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thatnonameuser · 8 months ago

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The Red King holds a Bleeding Head

A Wonderland of Yanderes - Masterlist Chapter 1. Heartslaybul Part 4.

When things do not go well, they continue to not go well.

This is the feared Dorm Head Riddle Rosehearts. This abridged story's Red Queen, the Rose-Red Tyrant. And to you the most frightening title of all, the Head of a Dorm full of controlling yanderes.

Ace wasn't very smart. That was the first thing. Rule of thumb, don't bad mouth someone when you haven't checked first to make sure they aren't around.

Second thing, of all the ways to officially meet Riddle Rosehearts, this was had to be the worst way. Immediately after Ace's smear campaign. Are you unlucky? You feel unlucky.

Well, here we are, no turning back now.

Whatever you do next, it's all based on Riddle's reaction to Ace's stupidity. Riddle's face is tight in a scowl, arms tightly crossed and you can feel the glare going through Ace right now. Let's hope this doesn't end with an actual beheading.

Cater jumps in to damage control, "Hey Riddle! What's shakin', pal." That was so forced, it might as well have been written by a computer, and not said by a chronically online person. "You're lookin' adorbs, as always!"

Riddle's scowl softens, maybe there's hope. "Hmph, Cater, keep running that mouth and you'll lose it - along with the rest of your head." Nope, no there isn't. When was there ever? Riddle's face may have softened but his temper sure hadn't. Is he always like this?

How can he so casually threaten doing the magician's equivalent of an amputation for an greeting he didn't like!? Maybe your plan was doomed from the start. Does this guy even have friends?

Still, you're not trying to actually be friends. You're looking for allies to use in cases of emergencies. So you'll bite your tongue.

"Sorry, sorry! My bad!" Cater shuts up, faster than you ever seen him so far.

Grim probably seem can't read the room, because he tries to square up with the magic severing Dorm Head with a fuse shorter than Grim himself. "Myah?! You're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony!"

Riddle doesn't miss a beat, and throws it back at your foolish feline friend. "And you're the new students who were nearly expelled earlier this week. I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a 'stupid collar" Ok, shitty start so far.....

He glares directly at you next, and you hadn't even said anything yet! "The headmaster's habit of tolerating rulebreakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day." You tighten your jaw around your the tip of your tongue. Don't say anything. Just don't say anything.

"Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception." You can taste blood in your mouth, but you won't say a word against his little slander rant. Even if Ace and Grim are sending this plan downhill at the speed of an avalanche, you will persevere.

Unlike you, Ace doesn't seem to know when to shut his big fat mouth, because even after that, and how this conversation started in the first place, he doesn't shut up, "Dude, seriously? This guy looks like a wimp but he sounds like a monster," You hear Ace hiss under his breath. You only hope Riddle didn't hear it.

This polite insult-laden speech finally draws to a close. "The headmaster may have forgiven you, but if you break any further rules, I assure you I will not."

Ace, pulling the idiot card from the deck once again, chooses now to get his collar off his neck. Perfect. "So, uh, listen, Dorm Leader, sir..." Off to a wonderful start, Ace. "Any chance i could get you to remove this collar?"

The response wasn't a surprise. It was expected, really, "I had intended to remove it once you'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon your crimes," So, no. Yay, Ace is stuck in your dorm tonight...."But I've not detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard you spout today. So I think I'll let you keep that for a while." Saw that coming a mile away.

You tune out the reassurance that he offers regarding school life, more concerned with the fact Ace will be alone with you tonight, again.

"Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: One must leave the table within five minutes of completing their lunch."

There are over two hundred rules...? You'd scanned the first fifty rules of the Queen of Hearts, before stopping under the reasonable belief that no one actually followed these insane rules. Was that too much to hope for?

This time his ire is pointed directly at Ace, "You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers I trust?"

Ace sighs, "More insane rules...."

Riddle's eyebrow twitches in irritation, "I believe you mean to say, 'Yes, Dorm Leader!'"

"Yes Dorm Leader," Ace and Deuce yell, and you felt nearly compelled. He's like a dictator threatening his troops.

"Very well then."

Trey tries to calm Riddle down, "Don't worry I'll keep an eye on them."

Riddle eyes Trey with skepticism, "Hmm. As Vice Dorm Leader, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation."

Trey is the Vice? Why didn't he tell you guys? Is he trying to hide something. Or, is he trying to separate himself from a certain tyrannical dictator.

Riddle seems satisfied now that he's said, read ordered, his piece. "Now, as per rule 339: The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes. Thus I must go acquire my sugar cubes. Farewell." As he walks away you can hear him mutter under his breath, "Don't even get me started on their violation of running out of sugar cubes....!" Is he ever happy? If you can nitpick every single detail and violation then how do you find any joy in your life? No wonder he's such a jerk to his own dorm mates.

Is it even possible to get him to forgive you? Much less befriend you?

"Yeesh!" Cater exclaims, "That was terrifying."

"That guy......has some serious issues." says Grim. "I don't think serious is enough of a word to describe this...." You agree.

"Hey, we shouldn't disrespect him.." Deuce sounds like wants to agree with you but can't.

You shake your head. "I don't think we're the only ones who think that your Dorm Leader is a bit nuts." You can hear the fearful murmurs of some other Heartslabyul students, relieved that Riddle didn't collar them.

Cater and Trey don't argue against your claim, and that speaks enough in itself. Two upperclassmen are too afraid to even deny what you had said. Trey's smile now feels forced as he explains, "Riddle managed to secure the Dorm Leader title before the end of his very first week at school. I know he can come off a bit harsh, but-"

You cut him off, "Trey, no offense but over half of your dorm mates are cowering in fear because Riddle walked over here. I don't think he comes off a bit harsh. I think he is harsh."

"I know....but" But it doesn't seem like even he believes that, "he's not a bad guy inside. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm."

"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?" Trey and Cater laugh awkwardly but they can't deny it. So Grim actually is right.

"So what's this signature spell he mentioned?"

"Hm? You're curious about Riddle's signature spell?"

"That means, like.....it's a spell that only he can cast, right?"

"I doubt he's the only person in the whole world....But yes, a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user." It might be best you remember this. If there's magic unique to the user, could that magic be dangerous against you? Riddle's own seals off magic, so you're not in immediate danger thanks to that. But you still don't know about the rest of the Heartslabyul students you know. What exactly is their Unique Magic? Does Grim have one?

"Which is why all of us at Heartslabyul House try hard not to violate Riddle's rules." But back to the present issue, Riddle's magic sounds terrifying to magic users. So that does explain why Heartslabyul lives in fear.

"And as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary." And that's all you needed to know. If he is kinder to those who follow the rules, then you just had to be a teacher's pet, or a dorm leader's pet. Wait, that sounds wrong either way.

"Speaking of which- are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?"

"Don't @ me, but yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied."

"Isn't that taking this too far? Sure, Ace stole something but he still lives in that dorm. Kicking him out is too harsh of a punishment."

"Riddle really looks forward to having the first slice of a tart. So he won't forgive you unless you come back with a whole tart."

Perfect. So all you have to do is find a tart and all will be well. You're starting to realise that that is a whole lot of fat chance served on a plate. Maybe Ace will steal it, and cut you a break.

But as it turns out, Ace is flat broke, so he can't just go buy a tart to replace it with. You would happily just go buy one to save your own ass, but Crowley (the bastard) is yet to give you any money.

Thankfully, Trey offered a solution that would work, make a tart on the cheap and give that to Riddle. You also learned he was a talented baker, which sounds like something you might take advantage of in the future but priorities.

You hope that the tart plan does work, because if you have to do an entire run around for a honestly exhausting wild tart chase is becoming very annoying...

"Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm gonna need you to gather a ton of chestnuts."

"Like that's any less of a hassle. But.....fine. How many do you need?"

"Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so....Probably two or three hundred?" You choke on your own spit.

"S-Sorry, HUNDRED!?" You splutter.

"And they're all gonna need to be boiled, shelled and pureed." What you do to get Ace out of your house. It may seem that easy to just make a tart and be forgiven, but with how complicated this whole thing had been so far, things will probably be more difficult.

Whatever you have Grim and Deuce to help-

"Alright, I'm gonna head out." "I'm leaving too."

Why are you even surprised. You would have done the same really.

"You heartless cowards!" Ace objects from the abandonment and betrayal. But to be honest, considering he caused this whole mess because he couldn't keep his fingers out of someone's tarts, and the fact he exposed you to another obsessive psycho, you really want to leave him to his own devices.

Before you can jump in with a BS-laden speech to persuade them Cater thankfully jumps in. "Hold up! Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends? This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!"

Trey even proves useful, "Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out if the oven.. And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it."

That's enough to convince Grim, "Well, when you put it that way...Come on, humans, let's do this!"but you doubt that's the same for Deuce. But where you'll go, he'll follow.

"I'm only helping because it will mean you're back in your dorm sooner, Ace. You gonna help, Deuce?"

Deuce smiles at you. "S-Sure, Prefect." You're starting to get the hang of this.

Later, you'd focus on Ace's apology tart. Right now, you'd focus on your own. The apology, not the tart part.

After getting the cut in your tongue treated, you'd asked Ace and Deuce to go to class with Grim without you to get something private done. They'd both pushed to go with you but you managed to shut that down.

With what you had planned, you needed Ace, Deuce and Grim away from you. To prevent any unwanted incidents like accidentally sending Riddle off in an angry fit.

You had a plan, so you just needed to start that plan.

So here you were back in the cafeteria, searching for a head of red hair and there he was sipping a cup of lemon tea with exactly two sugars, if you remembered the rules right, completely alone with only thick tomes for company.

You don't bother yourself worrying about the implications of the him sipping tea all on his lonesome. That's not your priority right now.

You tap Riddle's shoulder, "Excuse me? Riddle Rosehearts, was it?" you say as politely as possible.

He first gives you a look of chagrin, only for it to relax when he realises that you're alone. "You are correct. Have you come to cause more trouble and break more rules?"

His suspicion is warranted, but you've prepared for that. "Actually, I'm here to apologize to you specifically for all the trouble I caused." His eyes widen in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. Alright, here we go. "May I sit with you?" You say, allowing a small smile grace your lips.

He snaps out of his surprise at your question, but he doesn't reject you. After a few moments of silence, he finally says, "I-I'll allow it." He motions to the empty seat in front of him, and you accept the seat with another smile and a word of thanks.

Alright, step one of the potentially dangerous plan, apologise the the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader. "I'm sorry about bothering you like this. I'm sure you'd rather spend the time around your friends rather than a troublemaker."

He doesn't answer for a few seconds, "I'd rather spend my time in solitude than in the company of troublemakers," he responds. Does he not have friends? That answer makes you feel that the answer to the question is a yes. "However, you wish to apologise for your violations, so I'll humor your presence." Ok, so far so good. "Well, I should get the apologies out the way. I'm sorry about all the trouble I've caused since I've been here. Grim during the ceremony, accidentally damaging the Great Seven statues and destroying the chandelier. I hadn't meant to."

Riddle frowns, setting aside his teacup to cross his arms, "One should not apologise whilst making excuses." he recites as if he'd heard or said that a thousand times. He really is a stickler for the rules.

"What rule of the Queen of Hearts is that?" You ask, with how many there are you really need to remember them.

He shakes his head, "It isn't one. It's one of my mother's." Let's not touch that, insulting someone's mother is the fastest way to piss someone off.

You take a deep breath before continuing, "Well, then I'm also sorry for making excuses for my behaviour. I hope you can forgive me."

Riddle's silent for another few seconds, as if contemplating the validity of your apology. You feel yourself stop breathing in anticipation.

Finally, he answers, "It's rare for a troublemaker to be genuinely repentant, so I'll accept your apology. However, I won't be as forgiving should you choose to continue breaking the rules." So he is capable of forgiving troublemakers, that means Ace will eventually be back in his own dorm.

"Thank you." you let out a sigh of relief. Alright, time for stage two. Suck up like the worst kind of teacher's pet, "If you don't mind me asking, could you maybe teach about the rules of the Queen of Hearts?"

Riddle chokes on a sip of his tea, and looks at you in incredulity "Y-You what?"

"I want you to teach me about the rules of the Queen of Hearts, so if I ever break any of them I can't use ignorance as an.....excuse?" You trail off as you find Riddle completely stunned, has this never happened before? Has no one bothered to ask him to help them learn the rules so they could avoid breaking them?

"W-Well, it seems you really are trying to atone for your mistakes. If that is the case, then yes." He pauses, before offering you a cup of tea, smelling of sweet citrus, " Would you like some?"

If it's lemon, you don't want to drink it. The citric acid in the lemon will burn your tongue like hell. But there are unfortunately rules. "Are they any rules that say whether I can say yes or no?" You're not failing if this is a test.

Riddle smiles at you, "You learn quickly, Rule 114, One must never reject a cup of tea from the Queen." You, against your better judgement, accept it and take a sip and the tea burns the cut on your tongue but you force it down nonetheless. In the name of Future you's safety you would do what you had to. As long as it goes down without objection, you'll drink as fast as you can to dull the burn.

"Perhaps there is hope for you, even with that unignorable violation." Riddle says and you hesitate in your next sip.

"And what is that?" You ask, before taking another mouthful of tea.

He spares a few glances around as if looking for any eavesdroppers before dropping his voice into a hushed whisper, "That you are a darling attending Night Raven."

You choke, how does everyone keep knowing?! "H-How did you know?!" You ask, your voice barely a whisper.

"I was taught to recognise all the traits your kind has as soon as I was registered." How many of those were there?! Besides all the darlings here can't be exactly like you, that would just be impossible. Right?

