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dewdropdinosaur · 1 month

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I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship

ALASTOR x (F) READER

Summary: You are Charlie's older sister and the pristine image of what a princess of Hell should be. But sometimes even perfect pretty princesses have their secrets.

Warnings: NONE

This was a request from the lovely @fandomfan-102

REQUESTS OPEN

In the heart of Hell, amidst the chaotic streets and vibrant nightlife, stood the Hazbin Hotel, a haven for lost souls seeking redemption. Among its eccentric inhabitants was Alastor, the infamous Radio Demon, a charismatic figure whose mere presence commanded attention. Furthermore, Y/N Morningstar, the older sister of Charlie, the hotel's founder; too commanded the room with her devilish charm and royal style.

Unlike her sister, Y/N was a bit more of what people expected from a princess of Hell. Though by no means was she sadistic or remotely close to some demon’s level, she was not as bubbly or optimistic as her sister. More cunning, reserved, and always dressed to impress; Y/N held power unknown and one that could possibly even rival her father.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on who you ask, Y/N often found herself drawn to the enigmatic Alastor. Their love, a delicate dance hidden from prying eyes, grew stronger with each stolen moment amidst the cacophony of Hell's chaos. Stolen kisses, lying about laying one's head on the other's shoulder. Whispers of sweet nothings in the back of hallways and sly hand holds.

At first, to the average outsider, Alastor might have been using Y/N for power or station but truly as time wore on; he grew to love her in his own way. Yes, their relationship was not like most but despite their differences, a deep connection had blossomed between them, eventually culminating in a secret engagement under the light of the red moon as Alastor presented Y/N with a heartfelt declaration and a ring.

As fate would have it, soon news spread like wildfire through the corridors of the hotel that Lucifer himself would grace them with his presence. Panic swept through the inhabitants, each scrambling to prepare for the arrival of the feared and revered ruler of Hell. As rumors spread of Lucifer Morningstar's imminent visit to the hotel, tension crackled in the air. Lucifer, the Lord of Hell himself, was rarely seen outside his domain, and his presence promised both excitement and trepidation.

Y/N and Alastor found themselves in a particularly precarious position. While their love burned bright, Lucifer's presence threatened to expose their secret engagement. Yet, they dared to hope that their careful charade would remain intact. On the eve of Lucifer's arrival, Alastor and Y/N found solace in each other's company, stealing fleeting moments of affection amidst the chaos. Little did Y/N know that the carefully guarded secret was about to be thrust into the spotlight by none other than Alastor himself.

On the fateful day of Lucifer's visit, tension hung so thick in the air a cannibal could have taken a bite out of it.. The inhabitants of the hotel stood on edge, awaiting the arrival of their sovereign. As the grand doors swung open, revealing the imposing figure of Lucifer, the room fell into a hushed silence. As Lucifer's shorter but nonetheless dominating figure materialized in the hotel's grand foyer, all eyes turned to him. Charlie greeted her father with nervous excitement, eager to showcase the progress of her ambitious project.

Alastor, ever the charismatic showman, stepped forward to greet the Dark Lord, a charming smile playing upon his lips. Power plays were always Alastor speciality.

"Ah pleasure to meet you sir, quite a pleasure. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Though I must say, you are much shorter in real life." Alastor declared with a flourish.

With an annoyed look, Lucifer replied “Who is this? Who is this man? Are you the bellhop?”

"Ah no. I am the host of the hotel. You might have heard of me from my radio broadcast. Or from my fiance Y/N."

If the floor could have dropped beneath Y/N, it would have. The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, suffocating the room with stunned silence. All eyes turned to Y/N, whose cheeks flushed crimson with embarrassment and whose eyes glared at her lover. Charlie's jaw dropped in disbelief, her eyes darting between her sister and the Radio Demon.

Gritting her teeth, Y/N whispered “Alastor…what in the devil are you doing?”

Lucifer's expression remained inscrutable as he regarded Alastor with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?" he mused, his voice dripping with disdain. "Well, well, it seems my daughter has been keeping secrets from me."

Charlie's jaw dropped in shock, her mind struggling to process the unexpected revelation. She shot a bewildered glance at her sister, who could only offer a sheepish shrug in response.

The spirited founder of the Hazbin Hotel stood frozen in disbelief, her eyes widening in shock at the bombshell dropped by Alastor. She blinked rapidly, struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.

"Wait, what?" Charlie stammered, her voice laced with incredulity. "Y/N, you're engaged to...Alastor?"

Husk, the cynical bartender with a penchant for chronic alcoholism, arched an eyebrow at the revelation, his expression a mixture of skepticism and mild amusement.

"Well, I'll be damned," Husk remarked dryly, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Guess Hell just froze over." His boss did really have it in him.

Angel Dust, the flamboyant and irreverent resident of the Hazbin Hotel, let out a raucous laugh at the surprising news, clapping his hands together with glee.

"Hot damn, talk about a plot twist!" Angel exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Looks like we've got ourselves a real-life soap opera unfolding right here!"

Despite the initial shock, the atmosphere soon shifted, morphing into a cacophony of laughter and chatter as Lucifer not so graciously accepted the news of his daughter's engagement. After several threats towards the Radio Demon, the King of Hell reluctantly relented though he did stay close to his oldest daughter’s side the rest of his visit.

Alastor and Y/N found themselves enveloped in a whirlwind of congratulations and well-wishes from their surprised friends and colleagues.

As the night wore on, amidst the revelry and celebration, Alastor and Y/N stole a quiet moment alone, their hands intertwined as they basked in the warmth of their newfound truth. Despite the unexpected turn of events, they knew that their love would endure, for in the heart of Hell, where chaos reigned supreme, their bond remained unbreakable. Though Y/N did get payback at Alastor for his little stunt. You can imagine how that went over my dear reader.

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is-the-thing-actually-jewish · 5 months

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are otters or songbirds more jewish i have an argument to settle

Rating: Songbirds, but there's a makhloket

The majority opinion holds that songbirds are more Jewish than otters, as it is written, “Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young near Your altar, O LORD of hosts, my Sovereign and my God” (Psalms 84:4). There are many other texts that mention songbirds throughout the Tanakh; there are zero results for “otter” as referring to the animal on Sefaria in our sacred texts.* Thus, the simple answer is that songbirds are more important in Judaism, and therefore more Jewish, than otters. Additionally, medieval Jewish illumination such as the famous Bird's Head Haggadah depicts Jews with human bodies and the heads and beaks of birds, indicating a close connection between Jews and birds:

However, as is Jewish tradition, we preserve the following minority opinions as well:

Otters are more Jewish than songbirds: Songbirds were created on the fifth day of creation, while otters, like humans, were created on the sixth day. Therefore, otters are closer to humanity, and Jews are part of humanity, so otters are more Jewish than songbirds. (Genesis 1:20-24) Furthermore, this photo from the Cincinnati Zoo speaks for itself:

Both otters and songbirds are equally Jewish: Psalms 50:10-11 reads “For Mine is every animal of the forest, the beasts on a thousand mountains I know every bird of the mountains, the creatures of the field are subject to Me.” Clearly, this covers both otters and songbirds, so both are equally Jewish. Furthermore, otters and songbirds both look extremely cute in yarmulkes, which may not be halakhically relevant but feels important to state nonetheless.

