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seventhemaverick · 3 months

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Astro Observations 2 🪽

Thank you for 120+ followers!! <3 this post has opinions and personal observations. Don’t take it too serious my babies. I love ur feedback. Please be kind, inform me otherwise!

☁️ I love how many people in the Astrology community are Scorpio risings, have dominant scorpio/8H placements/degrees, strong pluto influence like we’re all trying to find the meaning to all the f*ck shit that happens in our lives

☁️ Another dominance that I see in a natal chart that is really into these practices is Uranus and Neptune.

☁️ Lilith dominance in a natal chart can be rough especially when they make conjunctions to mars or Pluto. Men can sometimes be so mean to you especially when you both are around other people and you’re just like what just happened 😃? You were just telling me your deepest secrets and desires?? Odd… Á la poubelle 🚮

☁️ Speaking of Lilith, I get annoyed hearing that certain asteroids like Lilith and Chiron aren’t considered a part of a stellium 🙄 because if you can have Lilith dominance in your chart you should be able to consider it a part of your stellium as well? Same with Chiron. If there’s many aspects to those signs as well and if everything is energetically interconnected like astrology tries to show us, you would think those two asteroids at most would be considered. Especially because these asteroids play significant roles in HEALING *cough Chiron cough* and stepping into your power (Lilith). Both asteroids take a shorter amount of time to orbit the sun than most outer planets and some inner planets likeee cmon y’all.. me complaining because I’d technically have a Sagittarius stellium if Chiron and Lilith was included

☁️ Whatever quadrant(s) the majority of your placements fall in is what you are meant to focus on in this life. In the last quadrant, your focus could be on the world around you, humanitarian causes. A lot of planets in your first quadrant your mission in this lifetime is to be more self focused.

☁️ Intercepted houses are interesting... I’m very thankful I don’t have them because my chart is already 😀😗 .. yea. But I realized I’ve come across a lot of people with them and those houses if you don’t know already have a lot of focus on the house it pertains to. Example: intercepted houses in the 1st and 7th house means one of your life’s mission is learning how to assert yourself, set boundaries, find balance in relationships and your free time.

☁️ People that have intercepted houses usually attract people that has signs that rule those houses to teach them significant life lessons. So if you have 1st and 7th intercepted you’ll have someone who probably has Aries/libra in big three or within their chart , if you have 2nd and 8th you’ll attract someone with Taurus/Scorpio in big three or in their chart etc etc

☁️ If you’re feeling unstable it’s best to connect with the element you have most dominant in your chart. Whether it’s literally connecting to that element by physically interacting with it or you are doing the themes in relation to that element. This also applies to whatever sign your mars is in. Surrounding yourself with the element associated with your mars can allow you to release and ground yourself.

☁️ For instance, if you have a lot of water in your chart/water mars, swimming or being by the water and journaling, drawing, whatever creative outlet feels most healing to you by the water can bring you some peace. Talking to the ocean, lake, etc. can be grounding and if you’re really into esoteric practices you can give the water an offering in exchange for peace of mind. Earth, going on a hike, feeling the earth (not concrete yuck) with your bare soles/palms can be helpful, hugging and talking to trees. (Side note fun fact, removing vines that are wrapping a tree is also like an offering because vines growing around trees are invasive and preventing it from receiving sunlight, ultimately killing it. Save your local trees!! I see this as a form of an offering as well) Mother trees will help you most. Fire, first and foremost please be careful. Secondly, working with candles can be very healing and watching the light, taking walks when it’s really sunny, sun bathing, solar plexus yoga could bring much peace. Sun bathing your yoni when the sun is at its peak :) it really works. Air, burning incense whilst having good air ventilation, journaling, stimulating activities like running or jogging while simultaneously working on the breath. Breath work, mental workouts like chess. I might do a post about all Mars signs and specific activity outlets. Lmk in the comments if you guys would be interested :)

☁️ To break out of your comfort zone, to attract newness into your life, connect with the element you have least in your chart!

☁️ The element you have least of is what you tend to attract in others

☁️ People that connect more to sidereal astrology usually have some old soul-ness to them. I’ve observed it’s usually modern Astrology earth placements, mostly Taurus placements that tend to value that system more from what I’ve seen

☁️ I’ve noticed water sign placements/dominance like anime and k-pop a lot. Honorary mention is Aquarius but more towards anime.

☁️ I saw @harmoonix say this in one of their posts recently but this has been sitting in my drafts for over a month so I’m gonna agree and add on lol (love ur posts fr— trendsetter 💐) Aquarius placements, especially in the big 3, love video games. Love playing games on their phone and on a console. Love technology, it’s their safe space— a way to get away from the world. Aquarius does rule over technology! They’re the most tech savvy in the family. Their elders in their home relied on them for that stuff lol.

☁️ Sagittarius placements, esp mercury usually have different genres and languages of music in their catalog

☁️ For Sagittarius to be in detriment in Mercury that placement has many fantastic writers, poets, lyricists etc.

☁️ Earth placements, especially Capricorns can out smoke you. Out-any-substance you fr it’s actually crazy to witness 😂😂.

☁️ Your Groom (5129) or Briede (19029) in your natal chart can not only show the actual sign or house placements that your partner may have but the synastry overlays you both may have as well. For example you may have your groom asteroid in the sign virgo. Your spouses natal placements especially big 3 could have those planets fall into your sixth house. Virgo rules the sixth house.

☁️ This picture above is all Libra placements during this south node in Libra transit. The area Libra resides will show up and out! Villain era fr. Big 3 Libra placements will feel this way the most! This transit has me not giving ANY f*cks!

☁️ Your solar return rising sign is very important. It will tell you the themes that will take place in the new year ahead. For example: Virgo rising in your solar return has you more work and health focused. Should I make a post about solar return risings lmk in the comments!

☁️ It’s also interesting that your rising and moon sign in your solar return chart can pertain who you most come into contact with during. So if your rising is Leo that year you’ll probably befriend, get closer to, date many Leo’s or people that have Leo placements/degrees in their chart :). I can confirm that within each ascendant I have had in my returns since studying astrology the people I was closer to/in contact more with during the time period had those placements in big three especially.

☁️ not an observation but a statement of a dilemma of mine because I cannot choose between placidus and whole sign system. I deeply relate to both. I thankfully don’t have intercepted houses but I can see both sides to the placements in my chart and the different houses they reside in with both systems 😂 ok moving on

☁️ I use placidus house system mostly when I’m reading other people’s chart and whole sign when I’m reading compatibility charts

☁️ placidus is a better system to use for most people because we live in different hemispheres and that system caters to that imo

☁️ I realize most Pisces and Sagittarius placements loveeee green. It’s that Jupiter calling in that abundance!

☁️ Scorpio and Aries are ruled by mars and I have realized people with these placements like purple a lot. Capricorn placements tend to like purple too and cap is exalted in mars! Purple and black are associated with satur(n)day!

☁️ Saw an observation about sag mercuries always interrupt you and it’s true LMAO but they’re very passionate people and I think they just wanna get what they have to say off their chest

☁️ Sagittarius mercuries are the smartest Mercury sign imo.