Riddle continues, "That and you remind me of my father, kind and bubbly when you are surrounded by people you do think are trustworthy and jumpy and frightful when you think you are surrounded by those you don't. Subtly is not exactly your strong point."

You deflate like a balloon. You carefully set down the teacup before it breaks in your hands. "Are...Are you going to tell anyone?"

He shakes his head, "No, and while I feel your presence at this school is a travesty that Crowley has allowed to happen, you attempting to hide your identity keeps the members of my dorm from killing each other. You must understand it is quite difficult to mix paint in manner that hides the smell of blood." They kill people and mix their blood with the paint. Oh, shit, did...did you paint with blood earlier!?

"So I suggest you figure out how to circumvent your little issue." He finishes.

But that's impossible thanks to that stupid law, "But how do I do that if I can't access any of the things you can?" You ask.

"Your testing papers, all darlings have the legal right to see them after their registered. Headmaster Crowley should be able to give them to you if you request them. You'll be able to tell with those." Riddle gives you the first answer that actually helps you.

All you need to get Crowley to give you those papers and you'll be free to figure out how to save your skin.

You sag in relief, finally some good news. And then you remember, "Wait, why are you helping me?"

"Because it will keep you out of trouble. Speaking of, I expect your attendance at the unbirthday party tomorrow, so that I can keep an eye on you."

"Thank you." You whisper, for once you actually feel relieved. You were wrong about earlier it seems, he isn't as bad as you though he was.

"Now, Rule 71 of the Queen of Hearts states that one must never arrive on time, always early. You should leave now, before the bell rings." You nod, rising from your seat as he does the same.

"Thank you for everything. See you tomorrow, " You say with a smile before turning heel.

If only you hadn't failed to see how his face flushed and how he grabbed his heart as you left.

The woodland behind campus were surprisingly bright and vibrant, like a painting you would see in picture books, even with the change seasons coming up. As it seems the chestnut season is equally vibrant, as hundreds upon hundreds of chestnuts covered the forest floor. But the chestnut spines were too much of a bother to ignore, so here you were in the Botanical Garden looking for a basket and some work gloves.

The gardens are stunning, full of life and thousands of plants. Some you recognise, some you don't. The whole building is enormous. Finding anything here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Which means you have to split up to find what you need. "We should split up, we'll cover more ground that way."

Ace and Deuce open their mouths to object, "But-"

You're not wasting any time on them coming with you and taking longer. Besides having two bodyguard/friends feels a little suspicious.

"We're going to spend the rest of the night making tarts, we don't exactly have time to waste..." You argue and they don't fight back against this.

".....Sure. Dibs on the right side."

"Then how about I go left, while Prefect and Grim go straight ahead?"

"Sounds good, we'll meet up here at the entrance in 10."

You immediately regretted your decision to split up, as Grim got distracted every ten seconds by all the ripe, sweet smelling fruit. So you spent the five minutes that you were supposed to spend looking for a groundsman, chasing after your 'boss'.

"Hey, come take a look at this!" Grim runs to another bright, ripe fruit. "There's a ton of fruit growing here! Smells like they're ripe."

You grab his tiny body and yank him away from the fruit on the tree. "Grim, we're supposed to find a groundsman, not snacks!" You don't recognise any of the plants in this section. They all look mystical, but that doesn't mean safe. "Don't pick anything."

Grim wriggles loose to run to chase after another bright and shiny fruit. The grasses here are tall enough to reach your waist, and Grim disappears into the long stalks, "Grim. Stop!" Grim doesn't listen to you. "Don't pick anything!" You yell out as you wade through the tall grasses after him.

You stumble over the lush stalks of grass. It's so thick that you can't see your own feet. You hope there aren't any animals-

"Ngh!" A groan of pain fills the air and you feel something underfoot slip out and you reflexively take a few steps back. That didn't sound like an animal...

"Did I just step on something?" You think aloud, looking around for a source as a nearby patch of grass starts to rustle.

"Hey! You got some nerve steppin' on my tail and just walkin' away!" To your surprise, someone rises out of the grass, and he looks angry. Crap.

Originally, your brain had failed to compute the 'tail' part of what he'd said, but it's obvious to you now that you see his ears. He's a beastman. And he's wearing the Savanaclaw colours. Wait, didn't Cater say that Savanaclaw students like fighting. Shit.

"I-I'm sorry!" You say immediately, taking a few more steps backwards. You feel compelled to run.

"Tch. Ain't nothin' worse than bein' in the middle of a good nap and havin' some jerk step on your tail." Ok, no. He's the one who decided to sleep in waist high grass. Be mad at yourself for your bad decision making, buddy.

Despite how you feel, "It was an accident...." is what you mumble instead, but he doesn't seem to care, instead he stalks towards you, with a smirk on his face. "You.....I know you. You're that herbivore from orientation who couldn't use magic."

"What did you call me?!" You demand, outraged. He still ignores you, and he leans forward and..."And why are you smelling me?!"

He ignores you, pulling away with that punchable smirk. "Huh. It's true. You don't smell of magic at all."

"Did you miss the part where the mirror said that to everyone?!" You can feel yourself losing every ounce of your patience. You'd felt apologetic for accidentally stepping on his tail and waking him up, but this guy was being such a jerk, you no longer found it within yourself to care.

"Well, well, well, the little herbivore thinks she has claws. Can't say it'd be much fun to hurt someone like you. Still gonna do it, though."

"Do what?" You spit through gritted teeth. You clench and unclench your fists.

"No one gets to stomp on my tail and just walk away without payin' the price."

Ok, that's fucking it. You aren't a weak darling, and all the earlier rage and anger that you've felt in the last two days.

"Then maybe don't sleep in waist-high grass, and maybe in your dorm next time? That way no one will step on your tail" You say as sarcastically as possible.

"Hm? Herbivore, I'm afraid you're all bark and no bite." Oh? All bark and no bite, mystery animal man? Let's see how he bites your fist when it flies into his-

You tighten your fist before taking a swing aimed at his jaw. With his face so close to yours, he has no way of moving out of the way in time-

He stops your fist just shy of his face. He gives you an unimpressed look, before replacing it with that fucking smirk. He laughs at you, like you were foolish to even think that would work. His grip on your wrist is so tight that you wince as you struggle to twist it away.

"L-Let me go!" He laughs at your pathetic struggles to free yourself.

"Pathetic, like a mouse trying to kill a lion." He's a lion? Well then, what an arrogant asshole he is.

You struggle fruitlessly for a few more moments, before giving up. "Fuck you." You spit.

"You're a brave herbivore, I'll give you that. Still," His already tight grip feels like it's crushing the bones in your wrist. "You woke me up from my nap, that'll cost you a tooth."

"Fine. Take it." You hiss. Maybe you can get him in trouble for darling abuse or something after this. Would Crowley take you to a dentist?

"Leona! There you are!"

"Heh?" Leona turns to someone, and you follow his gaze to another beastman student, wearing the colours from the same house Leona is. His cocky, arrogant face tightens in annoyance.

The new mystery beastman looks like he's spent the time since last bell chasing down Leona. "I knew I'd find you here! We got after-school classes today, remember?"

Leona groans. "And now, I've got this guy on my tail...." You can hear him mutter.

You take the chance to do something stupid, rewarding in the moment but still stupid. Ah, whatever you only live once.

"What's wrong, Carnivore? Too afraid to bite?" You taunt, throwing his own words around and right back at him.

He glares at you. But the beastman speaks up before Leona can actually break your wrist. "Leona, you've already had to repeat one year. If you get held back again, we'll be in the same grade." You snort from repressed laughter, trying to hold back your laughter before the person holding your wrist captive decides killing you is better just breaking your wrist.

"Oh, put a sock in it already. I'm tired of all yer yappin', Ruggie."

Ruggie frowns, "Look, you think I like always being on your case? C'mon man. You act like it'd be hard for you. You could skate through life if you'd just TRY. Come on! Let's go already!"

Leona finally releases your wrist and you wince as blood returns to your fingers. "Hmph...Herbivore, you better not cross me again."

"Oh, I'll be sure not to." You turn, and walk as confident as possible through the tall prairie grass back into the fruit trees.

It was nice to actually be in control for once.

You eventually find Grim half finished eating a dozen multi-coloured unknown fruit. You don't feel as mad as you were earlier. So you don't bother with the scolding that you originally planned on giving him. Instead you scoop him up like a bag a rice.

"Nyeh?!" Grim exclaims in surprise, "Henchman, where'd you come from?!"

"Nowhere, I thought you already ate your weight in lunch earlier?"

Two familiar voices fill your ears.

"Yo, guys, we found the baskets and gloves."

"Prefect, what in the world happened to you?" And you smile.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

You feel a little better now.

You feel worse now.

Not in a bad mood, just tired. A sleepless night would do that, then harvesting about three hundred chestnuts on your hands and knees plus hauling them back to the communal kitchens.

And now here you stood struggling to peel the soft skins of the chestnuts.

Deuce and Grim are lucky because they have the magic that Trey showed them to magically and quickly peel them, but you, a poor magicless human, must fiddle with sticky skins. Ace, forced to do this the old fashioned way, is struggling equally with the much higher pile that he'd been delegated for getting you all into this mess.

Still, it was actually fun to see the 'friendly' competition Ace and Deuce went through as Ace struggled to keep up with the magical efficiency.

Problem was, you were so much slower.

"Need any help?" Trey asks. He'd stopped supervising Deuce with his peeling. And he's looking at you with"You look like your having a hard time."

"Yeah...I've never really done this before...." You reply, still fiddling with the finicky skins.

"Here." He places his hands over your own, directing your fingers into a proper hold. "Like this." You can feel his chest against your back, his head over one of your shoulders. He smells nice, like a bakery right after the oven is opened and the sweet aroma of warm pastries has filled the air. The shell holding the nut finally gives way, done with your hands and guided by Trey's.

"Thanks", you say with a smile.

"It's no problem", he returns with his own smile. "Do you want help with the others?" He feels friendly, and you can't see that glint. Maybe it's his glasses.

"Sure." You respond.

With Trey's help, you start to fly through the pile of chestnuts that you'd once struggled to peel. You can actually keep up with Ace and Deuce in their chestnut peeling, being only a few dozen behind.

It's like painting the roses earlier, you like the serenity that you feel as you do this. The same when you were straining, and pureeing. Despite the fact you were willingly unwillingly roped into this, it's actually quite relaxing maybe you could talk to Trey about teaching you.

After what had to be a good two hours, straining and pureeing three hundred chestnuts, Ace finally groans in relief "There! Finally got 'em all pureed!"

"My arm is killing me..."

"Well at least it's over.." You agree as you massage the ache in your forearms. Deuce and Ace actually did most of the work for you, but you still tried to help. And now your arms hurt more than your legs.

"Nice work. It'll be all the sweeter for your pain!"

"Are you sure about that?" You say with a laugh. But seriously, your muscles hurt. It better be sweet for all the work that it better be.

"The smell alone already has me droolin'." You manage to grab Grim before he sticks his paws into the puree. You're not letting everyone's hard work to waste.

"I just need to add butter and sugar to the chestnut paste, and a sensible splash of oyster sauce- that's my secret ingredient." Oh, cool then you'll be done soon. Wait...

Your brain fills in the blanks. "Did you just say oyster sauce?" You say in utter disbelief. Maybe Trey shouldn't teach you how to bake....

"Yep. The umami of the oysters gives the cream a deep, savory flavor." He can't be serious, can he? Are desserts different here? Because last you checked a sweet dessert wasn't supposed to taste like salt.

"I use this one here: Walrus-brand Young Oyster Sauce. All the best bakers use it in their tarts." Your brain tunes him out in utter disbelief. Was this place just completely fucked? Because you'd have to dig through the mold on the underside of the barrel to actually find this madness. It's not the scariest thing or the most insane thing you heard in this misadventure, but an insane thing nonetheless.

Deuce actually seems to believe him, at least a little, "Really? But isn't oyster sauce like, super salty?"

Apparently so does Ace, "Some folks put chocolate into curry, don't they? Maybe it's the same idea." No, Ace. Whether it's pineapple on pizza or chocolate in curry, whether you like or hate it, it is not a total abomination of the culinary world. Oyster sauce in a chestnut tart cream is.

"You guys......are messing with me right?" You say, still in disbelief.

"Pfft...Ah ha ha ha!" Trey laughs, is he mad? If this dorm is Wonderland, is he actually the Mad Hatter and not the three of clovers.

"I'm totally lying! No one in their right mind would put oyster sauce into a pastry." You breathe a sigh of relief, okay this world wasn't completely far gone.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Don't believe everything you hear."

"Feh. And here I thought that human was actually somewhat decent." Grim murmurs.

"It wasn't that bad." Out of all the things you'd experienced this week, let alone today, this was by far the most tame. At least he revealed the lie, before Ace poured oyster sauce in the cream.

Trey has to be the most tame person you met so far, it's actually hard to connect that he's supposed to be a yandere and not a normal friendly dude with a hidden mischievous side.

That reminder isn't a fun one, but he seems perfectly nice...you hope.

"Next, I'll put in the cream....Oh!"

"What's wrong?"

"You guys gathered so many chestnuts that we may have overdone it with the chestnut paste. I don't think we have enough cream to mix in."

"Then I'll go buy some." Deuce volunteers himself, "Do they sell it at the school store?"

Thankfully, according to Trey, it does. You haven't been there yet, but no better time to find out like the present.

"I don't think I'll be able to carry all that back. ___-"

"I'll go with you." Whatever gets you back here faster. As soon as Ace gives Riddle this tart back tonight, you'll be in the clear. If he doesn't you're stuck with him tonight.

