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slackerlifewhere · 1 day

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The subtlety of Cale Henituse

SPOILERS for those who haven't finished the first part of the novel. If you don't like spoilers, please don't continue. Thanks!

- This is kind of a review about the novel but it's basically my analysis of Cale/KRS.

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For someone who has trust issues with people, I first had an initial distrust with Cale Henituse/Kim Rok Soo as a reader.

I think it's because of how he was first introduced.

As a first-time reader of the novel back then, Cale/KRS was introduced as a very indifferent person. He was calm at the face of a sudden transmigration and acted like nothing could surprise him (aside from Ron and Choi Han). And of course, like anyone who was fooled, I also thought that he was selfish. He's not the trash that he thinks he is but he's selfish and I didn't place my full trust in him because I still didn't know him yet. And I like it that way. The author kept me on my toes and didn't force fed me a truckload of information about Kim Rok Soo.

Like I said in my previous post, he didn't actually give us his whole introduction. He left a few crumbs here and there that told us he didn't have a great childhood but it wasn't enough for me to build an image of him in my head. There were still some blanks and question marks about Kim Rok Soo.

Sure, there were moments when he gave a bigger tip to someone without blinking an eye and acting all smug about it but I really just thought that he was happy because he's finally rich. Or when he was being so polite and gentlemanly in front of an old man that Venion was disgusted with and then later on went back to being indifferent and I thought it was just him being extra petty and angry (which he was) at Venion for being an asshole. He's very quick to change from smug to indifference and it made me switch back and forth on how I see him as a person.

Yeah, you need to read between the lines when reading this novel.

[side note: Actually, If I remember correctly, I thought that I wouldn't like his character because I find it weird when MCs in KR manhwa and novels easily shrug off the isekai bullshit they're in. The influence of KR manhwa on me affected my opinion about him and it shows.]

So when he first met the kittens and Choi Han, I was reading it with the feeling of "Run away, guys! Run while you still can!" lingering at the back of my mind. He was nice to them, as much as he could with random strangers he just met, but he's very distant with them.

Another thing about him that makes it harder to understand him is because he's always distant with people. He relies on them and helps them but he's always at arms-length when dealing with them. This, if you didn't think of or was reminded of his thoughts about his abuse and pity, simply makes him look indifferent.

Before I continue, I don't like tsundere characters. I absolutely find them cringe and sometimes, I just wanna bash my head when they blush at the bs they're spouting at someone they like.

Because that's the thing with Cale. He is a tsundere. He says one thing and does the opposite. And he's so in denial about it which makes it more hilarious and sad.

He's subtle about it at first. He didn't even give me the vibe that he's more complex than what he shows because he's so quick to disprove my sudden epiphany that there's something deeper than what he's showing. He's so good at hiding his emotions EVEN WHEN I'M READING HIS POV.

This bastard is so in denial about himself that he fooled me so bad! I think I only realized it when he saved Raon but even then, there were still some doubts about his character. I liked his words to Raon and thought about how kind he is for giving the dragon the freedom of choice but because he later thinks of making Raon do things for him, it shook my trust in him just a little bit. Just a little, I promise.

...Maybe I just have major trust issues.

Taylor Stan

The weirdest thing to me that actually snapped me from my doubts that he's actually a kind person is oddly enough, because of Taylor Stan.

Remember when Taylor and Cage suddenly arrived at the area they were camping in and he finally talked to Taylor face to face? Yeah, he was indifferent there but it's when his tsundere traits actually exploded at my face.

He, while trying to hide from everyone, told them to give Taylor and Cage the best care and protection as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

Mind you, they don't even actually know him aside from OG Cale's reputation as trash. And he also technically isn't supposed to know them because, in the duo's POV, this is their first time meeting him so he didn't have to help or care for them.

He basically acted as if what he was doing was bad in their eyes but in reality, it's not???

He's just helping them and he's in denial about it? He's genuinely being a kind person and he thinks he's trash?

He later gives them money (and acts cool about it) and helps with smuggling (lmao) them to the Roan Kingdom so they can arrive there safely and he thinks he's trash???

