#just the idea that the family she married into was rotten to the core and faked her death and tried to have her killed!!!!!

[midnightshade]

Exploring the Darker Themes in Jujutsu Kaisen and Their Narrative Importance

CW: Incest and Misogyny

Jujutsu Kaisen is a series coated in horror imagery and it has never shied away from exploring dark and taboo subject matter. Two recurring themes in this series are incest and the treatment of women

Incest is prevalent in Jujutsu Society, particularly for the Nobles, where it seems to be more or less normalized. Naoya openly talks about viewing both Maki and Mai as "attractive and buxom," and we even have an interview from Gege, where he expressed that Mai's first crush was either Megumi or Maki.

It isn't uncommon amongst nobility to prioritize "blood purity" by marrying within the family, but it makes sense for this idea to be so prevalent amongst Jujutsu Sorcerers who are obsessed with passing on inherited Techniques.

Outside of nobility, we see this same scenario play out with Mei Mei and Ui Ui. Their relationship is never commented on by outsiders, suggesting it's viewed at least partly as normal in that society

But Gege doesn't just put these scenes in for shock value, they serve a purpose. Jujutsu Kaisen, despite being a Shounen, is a mature story. Dark material is often used to inform the reader about the deeper meaning behind the characters and the world. It's meant to make you think.

Jujutsu Society is corrupt and decadent, controlled by out-of-touch and regressive elders who care more about power and status than anything else. The structure is flawed, as we see addressed through characters like Gojo, Nanami, and Geto respectively.

We see this even further in how Jujutsu Society treats women.

Momo summed it up perfectly in her speech to Nobara. Women are not allotted the same luxuries as men. In order to be taken seriously as a Sorcerer, they have to be perfect. They need to be both beautiful and powerful.

This trend is only further explored through the lens of the Noble Houses. The Zen'in actively look down on women and see them as lesser to men, a belief Naoya often espouses. Meanwhile, the Kamo had no issue with using Noritoshi's mom as a concubine, using her solely for her womb to birth an heir before kicking her out.

Women are seen as exploitable commodities and have to work twice as hard in Jujutsu Society to earn respect. Kenjaku, as Noritoshi Kamo, exploited a scared young woman for her Technique, using her to satisfy his own curiosity so he could make the Death Wombs. Even when he was found out, the concern was placed more on the scandal of the Cursed Items that were made rather than the treatment of the mother.

He later went on to violate the body of Kaori Itadori, using her womb as his own for the sole purpose of birthing a perfect vessel for Sukuna.

Uro Takoko, a Heian Era Shaman who managed to earn the esteemed title of the Head of the Sun, Moon, and Stars unit of assassins for the Toh, a Noble Clan who essentially controlled all of Japan back in the day, took the fall for a crime she didn't commit and was tossed aside.

Tengen, despite being a woman herself, has young women sacrifice themselves in order to merge with her and reverse her evolution, essentially disregarding their autonomy and using them as a tool. Riko herself was treated as less than human for her title as a Star Plasma Vessel, her death being treated as more of an inconvenience than a tragedy.

Both of these aspects tell the reader about the true state of Jujutsu Society and just how rotten to the core it truly is. It's uncomfortable, but it's meant to be. Corruption that runs this deep is meant to unsettle and disturb.

However, as dark as this series can be, there is always hope. Part of the beauty and maturity of Gege's writing is how he acknowledges both sides of humanity, the good and the bad.

Yūji and Sukuna's struggle in the most recent chapters illustrate that despite the pain of living, humans still fight for happiness in a world that's often set on taking it away.

Toji, despite being an assassin who murdered a teenage girl in cold blood, also gave up his son to a family he personally hated in hopes that he would have a better chance at life there than with him.

Geto was driven mad by the very same system that exploited people like him. For all the pain he caused, he wished for a world where Shaman wouldn't have to fight and die for an oppressive majority. He wished for freedom and safety for his people.

Even villains like Sukuna and Kenjaku have their moments of humanity. Where Gojo chided Jogo for being weak, Sukuna earnestly praised his strength in battle.

Kenjaku praises both Mai and Miwa for their skills, two women who were seen as lesser by the community they live in. He also praises Yuki's talent and genuinely thanks Sasaki for being nice to his son

Elements of darkness can bring depth to stories, and shying away from it is to ignore a core part of humanity as a whole. You can't fully appreciate the light without first accepting the dark.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #forbidden writings #jjk meta #cw: misogyny

[sassassassins]

Companion piece to this meta about Zhou Zishu

When Wen Kexing leaves the Ghost Valley, he encounters a curious concept: a philanthropist, someone whose sole occupation is being good and grand and bestowing money on those less fortunate.

There were no good people in the Ghost Valley. For one thing, there were no people in the Ghost Valley, only their twisted, sunless reflections. Loyalty and power were the only things that mattered in the hierarchy of that ravenous underworld. If a good person happened to wander in, they'd be eaten alive in ten minutes flat.

Wen Kexing quite likes the idea of being a good person. It appeals to him in the same way that fine silk robes and elegant jade pendants appeal to him, as a pretty thing to try on and discard as necessary.

So he fashions himself as Philanthropist Wen, strolling through the streets with a benevolent smile and the lazy wave of his fan. Perhaps he hasn't endowed any orphanages or gifted food to any beggars, Gu Xiang aside, but it's the spirit of the occupation that matters. He wears it with style. It's a fine mask as he waltzes his way into the circles of the traitorous leaders of the jianghu, working to get close enough to plant the seeds of discord and watch them destroy each other.

He doesn't really start to think about what it might mean to be good until he meets his A-Xu. At first, he's simply startled to see the Swift-Moving Steps of Siji Pavilion, then intrigued by the mystery of this man and his fine shoulderblades. But as he gets closer, he finds that his A-Xu is both a peerless beauty and a good man at his core, someone he didn't think could exist in the corrupt human realm. As he watches, A-Xu saves Zhang Chengling to repay a paltry debt, even though it would be easier to flee. He holds a piece of Glazed Armor in his hands and throws it to Wen Kexing without a hint of greed in his eyes. He openly reveals his identity and his bloody history as an assassin, and makes a commitment to start a new life. Zhou Zishu is undoubtedly a good man, perhaps the best he has ever known.

Watching his A-Xu move through the world starts to give Wen Kexing a slithering uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. When he watches his schemes lead to the unintended deaths of innocents, he knows he does not deserve to stand next to his A-Xu in the light. Am I a good person? he asks as a flirtation, but he knows that his mask is slipping to reveal the cracks beneath, exposing the shatter pattern where the child Zhen Yan broke beneath the cruelty of the previous Ghost Valley master.

It's a strange feeling, shame. Highly inconvenient. For years, he had always been resolute and self-assured in one purpose: revenge. Self-doubt is dangerous in a place like the Ghost Valley, where the inhabitants can smell fear and corner the vulnerable. But now that he's spent so much time with Zhou Zishu, putting on the persona of the Ghost Valley Master is starting to feel like a chore. He likes being Philanthropist Wen. He likes standing next to A-Xu, even if he doesn't deserve to claim the human world as his own.

The shame becomes a pulsing, throbbing point of pain with the revelation of his parentage at Longyuan Cabinet. It hounds him constantly once they return to Siji Pavilion. He knows that his rotten identity will break their hard-won peace, perhaps irreparably. He dreads his exposure with every conversation, and screams his frustration and confused grief at the grave of his would-be master. Everything that once seemed so simple has become hopelessly tangled.

Except - Zhou Zishu defends him from Ye Baiyi with an arm thrown across his chest to protect him. He knew already of Wen Kexing's identity as the Ghost Valley Master, somehow. He knew, but had not rejected him. He still calls him shidi. Which means that either Wen Kexing is a good person after all, worthy of being defended, or he has somehow misunderstood his A-Xu.

He doesn't truly understand until he lets the persona of the Ghost Valley Master fall to his death off a cliff. Standing over the pitiful body of Zhao Jing, he feels righteous in his violence. But more importantly, he feels the last of his masks slip away. He can put on red robes and speak in a commanding voice if necessary, but he has nothing to hide-- not from Zhou Zishu or Zhang Chengling or Gu Xiang. Not from his family, the ones who know the truth of him and stand beside him anyway. He might not be a good person, but he is a person, and finally, an honest one. Someone his parents might be proud of calling their son. Someone who might be able to call A-Xiang his sister, as she deserves. A human once more.

His A-Xu is the same, he thinks. Leaving Tian Chuang has not absolved him of his past, but it has allowed him to step into the light, not to seek to be good, but to find a chance at peace. Of course his A-Xu is beautiful, but Kexing does not need to change to be worthy of him. They are the same in so many ways. For the first time he can remember, Wen Kexing wants nothing more than to live, to rest, and to see A-Xiang married.

The temporary relief of a moment of peace makes what happens next even more painful. A-Xu pulls away from him just as he's ready to truly begin their life together. Gu Xiang dies a cruel death, after only just accepting him as her brother. His regrets begin to pile up again. Mo Huaiyang dies too slowly, and even in this new life, he can't control the cruel turn of fate.

He knows it might be selfish to save Zhou Zishu's life at the cost of his own. A good man would have explained the risks and given him a choice. But in this new life, he does not have to pretend to be a benevolent philanthropist or an evil ghost. He is a man in love, and right or wrong, he cannot bear any more loss.

Fortunately, Zhou Zishu also refuses to allow him to die. He should have expected nothing less: they are zhiji, and their souls are the same. They have lied to each other and hurt each other, but in this too, they are equals. Perhaps neither of them are good people. But they deserve each other, and after all that has happened, they have earned their peace.

A/N whew this got long!! Wen Kexing has a lot to say, apparently. I'm still trying to get a handle on these characters and their voices, but this was fun to write. I feel like I have a better grasp on Zhou Zishu's voice and character, so I'd be interested to hear what y'all think of this version of Wen Kexing!!

Also, I take gif-making requests and (short) writing prompts 😊

#word of honor #word of honor meta #wen kexing #woh spoilers #shl #more spoilerss than the last one #part 2 of 2 #my writing #character study

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

Shelbys at Somme Chapter 21

Thomas X Reader

Word Count: 2144

Summary: John gets married, Thomas gets drunk, and Y/N gets a warning.

by @adventuresintooblivion

Music filled the air as the Lees hastily directed guests to their seats. The scent of flowers was strong in the early spring, and, for bloody once, it wasn’t raining. A soft murmur filled the air, several guests questioning the absence of the groom but Aunt Pol smiled coyly to her Plus One beside her. 

They stood amongst those they had hours ago, called enemies. In the dirt and muck on the edge Birmingham, an altar was erected out cloth and sheer will. As the smell of tobacco and food grew and the time drew nearer, one could almost forget how every mouth around them struggled to feed itself. Today was a truce. And with any luck, this truce would continue into peace.

Y/N glanced at Pol, “Damn, you look like you’ve stolen the Queen’s Jewels yourself. What’s got you in such a mood?”

Pol practically danced, “Ada’s coming.”

“Oh Pol, go visit your niece for Christ’s sake. I can handle myself.”

She paused only a moment before scurrying off into the crowd. Rumor had spread that the Shelby men had been spotted heading this way. Everything was about to start and for the first time in a long minute Y/N melted into the crowd. She let the anonymity wrap around her like a blanket and breathed easy.

But it was only a brief reprieve as the soft baritone of Thomas’ voice wafted through the crowd. This was the first time they’d been in the same place since their fight. A part of her registered that John had kneeled at the altar but she couldn’t pay attention. All she could hear was her heart beating in her ribcage so hard it hurt. 

Then she heard it, a small pause in his voice. “Is that-?”

“Y/N?” Ada finished for him. “Yeah, she came with Aunt Pol. Hell, at this rate she’ll be more a part of the family than I am.” 

“Ada, don’t say that. You’ll always have a place in the Shelby home. Even if-” “My husband’s a dirty rotten communist that you keep trying to sell to the coppers?”

The sound of  shuffling feet accompanied by a defeated sigh told Y/N everything she needed to know. She’d known what Thomas was going for but then again, not a lot of people could navigate that mental minefield. Apparently, even Ada had trouble with it. 

As Y/N took a breath to calm herself she felt it, his eyes boring a hole into her back. It didn’t help that he could probably see the procession from over her shoulder. It wasn’t until she heard Arthur quietly asking ‘what the fuck is he staring at?’ that she felt the weight of his gaze leave. 

As soon as the vows were spoken and sealed the party started. The Rothschilds had never been close to the Lees, so Y/N had never been actually invited to one of their parties. Despite everything, they knew how to cast aside life’s troubles and just live. They sang at the top of their lungs, they danced as if the weight of the world simply didn’t exist and it Y/N was quickly swept off her feet.

After her first few partners had jostled her, word must’ve spread quickly and the hands that guided her across the dancefloor were gentle. She was lifted in the air and spun so that gravity lost it’s hold on her. Y/N was carried and spun until her head spun just as fast. Then rough hands grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away into the darkness.

It wasn’t until her back hit the wood of a caravan, far from prying eyes, that she saw it was Thomas. His sharp features contorted even further by shadows. A deep crease ran between his eyebrows, his teeth were bared at her as he huffed for air. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as his eyes wandered over her. 

He’d left barely a few inches between their bodies. Y/N nearly jumped out of her skin as he let his fingers run down the buttons of her coat. Pol had shown up with it earlier and it was the fanciest thing Y/N owned. It was cut in the shape of a dress despite being cozy and made of wool, and the moment Y/N saw it, her heart broke at the idea of having to return it at the end of the night.

“What are you doing here?” Thomas’ voice was barely a whisper. He’d leaned close enough that Y/N could feel his hot breath pooling at the curve of her neck.

She took a shaky breath, “Pol invited me. Told me I had to come so she didn’t have to drink alone.”

“I know.” His hands had moved to either side of her head. A barely visible tremble ran through him as he spoke again. “You didn’t have to say yes.”

“Are you going to tell me to leave?” There was a hard edge to her voice. All the weeks of being ignored and this was the first thing he said to her? 

It hit her all at once, the anger and the fear. He’d cast her aside when she’d told him the hard truth. He’d left her standing in the rain to watch as he stormed away. He didn’t want her. 

The tears came unbidden. She swallowed back the bile in her throat as her jaw flexed to scream, at him or at the world she didn’t know. Her nails bit into her palm trying to drag her back to reality. But it was getting hard to breathe when all she could smell was him.

Thomas opened his mouth to snap at her, then he paused. It wasn’t until his eyes softened that Y/N even realized the tears had escaped her. The crease between his brows vanished as he tilted his head so that the moonlight would fall across Y/N's face. 

His fingertips brushed along her cheek, making all of Y/N’s fried nerves come to life. Her lips parted slightly as a soft gasp became the only noise to compete with distant music. The sound caught his attention, his eyes flickering down to her lips. A new haze filled them instead of anger or concern. 

Thomas slowly pressed his body against hers, heat radiating from beneath his suit. He bent down until his lips brushed her earlobe. Y/N couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her and her heart sank as she realized he could feel how fast it pounded in her chest.

Then he whispered softly, as if the darkness between their bodies was the only place that could hold his secrets. “I want nothing more than to make good on that promise I made on that battlefield.”

Y/N’s thoughts were zooming by so quickly she could hardly reach and grab anything coherent, let alone a memory. Even as her mind wildly grasped from something she was too firmly rooted in the here and now. 

“I want you to marry me.” The world suddenly stopped as he pressed a chaste kiss to the curve of her neck. “I want to let myself love you, without holding back.” Another kiss, closer to her shoulder. “ I want to stop hearing the pickaxes in the wall.” His voice broke. “I don’t want to have to be a monster anymore.”

She felt the hot wetness on her skin as he buried his face against her neck. Y/N’s arms were no longer able to stay by her side as the man before her shook. For a long moment they were surrounded by nothing, then reality slammed back into place as cheers rang up from the distant crowd. Toast. Toast. Toast.

Thomas stilled, then straightened his back to let moonlight glisten on his cheekbones. He ducked down to hide his face and began to turn. Y/N’s hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of his coat.

“Wait.” He didn’t turn back towards her but he stopped walking. “If that’s what you wanted then why the fuck have you been messing around with Grace?”