Deuce ended up calling this shop wild. Wild is an understatement. The shop is full of....everything. From fruits to stationary, and crystal skulls to rare plants. There's even a restricted access section, with locked cabinets full of freshly sharpened short and long blades to guns to pre-made potions filled with unknown fluids.

It's a perfect one stop shop for students, and for criminals.

"Do you really think they sell cream in here?" Grim says incredulously. Grim ended up tagging along, and looks equally mystified from all the products this 'school' store as to offer.

"I'm not-"

"Greetings, my stray imps, How fare you today?" You yelp as you reel back in surprise. The shopkeeper appeared quite literally from nowhere. "Welcome to Mr.Sam's Mystery Shop. What among my humble selection interests you? A charm from a secluded land? The mummified remains of an ancient king? A cursed tarot card?"

Ok, a name, the shopkeeper's name is Sam...something. And humble is modest understatement. You're pretty sure that this place makes the mega department stores back home look empty.

"How about some cream...for baking?" With so much stuff here, you feel a little overwhelmed.

"Y-Yeah, we wanted to buy all the items on this list."

"Ring up two cans of tuna while you're at it!"

"With what money, Grim?"

"Yes, Grim! We're not here for tuna!"

"What's this? Cream and eggs and....Quite the sacchariferous list! I'll get everything for you." It's impressive that he even knows that he has everything. With all the stuff here, you wouldn't even notice something strange or normal on these shelves. There's animals skulls, jewellery, weird taxidermy, even a weird shadow hand waving at you.

.......Y'know what, who cares. You wave back just in time for Sam to return with all your groceries. That was fast.

"Here you go. It's pretty heavy.....Are you sure you can carry this?Luckily for you, our 1/100th size flying saucers are 30% off today. Perfect for carrying groceries!"

Grim falls for the advertising, but Deuce stops him before he spends your nonexistent money. "We're fine, thank you. Let's go."

"Myah! I didn't realize today was National No Fun Allowed Day!"

"You're allowed to have fun as long as you don't make a mess." He deflates, "Grim, if it makes you feel better I'll give you an extra can of tuna for dinner." he perks up at that.

You and Deuce take the bags and bid Sam thanks. Deuce pulls you aside on the way out, "That store was amazing."

"Yeah, it was." You make a mental note to inquire about some products before your time of the month comes. That store has everything after all.

Main Street is practically void of any students, though you can see a pair walking up. The two are wearing red vests, Heartslabyul or Scarabia students probably. Besides that it's just, you, Deuce and Grim, who starts whining about his lack of purchases. "Yeah, and you guys are amazingly cheap."

"Hey!"

"Who are you calling cheap?!"

You shake your head, before readjusting the cords of the bags digging into your arms. You wince from the pressure relief, the bruise on your forearm that Leona gave you from earlier still stings. The bags are too heavy but you'll manage the rest of the way back.

"Hm?" Deuce must have seen your struggling, "_____, looks like you got the bag with all the cans. That must be heavy."

"It's not that bad," You shake your head, lying, "I can carry it."

"Here, let me take that one." He takes one of the heavier bags from you. And you breathe a sigh of relief now that the weight is off. "I've got a little trick for carrying heavy bags."

Smiling, you say, "Thank you." He smiles back, balancing all the heavy bags with ease. "You're quite the power shopper."

He nods, "Yeah. My mom always used to stock up at sales, and the bags would get ridiculously heavy. I was the only man in the house, so I got to do all the heavy lifting, and-" He pauses, "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to monopolize the conversation."

You shake your head, "No, it's okay..." Actually, you might be able to learn something useful from this. "Y'know if you want, you could talk about her, you seem to care about your mom a lot."

He deflates, "No, it wasn't like that at all." He takes a deep breath, "The truth is, I-OW!"

The students you saw down the street from earlier, ran directly into Deuce.

The sound of something cracking into bits fills the air. Clear and yellow goop drips out of one of the bags.

"The eggs!"

Deuce hurriedly opens the bag to inspect the damage. "The carton is completely smashed! And now the bag's dripping egg goo everywhere."

"Ugh! Why don't you watch where you're- Hey!"

The offending student turns around infuriated, and then his eyes widen in recognition. You recognise them too. The delinquents from earlier. The ones who through a fit over a broken yolk. Surprisingly, they're wearing the Heartslabyul ribbons. Hard to be delinquent when a tyrant can collar them with ease.

"It's you from earlier."

"Yeah, and you're the jerks who broke the egg yolk on my carbonara!"

"It was just a yolk." You repeat but it's pointless.

The other delinquent stalks up to you, grabbing you by your tie , "I've had enough of you punks. You need to learn your place." They threaten.

You can see Deuce's eyebrow twitch in fury. "You're the ones who darted out at as from around a corner!" He mutters, you can hear the hostility deep in his voice. He's angry. "And you picked a fight with us at lunch over an egg that you were still totally able to eat!"

"And now you've destroyed six of OUR eggs!" That anger in his voice is getting louder, clearer. You've seen Deuce a little angry before, but something's off about this time.

"Yeah, he's right!"

"So what? You sayin' that was our fault?"

"I am. Please reimburse us for the eggs." Deuce is frighteningly calm. He's not yelling or anything. "And then apologise to the chickens."

"Ooh, look who's got his big boy pants on. You sure are makin' a big deal outta some stupid eggs." The one with hold on your tie taunts Deuce.

"You shut your mouth." You hiss at him.

"What?" Deuce is still way too calm.

The idiot delinquent keeps blabbering, "They haven't even touched the ground, so they're still edible. Quit whinin'."

His idiot lackey keeps up the nonsense jabber. "Yeah, you should thank us for savin' ya the trouble of crackin' em."

They laugh and it's mocking and cruel.

"That ain't funny." Deuce's voice has a low growl and very quiet, the delinquents are idiots so they don't notice but....

"Deuce?" You ask, and you can see his eye twitching. He's angry. dangerously so.

"Huh?" Idiot delinquent number one asks.

And then that anger that Deuce was holding back finally bursts forth.

"I said......THAT AIN'T FUNNY!" The yell is so loud, it stuns you. The normally polite and reserved Deuce is replaced with one with a voice so loud, you're surprised that it didn't awaken the statues.

"You don't get to call my eggs stupid! You don't get to call ANY eggs stupid!! Those eggs may not have gotten to be chicks, but they were gonna make some amazing tarts!!"

"And you," Deuce's voice drops low as he rips the second delinquent away from you. "You apologize to her, right now. Do you get it yet!? DO YOU!?" Your tie comes apart in the delinquent's grip, said delinquent too afraid to actually let it go. They looks like he's about to piss himself from fear.

"W-What is with this guy all of a sudden?!"

"You owe me six eggs. If ya ain't gonna pay me for em, then you're gettin' a bruise for each one!" Deuce cracks his knuckles for emphasis.

"A-Are you serious right now?" The other little twerp is shaking in his sneakers.

''Buckle up, jerks!!"

Deuce's fist sails home into the cheek of the red-haired one, and another into the nose of the other. Blood splurts out staining the gloves he's wearing.

Like two pathetic little bitches, the two delinquents scamper and struggle against the one man army Deuce proves to be. And he isn't even using his magic.

"This guy's outta his mind!" The first one stammers.

"Bwah! L-Let's get outta here!" The other squeaks. And they both take off running. You hope Deuce doesn't get in trouble for this.

"Next time you eat an egg, you better apologize a hundred times, you buncha chumps!!" He yells at the retreating duo.

"D-Deuce! You need to calm down." You cup his face with both hands. And the blind rage on his face dissolves completely into calm.

He pants as he tries to calm himself. "....Urk!"

"W-What's wrong?" You let him go. All that anger is replaced with sadness, or actually....It looks like disappointment. "Are you ok?"

"I did it again, didn't I...?" Did what again? Deuce stares at the blood on his gloves, and he looks pained. "ARGH! I was dead-set on becoming an honor student this time, too."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I was in middle school, I was pretty wild. I cut school all the time and got in fights. I called my teachers names, hung out with bullies, bleached my hair..." Deuce lists off all of his middle school crimes, and honestly....He did sound a lot like the delinquents back in your world, minus the Magic Wheel thing and the magic.

"So you were only a little more annoying than you are now?"

"Grim, not now...." You scold Grim before trying to comfort Deuce. "No offense, but that's kind of hard for me to picture..."

Deuce continues to tell his backstory, "But one night, I saw my mom talking with my grandma. She was trying to hide from me, but I saw her, and I could tell she was in tears. She was saying how she must have been a horrible mom, and that she never should have tried to raise me by herself."

Ouch, that must have been tough to hear, especially from his mom.

"That had nothin' to do with it! She hadn't done anything wrong. It was all me......And when the carriage came to take me to Night Raven, she was so happy for me. I decided then and there that this time, I wouldn't do anything to make her cry. That this time, I'd become an honor student-someone she could be proud of."

"And I messed it all up!"

"No, you didn't." He looks so surprised at what you said.

"But-"

"Deuce, you didn't get into a fight for no reason. You got into to a fight because someone destroyed your stuff, and threatened your friends. Besides, they probably would have attacked me if you hadn't stepped in. And protecting the people you care about is something honor students should do."

"R-really?" You nod.

"Plus the thing an honor student should do....is report this to the Dorm Leader that some of his students tried to get into a fight with two freshmen." You whisper into his ear. "Let's see how they like it when they can't use their magic." You chuckle.

"______....."

"And to be honest....I really enjoyed that."

Deuce cheers up at that, "Heh heh....I guess you're right! I just hope those chicks can rest in peace."

"Uh, Deuce, the eggs were unfertilised..." He blinks at you, he doesn't know what you're talking about. "They were never going to hatch in the first place..."

"Wha-WHAAAAAT?! Are you kidding me?!"

You giggle again whilst shaking your head. He's not very smart, but you don't mind.

"But about your mom, could you tell me about her? She sounds like a really nice lady."

#yandere #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst x reader #yandereverse au

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meanbossart · 1 year ago

Note

regarding the drow as a companion, do any of the others have little quips when he's recruited? something along the lines of shadowheart's little remark about karlach throwing her over her shoulder.

I can imagine Gale saying something, like "OH! Really? He's coming with us? Well... Erm, sure, better with us then loose in the wilds, I guess" while glancing around nervously LOL

You did get me thinking of something else though, camp reactions!

Shadowheart: "I'm aware that drow aren't known for their integrity, but theirs is a perseverant kind. I think having one at our side in our present predicament could serve us well." (TAV: "Have you had any experiences with drow before?") Shadowheart: "I might have. I might haven't. All kinds gravitate towards my Mistress's calling… And the spider queen hardly leaves them a choice."

Gale: "Our new friend is surprisingly shy for a man of his stature, couldn't get as much as a "good morning" out of him yet… Well, with a little time, I'm sure he'll warm up to us. Maybe a nice pot-roast will help! He does have ah... Hungry look in his eyes."

Lae'zel: "A blade is only as effective as the one wielding it, and I'm not sure who - or what - is handling the drow you've dragged into camp as of recently." (TAV: "I'm wielding him.") Lae'zel: "Tchk! Have it your way. But I won't come to your rescue if you fall on your own sword."

Astarion: "You have quite the flair for rescuing rabid strangers off the side of roads, don't you? Not that I'm complaining, the more the merrier! Just make sure to put this one back in his cage when we go to bed at night."

Wyll: "A drow on the surface is strange enough a sight… But this one seems… Especially peculiar. I hate to be the one making hasty judgments, but I hope you've made the right choice in allowing him to shelter at our camp."

Karlach: "New guy's a little closed-off, but hey - I sure as hell don't mind just looking, for now. Speaking of looking, Can't wait to see the big lad in a fight, I bet he can mince a fucker to bits in an instant."

#companion DU drow #ask

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vavuska · 3 months ago

Text

In the 2025 reimagining, Snow White is referred to by the Magic Mirror as someone who is "pure as snow".

Snow White has ALWAYS been about purity of soul, it just used a thing called subtlety.

Snow White is NOT only about physical beauty, but also inner beauty. Snow White is kind, compassionate, humble, while the Queen is a sadistic and tyrannical figure in the tale. The mirror meant inner beauty all the time, but the Queen, who was vain and cruel, didn't understand this, because to her being a beautiful person meant only having a good look. So, she ordered Snow White's murder. It's unbelievable that no one get this.

youtube

Historically, fairy tales have been critical to children's values and moral development. Their goal is to communicate a value, because fairy tales were invented to help children know how to be good people.

Here are some of the key themes and lessons that can be derived from Snow White:

The Dangers of Vanity: The Evil Queen's obsession with beauty and her jealousy toward Snow White illustrate the dangers of vanity and the destructive nature of envy. It teaches that inner beauty and kindness are more important than outward appearances.

The Value of Kindness and Friendship: Snow White's relationships with the seven dwarfs highlight the importance of friendship, loyalty, and kindness. The dwarfs protect and care for her, demonstrating that genuine relationships are built on mutual respect and support.

Resilience and Perseverance: Snow White’s ability to endure hardship and maintain her goodness, despite the Evil Queen’s attempts to harm her, conveys a message of resilience. It suggests that maintaining one's integrity and goodness in the face of adversity is a virtue.

The Consequences of Evil: The story ultimately shows that evil deeds lead to downfall. The Evil Queen's malicious actions result in her own destruction, reinforcing the idea that wrongdoing will eventually have consequences.

The Importance of Trust: Snow White’s decision to trust the dwarfs and later the prince reflects the importance of trusting the right people. It underscores that while caution is necessary, trusting those who have proven themselves can lead to positive outcomes.

Transformation and Redemption: The ending of the tale, where Snow White is awakened by true love’s kiss, can symbolize the transformative power of love and redemption. It suggests that love can conquer evil and bring about positive change.

