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stalkerofthegods · 5 months

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Hara is the Greek goddess of many joyful things, Even tho she has a bad reputation, she is beautiful in looks and soul.

Herbs • lilies, poppies, irises, white roses, waterlilies, Golden roses and white roses, Vitex agnus-castus, poppies, stephanotis, cypress, coconut, maple trees, all white flowers, Marigold, Patchouli, Sage, Rosemary, Frankincense, oak, asterion flower, hyacinths (from when Zeus swept her up in a cloud in Bed of hyacinths in the Iliad 14.340-50)

Animals•peacock, the crow, the cuckoo, carrion-crow, Cow, snake, dragon, crab, snail, and other shelled creatures, eagle, young cow or lion, Wide-winged hawk, Cranes, heifer, goat

Zodiac • Cancer

Colors •White, royal blue, purple, dark green, grey, and silver, yellow, gold, red, blue, purple, rose.

Crystal• pearls, garnets, citrine, amber, diamonds, star sapphires, platinum, Morganite, Rose quartz, Lapis lazuli, Peacock ore, herkimer diamond, iris agate, apophyllite, morganite, turquoise.

Symbols• the crow, the cuckoo, the peacock and the pomegranate, Milky Way, the cow, the seasons of the year, Lotus-staff, the scepter.

Jewelry you can wear in their honor rings• wedding veils, and veiling in her honor.

Diety of • marriage, women, childbirth, and family, she also used to be an earth goddess, Matriarchy, fertility

Patron of • married women, presiding over weddings and blessing marital unions, bringing a woman fertility, protecting her children, helping a woman find financial security, overseeing both private and public affairs, and protecting women in labor. She also has domains in life, death, and the rebirth cycle. And is the patron of earth and cows before marrying Zeus, the Air, Clear skies, Rain, Storms, the Constellations, Maidens of marriageable age, Maiden virginity, Betrothals, Bride-price (dowry), Widows, Menstruation, Heirs, Dynasties, Fidelity (legitimate heir & not the product of adultery), Inheritance, sanctity of the home, kings, empires, heaven, showers, and breezes, prosperity, progeny and military victory, luck in battle, heroes

Alter ideas• She likes big alters, and I would put them near a lake, she was raised near a lake, and she likes extravagant things.

Offerings• Honey, Breads, grains, homemade sweets, Pomegranates, Fruits, Milk, Wine, Pure water, Peacock paintings, peacock statues, peacock patterns, Cow paintings, cow statues, cow print patterns, Cuckoo bird art, cuckoo bird statues, Cuckoo clocks, Diadem (crowns), Throne imagery, Framed family photos, Chocolate, Pomegranate seeds, Peacock feathers, Peacock jewelry, Cuckoo feathers, Snail and hermit crab shells, Cow jewelry, Toy peacocks or cows, Perfumes, Silver and gold jjewelry (especially rings), White or gold rose petals, Golden roses, Art that you’ve created (especially if it is an art of Her), Poems are written for Her, Any crafts you’ve made, Stories that you’ve written, Photos of your S.O. and children, goat meat, goat cheese, the asterion flower, Nemean lion imagery, shields/shield imagery, wedding related (ex- rings, veil, garter, copy of vows), she likes sweet things, snail shells, any shelled animal leftover shell

Devotional• Donate your time or money to charities that help women and children, find a fallen branch and burn a small part of it as an offering to Hera (based on the festival Daedala), don’t cheat, don’t make others cheat (don’t be a side chick), tame your jealousy, Read the story of Zeus and the Daidale (“wooden bride”), As you make your bed ask Hera to bless it and Bring romance to your marriage bed, Take a day to indulge in love, keep your home clean, be kind to children, do house chores, take care of your physical health, take care of your mental health, speak your mind, donate to and support domestic abuse victims, write her poems, donate old maternity clothes and baby clothes, Campaigning for women’s rights and equal marriage, gardening, painting, making music, do colour magick, Celebrate solstice and changing seasons, Setting a boundary in life (especially in love).

Ephithets• Cow-Eyed, White-Armed, The Virgin, Queen of the Gods, Protectress, Queen of Heaven, Protector of Women, Hera Alexandros (Protector of Men), Lady of the Beasts, Of The Golden Sandals, Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros) - Protector of Men, Αἰγοφάγος (Aigophágos) - Goat-Eater, Ἀκραῖα (Akráia)- She of the Heights, Ἀμμωνία (Ammonia), Ἄνθεια (Antheia) - flowery Ἀργεία (Argéia)- She of Argos, Βασίλεια (Basíleia)- Queen', Βουναία (Bounáia)- She of the Mound, Βοῶπις (Boṓpis) - Cow-Eyed or Cow-Faced, Λευκώλενος (Leukṓlenos)- White-Armed, Παῖς (Pais)- Child (in her role as virgin), Παρθένος (Parthénos)- Virgin, Τελεία (Teléia)- as goddess of marriage, Χήρη (Chḗrē) - Widowed, Τελχινία (Telchinia) - She was named like that because according to a legend, that the Telchines were the first in the island and also the first who created statues of gods, Ζυγία (Zygia) - as the presider over marriage, Hera Nympheuomene - Hera the betrothed bride, Hera Pais - Hera the girl, Hera Parthenia - Hera the maiden

Equivalents• Hathor (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Frigg (Norse), Isis (Egyptian)

Aspects• Khaos-Aer (the Air), Hemera (Day), Nyx (Night), Titanis Rheia (Flow), Selene (the Moon), Eos (Dawn), Mother of Typhon (Typhoon, Smoke)

Attendees• Eleithyia (Goddess of Childbirth), Hebes (Goddess of Youth), Iris (Goddess of the Rainbow), The Horai (Goddesses of the Seasons & Heavenly Law and Order), Okeanides (Cloud-Nymphai)

Signs they are reaching out• Sudden imagery of peacocks and her animals, sudden mentions of what she is the goddess of, feeling an intense pull to her

Morals• Morally grey

Courting• Zues

Personality• Hera has a fast temper and is quick to administer justice

Mortal or immortal • immortal

Fact• Hera’s temples may have been the first to be roofed, her temples were some of the largest ever built (she is very big on big alters and on temples)

Blessings• Good betrothal, Marital harmony, Successful birth, Heirs, Dynasties, Birth of a male heir, good luck in battle, successful birth

Curse: Marital discord, Punishment of adulterers, death in birth, Protracted labor

Roots• her origin could’ve been as a Pelasgian goddess, she was nursed as an infant by the three daughters of the river Asterion: Euboia, Prosymna, and Akraia. But in the Iliad, Hera states she was given by her mother to Tethys to be raised, aspected to be raised in Argos in Argolis Greece and her birthplace being Samos on a Greek island. She also claims to be the oldest, but so does Hestia.

Parentage• Kronos and Rhea

Siblings• Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, and Demeter, half-siblings with Chiron

Pet• peacocks (peacocks pull her chariot)

Children • Angelos, Ares, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Hebe, Hephaestus, and the Kharites, many say she adopted Heracles, (he built a temple for her and etc)

Appearance in astral or gen• in Greek and Roman art as a large woman, fully clad, wearing a diadem radiantly beautiful woman, shining like the sun, however, she is also a shape-shifter with many forms and is usually wearing a veil. She also has 3 aspects, the Maiden, Mother, and Crone aspects, She comes with the scent of flowers, and the earth blooms at her every step.

Festivals • Daedala, Heraia, and Anthesphoria were also common in the Peloponnese (where it was celebrated in honor of Hera Antheia at Argos, and of Aphrodite Antheia at Cnossus.)

Month• June

Sacred places• Heraeum at Nemea in the Argolid, the great temple on the island of Samos, and the temple at Olympia. A sanctuary at Argos, a seventh-century BCE temple built over an earlier shrine, is among the oldest Greek temples, Argos (Samos).

Status• Queen of the gods, and a major deity before and after marriage.

What angers her • Cheating, the Trojans.

Music she likes• wedding music.

What she likes in people• Women, heroes, moms.

Planet• Venus, and the full moon

Her Tarot cards• The empress, the world.

Scents/Inscene • rose, iris, myrrh, civet, jasmine, and patchouli, Rose, stephanotis

Prayers•

Hera, queen of Olympos, the bride of thundering Zeus, protector of marriage, of the joining of hearts and the creation of bonds, of the building of home and the finding of family. Great Hera, whose presence honors any wedding day, whose favor graces any marriage, I pray to you, O goddess, grant to me a joyous union, a love to last, a harmonious home. I ask your blessing on my household, O Hera–may it be a place of happiness and affection. I ask your blessing on my marriage bed–may it be a place of joy and pleasure. May my mate and I share our lives; may we grow old together, merry and content; may our words be honey-sweet, and may our love be ever strong. Shining Hera, I ask your blessing.

“O Hera, Queen of Gods, divine protector of marriage, From your throne above, look upon us with favor. Majestic and exalted, cloaked in unyielding loyalty, Bless the bonds we forge, and the promises we make. Grant us the strength to uphold love’s sacred vow, To support and cherish, through trials and time. May our hearts reflect your undying commitment, As we seek harmony, guided by your wisdom. Hail Hera, the eternal matriarch, in reverence we call, With offerings of peacock plumes and lilies white. Embrace us in your grace, bestow upon us unity, As we honor you, now and in all our days.”

I praise you bright and noble Hera, great lady of Olympos, gracious queen of the deathless gods, dark-eyed goddess, fairest of the children of Rhea, graceful and comely, cloaked in the starry skies, garlanded in poppies fragrant and blood-red, crowned in brightest gold, the lotus wand in your hand, your form ever draped in the finest of silks, majestic one whose blessing is sought by all, whose gifts are treasured, whose favor is a surety of good fortune. Hera, champion of great cities, gurardian of ancient Argos and the pretty isle of Samos, warder of the bounds of marriage, protector of women in the old world and the new, unparalleled goddess, white armed one, sovereign of the high-reaching heavens, I honor your might.

Deep-eyed Hera, beloved bride of mighty Zeus, mighty goddess, fair of face and silent of step, noble your manner, stately and poised your form, a queenly presence is ever yours, godly in glory, womanly in grace and beauty. Beloved Hera, patroness of kings and princes, friend of women, of mothers, upholder of marriage, of the right of lovers to join hearts and hands; lavish your gifts, liberal your hand, limitless the blessings you bestow on those you favor. Hera, the broad sky is yours, and the sweet air we breathe; to you we turn to for harmony and wedded bliss; to you we turn to for strength in the passion and turmoil and hard work of marriage; to you we offer our thanks for a life of love. Well-crowned Hera, beautiful one, revered one, greatest of goddesses, I praise and honor you.

Hera of the deep heart, the beautiful goddess whose true radiance would blind mortal eyes, whose steps fall softly in the golden halls of storied Olympos. In silks your fair form is draped, O Hera, heavy with jewels is your crown, the sweetest of perfumes surround you; in ancient times you received the highest honors, the finest of offerings were ever yours, your shining temples stood across the land. Hera, defender of cities, protector of marriage, champion of the love that upholds a family, that cherishes a child, you are the friend of those who hold the household dear. Queen of the heavens, holder of the lotus staff, the poppy and the pomegranate have you in hand. Hera, supreme in dignity and grace, unsurpassed in goodness and kindness, I praise you.

credits • https://spells8.com/lessons/goddess-hera-queen-of-the-gods-symbols/https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/intranets/students/modules/greekreligion/database/clunas/https://www.learnreligions.com/hera-greek-goddess-of-marriage-2561992https://www.tumblr.com/septemberfaerie/649491140077338624/simple-offerings-for-hera-honey-pomegranate https://www.learnreligions.com/hera-greek-goddess-of-marriage-2561992https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herahttps://www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/comments/htocze/a_general_guide_to_crystals_and_which/https://vocal.media/futurism/ways-of-worship-hera https://vocal.media/futurism/ways-of-worship-hera https://screeching-0wl.tumblr.com/post/667043639626743808/a-guide-to-worship-of-hera-cheat-sheets/amphttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/649676050026086400/anthesphoriahttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/640526545372479488/daedala-festival-of-hera-zeushttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/640096332349079552/hera-epithets-of-life-stages-hera-ataurote-hera https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/640148785696276481/hera-aegophagos-goat-eater-i-was-so-curious-about https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/686092860730327040/hera-and-the-river-gods-of-argos-i-go-now-to-thehttps://thegodsaremyhome.tumblr.com/post/690029452553601024/hera/amphttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/650505716453474304/heras-asterionhttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/644802181317427200/in-olympia-the-women-celebrate-their-hera-festival https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/655772113984159744/heraia-games-festival-sanctuary-of-hera-argos https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/640021251498377216/i-am-a-fan-of-the-uncommon-belief-that-herakleshttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/642832991542984704/ive-just-been-called-to-hellenistic-paganism-i https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/649311039464325120/in-truth-three-cities-are-dearest-to-me-by-far https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/657033826078425088/months-before-each-games-the-olympic-flame-is-lithttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/646526356035862528/the-nemean-lionhttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/639110878639407104/notes-from-understanding-greek-religion-by https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/645426513103208448/hi-violet-what-kind-of-offerings-does-hera-love https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/648506401237385216/hi-violet-ive-been-curious-about-something-and-ihttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/687644696777031680/socrates-swore-by-herahttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/643457315969908736/zeus-and-heras-marriage-zeus-and-hera-are-the https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/638657086154309633/zeus-heraios-i-got-too-far-down-a-tumblr-rabbit https://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/646775981494992896/the-myth-of-the-daedala-the-separation-of-zeushttps://verdantlyviolet.tumblr.com/post/646580512604995584/hera-and-the-cuckoohttps://pieandhotdogs.tumblr.com/post/86517296169/hey-can-you-tell-me-things-about-hera-anything https://natural-magics.tumblr.com/post/79253398032/i-think-hera-has-been-trying-to-contact-me https://www.theoi.com/https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/olympian-gods.htmlhttps://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hera.html https://www.theoi.com/Summary/Hera.htmlhttps://www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/comments/m00r3t/looking_for_hera_upg/https://athenaswisdom22.wordpress.com/list-of-prayers-to-the-gods/hera/#:~:text=I%20praise%20you%20bright%20and,your%20hand%2C%20your%20form%20everhttps://www.tumblr.com/tarotbee

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mxtxfanatic · 2 months

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Book of the Week: Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

Author: Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客)

Genre: ancient setting, josei

Rating: M (very mature, dark themes but not too graphic of depictions)

My Synopsis: What happens when a girl gets tired of being nice and decides to go apeshit? You get Shen Miao, our adorable 30+ year-old protagonist recently stuffed back into her 14-year-old self and ready to eat the flesh and drink the blood of her enemies! Using this new lease on life, she’ll methodically and maliciously ruin every antagonist’s life using the tools in her versatile skillset, including: knowledge of the future, a psychological understanding of assholes, weaponized gender stereotypes, and men. And lest we forget our love interest, Xie Jing Xing: the boy/man (cause god forbid the author know how old anyone BUT Shen Miao is…) who thought he had it all figured out until he discovered that Shen Miao is a horny drunk. See just how far they’ll go to bathe in the blood of their enemies while keeping their loved ones safe in this very long but extremely satisfying novel.

