Alicent Shouldnt Stripe Rhaenyra Out From Her Birthrights And Rhaenyra Shouldnt Do That For Alicent's

rewatching ep5 we light the way and the way the wedding vows are being said over this scene of criston attempting suicide and alicent saving him...the real union of the night being between them. in this episode they're finally disillusioned of the roles they've been playing. they realise they'd been lied to and used. and at the end of the episode, they are just raw mirrors of shame and naivety staring back at each other asking for help. one flesh, whatever may come

TiL (click to go to the thread, which probably has more interesting tidbits I missed).

Bonus:

Actually, you know what? This just pisses me off a bit too much to let slide. I know intelligence, integrity and antisemitism don‘t usually go together but you might remember how after a „valiant group of arabic freedom fighters“ by the name Al-Qaeda „targeted infrastructure and military targets“ on US soil, America alongside NATO allies invaded two seperate countries, one of which demonstrably had nothing to do with any of the previously mentioned „liberation effort“ and murdered approximately six times the number of civilians Israel has killed combatants and civilianscombined.

Also Gaza prior to October 7th had a very rapidly growing population, which usually is not an indication of a genocide going on. I can assure you Jewish population did not increase during the Holocaust.

It’s so funny seeing pro-israelis try to defend Israel with the excuse of ‘Israel protecting themselves’. or that it’s ‘Not Israel’s fault because Hamas is hiding with civilians’ etc etc.

Like please. The USA has managed to kill !THREE! leaders of terrorist groups without killing tens of thousands of innocent people. Turkey has killed ISIS militants and hit targets without killing tens of thousands of people.

They also prove how they’re completely ignorant how violent Israel has been towards Palestine before. This has been going on for way longer than October 7th 2023. There is absolutely NO justification for what Israel is doing. If you support genocide simply say so.

Welcome to yet another episode of DISTURBING Things I Notice in HOTD:

Today’s installment is on bloodlust and dermatillomania (tw!) as expressed by our two key figures of the Dance, Rhaenyra and Alicent, and their similarities between Daemon and Criston respectively (pls bear with me on this).

First up, even though we have seen many scenes of bloodshed in the show, I want to mainly talk about the two scenes of bloodlust we have seen with Rhaenyra in episode 3 where she kills a boar, and with Alicent when she cuts Rhaenyra's arm at Driftmark.

Why, though, do I say bloodlust? Because it describes a desire for bloodshed and carnage, often aroused in the heat of battle or the moment, leading to uncontrolled slaughter and torture. The perfect example of this description is Criston's killing of Joffrey at Leanor's & Rhaenyra's wedding because it was moved by a desire for bloodshed further motivated by Criston's emotional turmoil, it was aroused in the heat of the moment because Joffrey provoked him, and, most importantly, he had lost control. This means that Criston is not generally like that; had he not lost control, he would not have performed the act.

The exact OPPOSITE is Daemon's cold-hearted killing of Vaemond: there was no underlying desire, the moment was not heated, nor was he personally attacked, and he did not display any loss of control. This means that he did not need any provocation to perform the act. In other words, bloodlust and bloodshed are in general part of Daemon's character.

I think that the analysis of these two extremes helps in understanding where Alicent and Rhaenyra lay in the spectrum of bloodlust.

Starting off with the scene at the hunt where she slays the boar, Rhaenyra ticks all the boxes for bloodlust: a desire for bloodshed because of the hunt, arousal in the heat of the moment because she was attacked by the beast, which then results in uncontrolled slaughter. Yet, that doesn’t seem to have any effect on Rhaenyra, as we see her walking back to the camp, completely drenched in blood. Her sight stuns and terrifies spectators, Alicent included, but Rhaenyra's detached attitude toward carnage resembles that of Daemon's. I am not saying that bloodshed and carnage are part of her character to the extent that they are a part of Daemon’s, but she and he both display a higher tolerance to the sight, thought and feel of the act.

Let's get now to the scene at Driftmark and the confrontation between Alicent and Rhaenyra. Alicent, too, ticks all three of the boxes for bloodlust at that moment: a desire for bloodshed because of the maiming of her son, arousal in the heat of the moment because her concerns are not taken seriously, and loss of control that results in obtaining the Valyrian steel dagger and cutting Rhaenyra's arm. However, Alicent shows how horrified she is that the situation has gotten out of control, and she drops the dagger. Later on, we see her remorse which mirrors Criston's, who wanted to commit suicide. They both understood the lengths of their actions and were devastated.

And what about Rhaenyra when she gets cut in that scene? She is once again oblivious to the pain, staring Alicent dead in the eyes which terrifies Alicent even more. I have a few reasons as to why.

