#not everyone wants their suffering to be the norm. some of us want to make it out alive.
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bogleech · 15 hours ago
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These replies meant well but they miss the point, we are absolutely dealing with a fanatical hive minded cult here. Zombie and Sheep are completely appropriate euphemisms for people who willingly chose not to think for themselves, and if Trump says the sky is green then his whole barking, flopping gaggle of drunken seals will not only immediately believe the sky is green, they will also believe you're a baby-eating commie satanist if you think it's ever been blue.
I'm just going to copy/paste what I already added before:
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"The number of people who seriously didn't know anything other than "he said he'd fix the economy" can't be that common. And if you ever heard him speak, you heard him define "fixing the economy" as "shutting down the border," because his single biggest campaign tool has been the complete and utter lie that "illegals" are a significant drain on the economy or that they're on the rise. Both are false. The vast, vast majority of his supporters, I'd say well over 99%, maybe more like several hundred to one, hold at least one, normally several of the following beliefs:
That there are bloodthirsty foreign devils deliberately invading at all times from the Southern border, and they can be blamed for the financial struggles of the "legal" citizens.
Anyone outside the traditional gender norms is an insatiable pervert and wants to corrupt innocent children.
Those who get abortions or in some cases even use birth control are murderers and filthy whores.
People in poverty are just lazy druggies who didn't care or try hard enough and brought all of their suffering on themselves.
The Disabled and in fact anyone unable to just work, work, work and work for at least some retail shit are a burden to be scorned.
Everyone bombed and killed by the U.S. military or any of its allied countries is always either a terrorist or an acceptable sacrifice in the fight against terrorists.
Police brutality is overstated and most people hurt or killed by cops did something to deserve it, but most especially minorities, who may or may not be genetically predisposed to crime.
An idea that Jewish people secretly control the world through a vast interconnected conspiracy that may also involve demon worship and child trafficking.
Doctors and scientists are liars who drain money from the economy and are wrong about everything that might inconvenience a rich man.
Non-Christians of any kind are degenerate and dangerous.
Trump's entire platform, and that of all other GOP candidates these days, is a deliberately fuzzy promise to act on any or all of these hysterical prejudices. He's most consistent about the first one and made it pretty much the central pillar of his whole campaign, because the paranoia over an imaginary "border crisis" is by far the most popular culture war uniting the right. Which is pretty fucking sad considering just how utterly fabricated it is, and how effortless it is to find that out in only seconds. However, not all conservatives subscribe to all of the same moral panics at the same time, so right wing influencers spend a lot of time weeping and gnashing over "liberalism" or "socialism" or this word that rhymes with "yoke" so that every one of their stupid, angry grovelers can read into it as a promise to defeat whatever it is those words mean in their mushy fucking brains. The single most important thing to understand of all, though, is that the lies are not what make them hate people. They already wanted to hate those people. The lies are concocted after the fact to justify the deeds they want to commit. They are stupid, scared, gullible and weak but they are also willfully spiteful with a massive punishment fetish, so when you get enough of them together they can actually wreak havoc. The point of my original post was that they're not anything as cool or impressive as evil nefarious villains. They're more comparable to a mindless but inexorable flood of sewage.
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I will also add: almost all of them categorize other human beings as "illegal aliens," and to them those aren't just words, but an actual demographic label they want to force on anyone who didn't fill out all the right forms, which they want enforced as an unforgivable crime.
Getting upset that I turn around and throw "dehoominizing langwidge" back at them is honestly a little ridiculous and even kind of uncomfortable, like if you saw a guy beating his wife and patted him gently on the back to remind him he matters. No he doesn't! Put a knife in that hand first! Referring to violent xenophobes as zombies or animals or vermin shouldn't bother you any more than calling them shitheads or assholes or even just jerks, because all possible words and language are completely inconsequential compared to their actual efforts at legislative dehumanization.
That's what "dehumanization" actually is. Not calling someone a dog or a ghoul in words, which is merely an expression of how ugly their behavior has become. Dehumanization is the actual treatment, by action, of other people as less worthy of basic rights and that is what they set out to do every single day. Like are some of you seriously that sheltered and naive. Yeesh. If you're personally acquainted with that one-in-a-million kind-hearted well meaning oaf who ignorantly supports the right wing out of innocent childlike ignorance, congrats but it doesn't change a thing and maybe your poor sweet gentle pet maga should have cared enough to know what they were voting for?
Young people have GOT to stop talking about conservatives like they're scary menacing monsters. Yes the policies they back are horrifically destructive but that's entirely because of how individually stupid, fearful, emotionally stunted, weak willed and catastrophically gullible they are. That all is what made them become right wing to begin with. Just the most easily manipulated zombie sheep on earth.
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cockyroaches · 5 months ago
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out of pure curiosity, what didn't you like about/how would you improve on ringing bell 👀
i dont know /exactly/ how i would improve it, per se - if youd asked me this in, like, 2020, id say chirin shouldve been redeemed, but obviously thats not the point of the story and i see that now.
i'm just not a fan of 'nature is immutable and going against it will corrupt you' stories. maybe because im queer and trans, which is Not what ringing bell is about - but it doesnt sit right with me. bite the hand that feeds and become ungovernable etc.
maybe chirin could still be the villain, but meet someone who's changed their fate like he did - only with kindness instead of brutal violence against the innocent. something to drive home that its not *what* motivated him (change the world so he wouldn't suffer anymore), but *how* he chose to go about doing that.
who knows!
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healinghyunjin · 6 months ago
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Blossom
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Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Reader (fem)
Genre: crack, smut, fluff; historical!AU, magic!AU, fuck-or-die(ish)!AU, enemies(ish)-to-lovers!AU, 18+
Word Count: 6.5k
Warnings: swearing, explicit sexual content, unprotected sex, outdated sexual norms/attitudes, public sex.
Author’s Note: After another ~long~ hiatus... I'm back! The premise of this fic is heavily inspired by a super old, now deleted AO3 fic I once read for a now dead fandom (showing my age here for you children lol). I love navigating these forced interaction scenarios - so please let me know your thoughts! Feedback and reblogs are love as always - and I now have a Ko-Fi that I would really appreciate contributions to as well (linked in my Bio)! Thank you for your support~
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Summary: But what this ritual required of you, the High Sorceress, was not just some spellwork or incantations - no, this ritual involved you losing your virginity. To your King - to Seungmin. On the High Table. In front of the entirety of the royal court. 
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You were sure you looked like a thundercloud - dark skirts swirling, white sparks crackling from your fingertips - as you stalked through the castle towards the royal chambers.
“Milady!” Changbin chased after you, your long-suffering knight trying his best to head you off. “His Majesty is in a council meeting right now,” he huffed out. “Maybe we can seek an audience another time?”
“I don’t ‘seek audiences’ from His Majesty, Bin,” the title grating in your mouth. “I talk to Kim Seungmin when I want to talk to Kim Seungmin - especially when he wants to pretend like I don’t exist.” 
You were laying it on a bit thick. But you were the High Sorceress. You had no insignificant amount of pride yourself, and nothing made your temper flare like Seungmin outmaneuvering you - exactly like he’d just done. 
You arrived at the heavy wrought iron doors of Seungmin’s private chambers and, with a swish of your palm, sent the doors flying open, almost rattling off their hinges. A tableful of lords turned around to gawk at you - but you only had eyes for the man at the head of the table. He leaned back in his chair, watching you stalk into the room with a barely concealed grin. “And there she is.” The faint note of humor in Seungmin’s voice made you want to wring his neck.
“Your Majesty,” you greeted in the frostiest voice you could muster up. 
Seungmin smirked. “You only use my proper title when you’re fit to rip my throat out, Lady Sorceress.” 
You ignored the barb. “We have an urgent matter to discuss, my lord.”
One of the old, stodgy lords piped up in a reedy, disapproving voice. “What can take precedence over matters of council and state, Sorceress?”
“Matters of national security, Lord Park.” Seungmin rose to his feet, making everyone else jump up to theirs as well. “Council is adjourned, my lords.”
You held your head high as the councilmen streamed out of the room around you, some barely bothering to disguise their resentment. Seungmin sauntered his way around the table, coming to stand right in front of you. You scowled as you inevitably had to tilt your head back just to look into his amused face. 
“You’ve been avoiding me, my witch.” 
“I wasn’t avoiding you,” you snapped back, cringing at how petulant you sounded even to your own ears. 
Of course you’d been avoiding him. Ever since he’d slapped those scrolls down on your worktable a week ago now, you hadn’t been able to think about him without flushing, let alone be in the same room as him. It would be for the good of the people, he’d announced crisply, looking so tall and prim and regal as he towered over you sitting on your little garden stool. I’m sure you won’t see any harm in it. You’d scanned through the parchment, ignoring the scribe’s careful translations to parse the ancient runes yourself. It outlined an ancient magical ritual to replenish the barrier wards for your nation if they ever fell - which they had. But what this ritual required of you, the High Sorceress, was not just some spellwork or incantations - no, this ritual involved you losing your virginity. To your King - to Seungmin. On the High Table. In front of the entirety of the royal court. 
Seungmin snapped you out of your thoughts with a brief “Ahem,” quirking a skeptical eyebrow at you. “I haven’t seen you in a week. Every time I’ve gone to your rooms since the day I gave you those scrolls, you’re conveniently ‘not there,’ and that poor fool,” he flicked a thumb over to point at Changbin, “is stuck trying - and failing - to make excuses for you.”
You shot a glare over at Changbin - he didn’t look sufficiently embarrassed of himself, but you would deal with that later. “Well, I’m here now, my lord. And I’d appreciate it if you could tell me how you unilaterally decided to add ‘Publicly Deflowering the High Witch’ to your agenda for this evening?”
You’d hoped to embarrass Seungmin, browbeat him - like you’d clearly done to Changbin, judging from the choking sound that came from next to you. But you’d underestimated your enemy. 
Seungmin sighed, clasping his arms behind his back. “Because we don’t have a choice in the matter, my dear witch. If you’d allowed me the chance to actually talk to you this week, I could have convinced you of that, and you'd have had time to prepare yourself. But - you didn’t, and so, I had to force your hand.” You shuffled uncomfortably under his piercing stare as he continued. “I know you translated the runes yourself - you know just as well as I do that this ritual needs to be done soon. Now, if we don’t want the Eastern Army taking advantage and invading us as soon as they muster up the forces. But unlike you, my lady - I don’t have the luxury to pretend like this problem will go away if I ignore it.” 
And that was exactly what you hated most about Kim Seungmin. He was smart and logical to a fault - enough so that he’d trained himself to not let pesky emotions get in the way of doing what needed to be done. You on the other hand… the less said the better on that front. 
Before you could snark something back at him or even just bristle up, Seungmin stepped away from you, rubbing his hands together. “Now that that’s been settled, I’m sure you have no more objections. Anyways, you have a busy afternoon ahead of you, Lady Sorceress. I’ve sent several maids to your chambers to help ready you for this evening - I’m sure you remember how exact the runes were in terms of preparation.” Seungmin wasn’t even bothering to hide his grin as he dismissed you with a wave of his hand, striding out of the room. 
That patronizing bastard. You briefly contemplated throwing a fireball at his laughing back - but being executed for treason wasn’t exactly the way you intended to go out. 
With a deep, soul-weary sigh, you turned on your heel to leave, resigning yourself to your fate. 
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Of course, if you knew exactly how the rest of your afternoon was going to be spent, you might just have thrown that fireball at Seungmin and gotten it over with. 
After that useless showdown, Changbin frogmarched you back to your rooms, handing you off to an actually intimidating keeper - Chaeryeong, your personal maid. But, to your even greater chagrin, she wasn’t alone. As promised, an army of maids descended on you, all charged with different vicious tasks - stripping your skin bare and smooth with hot sugar paste; kneading various herbal, floral unguents into your skin before dunking you into cold and hot baths; brushing your hair out until it fairly gleamed in the fading sunlight. By the time you were passed off to Chaeryeong for her final inspection, you almost didn’t recognize yourself in the mirror. 
Chaeryeong clicked her tongue approvingly as she walked around you, tightening the laces on your virginal white chemise. “You finally look presentable, milady.”
You bristled. “Are you saying I usually don’t?”
“Last week I had to pull a twig out of your hair before sending you down to supper. There isn’t a single dress of yours that doesn’t have mudstains, milady, and you think a splash of cold water every morning or two is enough to care for your skin.” Chaeryeong looked scandalized.
You rolled your eyes. “Well, I’m glad one of us is satisfied with this situation.”
“You’re not?” 
“Why in the name of the Goddess would I be?”
“Sleeping with a man who’s young, tall, handsome, powerful, wealthy,” Chaeryeong giggled as she counted off each word on her fingers, “isn’t the worst thing in the world, milady.” She flicked you a mischievous glance as she smoothly slid to stand behind you. “Especially when the man in question has a major soft spot for you.”
You scoffed. “Kim Seungmin doesn’t have a soft spot for me, Chae. He can't even be in the same room as me without snarking at me - and I can't remember the last time he actually said anything nice to me.”
Chaeryeong’s fingers stilled in your hair as she stared you down in the mirror. “You really believe that, don’t you?” You arched an eyebrow at her in response. She let out a deep sigh. “For such a brilliant witch… you really can be dense.” She shook her head before reaching over to grab flowers to weave into your hair. “I hope you realize - the one thing standing between him and war is you. Most men - especially a King - would have just tossed you onto that table and had their way with you. And maybe they would have begged your forgiveness and understanding afterwards - maybe, if they were worried about you cursing them into oblivion. No one else would have spent a whole week waiting to try and convince you into doing this willingly.”