He almost seemed like he wasn’t going to answer, “When I was with Grace, it gave me hope that one day I could kill the monster.”

Y/N’s voice broke, “And me?” 

“You saw the monster, smiled, and every time I saw that smile, I knew peace.” Even in the darkness, Y/N could see the blush crawling up his neck. His voice had almost faded into a whisper before he cleared his throat. “I… I need to go. John would kill me if I didn’t give some sort of speech tonight.”

His wool coat slipped through her fingers as she watched him leave. It wasn’t until he turned the corner, leaving her alone between the caravans, that she slumped into the cool damp earth. Moisture slowly soaked through her pants as her body shook. Damn that man and his fucking alcohol!

It wasn’t until another figure blotted out the sparse moonlight, that she realized she wasn’t alone. This was an older gentleman, his features softened by age. His movements were slow but purposeful as he made sure he had Y/N’s attention.

“Hello, Ms. Rothschild.” His voice was deep and graveled. One that belonged to a storyteller that had shared the history of his people a thousand times over so that it would not be forgotten. Y/N’s estranged last name rolled off his tongue like a lullaby, but it didn’t stop the stab she felt in her heart at hearing it.

She cleared her throat, “I haven’t been called that in three years, sir.”

He chuckled, “Well then, it sounds like the rumors are true. Now, how does a pretty thing like you get exiled?”

“You call your old man a coward for abandoning his own to war. Then come back a cripple.” 

“For a young woman who has brought a family from the brink of nothing, you give information like it’s a gift.” He hummed, softly tapping his foot to a beat Y/N couldn’t hear.

Y/N let out a deep sigh, “Information is payment for what you’re about to give me.”

He grinned, “You make it sound like it was going to be free in the first place.”

“Oh, it most certainly was not going to be.” She shook her head. “But what more could you want? Other than a brand new story?”

He nodded slowly with a knowing smile, “You’re smarter than you look.” 

“Good. It’ll keep people on their toes.” 

He burst out laughing. It was a deep laugh that came from his core and echoed through the night. Eventually, he quieted. 

Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, he continued. “I’ll keep it straight to the point, then. Before Mr. Shelby proposed his own brother as collateral against a war, we’d begun colluding with your forbearer. He’d actually paid his quite handsomely to dispose of Mr. Shelby.”

“Wouldn’t that be a violation of some code of honor or something? I mean, I’ve never heard of you guys outsourcing muscle for your personal vendettas.”

“A Rothschild lectures me about honor?”

Y/N shrugged, “I never said we were the good guys.”

“Oh and becoming a Peaky Blinder makes you better?” He gave her a sidelong glance.

“I’m not sure I’m actually a part of the gang. There’s a distinct lack of a hat.” 

Y/N knew she said too much when he smiled but she didn’t stop him from finishing his story, “Indeed. No hat. In regards to your old family, we have attempted to contact them. To call it all off. However, now that the idea has been planted in their minds, I’m afraid that it’s only a matter of time before they try something stupid.”

“And what do you expect me to do about a called off hit?”

He flashed her a wicked grin that hinted at a much wilder youth, “You are the ‘Impossible Girl’ come back from the dead and all? I think you can do quite a bit, once you stop moping.”

“I’m not moping!”

“You sit in the wet grass, while everyone you know and love dances the night away. If that isn’t moping, then I’m the King of England.”

Y/N felt herself pouting and even if she didn’t want to admit it, she knew he was right. She stretched her stiff joints before forcing herself to stand. She wobbled a bit, her back protesting after so long in the awkward position. But as she took a step forward, the older man held up his hand. 

“I’ve given you wisdom. It is not a gift.”

“You want another story?”

He nodded.

“Well, one time I stole the Acquisition Officer’s boots and wore them for a week in front of him.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

#thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby imagine #reader insert #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagine #peaky blinders imagine

[princesspiratecat]

The Rise and Fall of the Shepard Family Part 29: Summer, 1084 & Fall, 1085

Part 1& Part 2

Part 3 & Part 4

Part 5 & Part 6 & Part 7

Part 8 & Part 9 & Part 10

Part 11 & Part 12 & Part 13

Part 14 & Part 15 & Part 16

Part 17 & Part 18 & Part 19

Part 20 & Part 21 & Part 22

Part 23 & Part 24 & Part 25

Part 26 & Part 27 & Part 28

It was strange to be back. 

Most of Gwendolyn’s memories of the Allard estate were from a time when Aélgarda had been alive. During her exile at the hovel, she had come to miss so many things about it, and had reveled in the little luxuries she had once had. The fire was always roaring, the meat had always been cooked to perfection, and her feather bed had always afforded her a good night’s sleep when her mind was quiet. But now the house had a coldness about it that she hadn’t remembered from before. It was dark and damp and surprisingly dirty.

Gwendolyn wrinkled her nose at the smell of dog and garlic from last nights’ dinner that hung in the air in the Great Hall. There was something else there that she couldn’t account for....rotten vegetables perhaps? 

Yuck. 

They made their way to down the hall to the stairway and she could feel her palms getting sweaty. Frances met her eyes and offered her a reassuring glance, but she still felt a burning tightness in her chest as they treaded up the stairs.

Courage. You need courage.

“Oh brother! I am so glad you’re here!” Francine’s face was a mix of nervousness and fear as she hugged her brother tightly, and then hugged Gwendolyn. She had never seen her so frazzled before. Francine had always been the girlish one, full of giggles and frivolousness. But today, that was all gone, and she looked older than her eighteen years. “He is getting worse by the day, yet he still insists on coming down to sup and drink his mead. Then he is in his cups until he passes out. Frédérique says she will be here in the morning with her husband, but I am hoping they will arrive sooner. I cannot handle him anymore.”

“Mead? Is that wise?” The beautiful features on her husband’s face flashed with a look of concern.

“I cannot stop him. He won’t listen to anyone and keeps ranting about how he cannot trust women. I don’t know what to do!” The look of helplessness and hopelessness on her face disarmed Gwendolyn. She had seen that look before. It was the look her father had shortly before her mother died.   

“Take us to him.” Gwendolyn could see exactly what he was feeling without him having to say anything, just by the tone in his voice. He was nervous and slightly terrified. 

We all are. 

The room smelled of sweat, vomit and stale air. She had never been in the Master’s bedroom before, but it was a beautiful room, despite the smell. The bed was large with fine fabrics that seemed to shimmer in the light, and the furnishings were inlaid with beautiful carvings done by a highly skilled hand. The light streamed into the room through long windows, which, under different circumstances would have been pleasant, but just then it made her feel exposed. The floors were covered in a variety of fine furs, and the niches were filled with silver candlesticks and beautiful decorative wooden boxes. In the corner sat a bucket of unknown contents, and Gwendolyn tried not to think about what might be in it.

Marcelle had lost a considerable amount of weight since she had last seen him. He was frail and old looking, with dark circles under his eyes. But she noticed he was dressed in a long elaborate robe in the Norman fashion that set him apart from all the other men who wore the Saxon style. There was a finely carved silver medallion at his breast, which Gwendolyn found an odd thing to wear when one was sick. Had he dressed purposely for the occasion? 

He still wants to remind us of his status. Of course.

“What are you doing here, Shepard girl?” The raspy words slithered out of his mouth like a snake before she could even think. Upon his features was a look of disgust, reserved especially for her. She bristled under his gaze and felt her anger surface.  

“I am come to support my husband.” She looked away, intimidated by his hatred of her. She wanted to add that she had also come in the hopes that the breech between them could be healed, but after seeing his face she knew that it had been a foolish hope. Why was she here? The whole thing seemed like a stupid idea now, and she wished she had stayed away.

“Get her out of here, Frances.” He said his son’s name between clenched teeth, and her heart fell. What had she done for him to hate her so? Besides being born and falling in love with his son, she had never caused him harm or hurt him purposefully. If anything, it should be her that hated him.  

Perhaps it was better for her to go. If Frances wanted peace, then she was likely standing in the way of that just with her mere presence. But a small part of her hated being rejected by him, and it hurt her more than she expected it would. She got up and looked at what seemed like dead eyes and held his gaze to the point of making him uncomfortable. She wasn’t going to waste this chance to speak her bit, and he was going to hear it.

“I have come to inform you that I have forgiven you for all of the terrible things you have said and done. For exiling me, and for stealing my dowry, and for the hurt you have caused both of us. Although you really don’t deserve my forgiveness, nor my pity, I give it anyway.” His gaze was empty, as if he found her ridiculous. 

Then she moved closer to him and half whispered in his ear, ”Your time has come old man. You better get down on your knees and pray hard that your God will forgive you too for all of the rotten and disgusting things you have done.” She could feel her lip quiver in anger as she reflected back the look of disgust he had given her. His eyes grew wide with surprise, and it gave her a slight thrill. He hadn’t been expecting her to speak that way to him. In the past she would never have dared.

Before he could respond, she walked out of the room with more confidence than she felt. She noticed that her hands were shaking and her heart seemed to want to burst out of her chest. 

As soon as she walked into the long hall she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had said what she come to say, and now it was over. She never had to think about that man again, and once he died, she would be free of him forever. But she couldn’t stop her tears from falling, yet she refused to give into the ache in her heart. 

Not here. 

She left word with a servant to tell Frances that she would be at the orphanage, and on shaky legs made the short walk down the lane to see her sisters. She wanted so much to collapse into Gwyn’s embrace, and after a few short moments, she did exactly that. 

She told her everything, in between sobs and sniffles. And when she had gained enough composure over herself, she asked her sister’s opinion. “Do you think I was too harsh on him? Do you think I should have said something kinder to a dying man?”

“Marcelle?! No. He is lucky indeed that more don’t make their opinions of him known. His wealth protects him. But most people have turned against him since what he did to you has come to light, they whisper about him. People are disgusted by his abuse of power against a helpless orphan girl. He’s no longer seen as a gentleman. If I were you, I would have said much more.”

Gwendolyn felt a small sense of relief that the village was on her side, but she was still worried about the rest of her new family. Where did they stand on the issue? Would they turn their backs on her once Marcelle was dead? 

During the ride back to the Inn, Marcelle explained everything that had happened and what his father had said. 

“Of course he chided me for leaving, and for marrying you and called me a simple fool. He called me simple!” Gwendolyn said nothing at this, as it was hardly a surprise. “Honestly, I thought he was going to be more angry and refuse to see me. But Gwendolyn, then he said the strangest thing- he called my mother a whore and said that myself and Francine are the only ones he can be sure are really his!”

Gwendolyn gasped in shock. “How could he say that of Aélgarda?! What an absurd thing to say! She dedicated her life to all of you, and the village.  And as for your parentage, one only has to look at your siblings to know they have the same parents as you do. They are all different arrangements of his own face!”

Frances nodded in agreement. Every one of his siblings had the same dark eyes as Marcelle, the straight sharp noses, and even the same shade of that beautiful sable colored hair. Gwendolyn thought that Frances was the best looking out of all of them, of course, but there was no denying that they were all related. It was as plain as day to anyone that cared to look. 

“I can only imagine that he is suffering from delusions. Perhaps a combination of poppy juice and mead?! He looks awful. I’ve never seen him so weak. It made me pity him.”

“Well, did you make your peace with him? How did you leave it?”

“In a way, I suppose. He said that I would inherit the estate since I am the only son he can be sure of...which shocks me to my core. I think the things you said to him had quite an affect on him, because he then told me to leave so that he could ‘make peace with his maker.’” He gave her a look just then, and she could see he was still recovering from shock. “What exactly did you whisper to him when you got close? I’ve never seen him pray in my life!”

She pinched her lips together and said quietly, “I told him what needed to be said. It was for his ears only.” 

His mouth curled into a little smile and he let out a chuckle. “Something about god? I’ll make a note never to cross you, as I have to say that I never want to see the look you gave him directed at me.” His eyes were teasing and he kissed her gently on the neck. “What a saucy Tigress you are.” She laughed and then he kissed her again. 

                             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

In just a week’s time with the arrival of autumn, another nasty illness had spread to Barton Upon Humber from the North, and then made it’s way to Grimsby. Most people remained indoors, fearful that another plague would wipe out as many as it had several years ago, or more. Their fears were not unfounded, as it had been reported that twelve people had already died in the nearby farms and villages.

First it hit the Merchant household of Handel, and killed not only Master Uddulf Handel, but his young son as well. Everyone was surprised it had brought down such a large, healthy man, but luckily his wife and daughter were spared. 

Next it hit the Merchants, and killed the Irishman, Fáelán. For a time people thought that it would take Aoifé and the children as well, but they narrowly escaped death after several weeks.

Soon after it traveled to the house of the late Olric, where it bedded his widow, Agatha. The three children had to be sent to the orphanage while their mother was too sick to care for them, and she died just days afterwards, alone. 

But finally it ended it’s travels at the Allard estate, where it made short work of Marcelle, who had been hanging on. It also banished Francois to his bed, where he clung to life. Yet just as quickly as it had spread, it was gone again, leaving the living to mourn the dead one more time. 

As soon as Marcelle died a messenger was dispatched to the Inn. Frances had been summoned to the estate where the reading of the will was to take place, and they hastily began to pack their trunks. As Gwendolyn began to carefully fold her clothing, she couldn’t help but wonder why she felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. It was true that she mostly hated Marcelle, but now that he was gone she remembered the days when he used to come visit their father and offered them fresh cherries from his orchard. He would sup with them sometimes, and her father had always been so proud when he did. She had considered him a father figure for so long. 

What had made him change so much?

She glanced over at Frances, as tears silently rolled down his cheeks, and she could feel his sorrow. She stopped folding and clasped her hands in his. He looked away at first, too ashamed to look her in the eye. Then the tears gushed out, and he quietly began to sob. He rested his head on her shoulder, and she could feel him shake with misery. She gently rubbed his back up and down, up and down, until he sobbed even harder and it all came sputtering out. 

“Now we’re both orphans,” he whispered. 

#sims 2 stories #sims 2 challenges #new foundations

[fierte-verte]

Being Ron’s Twin Sister (and Dating Harry) Would Include:

* being ron’s best friend, closest confidant, partner in crime, and favorite sibling

* getting smothered with love from your older brothers (especially bill, since you’re the first girl in a long line of rowdy brothers)

* being a role model to ginny, as well as sharing know-hows on being a woman of confidence and strength

* bonding with arthur over your mutual interest in muggle everyday items

* sitting in a compartment with harry, hermione, and ron on the hogwarts express—the start of a beautiful friendship

* owning a tabby cat named myra despite ron’s firm opposition

* weekly wizard chess games because you two are self-proclaimed prodigies 

* playing side by side with ron in the chessboard chamber

* and winning because you two are unstoppable together

* grimacing when harry recounts his duel with quirrell 

* “that’s bloody gross, imagine having you-know-who breathing down your neck”

* excelling at transfiguration as well as potions, with the latter being an annoyance for snape

* but not herbology, because you’re too busy waving a wailing mandrake in draco’s face

* “sorry professor sprout, i completely underestimated how much of a wimp he can be...”

* defending your family against draco whenever he teases you guys about being poor

* “why don’t you go cry to your father about this, malfoy?”

* being mcgonagall’s favorite—an honor not even the great harry potter can attain

* playing chaser for the gryffindor team, in which you and Ginny make one formidable pair

* rolling your eyes all day every day just because you can

* acting as ron and the twins’ lookout when they rescue harry from privet drive, or all of their other schemes really 

* always failing miserably as you’re no match against molly weasley’s maternal instincts

* “i cannot believe the four of you! where on earth do you get these ridiculous ideas from?”

* teaching ginny awesome hexes, and using a few when the twins piss you off

* going into the chamber of secrets with harry, ron, and lockhart, then discovering tom riddle’s true identity

* shielding ginny from the fight between harry and the basilisk 

* meeting sirius black in your third year

* with the freed prisoner liking you for your fierce spirit and good heart

* being distressed when ron and harry fight over the triwizard tournament

* comforting ron when he gets insecure about being harry’s sidekick 

* but also believing that harry is wrongly accused of cheating 

* slipping harry secret notes to make sure he’s okay throughout the day

*  coming up with plans to help them reconcile with an exasperated hermione 

* “ronald weasley! honestly, will the two of you just make up!”

