Whisked Valerie over to the Space Western sandbox I play in with my friends! In this setting, they are still a fleshcrafter -- utilizing a form of dormant "Visceral Animism" which stems from her family being part ghoul. (Of a lovecraft/Throne of Bones type variety!)
The long and short of it is that Ghouls are less a species of their own -- and more a type of hereditary psionic mutant.
Well well while I'm working on my new Daenerys stuff I realize there's fully finished older stuff I didn't post yet. From the Unburnt (Daenerys centric) collab (n°1) :
Adding down there the thought process cause I really worked that out.
Themes : dual motherhood, conflicted motherhoods. Instinct to protect. Conflict between desire & ability. Love and hate. Daenerys is associated both to the endangered child in need of protection, and to that of the ruler & protector. In addition to that, she is finally also associated to the "monster", the creature that endangers children. At opposite sides of the spectrum of "children", are Missandei and the dragons, both dear to Daenerys (she wishes to care for them the best she can) & in a precarious position (not safe/kept in chains).
Important quotes :
1) "They are afraid for their children," Reznak said. Yes, Daenerys thought, and so am I.
2) "No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys ….I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don’t always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …"
"… mother," whispered Missandei. "Mother to dragons." Dany shivered. "No. Mother to us all." Missandei hugged her tighter.
3) She was the blood of the dragon. She could kill the Sons of the Harpy, and the sons of the sons, and the sons of the sons of the sons. But a dragon could not feed a hungry child nor help a dying woman’s pain. And who would ever dare to love a dragon ? (Echo of "Dragons plant no trees" later in the book)
4) What sort of mother lets her children rot in darkness ? If I look back, I am doomed, Dany told herself … but how could she not look back? I should have seen it coming. Was I so blind, or did I close my eyes willfully, so I would not have to see the price of power ?
5) The winged shadow, the grieving father called him. He was the largest of her three, the fiercest, the wildest, with scales as black as night and eyes like pits of fire. (= the main child of Daenerys, haunting this chapter)
6) Mother of dragons, Daenerys thought. Mother of monsters. What have I unleashed upon the world? A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros? I am the blood of the dragon, she thought. If they are monsters, so am I.
I looked at the episode again recently (03/04/2023 A.D.) and realized something more: Raven and Ashi having similar hairstyles and the same voice actress (Tara Strong), while being part-demon and on the same network overall (The Cartoon Network) may be quite the coincidence...
but Robin sentenced back into a portal by a bigger demon?
The Teen Titans GO! Season 4 episode “Throne of Bones” might have more Samurai Jack references than I thought...
Given that it was co-storyboarded by a Cartoon Network Studios veteran, Rob Lilly III, and came out almost 8 months after Samurai Jack Season 5 began, I question how coincidental this is...
Original tweet here.
Sequel tweets here.
“THRONE OF BONES”
DIRECTED BY JAMES KRENZKE
SUPERVISING DIRECTOR: LUKE CORMICAN
STORYBOARD: ADRIEL GARCIA, ROBERT LILLY
CHARACTER DESIGN: @chrisbattleart MARINA GARDNER, JUNPEI TAKAYAMA