Neither otters nor songbirds are Jewish; however, they are righteous gentiles under the Noahide covenant: To be Jewish means to be bound by the Abrahamic covenant in relationship with the Holy One. As animals are neither descended from Jewish parents nor have the agency to choose to be bound by the covenant made between God and Abraham, as human converts do, neither otters nor songbirds are Jewish**. However, following the great flood, God said to Noah, “I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing that is with you—birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well—all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. (Genesis 9:9-10). This covenant, symbolized by the rainbow, is God’s commitment to every living thing (clearly including both songbirds and otters) that God will never flood the Earth again-- something every one of us can support.

*(okay, there are three results: one is a typo for “utter” as in “our otter ruin” and the other two are German).

** My cat, however, is definitely Jewish.

#jumblr #general category topic #birds #songbirds #otters #rainbow #crack treated seriously

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athingofvikings · 5 months

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A Brief History Of The Palestinian People And The Jewish Religion According To Widespread Leftist Views

10,000,000-100,000 BCE: The Palestinian People emerge and live continuously in Palestine through to the present day (precise date estimates varies).

50,000 BCE: Evolution of Behaviorally Modern Humans

~1000 BCE: The Palestinian nation-state is founded as a sovereign kingdom under the renowned Palestinian warrior-monarch King David.

0 AD: Jesus Christ, a Palestinian Socialist Person Of Color, is born under Jewish Occupation to Palestinian Refugees.

33 AD: Jesus is tortured and murdered by Jewish occupiers in Palestine. The Romans stand by and don't have anything to do with this.

~50 AD-600 AD?: The Jewish Occupation of Palestine ends and all Jews cease to exist. Details unavailable.

700s AD: The White Khazars convert to Judaism, and are the source of all modern Jews.

700s-1933 AD: Jews spread through Europe, living as rich, privileged bankers, and face no widespread antisemitism, prejudice, or any negative experiences at all; they are the Whitest of White people, simply following a different Abrahamic religion that is just a type of Christianity, and has no ethnic component. They have this degree of privilege even as they scheme and plot against their fellow European Whites by fomenting wars, run the entire Atlantic slave trade, and routinely betray and stab their Fellow White People in the back, being more loyal to their fellow Jews than to their own hosts. Meanwhile, Jews in Arabic nations are also well treated.

1933-1945 AD: The Nazis invent antisemitism, picking the Jews as an arbitrary target, and manage to get all of Germany to hate the Jews for no reason, and supposedly kill six million Jews, possibly in collaboration with the Zionists.

1946 AD: Antisemitism is over and gone, and will never exist again. Any future attempts to claim antisemitism is an effort to distract from legitimate criticisms of Zionist fascism in occupied Palestine.

1947 AD: The Jews go to the other Europeans and play the sympathy card and the other Europeans tell them that they can now have a colony of their very own for the plentiful oil in Palestine.

1948 AD: History formally begins. White European Jews invade the sovereign socialist, progressive, democratically perfect state of Palestine, who accepted the Jewish refugees without any reservations, problems, or other issues, purely out of the goodness of their hearts, and were promptly betrayed, colonized, ethnically cleansed and mass murdered.

1948 AD-2023 AD: The illegal, settler-colonialist, genocidal fascist state of Is-Not-Real proceeds to routinely genocide and cull the innocent Palestinian people. For example, every three days, IOF soldiers kill a Palestinian child, and harvests their organs, and regularly kills tens of millions of other Palestinians out of the existing population of five million. During this time, Israel uses its control over the governments, media, and economies of the West to cement its genocidal control over the occupied Palestinian territories and cover up its millions of murders, while crying "antisemitism" as the Zionists kill Palestinians, who are the only true Semites.

7 October, 2023-Present: Israel kills 1200 of their own people and kidnap hundreds of others as a false flag, managing to trick the innocent and naive freedom fighters of Hamas to broadcast the propaganda killings on their own social media accounts. The IOF then proceeds to kill 14,000 millions of innocent Palestinians, nearly all of them innocent, blameless children, whose bodies are taken by Israel for organ harvesting and to use to fake other Hamas attack victims, because apparently the Brown Palestinians are perfect stand-ins for White Israelis and can't be told apart easily on sight.

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #historical revisionism #I have seen every single claim on this page since 7 Oct #often multiple times

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niqhtlord01 · 14 days

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Humans are weird: The price of a meter

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps) The Klendari War saw the most brutal fighting the galaxy had seen since the days of the Fracture Wars.

On one side you had the Coalition of United Planet, a loose union of several dozen star faring civilizations brought together for economic and military security, and on the other stood the Klendari Empire which had reigned in its corner of the universe for some several thousand years.

The Klendari had survived so long because of their instinctual need to fortify their holdings. Their worlds were labyrinths of fortress walls, gun emplacements, razor trenches, and all other manner of engineering fortification. To try and take a world from the Klendari it was deemed the attacking force would need a minimum of ten times their standard forces to even have the slightest chance to succeed.

Relations between the two powers were cordial for many years. The Coalition had no desire to expand into Klendari space, and the Klendari benefited from wider trade access through the Coalitions standard market system. Events only began to take a downward spin when Klendari immigrants began spreading further and further into Coalition space.

Their travel permits were entirely legal and they established communities on several dozen worlds within the Coalition; often forming small Klendari quarters of larger cities as they would tend to group together. It was here that the nature of the Klendari began to upset their new world’s hosts.

They would begin fortifying their quarters and neighborhoods and turned them into sudo-military fortresses. Blockhouses became guard towers, avenues blocked off by reinforced gates, windows reduced in size to firing slits, etc. Within a few months of several families of Klendari settling on a world their new homes would be an impregnable bulwark of the Klendari Empire.

Naturally the legitimate rulers of the worlds were concerned by the sudden militarization of portions of their cities. Local law enforcement agencies tried to maintain order within the Klendari quarters but found with more and more Klendari migrating to them they began following the Klendari Empire laws instead. It was not uncommon for law enforcement to eventually refuse to patrol those areas as the Klendari began reacting hostile to them, as if they saw them as invaders.

Tensions reached boiling points on a dozen worlds but only when the Klendari Empire made an official statement declaring all Klendari settlements and enclaves within Coalition territory to be in fact part of the Klendari Empire did conflict erupt.

Coalition planets with Klendari enclaves issued ordinances denouncing the notion that they would relinquish sovereign territory and sent military units to demand the surrender of the enclaves. The enclaves refused, the military attempted to repossess the enclaves, and so the enclaves resisted triggering the Klendari War.

Each enclave took several months to reconquer, which was made worse by the fact the Klendari Empire was sending troops to reinforce each of the enclaves. Multiple convoys of troops were intercepted enroute, but a handful making it and further dragged out the war.

By the seventh month of the conflict and only a handful of enclaves recaptured Coalition Military Command deemed that a new strategy was needed to bring the Klendari to the negotiating table. The idea was put forward that if the Coalition could capture a single Klendari world it would show them that they were not as invulnerable as they believed. Septimus Prime was deemed the perfect target as it was deep enough in Klendari territory to sends shockwaves when captured, but not too far that supplying it would become untenable.

