#like don't act like Spain chose her

[useless-catalanfacts]

Was Ocho apellidos catalanes as bad as Ocho apellidos vascos? If you dared to watch that hate crime, I mean. I'm guessing that yeah, I bet they didn't cast any Catalans other than using them as joke

It was worse, in my opinion.

I mean, using minorities as a joke was the whole point of those movies, both are movies based solely on stereotypes. And I think it's obvious that they're movies made by Spanish people for Spanish people to make fun of minorities, but these groups being made fun of were never the target audience. The director is Spanish and the two script writers are Basque, it's easy to tell that there weren't Catalans in the production team, otherwise we would've made fun of different things. Because believe me, if there's one thing we constantly do is make fun of ourselves. We have a very self-critical sense of humour and many very popular radio and TV shows in Catalonia use this humour, but it's a humour "from inside" that makes fun of different things that when Spanish people do it based on stereotypes. (I'm thinking La Competència, La segona hora, La sotana, Polònia, the Polònia musicals, etc etc etc).

Obviously I'm not Basque so I'm nobody to talk about that, but I don't think I would have felt offended with most of the 1st movie. I think the general idea you get after watching it is "Basque people are backwards, clanistic, brute, closed, look and act according to all the stereotypes... but deep down they're kind of funny and friendly in their peculiar way".

But Ocho apellidos catalanes does not feel like that at all. First of all, remember that the Basque one starts with the Spanish main character falling in love with the Basque woman who was on holidays there and so he goes to the Basque Country to get her. She's not painted in the most sympathetic way (he, the Spanish man, is the main character and the point of view character, and the fun and sociable one), but at least she's worthy of being in love with.

The Catalans movie starts because the Basque woman was "stolen" from the sympathetic Spanish man by a Catalan, so the Spanish man goes to Catalonia to get back the girl. And the Catalan man who she moved in is the enemy, as are all the other Catalans in the movie if I remember right. The idea you get after watching that movie is even less kind to Catalans than the first one was to Basques, it's just "Catalans are stingy, liars, unreliable assholes who are obsessed with politics and hating Spain".

I think there were a few scenes in Ocho apellidos vascos that were fun and friendly and could be applied to any group, I'm thinking for example when the main character (the Spanish guy) is in an abertzale demonstration and gets carried away with the speaker, things like that are fine. It wouldn't have bothered me at all to see a situation like that but with Catalans instead of Basques, it could have been funny to make a parody of the rhymes and songs we come up with and elaborate percussion (my mother still can't clap the els carrers seran sempre nostres correctly 😂 but, continuing with the stereotypes, if that character knows flamenco maybe he could have come up with far worse ones). But the things they chose to do in that movie were just... 🤦 Not even funny, I think the only thing that was supposed to be funny to the Spanish audience was "haha Catalan accent funny", "haha Catalan people all from villages", "haha Catalan people are ridiculous for believing in independence", and "haha Catalan people are such liars that they'll even lie about the most important things to their own grandmother". It felt like a movie made solely with the purpose of confirming Spanish people that they're right about every single stereotype against Catalans and reassuring them that we're worse (rural villagers in a derogatory way, assholes, unkind, liars, unreliable, hateful) and that they do well by wanting to teach us a lesson and keep us under control (because otherwise we'd be sooooo horrible to the poor Spanish people and we wouldn't even know how to rule ourselves and would hurt our own population! Of course we would ban chorizo and jamón and that what could be worse than that!). And in the end there's a happy ending because the Catalans are defeated because the Spanish man gets back the woman.

This movie was clearly a propaganda tool of the time (it came out in 2015, when the Catalan independence movement was rising exponentially). I don't think there's no way to make a movie like this making fun of cultural differences, that's actually something I make fun of myself quite a lot irl with my foreign friends and there's a lot of material for a funny movie. But this doesn't seem to have much knowledge about Catalan culture in the first place, it's simply based on the stereotypes that Spanish people have of us.

Ah, and since you asked about the actors. Yes, it included 2 Catalan people among the main characters. One was the known anti-independence actress Rosa Maria Sardà (who has been outspoken in favour of Spanish nationalism) and the main enemy was played by Berto Romero, who is a Catalan comedian who has been working and living in Madrid for many years. But as far as I remember there wasn't any of the Catalan actors who work here and who we would have recognised and could have been a good cameo, and we have many humour actors (think everyone in Polònia for example, or the many actors in Barcelona's theatre scene). But I won't blame them for that, if I were an actress I would have refused to work on a project with this script.

[wefewwehappyfew]

I’m just too fucking mad at the Benidorm Fest Jury.

And I hope we get zero points.

[alexbkrieger13]

Rolfö critical of the Spanish federation's actions: "Don't understand it"

CORDBOA. 15 Spanish national team players refuse to play under the national team captain, Jorge Vilda. Now Fridolina Rolfö criticizes the Spanish federation. - Excluding these players is not the long-term solution, says Fridolina Rolfö. 

It was around midnight on the 22nd of September that the Spanish Football Federation issued a communiqué declaring that 15 national team players refuse to play under the current federation captain, Jorge Vilda. A confederation captain who, in his seven years in charge, has not made it past a quarter-final - and a confederation captain who, according to the players, cannot make the Spanish national team achieve what is desired sportingly.  

Then the open letter to the federation was leaked to the media - while the Spanish players wanted the communication with the federation to take place behind closed doors.  

And when Vilda last week presented its squad for the match against Sweden, these 15 players were not on the list. Instead, the national team captain has replaced these with 15 new ones for upcoming international matches.  

One who is well versed in the matter is Fridolina Rolfö, who on a daily basis plays with six of the striking players, Aitana Bonmati, Claudia Piña, Sandra Paños, Patri Guijarro, Maria Léon and Mariona Caldentey.  

- It is very sad that it has come to this and that the players chose not to go to the national team camp. It's unfortunate. There are players who want to represent their national team, but now they have chosen to strike and not participate. I hope they can find a solution.  

Out of respect for her teammates, the Swedish national team winger does not want to go into what she feels is the basic problem, but believes that it is up to the players to speak out if they want to. But points out that she stands behind the striking players.  

- I support them 100 percent. And if I had been in their situation, I would have done the same thing, so I hope they will come up with something, says Fridolin Rolfö to Fotbollskanalen.  

Can one understand the union's perspective on the matter? - No. I don't understand it at all. There are many question marks surrounding the actions and why people do what they do. It is some of the best players in Spain and Europe in general who are left out due to not finding solutions. So it's incredibly sad for them above all, but also everyone who doesn't get to see them play. Excluding these players and bringing in others instead is not the long-term solution to producing the best team.  

Rolfö is clear in his criticism.  

- It's not just the action to how you go about it in the media. But more how to treat them and the way you do it. Excluding them, that is above all. I don't understand why you don't want to find a solution when there are things that can be solved.  

How far from a Swedish strategy do you think it is? - I hope they would not have acted in the way they chose to do. I hope that discussions could have been held internally to resolve it within the association and the players' group. How a Swedish association had acted? I find it hard to see that it would have been that way.

When asked what it is like to see teammates and friends in this situation, Rolfö answers:  

- It's sad. I see it takes energy even if they try to keep their spirits up, this is affecting them and the federation has come up with different scenarios that could arise. I myself would have been very sad and disappointed if I had been in their situation. You can see it in them that it is clear there is a lot of concern.  

Some scenarios that can arise are that striking players can be suspended from their club team for between two to five years. At the same time, there is a chance that these 15 players may miss the upcoming WC in Australia/New Zealand. 

- Now it's a while until the World Cup and I sincerely hope that these players will get to play in the World Cup. They have qualified there and have every opportunity to go far there. They have some of the most skilled players not in camp right now. Sure, it's a bit worrying, but I really hope something has happened by then.  

Rolfö does not believe that everything that is going on in the Spanish confederation has a positive effect on Spanish women's football. And believes that there are things both within Spanish national team soccer and league soccer that need to change in order for women's soccer to grow in Spain.  

- The league has become professional now. But the things that would go through for it to become professional have not. Among other things, it would not be played on artificial grass, but it is still done, and there has been talk of reducing the teams in the league from 16 teams, but it is still 16 teams. Among other things, there have been discussions like this, we have also had a referees' strike before the first match. Things are not 100 percent.  

