelling: Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone. If this tale be believed, 'twas Prince Rhaegar who urged Lord Walter to hold the tourney, using his lordship's brother Ser Oswell as a gobetween. Rhaegar provided Whent with gold sufficient for splendid prizes in order to bring as many lords and knights to Harrenhal as possible. The prince, it is said, had no interest in the tourney as a tourney; his intent was to gather the great lords of the realm together in what amounted to an informal Great Council, in order to discuss ways and means of dealing with the madness of his father, King Aerys II, possibly by means of a regency or a forced abdication. If indeed this was the purpose behind the tourney, it was a perilous game that Rhaegar Targaryen was playing. Though few doubted that Aerys had taken leave of his senses, many still had good reason to oppose his removal from the Iron Throne, for certain courtiers and councillors had gained great wealth and power through the king's caprice and knew that they stood to lose all should Prince Rhaegar come to power.  [The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring, TWOIAF]

This claim is supported by Rhaegar’s own words, in a conversation with Jaime.

Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime's shoulder. "When this battle's done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but . . . well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return." Those were the last words Rhaegar Targaryen ever spoke to him. Outside the gates an army had assembled, whilst another descended on the Trident. So the Prince of Dragonstone mounted up and donned his tall black helm, and rode forth to his doom. [Jaime I, AFFC]

So you cannot claim that Rhaegar was not aware of Aerys II’s inaptitude to sit the Iron Throne and did not mean to do something. However, there are three issues regarding Aerys II: 1. TWOIF remarks he had his own supporters, men that hated Rhaegar and wanted him passed in favor of Viserys; 2. he was still the king; and 3. he was still Rhaegar’s father. Rhaegar could not commit treason, nor kinslaying or kingslaying. Those are all taboos in Westerosi society. It was not as easy as we would like to depose a king, who would have imagined, right?

THREE. Rhaegar did not crown Lyanna with the intent of humiliating Elia, as you put it. It is speculated to be a move to curry favor with the lords attending the tourney, especially the Starks and the Baratheons, for his political purpose of deposing Aerys II. 

The cheers of the crowd were said to be deafening, but King Aerys did not join them. Far from being proud and pleased by his heir's skill at arms, His Grace saw it as a threat. Lords Chelsted and Staunton inflamed his suspicions further, declaring that Prince Rhaegar had entered the lists to curry favor with the commons and remind the assembled lords that he was a puissant warrior, a true heir to Aegon the Conqueror.  [The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring, TWOIAF]

And when the triumphant Prince of Dragonstone named Lyanna Stark, daughter of the Lord of Winterfell, the queen of love and beauty, placing a garland of blue roses in her lap with the tip of his lance, the lickspittle lords gathered around the king declared that further proof of his perfidy. Why would the prince have thus given insult to his own wife, the Princess Elia Martell of Dorne (who was present), unless it was to help him gain the Iron Throne? The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia's delicate beauty, could only have been meant to win the allegiance of Winterfell to Prince Rhaegar's cause, Symond Staunton suggested to the king. Yet if this were true, why did Lady Lyanna's brothers seem so distraught at the honor the prince had bestowed upon her? Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, had to be restrained from confronting Rhaegar at what he took as a slight upon his sister's honor, for Lyanna Stark had long been betrothed to Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End. Eddard Stark, Brandon's younger brother and a close friend to Lord Robert, was calmer but no more pleased. As for Robert Baratheon himself, some say he laughed at the prince's gesture, claiming that Rhaegar had done no more than pay Lyanna her due...but those who knew him better say the young lord brooded on the insult, and that his heart hardened toward the Prince of Dragonstone from that day forth.  [The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring, TWOIAF]

Well, here we have hints of Rhaegar participation in the jousts and his posterior crowning of Lyanna as a political move (as well as to honor her for The Knight of the Laughing Three). Did it go wrong? Of course! The Starks and Robert were distraught and not too pleased. Rhaegar tried, nevertheless. He thought his gallantry would earn him support for his cause (in comparison to Aerys II’s appearance and overall behavior, mind you). As you might have noticed, we can understand a little more of Rhaegar’s reasons, but not Elia’s perspective on the whole ordeal. However, if she was aware of what he wanted to achieve at Harrenhal, it is safe to conclude a sensible woman such as Elia would not begrudge him for making a move. Again, we cannot be sure about her, because GRRM did not bother to give us Elia’s perspective. It does not even matter, frankly. 

FOUR. The circumstance of Rhaegar and Elia’s relationship was this: a political match made by the Princess of Dorne; borne out of duty, not out of love. However, there was good feelings between them, even if it was not love. Whether she was aware or Rhaegar’s feelings for Lyanna or not, I cannot say. But nothing about her (arranged) marriage, personality and upbringing suggest that she would have raged or hated Rhaegar and Lyanna’s guts because he took a mistress he loved. We have to remember she was a Dornish noblewoman, born and raised in a faux-medieval society. Alliances by marriage were the order; and people had lovers they desired and loved. Her context differs much from ours.

FIVE. The Rebellion (and thus the deaths of thousand of dornishmen) did not start because Rhaegar and Lyanna eloped. It started because of Brandon’s impulsiveness and lack of tactic (shouting for the death of the Crown Prince is a treason, a huge crime paid with death), and because Aerys II not only murdered Rickard Stark, but demanded the heads of Ned and Robert as well. Then Jon Arryn raised his banners in war. It was a situation that got out of control.

SIX. Why are you talking babies? It quite does not have anything to do with the situation at hand. Elia was not put in a situation in which she had to make such a choice for her son’s life (unless you consider Young Griff to be the real Aegon).

SEVEN. Why do you think Jon would have risen in rebellion and comparing this situation to the Blackfyre’s Rebellions? Do you have anything to back up your claim? It seems you have a bias against bastards, quite frankly. And this is a mere hipotetical situation, because we know how the Rebellion ended.

EIGHT. At the end of the day, you seem to forget that, despite of Rhaegar’s relationship with Lyanna, Elia was still his legal wife. She was the mother of his heir, the next queen consort and the second in the line of succession to Dorne. Lyanna’s status highly differs from hers. Unless claimed otherwise on the next books, Lyanna was a lover (a mistress, if you would), with no legal marital status. Again, unless claimed otherwise, Jon would still be a bastard. Even if Rhaegar legitimized Jon to give him the Targaryen name, he would still be the second son, under Aegon in the line of succession. I do not see any lord going against that or tempted to usurp Aegon. Even more so that Aegon had the Targaryen look, whilst Jon does not. I quite doubt a lord would rise in rebellion to supplant the heir ir favor of a Northern-looking boy, in those circumstances. Actually, Viserys was the one to be feared here, not Jon. Because Aerys II’s supports wanted to take Rhaegar and his children out of the line of succession, fearing they would lose power and wealth. Tell me the truth now. Who would have Elia feared: her son’s legitimate and Targaryen-looking uncle or Rhaegar’s Northern-looking baseborn son? I think the answer is obvious. 

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #elia martell #rhaegar targaryen #ashter answers

[animehouse-moe]

The Ancient Magus' Bride S2 Episode 9: Conscience Does Make Coward Of Us All I.

This episode frustrated me so much, because I was just completely ignoring any set up and foreshadowing from the earlier episodes this season. It snuck up on me, and I hate how much sense it makes when you can put it all together. Of course, that frustration means it's a good episode, if that wasn't clear. Alongside the story though, it's probably one of the prettiest ones to date, so certainly a lot to talk about!

What a massive blunder on my part. Elias wants to cure Chise of her curse/ailments, that was well established. I just didn't connect the dots with him going to the college and reading that book at the start of the season. Nor did I connect the fact that it was a book that appeared before Lucy while on the camping trip in the prior episode. Never did I think they would be one in the same, and I feel like I failed. I looked right past all the obvious information just to have it sprung on me in this episode when Elias reveals what's in the book.

It's so plain to see. Elias was looking through that book to search for a cure for Chise, but he didn't find what he was looking for. Even without the information of the book, it should have been easy to put two and two together from Lucy's interaction with it but I looked right past it. Similarly, the book also speaks to Elias' desire to rid Chise of Joseph, which I thought was interesting.

Anyways, humor me on presenting a certain theory. We know Philomela and the Sargent family is up to no good, and that Philomela has been tailing someone. I won't go as far as saying Lucy since we have no way to confirm, but I also know it's not Chise because she's the only one that can "find" Philomela. Anyways, Philomela has been tailing someone, and her ability to hide her presence is awfully convenient. A spider's thread was found in the box containing the codex. Now, it could have been part of the codex, or it could have been involved in the theft of it. If it's the latter, it means the people that killed the Webster family and stole their spiders are the same people after that codex. If there's spider's being used, taking the only (real) member of the Webster family out of the equation makes the most sense so that they can't interfere in any way.

So, we arrive at the notion that Philomela and the Sargent family are who murdered the Webster family and stole their spiders, and that Philomela (or perhaps Lizbeth) is in possession of the codex, which they used to sap Lucy of her magic so that she would not pose a risk when stealing the codex. What follows though, is why they went as far as using the codex on Simeon, and why Seth is being hunted. The former, it's possible that it's because they didn't want Elias anywhere near the situation due to his power, but the latter is a bit more odd. We know Seth can't really control magic well, so you'd think he's not a real part of the equation, but the setup with making it seem like those Lycanthropes are paying Seth back for his previous job has me second guessing his significance.

Alright! Crackpot theorycrafting over, here's some cool and fun shots from the episode to break up the monotony. I'll explain the direction and what piques my interest later on.

Okay, onto actual episode stuff now. We'll start with Chise. I really like how we're beginning to address the Dragon's curse and Joseph swirling around inside her. It's very nice to see it treated as a threat that has integrated with Chise, rather than a beast that exists within her. Because of that, the fear and issues surrounding it feel far more reasonable. Also, because of that outburst in the prior episode, she went to visit Joseph, and I really like seeing how she continues to mirror him more and more, whether in jest or in actuality.