My Actual Review: It’s so satisfying to see a previously downtrodden character scheme her way into a happy ending, and Shen Miao fucking deserves it. Some reviews that I’ve seen have claimed that the LI eventually takes over her revenge schemes, but I didn’t see it. They just partner up and she uses his manpower to do what she wants. There are also places where their separate goals intersect, so it just makes more sense for him to do the cleanup. The thing about Shen Miao is that she has no issues with letting others do the work for her, especially if it’s against people she wasn’t invested in putting work against to begin with. It’s the empress in her, I fear. As for the main pair as a couple, I loved their every interaction, and their descent into romance felt natural and gratifying. Greatest thing about this romance is the fact that it truly kicks off because Xie Jing Xing did not know to guard against horny drunk Shen Miao lmao!

The translation is pretty good outside of some clunky grammar, but once you train your eyes to glaze over the the five-millionth time the translator inserts directly into the story to complain about how often the LI is described as hot (unlike every other character, I guess???) as if this book is their early 2000s fanfic, it gets even better! Another thing that may or may not be here nor there is that this author is really weird with age consistency. Like, “MC is forever un-aging while everyone else ages 2 years every few months” weird. Shen Miao is forever 14 until the time skip in which she is forever 16, while Xie Jing Xing goes from “the same age as the students” to “17/18ish” to “vaguely in his 20s” during the same course of time where we literally never see Shen Miao acknowledge a birthday in any year. As for more serious content warnings, this story involves underage relationships (including non-explicit sex, marriage, and pregnancy), rape as a weapon, (assumed) incest between cousins, child abuse, and described but not explicitly shown torture. Though there are some humorous parts, this is not a lighthearted story. Read if you want something dark with an ultimate happy ending.

Translation: complete

#human promotes #rebirth of the malicious empress #my first foray into m/f cnovels #very good place to start #love me a girl winning #shen miao did the damn thing this whole novel #she up there in the hall of fame forreal

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unknownfortuna · 1 year

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Planets in Astrology

SUN~ Planet of self and our identity; speaks of our inner creativity, inner heart strength in rising to meet challenges, authority, confidence, and ability to lead.

Associated with the following: Father, Husband, Masculine energy, rules Leo and 5th House.

MOON~ Planet of emotions; mood swings, how we feel about certain topics, our soul, intuition, nurturing style, desires.

Associated with the following: Mother, Pregnancy, fertility, childbirth, feminine energy, Cancer and 4th house.

MERCURY~ Planet of communication; Logic and processing, how we express ourselves, short trips (workday commute, visit neighbor, going across town), siblings, transportation.

Associated with the following: Virgo=feminine energy and 6th house, Gemini=masculine energy and 3rd house

VENUS~ Planet of love and money; Pleasure, harmony, emotional attachments, marriages, friendships, business partnerships. Spreads happiness and tenderness, while teaching us how to love and appreciate others, things we possess.

Associated with the following: Beauty and art. Feminine energy, taurus/Libra and the 2nd/7th house.

MARS~ Planet of Passion; Energy, passion, drive, determination, Rules, military. Standing up and getting noticed for what your getting done. Our inner power (not heroic energy like the sun but much more intense), confidence, ambition, competition, aggression, stamina.

Associated with the following: God of war (Ares), sexuality, sexual energy, weapons and surgery. Masculine energy, Aries/Scorpio and 1st/8th house.

JUPITER~ Planet of luck; Higher learning, yearning for exploring ideas of spirituality all the way to intellectually, forming ideology, religion, philosophy, Long distance travel, games of chance.

Associated with the following: Luck and good fortune, expansion (ex. weight gain), masculine energy, Pisces/Sagittarius and 12th/9th house.

SATURN~ Planet of Karma; Doesn't make things come easily. The task master. Discipline and responsibility. restrictions and delays, wisdom, perseverance, structure, order.

Associated with the following: Old age and lessons, teacher (traditions and patterns), contracts, masculine energy, Capricorn/Aquarius and 10th/11th house. 1st Saturn return 27-30 years old.

URANUS~ Planet of rebellion (1st outer/generational planet); Expanded consciousness, new perspective, originality, interventions, computers, cutting edge, technology, future events, break tradition, revolution, dictators, autonomous state, free will, bizarre behaviors, freedom, creativity

Associated with the following: androgynous energy, earthquakes, natural disasters, unpredictable, Aquarius and 11th house. Higher octave of Mercury.

NEPTUNE~ The planet of illusion, generational planet; dreams, illusions, thoughts, the mysterious. Spirituality is important to harness for personal development. Any meditative state (or reaching a 'flow state') such as dancing, poetry, singing, baking, and music. Delusion, hypochondria, hypnosis.

Associated with the following: God of the sea (Poseidon), rules movies, fashion, glamour, creating illusion. Drugs, alcohol, and escapism. Sleep and dreams. Feminine, Pisces and 12th house. Higher octave of Venus.

PLUTO~ Planet of Power; Transformation, regeneration, rebirth, secrecy, out with the old/in with the new, transcend what we believe- redeem ourselves- come out stronger knowing better. intensity. asking generation to look within to subconscious (fear pushes buttons needed to transform).

Associated with the following: God of death (Hades), reproductive system/ genitals, death, destruction, obsession, kidnapping, viruses, waste, underworld, undercover, dictatorship/terrorism=power, atomic power. feminine energy. Scorpio and 8th house. higher octave of mars.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself..." Pg 130 -The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

#astrology signs #astrology houses #astrology notes #astrology blog #astrology #zodiac signs #astro blog #saturn #sun #moon #venus #mercury #pluto #Neptune #Uranus #planets

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shadowshrike · 1 year

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Why I love Miklan in Azure Gleam

I know that some people hate what was done with Miklan in Azure Gleam, so I want to spread some love for what I personally felt was a great story beat through his addition. It worked on many levels for me, from highlighting the themes of Azure Gleam to providing great insight into several characters and how they make decisions.

Social Reform: Penance as Justice

Three main reforms explicitly occurred during the course of Azure Gleam, not counting Support-locked ones like education needed for proper representation. Those are:

Improving foreign relations

Reducing crest dependence

Refining their justice system

Miklan's situation covers the last two.

We know from supports like Ingrid's that crests are dwindling. Titles don't always pass to crested children in the Kingdom, even if they exist. Sylvain notes that the military and threat of invasion or bandits primarily drive the need for crests. Commonfolk require ways to fight without relics if they wish to completely demolish the need for crested nobles in Faerghus.

This makes crests a practical matter in the Kingdom, not religious. The Church has no opposition to the dilution of crest bloodlines. Nor do they stop actions taken to bring crestless people up to the same position of power as those with crests, such as commoners being knighted or mixed marriages being blessed by the king. A crestless noble like Miklan wouldn't be out of place among the new wave of knights and nobles Dimitri has been creating.

Regarding justice, several events show us that Faerghus has a stringent stance on treason and other criminal activity. The Western Lords believe their options are to kill the royal family to stop reforms or die if they fail, as evidenced by Dominic's hesitation. Cornelia feeds this fear, but with Dimitri's forced beheading of Rufus, it's confirmed for the players that criminals are dealt with harshly in the Kingdom.

Dimitri appears to oppose this way of thinking. This may be partly because he considers himself "the guilty" and believes in the duty of atonement. It may also be because he can't just execute people for every crime. Even outside of war, a poor nation like Faerghus has a plethora of criminals out of necessity. Ashe, now one of his knights thanks to Lonato's saving him when he was younger, is a prime example of this.

Unfortunately, change in Faerghus is not so simple. Lambert was executed and Duscur blamed to avoid reforms in the past. Even if those changes are shown to be just, such as re-establishing Duscur, dictating significant cultural changes causes unrest. That puts Dimitri in a position where he must simultaneously seek bottom-up (from the people) and top-down (from the leaders) reform.

Miklan: The Rebirth of an Educated Criminal

In comes Miklan. Well-educated in war and Kingdom politics, a proven leader, crestless, and a true scumbag. His reformation would be a perfect symbol for Dimitri's new Kingdom, which believes a person is more than their birth or past deeds. As a bonus, if Miklan fails to prove he can better himself, his execution would be only a minor setback.

Through his upbringing as a Gautier, Miklan has cultivated the exact skillsets that Dimitri needs in a general. All Miklan needs to do is stay away from the rest of House Gautier due to their sordid history and become his own man - under military supervision, admittedly. If he can live for himself and serve the Kingdom, it is a win for the country as a whole.

The fantastic part is that it works. You see NPCs go from hating him or cautiously optimistic about his role to admiring how far Miklan was able to go. They hope that they, too, can escape their past misdeeds and become respected. After all, if someone as awful as that could turn their life around, why couldn't they do the same?

Miklan personally and publicly proved that his lack of a crest never made him less intelligent or capable of serving as a leader compared to his brother and father. It was his own choice to do his horrible deeds and his choice to be better, as well.

Even in death, Miklan's changes during that short time end up as a massive win for criminal rehabilitation in Faerghus.

Sylvain: Friends and Choice

That brings us to the personal aspect. It can be tough to swallow that Dimitri would invite Sylvain's known abuser into a position of power within the Kingdom. In that decision, we see the difference between the priorities of the infamous 'Faerghus Four.'

Felix and Ingrid are friends of Sylvain, first and foremost. Although both take their duty seriously, personal codes of loyalty drive them forward more than the future of Faerghus. They struggle to look the other way for the sake of the greater good, Felix especially. And since they've seen Sylvain make self-destructive decisions for years, they no longer trust him enough to choose for himself or understand his limits.

Sylvain and Dimitri are the opposite. They care dearly about their friends, but they value being a good leader and securing the future for Faerghus over their personal feelings. Sacrifice comes easy to them. That isn't to say they're unfeeling. Dimitri creates the safest environment possible with the situation - he asks Sylvain for permission, keeps them separate, and makes sure Miklan will be executed if he steps a toe out of line. But ultimately, he trusts Sylvain, naively or not, to know himself and his limits.

To that end, I argue against the idea that Dimitri and Sylvain are "broken" for rejecting revenge as justice for Miklan and instead giving him an opportunity. I think they both made an incredibly mature, valid decision. And I think the fact their friends didn't like it was also valid.

It's a good reminder that moving on looks different for everyone. One victim's way of coming to terms with their abuse doesn't look like another's. They may even be totally incompatible. Not everyone can be okay with seeing someone who abused them living a great life, even if that abuser never harms anyone again. Others, like Sylvain, may want distance and the peace of mind that someone they love, abuser or not, no longer needs to live for only hatred. Which one is "right" can only be answered by the person living through it.

Sylvain and Dimitri move on by doing what they believe is the right thing for the people. It's their comfort when they know that any choice will be uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst. Others might find more peace in incarceration or violence toward those who have wronged them.

Miklan's arc lets us explore the messiness of human nature. He makes others suffer, so we hate him, yet he has suffered himself, so we also pity him. It forces players to reconcile the desire to see someone punished for evil acts with the compassionate idea that there is always a chance to change for the better, no matter our trauma, if we try hard enough.

#fire emblem 3 hopes #fire emblem 3 houses #fe3h #few3h #essay #miklan anschutz gautier

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shuuenka · 2 years

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I've been re-reading 'Marriage of the Di Daughter' (嫡嫁千金) by Qian Shan Cha Ke (author of ‘Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage’). Ji Heng ahh, he’s such a good male lead. Our biggest beauty!

#marriage of the di daughter #qian shan cha ke #ji heng #cnovel #honestly so good #hanfu #male hanfu #tried doing artwork in style of the chinese watercolors i guess

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lananiscorner · 2 years

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Man, I remember Valkyria Chronicles 2 did the school bit. Anime shenanigans aside, it was still a war story as there was a civil war. The story did it's part with it's themes and mysteries. Where's people talking about Ignatz's parents forcing him to be a knight? When in Part 2, he became hardened killer with his win quotes. Eff Dorothea, she can leave since she uses her charms to survive, I'm sorry. Hilda does that better with actual baggage, Claude brought the best in her even in CF.

Thanks for your ask, anon.

Yeah... like, there are certainly characters in the FE3H cast who do not even want to be at the Academy to varying degrees and did not sign up for this kind of teaching willingly (Mercedes and Marianne were sent by their fathers to find noble husbands even though that's not what either of them want from life, Ignatz was sent by his father to become a knight even though that's not what he wants from life, Hilda was sent there by her family though I'm not quite sure whether it's for instruction purposes or marriage, and Bernadetta was literally stuffed in a bag and sent to Garreg Mach by her mom without her consent), but even then the moral of those tales is not "waaaah, Garreg Mach bad because it teaches teenagers weapon use and battle strategies!" but rather "parents/older brothers who don't respect their children's/younger siblings' career wishes kinda suck". Honestly, the closest this game comes to delving into the "teaching teenagers how to be military officers sucks" angle is Manuela's exploration dialogue in chapter 5, after Garreg Mach comes under attack at the Rite of Rebirth:

It's awful, just awful what happened with the Rite of Rebirth. The infirmary... Well, it was a mess. Things are finally calm again, and so I've come here to unwind. Let me tell you, I put all of my knowledge to use keeping those kids alive. Still, the truth of it is that when someone faces death for the first time...well, they figure out who they are. They learn if they can do it again. We can't lose them, Professor. Not to battle, or to cowardice. If you can keep them going, then I will too.