* being harry’s rescue target for his second task in the triwizard tournament 

* crying over cedric’s death because he was your charms mentor and friend 

* forming a tight bond with harry that slowly begins to feel like a crush instead

* ron sensing the change in your dynamic, then encouraging you to do something, anything about it 

* when you and harry finally get together he’s your number one supporter 

* though he does prefer not to see you two act all lovey-dovey before him 

* “blimey, (y/n), i’m still here you know”

* being one of the first DA members to be able to produce a Patronus

* slipping a weasley concoction into umbridge’s tea, and stifling an especially loud laugh when she burps out worms in the middle of lesson

* impressing the twins with your stealthy pranks

* studying with hermione so as to ace your O.W.Ls

* becoming close friends with luna, dean, and neville

* hard-core glaring at ron when he makes fun of luna

* dueling lucius malfoy at the department of mysteries 

* being devastated when sirius gets killed, as you’ve come to consider him family over the years

* chasing down harry when he goes after bellatrix 

* “no harry, this isn’t you!”

* getting slammed into a wall by voldemort and blacking out

* harry escaping his control when he thinks of you 

* joining slughorn’s club because of your exceptional potion skills

* giving ginny some advice on her relationship with dean

* boosting ron’s confidence when he’s doubting his own abilities as a keeper

* “for merlin’s sake ron—you’re a weasley, have some faith in yourself won’t you?” 

* hating mclaggen and his poor treatment of ron

* then almost banging your head against the wall when your brother starts to datelavender 

* comforting hermione with harry

* helping ron realize his feelings for hermione

* and wanting to strangle him because he’s incredibly dense when it comes to romance

* accepting bill and fleur’s relationship before molly and ginny do

* “to hell with it mum, they’re in love.”

* crying happy tears of joy when your oldest brother gets married

* hunting for horcruxes along with the golden trio

* infiltrating the ministry and accidentally breaking a few of umbridge’s cat plates

* being distressed (again) when harry and ron start to irk each other

* feeling crushed at ron’s decision to leave the search

* being equally angry with him as hermione

* but forgiving him the moment he opens his mouth to crack a lame joke

* “you owe me a hundred chocolate frogs—two hundred, if you want to complain.”

* visiting godric’s hollow with harry and hermione 

* burying dobby with harry

* “he’s at peace now, harry, he’ll be glad to rest”

* being the first to forgive percy when he returns to the family 

* sobbing hysterically on george’s shoulder when you peer down at the stretcher and see fred’s body

* watching brokenheartedly as harry heads into the forbidden forest

* “i can’t lose you too”

* wanting to pass out at the sight of harry’s body, until you realize he’s feigning death

* dueling bellatrix with ginny, luna, and hermione

* “not my daughters, you bitch”

* sharing a heartfelt embrace with the golden trio after the war

* “if you do that to me again, potter, voldemort will be the least of your worries.”

* mourning fred’s death, but also feeling relieved that sirius was able to be avenged by your mother

* returning to hogwarts to help with reparations and to finish your final year of school

* spending a lot of time with teddy and spoiling the kid rotten because he’s absolutely adorable

* “look ron he’s made his hair red like ours”

* continuing to have ron’s back whenever and wherever, no matter how big of an idiot he may be at times

* through thick and thin, you’ve grown to know each other better than anyone else

* and you wouldn’t trade your love for all the chocolate frogs in the world

* scanning teddy’s history textbooks for your name and ron’s

* “hah! ron! i have two more mentions than you do.”

#harry potter #hp headcanon #head canon #hp imagine #ron weasley #harry potter x reader #ron weasley x reader #fierte verte

[kimium]

Can I hear your thoughts on Joker and Licht getting married? What do you think the wedding should be like? Is there a ceremony at all? Do they exchange vows or do they just hold hands in silence and know the other is their for them? Also: suits? Dresses? One in a suit and one in a dress? 💜 hope you have an awesome day✨

Oh! Yes, of course you can, friend!!! I was very surprised to see this ask in my inbox but I'm delighted to answer. Especially for one of my favourite ships in Fire Force!

This got long so I'm putting the rest under a cut.

First, I don't think either Joker or Licht hold high value on the ceremony aspect of marriage. Joker, due to his upbringing and knowing that there is Something Rotten with the Holy Sol Temple and Licht with his pragmatic, practical mindset. For the two of them, simply understanding that they are in love, care about each other, and want to spend their lives together is more than enough.

Traditional vows aren't said, though both of them exchange soft, meaningful words. Rings are exchanged simply because Joker Really Likes the idea of his ring on Licht. Licht wears the ring 24/7 but it's on a chain so his hands are free. Joker may also consider tattooing his ring in a simple, solid black line.

This happens prior to the series and both consider their wedding an "over and done with" deal.

However, they did NOT take into account Company Eight.

Upon learning that the two are married, Maki (after congratulating them—she's not Impolite!) is Shocked they did NOT have a ceremony. Maki has Dreamed of her own ceremony ever since she was a child, so hearing that the two's "wedding" was "exchanging rings and vows in Licht's cramped apartment at two in the morning" Shakes her to the Core. She immediately wants to hold a ceremony for the two of them with all of Company Eight.

Of course, Maki is Considerate. She's not going to force a ceremony onto Joker and Licht. If they don't want it, she will drop it. Though that won't get the two of them out of AT LEAST a Really Nice Dinner courtesy of Hinawa on behalf of Company Eight.

Lucky for her, Joker and Licht are on board with the idea of a private ceremony with close friends. It doesn't invalidate their Real Ceremony, but rather is an extra celebration their friends want to host for them. They accept, believing it will be a quick afternoon/evening deal.

It is not.

In Maki's defense, she wasn't the one to go overboard (entirely). No, surprisingly it's Obi! Obi, who loves excuses to have people over and party, is Delighted by this news. (Also his marriage to Hinawa was Filled because I imagine Obi comes from a massive family.) Training is postponed and suddenly everyone is on "Joker and Licht's Wedding Celebration" duty.

Other companies are informed! Hibana is invited! Benimaru and Kanro are invited! Captain Burns is invited! There are decorations to be made, food to prep, and of course Wedding Gifts to be bought. Joker and Licht try to tell everyone it isn't 100% necessary to buy them gifts.

They are ignored.

This ceremony also ends up including formal attire. (Something that takes a LONG time because the only people in Company Eight with formal attire NOT their Fire Force uniform are Obi, Hinawa, and Maki.) Joker is comfortable in suits (he is half way wearing one already) and Licht is too self conscious to attempt pulling anything besides a nice suit off.

The ceremony is held outside. Decorations are beautiful, though some of the paper flowers are lopsided (Arthur and Shinra's). Hinawa prepared a feast with Kanro's help. Benimaru has interjected at least ONE traditional aspect into the ceremony (sharing sake). Captain Burns is asked to make a speech because he's Joker's "father figure". Both men blanch but neither make a move to correct.

Thank you for this ask, friend. I am having a great day (thanks!) and I hope you are too!!!

#personal #replies #random headcanons #asks

[just-general-stuff]

Back To Where We Started

So this is it huh? He knew it was bound to happen regardless.

Red painted the white blanket that he laid upon as pain flared from his side. Yet, he didn’t take heed of it. Merely, he gave a sigh of resignation as he felt his body grow colder with each passing second. It wasn’t a question if he would die in the fight against bio-terrorism. It was only a matter of when.

He could have retired, could have just settled down and lived to a ripe old age. Perhaps, he could have watched his dear sister get married and watch her start her own family.

But he didn’t retire. Instead, he chose to honor Piers by continuing to fight in the war against bio-terrorism. But no matter how hard he fought, the war only grew worse. No matter how many bioterrorist organizations he would destroy, many more would rise from its ashes.

But what was worse was that the governments around the world, the very same governments whom swore to work alongside the B.S.A.A. to help them stop all bio-terrorism, would help the very same organizations that threaten to destroy the world.

So long as it benefited them, they could care less. And then when the dealings would come to light, they would pretend and say they have no idea of such dealings.

The same old story told time again and again.

And then Claire died. Killed during an outbreak that occurred in the city she was visiting for a holiday.

She had always come out of those outbreaks alive. She had survived Raccoon City for crying out loud. But he had forgotten that she was only human.

And humans bleed and they die.

In the end, everyone that he loved had all died and left him.

In time, he started to realize that his former Captain was right.

The world was rotten to the core. There was living proof. Those folks he worked with, those whom would smile and promise aid, those were their masks. At the end of the day, they would choose to destroy themselves rather than stop this madness. They would willingly let themselves fall over the cliff all for a small measure of victory against their foes not caring of the consequences of their actions.

The dwindling hope he had was completely extinguished until all that was left of him was a hollow shell of the man that he once was. A jaded man whom hated this very world. But even as he hated the world, he still chose to fight. He didn’t know what else he could do now. He had spent decades of his life in a war that he barely knew what he could do if he chose to stop fighting.

So he left the B.S.A.A to join Blue Umbrella. His reason? Throw himself into the war deeper and make sure to wipe out every single one of them without a damn care of his own life.

Jill had tried to persuade him to stop this crazy mission but he remained adamant on his decision. He even cut all ties he had with Jill, Barry and the B.S.A.A. He didn’t need loose ends in his new life.

He fell deeper and deeper into the darkness where the lines were blurred and where everything was no longer black and white.

He had shot Mia because she was infected. Harsh but it was the only way to stop further infection and spreading of the damn virus even though it broke Ethan.

He didn’t blame the man for shooting him. Hell, he would have shot anyone whom had hurt his sister.

So now here he was. Sprawled on the cold snow inches away from death.

The crack of ice and snow suddenly got his attention and he slowly turned his head to see a person in familiar black clothing walking towards him. The stranger continued to approach him stopping only a few inches away from his side.

“Who…?”

Blinking, his vision slightly clears and much to the brunette’s shock, there looking down at him was Albert Wesker.

“You’re… You’re dead.” Was the Albert Wesker he was seeing right now simply a hallucination that his slowly oxygen-deprived brain cooked up?

“How astute of you to notice that, Chris. But you’ll soon die as well. Mr. Winters got a pretty good hit on you.” The man spoke with a calm tone not once betraying his underlying emotions.

Why does this man, his former Captain, and the one whom he fell for years ago still haunt him? Why couldn’t he just disappear and leave him be? He would have preferred seeing Claire or Piers again.

He probably figured that Wesker was here to gloat of his victory as he bled out in the snow.

“You’ve come to gloat then? Laugh it up then Wesker! Shout out your triumph over me dying at your feet!” Chris yells out, making him cough harshly coating his lips with spatters of blood.

Lowering down onto his haunches, Wesker takes his shades off. Instead of the blazing red eyes that continue to haunt him in his nightmares, Chris was met with the cool blue that he had always found endearing much to his utter shock.

“No. I’m not here to gloat.” The blonde spoke softly.  

This confused Chris. “Then… Then why are you here?”

“I figured that you don’t deserve to die alone out here Chris. Not after all that you’ve done. I may hate you for stopping my plans but even I never wished of you falling deeper into the darkness that I was in when I was still alive. And… I hated watching you spiral out of control more and more.”

“I was supposed to be the one that people fear in the dark. The monster that people would speak of in whispers. You were the hero that everyone looks up to. You’re the one that was supposed to save the goddamn world not let it pull you into its depravity.” Wesker grits out.

“I knew deep down it was only a matter of time before you see the truth. That the world truly is rotten to the core. But did I take pleasure in it? No. No I did not.” The blonde says, reaching a hand out and grasping Chris’s hand tight.

Much to the brunette’s shock, Wesker’s hand was warm. He hadn’t realized how much missed Wesker’s touch but now feeling his hand around his, it brought all the old deep feelings he had for the man to the forefront. Even as the years passed and he still hated the man for what he did, a part of him still loved and missed his former Captain.

Call him an idiot but he wasn’t a liar. Even if he tried to deny it vehemently to himself at first.

“I… I was a fucking fool. I should have known.” Chris whispers.

“Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know how depraved the world could truly be as much as I do. After all, I grew up in it. I was raised by such depraved people.”

“So now what? I’m going to die, Wesker.”

“…I guess we go back to the beginning.”

“…Back before this whole shitshow?”

“Yes. Perhaps in the afterlife we could have that chance. Or if we are reborn, I would not know. I am a man of science not faith.”

“You believe in such things?” Chris asks, astonished that Wesker would speak of such things. Wesker never struck him as a man who believed in an afterlife let alone reincarnation.

“If this encounter is anything but possible, perhaps it has changed my beliefs slightly.” Wesker says with a soft smile.

‘God, that smile. That damn smile.’ Chris thought as his throat tightened with emotion. He hadn’t realized how much he missed that smile that was only reserved for him back in S.T.A.R.S. until he saw it once more. “I would like that again, Wesker. I just… I just want to live a normal life for the both of us.”

Leaning in, Wesker plants a soft kiss on Chris’s forehead. “I’m glad to hear that.”

The pain by now was long gone and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. He just wanted to close them and finally sleep. He was tired of fighting, tired of it all.  

“I’m so tired, Albert.” Chris murmurs tiredly.  

“Just sleep, Christopher. When you wake up, I’ll still be here. Just sleep.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

And with that Chris was able to relax and let Death claim him.

As he watches the brunette close his eyes and breathe out his last, Wesker gently tugs on Chris’s limp hand and from the cooling corpse emerged Christopher. But it wasn’t the haggard, jaded brunette that Wesker watched die before him. No, it was the young, hopeful man that Chris once was.

No longer was there pain in his eyes nor cold steeliness. No longer did darkness swirl in those brown orbs but instead his eyes twinkled with joy, hope and an innocence that once was lost.

“Back to where we started?” Chris asks returning Wesker’s smile with his own.

“Yes. Back to where we started.” He replies and the two head off, slowly disappearing into the snowy night together hand in hand.  

#based off from rumors and speculation that i've heard #also if this isn't obvious yes i watched the re8 trailer #chrisker #chris redfield #albert wesker #wesker x chris #albert wesker x chris redfield #resident evil #resident evil fanfic

[kmlaney]

Star Wars: 1, 2, 11, 18, 33!

1. Jedi or Sith? To be? Jedi. I don’t know that I’d be a great Jedi but I’d be a terrible Sith. And not like in the fun, hoo-hoo eeevil, you-can’t-do-that! terrible Sith. You know the character in the SI story who Harkun kills right after the intro mission? Yeah, that’d be me. If I grew up Sith and had all the hoo-hoo eeeevil impulses encouraged it might be a different story. As a philosophy or religion? Jedi again. I have issues with Yoda and the way the Jedi are depicted but the core ideals appeal to me far more than the grasping, every-man-for-himself viciousness of the Sith. To write, read, or watch? Sith. The bad guys are fun, okay? Plus it seems a lot of writers have a hard time making interesting good guys who aren't actually bad (but no one knows! They're only pretending! Everyone is obvious-awful or secret-awful! Just like real life! It's edgy!) 

2. Rebels or Empire? The Empire might make the trains run on time but I don't want to live there (insert political comment here). Unless you're on the top of the pyramid life sucks. I don't know quite what the OT rebels were fighting for, especially after seeing the prequels, but they seem much nicer to non-humans overall and at least try to be better than awful.. 

11. Which planet would you want to call home? Going strictly on aesthetics and which ones I've seen depicted... Bespin. A city in the cloud bands of a gas giant sounds cool and it's not like any place on earth I could theoretically move to.

18. How has Star Wars impacted your life? Hugely. I remember standing with my family in lines wrapped around the theater to see Star Wars in 1977. Then again in ‘79 and ‘81. I wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. Mom vetoed It because she thought a kid in all-black costume wandering the neighborhood after dark was a bad idea--I still disagree. I had a lightsaber and action figures and a paintable Luke Skywalker riding a tauntaun. I used all my Lego to build an AT-AT. There was a Star Wars comic strip in the newspaper that I read every day and don't remember anything about, other than some images of Nausicaä's Toxic Jungle reminded me of it. 