Similarly, I really love the use of first person perspective in this cut, alongside the dialogue. We're using Chise's eye that resides in Joseph to look at Chise. Sort of a "in the mirror" moment as we're looking at Chise through her own eye, which adds a certain value to Joseph's words. He doesn't say "something within you", but just "within you", explicitly stating that the piece of him and the curse of the Dragon are Chise. That her fears and aggression and aversion are all one homogenous aspect of herself that she can't simply isolate because she doesn't like it.

Alongside Chise though there's Elias, who I really enjoyed once more this episode. I quite love how well his struggle with grasping emotions is depicted. He doesn't get them at the drop of a hat, but neither is he completely clueless forever. He's shown to have the very basics down, and can apply that to the more complex feelings, but is unable to really take that next step forward just yet. And I think that's really well shown through his questioning of what 'worrying' is. He correctly gets the piece about being scared, but is unsure/incorrect in how to apply it.

Also, with this first image I really like the head tilt. It addresses the innocence with how Elias approaches and questions emotions while also showing his understanding of how expressions shape said emotions. So it effectively doubles down as him expressing his curiosity as well.

And now, just doubling back to Chise one last time. I really liked this piece in how she's effectively absorbed some of the ability of the dragons. She's able to enter Lucy's inner world through contact with her dragon hand, which I thought was very interesting.

With that, the story of the episode is about finished. It's a very methodic and slow pace, as is usual for MahoYome, and I do quite enjoy it.

But I'm not done yet! There's still the direction to talk about, but I can make it quick.

Terasawa's penchant for overhead, long, and skewed layouts stays strong through the episode and remains enjoyable. It feels more constrained now that we're back indoors, and I feel like because of that they do a better job overall with delivering on it.

There's a lot more I'd love to share, but I think the point is made. The storyboarding and execution on space in this episode is far better than the prior thanks to its constraints.

Though I'd absolutely say the highlight of the episode is how they play with that evening sun as lighting. You can see it in that last image of Simeon there, but it's just so beautiful throughout that latter half of the episode with how detailed the light shafts are, and how they exist in a 3-dimensional space. It's really impressive, you get the feel of depth throughout the episode in general, but the lighting just adds a whole different degree to it.

So, there you have it. Bringing the episode back towards a confined space has brought out the best in the production, and they've woven together a violent mystery from pieces they've been casually dropping throughout the season. I'm very excited to see what we get shown next episode, seeing as there's so many questions and potential roads for the story to take.

#ancient magus' bride #ancient magus bride #mahoyome #mahou tsukai no yome #mahoutsukai no yome #magus bride #魔法使いの嫁 #chise hatori #elias ainsworth #studio kafka #wit studio #anime recommendation #anime review #anime and manga #anime

[sebeth]

Rhaegar Targaryen: My Most Hated Targaryen

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 I’ve been ranking the Targaryens as I’ve been re-reading The World Of Ice And Fire, Fire & Blood, and Rise of the Dragons. 

This is not based on good guy or bad guy attributes – it’s simply on how I feel about the character.

In my opinion, the worst Targaryen is...

Rhaegar Targaryen: Easily tops my most hated list. Made a half-assed attempt to remove his insane father from power only to be distracted by a 14/15 year-old girl. One who is betrothed to the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. Proceeds to abandon his wife and young children in the hands of his crazy father. Abducts/runs off with Lyanna, hiding away while the realm goes to war. Has to be dragged back to lead forces in the war he caused. Loses the deciding battle in the war causing Tywin Lannister to side with the rebels, ensuring the horrible murders of Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon.  He leaves his new love in an isolated tower in the middle of nowhere with three kingsguard, a wet nurse, and maybe/hopefully a maester. Another sound decision that results in the death of Lyanna and 8 other individuals because he didn’t bother to clarify that Lyanna’s kin should have visitation rights and/or allow Lyanna to have the authority to decide on who she can meet. Not to mention the tens of thousands who died because of his stupidity.

While we don’t know the full story behind Rhaegar & Lyanna, I don’t feel there is an interpretation that can spin Rhaegar into the “hero” role. He spent his entire life as an emo-boy obsessed with “the prince that was promised” prophecy – first it was himself, then it was Aegon, who was “the song of ice and fire, and then he needed Lyanna because the “dragon must have three heads”.  But then his incompetence caused two “heads of the dragon” to be killed. Seriously, what was Rhaegar’s plan? He doesn’t seem to have one and was improvising as he went along with no clear end goal in sight.

Lets run through the common defenses of Rhaegar’s actions:

1)      Rhaegar didn’t abduct Lyanna – she ran away with him willingly. Still doesn’t excuse Rhaegar’s actions (or Lyanna, if she was willing). He’s married and she’s betrothed. This is a huge “no” in their society.

2)      They sent messages to Lord Rickard but they were intercepted/lost. Then Rhaegar should have sent an in-person messenger. This is a situation that required clear communication. He clearly didn’t tell his father either. And even if Rickard received the message, it doesn’t change the situation. Rickard still had his daughter taken by a married man, a daughter who is betrothed to another Lord Paramount of Westeros. Even if the message stated that Rhaegar was taking Lyanna as a second wife, it still wouldn’t reassure Rickard – he’ll now have problems with the Stormlands and Dorne. Westeros isn’t fond of polygamy – the Stark reputation would take a hit.

3)      Elia knew of Rhaegar’s actions and she approved, you know, cause she’s Dornish. No, she did not. It’s stated “all smiles died” at the crowning of Lyanna – that includes Elia. It’s one thing to have a piece on the side, its quite another to take up with another woman for the sole purpose of breeding another heir – one that threatens your children’s inheritance. Lyanna’s child would be a threat – Rhaegar was all but setting up the Dance of the Dragons Version 2.  Even if the children were besties, the power players around them would certainly manipulate them to their advantage. Lastly, Elia would never approver of her marriage being annulled (show cannon) – that would be a great shame to her – and she certainly never consented to her and her children remaining in the custody of her insane father-in-law.

4)      Rhaegar couldn’t foresee the consequences of his actions. Again, no. Rhaegar had previously made a half-assed attempt to remove his father from the throne because he knew Aerys was insane. Brandon Stark had to be held back at Harrenhal from fighting Rhaegar – that didn’t clue him in that Brandon would have a rash response to Lyanna’s disappearance. And the Bratheons rebelled against Rhaegar’s great-grandfather over a broken bethrothal – he didn’t think history would repeat itself?

5)      Rhaegar was a great guy – all the characters think so. But does that make him a good person? Or did the characters fall for a charismatic surface without truly knowing the man. Lets be honest, compared to Aerys, it’s not hard to look like the great Targaryen option.

6)      “The Prince That Was Promised” prophecy – Rhaegar was one of a dozen Targaryens obsessed with prophecy, dragon dreams, and a mysterious threat. And every single one messed it up by arranging the prophecy to fit their own goals. I believe Daenerys is the “prince that was promised” and Lightbringer will be her dragons. Jon’s Targaryen blood may have him ride a dragon in the books but his true effort in the war against the Others will be uniting the North, the Free Folk, Stannis’s forces, etc – nothing that relies on him having Targaryen blood. I guess you could say Rhaegar’s actions led to Daenery’s expulsion from Westeros leading to her exile in Essos and obtaining the dragon eggs along with the means to hatch them. Of course, his actions also led to the downfall of the dynasty and near-extinction of his house. Win some, lose some?

Aerys, Lyanna, and Brandon all have responsibility for the war but the blame starts with Rhaegar – an idiot with delusions of grandeur, blind to the consequences of his actions.

 Up next, we continue from the worst to the best with another Targaryen whose delusions of grandeur led to the deaths of thousands.

#asoiaf #game of thrones #House Targaryen #Rhaegar Targaryen #Elia Martell #Lyanna Stark #Brandon Stark #Jon Snow #Aerys Targaryen #Rhaenys Targaryen #Aegon Targaryen #Daenerys Targaryen #a song of ice and fire

[astradrifting]

This is kind of inspired by this recent ask I sent to @esther-dot about Jon’s characterisation and Jonsa shippers’ apparent disregard for it, because it made me think of another part of Jon’s characterisation that is really integral to who he is. Mainly, that Jon really loves his brothers. Especially Robb. His rival and best friend and constant companion. Jon envies him, competes with him, buried a formative traumatic memory where he was deeply hurt by him... but ultimately loves him. Complex relationships with his brothers, both the Starks and his Night’s Watch brothers, are a running theme in Jon’s chapters.

Speaking of Jon’s brothers...

Aegon VI and Robb have a lot of potential parallels, actually. The “Young” moniker, red-haired counselors who are also their parents, trained to be the heir to a great kingdom from a young age, the barely younger half-brother Jon borne of their father’s dishonour of their mother… one that they might both have a good relationship with despite that?

The show tried to play with Jon ‘accepting’ his Targaryen lineage through the jonerice romance, very unconvincingly because it was simultaneously undermining it at every opportunity, in what was maybe a half-assed attempt at Pol!Jon (”They’ll all come to see you for what you are” isn’t anything but a threat in all contexts).

Jon will ultimately choose the Starks over everything else, that’s not really a question. But if Jon were to genuinely connect with another Targaryen, it’d likely be easier for him to find kinship with a half-brother than with an aunt - he has a basis for positive relationships with trueborn half-brothers, while the only aunt figure he’s ever known about is a) long dead and b) actually his mother. I think it’d both make more sense and be more compelling for GRRM to leverage Jon’s existing complex relationships with brotherhood by having him interact with and build a relationship with Aegon, than a rushed and out-of-character romance with Dany. 