So the Coalition assembled a massive invasion force, diverted 75% of their naval forces to protect it, and dispatched it for the heart of Klendari space. The moment the fleet exited their jump they found the Klendari resilience was well merited.

The first elements exiting the jump found themselves emerging into an orbiting minefield at the edge of the system. The mines were set to roam randomly throughout the system and only target ships that were not equipped with a Klendari transmitter. The “Righteous Fury” super battleship took the brunt of the damage upon emerging as it was the largest vessel. The shields held out as long as they could but by the time the rest of the fleet emerged it had sustained so much damage it had to be abandoned.

From there the fleet elements pressed forward to Septimus Prime while creating a cordon for the troop transports to move through safely. Though the Klendari had minefields in place they had not expected such a brazen attack into their territory and only a few Klendari fleet elements were present. These few ships hugged the orbit of Septimus Prime and used the orbital and ground based defenses to augment their lethality.

Coalition ships fought hard against the Septimus defense network, losing several more ships to ground based energy cannons. Klendari ships held out as long as they could but were eventually driven off when the final Hydron Cannon platform was knocked out of orbit removing the last of orbital defenses. They reduced themselves do hit and run tactics while they waited for the rest of the Klendari navy to arrive. With them driven off the Coalition could begin ground landings to take the planet itself.

There was a large debate about who would be the spear tip of the assault. Projections listed that whoever it was would take massive casualties. As brave as the various Coalition races had been to join the effort, none now were willing to be the first into the grinder.

Humanity did not share such hesitations.

Through the flak and energy cannon fire their drop ships rained down on Septimus Prime. 30% were lost in the first wave before they had even touched the ground. When they did the humans were met with an intense counter assault by Klendari forces that had been waiting to repel the ground invasion which resulted in a further 45% loss of forces before the Klendari withdrew.

Despite their losses humanity had secured the beachhead and further reinforced it with additional forces. Soon the beachhead was a military compound with scores of humans marching out in columns.

To watch humans fling themselves at Klendari defenses was something beyond understanding. You would watch dozens of armored tanks charge across no man’s land to be wiped out one by one all for the destruction of one reinforced pillbox, or their soldiers crawl through piles of their dead to sneak up on their enemy unnoticed. Lesser species would have broken from the losses but humans simply put their heads down and continued marching forward. The rest of the Coalition contributed of course, but when faced with the stubbornness of the Klendari fortifications it was more often the humans who were brought in to finally break them open.

Meter by bloody meter the Klendari were driven from their strongholds as the death toll continued to mount. Wrecks of vehicles turned the surrounding landscapes into forests of rusting metal and were filled with the stench of rotting flesh. Some Coalition forces suffered such horrendous casualties that they withdrew from the assault, but humanity was one of the few that continued the fight until finally, after almost a year of intense fighting, Septimus Prime surrendered and the Klendari Empire as a whole opened up negotiations for peace.

#humans are insane #humans are weird #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

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indigovigilance · 7 months

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Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop

Credit to @flameraven for scripts

Read on Ao3 at: Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop (1702 words) by indigovigilance Summary: The rules regarding who may enter the bookshop, and who may give others permission to enter the bookshop, are revealed by events rather than exposition. Parallel themes surround the Bentley. In this meta I generate a theory of sovereignty and citizenship as it pertains to the Bookshop, and what that implies about a statement Crowley makes and Aziraphale's final decision in S2E6.

What actually is the Bookshop?

First, Aziraphale explains to Crowley:

S2E5: AZIRAPHALE: We're perfectly safe in here. Technically, this bookshop still counts as an Embassy.

But then, speaking to Shax, Aziraphale further defines the bookshop:

AZIRAPHALE: Out of the question. Might I remind you, that this bookshop is technically an independent embassy. Being a former outpost of Heaven, and as such…

Which doesn't actually make any sense.

An embassy, by definition, is a satellite of another larger nation. It is usually the residence of an ambassador, and is considered the "soil" and jurisdiction of the home country, regardless of where it is in the world: "An embassy is considered “foreign soil,” meaning that it operates under the jurisdiction and laws of the home country, not the host country (the country where the embassy is physically located)." [ext source]

So an embassy, by its basic definition, cannot be independent. It's an oxymoron. I'll interpret this to mean that the Bookshop constitutes its own nationstate (and that Aziraphale just doesn't say it that way because he's a funky little guy).

Bookshop: A Sovereign Nation of Two

There has been extensive discussion about why Crowley seems never to have told Aziraphale that he was living in his car, and why, if/when Aziraphale figured it out, he didn't say anything about it. (I wrote a meta discussing how we know that Aziraphale knows by the beginning of S2E4 that Crowley is living in his car. Additionally, in S2E6, Aziraphale doesn't seem to look particularly surprised when Crowley announces to the room that he's tired of living in his car; you can interpret this as being distracted and phased out but I don't think Aziraphale is ever so dissociated that he would miss a statement like that and simply not react. So by then, he certainly knows.)

I posit that Crowley did not ask to move in and would have refused to do so even if offered for one very simple reason: moving in would have made him a citizen of Bookshop, and therefore a point of vulnerability for Aziraphale. Because as he explains to Shax in S2E3, he can't technically invite her in:

SHAX: if you won't let me in… CROWLEY: Not technically something I can do.

Of course, Crowley is a demon: he could be lying. But let's take the statement at face value, since Shax, also a demon, who seems reasonably familiar with the rules of entry, doesn't question it. So Crowley, by never establishing citizenship, ensures that he can never be coerced or tricked into letting anyone into the Bookshop. He maintains his foreign entity status on purpose to protect Aziraphale.

One more note, in passing: Crowley stays at the shop in S2E3 and S2E4, but he has been charged by Aziraphale to "mind the bookshop, and Gabriel." His role is more akin to a house-sitter than a houseguest. He's there on work visa, and it does not establish citizenship.

So Crowley isn't a citizen of Bookshop. But someone other than Aziraphale is.

S2E1: MAGGIE: I can be out of here in two weeks. AZIRAPHALE: Out of here? Why? Don't you like it anymore? MAGGIE: Oh, Mr. Fell, I love this shop! I've loved it since I was a baby. But I know how behind I am on rent. (…) MAGGIE: You can't just forgive me eight months' rent. AZIRAPHALE: Oh, I can. I'm very good at forgiveness. It's one of my favorite things. Now, you have paid your rent, I have my music, and I know exactly what I'll be doing for the next 21 minutes. [he giggles and leaves] (creepiest most disturbing giggle in all of cinematic history BUT ANYWAYS)

We've established that Maggie not only is a tenant of land owned by Aziraphale, but that her accounts are all paid up. Her citizenship (or at least, permanent residency) is secure. If simply renting out the space wasn't enough, we learn that she is a fourth-generation resident of the space owned by Aziraphale, which started inside the bookshop itself, and so Maggie may have been born into citizenship. Either way, the consequences of this arise in S2E6:

AZIRAPHALE: Maggie, what just happened? MAGGIE: I… I think I might have just told them they could come in.

Crowley can't tell demons that they can come in. But Maggie can. My explanation for this is because she actually lives (and is up on her rent) in a territory of the nation of Bookshop. It could be posed that Maggie can invite demons in because she is a guest of the ball, and so this is a temporary power, but Crowley was a "guest"/house-sitter and didn't have this power, so I reject this explanation and affirm it as a citizenship/residency power.