I bought the OT on VHS when they came out, and watched the remastered versions in theaters, and bought those too. I never really got into the novels or comics until I met the person who became my husband. One of our first dates was seeing Phantom Menace on opening weekend. Married, we did the same for Attack of the Clones, which turned out to be pretty much what the leaked scriptment he found online said it was. We ran and played tabletop Star Wars RPGs (in at least 3 different game systems) with John Williams’s score in the background setting the mood. I couldn't get past the tutorial in KOTOR, but we had both games. 

When my son was little, we watched the movies and I read the opening crawl to him, like my Mom did for my little brother back in 1977. I found a wonderful group of writers who liked Star Wars and KotOR and were so welcoming, I shared some of my silly stories with them. And they liked them. I liked their stories too. So I kept writing and followed them to tumblr.

I had major obsessions with The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings, but I never found those fandoms. Star Wars was everywhere. Everyone liked it. For once I shared a weird obsession with the culture at large. For all the rotten stuff some fans throw up, for as much as the Star Wars fandom can be toxic, and though I don’t like everything in the Star Wars universe, Star Wars feels like friends. Like community. 

33. Which movie have you watched the most? At a guess, A New Hope. I know I saw that one five times in the theater during its original run (which was A LOT for my family) and twice during the re-release. The only ones I haven’t watched countless times were the newest ones. I didn’t care for them as much.

#brightephemera #kmlaney answers #Star Wars meme

[theholycovenantrpg]

In the beginning was CADE BEKKER, a GIFTED loyal to the cause of the MORTALS. He is said to be THIRTY-THREE and uses HE/HIM pronouns. In this New Testament he serves as a MEMBER of the ROUND TABLE. Blessed be his name.

THE INDELIBLE MARK.

The fire that was lit within Cade during the Blood Plague never quite went out. In fact, it seemed as though it had found a pyre within him, kindling to create the only ever-lasting flame known to mortals. While he was being consumed by the plague, his caretakers thought that he would surely die from his feverish temperatures alone but when he awoke, it seemed that—while he did stabilize—the temperatures did not abate. His skin is always warm to the touch as though there is a living hearth within him, but what was all the more astounding was his ability to manipulate fire. It listens to his will like a loyal dog, ready and willing to bite and snap at his say-so; all he ever need is a spark or a flint to set the whole world aflame if he so desires. No one can truly say whether this gift might be one granted by God or the Devil—all anyone knows is that it is a dangerous weapon to be placed in the hands of an equally dangerous man. And, although he tries not to show it, it can be a rather costly weapon to wield. He can become easily dehydrated and, with every use of his gift, he finds it increasingly difficult to control the flames -- to the point where no one is surprised if he has new scars every week or so. The scars that were left by the Blood Plague are rather unique -- his hands look charred up to the elbows but instead of scarred flesh, it looks as though obsidian has healed where the skin should be.

THE HISTORY.

His story was always meant to be a grand one -- one of those great, exciting tales that parents tell their children at night when the fire is dim and their threadbare blanket can no longer stave off the cold. Though they might fall asleep with empty, aching stomachs, they would, at least, have rousing dreams of the great and godless Cade Bekker. Their parents might not be able to offer hope, but Cade might. The Bekker family was once of great prominence—the heirs that were produced were intelligent, charismatic, innovative and talented, although with each generation it seemed less so. Cursed by God or by the Devil, who is to say which? All that was known was that Cade’s mother was their last, fleeting hope at societal redemption; how could she be anything but when she was so vivacious and engaging, so sweet and kind? But the fool of a woman dared to marry for love rather than obligation. From them, she fled, the threat of death hounding her footsteps as she tried to escape her family’s desperate attempts to dissuade her from ruining them all. But if they couldn’t have her, then neither could the man who had claimed her heart—so they ripped it from his chest. Thankfully, though, they could not rip the young babe from her stomach. He had not yet taken his first breath and already, it was a harrowing beginning for the godless boy. 

His mother was never meant for a long or lasting life—and if she was, then it was stolen away by Cade the moment that he opened his blood-covered eyes. He was passed from hand to hand, first by some kindly nurses, then by some old crones, only to be left to the dirty streets of the Holy Land once he reached the age of twelve. Perhaps it was because he had a penchant for pinching sparkling jewels and loose coins from the pockets of the lords and ladies of the land, or perhaps it was because he knew he would never truly thrive in the monotony of a stable household. Although he’d never admit it, the truth of the matter was that households full of warmth only left him feeling colder; the farce of a family only ever made him feel the blunt edge of melancholy and loneliness. On the streets a boy his age could find adventure, unpredictability, and—above all—absolute freedom. And it was with the promise of this that he managed to entrap others into his gambit, light-fingered little devils that felt that same coldness, that same blunt edged loneliness that he did. Wide-eyed children with the twist of hunger in their belly and the same stubborn, undying blaze in their eyes that promised to give the world a reckoning. With them he founded his own family, one that was earned and rewarded in unconditional loyalty and love. It was, perhaps, the first true taste of love that he had ever known in his life.

So, of course, it had to be taken away. The Blood Plague swept over his merry crew of criminals like a wildfire through the countryside, leaving nothing but wreckage, ruin, and despairing tears. He was the only one that survived it and—though he won’t admit it—it was a curse more than anything. Life hardly seems worth living when all that you care for is gone, when you are forced to watch them wither away in a bloody mess of tears. There was a burning that overtook him when the plague descended upon him; the fever washed over him, burning away the pieces of his soul that one might have deemed soft or precious. As he recovered he realized that this burning would never leave, it would always remain within him like a festering, aching wound. Living on the streets, building his little empire, had taught him many things—but shouldering the pain and weight of such despair is something that few are ever taught and even fewer know how to carry on with. So, with his newfound gift, he carried what remained of his shoddy kingdom, determined to remake himself in the hopes that it might ease the pain of his loss. Cade knew it was in vain, but still he hoped that, should he become a new man, the ghosts of his past might forget his face and name. 

He became a reputable fighter, a figure of the people that fought only for the people—not the demons nor the angels who might think to stake their claim as citizens of the Holy Land. His tale was one that was whispered about, a walking, talking legend of a man who paid no mind to any God, Devil, or monarch that might think to stand in his way. They painted him a figure of hope when, in truth, he stumbled along like a child clinging to a wall in the dark, grasping and groping in the desperate belief that there will soon be light to guide him. Cade had knocked the angel down because he loathed the contempt that they had shown the poor, weakened beggar. He had held the knife to the demon’s throat because they had dared to drunkenly strike a mortal in his presence. For fleeting moments of wrathful justice they lauded him and declared him a representative to sit at the Round Table. They had all but given him a crown to wear—and now they called for him to sit on the Mortal throne, hoping to hail as the next great Star. Godless, they called him in the hopes that he might be their new deity, to guide them and take them under his mantle. How can they dare ask him to be their guiding light when he can’t even find his own?

THE CONNECTIONS.

RYUK: Tool. Cade is quite aware of the power that they hold—not only as a Horseman but as an individual entity. But there is something distinctly lacking; they may be an infamous individual, a mark of the Old World that has extended into the present one, but they were created for their legend. Cade, on the other hand, rightfully earned the many titles and monikers that he has been given and it was not because God had some predestined notion for him, it was because Cade himself had made it so. And though he feels as though they treat him with an undeserved amount of contempt, he tries to pay it no mind because they are, and will prove to be, quite useful to him. Though he cannot be quite sure of it, he knows that there are those who would profit more from his loss than his ascension and what better protection can he have than that of Death itself? 

JUDAS: Headache. He never quite understood what was meant by “the grinding and gnashing of teeth” in the aged references to hell until he met Judas. The demon seems to take copious amounts of pleasure in being present when Cade has been at his most unhinged; the exact events being the ones that earned him the ire of the demons and angels and the laudations of the mortals. Judas seems keen on placing himself in Cade’s good graces, but Cade has no interest in the simperings of a creature whose name is synonymous with betrayal. But he has never been a wasteful man and recognizes the usefulness of even the most obvious of sycophants—so Cade has taken to keeping him on a rather tight leash. 

JASPER RICHE: Best Friend. It is not unexpected to find comradery among those who sit at the Round Table -- they all have to earn their seat there, after all. But there are few who are able to get Cade to live a little—and Jasper has a particular gift for getting Cade to live a little too much. The two are as thick as thieves and many have noted that they are far more brotherly than Jasper and Luca who are literal brothers. Although Cade pays no mind to rumors, he can’t help but feel the slightest bit concerned about this because he himself has never understood the idea of a blood-bonded family, but doesn’t want to take it away from Jasper when it seems like something so rare to come by. There are times when he has seen Jasper glower at his younger sibling and he can’t help but feel the unease knot within his stomach when, in a flash, it dissipates. The worst part is, Cade can’t seem to find it in himself to be too bothered by this. After all, to him there is no loss; he only has a true brother to gain. 

EPHEMERA: Farce. He doesn’t quite know what it is about her but there is something that does not quite strike true to him. Ephemera carries herself like she is the epitome of righteousness and virtue, but he knows that no God has ever made anything truly good, which leads him to the conclusion that whatever goodness there is in Ephemera only extends so far—at her core she is rotten, just as they all are. All the angels hail her as a truly reputable and noble person; what a glorious thing it would be to dash all their hopes right before their eyes. To do so would force the angels to confront the reality that he has always known to be true: they are no better or any worse than the rest of the mortals and demons. All they need is for the best among them to be toppled from their lofty pedestals—and he is always looking for a new project to engage in. Why not this one?

Cade is portrayed by Martin Sensmeier and was written by ROSEY. He is currently OPEN.

#literate rp #lsrpg #fantasy rp #rpg #biblical rp #m #g #cade bekker #o #om

[mst3kproject]

She Freak

Oh, boy, this is going to be a fucking delight.  If the 1932 movie Freaks were Invasion of the Saucer Men, She Freak would be Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  Freaks is a very troubling movie, but it does go to great effort to present the denizens of the sideshow as human beings who can be loving, greedy, heartbroken, or naïve as much as anyone else, and who find family in each other when the rest of the world rejects them – and must be very careful who they let into that club.  The horror of the story is derived as much from their predicament as from the fate of Cleopatra.  She Freak is… not like that.

A woman named Jade Cochrane works at a little diner somewhere in the south, quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) enduring sexual harassment from both the customers and her married boss.  Wanting more out of life, she quits her job and goes looking for work at a passing carnival, which she figures will at least allow her to travel.  From there she sets her sights on marrying Steve St. John, the owner of the freak show and the richest man connected with this community. Unfortunately for everybody around her, even this very moderate form of power corrupts Jade to the core, and after too much of her mistreatment, the sideshow stars take a horrible revenge!

The opening sequence is a bunch of carnival footage in which everybody looks bored, worryingly reminiscent of both Carnival Magic and MUZ.  Even worse, quite a bit of it is shot by somebody sitting on a moving ferris wheel or other midway ride.  I’ve never been able to enjoy midway rides because I get motion sickness (I can’t see J. J. Abrams movies in theatres for the same reason), so this was not a fun experience for me, even on my tiny laptop screen.  It goes on way too long, and most of it doesn’t even have any credits over it.  Crow would have fled to go throw up in a corner.

The moment I knew She Freak belonged on MST3K, however, is this shot:

What the hell does that sign say?  YHJCY A+ FTJB?  What does it mean?  Is it an acronym?  A secret code?  An in-joke? A message to or from aliens?  That would have fascinated Mike and the ‘bots.  They’d have built a whole host sketch around that sign.

She Freak is tooth-rattlingly bad in many different ways.  I don’t know what any of the people in it think they’re doing but it sure isn’t acting.  It’s relentlessly padded, full of pointless footage of putting the midway up, taking the midway down, putting the midway back up again, and carnival-goers wandering around looking dazed.  At one point we have to watch a stripper do her act, to a chorus of background hooting and applause that sure isn’t coming from the bored-to-shit audience we see.  Most of the film feels like nothing is happening, and then what ought to have been the entire plot is crammed into the last fifteen minutes.

The one place where there is a glimmer of competence is in a couple of quite nice directing choices.  There’s a scene where Jade leaves her new husband with his buddies and sneaks off to bang the guy who runs the ferris wheel, Blackie (don’t worry, he’s white. She Freak has a little person called ‘Shorty’, but to my relief it wasn’t tasteless enough to cast a character named ‘Blackie’ as an African American) that makes a very good use of shadows to tell us what’s going on in two places at once.  Pity the film stock is so crappy it almost ruins it.  I also liked how Jade’s scenes with Blackie have proper dialogue, while Steve woos her in a series of montages.  Jade wants to spend time with Blackie, while her marriage to Steve is something she goes through the motions of and gets out of the way.

She Freak really has no right to tout itself as a remake of Freaks, for the simple reason that it isn’t even about the sideshow.  The older movie had characters like Hans the dwarf and Daisy and Violet the conjoined twins, who were people with relationships and roles in the plot.  In She Freak we never even see the sideshow that so upsets Jade in an early scene.  There’s Shorty, the little guy in a cowboy hat who works for the carnival, but when we see him he’s acting like he’s Steve’s friend and assistant rather than one of the exhibits.  An armless woman and a few people in funny makeup appear at the climax, but we’ve never seen them before and we have no idea who they are.  Where the hell is the ‘Alligator Girl’ the banners promised?

It’s probably all for the best.  If there had been any ‘unusual people’ with major roles in the movie it would doubtless have treated them in a disgusting and exploitative manner.  But what’s on screen shouldn’t even pretend to be a remake of Freaks.

As the owner of the sideshow, Steve insists that he cares about his employees and considers them ‘human beings, just like you and me’. He tells Jade that many of them came from abusive homes, and that in his show they’re able to earn a living and be around others who won’t judge them.  This is a reasonably noble sentiment, but what we are subsequently shown is somewhat at odds with it.  Steve says his employees are also his friends, but he hangs out and plays cards with the other carnies, not with them.  When Shorty tells him that Jade is cheating on him, Steve slaps him like he would a misbehaving child.  This is not how people treat friends and equals.

You may have guessed where this is heading: in one of my favourite running complaints, yep, we have nobody to root for in this movie.  We’re probably supposed to like Steve, but he’s bland and his actions don’t agree with his words insisting he’s a nice, compassionate guy. The character from whose point of view we see the events is of course Jade, but Jade is the villain of the movie and we’re watching it to see her hubris destroy her.  That means the protagonists ought to be the sideshow people themselves, but since we never actually meet them, their revenge is meaningless. In this context they are not human beings, they are not characters, they are merely what Jade has been calling them all along: monsters.

(Shorty, by the way, is played by Felix Silla, who is the closest thing this movie has to a star. He was Cousin Itt on the Addams Family TV show.)

She Freak presents us with several reasons why we ought to dislike Jade.  She’s introduced working at the greasy little diner, where she turns down a date first with a customer and then with her boss.  The customer accepts this gracefully but the boss does not.  The scene tries to show us Jade as an uppity bitch who thinks she’s too good for other people, but her boss is such a slimy toad that we have to take her side.  She tells us how her mother married too young and lost any chance at her own dreams, and while Claire Brennan is a terrible actress, the story is one that inspires sympathy.  When Jade seizes on the carnival as her chance for escape she becomes downright pathetic.  I mean, how awful is your life if a travelling midway and sideshow seems like a step up in the world?

Of course, as the movie continues we find that Jade really is just a snotty bitch whose idea of ‘getting more out of life’ is having a rich husband to carry her bags when she goes shopping. She sees others only as what they can provide to her – Steve for money, Blackie for sex.  This attitude blinds her to others’ true intentions.  She is entirely oblivious to the fact that Blackie is an abusive bastard or that Steve honestly loves her.  The lesson of the movie seems to be ‘beware of women who want more out of life.’  She should have known her place!

This is a pretty nasty attitude towards women but there are other female characters who are treated a bit better.  Pat the stripper tried marriage and domesticity and didn’t like it.  She seems to enjoy working at the carnival and is gregarious and kind-hearted.  We’re invited to leer at her performance but she’s presented as much less trashy than Jade, who considers herself above such things. Pat continues to try to be a friend to Jade for as long as she can, and keeps giving her second chances long after it should be obvious that Jade isn’t interested in reciprocating her kindness. There’s also Olga the fortune-teller, who needed to support herself after her husband died.  The three of them even manage to have conversations that pass the Bechdel test.  In a movie called She-Freak that’s almost impressive.