This could have become an interesting plot point about "should students who don't have the stomach for this be sent home early without graduating", but to the best of my knowledge, that's not a discussion anyone ever has, and while deserting from a proper army is clearly shown to be punishable by death in part 2, the only instance of a student "leaving" early that we ever see is Monica (who everyone assumed had run away), yet judging by how characters talk about this event, running away, while considered cowardly, would not even prompt any punitive action.

#asks #anon #Fire Emblem: Three Houses #FE3H #Garreg Mach

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aworldforastage · 2 months

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A second subjective list of favorite danmei’s I read in 2023

ABO

Miraculous Love (aka "Evil Love Appears") :: 邪门的爱情出现了 by 丧心病狂的瓜皮

Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O? :: 为什么这种A也能有O by 图南鲸

老婆是顶级Alpha，我该怎么办 by 海藻大王

Entertainment Industry

内娱第一花瓶 by 三三娘

Concealed and Blended: Fendai :: 粉黛 by 七世有幸

Flower Vase :: 花瓶 by 困倚危楼

可一可再 by 反舌鸟

Modern (Miscellaneous)

Poison of the Heart :: 心毒初禾

Surrender (Book 1) :: 臣服 I by 墨奈何/墨青城

交易沦陷 by 在下小神j

Historical

Fei Ping Ying Qiang :: 妃嫔媵嫱 by 七月侯

穿成苏培盛了 by 一渡清河

九千岁[重生] by 绣生

ABO Novels

Miraculous Love :: 邪门的爱情出现了 by 丧心病狂的瓜皮

[ABO (A/O), romance, sexual awakening, reconciliation] -- This is one of those novels that leverage the ABO setting to explore topics like relationships, marriage, and sexuality. Late-bloomer Omega Fu Xiaoyu and recent divorcee Alpha Xu Jiale connect and build a relationship based on their intense sexual chemistry and attraction. Sex allows Fu Xiaoyu to feel loved, desirable, and unashamed of his own sexuality for the first time, but this new relationship forces Xu Jiale to confront his own misconceptions about marriage as well as the difficult reality of parenting a young child after divorce. Every Omega in this story has complicated histories and attitudes toward relationships because of society's prejudice against their gender, and every major relationship in this novel involves a divorcee, a cheater, or both. But in the end, they all keep living and trying.

Why Is It Possible For This Type Of A To Also Have An O? :: 为什么这种A也能有O by 图南鲸

[ABO (A/O), transmigration, abuse recovery, political activism] -- This novel uses the ABO setting to explore gender-based oppression. A surgeon transmigrates to an ABO universe, into the body of a horribly abusive Alpha, whose partner is terrified but powerless in their oppressive society. They work hard to help each other heal from deep-seated trauma, and join the work of advocates for Omega's rights. This is the most political danmei I have ever read, that shows civil disobedience and structural changes can be good and necessary. The advocates network, organize, protest, and they get threats and pushbacks. Prejudice is systemic, generational, and almost normalized in society, and it takes a massive wave of disruptive protests to finally bring about rudimentary legislative protections for Omega. It comes too late for many and is far from any semblance of equality, but it's hope and a start.

老婆是顶级Alpha，我该怎么办 by 海藻大王

(Title roughly translates to "My Wife is a top-level Alpha, What should I do?")

[ABO (A/A), "rebirth", space/interstellar, mecha, college, political conspiracies] -- Now, for an ABO novel that just wants to have fun as a OP Mary-Sue sci-fi-ish Young-Adult Action-Adventure. The protagonist is a super-soldier reborn to the early days of his military career with skills, knowledge, and an AI assistant from the future. The love interest is a prince who is rich enough to buy entire planets. Together they become the most popular power couple at the military academy, and work together to foil a conspiracy that targets talented Alphas. They get fake-married, and later discover they are each other's secret online crush. It has plenty of humor, a cute "college" romance, and the kind of dramatic "cool" characters my teenage self would could only dream of in a wish-fulfillment fic. Save it for one of those days when you just want to relax and revel in the joy of ridiculously attractive and competent teenagers who are killing assassins, saving the empire, and acing their exams!

Actors and Celebrities

内娱第一花瓶 by 三三娘

(Title roughly translates to "Top Flower Vase of the Mainland Entertainment Industry")

[entertainment industry, film-making, reconciliation, elite society ]-- Most entertainment industry novels focus on the fun parts of glamour and fame, but this story puts the focus on the creative work, with a main couple that has marvelous chemistry as great artists who inspire each other. Over the 900K words of this novel, they meet, fall in love, bond over film-making, break up, and later reconcile. It's one of those rare stories where the shou has to chase the gong after breaking up, and you can sympathize with the hurt on both sides while understanding that no one is intentionally being scummy. The novel really goes into the details of film-making and the entertainment industry -- the styles and visions of the directors, the practice and preparation of the actors, the logistics and finances of running a crew, and the strategic calculations to manipulate the media narrative and public discourse.

I have a love-hate relationship with this novel because of some of its narrative choices. Some arcs seem to just fawn over the "wisdom" and "classiness" of the ultra-rich, and conflate privilege with virtue. (The gong, whose family of casino owners once helped him pay off hundreds of millions in gambling debt, is the one making an awarding-winning movie about a regular person succumbing to gambling addiction ... ) But to be fair, I'm holding this novel to a higher standard than a typical danmei because of how good it is and how much I like it.

Concealed and Blended: Fendai :: 粉黛 by 七世有幸

[entertainment industry, actor x makeup artist] -- This is also a story about two artists who inspire and help each other develop their crafts, but a much shorter and lighter take. The gong is a makeup artist, who is "straight" but cross-dresses as a branding gimmick to advance his career. The shou is a retired E-sports player-turned-idol actor, who is secretly gay and has no real passion for performance. The novel starts off with funny interactions between "straight pretending to be queer" vs "gay pretending to be straight." Later, they develop a deep bond after collaborating on a series of projects, and help each other discover their true career aspirations. Despite being celebrities, the main character feel like normal people because we see them learning and practicing their professional skills. Fame is a fickle and cruel game that they must play in their profession, but does not define who they are.

Flower Vase :: 花瓶 by 困倚危楼

[entertainment industry, contract relationship, scum gong crematorium, reconciliation] -- This story is a classic in the scum gong crematorium genre. Wealthy business man gong pays actor shou for a sexual relationship; the shou is secretly in love with the gong, who is pining after a "white moonlight". The shou is smart, resilient, knows what he wants and isn't afraid to go after it. The gong has already started falling for him, but he hasn't moved on from his "White moonlight". Their peaceful breakup mid-story is suffocating, because they both have feelings for each other, and they almost got it to work, but the feelings are just not quite right yet, so this relationship has to end before it festers into something truly unsalvageable. But don't stress too much, the "crematorium" is so friendly it almost feels like an kiddie obstacle course the shou has set up to help them transition into a better relationship -- didn't I mention he is a very smart guy who knows how to get what he wants?

可一可再 by 反舌鸟

(The title is a reference to an Eason Chan song. I can't find an official translation of the song title, but it roughly translates to "Once and Again")

[entertainment industry, rebirth in another body, reconciliation] -- Controversial actor Jiang Yu dies in a traffic accident, and returns in the body of a D-list Idol. It's very fun to follow a POV character like Jiang Yu, whose internal monologue is dripping with pettiness, insecurity, jealousy, and adamant insistence that he is *fine* with his hard-working and kind-hearted self always being misunderstood in bad faith. His love interest is his foil in this: an award-winning actor with an impeccable reputation and a unflappable personality. As the story explore their histories, relationships, and grief over Jiang Yu's death, it also deconstructs these initial perceptions. In this second life, Jiang Yu gets a more measured view of his relationships and artistic legacy, while his "perfect" boyfriend faces his own flaws and the critical mistakes he has made in their relationship. With this clarity and honesty, they rekindle their relationship, and Jiang Yu starts a new life and career.

Misc. Modern

Poison of the Heart :: 心毒初禾

[mystery/police procedural, (sort of) social commentary] -- Instead of uncovering some mastermind criminal conspiracy, this police procedural is famous for its down-to-earth cases, so realistic it makes readers a bit depressed about life. Most of the cases see normal people gradually lose their best selves after suffering excessively under systemic social issues like poverty, misogyny, and prejudice. Their misfortunes, emotions, and reactions feel very realistic and relatable. However, since the discrete cases do not build up to a coherent arc, they also don't do much to support the development of the main characters -- a detective and a cybersecurity expert; they are fine but I just don't find either of them or their slow-burn romance too interesting. (Their slacker co-worker who becomes more motivated in his career has a more memorable character arc imo.) Personally, I think this novel is a good read for the mysteries, but maybe not so much as a romance or character drama.

Surrender (Book 1) :: 臣服 I by 墨奈何/墨青城

[BDSM, power differences, mob/gang drama] -- Young businessman Xu Ye, who has only dabbled with BDSM, stumbles into one of the most skilled dom's in town, who is also a mob heir. This dom finally gives Xu Ye the experience he wants from BDSM. But as their chemistry in the playroom soars, their personal and professional relationship in the real word grows more complicated. I love that this story shows the communication and work that goes into building a relationship, albeit one within BDSM parameters. The story repeatedly emphasizes that both partners are equals outside of play (but this rule is sometimes broken by the main couple for "drama"). Although Xu Ye is a sub, he has more agency than most shou's I see in danmei. He is experienced with sex, knows what he wants and likes, and is fairly independent from Chu Ye professionally and personally. He feels like a reasonable adult who has chosen a relationship that brings him joy and pleasure.

交易沦陷在下小神j

(Title roughly translates to "fallen in transaction")

[romance, (sort of) prostitution, family relationships, healing and forgiveness] -- This a Haitang story with lots of humour and sex, but also a surprise tear-jerker full of heart. An Li's life has been ruined by a criminal record, taking the fall for his cheating ex-wife so she can look after their ill daughter. While desperate to find work to support his young daughter's medical treatment, he is mistaken for a male escort by young CEO Xu Shaoqing. Xu Shaoqing is angered by An Li's borderline homophobic reaction to the incident, and pressures An Li to sleep with him for money. Xu Shaoqing himself is struggling with the distress his sexuality causes his homophobic and ailing father, who has sent him to conversion therapy and still pressures him to go on dates with women. An Li and Xu Shaoqing eventually form an unlikely connection, as they help each other process the hurt caused by the people they love, and salvage the good from those relationships.

Historical

Fei Ping Ying Qiang :: 妃嫔媵嫱 by 七月侯

[male concubine, imperial harem & court drama, age gap (initially 15 vs 20)] -- As an unfavored shu son, Xiao-Qi is "gifted" by his family to his brother-in-law, a prince who is known to like men. Though he has no choice in the matter, he eventually falls in love with the Prince, who has shown him more kindness than anyone else in his life. The prince (gong) has a "realistic" and gradual shift from accepting period-typical polygamy to wanting to build a life with the one partner who really loves him, but it's a messy situation because he has already married and sired children with multiple women, and his position really requires him to have an heir. However, Xiao-Qi learns a lot and grows up with the gong's help, and together they overcome political and social obstacles for Xiao-qi to be recognized as his partner.

穿成苏培盛了 by 一渡清河

(Title roughly translates to "Transmigrated as Su Peisheng", referring to the name given to Yongzheng Emperor's senior personal eunuch in the popular cdrama "Empresses in the Palace".)

[historical transmigration, Qing Dynasty/Kangxi Era, political intrigue, prince x (real) eunuch] -- Lovers of long, complex, character-driven political novels will probably enjoy this 2-million-words epic. It's not only a battle of wits, but also a examination of personal values and emotional priorities of many well-crafted characters who live in a complex political environment, including the largest and most active female cast I have ever seen in danmei. The protagonist shou is a transmigrator, and it shows mostly through him being very mature during his younger years, and having a sense of self-worth unexpected of slaves of that era. The gong is Fourth Prince Yinzhen (future Emperor Yongzheng), and he is married with children just like in history. The main couple have a bittersweet secret relationship, yet they love each other enough to be able to live with that imperfection. The plot seriously downplayed the darker implications of the shou' role as a eunuch and slave, but their idealized romance is a much-needed relief from the intense and tightly-paced political content, which is inspired by real history.

九千岁[重生] by 绣生

(The novel title literally translates to "Nine Thousand-Years-Old", which is a title occasionally given to excessively powerful eunuchs, comparing them to royals, like emperors who are said to live to "Ten thousand years".)

[ (eventual) "double rebirth", political intrigue, prince x (fake) eunuch] -- In his first life, Crown Prince Yin Chengyu is deposed after falling for political traps, and only returns to court after making a "indecent proposal" with powerful eunuch Xue Shu. Despite working together to help Yin Chengyu win the crown and govern the nation, their relationship remains complicated and contentious until Yin Chengyu's untimely death from illness and overwork. Waking up as his younger self, Yin Chengyu immediately puts a metaphorical leash on Xue Shu's neck while the latter is still young and impressionable. While they work to strengthen Yin Chengyu's political position, the prince also tries to come to terms with his feelings for Xue Shu across the two lifetimes. Xue Shu eventually recovers his memories of the first lifetime, and their second-chance romance gets a happy ending.

As a serious political novel, this story lacks depth and suspense, but as a feel-good "rebirth" novel, the plot feels a bit too slow and heavy. It doesn't stand out in either categories, but it feels unfair to completely ignore it, especially because it kept me company for weeks while I was struggling with a reading slump.

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orthodoxydaily · 3 months

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Saints&Reading: Tuesday, Feruary 6, 2024

january 24_february 6

VENERABLE XENIA OF ROME AND HER TWO FEMALES SLAVES (5th c.)

Saint Xenia of Rome, in the world Eusebia, was the only daughter of an eminent Roman senator. From her youth she loved God, and wished to avoid the marriage arranged for her. She secretly left her parental home with two servants devoted to her, and set sail upon a ship. Through the Providence of God she met the head of the monastery of the holy Apostle Andrew in Milassa, a town of Caria (Asia Minor). She besought him to take her and her companions to Milassa. She also changed her name, calling herself Xenia [which means “stranger” or “foreigner” in Greek].

