#crime and punishment kin

[shittykinaesthetics]

Shitty Rodion Raskolnikov aesthetic: bro factkinned napoleon so hard he committed murder. and you thought your 2015 tumblr kin drama was bad

[furretsden]

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov {Crime and Punishment} fashion kit in a masc style with dark academia, black and dark neutral colours for anon

Coat | Layered vest and waistcoat | Pants 1 | Pants 2 | Shoes | String tie

[kincalling]

well, in simple words: I love Dostoevsky and kin Razumikhin from Crime and Punishment. I need to find my Raskolnikov. 16+. Don't care about gender :)

⚡️

[tozuiyon]

(2/3)

previous post

Continuing on the behind the scenes of Crime and Punishment (2007) directed by Dimitri Svetozaeov (Преступление и наказание by Дмитрий Светозаров)…

here is the video that I talked abt in the first post 😭😭 (because I can't post more than 1 in a post).

Also added the vid from the first post - in case you're new to this post ;)

HE GOT THOSE ‘HOLDING AND WAVING THE AXE AROUND’ DANCE MOVES

Fun Fact:

The actor, Vladimir Koshevoy (Владимир Кошевой) who plays Raskolnikov, was suggested to find and listen to music- specified for each episode- in order to get in character and determine the behavior of Raskolnikov.

Music he listened to were 'destructive' (in his opinion and he quotes, "Dostoyevsky should have everything that is, a lyrical waltz, a soul-twisting march, and an incomprehensible creak of something...").

He mentions classical music like; Vivaldi, Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Karavajchuk, Arvo Pärt, etc...

...........Is Madonna one of them?? 😳😳😳 /j

Interview with Koshevoy

god this song slaps so much

i noticed that on Koshevoy’s instagram and vk, he listens to Muse and Panic at the Disco 😭😭😭

I believe that these were the costume tests for the series. They're all so cute sobsosbosbobsob

Somehow I can't find the other actors costume tests :(

that jacket looks so comfy ngl

he got that palmerston hat fit

HES SO FINE

Screen tests!!!!!

THIS SCREAMS 2000s SO MUCH AAAAAAAA

Koshevoy - Raskolnikov with St Petersburg's 'The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood' behind him..... edgelord.

RASKOLNIKOV WITH A FLIP PHONE BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Potential meme material

I think he's up to something guys 🤔

I THINK THE PHOTOGRAPHER FELL IN LOVE WITH KOSHEVOY LMAO

i'm in love with him too 😳😳😳😳

have no idea what they're doing here 😭😭

he is silly goofy your honor 🥲

hes like me fr

here is some more photos that the photographer took--

AND NOW I HAVE REACHED THE 30 PHOTO LIMIT........

stay tuned for the next post! :D

previous post

[theinsomniacindian]

I recently finished reading Crime and Punishment and now I want to see Raskolnikov and Ivan Karamazov interact

[grisen06]

reading crime and punishment at the same time as my friend whos also a fandom junkie is an experience like yes this might be viewed as one of the best pieces of literature ever but we r discussing it the same way we discuss genshin

[living-history-lesson]

I need help 😭

I've been kinshifted as Raskolnikov all day and I'm realizing that maybe it's not just psychological (which I previously thought it was) but also spiritual at the same time??? I don't know man I'm crying over this lmao. wtf is wrong with me Things that will never change no matter what life I'm having apparently: MENTL BREASKDOWNS

[tsukimefuku]

The broken idealist: Higuruma Hiromi

And how the world of JJK viciously punishes idealists.

Before we start, let’s set some premises:

This is an essay based solely on my opinions and my own knowledge of criminal justice. I’m no professional writer/essayist.

JJK is a critique on unfair systems that reward selfishness and nurture individualistic (oftentimes destructive) behaviors.

One of the main motifs in JJK is (un)fairness.

Even when rewarded by these systems, individuals usually end up alienated (Gojo being the utmost example, but so is Sukuna to some extent).

The world of JJK punishes idealists very harshly. 

I might've read waaaaay too deep into his character (apologies in advance).

I am ABSOLUTELY biased in analyzing this character because I kin Higuruma very hard and identify profoundly with many of his struggles.

[queue “Pigs” by Pink Floyd] Let's do this.

The ideal of truth and Higuruma choosing to be a criminal defense attorney

Higuruma shows up in the manga as one of the top players of the Culling Games. Throughout a few chapters, Gege introduces him to us as a former criminal defense attorney that has lost it after one of his clients gets his innocence verdict overruled and is unfairly convicted for a crime he didn't commit, triggering Higuruma's cursed technique to awake, ending up in the deaths of the Judge and Prosecutor that contributed for the wrongful conviction.

Along those chapters, we get to see two very interesting things: Firstly, the fact that Higuruma actively chose to be a lawyer, instead of pursuing a career as a judge. Second, his stance and lines about truth, especially this one: "Even if no one else does, I want to keep my eyes open."

Higuruma, for me, is a prime example of how someone moved by truth and justice can become a self-righteous, cynical individual (I'll refrain from the word "villain" because he wasn't ever an actual "villain" in the story). From the get go, when we get more information on his past, we can see his mental state slowly declining as he gets progressively more overworked fighting an unwinnable fight. 

We have some very important pieces of information from chapter 158: Japan has a 99% conviction rate. The public opinion about defendants is that they're always guilty. Higuruma earns little, works a lot and his job is usually trying for a miracle, to be that 1%. And, finally, that Higuruma chose to fight an unfair system from within. 

That not only has huge parallels with the world of cursed energy, but is one the most important messages I feel that JJK is building up to — you can't reform a broken system from within, because structurally and systematically unfair systems will always push things back into a state of unfairness / status quo. We see this when Gojo says, at the beginning of the manga, that even if he killed all the higher ups at that point in time, other assholes would just take their places. To a more fundamental level, we see it in Yuki's failed efforts to end curses from the perspective of a jujutsu sorcerer, and the way the story is progressing towards a complete rupture with the current state of cursed energy altogether to give place to something new.