Jon also is already primed to believe that Aegon is the real deal, that he was saved as a baby, because he’s already done the exact same thing himself - he swapped out a baby of royal blood who was in danger for a common-born boy, and then sent him halfway across the world for safety (side note: if Septa Lemore is Ashara, and if the baby was actually Ashara’s son as theorised here by @agentrouka-blog, that would just strengthen the parallel, because it would be his body double’s mother caring for him, as Gilly has to do for Mance’s son).

They’re definitely going to come into conflict first - politically, Jon will likely be in a position of power in the North by the time they meet, maybe as the KitN through Robb’s will or regent for Rickon, and probably will fight for Northern independence, while Aegon is fighting to be king of the Seven Kingdoms, not 6. Personally, it will be hard to get past the fact that Jon is the direct result of Rhaegar dishonouring Elia, plus that the Kingsguard who should have been protecting her were all stationed in Dorne, guarding Jon’s mother (in whatever capacity). But these interactions, a conflict and eventual friendship/brotherhood between them, would all be a lot more layered than jonerice can really offer. If a relationship between Jon and Dany was truly all that GRRM has been building up to, then there would have been no need for R+L=J - it adds nothing to that storyline, it doesn’t even make it a forbidden romance, because aunt-nephew is hardly the worst incest the Targaryens have engaged in.

It’s almost inevitable that Da*nerys is going to kill Aegon VI/Young Griff in the books, likely by burning him with dragonfire, in the Second Dance of the Dragons. The weird Dragonpit meeting in the show was very contrived, but it does make sense for Dany to meet the ruler on the Iron Throne at least once in a semi-peaceful context. In the show, she used her dragons only to intimidate Cersei, but she didn’t have a personal grievance with her. Aegon is in much more danger during such a meeting. After all she will think he is a pretender, and she doesn’t much care for the rules of safe conduct, as she showed to the envoys from Yunkai.

Dany shrugged, and said, "Dracarys."

The dragons answered. Rhaegal hissed and smoked, Viserion snapped, and Drogon spat swirling red-black flame. It touched the drape of Grazdan's tokar, and the silk caught in half a heartbeat. 

[...]

"You swore I should have safe conduct!" the Yunkish envoy wailed.

"Do all the Yunkai'i whine so over a singed tokar? I shall buy you a new one... if you deliver up your slaves within three days. Elsewise, Drogon shall give you a warmer kiss." She wrinkled her nose. "You've soiled yourself. Take your gold and go, and see that the Wise Masters hear my message."

(ASOS, Dany IV)

"Ah, there is the thorn in the bower, my queen," said Hizdahr zo Loraq. "Sad to say, Yunkai has no faith in your promises. They keep plucking the same string on the harp, about some envoy that your dragons set on fire."

"Only his tokar was burned," said Dany scornfully.

(ADWD, Dany VI)

So Dany will burn the Blackfyre pretender, and everyone will be happy and cheer to see the rightful queen, the last Targaryen, Slayer of Lies, Breaker of Chains, Insert-The-Million-Other-Titles-Here. Right?

Except how would she prove that he’s an imposter? She can’t exactly roll up with an Alt Shift X video pointing out that Illyrio has said some weird things about Aegon. Is Varys going to have an attack of remorse and explain his whole plot, complete with Blackfyre family tree? Or maybe she’ll explain that she went on a vision quest in Qarth and Aegon totally matches up with the vague symbolism that a bunch of drugged up warlocks told her before she set them on fire?

I don’t think it’s going to matter if Aegon is fake or not, and we might never find out either way. The mystery of his identity isn’t his main narrative, and all of his significance to the story and to multiple other characters is removed if he’s proved to not be Aegon VI. Him being proved fake would just make this plotline a weird, unnecessary digression on Dany’s journey to being the righteous and true queen, his death just another #girlboss moment for her. That’s definitely going to be her perception of it, but once she reaches Westeros we won’t have to rely on only her POV of her actions. History is written by the winners, and no one’s going to miss that it’s a lot more convenient for Dany if the boy with a stronger claim than her turns out to have been fake all along. Arianne and the Dornish are definitely not going to take it lying down, and neither is Jon. He’s not going to fall in love with the woman who murdered his brother, especially by burning him alive. ADWD has plenty to say about how much he hates death by fire.

“Men say that freezing to death is almost peaceful. Fire, though … do you see the candle, Gilly?”

She looked at the flame. “Yes.”

“Touch it. Put your hand over the flame.”

Her big brown eyes grew bigger still. She did not move.

“Do it.” Kill the boy. “Now.”

Trembling, the girl reached out her hand, held it well above the flickering candle flame.

“Down. Let it kiss you.”

Gilly lowered her hand. An inch. Another. When the flame licked her flesh, she snatched her hand back and began to sob.

“Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire.”

(ADWD, Jon II)

Funnily enough, the same fire as a kiss imagery from Dany burning the envoy’s tokar appeared there too, also used as a threat. 

If he is not a kinslayer, he is the next best thing. [...] What sort of man can stand by idly and watch his own brother being burned alive?

(ADWD, Jon IX)

So Aegon’s death is not going to be a triumphant victory for Dany, after which everyone proclaims her the true queen. It’s likely to just solidify opposition to her, from every corner of Westeros. If it happens during a summit or negotiation, it’d be even more of a tragic parallel to Robb and the Red Wedding; the young king murdered off of the battlefield, at an event where he was promised safe conduct. Featuring Dany in the role of Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister. Tywin’s already died a very undignified death, and Roose Bolton looks to be on his way too.

I think the tragedy of Aegon’s death would also hit harder if we see it through Jon, as a main POV, or at least the aftermath of it. Jon was integral at the Dragonpit meeting after all, and probably would be at a peace summit or negotiation between the leaders of Westeros and the invading force.

In ASOS, there’s a curious lack of Jon’s reaction to Robb’s death. We see his initial reaction to Bran and Rickon’s supposed deaths when he gets back to Castle Black, but he doesn’t even know about Robb’s death until Stannis arrives to defeat the wildlings, and we’re not shown the moment he’s told about it. He barely even thinks about it, not even a mention until he meets with Stannis on top of the Wall:

“Your brother was the rightful Lord of Winterfell. If he had stayed home and done his duty, instead of crowning himself and riding off to conquer the riverlands, he might be alive today. Be that as it may. You are not Robb, no more than I am Robert.”

The harsh words had blown away whatever sympathy Jon might have had for Stannis. “I loved my brother,” he said.

(ASOS, Jon XI)

And that’s literally all we get that is specifically about Robb’s death - the rest of Jon’s chapters, his guilt and grief is about the loss of all his siblings, and the idea of stealing Winterfell from them. It doesn’t really make sense for him to not think about it at all, considering how close they were. This reminds me of how he has a non-reaction to Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion as well, as talked about in this post by @agentrouka-blog. Part of this could be Jon’s tendency towards denial and suppression of all his feelings, but it also points to GRRM explicitly obscuring his reaction - perhaps because he’s going to explore it in the wake of another brother dying a very similar death? One that this time he’ll be there to witness?

#astra rambles #meta #speculation #half speculation half 'my wildest dreams and hopes' #anti daenerys targaryen #anti jonerys #jon snow #aegon vi targaryen #jon and aegon #anti got #because i do dunk on the show a lot in this lmao #i've spent far too long on this and had to delete five tirades against the show already

[angelofthequeers]

City of Ashes thoughts

Got bored, devoured an entire book in a few hours like back in the good old days of a happy little autistic kid with hopes and dreams and no burnout 🙃 Tagging @repulsolife again for the lolz.

Prologues normally make me wary but this one worked. It set up the main mystery in the story in a way that wasn’t immediately obvious and made me want to read more to see why Valentine needed Elias’ blood and why he needed to summon a demon in the first place.

I can’t tell whether it’s me being aro as hell, knowing that Clary and Jace have to be endgame and can’t be if they’re siblings, or just not being invested in the Clary/Jace relationship. Maybe a mix of all three. I just found myself not really caring about the whole incest/forbidden love thing while also questioning the appeal of it. But I did appreciate that it was Legitimate Relationship Drama instead of the tired old cliched misunderstandings or “we can’t be together for arbitrary plot reason” (which is why I don’t read romances in the first place), so point to Cassandra Clare there. Miraculous Ladybug also has legitimate reasons for the love square not being together, which is why I’m so invested in them.

Still like Clary. She’s annoying at times in the way that teenage girls can be annoying and self-centred while trying to figure themselves out, and she’s explicitly called out in the story by Jace and Simon and the people she hurts, so she’s nowhere near the perfect goddess that people who accuse her of being a Mary Sue call her. I did feel for her trying to lie to herself and tearing her hair out trying to figure out who exactly she was, because her stable identity as Clary Fray was ripped away not too long ago and she hasn’t had the time to really sit down and think about who the heck she is. She’s just a pretty typical teenage girl trying to figure out her place in the world, when the world happens to be full of deadly threats that are out for her and her friends and family.

I also liked that her affinity with runes was expanded on and further hinted at. There’s an actual reason for her having a special gift, and she’s not the only one, and I want to know more.

Still don’t like Jace. I feel for him. I get the inner torment he went through. I get that trauma makes you act in fucked-up ways. But if he’s able to look at a kid and laugh and say that the kid basically got what he deserved, it’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than a troubled past and an identity crisis after being rejected by his adoptive mother to make me like him. He’s an arse.

And especially because no one calls him out for that. They rag on him for being reckless enough to pick a fight with werewolves, but literally no one apart from the wolves themselves calls out Jace for pretty much laughing at the death of a child. Even Luke is just like “kk guys he’s our ally so like chill” and covers Jace’s rear, when he could have also at least tried to scold Jace for mocking the death of a kid.

I hate Jace right now, if you couldn’t tell.

I hope that changes, because otherwise I’m really not gonna care about the Clary/Jace drama that seems to be driving these books.

I both like Simon more in this book and also dislike him more. I like him because Clary was giving him mixed signals and I don’t blame him for interpreting them the way he wanted, because he’s only human. Or, well, he was. I dislike him because he’s basically acting like he’s entitled to Clary as his girlfriend, carrying on about how long he’s loved her and acting as though being her oldest friend is enough to stake a claim on her.