☁️ Pisces placements especially in the big three are very crafty when it comes to talking their way out of being held accountable

☁️ Being around people that have the signs in your 2nd and 8th house can easily trigger you if you’re not actively working on healing your wounds

☁️ I haven’t met an air sign that doesn’t speak with their face and hands especially Gemini chile

☁️ Mars rules celibacy, Venus rules lust. I realize that people with strong Aries/Scorpio/Capricorn are not into having sex with multiple people simultaneously or can go long periods without having sex. They view sex as a very intimate activity.

☁️ hate to come down on my Venusians but Taurus and Libras and let’s not forget about my girl is exalted in Pisces! People with strong placements in these signs can be loyal but sometimes there can be wandering eyes. Like an itch they want to scratch so bad. Even if they’re very loyal in nature it’s more possible for them to flirt for fun or get into affairs more because they’re hedonistic in nature

☁️ when a Capricorn loves you they will always have your back and put into you financially to help your dreams come true. One of the most attentive , supportive people to have in your corner!

🪽 I wanted to post this sooner but I’m currently grieving the loss of my Capricorn dominant grandmother who was my closest confidant and greatest inspiration, about a month ago. She passed during her Saturn return and Uranus return. She lived an incredible life. Strongest, most fearless person I know. An entrepreneur who knew how to get it! Some people didn’t make it into the new year with us and I hope you know that you have now gained an angel. I’m grateful to the Tumblr astrology community for sharing their knowledge. Astrology really helps me make sense of the world and I’m happy that we all find peace in that. Sending my love and best wishes to you all. Thank you for reading and tuning in xoxo 🪽

#astro notes #astrology observations #astrology #astro observations #capricorn #libra #aries #scorpio #sagittarius #lilith astrology #chiron astrology #solar return observations #pisces

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aspiringhorrorauthor · 2 years

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As is tradition with Dracula Daily, let me give you today’s Cultural Lesson Based On Today’s Entry. Let’s talk about money.

See, if you’re thinking Dracula and the characters are handling what we see today as British money, don’t be fooled! Dracula is set in the 1890s, and they use an entirely different money system to what we use now, it just seems on the surface that it’s the same.

For context, if you didn’t know, Britain uses pounds (£) and pence (p) as the currency now, with 100p to £1. This is called decimalisation, and has been in practice since the 1970s. Before then, we were the last country in the world to still use the Roman monetary system.

In the Victorian era, there were 3 used measurements of currency: Pounds (L), Shillings (s) and pence (d), which was written in that order: l.s.d, so a sink in a shop may list the price as 1.7.2, which would be 1 pound, 7 shillings and 2 pence.

Now lets break those down a little more. There are 240 pennies to the pound, and 12 pence to the shilling. That makes 20 shillings to the pound. Most working class laborers would be using shillings as their highest coin in day-to-day living. You could get a pint of beer for a couple of pence. A pound was an incredible amount of money to your average person (maybe less so to the fancy characters of Dracula).

But I want to talk about the coins.

See, a penny was not the lowest coin in circulation. That was a farthing, which was worth ¼ (a quarter) of a penny. Then next was a half penny (or ha’penny if you prefer). Of course there was the penny. Then there was a two pence (tuppence) and a three pence (thrupence) piece. Then you had your half shilling (sixpence, pronounced more like sixpunce, with a ‘u’ rather than an ‘e’), and the shilling itself (twelve pence, remember? Also known colloquially as ‘bob’). Then you had the florin, which was 2 shillings exactly (24 pence). From there you had your half crown, which was worth 2 shillings and six pence, for a total of 30 pence (though you’d never call it that), and then a crown, which was 5 shillings. From there the next step is the half-sovereign, worth half a pound (120 pence, or 10 shillings), and finally the gold sovereign coin, worth £1, or 240 pennys, or 20 shillings.

Yes, that’s genuinely the method of money these characters are using. Some old people insist it was easier than the current system.

Here’s some more fun money facts in case they come up later!

A guinea is a pound and a shilling (1.1.0, or 252 pence), and was used to make things seem a little cheaper to wealthy buyers. It’s used from time to time in Victorian books so it’s worth knowing.

The correct way to read out prices is ‘[x] and [y]’, so say you were selling something and wanted a shilling and fivepence for it, you’d ask for “1 and 5”. This is often used for the stereotypical cost of a half a crown, so when someone in a period drama asks for “2 and 6”, what they’re asking for is 2 shillings and sixpence.

There is a fairly obscure coin that I’m not sure was in circulation at this time which was nicknamed ‘The Barmaid’s grief’, it was only used for a few years. This was worth 4 shillings and was the same shape and (very nearly) size as a crown (5 shillings). So people would buy a pint of beer, the barmaid would pick up the coin in a hurry and not realise that it wasn’t a crown, and give 4 shillings back along with change from a shilling for the beer. So people made money from buying beer. It was not a good time to be a barmaid.

#Dracula daily #money #british money #Yes I also laughed when i found out old british money was written as Lsd #For someone who is not all that interested in coin collecting I love knowing about the old coins!#My dad was a bairn when they changed the coins around. His dad used to keep the old coins for him from the shop and give out the new coinage #Some people of a certain age get the value of shillings mixed up because post decimilsation a shilling could still be used and was worth 5p.#I worked as a social historian for one summer can you tell? I was paid £8.75 an hour to tell people this. So you guys owe me like £3.50 #For my work here.

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donascozylivingroom · 2 months

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LET GO OF THE STRESS AND HUSTLE TO 'GET THERE'

I was scrolling through tiktok and i found a post by someone who told me if i am comfortable in my life i shouldn't be, because i am not working on my next level. i got annoyed and skipped, two videos later: "if u want to be more comfortable..." ... skip!

i'm tired of society convincing us where we are is not ok. i either must want to be more or less comfortable, never accept my life and improve upon the life i have right now with as tiny steps as i feel i can right now.

guess what - I AM COMFORTABLE! And I love it.

I used to be a master at hustling, doing everything i can to get my million dollars and NYC Penthouse. Manifesting didn t work for me until i learned to robotically affirm and persist, and since then i am getting everything i want. And yeah I still have resistance to 2 of my only big desires, everything else i'm getting affirming 1-3 times because i assume i only need to affirm once and i get it, i repeated that for a while and ever since manifestation has been so easy.

And yeah just because i didn t get my 2 main desires yet, I AM COMFORTABLE. I understand that those things I want so much are part of my soul lessons and why my soul came here. God/Source/myself before this life decided to make some things harder than others, and that's okay.

My whole life i was either uncomfortable because i didn t get something external, or worried - why am I so comfortable?

I learned to never do anything that is not easy because my plan for this life is to FLOW, but still i was fed by the media that i am not perfect as i am, or where i am. It's not true.

Wherever you are, it's your starting place, your zero point. And if you are experiencing it, you are probably meant to be there. I mean look around u in the present moment, not to your mind. Are you okay? You're meant to be here, boo.

How can you make your life more beautiful where you are? How can you be more grateful for what is around you? What you already have.

There s no rush, you don't have to get there tomorrow. I know when you are young it seems like you have to do everything very fast, and the speed of manifestation on this planet has improved since i was a kid, everything seems to be more light and fast, BUT...

There will probably be a few more years until the speed of manifestation will be instant, especially for every single thing.