On Friday, Sweden faces Spain in Cordoba - a Spain that may be slightly weakened due to the major squad change. 

- You can't stick it under the chair with that. There are players who are incredibly important in the EC - many key players are not here. We are talking about 15-16 players, but the width is there in Spain and the players who are there are incredibly skilled players who play in the top teams in Spain. And many of the Real Madrid girls are young and hungry, so it will be a big challenge anyway.  

[seirenqxx]

FORBIDDEN PLEASURE | SANZU HARUCHIYO

She's a empress, he's a criminal. She wants peace, he brings disaster. She's a serious one, he's a player. What will happen when these two meet?

CHAPTER ONE

"The white villagers have complained several times about the bandits attacking them. Sacks of rice and vegetables were stolen. What action shall we take, Your Majesty?" Apollo asked as he stood in front of us.

The emperor took a deep breath then looked at me so I expected him to ask me but I was wrong.

"What do you think is the best solution for this, Cassandra?" I bit my lower lip and sighed.

"Me? I don’t know if my opinion will work." Cassandra said modestly and the emperor laughed as he looked at her.

"I fixed the problem in spain because of you so I'm sure the solution you thought of will work. Right, my empress?" He looked at me so I smiled a little.

"ahehe. Thank you, your majesty." I resumed my meal while listening to Cassandra’s suggestions.

I wanted to talk about the problem but I chose to remain silent because he had the emperor’s attention. I'm right here, his wife and queen of the empire but he preferred the opinion of the woman he had just met.

"Mama," I looked at Leander when he called me. His small palm rested on my thigh.

"You have sauce on the side of your lip." I said while smiling then wiped the edge of his lip with a white paper towel.

"Why is papa always with that woman? You're his wife, right?" He asked using his small cute voice.

I was surprised by his question but I smiled and held his head. "His Majesty acknowledged her skills so they fixed the problem in the empire together."

"Hmm? But you should be the one doing it and not her." My eyes blinked a few times before I laughed softly.

"You're still young so you shouldn't be bothering with things like that, Leander." I turned to Eros who was sitting at the end of the table and he was busy listening to Cassandra.

"I know I’m young but I can already understand the things going on around me, mama." I bit my lower lip because I didn’t know what to answer to my son.

He's smart, isn't he? He's only five years old but his brain is advanced.

"Leandro, I'm going to the white village with aunt Cassandra, do you want to come?" Eros asked his son while smiling but Leander shook his head.

"No, I will stay with mom." He replied then stood up in the chair. He bowed his head slightly to Eros before he walked away.

"Prince Leander is as serious as ever." Said Apollo while laughing.

I wiped my lips with tissue paper before I stood up to follow my son. "Excuse me, your majesty." I said politely before walking away.

Even though I didn't admit it to myself, I was jealous of that woman. A week ago, the emperor returned from spain with a woman. Since then, I have always heard the servants talking about them.

They're always together. I didn’t pay attention to that thing but my chest aches when I hear about them. Since she arrived, the emperor has not asked me about the possible solution to the empire's problem as he always did.

It's as if I'm useless to him and I'm hurt because of that. I did everything to be a crown princess and then I could easily be replaced by a woman like her.

I was walking down the hallway to Leander’s room when I saw Lily running towards me. "Your highness, Lady Charlotte is here. She's in the garden." She said while panting.

"Please find Leander, Lily. Send him to the garden when you see him." I commanded and she nodded immediately.

I walked again into the garden. I don't know what that woman needs but it's good that she came here, I need someone to talk to. There are a lot of things on my mind right now.

I immediately saw Charlotte sitting on the bench when I got to the garden. "Why every time I see you you always look stressed?" I sighed and sat down next to her. "Is it because of that woman?"

I shook my head. "I can't do anything even if I don't like her, Eros wants to keep Cassandra in the palace."

"You two are married, act like husband and wife."

"What will I do? Even though we are both rulers of the empire, he will still be obeyed."

Charlotte leaned back on the bench and took a deep breath. "I have a reason why I came here."

"Hmm? What reason?" she turned to me and her face was serious. "I'm scared of how you look, Charlotte. I have a lot of problems so please don't add more." I said jokingly.

"This is serious, Gaia. I came here because I was worried."

"What kind of problem is that, then?" I asked and she stared at me for a moment before answering.

"2 days ago, Sanzu went to my house." I averted my eyes when I heard his name.

"Oh? Good and no police go to your house because you have a connection with a known criminal."

"I thought for a few days if I should tell you about that. He's looking for your son, Gaia." It was as if a lot of ice water had been poured on me because of what I had heard.

I immediately turned to Charlotte in shock and nervousness. "How did he know that?"

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure. He's ready to destroy everything just to get your child."

"You're kidding, right?" I tried to smile but my lips trembled with fear.

"I know sometimes I'm crazy but I don't joke about things like that. Leander is the next king of the empire so I'm worried for him and for you, not because of Sanzu but because of Eros." She said seriously. "You know what I mean, Gaia."

My whole body trembled even more because of what she said. I'm scared. My son, he can't be involved in the problem I'm in. When Eros finds out that Leander is not his real son, he will definitely kill him.

"I need to find a way to fix it. Leander can't be involved in this mess."

Charlotte left immediately after we talked but my brain was still floating even a few hours ago when she left. It became even more chaotic, when Eros finds out that Sanzu is Leander's father, he will kill my son.

That can't happen.

I sat on the garden bench while looking up at the sky. I need to breathe fresh air so I can think clearly, if I can't solve it, I will lose what I have worked for.

"I forgot you for a long time, why do you have to come back and bother me again?" I sighed but immediately frowned when I saw Leander running towards the back of the mansion.

I immediately stood up on the bench to follow him. Dark woods are behind the mansion so why is he going there? I was near the back of the mansion when I heard his voice.

"I want to make a way for that woman to stay away from papa."

"Hmm? Why? What did that woman do and why are you so mad at her?"

"She was always with dad. Ever since she came, mama has always been hurting."

My forehead furrowed when I heard a man's voice. I’m sure it wasn’t from Leander because it was too deep.

"You don't want to see your mom hurt?"

"Of course! She's my mom, and you told me not to let papa make her cry, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah? It's good that you remember what I told you."

"I-"

"Baby, who are you talking to?" I peeked at him behind the wall but my eyes widened when I saw who the man was with him. "What the fuck.."

"It's good to see you again, my queen." The man with the scar on the side of his lip grinned so fear enveloped my whole body.

[tkc-info]

Marcus, Camille and women

Because apparently that's what I'm thinking of lately

I want to preface this by saying Marcus and Camille never had any real romantic relationships with women. In order to do so, they would have to be engaged/married to one (which seeing as they're married to each other is not the case), or have what would technically be extramarital affairs (which they never liked because were they to be caught the consequences could be catastrophic + they simply don't like partaking in something that's technically cheating even if there are no romantic feelings between them)

That being said, they did have crushes, deep infatuations and one 'what if' love each

Their what ifs will be briefly introduced in tbahv but I'm still going to talk about them here

Let's start

MARCUS

(starting with him because chronologically-wise he met his what if sooner)

So, um, picture of the lady in question:

Miss Vera Kiskadden guys

So she's from Bath but came to London when she was around eighteen

Her mother and Mrs. Kirkham are good friends, so she accompanied her mother to a months-long stay in the Kirkhams's house in London. Vera is only a year younger than Camille, so Camille, who was very deep into the closet for obvious reasons, was sorta pushed to be her companion during her stay and so on

It was through him that Marcus met Vera

Marcus and Camille's friendship was really frowned upon because to unsuspecting eyes they were a man and a woman spending a lot of time together without being married, but that didn't stop Marcus from visiting the Kirkhams's house virtually every day (+ sneaking into Camille's bedroom at night so that they could have a stroll both in menswear and just comfortably express how deep their friendship was)

Anyways during one of Marcus's visits, he met Vera and *gasps* crushed on her embarrassingly hard

Vera literally ticked all the right boxes for Marcus to fall in love: she was physically his type --all feminine and ladylike and stuff--; very kind; liked children (listen, Marcus would've been a great father); she clearly adored Camille, which to Marcus was ofc a top priority...