You opened your mouth to snap something back in your defense... and realized you had nothing to say. 
“See,” Chaeryeong murmured softly. “Sometimes it feels like you’re… willfully blind to His Majesty’s kindness towards you. He’s always treated you with respect - and made sure you’re treated with respect. I wouldn’t take that for granted, my lady - or ignore what’s behind that mask he puts up all the time.” 
As she put the final touches on your hair, you couldn’t help but reflect on Chaeryeong’s words. You had extraordinary freedom and liberties as the High Sorceress…but no, that wasn’t exactly right. You were given extraordinary freedom and liberties as the High Sorceress - by your King. If it wasn’t for his unwavering support for you - against the Council, against any and all reactionary forces - you wouldn't hold any of the power you did. Sure, he riled you up, jerked you around a bit - and you still hated just how easily he could outwit you. But you were being childish to fixate on that - to lose sight of the forest for the trees. 
“And here’s the final touch.” Chaeryeong sidled up to you with a long scrap of silk in her hands - your blindfold. “You’re not allowed to see His Majesty until the ritual starts.” Her quick fingers made short work of fastening it around your head - and being the jerk that she was, she put it on properly tight, making sure you couldn’t see a thing. “Maybe that’ll teach you to let yourself lean on him for once,” she mused, before pulling you up out of your chair with none too gentle hands. 
Chaeryeong, as always, was right. You were completely unmoored by the loss of your sight, limiting your magical abilities too. You were forced to rely completely, like a baby, on Chaeryeong to guide you through the halls to the oldest wing of the castle - and you only realized that you were in front of Seungmin when the two of you came to a sudden halt, a reverent “Your Majesty” coming from her lips. 
This was it. 
Chaeryeong subtly pulled you down into a curtsy, pinching you in the back to make sure you stayed low as she stepped away from your side. From the sound of her sharp footsteps receding down the hall and the lack of any other noise around you, you presumed she’d left - and you were now alone with your King. 
“You may rise.” Seungmin’s amused drawl sounded from somewhere high above your head. Disoriented by your imposed blindness, you stumbled a little as you stood up - but you were caught by warm hands encircling your arms, steadying you on your feet. “How low the high have fallen, hmm?” Such a tease, you thought. But the gentle tone of his voice, the circles his thumbs were rubbing into your arms… he was helping ground you, to put you more at ease - which only made you feel more guilty. 
“My lord,” you started softly - earning a harsh inhale in surprise from Seungmin. “I… I owe you an apology. My behavior earlier today - for this entire week - has been immature and not fitting for a ranking member of your court. Forgive me for my negligence.” You made to dip into a curtsy again - but Seungmin’s grip on your arms tightened, keeping you from lowering yourself. 
There was a heartbeat of silence before Seungmin responded, his voice more tender than you’d ever heard it. “I don’t know what prompted this… change, but - you don’t need to apologize. I knew we both knew this is what must be done, and I knew we were going to eventually do it - but that doesn’t make it any easier for you. You didn’t want this with me, and I know that.”
Why did that last statement sound a false note in your heart? You ignored it in favor of speaking out. “But I’ve spent the past week shirking my duty. You had to force me back in line.”
“And that is my responsibility as King, my sorceress. No harm done.” You could tell that he was leaning down closer to you, his voice loud and clear in your ear. “And remember - neither this kingdom nor I will ever forget this sacrifice.”
There was an oddly charged moment of silence after that statement - which was abruptly broken by the sensation of the ground suddenly falling away from under you. You gasped as surprisingly sturdy arms lifted you up until you were cradled against a lean, hard chest. “Seungmo!” You squeaked, the childhood nickname slipping past your lips. “S-since when were you strong enough to do this?”
There was a pause - you were positive that Seungmin had rolled his eyes at you. “Just because I don’t have bulging biceps like that bodyguard of yours doesn’t mean that I’m a weakling, witch.” 
“Well, it won’t be good to kick things off with you tripping over your feet carrying me in,” you muttered sulkily. 
You couldn’t hold back a shiver as Seungmin tsked, his warm breath ghosting across the sensitive shell of your ear. “Such disrespect for your king? Bold, given that you’re at my mercy for the next hour.” 
“Next hour? That ego of yours is still clearly giant.”
Seungmin let out a husky laugh. “It’s not the size of my ego you should be worried about right now, sweet.” You thumped a useless fist against his chest - even as your core involuntarily clenched and slickened.
There was a ear-ringingly loud blast of trumpets, followed by the creak of the gates to the ancient hall being pushed open. The murmurs and chatter of the crowd awaiting your arrival fell silent, an almost eerie hush settling in as Seungmin strode into the hall. Even with the enormous fire spluttering away in the ancient hearth, the room was always chilly; gooseflesh pimpled your arms, and you almost automatically burrowed closer into Seungmin’s neck for warmth - at least, that’s what you told yourself. The sharp raps of Seungmin’s footsteps against the flagstones came to a halt, and you were securely sat onto a hard surface - the High Table. Your sacrificial altar, you mused to yourself cynically. 
You jumped a little as you felt gentle fingers clasp your hands, giving you a firm squeeze. Those warm fingertips then ghosted across your cheeks, twining through your hair as they searched for the knot of your blindfold. Your heart was bounding in your chest, blood roaring in your ears as Seungmin leaned into you, that familiar, titilatingly musky scent of his flooding your senses as he worked to unravel the tight knot, until the blindfold finally came free. 
You blinked your eyes open to mellow, golden light - and the sight of Seungmin standing over you, watching you carefully with a small, soft smile. The great hall was awash with candlelight, long tapering candles and sticks of smoking perfume burning all around you, throwing the faces of the crowd of onlookers beyond you into shadow - but bathing Seungmin in glorious, warm light. He looked impeccably regal as he stood above you in his smart black leather doublet and swan white shirtsleeves, his royal purple ermine-edged cloak clasped around his throat. His hair was up, brushed off his forehead, and the gold of his royal circlet shone out bright against the ink black of his hair - but the brightest of all were his eyes, warm and deep brown, steady and clear as he - your King, you truly felt down to your bones for the first time - held your gaze. 
Taking a deep breath, you let yourself fall back, the ancient stone of the table icy against your spine. While you couldn’t see any of the spectators surrounding you and Seungmin - the vaulted ceiling of the great hall the only thing in your line of sight - it felt like you could sense their gaze prickling across your skin, weighing you down. But before you could let your mind wander too far, Seungmin was there, leaning over you with those broad, square shoulders, blocking your sight of anything but him. You felt your cheeks flame as his hand came up to cup your face, and  your heart skipped a beat as he pressed a petal soft kiss to your forehead, breathily whispering into your skin. “It will be good, my sweet. Trust me.”
Maybe Chaeryeong was onto something… You searched his eyes, finding so much affection and reassurance beaming back at you that you blinked your own shut - before giving him a brief nod. 
He let his lips drag over to your temple, then down to your cheek, leaving open mouthed kisses in his wake as his lips trailed lower and lower, down your jawline, down your neck - and lower. Your mind reeled, your hands fisting the flimsy material of your gown. This was supposed to be brief and impersonal - you’d even readied a lubrication charm in preparation for the inevitable. But you should have known that Seungmin wouldn’t just do an adequate job like that. You were fighting for your life to stay silent as he added his teeth into the mix, working the thin, sensitive skin of your throat until you felt the sickly sweet pain of a bruise forming. His hand slid down from your cheek so he could softly thumb at the mark - his mark - marring your skin, and when he pressed down just right on the bruise, you whimpered - and watched as his eyes darkened to black. 
From there, he was insatiable. Your hands flew up to his shoulders at the swipe of his tongue against your hardening nipple; they desperately slid to clutch at his hair when he took it whole into his mouth, the wet heat tantalizing even through the cotton of your chemise. He palmed your neglected breast hard, the soft flesh spilling through his fingers. A whine finally tore itself free from your throat, and Seungmin snapped his head up to look at you, lips twisting into a triumphant smirk. “I thought you weren’t going to enjoy this, Lady Sorceress.” His fingers came up to tweak your nipple - hard - as he mouthed carelessly at your other breast, his eyes watching you hungrily as you writhed under his touch. The pleasure carried you away on a hazy cloud of lust, into the dreamland of dangerous possibilities. What would it feel like to have this dumb chemise out of the way, so his fingers and lips could traipse your naked skin? What would it feel like to have the heat of his bare skin pressed up against yours - the weight and friction of his hard chest crushing into your sensitive breasts?
Your attention was yanked back into the land of the living at sudden, discordant noise: gasps and murmurs, you quickly realized, rippling through your audience - for your King was dropping to a knee at your feet, hands sliding with promise up your legs under your chemise. You shot up onto your elbows, staring down at him in horror. “Your Majesty,” you hissed. “This is wanton.”
Seungmin arched an eyebrow. “I’d rather be wanton than have you in pain at my hands.” You felt a traitorous flutter in your chest. “And most importantly - when you have the kingdom’s most powerful woman laid out in front of you... you worship her.” 
Those large, long-fingered hands of his found purchase in the soft skin of your inner thighs, forcing them spread and keeping them spread with that hidden strength of his. He let out a small groan at the sight of your swollen folds, dragging a single, deliberate fingertip down the length of your slit. At the very first touch of his soft lips to your sensitive bundle of nerves, you choked out a moan - and startled as the candles around you all simultaneously popped. From between your legs, Seungmin laughed darkly. “Looks like I won’t need to ask you whether I’ve done a good job,” he said, the sensation of his breath and lips against your core making you squirm with stimulation. His hands slid up to your hips, anchoring you in place as he lapped languidly at your cunt, tongue flicking in and out of your aching entrance, nose rubbing up against your swollen little pearl. 
There was no chance in hell you could stay quiet any more. As a moaning keen spilled forth from your lips, your eyes flicked up to the shadowy figures in the crowd watching you. You’d thought they would be judgmental - critical, gossipy, as people always were in situations like this. Instead… there wasn’t a face you could make out that wasn’t flushed, expression glazed over. Seungmin slid his arms under your legs, yanking you down the table until the base of your spine rested on the very edge of the table, your core putty under his mouth as he supported your weight - and you watched as some woman in the crowd whimpered, biting her lip in response. 
Your head lolled back onto the table, and you started shuddering in Seungmin’s hands. 
“I guess I was wrong about needing an hour.” With a final kiss to your folds, Seungmin rose to his feet, leisurely wiping his mouth on the back of one hand, the other drifting down to the laces of his trousers. “I didn’t anticipate just how thoroughly you would enjoy my attentions, my witch.” Tease. His eyes danced with mirth as you whined in annoyance. You felt the blunt tip of him dragging through your folds, its weight catching deliciously against the tight ring of your entrance. “I’ll start slow,” he murmured, a hand coming up to brace himself above your head. And from the first breach of his length into your walls, you knew you were in trouble. 
“Big,” you gasped out. Seungmin let his free hand run loose over the flesh of your thighs and hips, kneading and caressing and soothing. “Relax for me, sweet - it’ll be easier if you let me in.” His voice was breathy and soft, eyes so warm - daresay loving - as he leaned in over you, covering your body with his. You gave him a small nod, breathing deeply and doing your best to let your body sink into the stone under you. As he carefully, firmly worked the rest of his length into your tight cunt, you couldn’t help but whimper, eyes squeezing shut at the deep, deep stretch of him, your spine arching off the table as your body contorted to accommodate him. “Beautiful,” he murmured, pupils dilated with lust. “Made to take me.” 
And as the sting and discomfort started to morph into the burning, insatiable stretch of pleasure, you were inclined to agree with him. 
“Let me know when I can move, sweet,” he asked, the flat of his hand rubbing soothing circles into your lower belly. “Please,” you rasped out - and the delightedly vicious grin that curled his lips in response only sent another surge of fire through you. Your limbs ached to twine around him, pulling him down into you, imprisoning him between your legs - but you were determined to maintain some public decorum. Seungmin made the decision for you though, salaciously bold as ever as he leaned forward into you, splaying your legs out wide, knees almost to your chest. He tested the waters with a rapid snap of his hips in and out - and the two of you stared at each other with wide eyes at just how deep it all felt in this position. Seungmin’s hips started rocking back and forth, almost as if on their own volition - almost as if they were enchanted - and your hands desperately scrabbled for purchase on the unyielding stone as he started pounding into you. 
Your hips canted up into his, trying to answer his thrusts with your own. And you were clearly doing something right, judging by his drawn out groans. “Mine,” he moaned. As he bore down on you, every thrust ground delicious friction into your bundle of nerves - and Seungmin’s hips were driving into yours at such a punishing pace that you were overwhelmed by stimulation. You were sure the two of you were making an absolute mess, the squelching sounds of him pumping into you only growing louder with every thrust. Just with his lips and nose and tongue, the friction and sensation and pleasure had all already brought you close to the cliff of your peak. You knew it wasn’t going to be much longer now before he dragged you over - but there was something positively strange happening to you. Your pleasure was merely riding the edge of some deeper, powerfully visceral sensation that had you gasping, shivering with every plunging stroke. But Seungmin, your ever-wise, your ever-aware Seungmin, had cottoned onto what was happening to you - and wrapping you tightly up into his arms, he only picked up the pace of his hips. “Let go, sweet,” he eked out. “I’ve got you safe, here - let go, my queen.” And before your mind could even process what he’d just given away, you felt yourself clenching up, eyes squeezing shut and nerves singing in pleasure as you hit your release - the pain of your fingers digging into the broad expanse of his back, the spasms of your tight cunt triggering Seungmin’s release simultaneously, spurts of his hot, thick seed flooding into your core, serving as a balm for your aching walls as he collapsed into your waiting arms. 