The message is: To fight an unfair system from within and by its own rules is and always will be a losing game.

Now to Higuruma's fallout, we have a perfect storm for what happened to him — an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. 

I'll dive a little into criminal law (and c.l. procedure) and make many oversimplifications to get a point across, so I apologize to any other criminal lawyers out there reading this and cringing at the oversimplifications.

In theory, the Criminal Justice System should be preoccupied with the truth. Criminal Law, in essence, is attributing a penalty (prison, fine, death, etc.) to an act (to kill, to rob) described by law as a crime. In that regard, then, one could only suffer said penalty if they actually committed the act that the law described as being a crime. 

Where does truth come into place here?

To investigate if something happened in the world of facts (the real, concrete world) is essentially a search for truth, which to me is very telling of Higuruma's choice in becoming a criminal defense attorney. 

In an unfair system in which 99% of people are convicted, it'd make no sense for this man to become a prosecutor. The prosecution is already benefiting from the system, considering the way the scales are tipped. That's a given.

But regarding the judgeship, things become more interesting. In a fair criminal justice system, the judge is forbidden to engage in probationary activity (which means, basically, that the judge cannot search for evidence, investigate or look for witnesses, he can solely analyze what the defense and prosecution bring to him in order to give a verdict — the judge does not engage in the most important activity in finding the truth).

Why can't the judge do that?

Because when the presumption of innocence is in place, anyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, ergo, if there is not enough evidence to convict, the person must be acquitted. If the judge engages in that activity, they'd be taking on the prosecution's job — to prove the occurrence of a given criminal act. We have separate places for judging and prosecuting for a reason.

The scales are already in favor of the prosecution (they literally have THE STATE’S aid ikn the form of police forces to investigate and taxpayer money to foot costs during criminal lawsuits), so anything that might end up harming or weakening the presumption of innocence is strictly forbidden, including having the judge engage in probationary activity. If the lack of evidence is enough to acquit someone, then having the judge searching for evidence automatically harms the presumption of innocence, because if there is not enough evidence to convict someone, the judge MUST acquit. 

In that scenario, then, the best place for someone who wants to search and defend the truth against unfairness is the Defense stand, clearly. 

Everything said up until now about how the criminal justice system should work is just the theory, however. The reality of it is far sinister. The criminal justice system is a machine perfectly conceived to chew out those who fight for fairness, because fairness is not one of its main goals. It's main goal is serving as an instrument of power (in the most Foucaultian sense of the word) and control over citizens and, to some degree, appease collective concerns about crime rates and violence by making examples out of people, whether they're guilty or not (I could go on a tangent here for hours about the criminal justice system, capitalism and protection of private property by the state, but let's not do that, lol). 

That's why Keita's trial is the perfect storm to break Higuruma's psyche so deeply. All the systematic unfairnesses that exist in the Japanese Criminal Justice System chomp away his ideals — one might say, what constitutes the very core of who he is — and unceremoniously spits it right back in his face. 

Independent defense lawyers are systematically in a worse position regarding resources to gather evidence in their client's favor; it's easier to convict someone who's already under the gavel than to start a new investigation on somebody else and spend even more taxpayer money; to convict a person whom the people deem as guilty soothes the public opinion regarding how well the criminal justice system actually works to "keep society safe from these foul criminals" (not human beings); the appeal is a limited resource in most criminal justice systems, so after one gets their innocence verdict overturned, to get it back is extremely hard.

Everything worked perfectly to break every inch of Higuruma's ideals. It's no use for you to be the only one willing to stare truth in its eyes if everyone else looks away because it's more convenient to let the unfair gears keep turning the way they do. You'll give yourself to unnecessary suffering meanwhile nothing ever changes. This could even help draw a parallel between Higuruma's and Geto's fallouts: to realize how broken the system is, how you can't break a wall with the toy hammer the wall builders give you, and how lonely/depressing/infuriating of an experience it is to realize all this and still know there is absolutely nothing you can do. 

The game is rigged, and if someone ever so chooses to not play by those rules, they're viciously punished.

Now that we've gotten to the breaking part, let's see how it manifests in Higuruma's own cursed technique and domain expansion.

The broken idealist and the cynicism

Someone had made an amazing post about how Higuruma's domain expansion was a perfect demonstration of his own cynicism at the moment his abilities were awakened, but I couldn't find it! So OP, if you by any chance end up reading this, HMU, because what you said will be featured here. (Edit: found it. Thanks, Eugie! The post can be accessed here, and @wolke17 made a deeper analysis after it, take a look at their profile)

In order to talk about Higuruma's cynicism stemming from his disappointment with the criminal justice system, we need to talk about his domain, so that's what we're gonna do now.

In his domain expansion, we meet his shikigami, Judgeman, who is an all-knowing creature responsible for giving off the verdict at the end of the debates between the two parties. According to Higuruma, Judgeman knows absolutely everything about someone's life the moment they enter his domain.

All is well up until now, isn't it? Hm, not so much. There are some very serious philosophical conundrums to having an all-knowing being bestowing judgment (skeptical catholics went crazy over this for many centuries). 

Think about this: in a Courtroom, we have a judge who needs to get to know the facts, and is presented with two different hypotheses about the facts (prosecution and defense), for which the evidentiary activity (collecting evidence) is needed to support one hypothesis or the other. Given that we abide by the presumption of innocence, you don’t even have to prove the defense’s hypothesis to get an acquittal, as long as the prosecution one isn’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

What’s the issue with having a judge that is omniscient? 

First off, why would two hypotheses need to be confronted if the judge already knows the answer — if the person did or did not commit the crime?