Overall, these lessons contribute to the timeless nature of "Snow White," making it relevant across generations.

The moral of Snow White's story is “Vanity will not take you far, but kindness will”.

So, the post is promoting the same nonsense we are seeing since the cast names came out: Gal Gadot is hotter than Rachel Zegler. As if Rachel Zegler isn't a beauty herself.

Plus, Rachel Zegler has spoken against Palestinian genocide and Gal Gadot is an enthusiastic Zionist who served in the Israeli army (like everyone in the state, but I don't want to victimize her by saying she has been plagiarized since childhood). However I don't think here is political.

Edit - 17th march 2025

Gal Gadot is reportedly annoyed by the drama surrounding the live-action ‘SNOW WHITE’ film.

A source says, “She enjoyed filming. She was fine with Rachel [Zegler] but they are not friends. They have nothing in common... They did a job together and that’s it.”

The source also added, “[They] have a huge age gap and very different political views.”

Gal Gadot is an industry plant. Some people is saying that she can’t act, she can’t sing, and she can’t dance. Ok, I don't agree that she can't act. Actually, I liked her both as Wonder Woman and Linnet Ridgeway in Death on the Nile (2022). I agree that singing and dancing are BASIC skills that an actor in a Disney movie should have. I NEVER NEVER saw Gal Gadot dancing or singing.

And it’s funny how Disney adults are calling this movie “woke” because Rachel Zegler isn’t white. GAL Gadot isn’t white either! According to Zionist mythology, she’s ‘Semite’. So now we have two brown women in traditionally white roles, but y’all are only throwing a fit over Rachel Zegler? The one who can actually do it all —act, sing, and dance—you know, the basic skills required for a musical?

On the other hand Rachel Zegler is a theater kid: She sings, she dances, she acts. So why pair her with Gal Gadot of all people? Did no one else want the role? Because that’s what it’s looking like. If I would be cynical I would comment that this looks like a political move Disney did to not piss Zionist and pro-Palestinians activist at the same time.

This is my opinion.

#Youtube #vavuskapakage #rachel zegler #gal gadot #snow white #snow white 2025 #inner beauty #pure soul

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orangejuicetarot · 2 months ago

Text

General Check-In! Pick a Card

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first reading. This will just be a general check-in. Hopefully this gives some clarity on your current situation, as well as some extra advice to help you through the times. Always remember to take what resonates and leave what doesn't.

Pick your favorite image. The one that catches your eye the most, that you keep coming back to, or that just feels right.

Pile One: Knight of Cups, The Lovers, Five of Wands, Nine of Wands, Queen of Wands, Seven of Swords, Canis Minor

The vibe I am getting from this pile is that you are going through a rough time, but persevering despite (also, so fiery! Look at all those wands!). In your emotional realm, we have the Knight of Cups. Oh! I pulled a clarifying card and got the Lovers. You got something going on? You may currently have an energy in your life helping you through this difficult time; this could be a person or some sort of passion. The Knight of Cups also represents an offer of some sort, so it is possible there is some knight in shining armor ready to whisk you away from your troubles. Pile one, don't forget you can also be this knight in shining armor. Either way, you are feeling emotionally connected to something or someone.

In your material realm, I got the Five of Wands. There seems to be some challenges, be it work, finances, school, etc. Nine of Wands for your clarifier. This theme of difficulty and perseverance is playing out with this pile. I can't promise these challenges will end swiftly or pleasantly, but I can say you have the courage to push through them From your emotional realm, it seems you have a good attitude and a good support system. If not now, it way come in for you soon enough or even be hidden and you aren't looking in the right places.

Queen of Wands and the Seven of Swords in your passions realm. Look at you! You are a firecracker! You have the energy, the will, and the passion to keep grinding away! It may be hard, but you shoulder it like a champion. The Queen of Wands card in this deck has a lion depicted on it. This may as well be the strength card. That Seven of Swords is showing me wit and cunning. Whatever situation it seems you find yourself in, you have the brains to figure yourself into the outcome you desire.

Lastly, we have Canis Minor to cover your overall reading. The myth behind the constellation ties a bit more into the Seven of Swords, as it represents a possible betrayal or unfairness. Following the poisoning of Icarius and the subsequent death of his daughter and dog, those who murdered Icarius were punished by famine and heat. To remedy this plague, sacrifices were made yearly in honor of Canis Minor. All this to say, some form of betrayal or unfairness that led to this period of lack will not only reflect back to those who may have wronged you, but be remedied as well.

Keep pushing through Pile One!

——

Pile Two: King of Wands, Page of Wands (reversed), Eight of Coins, The Star, The Empress, Taurus

To start off Pile Two, I'm watching the Mummy while I'm reading this. Not only did I look up to see 333, it was at a scene where Evelyn saved O'Connell from a few straw bullets by slightly pulling him away when he wasn't paying attention. Let's see how this ties in with the rest of the reading.

The whole vibe of your reading is very much looking as though you are in some sort of flow state. Absolutely following your passions and feeling very high from all of it! I saw another 333, so you seem to be aligned heavily with yourself right now.

In your emotional realm, we have the King of Wands and the Page of Wands (reversed). So much fire and passion from the get-go! Similar to pile one, but you seem to be in a much more heightened state. The King of Wands tells me that you are feeling in charge and on top of things! You are absolutely fired up! The Page of Wands reversed is telling me maybe a bit too much! I don't want to tell you to slow your roll, because it seems like you are on a good one, but it may be a good idea to take a look around before you make your big leaps. It is reminding me a lot of the Fool card. This could also symbolize a lack of confidence or inspiration, but I'm not getting that. If those feelings of lack do pop up, you can't let them bog you down. Grab your passionate nature and see where it takes you!

The Eight of Pentacles in your material realm is showing me exactly why your emotional realm is popping off so strongly! Not only that, but we have the Star here too. It looks like the work that you are doing (be it career, school, or otherwise) is very rewarding at this time. The Star card also talks about alignment, which is just even more confirmation of the 333 I keep seeing during this reading. The work you are doing may be hard, but it is also incredibly fulfilling and you are driven. You may even be doing something that you have been wishing for.

One thing I know about the Empress, is she is a symbol of fertility. Being in your passions realms, this seems to be a blossoming time for your creativity! No other notes here. You seem to be having an incredibly fulfilling time, especially in concern for your passions.

To close out your reading, you pulled the Taurus card. There are two myths associated with this constellation. In one, Zeus transforms himself into a bull and seduces and sires children from the Princess Europa. In the other, the bull is a mistress who is stuck in the form after being caught by Hera. This seems like a warning against being overly impatient/naive, as warned by the Page of Wands reversed. On one hand, and the most likely one, you will foster your passions into something beautiful. On the other, you may up in a situation you would rather not be in.

Tying this back to the Mummy, make sure to pay attention to your situation. Rachel Weisz may not be able to pull you away from the oncoming bullets!

——

Pile Three: The Sun, Temperance, Eight of Cups (reversed), King of Swords, Wheel of Fortune, Leo

Right off the bat, pile three, your energy is a lot calmer than the other two. Much more steady. It feels very warm, which makes a lot of sense with your spread here.

You are feeling hunky dory, pile three! In your emotional realm, we have got the Sun and Temperance. This is showing me some crazy levels of peace and contentment. There is such a balanced and warm feel to your emotions. Maybe you have recently had a time of rest and relaxation, or maybe you are just in one of the flows of life. Either way, enjoy every second of this flow!

In your material realm, the Eight of Cups (reversed) is showing me that you feel afraid of walking away from something in your life. Honestly, when I first read this, I took it as though you already did walk away from this situation. So maybe you are half in/half out. The King of Swords speaks of independence and rationale. Maybe it is time to put some thought into what it means to walk away. It may be hard, but now is the time to consider what it means to stay or go. This choice may call for more logic than feeling. You have the information you need.

It seems you have started a new cycle in your realm of passions. With the Wheel of Fortune, you may be finding yourself wanting to start new endeavors, pick up old passion projects, take on a larger role in work. Either way, you are entering this new cycle with a calm and open heart. I wish you the best of luck.

Rounding out your reading, we have the Leo card. The Leo mythology speaks of Heracles slaying an impenetrable lion against great odds. I keep getting the feeling as though you have already made up your mind to walk away from whatever situation it may be. That is the beast that you are meant to slay (or already have slain).

Collect your reward and start that new quest!

——

#tarot pick a card #pac reading #pac #tarotblr #paid tarot readings #tarot #tarot cards #tarot reading #pick a picture #pick a card #pick a pile #pick a card reading

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ateliersss · 2 months ago

Text

Game of Thrones

...is part of The Bookshelf.

⇨ This is a collection of my favorite fanfics/oneshots on Tumblr I love to re-read once in a while. None of those works belong to me! Feel free to use it as well.

⇨ My own works are here

Tywin Lannister

A New Generation Summary: The wedding of King Joffrey and Queen Margaery, a joyous event made even more joyous with the birth of a special babe.

Trouble Summary: Tywin takes a second wife for a purely political alliance, and ends up with far more than he expected.

The Lady Lion Summary: Tywin domestic fluff. He has been married to reader for a while now and they have a son. Also starring: Typical Lannister Family Drama.

The Lion Summary: You write in your diary about a certain "Lion". When Cersei finds it, she automatically thinks you are talking about her twin brother and furiously confronts you. Only isn't the Lion you are talking about any of her brothers...

Crimson and Gold Summary: An opportunity arises.

A Lion's Feast Summary: Lannister Family Dinner with a YoungerWife!Reader (Modern AU)

Daughter Summary: You birth a girl instead of a boy.

Hesitate, Going In Summary: Reader is Margaery's three-years-younger sister and goes to King's Landing for her wedding to the King.

Tywin's Second Wife Summary: Imagine being the wife to the Lord of Casterly Rock for the past decade and, despite all your efforts, you haven’t managed to get pregnant/give him an heir. You soon find out that this is because Tywin has been secretly giving you contraceptives - too afraid of losing you as he lost Joanna.

Baby Lion

Blessed With Youth

Persevere

Repeat of History

His Love

No Choice Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Little Deer Part 1, Part 2

Number 4

In Time, the Lion Loves

A Fool's Errand

No Title

Daemon Targaryen

Fire on Fire Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Summary: You are not only the youngest daughter of House Lenaerys, one of the purest Valryian families from Volantis, but also a trained fire mage with a bright future ahead of her. After you shipwreck, however, and land on the shore of King’s Landing in Westeros, you wake up in a dark room with a mysterious man keeping an eye on you by order of a foreign king.

She's My Wife Summary: Daemon can be considered the rogue prince, cruel and greedy. But not when it comes to you.

No Title Summary: Daemon Targaryen being protective/jealous of his wife who is getting unwanted advances by Otto Hightower.

The Dragon and the Rose Summary: It was your first time visiting King's Landing, and you were expecting countless different things from such a journey... But you could never imagine you'd get the Prince's attention.

Control Summary: After Prince Daemon kisses you in the courtyard of the castle, your father, Otto Hightower, confronts you about it. An argument leads to him becoming physically violent, and you storming out of the room crying. Daemon finds you, however, and when he finds out who left that red mark on your cheek, he immediately seeks revenge.

Three of Spades Summary: You were bethroned to viserys, so naturally for daemon, you were the only complication from getting the Iron Throne.

The Things You Do For Love Summary: Daemon shows you that he’s the only person for you, literally.

Tame The Dragon Summary: After Daemon returns from Stepstones, he takes a fancy to you.

Dragon Rider Part 1, Part 2 Summary: Your father was a proud man, he cared more about himself than he did his children. After a lustful night with the Prince, you are left with the consequences of both of your actions. What will the proud Otto Hightower do?

You'll Be Waiting In Vain Summary: "Go back to Dragonstone, husband." You order coldly. "You've spilled your seed."

In the Shadow of your Heart Part 1, Part 2 Summary: The reader openly pines for Daemon, but he always brushes her off until one day, she stops bothering him.

Like Violence, You Have Me Forever and After

A Dragon and Its Rider

A Doe's Trap

Quite The Surprise

King Of The Narrow Sea Part 1, Part 2

Twin Flames

For All We Know

Three Years

The Miracle That Saved Them Both

The Wolf And The Dragon Part 1, Part 2

The Way Fate Works

You Saved Me

The Dragonkeeper

The Threatened Heirs

Punishments and Happiness

The Dragon's Anger

Do You Love Me

Prize of His Hoard

No Title

Aemond Targaryen

The Missing Piece Summary: You find out he has a bastard.

A Woman's Power Summary: After Aemond hasn't touched since your wedding a month ago, his mother calls you into her chambers.

Bloof of the Dragon Part 1, Part 2 Summary: You are taken prisoner by Aegon II and kept in a cell until he calls for an audience, during which you find out that your mother, Rhaenyra Targaryen, has agreed to a peace contract between the Blacks and the Greens. You, as Rhaenyra’s heir, are to marry the eldest, unmarried son of King Viserys and Queen Alicent; Aemond Targaryen. This is an unwanted surprise for both of you, and you find it hard to make an effort. But when Aemond takes you to your dragon for a ride, seemingly against his brother’s wishes, you slowly begin to find comfort in his company.

The Dragon and The Doe Summary: You were betrothed to Aemond since he was nine and you were fifteen. You have never liked the idea until you meet him again nine years later when he pays you a visit on his dragon.

Detachment Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Summary: Aemond not only breaks your heart after so many love promises, he also breaks his betrothal to you without any justification and announces his betrothal to a baratheon girl. Now you will be married soon too.