And she loved shitting on his family

Listen Vera was very sweet but if she didn't like you, she wouldn't hide the fact that she didn't like you: she'd probably tell you her animosity towards you in your face

You know who had to have Vera looking straight into their faces and telling them 'I despise you, I beg you not to come close to me ever again?' in her polite tone? Gaylord and the whole of the Woolahams with the sole exception of Marcus. While Marcus was present

When I tell you he swooned...

Camille thirdwheeled a lot. Poor boy

His morning strolls with Marcus became his morning strolls with Marcus and Vera

At the time, Marcus was debating whether to try to become a police officer or just join the army. In the end, he chose the army because that would annoy Gaylord the most, but his decision was greatly influenced by Vera

Because Vera herself wanted to join the army as a military nurse, and thought it'd be cool if Marcus and her became a military couple. Think of a married Florence Nightingale without the mysogyny and low-key transphobic transness

Anyways, as we say here in Spain, Vera was constructing castles in the sky (aka she was delusional af), since Marcus had been thinking about asking Camille to marry him for a while and had never really acted like he wanted to marry Vera in spite of being in love with her

But what would Vera know?

Poor girl proposed to Marcus thinking he'd say yes and go buy her a ring

Cue example?

"I'm sorry," Marcus said for what he felt was the umpteenth time "I'm very sorry, Vera."

But Vera didn't even meet his eyes. It'd all been terribly unfortunate. Marcus hadn't expected to be summoned to meet her in the Kirkhams's drawing room immediately after stepping foot into the townhouse. He hadn't expected Camille to leave them so that Vera could take his face in her hands and ask him to become her husband.

Refusing her proposal had been painful. Marcus loved her fervently, but he couldn't marry her.

"I'm--" Marcus began to repeat before Vera cut him off.

"Don't," she said from the armchair she'd promptly retreated to after the refusal. Her clear blue eyes held a trace of impending tears, yet her voice was dignified "You must only tell me why."

And Vera met his eyes.

Marcus swallowed down fast; his hands were shaking. "I had been intending to propose to Camille."

For the past years, Camille had expressed how being a man trapped in a body that didn't feel like his own dimmed his energy to live, it exhausted him. Marcus had laid awake multiple nights wishing he could offer his body to his best friend, to the person he ultimately cared the most about, but that was impossible. In reality, the most Marcus could do was provide him with the protection to express his true identity, which would only be possible if he became Camille's husband.

Vera looked stunned by the notion. "Camille-- Miss Kirkham?" she stammered. She sounded thoroughly confused; so much so that her pain was momentarily blinded by curiosity "I would've never thought you held any trace of feelings for her."

"I do. Camille and I have been friends for years," friendship didn't equal romance, but when it came to a man and a perceived woman, society thought that it was bound to end in marriage. Marcus would make use of that wrong belief to express his proposal to Camille.

But Vera didn't seem so sure. "That hardly means anything. You and Miss Kirkham are different."

"Are we?" Marcus rose from his seat and joined Vera at the foot of her armchair. He barely was able to suppress the urge to take her hands and kiss her wrists like they'd privately done before "I love Camille. I love Camille so much words can't adequately express my feelings."

A tear slipped down Vera's cheek. "You told me you loved me," she whispered.

"Not like I love Camille."

Phew that was way too dramatic

Marcus had told Vera he loved her when they kissed once (1) when Camille was 'distracted' (read: leaving them alone because he couldn't deal with any more romance), but Marcus never spoke about it/kissed her again because he knew it would be unfair, since he knew he wanted to marry Camille

Marcus isn't perfect y'all he was bound to be bad with the ladies; keep in mind the only positive role model in the love department he had was Aaron (and Sydney), who was a gay man who really wanted to marry a lesbian

Anyways, long story short: Vera is told that Marcus loves Camille more than he loves her, slaps him in the face for what she mistakes as the Victorian two-timing, Marcus remains with a hand-shaped red mark in his face for a few days, he tries to hide it with a poor attempt at makeup, Camille very quickly finds out and he gets angry with Marcus because he knows the blow that could have to Vera's reputation

But Vera's reputation is untouched since she's away from Bath and no one spoke of the incident again

Vera leaves for Bath the day after Marcus proposes to Camille because she is in love with Marcus and can't stand him marrying someone else

Fast forward to several years afterwards. Marcus and Camille are married, and Marcus has been part of the army for a while. Say they're in their mid twenties? Around 23-25

Basically Marcus meets Vera again: she did manage to get employed as a nurse

Marcus was extremely surprised to find her one random day, and so was she to find him

Their encounter resurfaces some ugly feelings and possibly a little bit of their past love, but things are very awkward

Still they get closer and closer until they're friends. Vera asks Marcus after Camille, whether they had children (which makes Marcus very uncomfortable lol), etc. Marcus is surprised to know that Vera never married

Surprise surprise that girl is like a fucking Herondale

Anyways, nothing happens between them. They remain friends who may or may not be in love but won't act on it and that's it

Vera actually becomes a family friend after she finds out Camille's trans

How did she find out? Well it was a complete accident

Don't ask me how or why, but Marcus and her find out documents about James Barry (a military surgeon assigned female at birth who lived as a man and requested his body wasn't inspected when he died) and Marcus is overjoyed to find a man like his husband

He doesn't straight up say 'he's like Camille!' out loud, but Vera mentally goes back to the day Marcus turned her down, remembers how he'd always behaved around Camille, and has the Realisation™ because my girl isn't stupid

Marcus panics, but Vera promises it's all okay and she's no one to judge the validity of Camille's identity (Marcus's taste in women is exquisite), and that if anything she would like to meet Camille

(because Marcus was ready to straight up steal James Barry's documents and go back home to show them to Camille)

Welp

They both go to Woolaham Estate, Vera meets with Camille, she understands the relationship between Marcus and him, becomes a close family friend, etc

She and Marcus remain in love until his death, but they never acted upon it :)

That's it ig lol

TO CAMILLE

CAMILLE

Photo:

Let's call this woman Hipparchia and Hipparchia alone

HAHAHAHA

She's Atalanta's bio great great great great grandmother :)

Meaning: she's Saz. Hipparchia was adopted by the Khioaxi and their husbands of mid-19th century, and she's a Greek historian

She's *very* Saz, and by that I mean she sticks out like a sore thumb in the (human) 19th century: she behaves however she wants, always has her hair down even if she's 25, etc

Anyways

Yk how Camille is the de facto mayor of the town near Woolaham Estate and that he's made friends with the villagers? Some of the villagers are Saz, including the bookshop guy, who's Hipparchia's uncle

Now, Camille met Hipparchia during a visit to the book shop. The bookshop keeper (?) introduced them because they both like reading and he thought they'd make good friends

Well, he wasn't wrong

Camille was very surprised by Hipparchia as a whole, not because she was pretty, but because she wore a dress from the 1800s, her hair was down, and the first thing she did when her uncle said 'Hipparchia, this is Mr. Camille Woolaham' was shake his hand as if she were a gentleman herself. However, Camille thinks he's no one to judge how people like to dress, so he just does a metaphorical shrug of shoulders (?) and talks to her like the good gentleman he is

They become friends pretty fast, and they walk out of the shop talking about philosophy books and Hipparchia's Greek heritage, and they end up moving on to her name

Hipparchia after all requested Camille called her by her first name and didn't tell him her surname. Camille was uncomfortable by that, to say the least (and intrigued by the fact that Hipparchia's name was, well, Hipparchia, because that was the name of a female philosopher)

Um, snippet from their conversation?

Camille looked at Miss Hipparchia for a moment; perhaps for a moment too long. "Is Hipparchia truly your name?" he asked.

He didn't wish to sound intruding, however her name was truly very queer. He'd read his fair share of contemporary Greek authors, and --even though female authors were woefully underrepresented-- he couldn't remember one with as ancient a name as Miss Hipparchia's.

"Oh, if what you mean to ask is whether my parents gave me the name of Hipparchia when I was born, then no," Miss Hipparchia's eyes twinkled mischievously "I chose it for myself, on my own."

Camille's eyes widened. "Truly?"