He gave this man hope to finally heal himself and fight against his brother and he thinks he's trash?????

Seriously?

Self-hatred

I don't know if this is ever talked about but Cale is hiding a huge self-hatred about himself.

It's why whenever he calls himself trash, I shake my head because it's amusing but I also want to cry because, as I go further into the novel, he fully believes that he's actually trash.

At first, when he called himself trash, I thought it was because his soul is in OG Cale's body and thus, he inherited the title and uses it to cause chaos. It's a part of the reason why but, if I think about it, he doesn't have to call himself that??? He can still cause chaos without using that title.

It's why I think he fully believes it. That he's trash.

I didn't understand back then and thought it was just him loving the title and the chaos that comes along with it.

Him and his smirks or "selfish" ideals made it seem like he's fully embraced the title and liked it that way.

And the way the author hides a deeper meaning behind his words and actions is by making it feel humorous or comical. The author makes it feel extra.

We laugh and find it amusing because it's chaotic. The secrets behind those wild ideas and explosive destruction are brilliant and subtle.

It's why I fully believed back then, that it's a simple story about a man who just wants to cause mischief in a strange world.

And then...his past as Kim Rok Soo is finally revealed by the author.

And it suddenly turns all this humor about himself into a freaking tragedy.

Kim Rok Soo is a tragic character. He's a person who has lost far too much and can only react in indifference even when he's hurting. He's cold in another person's perspective because he doesn't cry when in front of those he lost.

He hates himself for something he couldn't control. He hates himself for being weak. He hates himself for a lot of things. And he hates the scars Kim Rok Soo has because they're the reminder of all his failures and all his sacrifices that only ended up with making him alone. Like he will always be alone. (Which makes his distant personality in the beginning make sense too wtf)

So he takes in their words of him being cruel enough not to cry in a funeral of his friends and fully believes it.

He believes, as Kim Rok Soo and Cale Henituse, that he's trash.

And it absolutely made me cry like a kid when he, as he woke up surrounded by those he befriended and could call family, finally cries with a smile.

This is the first time they and us readers see him cry and smile and it's just heartbreaking.

The whole lead up to this reveal was me seeing him as a tsundere and a freaking crazy bastard that utters "slacker life" like it's comic relief.

It's completely unexpected and I love it.

Because him crying and smiling for the first time is him finally shedding his shields and walls from these people who see him as a kind person.

Cale Henituse, for all his masks and secrets, is just a broken but endlessly kind person.

It's why those who meet him, trust him. His actions are a big reason why they trust him but his words, when it feels hopeless, are eye-opening and full of wisdom of a 36 year old man. He's straightforward in front of those he trusts and tells them something that flips over everything they think about the current situation. And he says it with the experience of Kim Rok Soo.

I believe the only times he lies to them is when he was given the thing that he was gonna use to stab himself and also when he hides his identity as Kim Rok Soo. There's actually a hint of his guilt sometimes...or maybe I'm just thinking too much about it.

Anyways, that's all my thoughts for now.

This subtle bastard made me cry, damn it.

___

That one scene of him crying and smiling is etched in my mind and was reminded of it when I recently saw a fanart. So I decided to write about my feelings about his character and personality.

It's not a mindblowing post or anything new and it goes from humor to angst pretty fast but I think it's just like him. If you analyze his words in one way, it's just hilarious but if you analyze it in another way, it's sad.

I like how the author wrote him. He's a crazy bastard and a tsundere (the only tsundere I'll ever like) and I'm so glad I found this novel.

#tcf #tcf cale #tcf novel #tcf manhwa #tcf spoilers #tcf cale henituse #lcf cale #cale henituse #trash of the count's family #lout of the count’s family #lcf manhwa #lcf #lcf novel #tcf taylor #lcf taylor #tcf taylor stan #tcf choi han #tcf raon #raon miru

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easternmind · 3 days

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Lessons in Japanese Game Design #3

From Killer7 to Deadly Premonition, Japanese game creators have intrepidly explored the theme of mental illness in a variety of genres, often in highly stylized form. The title I wish to approach today is a lesser known reference that approached this subject matter with unusual tact and clarity - a memory, if you will, which the collective conscious has long repressed.