Clary was kind of just along for the ride when it came to the relationship part of this book; and I get she was trying to figure herself out, and that it’s a normal human thing to try and “settle” for what they think they want and to have things both ways, but she didn’t really do anything. It was Simon and Jace calling the shots by breaking up with her or storming off in a fit of rage or whatever.

But I did like Simon outside of the relationship drama. And even though I think (????) I’ve read this book like literally years ago and knew he became a vampire, it was still a shock when it happened, and the scene where Valentine ‘killed’ him made me stop reading for a few minutes to process, even though I knew Clare wouldn’t kill off one of the main characters. Especially after he already had a ‘death’ scene earlier.

I also liked the nods to him being Jewish. I know Clare is Jewish herself, so it was a delight to read about these little things, especially how Jewish vampires might work.

Isabelle was same as always. Her banter with Meliorn was amusing, and I loved how furious she got in defence of Jace, but she was kind of just...there.

Max was cute. I like Max. He’s totally going to die later on.

Alec got some real growth this book and I actually like him a lot now. He’s still himself but he’s not a raging prick to everyone.

Loved Maia. I hope she’s a more major character later on, because I’d really like to see more of her.

Imogen was meh. I knew as soon as Stephen was mentioned that she was going to have a change of heart and die defending Jace somehow, and I was right. She was a solid antagonist and her motives were understandable and she was a good foil to Valentine; I just didn’t really care much about her.

Valentine is very suitably creepy. He’s excellent at emotional manipulation, especially when he left Jace alone in the Bone City after killing the Silent Brothers, and I actually know about the plot twist regarding Valentine and Jace because I’ve seen Jace’s real name floating around since this series came out like a decade ago. So that makes this even more chilling, because Valentine knows that Jace and Clary aren’t siblings and he still perpetuates that lie to mess around with both their heads and still continue to claim that he’s Jace’s real father to try and persuade him to the dark side.

He really reminds me of Gabriel Agreste from ML, and I would hurl Gabriel into the sun, so Clare’s done a good job with him. And just like Gabriel, he’s a pretty standard villain who’s willing to do anything to achieve his goals, even if that means being a hypocrite and sacrificing his morals and beliefs. I’m not so much invested in the Evil Plan part of him as I am in the Horrifically Manipulative Jerk part of him, and I did enjoy reading more about how he charmed the Circle to his side in the first place.

The worldbuilding is still as alluring as always. I was so invested in every little bit I learned about Clare’s world, and I liked how the Clave was established as theoretically on the side of good but in practice kind of...lacking. It really enhances the idea in these books that good and evil are both clear, solid positions but are also hazy and can’t be that easily defined.

I enjoyed City of Ashes more than City of Bones. It had a good deal more action and the murder mystery was intriguing, and the world was also fleshed out a good deal more. Now I just have to hold off on City of Glass until I get City of Fallen Angels (😭), which is where I think I stopped reading the series back when I was like 13 if I did read it? I don’t recognise the last two titles in the series like I do the first four. Idk, it’s been a decade so I don’t remember anything.

#aotq babbles #the mortal instruments #city of ashes #my thoughts

[hoardcloneheadcanons]

The Season 1 Villain: Mr. Blackwood

Summary [ A time travelling Martin Blackwood accidentally bullies his past counterpart and a young Jonathan Sims into getting together in order to gang-up on him]

 Yesterday Is Here is a time-travel fix-it fic of the Magnus Archives by CirrusGrey found on AO3 that I highly recommend. It helps emotionally cope with the tragedy of the actual series and it’s very well written.

I have my own ideas on what would happen in the fic if the time travel went slightly different and Martin showed up first, which now lives rent-free in my head as an AU to an AU. I’m hoping by writing it down I can free myself of it’s grip over me. If you don’t want spoilers for the fic, or seasons 1-4 of the Magnus Archives, stop here.

 In the fic Jon and Martin from the Archives have been married and survived the apocalypse together. Both use the Helen’s doors to travel back in time to season 1 of the Magnus Archives and prevent most of the tragedies from happening. Jon uses his spooky Archivist Powers to threaten Elias, extorting him for money and preventing the appocolypse. And both Martin and Jon dispose of the main villains of season 1 and 2.

But some shenanigans happened in Helen’s doors that make it so Jon shows up first and Martin doesn’t show up until two months later. Here’s my idea of what would happen if those positons got reversed.

-The Archival Staff call Future Martin Mr. Blackwood to differentiate him from their present-day Martin. I will also be doing so, from here on out.

-Jon is, of course, skeptical, and keeps insisting that this must be some long lost brother of Martin’s who is trying to scam them (Or even his father, despite Mr. Blackwood not looking much older than Martin). Mr. Blackwood proceeds to list small intimate details about each of them (how they take their tea, things that happened their last birthday. Stuff that would be very essentially Martin to know) but also sounds very impatient the entire time. He does not have time for Jon’s feigned skepticism and denial and does not hide it.

-It becomes clear very quickly to the Archival staff that Mr. Blackwood is a lot meaner than Martin. He doesn’t make tea for people unless he’s trying to corner them to talk to them, He’s willing to kill spiders rather than release them. Murder doesn’t seem that out of the question for him. And while both Martin and Blackwood are big people, Matrin Hunches and keeps his voice soft and tries to seem smaller. Blackwood does none of that and will push his way through people and/or loom sometimes.

-As a result Tim starts jokingly referring to him as the Anti-Martin. When Mr. Blackwood starts mentioning that there should be a Mr. Sims showing up, Tim insists on making a list of traits that he bets  Mr. Sims will have based on him being an “Anti-Jon”. The traits include: Wearing only bright colors, not-giving a fig about archive policy, believing all the statements (even the dumb ones), smiling, being nice to Martin, being social and (on a day where Jon was being particularly annoying) being cool.

-A few of them are totally off the mark, but many of them are actually frighteningly close to the truth.

-He ropes Sasha into it too. They decide together that Sims and Blackwood have a one-sided relationship where Sims is absolutely besotted and Blackwood either barely tollerates him or is seducing him for his Head Archivist pay.

(It’s funny because Jon isn’t making much more than any of the Archival Staff)

-Blackwood is fairly nice to Sasha who is reasonable and listens to relevant threats. Tim appreciates him for confirming and advancing the research he’s done on Robert Smirke and the Circus. But Martin and Jon hate him. He bullies them both in different ways.

-Blackwood keeps trying to convince his younger self to grow a spine, make some boundaries. He keeps trying to tell him that he can’t fix things by being nice to everyone. Martin does not appreciate it.

-Mr. Blackwood will occasionally talk like Martin’s Mum and it makes it hurt more. Not exact sentiments or sentiments but familiar phrasing and tones. Blackwood doesn’t know he’s doing it.

-Meanwhile Blackwood takes away all the “real” statements from Jon (the ones that won’t record on the computer) and spreading them out amongst the archive staff. He insists that reading them will turn Jon into an eldritch creature that feeds on human trauma and gives people nightmares. Jon thinks this is a load of absolute bull. (If you must read them, Jon, at least don’t read them outloud. Type them up or something. Don’t be stupid.)

-Jon’s the type of person who needs to know and asks all the uncomfortable questions, so having someone take away the only real information bothers him. Even if Tim, Sasha and Martin have the information it still bothers him to not know.

-Jon is also really insecure about deserving his job, and desperately trying to prove himself. So having a man burst in and tell him how to do his job stings.

-Mr. Blackwood also isn’t delicate when pointing out Jon’s skepticism is dumb. He says all the things Martin thinks but is too polite to say.

(”I’m sure there’s a very natural reason for Carlos Vittery to be wrapped up in spider webs upon his death”

“Are you serious? Jon, if you keep up this ridiculous denial you’re going to walk yourself right into something’s mouth just to prove a point. Or worse, send someone else into it. And you of all people should know supernatural spiders are dangerous.

“What do you mean, I of all people?”

“I think you know what I mean, Jon.”)

-Jon and Martin actually end up hanging out because they bond over their mutual dislike of Mr. Blackwood.

-Jon defends Martin agains Mr. Blackwood and vice-versa.

-The first time it happens, it’s Jon defending Martin and Mr. Blackwood acts surprised.

-(I don’t know why we should trust you. Even if all this supernatural nonsense is true there’s no reason we should take you’re word on how it works! You barge into the archives telling everyone what to do, fear mongering with tales of secret societies trying to cause the apocalypse, you upset Martin all the time “for his own good, you-”

“-wait, wait wait- Martin?” “When did you start caring about Martin?”

“What do you mean? He’s one of my archival assistants, of course I care about him.”

“Jon, you bully him more often than I do.”

“I-No I don’t.”

“You make it very clear what you think of his work and competence, Jon. And you send him to all the worst assignments. He let’s it happen because he knows he’s not the best at research, and he knows you’re under pressure from Elias, and he really tries not to take it personally, but it hurts him Jon. It builds up and it hurts him, even if he never says it does. So yes, forgive me if I think you’re being a bit hypocritical.”)

-Jon apologizes to Martin after that and really tries to be nicer because he does not like the idea that he’s as bad as Mr. Blackwood. He watches what he says around Martin a lot more closely after that, and keeps an eye on Martin’s reactions.

-Jon will tell Martin that he thinks he’s nothing he’s like Mr. Blackwood. He doesn’t see how they could be the same person. Martin is so caring, and helpful, and kind, and warm, and Blackwood isn’t. Jon is so wrapped up in his frustration that he does not know Martin is blushing as he says this. Martin suddenly has to go make a cup of tea. Right then.