At Milassa she bought land, built a church dedicated to Saint Stephen, and founded a woman’s monastery. Soon after this, Bishop Paul of Milassa made Xenia a deaconess, because of her virtuous life. The saint helped everyone: for the destitute, she was a benefactress; for the grief-stricken, a comforter; for sinners, a guide to repentance. She possessed a deep humility, accounting herself the worst and most sinful of all.

In her ascetic deeds she was guided by the counsels of the Palestinian ascetic, Saint Euthymius. The sublime life of Saint Xenia drew many souls to Christ. The holy virgin died in 450 while she was praying. During her funeral, a luminous wreath of stars surrounding a radiant cross appeared over the monastery in the heavens. This sign accompanied the body of the saint when it was carried into the city, and remained until the saint’s burial. Many of the sick received healing after touching the relics of the saint.

Following the death of Saint Xenia, first one of her former servants died, then the other. They were buried at the saint’s feet.

ST. XENIA OF PETERSBURG, FOOL-FOR-CHRIST (18TH C.)

Saint Xenia lived during the eighteenth century, but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II.

Xenia Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in Saint Petersburg. Saint Xenia became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband, and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion.

Once her earthly happiness ended, she did not look for it again. From that time forward, Xenia lost interest in the things of this world, and followed the difficult path of foolishness for the sake of Christ. The basis for this strange way of life is to be found in the first Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-24, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Cor. 3:18-19). The Lord strengthened her and helped her to bear sorrow and misfortune patiently for the next forty-five years.

She started wearing her husband’s clothing, and insisted that she be addressed as “Andrew Feodorovich.” She told people that it was she, and not her husband, who had died. In a certain sense, this was perfectly true. She abandoned her former way of life and experienced a spiritual rebirth. When she gave away her house and possessions to the poor, her relatives complained to the authorities. After speaking to Xenia, the officials were convinced that she was in her right mind and was entitled to dispose of her property as she saw fit. Soon she had nothing left for herself, so she wandered through the poor section of Petersburg with no place to lay her head. She refused all assistance from her relatives, happy to be free of worldly attachments.

When her late husband’s red and green uniform wore out, she clothed herself in rags of those colors. After a while, Xenia left Petersburg for eight years. It is believed that she visited holy Elders and ascetics throughout Russia seeking instruction in the spiritual life. She may have visited Saint Theodore of Sanaxar (February 19), who had been a military man himself. His life changed dramatically when a young officer died at a drinking party. Perhaps this officer was Saint Xenia’s husband. In any case, she knew Saint Theodore and profited from his instructions.

Saint Xenia eventually returned to the poor section of Petersburg, where she was mocked and insulted because of her strange behavior. When she did accept money from people it was only small amounts, which she used to help the poor. She spent her nights praying without sleep in a field outside the city. Prayer strengthened her, and in her heart’s conversation with the Lord she found the support she needed on her difficult path.

When a new church was being built in the Smolensk cemetery, Saint Xenia brought bricks to the site. She did this in secret, during the night, so that no one would know.

Soon her great virtue and spiritual gifts began to be noticed. She prophesied future events affecting the citizens of Petersburg, and even the royal family. Against her will, she became known as someone pleasing to God, and nearly everyone loved her. They said, “Xenia does not belong to this world, she belongs to God.” People regarded her visits to their homes or shops as a great blessing. Saint Xenia loved children, and mothers rejoiced when the childless widow would stand and pray over a baby’s crib, or kiss a child. They believed that the blessed one’s kiss would bring that child good fortune.

Saint Xenia lived about forty-five years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. The exact date and circumstances of her death are not known, but it probably took place at the end of the eighteenth century. She was buried in the Smolensk cemetery.

By the 1820s, people flocked to her grave to pray for her soul, and to ask her to intercede with God for them. So many visitors took earth from her grave that it had to be replaced every year. Later, a chapel was built over her grave.

Those who turn to Saint Xenia in prayer receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs.

EPHESIANS 2:19-3:7

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles- 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

MARK 11:11-23

11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. 12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it. 15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' " 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city. 20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Commentary of a Church Father: St John Chrysostom AD 407

Prayer is an allefficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobstructed by clouds, a haven unruffled by storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings. It exceeds a monarch’s power…. I speak not of the prayer which is cold and feeble and devoid of zeal. I speak of that which proceeds from a mind outstretched, the child of a contrite spirit, the offspring of a soul converted—this is the prayer which mounts to heaven…. The power of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, bridled the rage of lions, silenced anarchy, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, enlarged the gates of heaven, relieved diseases, averted frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. In sum, prayer has power to destroy whatever is at enmity with the good. I speak not of the prayer of the lips, but of the prayer that ascends from the inmost recesses of the heart. On the Incomprehensible Nature of God, Homily, ,

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #easternorthodoxchurch #originofchristianity #spirituality #holyscriptures #bible #gospel #wisdom #saints

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johnjankovic1 · 9 months

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Winged Chariots

What's past is prologue. William Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1611

Industrial policy poured resources into aircraft production to address how woefully unprepared America was for the dawn of aerial warfare. But know-how was not what necessarily harried the industry. The core deficit and the thing most conspicuously missing was capacity and the scale economies therefrom. America was caught flatfooted since the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were moats that obviated any need for militarization unlike Europe’s Old World revanchism. A species of military-industrial complex had long been an antagonist to peace on that continent because of imperial hubris. So America’s isolationism throttled the industry until the law of supply and demand roundly reversed this lethargy to the point where even Ford motors was retrofitted and retooled for production. War created the market. A second bane to aircraft adoption was the paradox of how despite being an object of fascination the technology proved unviable other than monetizing the visceral thrill of flight for a niche market. The barnstorming of aerial acrobatics entertained the masses but a consumer market remained terra incognita. Widespread adoption of the motorcar was a function of practicality which had a natural ally in the omnipresence of roads whereas planes were scarce and airfields scarcer still. Seawater conversely was abundant.

In the wake of WWI when assembly lines once teemed with aircraft these selfsame bastions of production became subdued as America found itself awash with a surplus of inventory. The sunk costs of mothballing this technology would have squandered an opportunity until the Aeromarine company and others of its ilk commercialized sea routes in 1920. A fire-sale of these warbirds with a markdown of 90 percent denied the fatalism that awaited them with the maritime frontier now repurposing their fuselage (Leary 1979). This rebirth from a hunter of submarines to a mail-passenger carrier allowed aircraft to remain useful after the spectre of war had gone. It was pure alchemy. The detritus destined for scrapyards avoided liquidation and was turned into gold. Aeromarine’s business strategy would then be to convert the Navy’s Curtiss F-5L seaplanes for two international routes between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas. A ferry crossing which might have taken half a day was promptly truncated down to one hour. These planes that would have otherwise rusted into obsolescence commoditized transit into carrying upwards of thirty thousand travellers in four years (Davies 1987). Offloading stockpiles for such application also redounded to public-private partnerships in the guise of postal contracts for Aeromarine.

The first marriage of state and commercial interests for flying letters to their destination would underwrite the industry’s buildout in 1920. Aeromarine’s blueprint was emulated at scale five years later with the passage of the Air Mail Act after the learning-by-doing stage had ended. This prototypical initiative was not almsgiving but rather a full-throated vote of confidence for the future of aviation. Aeromarine’s archive of operations was to be a proof-of-concept that dispelled the skeptics who looked upon the industry’s profitability as suspect. Not only was the geometry of communication upended but the glut of aircraft found a second life in a peacetime economy. The airmail sector signalled to policymakers once and for all that planes were not playthings for dilettantes nor were they a crackpot idea but rather a legitimate business. The Postmaster gave a ringing endorsement for Aeromarine’s viability by paying $20k in its first year to fly 500 pounds of mail each day and a $1.68 bonus per pound of special postage (Leary 1979: 185). The company also padded profits by bootlegging throughout Prohibition with the import of Cuban spirits or flying passengers to places of hedonism like Havana where they could tipple (Bilstein 1993: 276). Rather than a footnote in history Aeromarine fructified the industry in a prologue to so much more.

With the efficacy of this pilot program assured after some stocktaking the Air Mail Act of 1925 wed the public good of postal service to aviation (Bilstein 1996). Where the government had created a market sourced in war eight years earlier now a peacetime economy would plumb the commercial virtues of these flying contraptions. By parceling off parts of its monopoly over mail the government opened the floodgates for private enterprise to fill this void as a fillip to the industry. Quasi-privatization laid the foundations for the future of manufacturers and airlines. It stands to reason that the architects of this legislation were well acquainted with mail routes doubling for human transit as they did under Aeromarine’s contract term. Such maximization of payloads from cargo and passengers alike to eke out value from all angles of operation was in itself an impetus to aircraft design in material science. Weight economies and streamlined shapes drove profit and so aluminum was embraced as the darling of the aviation industry due to its tensile strength-to-weight ratio. By letting capitalism loose upon the transport of letters the Air Mail Act incentivized innovation alongside the influx of private capital where little might have existed before. The power of competition thereby heralded the commercial use of aircraft.

The industrial policy was dead set on the promotion of manufacturers at home as it was laced with protectionism to prohibit the use of foreign aircraft. A stable revenue of 80 percent from the sale of airmail stamps for each route could be had under the caveats that only domestic planes be flown and three-fourths of carrier ownership be American (Van der Linden 2002). Lesser contracts on feeder routes were first doled out to separate the wheat from the chaff until the proficiency of companies merited more lucrative corridors like New York to San Francisco. Out of the woodwork came many suitors like Ford’s aviation division or Boeing which vied for a share in this lattice of skyward highways. Rather than speculative Ford’s $2m investment in aircraft lent credence to the industry as it spotted market trends towards air travel en masse. The company put its faith in this diversification not as a hedging strategy but for the reason that its automobile disruption could be extrapolated onto an enterprise where much pent-up demand abounded. A second reason alluded to cost leadership by exerting greater control over production. A quick pipeline supplying car parts between factories in Detroit and Chicago inspired the consolidation of planes into the anatomy of supply chains by way of vertical integration.

Lo and behold Ford would become such a doyen of this route between both metropolises that the Postmaster General conferred to it the first airmail contract in 1925. Thereon the company plied its 2-AT model whose designs informed the debut of the 4-AT Trimotor variant that later took to the skies in symbolizing a new benchmark. This powerful plane mainstreamed the commercial aspect of aviation in the public’s consciousness. Heightened capacity would democratize air travel as it dovetailed to the plane’s safety profile whereby the redundancy of three power plants attenuated the vertigo amongst the more discerning flyer. Longer range, fuel economies and less downtime ascribed to the unimpeachable airframe composed of corrugated aluminium further enshrined the design as one to imitate. Innovations of this sort were precisely what the industrial policy of the Air Mail Act envisaged. Ford would capitalize on the emerging market and flew 4,115 trips for the Post Office boasting a 94 percent completion rate with weather cancellations being rare (O’Callaghan 2000). But this heyday was ephemeral when the Great Depression soon impinged on operations. Headwinds from retrenchment meant the capital-intensive venture could not be kept aloft so it shuttered to instead privilege the company’s core competency of automobiles.

Boeing on the other hand was not overextended like the automaker nor was it estranged from this proverbial watering hole left by the Air Mail Act where companies drew sizeable income. The company’s sights however were much loftier in its bid to secure the coveted Chicago-San Francisco route which might as well have been analogous to the riches of the Silk Road. This contract was to Boeing what the discovery of the New World was to the British Empire. The Model 40 stood head and shoulders above competitors and was uniquely suited to be the workhorse for this twenty-six hour long haul. A payload in excess of twelve hundred pounds and the throttle to match from a 420-horsepower engine under the artistry of Pratt & Whitney enabled a speed of 128mph and a range of 650 miles (Dow and Daub 2007). Post-acquisition Boeing would carry 837,211 pounds of letters and 149,068 pounds of express packages in its first year on twenty-four of these magnificent specimens of a machine (Stear 1997). By the end of the 1920s one-third of America’s air mail was monopolized by this aircraft. The Post Office’s golden ticket came to make an empire out of Boeing’s market position. In the company’s precocity it pivoted very early away from military production at odds with industry peers and in so doing captured commercial aviation.

#1925 #Air Mail Act #Ford Aviation #Boeing #Industrial Policy

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spyxfan · 2 years

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Rebirth to a Military Marriage: Good Morning Chief

Qiao Nan: Crap! I am your biological daughter, yet I am treated as if I was picked up from the streets. In fact, you treat me worse than that! Mother Qiao: Qiao Nan, you are not as pretty or smart as your elder sister. You are not as blessed as her. You have no right to study, marry, or to have your happiness! Qiao Nan: Why am I not allowed to study, marry, or to seek my happiness? I will find a…

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forursmiles · 2 years

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I read rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage and I see that you have read some of the author's other works. Can you recommend which one I should read next.

Yay glad that other people are getting into this author's work because it is amazing.

My ranking for the novels is

Rebirth of the Ill Fated Consort This book was significantly more bloody and dark but the characters were just chef's kisses. Like Jiang Ruan is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. I think the fact that she never wavered in her desire for revenge was amazing. The story and romance is just done a lot better in this book. also I love that the ML is just there to help in Jiang Ruan's schemes and that she is the true brains. She was such a strong yet vulnerable character just amazing all round.

Marriage of the Di Daughter This story is slightly different from the other two because it is a reincarnation story instead of rebirth so it does take some time to get into the story compared to the others. but as always the characters are amazing!!! I would say the romance in this is a bit more playful and fun. Story is just as revenge driven but had more light moments.

Rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage This is the first novel I read by the author and was blown away. Loved both the leads but what I noticed after reading the other two books was that while the main female lead was great she got sooo much help from the ML which isn't bad because we saw them work together but it took a little of the satisfaction away. also the ending was good but average. I think if you only read Rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage from the author it would be amazing but after reading the other two books which I feel like the author must have written afterwards you can see the growth in her writing skils

#cnovel #the rebirth of the ill fated consort #rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage #marriage of the di daughter #novel recs

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tchallasbabymama · 3 years

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All For Us Chapter 9

Hey y’all, thanks for being patient with me on this one, but it’s finally done! Not to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but there’s only one chapter left (and maybe an epilogue) on our journey with Mira, Erik, and Cupcake. If you’re just here for Killmonger, I have a couple Erik oneshots heading y’all’s way in the next few weeks. Also, check out The Temple. 😉

As always, don’t forget to look at my masterlist to read my other stories and oneshots, and let me know if you want to be tagged in anything. Like, comment, and reblog away! 🥰

CW: a little smut

Word Count: 6,481

Erik’s eyes flew open as he bolted upright through the sand that covered his body in his temporary grave. He was in the heart of the temple where the Black Panther ceremony took place, the City of the Dead. The lost prince pulled himself from the sand and brushed the clay-colored sediment from around his eyes as he climbed the stone staircase leading up into the garden of the heart-shaped herb. When he made it to the top, Erik took a deep breath before stepping into the garden. To his surprise, nothing caught on fire like in his previous dreams. His shoulders relaxed as he took another step into the garden, and another, and another until he was face to face with Bast’s statue. A smile took over his face as he knelt at her feet.