Maria Kimi Tachi Ga Umareta Wake (The Reason You Were Born) is a late 1997 adventure game firmly rooted in the visual novel template that earned Chunsoft great repute. It was Break studio's debut, produced over a year and half for both the PlayStation and Saturn systems. It was published by Axela, a company born out of the internal management conflicts and accumulated debt at ASCII, leading to some of its executives teaming up in 1996 to establish a new project centred around software and magazine publishing. The story of this company's origins, alone, would merit a separate post.

Foreseeably, its release was followed by moderate controversy, such that worked mostly in its favour. One of the most polemical moments is found in the introduction scene, with its tasteful yet unvarnished depiction of Maria's suicide attempt, followed by her hospital admission. The imagery and that which it depicts remains as painful to watch today as it did decades ago.

While Maria is the central character, her tragedy and arc merge with that of the actual protagonist, Jun Takano, a fledgeling surgeon who, in the quality of certified psychiatrist, is assigned to provide therapy to the French-Japanese patient the morning after her admittance.

Maria's mental illness component comes to light as the story and therapy sessions progress. The key art consists of photos of women using coloured masks to visually represent the dimensions of her multiple personality disorder.

(Note: the text above is machine translated from the original Japanese game manual.)

Break was denounced for its bid to integrate so serious a derangement as a theme in a juvenile entertainment piece. Their reaction was to highlight the research done to ensure a careful treatment of the subject and sensitization of players via a bespoke message in the manual. In retrospect, the relative popularity of this game at the time was greatly owned to this fleeting controversy, and is believed to have been a crucial factor in the obtention of budget for Maria's far less spirited sequel.

As a work of pure fiction, scenario writer Kirie Fukuda was at liberty to carry the already divisive premise into even more exotic territory by establishing a mysterious yet playful correspondence between Maria's distinct personas and Egyptian deities.

The game's structure is modelled after hirudorama, a Japanese word interchangeably used to describe daytime TV fiction or soap operas; each of its nine chapters lasting nearly thirty minutes, equipped with a plot twist, cliff-hanger ending, and followed by rolling credits.

Perhaps the single most outstanding aspect about this production results from a tireless effort to surpass the standard of authenticity in what pertains facial expressions; particularly those of the multifaceted Maria, often with stilted yet all the more fascinating results.

In this and other regards, the influence of D no Shokutaku and its character, Laura, is clear and unmistakable. Maria's director and studio head at Break, Akira Okada, was an ex-Warp employee who worked as sales director precisely at the time when Eno's game was being developed.

Following a modest success, Break released Maria 2: Jutaikokuchi no Nazo in 99, a not-so-direct sequel which did not command the same attention as the original. The studio created other noteworthy visual novels: Ouma ga Toki and its sequel, as well as the most unusual Saishuu Densha, a paranormal-themed romantic story involving two strangers who meet in a train.

Before closing, it would pay to emphasize that this is an entirely different adventure game from the similarly forgotten MA-RI-A Ningōkan no Noroi, a 1996 3D CG horror adventure designed by Osamu Tezuka's son, Makoto; and scored by Kuniaki Haishima, of Kowloon's Gate and Siren 2 fame.

Nor is it related in any way with the so-called "Maria" episode from the Yarudora visual novel game series, Sampaguita, released in 1997 for the PlayStation by Sugar & Rockets and Production I.G.

#Maria Kimi Tachi Ga Umareta Wake #obscure japanese games #japanese game design #mental illness #suicide #axela #break #playstation #saturn

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lilycolbertsstuff · 9 hours

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Ok let’s talk all things Bridgerton.

First things first, we’ve all binged it the day that it came out, right?

Second, Nicola Coughlan the woman that you are.

Now let’s move on to the serious stuff.