-The next time it’s Martin defending Jon against Blackwood. Blackwood is happy that Martin is starting to assert himself but is exasperated that it’s only occuring because of his own failed attempts to get the archive staff to trust him. He suddenly wants his own Jon to come back so badly so he can tell him how ridiculous this entire situation is. So they can laugh together at how Blackwood advanced their younger counterparts’ relationship progress by at least 3 years by accidentally becoming the villain of their story, so Jon can tease him about it.

-The third time it’s Jon once again defending Martin, saying that Blackwood went too far, that he sounds like Martin’s mother and he made him cry. Mr. Blackwood realizes that, yeah he does absolutely sound like his mum and he has to leave and reasses his actions. He hadn’t realized he was picking up her specific way of critisizing-well-himself. It’s just how he talked to himself in his own head- which- well- which wasn’t great.

-Jon is so surprised that he managed to actually get one-up on Mr. Blackwood that he takes everyone out for drinks and insists on paying. Which is a nice distraction for Martin. 

-It also, Blackwood notices, means Jon is getting closer to his archive staff and hanging out with them. It gives him a bittersweet hapiness. He’s so happy that they’re all closer in this timeline, that he managed to force Jon into socializing and Martin and Jon to get close. But he realizes he did it by being the outsider and interloper that they’re defending against, and he’s not quite part of this new group of the archive staff. He’s happy for them, just lonely. Even Sasha and Tim, who he gets along with more than Jon or Martin, are wary to trust him. He’s not telling them everything. He has to fight against Elias without the aid of spooky Eye powers and he’s unsure of when Elias is listening, so he’s not mentioning everything. He’s not telling them who killed Gertrude Robinson. He’s being evasive on the reasons he does not trust Elias, and about what power succeded at causing the apocalypse.

-As the days go by with no sign of His Jon/ Mr. Sim’s coming back his old connection to The Lonely intensifies and he becomes able to turn invisible and go by unnoticed again. The archive staff notice that he becomes spookier and sadder and- slightly less human and it decreases their trust in him.

[Check My Blog for a Part 2. I am writing this in one sitting, but this particular document has become long enough.]

#The Magnus Archives #Yesterday is Here #Fanfiction #Archive of Our Own #Martin Came First AU #Mr. Blackwood AU #weaponizing my own writer's block

[nyangibun]

GoT S07E05 Thoughts

Fuck me. 

This might have been my least favourite episode to date and we had Gendry!!! Okay, in all fairness, it wasn’t a bad episode. There was just one particular conflict that I am not looking forward to seeing continue. 

And no, it’s not Jon3rys. I couldn’t give two shits about that right now. 

But let’s begin, shall we? 

For anyone who still believes Dany to be a good person, I honestly suggest going to an optometrist or retaking high school English because how much more obvious can this show get? I didn’t get to write down her full speech, but following this:

“I’m not here to murder...”

With this: 

“Bend the knee and join me or refuse and die”

You’re kind of a hypocrite and a really obvious one at that. War is horrible, I get it, and good people do atrocious things in war, but that’s why we, as modern somewhat enlightened (although questionable) human beings, have war trials. People may die in war, as that is inevitable, but there are certain acts that no decent human should perform even in the midst of war. 

I know I’m quoting Wikipedia here, but whatever: 

Examples of war crimes include intentionally killing civilians or prisoners, torture, destroying civilian property, taking hostages, perfidy, rape, using child soldiers, pillaging, declaring that no quarter will be given, and serious violations of the principles of distinction and proportionality, such as strategic bombing of civilian populations.

Do you think a man as concerned with portraying war as a clusterfuck of morally grey characters would place an entitled figure with weapons of mass destruction which she uses indiscriminately, who commits war crimes, as the main protagonist? Do you think that is a good conclusion? And this is simply going by this episode and not the mess Dany made in previous seasons. 

She had Randyll and Dickon Tarly as her prisoners. There was no need to execute them, or at least no need to execute both of them. If she wanted to make an example, she could do so with Randyll, but fine, let’s concede the fact it had to be done. She burned them. A slow, horrible, agonising death. She could have beheaded them, as was customary in Westeros, but no, she chose to burn them because you know why? She likes it. She’s done it before. Burning her enemies gives her great satisfaction of her power, but also it spreads fear into the hearts of everyone there because she knows it’s the only way to get them to submit. 

If she allowed them the third option of becoming a prisoner of war, she knows they’d choose that over her. She even says so to Tyrion, because guess what? The people of Westeros doesn’t like or want Dany as their queen. Cersei may be a Grade A Bitch, but she’s the bitch they know. She doesn’t have dragons to burn those who defy her at her will. Yes, she’s powerful and could still easily execute people at a moment’s notice, but they’ve seen her humiliated and frightfully human when she was made to walk naked in shame through the streets of King’s Landing. She is human and she can fall. To them, Dany wields her power like a god and not the kind they worship out of love but out of fear. What kind of ruler is that?

And let’s talk about execution in general here. We’ve seen a lot of it over the seasons, and what we always come back to as a code of honour and true morality in this grey world is this quote from Mr Honour himself, Ned Stark: 

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

Mr Honour Jr aka Jon Snow lives by this rule like a life motto. If he must sentence a man to die, he will swing the sword himself, and throughout the show, we’ve seen Jon do this and we’ve seen how this weighs upon him, though the culprits may be deserving. Yes, people die in war and Jon has killed on the battlefield for survival, but executing someone is a deliberate act. It’s taking the life of a human while they are powerless to stop you. Jon doesn’t take any pleasure in it. 

But Dany... She’s executed people left, right and center. Burning them in the most unnecessarily cruel way because she can and because it instills fear. Feeding them to her dragons which is even worse. That’s not at her hand. That’s cowardly and sadistic. 

You know who else rules through fear? 

“The only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy.” 

Cersei bloody Lannister. 

Yeah, let that sink in. And let’s move on. 

Jon meeting Drogon. I hated this scene, although I see how it’s important in establishing Jon as a Targaryen. I didn’t like it mostly because I was still reeling Drogon burning the Tarly’s alive, and yet right after, they have Jon bonding with Drogon like some special moment. But do you think Jon would even touch that dragon if he knew the horrors Dany had made Drogon do? Or the fact that she just executed Jon’s best friend’s family in the worst way possible? Yeah, Sam hated his father, but he didn’t hate his brother. And no matter what animosity there was between them, Sam is a good person and he would still be devastated by this. Not to mention we weren’t given all those Dickon scenes where the man acted with honour, kindness and bravery, just to dismiss him as another faceless enemy of Dany’s. He was Sam’s brother and so much like Sam in a way. I think that’s what made his death in spite only knowing him for 2 episodes so heartbreaking. Also, why this meeting between Jon and Drogon made me angry and disgusted. 

Of course, it also establishes some Jon3rys bonding, although more so on Dany’s side. Let’s face it, the Dragon Queen wants familial Dragon D. Her heart eyes for Jon throughout this episode was at least 100x more convincing than previous episodes between them. Jon, on the other hand, has moments where he does seem to think Dany is alright, but I still don’t see the same level of affection on his end at all. As always, he has a one-track mind and that’s the war up North. 

And I’m sorry but Dany’s attraction towards Jon seems to predicate on her notion that he’s as heroic and powerful as her. I get that he is and that’s a wonderful reason to fall in love with him, but it’s still falling in love with the idea of him and not who he is, because who Jon is, isn’t that person. He doesn’t want to be a hero or to be powerful. I know Show Jon doesn’t go into this, but Book Jon wants a family, to settle in Winterfell and live peacefully and honourably like his pseudo father. But Dany will never know that about him because she doesn’t know him. Take her asking Jon about whether he got a knife to the heart, the wonder and awe in her eyes as she asks him. She wants him to be just like her (or her delusional perception of herself as some kind of prophesised princess that was promised). Jon is who she thinks she is and she’s attracted to that, which is basically some Game of Thrones version of Narcissus. When she realises he’s a Targaryen, she’ll feel threatened more than relieved she’s not alone, because if she thinks he’s her then she’ll think he wants the Iron Throne and he’s a threat to her ambitions. 

There’s a reason why after all that Gilly discovers the Rhaegar and Elia annulment (which btw is such bullshit but whatever). Jon has more right to the Iron Throne than she does. 

What’s funny about this episode that even Dany’s Second Biggest Fan struggles to support her. Yes, he still will, but that entire conversation he has with Varys just sounds a lot like he’s trying to convince himself that ‘yes, all rulers burn their prisoners like a sadistic pyroqueen, and yes, Dany is so not like her father’. And the fact that her own loyal subjects are questioning her? Yeah, tell me again how she’s a hero. 

Now onto the main reason why I hate this episode: StarkBowl. But oh ho, not Jon and Sansa StarkBowl but Sansa and Arya. 

I’ve always loved Arya. She was my favourite character for so many seasons, until I fell madly in love with Sansa, although Arya remains in my Number 2 spot. But this episode, I felt such a burning anger towards her. After all they’ve been through, everything Sansa’s endured, Arya would still hold her accountable for the beliefs Sansa held as a young child. She’s changed and grown so much on account of her experiences yet she will not lend her own sister the same courtesy. It pisses me off because what Arya is doing (judging and accusing Sansa of things she didn’t do or for who she was when she was a child) is exactly what Anti-Sansa’s have been doing for years. And her own short-sighted, ignorant inability to grasp that this woman before her is not the same Sansa she once knew has now led her to being manipulated and conned by Littlefinger. 

What I can only hope is that Sansa is smarter than Littlefinger. Bran wouldn’t give Arya the dagger if he foresaw Arya using it on Sansa. And I feel like it is so uncharacteristic of Arya, who has longed for so long to be reunited with her pack, to suddenly break down by childish prejudice at the first miscommunication. Sansa is far more cunning than anyone gives her credit for and I feel that this could all be a long orchestrated con on Littlefinger himself. Arya’s not that stupid. I refuse to believe she’s stupid enough to underestimate LF that way and let herself be manipulated so easily. I feel like perhaps that fight between Sansa and Arya was for LF’s benefit because it felt so contrived, so out of nowhere. I know this speculation is also heavily biased by my refusal to believe that the Starks would fight amongst themselves after all they went through, but I do believe that LF will die this season. It won’t be at Sansa’s hand but it will be because of Sansa’s machinations. 