The Metatron's Offer

At time of writing, the fandom has spent two months trying to figure out why Metatron offered Aziraphale the job of Supreme Archangel. Was it to get him back into Heaven where he can keep a closer eye on him? Was it to get him away from Crowley? Did Metatron realize that he is a wellspring of power and wants to tap into it for nefarious purpose?

I'm going to propose a different, much simpler reason: he needed to get Aziraphale out of the bookshop. To explain that, we look to a line that Crowley delivers during the Conversation:

CROWLEY: I mean, if Gabriel and Beelzebub can do it, go off together, then we can. Just the two of us. We don't need Heaven, we don't need Hell, they're toxic. We need to get away from them, just be an us. You and me, what do you say? AZIRAPHALE: Come with me… to Heaven. I'll run it, you can be my second in command. We can make a difference. CROWLEY: You can't leave this bookshop.

Hang on, didn't Crowley just say that they should run off together? Why is he now saying that he can't leave the bookshop? These statements seem contradictory, but through the lens of sovereignty, they're not. You see, if Aziraphale goes off to Alpha Centauri without rejoining Heaven, the Bookshop still belongs to him and constitutes the sovereign nation over which he rules. It is the anchor and touchstone of his independent status. What ever new residence they establish will, in turn, be an embassy of that "independent embassy." The Bookshop then (I hypothesize, and posit that Crowley does too) grants Aziraphale protection from Heaven and Hell no matter where he is in the universe.

A Brief Aside on the Mechanics of Satellites

We have some evidence that Bookshop rules extend to wherever Aziraphale happens to be "residing," in that when Aziraphale borrows Crowley's car, Shax must trick him into giving him permission to enter (S2E4):

HITCHHIKER: I'm so sorry, can you be an angel and give me a lift? Only m-my car's broken down and my phone's dead. Just to the next town, there's a garage there. AZIRAPHALE: Oh… yes, well… I suppose you better climb in, then.

Thus establishing that, theoretically, Crowley and Aziraphale could "go off together" and still have the protection of the Bookshop.

The Consequences of Aziraphale's Final Decision

Crowley tells Aziraphale that he cannot leave the bookshop, but then we know that Aziraphale takes the job and ascends to Heaven. Metatron looks extremely relieved. No sooner do they ascend than Muriel enters the bookshop, where we know Metatron has placed them. Let's take this point by point.

The Bookshop is no longer a sovereign nation

By rejoining Heaven, Aziraphale has reclaimed his citizenship as an angel of Heaven. I'm going to go ahead and say (for sake of argument and because it is thematically consistent) that Heaven does not honor duel citizenship. Therefore, Aziraphale has given up his citizenship of Bookshop, but as it still belongs to him, it is now territory subject to the jurisdiction of Heaven. Muriel has been placed there as a representative of Heaven. Having been (we can surmise) the only "independent embassy" in existence where both angels and demons had to ask permission to enter, it is once again a good and proper embassy of Heaven.

This is important because now, neither Aziraphale nor Crowley have any place to go that is protected from both Heaven and Hell.

Muriel has unfettered access to Aziraphale's collection of books

My very simplistic theory for why Metatron went to so much trouble to get Aziraphale to cede control of the Bookshop is that he needs access to his collection of books. Specifically, he needs a certain Scrivener who enjoys reading to set up camp there and peruse every single book. This is because he is looking for something.

Gabriel left Heaven with a large box; he arrived at the Bookshop with an empty box. We can punt around all sorts of possible reasons but let's say, for sake of conjecture, that Gabriel stole the Book of Life on his way out to protect himself and Beelzebub from erasure. We don't know where the Book is now, but Metatron (who doesn't know the box was empty) has good reason to believe that the Book of Life is somewhere in the bookshop. But it's too dangerous to admit that they've lost track of it, so the best way to find a Book in a bookshop is to get the owner out of there, install an avid reader as steward, and wait patiently.

Other consequences of this theory of citizenship

We are given to believe that Crowley and Aziraphale are both outcasts of Hell and Heaven, respectively, yet Aziraphale seems to be the only one of them that benefits from the protections of independence. We could say that it is because Aziraphale owns land, and so that allows him to establish a nationstate, whereas the Bentley does not, but since Aziraphale brings the protections of independence with him when he borrows the Bentley, that seems flimsy. I find it more likely that in S3 we're going to learn something about Crowley that explains why he lacks these protections, and if I dare to make conjecture, it will be the subject of another meta.

I didn't get around to a discussion of the consequences of Aziraphale throwing his halo and "declaring war," or that war declaration being maybe-cancelled by Crowley; suffice to say, that may again be it's own meta.

~~~

If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy: Honolulu Roast: the story of a coup

another meta on the topic of ownership re the Bentley by @ineffable-endearments can be found here.

~~~

edit: I was reminded by @rekishi-aka to note that in S1, Gabriel and Sandolphon walk right in, because at that time the bookshop is an embassy of Heaven. For all of S2 except the final 30 minutes, celestials all have to ask permission to enter, including Michael, Uriel, Saraqael, and Muriel, because the Bookshop is independent. After Aziraphale throws his halo, celestials just appear inside the Bookshop: by declaring war, Aziraphale has relinquished his protection. It's unclear whether it would have been reestablished by Crowley cancelling the war, but it's a moot point because then Aziraphale agrees to become the Supreme Archangel.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #neil gaiman #good omens maggie #muriel #good omens muriel #maggie #metatron #fuck metatron #ivoc

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 months

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I've been dreaming of the Benevolent Sovereign of the Oasis.

Sun and shadow. Two existences, locked in a perpetual cycle, unable to be without the other.

It hurts to part ways, but reunion is that much sweeter.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

His eyes flutter open, and the instant his awareness hits, so, too, does the lightning in his veins. He throws his covers off and scrambles out of bed. His phone is in his hand in seconds, the calendar app opened.

It's just as he anticipates.

“Today’s the day!!”

Kalim's exhilarated shout stirs the entire mansion. Various hired help glance up from their tasks—private chefs in the middle of their prep work, housekeepers tending to the laundry, gardeners watering the flowers—and tut or sigh.

"There goes the young master again," they’d murmur amongst themselves. "He's so excitable."

It's not an unusual occurrence, but this time is especially special. The notice had gone out months in advance, the most skilled laborers called in from all corners of the world for the event. He had counted down the days, cancelled all his meetings.

Just for this.

Kalim breaks into a sprint down the corridor, his sandaled feet pounding the polished floors. He skids around a corner and continues his frantic pace, almost knocking over a valet. The servant stumbles, but Kalim grabs his hands and pulls him up into a spin.

"It's today, it's today!!" he squeals, earning a blank stare from the valet.

"Yes, sir. The staff are all aware. The preparations are well underway, so you needn't be concerned."

"Gahahah, everyone's already hard at work this early in the morning!" Kalim’s boisterous laugh bounces off the high ceilings. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh no, please leave the work to us... Y-Young master? Young master, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to check up on some things, don't mind me!!" Kalim calls back. He has already taken off, leaving the valet stunned.

"... Well, he's certainly become more proactive."