The notion of requesting his name be changed had occurred to him before, though he'd ultimately decided against it. His name stood as proof of his journey; looking back, the first time he'd had any idea of his manhood was when he met Mr. Camille Arceneaux. Camille wanted to preserve his name, though he could understand why someone in the same situation as him wouldn't.

Not that Miss Hipparchia struck him as anything like himself.

"Truly," she nodded "Hipparchia was a Greek philosopher, and I quite like her work."

"I can't remember any-- oh."

Camille promptly looked away from Miss Hipparchia's amusement. Now that she mentioned it, he did remember that Crates's wife was her namesake.

Hipparchia laughed. "'I, Hipparchia chose not the tasks of rich-robed women, but the manly life of the Cynic. Brooch-clasped tunics, well-clad shoes, and perfumed headscarves pleased me not; but with wallet and fellow staff, together with coarse cloak and bed of hard ground, my name shall be greater than Atalanta: for wisdom is better than mountain running'" she quoted "My sister's name is Atalanta; she's a brute, and I shall best her with my unparalleled genius and wit."

Camille's heart was beating excessively fast. He didn't understand why he couldn't stop looking at her lips. Didn't even realise he was doing so until she took a step forwards, and suddenly her breasts brushed his chest. Then he realised:

Oh.

So Hipparchia never told Camille her real name because she had a Saz name and surname, so that was just a general no-no

Anyways, after the demonstration of Camille falling hard, he takes a step back in a sUaVe way and they continue walking while he tries to regain his breath

Hipparchia ofc notices and she's cheeky (?) about it, but she doesn't say anything

Camille and Hipparchia meet every day after that, and Hipparchia even manages to convince Camille to let her stay in Woolaham Estate for a couple weeks

Bro Camille is such a simp. He *panics*

(because all this, might I add, happened when Marcus was away for work having his own panic moment with Vera)

Naturally, Hipparchia falls for Camille as well

She falls hard

To the point where she begins planning to marry Camille and bring him to The Kinship because that's a difficult process, but not an impossible one (cue example: Arash's dad lol)

The problem? Camille doesn't love Hipparchia that much

From the moment Hipparchia sees Marcus step foot into Woolaham Estate, she knows she's lost the battle for Camille's affections

Camille may love her, but Marcus is his soul mate yk? And Hipparchia, who's grown up surrounded by symbiosis and just different kinds of relationships knows Camille would never be happy if he doesn't have Marcus by his side

Because he was fine without him, but she actually saw him HAPPY when he spent time with Marcus

Now, Camille never knew Hipparchia was in love with him. He's clueless like that, but had he known... See Marcus's reaction to Vera

In any case, the only thing Camille did in regards to his crush was fetch Marcus at once and tell him that he'd met 'a lady that has captivated me in such a manner I find it impossible to think of anything else but her'

Of course, the only other thought Camille has room for is Marcus. He thinks about his husband 24/7 when he's away, but Camille takes thinking of Marcus as a given, so...

Anyways

Eventually, Hipparchia leaves for Mirror Greece because, yk, she has a life and a job as a teacher at Emtikax, but she makes sure to visit Camille every now and then

Until she's murdered lol

[himilce-persephoniea]

What's your favorite movies and why would you recommend them? :)

Dear Anon, I’ve been crying over this post for days 🫠 seriously, how I’m going to answer this question? I took my list of movies (I’m not going to say how many movies I have but it's long, very long) and I had a break down. Do I chose my current preferred? The ones I’ve seen more than 20 times? The ones I love because “potatoes”? I chose a pattern like “my favorite in anime, in thriller, in action”? Do you see the dilemma???

So here is a list of a bunch of movies I really love. Favorites? Not sure. Recommend? Oh, absolutely!!

The Godfather (1972) I just love everything about this movie. The music, the characters, the ambiantation, the plot (it's the raising of a new mob boss!). Al Pacino does an amazing acting work! Frankly if you having seen it, give a try. And did you know that they were really helped by real mobsters? At the beginning, the scene where we see one of the subordinates rehearsal what he was going to say to Vito Corleone, was one of the people who gave advice on the real mafia. He was practicing his lines. When you see this movie, tell me who do you think is the “Goodfather” of the title? 🤗 I would love the read your opinion.

Ahmed, prince of the Alhambra (Ahmed, príncipe de la Alhambra) (1998). I think it's only available in Spanish (it's a Spanish production), but if you can see it, it's totally worth it. It's based in a tale from the American writer Washington Irvin’s Tales of the Alhambra (1832). It's the story of an Muslim prince who falls in love of a Christian princess in the medieval Spain. Ahmed was inclosed in the Alhambra all his life because it was predicted he will suffer because of love, so his father dictated he will never knew such thing. But he falls in love though poetry. Blanca, the princess, has to be married by a tournament and she despite violence, that's why she loves Ahmed lovable poetry. The story is how they fought for their love to succeed against everything. (P.S: the poem I took inspiration for “The light of your beloved eyes” I knew it in this movie. Is the poem they “write” together.)

Tangled (2010) I just love this movie. Where are you going to find a Disney Princess that goes to dive bars, sings with its regulars, fights with a pan, the male co-protagonist freaks out because her hair glows but has arguments with the horse that wants to capture him, both the parents are still alive at the end of the movie (🥹), is the father who cries and the mother who looks strong, has Blade Runner reference?? Seriously this movie great!

Clueless (1995) this is one of my feelgood movies. It's one the best adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. Cher is a lawyer’s daughter in Beverly Hills. She does what every teenager does (goes to parties and have fun with friends). She doesn't gossip or is mean to anyone. In fact, through all the movie, every time there is a new student in the school, she welcomes them. It's a romantic movie you always end with a smile. And come on! The co-protagonist is Paul Rudd!

Seven days in May (1963). A political thriller. I just adore this movie. With Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. It's explain the story of the head of the American military who wants to do a coup because the president sign a pact of disarmament with the Russian. It's amazing how almost 60 years later this movie continue to teach so much!

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) directed by Georges Lucas, with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. The father/son duo in this movie is absolutely hilarious. The action never stops. I don't really want to spoil the movie if you haven't see it, but just “he didn't have a ticket”, “don't call me Junior” and “this is how your spend your days?” are my favorites. And no, you don't find any Dr. Jones in Archeological departments. I searched in four universities. And he’s right, the X doesn't mark the place 🤣

Jurassic Park (1993) I saw this movie in theaters being a little kid (if that doesn't set up my age 🥲). I wanted to see the movie with dinosaurs and I went out even more excited. Today, thirty years later, I’m just thrilled to see the original trio again together in Dominion. There is so many amazing moments. As an historian, I would have reacted just like Sam Neil’s character (Dr. Alan Grant) seeing a brachiosaurus. I love the idea that asks Jeff Goldbloom’s character, they were centred if they could do it (created dinosaurs from old DNA) that they didn't stopped to ask themselves if they had the moral right to do it. It's a question I’m not sure actual scientists would ask themselves doing researches...

Revenge of the Sith (2005). I had to put a Star Wars movie here. But hey, my favorite is “The Empire Strikes Back”. RotS is here because I’m talking about the 4h long version (is up there on Internet, you can easily find it). Why do I live it so much? First, ROTS is already a cinematic beauty. Have you seen how the colors disappear little by little as the movie pass and you can see Anakin falling to the Dark Side until we see a little hope with the twin suns of Tatooine (Luke and Leia)? Is just (chef kiss). But this version has the Mandalore arc (I could ramble for hours about Ahsoka, and Maul and my baby Clones 🥺) and the creation of the Rebellion by not other than Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and kriffing Padmé Amidala!! Freaking Georges Lucas decided it was more important to centre in the fall of Anakin and no the creation of a new hope?! Seriously?! Well, this 4h long version gives you all ☺️

Ulysses (1954) another with Kirk Douglas (did I love that actor? Yes sir). I’m a specialist in Greek mythology, in fact my art and history master degree was about the Hades (the place) in athenian vases of the 6th and 5th century B.C. Do you know how many movies or TV shows are good adaptation to the Iliad and the Odyssey? This one! And this one alone, and it's 60 years old! (please, don't make me talk about Troy, or the last one of the BBC...). It's amazing how good the portrayal of done. They have done an amazing research work. Nausicaa wears dresses that we see in paintings from Crete! And Ulysses fights like the firsts pugilats: with underwear. It's really accurate. The Odyssey is cut, and you don't see any God, but it's a movie pals. All the majors acts, all the majors adventures are there and well done explained. Telling again, a movie from 1954 hasn’t been dethroned as the best Illiad and Odyssey adaptation... And the Eneid’s case is even worse.