Before you could let the waves of pleasure carry away your mind with it, however - your eyes shot open at the gasps and shouts coming from around you. Gold - that was all you could see - a golden bubble encasing you and your King. Seungmin lifted his head up from where it was pillowed on your chest, a look of pure wonder on his face as the two of you watched the bubble slowly float and collapse inwards, coalescing into a glowing yellow orb hovering above all of your heads. The hazy whorls of incense and candle smoke in the air took on a bright golden hue - before it all whooshed outwards in a rapid gust of wind, rattling the windows of the hall as the orb and its golden mist exploded out into the sky . You recognized the magic for what it was - the largest, purest barrier charm you’d ever witnessed. 
You and Seungmin had pulled it off. A giggle of delight squeezed out of your chest, and you let your gaze snap back down to the man resting on his elbows over you. Seungmin was watching you with a small, mysterious smile, panting slightly as he tried to catch his breath. And as you looked back at him… you felt a wave of emotion wash over you, as powerful as if the ground had literally shifted under your feet. An almost unbearable fondness filled your heart as you beheld him - your King, your protector…your lover. 
You had been right about one thing - there would be no going back from this, at least for you. But now you found yourself wondering… why was that such a bad thing?
Ignoring the shuffling footsteps around you as your audience slowly started to disperse, you let your arms wrap around Seungmin, relishing the feeling of his muscles bunching under your touch as he slid his arms in turn around you, helping you to sit upright. His dark eyes were fixed on the place the two of you were joined as he slowly extricated himself from you, the feeling of his sticky seed trickling out from between your legs strange and foreign. That ever intelligent, searching gaze then slowly scanned your body, looking you over head to toe as he tucked himself away in his trousers, before his eyes fluttered shut. Seungmin let out a slow exhale before blinking his eyes open again - and you were startled to see that professional mask of his slide back into place. 
“Up you go,” he murmured, arm sliding around your back as he helped you off the table, supporting you as your legs quailed under your weight. With a few deft pulls, he unfastened his cloak, wrapping it around your shoulders instead. You were thankful for the warmth it provided - and the coverage, you realized, as you noticed the servants hovering at a respectful distance from the two of you. “Give me a second,” Seungmin said before turning away to address his valet and knight-at-arms. 
One of the maids stepped forward, a fan in her hand to put out the few lingering candles. Before you could even hesitate on what to do, she dipped into a low curtsy, bowing her head - to you. “Your Highness,” she breathed out, an almost reverent look on her face as she glanced back up at you. Awkward with the unfamiliar courtesy, you smiled hesitantly, tilting your head at her in acknowledgement. 
How had you misjudged this situation so badly? Part of your hesitation leading up to all of this had been because you’d thought that you’d be made out to be a slag - no better than the King’s kept woman. Why hadn’t you appreciated the power inherent in this? With the spectacular care with which he’d pleasured you, with the demonstration of your magic in front of the whole court, Seungmin had marked you - just as he’d told you with those hungry eyes - out to be the most powerful woman in the kingdom. 
You snapped out of your thoughts to see Seungmin making his way back to stand in front of you. You frowned to see that mask of his still in place, a strange awkwardness in his manner as he addressed you. “I can help you back to your rooms now. Or,” he turned to gesture behind him, “one of the servants can take you if you prefer.”
You arched a critical eyebrow at him. “Could we go to your chambers instead?”
His eyes widened for a second, before you watched understanding wash over his face. “Ah yes, that was careless of me - there’s too many stairs to get back to your chambers. You can rest in mine as long as you need.”
Wrapping an arm loosely around you, he let you lean on him as the two of you walked out of the hall. His rooms weren’t too far away, the royal chambers taking up a significant portion of the ancient wing of the castle. But an awkward silence reigned over the two of you, Seungmin stoically looking straight ahead as you limped along beside him. 
Something had clearly changed in you - because for once, instead of being the reactive fool you normally were, you saw the situation - and his reaction - for what it actually was. Seungmin was taking his turn to be the awkward overthinker - a role he’d grown out of once he’d become King… except when it came to a few specific things he couldn’t stay purely rational about. The things he cared about the most, the things that mattered most deeply… in this case - you. 
You sighed. You’d probably need to gift Chaeryeong a necklace or something after all of this was over. 
You bided your time until Seungmin finally shut the two of you into his chambers. He’d turned away to lock the doors behind him - and startled when he turned back around to find you standing right in front of him. As you stared up at him, watching his lips twitch in discomfort… you came to a shocking realization. 
“You never kissed me,” you breathed out, even more surprised as you said it. He’d kissed you literally everywhere else - but he hadn’t touched your lips. You gazed up at him with wide eyes. “Why?”
Seungmin shifted uncomfortably. “It felt too…intimate.”
What? “You took my virginity - in public. We unleashed a magical force field together,” you deadpanned, trying to get a laugh out of him - and failing, as Seungmin continued to look at you stoically. “I’d say that’s pretty intimate, my lord.”
He shrugged, hugging his arms around him and hesitating for a second - before bluntly, in Seungmin fashion, getting to the heart of the matter. “The reality is that… freely given sacrifice, prophecy, whatever you want to call it - I took something from you that you didn’t mean for me to have.” It was a testament to Seungmin’s poise that his voice stayed even, his eyes stayed steadily on you as he spoke. “I wanted you to have something - a part of you - you could still give away of your own will.” He sagged heavily into the doorframe, finally breaking eye contact as he trailed off. 
Poor baby. Your heart fluttered. “That is… quite thoughtful of you, my lord,” you choked out, taking a small step forward. Then another. And another, inching towards him. “So - that means it’s alright with you for me to do this, right?” Reaching up, you twined your arms around his neck, pulling yourself up onto your tiptoes to press your body into his. His hands reflexively grabbed your waist, steadying you even as his eyes widened in surprise - before fluttering shut as you pressed your lips to his. 
His mouth was divine heat - soft, pliable against yours. He gasped as you nipped at his lower lip, and you seized the chance to lick into his mouth, deepening the kiss until your head was whirling, ignorant of where you ended and he began. 
When you finally pulled away for air, his lips chased yours for a second before he caught himself. You giggled, beaming up at him. “How low the high have fallen, hmm?”
Seungmin let out a low warm laugh, such fondness in his eyes that you couldn’t help but shy away. “I have much, much lower to fall still, don’t worry,” he murmured as he bent down over you, his hair falling into his eyes as he smiled. In a single, smooth movement, he flipped the two of you around so he had you pinned up against the wall, his body pressed firmly into yours. 
You cleared your throat. “Y-you really like having me against hard surfaces, don’t you?”
He shrugged, focus elsewhere as his fingers busied themselves with the laces of your chemise. “Seems like it’s the only way to keep you good for me, witch mine.” You whined as his hand accidentally grazed your sore, tender nipple, the sound making his eyes snap back to yours. A dark, wicked smile curled his lips before he crashed his mouth back onto yours, long fingers working your breast deliberately, possessively. You responded with enthusiasm, tangling your own fingers into his silky hair, until the spell was broken - for you at least - by loud noises from outside his chambers. 
You pulled away from his lips with a loud smack. “What’s that?”
“Never mind that,” he rasped out, pulling you in tight against him. “Worry about it later.” Your breath hitched as he nosed his way into your neck, pulling at the loosened neck of your chemise to expose your collarbone for him to feast on. 
Steeling yourself, you pushed your hands firmly against his chest. “Seungmo, I want to worry about it now.” He groaned, rolling his eyes, but let you go without a fight, releasing you from his embrace. Turning on your heel, you tugged him along to his balcony. The sounds had seemed to come from the royal gardens, which were sprawled right below Seungmin’s chambers. Pulling your cloak - his cloak - more tightly around you, you stepped out onto the balcony - and froze, as an astounding sight brought the two of you to a standstill. 
Wherever you looked - below you, around you - every single plant and tree was in abundant bloom. Regardless of season, of age - fruit and flowers were everywhere, swinging in the breeze, littering the ground. You turned to Seungmin in shock - only to see him looking back at you with loving, wondrous awe. “That’s all you,” he murmured, brushing a fond hand against your cheek. “My powerful, mesmerizing sorceress.”
You flushed. “No, it’s not.” You stepped closer to him, wrapping your arms around his waist. “It’s us.” You tiptoed up to press a kiss into his cheek - and promptly hid into Seungmin’s neck as whoops and cheers rang up to you from the gardens below. 
Seungmin laughed, tucking you into his side as he led the two of you back inside. “Well, you know what this means,” he said.
You quirked an eyebrow at him. “What?”
Shooting a dazzling smile your way, he caught you up in his arms once again, the heady sensation already warm and familiar to you - before peremptorily throwing you onto his bed. 
“The fate of the flora of this kingdom is in our hands, Lady Sorceress.” He intoned in a faux serious voice - made only the more ridiculous by the sight of him crawling on all fours towards you on the bed. “We have crucial work to do, milady - and we must start posthaste.”
You threw your head back in laughter before wrapping your limbs around him. “Yes, my lord - let’s start immediately.” 
Fin.
~
[If you made it all the way here... please comment, reblog and give me feedback!! My Ko-Fi is also linked in my blog if you're able to support :)]
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kikyoupdates · 2 months ago
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☁ yandere ♡ oneshot masterlist
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❝ You don't know how or why, but you've been isekai'd into the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. Although your first instinct is to stay away from the plot, you've been blessed with an abnormal amount of cursed energy, and for better or worse, you find yourself sucked into the storyline. You decide that you may as well use your newfound powers for the greater good, and if you're lucky, you might succeed in rewriting some of the characters' fates. But it turns out that your presence in this world is an even bigger deal than you first thought, and soon, everyone wants to make you theirs.❞
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❝ You never believed reincarnation was possible, least of all in the fictional world of Jujutsu Kaisen. However, from the moment you meet Gojo Satoru, it’s impossible to deny. Whether it’s a miracle or some kind of curse, you find yourself growing up alongside the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. Unfortunately, you know what the future holds in store. You know exactly what kind of tragedies await. Perhaps that’s why you were brought into this world. If it means saving people from a gruesome fate, you’ll gladly suffer in their place. You’ll do whatever it takes. All for the sake of a better tomorrow. ❞
more chapters of this story are available on quotev and ao3
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❝ You didn’t accomplish anything in your previous life. Looking back on it, you feel nothing but regret, and you yearn for the chance to do things differently. As it turns out, your wish is answered, and you are reborn into your favorite fictional world. This time, you resolve to make a change, and you have the means to do it. You won’t be content with just sitting on the sidelines and letting life pass you by. You will live boldly and vibrantly, as if every moment is your last. No matter what it takes, you are going to leave your mark. ❞
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❝ You are the product of a series of twisted experiments, an anomaly that shouldn’t have ever existed in the first place. Thankfully, you are taken into the arms of a hero and given a new purpose in life. But as you soon discover, it isn’t easy to deny your true nature, especially when you were made to destroy. ❞
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❝ You awaken one day with virtually no memories. The only thing guiding you is some strange system that likes to dictate your every move, and for some reason, it insists that you make certain people fall in love with you. Desperate for answers, you decide to go along with its demands. After all, how hard can it be? ❞
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❝ Your Quirk is rather unique. It plays out almost like a game, giving you missions and goals that help you become stronger. On top of that, you also have the ability to charm those around you. It sounds innocent enough on paper, and you can’t help but revel in the attention everyone keeps showering you with. But what happens when their feelings give way to something more sinister? ❞
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❝ As punishment for your sins, you, a young vampire, are banished — not just from your home, but to a different world entirely. Now, you find yourself in a foreign place where Quirks and heroes are the norm. In addition to coming to terms with your new life, you must also face your greatest challenge: controlling your massive thirst for blood. ❞
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❝ Ever since your Quirk first manifested, you’ve been the apple of everyone’s eye. With the goal of becoming a hero, you enroll to U.A. and soon find yourself drawing the attention of many. Will you form genuine connections with others, or is this all just your power's will? ❞
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❝ Desperate for money to pay off your debts, you sign up for a program that allows you to sell your blood to vampires. At first, everything is fine, and you’re finally able to make ends meet. But they soon begin craving more than just your blood. ❞
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❝ Hoping to try something new and earn a bit of money on the side, you join an app that lets people hire you for your dating services. The idea is pretty straightforward — you pose as the client's girlfriend for a brief period of time, and in turn, you receive payment. But you didn't foresee everyone getting so attached to you, and suddenly, they're no longer satisfied with a fabricated relationship. ❞
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❝ Reincarnation isn't as great as it sounds, especially when you've been reborn as none other than the villainess. Fated to die if you stand in the heroine's way, you immediately resolve to distance yourself from the plot. As long as you have nothing to do with any of the relevant characters, surely, you'll be able to avoid an untimely death. But in a horrible turn of events, the heroine ends up wanting to get close to you. Are you really doomed to meet the villainess' tragic end? Or is there an even more sinister fate that awaits you? ❞
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❝ A desperate cry on your deathbed leads to you being given a fresh start at life. You're overjoyed at having finally obtained a healthy body and a real chance at living normally, only to discover that you've been transported into a yandere game, where danger lurks at every corner. Determined to protect your new life at any cost, you vow to stay as far away from the major characters of the game as possible. But things don't always go as planned. ❞
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❝ Following your mother’s recent passing, you are visited by a group of men claiming that your father abandoned all his debt and obligations, leaving you to take his place.❞
this story is completed on quotev
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❝ Your parents are thrilled to have secured an engagement for you with the royal family. Your suitor, the crown prince, has agreed to be wed to you. It seems as though your entire future has been assured, so why is it that from this moment onward, your life starts to fall apart at the seams? ❞
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odinsblog · 2 months ago
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[re: this post]
The bad news is, I’m stranded because my condo has only one road in and out, and that’s 100% underwater rn
The other bad news is, my car is flooded even though I thought I moved it to higher ground
BUT … the heartening news is this:
This condo complex is roughly 2,500 units so tons of people live here. We were all without power from around 4pm yesterday until 10:30am today
So at daybreak everyone was outside surveying the damage and trying to figure out how to get their sunken cars started and how to get out (we’re just going to have to wait for the waters to recede iMho)
I took one look at my VERY RECENTLY PAID FOR CAR as it sat submerged, and started to head back inside. That’s when a neighbor I’d never met before asked me if my phone was charged. I told her no, it’s completely dead. She then directed me to another neighbor who found one outlet that, for some reason, still had power. There were about 10 or 15 people lined up and someone had gotten probably the longest extension cord w/outlets that I’ve ever seen in my life. If you weren’t already charging your phone on the outlet, there was one outlet spot where everyone was taking turns to get a quick 10 minute charge and make some calls. Apparently everyone had already voted to use one of the extension cord outlets full time for a coffee pot (because coffee, right?)