The ending of She Freak is the only place where it really even seems inspired by Freaks.  The sideshow employees take their revenge on Jade, and we see her on display in the sideshow, licking a snake and wearing some unconvincing Harvey Dent makeup.  This is supposed to feel like justice, in that she has become what she most hated, but it’s been so watered down by the movie’s refusal to humanize the sideshow, or even to show us Jade interacting with them at all, that it has no power to horrify.  It’s a big letdown after the opening scene that promised us a horrible freak that was once a human being.  Why does her burned side have an elf ear?

Invasion of the Saucer Men was not a good movie, at all, but it still deserved better than Attack of the The Eye Creatures.  It’s up for debate whether Freaks was technically ‘good’ but it was an ambitious film with much to say about how human beings treat one another and about the eugenics movement of the 1930s.  In fact, the US National Film Registry considers Freaks one of the most significant films ever made, and it currently boasts a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.  The fact that writer David Friedman claimed She Freak was a remake of Freaks just proves that, like the audiences who booed that film in 1932, he never bothered to understand it.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #she freak #tw: abelism #all carnival no magic #60s

[badlydrawndrawnings]

ATWQ Book Three Thoughts

I finally got time this week to finished reading the third ATWQ book, and I got to say, I am honestly very, very scared how this series is going to end. I am feeling a sense of dread I don’t think I got when reading ASOUE as a child. Something about this series is making me go (O.O) with a dash of 8U I had no expectations on what the hell would this third book even hold. This is honestly all over the place like seriously...

This book just got me shook.

Okay, so first all...BERTRAND WAS THEODORA’S LAST APPRENTICE? Holy **** this was one of the many things that shook me to the core.  “He’d end up married to a wonderful woman and have very charming children, while I languished alone and lonely.” Lemony Snicket you have no idea what you just foretold for your future. 

Prosper Lost really decided to tell Lemony about his family (daughter Ornette  + brothers in law?) and shows he isn’t just a nosy, sneaky and lurking in the background type of guy. He has great concerns that aren’t related to his business it goes to the whole freaking town! I get the feeling something bad happened in his past and with a fire like shoot why else is he working the Official Fire Department. I guess it has something to do with his wife (I assume since he has a daughter).

In regards to Ornette, I don’t have a true clear thought or opinion of her yet. Cleo while showing up late got talked a lot for about 2/3 of the books and an illustration that gives me some idea of her character. Ornette got mention a few times, and then shows up at Wade Academy and she’s very gung-ho; willing to work with the others and Lemony who she just met. I like she’s open minded working with a stranger like Ornette is gonna fit in well. However, I guess I have to say her first impression was weaker than Cleo’s build up so I’m just *thinking* over her still. I hope we get to see more of her in the last book though. 

Theodora really just hit me with a tone of bricks. I admit this book really made me like her more because damn it, I think I did what Theodora did once or twice in my life and it sucks. So first off: Theodora all this time knew she was rank last? God, that must mean in the previous books those fancy talks of her reputation partly must have been done to make herself feel better and have confidence and skills that isn’t really there. Since she’s rank last it means there’s a chance she’s not well respected -and maybe not well like (I assume rank is a combinations of reviews from past apprentices and peer reviews). That means Theodora puts on an act for Lemony (and Bertrand who was a lot easier for Theodora to chaperone; Bertrand what review did you gave Theodora?) and everyone else to make herself seem better and more competent. Because if others of different standings take her serious, then VFD will start taking her more serious, and ergo, others (work) associates will be all ‘yeah we can be friends 8D!’. Clearly it’s not working as plan.

Theodora latching on to Sharon and their short lived friendship (the nail polish...Theodora may not have gotten friendship bracelets but she went all out anyway, this just sad to think about). Here we have Theodora thinking she not only has a friend in who know how long -and a friend from she thought was part of VFD- but has a chance to prove herself for once from all her past mistakes and screw up. And Sharon reveal herself as a fraud and Theodora is all like ‘well ****’ and despite not liking Lemony, she still made sure Lemony sure as hell wasn’t going to be taken by Hangfire and the Inhumane Society (such is a duty of a chaperone).

But despite her low rank, Theodora just more than that. She not just a wild hair driver, and yeah, this was clearly shown since the first book if she saved Lemony from getting kidnapped. Theodora knew the whole time Lemony was going to plan something with Kit (IDK if she knew of the coup, but she knew something big was going to happen. Did she took him to SBTS so their plan would fail?). She also knows enough the plan got so off the rails Kit is in jail and Theodora was willing to help Lemony break her out. I’m not saying she’s a favorite character, but she’s in a general tier of ‘I like very much!’

The Haines family (two out three at least): I feel for Sharon, wanting her daughter Lizzie back at any cost. I can understand why she felt like she had no choice to work with Hangfire. If Hangfire got Sally Murphy to work for him (she was trying to help save Lizzie this whole time oh my god), then it’s not much of a stretch Hangfire could get the Haines as well if they’re desperate. But she dragged Kellar into it and was considering striking Kellar across the face. She was willing to go that far to get her son to continue working with Hangfire to get Lizzie back. I hope with Lizzie getting found, the family can be together again and work their issues out.

Won’t say too much on Kellar himself, in part because apparently, ‘dynamite hair’  translated into the famous Tintin quiff. Don’t get me wrong, I like Kellar. His situation sucks to the tenth level and he stood up for what he know is right, even if it means he and his mom have to temporary part ways (again, I hope the Haines family can be together again and work their issues out). I totally think he and Moxie will become very good friends (he needs friends in general). Typist buddies are a go-go! But whenever I think of him and his illustration I can’t get Tintin out of my head. Thanks, Seth.

I got a better feel of Cleo from this book, and yeah, she is totally Team Chemistry Dad, and Jake is totally Team Food Mom. They’re the team parents for all these kids and they’re doing a very good job. Cleo honestly rocks the mask with her color scheme. As to the rest of Lemony’s SBTS associates + Qwerty, nothing much change on thoughts and opinions (Lemony is still upset over Moxie’s arm 8U). I hope Qwerty in the last book gets free. I thought something bad was gonna happen to him like Dewey. I feel a bit happy Qwerty is just arrested and not dead from a harpoon gun.

Ellington, meanwhile, is getting more desperate to find her father (she has a picture of him in her music box my goodness that hurts! However, thanks to a re-watch of Netflix ASOUE, and thinking about [RETRACTED] and looking at something I wrote in a different ATWQ post, I have a very bad feeling, and I hope I’m wrong about it.) if she was more or less ‘working’ with Hangfire. Those film noir vibes are getting to real warning levels that are in the red zone and close to 100% Got to admit thought, her and Lemony’s ‘first and last date’ really ended on a damp note 8U.

I’m too scared on guessing WTF is the creature/noise Lemony and Ellington heard. And do I want to know about the honeydew melons (I like cantaloupe more TBH)?

My opinion of the Mitchum parents are the same but my goodness! Someone let them know how terrible their son is and let them know they’re failure as parents! Stew upgraded from bully to ‘part time villain’, knows it, and just got worse. I gotta bring up Carmelita again because Stew is making me think over Carmelita’s character more than I ever thought before.

I interpret Carmelita as a spoil rich brat and bully who got away with her rotten behavior due to her parents not being parents, just giving her too many gifts and not teaching her important manners. She a bit of an ill-fusion of Veruca Salt and Dudley Dursley in my opinion. Anyway, Carmelita has no idea what she got herself into in the TSS, but by TGG-TPP she is ‘okay! 8D’ because Esme while teaching her to be a ‘villain’ and other dangerous things, it’s mitigated by Esme still spoiling Carmelita rotten and keeping Carmelita’s old lifestyle she’s used too. It also help in the TAA and TSS she just used words as weapons, so this ‘jump’ was just a real shocker and showing how Carmelita while knowing of VFD, is still blind to their hidden nature if she didn’t dwell to much over it.

Stew on the other hand, is a bully who has been using force since the first book, but it’s on the low-down side. Now, Stew is willingly working with Hangfire, and he just decided to go all out and take it up a notch. And Stew unlike Carmelita, isn’t blind to what is going on. I think. It’s also possible Stew doesn’t know the major end goal of Hangfire and Stew is happy he gets to continue bullying people through any means, and his target just has to be Lemony. I honestly don’t know what’s up with him and his actions.

Speaking of Lemony...someone help this poor child mentally and physically. This is all too much for a thirteen year old (or anyone). He has to worry about Kit and save a dying town, and IDK if Theodora is even going to help in the final book if she wanted to high tail it out of there. He’s feeling more lonely than ever and Imaginary!Kit shows up again. Lemony Snicket you just jinx yourself about being lonely shouldn’t stop at age thirteen ;_; you have no idea what is in store, especially when it comes to your siblings. Lemony is closer to Kit than to Jacques, but the ‘flashback’ to playing Beethoven was sweet because the two were able to spend time together and this was like, the first time Lemony actually thought of Jacques in who know how long. Now I’m thinking about Netflix!Lemony wishing he spend more time with Jacques.

So uh...Olaf got a name drop (is guess who referring to the game? band? IDK who Q is but, this is gonna be weird with my headcanon of Mr. Quagmire), I covered Bertrand’s name drop...and Josephine cameos.

If I have to put her on a tier list, Josephine would be the middle between ‘like’ and ‘neutral’. She isn’t my favorite character and guardian, but I like her enough to not put her in neutral (and I have thoughts on her that I won’t 100% share here). With many fears (rational, irrational, surprisingly rational but on first glance irrational), due to VFD messing with her to where she has no choice to become a hermit and hide away from the danger of the world and become very safety conscious. Her years of being frighten grew to where she is cowardly and cares for herself more at times (she does ‘scream’ coward near the end of the TWW, especially in the books and Movie).

Once Quite Adventurous (Movie Only), and Fierce and Formidable (Netflix Only), if it’s not a headcanon, it’s almost canon Ike’s death was the turning point for Josephine deciding to hide away from the world. With Ike’s death, Josephine must have thought she has no choice to retreat to her hazard of a home and live alone for who know how long to keep herself safe. In both adaptations, they show hints (and Netflix only; also shown it via flashback) of Josephine’s old life through photographs. Also in both adaptations, it seems Josephine really went from ‘dangerous lifestyle’ to ‘gonna hide in my room please go away’ very fast after Ike’s demise. 

So, I’m happy and a bit upset Josephine cameos in this ATWQ book. Josephine is not 100% Quite Adventurous, or 100% Fierce and Formidable. I mean, she is those thing, but Josephine is also rather...Cautious. The fact Lemony even calls her ‘careful girl’ and Josephine is taking a risk to visit SBTS seems both adaptations was exaggerating her personality before Ike’s death/possible retirement from VFD. While certainly less afraid of the world, and much braver than TWW, there’s a implication Josephine is on her tip-toes, as well as making sure where she steps (or flies to in her helicopter). I have to say showing a teen Josephine being cautious is a good way to show how her extremism phobias and hermit habits have their roots since her younger years.

And that’s why I’m happy and a bit upset. I’m happy Josephine’s character is explore and it’s fueling to my pile of headcanons that are half bake for her. But I’m upset because...the adaptations. I’ll give Movie!Josephine a minor break though. Since it came out before ATWQ, I doubt Daniel Handler had even thought of this series and character cameos planned out. Movie!Josephine was a shot in the dark and one of the few things that somehow came out unscratched. I think the film played up her fears and cowardliness, but her photo album doesn’t mess up anything regarding ATWQ’s cameo.

Netflix however, has ATWQ. And from my past re-watch, I can now see there’s some references to ATWQ that went over my head (I am seriously hopping I didn’t got accidentally spoilers *stares at [RETRACTED]*). Anyway, Netflix!Josephine’s portrayed and the changes are fitting to her character. Her last act of courage after realizing Olaf killed Ike is rather nice. Yeah, I know it seems Josephine snapped due to his grammar mistake, but on the re-watch Josephine was all \OMO/ when Olaf slips up on the tamales, so I think Josephine confront Olaf for Ike’s murder and his bad grammar. I don’t want to say they ignore Josephine being described as a careful girl in her youth to making her freaking Sporty(TM), but if I do think of rewatching the show again sometime soon after finishing ATWQ (I started reading the first chapter before lunch and I think I’ll have more time the rest of the week to read),  ATWQ’s cameo will be haunting the back of my mind.

Josephine totally needed to called out Lemony for ditching Kit, just like Hector. Though I guess Josephine has more reason to since Kit is really close to getting lock up, all because of two ‘new’ characters: Gifford and Ghede, who also tried to kidnapped Lemony back in the first book. Damn, for ‘noble’ VFD members, they sure suck at their job if Kit is still arrested and they tried to kidnapped Lemony...for some reason.

Are they are on the fire starting side?

#atwq #all the wrong questions #shouldn't you be in school #s theodora markson #asoue #a series of unfortunate events #lemony snicket #josephine anwhistle #yeah i talk about her #spoilers #I guess #this is a text post

[kendrixtermina]

Ferdinand and Hubert - A case study in Comparisons and Contrasts

So they don’t get along at all before the time skip, but afterwards, their A support opens with them sharing hot beverages together with all the chill in the world - how did that happen?

In this Essay, I will -

C

So even at the most simple surface-level one sees why those two would clash at once. Right away, Ferdinand’s always trying to one-up Edelgard, and Hubert is her loyal underling.

But it goes much deeper than just their opinion of Edelgard - in many ways, they are very different men.  Ferdinand starts out with an oblivious naivety that later morphs into more well-founded optimism, Hubert, meanwhile, is cynical and jaded and very serious despite his relative youth. Ferdie’s extravagant, attention grabbing and expressive (though as evidence in his support with caspar and his comments re: Dimitri, he values collectedness and restraint to an extent) and enjoys the finer things of life,  whereas Hubert is dispassionate, spartan, humble and not much for material comforts.  Ferdinand’s worrying about wether he’ll be able to make a name for himself; Hubert’s quite content to work from behind the scenes.

B

Because of those differences, they completely misunderstand each other upon first contact, but that disdain is also linked to their values and virtues, and this is where they can learn from each other.

As at this point it’s still open wether Ferdinand will side with Edelgard & Hubert or turn against them, the B support end on a semi hostile note, but by the end of it they’ve learned that the other is nothing like their initial misconception.

In his C support with Edelgard Hubert mentions that he views a lot of his fellow nobles as spoiled, corrupt and inconsequential. The empire is full of corrupt, arrogant greedy bastards who think of nothing but themselves and live in excess and Hubert finds those pretty disgusting, which is why he’s on board with Edelgard’s plan to get rid of corruption and establish a meritocracy.  He calls people he doesn’t like “degenerates” or “inconsequential” which gives us an indication of what he finds contemptible.

Since he talks a lot about his noble obligations and seems to vye for attention, Hubert’s first impression of Ferdinand is that he’s one of those - greedy arrogant and obsessed with the superficial/ his own ego, just like his father.

But Ferdinand isn’t actually like that. He may have naively repeated some of the arrogant things his father taught him, but he’s well aware that his old man is greedy and corrupt, and as per his goddess tower event, was thinking to depose him himself if Edelgard hadn’t beaten him to it.  He’s not just talking the talk - he’s determined to also walk the walk and live up to the hype, to actually be elite and live up to the obligations of his title. He’s not trying to backstab Edelgard or put her down, rather he thinks he’ll make a pretty useless prime minister if he can’t keep up with her or offer useful feedback, which includes constructive criticism and balancing her out

And they do indeed end up having plenty of constructive debate if he sticks with her, resulting for example in Ferdinand’s education plan. As far as Edelgard is concerned, Hubert’s useful to her because he’s likeminded, and Ferdinand’s useful because he thinks differently - being a traditionalist and, as we learn in his Marianne support, a believer, and also an optimist and good communicator. to the Black Eagle Strike force what Togusa is to Section Nine.   But this could only happen after the holy tomb scene, when Edelgard and Hubert know that they can trust him - had they involved him earlier he might’ve warned them against, well, making themselves look guilty. But they have good reasons for not being trusting given their formative experiences...