You are part of a collective, a collective consciousness, and everyone must be on board until they push the START button from above 🤭😁

We are literally on this mission together, it's not just about you, it is about the ascension of Earth and its citizens.

Don't stress! Make it your job to relax whatever happens and you will see small improvement after small improvement which will lead to an easy, chilled life that is financially supported by the Universe enough that u have time to do your affirmations, your journaling, your shadow work, etc. Make it a habit to not stress, because stress is always misaligned since it doesn t feel good.

My life currently: affirming, journaling and pinteresting most of the day while in bed...earlier i did groceries and got a lot of things i love to eat and would be considered expensive where i live. Spent 120 euro today and i am in europe. I don't work. I only manifest haha. I'm yet to be at the financial level i want (one of my two desires i'm working on) but i still live a comfortable life, a life that energetically i wish i will have once i have lots and lots of money, because the vibes are amazing. I'd rather have this warm house and bed, friendships and good vibes than a view from the last floor in NYC from my bed, while ridden with anxiety and loneliness.

Ya know.. Everything will be ok, if you struggle to affirm meditate and try your affirmations just once to check how it feels with eyes closed within your inner being..and then check more affirmations one at a time... and ask yourself, your inner being: what do i really need? what do i really want? and when you are clear, then start repeating and manifesting.

good luck!

#manifesting #manifestation #affirmations #affirmyourreality #law of assumption #persistence #robotic affirming #loassumption #loa #relaxation #relax #relax timely reminder

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jazzfordshire · 11 months

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Oooooh, that paladin/new god post... for a SuperCorp AU, which would be which? My first inclination is divine Lena and paladin Kara, but I think an argument can be made for the other way around.

I think either could totally argued, but Paladin Kara is too good for me not to kind of spiral and write Lena as the goddess of Death so!!!! This isn’t much like the original post prompt but it’s where my brain went 🤷‍♀️

As one cursed with eternal life, it was only a matter of time before Death tried to come for Kara.

She sees the goddess for the first time as she’s sitting on a fallen tree, trying to dig a knife out of her back. She’d intervened in a roadside robbery out of pure instinct more than anything else – she prefers to keep to herself, for the most part, and has done so for years beyond counting – and she hadn’t been expecting this band of brigands to have a fourth member hidden in the woods. He’d caught her by surprise. Leading to her current predicament. She hadn’t even noticed the blade sticking out from between her shoulders until after she’d sent the thieves running and the victims on their merry way, and now it’s stubbornly lodged in a place she can’t reach.

Death stands in the shadows. Her dress is (unsurprisingly) black, her long dark hair framing a face Kara can’t quite see. She reminds Kara of the night. A foreign concept, here - the sun of this world never moves from the centre of the sky. Always beaming straight down. It focuses on this half of the planet, leaving the other half dark and dead rather than simply deigning to set for half the day to share its light. It leaves the world’s denizens thinking the globe is flat. A ridiculous notion.

The god of the sun had been benevolent on Kara’s world. Not here.

“I’ve been watching you,” the goddess says. Her voice echoes, clouds around Kara’s senses like a flock of ravens. “You’ve walked this earth for 120 years and haven’t aged a day. You should be dead. Why is your name not on my list?”

“I’m not of this earth,” Kara says distractedly. The voice should send shivers down her spine, but as her spine is currently being scraped by sharp iron she has bigger fish to fry at the moment.

“That much I do know,” Death says coldly. “Your gods are dead.”

The reminder makes Kara’s chest ache. An echo of her dead planet, more dead even than the darkened half of this one. Reduced to rubble. But she smiles through it.

“They are.”

“That shouldn’t mean you can evade death. In any realm.”

“Evade is a funny word for being kept from something,” Kara says, gritting her teeth as her fingers brush the knife’s handle without grasping it. Every time she twists her arm to do it, it sends a shot of pure pain through her. “Could you maybe help me with this?”

“You want to die?” Death asks. Her voice is changed, now – the smoky effect drops, as if it was an affectation interrupted by her shock.

“Would love to, actually.”

“So, how -”

“Ask your brother,” Kara says cheerfully. She knows the pantheon of this world almost as well as her own, now. Learned that hard lesson when she arrived here alone, on this world where the sun never sets. She knows the familial ties that bind the gods. There were many once, one for every little thing one might need to pray for, but now there are but two. Lex, the sun god who provides life, and his unnamed sister the goddess of Death.

Death scoffs. “What does my brother have to do with this?”

“He cursed me,” Kara says, finally turning in her frustration to a nearby tree. Bracing for pain she rubs her back against it, strafing until bark hits blade and the pressure slides the knife free. The wave of pain eases into relief as soon as it’s gone, and in moments the wound has stitched itself up. “With eternal life. Cursed never to see my dead family in the afterlife. Clever, right?”

��That’s not possible,” Death says slowly. “He can’t supersede my domain.”

“Well, he has,” Kara says, nodding her head half-respectfully in Death’s direction before gathering up her things and heading back to the road. She has nowhere in particular to be, but walking gives her a sense of purpose even so. “So take it up with him.”

The goddess disappears in a dramatic wave of black smoke. And that, Kara thinks, is the end of that.

Kara meets the goddess of death again 3 years later. She’s busy putting out a house fire, one that might have overtaken the entire village if left to grow – she’s the only one braving the flames when everyone else has run to safety. The fire sears her palms, leaves shiny red welts that disappear the moment they see the rays of the sun, but it hardly registers as pain anymore. She’s grown used to it in the last few years.

Saving people in need means a lot of injury.

When the flames are dampened and she’s left pouring water on the cinders, she moves a crooked pile of rubble to find the dark goddess sitting with graceful poise on the charred remains of a wooden table. Even in the eternal sunshine, darkness sits around her like a heavy cloak.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Kara says. She brushes the ash from her hands, gesturing at her soot-stained face. “Sorry about the mess.”

“He shouldn’t be able to do this,” Death says. Kara can detect none of the echoing dramatics her voice held during their last meeting – now her tone is clear and sharp. Low and a little raspy, maybe, but not in an unpleasant way. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Shouldn’t, but did,” Kara says, shrugging and moving to pass around the table. “If you’ll excuse me?”

The goddess holds out a hand, and Kara’s way is blocked by a dark cloud of energy. Kara sighs.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do,” Kara says, with a little more steel to her voice. “I’d love to help you out and go into the great unknown or whatever it is that you do, but I can’t die. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

“Why did he curse you?” Death asks.

“Because he is the great Lord of the sun on this world, and honouring Rao dishonours him,” Kara replies heavily, leaning against a very unsteady beam. It’s hot against the skin of her arm. “He took offence to worship being given to another when I first arrived here. Even a dead god.”

The goddess is quiet. Embers crackle and settle around them - the orange glow lights the angles in her face through her cloak of shadow, though the details are still obscured.

“Did you know that the sun moves on most worlds?” Kara says. The goddess doesn’t move. “Rao didn’t control the sun. He was the sun. He moved through the day to cover the whole planet. There’s no night-time, here.”

“Yes,” Death says softly. “My brother likes to be the centre of everyone’s sky.”

“Except the dark side of the planet.”

Death doesn’t answer for a time. Shadows curl around her, licking at the surface of the table like dark flames.