There was someone else outside whose car wasn’t submerged who was letting people use his car to charge their phones
And then I heard someone say, “Are there any elderly or disabled people living here who we need to go check on?” And I said, “OMG, what about the lady on the 7th floor? She’s in a wheelchair!” And someone else said that the elevator was out because of no power, and I was like, “So? Are the stairs broken? I can run up and go check on her.” And then someone else was like, “She died a couple of years ago.” And we were all like, “Ohhh.”
I’m rambling a bit, but the point is, it was super refreshing to see people working together and sharing and helping each other. This wasn’t a disaster by any stretch of the imagination. At worst, it has merely been a big inconvenience. But it was still nice to see neighbors (many of whom were strangers until this morning) being nice and helpful to each other
It reaffirms what I’ve always believed: in difficult times most people WILL work together—without any personal or monetary incentive. So please don’t believe greedy ass mutha fuckers when they opine about survival of the fittest and making a quick profit off of someone else’s suffering. It doesn’t have to be that way, and most often, it isn’t that way
And yeah, I know that my small experience wasn’t a dire situation and no lives were on the line (like they are where the hurricane actually made landfall), but I would like to believe that my microcosm is the norm for similar macrocosms
I believe that most people are good at heart, or at the very least, they WANT to be good and sometimes just need a nudge in the right direction
Anyway, I guess it’s about time for me to go do battle with my car insurance company (now talk about evil entities!) to see what up with my partially submerged vehicle
If anyone has done this insurance claim dance before, I’m open to some friendly advice bc this is brand new for me
Please have a great day today everyone ✌🏿
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applepie2523 · 8 days ago
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" HOTD's Issues Writing Women Part 1: The Character Assassination of Alicent Hightower
**Just posted part 2 where I analyze the issues in the writing of Rhaenyra! You can find it on my profile.**
**This is part 1 of my analysis on the issues with the two main female characters of HOTD.** I think many fans on the Blacks and Greens and in between regarding HOTD have been concerned and disappointed with the way the two main female characters: Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower have been written in HOTD seasons 1-2. This is very understandable. Female characters in general in HOTD and I think a lot of Hollywood films nowadays are not being written as well as they used to be and could be. Go on Youtube or Google and you'll find many film reviews/tv show reviews that critique the Mary Sue and Girlbossification or just poorly written in general female characters that are taking up a chunk of characters in Hollywood. Rhaenyra and Alicent to me were such great characters in F&B. They were two different kinds of medieval women in a fantasy setting. One, the medieval queen who gains power/influence through her relationship with men and advocating for her son. Two, the medieval queen who sought power in her name and defied some norms that make her compelling but also immoral in their eyes. They are two deeply flawed and complex characters fighting on opposite sides of a dynastic civil war.
This first post is my analysis on the issues of writing Alicent Hightower in HOTD.
\***Some disclaimers: This is no issue with the actress herself. Olivia Cooke while I may disagree with her opinions from time to time, is a wonderful actress who is doing the best she can with the scripts she's given, so this is by no means a critique of her. I am going off of the show canon although the book will be mentioned.**
**So firstly... What is character assassination?**
While Alicent does at times suffer from white washing, she mainly suffers from character assassination. Character assassination is very sudden and almost inorganic changes are made to a character that makes them even worse; harming that character's impact and reputation. Many negative traits or changes have been made to Alicent's character that she is become completely different from her season 1 self (in a bad way) and her book counterpart.
**I will say not every change made to Alicent's story arc and personality are necessarily all bad. Some are decent or even good ideas, just poorly executed (ex - aging down Alicent) and others are just good changes in general.**
*1. Victims vs. Villains - Biases in Writing Female Characters*
In the words of the iconic Grey's Anatomy actress Ellen Pompeo, “Women are one of two roles. You’re either the victim or the villain. But the victims are only victims because they don’t have what it takes to be the villain.” I think she states the major issue with writing female characters nowadays that HOTD has an issue with. Women must either be victims or villains. The character assassination of Alicent and white washing of Rhaenyra to me stems from this: Alicent is the villain in Rhaenyra's story to Rhaenyra's victimhood.
*2. Alicent's Negative Portrayal: Motherhood, Loyalty, and Manipulation to Child Neglect, Betrayal, and Idiocracy*
In the show, I feel much of Alicent's traits have either been changed, ignored or downplayed. Alicent I think was the epitome of the medieval woman who used the patriarchal system to her own advantage. Who sought power for herself and her family/house through manipulating/influencing the men around her. The men also respected her to a much larger degree than the show implies, she isn't dismissed because she's a woman so much. While I do think in the show Aemond dismisses her from the council because he just didn't want his mommy scolding him in front of everyone, I think the show framed it more so to make it seem Alicent is dimissed due to sexism and "that's what she gets for betraying feminism" or something like that. Something about her learning that the patriarchy and siding with it is bad.
I found Book Alicent reminding me of Margaret Beaufort. She was the mother of King Henry VII, who advocated for him to be King, despite herself off of blood ties alone having the better claim to the throne than him. She manipulated men and women around her to gain supporters and more influence for him and by extension herself. She was fiercely loyal to her faction, the Lancastrians and Tudors. Strong and intelligent and pious and at times very immoral. Loved her son more than anything in her life. She even played the long game, playing nice but still subtly undermining the "enemy faction" (The Yorks). She also understood that because of his claim, despite being slightly distant, was strong enough for him to be a danger to the York faction hence she knew he had to get one the throne in order to be safe versus just renouncing his claim (like Aegon). She never stopped advising him or advocating for him. While Alicent Hightower isn't exactly like Margaret Beaufort, they exhibit many similarities.
Alicent loved her boys and would never choose Rhaenyra over them. For example, after her life was sparred when Rhaenyra took Kingslanding and her father was executed... she found out Rhaenyra planned to go after Daeron and Aemond. Alicent begged for them to be sparred, even offering a truce where the kingdoms would be split between Aegon II and Rhaenyra. She even states to Rhaenyra after surrending that Rhaenyra may enjoy her throne for as long as it lasts, until her son Aemond sets her free. She loved her Aemond and had so much hope that he would rescue her and avenge their family. She loved Aegon so much that his murder was her straw on the camel's back and she descended into full-on madness, spending the rest of her days mourning her children and grandchildren and remembering her time with King Jaehaerys. She was so loyal to her faction that in her madness after losing all of her children, she ordered her granddaughter then Queen Jaehaera, child-wife to child-king Aegon III (Rhaenyra's son) to slit her child-husband's throat. She stayed loyal to the Greens for life.
In the show we get neither an intelligent, scheming, manipulative, deeply ambitious, loyal, or mothering Alicent. In fact we get an exact opposite: bystander, unintelligent, unambitious, flaky, betrayer, and neglectful. Alicent didn't scheme herself to become Queen, rather that whole plot was taken away from her and placed fully onto Otto who is now nothing but a pimp when he is like any other self-serving ambitious lord who desires glory and power to his name and that of his house. Who does what any other lord of Westeros would do if a King is widowed with no male heir. I mean even Corlys did it with Laena! We hardly see Alicent begin her true influence on the court in Westeros while young in season 1 and older. When we do see her scheme, its through her degrading herself through medieval foot fetishes when she would never do that. Why couldn't Alicent scheme and manipulate using her words, threats, and her title like Rhaenyra should be doing in the books? Why must the few times we see her scheme include sexual humiliation. We don't see the Queenship of Alicent who wasn't just "baby-maker 2.0" but someone who had significant power and influence at court. The only time I feel I got a true hint of the power of book Alicent was when she wore Green the first time. But then they abandon her resolve and make her a Rhaenyra simp.
Alicent's desire for power and for her children safety is also downgraded. She only makes Aegon king because of a stupid prophecy, taking away more of her agency and intelligence. She schemes alongside her father and the Green council to put Aegon on the throne, not just mishears her dying husband and then goes along with it. She wasn't shut out by the men in her house and council, she was heard and respected. They took away so much of that I think to put out a message that Alicent is oppressed by the patriarchy. Was she in the book? Absolutely every woman in Westeros is to varying degrees, but that doesn't mean Alicent had no power! Alicent was motivated out of a desire for power and need to keep her children safe which she felt wouldn't have happened if Rhaenyra was Queen. Was she wrong for thinking that? Maybe, maybe not, but I feel like that was taken away.
I also dislike how they spit on her motherhood. Alicent by our standards was not mom of the year in F&B. However, we see that regardless of her wrongs and the fact that yes she loves her kids because of the power they grant her, that no matter what she would never choos Rhaenyra over them and loved them regardless of how they disappoint or anger her. That's what I loved about parenthood in Martin's work. We see how parenthood offers layers into the characters and gives them depth. Characters who are naturally seen as more villainous and/or violent or ambitious are given softer sides and layers through their fatherhood or motherhood. We should have seen some of that with Daemon and with Alicent. We saw it with Cersei Lannister. Cersei was not mother of the year in terms of her parenting and child rearing skills, but she loved her children more than life itself and makes it not secret. No matter how much they may anger or disappoint her she'd never betray them. That's what I wanted for Alicent. A manipuative, at times immoral, ambitious, and intelligent woman whose softer side is shown through her motherhood and devotion to her children. It gives her layers. Just as if they showed Daemon taking pride in his sons or spending more time with his daughters, we would have gotten more layers.
Instead, Alicent neglect and is emotionally distant towards all of her children to the point they have serious mommy issues. The Green children already had a complicated relationship with their father. Viserys wasn't as neglectful in the book to his green children as the show, but there was an intense favoritism of Rhaenyra that affected his kids. However, they all at least had their mother who would put them first. Alicent was cold and distant and downright hateful towards her sons at times and distant from her daughter and grandchildren. Her kids then hardly like her in return. Alicent even betrays all of them by going to Rhaenyra and essentially offering up their lives. Offering the life of her son Aegon isn't enough and anyone would know it. Rebellion at this point and war and Green forces would then go to Aemond who will now also have to die, then Daeron the son she gushed over with Gwayne. So she then offers up her house, father, and three sons to Rhaenyra's faction's mercy which wouldn't end well for them as this is war at that point and it would stupid of Rhaenyra to spare any of them even if they swear fealty. She saves Helaena and Jaehaera? No! They are still of the green faction. If Helaena remarried and/or Jaehaera married and had sons, all it takes is either those sons or their families to be ambitious enough... more war! Alicent as well had a great relationship with her grandchildren. She loved to spend time with them. In fact, the night Viserys died he played with Jaehaera, Jaehaerys, and Maelor. Alicent was ambushed and victimized by B&C first because they knew that Helaena brought her children to visit her in the evening. Plus she was living in the less guarded Tower of the Hand. Alicent was bound and gagged, pleading for mercy for her grandbabies, not having an affair! In fact, Aegon even gave Maelor to Alicent to raise correctly because Helaena was falling in madness.