On another note, now going into more of a “well he’s just judging based on the allegations”, it gets deeper. We have a judge that knows what happened, but simply decides based on the parties arguments. This is a huge issue because firstly, it obliterates the value of truth in the justice system — if criminal law is attributing to a particularly reprehensible action a penalty, and judgeman knows if that action took place or not, yet doesn’t decide according to what happened, but according to who best defends their point of view, it annihilates the very own reason for collecting evidence, the reason that a judgment needs to take place and the reason for criminal law even existing.

In Higuruma's domain, then, truth becomes the least important thing. In there, who has the better argument wins the debate. The judgment that happens within Deadly Sentencing is not about truth, it’s about the game's rules (or, more specifically, his domain's rules) and who plays them better, which makes it all the more ironic that Higuruma sees so much “potential” in the Culling Games due to its rules and established mechanics.

In a courtroom setting, having an omniscient judge is always, in any scenario, a cynical game of wits, and it fits perfectly with the philosophical fallout Higuruma experienced after Keita's conviction. His perspective got switched from "who deserves to win according to the truth" to "who plays the game better". He lost faith in the criminal justice system, and to a deeper degree, he lost faith in fairness in the world as a whole.

And that's why we can arrive at the conclusion that Higuruma is, in essence, a "broken idealist" character: he's not pandering to the idea that "the winner should be the one who plays the rules better” because he truly believes it; he's doing it out of resentment, because he got time and time again punished and was subjected to a hell of a lot of suffering for upholding his own ideals of truth and fairness. He's not acting, he is reacting to being unraveled and broken the way he was.

It also shows in his discourse regarding the weak, and the way he tries to place himself above what he dubs “the ugliness of people”, as the only one who sees the truth (“darkness is only darkness / people are ugly”). It’s a mirror: he experienced his own helplessness (or weakness) with Keita’s conviction, so in an effort to try and protect whatever is left from his own psyche, he’s actively denying how helpless he really feels by putting himself above the “truly weak”. 

In the end, however, Higuruma kept his idealistic essence alive instead of giving himself over to the story that he told himself as a defense mechanism, unlike Geto, which is why it was possible to bring him back.

Even broken, he remained an idealist at heart.

written by tsukimefuku ㋡ comments and reblogs are appreciated. do not copy, translate or repost. copycatting is for losers.

[p0ssumkingdom]

AUTHORITY [Heroic: Success] — The machine shows not an ounce of remorse for the slaughter of your kin. No matter, the punishment for this crime will be all the same — death.

[youraverageaemondsimp]

Embers of the past. // Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: ANGST, war, grief, loss, major character death(s), hurt/no comfort, tragedy + not proofread

WC: 1.1k

A/N: first time writing pure angst IDK 😭 I couldn't sleep and I wrote this short fic so uhm 😀

He reminisced about you quite often, about the moments you both spent together; in youth and in adulthood.

“Aemond?” You call out his name and he wakes up from his slumber, your face hovering over his as the sunlight scatters around your form because of the way you blocked it with your head.

“Y/N?” He groans, rubbing his eyes as he properly sat up, fully awake now, “Yes, It is me, The septa is looking for you at the request of Ser Criston Cole” You tell him, and he looks around, “You know how she is, He will say how un-princely it is to fall asleep under the godswood!” You pull him by his arm, rolling at the thought of the septa lecturing you both, and he gets up, before brushing off the dust from his clothes.

“Let us go now, otherwise You'll be late for your training.” You quickly urge him, dragging him along by the arm and he stumbles forwards but immediately picks up pace. “Will you be watching me train again today?” He asks and you nod eagerly, “I love seeing you train.” you reply, causing him to blush before locking your arm with his and moving to the training grounds.

He remembered how in his youth you used to stare at him in awe whenever he trained, that stare never changed, it felt as though you always saw a side of him that no one ever did, your eyes filled with pure admiration, solely for him alone.

He admired you as well.

His admiration grew with age, as you both grew up, it turned into an emotion that would soon engulf you both into pieces, burn you both alive in its flames of passion. Love.

He loved everything about you.

The way you spoke, the way your voice would become a pitch higher whenever you talk of your interests, the way your eyes would gleam with brightness as you stared at him, the way your face would brighten up when you would see him.

He adored you so much.

So why is that your eyes which once beamed so brightly seem soulless? Your face is void of any expression which was once always smiling, your body so cold to the touch, no longer providing the warmth he once basked in. Why?

His grip on your body tightened as he was lost in thought, “My prince…” Ser Criston's Cole’s voice was filled with nothing but pity, but why was it filled with pity anyway?

He remembers now.

You had died.

Taken away from him, a cruel punishment for his action of accidentally slaying his own nephew, his own kin. He couldn't save you in time as the men sent by Daemon Targaryen had arrived before he could even reach out.

He walked into a room where the floor was covered in blood, your body lying amidst it with your gown stained with your own vital fluid.

He thought he had lost a part of him even forever when he lost his eye, but the day he lost you was the day he lost himself.

He became a ghost of a person he was before, his mind filled with nothing but grief and sorrow, Did he truly deserve it? You had done nothing wrong to be the victim of such a crime, it should be him that should be dead because of his own actions, not you.

Yet the gods were cruel.

Aemond, turned mad, unable to deal with the grief that weighed upon him so heavily which he turned to endless training and bloodshed, venting his frustrations out in such a way.

Till he met Alys Rivers.

“I know of the troubles you suffer from my prince, I can help you.” She had told him the moment he met her, and he scoffed, almost chuckling at her stupidity, “I know the sorrows that weigh upon you, my prince, the way you dearly miss her.” It was what caught Aemond's attention, how did she know of you? The only ones that knew were the ones closest to him.

“I can help you avenge her, but…” Those first few words were enough for Aemond to agree with Alys, she need not say more, in return, he helped her live a secure life than before, providing protection to her while she exchanged the visions she used to see.