“Most would covet eternal life, you know,” Death finally says. Her voice is curious. “Most hate death as a very concept. Hate me.”

Kara folds her arms. She looks directly at Death, focused on where her eyes should be.

“I’m not most.”

After a beat the goddess disappears, leaving Kara alone in the ashes.

After that day, Kara can almost feel the goddess watching her every time she survives something that should kill a mortal. Every time she heals a fatal wound, or lets another birthday pass her by without a sign of age. But for years the goddess leaves her alone. It’s another 21 before Kara sees the goddess of death again.

This time, Kara is almost sure she’s finally managed it. She dove deep to pull someone from the remains of a shipwreck, and after sending them to the surface for rescue she stayed underwater. Letting her air run out slowly, feeling her lungs fill with seawater. Choking in the dark. Blackness creeping in, the world getting fuzzy, her family’s faces swimming before her eyes as she feels the first spark of hope she’s felt in over a century -

She wakes to hot sunlight, sand under her back, and the goddess of death looking down at her from a regal seat on a beached crate of supplies. Her dark hair is framed by midday sun, her pale skin luminescent and stubbornly resisting its rays. For the first time, Kara can see the details of her face. She’s as flawless as a goddess might be expected to be, each feature carved and tying together a picture worthy of worship. And her eyes. They waver back and forth in colour, once blue and now green, like shades of the ocean reflected by different skies.

She’s beautiful. And she’s looking at Kara like she’s a stubborn puzzle-box, refusing to give up its secrets.

“Damn,” Kara says, coughing up several mouthfuls of salty water and turning over to spit them into the sand. “I came close that time, didn’t I?”

“I don’t understand you.”

Kara flops back. Her lungs are burning, and she can already tell it’s going to be hell to get all this sand out of her clothes. “Yeah, I don’t understand me either.”

“You could be living a life of selfish pleasure. Endless pleasure,” Death says. There’s a crease between her brows that, in her drowning-induced delirium, Kara wants to smooth with a finger. The first hint of imperfection in her limestone face. “You could accrue wealth and fame and followers. You could live the life of a god on earth if you wanted, and yet you spend your time throwing yourself into danger for others.”

“Why not?” Kara says, sitting up and feeling each vertebrae pop back into place. “I can’t die. I can do things others can’t.”

“So instead you aim to eliminate names from my list.” The goddess doesn’t look angry. Just confused. “Today three names disappeared before I could get here.”

“I would say sorry, but I don’t like to lie,” Kara says. She brushes sand from her arms, grimacing at the knots the seawater has made in her hair.

The goddess’ lips twitch. Almost a smile. Her mouth downturns naturally - fitting, for a goddess of the saddest domain - but Kara thinks suddenly that her smile might just be life-giving. She wants to see it. It lights a fire in her she didn’t expect.

“No need to apologize,” Death says quietly. “I take no pleasure in the reaping of souls.”

Kara pauses partway through untangling her hair.

“Huh.”

“Is that surprising?” Death says. One perfect brow arches, and Kara traces its curve with her eyes.

“Well, that’s not how people speak of you.”

“Ah, yes. Death, the cruel thief of joy,” the goddess says, a thread of bitterness weaving into her words. “Waiting in the dark to snatch mortals away at the slightest provocation. Bringing woe and grief wherever she goes.”

The dark smoke that’s been mostly absent from their conversation appears again. It sweeps around Death, blurring her features like a stormcloud, and Kara leans back on her hands.

“I mean. The aesthetic isn’t exactly doing you any favours,” Kara notes.

The smoke parts. And this time, the goddess does smile. It’s almost incredulous, like she’s shocked at Kara’s gall, but Kara finds she was correct - that smile is like the first beam of moonlight after an eclipse. Something not of this world.

“No,” the goddess says, rising to her feet. The sand doesn’t touch her dress. “I suppose it isn’t.”

Her form starts to waver again. Black smoke takes over her features, sweeping across the beach. Kara scrambles to her feet. Sand sticks wetly to her back, making her hyper-aware of just how bedraggled she must look in comparison to the literal goddess she’s speaking to, but she calls out anyways.

“Wait!”

The smoke stops.

“Do you have a name?” Kara asks, hardly daring to hope for an answer. She can feel Death looking at her even with her features obscured.

“I haven’t used it in a long time.”

“No time like the present,” Kara says. The smoke billows out, sweeping across Kara’s soggy boots. Almost like a laugh. After a long pause, she answers.

“It’s…it’s Lena.”

Kara smiles.

“I’m Kara. Since my name isn’t on your list.”

Lena disappears without an acknowledgement. But Kara clings to her name. She holds it in her mouth like a sweet, lets it melt over her tongue as the last hint of the goddess’ presence disappears in the bright sunshine.

“Until next time. Lena.”

Saving people in need becomes something of a pastime. With nothing much else to do with her endless days Kara keeps travelling, helping out where she can and learning how to fight to do so more effectively. And, she finds, she’s good at it. It comes as easily to her as anything.

But sometimes, even easy things go wrong.

It isn’t often that Kara fails. But her strength has limits, even with eternal life – when the man she’s caught mid-fall on a rocky cliff slips from her grasp, there’s little she can do but watch as he hits the ground. She even falls after him, pulling herself towards him on broken legs that snap themselves back into place within moments, but there’s nothing she can do to heal his broken body.

Lena appears in her periphery as she’s holding him. His wheezing breath is starting to leave him - he’s terrified, seizing at her clothes.

“Help,” he chokes. Lena moves just into Kara’s field of vision. Not circling, but making her presence known.

“I can’t,” Kara whispers. She lays him gently on the ground, prising his hands from her tunic and stepping away, and when she finally looks at Lena she sees not satisfaction but deep, unimaginable sadness.

The moment Lena takes Kara’s place, he knows.

“No,” he moans, trying to scramble away but failing as the strength leaves his body. “No, no, please, I – I have a family, you can’t – please don’t -”

“Be at peace,” Lena says softly. A pale hand comes to rest on his wound, a soft glow emanating from her palm. Her face is set in aching empathy. “Your suffering is over. No pain will follow you here.”

The man is not at peace. He’s still terrified, hardly hearing her comforting words, but Lena says them anyways; when his spirit fades and his body goes limp, Lena stands. She doesn’t look at Kara, not directly, but nor does she disappear as Kara takes a heavy seat on a flat rock.

After a moment, Kara calls out.

“Lena?”

Lena twitches. Her hand flexes, making a fist and then relaxing again. Kara wonders if she’s heard her name called a single time since their last meeting.

“Come talk to me,” Kara says softly. She pats the spot beside her, and Lena’s eyes flicker to the movement. “Please?”

Lena comes closer, but she doesn’t sit. Her eyes are downcast. Kara wishes she would look up, so that she could see the ever-changing colour of them. She’s been thinking about it for years, now. She’s just as starkly beautiful as she was the last time they saw each other.

“I’m sorry,” Lena says quietly. Kara shrugs, trying to put aside the guilt eating away at her insides.

“Can’t save everyone.”

“And yet you still try. Doesn’t it get tiresome?”

“I should ask you the same thing,” Kara says. Lena finally looks up.