Most of all, I dislike the Criston affair. It went very off-book to give Alicent a lover. However, with what they changed in her relationship with Viserys, I didn't fully hate this change, just the way they executed it was wrong. I could buy Alicent and Criston having intense, deep, feelings for one another. However, I felt having a physical affair versus just an emotional one was very off-character. After Criston's incident with Rhaenyra and Alicent's trauma regarding marital rape on Viserys's end (hated that they made Viserys rape her maritally when the two had a much better and loving relationship in the book), it makes more sense for them to be rather traumatized or awkward regarding sex. I feel like an emotional affair where there is a lot of sexual tension and desire for more but because of social circumstances, they can't have more. Maybe romantic and heavy kissing scenes only to stop out of guilt and shame. They make her so hypocritical by giving her a physical affair. I feel book and show Alicent is pious for sex outside of marriage due to her upbringing and love for the Faith (she's not a religious fanatic, just someone who finds comfort and control in religion). They could have also used such scenes to showcase even more conflict between the factions. Alicent and Criston could be resentful of the fact Rhaenyra was able to be with whomever she wanted while Alicent cannot. Alicent whom is Dowager Queen is far too above Criston whom is also a Kingsguard and bound to celibacy. Plus, they always make her sex scenes be as unromantic and poorly timed as possible. Yes, Rhaenyra and Daemon having sex on a beach the night of the latter's wife's funeral is poor timing but because of the actor chemistry, romantic music, and tender movements and choreography it feels very romantic and loving. We don't get any of that. Alicent and Criston's feelings (which may not be love, but most certainly are hinted in season 1 to be a deep trust, understanding, and affection) are cheapened and made to be almost like two people scratching an itch versus two people who have genuine trust and affection for one another. They never show any tender aftermath with their love scenes, no soft hugs or cuddles or caresses. They never use any romantic settings or music (unlike for Criston and Rhaenyra's scene which was nothing more but a one-night-stand) and they showed it right after B&C of all things!
Almost all of these changes assassinated Alicent's character, made her less compelling, more unlikable, and untrue to her book self. They tried to create an Alicent whose story was victimized by sexist maesters and only created a character who is neither likable nor true to the narratives Martin creates.
*3. Women Must Stick Together? Fight the Patriarchy in Westeros?*
I've been asking myself... **why did Condal and the HOTD writers choose to go completely off book and have the two other main women, Helaena and Alicent, choose to abandon the Greens in favor of Rhaenyra and her faction?** I mean this is a change that is 100% off book and in major disservice to the original narrative. By surrendering to Rhaenyra, Alicent is essentially offering up the lives of her father, lover, house, supporters, and all three of her sons to the mercy of the Black faction which isn't exactly a merciful faction. I would be just as appalled if Rhaenyra or Daemon surrendered themselves, their children, and supporters to the Greens at this point in the story.
Then, the story became clearer when I watched Condal reviewing the scene with Alicent and Rhaenyra where he says it just all comes down to these women. That's when it became clear to me! Condal wanted to show a story of two medieval women and medieval system: one who seemingly opposes the evil patriarchy, and one who submits to it. He wanted a story centered on two women who were friends but were torn apart by evil men and the patriarchy who have to come together in the end. He wanted a story that sort of relates more so to 21st century feminism. He wanted a story where the women have to get together at the end which is Helaena, Jaehaera, and Alicent, the remaining main women not aligned with the Blacks defect to Rhaenyra's side. It's not bad to want such a story! If written well, that kind of story can be good. However, the issue is he doesn't choose to write his own story in his own fantasy world. No! The HOTD team picks F&B which is not that kind of story to write a poorly written fanfiction. It's a disservice to any fans of GOT, ASOIAF, F&B, or anyone who just wants faithful adaption or a good show. It doesn't fit with the narratives and themes of Martin's work. It doesn't fit with the original story.
The original story of the Dance was the story in which a dynastic civil war between two factions of the same royal family fueled by revenge, anger, resentment, fear of the opposing side, and ultimately a desire for power and control of Westeros tore themselves apart resulting in the destruction of the main source of their power that they never fully recover from that is step one towards them being overthrown. It is the story of the death of the last of Valyria's magic: the dragons. It is a story about how the central theme that connects every character in Martin's Westeros: ambition and desire for power, changes and destroys people when they pursue it. It is a story where two morally ambiguous factions backing two morally ambiguous claimants dividing the realm; believing their own side to be right when both sides are both right and wrong. It is a story that should center Rhaenyra AND Aegon with all their supporters, everyone getting equal screen time and perspective with a special focus on Rhaenyra and Aegon. It is a story about a realistic medieval conflict in an unrealistic world. It's a story about how the violent petty conflicts within a too-powerful royal dynasty in sole control of their world's equivalent to nuclear bombs ultimately effects and harms the nobles and smallfolk caught in between.
This is the story we should have had and this is the story that Martin sought to create that fans were expecting. The kind of story Condal wanted to create with his team is not congruent with the centrality of Martin's themes. Could feminism been included? Perhaps! I mean this is a medieval setting that 100% oppresses women and everyone who watched GOT or read ASOIAF knows it. Sexism and misogny certainly relates to the story, but it should not be the central focus. This kind of theme and focus was not executed and implemented properly, resulting in very negative changes.
It is also must be noted that the writers should have analyzed and understood the characters primarily through a medieval lens of Westeros versus just analyzing via modern 21st century pro feminism lens. It's fine to analyze Westeros using modern beliefs and terms, as long as, you couple it with a whole lot of understanding and analysis from their persepctive, otherwise you won't get the full picture. Like nearly every medieval woman of power in Medieval England, Rhaenyra and Alicent are not feminists by our standards and are not advocating for women's rights. In part 2 where I focus on Rhaenyra's whitewashing, I will talk about how she in many ways like Alicent gains power from, submits to, and operates within the patriarchal system like most medieval women.
*4. Too Much Focus on the "Friendship of These Women"*
I think the aging down of Alicent (she and Viserys actually had an 11 year gap versus decades) was intially a decent idea. However, the issue that character assassinated Alicent is that they executed it poorly. In the book, Rhaenyra is still a child when Viserys marries Alicent. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, her and Viserys had a very warm marriage. Arguably, I would say he loved her more than Aemma, but he did care for Aemma and felt guilty for her death. Alicent being aged down was to establish the complicated, deep, and almost secretly romantic friendship with Rhaenyra versus Laena Velaryon.
I didn't intially hate this change, but like I said, it's the execution of this change that made it bad. I wouldn't have minded Alicent reluctantly going to seduce Viserys after Aemma died, after all it was on her father Otto's orders, not did I mind Rhaenyra having a problem with this marriage. Ultimately, Alicent and Rhaenyra each had a competition and they wanted to be the chief first lady of the Realm in the book. They each respectively wanted to be the most powerful woman in Westeros and most important to Viserys as he is where their power stemmed from. I think we should have seen the days leading up to as well as the wedding itself. What the writers should have done to portray a more book-accurate Alicent and real conflict between the women isn't just make Rhaenyra resentful but still loving deep down to Alicent.
They could have had Alicent transition to her more book self; an ambitious, intelligent, scheming woman despite being aged down. Instead of having Viserys just choose her out of grief for Aemma, have him choose her out of genuine affection and perhaps even lust/love as I interpreted in the F&B. They could have kept Alicent unwillingly seducing Viserys and reluctantly marrying him, beginning the tension on Rhaenyra's end. However, after their wedding and after she gives birth to her son Aegon, they begin to slowly transition her to her book self especially after its clear that Rhaenyra is remaining heir. They could have created true and book-accurate conflict if they made their Alicent begin to enjoy Queenhood a little too much (as power changes and corrupts people) and beginning to have more and more influence over Viserys (as her relationship with Viserys in the book wasn't nearly as creepy or neglectful. In fact I think book Viserys may have loved Alicent more than Aemma, but still wanted Aemma's blood on the throne out of guilt). He chose Alicent regardless of better political choices or the protest of his council. They could have had Alicent and Rhaenyra beginning to compete for the attention of and influence on Viserys, Alicent subtly advocating for her newborn son to be named heir, Alicent enjoying her Queenhood and the power that comes from it, and leading to the real souring of her and Rhaenyra's relationship: both competing to be the most powerful woman in Westeros. The Crown Princess vs. the Queen. This way they still started off with the friendship, but Alicent's budding relationship with Viserys and birth of her children giving her more power as Queen making her relationship with Rhaenyra sour. Essentially, as Alicent continues to rise in power and bask in Viserys's attention/affection and enjoy her newfound role/power as Queen, real conflict and competition between her and Rhaenyra would show.
We'd have the competition, tension, and anger that gradually built up to help foster the eventual war either way as well as a chance to show the real political intrigue characteristic of GOT. However, for the sake of friendship and the false narrative Condal wanted to create, we don't get what I suggested that would have been the proper way to execute Alicent's aging down and friendship with Rhaenyra. Alicent can't truly and fully enjoy her Queenhood, take advantage of her power fully to its extent, or have relationship with Viserys. She can't be ambitious or compete with Rhaenyra. She has to have this complicated friendship, advocate for Rhaenyra while she was still young, be thankful of Rhaenyra's "compliments" at the dinner and even continue advocate after her children's birth to her father that Rhaenyra is the heir and only want Aegon to be heir out of just fear and her father's manipulation, rather than desiring power and believing Aegon to be the rightful heir. They have to have her say 'Rhaenyra will be a great Queen' and stuff like that.
Of course, Book Alicent advised with Queen Helaena for Aegon to send generous peace terms to Rhaenyra, but it wasn't out of love for her stepdaughter or "friend" in this show.. but because she didn't want her to son be labeled a kinslayer just yet as that would forever damage his image and he would be seen as cursed.We get scenes after scenes of their weird friendship dynamic all the way up till Alicent going Black. Scenes that ultimately distract and take away from the narrative. In fact, we should see more anger and resentment between these women that is taken away in favor of this friendship. For example, peace may have occurred between the warring factions early on when Aegon sent those peace terms. However, once Aemond murders Lucerys and then Daemon sends B&C who murder Jaehaerys in retaliation, any hesitation towards war and any lingering affection the factions and two women must have harbored for one another should be gone! Luke and Jaehaerys's murders highlighting two innocent lives lost on either side were the breaking point that put the Greens and Blacks at full on war. They were points of no return. However, not only do we see Rhaenyra never be outwardly angry and resentful of Alicent when they finally do reunite, but Alicent defects to the side who murdered her grandson. We see Rhaenyra grieve her loss, but we don't ever see it again after that one episode nor her anger and resentment and vengefulness that should come afterwards. We don't see Alicent grieve her grandson who was supposed to be murdered in front of her. Instead, the women are still complicated friends who don't even seem that angry at each other.
**My Takeaway? The Writers are Biased and Fail to Understand the Medieval Context of Westeros and Martin's Female Characters**
I love that Martin tries to write his women the way he writes his men. He has explicitly stated that he writes his women the way he writes his men. He states that women are people too. They can be driven by the same things men are in Westeros and/or the real world: love, anger, hatred, a desire for power, vengeance, grief, guilt, bringing glory to their name and themselves, a desire to protect their family, etc.
I felt we should have seen more of the kind of women that Martin writes. The kind of women that fit with his medieval-fantasy narrative that showcases how pursuing power at all costs leads to nothing but ruin. We should have seen layered women. We should have seen a more book-accurate Alicent. We shouldn't have to settle for a lackluster story where Alicent nowhere close to her book counterpart.
**And most of all, the HOTD team shouldn't subtly or outwardly bash the original source material as nothing but sexist propaganda to excuse the lackluster writing of the female characters being nothing like their book counterparts or subtly or outwardly write off critics and fans like myself as toxic for pointing it out.**
**Stay tuned for my part 2 of this post where I examine writing flaws and white washing of Rhaenyra Targaryen!** "
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germiyahu · 2 months ago
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A lot of terminally online Leftists were never liberals and will never be, so do not engage with them as if there's a secret liberal core inside of them that you can reach if you just try hard enough, are smart enough, are patient enough, are understanding enough.
You need to treat them the same way you treat far right lunatics. They're not interested in debate (they're not good at it either because they don't fundamentally want to live in objective reality).
I'd bet a lot of money that a majority of tankies grew up conservative, and merely repolarized their radical worldviews instead of dismantling them. They were never liberal! They don't care about liberal norms, values, or institutions. They don't believe in universal rights or fairness. They don't believe that everyone should get a say. They don't believe that democracy is actually necessary and certainly not a force for good in humanity. They do not under any circumstance believe in due process. If you try to invoke any of these and other libcoded stuff, it's like water off of a duck.
They believe in might makes right. They believe that morality is wholly prescriptive and conveniently always aligned with whatever they want to do. They believe that humans are fundamentally disposable, and increasing human suffering is a valid strategy to "liberation" and worth the cost. They do not respect any ideas or even cultures they do not understand. They have simply rewired their bigoted brains to shift the West, white people, COLONIZERS, etc. to the "bad" pile, and no more nuance is needed. They themselves fly from privilege using whatever labels work best for them, but they do not believe in community or coalition building. It is still us vs. them, and even more basically me vs. you, to them.
(So if you see someone who identifies as a certain minority, and they spend most of their time disparaging other people of that or a similar group... constantly theorycrafting about omnicauses and kyriarchies that just so happen to put themselves at the bottom or at least exempt them from white/male/etc. privilege in some way... they're probably a tankie).
There are terminally online Leftists who have identified as liberal in the past, and they can be reached. We're seeing that as we come closer to a year of this insanity and many individuals and groups have disavowed the Movement, especially in the wake of the Election and how Uncommitted and its allies have been acting.
That's why I believe that most of these people demonstrably hate Democrats more than Republicans. And if you go further with the lobotomy I might even say that they inherently view Republican voters as real Americans, normal, not threatening, but Democrats are a cabal of coastal elites who condescendingly want to put Band-Aids on a broken system. I see how that's more obnoxious and would fill one with rage that there's no good outlet for. But they are colluding with conservatives, and there's no doubt about it.