Monster

Reconciliation

Pretty Thing

Secrecy

God's Eye

Strong Words

Just Like You

Ever Since

#game of thrones #house of the dragon #daemon targeryen x reader #daemon targaryen x you #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x you #tywin lannister x reader #Tywin Lannister x you

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sagevalleymusings · 3 months ago

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An Overly In-depth Analysis of Spinning Silver Many Years Late

`When I first started writing this in 2022, I had recently finished reading Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver for the first time. I wanted to remember a particular quote in the book, and stumbled upon some reviews from 2019, when the paperback was released.

The quote I was looking for: You will never be a Staryk Queen until you make a hundred winters in one day, seal the crack in the mountain, and make the white tree bloom.

The reviews:

…read Temeraire and Uprooted at least ten times, but couldn’t reread this. The relationships between the two main men and two main women are abusive. Certainly, there’s trauma involved, but it’s not a woman’s job to heal men’s trauma through sacrificing themselves…

…I adored Uprooted (had some issues, but still loved it completely), however Spinning Silver just felt off – not as magical, terrible “romances”, too many POVs, etc. All in all, it just wasn’t as gripping. I liked Miryem’s character, but the other two protagonists were very bland “strong female characters…”

I hate this. I hate this so much. I hate this enough that I’m going to write an excessively long post defending Spinning Silver for three years. For everyone that doesn’t want to read a masters-student dissertation of an essay or who hasn’t read the book yet and wants to go into this spoiler free, here’s the TL:DR version. There are no romances in this book. The two reviewers above are trying to apply the enemies to lovers tropes they loved so much in Uprooted to a grimm fairy tale about politics, feminism, and Jewish persecution. There are no romances in this book. This is hard to grasp, because two of the main characters are married, and that marriage is a major part of the plot, but no one in those marriages including the men wanted the marriage in the first place. To call it “abusive” is to read modern expectations onto a historical political marriage that, while not inaccurate, fundamentally misunderstands the point and the context in which the story takes place.

Also, I would recommend the audio book, if you have trouble with multiple points of view. They are all in first person, and although it starts out with just two, we add more and more POV until there’s 5 or 6 total. The reader Lisa Flanagan does an excellent job distinguishing POVs which will make this aspect of it easier. Read the book, particularly the audiobook. But if you are reading this book looking for romance, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s still one of the best if not the best re-imagined fairy tale I’ve ever read. Here’s an excessively long post about why.

The Introduction

The very first thing we’re introduced to is Miryem as our narrator explaining that stories aren’t about “how they tell it” but getting out of paying your debts. So how do “they” tell it? The introductory story is about a girl having sex out of wedlock who is left in the lurch because the “lord, prince, rich man’s son” has a duty.

It’s about saving yourself for marriage. Even in how “they” tell it, who the man is doesn’t matter and no one is in love. Your duty to your family comes first.

This story is not about romance. The story this story is subverting is not about romance. Even in how “they” tell it, romance isn’t a good thing.

In actual fairy tales, not Disney princess stories, romance often has nothing to do with it. These are stories for little children to get them to obey their parents. Rumpelstilskin is about ingenuity and perseverance. Even in a story like Cinderella, the romance is entirely incidental - the story is about hard work, strength through adversity, and moral superiority. The marriage itself isn’t romantic in the sense that the two main characters fall in love. These stories are older than the modern concept of love. For authors with a strong sense of familial duty and nationalism, writing about something as subversive as romantic love would go against their goals.

This is the setting that Spinning Silver takes place in. It’s a modern fairy tale set in a regency era. The fairy tale Miryem tells in our introduction paints romance as a bad thing. You marry out of duty.

But Miryem from the start tells us that filial duty isn’t what the stories are really about. They’re really about paying your debts. Within the first 2 minutes of this book, it’s already told us three times that this story isn’t about romance. Once in the setting of a fairy tale about filial duty, once in the denial of how they tell it, and once in the revelation of the real interpretation.

The Power of Threes

The power of repetition and specifically of threes comes up over and over again in the book. In many cultures across the world, three has special significance. From the fairy tale side of it, Rumpelstilskin itself contains layers of threes within threes. Rumpelstilskin makes a bargain for the miller’s daughter on the third night. The queen has three days to guess Rumpelstilskin’s name, and guesses three names each day.

It’s likely that these repetitions of threes in fairy tales come from the Christian backdrop they were written in, which at times focuses on the third path in the middle of two binaries, or the significance of building power, though it’s difficult to make any sweeping, central claims about why three is significant because fairy tales are so widespread across countries, time, and religion. But it’s important that Novik is writing this from a Lithuanian Jewish perspective, so there’s a subtle shift in the interpretation and meaning of the rule of threes. I’m not Jewish, so what specifically this is as grounded in Novik’s ancestry is something I can’t be clear on.

During my research, one explanation that seems to resonate with the symbolism of this book is a Chabad interpretation. From chabad.org: The number three symbolizes a harmony that includes and synthesizes two opposites. The unity symbolized by the number three isn’t accomplished by getting rid of number two, the entity that caused the discord, and reverting to the unity symbolized by number one. Rather, three merges the two to create a new entity, one that harmoniously includes both opposites.

Lithuanian Judaism is majority non-Hasidic, so this is just one tangentially-related explanation of the importance of threes. I’m sure there’s other interpretations I’m missing because I can’t possibly begin to know where to look. But I like this explanation for grounding the story because I think it fits well with the symmetry of our protagonists and their husbands (or lack thereof), and the way the story is building to their creating something new.

So when the very first thing we are shown within the first two minutes of the book is a thrice denial of romance, we need to take Naomi Novik seriously when she says that the book is about getting out of paying your debts. Or, at the very least, this is what Miryem thinks the book is about. The way in which the characters grow and change does reveal some of the original cynicism in this thesis, but ultimately this is a story about what we owe each other, and how that debt comes for us if we don’t pay it. And on top of that, Miryem describes the love interest of the miller’s daughter as “lord, prince, rich man’s son” (3 possibilities). Who this love interest is doesn’t matter in the slightest.

All this to say that within the first two minutes of the book, if you are still reading this expecting a romance, you aren’t listening to the author.

Jewish Heritage

Also within the first few minutes of the book, we learn that Miryem is a Jewish moneylender in a fantasy version of Russian-occupied Lithuania some time in the Middle Ages. I’m not going to get too deep into this. I am, as I said, not Jewish, and these characterisations edge very close, on purpose, to deeply anti-Semitic tropes. But understanding what Novik is saying about her heritage and her family’s persecution is critically important to understanding the book.

Naomi Novik is a second-generation American. She’s Lithuanian Jewish on her father’s side, and Polish Catholic on her mother’s side. In many ways, Spinning Silver has been treated as a spiritual successor to Uprooted. Uprooted is set in a fantasy version of Poland, Spinning Silver is set in a fantasy version of Lithuania. Both stories are about Novik’s heritage, and the stories from her ancestors. Spinning Silver is a lot more obvious about this, but there’s a non-zero amount of Catholicism in the way the Dragon structures his magic, and in the older folk magic that lives in the trees.

Spinning Silver is much more explicit, and Novik has said as much, that Miryem’s family is supposed to reflect her father’s family and his experience as a Lithuanian Jew.

Our book takes place in a fantasy version of Lithuania in 1816. That’s a very specific date I’ve picked out for a book that otherwise appears to be ‘the ambiguous past.’ How did I come to that conclusion?

I did a little bit of research to try and determine when and this is what I came up with: Lithuania didn’t exist until the 13th century. Lithuania didn’t have a tsar on the throne until Russian imperialism in the late 1700s. Restrictions on Jews’ ability to work in craft or trade began around 1100 in Europe, and began to wane around 1850. In Lithuania, this fluctuated depending on the specific time period, so we can a little further narrow the timing down to after the mid 1600s but before the 1850s, probably during early Russian imperialism. Leadership is religious, either Eastern Orthodox or Catholic, who at the time believed that charging interest was sinful, so employed members of other religions, specifically Jews, to do their money lending for them. Because of the association with sinful, dirty work, and previous oppression as a religious minority, this led to a significant rise in anti-Semitism, coming to a head with a series of Jewish pogroms in Russia from (officially) 1821-1906, leading millions to flee and thousands of deaths. So we can narrow our estimation down to about 80 years, between 1820-1900.

Then my historian partner started reading it with me and exclaimed, "is that a reference to the Year Without A Summer" so actually 1816, but you can also see how easy it is to narrow that date down even as an amateur just by examining the exact flavor of anti-Semitism in the text. Which is why, even after I learned about the year Without A Summer, I left my aimless searching in.

Most audience members probably don’t know this much detail about history, but Spinning Silver is very clearly written with an audience understanding of this history in mind. We’re supposed to see the rise in anti-Semitism throughout the book which adds a layer of tension because at any moment, the politics in the wider world and rising anti-Semitism might catch up to our protaginists, and Miryem and her entire family could be killed.

That’s it, book over. Anti-Semitism sweeps through, destroys everything it touches, and none of the clever problem-solving of any of our heroines matters. It’s over.

This dark possibility looms over the story like a storm cloud the entire time. The most explicit reference is when Miryem uses the tunnel her grandfather dug.

“I pulled it up easily, and there was a ladder there waiting for me to climb down. Waiting for many people to climb down, here close to the synagogue, in case one day men came through the wall of the quarter with torches and axes, the way they had in the west where my grandfather’s grandmother had been a girl.”

The fear of persecution isn’t just something of the past. It is something that people in this community are actively thinking about and planning contingencies for.

We’re five pages in and I’ve barely gotten through the first five minutes of the book. I could do this for literally the rest of the book if I wanted to - five minutes later, Miryem as narrator starts talking about a festival at the turn of the seasons between Autumn and Winter, which she calls “their festival” and resents the townspeople for it because they’re spending money they borrowed from Panov Mandelstam on it. Meanwhile, Panov Mandelstam is lighting a candle for the third day of their own festival, when a cold wind sweeps in and blows the candles out. Her father tells them it’s a sign for bed time instead of relighting them, because they’re almost out of oil. Panov Mandelstam is reduced to whittling candles out of wood because, “there isn’t going to be any miracle of light in our house.” I didn’t catch this the first time around, because I’m an ignorant goyim I wasn’t thinking about this book as an explicitly Jewish fairytale. But Novik is obviously making a reference to Channukkah, and the fact that Panov Mandeltam doesn’t relight the candles for Channukkah is powerfully unsettling. And then on the eigth day, Miryem takes up her father’s work and collects the money he’s been neglecting, and there is light in their house for Channukkah after all, but the miracle is hard work, not magic. The entire book is like that, layers upon layers of meaning with every sentence. Subtle clues before the curtain is pulled back. I want to teach a seminar using only this book on the definition of “show, don’t tell.”

Good and Evil

But at some point I’m going to have to move on, and so let’s talk about trauma, poverty, and morals.

Novik introduces the townsfolk as Miryem sees them, but not all the townsfolk. Each person introduced by name winds up coming back later, enacting some kind of harm. But it seems to me that this harm is foreshadowed in each instance.

First, we’re introduced to Oleg. Oleg’s wife is described as being Oleg’s “squirrelly, nervous wife.” This isn’t the only time it occurs to me to wonder if Oleg beats his wife, but I think the description is intentional. Oleg eventually tries to murder Miryem, for explicitly anti-Semetic reasons, but I think this violence is foreshadowed in the way we see him interact, in brief flashes, with his wife and son, and how they’re always described as being a little withdrawn, a little afraid of Oleg, and not very sad that he’s gone, except in the part where this is going to be a financial burden on the family.

Next introduced is Kajus. Kajus who had borrowed two gold pieces to establish himself as a krupnik brewer (the krupnik he brews would lead to Da’s alcoholism). His solution to Miryem banging on their doors is to offer her a drink. Clearly getting people hooked and indebted to him is a tactic he’s used to success more than once.

The last person introduced in this sequence is Lyudmila. Again, we are given a set of three. Lyudmila is different. Lyudmila never borrowed money. She doesn’t have a direct reason for despising the Mandelstams. Or at least, she shouldn’t. And yet, her distain jumps off the page. Lyudmila is the quiet, insidious voice spreading lies and rumors about the Jewish family in town. Her violence is not explicit. But it is the same.

The last person we’re introduced to, given an entire separate section to his own, is Gorek.

Good and Evil part 2 - is Wanda’s Da an evil character?

Gorek, who’s better known for the rest of the book as Wanda’s Da, is also introduced to us first as a borrower trying to get out of paying his debts. Gorek is a violent drunk. This is established repeatedly. Gorek is not a good man.

But is he evil? Certainly he seems to be the antagonist of Wanda’s story, and there’s no love lost when he dies. But I think it’s interesting that even Gorek, in many respects, is sympathetic. He’s not very different from any of the other men in this town. Oleg is violent. Kajus profits off the many people in the town that drink their troubles away. Gorek is not uniquely awful even if he is particularly awful. And even for Gorek, the text takes pains to remind us that he buried his wife and five children. His life is hard. Their plot of land is sat next to a tree where nothing will grow. How much rye did they waste before they learned that lesson? And when Mama was alive, they had enough to eat in the winter, but only because she was very, very careful to divide everything up. On his own, Gorek couldn’t make that math add up, even before he started drinking his troubles away. Gorek is facing a life where unless something drastic changes, he and his children will slowly starve to death, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

So he sells his daughter for one jug of krupnik a week. Gorek has made his bed; he doesn’t want to keep living. He’s drinking himself into the grave he dug for his wife. But in the meantime he does still need to take care of his children.

I don’t say this to forgive his actions; I do think Gorek’s actions are unforgivable. Some people cannot be redeemed, they can only be defeated, and Gorek is one of those people. But at the end of the book, Wanda and Sergei and Stepon still bury him when they go back to Pavys, next to the rest of their deceased family.