Twelve angry men (1957) with Henry Fonda. I think it comes from a theatrical version (it looks like). There has been an murder, the son as been accused, 12 men of a jury have to decide if that son is guilty without any reasonable doubt (if he's guilty, it's capital death). Eleven are completely sure at the beginning of it, only Henry Fonda wants to discuss because he has doubts and it's capital death... I just love legal movies 🥰 and this one is really good. Henry Fonda does an amazing job.

I gave you ten movies but I could continue for a long while 😭 Argo (2012), Beauty and the Beast (1992), Speed (1994), Miss Congeniality (2000), 2012 (2012), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge (2001), The Great Escape (1963), Tora Tora Tora (1970), Midway (2019), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw (2019), Princess Mononoke (1998)... Gosh!!! This is no end

And mention of honor. Movie I can’t see no matter how old I’m: The Land Before Time (1988) Thank you Don Bluth for given us a real masterpiece of animation... And a trauma! To this date, I’m still unable to see this movie without crying like a baby!!

[inky-duchess]

Court Archetypes: The Pretender

There are always those who want the throne. They carve it, they need the power it gives... or else somebody behind them wants them to do it. Pretenders add a threat to any throne as well as interesting subplots for your WIP.

The Successful

These were all pretenders in their times but they won their throne and kept it for a number of years.

Stephen I of England: Henry I had one son and a daughter. His son died in a shipwreck, leaving his daughter, Matilda or Maud to take the throne on his death. During this period, England's empire straddled the Channel. Matilda was in France when her father died and pregnant as well. In her absence, her cousin Stephen seized the throne. So ensued a bloody war for the throne which Matilda was winning at one point, entering her coronation but was chased away by Londoners. Matilda gave up the war on the terms that her son Henry would become King when Stephen died, which he did.

Richard III: I like Richard. He suffered from scoliosis, remained loyal to his brother and had a fairytale-like elopement with his wife. In 1483, Richard's brother died leaving a twelve year old heir. Richard had agreed to act as Regent but after putting off the prince's coronation for months, arresting the boys maternal uncle and half brother, executing his dead brother's best friend and imprisoning his brother in the tower with him, Richard seized the throne. There is murkiness about whether Richard had the boys killed. The boys did vanish but whether it was Richard or another power, we can never know for certain. Personally, I think Richard was acting in protection for the realm which would have been endanger from civil unrest, the commons resented the Queen's family and there were other pretenders. Richard was a tested battle commander and the strongest hope to keep the country stable. I think he had good intentions if he went the wrong way about it.

Edward IV: Edward was the son of another pretender, Richard of York. When Richard of York died at the hands of Margaret of Anjou along with his young son Edmund, Edward took up the mantle of kingship and ousted the House of Lancaster from the throne, installing the House of York.

The Exiles

Some royals were thrown out of their homeland by either a coup or another pretender. Sometimes they're the hero, other times they are not.

Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie): I have mixed feelings about this man. He doesn't deserve the grand legend attached to him nor the kindness history gilds him with. He was a drunken fool who led thousands to their death like his shithead father. But his claim is just. The only reason barring him from his throne is his religion. His story should have been a fairytale, the prince riding to reclaim his family throne. But he died a poor beggar, drinking and lamenting past glories.

Charles II: Charles II was exiled from England along with his mother and younger siblings after the monarchy was overthrown. Charles was technically a pretender while Oliver "Dickbreath" Cromwell ruled England. He shot his shot when Cromwell died and restored the monarchy.

Henry VII: Henry had no chance at throne. Born of a legitimized bastard line and a Welsh line, Henry was not the first person people thought of when considering heirs to the throne. During the mess of the Wars of the Roses, he got closer and closer to the throne which meant he was a threat to the Yorkist line. He escaped to Brittany and then to France, where he waited for his chance. His mother helped orchestrate his two invasions of England, his second being successful at Bosworth Field.

The False

Some Pretenders are not pretenders at all. Some Pretenders are charlatans or mad men or perhaps greedy fools. Some are even almost successful

Perkin Warbeck (Richard Plantagenet/ Richard IV?): Perkin Warbeck, the son of a Tournai boatman, invaded England in 1495 under the guise of Prince Richard Plantagenet, Prince no. 2 in the Tower. He went to Scotland to garner support, winning a wife from the Scottish King. He rode south toward London, the country divided in opinion over his legitimacy. Was he the lost Prince of York? Real or not, Warbeck was defeated. Henry VII chose to be merciful offering Warbeck a place a court which he accepted. But the plots kept swirling about the mysterious pretender. In order to secure an alliance with Spain, Henry was finally forced to kill the pretender. Was he really Prince Richard? Some historians say no, some say yes. As for me, I am open to the theory that he is but I rather liked to think that if Prince Richard did survive the Tower, that he found safety somewhere far away and forgot all about crowns and thrones. Of course, that's just wishful thinking....

Anna Andersen (Anastasia Romanov): In 1918, the Russian Tsar, Tsarina, Tsarevitch and four Grand Duchesses were executed by rebels. Once that terrible murder happened, rumours began to spread that one daughter had escaped when they were burying the bodies, helped away by a young scared soldier. The rumours allowed pretenders to come forward pretending to be the youngest daughter, Anastasia. The remaining Russian royals met with several promising ones but they all cons. In Germany in the 1920s, a young woman began claiming to be the Grand Duchess. A few members of the royal family met her and believed her along with her childhood friend, Gleb Botkin. There was some evidence, her signature was the same, she knew somethings about the Grand Duchess's childhood and had similar birth marks. By the time DNA testing came about, Anderson was dead. They tested her remains and it was clear that she was a pretender. I don't like Andersen but I think that she did believe in the lie, she was emotionally disturbed person with a history of mental illness.

Yemelyan Pugachev (Peter III of Russia): Pugachev was a Cossack who led a rebellion against Catherine the Great. He convinced a great number of Russian serfs that he was the dickweed Peter III, who had died months after his wife Catherine kicked him off the throne. She may or may not have known about the assassination plot against his life. Catherine's armies obliterated the rebellion and Pugachev was beheaded, drawn and quartered.

The Puppet

Some Pretenders are just innocents who troublemakers gather about in order to gain power. The puppet pretender is always a sympathetic figure in literature.

Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick: Edward was a simple-minded child whose great misfortune it was to be born into the House of York. The son of the Duke of Clarence, the brother to two of England's kings, he was named heir to the throne by his uncle Richard III when his own son died. Edward was imprisoned in the Tower when Henry VII came to power. But though Edward was likely incapable of ruling, Yorkist rebels kept rebelling in his name. In 1499, he was executed at the behest of the Anglo-Spanish treaty. He was a harmless man killed for a throne he likely didn't even realise was his by right. It is probably the one of the only events of history that I hate.

Lambert Simnel: Lambert Simnel was a pretender to the throne during the reign of Henry VII. He was a schoolboy who was placed at the head of a Yorkist rebellion for the resemblance between he and the Princes in the Tower. He was put forward as the Earl of Warwick, who people believed had escaped the Tower. When the rebellion was quashed, Henry VII was merciful and had the boy placed in the kitchens as a spit boy. Years later, he went on to become a royal falconer. Nothing else is known about his life.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England: Jane Grey was named Queen by her predecessor and cousin Edward VI. This was mainly due to her being Protestant as Edward VI was a Reformer. Jane had not wanted to be Queen, claiming that it was her Catholic cousin's throne not hers. In the name of faith, she was pressed to proclaim herself queen, in which the heralds had to explain who she was and how she could be queen. People had trouble with the claim for a few reasons: the succession had never included her only the king's two sisters, her mother who she drew her claim through was still alive meaning her mother was ahead of her by rights and nobody knew who she was. Jane's ascension had been a grand plot hatched by the Dukes of Suffolk and Northumberland. Northumberland wed Jane to his own son only months before. But Jane was no shrinking violet. In her nine days, she told her husband that he would never be king only a duke, she wrote her declarations signing herself as queen and ordered Northumberland to head her armies in place of her father. When Mary I ousted her from the throne, Jane was glad to give up the throne but not her Protestant faith. After failed rebellions to put Jane back in power, Mary I had no choice but to have her executed.