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yannaryartside · 2 months ago
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Tragicomedy
Okay I am gonna add my opinion that nobody asked for to the “is a comedy?” Debate. Is not like I know what reason they used to classify it in awards (and there is some part of me that thought they did that because the Bear is considerably modest in budget in comparison to the most resent winners in the drama category and they wanted a fighting chance).
But there is an outlet for them to be in this category…
The tone
Now, I studied film, there are plenty of definitions for what a comedy is…some of them have to do with duration/format/overall mood. If you go on a count of quantity of jokes or mood the Bear is definitely not that.
For some people, the defining aspect of a comedy is that there is a element of “fantasy” to it, in the sense that nothing that you do will have a logic, real world consequence, like those movies where you can throw a guy from a roof for comedic effect and not suffer real consequences like criminal charges or mortal injuries. The Bear is not like that.
But there is also something called a tragicomedy, a genre that is normally used in theater. Is a gender that explores the absurdity inside tragedy and humor and hope in the face of adversity. Some of this pieces will ridicule suffering and others will have a happy bittersweet ending. At some levels you could say the Bear is like that.
I would have put it in the category of drama because I am more of a “mood overall makes the essence of the story” kind of person. If drama and consequence are more powerful in the mood that the humor (such as s3) you should be a drama. You could say the bear is a drama and a tragicomedy, there is no mutual exclusion in writing.
If you think of “themes” and using the “absurdity/irony of suffering” (how we are our own worst enemy) it technically is comedy and can be judged in that aspect because is not “just a drama”
(and they decided to be judge as a comedy to have a chance imo).
Shameless was also a tragicomedy that made the spectator think they were watching a “suffering porn” kind of show where the struggle and absurdity of situations was the norm. There is precedent, so…
The performances
A little bit of a tangent, this is me and my opinion. Opinions are like asses, to each their own…but I understand why is unfair to some to judge a comedy actor vs a drama actor.
Saying that drama actors have more chances to make “remarkable performances” than comedy actors…I get it. We see this at the Oscar’s every time where they reward the actors that are portraying mentally ill people and historic tragic figures. The darker the character the more “difficult” the performance…to some people. IMO a person that is always happy could be as easy to perform as a person that is always sad. Acting is intellectual, physical and even spiritual. Acting is about bringing to life what is on the page and tone should not had anything to do with it. There is acting that is effective because is subtle and some over the top. And you can find that in any genre.
There are performances in comedy that are very impressive and difficult, not to mention that not everyone can act comedy. Comedies that treat with very deep/philosophical/social issues. Judging an overall performance because of how much time they are portraying “difficult emotions” is…idk, but that seems to be the norm.
I understand that is frustrating to see your fav comedy actor be judged next to someone that had to act drama and comedy and feel like is unfair. You want the actor to be rewarded as a comedy actor and their capacity to make you laught and cry (inside the expected format of a comedy) not a drama actor that sometimes makes jokes in a show with a lot of dark themes. You could also say the format expected from a comedy doesn’t allow for elasticity in character arcs and therefore performances. That is very true in some cases. The comedy that most people are used to has characters that have to remain a certain way for the plot to make sense.
I will also argue the reason the acting in the bear is so acclaimed is because there is a lot of nuance under it. You can see a million hidden details in fishes, I had to watch it 3 times to notice the exact moment where the drugs hit Michael. Jon was portraying a character that was also pretending to be something else. Is very impressive. They have a fighting chance against the other dramas imo but the comedy category was more convenient for the format of the show.
So yeah, is kinda unfair, but is not like they are “cheating” because the element of tragicomedy is the gender/theme that shapes the story.
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brazenautomaton · 5 months ago
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Please don't take this as an offense... Looking over the posts you've made about how "Popularity" is the Central Unifying Concept ruling every aspect of life, I can't help but feel like it's just as compromised as other worldviews that blame the world's problems on a singular concept like Race, Economics, Patriarchy, Hierarchy, etc.
Am I mistaken in this assessment? How is this any more valid than others? If not, have you ever reexamined the premises to see if you might need to change your views?
I think that those world systems are trying to substitute something else for popularity and fit everything into that hole, when "popularity theory" is upstream of all of them? social power struggles consume every group of people, psychopaths are very good at social power games, social power games result in social status, people use "social status" as a Goodhart's Law-ed proxy for every relevant aspect about a human being unless their balls are right next to the bandsaw and survival is more important than affirming a flattering story about themselves.
there's no structure to this, no intentionality, it's an emergent property of how human beings think. revealed preferences are that people want to reward high-status / popular people and want to punish low-status / unpopular people. they find it difficult to believe or remember negative things about the popular, and similarly can't believe or remember positive things about the unpopular. they want to be seen aligning with the popular and punishing the unpopular. popularity can be correlated with different things in different situations, but those things it correlates with are not the One Solution.
popularity is expressed by bullying. bullies are rewarded for being popular, because bullying is something you can only do if you are popular; this is why people want to fight bullies, cannot form the intent to actually oppose a popular person, and go after unpopular nerds instead. the popular try to punish everyone around them; the unpopular suffer more from this, identifying them for more punishment. people reward this not because of some ideology or sinister machination but because that's how ape cruelty games work.
popularity can certainly correlate to other things, and people try to make those other things into the be-all-end-all explanation. if you're in the South in the 1960s, and you're black, and you're surrounded by white people, no, you're not going to be popular. you're going to be unpopular and people will hate you, seek to harm you, seek to believe bad things about you, and reward others for bullying you. but it isn't "whiteness" that's doing that, it's popularity -- go look at the segregated black high school and everyone behaves the same way toward whoever is on the bottom of their pecking order.
a man or woman who is not fitting into their assigned gender role is going to be unpopular, and gender-conforming people are going to crush them. that's not because men crush women or women crush men it's because the popular crush the unpopular and gender conformity is a lens to use to find the popular. the people who hate "the patriarchy" and "gender conformity" behave exactly the same way towards people for violating a different set of gender norms that they made up, because the problem wasn't that these gender roles are uniquely corrupting, the problem is popularity needs to find a way to punish the unpopular and this was something it used.
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woman-respecter · 1 month ago
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hi, i'm the soviet jewry anon
there's so much to kvetch about, i dont know where to begin
i was gonna traumadump but im gonna rant about jewish history instead
well ever since i noticed activism becoming an internet trend i knew we were doomed cuz a part of soviet antisemitism is an intellectualisation of jew hatred (that's why stalin would publicly condemn antisemitism and then be antisemitic in a manner he could treat as just "anti nationalism not antisemitism"). first of all jewishness/antisemitism is already so complex which means it's really easy for people (jews and non-jews) to misunderstand it and harm us. so when i saw people quickly latching on to binaries such as the oppressed/oppressor and good/bad and removing all nuance, i knew things were gonna go downhill. yes all forms of hatred are very complex but in my opinion even the most basic forms of antisemitism like "jews control the world!" aren't properly grasped by gentiles which strengthens antisemitism since they're so ignorant about us lol. this is particularly dangerous because most people have never met a jew or know much about us and we are only like .2% of the world. what's worse is that they view us through a culturally christian lens as well instead of seeing us for who we really are.
the phrase antisemitism makes you stupid is too real. it feels like a stupidity epidemic has really made itself clear with the rise of antisemitism which opens the door to other hatreds too.
back to soviet antisemitism, i cant really discuss it properly because yk tumblr antisemites are everywhere and i dont want you to get harassed by them but here's some things i wanna bring attention to
taken from this incredible book "The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881" by Israel Bartal, "The imperial project to enlighten and reeducate the Jews in the spirit of the autocratic Russian state was to be implemented through the establishment of a system of Jewish schools, with instruction in Russian. The actions of the authorities in the days of the affair of ‘‘government- sponsored enlightenment’’ were similar to those taken by colonial regimes that sought to disseminate European culture among the natives in their overseas colonies." of course this didn't work lmao but it was one of their many many many efforts. people don't realise the scorching similarities between native americans and jewish people and it is so frustrating. people don't understand the extent of both of our suffering.
2. In the early 1960s the image of the Jew in the Soviet Union was that of an evil capitalist carrying out illegal capitalist deals which resulted in a high number of death sentences and executions of Jews which was not really out of the norm since death sentences and executions were already "normal" punishments for Jews, it was just a new excuse :/
3. a book i read a long time ago about soviet jewry said: a) jews are more safe in the democractic centre than everywhere else and b) jews in the soviet union were not allowed to assimilate or live a jewish life, nor were they allowed to immigrate even though the soviet union didn't want them there which i found very interesting. i cannot remember the name or author but i will look and let you know later if i find it.
4. the newspapers in the soviet union in their antisemitic propaganda would list the full names of jews along with their home and work addresses, job positions, etc. these newspapers would also illustrate the jew as disrespectful and harmful to "even their own jewish people and synagogues" to show how bad we are lmao.
5. theres so many jewish political movements partly because when everyone is so dedicated to wiping out jewish culture, these political movements form a jewish culture as an attempt to make up for the absence. this may seem simple but it seems like people really don't understand our desperation for survival. moreover soviet union "atheism" mostly attacked jews and really shows how atheism/secularism can be damaging to us as well.
LASTLY. some book recs :)
the jews in poland and russia by antony polonsky, a writer at war by vasily grossman and anything by joseph roth.
sorry for this long rant but im tireddd
hi anon, thank you so much for this information! there really is nothing new under the sun when it comes to antisemitism huh. usually i’m a weenie when it comes to publically answering asks about jewish topics but i think this is too important and interesting to just leave in my ask box so i’m gonna post this one. hopefully some of my followers will take interest in it
and thanks for the book recs!
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aldeanotes · 1 year ago
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the art of cooking
aemond / modern!reader, 16+, fluff / comedy / mild angst in later plot points. inspiration taken from kdrama mr. queen. reader is very bi and loves girls so much.  
summary: in which you are a famous young chef whose soul was transported into the body of some way too pretty and privileged noble woman. oh, and you’re supposed to marry a prince or whatever. anyway, can you test this to see if it's ready ? 
warnings: reader is batshit wild and doesn't have time for westerosi norms : ). characters will be ooc at times and this story is not entirely canon compliant.
author's notes: sorry for the very long delay !!! i've had so much going on !!!
tag list: @azaleapotterblack, @aurorathi
chapter two: / 5.2k words
Sitting before Otto and Alicent Hightower, you realize, quite bluntly, you don’t want to be here. They’re going to think you’re out of your mind if you speak the truth of the situation – you fell in some water and then woke up here in this place – but it’s the truth nonetheless. Given their hardened expressions (that Otto gives you and Alicent has the mercy to give it to the floor instead of you), you have a feeling they already don’t like the situation as they perceive it.
Which is that the younger prince’s betrothed (you make a face whenever they refer to this relation) has suffered a memory loss and the greatest doctors of this age can’t seem to fix it through traditional means.
Alicent takes in a deep breath, finally breaking her intense eye contact with the floor and running her hands briefly across her face in slight distress. Though, you have a feeling she’s a little bit of a mess inside. You shift uncomfortably in the seat at the Small Council. Jaquetta’s comforting presence is behind you. Unfortunately, the other presence in the room causes you to pretend to be deeply interested in the space between Alicent’s eyebrows.
Prince Aemond sits across from you, next to Otto. If he’s looking at you, you don’t know. You don’t care. He’s not YOUR betrothed, after all, and you have no joy in getting married to anybody. In your real life in your real body, you never had a good example to follow for a healthy relationship, and this girl’s body and that guy sitting across from you do not contain brains that are smart enough to realize that marriage in your teens is a usually bad idea.
Apparently none of the brains of the others in the room are smart either.
“Your uncle and sister are on their way. I have already written to them informing them of the situation,” Alicent breaks the tense silence, looking right at you.
Your eyes meet hers, and you can see a certain kind of tiredness in them. You feel inclined to just nod, so you do. You hope these people will be normal, at least.
“Regarding the marriage–” Otto’s voice pierces straight to the point. He has this way of speaking that makes you feel like he teeters around certain topics like a fighter circling his opponent. “It would be best if we–”
You raise your hand suddenly. Your eyes stare right at the table’s surface. You don’t want to know what everyone else looks like at your actions. You open your mouth and let out a dumb sound – “Um.” There’s a small pause. “Question.” You smack your lips as you gather up all your courage to make your inquiry. “Can we just, you know, not have it?”
Jaquetta grips your shoulder tightly and you know you’ve messed up.
“That is not an option,” Alicent says.
Her tone is sharp enough to cause you to flinch and hesitantly look up at her. Your eyes meet her brown ones. You feel a weight on you. You’ve come to realize in the brief moments you’ve looked at her that Alicent comes through in the eyes. Even as they capture you in their vision, you can’t look away.
It all feels much like how things used to be with your mother.
Alicent must sense the way you retreat into yourself because she swallows before continuing on in a gentler voice.
“It is for the good of the realm.”
But you don’t care about that. Jacquetta has tried telling you of things here and there, but, for the love of the creator, you have no investment in the happenings of this world the same way these people do. You’re a foreign entity trapped here, treated with a different level of scrutiny and pushed down by traditions that have been relatively abandoned in your own world. It feels unfair. You want to scream at these people.
“But I’m not well,” you say. It’s the only real protest you have.