Likewise, Ferdinand, who constantly tries to better himself and prides himself of being independent-minded doesn’t like Hubert at first because he believes him to be a lackey without a mind of his own. But that’s not the case either. He follows Edelgard out of conviction, (a shared dream, as dorothea puts it) not blind obedience. They are very like-minded, seeing as they are both unsentimental, nontraditional, reason-driven and none too fond of organized religion, he’s on board with her cause and in awe of her as a leader - but since it’s both their cause that he also wants, he sometimes has different ideas on what’s the best way to accomplish it. Their views subtly differ on a couple of fronts - She prefers more direct tactics and would probably find more appeal in ordinary things if she felt she had the liberty; Both are curious but it’s a stronger force for her. He’s markedly more cautious and less merciful than Edelgard, and harsher in his condemnation of the faith. They both expect Byleth to betray them but where Edelgard is wistful about it Hubert’s suspicious af. They probably give each other plenty of cause for worry.

(Unlike Dedue, who says to Felix that he’ll do whatever if Dimitri commands it, even if he is at times clearly uncomfortable - though of course to be fair to him, this is basically his coping mechanism after his family was killed, and it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t admire Dimitri as a person or believe he’ll be a good leader who will bring equality for his people; They’d very much like to just be nornal friends, but feel they can’t with the world as it is. )

So Ferdinand certainly sees that once he notices that Hubert interprets his orders rather liberally at times; It’s not that Hubert never disagrees with Edelgard, it’s that he just acts at his own discretion rather than debate because he thinks she’s got enough responsibilities to worry about, and that it’s insignificant details after all (he also discusses this is further detail with Shamir) - He doesn’t mind being the fall guy, because she’s the one who’s the princess and thus has a reputation to maintain. Ppl think he’s scary anyway, and while he has a tad of a complex about it he’s mostly accepted it and made it work for him - after all, Edelgard knows he’s trustworthy. And wouldn’t leave things to his discretion of their visions diverged that much.

But Ferdinand can’t quite approve of that either, because disagreeing and essentially going behind someone’s back are two pairs of shoes - As far as he’s concerned the point of debate is not simply to disagree but to refine ideas by working on them together. He admits that sometimes he talks with Edelgard and finds out that he was wrong.

But they find a commonality here which is that though they may not look it both are actually appreciative of other people’s viewpoints and virtues. Hubert actually brings up the other Black Eagles’ good qualities quite a bit in his supports, for all that he also plays the taskmaster, and Ferdinand generally takes constructive criticism like a pro. Whenever someone reacts negatively to him, he doesn’t get butthurt but generally goes extraordinary lenghts to prove himself (Marianne, Mercedes, Dorothea and Bernadetta being good examples)

On a related note they also both value objectivity and composure, something that comes up in their A support.

So once the Holy tomb scene happens and they decide to start trusting each other, the foundation is laid for them to learn from each other.  

A

But let’s take a step back at look at how the two came to be how and where they are, at the core of what motivates them.

Because while they reacted somewhat differently to it, when you get down to it, they come from the same situation and want the same things.

What they want is to do something significant and meaningful with their lives. And their situation is -  they learned early that the world in which they’re looking to find meaning and significance is full of fakery and rottenness, chiefly because their fathers are crooks.

With Ferdinand it’s pretty apparent that he wants to amount to something with how he always pushed himself to be extraordinary and virtuous. Here and there he gets some lines about going down in legend but it’s more than just wanting fame - on memorable occasion is the Marianne support where he says that he believes that all people are here for a purpose and people should look for something only they can do. And if you marry him (to Byleth)? Well first it’s the cutest thing ever, he gets the gaudiest wedding ring and flat out faints from happiness. So cute. But most tellingly, later on in his support chain with Byleth we find out that he seriously worries about wether anything will remain of him and his efforts will amount to anything in the grand sheme of things.

Hubert is subtler, but when Edelgard has this little moment of feeling sorry that she dragged him into this/ worrying that she may have kept him from the normal life he might otherwise have had, he tells her that he’s in fact grateful that she gave him the chance to actually do something meaningful with his life instead of being yet another spoiled brat - he also says something similar to Dorothea. He’s simply the sort of person who likes to be part of something greater than himself - As he tells Byleth in their A support, humans have short lives, and that's part of what makes them aspire to greatness and try to effect meaningful changes in their lifetimes, though by that point he’s less pessimistic than during his academy days and says that if he hadn’t run into Edelgard he might’ve found some other meaningful thing to do with himself, like for example work with Byleth, whose heroic charisma he wasn’t entirely immune to in the end.

Though not at all a merciful man, he’s not without standards - He disdains corruption, is the sort of non-believer who just couldn’t get past the problem of evil and at one point tells Linhard that they couldn’t be friends if he [Linny] truly were as apathetic as he claimed to be.

From how he brings up his family’s tradition in a semi-proud way sometimes, one upon a time, that might’ve been where he found that sense of purpose. Being part of a 1000 year legacy sounds cool. But then his father would one day backstab the same people that he once told Hubert to protect with his life - and though I can#t imagine that his natural disposition was ever too enthusiastic or cheery, this is probably the moment where he realized that a lot of this talk about “the empire’s illustrious history” was just that, talk. That it’s all fake. Self-serving lip-service. When he goes chasing after Arundel and Edelgard in accordance to what he’s been told, his dad unceremoniously collects him.  This was probably a formative experience that contributed to his irreverent, cynical and unsentimental outlook - a catalyst in his coming to the conclusion that it’s all fake, and that most of his peers are spoiled, rotten, decadent and pointless.  

Then one day, Edelgard appears before him again and tells him she wants to tear down that rotten world they live in, that he, perhaps, resigned himself to living in, and from that moment he was all in and never looked back

Ferdinand meanwhile had a different response to all the fakery and corruption in the world (and in Adrestia in particular) - If others were fake then he was going to be the real thing. Instead of declaring the whole thing bullshit because he eventually noticed that his father wasn’t all that great, he decided that he was actually going to live up to the ideal to live up to and be worthy of the hype.

His dad clearly tried to raise him with an elbow mentality and probably even told him that he must beat the princess and make her his bitch, but it all bounced his inherent goodness like teflon. He wasn’t satisfied just going around claiming that he’s great, but wanted to actually be great and maybe he felt some pressure to archieve there but he never was the slightest bit mean or petty or even truly arrogant toward anyone. naive or insensitive perhaps but he never put anyone down, he’s earnest and pure to a fault. I must stress that he faints from happiness if you propose to him and buys you the gaudiest ring ever. Also seems to have been a total romantic in his other paired endings, what. a. cute. He must take after his mother, clearly.

Somewhere the other end of the “My father is a crook” reaction spectrum you find Lorenz. Unlike Ferdinand who’s just a bit naive but deeply and fundamentally good, Lorenz had a bit more genuine arrogance, immaturity and callousness going on, at least early on, and he’s a lot more self-interested though he was always ultimately virtuous, political-minded and motivated by caution. Lorenz too knows his father’s a crook, or at least ‘respectfully disagrees with him’, but at the same time you can tell that as far as he’s concerned that’s still his father. He’s clearly happy to get his approval when he’s trusted with the family relic, and tries to protect him, be it by fighting in his stead, propositioning Edelgard for mercy if he’s recruited to the empire... though in the GD route he will conveniently “forget” to tell the old man about Claude’s plan once he starts believing that Claude will win, he’s got no illusions about his competence.

Hubert of course is on the other extreme, the man was pretty much dead to him the moment he turned traitor and it’s heavily implied that he ordered that he ordered the hit on his father at his own discretion (everyone else, including the Prime minister who was the main culprit, is just jailed. Actually very civilized of Edelgard, didn’t expect that in a medieval setting. Yet Hubert’s father is the one who gets the axe, which i take to mean that he did this on his own account.  - because if Edelgard was gonna kill just one it woul’ve been the one she hated the most. That seems like she left it up to Hubert and he was like “LESS mercy please!”, or like he made sure the guy was dead before she could argue) When Hanneman presents him with the idea that ‘ol Vertra senior might’ve had redeeming qualities or mitigating circumstances, Hubert would hear nothing of it. The hate’s transparently personal and his disgust at the sheer treason outweighs everything else.  He sure does loathe a traitor.

Ferdinand’s somewhere in between - he was meaning to actively remove his dad and sorta steeling himself for it and once he’d deposed he acknowledges that he has it coming, but he can’t help but find the punishment a bit harsh after ‘all his father’s hard work for the empire’  (that’s also because he doesn’t know just HOW evil his dad was) - if you have both Lysithea and Ferdinand in your party you get this paralogue in which the PM tries to escape but gets killed by revolting peasants, and though he acknowledges that the bastard deserved it, Ferdinand still cries when he hears the news, and with him in that state, Lysithea can’t bring herself to tell him about the human experimentation either (in part because she knows Arundel to have been the real mastermind) It seems that no matter what faction he winds up in, it’s a constant of the universe that no one can quite bring themselves to break Ferdie’s heart.

Many of the other Black Eagles might’ve been a bit annoyed at him early on but after the timeskip? No one wants to burst his bubble. See also that sad, sad line you get from Dorothea if you recruit her but not him and end up offing him. To think that they started out so antagonistic. Actually, it says a whole lot about Edelgard that she always treated him normally. Like that’s how you know that she really believes in judging people by their own merits.

Ironically Edelgard actually has an evil parent of her own, and Dimitri also decides not to tell her, though this isn’t quite the same because Edelgard never knew Patricia, wasn’t raised by her and never looked up to her, and everything regarding her is super ambiguous anyways On the one hand Dimitri might’ve considered it a low blow to tell her upsetting news right when they were about to fight - on the other hand maybe bringing it up would’ve diverted the conversation in a more fruitful direction...

A+

So given that they’re both actually receptive to constructive input and ultimately out to archieve meaningful things, it’s not so strange that they’d end up amicably sharing hot beverages once the initial misunderstandings were out of the way and they’d somewhat come to value each other’s viewpoints, even if some token hilarious banter remained to the end, because of course it did. The right and left hands of the emperor, since Byleth is, of course, her wings.

As a sidenote,

Though I like most of them, I feel like a bunch of the A supports were a bit of a wasted opportunity/ too concerned with either concluding the previous gimmick/ subplot or pairing the characters up when they could’ve shed a light on the character’s evolution during the timeskip- They’re good scenes, but maybe it would’ve been better to keep the old system where you have an extra rank (S) for the pairup esp. since they knew the timeskip would be happening so we could have a solid scene of them interacting post timeskip that isn’t immediately pairing them up - But the Ferdiand/ Hubert one is a good example of this being done right with how abruptly the support chains it goes from antagonistic to chill - it actually feels like five years have passed.

Many of the Dimitri ones also avert this since his character is so changed, and the Claude/Lorenz one another good example that has a lot going on in it, not only has their previous antagonism largely evaporated but Lorenz has matured, Claude realized that he’s not so bad, and Claude himself is no longer trying to establish himself to seize the Alliance, but in fact getting ready to pack his bags and leave once his work is done.

#three houses #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem: three houses #ferdinand von aegir #hubert von vestra

[january-summers]

So I came into the fandom from The Untamed/CQL (the live action drama), so I don’t know if this is accurate to any version of MDZS universe, but apparently Wei Ying maybe ate corpses in order to not starve to death in the burial mounds? And then steeped himself in resentful energy to exact retribution on the douchebag sect, before kind sorta losing his shit and massacring a shit ton of people?

Now I’m not saying it’s The reason, but just so you know: cannibalism isn’t only frowned on because it is ethically bad, but because it leads to shit getting funky in the brain, so you know... maybe don’t mix cannibalism and demonic cultivation if you don’t want to go crazy and murder rampage?

So just to clarify real quick: when I say I came into the fandom from CQL I mean The Untamed was my first exposure the MDZS fandom in any capacity, and I have seen the Untamed twice all the way through, since then I've made it about halfway through the available donghua, and I'm in chapter 60 of the manhua. I HAVE NOT however, read the novel. (except for one chapter I'll mention in just a sec.)

When I say “apparently he maybe did the thing” I mean I had no idea if there was any supporting novel based text evidence, (thankfully I've been told the answer is no, the boy has suffered enough) BUT: I actually heard the “Wei Ying resorted to cannibalism to survive the mounds” thing a couple times in fics, but it was usually tacked on to an 'angst list' like a throw away fact so I was never sure if it was fanon or canon, but considering what I know of the Incense Burner chapter (the only chapter I've read from the novel because some asshole told me it was a cute married couple WangXian fluff piece (it was not, YKINMK)) the author is not above horrific character treatment so it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility.

If false: awesome, one less horror for Wei Ying to have to deal with in his already terrible life.

If true: consider the angst:

V This angst V

-

Wei Ying punches the ground as the crows circle above him just out of reach, taunting him. He's so tired and worn and sore, but he can't rest. The 'inhabitants' of the Burial Mounds are making his trek difficult, the mere energy of the place is fighting him every step of the way. He's getting better at controlling the resentful energy every time he tries, but it still fights him.

Inedia is almost impossible without his core, using resentful energy to do it is... not going well for him. He's hungry and thirsty, but nothing grows in the Burial Mounds that isn't already poison or rotting. The few tiny pools he's managed to find are... best not to think about unless he's forcing the questionable liquid down. The only readily available source of 'safe' food is the crows, and he can't fucking catch them! They're harder to catch than the pheasants he used to hunt... or maybe they're not, maybe he's just that much weaker now... without his...

There's a corpse on the ground, a few pieces of flesh still clinging to the body, the crows had fled him before they could finish. His stomach aches at the sight even as his mind recoils. He's been here too long, the edge of the Burial Mounds never seemed to draw any closer. Maybe it had always been further than he thought, maybe he'd been walking in circles.

If he doesn't eat soon he'll die for real, then there will be no chance of him escaping this place, of getting retribution for his sect, his family...

He doesn't want to die refuses to die, he'd sworn he'd come back he'd even said he'd do it as an inhuman monster and make the Wen Sect pay for what they'd done.

What were morals to a Demonic Cultivator any way?

He forces the meat down, cracks to bones to suck the marrow as the crows scream above him. Something in the miasma of the Burial Mounds' resentful energy seems to laugh gleefully as he throws away a piece of his humanity for vengeance.

The Resentful energy seems to answer his call a little more readily afterwards.

-

His revenge is not yet complete, but he has his shijie and shidi back. maybe he can keep that promise this time His shijie made him soup, the bowl is warm in his hands, the smell is familiar and comforting.

Until the flavour hits his tongue.

"Pork," she tells him, and it is he knows it is, but somehow it tastes like his sin.

-

His people are starving, A-Yuan is starving, there isn't enough food. He's managed to pull enough resentful energy from the gardens so that the food will grow un-rotten, but there still isn't enough. Even when he manages to cleanse the area enough for the fruit to grow without poison, even when he brings home small animals that have begun to make their cautious way to the area.

Wei Ying sees to his people's needs first, makes sure A-Yuan has his fill as best he can even when it leaves his own plate empty.

Wei Ying wanders out into the Burial Mounds to follow a circling flock of crows, just like he had on his long walk out the first time.

-

“Come back to Gusu with me.”

Yes, Help me, Save me, I'm scared of what I'm becoming. A thousand things are lost under the weight of what he's done, beyond the people he's killed in revenge, beyond the dangerous cultivation he's created, there are sins that weigh heavily, things that can't be forgiven, can never be spoken of. He doesn't deserve saving.

“Get lost."

-

Lan Wanji plays until his fingers bleed, keeps playing until they're too numb to play the notes correctly.

Inquiry, yes, always unanswered by the only one he wants to hear from, but Clarity as well.

If he had played for Wei Ying, if he had stayed with him instead, would he have been strong enough to save him? Would he have been enough to temper the resentful energy Wei Ying filled himself with? If he...

Lan Zhan directs spiritual energy to his fingers to heal them, cleaning Wangji's string and board of his blood.

He plays again the next day and the next and the next...

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #cannibalism+resentful energy cultivation=bad times all round #ive maybe overthought things... #takes a long drink of angst from the fan theory fountain of making things worse #this is why I can't have nice things

[alloveroliver]

Zeta x MC |Alice| “Irrevocably.”