It was all what led to the moment.

Him facing off his uncle above the God's eye.

The dragons roared as the fight begin, attacking one another for few minutes, struggling to gain the upperhand until Vhagar caught Caraxes by the neck, causing the dragon to panic and yank Daemon off, but Daemon held on tightly, his plan changing, jumping off his dragon in a suicide-mission to deliver the final blow to Aemond.

Yet he failed and fell to his death.

Aemond thought he had won, and that he had finally avenged you.

But he plummeted from the skies, watching both the dragons fight above him, he was knocked off from his dragonback when Caraxes lunged at Vhagar in order to avenge his rider,

As Aemond descended through the air, he had remembered what Alys had said to him. “You will see her once again after defeating your uncle.”

He understood what it meant now.

He reminisced about everything, everything leading up to now, each and every moment he spent with you, suddenly he felt alive as each second passed on and time moved forwards, how ironic as he was falling to his death. Yet it did not feel that way to him, he did not feel the doom anyone would feel nearing their death, instead he felt more alive than he ever did in the days he spent living without you.

Even as the air felt like a million spikes being shoved into his body, he found peace in it, the way the harsh air penetrated through his clothes and hair felt anything but terrible, contrary to it, he oddly found solace.

The waters welcomed his body as though they were waiting for him, Aemond found it harder to breathe, yet he did not struggle; simply closing his eye and welcoming death, accepting his fate. He felt as if he was only mere moments away from you.

Maybe in death, he won't be separated from you.

Even in his final moments, his mind refused to wander off to anywhere but you.

As the life left his body, he had only one thing in his mind.

Your face that smiled ever so brightly and warmly at him, just as the way you used to.

[sunnycanvas]

Hi can I request a part 2 for unfaithful baldwin where he regrets or the reader escapes?

Find her! Find her!

Baldwin IV screamed at the top of his lungs. He was sweating so much. His beautiful blonde hair was drenched in sweat. His eyes wide in fear and shock. Baldwin IV quickly shifted his hair back by his hand as he screamed in his thunderous voice. "What are you doing, does it take so much time to follow my orders"? Knights assembled quickly in front of the king. Shocked at such furious face. Baldwin IV was known to have strong mind and great courage. It's unlikely to see him furious. He manages to remain calm in most tense situations. The knights assembled in front of the king confused. The king's mistress was surprised as well. She slowly approached her beloved but kept safe distance. Last thing she wanted for her to get scolded as well.

"Your queen consort is missing" "Which one of you helped her escape" "Tell me now and I will spare you"

The knights trembled in fear not knowing what to respond. For the queen consort to go missing. Especially when they were given strict orders to keep continuous watch on her was not going to go well for them. Nobody dared to speak up and Baldwin IV 's mistress watched everything astonished. Even she didn't think the queen will be able to escape. "Helping her escape is a crime against crown" "I will investigate the person who helped her escape" "The person will not only be punished but their family as well as people who shares their nearest blood kin with them will suffer as well". "This fate can be avoided if you admit right now which one of you helped her escape and where she might be, right now". The whole hall grew quite and King Baldwin IV waited patiently for an answer. The hall became so quiet that one could easily hear the sound of water dripping. King Baldwin IV waited patiently as time went by his face became redder and his eyes grew colder. The king's mistress couldn't help but think if (Y/N) is found by the king. She will never be able to have same relationship as before with the king. "Baldwin IV is sensitive about his honour" "I know that he is not only upset about her escaping due to personal reasons but also about his honour as well ". She knew the king despite the love he shared for his queen won't be happy about people gossiping or perhaps mocking him that he can't control his wife. "This has taken a huge blow on him" "He has been possesive and careful when it came to her" "Ever since she caught us the king knew she would try to escape". "Nobody thought she would be successful though"

"Quick get the horses ready we will find the queen, I will personally lead the search". Baldwin IV repeated last words with so much venom that it sent shiver across everyone's spine Baldwin IV 's mistress although scared was shocked at sudden proposal ran towards the king forgetting about gravity of the situation. "Your majesty you recently caught another disease" "It won't be good for your health" . Baldwin IV raised his hand up indicating "Stop". The mistress grew quite. She quickly composed herself and said "My apologise your Grace" "As your humble subject I should have been more careful" .

"Who let a woman in knights meeting"

The mistress was shocked since Baldwin IV has never spoken to her like that, "My apologise my lord I will leave right away"

"Make sure you do, it seems like the palace has been lenient when it comes to security". The mistress didn't say anything and quietly left plotting her revenge when the queen is found. "I will ensure to win him back and make the queen's position so poor that she will seem invisible in palace"

"Gaurds, prepare the horses and ensure to send message to nearby Kingdoms as well" "Repeat the same message I gave you today to them as well"

Meanwhile:

"Thank you so much". I bowed against lady Sybilla the wife of King Bohemond III of Antioch I remember one of the Muslim sources mentioned her as Muslim spy but I never thought that it would be true. "No need to thank me" she replied with poisonous smile. "Just ensure not to get caught, erase all your traces" "In case you do, don't tell them who helped you". I asked her again doubtful "King Bohemond III of Antioch doesn't know, does he?".

"No he doesn't" she replied. "Now leave" "Your and mine journey ends here"." Leave as fast as you can, we have so less time right now" I smiled again and bowed one last time before I left in disguise looking for time portal. It took me some time until I finally reached my destination. "This has to be it" I thought as I looked at the place. Hopefully my calculations are correct. I need to hurry before I am caught or else my life will be over. Baldwin IV will be even harsher about guarding me but before that, I shuddered as I thought of his face red in anger. His eyes wide and cold and his teeth gritting. "Worst he can do is severely scolding and lot more restriction. I quickly dismissed myself of these pessimistic thoughts and went back thinking about my original plan . Based on my calculation time portal must be here. Time portal should open inside this river right now.