“Took you long enough, Jaguar.”

Erik lifted his head, and her celestial glow nearly blinded him as he laid his eyes on the panther goddess once more.

“Long enough for what?”

“For your senses to come back, obviously.” Bast circled him and laid down, licking her paw. “Pretty soon, you won’t have to be asleep to talk to me.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Oh, I had nothing to do with it.”

Erik turned to face her and sat back on his heels.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I never took them away. You did.”

“I’m not following.”

“Your guilt blocked your senses, Erik,” she sighed. “You had been holding onto pieces of it, but you finally let it go.”

“I felt guilty for ruining our marriage,” Erik mused aloud.

“But you didn’t, so congratulations,” she said nonchalantly. “That’s not why you’re here, though.”

“Ok, what’s up?”

Bast chuckled at his informality.

“Last time we spoke, I said I would need you to do something for me. I’ve finally made up my mind as to what that is.”

Erik sat with bated breath as he waited for his assignment. For a moment, he was reminded of his military and mercenary days, except this time, he was being given a mission from a goddess. His goddess.

“As you know, Wakanda has never had a Golden Jaguar before. You are an anomaly, but that is a good thing.” She stood up and started walking, making him rush to his feet to follow after her.

“It is?”

“Yes. You know, the good thing about cycles is that with destruction comes rebirth…change. You’ve forced Wakanda to change, and you’ve forced me to think some things over. Truthfully, after the little stunt you almost pulled, I did think about removing your powers. I don’t need to preach about it, though, since you already know all about your wrongdoings, but I heard what you said about your people. We have neglected them, and for that, I have no words of apology that would adequately ease your pain. The Lost Tribe, as my people have come to call you, needs a champion. Wakanda already has theirs, but since you seem to rather enjoy toying with colonizers, I have an assignment for you.”

Erik’s ears were trained on Bast as he hung on every word she said. He walked next to her as they made their way through the catacombs towards the temple’s entrance.

“Before you came to Wakanda, you were involved with Klaue and his hunt for vibranium. Your vast knowledge of African and diasporic artifacts combined with your training makes a great equation for what I need you to do.”

“Which is?”

“I want you to act as the Golden Jaguar on the Lost Tribe’s behalf. I recognize that as just one person, you can only do so much, which is why I will talk to T’Challa about you heading his Wardog program. I would like for you to have an army of spies at your disposal to act instead of just watch and report as they have done in the past.”

“So basically what I wanted to do before but without the world domination?”

“Precisely,” Bast chuckled and stopped walking at the door to the temple.

“Ok,” Erik thought on it as a smile crept up his cheeks. “I’ll do it.”

“I knew you would. I think you’ll like my first assignment. Well, second. First, you need to stop avoiding the City of the Dead in your waking life. You need to go visit the garden.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Erik said, his nerves twisting in his gut at the thought of actually stepping back onto the sacred land.

“Now, my second assignment: artifact reclamation. Instead of searching for vibranium, which you might find, I want you to return items to their rightful owners.”

“So, stealing,” Erik deadpanned.

“Yes, but for a good cause. I will let you work out the details, but the point is to return the power to the people by building them back up, brick by brick. They were separated from their gods, so the Ancestors and the Orishas are working on bringing them back to us spiritually. They are still working on getting other spirits and pantheons on board...alas, my brother and sisters are choosing to take a more passive approach.” She sighed. “The Lost Tribe was taken from the land, so T’Challa has already spearheaded initiatives to build up other African countries that need his assistance and bring the Lost home to the continent. Now, I need you to bring our belongings home. Our thrones, our art, our history. Take it back. Bring it back to its rightful place.”

“I’m with it, but, um...how am I supposed to do this without getting caught? If shit just starts disappearing en masse, somebody’s gonna notice.”

“They won’t disappear. The colonizers won’t even know they’re gone.” Bast flicked her tail mischievously. “Your wife designs kimoyo beads, does she not?”

“Well, yeah-”

“And your cousins are scientific geniuses, correct?”

“Yes…”

“Then I’m sure that between all of your big beautiful brains, you can figure out a way to make replicas of the artifacts.”

“Why does that compliment feel like an insult?”

“I like you, Jaguar,” The goddess chuckled. “Now go enjoy your time with your wife.” She winked at Erik as she nudged him out into the brightness shining from outside the wide-open temple doors. Erik returned to consciousness, and he was shocked by the feeling of Mira’s mouth traveling up and down his shaft.

“Fuck, girl. This how you waking Big Daddy up now?”

She popped her head off his tip, and he groaned at the sight of a bridge of spit still connecting her to him.

“Good morning, baby.”

“Mmmm, good morning to you, too,” he grabbed her loose curls that she had forgotten to tie up the night before. The silk sheets kept her hair soft and bouncy as her hair spilled over his fist while it rested at the back of her head. He pulled her in for a kiss, and then she went right back to taking him down her throat. “You’re gonna make me nut all down that throat, Princess.”

Mira’s hand cupped and massaged his ballsack while she sucked on his bulbous head. Her tongue swirled around the tip, and her other hand traveled up and down his length, making his toes curl.

“Fuuuuck, you remember just what Big Daddy likes. Imma bust a fat ass nut, girl,” Erik groaned through gritted teeth. Mira giggled at her control over him and continued to work his dick. Her nose reached his pelvis as she took him down her throat, and he came with such force that she almost choked. Almost.

When she pulled off of him, she tongue-kissed his tip before sitting back on her haunches and wiping her mouth. “How’d you sleep?”

Erik let out a breathy laugh, “Like the dead.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you didn’t feel me moving. You were out cold.”

“That’s because I was talking to Bast.”

“What’d she say this time?”

Erik sat up against the headboard and motioned for her to come to him. Mira crawled up his body and straddled him, sliding down on his dick so that they were connected as deep as they could be. They had always been like this; whenever they needed to have a serious conversation, Erik would set her in his lap and have her take all of him. They both reveled in the connection they had in that moment, and even in their stillness, their united bodies responded to each other as the words fell from his lips.

“She wants me to be the Golden Jaguar officially,” he said as he kissed down from Mira’s ear to her shoulder.

“What does that mean?” Mira asked, barely above a whisper.

“She wants me to be a champion for us, the Lost Tribe. Wakandans have T, so I’ll be protecting the rest of us with the Wardogs.”

“How, though? That’s so many people.”

He came up from kissing between her breasts to look her in the eyes. “Well, remember how I told you about the museum heist to get the vibranium?”

Mira nodded.

“She wants me to steal artifacts from museums and shit and return them to where they were stolen from.”

“That sounds right up your alley,” Mira snarked, and he tickled her sides, making her pussy clench around him, and he let out a groan at the feeling. He grabbed her hips and moved them back and forth.

“It is. I can’t do anything until I visit the garden of the heart-shaped herb, though.”

“Why?” she moaned.

“I’ve been avoiding it,” he sighed.

Mira pulled him into a kiss and cycloned her hips as she wound on him. “Do you need to go alone, or do you want me to come with you?”

He connected their foreheads as he pushed his hips forward into her, and she called out his name.

“I need to go alone.”

Their hips ground into each other as the sexual energy inside them built up slowly and erupted through their bodies. Erik placed kisses all over Mira’s face and neck as she caught her breath from the intensity of her orgasm.

“How about I make breakfast?” Erik asked, and Mira simply nodded and kissed him. She moved to get up, but he held her down. “Nah, I didn’t say right now.”

After another round, the two of them separated from each other, if only because of the rumbling of their bellies. They showered together, and Erik couldn’t help himself from bending her over and eating her pussy and ass from the back. Pretty soon, he was balls deep inside her again, and when he came all over her cheeks, he about keeled over from the way the orgasm shook through his body.

“Aight, I need a break,” Erik said, and the two of them shared a laugh as they finished their shower without any more funny business.

“Can I have one of your t-shirts?” Mira asked as they slathered themselves in shea butter.

“You can have anything you want, Princess. MIT or Navy?”

“MIT please,” she cheesed at him.

“Coming right up.”

Erik left the room and returned with his maroon-colored MIT t-shirt. The same one she wore the first time she stayed over at his apartment back in the day. He knew it was her favorite and the look on her face when he handed it to her was priceless. She quickly shimmied into it while he slid on a pair of sweatpants that left little to the imagination.

The two of them relocated to the kitchen, and Mira toyed around with her latest kimoyo design on her tablet while Erik got to work on breakfast.

“That a new one?” he asked, nodding towards the design hovering over the counter.

“Yeah, I haven’t gotten it to work right, though,” she grumbled as she stared at it. “I want it to be able to apply cloaking tech to whatever it touches, but so far, I can only get the bead to disappear.”

Erik listened to her complain about her failed design for a little while, and when she was done, she turned off the tablet and hopped up on the counter.

“Anything I can do?” Mira asked

“Mhm,” he came over and stood between her legs, placing a sloppy kiss on her lips. “Just sit there looking fine as hell.”

“I’m serious,” she smiled.

“So am I,” he said incredulously with a hand over his heart, making her chuckle at his dramatics.

“Fine, I’ll be your muse.”

“And my guinea pig. Here, try this.”

Erik lifted the spoon to her lips so she could taste the yam hash he had been working on, and her eyes bugged out of her head.

“I forgot you turn into Top Chef after sex.”

“Gotta feed my woman,” he kissed her cheek and cracked a couple of eggs sunny-side up in the skillet.

Mira giggled, and an idea struck her. She reached back for her tablet again and pulled up her latest work in progress, a story about a decades-long whirlwind romance that she had gotten stuck on. All she needed was a little inspiration, and Erik ended up being just what she needed.

He watched his wife type away with a smile on his face. Erik loved watching her work; the look of determination on her face was always so endearing to him. She’d bite her lip and squint her eyes as she tried her best to focus on the task at hand. Erik always thought it was adorable.

The smell of fresh vegetables coming in contact with hot oil filled the air, and Mira’s mouth started to water. She looked up from her work to see what Erik was doing but got distracted by his body. She watched his sinewy muscles moving beneath his textured skin, and a chill went down her spine.

“What the fuck is that?” Erik sniffed the air, following the sweet scent that had just wafted from out of nowhere.

“What’s what?” Mira asked, swinging her legs back and forth.

He turned to face her, and his pupils blew wide as the smell hit him again.

“It’s you,” he turned off the burner and stalked over to her, standing between her legs again and placing his nose in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her scent and let out a growl.

“What is that?”

“My bodywash?”

“Nah, it’s you. What-” he cut himself off when it dawned on him. When he was king for a day, he only smelled fear from those around him. Fear smelled like decay, it smelled rotten, but this was the exact opposite. It was enticing, like the most beautiful forbidden garden, and Erik knew exactly what it was. Her arousal. He bit into her neck, making her moan out as he ground his hips into hers. The aroma grew, and Erik’s composure slipped away the more he inhaled it.

“E-erik, the food.”

He took a deep breath as he stood to his full height. “I can smell when you want me.”

“What?!”

“I wonder if it’s different for every person...shit, I wonder if I can smell other people. I hope not-”

“What are you saying? You can tell when I’m horny?”

“I guess so. I only smelled fear before, but it makes sense. I’m just caught off guard because it hit me out of nowhere, like last night.”

“What happened last night?”

“I could hear your heartbeat.”

Mira’s face lit up, “That’s good, though, right? It means your senses are coming back!”

“Yeah, I’m just surprised by that one. I wasn’t expecting all that,” he laughed.

“So...I smell good?”

“You don’t know how good, Princess,” he grumbled as he finished cooking. Mira crossed her legs, making him chuckle. “That’s not helping. It’s all over you.”

“Damn...what else can you do?”

“I need to test out my strength and speed, but my sight was different, too. Everything was brighter, more vibrant. And my brain moved faster...I don’t know how to explain it. Bast said my guilt was the blockage, so they’ll probably slowly come back over time. After they’re back, I’m supposed to start on my mission.”

“You still felt guilty?”

“I thought I broke us. I mean, I did, but I felt like it was unfixable, you know?”

Mira nodded, “Yeah, it felt like that sometimes.”

Erik pulled the dishes out of the cabinet and set them down next to her.

“Mira, I’m-”

“Erik, if you say you’re sorry one more time, so help me, Bast,” Mira said, making a dimpled smile appear on Erik’s face.

“Yes, ma’am.”

They fell into a comfortable silence while Erik plated the food, and when he handed Mira hers, he left a kiss on her cheek. She smiled and hopped down from the counter to sit at the table. When she sat down, she couldn’t help but stare at Erik as he walked over. Her man, her formerly violent man was really chosen by a goddess to protect Black people around the globe.

He noticed the look on her face and couldn’t quite place it. “What?”

“Nothing, just...look at you, doing the work of gods now.”

“I bet you never thought you’d say that about your mercenary husband,” Erik winked at her.

“Sure didn’t,” Mira laughed, “but it fits. You always had it in you. You know, I’m glad I came out here. I wouldn’t get to see this new side of you otherwise, and so far, I like it.”

--------

A couple of hours later, Erik found himself in front of the City of the Dead with his palms sweating and his breath shaking. He wasn’t sure why the temple unnerved him so much, but it did. Erik knew he had to do what Bast told him, though, and took a step forward. He climbed the stairs to the ornate stone doors and waited as they slowly opened for him. Erik was met with the sight of a surprisingly calm woman in purple robes. He recognized her as the woman he had choked out, the new head priestess.

“My prince,” she saluted him. “Welcome. I have been expecting you.”

“You have?”

“Of course. Come in.”