Smut/Angst: Zeta Oswald

F/F Cradle Citizen Alice AU: Alice meets Zeta right out of high school. WC: 2,284

Ikemen Revolution Fanfic

• ·  .  ·  ´  ` · . ·•· . · ´   ` ·  .♡ .  · ´  ` · . ·•· . · ´  `  ·  .  · •

Zeta’s legs tremble under my touch. She slips her small hand through my hair, coaxing me on with her sweet moans. I allow my tongue to add more pressure to her bundle of nerves, licking in long strokes to make her lose herself.

Her hand falters in my hair as she leans back in the plush chair. Her essence tastes sweet on my tongue the longer I pleasure her dripping core. My hand moves from holding her thigh open towards her pussy. Using just my middle finger, I enter her slick entrance. Hooking my finger against her sensitive patch, she whimpers out a strangled version of my name.

With ease, I let my finger slip in and out of her while my tongue circles diligently over her pink clit. I had no idea how much time we had left, but I was willing to make the most of it while we could. The door remained locked behind me, but I couldn’t help but feel the dread of knowing her parents hold the key to enter at any time.

Pushing past her family's disapproval of us, I added a second finger. Her beautiful moans fill the room, more dainty than anyone else I’ve ever been with. Her essence quickly coated my fingers the more aroused she became.

Letting my tongue trace around her slit tenderly, I looked up at her. The hallway beyond the door was silent still, but I never dropped my guard. Her short brown hair naturally waved at the ends and brushed against her bare shoulders. My earlier kisses left her blouse askew, revealing her chest with just a few loose buttons.

“I love you, Zeta.” I kept fingering her but kissed her quaking thigh. “I always will.”

Her beautiful voice mewled while she cupped my cheek. “I love you too, Alice. More than words could ever describe.”

My lip trembled with emotion. I moved back down to Zeta's core and sucked hard on her clit, trying desperately to distract myself from the tears that threatened to fall. I was going to miss her more than anything in this world.

“Mmm,” Zeta arched her back off the chair. “I’m close!”

My heart sank at how loudly she cried out. Someone could hear us if they were to walk by and that terrified me. The office was dim, with small particles of dust floating in the few streams of sunlight that cut through the thick blinds, giving us a false sense of hope we wouldn’t be found.  

“Cum for me, babe,” I whispered, thrusting my fingers faster. I added pressure to her clit with my tongue, just the way she liked it, to help bring about her climax.

Zeta’s moan ripped through the air. Her legs shook next to my head while her pussy throbbed sensually on my tongue. Her walls flexed around my fingers, and I playfully scissored them through her ecstasy.

Her chest heaved, making her breast more tempting than ever. I reached my free hand up and cupped the swell of her chest. She was so beautiful, even losing control like this. How was that any fair? I would never find anyone else on this planet as goddess-like as she, and I knew it.

“Alice-” She pushed her chest into my hand as her orgasm slowed. I rubbed her cute nipples between my fingers until she stopped writhing and began jolting.

“Another?” I joke, licking her overstimulated clit. She jerks and lets out a panting laugh.

“No,” She tried to catch her breath. “If there is another time in here, it would be you cuming in my hand.”

I swallowed thickly. Her innocent face didn’t match the lustful words that ever left her mouth. Walking past her on the street, seeing her sweet smile, you would never know such sensuous words could ever touch her tongue. I loved this about her, how she could look so innocent then lean in and whisper the most naughty things to me.

“I just want to kiss you,” I admitted, standing up and closing her legs slowly. I fixed her skirt, pulling it back down to her knees and leaned in.

With her essence on my tongue, I pressed my mouth to her plump lips. Her violet eyes were still hazed from her pleasurable pinnacle as she softly closed them to meld her mouth to mine. My fingers traced her breast before moving her button up shirt to cover them. With my tongue teasing the seam of her lips, I began to button her blouse closed slowly.

I fixed her shirt over her exposed shoulder and slid the last button into place. “There.” I traced the clasp slowly.

“Please… Don’t make that face.” Zeta warned. “We’re together now. We should think of only this moment and how happy we are.”

I tried to invent a small smile, but I couldn't be like her. All I could think of was the future. A future in where she wasn’t with me. My heart throbbed with pain, and I slipped into her lap. Zeta wrapped her arms around me and placed a kiss atop my forehead.

“We can still send and receive letters.” She pushed my bangs away from my forehead.

“I know, and I will write to you frequently. I promise you that.”

“Good. I will do the same.” Her face lit up with a gorgeous smile, and I melted into a puddle. “The years will go by faster than we know it,”

Years. I wished I was dreaming all this was happening, but I knew better. Her parents wanted her to take over their flower shop. However, Zeta would have to share the funds with her whole family that worked there. She would have to support her parents and all her siblings while barely scraping by for herself.

“If I could go with you… I would.” I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her tight.

“I know, love… I know.” She lightly scratched my scalp, soothing me against her chest.

Working to support her family was something she was willing to live with. They were aware that she might marry one day, and her new husband would take her away. But, until then Zeta was to do everything she could to support them.

One thing they didn’t bet on, was me — a woman working part-time at a confectionary in the middle of town. I lived alone in a small apartment, not really big enough for two people. I couldn’t support her solely even if I tried. I loved my job, but I never wished to be someone other than myself so much in my life.

To be able to support her as she became my wife. To spoil her rotten like she deserved. I wished, for the first time in my life, to be something I’m not. I let out a long sigh and rested my eyes. Her fingers sent soothing vibes through my body, allowing me to relax.  I wished we could stay like this forever in one another's arms.

When Zeta’s parents found out about us, in the worst way possible, it threw a wrench in their plans. Our nude bodies rolling together under the sheets in her room was the last thing they expected Zeta and her new ‘friend’ to be doing when she told them of me.

It was the last thing I thought I would be doing too. I had no idea my feelings were reciprocated for her, but I didn't regret it for a moment, not until now that is. They didn’t approve. In fact, her father physically tore us apart while her mother cried in the doorway. It was traumatic enough for both of us to keep away from each other for months.

I had no idea what Zeta’s parents planned for her life before she met me. The fact that I wasn’t a man, or that I didn’t have a job to support her made me a useless speed bump they had to overcome.

I leaned over and kissed Zeta’s cheek. Her hair fell away and the scent of flowers populated my nose. The floral scent was soothing and unique to her. It was a fresh smell mixed with a clean hint of soap. Her scent wasn’t bottled and sprayed on her but absorbed through her environment working at the flower shop for so many years.

My heart ached to wonder what she would smell like after having her nose buried in books, far away from flowers for so long. Would she let her hair grow longer due to her busy schedule? Would she… meet someone new? Someone who didn’t complicate her life like I did?

I swallowed my pride and took a deep breath. “If you meet someone you like better… I don’t want you to feel tied down to me…” Hot tears burned the corners of my eyes as I buried my face in her shirt.

“I wasn’t planning on breaking up with you.” Zeta’s voice grew thick laced with sadness. “Is that w- Do you want to break up?” An awkward air settled around us, but we kept one another in a warm embrace.

“I-” I didn’t want to break up, no. I wanted to steal her away and elope with her on the beaches of the north isles and buy a cottage in the mountains to the south. We could live off the land as we learned to grow vegetables and live as freely as she deserved. “I wish for you to be happy.” I choked out.

“Being happy is being with you.” A ghost of a sob shook her chest. I hadn’t realized she was holding back tears.

“I don’t want to tie you down to me. I want you to be free and happy.”

“No! You aren't an anchor to me. You are freedom.” She cupped my face and pointed my gaze up to hers. Our watery eyes met just as keys jingled in the hallway.

“Shit! They’re here.”  I jumped out of her lap, but it was too late.

Her father stood in the doorway, filling the width with his massive body. I barely managed to make it out of her lap, but the scent of sweat and sex that filled the small space would give our other activities away.

“Get away from her!” He yelled.

I gulped, holding Zeta’s hand tight as I took a step back.

“Dad! Relax, we were just saying goodbye.” Zete rolled her eyes, wiping her tears with the back of her long sleeve shirt.

“Hurry up and say it, then leave. We already packed the carriage full of your things. You leave now.” He stepped into the room and moved away from the doorway for me to leave.

Would she still want me after being the reason she was torn away from her family for years? After she realizes I’m not worth all this trouble, will she resent me? I bit my lip and rubbed the back of her knuckles with my thumb.

“Alice!” Zeta yelled as her father took a step into the room.

Zeta hugged me to her body. I watched her father roll his eyes while I wrapped my arms around her as well.

“I love you. I love you, I love you.” Zeta chanted in my ear.

“I love you, too.” A sob wracked my chest.

Her family was ready to send her off to college if it meant we wouldn’t see each other anymore. Her father was furious and refused to explain to anyone we met why Zeta and I would hold hands.

“Get your friend out of here. I don’t want her on my property.”

“Girlfriend.” Zeta corrected for the thousandth time.

Another set of footsteps moved to the doorway. I thought it was her mother by the quiet presence. Instead, I saw her older brother gazing into the room.

“I got this, dad.” Sirius clapped his father on the shoulder and guided him out of the room. “I have a good handle on it.”

Sirius stood a few inches taller than his father, more slender yet still gave off the same vibe as being able to kill someone with their bare hands.

“Mom is upset about her daughter leaving, why don’t you go comfort her. I will make sure Alice gets home safe.”Siris reassures, never taking his hand off his father's shoulder.

Zeta hugged me harder while her father dragged his feet out of the room. Sirius rubbed his hands together and nodded.

“Zeta, I will escort her home when you’re ready to leave.”

“I can go now.” I rubbed her back. “I don’t want you to miss your carriage and get to the campus too late. Traveling takes a lot out of you, and you need to unpack a bit when you get there.”

Zeta nodded, tears clouding her beautiful amethyst eyes. I pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek.

Sirius turned away as I pressed a delicate kiss to her lips. It was short but passionate.

“You’re right.” She laughed through a sob. I wiped a rushing tear off her cheek with my thumb. Another tear fell, and I kissed it away. Too many tears were shed due to this situation. I couldn’t take it anymore. I kissed the next tear that fell, and another until our lips met again.

This kiss lingered, making me dizzy due to the way she held my body in her hands. Our lips slanted together, and my mind went blank. Somehow, despite the family drama, this moment was absolute bliss.

So beautiful, so charming, gracious and kind. Zeta was everything I ever wanted, but everything that I couldn’t have.

.

.

I am still out of the country, but I hope you like my Zeta fic! I love my idea of Zeta so much and I wish we could have more content for her XD Zeta route when?!

#ikemen revolution #zeta oswald #zeta x mc #sirius oswald #ikemen revolution fan fic #smut

[welcome-to-lovecraft-country]

The Devil Inside

Author’s Note: This is my first story on Tumblr and I am very nervous about how this will turn out. This story is not around a certain fandom, but my fellow SPN Family will like some of the words I used. This is an original horror story. I also wrote this story two years ago around Halloween. Please enjoy and happy Halloween. xx-Anna

    Waking up in an abandoned house is not a normal occurrence for everyone, but for me, it was normal. Getting up from the cold, dirty, cracked tile floor, dusting off the dirt and dried mud from my clothing and my body, I can still see the dried burgundy-colored blood on my hands and my chipped black nails. My back and arms aching in pain from horrible slumber during the night itself.

 Smoothing over my long, white, blood-splattered dress to get rid of the wrinkles that were on the dress. Realizing that the dress was completely ruined, I tried to figure out how I get out of the building without attracting unwanted attention from the outside world. I try to look out the window to figure out where I am in town, but that was no use. However, the windows are covered by old newspapers.

Fixing my hair, making sure there were no knots, tangles, or pieces of trash on my long, black, wavy hair. I made sure that there were no bruises or injuries on my arms and legs from the night before; then I realized the bruises that covered my collarbone, stomach, arms, and legs. I try to cover the bruises up as much as I can, but there is no use. The color of the bruises is so dark with a darker reddish hue.

As I walk towards the bathroom that had cracked and discolored tiles and various forms of weird, strange bugs and various colors of mold on the walls in there, I feel a presence beside me. I wash my face with the water from the rusting pipes. I look into the dirty, cracked mirror and saw the dark red blood that was all over my face, but I ignore that. I knew that it wasn’t real. I focus on the sound of my heart beating in my chest and keep whispering the phrase “Violent delights have violent ends” over and over to keep me calm. I don’t know why, but it keeps me calm like this.

“Are you afraid, Aurora? You should be very afraid, sweetheart.”

 When I was done, I look deeply into the mirror;  I saw a reflection of myself, but I knew it wasn’t me in the reflection; I knew it in my heart that it wasn’t me. As the mirror started to crack, the girl inside the mirror started doing motions that I wasn’t doing myself. Her skin became almost translucent. I could see the veins underneath her skin. The person’s eyes turned like a snake’s own, the ultimate betrayer and sinner like me.

“I am Lucifer, sweetheart. I thought you knew this about me by now.”

 “See child,” he said as he gave me an evil smirk. “Such a sweet, innocent, pretty little girl you are, Aurora, too bad that you have no soul anymore. This is what happens when you play with me, sweetheart.” I hate that stupid pet name he gave me since we first met; it always made me feel small and worthless compared to him. Someone from heaven can be as evil as someone from hell.

“What do you want from me? I did nothing to you and you know that. Just leave me alone,” I shouted angrily and irritated; tired of this endless cycle of events that has happened every single day for the past ten years, a never-ending cycle of unbearable and neverending nightmares that he did to me. I felt like a slave, a piece of property to him. 

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Just because of one stupid, selfish mistake that my mother made long before I was born. A mistake that will cost her and my dad’s lives and legacy. When I was sixteen years old, my parents had a conversation with me about how I was brought into this cursed, dark world. A few years before I was born, my parents had a hard time trying to conceive a child. 

My mother was thirty-four years old, a high school English teacher and my father was thirty-eight years old, an Assistant District Attorney for the city of Arcadia, California, my hometown, a town that is three hours north outside of Santa Cruz, California. That town, I think, is rotten to its own core even after what happened to my family.  My parents tried every possible solution for them trying to have a child. The doctors told them it would be a miracle. My mother had a solution. 

She knew someone that could do satanic sacrifice to summon Lucifer himself. A witch who could help them make a deal with Lucifer. 

She traded the soul of her firstborn child on their sixteenth birthday. After I was born, he came to visit my parents afterward; his vessel was an old family friend, David Mulder, my dad’s best friend since childhood who had died when he and my dad were seventeen years old when he got in a car accident in high school. He reminded them of the promise they made to him. A promise that they will pay with their own lives.

When my parents told this story to me, I refused that this person could have my soul and my own body anytime that he wanted it. I thought it was some kind of sick joke. My mother explained to me that he could go after me until I give my consent to this promise that she made to him.

 As I grew older, I was more rebellious and courageous than anyone in my family who knew about this deal expected out of me, even though my father thought I was stubborn and stupid for not giving Lucifer the “yes” that he needs. My mother knew that in her heart that I wouldn’t give in to his claim to my soul and my vessel and that I will die because of that. 

“Are you sure your dear, dead mommy told you the truth, sweetheart? Did you really think your father was a good man after all of these years, sweetheart? You have to learn the truth for yourself. Don’t let the people that your father convicted hunt you down like an animal. Did you really think that your parents loved or even cared about you, Aurora? Think again. Learn the truth about who you really are, sweetheart. It will change your whole world forever...”

Every year until my twenty-sixth birthday, he started to kill off every person that I cared the most about in front of me. Boyfriends, friends, family members, and anyone that even tried to help me throughout the years. I thought he was making a point about how stubborn I was and how I lucky I was that he wasn’t going to kill me yet. Every time it happened, I questioned why I am still on this earth. I attempted suicide five times in the past seven years to escape his torture, but he wouldn’t let me die. 

He wants me to have a fate worse than death. He said that he wanted me dead, he would let me. He said that I was a piece of property to him. Every single day for the past ten years, I have woke up in this abandoned building after a night of him possessing my vessel for the night (an unfortunate clause in the deal). Even now, I still have no idea why he still takes pleasure in riding my vessel like some kind of animal that he owns as a pet. I had to deal with the ramifications of what he did every night. 