(Y/N)!!!

I froze. No! No! No! Why now?! Does universe really hate me so much. I could see the king, my husband with group of knights "Gaurds quickly stop the queen". Seeing them approaching I started running as far as I could, of course I was not match for trained knights with horses. I could hear my husband pleading"(Y/N) please don't jump" "Killing yourself will lead to enternal damnation in hell" "Your body won't be buried" "You won't be accepted by church". "Come back to me and I will forgive you". Angry I yelled at my husband "I hate you" "I will rather go into damnation of hell than being with you" "You killed whatever we had because of your adultery" My husband stopped at looking back at me shocked and hurt "(Y/N)"

Later:

"You mean to tell me that the queen jumped in river in front of everyone and was never found".

"Indeed my lady" replied the knight who secretly acted as spy for lady sybilla of Antioch. Sybilla laughed joyfully and said "In front of king as well" "How did the king react". The knight snickered and said "He later jumped in river as well when nobody was able to find her". "The king kept on trying to find the queen" "Finally he was physically retrainsed by his knights" "Everyone has accepted that the queen drowned in sorrow".

"After that" Lady sybilla of Antioch smiled like a excited child. The knight gleamed in joy and said "The king looked mentally dead when we arrived back" "He didn't say anything much" "Later he blamed his mistress saying that she was the one who seduced him" "That it was her fault this happened"

Lady sybilla nodded with joy and said "The king is known to be mentally strong" " Even when he first learned of his disease he was calm and accepting about it". Lady sybilla smiled again saying "That girl gave me more than I was expecting". "Soon Jerusalem will be ours"

Back to our time:

I was found in dead of night by station master near the railway tracks. I was drenched in water. I was asked questions but I could barely say anything in state of shock. I later was admitted to hospital. Soon I was discharged and left for home. Once I came back home.I was happy to wear my cozy clothes. "Finally, it's all over" I took my IPad and sat on my sofa surfing the web. I was curious about how events played out after I left. I did quick Google search and found out:

"King Baldwin IV ensured the gaurds kept close eye on Queen consort (Y/N) of Jerusalem after she found the king with his mistress. She was monitored all the time. Queen (Y/N) was able to escape though. Nobody knows how she was able to escape. Not even most researched historian of crusades can tell. Some historian have suggested that Raymond, count of Tripoli helped her with a maid acting as her spy to escape. While some suggested king Bohemond III of Antioch bribed some church members to help her escape but nobody knows for sure. The king went into his deep sorrow. His disease got infected worse because of swimming in contaminated water. We know now that he suffered with dysentery and swimming made it worse. The loss of queen affected his reign. The king reign was no doubt affected because of loss of his queen.....

I read further and realised how mistress was shunned. How her seduction was blamed and how Baldwin IV was thought to be king easily manipulated until recently rest all events went same with princess sybilla. "Yes, he is not a man to be manipulated" I thought Although unlike before Jerusalem did have quite a few losses like never before, I read further was able to find "Although king died of natural causes his body was never found". This last line seemed suspicious to me. "Wait.. wasn't he buried but his bones later removed from tomb in the late 12th-13th century after the recapture by the Ayyubid dynasty". I had a bad feeling about this, something isn't right

"Ma, Cherie" I froze. "Please not again". I turned around fearful and saw my king behind me looking sickly. "You shouldn't question my sense of duty" "I knew it I could find you ". I gulped in fear. "What did I get myself into" I thought

[room-surprise]

Izutsumi's name, meaning and cultural references

This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of my Dungeon Meshi essay, "Real World Cultural and Linguistic Influences in Delicious in Dungeon"

IZUTSUMI

(Japanese Pronunciation: Idzutsumi)

(Spoilers for the entire manga and post-manga materials!)

Izutsumi (イヅツミ) is a beast-man created by attaching a human soul to a monster cat, which is why she won’t ever be able to “turn back” into a human: she was never human to begin with. We don’t know what Izutsumi’s birth name was, if she even had one. The human that was killed was probably a baby or young child, since they don’t seem to have any memories of their mother, so they may not have ever been named.

We know that Izutsumi is from a different, larger island in the Eastern Archipelago to the northeast of Wa Island, however we do not know if this is the origin point of her human half, her monster cat half, both, or if this is just where she was made.

We do know that when she saw an illusion of what she thought was her human soul’s mother, the illusion was wearing something similar to North or Central Asian clothing, not Japanese clothing, so the island Izutsumi comes from is probably not culturally Japanese like Wa Island.

PLANT: ASEBI

Izutusmi’s code name as a ninja is Asebi (アセビ), which is the Japanese name for Japanese andromeda (pieris japonica), a type of shrub. The kanji for this plant’s name is 馬酔木 and it literally means “horse intoxicating tree” because it was known to be toxic to horses and make their legs go numb. A code name like this could imply a rude sentiment like “you’re so unpleasant, just being near you makes horses sick.” Considering the hostile relationship Izutsumi has with the Nakamoto clan, this code name makes a lot of sense.

IZUTSUMI THE FAMILY NAME

Izutsumi (井堤) is a common family name in central Japan, especially Kanagawa Prefecture. It is historically affiliated with the Tachibana (橘氏) clan, which was one of the four most powerful kuge (court nobility) families in Japan's Nara and early Heian periods.

The Tachibana clan’s founder was Inukai Michiyo (犬養 三千代) whose name was changed to Tachibana Michiyo by Empress Genmei. Michiyo was a court lady of the early Nara period and mother of Empress Kōmyō.

The family name Inukai (犬養) literally means to own or keep a dog, but the character for dog historically refers not only to dogs, but to any four-legged animal, especially those that are ancient or magical.

Over the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, the Tachibana clan’s rivals pushed the Tachibana out of power, and the clan was scattered across the country. I’m not certain, but it sounds to me like “Inukai” as a family name describes a profession, in this case, someone who is in charge of keeping four-legged beasts of all kinds. In the world of Dungeon Meshi, maybe this name implies they are a professional monster keeper, or monster trainer.