Alicent purses her lips and glances down at her intertwined hands on the table. Her father beats her to it.
“To speak plainly of it,” he starts, and you already can tell from his tone that you’d been doomed to this fate before you even knew it. “This marriage contract has already been approved by the royal household and your house. The wedding is to be held in three months’ time –”
You put your face in your hands.
(“Oh, my fucking god,” you whisper into your flesh. Otto ignores you.)
“Given the time frame, we will not be able to cancel the wedding nor is it in the interest of the realm to do so.”
A wave of nausea hits you, and you distinctly feel like throwing up.
“Your uncle and sister have been informed of the situation and will be arriving within the month,” Otto says. He speaks like everything is final, and as you feel the walls close in around you, you realize it is. “We will have to make use of these three months to be sure you are presentable in time for the wedding.”
Something like dread settles in your stomach. Forget the uncle and sister. Your more immediate worry is about how they plan on making you ‘presentable’ at a wedding you don’t want to a person you don’t know.
Your voice is small when you speak again. “And you’re going to do that – how ?”
“We will arrange some tutors and a septa to be at your side at all times,” Alicent chimes in.
‘At all times’ – you get the impression it’s more to keep an eye on you rather than for your benefit. After not giving yourself nearly enough time to process everything, you lift your head up and glance between Otto and Alicent. You ignore the way Aemond has taken to tapping his finger on the table top.
“So that’s it?” You ask. They say nothing. “Just like that?”
Still nothing.
You look at your last lifeline. Aemond has stopped tapping on the table and is looking back at you when you finally forget the uncomfortable tension between the two of you. You must look pathetic because his lone eye flickers over your face as if he’s taking you in. Even in this situation, he makes your spine go a little cold. It takes some strength not to flinch back from him.
“You–” You take a breath to collect yourself. “You don't really want this either. Right?” You might as well be pleading to him right now with the way your eyes look at him and the way you wave your arm around. “There’s no way you actually agree. I mean – I’m not me anymore.”
He just regards you in brief silence.
“You don’t want to do this!” Your voice raises a bit and Jaquetta stiffens next to you.
“I will perform my duty to the realm,” Aemond answers, keeping your gaze.
You’re floored, a breathy chuckle leaving you at his words. The corners of your mouth twitch up as if he’d told a joke. It was a sick one, if you’d ever heard one. Your arm that you’d been waving around flops helplessly onto your lap as you watch him turn to his mother and grandfather.
“I will wed my betrothed as agreed upon.”
You don’t know if it’s commendable or downright idiotic of him to marry someone who clearly he knows is not normal. Your lips part to make another protest but all that comes out is air. Everyone in this room with any semblance of power greater than your own has shut you down. Your worries are cast aside. They’re like whispers in the wind to these people.
Otto says something before getting up and walking away. You retreat back into your mind as you always do when you’re frightened, when things are beyond your control like this. The screech of chairs don’t awaken you from your state. Your eyes bore into the polished table, and you think you might almost cry but your eyes flutter shut to stop them. How can you even stop this?
Jaquetta kneels down beside you and takes your hand. You feel a little less alone.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The septa, which you realize is something like a nun, assigned to you is boring and overbearing. Septa Lettice is stern, rule-abiding and watches your every move. Even Jaquetta has difficulty adjusting to this new presence in your life, her bright smile appearing a little tight against the septa’s neutral expression. You can’t even so much as go for a stroll without her lingering right on top of you. Her teachings are even worse.
While you’ve been spared from being inflicted any physical punishments, when you raise protests against whatever bullshit she tries shoving down your throat, she’s quick to dole out more readings or lessons to occupy any free time you were waiting for. Though you at least admit that not all these long sermons on the Faith of the Seven are for naught. You find that this world is just as brutal and unfair as the damn Dark Ages in your own world. A discovery which makes you look forward to your time here. Of course.
You whisper your practiced prayers monotonously so she’ll get off your back.
When it’s not with Septa Lettice, Alicent and Otto have been kind enough to assign you other trusted governesses to teach you etiquette, speech and some admittedly more useful knowledge like history and basic finances. The governess presiding over your history and financial lessons finds you more agreeable than Septa Lettice and the other governesses that try to wrangle in your resistant behavior. The first week you attempted to just not show up for the first couple of lessons, and the following week you found that several palace servants had come early in the morning to escort you to your daily lessons. You try for another escape through the window and it takes both Septa Lettice and Jaquetta their entire strength to pull you back inside. Alicent gives you a thorough verbal reprimand that evening, and it’s enough to get you to curb your behavior somewhat.
Jaquetta proves herself to be your greatest asset, though.
“This is your house, my lady,” she says, unfurling a piece of soft, muted purple fabric with your house’s sigil on it.
You flinch a little at the sight of a shrike perched upon a branch with one of its meals skewered on a thorn against the backdrop of a castle.
“Kind of gruesome,” you reply, looking down at your botched attempt at sewing a flower for your embroidery lesson. It looks like a distorted mess, like a plate of spaghetti that’s been dropped on the ground.
Jaquetta smiles widely. “The shrike with its prey has been your house’s sigil since its founding. Your ancestors used the bird’s way of killing its victims to build Shrikesdrop to defend against enemies.”
Shrikesdrop – the ancestral seat of House Durant. It’s perched miles high above the water’s surface, impossible to invade by a beach landing and nearly impenetrable by any army thanks to the steep incline of the roads that lead up to it. According to Jaquetta and a couple notes you found in a book here and there, Shrikesdrop has spikes that resemble thorn covered branches that can impale thousands of men who are unfortunate enough to fall off the inclines. Your house has perfected many tricks to get people to fall off of it, and death by impalement is apparently the go-to execution method of your house. You suddenly didn’t want to meet your uncle and sister after hearing that.
“‘As Sharp as Thorns’,” you mumble your house words. It’s dumb, but you guess it’s the best your ancestors could do.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You don’t mean to stumble across Aemond again. It just happens. Like so much in your two lives.
While you don’t exactly allow yourself to get extinguished fully, you at least understand that your ability to get some manner of freedom rests on some compromise on your part. And, well, you’re pretty smart. Smart enough to remember your lessons, to execute the right angle when you greet your governesses, to hold your head high like you’ve always had blue blood in your veins. That was all you had to pay in exchange for some free time.
It’s the sound of steel clashing that causes you to hurry to the platform overlooking the training grounds, eager for some action to rid you of your boredom.
Your opinion of your betrothed is tainted, of course, because of your judgments. It’s also a little difficult to find yourself liking someone you’re forcefully bound to at this point. However, you can’t deny it. The silver locks that fly about like feathers belonging to a bird of prey are what catch your eye first. You can spot them as he dances about the ground, the dirt crunching underneath his boots.
You can’t see his lone eye, but you feel that if you were close enough they’d have that unsettling intensity you’d seen before – honed in on something. His body is both strong yet nimble as he readies himself. His hand grasps the sword as if it were part of his body.
He’s a fighter.
Fire and Blood – Jaquetta taught you the Targaryen words before those of your own house. The blood of the dragon.
You’d heard the screeching of the dragons sometimes, but you’d never been allowed to rush to see them. Somewhere between your acceptance of your fate and your need to cling on to what you know, you think you’d prefer not to see one. Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar, is the largest in the world, or so you’ve been told.
“Shit,” you hiss underneath your breath when you see Aemond’s opponent take such a fierce swing at him.
Your fingers grip the edge of the platform. The hard surface superficially scratches the skin of your palm. It’s a reflexive reaction, but unnecessary. Aemond blocks it gracefully and disengages cleanly. You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding.
“Fear not, my lady,” Septa Lettice says. “Ser Criston Cole will not harm the prince.”
Criston Cole, the most trusted sworn sword of Queen Alicent and member of the king’s guard. The best knight in all of the land. Apparently. The royal family sure does have access to some of the best things and people in this land.
Criston circles Aemond after engaging once again, facing towards you as you watch from the platform. Watching training interests you in ways that lessons do not. Perhaps it is the deadliness of it or perhaps it is because even you understand that observing two skilled warriors in a small battle is a luxury few can see. Dark eyes flicker up to you and you stiffen, realizing that Criston is looking right at you.
He says something you can’t make out to Aemond. As soon as you see the back of Aemond’s head begin to move, you run off, Jaquetta and Lettice chasing after you behind you.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your beloved Septa scolds you all the way back inside and only lowers her voice when you begin to pass through the busy halls of the Red Keep. Her expression of concern for your dress skirt getting dirty mirrors a stressed chicken, noisily frantic. You just sigh as she keeps on talking.
Even when you are given free will to wander about as you please, everything feels rather … boring once the splendor of the place begins to wear off. The architecture and luxury is impressive, of course, but how much gold thread and pointed stars can you bask in before you start to long for home again? The faces that greet you and pass by you don’t interest you. You’re selfish with your time. There’s no use entertaining yourself with people that won’t alleviate your anxiety or boredom.
“My lady, you should have stayed and spoken with Prince Aemond,” Jaquetta says, walking a little ways behind you.
You give a dry chuckle. “I’ve got better things to do than that. I’d rather be bored to death. Or go pray at the Sept all day.”
As if you’d want to spend more time with him than you have. Maybe if you prayed to these Gods enough they’d send you back home, but you find that gods tend not to listen to your pleas.
“Prince Aemond is a good prince,” Jaquetta continues. “He is studious, talented in fighting and dedicated to his studies. You have always enjoyed his company so well–”
Her words stop because she’s run into the back of you. You felt the hit but your eyes were trained on someone. A young lady walks across the hall and she is stunning.
“Whoa,” you breathe out as your eyes remain fixed on her. “Who’s that?”
Her silver hair falls past her shoulders, a lone braid framing the top of her head like a crown. You recognize the shade violet that stains her irises, but they look way better on her. Fuck your betrothed. Who gives a fuck about him when there’s pretty girls instaed?
Jaquetta quirks an eyebrow at you before following your eyes and responding, “That is the Princess Helaena Targaryen. You may not remember her since you lost your memories, but you two have been companions since little and– My lady, where are you going?”
Of course, you pick up your dress skirt from off the floor and make your way over to Helaena. Too high for this society’s standards but perfectly comfortable to you (which is all that matters). Jaquetta and Lettice follow after you with their cheeks flushed.
You execute the encounter as perfectly as you do in your head. Every step has a certain charismatic swagger to it as you approach the princess with a wide smile. Your shoes make soft sounds on the floor. Helaena is momentarily pulled away from her embroidery. You spy a pretty design of an insect crawling out of its pupa.
The both of you seem to just stare at each other for a couple of seconds. You beam down at her while she blinks up at you. Then, without another word, you sit down next to her. This seems to make her jump a little, and you make note of that, sliding away from her to give her some space. It doesn’t dampen your enthusiasm.
“Helaena?” You say her name.
A soft smile tugs on her lips. She says ‘your’ name back to you.
“Uh–” You aren’t quite sure. “I’ve been sick for a little bit after … everything, you know, but I’m all better now. Soooo-”
Some kind of glassy look overtakes her eyes. You feel like your heart slows for a moment. It’s suddenly as if she can see through you, into you – almost like Aemond.
“Coin in the waves; heads to tails; tails to heads.” Her voice is a whisper. “The true reflection is on the water.”
Something magical and hidden is woven in her words. Something makes you feel compelled. By what – you know not.
“…Oh.” I mean – what are you even supposed to say to that? “Okay.”
You two stand there in an awkward silence as you both flicker your eyes to the side. You hear Septa Lettice clear her throat behind you. It’s just like you to be so clumsy in front of a pretty girl like this.
“You want to –” Helaena looks up expectantly at you. “Do some … needlework together?”
She smiles, and you feel your heart leap up into your throat.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helaena’s needlework is beautiful. A lovely image of two flowers sprouting together in full bloom rests gracefully on her cloth. The sound of children babbling a bit and toys clanking against the floor draws your attention away from your messy second attempt at sewing again.
Truthfully, you don’t envy Helaena being a mother already. This body’s original owner and she are the same age. Her children, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, are old enough to at least understand when you say certain words to them. Maelor is still a little young. She must have had them young, and while you know it’s a symptom of Westerosi culture, it makes you feel ill regardless. You wonder if the original Lady Durant would have found this equally as repulsive or if she would have bowed her head in acceptance? You won’t accept it, at least.
The children say ‘your’ name as soon as they see you. It’s not who you really are, but you can’t bear to do anything other than pat their heads and play along with them. You see Helaena in them when they look up at you. They’ll definitely be pretty like their mother when they grow up.
You nearly threw up when Jaquetta had informed you that Helaena’s husband was her own elder brother, Aegon. And then you nearly did it again when she told you that it was traditional for House Targaryen to marry close family relations. Sibling marriages are common, and, quite frankly, whatever magical or bloodline related reasoning they can give is not enough to justify literally any of that.
“Sooo–” Your voice disrupts the peace that’s settled in between you and Helaena. “What’s the … gossip? What’s the – What’s the new thing? Since it’s been a bit since we’ve chatted and all that?”
She gives you a momentary look before she thinks. “You’re going to marry Aemond soon.”
You suppress a groan. “Yeah, I guess you’re … happy about that. Right?”
Helaena smiles softly and you feel your heart flutter a bit. “Marriage isn’t so bad. Aemond won’t ignore you. He’ll be nice to you.”
You frown. “He’s ignoring me right now.”