Kalim sticks his head into the dining room. The table is large enough to host his entire family plus several guests, but today it is set only for two. The seats are intimately situated across from one another, their best plates, silverware, and cloth napkins set out to welcome the diners.

The centerpiece, an ice sculpture of a viper with its hood flared out, sparkles in the morning sunlight. It would be a puddle by now, had it not been enchanted to never melt.

Servants are busy setting up a banquet: crisp vegetables, steamed fish, crusted breads, seasoned meats. His stomach tosses uncomfortably when he passes the seven kinds of curry laid out in a row--but he reassures himself with the reminder that his guest is sure to love them.

The kitchen didn't skim on the beverage selection either. There are sparkling juices, rich soups, spiced coffee, and black tea, accompanied by a large pot of white sugar with which to sweeten it. For dessert, fresh fruits (no dates!), flaky layered pastries, ice-creams, and cakes dipped in sugar syrups, topped with crushed pistachios and candied orange peels.

"Care to sample, sir?" a servant asks Kalim. They offer a trey of appetizers, each with an odd stone-colored dollop.

He obliged, popping one into his mouth. "Mmm! What's this gray stuff? It's delicious!"

"The head chef's secret recipe, young master. He thought to bring it out of his recipe cards today in honor of the celebration."

"Wow, he's really going above and beyond for this!!" Kalim glances at his staff. Now the orchestra is filing in with their instruments, and a massive roast duck on a bed of fried garlic and scallions is being laid out on the table. Another team is stringing up lanterns, and a skilled animal tamer enters, hauling a crate of colorful parrots. "Everyone is. I really appreciate it.

"... Oh, hey!" He snaps his fingers, a spark in his eyes--as though he has just come up with a great idea. "I know! Since you've been putting your all into this, I think it's only fair you get to get off work early and have a chance to relax too!"

"Erm, sir--that's very generous of you, but we aren't even done setting things up yet. The decorations especially..."

"It's fine, I've got this!" Kalim turns to the rest of the workers calls out, waving his arms. "Hey, everyone! You're free to go! Grab some nice food from the kitchen on your way out. I can handle the rest!"

The staff look confused, but not one of them protests. Some shrug and immediately exit, others anxiously wait for their peers to go before they follow. Before long, the room is cleared.

"Alright, let's do this...!"

Kalim produces his magical pen and waves it in an arc. Golden sparkles rain down, animating nearby objects.

Plates, forks, spoons, and knives march to the long table themselves. Flowers settle into crystal vases. Banners and lanterns float up, pinning themselves in place.

There we go.

"Squawk, squawk, squawk!!"

Kalim follows the cacophony to the cage of parrots left behind by the animal tamer. They're scrambling around, looking longingly at the decorations that had been raised to the ceiling.

He brightens with understanding. "Oooh, I get it! You want to get out and stretch your wings too!"

Kalim hesitates, turning the choice over in his head. "'Hmm, well... Technically, you're not supposed to be released until he gets here."

A showy spectacle--that is how Kalim envisions it. A whirlwind of flashy feathers to welcome him back. But the longer he looks at the wide, wet eyes of the parrots, the more the sadness swells in his chest.

Poor little guys, bound to a cage.

"... Okay, I've decided! You can come out and stretch your wings, I'll just need you back on the ground before the big surprise. Then you can fly all you want when he gets here."

Kalim kneels, fiddling with the lock on the cage. The door easily slides open, and--

FLAP, FLAP, FLAP!!

The entire flock rushes out, sending Kalim flying back onto his bum. He braces against the powerful beating of wings, the talons and beaks nearly scraping his skin.

A voice cuts through the noise.

"Kalim!"

Someone tackles right into him, forcing him to the ground. The world violently tilts, and suddenly Kalim is staring at a ceiling swarming with golden lights and a vaguely shaped shadow looming over him.

"I thought you had matured a little since I departed, but it looks as though you still have your moments where you're hopeless without me. I didn't think the first thing I'd do when I got back was protect you, but here we are."

He blinks rapidly. His vision slowly corrects, lines drawing together and forming a crisper image.

That face.

He recognizes it.

His old friend, dressed in sandals, khakis, and a bright yellow T-shirt embroidered with pink tropical flowers. He wears a cap that resembles a cartoon character--a dog with floppy black ears. The man had entered with suitcases, which were dropped by the door the instant he jumped to Kalim's defense.

"Jamil...!"

Kalim yanks him into a hug. His face turns, tears welling in his eyes. "Y-You came!! And you came so early...!!"

"Of course I did. I promised you I'd return home after my travels," Jamil sighs, patting his emotional friend's back. "I was planning on surprising you first, but..."

He gives the dining room and its extravagant flourishes a glance. Parrots are roosting in the banners, popping the balloons, or stealing vegetables and fruit from the flatters.

"... It looks like you've beaten me at my own game," he says tactfully.

"Yeah!" Kalim sniffs, wiping at his tears. "I... I wanted to welcome you home with a huge celebration!!"

"... Idiot. I didn't come back for any of this. Not food, not music, not pets, not decorations. There's one thing that the Scalding Sands has that no other place in Twisted Wonderland does: my best friend."

"Awww, Jamil...!" Kalim's eyes wet again. He lets out a happy sob, reburying his face in Jamil's shoulder. "It's good to have you back!!"

He sighs deeply. Despite this, Jamil still manages a smile. "It's good to be back with you, Kalim."

#twst #twisted wonderland #Kalim Al-Asim #Jamil Viper #Scarabia #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst countdown #twisted wonderland countdown #I've been dreaming...#twst imagines #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland imagines #twst anni #twst anniversary #twisted wonderland anniversary #twisted wonderland anni

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warwickroyals · 2 months

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Sunderland's Royal Jewel Vault (16/∞) ♛

↬ The Boucheron Lattice Tiara

Another giant in the royal family's treasure trove, the Lattice Tiara, also known as the Gordon Tiara, takes some serious experience to pull off. Made by Boucheron in the early 20th century, the tiara wasn't originally of royal origin, passing from jewelry box to jewelry box for the better part of forty years. Eventually, in 1941, it was scooped up by the Hon. Mrs. Martha Gordon, a society hostess who was a friend of King James II and Queen Katherine, then the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Woodbine. The Gordons were spectacular hosts, but by the early 60s the couple had racked up a significant amount of debt, fuelled by Mrs. Gordon's expensive taste in clothes and her husband's gambling addiction. These debts eventually caused the couple to be evicted from their West Warwick penthouse, with several of their belongings being sold or repossessed. To alleviate their friends' hardships, James and Katherine purchased several pieces of expensive jewelry from the couple. The idiocy of Mrs and Mr Gordon is something to behold. Dowager Queen Anne wrote in her diary around the time of purchase. I warned Jimmmie against such an outrageous purchase, but he was adamant. Kitten and I look after our friends, he said. One wonders what those two have that's worth such a pretty penny! It's better not to indebt yourself to your inferiors, but I suppose I'm close-minded in my old age. Jim said that, too. To this day the full extent of the purchase is unknown, but it is said to have included a diamond necklace, a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, a sapphire necklace, a gaudy fringe necklace, and at least two tiaras. It was the Boucheron tiara, with its delicate lattice patterning that became a favourite of Queen Katherine. I admit, I've coveted this [tiara] for years [. . .] It never suited Martha's head, anyway. — Queen Katherine in a private letter, spring circa 1962 For the remainder of her life, Katherine wore the lattice tiara consistently. Even after her husband died in 1970, she continued to sport the tiara at high-profile events. The tiara was an interesting part of Katherine's tiara evolution, showcasing how the Queen graduated from small, light-weight tiaras, to heftier, more dramatic pieces. When Katherine died in 2018, it was inherited by her son, King Louis V, and in 2026, it was worn by Tatiana, Princess of Danforth for the first time. The upgrade in jewelry, despite the princess's widowhood, was viewed as a reformation of her status and role as the mother of the future sovereign.