Gorek is a product of his environment, and that environment is cruel and cold. The people it produces are by and large cruel and cold. No one in the town bothers to bury Gorek. No one stops him from hitting his wife and children. There’s nothing at all strange, according to the rest of the town, about his selling his daughter for drink.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Gorek is not evil, but I also think that this book is taking pains to present with sympathy the kind of environment which creates people like Gorek. Like our Staryk king, who was entirely prepared to force himself onto Miryem even though neither one of them wanted it. Like Mirnatius, who did not himself commit any acts of violence, but who was perfectly willing to benefit from the violence being committed with his face. The world is cold and cruel, and it is very, very easy to become cold and cruel from it.

The Power of Threes revisited: Miryem’s magic

Even Miryem says that she’s had to be cold and cruel to be their family’s moneylender. We don’t see very much of this. But she does after all agree to have someone work in her house for essentially no pay. We don’t necessarily realize it, because it comes at our own turning point, but Miryem has to learn empathy just as much as her Staryk king does. When she agrees to allow Flek and Tsop and Shofer to help her with her trials.

I read Novik’s new anthology Buried Deep and Other Stories and in that collection she says it’s a line from the Staryk king about Miryem’s magic that made her want to expand what was originally a short story into a full book. “A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true; the proving makes it so.”

Fairy tales are about hard work. This line from the Staryk king isn’t just a way of constructing magic, it’s just literally true. If I get a job as an accountant, despite not knowing anything about accounting, and I don’t fail, then by the end I will be an accountant. I love this, that the magic in Spinning Silver is just hard work.

Miryem’s magic is another rule of threes. The Staryk king challenges her to turn silver into gold three times, to make the magic true, and she does it – with mundane means, through ordinary hard work, but it’s done. She barters freedom for a day by turning three storehouses to gold, and she does that too – with wit and hard work, but it’s done. The Staryk king challenges her that she’ll never be a Staryk queen, unless she can do three feats of high magic, and she does each one. Or rather, each one gets done, and Miryem has a hand in it. But the first feat of high magic requires the assistance of one other person. The second – the assistance of three. Much like each trial before it grew in magnitude – first 6 coins, then 60, then 600 – so too do all three stories grow in magnitude. It would stand to reason then that the third test of magic would require at least three upon three people. But Miryem is not the only protagonist in this story.

Circling back to Romance: Arranged Marriage is Bad That’s Obviously The Point

In addition to the rule of threes woven repeatedly in Miryem’s story, the entire story itself is a Triptych. One story is the story of the girl who could turn silver into gold. One story is the story of the children who find themselves lost in the woods and stumble onto a witch’s house full of rich food. One story is the story of the duke’s misfit daughter who marries a prince. They are all of them different fairy tales. And at the end of the story, they all come crashing into each other. The white tree belongs to Wanda’s story, bought with six lives.

Three sets of three people in each story

There are many, many examples of threes woven throughout this story, but it was only three years into writing this essay that I realized that the marriages themselves are a set of three as well. After all, only Irina and Miryem get married, right?

But Wanda is offered a marriage proposal. In a story with less magic, Wanda would have married Lukas, and been yet another generation of poor, miserable women that died in childbirth. But Wanda says no, a thing entirely unheard of in this era. Women didn’t say no to marriages arranged by their fathers.

And at the end of the story, Wanda is still unwed, with absolutely no indication that this will ever change. Wanda’s agency, this rejection of marriage, is treated with the same weight as the marriages themselves. Saying no is just as valuable as Irina’s political marriage, or courting for a year and a day and marrying for love, as Miryem eventually does.

And Miryem does marry for love. She originally has no choice in the matter, but that contract is rendered void when the Staryk king is forced to let her go. We don’t see the year’s worth of courting because it’s not relevant to the story because this is not a romance but I really don’t want to lose this point because I think Wanda’s story sometimes gets forgotten precisely because it doesn’t have a marriage. But Novik is explicit about this through Wanda’s story. Irina had no choice, not really. So it never occurred to her to say yes or no. She kills the man who sought to marry her – Chernobog wanted to marry Irina, not Mirnatius. Irina murders her would-be husband, Miryem divorces hers, and Wanda says no. Yes, the arranged marriages in this book are abusive – Novik knows that and tears them down one by one and rebuilds them into something with far more agency, that our women protagonists chose.

The Story

So we’ve come all this way and learned that Spinning Silver is not a romance, not really. The married couples in the story do come to love each other, after a fashion. But that love blooming was not the point. The point was…

Well it was about getting out of paying your debts, wasn’t it? Novik told us very explicitly that it was about getting out of paying your debts right on the first page. It’s not how they told it. But she knew.

Miryem spends the entire book making her fortune from nothing. Wanda takes over the work from her. Stepon takes over after Wanda. The debt that the town owed to Josef was a major thread over and over again throughout the whole story. Oleg tries to kill Miryem over it. The Staryk king seeks Miryem’s hand because of it. Raquel had been sick because their dowry had been spent. Wanda comes to their house to pay off the debt. Nearly everything in the book can be traced back to the debt against Josef Mandelstam.

And then, in Chapter 25, Josef sends Wanda with many letters to the people of the town forgiving all the remaining debt that was owed. The people of Pavys get out of paying their debt.

But… how do they get out of it? Not through any trickery of their own, not really. There is a stated implication that fear was a big part of it. Sending Wanda with letters of forgiveness would mean that they would not be harried or harmed while they were wrapping up affairs in the town. But Josef also doesn’t need the money. They have a home of their own, many hands to make light the work, blessings from the Sunlit Tsar to establish their place in the world, and blessings from the Staryk king that will ensure their safety even through a hard winter. They want for nothing, so they do not seek to reclaim what is theirs.

And in a way they got all those blessings through paying their debts, but in a way they did not. The Staryk way of paying their debts teaches us something very important about what a debt really is. The Staryks don’t keep debts. They make fair trade. And if they can’t make fair trade, there is no deal. Or at least, they say they make fair trade. They didn’t trade for the gold they steal from the Sunlit world, though I suspect they would argue that the pain that is caused to the people of that world is trade for their putting a monster on the throne. And Miryem rightly points out that they had been raiding for gold and raping the people of Lithvas long before Chernobog sat on the throne. They make fair trade. But only with those they view as their equals.

But the Sunlit world is even worse. The Tsar doesn’t make fair trade. He spends magic like water and steals the lives of people that didn’t bargain with him to pay for it. In the Sunlit world, people take as much as they can with as little return as they can get away with. Not everyone, of course. But it is of particular note here that in this story, Jews are vilified particularly because they ask for fair trade in return. And the people they loan money to don’t want to give it to them.

But fair trade can only go so far. The Staryk king is trying to make a road back to his kingdom, and he can’t, because there is nothing of winter that they can find in the warm summer day. And he cannot take Stepon’s white tree seed, because it was bought with six lives, and given to Stepon alone, and there is nothing that the Staryk king can barter with that would measure against a mother’s love. But Stepon wants to see the white tree grown, so they find a way to plant it. Irina digs hard soil in apology, and the Mandelstams sing a hymn to encourage growth, and although none of this was done for the Staryk king, he still uses the work to create his road.

Sometimes, fair trade isn’t enough, and one must trust that it is to the benefit of all to aid each other.

The truest way of getting out of paying your debts… is to abolish the concept of debt.

That’s right, motherfuckers, eat your kings and burn the banks to the ground, love is the anti-capitalist manifesto we made along the way!

This section was going to be a little bit of a joke, but the more I think about it, the more it really isn’t. Miryem’s magic makes wealth meaningless in its magnitude. Wanda’s magic is having food and shelter to spare. And Irina’s magic is having just leadership that rules for the people, not for power. Novik’s fairytale ending is collectivism. She tells us three times, through three stories of hardship. And it isn’t even about becoming a princess, because Wanda marries no one, and lives in a magical house that seems to always have everything they need. So long as they do what they can to take care of it.

The real magic is community. Doing for yourself what you can, and reaching your hand to another when you can spare, so that they might do the same. And so long as we all do that together, the darkness cannot come in to feast.

#disk horse #media analysis #naomi novik #spinning silver #literary analysis #okay this one's long even for me #also it took three years to write #five thousand words #nine sources #and two pages of notes

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annymation · 1 year ago

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Reimagining the characters in Wish

(Part 1- Asha)

Hey guys! I don’t really know how to start this, but let’s just say that I… Didn’t like how Disney’s 100th anniversary movie turned out, like at all.

But I can tell there was a lot of unexplored potential beneath this story, that in my opinion felt overly simple and bare bones.

But if you love it, that’s awesome, more power to you, I wish I could’ve loved it too. And I don’t want to rewrite it to show I’m “better than the writers at Disney” because I’m definitely not lol, I have no experience in writing, and I’m sure they put a lot of passion into the project and I respect them for that. But this movie inspired me with ideas for a different story that I think is worth telling.

But I won’t start telling it today, instead, I'll start a series of blogs sharing my ideas for changes in the characters and their stories, after I get some feedback I will start posting more of the story itself.

If you’re interested, then come along!

Asha✨

Personality

- Asha is a 18 year old girl, with a passion for drawing and helping those around her, sometimes even worrying more about helping others than helping herself

- She’s like a big sister to her 7 friends, always being the voice of reason and acting responsible, but not in a bossy way, she’s actually very playful with them

- To the people of Rosas tho, she's seen as kind of a weirdo, for you see, she spends almost every time of the day drawing in her sketchbook

- She practices everyday to become a better artist, and the people of Rosas find this to be very peculiar, after all, why would you take so much effort to perfect a talent when you can simply wait to turn 18 and wish for the king to make you an amazing artist?

- Asha doesn’t mind these comments, although they have made her less willing to share her drawings with others that aren’t her 7 friends

- As the story progresses we see Asha flourish from a shy and introverted girl to a brave woman who after discovering a terrifying secret about the kingdom’s rulers, steps in and inspires others to join her and fight an evil sorcerer king and his alchemist wife (yes, I made Amaya an alchemist, more on that on part 2 when I talk about how I’d change Magnifico and Amaya)

- Some Disney characters that share similarities with her personality wise are: Belle, Tiana, Pocahontas and Esmeralda

Main Traits:

Calm and mature

Determined

Passionate about her interests (drawing, dancing, philosophy and stars)

Helpful and generous

Perceptive and always questioning things around her that no one pays attention to (like why do all the artists only paint the King and Queen?)

Playful

Compassionate

Backstory

Oooh boy I gave this poor girl so much angst, okay let’s go

Asha grew up with her grandfather, her parents both died in a fire when she was just a baby

(this isn’t just to fit the “haha Disney princess has no parents” cliche, there’s plot relevance in this “mysterious fire” that I’ll talk about later)

Growing up with her grandpa, he’d always support her dream to be an artist, like her mother, who was an art teacher

Her mother not only drew really well, but she also was able to create the illusion that her drawings could move, by flipping through the pages of her sketch books

In other words, her mom was an animator

Asha saw this technic her mom used as a form of magic, so she would often tell her grandpa she wanted to “Do magic just like my mom”

Her father was a philosopher (this was established in the actual movie but never explored haha whyyyy), who taught people that working hard to achieve your dreams is not only rewarding, but also essential, because it’s part of the human nature to persevere and fight for what we believe, even if we fail, even if it’s hard, just keep moving forward.

This philosophy may sound very “umm duh” for me and you since we all know and hear everywhere nothing in life comes for free… But that’s not the case in Rosas

In this rewrite the kingdom wasn’t created by Magnifico, but rather the kingdom has existed for many generations, being ruled by different kings before Magnifico who also granted wishes… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The point is that the culture of just asking the king to give you or make you whatever you want to be has been in this kingdom’s culture since forever, so when Asha’s dad comes out saying “hey! Maybe we should stop just relying on the king to make our dreams come true, right?” He’s actually being quite a revolutionary… and sharing a very dangerous belief to other people…

At this point you might suspect what caused that “mysterious fire”

So, back to Asha, growing up with her grandpa, they shared a lot of happy memories together. Reading her father's books and her mother's art books helped Asha connect with them even tho she never had them in her life.

But as her grandfather grew older, he became senile.

Asha went from being taken care of by her grandpa to being the one who took care of him when she was still around 13 years old, and when she turned 15 her grandfather passed away of old age

Asha went on to live with her best friend Dahlia, the two became like sisters.

Though she managed to move on from the loss of her grandfather, she could never shake the feeling that he died without getting his wish granted... But she had no way to prove that, it was just a feeling

The wish granting system works different in my rewrite, instead of there being a public wish granting ceremony once a month, there would only be a public wish TAKING ceremony, that would work just like in the movie, you turn 18, you go give your wish to the king yada yada yada.

But the wish granting part would work like this: Almost every night the king would release the wishes up in the sky, they would float down like balloons to their respective owners while they sleep, and once they woke up in the morning they'd feel that their wishes were granted, for they would wake up changed.

With this method, there's no way of confirming if someone really got their wish granted or not, unless you went to ask the king.

Asha never did ask the king if he granted her grandfather's wish, but her grandfather would sometimes express how he wasn't feeling completely fulfilled in his life, he felt like there was something... missing.

This feeling of hollowness persisted in him until the very end, no matter how hard Asha tried to help her grandfather, she never knew him as his real self, because he gave part of his soul to the king, the most beautiful part of his soul, his wish.

Asha had no proof that her grandfather didn't get his wish granted, only a gut feeling.

But because of this, Asha wasn't that thrilled to give her own wish to king magnifico, knowing there was the possibility of it never being granted.

Not to mention she didn’t even know what to wish for, “I’m just 18 and you guys expect me to already know what’s my heart’s deepest desire? I’m still figuring that out, all I know is that I wanna draw”

Plus she wanted to follow her father's philosophy and achieve her wish on her own, eventually, when she figured out what her wish even was.