Though it’s a somewhat tenuous connection, the idea that Izutsumi’s human half might have been a stolen child from the Tachibana/Inukai family, which tames monsters, is very interesting! Another possibility is that the Tachibana/Inukai family were the ones that provided the monster cat used for making Izutsumi. Perhaps they were experimenting with making beast-kin soldiers in an attempt to fight back against their rival kuge clans.

IZU-TSUMI

Let’s break down the name Izutsumi into its sound components and what they might mean.

TSUMI

The primary meaning for tsumi is 罪, a Japanese word that indicates the violation of legal, social or religious rules, so you could translate it as sin, abomination, or a crime against god and humanity.

In Ancient Japan the word usually implied that a divine punishment was occuring, and something that was tsumi would therefore carry disease, be polluted and unclean, suffer from disasters, or be ugly and unsightly.

Considering the way people of the Eastern Archipelago discriminate against all races that aren’t tall-men, and the way the Nakamotos make Izutsumi cover her body and face up completely, I think Kui probably meant for Izutsumi’s name to convey this meaning.

However, although the negative connotation is the most common, tsumi can also be a name, or part of a name (Tsumigiwa, Tsumiki, Tsumio, Tsumire, etc.) which makes it sound natural when used in Izutsumi’s name.

It can also refer to the Japanese sparrowhawk, Chinese mulberry, a spindle, a whelk, a child's wooden building blocks, to accumulate (bricks, like a wall, or savings, like money), to build a reputation or gain experience, atonement (for sin), to pluck, to load with cargo, or to send away.

These meanings are interesting, since they suggest that Izutsumi is “sent away” by Toshiro when he lets her go, and by joining Laios’ party she is gaining life experience, building herself up (like a wall, like a child with toy blocks), and becoming a more mature person, moving past her old identity of being a sinful mistake. Through the course of the manga she learns to accept herself as she is, and eventually discovers that there was nothing to “fix”, she cannot become a full human, because she wasn’t one to begin with.

IZU THE PERSONAL NAME

Izu is either a girl’s name, or a component of several Japanese names for any gender (Izumi, Izuko, Izuchi, etc), so putting together Izu+tsumi creates a compound that sounds like a Japanese personal name, though I have found no evidence of it as an existing personal name.

IZU THE PLACE

Many names reference where a person or their family are from, so it’s possible that Izutsumi (or her family, or the magicians who made her a beast-man) are from a place called Izu.

Izu (伊豆) is the historic name of a province which is now part of the Shizuoka Prefecture, which is to the west of Tokyo. This area is the Izu peninsula, a large mountainous area, and it contains Izu city, and nearby is the Izu island chain.

Many of the Izu islands are and have been uninhabited, however a few of the islands do have small populations, and Jomon and Yayoi ruins have been found on several of them, indicating that the ancestors of modern Japanese people once lived in these places. I was unable to find any information about whether any other ethnic groups have specifically lived on these islands.

During the Tokugawa shogunate (one of the primary eras that Dungeon Meshi’s Wa Island resembles), the Japanese court frequently sent nobility into exile in the Izu islands because the region was far away from the capital, and it was considered an unlucky and bad place to be. It’s unclear if the Izu islands already had this reputation before they became a place of exile, or if the negative reputation was caused by its use as a prison. There is some indication that the Izu islands were somehow seen as ritually unclean or dangerous.

Eventually the criteria for banishment was broadened and the islands became penal colonies, where people were sent for murder, theft, arson, brawling, gambling, fraud, jailbreak, rape, and belonging to illegal religions (Christianity). Criminals exiled to the island were never told the length of their sentences, and the history of the island is filled with foiled escape attempts.

Not only were the islands used as a prison to keep politically dangerous people away from Kyoto, they also held an important religious role as a barrier between the supposed purity of the central court in Kyoto and the unclean dangers beyond the borders of Japan.

The islands were the first line of magical defense against the dangers that threatened Japan, and the ritual experts, a type of shaman called an urabe, practiced a special kind of turtle-shell divination in Izu.

It’s possible that Izutsumi’s human soul came from the Izu region. Izutsumi’s human part could have been a native of the Izu mainland, an Izu islander, or the child of a prisoner. No matter which one it is, being from Izu would make Izutsumi very low-ranking and unimportant, which would make her human half a perfect target for someone trying to find a baby or child that they could sacrifice to make a beast-man.

It’s also possible that the magician that made Izutsumi lived and worked in Izu, since it’s a place that had magical and ritual significance, was seen as a place of pollution and danger where such “unclean” work could be done, and where there is a ready supply of unwanted human beings (prisoners, islanders and their kin) available to be used as raw materials.

Perhaps they made many beast-men, and so since “tsumi” means abomination, perhaps the name Izutsumi simply means “abomination made in Izu.”

IZU THE VERB

Izu (出ず “dezu”) is also an archaic verb used by the lower-class that can mean a great variety of things, though there does seem to be some common ideas being expressed through all of them. Here are the ones that I think apply the most to Izutsumi:

Doesn’t come out (She’s been hidden in her ninja clothes for a long time.)

To leave on a journey, to depart, to move forward (She leaves her old life behind.)

To appear, to emerge, to be discovered (She surprises Laios’ party and then joins them.)

To be exposed, exhibited, displayed (She grew up displayed in freak shows.)

To sell (She was sold by many people.)

To exceed, to go over (Her behavior is often seen as rude and “too much.”)

To stick out, protrude (Her ears stick out, giving her identity as a beast-man away.) To come from, to be derived from (She “comes from” tsumi, she was created by an abominable act.)

To assume an attitude, to behave in a manner (She behaves like tsumi, an abomination, uncivilized.)