He hesitantly stepped forward again and entered the temple. A chill went down his spine as the doors shut behind them, and he looked around the space. He had only been there once before in his waking life, but this time it felt different. It probably had something to do with the fact that she wasn’t scared of him this time around.

“What’s your name?” he asked nervously.

“I am Zaya, my prince.”

“You don’t have to do the whole ‘my prince’ thing. Especially since I...you know.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I’m sorry about that. I should’ve never put my hands on you.”

“I have spoken to Bast about it, and I forgive you. Just don’t let it happen again,” she warned.

Erik put his hands up in defense, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Now, you are here to see the herb, no?” She started walking, and he followed behind her.

“How’d you know?”

“I spoke to Bast, remember?” She quipped with an eyebrow raised.

“Heh, yeah,” he chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. “I don’t know why I’m so anxious.”

“I assume that is a normal reaction when reckoning with your past.”

The two of them traveled deeper into the temple, and when they reached the door that led to the garden of the heart-shaped herb, he froze. Zaya looked back when she no longer heard his footsteps and smiled warmly, reaching out her hand to him. He took it, and she led him through the doors. Erik almost wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he had to face his past actions head-on.

He looked around, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw there were dozens of tiny glowing purple buds just begging to become full-grown flowers. He laughed in disbelief at what he was seeing. He had burnt the garden to ashes, but now here it was, thriving in spite of him.

“It took us a while to get them to grow again, but thankfully we were able to put out the fire before the roots were harmed,” Zaya spoke as he wandered through the garden in awe.

“And these...they still work?”

“The princess took a sample and tested it in her lab. According to her, this new batch might be a little different, but they should still work. Bast has given them her blessing, so that is enough for me.”

“So, I didn’t ruin Wakanda’s future like I thought...”

“No, just a bump in the road,” she smiled.

Just as he was about to respond, the strangest thing happened. His eyes were trained on one of the buds, and suddenly he could see every little vein in the leaves and the detail of the curled-up petals. The color became brighter and even more purple than most people could comprehend, and a tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled.

He could see again.

“Are you ok?” Zaya asked tentatively.

Erik cleared his throat, “Yeah, I’m good. It’s just my senses are coming back, and...they’re beautiful.”

“And resilient.”

He laughed and wiped the tear from his face.

“How about I give you some time alone?”

“Thanks, Zaya, that’d be great.”

She bowed her head in deference and went back the way they came. When she was gone, Erik let out a sigh as he took in the sight before him.

“They really made it…”

“Of course, they did. Did you think I would leave my people defenseless?” Bast’s silky voice rang out through the temple, and he turned around to see her standing there in her mostly-human form. She was a statuesque and curvaceous woman with the head of a panther and locs that spilled over her ebony shoulders. Erik dropped to his knees as she walked towards him. “No need for all of that. Stand up, Jaguar.”

He laid eyes on her once more as he rose from the ground. Her glow was almost blinding, but his eyes adjusted quickly.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing you in person.”

“Get used to it. I like to pop in on my champions every now and again. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes in your thoughts, and sometimes in person. It all depends.”

“On what?”

“On you and what you need, or what I need from you.”

“Ok, so what do you need from me?”

Bast chuckled. “Truthfully, nothing this time. I just needed to see you face-to-face.”

“You don’t have an assignment for me?”

“Not yet. I know how much you enjoy the sanctuary, so I’ll let you stay there a little whille longer. Plus, you are just now mending your marriage and need time to spend with your wife and child before I call you away.”

“How much time?”

“Enough,” she winked.

“You’re so cryptic,” Erik chuckled.

“Yes, your cousin thinks so, too. However, I prefer ‘mysterious.’”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smirked.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you long,” she sighed. “You have some party planning to do. They grow up fast, don’t they?”

“Especially when you miss a couple of years,” he murmured.

“Which is why I’m giving you at least a year before I call on you. Make good use of it, Erik.”

“Yes, ma’am, I will.”

“Good. Oh, and one more thing, Erik.”

“Yeah?”

“Try running back to the palace,” she winked again as she shimmered away, leaving him alone in the temple.

Erik tried to contain himself as he left the garden and ran into Zaya.

“Was your ‘alone’ time fruitful?” she asked knowingly.

All he could do was beam at her with his megawatt dimpled smile.

“Very.”

Erik said goodbye and ran back through the forest to the city, his heart beating out of his chest in excitement. His superhuman speed carried him back in no time as the wind whipped against his body. A smile was plastered on his face the whole time, even when he slowed down as he reached the outskirts of Birnin Zana. He hurried to the palace as inconspicuously as he could and happened to run into Mira just as she was leaving. When she saw the look on his face, she couldn’t help the grin that took over hers.

“So, how did- Erik!” She squealed as he picked her up and twirled her around with barely any effort.

“They’re back!”

“Your powers?”

“Well, yeah, but the heart shaped herb is coming back!” he peppered kisses all over her face and neck while she giggled. “You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined you could be.”

“So I take it your vision came back, and you’re super strong again?”

“And fast. I ran here in like twenty minutes.”

“From the CIty of the Dead?!”

“Mhm,” he nodded as he set her back on the ground.

“Damn, baby, that’s...that’s amazing.”

“I need to test them out some more, so I’m gonna see if T has some time to spar. You going to the lab?”

“Shopping, actually. Okoye and Ayo took Imani so I could get some last-minute party stuff.”

“Need someone to carry your bags?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Especially since you got that jaguar strength again.”

“Lead the way, beautiful.”

--------

Early that Saturday morning, as the sun crested over the trees, Mira and Erik stood on the tarmac watching as the Royal Talon descended from the sky. Mira was almost shaking with excitement as the doors opened and T’Challa stepped out, followed by some of her favorite people in the whole world.

“Titi!”

SJ ran down the ramp past the king and flung himself into his auntie’s arms. She held him tight and rocked him from side to side as Stef and Ana approached, with Daveed teetering between the two of them.

She looked up at them and gasped, “Oh my god, he can walk now? How long have I been gone?”

“Girl, too long,” Havana complained as she wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law.

Stefan was next to greet her, and his eyes stayed glued to Erik the whole time as he enveloped his sister in a bear hug, “We missed you, Sammy.”

“No, you miss my cooking,” she laughed as she crouched down to say hi to her littlest nephew.

“You remember Titi Mira?” Ana asked him, and he shook his head, hiding behind his dad’s leg.

“That’s ok, we can get to know each other while you’re here,” Mira smiled at him and stood back up.

“Who are you?” SJ asked when he finally noticed the man standing behind his aunt.

“SJ, this is your Uncle Erik. You might not remember him but-“

He thought about it for a moment before it dawned on him. “Do you still have all those bumps on you?”

Stefan tried to hold in his snickering, and Havana hit him in his chest.

“Uh, yeah, I do.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Heh, thanks, lil man.”

“So, brother in law…It’s good to see you,” Stef deadpanned. He was clearly not feeling Erik anymore.

“You, too, man,” Erik went to dap him up, and he stared at his hand in contempt.

“Stefan, behave,” Havana said with a roll of her eyes. “Hi Erik, how are you?”

“Much better since I’ve been here.”

“Good, good…”

T’Challa had been standing to the side while the family reunited but decided to intervene when things got awkward.

“Stefan, Havana, let us show you to your quarters.”

“Oooh, our ‘quarters,’” Ana sang excitedly. “Sounds so fancy.”

“It’s a palace, Ana. Of course it’s fancy,” Stef grumbled.

She cut her eyes at him. “Don’t act out in front of company.”

Mira chuckled. She hadn’t realized how much she missed hearing their playful bickering.

As they made their way through the place, Stef and Ana stared slack-jawed at their surroundings while SJ ran ahead of the group.

“You live here?” Ana asked.

“Mhm. It’s gorgeous, right?!” Mira bragged.

“That’s not even the word…”

T’Challa smirked as he listened to them compliment his home.

“So, where’s the birthday girl?” Stefan asked.

“She is with my mother and Ororo.”

“Ororo?” Stef stopped in his tracks. “Munroe?!”

“The one and only,” T’Challa grinned proudly.

“Holy shit…”

“Language,” Havana chided her husband as she covered SJ’s ears.

“What is it with these men and cursing around children?” Mira shook her head at her brother.

“Girl, I don’t know, but let’s get back to Storm. How’d y’all meet?”

“She’s his girlfriend,” Erik nodded towards his cousin.

“Dang, how’d you get her? I mean, I know you’re a king and all, but- Wait, are you a mutant, too?” Stef asked.

T’Challa and Mira made eye contact, and she nodded for him to continue. They were family and would most likely be seeing a lot of Wakanda, so they’d find out eventually.

“I am enhanced, yes.”

“Like Steve Rogers?” SJ chimed in excitedly from a few feet ahead.

“He wishes,” T’Challa complained under his breath as they stopped in front of the door across from Erik and Mira. Both of them chuckled at the king’s arrogance.

“So...you’re enhanced. Why, though?” Stef asked.

They entered the suite, and the interrogation was cut short when the Greenwoods saw how beautiful their temporary home was.

“Holy shit…” Ana mused as she covered SJ’s ears.

Mira gave them a quick tour while T’Challa and Erik hung back in the living area.

“So, you and Stefan-”

“He never liked me, and I made things worse by disappearing,” he shrugged.

T’Challa nodded as he changed into his suit.

“Oh, so you’re coming all the way out?”

“They will find out eventually, so I might as well get it over with.”

Erik nodded as Mira rounded the corner and saw T’Challa in his suit. She smirked and called SJ. He ran back into the room and froze when he saw Black Panther standing there next to his uncle. Ana was next to round the corner and looked at her son questioningly before she looked up and saw what he was staring at with his mouth open.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said with a hand on her hip.

“About what?” Stef came next, and T’Challa’s mask disappeared into his necklace. “This place is insane.”

SJ couldn’t move. He was looking at his favorite hero in the entire world, right there in the place he’d call home for the next week. His mind could barely wrap around what he was seeing, and he couldn’t process his emotions. Tears started flowing down his face, and a sob wracked his body.

“Hey, hey. It’s ok, baby,” Ana crouched down and wiped his tears as Stef came over with Daveed on his hip.

“You’re not excited to see Black Panther?” He asked his eldest son.

SJ shook his head, and T’Challa deflated. Erik kept his snickering to himself, but Mira shot him a look anyway.

“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“He’s just in shock. It’ll wear off eventually,” Ana said as she brushed SJ’s locs out of his face.

————

It took way longer to wear off than they thought, and by the time they arrived at the party venue in the palace’s botanical gardens that afternoon, he still hadn’t said a word. T’Challa tried to speak to him a couple of times, but he shied away behind Mira or his parents. Eventually, Erik convinced him to give the kid some space and pulled the dejected king away to the other side of the garden. While the other kids and their parents arrived, SJ kept looking at T’Challa out of the corner of his eye.

“You know, he doesn’t bite...or scratch,” Mira leaned in and said to her nephew as she sat down next to him at the kid’s table. “In fact, he’s pretty cool once you get to know him.”

“Does Imani know?” he spoke up for the first time in hours, and Mira was happy to hear his voice again.

“Oh, yeah. He told us when we got here, but it’s a secret so she pinky promised not to tell. You know, I screamed when I saw him.”

“You did?!”

“Mhm. He really needs to learn how to ease people into it, huh?” she asked as she poked at his side, making him giggle. Stef and Ana watched from a few yards away and smiled with him while they kept a watchful eye on Daveed as he waddled around the flowers.

SJ nodded in response, and Mira kissed his temple before getting up and leaving him to ponder her words. Right when he had worked up the courage to speak to his hero, Erik announced that Imani was on her way with Ororo and Ramonda.

“I can’t wait to see my baby girl!” Ana squealed.

Mira excitedly grabbed Erik’s hand, and he kissed her knuckles, making Stef narrow his eyes as he and his family hid behind a mango tree.

Imani appeared with her auntie and future cousin, and T’Challa recorded as she squealed excitedly at seeing everybody. A’Kidi, Kofi, Sanaa, A’Sami, Ade, and all her other friends from school greeted her with a loud “Happy birthday!” The newly five-year-old’s tunnel vision made her almost ignore her parents and other adults completely until Erik picked her up and gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

“Happy birthday, Cupcake!”

“We have a surprise for you,” Mira sang.

“What is it?” Imani asked excitedly.

Erik set her down and turned her around as Mira motioned for her family to reveal themselves. SJ ran out from behind the tree and nearly tackled his cousin to the ground while her aunt, uncle, and baby cousin took a calmer approach.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Stef exclaimed while his eldest son continued to squeeze her tight. SJ let her go, and she ran into her uncle’s arms. Ana crouched down next to him, and Imani threw her arms around her neck.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Ana said as she fought tears.

“I missed you too. Wakanda is so cool! I can’t wait to show you everything,” Imani babbled.

“Did you know about Black Panther?” SJ asked, still a little nervous about meeting his hero.

Imani nodded, “I promised to keep it a secret, or I would’ve told you. It’s so cool, right?”

SJ nodded, and Imani dragged him off to meet her friends.

Erik couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he tried as he watched his little social butterfly play with her friends and cousin. It wasn’t until Mira came up and nudged him that he even realized he was staring.

“You ok?” she asked.

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “Just reliving some things.”

Mira looked at him curiously and he continued, “One of the few good memories I have from childhood that we talked about in therapy was my seventh birthday party. This kind of reminds me of that.”

Mira smiled as they stood there and watched Shuri, Ororo, and T’Challa play with the kids. The king regaled them with stories of his adventures, and Shuri let them ride on very slow hoverbikes while Ororo harnessed the wind to lift them up and let them fly a couple of feet off of the ground. The kids were having a ball, and their parents seemed to enjoy themselves as well. Okoye, M’Baku, and a couple other people gravitated towards each other and fell into conversation about being single parents. However, the rest of them spent most of their time ogling the royal family.

Eventually, it was time to eat and the parents were able to corral the kids into sitting down at the table. After stuffing their faces with an array of Imani’s favorite foods, Mira led the “happy birthday” song as she and Ayo carried out a huge Doc McStuffins birthday cake. Imani and SJ were the only kids who knew who she was, but everyone enjoyed the cake nonetheless. Erik couldn’t help the tear that almost came to his eye as he listened to his wife sing to their daughter, just like his mother had done to him. Loudly and slightly off key. Next, Shuri led the group in a Wakandan birthday song, and Imani blew out the huge number five candle in the center of the cake.