[violetmuses]

Chapter 11

@that-stupid-head-tilt-thing --- Kiki, I love you so much! <3

_____________________________________________________

2023

Helmut Zemo

We still walked fine lines around one another, even though Dionne admitted those lingering feelings towards me. I understood, of course. We would probably never manifest a bright future together again. Time and our wounds confirmed that truth.

“Did you ever find someone else?” I bravely questioned her as we sat on opposite furniture in that spacious front room. The kitchen staff offered charcuterie and beverages. It was a shame that even appetizers bridged more of a gap between us.

“Once.” she confessed, setting down her glass of cranberry juice. At least employees here on the property weren’t careless enough to snoop around.

“Who, if you don’t mind me asking?” I whispered gently, knowing that she had every right not to respond.

“His name was Richardo Fernandez. We met around the same time that you found that Winter Soldier handbook.” Dionne explained.

“Did you need to mention such a dark era, though? We both know exactly what took place afterwards.” I winced for a moment.

“I’m just giving you the year we met, which was back in 2016. Is that wrong?” Dionne folded both arms, but did not face me.

“Go on.” I said, hoping that she wouldn’t discuss 2016 again.

“We actually lasted for a few years, but after The Blip...” Dionne trailed her off words and glanced out the nearest window.

“What?” Concerned, I sat up straighter, listening.

“I don't know what changed or what I ever did wrong, but it was as if I never meant anything to him. He moved out of our place and broke up with me.” Soon after Dionne revealed truth about another ex, I silently fumed, upset once more.

“Where is he now? I would like to speak with him.” I calmed down, but jealousy raged for a moment.

“Please don’t kill him. We both know that it’s a crime to harbor fugitives. Don’t add another murder to our issues.” Dionne sighed again, warning me as expected.

“I understand...” I trailed off and actually struggled here, not even feeling an urge to nibble from the small platter in front of me.

“What, can’t stand the idea of me being happy with someone else?” Dionne nearly taunted with her words.

“No. You had every right to move on and find peace again after what happened to us, but…” I shook my head, slowly falling at her mercy now. The usually composed side of me would’ve been disappointed.

“Your father might’ve been this damn stalker, but you still decided to break up with me for save a monarch. You left me. It was never the way around!” Dionne stood from the couch and turned off her flat screen television across this wide front room.

“Cariño…” Gentle, I slowly dared to hold her left hand, the movement we carried out together nights ago, but she flinched away.

“Don’t pull those nicknames. Don’t you dare. Nothing changes the fact that you chose an institution over me! Why? What makes me so terrifying?” Dionne yelled, loud enough that her words bounced off all four walls.

“I thought family meant everything to you?” I lowered my voice, but refused to act bitter as tears glistened in her brown eyes.

“You honestly believe that the hierarchy was family? Your mother was an outlier in this lethal pattern of White Supremacists, Nazis, and misogynistic bastards. Did you ignore your own roots?” Dionne folded both arms, sporting her mother’s old university sweatshirt. Tears still streamed down her perfect face, which I caused.

“Of course not.” I failed to defend myself because she was right all along.

“Before your mother passed away, she told me that regardless of race, I was the daughter she always wanted. If you and I ever got married, our destination wedding would’ve taken place in Spain...at this house.” Dionne revealed information that I never knew about her bond with my mother.

“Did my mother want to buy this house for you?” I whispered, questioning.

“For us…” Dionne said.

_______

“After you broke up with me, I negotiated with your mother and we set the paperwork in my name. To this day, this property is still mine.” Dionne poured another glass of cranberry juice and sipped before clarifying information to me.

“It all definitely sounds like something you would do.” I remarked.

“Of course.” Dionne answered curtly.

“Now, I’d hate to change the subject, but where is Sharon? She hasn’t left her room at all.” I asked, genuinely concerned as a person with feelings, no matter how typically stoic.

“Let around three in the morning and didn’t even bother saying goodbye.” Dionne lowered her voice, sipping her cranberry juice once more.

“Oh.” I shrugged.

“Why do you ask?” Dionne set down her drink and glanced towards me.

“No reason. Just curious.” I smirked, although there was no reason for my lips to carry out that expression.

“Please go back to your room and stay there as usual. I’ve got company returning tonight.” Dionne stood up from the sofa and walked upstairs, holding the banister as words vanished.

Tonight, I wouldn’t locked myself up in the guest room with those book cases...

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

Fate

Part 4

Summary: You confront Jon about his true parentage and discuss what to do next. You win a new ally but lose a person dear to you and become on the verge of exploding.

Part one, two, three

Warnings: GoT seaosn 8 episodes 4 & 5 spoilers, character death.

A/N: this was to be a three parts one shot, but it turned out to be a mini series. There are going to be one or two more parts. Also, I’m writing and posting this from my phone since I’m on vacation in Spain, so I won’t be able to add a keep reading link, sorry!

Word Count: 1777.

“Are you drunk?” after the celebration, you went to Jon’s room to talk about the situation. He was sitting on his bed and thinking about something.

”No” he stood up and tried to walk but almost fell” Only a little...I didn't know Ser Jorah well but I know this.

If he could have chosen a way to die, it would have been protecting you”.

“He loved my mother and me as if I was his own daughter. As much as I want to wish that I you'd never told me, I can’t. The truth hurts sometimes but I’m happy that you did- well, If I didn't know, I'd be happy right now. What I meant is that I appreciate your honesty and thank you for not keeping the truth from me even though you knew the risks of what might happen. I swore to my mother that I will take back what’s rightfully ours, but then you told me and

I saw them gathered around you. I saw the way they looked at you. I know that look. So many people have looked at me that way, but never here. Never on this side of the sea”.

“Y/n, I-“ he had an apologetic look on his face and was about to say something before you interrupted him.

“I have been thinking about that night and what you’ve told me an I couldn’t stop about the promise I made my mother, but she trusted me to do what’s right and she sent me here to make my own decisions and I have made a decision. You are the heir to the iron throne. You have a better claim to it that my mother or I. I promised her to take back what’s rightfully ours... but it isn’t rightfully ours, is it? I will not pursue the Iron Throne anymore. It’s all yours, Jon Snow”.

“what?-“.

“If it was any other man standing in front of me, I would’ve never given it up, even if he was the rightful heir to the throne. You know why? Because I know men. My mother warned me about them. She said there are only a few good incorruptible men left and it would be rare to find one, but I found you and Iove you. I believe you will make a good king and be just. I know you have no desire for whores or heavy drinking. You are an honorable man and would do the best you can when given a job and you take care of your people and are responsible for them. The truth is, I never wanted the throne. I never wanted to be a part of this. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best and I’ve been playing this game for a long time. I don’t want to be a corrupt ruler”.

“I don't want it” after pouring your heart out that was all he said.

“Did you hear a word I said?” You questioned.

“I did. You are my queen and I don’t want it” he rejected and knelt in front of you.

“Then let’s just run away together. We’ll go somewhere peaceful where no one would recognize us. A warm place or cold” you chuckled and cupped his face in your hands. You knew it was not possible, but you had to try.

“I wish we could, but we can’t. We both have responsibilities that we can’t just run away from” he reminded.

“If you don’t want the throne and you don’t want to leave with me, then you can never tell anyone who you really are. Swear your brother and Samwell Tarly to secrecy, and tell no one else or it will take on a life of its own and you won't be able to control it or what it does to people-“ you caressed his face.

“I have to tell Sansa and Arya” he insisted.

“Sansa will want to see me gone and you on the Iron Throne”.

”She won't and even if people found out I’ll refuse. You are my queen and you always will be”.

“No matter how many times you bend the knee, no matter what you swear, it won’t stop them. I want us to be together. And if you truly don’t want it, then I will take the throne. I trust no one else with it. If you tell Sansa it will destroy us” you warned.