I have to say that so far I’m liking this season but there are some things that I really don’t understand, namely all the subplots. Some of them should’ve either been cut or they should’ve had less screen time. I understand for example the introduction of Francesca and John because of how their story plays out in the future but what about the Mondriches? Don’t get me wrong I like their characters and their chemistry but I really don’t get why they’re such a prominent part of this season, hopefully their presence will be justified in part 2 for it would be heartbreaking to see unnecessary hate towards them.

Another aspect I liked is Eloise and Cressida’s friendship. In the beginning I didn’t think it would be something genuine but turns out that El does actually come to care for Cressida, who is finally not just relegated to being the mean girl.

Kate and Anthony are a dream to watch on screen, their chemistry is out of this world and they most definitely deserve the long ass honeymoon for god knows how hard these two have worked for their families.

I found Francesca to be such an interesting character and her and John were cute but the side couple that I’m really curious about is Violet and lady Danbury’s brother.

The Featheringtons were a highlight of this season to me. They had no business being this funny. Every time a scene with them came on I was prepared to laugh.

Queen Charlotte and lady Danbury are such icons you can’t help but love them.

Last but not least, Benedict. My boy what have they done to you? It’s so painfully obvious that they didn’t know what to do with his character because give me a valid reason why his storyline this time around is him going to bed with a widow; I would’ve much rather liked to see him in those artists’ parties or whatever like he did in season one and maybe explore more of that aspect of his personality in preparation for his own season, which hopefully will be next.

Time to talk about the leads:

I wish we could’ve seen more of Colin’s identity crisis but I feel like whenever the script was lacking Luke did a great job compensating with his body language and facial expressions. Also can we all agree that he’s just so whipped for Pen after their first kiss?

As a fellow wallflower I really related to the scenes where Penelope felt frustrated with the ton and all the socialising. I can confirm that even when we get all dolled up and feel confident in our own skin for once it’s still so hard to put ourselves out there. We feel called by the wall and somehow we find it more fascinating to observe all the different dynamics going on around us rather than actively taking part in them, even if sometimes we want to.

The scenes where Pen threw herself on her bed and sighed? Yep, I felt that.

I honestly didn’t mind that Colin and Pen got together by the end of the first part of the season for we’ve been watching the build up to their relationship for three seasons now. These two have been friends for ages so it’s not like they had to go through all that getting to know each other phase. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure that part 2 will focus on the unfolding of the lady whistledown storyline and having Colin and Pen be together makes more sense because now he loves and wants to marry her leading to an even more crushing reveal.

The carriage scene?! I died and resurrected in the span of like 3 minutes, and that’s just their first intimate scene I don’t know what will happen to me with the ones to come.

These were my overall thoughts on Bridgerton season 3. I can’t wait till part 2 comes out but also I will be deep in exam season so it’ll be a wild ride, let’s hope everything turns out for the best.🐝🩵

#bridgerton #polin #bridgerton season 3 #kanthony #penelope featherington #colin x penelope #colin bridgerton #romancing mr. bridgerton #carriage scene #netflix #tv shows #tv series #nicola coughlan #luke newton #johnathan bailey #simone ashley #claudia jessie #luke thompson #hannah dodd

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longing-for-rain · 16 hours

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How do you think Zutara's dynamic would change if both Zuko and Katara were female, what about if their genders were reversed? (M katara, F zuko?)

Oh this is interesting, I think their characters would both be very different and therefore their dynamic would too. Especially Katara.

The thing about canon Katara is that being female and therefore subject to misogyny was a huge impact on the character she became. In her very introduction, she’s irritated at Sokka for being misogynistic to her (with implications that this is a pattern) and we see multiple instances of her being overlooked or outright discriminated against for being female. It feeds into her drive to prove herself, to be a great waterbender, and contributes to her feeling an obligation to look after those around her at the expense of her own feelings.

Male!Katara would share some issues but not all. He would suffer the pressure of being the last southern waterbender, and having to hide that ability. He’d probably have somewhat of a paternal role at a young age, but not to the extent of his female counterpart. I also think it’s likely he would know hand-to-hand combat as well since he’d likely hunt but not be allowed to openly waterbend. He’d also still carry the burden of grief over his mother.