“My task is enforced on me,” Lena says, her hands coming together in something close to a fidget before she seems to remember herself and stop. Her eyes are grey, today. Like the choppy steel of a stormy sea. “You do this by choice. Have you made some kind of game out of erasing names from my list?”

“I guess you could say that,” Kara shrugs. She moves over, patting the open spot beside her again. “Or maybe I just enjoy your company.”

Lena scoffs. “That’s even more absurd than defying Death.”

“And yet, here I am. Doing both.”

Lena’s face is like stone as she assesses Kara’s words. But she sits.

“You don’t get to talk to people often, do you?” Kara says. Lena has left a great deal of space between them, perching on the very edge of the rock, and Kara takes in what she can of her side profile.

“Not unless I’m bringing them to the afterlife,” Lena says. Her hands twist together again. “And in those cases, as you saw, they tend to be…”

“Afraid.”

“Or angry. Or pleading. But yes. Mostly frightened,” Lena sighs. “Everyone fears the unknown. It doesn’t really matter what I say.”

“But you still try,” Kara says. It’s something she never would have expected from Death, this well of genuine empathy for the humans she reaps, but it seems to be a fundamental part of Lena just as much as her stormy eyes or her sharp tongue.

Lena nods. “Everyone deserves comfort in their final moments. Especially if they’re gripped by fear.”

Kara’s next words come in a whisper.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

Lena looks at her sharply. Her brows are knitted with disbelief, and her hands stop their twisting and instead brace on the rock.

“My brother did this to you,” Lena says. Her voice is low, but urgent as she leans towards Kara as if to persuade her. “Keeps you from seeing your family. He is the source of your curse.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, you don’t seem to be your brother.”

Kara’s hand moves closer to where Lena’s rests. A few inches between them, perhaps, easily closed. Closer and closer Kara moves, towards Lena’s pale fingers, reaching –

The swirling black cloud has hidden Lena’s features before Kara can come close to touching Death’s hand.

“Lena, wait!” Kara shouts. But it’s to empty air. The goddess of death is gone.

After that day, Kara puts herself in danger perhaps a shade more than she did before in the hopes of drawing Lena out again. Sometimes Kara can feel her presence when she saves a life, a gentle smoky warmth just over her shoulder; sometimes she can almost see her as someone’s soul is leaving their body, if Kara has failed to change their fate. A faint outline. A sense of calm, even when the dying person is frightened. But no matter what Kara does Lena doesn’t materialize.

She even tries praying, which feels as silly as it must look. Lena doesn’t answer. Her absence only intensifies Kara’s fascination.

As she walks the world Kara looks for worshippers of her newly-favoured goddess, and finds few and far between. Besides the occasional murderous cult who worship a version of Death that doesn’t resemble Lena in the slightest and a single, run-down temple on a remote island hidden from human access, there’s no trace of the kind of worship given to Lena’s brother the sun-god. No festivals, no sacrifices, hardly even an acknowledgement. Only fear, and resistance against the inevitable. As if pretending death doesn’t exist will stave it off indefinitely.

Even with only three meetings, Kara feels somehow as if she knows Lena. And her erasure feels deeply unfair.

It takes 12 years for Kara to see her again. 12 years of looking for danger, saving people whose names she knows must have been on Lena’s list, stealing souls back from Death in an endless back-and-forth, until finally Kara does something drastic.

She takes her vows, and becomes Death’s only Paladin.

Hearing Lena’s voice again is like hearing the first drops of rain after a long drought.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Kara opens her eyes. She’s only halfway through her 24 hours of silent prayer in this windowless room, the last step in this holy process, and now her patron goddess herself is perched on the altar surrounded by flickering candles. Her legs are folded one over the other in a graceful cross, and her face is set in incredulity.

“Lena!” Kara breathes, grinning wide and rising from her knees. “Long time no see!”

“Death doesn’t have Paladins, Kara,” Lena says fiercely, as if Kara hasn’t greeted her at all. “Nobody walks the earth saving people in Death’s name. My brother’s Paladins seek to defy me, they don’t…they don’t worship.”

“Why not?” Kara shrugs. Her armour, a dark leather set with Death’s symbol on the breast, squeaks with her movement in the way new leather always does. Lena’s nostrils flare.

“Because it doesn’t make sense!”

“It does, though. Think about it,” Kara says, as insistent in her decision as she’s been these last two years of training. She’s had to weather the disbelief of the other Paladins here too, all training to serve the sun-god. She’s gotten more than enough practice. “I can’t die. Ever. Who’s more fitting to carry out Death’s will?”

“What are you going to do, go out and kill people indiscriminately in my name?” Lena says, waving her hands wide. The strength of her reaction makes her somehow more real than she’s ever been, even when her draped sleeves pass over the candles without catching. “What could possibly be the function of a Paladin of Death?”

“You don’t take pleasure in the reaping of souls.”

Lena pauses. Her arms fall slowly back to her sides.

“You remembered that,” she whispers.

Kara knows then with a certainty she can’t describe that she’s done the right thing. She’s tried keeping Rao in her heart, she’s tried escaping from her past, she’s tried every method available on this earth of letting Death take her. But now that she knows Death, has seen her firsthand, she’ll kneel for Lena and nobody else.

“I can be your vassal,” Kara says, lowering her voice to match Lena’s. “I can sort those who can be spared from those whose time has come. Make your job easier. Save them, or ease their passage if I need to. Soothe some of that fear.”

Lena bites at her lower lip. Her teeth are brilliantly white, the edges sharp enough to leave a mark that fades slowly.

“It would defy my brother,” Lena admits. “He’s the one who gave me this task. I’m not meant to deviate.”

“Who better to do that, too?”

Lena is silent. Kara approaches her, trying to absorb her every perfect feature while she can – the curve of her brow, the shape of her sharp jaw framing her mouth. The slight underbite that shines through as she seems to chew on the inside of her cheek.

Kara reaches out a hand.

Lena slides off the altar, snatching her arm away before Kara can get close. “No - you can’t touch me.”

“Why not?”

Lena sidesteps, sliding past Kara and backing up until her back hits the wall. “Mortals can’t touch the gods. You’ll burn. It’ll -”

“Kill me?” Kara grins. She removes her gauntlet, dropping it to the flagstones. “I’d welcome it.”

Again, slowly, she reaches for Lena’s hand. And slowly Lena relaxes her arm until finally, Kara’s fingers wrap around her bare wrist.

Lena’s skin is like ice. It’s cold enough that it might burn, like Lena said, if Kara wasn’t cursed. But it doesn’t. Kara feels more alive than she’s felt in decades, just from a simple touch. Wonderfully alive. Joyously alive. Lena’s intake of breath is sharp enough to cut.

“See?” Kara says lowly. “My curse is good for something.”

“You’re…”

Kara’s free hand joins the first. She cups both of them around Lena’s, feeling their shape; Lena’s long, elegant fingers curl into themselves in the cradle of Kara’s palms, their cold receding. Kara keeps her voice low.

“What am I?”

Lena swallows. Kara watches her throat bob, her lips parting to show a flash of her pink tongue.

“Warm,” Lena murmurs. “Like the sun. I haven’t felt warmth in…a long time.”