Now, onto Gendry!!!!!

The happiest part about this hell episode because fuck, he’s so hot still. That cropped hair, those muscles, that smile... Yeah, swoon. He’s also hilariously bullheaded (very like a Baratheon) when he ignores Davos, hits those soldiers with his hammer and immediately tells Jon who he is. 

In fact, there was this instant spark of chemistry between Gendry and Jon in their first meeting. 

“You’re a lot leaner.”

“You’re a lot shorter.”

The gentle ribbing of two strangers is adorable, but it also reminds me of Ned and Robert’s first scene together:

"Your Grace.” "You’ve got fat.”

Now the parallels of Jon as Ned is nothing we haven’t seen before. Gendry as Robert is newer, and Jon and Gendry together as Ned and Robert is so satisfying to watch. It also makes me, a trash shipper, so happy because you know if Jon is being paralleled as Ned in this episode, you know who is being paralleled as Cat? 

Yes, that’s right. Strong, confident Sansa, who was called only Lady Stark in the Great Hall meeting. 

I know I’m crazy but I’m still not worried about Jonsa. That scene in the Great Hall just kept making me think of Sansa as Penelope. She’s there holding onto Winterfell for Jon’s return as he gallivants off on his many missions and overcomes his many trials. She’s there, always loyal and true to him, and maintains his kingdom for him. 

Boatbang may happen (likely), but Odysseus also slept with Calypso, before ultimately returning to his lady love. I believe the same will happen for Jonsa. 

Also, who thinks Cersei’s not actually pregnant? I think she’s beginning to question Jaime’s loyalty and needs to firmly hold him in place. And I think when he finds out she’s not after all he’s done for, all the sinful things he did, it might make him plunge that sword into her heart prophecy-style. Or not a sword. I don’t know. 

But that’s it for me. My head hurts. My heart hurts. And I maintain that I hate this episode because fuck StarkBowl. And fuck disrespecting Sansa like that. 

#game of thrones #jonsa #anti-jonerys #anti-daenerys #asoiaf #got s7 #spoilers #game of thrones s7 #got s7 thoughts #got recap #got review #got meta #long post #anti jonerys

[thebrochtuarachs]

Heaven and Earth (3x10) Recap

Super late recap! Little spoilers below if you haven’t seen the episode yet. I write this review based on the episode only - I have not read this part of Voyager so I have zero idea how the story should be or where the gaps are. :)

I hate seeing Claire and Jamie apart. I knew since after the last episode and when I was about to watch this episode that it will just kill me with “get-them-back-together” feels. I braced myself for what would be a difficult episode to watch. 

Thoughts as the episode goes: 

1. NO INTRO - What is going on?! Is this gonna be an extended episode of some kind? 

2. Fergus being all romantic and Jamie having none of it is the ultimate “8 simple rules” move.

3. The Porpoise is moving - ANGRY JAMIE mode. Awww, the first thing he looks for is Claire on board and he knows with all certainty that she did not agree to this arrangement as well. 

4. The multiple uses of “my wife” in one sentence then boom, gun vs. knife fight! Things escalated quickly. 

5. Captain Raines - we are not friends anymore. And Jamie, just staring at the Porpoise even as he is dragged down to the cellar - because I think he’s still keeping his promise to not lose sight of the ship. 

6. DELAYED INTRO!!! 

7. Dr. CEBR Fraser in action! Loving the bandana, loving the ponytail! 

8. Mr. Pound being honorable. 

9. Claire’s voice over is just heartbreaking. Just 1 day in the Porpoise feels just as worse as being 200 years apart and 20 years apart altogether. 

10. Mr. Pound is cute - hopefully he isn’t a traitor like Leonard! 

11. Sassy Dr. CEBR Fraser calling you all out because this ship will drop dead if I don’t raise my voice and break all female notions of the 18th century! 

12. Elias Pound - Elias. I will remember you. Please don’t make Elias a douche. And by douche, I mean that he’d be like most sailors and their impure thoughts on women. I know, Elias is just 14 but knowing the attitude of many in the 18th century, I don’t think it’s a far-fetched idea?

13. Dr. CEBR Fraser’s worried look worries and breaks me. Oh, and worried Dr. CEBR Fraser to detective Dr. CEBR Fraser in short frames! I am just in awe of this woman!

14. Fergus is still a good pickpocket - thank God we still see his talent’s on the show! 

15. Jaime needs an acupuncture session! Someone send for Mr. Willoughby right away! 

16. Desperate Jamie breaks my heart. I hate seeing him like this. Can Jamie compartmentalize like Claire can? “If you haven’t risked it all, you dinna ken love” WOW HEART BREAK

17. PIRATE Dr. CEBR Fraser has arrived!! 

18. Nightspot CLAIRE UGH NO. because of 3x09 feels. Like they were just hugging in the moonlight a day or two ago and now they don’t even know where each other in the planet is. This is killing them both. 

19. COMPARTMENTALIZATION - this something Claire learned in med school, probably? 

20. Please oh please oh please oh please don’t let Elias Pound be a bad guy *prays*

21. CURSE WORDS...FINALLY! I think besides Frank in episode 1, no one has cursed since? 

22. ANNEKJE IS THE HERO WE ALL NEED. I LOVE HER SO MUCH RIGHT NOW

23. PORPOISE x BRUJA - Not a good combo for Jamie and Claire. Can’t these two catch a break?! (Answer: no) 

24. Claire getting herself into trouble!!! Get out of the Captain’s quarters!! Thomas Leonard is not your friend!!!

25. I love how Claire says Jamie’s name as she brushes her hand in the notebook. 

26. THE COOK IS NOT A FRIEND - AND OMG, CLAIRE’S REFLEX ON THAT CHAIR MOVE IS SO EFFING SMOOTH

27. FERSALI HAND MOMENT - I love how she does it for him just as Claire does for Jamie’s wound and I know Jenny does for Ian’s leg. Though we thought this’d be a Claire/Fergus moment, I’m alright with Fersali.

28. OMG I was not expecting FERSALI to get it on and thank god it didn’t go through - I was not ready to watch it hahahaha

29. MR. POUND - PLEASE STAY SWEET AND NOT A BAD PERSON 

30. ENEMIES ON THE SHIP - They really cannot just catch a break. CREME DE MENTHE SCENE 

31. CLAIRE THREATS AND ACTUALLY CONTEMPLATING MURDER?! CLAIRE’S DESPERATION IS HEARTBREAKING TO WATCH 

32. MY GOATS EAT GRASS - ANNEKJE IS OUR HERO THIS EPISODE I LOVE HER SO MUCH

33. JAMIE’S DESPERATION IS HEARTBREAKING - FERGUS LOVE FOR MARSALI IS HEARTBREAKING - This show just breaks hearts and here we are still

34. DR. CEBR Fraser HAS CURED THE SHIP - SHE DID IT!!!!!! OMG I AM SO PROUD OF HER

35. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO - NOT MY BABY ELIAS POUND - NO NO NO NO NO NO NO *uncontrollable sobbing*

36. “Yes, Elias, it’s mother. It’s time to come home now” - I just went to complete breakdown at this point. I’m absolutely heartbroken in this episode. Baby Pound didn’t deserve this. 

36. Claire returning Elias rabbit lucky charm. Placing it in his hand. Parting Words. Claire sewing through the nose. Pure heartbreak in her face. Caitriona just shines in this scene. I just lost it at this point. I’m crying with Claire. Especially when they show his body - one body - being thrown to the sea. Ahhh, the flood of tears just opened. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Outlander classic. 

37. Back to the show - we still got minutes left *wipes tears* 

38. GOATS EAT GRASS - ANNEKJE STILL OUR HERO - Shepherd Claire!!!

39. TOM LEONARD WE ARE NOT FRIENDS. But damn, I hate that Claire actually tries (border beg) to convince Tom to turn the other cheek for Jamie. 

40. JAMIE LOOKING THROUGH BREE’S PICTURES - They really did want to break out hearts and succeeded. 

41. Marsali, MAYBE, we can be friends now 

42. Annekje asks Claire to jump overboard. I love how she didn’t stop to think of ideas to help Claire escape and warn her husband about his impending arrest

43. Claire on Annekje’s Jump Overboard idea: “I’m sorry, that’s crazy” - UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR! I laughed at this, not because of the danger, but I guess, like everything Claire and Jamie has done for each other is crazy in nature. Passing through stones, passing through time, rescue at Wentworth with empty pistol, rescue at Wentworth with only keys, rescue at Wentworth via cattle, etc. and Claire chooses NOW to question the craziness of their actions. I don’t know if this makes totally sense but yeah ;) 

44. JESUS H. ROOSEVELT CHRIST! - I missed this. Claire jumped. Damn, what Claire and Jamie won’t do for each other. 

End of episode. Wow.

*Remembers Jenny Murray voice* Love forces a person to choose - and this could not have true for this entire episode. If this episode proves one thing, then it is that Jamie and Claire truly love each other so much. So much love goes through them that, yes, they will risk everything and anything to be together again and again and again. 

I just love Claire and Jamie so much. Unexpectedly, I felt more heartbroken now in their time apart than before. I must give so much credit to Caitriona and Sam for playing these characters so differently - that you actually feel the 20 years pass the characters. They bring a different flavor and maturity to C&J’s relationship and I love that that change is evident in how they portray them. 

Can’t wat for Uncharted (3x11). Based on rumors, this might be where we get our TURTLE SOUP?! 