[splint-er-exe]

I think it's really fascinating how Fireheart's coping with any situation or stress or really any emotion is anger so far.

Angry and seething thinking about Bramblekit. Punishing Cloudpaw with not eating for the day because he was just worried about him never coming back home after too long.

Just generally being angry a lot, losing patience, being frustrated and irritated.

It makes sense because he is too young for his work (deputy) and is overworked at that. A leader who has gone into a severely depressive state snapping at him, not doing her job, not taking care of herself. That's his old mentor and mom figure he's seeing deteriorating.

But also think of all the heavy punishments he got as an apprentice. Not eating as well or dirty work or having limited rights. Tbf for much worse crimes than not coming home at time. But that's the treatment he's used to. He's used to anger and frustration and heavy punishments being directed his way.

And now he shows that same treatment when overstressed and exhausted to his own apprentice and kin.

[kincalling]

Hi- This is a massive stretch, but.. i'm seeking a (Dmitri Prokofich) Razumikhin kin as a (Rodion Romanovich) Raskolnikov kin myself... (Crime and Punishment, novel by Fyodor M. Dostoyevsky) 21+, don't mind gender, system or not, or age (as long as you're also an adult).

Please interact with the post and i will reach out?..

🃏

[a0random0gal]

"Alicent should have killed Aegon for what he did to Dyana. Is this how she defends SA victims?"

Has to be one of the shittiest takes I've ever had the displeasure of reading in the hotd fandom.

I genuinely cannot believe that a lot of people think this, like, are you guys insane??? Lmao casually saying this as if they aren't demanding a mother to execute her child.

I get it blacks, you are mad that Aegon raped Dyana, trust me, it upsets me too. It's horrible and unexcusable, I don't condone at all. It would be very concerning if I did.

With that said, what exactly were you expecting Alicent to do?

Tell all of Westeros that because the prince assaulted a servant ( I would like to remind you, a generous chunk of nobles has certainly done it as well to some degree.) he has to face justice and be executed.

Whaaat? Westeros is not in the 21st century, it doesn't work like that, by their standards it probably wasn't even considered rape! They would just think the prince had honored her with his attention and she had showed ungratefulness.

She would be punished instead for attempting to taint his image and have her tounge cut out or something. We're in the middle ages!!

Rape in Westeros is unfortunately super normalized, his execution would cause a shit show. Oh and sorry, how are you demanding a mother to have her firstborn killed?

Ali is veery disappointed with her son for many reasons, obviously including this one, and she's not shy to say it to his face, slap him and tell him he's no son of hers. But he is still her son, and she will always love him no matter what. There is no way in hell she would ever kill one of her kids.

Lmao if one of the strong boys did the same thing would you demand Rhaenyra to kill her sons as well?

Oh and also kinslaying. The circumstances of it are irrelevant, kinslaying is always considered one of the worst crime one can commit in Westeros. Hell even people who unwillingly kill their kin are cursed and ostracized, imagine what the realm would think of a mother, the fucking queen, killing her son.

Team black will really find any excuse to shit on Alicent, even if said reason is dumb as hell and devoid of any logic.

[nebulaafterdark]

More Than Anyone Pt. 6

Summary: Rhaenyra is crowned, Y/N is named heir before the masses…but not without sacrifice.

18+ ONLY, Targcest, light smut

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Daemon Targaryen is not a man who takes anything lying down. This recent assault against his wife and child is no exception. There is no need to sit around with their thumbs up their asses, chasing dead ends. It is clear to him that there are few people in the kingdom with the will and know how to poison Rhaenyra so cruelly.

Because he cannot say which member of house Hightower has betrayed them, he has made the decision to eliminate them all in one fell swoop. Caraxes is more than happy to assist. The dragon rears back without warning, screeching their frustration up to the ceilings of the dragon pit.

“Little bird,” Daemon clicks his tongue in annoyance. Watching as Aegon feebly attempts to put Y/N behind him. “You shouldn’t have come, the sight will upset you.”

“And finding out from the townsfolk that you’ve executed my husband and his family would not upset me?” Y/N retorts. Allowing Aegon to put his arms around her waist, holding fast to his wrists. Let me speak.

“Last we spoke you were less than thrilled with said husband. Thought you might thank me.”

“No matter how hard the storm lashes between us, never would I wish to be without him. Aegon would not harm my mother, for he knows that it would harm me.” Y/N tells him.

“Are you not disheartened by this?” Her stepfather scoffs. “For all your mother has suffered, you feel nothing?”

“That is untrue. I wish this assailant swiftly punished for their crimes, to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Then step aside.”

“Daemon, please. You’ve a daughter,” Y/N watches his face soften, “Visenya. Healthy. My mother, our queen, is recovering in her chambers. There is no need to rush an unjust execution. Let us be thorough so that we might eliminate the real threat to our family.”

Daemon’s jaw ticks, he has waited long for this. After all the greens hath done. To his brother, to Rhaenyra…to their children.

“I know they are not perfect,” Y/N huffs a laugh, “infuriating at best.”

The corner of the rogue prince’s mouth twitches upward.

“But we are one house and we do not slay our kin.”

Caraxes grunts, puffing harshly through their nostrils.

“If you are to be Queen, it will be your duty to crush rebellion. You speak like my brother, who never had the stomach for it.” Daemon shifts his weight between feet, a hand curled over the hilt of his sword.

“Give me a chance.” Y/N breathes, “take my hand. Let us uncover the truth and punish the guilty. I will prove that I can crush rebellion at its root. I will avenge my mother, I will do you proud.”

Daemon takes a step toward her, against his better judgment. Extending a hand to her, “one chance, Y/N.”

“One chance.”

————————————————————————

It’s not until Y/N has safely returned Aegon to her chambers that she feels crushed beneath the weight of what has transpired. She can sit and cry about it, she can run off to tell her mother or…she can take action. Show Daemon that she is not weak, that she deserves this and will fight for what is hers.