HM Queen Katherine wears the Gordon tiara at the George League Gala concert on April 25, 1970. She pairs the tiara with teardrop earrings also acquired in the 1962 Gordon Purchase and Queen Matilda Mary's Wedding Necklace

HRH Tatiana, Princess of Danforth wears the Gordon tiara at a banquet for international heads of government on May 23, 2027. She also wears the Gordon fringe necklace. The banquet was attended by over 5000 delegates.

#warwick.jewels #✨#ch: tatiana #ch: katherine #ts4 #ts4 story #ts4 royal #ts4 storytelling #ts4 edit #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 legacy #ts4 royalty #ts4 monarchy #ts4 screenshots

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fatehbaz · 3 months

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Whither the man-eater? This entity was once the prime interest of an entire league of famous sportsmen in colonial India, the engrossing content of many books [...]. [T]he man-eater was first constructed, and then dismantled [...]. This erratic rise and fall of the man-eater is descriptive of changing power relations, the ephemeral yet pervasive axis between the colonial and the post-colonial [...].

---

Jim Corbett was a case in point. [Around the time of independence, Corbett authored popular stories of his adventures in colonial India in the preceding decades, including Man-Eaters of Kumaon and The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag]. [...]

The man-eater was destined [...] to shine in all its ferocity at a certain moment in time and not any other.

Thus, [there is special] context within which specific 'meanings' get associated with animals, at certain times, and at the the hands of select actors [...].

[T]he engulfing realm of the printed word, especially the English book, gave astounding shape and clarity to the idea of a man-eater. [...] The man-eater was never thought of as a sub-species of Panthera tigris in the tables of natural history; rather the man-eater [...] was ‘out of nature’, and thus some kind of an addendum to naturalist understandings. [...] The making of the man-eater into a coherent animal category follows an arduous path. [...] [M]otor cars and other gadgets such as hunting lights had arrived on the scene. [...] [A British officer] who had served in the Central Provinces for quite a while after [1909] [...], commented [..] ‘With modern inventions it would be quite easy to be playing cards in the tent [,] and when the tiger turns up, kill him by pressing a button on a tent wall.’ [His] exasperation was evident [among] [...] [s]portsmen in the 1920s and 1930s [...]. [A] single species splits into undefeatable man-eaters and gentlemanly tigers worthy of observation alone. [...] Amid such lesser sportsmen the man-eater thus became a tactic of power which elevated its [colonial] victor over both the hunters of the past and contemporaries of the present. [...] But it is truly a question if this muzzle-loading gun in the hands of the native [...]. The implication was that sportsmen had a fairer sense of restrictions than the non-sporting classes. With the latter classes gaining political mobility, fears of an 1857-like massacre were also in the air. [...] [B]y the 1930s [...] a host of sportsmen [...] might have preferred to see natives handling a rickety muzzle-loader than an elegant express rifle; the man-eater was intended to remain at large for those ["superior" colonial sportsmen] in possession of the latter. [...]

---

This development of a sportsman into an author can be located within a history of the book. [...] The English novel as a genre [...] began to acquire greater circulation after [...] 1870. [...] [A] book on which the sportsman laboured was like a trophy [...]. For all such ongoing fuss about size [records], a man-eater was more about qualities: cunning, finesse, stealth [...]. If the difficulty of hunting a man-eater was what gave the sportsman a chance to prove the superiority of his skill [...], then this difficulty was the stuff of a story, not a [size] measurement or a mounted trophy. And [...] an aspect of photography. [...] It authenticated the effort of a sportsman and could not be bought of the market [taxidermy trophies available to simply purchase at local shops] except through a book that bore the author’s name. [...]

---

There were dimensions of imagination and power that accompanied this. The idea of a man-eater was such that it helped advance the long held belief that the natives were a hapless lot. [...] Pandian [...] shares how the man-eaters of the colonial period were equated with the ‘arbitrary monarchs’ of a pre-colonial era, which also the British sportsman as a symbol of ‘sovereign might’, would meet on its own grounds. [...] [Consider also] the manner in which the simultaneous depiction of the remaining tigers as ‘large hearted gentlem[e]n’ of the forests (a thing Corbett professed) went to convey the contrary image of a docile, tame and innocent nature that could come to be harmed by natives at the slightest instance.

Protecting the people gave the colonisers power over animals, and protecting animals gave it a power over people.

Notions of animality and criminality intersected at the site of the man-eater.

The entire continuum of man-animal relations was thus canvassed through this tactic, which also the medium of the book in the later colonial periods broadcasted to distant corners of the colony. [...] What perhaps distinguished the man-eater from any ordinary form of game hunting was that it was additionally a form of ‘language-game’. [...] [T]he man-eater was an account in which the ephemeral idea of an ‘India’ glimmered constantly in the background. But it did so largely in English. The man-eater was an English diatribe [...]. The side by side portrayal of the victims of the man-eater as ‘superstitious’, ‘rural’ and ‘ignorant’, only went to establish before the (civilised) readers the proof of an (uncivilised) mass waiting to be salvaged, assimilated or disciplined. [...] [A] mild perusal of Corbett’s My India, published about five years after India’s gaining of Independence, provides ample evidence of the above dynamic. The eventual autonomy of the British administration besides a celebration of the decision making capacities of rural masses (described as ‘real’ Indians) is legend in the pages of this book. The political reality of colonial rule is conflated with a nationalistic pride, which also the sportsman allocates to himself in the describing of his (my?) India. One is left to understand that the man-eater thrived at its best in a colonised India as much as an Indianised colony. As the tension between an emerging nation and an erstwhile colony acquired sharpness in the later colonial periods and a decade thereafter, the narrative of the man-eater came into its own.

The man-eater is thus a veritable creature of timing that shone at its brightest in the 1940s, even if it had been shot down 30 years ago by the likes of Corbett. [...] [Later in the twentieth century, there was a] transformation of the landscape from a designated ‘wasteland’ under colonial administration to a ‘World Heritage Site’ in Independent India. At the peak of such transitions in the 1970s [...], the tiger itself was assuming cosmopolitan proportions and being regarded as a ‘citizen’ by the state. [...] [This was an] emergence of [...] a 'cosmopolitan tiger' [...].

---

All text above by: Varun Sharma. "Rise and Fall of the 'Man-eater': The Changing Science and Technology of a Species (1860-present)". History and Sociology of South Asia Volume 10, Issue 1. First published online 8 December 2015. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Text in the first paragraph of this post is from the article's abstract.]