Kara is close to her. So close that she can see the shifting sea colours in Lena’s eyes even in the dim candlelight. Carefully, Kara sinks to her knees with Lena’s hands still cradled in her own. She opens up her fingers so that she can press her forehead to Lena’s palms, and she finds that the coldness has left them. They’re almost hot, now.

“Let me serve you, Lena,” Kara whispers, like the endless prayers she’s been whispering since she was locked in this room. “Please.”

Lena’s fingers move. For a moment Kara thinks she might push her away. But instead they relax, and press against the top of Kara’s head.

“You’re the strangest person I’ve ever met,” Lena says. But there’s wonder in her voice. Happiness, even. And when she disappears in her usual cloud of smoke, the smoke drifts over Kara. She breathes it in, feeling it full her lungs, and on the first breath she feels it changing her.

Lena smells of fresh earth. Of fallen leaves, crisp and decomposing in a fragrant autumn. The tangy smoke of a doused fire.

She smells like the cool air of night.

When she smoke leaves her, Kara feels different. Unimaginably different. Envigorated. The pew she uses to pull herself to her feet cracks and splits under her hand with hardly any effort, and when she flexes her shoulders – feeling a new strength in them, one she can’t wait to explore – she feels something else there.

Two black, feathered wings unfurl from her back, filling the room with fragrant shadow.

#supercorp #supercorp fic #goddess/paladin au #tw: death #tw: suicide mention #is it cliche? yes #has it been done before? probably #did i have fun writing it anyways? absolutely!#might get cheeky and write it out into a fic who knows

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themotherofblood · 10 months

Text

BLOODY BABY | VAMPIRE AU

Vampire!Daemyra x Female!Reader

AN: this is set in modern Westeros btw, like 2102 AC. smut (🩸) angst (🥀) fluff (♥️) blurb (💌)

THIS SERIES IS DARK

Want A Drink? (🩸) ~ Rhaenyra finds a fine little thing for her and Daemon to feed on.

Cry, Pretty Girl (🩸) ~ Daemon takes out his frustrations on Ms Blood Bag after a fight with Rhaenyra

The Histories (♥️) ~ feeding the history nerd within Ms Blood Bag with stories of 120 AC Westeros and dragons

Painted Scars (♥️🩸) ~ Daemon and Rhaenyra show up home early, Ms Blood Bag is insecure about her fang scars

Let’s Play Dress Up (🩸) ~ Ms Blood Bag breaks a rule for some red lipstick, Rhaenyra teaches her a lesson to bring Daemon home early.

Twilight Marathon (♥️💌) ~ Ms Blood Bag watches Twilight with Rhaenyra and Daemon

Twisted Hurt(🩸) ~ Rhaenyra gets poisoned and hurts reader very badly, Daemon picks up the pieces of the women he loves

#daemon targaryen x reader #daemon targaryen x reader x rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen x rhaenyra targaryen #house of the dragon fanfiction #daemyra vampire au

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steddieas-shegoes · 3 months

Text

lost an edge

rated t | 509 words for @steddiemicrofic prompt 'edge' cw: implied sexual content, mildly suggestive language | tags: hockey au, defenseman steve harrington, goalie eddie munson, enemies to lovers (mostly just implied babes this is only 509 words), chirps

⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️⛸️

Steve's left skate had felt wrong all night. It wasn't the ice, he'd already asked everyone else if they felt like it was rough and they said no. The equipment manager checked the blade and it was sharp, not loose at all.

Whatever was causing it was a mystery and he'd just have to adapt.

But it was quite possibly the worst night to have to adapt.

The Bruins were facing their toughest competition this season: the Florida Panthers.

It was stupid; They weren't even that good! They just found a way to always get in their heads and-

"Harrington, wake the hell up!" Hagan, his D partner, yelled right before the whistle blew.

The game started rough for all of them. They just got back from a ten day road trip, four wins but two in overtime, and they were all still struggling with jet lag. They just had to get through this game and they'd have four days off, but-

The horn blared and Steve let his head fall where he sat on the bench.

A goal in the first two minutes of the game was embarrassing, especially at home. He was still catching his breath from his shift when his coach tapped him to go back out.

He'd do it because that's what first liners did sometimes, but he wasn't thrilled.

He managed to keep the puck out of their zone for most of the shift, but he was giving 120%. He couldn't do that the entire game.

Plus his skate still felt weird, almost unstable.

Florida scored again right before the end of the first period and Steve tried not to feel defeated this early.

He took his last shift of the period, hopping over the wall to rush towards the blue line.

He felt his ankle shake, then twist, and he was down, sliding across the ice on his knees like a damn amateur. He looked down and saw everything was normal.

"Looks like you lost an edge, sweetheart," the Panthers goalie, Eddie Munson, said right behind him. "Might need to head to the local learn to skate before you play next game."

"Is that where you were earlier?" Steve barked back as he got up and skated back towards the play.

The second period went about the same, and every time he managed to get close to Munson, they chirped each other.

It happened every time they played, chirping turned to banter turned to outright flirting on the ice.

It was worse today because Steve always managed to lose an edge right near Eddie's crease. He caught himself most of the time, but Eddie always noticed.

"You want a private lesson after the game? Might be able to show you a few ways to stay on your feet?" Eddie said after a whistle for a trip.

"On ice or off?" Steve asked.

Eddie stared back at him, mouth open in shock at his comeback.

"Now look who lost an edge."

The Bruins didn't pull off the win that night, but Steve sure did.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddiemicrofic #steddiemicroficfebruary #hockey au #defenseman steve harrington #goalie eddie munson

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yourslaveheart · 6 months

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Lesson 120:

It's important to never forget your place. In the presence of Alpha Men, remain respectful and deferential to Them at all times. They are your superior, so treat Them as such...you'll feel much more content if you do.

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misguidedasgardian · 1 year

Text

The Winter Sun (1)

Alone in the World

MASTERLIST

Summary: Your life in the Red Keep isn’t easy.

Pairing: Cregan Stark x Fem!Targaryen Reader

Warnings: Death of characters, cursing, medieval and asoif customs, child on child violence, bullying, implied minors in pleasure houses, the boys are manaces, mentions of death on childbirth, might miss some warnings

Wordcount: 3 k

Notes: I’m going to delay Viserys’ death a couple of years for the sake of the ages of this history, of course I’m aging Cregan a little bit as well

This is… different, to everything I’ve ever written and I apologize if it looks too rough, I was so excited to share it with you!

Hope you like

120 AC. Reader is 10, Cregan is 12 years older

King’s landing was submerged in celebration.

Everyone was in good spirits.

it was the fifteenth anniversary of King Viserys marriage to Queen Alicent Hightower

And he wanted to celebrate it, he wanted everyone to celebrate it with him.

But you had spent the last six months in the Red Keep after losing your father, and the truth is, even if you were excited to spend time with your cousins and nephews, knowing there were kids you could play with… you came to a rude awakening.

They didn’t receive you with open arms, they didn’t want to play with you, in fact, they seemed to want to play you instead.

They were mean and rude, using you as targets for their pranks and mean jokes.

You tried to avoid them, but you had classes with them, you visited the Dragonpit alongside them, and you had lessons taught by maesters by their side.