Asha never rebelled against the system tho, she wasn't a confrontational person. She just accepted the people of Rosas preferred to rely on the king's magic, but that just wasn't for her.

However, on her 18 birthday, when it was expected of her to give her wish to the king, she simply said she didn't have a wish, and even if she did she wouldn’t want to hand it over, she wanted to make it come true on her own. This lead to an argument with the king, and after a series of events (that I don't have time to summarize here, but you can find out about it on my rewrite) leads to her finding out a terrible truth about her kingdom. And that's how her story begins.

Design

- I’d keep these braid ornaments that Asha had in the concept art

- Since in my rewrite she’s not that invested in the kingdom of Rosas, I’d remove all the Kingdom of Rosas symbols that are present in her design (there are a LOT of them)

- I’d replace these Rosas insignia with more star and constellations themed symbols, to reflect how Asha believes that the stars are connected to people and they can guide us, just like how her father believed.

Final Thoughts

My intentions with these changes were to give Asha a strong emotional hook, and something that makes her feel relatable.

The emotional hook here is how she spent so much of her life taking care of her grandfather that she kinda never had time to worry about her own desires, that alone can be relatable to caregivers of elderly people that watch their grandparents or even their own parents lose themselves as time passes, and end up worrying more about the person they’re taking care of than themselves.

Asha has this internal emotional conflict where she feels she needs to constantly help others the same way she helped her grandfather, and one of the things she’ll learn as the story progresses is that it’s not selfish of her to want more for HERSELF.

Another thing that would be relatable about Asha is her passion for drawing, and how most people in Rosas would say she’s wasting her time practicing so much when she can just wait until she turns 18 and wish to be amazing at drawing.

She’d never stop believing that taking her time to improve on her talent and trying again and again was worth every second of her time, because let me tell ya folks, drawing is HARD, and animating like Asha’s mom did is even HARDER, it takes a whole lot of practice, and Asha was determined to keep trying.

She’d be much like Belle, remaining true to herself even tho those around her considered her odd, and very passionate about drawing just as much Belle was passionate about reading.

I also find it funny how Asha’s motivations are fairly down to earth, like in Disney movies you usually have:

I want to be free from these palace walls!

I want to explore the ocean!

I want to open a restaurant!

I want to find true love!

And then there’s Asha here like

“My life is fine, I just wanna chill and draw stuff”

And that’s it, but, in her environment where everyone is expected to have this great wish that they have to give to the king so he’ll make it a reality, she’s kinda the odd one out, and I love that. Would be a great subversion of the Disney formula.

Of course after she learns Magnifico and Amaya’s true intentions she gets a lot more agency and the desire to save her people, her “call for adventure” if you will.

But what are Magnifico and Amaya’s true intentions? Click here for part 2 and find out!

Thank You For Reading!

#disney wish #wish #reimagined #rewrite #disney #wish 2023 #wish asha #wish star #king magnifico #wish movie #wish disney #wish rambles #wish rewrite #Asha #long post #wishrewrite

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faerouzia · 1 month ago

Text

Kingdom: At Grim’s End

Shadows of the castle: I

Pairing: prince!seonghwa x darkfae!fem!reader

Au: strangers to lovers | third age au

Genre: fantasy, horror

Warnings: +21 (MDNI), gory scenes, disturbing depictions of creatures, angst, fluff, all you can imagine SMUT, mentions of dark magic, death,suggestive themes, betrayal, slow burn, fear

Summary: The land of Aurora, split into several kingdoms, after a war that raged for over 400 years, falls weary of the dark reigns bestowed by the Evil Queen of Darconia, Morana. With half the kingdoms bound to her will, the last rivalling kingdoms join forces in hopes to end the queen’s exploitation of ancient magic and the plan of using dark arts and the blood of the most powerful king’s and creatures to solidify her power. In the midst of unforgiving circumstances, Prince seonghwa of Halazia and the last of her kind, a decent of the phoenix fae fall in love, but at a great cost.

Chapter playlist

Word count: 2361

Series master list

The moon cast its silvery glow over the majestic Halazia castle walls, illuminating the lavender stone and the figures that moved within with an ethereal light. King Park the Great stood at the window, his piercing gaze fixed on the night sky, his thoughts consumed by the weight of his kingdom and the expectations placed upon his son, Seonghwa.

The grounds grew grayer by the day, the townspeople losing faith with each passing moment, their hopes dwindling like the fading light of day. The Alms cathedral, once a beacon of hope, now held on by its last string of saints, mere weeks away from withering away into obscurity.

"My love," a subtle voice echoed through the chamber, breaking the king's reverie. Queen He-ra, once the radiant princess of Aloula, now the queen of Halazia, entered the room, dressed in her pearl-adorned garment, her movements as graceful as a summer breeze.

As she approached, the king's ears were met with the ever-sweet sound of her voice, a balm to his troubled soul. Her steps fell softly, like the gentle glide of an angel, and the fragrance of white liliac wafted from her, enveloping him in the serene beauty of a garden.

"You have been troubled of late, what weighs on your mind?" she said, brushing her hands across his shoulders with a gentle touch.

King Park sighed heavily, his gaze still focused on the town below. "Without any power stronger than yours, I'm only forced to think and worry for my people...and my family," he cooed, his voice la with concern.

“You’re growing weaker by the day because of it, it’s all-all too painful for me to bear” he confessed.

"The effect of her reigns grows by the day, trade has slowed down, the people are growing restless. I fear for our future, our children's future, and the people's future..your future” he said, his voice low and measured, aching to shed a tear.

Queen He-ra's eyes filled with understanding and empathy, her expression a testament to her compassion. "We've done everything in our power to protect them, our efforts go unnoticed by the people," she said. "Faith is never lost, it's protected; we are only equipped with sword and armor."

The queen's smile softened, her eyes shining with a deep adoration as she looked at her king. She assured him gently, "As for my power, I am willing to endure its cost if it means protecting our family and the people. I have come of age to wield it wisely, and if weakness is the price, I will pay it. For you, my love, for our children, and for the kingdom, I will persevere."

"For as long as I'm still alive, my power will continue to shield and protect this kingdom from destruction and evil," she added, culling his face in her hands with a tender touch.

The king continued to hold his gaze on his queen, his one true love, tears threatening to leave his eyes. "I know dear, what scares me most is how our son is eager to give his life for all," he said sadly.

"I can't lose him to such morals," he added, his voice cracking with emotion.

"As much as it breaks my heart, we have to understand we put him in this position as the royal family," the queen countered. "He is the youngest, of course, but his fate will only be altered should the board have a change of mind."

Just then, before Queen He-ra could continue with her words, Seonghwa, the prince of Halazia, entered the room, his movements deliberate and confident. "Father, I've come to discuss the recent developments in the realm," he said, his voice low and measured.

King Park released his wife and turned to face his son, his expression stern once more. "Seonghwa, you know what's at stake. The Evil Queen's reign of terror has already begun to affect our kingdom. Trade has slowed, and our people are growing restless. We must tread carefully to avoid drawing her attention."

“I cannot lose my son to such circumstances," the king said, his voice shaking with emotion. "I'd rather sacrifice myself to Queen Morana than let you run loose like a headless chicken."

"I'm more than prepared, father," Seonghwa countered. "I've been training all my life for days like these."

"This-this is different, danger is an understatement to declare, Seonghwa, you're nearing 26, you're of young age," the king pleaded.

Before the king could proceed with the conversation, a part of him hesitated, reluctant to precipitate another dispute akin to the one that had recently transpired. Memories of their past argument still lingered, the words spoken in haste and passion.

"Father, I implore you, grant me permission to take up arms against the Evil Queen," he had entreated.

The king's expression had turned stern, his voice firm. "No, Seonghwa! You are not yet prepared for such a perilous endeavor. The Evil Queen's power is not to be underestimated."

Seonghwa's determination had remained unwavering. "I have trained tirelessly, Father. I am ready to defend our realm and our people."

The king's concern had been evident. "You are still young, Seonghwa. You do not fully comprehend the depths of her malice. I will not lose you to her cruelty."

“But if you could just grant me the chance I would-”

“Enough!" The king's voice thundered, his words laced with anguish and desperation. "This is not a game, Seonghwa, it is a war where lives are lost without mercy. By the heavens, I abhor the fate that would blind you to the reality of your own mortality! You will die, Seonghwa, and the thought of losing you is a torment I can hardly bear. We will not have this conversation again. Do I make myself abundantly clear?"

The king's eyes blazed with a mix of fear, anger, and paternal concern, his face etched with the weight of his emotions. His words hung in the air, heavy with the gravity of his warning.

As the king hesitated to continue the conversation, he recalled the passion and conviction in his son's eyes. He feared that another argument would only serve to further solidify Seonghwa's resolve, rather than dissuade him from his chosen path. With a heavy heart, king chose his words carefully, aware that the of their kingdom and their family hung precariously in the balance.

"The board will hold a meeting in three days' time, only then will your fate be decided. Until then, I will not allow you to put yourself in danger," the king said sternly.

Seonghwa left in disbelief, his mouth agape, turning to his mother for assurance. All she could do was smile softly at him before he spoke.

"Mother-“

“ let's not rush into situations where your return is not guaranteed," Queen he-ra said, her voice laced with concern.

"As much as I want you to set a course to your destiny, I cannot imagine being a mother grieving her own, knowing l've let you out into a world of terror without adequate preparation," the queen softly said, holding onto her son's hands.

The queen's words struck a chord within Seonghwa's breast. His gaze faltered, and his heartstrings vibrated with emotion, for he knew his parents' apprehensions were well-founded.

Though his confidence had shielded his fear, he couldn't deny the truth that his parents saw him as not yet ready for the trials ahead.

The conversation between King Park, Queen He-ra, and Seonghwa would determine the course of their kingdom's future, but little did they know that their lives were about to become entangled with a mysterious presence that would change everything.

Meanwhile, in a distant village, a stranger stood atop a hill, gazing up at the nocturnal sky. He was a traveler, a collector of tales and rumors. As he watched, a pair of majestic wings flew above the castle, their shape silhouetted against the lunar glow. The stranger's eyes widened in awe. "What creature could possess such wings?" he wondered aloud. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized that something extraordinary was happening in the realm.

The stranger grabbed his spectacles to get a better view of the figure, which seemed to be a large eagle. However, the misty clouds hid it from full revelation. "I must inform my father!" he exclaimed, running towards the town in hopes of sharing his observations.

In the castle , the candles dimmed ever so slightly as bedtime neared. Queen He-ra visited her eldest daughter's room, Min, to wish her goodnight before proceeding to Seonghwa's chambers. However, he was nowhere to be found.

Undoubtedly, she knew he was either in the library or the training quarters, overworking himself to the core. But to her surprise, he was indeed in the library.

Letting a soft knock grace the door, she peered in, noticing her son's figure asleep on the stretcher, surrounded by books and torn pages about magic and its sources. "Seonghwa," she cooed quietly, hoping not to awaken him abruptly. But his eyes opened immediately. "Mother, what are you doing here so late? You should be in bed, asleep," he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I couldn't rest without knowing where you were," she replied, gracing his face with her hand. "I see you're interested in magic," she observed. "I am," he said. "I just wanted to see how I'd incorporate it with my training, just in case the board decic for me to take action."

As Seonghwa spoke, he lightly touched her hair.

The shield that protected the kingdom, held by the queen's magic, drained her life force, causing her to age quicker and grow weaker. Though weak, she remained strong in front of her son, not allowing herself to show the dark side of the magic's effects.

"It's alright, grey hair suits me better, don't you think?" she joked lightly. However, Seonghwa was no fool; he knew when she was faking a facade.

"Let's head off to bed, shall we?" the queen asked, leading her son out of the library and straight to their chambers.

"Goodnight, my son. I love you dearly," she said before closing his doors. "I love you most, Mother," he whispered against his pillow. The owls' gentle hooting lulled him to sleep.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the stranger, the wings belonged to a being whose presence would soon shake the foundations of the kingdom.

Someone who would unwittingly become entangled in the complex web of power and magic that governed the realm. As the stranger descended the hill, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had caught a glimpse of something momentous. Little did he know that his life, and the lives of those in the kingdom, were about to become intertwined with the figure's in ways they could hardly imagine.

“FATHER!!FATHER!” The stranger screamed

"By the beard of Durin's ancestors, what's gotten into you, boy? You're hollering like a bunch of wild goblins at a harvest festival! Spit it out, lad, what tidings do you bring that warrants such a ruckus?" Mr. Kim asked

The boy silenced in excitement muttering to himself.

"Spit it out, Hongjoong! I've only got about a century left to live, and I'm not exactly dying to wait all day for you to get to the point." He sarcastically said

“I think I saw a fae” hongjoong finally spoke

“By the gods, lad, I've spent years wringing milk from a recalcitrant goat's udder, and yet, somehow, your contribution to this conversation has been even less fruitful!" Mr Kim exclaimed excitedly.

"We must inform the king," he muttered, tapping his fingers against his lips. "We depart at dawn's break. Make sure you're scrubbed clean and get that mud off your pants – and don't look like you just rolled down the chocolate river, for goodness' sake!" He said cocking his bushy eyebrows up.

"Yes, Father, do make sure to pluck the grey wisps from your nose, and perhaps prune the eyebrows while you're at it," Hongjoong said with a straight face.