#edited for clarity like sixty seconds after initial posting #fixed to add the direct thesis like lines about animal meaning in first paragraphs and short bracket info to explain who corbett was #abolition #ecology

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randaccidents · 10 days

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WELCOME ONE AND ALL. TO THE STAGE WHERE ACTORS PLAY UNFITTING ROLES. WHERE THE ENDING IS NEVER REACHED AND THE TRUTH REMAINS VEILED TO THE EYES. IS CONCORD EVEN POSSIBLE WHEN THE SOVEREIGN IS TYRANNICAL? WHEN THE ROLES SUFFOCATE AND WARP ITS ACTORS AGAINST THEM? WHEN THE TROPES ARE CRUEL AND WRONG YET ENFORCED?

WELCOME. TO THE LIE OF CONCORD AU.

OUR ACTORS <warning: they are all unreliable. they do not truly know the script>

Heart (Juno)

He is the love, the hate, the emotional side. (he is tired of having to exaggerate his emotions for Host. having to observe and determine whether Host is satisfied with the amount of emotion he expresses and adjusting accordingly is exhausting. and troublesome. he has none left to give for others when Host isnt around. he'd rather sit in silence and think)

He is weak and vile, but unfortunately needed for survival. (being looked down upon for acting as expected of him to avoid punishment is, frankly, annoying. Juno cant tell if Host wants him to be emotional or not when both options may lead to harm. is he to be a child or is he to be mature?)

Resident Heart has to be kept in check, lest his impulse drives him to the wrong actions. (he and Ruler know that, if Host ever shows weakness, they would usurp him without thought. he doesn't want to be the screaming child Host wants. he wants to be quiet and allowed to think for once.)

Mind (Ruler)

He is the reason, the thought, the logical side. [he has not been allowed to express himself in the slightest if he cannot justify it with something Host deems logical. it is easier to bottle up entirely. it is also a lot harder to keep himself sane.]

He is cruel and cold and callous, but that is just how he is. [acting an unfeeling machine is suffocating. the emotions in his chest beg to be let out, but he is only allowed to do things if he is able to justify them, and he is not always able to justify them when he cant just say he is angry, yet he is expected to retaliate against Juno still. is he to be unfeeling or is he to be angry?]

Resident Mind has to be kept in check, lest he thinks of the wrong conclusion. [he and Juno know that, if Host ever shows weakness, they would usurp him in a heartbeat. he doesn't want to be the unfeeling machine Host wants. he wants to rage and break his fists against a wall]

Soul (Host)

He is the Soul Sovereign. {he cannot allow his Heart and Mind to have any power. he must control them at all costs. he knows knows knows they will usurp him the first chance they get. it has happened every single loop}

He intends to guide his Heart and Mind to becoming Whole, by any means necessary. {they all have roles to play. he will make sure that Heart and Mind follow their roles to a t. they are the Host, Juno and Ruler. that is what they must be, and he will punish insubordination}

He has been hardened by his loops and is dead set on finally becoming Whole. {he has never seen Concord. he does not know what it is. it has been ten thousand loops and counting. but he knows he is doing the right thing.}

{he is Sovereign. he is in control. he is not crazy. he is simply playing his role. he knows he is fated to die. he has died every loop one way or another. he swears that becoming Whole is possible if they Just. Play. Their. Roles. Right.}

#chonnys charming chaos compendium #cccc #cccc au #Lie of Concord AU #Lie of Concord stuff #and here we are folks!#an introduction to our dreary actors #two of whom are forced into ill fitting roles much too suffocating #this au is so fun to play with but its also such a deadended endless loop haha #fair warning to all: this au is a CRITICISM of fanon tropes #chonny jash

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kittyprincessofcats · 1 year

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Yeah, so overall I have mixed - mostly annoyed - feelings about how the UK’s been handling this Eurovision.

On the one hand we have some positives: They acknowledged Ukraine’s win several times, they let Julia Sanina (the only Ukrainian host) do the opening speech almost by herself, she and the others said the word “war” several times and they explicitly stated that Eurovision’s not being hosted in Ukraine because of the war. No sugarcoating there, no calling it a “conflict” instead of a war, no making Eurovision having to be held in the UK sound like a good thing. Also that intervall performance with Alyosha (Ukraine’s ESC contestant from 2010) was a well-done, heartbreaking reminder of why we’re in Liverpool and not in Ukraine.

But then there are the negatives, mainly that I’m not sold on this whole concept of the UK hosting “on behalf” of Ukraine. I really think it should have been “Ukraine hosts in the UK” instead. The UK should have just provided the venue (and the technology, security etc. that comes with it) and then taken a backseat and let Ukraine do their thing. Don’t host it for them, just give them a safe place to do so themselves and then be quiet.

I get that stuff like that opening clip or the postcards switching between locations in Ukraine and the UK are meant to be sweet, but honestly... could have just cut the UK out of those alltogether. And it’s so freaking cringe to hear Graham Norton do what’s supposed to be a summary of Ukraine’s (remarkable!) Eurovision history, only for him to go on about the UK’s failures and Sam Ryder’s 5th 2nd place instead. Shut uppp no one cares!!! You didn’t win, this isn’t your party!!

All of that being said, I’m not Ukrainian and I don’t want to speak over Ukrainian people on this or decide for them whether the UK’s doing a good job here or not. (For example, I was going to severely roll my eyes at that opening clip until I saw a bunch of Ukrainian people on Youtube comment that they loved it and found it touching and sweet. So, you know - in my opinion the UK is making this way too much about themselves, but at the end of the day, that’s up for Ukrainian people to decide.)

And for Ukrainians, if it’s any consolation at all: Knowing you guys’ amazing Eurovision track record (3 wins in 20 years! never failed to qualify for the final!), you will win again in the future and we will one day have Eurovision hosted in a peaceful, free, sovereign Ukraine. That I believe. Слава Україні.

#ESC 2023 #Eurovision #ESC Ukraine #ESC UK #Ukraine #Russia's war on Ukraine #(no hate against British people btw - from what I'm seeing you guys are just as annoyed at this as the rest of us)

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aliensupersyn · 5 months

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Ranni the Trans Analogous Witch

For starters, I do not mean to make any wild claims about Ranni or if she should be considered transfem. Put those fears to rest, dear reader. That's for my eventual breakdown of Miquella's character. Instead, I offer a lens to see Ranni's story from a different perspective than one might not immediately be familiar with.

When people allow themselves to see the world in other's eyes, they can learn to focus on the similarities shared between them instead of the differences. Allow my analogy for Ranni's story to be a mirror, holding space for both the real and fictional.

Rennala and Radagon conceived three children between the two of them: Rykard, Radhan, and Ranni. The two fingers chose Ranni to become an Empyrean, alongside Miquella and Malenia, and each were candidates to succeed Queen Marika.

Though, what does it mean to succeed Marika and become the new queen? The queen would become a vessel for the Elden Ring. To be chosen as an Empyrean means that the Greater Will commands one's body from the first moment they get chosen, and it maintains that power until the Empyrean's end. Elden Ring places significant emphasis on the importance of the body and its connection to one's identity. For example, when the player reaches Queen Marika who betrayed the the Greater Will, you do not fight her. Marika's hair changes color, her dress becomes a skirt, signifying that you face someone else: Radagon. Though they share a host, they have different identifiable traits apart from one another, and their respective forms indicate the one currently present. In the cinematic, the golden haired Marika shatters the Elden Ring; Marika's Hammer reveals that Radagon attempted to repair it. Marika and Radagon may share the same host, but they cannot truly be the same person. The differences in their forms accentuates the differences in their ideals and personalities. Marika cannot escape her destiny as a God and vessel in any ending, and always ends as the Greater Will's puppet. Ultimately, becoming an Empyrean means that the Greater Will controls your body, and therefore your destiny.