Uncle Viserys seemed surprised when he learned that your father was educating you like you were a little boy, learning about politics and philosophy, instead of knitting and poetry. He was pleased, and didn’t go against his brother’s desires so he put you to learn alongside his sons and grandsons

He meant well, they didn’t

You were soon brought back to reality when Jace pulled your hair roughly

“And (Y/N) with her imaginary dragon”, he mocked

“My dragon exists”, she pouted, “she is not made up”

“Then where is she? we had never seen her!”, mocked Luke

“She is real! I’m telling you! it was my father’s dragon, she is shy that is all”, Aemond didn’t say anything

“Even she has a dragon, but not you Uncle!”, continued Jace, “but we are going to change that”, your ears picked up, and you looked interested, how Luke jogged down the ramp

“You found a dragon? how?”, asked Aemond

“The Gods provide”, muttered Aegon, and you and Aemond both stopped your very thoughts when Luke came running up with a pig on a leash, wings and a tail of straws.

“Behold! the pink dread!”, they mocked, and for once, even if you were relieved they targeted Aemond this time, and not you, you still felt bitter

“You can share it with (Y/N)!”, Jace said, ah there it was.

That very night the Red Keep was overflowing, with lords and ladies from all the corners of the realm that had come to celebrate the King and the Queen and their love. You were so excited, perhaps you would meet more children to play with, to befriend.

The maids dressed you and Helaena, her in a green gown, and you in a red one, with golden patterns, you felt like a little princess. Well, not like you weren’t one. they braided your hair beautifully, you were so happy.

But as soon as you got out of Helaena’s chambers, the boys were there, no doubt waiting for you. They held one of Helaena’s bugs, to her horror, a big centipede. You shrieked when they moved it teasingly near you

“Your hairdo is missing something!”, they would mock

“No! it doesn’t!”, you fought, trying to move Jace’s hand away from your head. You pushed Jace with all your might, and then you ran away from them. You heard them chasing after you, but you were smaller, and faster, so you managed to lose them in the many corridors of Maegor’s Holdfast

Your hiding turned long, you knew you were late to the banquet, so turning gently and slowly in every corner and looking over your shoulder, you walked towards the throne room that had been arranged for the feast.

The room was booming in the middle of dinner, the wine was flowing freely and the meat was being served, you had almost managed to escape your torturers… almost…

The banquet began and the boys had already shown you what they planned to do to your hair… so you didn’t wait to submit to that fate, instead, you found a place where the long big table was empty, or sort of, and you ducked underneath, not wanting the boys to ruin your pretty hair. You crawled under the table to safety…

You were safe… but not for long.

You noticed people sitting on the part of the table you were hiding under. Soon a big black boot almost stepped on you and you whimpered in fear, the sole colliding with your knees.

You looked up and the tablecloth was moved out of the way and a face showed up, looking no doubt at the soft thing he almost crushed. It was a young man, dark hair, gentle eyes and black clothing

“What are you doing down there?”, he asked, looking down the table at you, his gray eyes made you tremble. It was none other than Cregan Stark, of course, you didn’t know that then

“I’m hiding Ser”, she whispered, Cregan chuckled

“I’m not a Ser, I’m a Lord”, he corrected

“I’m sorry Lord”, she muttered

“Why are you hiding?”, he asked then

“They mock me, they pull my hair, they tangle bugs in it, they call me names”, she confessed, hiding her face in her knees, “they are mean to me, my cousins and nephews”

“I’m sorry”, he then looked up from her, towards the back of the table, where the kids passed running looking for something, or her, more like it. “She left that way”, he indicated away to Aemond, Jace and Luke, and the boys ran away, when they were gone, he looked down the tablea gain, “they are gone”

“Thank you Lord”, she answered with a smile

“Sit with me, nobody would dare to mess with the wolves”, he offered, showing you a hand, “you look so pretty, it would be a shame if nobody got to see it”, he said gently. You smiled brightly, and took his hand.

Everybody seemed surprised when you came out from under the table, you were in the middle of the Northmen, you only had to look at the wolf sewed in their clothes to see it

You took a seat by the leader, between him and a beautiful lady.

“This is my lady wife, Arra Norryn”, he introduced, and you smiled

“Nice to meet you”, you greeted

“And who you might be?”, she asked with a gentle smile, sharing looks with Cregan, if your hair was any indication, but they were playing along

“I’m (Y/N) Targaryen”, you said politely, just like your father has taught you, you offered your hand to the nice lady and she shook it

“I’m Lord Cregan Stark”, the nice man introduced himself, giving you his hand to shake, and you took it amongst yours, “nice to meet you princess”. You beamed

“Thank you for inviting me to join My Lords”. When you looked in front of you, you saw your cousins and nephews looking at you wide eyed, and you couldn’t help but stick out the tip of your tongue to them, they couldn’t bother you now.

“You are such a sweet princess, if I may say so”, the nice Lady Arra said.

“You too, My Lady”, you answered back. And the Lords of Winterfell shared looks.

For members of court that looked over at the table of the Northmen, they would chuckle in amusement when they saw you, a silver and red dot in the middle of dark haired and black wearers, lords and ladies.

Of course the Queen immediately spotted you, and she sent Criston Cole to remove you from the table of the Starks, pulling you roughly by the arm and making you sit right amongst Jace and Aemond on the main table

“You thought you got away?”, mocked Jace, “I got some news for you”, he whispered, sticking a chicken bone trough the longest of your braids

“I hate you”, you cried, defeated. But as you looked along the table to your new found friends, the big man with dark hair smiled apologetically to you, and you only waved back, sadly

That was the first time you laid eyes on Cregan Stark

But not the last.

the relationships you had with your cousins and nephews did not improve, in fact, it worsened, so you found ways to escape them, mainly, by hanging out with Helaena

Your uncle, the King, never failed in telling you how much you reminded him of your father, but other than that, he didn’t quite pay attention to you much, not that he paid attention to your cousins and nephews either…

You sometimes would accompany him while he arranged his model of Old Valyria, but that was it.

Luckily for you, or sort of, everything changed when your aunt Laena passed away, the family went to Driftmark, and an altercation occurred.

The Velaryon were bastards, that is what you have heard, that is what everybody was saying, and Aegon was right, you just had to look at them to realize it, Jace was a spitting image of that super nice knight, Ser Harwin Strong, you didn’t understand why it was such a big deal, but a fight ensued, knives were drawn.

Jace and Luke left with cousin Rhaenyra to live in Dragonstone, two of your torturers gone, but Aemond…

Oh Aemond.

That night, you defended Rhaena, declaring that you had inherited your father’s dragon, and she should have done the same, so Aemond pushed you the hardest against the stone wall, making your hands raw when they hit the stones trying to stop your face from colliding. You whimpered in pain, but you felt silly when Luke got his nose broken and Aemond…

Aemond had lost an eye

You were no longer children playing cruel jokes to one another.

Blood had been drawn, insults were exchanged…

And everything changed. For the worst.

The Red Keep had become dark, mournful even.

You were not a stranger to the enmity between Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, but you didn’t know what it was about, or why they always were so unhappy with one another. You only noticed the tension between them in family dinners and after council meetings. Even you could notice and you could barely breathe sometimes over the table.