As for female!Zuko, I think she would suffer an added layer of misogyny on top of her abuse. There is no precedent for a female Fire Lord, so as a firstborn daughter, she might have been intended for political marriage for a young age. Her attempts to surpass Azula at firebending would have been deemed all the more pathetic by Ozai—proof to him that she’s only good for marriage and not leadership. This would have an impact on her and give her a strong drive to prove herself. I also think appearance would be a much bigger factor. There are only implications that canon Zuko feels insecure over his face, but female!Zuko would probably be even more impacted due to the pressure on women to be physically attractive (especially if she was a princess intended to be a bride). I think she’d probably be a bit butch and embrace her warrior side, deeming herself ugly (this would be interesting to work through). She fights with swords still and relentlessly pushes herself to excel at any skill she can.

How would these characters work together?

I actually really like femslash Zutara. Picture this—female!Zuko, told she’s weak and ugly and good for nothing but political marriage, encountering a powerful female waterbender. At first they fight, but over time gain an appreciation for each other. Eventually, female!Zuko finds a partner in Katara who admires her for her abilities as a warrior and a firebender, and on top of that, thinks she’s beautiful as she is. Her rough edges, her tough demeanor, everything she was told made her a failed woman, are all beautiful to Katara. Not to mention how she’d have an intimate ability to understand Katara’s own experiences of misogyny and its impact on her. They would have a truly beautiful connection.

Now male!Katara and female!Zuko… hard to say. To be completely honest I don’t seeing it having the same depth as canon or femslash Zutara, mainly because taking away femaleness from Katara’s character takes away a lot of the complexity (at least in my opinion). I think there would still be some “you’re beautiful as you are” and bonding over mom trauma but other than that I’m not sure.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #femslash zutara #lesbian zutara #genderbend #katara #zuko #fem!zuko #male!katara #anon #ask

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illiana-mystery · 1 year

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Agent Paul Smecker, FBI, Organized Crime Task Force

#what a great introduction for a character #i really enjoyed this scene #i love this character so much #can you tell #also his hair #love his hair #paul smecker #the boondock saints #my blue eyed short king #willem dafoe

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pastelpaperplanes · 9 months

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frogive me if I am but a fool, but dost Thorns and Thrones exist as a fanfic, or a series of art, or both

Fear not, dearest Anon, thou art naught a fool, for thine own question is unequivocally valid!

Thorns and thrones resides as a story mostly told through art and various asks I have answered on this blog. I do my best to show the story rather than proclaim it, for truly, I am but a great and lowly chicken when it comes to taking up the quill and ink mine self

BUT! people have made many a fan pieces of work for the AU

Make haste! for each and every one has made masses weep tears of joy and merrious laughter. I beg of thee!

Witness the works of many a talented creators!

#ye olde English uhhhh #did I do it right #I ran along w your theme anon THANKS it was fun #but yeah more or less I have not officially written anything in terms of one shots/fan fiction for the au #there’s a handful directly inspired by scenes from art #a few from the basics of the story themselves #and a few written purely out of inspiration for the ✨vibes✨#it’s all a great time PLEASE check them out #I’m chilling away at the story as I go! I’m a lot more interest in getting into other #CHIPPING** gdi #character introductions and various backstories rn #and megop yearning #and yearning all around in general #we are here for the cheesy romance what is plot??? who is she…….#asks

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dimension-20-every-introduction · 8 months

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Everyone Introduced in Dimension 20′s Mentopolis episode 6 (finale)