The Greater Will's power has both literal and figurative demonstrations throughout Elden Ring; it encompasses militaristic, religious, and political power throughout the Lands Between. The Greater Will created the Erdtree, the Elden Ring, and the god Marika. It created its own God to be worshipped, defeating and alienating the other gods, who have been deemed "Outer Gods." The term "outer" signifies their alienation and their forced dissociation from the Greater Will's own God and other extensions of its power. The Greater Will exists in Elden Ring as an all powerful creation god who influences the written and oral histories and culture of the Lands Between.

The Tarnished Archeologist compares the Greater Will's influence to that of Catholicism. When comparing the Greater Will to the Catholic hierarchy, he says that "the Greater Will would be God, the Fingers are the Pope, those that hear the the words of God directly, and the readers are the church bishopric and clergy.[1]" His comparison demonstrates the the ways that the Greater Will dominates the Lands Between as its most influential God. Marika's own words reiterate my point:

The Erdtree governs all. The choice is thine.

Become one with the Order. Or divest thyself of it.

To wallow at the fringes; a powerless upstart.

Marika's tree, the power of the Greater Will, acts as the ultimate sovereign. It's will acts as the law of the Lands Between, and all must adhere to Marika's rule.

Yet Ranni refused to be controlled by the Greater Will, let alone Marika. Ranni broke away from the bonds of her own flesh and freed herself, forging her own path and eventually, her own reign, free from the control of the Greater Will. Here, I will focus on Ranni's flesh. After her armies defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen's, Marika sealed the Rune of Death away. Ranni salvaged the Rune of Death, used her body as a canvas, and sacrificed her half-brother Godwyn. While her flesh died, her soul was freed and lived on; in contrast, Godwyn's soul died, but his body continued to live.

Ranni's corporeal death can be read as a transitioning allegory. Not only because of the implication of modifying one's body and literally transitioning to a new one, but also because of what she sought freedom from. Once she was forced to become an Empyrean, she no longer held autonomy and control of her destiny or body. She would have to walk the path laid for her, just like everyone else, forever at the whim of the Greater Will. Ranni ultimately sought escape through the flesh. She "would not acquiesce to the Two Fingers. I stole the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away. I would not be controlled by that thing," emphasizing how her body was directly connected to her sense of autonomy and control. Similarly, Marika's ideas, physical traits, and actions contrast to her other half's. Yet, Marika could not escape the Greater Will, and her body remains a vessel for its power in the end. Ranni's transition from a corporeal to a spiritual form emphasizes her individualism and rebellion against legislative control over her body.

Ranni takes control of her life and autonomy of her body back by transitioning into a spiritual form. One's body plays an important role in how they view themselves in and apart from the world. As a vessel of the Elden Ring, Marika saw herself as a puppet to the Greater Will, and knew that her body was what chained her to it. Ranni also understood the importance of the body and its connection to one's identity. She changed her red hair that signified her father, and instead donned a blue appearance that shines like that of the moon's light. Her transition was only the first step to her forging her own path and finding some kind of happiness, despite the mess in the Lands Between.

#elden ring #elden ring lore #ranni the witch #queen marika #rennala queen of the full moon #My friend and I were talking and we both gasped after I made a joke about Ranni being trans #dw miquella #I promise im gonna get to you!!#hope you guys enjoy this #lgbtq #trans

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redeemers-and-dragons · 19 days

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Tales from the Celestial Nexus: Part 1

Narration: The Celestial Nexus is a breathtaking palace suspended within the cosmic expanse, encased in a shimmering crystal sphere amidst swirling galaxies. Within its circular walls adorned with divine murals, gods from all pantheons convene upon a luminous platform, surrounded by thrones of celestial design. Illuminated by an eternal flame and ancient runes of wisdom, the Nexus is where divine beings unite to discuss matters of cosmic import, forging alliances and shaping the destiny of existence itself. In one of it's many many meeting chambers, the gods and goddesses meet to discuss the various issues and notes of interest within their shared domains...

Hiatae: *Bangs gavel* Alright, as this meeting's designated Lead Chair, I formally begin the "Cross Pantheistic Gathering of the Family Domain". Would any member here like to bring forth an agenda?

Boldrei: *Raises hand giddily*

Rest of the Council: *Exasperated sighs*

Lliira: *Rubs her hands together* Oh this ought to be good.

Hiatae: *Pinches the bridge of her nose* Yes, Boldrei of the Sovereign Host?

Boldrei: *Stands up, clears her throat, and pulls out a scroll* Thankyou, Hiatae of Jotunheim. I have an important update on my Champion-

Luthic: *Sneers, while picking clean one her orc tusks* You mean, "Farm Boy"? What did he do this time? Marry a pair of horses?

Yondolla: Oh that'd be adorable! Did he?!

Boldrei: *Pouts* NO! In fact he didn't, Luthic of Neshrik! My brave knight, Sir Arc of Bourbon, has taken up his first Redemption Quest, and is now going out on his first adventure!

The Council: *Some scattered congratulations and polite clapping*

Berronar: *Boredly stroking one of her Dwarven braids* That's dandy and all Boldrei, but is there an actual agenda you're getting at? Because we all have several other domain gatherings after this that'll take up enough of our, and most importantly my, day as is.

Boldrei: What I'm trying to get at is since Jaune is now on the road, and I wanted to inquire if any of you had any followers that may be able to lend him aide if he happens to cross their path? Hopefully single and fertile?

Council: *Groans in annoyance*

Boldrei: *Looking at the Council* What? What is it?

Yondolla: *Awkwardly clasps her hands together* W-well, I'm not too sure if my girls will be willing accommodate... those certain needs. But if he does happen to cross a Halfling village, I'm sure they'll more then welcome him for supper and provide a warm bed, to sleep in that is.

Berronar: My kind won't bar him from our Under Cities. But I hardly expect any self respecting Dwarven woman will take up a human for romp.

Lliira: *Leans on her desk, the rest of her floating up into the air as she kicks her feet* Why not send him to one of my groves? I'm sure the nymphs will have a wonderful time with a cute boy like him~

Luthic: *Darkly chuckles* Or I can send you one of my war bands. The girls could use some target practice.

Hiatae: *Smacks gavel* That's enough from you two! Boldrei, I think its wonderful that your... "Champion" is taking his first steps, but I think most of the Council would agree that until he actually makes a name for himself, we see no reason to arrange our own followers to seek him out as a mate. For now, the best I'll do his not let my girls accidentally step on him.

Boldrei: Oh is that what's this about?! My Jaune isn't good enough for your followers?! Well, I tell you you're missing out! He is the Goodest Boy! You'll see! You'll all see!

Hiatae: *Smacks gavle* Order! ORDER! Boldrei, don't make me call your husband in here again!

Boldrei: *Crosses her arms and sits down pouting.* Hmph!

#redeemers au #boldrei #jaune arc

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