The only one you had left was Aemond, and sometimes Helaena

Aemond didn’t chase you around with spiders, or hid buggers inside the pages of the books you liked to read. He was even more cruel, with mean looks, he sometimes would shove you when he passed you in the Hallways and you would collide heavily with the stone walls. He would say horrible things about you right in front of you like you were not even there, and he would pull your hair to move you out of his way.

He would say things like. “She is a burden”, “an orphan”, sometimes he even called you a bastard

Helaena said he was jealous, but you didn’t understood why in earth he would be jealous of you!, and she once went further and hinted that he liked you, loved you even, but you shook your head and called her silly

Love doesn’t make you hurt.

Heavy days turned to weeks, turned to months and years. And soon, everyone was talking about how you were becoming a Lady, of barely thirteen name days under your arm.

And you felt more like a Lady, you didn’t care about the same things you did when you were younger.

Aemond’s cruelty had come to a some sort of stop.

Because now you were a lady you were instructed by Septas, not Maesters, and Ladies, and not Knights and Professors.

And even if your knitting lessons would bore you the death, you preferred it to Aemond choosing every opportunity in your lessons to humiliate you. Besided, after he lost his eye, Aemond had completely changed.

He always seemed to be the mature one of all his siblings and nephews, but now, he was not only serious, but bitter, and more cruel than before.

You never saw him smile again. And his horrible attitude towards you made it difficult for you to feel sorry for him. You didn’t. You didn’t think he deserved it either, but you didn’t pity him, and that, unbeknownst to you, made him hate you even more.

It got so bad even Alicent noticed it, of course she didn’t say anything but she tried her best to keep you away from him as much as possible.

Yes, your stay in the Red Keep wasn’t a pleasant one, you missed your father terribly. You missed your home, a small castle in the Valley, with views to the Narrow Sea. You felt like you were a permanent guest here, but a guest at last. Nothing was truly yours.

But you tried to keep your smiles, you good attitude, you were found always smiling, always helping, lighting every room you entered…

If only you knew that was the reason Aemond hated you.

He hated how happy you were, you were an orphan, alone, mistreated, you should be as miserable as he felt, he, that had his parents, and a dragon, and everything he could ask for in the palm of his hand or an order away, he was retched, and you were always happy and smiling.

He wanted you to feel as he felt, but he could never accomplish it, he could never break you.

And in time instead of frustrating him, it only spurred him on.

Aegon paid you no mind, he was four years older than you and since he was fourteen he learned how to scape the Red Keep and found pleasures of the flesh, and when Aemond turned thirteen he introduced him to those pleasures.

And Aemonds attitude towards you changed once more…

He didn’t push you no more, he started grabbing you, your wrists, your arms so roughly they bruised.

When he pushed you against the stone walls he didn’t just snicker and leave, no, he would grab your wrists and corner you, only watching you with his only eye and a thin line as his lips, and then he would release you and leave.

It started scaring you, so you avoided him like the plague, instead hiding in Helaena’s room, but she soon married Aegon, so you couldn’t do that anymore either.

You made one friend though, Tyland the master of coin’s daughter, she was so sweet, a little mischievous, always getting you into trouble, but it was nice to have a friend.

You were walking alongside her when Aemond walked by, he grabbed your arm roughly and leaned in to take a sniff at your hair by your ear, he muttered an “mmm” and then he walked away. You only signed, already accustomed to his rough ways.

And she had watched it all happen.

“The one-eye prince liked you, on his own way”, she mocked

“He hates me”, you muttered, “and I’m tired of it”

“I don’t think he does”, she mocked, “I bet he is going to ask his mother to betrothed you two”

“I’d rather get trampled and eaten by my dragon”, you said back

“Anyways, let’s talk about it when you are popping out silver haired princes”, you rolled your eyes. “Anyways, have you heard? The Starks are arriving in court”

“Why?” You asked

“They said the Wolf is looking for a wife, Lady Arra Norryn died, her and the babe on childbirth”, you looked at her wide eyed

“Really? That’s horrible”, you muttered, your heart clenching thinking about how heartbreaking that must be for him, you remembered the Northerner Lord fondly.

You wanted to see him, you wanted to say you are sorry for him loosing his wife’s and that you were at his service for everything he might need.

But you couldn’t find him.

First he was getting settled in his rooms, then he had audience with the King, and then, the courtship began, every man in court Im who had a daughter in elegible age wanted to see the Young lord, so you couldn’t offer your condolences

On top of that… One of the Queen’s maids said that Aemond wanted to speak to you.

Aemond had never requested your attention, he gave you no choice but to stand there and listen to whatever mean thing he had to say…

The very thought of what he might want to discuss with you made your skin crawl.

So you did what you had learned to do best…

You hid.

Your favorite spot had become a tall Cypress in the godswood, their branches and the way they were trimmed allowed you to hide comfortably, in some sort of natural tree house.

You took a book with you and waited until no don’t was around to climb up, and you hid up there

But another person felt the same need as you.

This person wanted to escape the heat of court, and enjoy a little shade in the godswood, looking at the Heart tree, to be close to his gods.

So Cregan Stark sat on the foot of the tree, wanted to rest until… your book fell from your hand and landed right by him.

You gasped and that is all it took for him to look up and find you

“Why every time I see you, you are hiding from something?”, he spoke to you, a soft smile on his lips

“Someone”

“Uh?”, he asked

“I’m hiding from someone” you corrected.

“That is worse”, he said, “why are you hiding this time?”, he spoke like three years hadn't gone by and you were that little kid hiding under the table.

“Someone wants to speak to me, and I don’t want to speak to him”

“It’s a boy, then”

“More like a messenger from the seven devils”, you mocked. Feeling at ease, he wasn’t looking right at you, you were still hidden, and he was seated looking at the gods tree

“I’m sorry about your wife, my lord”, you said gently

“It happened two years ago”, he answered sharply

“But I’m guessing it still hurts”, he got quiet for a moment

“It did, it does”

“Did you love her?”, you have no clue why you asked that, but not having him looking straight at you give you courage

“I did”, he said truthfully, “I had the luck of marrying my very best friend, the girl I known since I was born, and I lost her”

“I’m very sorry”, you whispered, “I Can't imagine what you are feeling, because what you had, of being friends with the person you married, is truly something magnificent”, you whispered, looking up at the branches being caressed by the soft summer wind

“Thank you princess”, he whispered, “you alongside my sister where the only ones who truly gave a heartfelt sympathy, everyone else is just… is expecting me to move on”

“You can feel whatever you need to feel, only you will tell when you are ready to move on”, you offered, “tell them to fuck off”, you covered your mouth when you let out that curse, but he only chuckled

“I will princess”, he said, he then stood up, and offered his hand to help you climb down, and you did accept his help, letting yourself fall free to his arms because you knew he was going to catch you, and he did.

He released you so your feet touched the ground.

“I offer the same advice princess” he said with a smile, “tell them to fuck off”. You giggled and nodded, picking up your book from the ground

“See you around my lord”

“See you around” he whispered

You walked away from the godswood, and in your way to Maegor's holdfast, you encountered Aemond

“Where were you!? I needed to speak to you”, he said, with his characteristic arrogance

“Oh fuck off Aemond!” You responded , escaping his wandering hand and walking hastily away from him, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway.

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