The old man shot him a look, "I'm warning you, lad, I may be old, but these hairs have been my trusty companions through thick and thin, how’d ya think I got your mother– and I'll have you know, they've brought me nothing but good fortune... or at least, that's the story I'll be telling the grandchildren." With a flourish, he adjusted his belt, snapping his worn cotton pants confidently into place, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Blimey, Dad! Spare me the details of how you wooed Mum, I don't need to know about your dodgy nose hair or your questionable charm!" Hongjoong grimed in disgust.

"Off to bed with you, young scamp! Your mother and I have some... 'important business' to attend to. And don't worry, we'll try to keep the goats' singing to a minimum.” Mr. Kim snarked skipping towards his chambers to “celebrate” with his wife.

In a few minutes Hongjoong heard ruffles and boards banging against the wall.

"I better not get another sibling!" Hongjoong exclaimed, his face contorted in mock horror. "Shut your gob, you little scamp!" Mr. Kim bellowed, brandishing a wooden spoon with a flourish.

The boards decision: ll

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thebenjiblackwoodexpress · 11 months ago

Text

Jump then fall prt.2

Playlist;

Strong- One Direction

Fearless- Taylor Swift

If I Could Tell Her- Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss

Disclaimer: Victoria here with some more content for the handsome Bracken because Elizabeth loves him and there aren't enough oneshots.

Description: Aeron resolves to woo his lady with a newfound confidence, but his plans are thrown into disarray by an unwanted betrothal.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Warnings: female reader. Insecurities over stereotypical gender norms. Mention of events that happen in Fire and Blood (writing in italics is a direct passage and belongs to George R.R. Martin). Misguided Rhaenyra slander. I don't think there's anything else.

Several weeks had passed since Aeron and Y/N had rekindled their friendship, resuming the old pastimes of their childhood. A chill in the air, gently rusting the golden leaves of the Brackentree, signalled the end of the summer months and the oncoming of Autumn. The days grew shorter, but as the sun began to wane into the soft glow of a sunset a young knight and lady could still be found enclosed within the roots of the tree, the lady leaning over the shoulder of the young knight to get a closer look at the tome he was reading from.

'The accomplishments of king Jahaerys I Targaryen are almost too many to enumerate. Chief among them, in the view of most students of history, are the long period of peace and prosperity that marked his time upon the Iron Throne.'

'It is a poor king who wages battle against his own Lords and leaves his own kingdom burned, bloody, and strewn with corpses.'

'Why did you stop reading?

Aeron had tried to persevere through the passage on the reign of King Jahaerys and Queen Alysanne, aware that it was a favourite of Y/N's as a young girl. He knew that she loved the romance of their union, of their undying devotion to one another, to choosing one another as partner and consort despite the opposition from their parents and advisors. But theirs was also a reign of unprecedented peace and prosperity, one which set an example to future rulers that had never been more pertinent than now as fractious tensions had turned to full out warfare between The Black's and The Greens. News of the young Prince Jacaerys's murder had spread like wildfire throughout the Riverlands, serving to ignite the long held tensions between the Blackwoods and Brackens as sides were chosen and battle lines were drawn.

Aeron had been appalled at the infanticide, and could not understand how anyone could side with a queen so depraved that she would resort to such an act of violence against an innocent, against her own blood. The act had stirred in him a fury he had never before felt and he was gladdened to hear of his Lord uncle's decision to swear fealty to the true king Aegon Targaryen. And yet he feared the consequences of this declaration, felt the palpable repercussions of the violence that would surely follow, not just in the Riverlands but with a reach that would surely see the whole realm thrown into a war between competing factions and dragons as the House of The Dragon determined to tear itself apart.

Despite all of these thoughts swirling in his mind as he read from the Maestors' histories, it was the gentle graze of Y/Ns hair tickling his face and neck as she leant over his shoulder, a hand lightly placed atop his back to steady herself, that had caused him to stop abruptly with a sharp intake of breath. For Y/N it appeared to have been easy to fall back into their old past times and resume their friendship, for him it had not been so simple, not when he desired not just her friendship but her love. Y/N seemed to have no problem at all with their close proximity, but it set Aeron's skin on fire.

"The sky grows dark. We have tarried too long and the night shall soon be upon us. I would not have you so close to the border with those Blackwood broads about when darkness falls. Let us set aside Jahaerys and Alysanne for today" he reasoned, though did at once realise the truth of his observation, as the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a shadow over the page he had been reading.

With a small huff, which Aeron found adorable, Y/N removed herself from Aeron's shoulder and rose from the root on which she perched, fixing her skirts as she did so before offering her hand to Aeron to help him up. Not entirely trusting her balance to support his weight, he nevertheless accepted her proferred hand as he pushed himself up. Content at the way in which her smaller hand seemed to fit perfectly in his, he held her gaze and hand longer than was strictly necessary, though Y/N either did not seem to notice or mind.

"May I walk you home?"

"My father should still be with Lord Bracken, they have had much to discuss of late with war looming." Y/N's brows furrowed into an uncharacteristic frown that Aeron immediately wanted to smooth.

"Then we should return to Bracken Hall together" Aeron replied, offering his arm out to her. No sooner had Y/N entwined her arm with his than they both felt heavy rain drops splatter atop their heads through the gaps in the branches of the Brackentree.

"We must make haste" Y/N shouted to Aeron over the cacophony of the now pouring rain, dropping his arm to grab his hand and forcibly drag him away from the tree and towards his ancestral seat. They both broke into a run as the rain grew heavier and the wind rose up in gales, Y/N breaking into laughter and playfully grinning at Aeron. Bracken Hall was half a mile's journey and by the time they burst through the front doors they were both soaked to the bone. Aeron found that he hardly cared, blessed with the sound of Y/N's laughter and the comforting weight of her hand still in his as they both tried to catch their breath.

"You cannot face your Lord Uncle in such a manner good knight, you shall be Lord Bracken one day too" Y/N joked, reaching up on tiptoe to brush locks of Aeron's hair that had stuck to his face in the downpour out of his eyes, tenderly tucking a rueful piece behind his ear. Aeron's heart seemed to stop for a moment before continuing to beat with resounding thuds he feared she could hear beating out of his chest due to her closeness, feeling her breath fan across his face. Aeron's mother had loved to brush his long hair in his childhood, always stroking his head tenderly before bed and calling him her sweet boy, a moment of affection he sorely missed after her untimely death, followed shortly by that of his father's when he was but 10 years of age. He had kept it long ever since, knowing it had been her preference and Y/N had similarly expressed her love of his hair even as a girl, always threatening to thrash him if he should ever cut it and begging him to let her braid it. He sometimes even acquiesced to her request. He gazed down at her in awe, unknowingly lowering his head slightly for her to reach as she continued to brush it into place.

A cough echoed throughout the entrance hall as a Bracken bannerman called to them "Ser Aeron, Lord Bracken requests your presence immediately in the great Hall." Y/N quickly dropped her hands, stepping away from him then as if embarassed. Aeron bemoaned the loss of contact but shifted to address the knight "Thank you, I will be there forthwith." Turning back towards Y/N to give her a small bow, he took her hand to bestow a gentle kiss atop before meeting her eyes. Noticing a light dusting of pink upon her cheeks, the corner of Aeron's mouth tipped up in a smile of renewed confidence. "I must attend to my duties tomorrow and expect to spend the day in the training yard. May I request your presence? I am certain your support would bring me good luck."

Smiling up at him through her lashes she upturned his hand, dropping a thin strip of lavender ribbon embellished with lace and closing his palm over their entwined hands. "I will gladly come to cheer you on my good knight and will also offer you my favour in anticipation of your victories." Y/N's eyes shone with mirth but Aeron could not but feel his heart soar at her actions. He had never had to prove himself to her, in her eyes he had always been her good knight. "I shall wear it with pride then" he replied, briefly squeezing both of her hands and pocketing her favour before striding down, wont to keep his uncle waiting for long.

Aeron hacked at a training dummy, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead, strands of hair falling into his eyes from where he had tied it earlier that morning. With every blow he imagined the face of his uncle, fully aware of how petulant his thoughts would seem to others but entirely unable to suppress his anger. He should have sensed something was amiss when he was summoned immediately upon his return to Bracken Hall, should have guessed at it when, upon entering the Great Hall where his uncle took council meetings, all heads turned sharply in his direction, his uncle fixing him with a stare so resolute and focused it alarmed him. Aside from appointing Aeron a knight, his uncle had always seemed to look straight through him.

Aeron did not stay long, storming out of the room shortly afterwards, but what his uncle had said rang in his mind even now, that he was to marry one of Lord Tully's daughters, sleep having granted him no relief from his inner turmoil. He could understand the political soundness of the match. Both House Blackwood and House Bracken wore sworn vassals to Lord Tully but their Lord paid no heed to their constant skirmishes, lending support to neither side in their frequent land disputes. With war looming across the realm as the Blacks and Greens summoned their bannermen to arms, it was critical now more than ever that their liege Lord Tully grant the Brackens his support. A marriage pact would ensure this, binding their houses together in blood.

This did not mean that Aeron accepted the match. At one time he would have been pleased to do his duty and, gods willing, wipe the perpetually smug smirk off Benjicot Blackwood's face, loyal as he was to his house. But he was also sure that he could not marry the Tully girl when his heart belonged to another. It was not a fate either of them deserved. He immediately resolved to perform his duty another way, pleading with his uncle to reconsider. He would gladly fight for his house and swear his sword to Aegon's cause, but he would not pledge his heart to any other but Y/N, the lady he loved.

"What did that dummy ever do to you?"

Aeron was jolted out of his thoughts and incessant attacks on the now unrecognisable straw dummy in front of him by the voice of his friend Samwell. Bristling at Aeron's lack of response, Samwell scoffed "I'm surprised you can even get that thing up."

Aeron grinned "Well enough for killing Blackwoods."

"Good, then turn your focus to a more worthy opponent" Samwell shot back, sword quickly withdrawn as the two knights began to circle one another. As the two crossed blades Aeron spotted the unmistakable figure of Y/N entering the training yard, watching her progress as she pushed herself up to perch on a fence overlooking the yard. Dazed by her sweetness in keeping her promise to come and support him, Samwell took advantage of his moment of distraction. He levelled a blow to Aeron's abdomen that had him doubling over and gasping for breath. Embarassed that Y/N had most assuredly borne witness to his fumble, Aeron swung his sword with renewed vigour, choosing to stay on the offensive rather than defensive this time.

Pushing Samwell further back with each parry of his sword until he was stumbling over his own feet in his haste to block his blows, Aeron brought his sword in a downwards motion over his opponent's before swiftly bringing it back up in a circular motion to wrench it from Samwell's grip. With a harsh clang as his sword hit the ground, Samwell was disarmed to the cheers of their fellow knights who had gathered to watch the two spar. Aeron quickly sheathed his sword, stalking over to Y/N whilst ignoring his friends' teasing jeers at his lovesick proclivities and hoping beyond all hope that Y/N would ignore the fiends too.

Stopping directly in front of Y/N's perch, her knees almost brushing his tunic as he looked up at her, Aeron attempted to fix her with a charming grin.

"What did you think?"

Y/N smiled down at him and Aeron felt sure she must hang the stars in the sky each night.

"You don't have to prove yourself to me Aeron, you never have. But for what it's worth, I think you every bit the knight I know you aspire to be. Your skills with the sword are admirable indeed."

Aeron did not say anything immediately but stared at Y/N in wonder, rejoicing to hear that she thought him a worthy knight when he himself had often doubted it. Y/N broke the silence first, clearing her throat and pointing at the lilac ribbon tied to his sword belt...her lilac ribbon.

"Although, perhaps it is my favour which granted you victory today and I am owed some credit."

Aeron laughed heartily at her teasing, though she could not guess at the veracity of her claim. He had no doubt that it was the image and thought of her, the strength of his desire to impress her, that had spurred him forward to best Samwell.

"I am sure your favour was instrumental to my success on the field my lady. I needn't confess to you that the sword has never been my strong suit and my aversion to the life of a warrior has long vexed my uncle. The Riverlands are no place for the soft of heart he has always assured me."

Aeron could not help the tinge of insecurity that laced his voice as Y/N's eyebrows furrowed.

"Reluctance to spill blood is not a fault" she protested.

"That may be so, but alas it is yet perceived as a sign of great cowardice among my order.'

Y/N's expression turned suddenly very serious, her hair falling gracefully around her shoulders to form a curtain around the both of them as she bent her face closer to his and he tilted his upwards to meet hers, their noses close to touching.

"You cannot be brave if you have not first felt fear. What is courage but the willingness to tackle your fears face on? You have double the bravery of any knight driven by unadulterated bloodlust with no regard for human life. I do not wish you to think of yourself so harshly." Y/N lightly swatted Aeron's shoulder as if scolding him for daring to think less of himself than she did, but her tone was earnest. Catching her hand in his before she could retract it entirely, Aeron placed a chaste kiss upon it, devotedly grazing his lips over her knuckles.

"Thank you Y/N." He spoke softly, gazing into her eyes, trying to express with his eyes what he had always found difficult with words, to show her how much her words had meant to him.

Y/N briefly brushed her fingers over his cheekbone in an affectionate gesture that pierced his soul before shifting to lower herself from her perch. Aeron quickly wrapped his hands around her waist and lowered her to the ground, maintaining a light hold on her to request that they meet again on the morrow.

As he came to meet her at their habitual spot the next day, he was momentarily dumbstruck as he spotted Y/N, bedecked in an ochre gown the shade of his house colours. Mind racing, it was with concerted effort that he managed to stay rooted to the ground rather than rush to offer himself to her in marriage. How could he tell her that he loved her now? When he was still tied to the Tully girl. No, he resolved to wait until he had resolved the matter of his betrothal for he was determined, now more than ever, that he would win Y/N's love and that she should become his lady wife to bear the sigil of his house along with his house colours as Lady Bracken.

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