Mira kept stealing glances at Erik as he sliced it up and handed out pieces to everyone. He looked so happy. Even when one of the kids tripped and got icing all over his pants leg, he just kept on smiling.

Even Stef noticed the change in his brother-in-law’s demeanor and brought it up to Ana, “He smiles too much now. It’s weird.”

“It’s weird that he’s happy?”

“No, it’s just weird to see. He used to be so…”

“Surly and unapproachable.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Maybe you should get to know him?”

“Hmph,” he grunted in response. Ana decided to leave it alone for the time being and left his side to go talk to Erik.

“You think you can handle the sleepover?” she asked him.

“Thank Bast it’s not all of them.”

“It’s not?”

“Hell no, just her little crew,” he pointed to A’Kidi, Kofi, Sanaa, A’Sami, and Ade. “I’m not taking care of all these kids.”

Ana laughed, “Understood.”

“So...your husband still doesn’t like me, huh?”

“Can you blame him?” Ana deadpanned.

“Nah, I’d be the same way in his shoes.”

“He’ll come around eventually...maybe,” she said as she placed a comforting hand on his arm before being pulled away by her son to watch the Black Panther and Storm show off their powers some more. SJ still couldn’t bring himself to speak to T’Challa, but it was a start.

As the party wound down and most of Imani’s classmates went home, the few that stuck around relocated inside to the Stevens’ suite in the palace. Even with a handful of screaming children in his home, Erik was on cloud nine. He loved to see a smile on his Cupcake’s face, and he wondered if he looked that happy when he was a kid. He concluded he probably did, and as the kids watched an animated movie, he and Mira curled up on the couch behind them. While the rugrats were distracted, he pulled her chin up to plant a kiss on her lips.

“What was that for?” she smiled.

“I’ve just been thinking…”

“About what?”

“About making more good memories, you know? Some of the happiest times in my life were times just like this…and time spent with you.”

Mira looked down with a smile on her face and he brought it back up to look in her eyes.

“Marry me again.”

Her eyebrows damn near reached her hairline and a Grinch-like smile crept up her face as she nodded.

“I’d love to.” Next Chapter

Taglist: @ladymac82, @kitesatforestp, @harleycativy, @raysunshine78, @maddeningmayhem, @theblulife, @motheroffae, @love-mesome-me, @toni9, @bribrisback

#cecewritessometimes #black panther fanfiction #erik killmonger x oc #black!oc #all for us

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metvmorqhoses · 3 years

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i have a headcannon that voldemort never really “punishes” bella when she does something wrong, but his punishments to other death eaters are way way worse & so she’s obligated to act as if vold has given her a worse punishment than he actually has. not that she does a lot of things wrong as his “most faithful” though. i’m talking about the occasional slip up like the department of mysteries thing. had that been someone else, he probably would’ve harmed them more, let alone wouldn’t save then from some witch statue holding them down.

this is very true, anon. so true, in fact, i actually consider this much more a canon fact than mere speculation.

sorry if this is very long, but for every thousand of anti-bellamort idiots there must be a very precise bellamort’s defense attorney lol

correct me if i am wrong, but to my knowledge not once in the books a physical punishment coming from voldemort is ever mentioned in relation to bellatrix - and even if, let's be real, after his "rebirth" she became involved in literally the majority of the most crucial errors, the worst happenings ever, that ultimately brought to no less than his very downfall.

and yet, still, she came out of it all not only unscathed, but treated very specially.

even to a lazy reader, this should at least come across as peculiar.

let’s take the primary example of what i am saying, the battle of the department of mysteries.

just freed from azkaban and after being showered in honors and recognition, the first pivotal mission bellatrix was entrusted with was a damning fiasco.

true, it was not entirely her fault, lucius was in fact “in charge” of it, but let’s be real, do you really think voldemort sent his literal general with that malfoy dandy, his pupil, his most trusted and powerful lieutenant, just for company? just as a henchman? as i have always interpreted it, bellatrix was there to keep an eye on lucius, whose silver tongue was famously more apt to political plotting than to field missions.

voldemort wasn’t trusting lucius with the prophecy that had literally already meant almost death to him once, it would have been madness to. you can say anything about voldemort, but certainly not that he was an idiot.

i actually don’t think he ever trusted lucius at all. lucius had renounced him after his fall and didn’t manage to paint the fact as pragmatically as snape did, the cowardly aftertaste of his betrayal blatant and thoroughly disgusting on voldemort’s tongue. lucius’ status, family name, relations and wealth were just very useful for the movement and likely the only things that kept him in the high ranks of the regime (or alive at all) even before the fiasco, along with his marriage to bellatrix’s sister.

i am positive voldemort was in fact trusting bella to see the prophecy retrieved.

he probably didn’t officially put her in charge because she was still recovering from azkaban and therefore not completely stable or/and already with child (even if i tend to exclude the latter option, since she would have been still entirely too weak for a pregnancy to even take).

still, she was the one with the highest military rank there, not to mention the highest degree of closeness to voldemort, so you can bet she was the one that bore also the highest degree of moral obligation in that delicate situation. and she failed.

knowing voldemort, you would have expected to see killing curses flying left and right. had bellatrix been literally anyone else, she could have easily returned home to a murdered family and a pending death penalty.

instead, you see a voldemort that walks into the ministry of magic. you see a voldemort that, even already knowing the prophecy lost forever, renounces his every advantage and reveals himself once again to the wizarding world, moreover having to fight at the same time his very nemesis (nemesis that the mission should have helped him understand better and therefore defeat), dumbledore (the greatest wizard alive besides him) and soon the entirety of the aurors of britain.

what was exactly the reason that compelled him to enter such a nest of vipers, when he had been unwilling to do so in secrecy and surely in a highest degree of safety before and to retrieve the prophecy himself? to kill harry potter?

the very reason of the mission tells us he wasn’t sure about what to do with his potter dilemma and had therefore decided to have a more cautious, academical approach regarding the matter. he wanted to know the whole prophecy before trying again. he was frustrated and puzzled about harry’s absurd invincibility and insolent luck. do you really think he had decided to go for the hardest battle of his life unprepared and with dumbledore present of all people (whom he didn’t even directly kill afterwards) and possibly hundreds more on the way?

had voldemort suddenly turned from cold strategist to hotheaded kamikaze?

the only plausible answer is that voldemort had purposefully entered the ministry, risking capture and possibly his very life (or at least his newly created body, since at this point the horcruxes are still intact and a secret) and not knowing what exactly was there waiting for him, as a rather valiant rescue attempt and quite an unexpected one too.

bellatrix herself just moments before had laughed at the absurdity of the possibility of voldemort ever entering the place in response to harry’s questioning:

“Get it himself?” shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter. “The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?”

bellatrix herself believed it an impossible and ludicrous thought and yet, less than half an hour later and her life in jeopardy, there voldemort surely appeared.

you could speculate he wanted to save his most valuable, just freed death eaters and then couldn’t, but there’s no evidence of it in the chapter whatsoever. the only evidence points out to the fact he was focused only on saving bellatrix.

this is in fact what lucius tells his hunting party while harry and co are trying to escape the ambush:

Harry put his ear close to the door to listen and heard Lucius Malfoy roar: “Leave Nott, leave him, I say, the Dark Lord will not care for Nott’s injuries as much as losing that prophecy — Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We’ll split into pairs and search, and don’t forget, be gentle with Potter until we’ve got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right — Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead — Macnair and Avery, through here — Rookwood, over there — Mulciber, come with me!”

so, la crème de la crème of his high ranks is there and everyone is positive the only thing that voldemort would care about is the prophecy, even above captures and fatalities.

rabastan and rodolphus are also there and yet he doesn’t go for them.

he appeared when harry told bellatrix the prophecy was gone, specifically when bellatrix began to have a manic fit because of it, alone in the ministry’s atrium with harry.

“Potter, I am going to give you one chance!” shouted Bellatrix. “Give me the prophecy — roll it out toward me now — and I may spare your life!”

“Well, you’re going to have to kill me, because it’s gone!” Harry roared — and as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead. His scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage.

“And he knows!” said Harry with a mad laugh to match Bellatrix’s own. “Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it’s gone! He’s not going to be happy with you, is he?”

“What? What do you mean?” she cried, and for the first time there was fear in her voice.

“The prophecy smashed when I was trying to get Neville up the steps! What do you think Voldemort’ll say about that, then?”

His scar seared and burned. . . . The pain of it was making his eyes stream. . . .

“LIAR!” she shrieked, but he could hear the terror behind the anger now. “YOU’VE GOT IT, POTTER, AND YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME — Accio Prophecy! ACCIO PROPHECY !”

Harry laughed again because he knew it would incense her, the pain building in his head so badly he thought his skull might burst. He waved his empty hand from behind the one-eared goblin and withdrew it quickly as she sent another jet of green light flying at him. “Nothing there!” he shouted. “Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that —”

“No!” she screamed. “It isn’t true, you’re lying — MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED — DO NOT PUNISH ME —”

“Don’t waste your breath!” yelled Harry, his eyes screwed up against the pain in his scar, now more terrible than ever.

“He can’t hear you from here!”

“Can’t I, Potter?” said a high, cold voice.

specifically, he appears behind bella when she starts to maniacally invoke him, almost as if they had a special mean of communication with each other even from considerable distance.

(here bella is afraid voldemort would punish her and i find the manner of it very interesting, we will come back to it later on)

voldemort was obviously furious the prophecy was lost, but again why risking his own life on top of it? was he perhaps concerned of bella’s mental state now that she knew she had failed and therefore her ability to flee/fight his very nemesis, dumbledore and the aurors?

normally, we would have expected voldemort to stay away and deal with the surviving death eaters later, leaving them to their deserved destiny (as he did with literally everyone else who was there).

instead we have:

“So you smashed my prophecy?” said Voldemort softly, staring at Harry with those pitiless red eyes. “No, Bella, he is not lying. . . . I see the truth looking at me from within his worthless mind. . . . Months of preparation, months of effort . . . and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again. . . .”

“Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!” sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort’s feet as he paced slowly nearer.

“Master, you should know —”

“Be quiet, Bella,” said Voldemort dangerously. “I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?”

“But Master — he is here — he is below —”

Voldemort paid no attention.

“I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,” he said quietly. “You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!”

even when she literally has just lost his one mean to achieve his every goal of a lifetime, she is “bella”. even when we would expect him to tear her to pieces then and there, he had come to stand between her and harry.

the only reprimand she receives is a scowling “be quiet bella, i shall deal with you in a moment”, as you would speak in public with someone who is very close to you and you are very mad at, who shouldn’t let that closeness slip in public, especially now that she’s making you risk a lot to save her sorry ass.

i find this scene very comic, on top of everything else. voldemort is clearly so done and yet there he is, come to save his sobbing mess nevertheless.

the scene proceeds with dumbledore’s arrival, the duel and bellatrix trapped under the statue. during the duel and just after having trapped bella, we see a really curious exchange:

“You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?” called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. “Above such brutality, are you?”

“We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom,”

Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk toward Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. “Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit —”

“There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!” snarled Voldemort.

“You are quite wrong,” said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks.

(...)

"Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness —”

what is this fate “worse than death”, these “other ways to destroy a man” that dumbledore wants for voldemort? we know how it all ended - with voldemort’s literal death, his very disintegration (after bellatrix’s very own). what was this all about then? this one i’ll let you decide for yourself. it’s certainly peculiar, considered the context.

voldemort doesn’t respond to this, he in fact seems very provoked and sends a killing curse at him.

at the end of the duel he disappears and everyone thinks he fled, bellatrix included, who cries out his name sobbing from under the statue.

he in fact, at that, goes straight to possess harry.

And then Harry’s scar burst open. He knew he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance —

He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature’s began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape — And when the creature spoke, it used Harry’s mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move. . . .

“Kill me now, Dumbledore. . . .” Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again. . . .

“If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy. . . .”

Let the pain stop, thought Harry.

Let him kill us. . . . End it, Dumbledore. . . . Death is nothing compared to this. . . .

And as Harry’s heart filled with emotion, the creature’s coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood. . . .

And there were voices echoing through the hall, more voices than there should have been (...)

“...where’s Voldemort, where — who are all these — what’s —”

The Atrium was full of people. The floor was reflecting emerald- green flames that had burst into life in all the fireplaces along one wall, and a stream of witches and wizards was emerging from them. As Dumbledore pulled him back to his feet, Harry saw the tiny gold statues of the house-elf and the goblin leading a stunned-looking Cornelius Fudge forward.

“He was there!” shouted a scarlet-robed man with a ponytail, who was pointing at a pile of golden rubble on the other side of the hall, where Bellatrix had lain trapped moments before. “I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear, it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!”