“Dōna riña.” Sweet girl. Aegon breathes.

“I want them dead. Whoever has committed this atrocity against my mother, I want their head on a spike before the fucking moon turns.”

Aegon blinks at his wife. Her dark hair has sprung free from its braids, hanging about her flushed cheeks. “If it is the second coming of Maegor you long for, I will be that. Make no mistake, my dearest love, I live for you and I die for you. You must heed my warning, Daemon’s wrath is tame compared to mine.”

It confounds her for a moment, the fire burning in his eyes. How this was the same man who held her close and told her he loved her, the man who would fuck her until she cried when it suited him. Aegon is light and he is dark; so is she.

She wants him, however he is, was and will be. Y/N wants Aegon. His love, his fury, his passion and his pain. Not Maegor or Daemon, nor any man between. I want you.

A knock at the door turns both their attention away from the discussion.

In strides Jace, and two members of the Queen’s guard. “Y/N, our mother has begun preparations for her coronation. We must report to the dragon pit, townspeople have already begun to gather there.”

“Very well,” Y/N sniffs.

“Mother has a dress prepared for you. The very same so wore when our late grandsire named her as heir before the masses. Today she will name you, all must swear their loyalty; to her, to you…to house Targaryen.”

“And those who refuse?”

“You know what will happen, sister.” Jacaerys squares his shoulders.

————————————————————————

Only on bended knees of the seven does Y/N find comfort. Rhaenyra is crowned, naming her firstborn daughter her successor.

And after, when the Queen returns to her chambers and the newborn babe; Y/N is left with her eldest brothers.

“We’ve a lead.” Lucerys informs her, quietly.

“Come.” Jace insists, taking Y/N’s hand. Leading them through the corridors, their pace leisurely, not wishing to attract attention.

Their stopping point is just off the royal quarters. A room in which the only living Strong takes up residence. Y/N looks to her brother. Surely not here, surely not him.

Luce remains just beyond the door, standing watch. Larys is sat in his chair, cane in hand. As if he’s been expecting them.

“Prince Jacaerys, Princess Y/N. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We know it was you who poisoned our mother, we have it on good authority.” Jace tells him.

“Whom ever hath told you this is surely mistaken.” Larys offers a coy smirk.

“We want to know why.” Y/N interjects. “Perhaps with good reason we could leave this behind us.”

“What do you imagine would happen if the King’s daughter birthed herself three bastards and married the eldest to the next rightful king, in an attempt to pass her off as the heir?” The man asks. “Would this go unpunished? For a while mayhaps, but not forever.”

“But if the children are not bastards?” Jacaerys squares his shoulders. “If their legitimacy was upheld by their true born father and their grandsire, the king? By all accounts of the law those children are not bastards.”

“They are abominations. To be eradicated from the bloodline. Not to farther besmirch the name of their house.”

The door swings open wide, several guards flooding inside, taking Larys into custody as Lucerys watches from the entryway.

“What were you thinking?” Aegon demands, gripping Y/N’s wrist and pulling her aside.

“Aegon.” Y/N blinks at him. Had he followed her?

“Do you think me a fool? That I could not have handled this?”

“No, I…” she stammers. “I know you could have.”

“Why then did you come? Without protection?” The prince snaps, teeth bared in his anger, eyes glossy.

“I had my brothers.”

Aegon puts a hand to her belly, “this babe is mine. Yours and mine, do you understand? You do not get to run off and cause harm to him as you see fit.”

“Aegon, I wasn’t.” Y/N shakes her head. “I would never harm our child. I was careful, I-”

“You will never run off like that again.”

“I will not,” Y/N promises.

“If anything had happened to you…”

“I am sorry, Aegon. To worry you, to upset you so was not my intent.”

His fingers tremble as they move to her cheek, cupping it.

“I love you and our children. More than anyone.” Y/N assures him.

The words land as blows to his gut, he is furious with her. Yet his heart yearns to hold her close. Love is the death of duty, duty is the death of love. “You know how dearly I adore you. Allow me to see this manner finished.”

“I will come with you.”

“No, you will not.” Aegon hisses. “You will go to your rooms and remain there with our children until I am through.”

“My love-”

“Do not argue.” He warns.

Y/N swallows hard. Accepting a light brush of his lips in parting.

The Princess does not see her husband again until after their children are long abed. Aegon enters their rooms to find his bride in the bathing tub. It is large enough for two and the Prince wastes no time removing his clothes and stepping inside.

He sits opposite Y/N, their eyes meeting. Daring one another to make the first move.

Y/N draws in a breath. “I understand that you are angry with me-”

“You are…” he breaks off, searching for words. “I did not want that for you.”

“Aegon, I am a woman grown. You cannot shield me from the world.”

“Surely for longer than you’ve allowed me to. I am not angry…I am beside myself with worry for you. I am sick over it. When I sleep, I dream of you. When I wake, I long for you and,” he draws in a shuttering breath, “I need you.”

“You have me,” Y/N tells him. “All I have done is to protect you.”

“Do not bother.” No one else ever did.

“It is not a bother, Aegon. You are not a bother. Your thoughts and feelings are important to me. You are important to me. I will spend the rest of my life proving it so.”

“Come,” Aegon sighs, reaching a hand toward her in invitation. “Come, my sweet girl.”

“Forgive me.” Y/N breathes, allowing her husband to situate her in his lap. One leg on either side of his. He smells of alcohol, his lips laced with the salty tang of tears.

“I forgive you.” He feathers light kisses to the skin of her shoulder as they break apart. “And I love you.” His eyes land on hers as practiced fingers find her wetness, sliding easily into her heat.

“Say you love me too.” Aegon pleads, curling his fingers against the sweet spot within her.

“I love you, Aegon.” She breathes, “I love you always.”

Part 7

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