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 introductions #mentopolis #mentopolis spoilers #d20 mentopolis #HOT DAMN............. what a season #that was unbelievably goofy and looney toons level silly but like. what a fun ride #i feel like the kids on bikes system really opens the door for a lot of those moments from what i've seen it's so great #also having a secret narrative stat that uses the fucking d100 as the die roll was like VERY silly but also like.#it has me going a little bit insane about like ways that could be used in like other genres or things or whatever #like god damn that's a good way to represent some aspect of character that is just so impossibly strong that like......#when they tap into that they just cannot fail #which kinda sucks in terms of balancing for gameplay but like god damn‚ narratively?#and like restricting it so that stat only sort of becomes awakened or usable when that sort of deeply rooted personal growth comes into pla #this might be kind of a weird stretch but like.... the crests from the og digimon adventure?#like if they managed to tap into those aspects of themselves and their crests glow‚ that's their d100 stat‚ their crests #and all sorts of astronomically powerful shit could sort of come about from them acting within their strongest parts of themselves in turn #i don't know. maybe i'm just too digimon brained maybe i'm just a little too hooked on that digimon ttrpg show that uses kids on bikes too #but like...................................... fuck.#i don't know‚ it could be something!#anyways i really enjoyed these sort of lightly animated scenes of the real world that elias hodge got to star in as the pov #very VERY fun how they played across the dome in game too #also oh my godddddd anastasia and fawnbrooke......... bro i'm gay #was this season sillier than fantasy high? or escape from the bloodkeep? probably #like the lore and worldbuilding was unabashedly bonkers due to it all existing in the mental manifestation of the human brain #and VERY funny at that #probably the silliest d20's ever been! but i loved it #alright‚ guess that's it for this one #see y'all next season!!

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thatlittledandere · 6 months

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I don't know what Hussie's thing with The Handle is but I fucking love it. Some kind of acrobatic fucking pirouette off the handle is a running joke already and now we're in cahoots with the handle? Fucking excellent.

#venlapost #homestuck #sollux captor #also great introduction to the character #i'm only posting like 1/3 of the context but if you see this in the tags or recommendations you know what the context is #if you don't. don't even worry about it <3 #neither do i #venla experiences homestuck

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homielander · 1 year

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I hate that they made aegon a rapist (but in some episodes, they tried to give him depth and show how he suffers from his position). it's already not easy being team green, and we still have to pass as apologists, when that shit didn't even happen in the books and no one in that book it's a nice person. it literally is such a gratuitous scene.

me too🥲

aegon was said to get handsy with maidservants in the book but that was the extent of it (as long as we're discounting mushroom, whom i believe should almost always be discounted). i guess i can see why they would put it in there based on that, but they made the adaptational choice to whitewash pretty much every character except aegon, which would be baffling if it weren't very clear what their intention was. i think aegon may actually be the only character who is better in the book than the show. and he actually had one of the more interesting arcs in the book so it's depressing all around

if they were going to make aegon a worse guy than in the book, then they should have at least made rhaenyra book accurate, because making one of them a fundamentally better person than the other undermines the futility of the dance. but i do respect that they wanted to make rhaenyra more likable (though i would say this stretched too far with the erasure of every canonical flaw she had in 1.10 and the white hart) so the easy solution to preserve that theme was to not have aegon casually commit atrocities that are so cartoonish they're not even shown on screen. obviously then they wouldn't have been able to market a proto daenerys to audiences but maybe we'd have an interesting story idk

#aegon ii targaryen #house of the dragon #asks #yeah they have tried to insert depth into aegon #but i've been really surprised reading interviews and all how much of it comes from tgc himself and not the writers #the writers keep saying he's the closest thing to joffrey lmao #sorry there were no graphic joffrey scenes until like s4 but we all knew he was a sadistic loser 2 mins into his introduction #meanwhile aegon looks nauseated at vaemond getting beheaded but also watches kids beat each other up for fun. make it make sense #point is he doesn't have to commit crimes onscreen for his offscreen actions to be reconciled with the aegon we know. but they aren't!#but anyway i appreciate a bunch of the green actors trying to be a bit more nuanced in their portrayals than what the writing might dictate #like olivia heard them say 'play alicent as a woman for trump' and ignored it. so real so true of her #and matthew's recent commentary literally saved larys as a character for me #(and also made me loads more excited for alys! if she is indeed a bastard of lyonel)#a bunch of the hotd actors have great takes on their characters in general. emma too i love it

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