“I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!”

this passage is ever so interesting to me, because dumbledore’s words appear to have somehow made voldemort “emotional”. they provoked him somehow. he didn’t laugh at them. he linked them to the worst pain imaginable and almost killed harry with it, posing a philosophical dilemma - if such pain is worse than death, if my life is worse than death, why don’t you put this boy out of his misery?

there’s no doubt in my mind “that pain” is voldemort’s pain. a pain intrinsically love-related. voldemort’s problems to accept/understand/feel love are the crux of the saga, his every villainy and pain. it’s so interesting that in this whole scene the train of events and thought have ultimately reached this topic (even in the movie love is mentioned here, harry literally fights the possession telling him he shall never have it).

voldemort was furious with bellatrix, feared for his plans and life and went to save her anyway. he is enraged beyond belief but puts himself between her and harry and dumbledore. while they duel, dumbledore traps bellatrix and lectures him about “other ways to destroy a man” and “worse things than death”. he absolutely hits a nerve. voldemort completely feels what he’s meaning, so much he wants to retaliate and mercilessly - he never wants to be forced to face such things, such emotions. i don’t think he’s trying to kill harry there, he’s trying to prove a point, to make them both understand how it feels to be him, how the whole concept of love feels to him. and the matter is addressed in a scene entirely built around bellatrix. in fact, finally he then grabs her, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves, and flees. he effectively saves her and her only.

to me this whole passage is directly linked to the famous scream at bellatrix’s death, and to the way the events leading to voldemort’s own death unfolded. that scream might very well be that “fate worse than death”. jkr loves parallels and to me this one is perhaps the most beautiful of the series.

this really proves, in my opinion, at what depth their relationship stands, absurdly perhaps much more abysmal on voldemort’s part than on bella’s.

anyways, i took the time to analyze this particular episode because it’s emblematic of their relationship and his way to deal with her disasters.

lucius would carry on his face the signs of this fiasco literally for the rest of the entire series. the malfoys would fall from grace because of it, probably alive only because of bella’s intercession. half of the death eaters who were present at the ministry would end up back in azkaban.

voldemort would end up defeated, furious and destined to die.

bellatrix would come out of it not only physically unscathed, but with voldemort’s child.

even when she again loses the trio at malfoy’s manor (along with the sword), everyone ends up physically tortured but her. she says she fears for her life if voldemort was to know she lost the sword, but it seems more a metaphor than an actual possibility. when the cup is stolen from her vault, he makes her leave the room before murdering everyone in it. she’s not present at dumbledore’s assasination, and that’s because she wasn’t disposable.

i don’t think physical punishments are involved in their relationship, or if they are they are very rare, and i don’t think voldemort’s reactions to her transgressions/wrongdoings are in tune with the way he reacts to everyone else’s.

bella can more than anyone with him and never really loses this status of utter closeness, no matter what she does.

this obviously doesn’t mean that voldemort is a saint with her or that he doesn’t occasionally punish her. this doesn’t mean she isn’t rightfully afraid of him.

yet, the main way i see him actually hurting bella is psychological torture and silent treatment.

and here we come back at what bella was sobbing at the ministry, her desperate “MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED — DO NOT PUNISH ME —”.

i don’t think a warrior, a general, a woman who remarkably survived 14 years at azkaban, would ever react this way to the mere fear of physical punishment, no matter how cruciatus curses hurt. i think she would have taken it as stoically as possible. thought she deserved it, even.

no, voldemort’s punishments must be unbearable to her, impossible to even fathom, because they involve falling from his graces, from the closeness she lives for. voldemort can serve bellatrix the cold, silent, disappointed treatment of a mentor and a lover, and have bellatrix literally rotting away because of it.

this is truly the worst thing he can do to her and the thing that had her sobbing and having a fit before harry at the mere idea of it.

this is also somehow confirmed when hermione, transformed in bellatrix, meets a death eater (i don’t remember who he was) before entering the gringott. he wasn’t surprised to see bella, well, alive and physically well, he was surprised to see her out of malfoy manor, where she was supposed to be confined.

so yes, definitely the way voldemort deals with bellatrix regarding punishments is special. everything regarding his way of treating bellatrix is, to be honest.

their relationship is written in such a subtle, beautifully twisted way. i adore it. the only problem is that because of it virtually no one ever connects the dots.

#i'm sorry for yet another essay #it just... happened lol #bellamort is based on hints and symbols so here i am in the dead of night psychoanalysing my client to the bone lol #bellamort #lord voldemort #bellatrix black #bellatrix lestrange #asks/replies #hp #one and one thousand stories lis told #anon

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icarusiswritingsmut · 2 years

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So here’s the thing with my romances I’m planning out. They’re all in what I’ve long called “Universe C” (and there’s a whole thing about the rebirth of the universe with this one being the third/final one etc but not important to here).

Universe C is a world where magic and humanity used to exist together until magic was more or less forced underground. Not as literal as Undertale, at least not all the time. It’s long enough that humanity has forgotten a lot about magic outside the expected fairy tales. But the magic community, so easily beaten back for being divided, starts to unite. This comes to a head in the early 1990′s, when there’s a massive upheaval of the earth, and just... a slaughter. Hundreds of thousands of human lives are lost before their militaries can organize and push back.

The ensuing war is a bloody, miserable affair. It’s not clean cut either -- some magical creatures side with the humans, scarily strong ones too. And plenty of humans side with magic for hundreds of reasons from altruistic to utterly selfish.

The war only ends after two massively powerful creatures largely destroys Tokyo. It ends technically in magic’s favor as they’re now allowed to join in with society as themselves, but really it’s more of a draw, with massive losses on both sides.

And that’s the universe I’m writing a bunch of romances in lmao.

Romance Ideas so Far (minus Nature Boy):

War criminal fucking moves out to the country where she accidentally falls for caring for the farm and a local girl who loves science but is unable to get the education she needs.

Retired general who happens to be the younger brother of the war criminal. He’s got severe PTSD, especially after seeing his enemy maliciously and directly kill his boyfriend. Happens to fall in love with a mortal human who also has PTSD. Has to deal with the idea of morality of the people you love when you yourself are technically immortal.

Diary entries of a growing young man in the middle of a magical island of monsters and bear shifters. One day two other men roughly his age wash up on shore. Dealing with abusive parents and breaking free of familial bonds that tie people down.

50 Shades of Gray esque romance, but the MC is a fae from the war with a strong distrust in humans. She ends up letting herself be dominated by a human sexually and finds herself intrigued.

Man is unsure about his marriage. Finds a diary of a young woman who falls in love with a selkie. She steals the selkie’s skin and takes the magical woman in. Man realizes that this is blindly loyal love and seriously abusive. He goes through with his marriage.

A pair of vampires discover that some old love letters of theirs are in the local museum and can’t stand it. They had been together once and broke it off due to differing life paths. Now they have to work together in a heist-esque style to steal their letters back and end up falling for each other again.

One of the vampires from the previous story has a little clan of their own, living secretly in Washington. Their youngest “daughter” ends up falling for a human due to the scent of her blood, but when the magical war breaks out, quick decisions have to be made and in a Romeo and Juliet esque twist, the young couple are forbidden to see each other.

#/icarus #worldbuilding #writing ideas

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phoenixtakaramono · 3 years

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Hi! :) I was reading your post about SQH in TUT and it got me thinking. Since this version also wrote SVSSS, when he transmigrates does he realize his "dream" was real? Also, you hinted that he recognizes SY as the same person who transmigrated into SQQ, so now I'm wondering if he tells SY that, and how SY would react to learning he's the protagonist of SVSSS in another universe. I just love thinking about how meta this could potentially get, haha.

Can't wait to find out more! Keep up the good work!

(Follow-Up Post to: Part I, Part II)

@the-legend-of-chel 👏👏👏 Luv, good to see you in my Asks! I’m glad to hear that you’re looking forward to finding out more in The Untold Tale! And thanks for your support and encouragement. 💖

(TUT ch1 - Excerpt)

You’re right. There is a lot of meta potential with older!Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky being the MXTX equivalent in this AU—or, rather, I like to imagine him growing up to be the Stephen King equivalent of modern day China with a prolific portfolio of written works (novels and short stories, and extras). In canon, he churned out a great number of words per chapter and in a speedy amount of time! Do you guys know how miraculous that is, as a writer? I envy him so much! To be able to churn out that much content in a short amount of time, and in a scheduled regimen, is amazing! That’s basically my angle having written this into the prologue of TUT. That’s partially the reason why I wrote ch1. I liked the idea of paying homage to SVSSS and saying that it’s an actual book series in TUT universe that Airplane wrote (as funny as the idea would be, I wasn’t about to let SY be the one to write it, lol, for intellectual property reasons since the PIDW characters belong to Airplane, which would necessitate SY changing names and character appearances if he published what we know as irl SVSSS, so the best I can give SY is saying he wrote his own PIDW fanfic which basically launched his novelist career because he’d realized, hey, I actually have a knack for writing and the ever so spiteful I feel like practically every writer has had this thought before: fine, if I don’t see what I want to read, then I’ll write it myself!)

(TUT ch1 - Excerpt)

We’re approaching TUT spoiler territory so skip below if you don’t wish to be spoiled.

TUT (Meta) Spoilers

I personally love meta. If I’m to be writing a lovestory to SVSSS, there will be attempts at meta thrown into TUT. And this is one of them:

Airplane did “dream” about canon SVSSS. He basically “dreamt” about his favorite black powder fan, Peerless Cucumber

changing events of Airplane’s biggest regret Proud Immortal Demon Way. (As a writer, it embarrasses me to read my old writing. So I imagine it could be the same for Airplane.) As an author, Airplane recognized what he dreamt had potential to be a commercial success as a danmei transmigration story so basically every time he woke up, he would write pieces of what he remembers in a dream journal when the memory was fresh in his brain. It also allowed Airplane the opportunity to show his readers through the perspective of SY! Shen Qingqiu what Airplane had originally wanted to write, but integrated in a way that blends seamlessly into the reading experience. He would’ve thought it was a bit weird and strange that his brain dreamt about his past critic—whom he’d considered a small celebrity in the PIDW forums back then—aka his anti-fan-turned-accomplished-novelist in the writing industry, so he felt embarrassed that his unconscious brain must have thought very highly of the man.

So Airplane omitted any mention of Peerless Cucumber from the final draft of SVSSS (if he mentioned both “Shen Yuan” and “Peerless Cucumber,” then even SY would be like, Hey, wait one moment....). This detail will be included in a later chapter, but did you know the name “Shen Yuan” has come up in other works? Let’s ignore the variations on the Chinese written characters for the name “Shen Yuan.” There was the evil older brother character Shen Yuan from The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage, a side character named Shen Yuan from a C-drama (I think he was an old minister?), and there’s even an irl visual artist named Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan (Shen Garden) is also a famous romantic garden in Shaoxing, known for the love story between Lu You and Tang Wan.

(Shen Yuan Garden - Trip Advisor Review)

Basically “Shen Yuan” in itself is not a particularly uncommon name in China (imo I would not say it’s super popular either). So when SY saw his name mentioned once or twice in Airplane’s SVSSS—aka rebooted PIDW—during his read-through, he was like, Huh, what a strange coincidence. And then dismissed it as circumstantial and thought nothing of seeing his name come up in a cutsleeve novel as the new protagonist, haha. It’s like a book written by Anne Rice; one of the titles coincidentally has the same name as mine. Now, obviously the book and main character is not based or inspired by me; I just coincidentally share the same name. If I see books which have characters with my same first name, generally I like to read them and sometimes even collect them for my bookshelves. Because there’s something just so fun and interesting about seeing your own name in a fictional piece of work.

There’s also meta joke potential about Airplane dreaming of himself being transmigrated into the cannon fodder Shang Qinghua and seeing the romantic miscommunications between the younger version of himself (his self-insert essentially) and the fictional Mobei jūn character. I can certainly say seeing such dreams would make Airplane question his sexuality and awaken something dormant in him, haha. He’d realize he might not be not as straight as he thought he was, if his brain was capable of dreaming of SY!SQQ being crushed on by LBH, and SQH being crushed on by MBJ and essentially following MBJ around calling him “my king” this and “my king” that. He’ll be sweating bullets when he meets this world’s version of MBJ, because Airplane will definitely remember how the younger Self-Insert version of himself acted toward MBJ in the SVSSS world. (It’s the classic “Just because I dreamed about it happening doesn’t mean it’ll happen here, right? ...Right? Cucumber brother, you’re a fortuneteller! Please check our eight characters for me! I have to know my marriage compatibility with Mobei jūn!”)

In a later chapter, there will be the reveal where Airplane tells Shen Yuan that he “dreamt” of a universe where a younger version of Shen Yuan—having choked on mantou (馒头) (paying homage to the donghua) or just being transmigrated in general after raging at a younger ASTTS’s writing (paying homage to the books)—transmigrated into the Shen Qingqiu we know from SVSSS who married Bing mèi. Because I think it will be hilarious when TUT’s SY finds out about the true source of Airplane’s inspiration, and he’ll naturally freak out over the fact that this is the very same Bing gē from Airplane’s Bing-gē vs Bing-mèi extra and that he’s essentially somehow stumbled on the same path as the alternative younger SY!SQQ “from Airplane’s imagination.” I will leave this open to interpretation if this does show up (it’s just an idea I’m playing with) but I might hint that there might be a higher power at play which allowed Airplane a peek into another universe—which manifested as his dreams.

I very much like this dynamic (we might see this exchange, verbatim, in a future chapter in TUT):

SY/ LBH —> He gave him a disdainful gaze.

Airplane cried inwardly at the oppression and the feeling of being wronged.

Haha, none of this is really Airplane’s fault^ though. It’s a fun parallel and if I’m still motivated when we get to the wedding and consummation chapter, we might see an epilogue where SY and Bing gē from TUT meets SY!SQQ and Bing mèi maybe. Because I think it’ll be funny with the two LBHs getting into a shouting/ fighting match about who has the “superior Shen Yuan” while the two SYs just shake their heads at their silly husbands (and potentially TUT’s SY, as the older party, can impart his fortunetelling wisdom and advice to SY!SQQ).

Personally I can’t wait when we get to those chapters, because I know it’ll be entertaining to write, haha. Personally TUT is a fun project because there’s just so much meta potential that can be incorporated and I have a lot of fun imagining the scenarios.

*Note: like always, keep in mind that these are just my current thoughts. Details are subject to change; things aren’t considered official until they show up in the final draft on AO3. :)

The Novelists’ First Impressions

The first impression SY and Airplane will have of each other will be fun. Because in their perspective, written in my notes it’s essentially like:

(Airplane seeing SY):

His first reaction was shock. Shock because the mere mortal he used to be could not conceive so much charisma being emitted by this guy.

This is definitely a man who had put all of his stats into CHARISMA.

(SY seeing Airplane):

He's suspiciously good looking in ways that normal people are not.

Ah, the Cucumberplane friendship in TUT is going to be so much fun. Not only are these two older souls who transmigrated (both are mid-aged in this universe), they’re both accomplished novelists in their own right in the writing industry. Which means with these two being celestial beings, there’s so many clichés we can playfully poke fun at.

It also makes me laugh because imagine being SY, and seeing a guy (mortal!Airplane) who exudes the same energy as these two imperial princes GIFs:

#svsss #人渣反派自救系统 #shang qinghua #moshang #shen yuan #bingyuan #binggeyuan #the untold tale #phoenixtakaramono #ask #the-legend-of-chel #phoenix talks #reply #replied #answered #I’m almost done photobashing older SY #so there’s gonna be additional visual context #for how he appears in TUT (my headcanon at least)

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