“It won’t”.

“It will. I’ve never begged for anything but I’m begging you, don’t do this, please! Everything my mother and I have worked for would be for nothing. Even if you don’t want the throne, they’ll never accept me as their queen and then another tyrant will sit on the throne. Please, Jon” you stood up and begged him, but it was no use.

“You are my queen. Nothing will change that. And they are my family. We can live together” he held your face in his hands, trying to convince you.

“We can. I've just told you how” you left him room angry.

—-

After discussing your plan of how to attack King’s Landing and destroy Cersei, you went for a walk outside and someone found you. It was Ghost. Jon hasn’t introduced you, so you didn’t know it was his.

He ran up to you but didn’t attack you, instead he just stood there and examined you.

“Hey there” you went on your knees and petted him, which he seemed to enjoy.

“I have never seen a dire wolf before. We don’t have them in Essos, I think. You’re beautiful! Where’s your family?” he started licking you and rubbed himself against you “good boy!”.

“Come here, boy!... I see you’ve met Ghost” Jon called him and he came.

“Oh, he’s yours?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“He is. Your grace, this is Ghost. Ghost, this is queen Y/n Targaryen” he introduced.

“You never mentioned you have any pets”.

“With all that’s been going on, I couldn’t find the right moment”.

“We’ve had plenty right moments, Jon Snow” now you were referring to your relationship.

You needed some time away from Jon, so you made him ride down the Kingsroad to Dragonstone with the remaining Unsullied and Dothraki, while a few of them were to sail from White Harbor and you flying from above.

Before you left, you tried to make Sansa an ally one last time.

“I’m glad you agreed to go on a walk with me, Lady Sansa” you expressed.

“You are the queen and your orders must be obeyed” she was displeased and didn't bother to hide it.

“It was merely a suggestion. I didn’t come here to make more enemies, I came to win allies. To free the world of tyrants and bad men. So just tell me what will make us allies?” you asked.

“We already are. Jon made sure of that” she reminded.

“But you don’t like me and I wish for us to be friends. What is it that I have to do for you to trust me and leave this hatred behind?” You knew the Starks were an honorable and powerful house, without them you can’t take back the seven kingdoms.

“The North. We’ve bent the knee one too many times. We’ve been betrayed as well. The men are tired and done kneeling” she admitted.

“Are you saying that you will defy me?”.

“No, your grace. You asked what would make us allies and friends and I just told you how and what people think of you”.

“Alright. If this would truly bring peace to the seven kingdoms and would make us allies and more importantly friends, then I will grant you independence once I take the seven kingdoms back, you have my word. I hope you are true to yours. After all, I’d never grant someone something this big, but I’m giving you the North because I trust you and your family and I hope you won’t disappoint or betray me or disgrace your family’s name in doing so”.

“I won’t, you have my word. Thank you, your grace” she finally smiled.

“Call me Y/n”.

“You really do love Jon, don’t you?”.

“I do. He’s the only man I’ve met who’s been honest from the start and didn’t lie to me once or break a promise. He’s also the reason, I’m trusting you with the North”.

—-

While sailing, the Iron Fleet surprised you and almost killed Rhaegal, but luckily the arrow only pierced his wing and then you managed to fly away with him and Drogon. Of course, not everyone was so lucky. Many men were attacked on the ships and killed and they took Missandei.

You have been patient for a long time, but now the time for waiting is over. You had to act and do it fast. You were angry and wanted to get Missandei back. She was your handmaiden. Your mother freed her, when she took Astapor back. She was a little girl then, a bit older than you. You grew up together and she took care of you, when your mother was hard on you. She was your best friend. She was like a big sister to you. Somehow, deep down inside, you knew she was as good as dead.

You wanted to attack the city with the dragons and get her back. Varys and Tyrion advised you not to, because you’d be killing innocent people. Instead, Tyrion suggested that you speak to her. You knew it’d be a waste of time, but you did it to prove a point. You also send people to tell everyone to evacuate the city when the fight starts, but the people chose Cersei’s side and decided to hide there.

The day came and Tyrion tried to negotiate a truce with Cersei, but as expected it didn’t work. At least, you were able to see Missandei. She looked strong, even though she was in chains and surrounded by enemies.You wanted to shout, cry or just talk to her but you couldn’t show weakness. Cersei made her guard behead Missandei and you had to watch. You didn’t close your eyes or turn away. You needed to see this, to be reminded of the cruel world and the tyrants who will misuse the power they have and do awful things. You needed to see this, so when you attack you’d have a strong reason to. The moment she was executed, you lost three fourth of your heart. Viserion was first, then Jorah and now Missandei. There was only one more part, before you exploded. You were filled with anger and hatred.

Tags: @simonsbluee @octaviareina @winterscommander @patdsinner @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @doctorswife221b @marvel-addict-95 @capsheadquaters

[ashnadir]

lasirenaelena:

After a long – at least to her as she was beginning to feel impatient – car ride, they finally made it. Elena jumped out of the car and inhaled deeply the scent of the salty sea air. She was thrilled with excitement and quickly slipped out of her plain yellow maxi dress, discarding it onto the shore. She was a little surprised when Iann joined her in her nudity. In Spain, many of the landfolk were naked at the beaches but that was pretty rare over here. Usually the only ones who were naked her other merms or selkies, but she didn’t question him about it. Elena laughed when Iann waded into the water and exclaimed about his balls. Then he stopped, doubled over, and fell into the water.

Elena followed, diving into the water, bubbles surrounded her as her legs melded together and transformed from their usual tan color to a deep gray, her tail in full effect once the bubbles dissipated. She looked in front for Iann but he wasn’t there, so she turned and screamed at the sight before her.

“Oh my Great White!” Elena had to look away from those giant dead looking eyes that stared straight into her soul. “Oh no! Oh no no no! That is so disgusting! Oh no!” She pressed a hand over her mouth to keep herself from retching. “Oh no! You can’t do that! You can’t look like that! It’s unnatural!” It took a few more moments for her to eventually calm down enough to look at him again. He was absolutely grotesque, but it wasn’t like he chose that form on purpose. He must not have known. She tried to justify it in her mind, but it was all just so awful. “I’ll swim in front so I don’t have to look at you. OH. But I don’t know the way. Oh no….” She looked visibly distraught. Then she grabbed the knapsack Iann had twisted around his ankle, “You swim ahead, I’ll cover you with this. It isn’t much, but it might help me.” She put the knapsack in front of her face so she didn’t have to look at him anymore. All she could see was his legs, which was good. Legs were good. “Come on. The faster we get there, the faster you can go back to normal. You will go back to normal right?”

Iann's lack of lingering Puritanical modesty certainly traced back to how he was raised, where sexuality was associated to the bodies like a light switch: on or off.  And Iann's physical self was usually designated into the off position.  He could hear Elena's twinkling laugh before he fell into the water, gasping for breath until he realized he was merely not allowing himself to breathe underwater.  The state of him was absolutely not what Iann was expecting - when Bixbie said he'd swim like a fish, he didn't actually think he'd be transformed into a fish!  

Elena's reaction was no help, but Iann couldn't even shift his fish-face into a grimace when she seemed to refute his entire existence as a fish-man monstrosity.  "Oh come ON! It's not that bad,"  Iann glubbed, somehow managing to communicate through a fishy-type of underwater language that hopefully Elena understood.  "I'm sure you've sen way worse in the sea than me!  Giant squid, remember?"  Once she divested his leg of the knapsack, the experimented with swimming.  It wasn't too bad, once he learned that kicking with his legs while trying to cut through the water like a fish were counter-acting each other.  Once he kept his legs pressed tightly together and just sort of wriggled, it turned out his fins did the rest.  "Hey, this is actually kind of cool,"  Iann said, warming up to his hideous new state.  

"I'm sure I'll go back to normal, I just don't know when.  Maybe in an hour?  Then I'll have enough potion to drink again for the swim back," Iann said, clearly far more cheery now than Elena about his ugliness. He weaved through the water, garbling and laughing as he did.  Opening his mouth instinctively, he snapped up a bit of floating dead starfish and gobbed it down before he could stop himself.  "Oh god, what did I just eat and why???"  