“Have you ever felt infant’s blood on your chin,” he asked after I woke up one morning, touching my lips and chin with his thumb.“It will feel fantastic on your smooth skin like velvet, sweetheart. It is like euphoria, Aurora, something you have no experiencing in your own life. When I am controlling you, I will make you watch everything that I will do using your identity and body. It won’t be torture. No, I won’t do that to you. It will be a present for you. It will be something that you will like, deep down. I promise you that.” He told me that he went easy on me for our first go-around, at that exact moment, I knew that I thought it could be the end for me. 

I wanted to kill him right there, right now, and just escape from his custody of my body. I have no idea how horrible he really is and scares me so much. Later that day, I read an article about what he did that previous night. 

He killed a small family in the next town over, and I was worried that the police will figure out it was him using my identity the entire time. That feeling keeps me awake at night, thinking about the horrors that he did to those innocent people. So I started to run away. Escaping from the town that I once called home, I have been in every city in every state in the continental 48.

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“The exact same thing I wanted since the day I first saw you.” He flashed his snake-like eyes at me. He grabbed me by my throat and pulling my hair to the point of breakage. I could tell that he meant business and he wasn’t playing around anymore.

“I am not going to kill you. I am going to hurt you really, really bad to punish you for being a stubborn, selfish little girl.”

“Your vessel,” he said in my voice, touching my face in a parental way with his surprisingly cold hand (and still holding my hair in the other), “I want to show the entire world who I am and what happens when you lock me in a cage for eons and who I really am. The only thing you have to do is to say yes; otherwise, you are stuck with me for the rest of your puny, pathetic, human life.”

 He transformed out of my identity to make a point about the power that he has over me, then went into another person’s vessel, which I have seen before. 

I know that the man’s name was Nick. He was a married Irish-American man. I had to look up towards him, because of his height.  I always wonder what his family thinks about him: being a vessel of Lucifer then being a husband and father. Nick was the man who told Lucifer “yes” before me. Nick was a man of honor, not anymore. His wife and child died in childbirth, which led Nick to a deep depression and alcoholism that no human could get out of alive and perfectly sane. 

 Lucifer used him as a way to appeal to my own empathy and compassion--he saw it as my own weakness. Sometimes, I would talk to Nick, when Lucifer doesn’t need him.  He always seems like a kind soul. Then, I fell in love with Nick. He always has this personality that any woman would swoon over. He was always the person was there and who understand me for me.

 For some apparent reason, Lucifer always seems to write something on the wall when he possesses Nick. I don’t know what it is, but I know it could mean something about the fate of Nick and me both.

“Nick, you are such a pathetic man. Why did you have to say yes to me? You would be happier with your bottle of whiskey. Is it because I showed you your potential future with your recently deceased wife and child? You fell in love with this girl who looks a lot similar to your wife. Wow, you have a type here, buddy. I hope that you don’t lose this one. Too late for that one.” He turns his head towards me; I feel bad for Nick. He never wanted any of this. 

Now, Lucifer is using him as a pawn in his little game. All I was that I won’t make it out of this alive, not like this anymore. Lucifer twirls his fingers like he thinking of something, which makes him dangerous and very unpredictable.

“Love can make you humans act and do things very strangely. You can kill, die, or hurt someone else to find love itself. Why did my father create you puny, little things anyway? You, humans, worship false idols that don’t protect you from harm. It distracts you from what is really going on in this world. Corruption, lies, murder, adultery. I even want to put you out of your misery. They do nothing but hurt or even disappoint you all. My father created you humans to live and grow, but you do this to disrespect us? I am going to make you feel my wrath for all eternity.”

He led me to the chairs in the middle of the room and told me to sit. We both sat down in the chairs. He sat up in the chair.  That moves his body closer to mine. I was scared about what he was going to do to me. 

I look into Nick’s eyes to let him know to treat me as an equal to him, but I know he can overpower me without any effort. I kept focusing on the sound of my heart beating in my chest to keep me calm, even though the rest of my body wants to eject itself out of mercy. 

“What is wrong, sweetheart? I thought you would like me like this.” He laughs in my face, making this situation feel like some kind of sick joke. It makes me sick. I had feelings for him in ways that I have never felt before. Nick was someone that I still do care about.

“I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this, you know that. Just leave me alone!” I walked away from until a presence draws me back, eye to eye.

“You wanted this. All of this! Everything I have done is for you. To impress you; inspire you to be like me. Deep down, you wanted this; all of this!”

“You are insane! I never wanted this. Any of this. You killed my parents to impress me?! I can’t do this anymore. The deal is off.” I tried to leave the room, but he stops me in my tracks by holding me by my arm, pulling me closer to him so he can whisper in my ear. His grip was getting tighter by the second.

“I didn’t kill them, Aurora. You did.” All of my attempts to not make any aggressive actions towards him went horribly awry. He comes towards me like he was trying to comfort me.  Instead, I punched him square in the nose. As he went down to the ground, the blood starts dripping from his nose. I wanted to give up right there, but there was a part of me that wanted to keep fighting against him to make sure that he will never hurt me ever again. 

Instead, I started to cry; my entire body broke down into something that I never experienced in my life. I felt like I was going to give up and give my life away from me. 

“There is a darkness inside you. Something that we can both relate to, sweetheart. It doesn’t make us bad people. It makes us special. It makes us unique, strange even.”

 I want to die right now, but I can’t. He holds my face in his hands holding on to me for dear life. I wanted to kill him right there and right now, but at the same time, I wanted to kiss him passionately. I know that it wasn't lusting, it was love.

No, I love Nick. Not this monster, I thought.

 It feels like I am going back to him every single day like a dog coming back to its owner. Love and hatred for one man; I don’t believe that anyone understands the pain and agony I have been through. It felt like I was in an abusive relationship or even I have Stockholm syndrome.

“Stop playing the innocent victim, Aurora! You and I both know that is not you. After all this time, I think you secretly enjoy our fun times together. Recently, you stopped having control of your own body. Let me have the reins, Aurora, I will promise you that I will do everything in my power to bring back your parents. This secret will just be between both of us; they won’t even know about our deal. You live the life that you deserve. I promise you that. Just say yes.”

“Yes,” I said in total surrender. I had nothing else to do besides sit there and do nothing about my fate, which would happen anyway.  I gave in after ten years of torture and humiliation that he put me through just because I didn’t give in to his demands. Maybe I was selfish and stubborn. I didn’t want any more innocent people to die, just because I said no to him again and again.

 I just wanted it to be over for once and for all. He leaned in and gave me a kiss to seal the deal that I committed to. I felt I made a choice that I couldn’t get out of, but at the same time, I felt I made the right choice. 

Suddenly, I felt a bright light going through the room surrounding us. A state of euphoria and freedom, as he said when talking about what it would feel like for him to be possessing me. It feels amazing.

What is happening to me? 

Now, I feel surprisingly calm about this, but I can’t be. I should be freaking out, telling him to get out of my body. However, I feel like I had a force inside me, controlling what I say and what I do and I can’t do anything about it. An anxiety attack starts creeping in, but suddenly, it stops like it never happened in the first place. I have no idea how I did that. I feel calm, but I don’t at the same time. I am terrified for my life right now.

“Calm down, Aurora. You are making the right decision about this.”

 I know I made the right decision because I know that I feel like I made the wrong choice as evil sets in. I feel stronger than I have ever felt before, and I don’t feel like an innocent victim anymore. 

“It is the exact same thing I have been feeling for eons.  Now, you get to feel my power. You and I will get to take over the world, sweetheart. We will be partners in crime, like, always, Aurora. It will be us together forever.”

Now, I have the devil inside me and he is going to run rampant using my body and my identity as a vessel for his horrendous and vicious games that he is going bring into humanity. 

Nick, I’m so sorry. I love you.

I’m sorry that I could not stop it. I had no other choice. He won’t stop until everyone will be punished, even me. Humanity will be destroyed forever, and there is nothing that any of us can do about it.

 Goodbye, cruel world. 

Goodbye, forever.

“Too bad. She told her story so many times to people like you. Pathetic, puny humans. You do not know the complexity of this story and its costs.  Now, it is my turn to tell the actual, true story now. This is going to be so much fun. Now, where would we start?”

“Why did you make her here again?” asked Nick.

“It is so simple. Don’t you see it? I want you to at least see her again before you die.”

#horror #fiction #halloween

[justanartsysideblog]

Your Queen!Rhaenys looks very interesting, it changes so many things. For example, does Tywin push for a marriage between Viserys and Cersei? Are Viserys or Aegon considered for Rhaenys'husband? What happens to the rebels ? I'm sorry, I have a lot of questions but I love AUs.

Oh thank you! It’s just a little AU to dabble in between working on A Tale of Sand and Smoke, but I’m having fun with the implications of it. So many different paths to take!

Also I put this under the cut because it got rather long. XD

Tywin does push for a marriage between Viserys and Cersei, and both of them are utterly miserable for it. Viserys is someone who wants power, who will never be satisfied without it, and who likely will always feel cheated. As much as he disliked Rhaenys he felt like he should have married her and been made king. He probably contemplated trying to deligitimize Rhaenys by saying she wasn’t a real Targaryen, but he would have had Aegon to deal with (who is very obviously Rhaegar’s son) and so it would have gotten him no closer to the throne either way. So he feigns loyalty and glowers and secretly calls Rhaenys “the Queen of Sand” as an insult to Cersei who has zero patience for her husband and is just as bitter as she’d have been marrying Robert. She knows how to manipulate Viserys though, he’s easy to control in his own way, so she has the run of Dragonstone while her husband mopes. 

Luckily Dany is sent to King’s Landing to be a playmate and confidante of Queen Rhaenys growing up so she doesn’t have to deal with Viserys much except when she goes home to visit. She and Rhaenys get along swimmingly. 

---

I think Tywin would have considered having Viserys and his mother killed, just to tie up any loose ends where the Targaryens were concerned but decided against it in a grab for solidifying his power. He would never have considered Viserys for the throne, though, not when the boy had showed at such a young age that he was incapable of listening to advice and rotten to the core.

As cruel, callous, and scheming as Tywin Lannister is, he wants there to be a competent ruler on the throne. In canon he was stuck with Joffrey and tried to make the best of it and likely didn’t mourn when Joffrey died and he was able to mold Tommen as he saw fit. So he would have taken one look at Viserys, who was coddled by his mother and the Mad King, and realized that he was already ruined as far as kingship went.

And Rhaenys listens. Rhaenys is good at listening to advice and using it, and being fair-minded without letting herself be manipulated. She has a mind of the military and the big picture, and Tywin would be impressed despite himself. Rhaenys was no his first choice, obviously, he’d have wanted Aegon on the throne, but when Elia had reached out to him with this alliance and plan, she had made it clear that Rhaenys would be the heir. 

Tywin quickly made it clear that Rhaenys would not be marrying a Targaryen for several reasons. First, it quelled any fears of another Mad King scenario. Everyone knew that the inbreeding between the Targaryens had caused the madness, and no one would have been welcoming of the idea of more of the same. Regardless of what side anyone had taken during Robert’s Rebellion, all of them had feared the Mad King and his cruelty. 

Second, it opened up the possibility for alliances through marriage to the majority of the great houses of Westeros. A chance to have any of their sons as a Prince Consort meant many were more than willing to bend the knee when they’d been uncertain before, or to change sides during the Rebellion and pledge fealty to the young queen who was being reared under the tutelage of Tywin Lannister. 

Third, it solidified Rhaenys’ position as THE Queen, as opposed to the wife of whoever she were to marry. Tywin had made a deal and knew that the only course of action to solidify his new position and power base was to make certain that Rhaenys was considered the true and rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

Fourth, it made certain that Dorne would fully support the throne.

---

The Rebellion went...poorly for Robert’s side after Rhaegar’s death and Rhaenys’ coronation. 

Tywin was cutthroat in his culling of the rebels. Dorne fully joined the war at that point under the banner or their new Queen, and several of the houses that had stood with the Baratheons now secretly pledged loyalty to Rhaenys Targaryen, and Tywin Lannister planned for the final battle of the Rebellion.

The battle at the Tower of Joy never happened, because the members of the Kingsguard had returned to King’s Landing upon learning that the Mad King and Rhaegar were both dead, and their new queen Rhaenys demanded they return to bend the knee.

The heavily pregnant Lyanna Stark was sent to Sunspear as a hostage, per Tywin’s orders. Tywin sent out a decree that Lyanna would be returned to the North if the Starks withdrew from the battle and swore fealty to Rhaenys, and that all the noble families that swore fealty to Rhaenys would be pardoned...save for Robert Baratheon, who would be executed for killing Rhaegar, and Lyn Corbray for killing Lewyn Martell (per the demands of Dorne), but their families would be spared.

The Rebellion fractured at that point, with many of the noble houses leaving the Baratheons as they saw the tide changing, and figured that Rhaenys would be a far better queen then the Mad King.

Eddard Stark, who had rushed to King’s Landing per Robert’s orders upon the death of Rhaegar, was held there to “make a decision and rest from his arduous journey”. He was informed of Lyanna’s fate as well by Ser Arthur Dayne...and of her pregnancy. 

Robert refused to bend the knee to “Rhaegar’s little bitch” and demanded Lyanna be returned to him. When he was denied, he mounted one final attack. It ended poorly for him. Eddard Stark and his main host were being held in King’s Landing, and many of those that had pledged their service to him had fled while he’d recovered from his injuries at the Battle of the Trident. 

Robert rushed to Storm’s End, to end the siege and gather his forces with his brother Stannis.

The final battle was a bloodbath. While initially it seemed that Robert Baratheon would pin the remaining loyalist forces against the walls of Storm’s End, he was not prepared for an army of Dornishmen from the west...for the one to learn the news was Jon Arryn, who was betrayed by his bannermen of the Vale, specifically Lord Lyonel Corbray who felt that his father and brother, Lyn Corbray (who slew Lewyn Martell) had betrayed their oaths to their true king and were fighting a losing battle...and who was also promised the Eyrie in exchange for his loyalty. 

Lyonel Corbray and many of the nobles of the Vale unfurled their new banners, those of Rhaenys Targaryen, and joined forces with the Dornishmen and slaughtered the remains of Robert’s army. The Seige of Storm’s End promptly ended, and the remaining Baratheons were forced to surrender.

Robert did not survive the battle, nor did Jon Arryn. Lyn Corbray was sent back to King’s Landing in chains to be executed, and Stannis Baratheon was called to King’s Landing to bend the knee.

Eddard Stark, upon hearing of his friend’s death and that of his mentor Jon Arryn, and fearing for Lyanna’s safety, pledged his loyalty to Rhaenys. It is said that his decision was made when Elia Martell expressed her sadness over the unjust way that his older brother and father were killed by the Mad King, and little queen Rhaenys had said, “my grandpa was a mean man. I’m sorry he was mean to your family too. I promise I won’t be a mean queen.” and the sincerity of her childish vow moved him. 

The full fallout of the rebellion would take another post entirely, I think. XD But Eddard goes to Dorne to take Lyanna home. He is with her when she dies in childbirth, when she makes him promise to look after her child. Tywin Lannister allows Eddard to name him and claim him as a Stark, with a signed decree from Queen Rhaenys that legitimizes the boy as a Stark and not a Targaryen. He will, however, become a ward of Casterly Rock before he will be sent to King’s Landing to be a playmate of the young prince Aegon when he is old enough, and his true heritage cannot be known to anyone.

Eddard agrees, and the only ones who knew that Lyanna was with child were Tywin Lannister, Eddard Stark, and the three members of Kingsguard who had initially been tasked with guarding Lyanna by Rhaegar (Ser Aruther Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent, and Ser Gerold Hightower). The three members of the Kingsguard, now a part of Rhaenys Queensguard, were told that both the mother and child perished in Dorne. 

Thanks for the ask! I love answering questions like this!

#rhaenys targaryen #king's landing au? #yeah that'll be the name of the au from now on #it definitely still has its fair share of loss and bloodshed and betrayal #Anonymous #cinn replies #answered ask