First of all, Alicent suffered from dermatillomania growing up, which is a mental health condition where a person compulsively picks or scratches their skin, causing injuries or scarring. Also known as excoriation disorder or skin-picking disorder, this condition falls under the category of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs) and can be triggered by anxiety. There are several scenes where we see that same anxiety permeate Alicent and her resort to dermatillomania, as early as episode 1 (this is where her brother Gwayne is fighting with Daemon):

What science says is that such behavior is anxiety-induced, a clinical condition, and even though she could stop it if she chose to, it is not that easy or simple. Alicent was addicted to the numbing pain as a relief from her anxiety but she loathed herself for its destructive nature. She was often made fun of it by her father who told her that she was "destroying herself." We see that as her confidence grew in the later episodes, and when she was released from the strenuous puppeteering of Otto, she was able to overcome the habit.

To my eyes, this is why it is shocking for Alicent to a) cause pain to Rhaenyra and b) to see Rhaenyra oblivious to such pain. The fact that Rhaenyra doesn’t even flinch, when Alicent hated herself for causing harm to her own body for years and when she already hates herself for losing her temper, confirms to her Rhaenyra’s absolute callousness. Yes, she, who lusts after what she wants and knows no limits, and whose ambition runs thicker than blood, does feel entitled to Aemond’s eye.

In fact, Alicent barely recognizes Rhaenyra at this moment. Alicent has just become afraid of herself, and of the newly discovered bloodlust she didn’t know she had, and seeing Rhaenyra show no reaction to the pain, Alicent becomes doubly afraid of Rhaenyra. The one who stares deeply into her eyes and shows her that she cannot hurt her. Who tells her that she can take in much more. Who is not like Alicent, to become consumed by pain. Rhaenyra is a warrior, and she is capable of showing her heartlessness when necessary. And that’s when Alicent understands that she doesn’t know Rhaenyra anymore. Alicent becomes even more afraid of her, and the person she has become. The person she could potentially turn into when provoked.

This is what absolutely terrifies yet humanizes Alicent, who already hated herself for causing injury to herself, and who hates herself now for causing injury to Rhaenyra. Yet Rhaenyra won't let her hurt or pain show like Alicent does, and she is used to causing injury without feeling anything; just like Daemon.

*added the coloring to keep track of the many lines of thought happening here

Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

Petition: Legally enshrine the right of adults to physically transition using NHS services

Introduce a law to legally protect the right of those aged 18 and over to transition using NHS services. This should specifically cover phys

Uk peeps!! Let’s get this going! 🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇧

Actually planning on doing that.

I’m half tempted to rewrite season 2, just for the sake of fixing the mess they have made. I shall title it “Fuck You Condal” and it shall be known as the ‘I reject your fanfiction and substitute my own’ movement. Anyone wanna help?

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

Hamas is publicly executing Gaza opponents ON VIDEO. Silence from the world.

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

Hamas is bragging that it murdered 11 Gaza citizens yesterday.

Outside of some Israeli media, no news site or "human rights" NGO  has said a word.

Palestinian human rights activist Howidy Hamza tweeted Thursday, "As expected, Hamas began executing Gazans the moment the ceasefire deal was reached, accusing them of 'working with the occupation.' Just today, they executed 10 Gazans, and they promised to do more in the coming days. This isn’t a novel tactic; it’s an age-old strategy employed by Hamas to silence critics and instill fear among citizens who oppose their rule. I would greatly welcome a position from the pro-Palestinian movement advocating for pressure on Hamas to end its ongoing oppression of the people in Gaza."

Do you think this wasn't also happening during the fighting? After seeing this video, can one doubt that Hamas would use the war as an excuse to kill its critics and then blame Israel? 

Beyond that, isn't it likely that Hamas would sometimes kill innocent women and children just for the PR value of blaming their deaths on Israel? 

The people who spent so much time and money pretending to defend Palestinian lives have been struck dumb in the face of incontrovertible evidence of Hamas murdering people in Gaza. Palestinian lives really don't matter to these hypocrites if Jews cannot be blamed. 

TB and their selective feminism.

what if he doesn't want it to mean anything?? (lie)

this post has been haunting me

the way i liked the thought of alicole as a ship but now that it's an alleged reality i could throw up. alicent and criston both are pledged to duty and care for each other in a platonic but intimate way, where they were there for each other at the other's worst and still supported each other. there is nothing they could write or add into the show that would make them having sex make any sense. and if that does happen, i fear for both characters but especially alicent bc of how the general audience already views her--but i feel like if this happens the show is just trying to make criston and alicent both huge jokes?? bc they already face so much scrutiny online and them having sex would just make it all so much worse.

i'm literally praying that these leaks aren't true because wtf. and then olivia described s2 in 5 words and one of them was "sexuality." i'm so afraid rn guys...