#Outlander #3x10 #310 #Heaven and Earth #Recap #Jamie Fraser #Claire Fraser #Fergus Fraser #Marsali Mackimmie #Elias Pound #Sam Heughan #Caitriona Balfe #Cesar Domboy #Lauren Lyle #albie casino #Thoughts #personal

[sonicrevival]

Ultimatum- Chapter 1 of 5: Awakening

Hello all. 

I’ve decided to start posting this story here. I’ll be posting chapters daily over the course of the first few weeks, until I catch up with the DA and Ao3 uploads (Where I’ve just posted Chapter 24), at which point uploads will switch to one every two weeks.

For some preamble: Sonic has managed to (mostly) restore the world post-Worlds Collide, albeit there are some differences that will be expanded upon later in the story.

Additionally, Emerl is a girl in this story. Per Sonic Battle lore, Emerl was implanted with a digital “soul” copied from Maria’s, which prompted me to change the pronouns Emerl identifies with in this story. 

I have taken some liberties with lore here and there, so if you have questions then ask away.

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500557/chapters/43840852

Sonic: Revival- Chapter 1 Ultimatum, Part 1 of 5: Ignition The digital plane was something of an escape, Nicole had decided. While she was in the computerised aether, the AI could disconnect herself from the outside city and enjoy some time to herself, something that was becoming more and more of a necessity lately. After his failures to protect the people, Naugus’ hand had been forced, and he had allowed the lynx to re-enter the city. Concerns raised by his more fervent supporters as to how he was supposed to protect them from her were dismissed- Her powers had no sway over him, and both of them knew it. Nicole tensed slightly, anger flaring inside her. She hated the hypocrisy of it all- Naugus had attempted to murder them all in the past, of his own choosing. The only bad things Nicole had ever done were while she was under the sway of another, and yet she was being blamed for it. Now she was the threat, and he was their protector. Separating herself from the city was a necessity, because occupying any of the nanites meant potentially overhearing another argument about her and the ‘King’, feeling one of Naugus’ more violent supporters try to damage her constructs, or listening to Mina’s awful song again. She bore no ill-will to the mongoose now. In fact, Mina had been trying to get the song taken off the air, but it was having no luck. Apparently, ‘We Won’t Be Afraid’ was the new favourite of the city’s population. Nicole retreated back into the void, curling up to relax. At times like this, all she wanted to do was confide in her closest friend… but that wasn’t an option open to her anymore. Sally was gone, taken from her, and everyone else, by Eggman’s latest maniacal scheme. She held out hope that it wasn’t permanent, that Sonic, Tails, and Amy would catch up to Mecha Sally and subdue her, allowing them to find a way to restore her body and mind, but as the days turned to weeks turned to months, she couldn’t help but feel that they might never see Sally again. She wasn’t the only one gone, either. Sonic and his team had taken off to rescue Sally, and Rotor was making an effort to defend the city almost by himself, with Naugus constantly taken ill. Elias had joined up with a smaller team that were quietly working to overthrow Naugus. But Antoine was rendered comatose, still slowly recovering from his injuries, though it was unclear when, if at all, he would wake up. Bunnie had taken off shortly after his injury, and where she was going, or why she left her friends in their darkest hour, were a mystery to the lynx. She wanted to be angry at the rabbit, she wanted to somehow find her and lay into her for leaving when everyone else needed her… but she knew that was unfair. Bunnie had always been the rock that everyone could rely on, and it wasn’t fair to expect that of her during the current situation. She was hurt too, after all. Darkest hour… Why did that phrase resonate with her? She was never the most poetic soul, and she couldn’t recall any of her friends or allies using it… And yet, she definitely had some memory of it, but she had no idea how to reach it… Perhaps searching for it in her databanks would help... Her reverie was interrupted by a blinking light informing her that she had a new message incoming. She floated over to it, and tapped a knuckle against it, opening a video link and coming face-to-face with Amy. To her surprise, the hedgehog was genuinely smiling- The lynx was good enough at reading people to tell the difference between the forced, not-quite-reaching-the-eyes smile she had worn before leaving with the others, and the genuine look of happiness and relief she had now. From her surroundings, she appeared to be in the back seat of the Tornado, and she was wearing a thick winter coat. “Hello, Amy,” Nicole smiled half-heartedly. “You’re looking pleased with something.” “We did it!” She announced. “I’m sorry, did what?” “We saved Sally!” She clarified. Nicole brightened immediately, shifting closer to the screen. “Wait, really?” “Yeah. I mean, technically we just knocked her out so you can zap into her computer-brain and undo whatever Eggman did to her, but the hard part’s over!” “Oh my gods, that’s wonderful!” Nicole beamed. “Please, hurry back!” “Well, we were actually hoping you could send yourself over and do it in-flight,” Amy said. “We’re not sure how long she’s going to be out and if she wakes up in transit we could be in trouble.” “I’m afraid my long-range connections have been deactivated by Naugus…” Nicole let out a sigh. “But the Tornado is one of the fastest planes around.” “That’s true, in jet mode,” Tails’ voice cut in from somewhere in front of Amy’s seat. “Unfortunately we’re in biplane mode, and we can’t transform it right now. We had to put Mecha Sally in the cargo hold.” “Oh, I see…” Nicole paused. “What’s your ETA?” “About two hours,” Amy said, looking less happy now. “So we should be okay, but it might be bad.” The two friends’ conversation was interrupted from a loud clang somewhere below Amy. Her eyes went wide, as she glanced down on instinct, then laughed nervously and looked back to the lynx. “I… may have just jinxed it.” “Oh no…” “It’s alright, we should be able to subdue her again, Silver’s here too, it’s just… this isn’t a good position for her to wake up in,” Amy continued, as another clang sounded. A few more ominous sounds of the Tornado’s titanium frame taking a beating from inside, before the sound of tearing metal alerted them both to the cargo doors being torn from their mountings. “Amy, is she loose?” Nicole slammed her hands against either side of the screen, panic rising. “Yes, she is, but it’s okay, Silver’s-” “Missile lock!” Tails shouted. “We’ve got Eggman on our tail!” “Amy, Tails!” Nicole screamed. “It’s alright, we’ll be okay!” Amy said, already drawing her hammer. “Tails is taking us down, we’ll be-” The link went dead, and Nicole backed away, curling up again. It wasn’t fair! They were so close to getting her back, but now Eggman was going to sweep their feet from under them again, if they even survived the crash landing. Her friends were alone, somewhere cold and dangerous, and she couldn’t help them thanks to Naugus. One result found! Nicole looked up again. Her memory bank search had born fruit. She looked at the single result, a text file with no preview. Odd… and highly suspect. She subjected it to every sort of security scan she could think of, but there didn’t seem to be anything actually untoward about it. It even had Rotor’s signature on it. Shrugging, she opened the file, and found what looked to be an old Brain Trust memo, with some sparse text on it. Knothole, under the lab. The codeword is ‘Ignite’. Use only when there is no other choice. Under the lab? There was something below Tails and Rotor’s workshop this whole time? Would it perhaps have survived the destruction of the old city?  She certainly didn’t recall that… Still, she wasn’t as omnipresent back in those days, so it could’ve slipped her notice… If Eggman was focusing on recovering Mecha Sally, he probably didn’t have any attacks on the city lined up. He was the sort to generally fixate on a single goal, especially if it was something taking whatever he’d claimed as his own- Just thinking of Sally in that context made the AI nauseous, but Eggman’s fixation gave her all the room to investigate this… maybe it was something that could allow her to help… Nicole quickly transferred herself over to the computer in Freedom HQ, hologram taking full form in the main room. She floated from the domed building and made her way over to the site of the old lab. With a wave of her hand, a small telekinetic pulse rippled the dust and rubble away. There, beneath the surface layer, was a heavy iron door, with a keypad beside it. She leaned down, inspecting the controls themselves. They seemed to still be working, fortuitously. I-G-N-I-T-E Long-abandoned engines groaned into life, servos straining as the door began to lift up, hydraulics whining all the way. Stairs extended down into the dark depths, but her own body lit the way for her as she descended into the hidden chamber. At the bottom, she found a small corridor, leading up to a sliding door with a camera above it and a screen either side. As she approached, the camera angled toward her, and the left screen popped into life. Today had largely been full of things she didn’t expect. She didn’t expect to hear that Sonic’s team had captured Mecha Sally. She didn’t expect to hear that Silver was with them. She didn’t expect to find a hidden file in her system. She didn’t expect said file to lead her to a secret room underneath the remains of the lab in her old home. And, adding another to the list, she wasn’t expecting to see Fiona Fox’s face looking back at her from the screen. Instinctively, her response was to prepare for some form of attack on the other side of the door, but she noticed that the vixen appeared to be standing in the same lab that she had just passed through the rubble of, wearing her old yellow and white outfit, and her expression was calm and neutral, rather than the ridiculous forced grin she normally wore now. “Hey Nicole,” The recording spoke. “If you’re watching this, then either someone’s brought you down here or Tails’ predictions for your development were accurate and you’re now moving on your own. Oh, also, something’s going really, really wrong and we need a new big gun.” The recording went to static for a moment, before clearing up again. “If you’ve entered the “Ignite” code then the lab’s systems should be preparing what we have locked up here. Tails, Rotor, Chuck, Tommy and I have been working on it for a while now, trying to make it safe to use, but… we haven’t had much luck, and experience with these things tells me that we can’t wing it with this one. I mean, if it doesn’t work, it’ll take all of Sonic, or Tails, or Knuckles’ power to subdue it. Probably.” More static, and a clear image again. “Basically, if you’re looking at releasing it, well, only do it if it can’t really make it any worse. I call it the ‘Darkest Hour Protocol’. This little guy-” Fiona’s arm reached out of the frame and dragged Tails into view. The smaller fox looked as though his brain had stopped working at the contact, and Nicole couldn’t tell whether Fiona was aware or not. “- thinks I’m being cynical and maudlin, but I don’t see him or Rote coming up with anything better, do I?” “W-well… no.” Tails