Navigating the sea was much different that navigating on land, but fortunately Iann did check out the underwater terrain map before the trip, trying to figure out where the land mass anomaly was.  It wasn't too hard to find, considering there were no other islands on this side of the town.  "If that's Grizzle Island up there, then we have to dive lower.  There's apparently a tunnel that leads to an underwater cave, that ends up in a moon pool. That's where the ancient mermaid - "

"HALT!!"  About five merpeople suddenly swam up to them, spears in their hands and wearing what looked like shell-made armour.  "That demon is trying to steal a mermaid!"  One of them exclaimed in alarm, looking from Elena to Iann the fish-man.  "Kill it!!"

elder merm

[existentialstatesofmind]

Weekend Fun

Clare: looked around the table. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask who Bren was but something about the way Kota's family was acting made her think she should just wait until Dakota was ready to tell her himself. Especially since even his mom didn't want to about him. She mentally did a head count trying to figure out if it was possible that Dakota had another brother. Clare thought she'd meet everyone but she realized now that includding Kota there were 'only' four brothers plus Kelly but Dakota had specifically said he had five sibilings and only one sister. When Clare had met everyone she'd assumed that he'd worded that badly and meant there were six kids in his family. "Good to know, I just won't go in there." Clare didn't plan to explore Dakota's house by herself anyway. She smiled at Stacy knowing if she'd made it this long without angering the Grandma's spirit, Clare would be just fine. Besides the Andersons didn't strike Clare as being super uptight about things like girls sleeping in the same beds as boys. As long as they weren't doing anything it was fine. Such a nice change. Clare often felt like she couldn't be herself around her family because they'd judge her for having so many friends who were boys. It was dumb, she wasn't going over to their houses to play kissing games or anything else they were so worried about. Why couldn't her parents just trust her? Clare was confused when she realized Dakota and his sibilings weren't talking about their Grandma being in their hearts and memories. Had they really divided up her ashes?! Clare wasn't going to ask. There were somethings she didn't need to know (she'd be spooked if she found out Kota kept his piece in his pocket somtimes, for example), and it might've been in her will. Clare didn't expect Emi to answer everything she asked her. It was a lot and Emi was only five. She just wasn't going to underestimate Emi and talk down to her. She had hated it when teenagers and adults did that to her. "Yeah! Like how some words in English start with a hard or soft C." She looked at the paper Emi wrote on. "The second symbol is the ee sound?" Clare checked to make sure she had it right. Clare wasn't sure if she would recognize it on a menu (so she'd know not to order it). Maybe if she tried to practice drawing the symbols at home for fun. They'd never look like Emi's. It was a beautiful language though and Clare was interested in learning what she could. "English is a lot easier than Japanese but we don't start learning how to write in cursive until third grade and then we're not allowed to turn in papers in print again until middle school. At least the symbols you can already draw are cool. Plus you get to learn more languages than the other kids around here." Clare comforted her. If she was here long enough, she'd be taking French in school and could chose Spanish as an elective too. "I'd rather play with a live octopus than eat it too." She admitted, smiling and laughing at Emi's story. "I hope we can get it fried. However, the California roll sounds delicious. I love avocados and I like crab too so imitation meat is fine by me." Clare smiled at Kota. "I can't wait to go to New York, it sounds like my kind of city." Her parents had promised a trip there. She just didn't know when. With the way things were going, she seriously doubted they'd all go as a family. It would probably be like the ski trip she took to Maine with Dad and Darcy while Mom stayed home. "Oh. Is Tokyo far from where you lived?" Clare kissed him softly in reply. She'd been oblivious. She thought Dakota had a girlfriend at another school and wanted to be the kind of friends who gave each other dating advice. Even when she'd found out he didn't, Clare just didn't think she'd be his type. Sometimes you got a second chance to be a first girlfriend and that was pretty special. Clare didn't see any reason why she couldn't consider Dakota her first real boyfriend if their trial period went well. K.C took her on all of one date, it hadn't been much of a relationship. She'd actually spent more time 'dating' Eli before realizing they'd rather stay friends. After they rode back to the Andersons, Clare got out of the van and waited on Dakota to get Emi. She went inside with them after it was decided that Bren wasn't there despite the light being on. "Okay. If Bren asks for it." Clare told Kota's mom hesitantly not sure what it meant when a mom gave you permission to hit a son you hadn't met yet. He must be a troublemaker since she'd sent Bren, and only Bren away to school, and he'd gotten expelled. No one seemed to like him. Up until now, Clare thought Dakota had a great relationship with all of his sibilings. To her they were all really lucky. Her much smaller family didn't have as much love to go around. This turn of events was surprising. She put the bag from the restaurant in the Anderson's icebox while Dakota was gone. After they'd walked to his room, Clare took off her shoes too. "Thank you. How cute, I love it." She said referring to the bathroom's sign. She raised her hand up to touch the sign, her fingers traced lightly over the writing before Clare went inside the bathroom carrying the bag Kelly had given her earlier. "I'll take purple." Clare said selecting a soft-bristled tooth brush. "Has this been approved by the American Dental Association?" She joked since they'd been talking about Home Alone at the restaurant. Soon as Dakota left, she took off everything except her panties and put on the grey pj pants and pink short sleeve shirt from Victoria's Secret. Clare stuffed her clothes in the bag and checked her reflection before leaving the bathroom. She got into the bed, wrapping herself in the blanket like they'd talked about so they could cuddle without it being super awkward. Clare looked at Dakota shyly and lay on her side facing him, she rested her head on his chest. "Is this okay? Are you comfortable?"

Kota: watched as Emi taught Clare about the symbols. "No, it makes the shi sound. There aren't any ee sounds in Japanese." she corrected. "Good night has six symbols." she said and started to write the symbols. "O-ya-su-mi-na-si." she said pointing to each symbol. "That's the thing Emi has trouble with." Kota pointed out. "She knows more languages and sometimes uses them." he added. "So do you." Emi whined. "That girl was lost." he stated. "Pero el telefono?" Emi asked looking at him. "Again, the person didn't know English. Were you listening in?" he asked her. "I tried to listen into your other conversation, but you were talking too fast." she said honestly. "That's because the other person was in New York and that's how fast they talk." he explained and listened to Clare talk to Emi, then smiled at Clare when she smiled at him. "They talk faster than Eminem raps in New York." Ash pointed out. "Only if they're in a hurry or if you're ordering food at certain places. Normally they talk as fast as Eminem raps." he explained. "We decided to go to New York without Kota, biggest mistake in our life." Dom complained. "No calling him while he was with grandpa was the bigger mistake." Ash added and Kota looked at them. "That's because you hung up on me when I answered my phone, then again when I tried calling back. You even hung up on grandpa." Kota stated. "That's because you answered in Spanish." Dom argued. "I was in freaking Spain. I thought you were a client, you called grandpa's phone. When I called back you told me 'English' then hung up the three times I tried calling." he stated. "But you hung up on us when we called your phone." Ash said. "Because I was busy and couldn't play your game." Kota said honestly. "Stop fighting." Emi stated and Kota sighed. "Lo siento." he said looking at her. "Esta bueno, pero no mas." she said sticking her tongue out at Ash and Dom. "No mas." he assured and with a smile and both Ash and Dom apologized as well. "It's only good if you can talk fast to understand and keep up with the New Yorkers. I mean we got invited by grandpa to the same places he took Kota, but we'd have to be there three days after they were since they were there on business for the first three days and the food they were eating seemed odd at the time so we didn't go." Dom stated. "Fried plantains are great." Kota said looking at them. "Should've accepted. We aren't going on business trips any time soon." he confirmed. "I have to take over MB and work on new products, we start selling them in America soon." he said honestly. He kissed Clare back as she asked Emi the question. "Well, we lived in part of Tokyo called Narita, Chiba Prefecture. It's over an hour to Tokyo City." she stated. When they were getting ready for bed, Kota listened to Clare say she was taking purple and nodded, then laughed a bit when she asked about the toothbrush knowing she was joking. Once she joined him in his bed and they were cuddling, he nodded. "Yea, I'm comfortable." he whispered and kissed her head before falling asleep.