sighed. “Exactly! So yeah, please be careful with this, Nicole. Of all of us, I know you’re the one we can all count on to do the right thing with this power. If you need it for real, the second password is ‘Awaken’.” The recording cut off, the screen going dark as Nicole approached the door. Her fingers brushed against the keypad, pausing for a moment. Fiona’s warning seemed more than dire. Whatever was on the other side of this door could potentially win them the fight, or it could make things even harder for them. The fact that this had been hidden from her, the key buried in her code made her suspicious… No. She couldn’t sit around and wish she could help her friends, and then pass up the potential opportunity. If it was something that the Brain Trust had worked on, it was probably a machine anyway, so if it couldn’t help, she could shut it down. A-W-A-K-E-N The door slid open with a pneumatic hiss, the room on the other side lighting up. Heading inside, the first thing she encountered was what appeared to be a Chaos Emerald, though the glow was much fainter than normal, resting on a small stand. “Tails’ synthetic Emerald… So this is where it ended up…” Behind it, against the back wall, was what appeared to be a metal casket, lined with faint blue lights. She walked over to it, laying her hand on the top. To her shock, the box hummed into life, a glowing blue circle lighting up around her hand, lines spreading out from it, covering the whole piece. The top split down the middle, and with a rumble, began to open. Nicole jumped back, as a mechanical arm lowered from the ceiling, grabbing the Emerald from where it stood. It slid over to the casket, lowering the Emerald into it. Nicole rushed back over, watching a claw extend from inside, grasping the Emerald, then retracting back down. The gemstone descended into what appeared to be a socket made to fit it, a ring of metal plates closing in to mostly cover it, lines of warm yellow light spreading from it like arteries, filling out the shape of a Mobian figure, roughly the same size as her hologram. What looked almost like a metallic liquid spread up from around the metal skeleton’s feet, forming the shape of armoured plating- Thick, bulky, and rounded. At the same time, more pieces of the endoskeleton rotated and clicked into place around the robot’s chest, forming a rounded shape with a hole in the centre, through which Nicole could see the faint glow of the Emerald beneath it. A faint mote of energy floated up into the empty chest cavity, and for a moment, it hung there, unmoving, before it flickered, sparked, began to grow, first to a small flame, then rapidly turning into a raging inferno of Chaos within the new machine’s heart. The spreading metal formed the two halves of a chestplate, then closed down over it, the blazing core only visible through a trio of circles in the centre of the plate. Above it, two optic sensors lit up, bright yellow with a tiny, almost-white pupil in the centre, before a third opened in the centre of the forehead. The trio of beady eyes focused on her for a second, before golden fire erupted from within the casket, throwing her back once again. The figure all but rolled out of the casket, perching on edge in a crouched position. Its eyes scanned across the room for a moment, before it stood and launched itself upwards, straight through the ceiling, on a tower of blue flame. “Oh dear…” Nicole murmured. Phasing through the now-crumbling ceiling, she spotted the robot hovering above her head. In the daylight, she was able to see it more clearly. Most of the plating on its body was a light sandy colour, with bronze on its shoulders, knees, the soles of its heavy, boot-like feet, and the distinctive single-pointed crest extending from its forehead. Burnished brown covered its upper arms, thighs, hands, and narrow midsection. It seemed to sense her presence, as it it whirled to face her and immediately raced back down toward her. She phased back from the strike, which split the earth where she had been standing just moments before, and floated herself upwards. Whatever this robot was, it had gone berserk within seconds of waking up, and Nicole quickly found herself regretting her decision to ignore Fiona’s warning. Out here, her processing power was limited, and if it happened to destroy the headquarters in its rampage, she would lose connection entirely. As the robot recovered from its slam, it locked onto her, staring for a moment. “Δείξε μου τη δύναμή σου. Ή δεν θα υπακούω. Εκπροσωπώ όλα τα πράγματα και θα γίνω Γκισοειδής, ο κατακτητής όλων …”  The voice came from the machine’s head, somewhere behind the mouthplate on its face. The tone was softer than she expected, not a harsh, grating screech, or a monotonous drone, but much more lifelike, almost like that of a young woman. The language itself wasn’t one currently in use… but Nicole did recognise it. It angled up toward her and fired its thrusters again, launching itself up toward her, fist drawing back as Chaos flared around it. Nicole braced, holding her hand forward, a square barrier of light forming between the two of them. The robot’s fist smashed through the shield, continuing to race upward, until it stopped dead, its punch slamming uselessly into a wall of telekinetic force. For a moment, its engines strained against the psychic barrier, while Nicole held firm, feeding as much power into it as she could. She spotted the droid’s third optic focusing on her for a moment, before its engines began to wind down. It jetted back slightly, circling slowly as its eye continued to scan her. Then, its pinprick pupils widened, growing to normal size. Its eyes turned blue, as did the glow from the circles on its chest. The central eye snapped shut at the same time. “Ποιος είσαι?” Nicole paused for a moment, as her systems processed the two samples of language from the robot. “Hm… Nocturnian?” She mused, quickly translating the original speech it had sent her. It had asked her who she was. ‘Show me your power. Or I shall not obey. I represent all things, and shall become Gizoid, the conqueror of all... ’ So, that was what Fiona meant… This thing was powerful, and without something else powerful to match it, it would be uncontrollable. Luckily, it seemed her psionic abilities were enough to qualify. Still, she’d have to be careful with this... Nicole turned to face the robot again, now speaking in its own tongue. “< I am Nicole. I am a Freedom Fighter. Some of my friends found you and gave me the keys to awaken you. >” “<They shouldn’t have done that,>” The robot replied. “<And you shouldn’t have let me out.>” The robot’s inflections weren’t easy to understand in such an old language, but it didn’t take much to pick up on the melancholy in its words. Immediately, Nicole’s wariness eased a little. Clearly the bot was aware of how much of a gamble she was taking by awakening it, and it seemed to feel… shame? Fear? Apprehension? She floated closer to the hovering figure, smiling as disarmingly as possible. “<Why?>” “<I… I don’t remember. My memory banks appear to be damaged. Oh. But I do remember how much power I have… and how bad it would be if that got out…>” “<Well… I have a lot of power too,” Nicole said. “And if that were turned loose against the world, it would be nigh-unstoppable… But… someone very important to me taught me that I can be more than that power. I don’t have to shy away from it for fear of what it could do, especially not if I can use it to help others instead…>” “<I… never thought of it like that…>” The robot admitted, tilting its head as it looked at her. “<Thank you.>” “<You’re welcome.>” She smiled, putting her hand on the bot’s shoulder. To her surprise, the third eye opened again, and a static charge rippled between her fingers and the plating. “Ow! I didn’t think holograms could get static shocks…” “You’re a hologram?” The robot asked. Nicole paused for a second, and realised that it had spoken in North Mercian, rather than Nocturnian. Well, ‘it’ didn’t seem appropriate now. In the more familiar dialect, the robot was clearly speaking with a woman’s voice. “You can speak North Mercian?” “Is that what this language is? I think I just absorbed it from you,” She shrugged, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “That was probably what shocked you, so, sorry about that.” “You… ‘absorbed’ it?” “Yes, that’s what my power is. That’s why I’m so dangerous, I think. Anything I see, if my brain can comprehend it, I can replicate it. Languages, weapons, powers, the works,” She explained. “But yeah, you’re a hologram?” “This body is. I am an artificial intelligence program. The hologram is how I interact with the world around me.” “That’s actually really cool.” The robot beamed, or at least Nicole assumed she was smiling from her tone of voice. “Thank you,” Nicole smiled. “Do you remember your name?” “Uh… It’s… um…” The robot paused for a moment, then looked back up at her. “My name is Emerl.” “Emerl? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emerl.” “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you as well,” Emerl nodded. “So, why did you wake me up, then?” Nicole’s face fell, and she looked away from her new friend. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, so soon after you’ve awakened, but I was told not to activate you unless we found ourselves in a crisis… and we’re in a crisis.” “What sort of crisis? Hopefully one where punching things real hard can fix it, otherwise I don’t think I’ll be much help,” Emerl sighed. Nicole laughed slightly, and shook her head a little. “Well, I think it might come in handy… My friends, the Freedom Fighters… we’re the primary opposition to a madman named Doctor Eggman…” “Uh, ‘Egg Man?’ Does that combination of words have a different meaning on this language, or does it still effectively mean Αυγό άνθρωπος?” “It really does mean that. We’re not sure why he calls himself that either,” Nicole shrugged. “In any case, Eggman leads a small Empire of his own, and he has made it his ambition to take over the entire planet and convert everyone on it into a mechanical slave that only exists to follow his orders and massage his fragile ego. Normally, his attacks are fairly inept, but occasionally he manages to hit us just right... “ “He transformed our leader, Princess Sally, into a robot slave and then weaponised her body to make her into a combat droid. Shortly after that, two more of us fell in battle… And now three more of us have gone to try and rescue Sally. They were successful, but something took down their plane and Mecha Sally woke up, so now they’re stranded somewhere north of here and they’re in danger… and I can’t do anything to help them.” “Okay, that sounds like a pretty huge crisis…” “That’s not even the entire problem… but, it is the most pressing concern right now. The plane went down about half an hour ago by now… And I’ve been working to position their exact location all this time… I think I’ve got it, but I don’t know how long they’ve got…” “Well, you’re in luck,” Emerl said. “I happen to be pretty fast, and I also have a vacant storage slot for an AI in my head. I think it’s for recovery purposes… but I’m not sure what I’d be recovering. Anyway, it’s there for you. If you guide me, we can rescue your friends.” “Really?!” Nicole gasped, hugging the robot. “Thank you!” “Not a problem, Nicole.”

#Sonic #Sonic: Revival #Fanfic #Sonic the Hedgehog #Nicole the Lynx #Emerl the Gizoid #Amy Rose #Miles Tails Prower #Fiona Fox