“Aemond was worried about you,” she says. Your hand stops pulling the needle through the fabric. That’s the second person to tell you he was worried.
Helaena sets aside her needlework to give you her full attention. “He just … Sometimes has trouble conveying how he thinks and feels. You’ve always been very mindful of him, though.”
Yeah, the old owner of this body but not you!
“I guess so,” you say, tossing your own needlework on the cushion next to you. “Can’t say my mind is getting any better lately.”
A noise from the children takes your attention away. They’re giving a plate of biscuits being offered by their servant rather disgusted looks.
“What’s going on?” You ask.
The servant regards you with an apologetic expression. “The prince and princess have been having some difficulty eating their snacks lately.”
“They think it doesn’t taste good,” Helaena explains. “The royal kitchen has tried just about everything to please them, but nothing seems to work.”
You’ve got an idea.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They should have known you were up to something when you were being so … compliant. Way too compliant. You excel in your lessons the following two days and spend some time praying like you’re supposed to before you spend the night scribbling furiously down on some paper. You shoo away Jaquetta whenever she inquires about what you’re doing but you unveil everything one day after your lessons. You snatch the papers and gleefully make your way to the royal kitchen, your two companions in tow.
“My lady, a maiden of noble birth like yourself should not be–” Septa Lettice tries to dissuade you as you enter the kitchen with a bit of misplaced swagger but you promptly cut her off with a yell.
“Bring me your ingredients at once!”
The entire kitchen seems to freeze in space before the attendants scramble about to gather everything you wish. They assemble fruit jam, flour, honey, and anything you ask for. If being a future princess grants you this authority, you might consider being nice to Aemond in the future when you see him.
You give a sweeping gaze over the ingredients, putting your hand on your hips. “That’ll do it.”
“My lady,” Jaquetta says, “What do you plan to do?”
“Don’t worry yourself, Jackie,” you respond, washing your hand in some water and covering your hair with a napkin. “Lettie.” Septa Lettice makes a face. “Let me work my magic.”
Despite their anxious words and the annoying way they hover about you, they soon join the growing crowd of kitchen staff that watch you, entranced by your skills. It should be expected, though. Who can beat you when it comes to cooking? Even baking these jam filled cookies for the twins is a piece of cake. If the royal cooks can’t make anything that pleases them, then you definitely can.
You inspect the heat under the baking oven located some ways away from the kitchen. Your eyes trail along the metal of the oven. It shouldn’t be too time consuming to bake the cookies as long as the heat was regulated. With that over, you crack your knuckles and get to work.
You hold your hand out towards the kitchen staff. “Small knife for designing, please.”
“My lady, that is–”
You narrow your eyes. Soon, a small knife is put in your hand and you get to cutting out insect shapes of the cookie dough you prepared. You make two of each design, putting a dollop of the fruit jam mix in the middle of one cut out dough piece and then putting the other on top of it. You make sure to draw each part of the insects with precision – butterfly wings, caterpillar body, beetle legs. Something for both the children and Helaena to enjoy.
“If these are burnt by even a little bit–” You tell the servant that manages the oven, handing over the tray of cookies. You drag your thumb across your neck. “You’re dead, okay? On the future princess’ order.”
He gulps and scurries off.
You nearly trip over your own feet that afternoon when you hurry up the long staircases and through the many hallways of the Red Keep to Queen Alicent’s room. Helaena takes the children there to visit their grandmother, and you’re determined to be there to have them enjoy the treats you’d made.
“Helaena!” You call out to her in a sing-song voice as the servants open the door for you, Jaquetta following behind you with the food and Septa Lettice right behind her (nearly out of breath).
Several eyes fall on you, but any thoughts of shame are pushed aside immediately when you see him there.
You blink. “What are you doing here?”
Aemond regards you with a quick sweep of his single eye. “I came here to see my niece and nephew.”
“…” You narrow your eyes. “Okay.”
You hear Alicent let out a quick sigh before giving you a tired look that has you shrinking a bit. “I see your lessons have given you no progress.”
You flush. Something about disappointing Alicent makes you embarrassed. “No, no. They’ve been going well. I, uh–”
After clearing your throat, you straighten up as you’d been instructed and take those light steps towards Alicent and Helaena, both of whom are sitting on the couch. You give both of them a little curtsy – light like a cloud, your teachers told you. Alicent’s mouth turns upwards, her eyes are expectant. You want to roll yours. You know what she wants.
You swallow your pride and glide across the room towards Aemond, not meeting his eyes. Stopping in front of him, you give him a quick curtsy before grabbing your plate of sweets for Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. The children look up at you as you kneel down beside them.
“Look what your future auntie made you,” you say, holding out the treats for them.
“You made that?” Helaena says, reaching out a hand and plucking a spider shaped cookie.
“Yep, yep!” You nod. “You can have some too. And Her Majesty.” You don’t even bother to look at Aemond. “And His Highness too. If he wants.”
You hear him get up from his seat, the wood creaking beneath him. His boots echo through the sounds of the children munching happily on the cookies as he comes over. You lift your eyebrows in surprise and stand up. He grabs one of the cookies, a butterfly shaped one, and takes a bite.
“…You cook, my lady?” He asks.
“Huh?” You say without a thought. Oh. Right. Maybe you didn’t think about that.
“The servants told me you were in the kitchens yourself,” Alicent adds, and you can already tell this is going to be a battle with the two of them.
You bite back any mean retort you had prepared. “I … wanted to make something for my future little niece and nephew. And as far as cooking, um … “ You shrug, tripping over your words for a moment. “My illness unlocked a new, creative side to me. Like sunshine after the storm.”
Alicent and Aemond look at you like you’ve lost your mind.
Helaena smiles widely. “That’s wonderful. I look forward to what else you will make.”
You smile back at her, showing teeth. Alicent looks ready to protest but you cut her off.
“I’ll make something for Aemond.” The words tumble out of your mouth before you can even stop yourself. You look up at him and into his eye, something burning inside you. That same kind of passion that kept you going throughout your life. “Something you’ve never had before.”
“That…” Alicent trails off.
“I look forward to it,” Aemond says.
You don’t know why, but you feel taken off guard by that.
You don’t know why but you toss and turn at night, thinking of what Aemond would enjoy. Food is the way to someone’s soul. You’re not that interested in getting to know Aemond beyond the superficial, but you figured if there’s anyone you need to NOT hate you … it would be Aemond. You don’t care what Helaena or Jaquetta has to say, that kid looks like he could sink a sword in you without so much as breaking a sweat. Besides, it got you out of having to appeal to Alicent to let you in the kitchens again.
You’re not getting out of this marriage. The thought makes you want to sink into the bed and into the darkness even more. Marriage? In this place? Your husband is going to tell you what to do? Why couldn’t you have been sent into the body of a rich widow? Then you’d at least have some money to throw around with no one to tell you what to do with it.
But what are you to cook him? Aside from what others have said to you, you’ve no idea what he likes, and you’d already promised him something new. You use your brain to go through what you know.
“Fighter,” you mumble. “Diligent … Something filling, but not too heavy.”
Perhaps a broth. A broth that’s full of flavor, savory like a victory. With some kick in it. A robust flavor on the tongue with some spices and herbs.
Your eyes pop open as you sit up.
“…Ramen.”
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ladycrocy · 2 months ago
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My very first fanfic!!!
AO3
Hey everyone! I have finally pieced togeth a small fanfic of just a scene I recently had in my head of Crocodile and Doflamingo.
Please go a little easy on me for this one as I am just starting out. I hope that you find it at least as entertaining as I did.
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Word count: 1446
Warnings: Use of foul language, unsolicited graphic images, Verbal humiliation/abuse. (Please let me know if I need to add more ;-;)
Crocodile x Doflamingo
Crocodile caught in a birdcage
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The king of the desert sat atop his throne amongst a pile of paperwork. This had become the norm now that all his pieces were falling into place in Alabasta. With Baroque Works finally taking off on its own, he could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Crocodile took a long puff of his expensive cigar and released a large cloud of smoke with a content exhale. Today would have to be another late night. The lack of trust in anyone else was his own demise and often left him with more paperwork than necessary.
A familiar bleating of a transponder snail snapped him out of his trance. He hadn't realized just how much of a headache he was suffering. "Click." The snail responded to him when he picked up the receiver. "Mr.0,"was his answer to the call connecting.
On the other end of the transmition was a soft, feminine voice. "Sir, you have a guest here to see you."
This irritated Crocodile to no end. Who could be bothering him at this time of day? Most likely one of his own to give him disappointing news. Baroque Works was a huge organization, but he was sacrificing quality on all that quantity. At least they were expendable. "Send them in." His deep voice could hardly care to hide his disapproval. Mentally preparing himself, he hangs up the receiver.
This was a good time as any for a drink. He poured himself a glass and leaned back in his big leather chair in order to relax before a vein popped out of his already furrowed brow. Nothing had even happened, and he was already preparing for the worst. At this time, he had made a mental note to weed out some of his more useless subordinates.
The doors burst open with no sign of anyone behind them. The smell of expensive cologne wafted in before Crocodile could make out the outline of a ten foot blond. The guttural sound that left his lips could never even remotely express his absolute disdain for the man entering. Donquiote Doflamingo. However, Crocodile is nothing if not a business man first. Doflamingo had proven his worth of this trait in his own right. If only he didn't have to be so.. him.
Doflamingo chuckled his way into the large accommodating off. That signature grin plastured on his face as he slipped through the large oak doors and slammed them shut just by holding out his hand. "Crocodile, you are a very hard man to get ahold of." Doflamingo's voice was loud and filled the entire room with his noise. Crocodile's headache only grew stronger.
"To what do I owe the displeasure of this little visit, Doflamingo? I already told you I am not interested in 'teaming up with you.' You are too reckless, and I can't find a good reason why I should." Crocodile's voice carried the heavy weight of his day as his deep rasp conveyed. He took another long puff of his cigar as he awaited what possible reason the pink menace could be here for. "If that was what you came here for, it could have waited for the next warlord meeting, or did you just want a change of scenery where I tell you to 'go to hell'?" A small chuckle released with the puff of smoke that was being used to cover up the strong scent of Doflamingo's expensive cologne.
Doflamingo's sadistic grin only widened. Within mere moments, he had made his way to behind Crocodile. His chuckle echoed off the wani tanks and flooded the room quickly. "Crocy-baby, you wound me. You know I can take more than that half assed insult. It's like you don't care anymore.~"
And just like that, Doflamingo's grin faded to a frown, and he stood up straight. It was as if a switch was flipped in this wild card of a man. He was every bit of his ten feet as he stepped to the side of Crocodile's chair. Doflamingo crossed his arms as he leaned against the desk so he could face Crocodile. His voice no longer holding his joyful cadence. "Alabasta will fall, Crocodile. You have too many cards stacked against you, and you can no longer see the top."
The pink warlord leans down to invade Crocodile's space and was now face to face with him. With his grin forming again, his long obscene tongue licked his lips like a hungry cannibal. "Don't worry though.. Because when that happens and you fall.. I will catch you.~" Despite his eyes being hidden behind opaque shades, the sexual desire was palpable enough to sense.
Crocodile didn't think it would be possible to portray the disgust and irritation he was feeling. Instead, he settled for puffing his cigar like he was a locomotive. Any bit of nicotine to take this edge off would have been welcomed. The only thing keeping him from having an all-out brawl with this pink idiot was the fact that he didn't want to cause anything to jeopardize his hard work and planning. Though the fantasy of reading in the paper that Doflamingo was found dead did cause an involuntary smile to creep across his face.
"Sand cannot be caught nor contained. It slips through the cracks just as I will forever slip through your fingers. You will never be able to keep me. I would rather drown in the deepest darkest ocean then ever team up with you. Being in the same room with you for this long should be its own level of hell." Crocodile ashed his cigar. He stared at the whiskey glass on the table that was accruing condensation. He felt so thirsty at that moment.
That roaring laughter began to build slowly until Doflamingo had to throw his head back to let it out. As he let it all out in one breath, his head jerked back towards Crocodile as it silenced immediately. "Fuck, if you only knew what you fucking do to me!" He cocked his head to the side, popping his neck and held up his hand. The unseen strings clung to Crocodiles chair and pulled him quickly in front of Doflamingo. With how tall Doffy was, his crotch was not too far off from where he thought it needed to be. "Wani~ Drowning you would be a waste. I have other ways of making you a leaking mess.~"
With a flick of his wrist, he pushed the chair back with his strings with an almost disgusted look on his face. That faded quickly before he spoke again. "Keep trying my patience, little slut, but I always get what I want. Even if I have to attach a string to every goddamn grain of sand and lock you away in a sea prism tower..." He paused as his venom filled words drew from his lips.
Doflamingo's tone changed once again to one that was almost jovial. "Oh, I almost forgot, it's your country's anniversary, so I decided to get you a little something. You know me.. always the romantic.~"
Sexual... to upset.. to kind... impossible to read what this pink feathered man is thinking. Crocodile stays silent as he ponders how this could have come to be that this other warlord is so obsessed with him. To his memory, he had barely introduced himself.
Doflamingo reached into his poofy pink coat and pulled out a small box. He tossed it onto Crocodile's desk as he began to walk out of his office. He lifted his hand in the air to wave him off as he exited. "Teaming up with me is more than what you could ever imagine. Let me know when you are ready to be a God.~"
Crocodile eyed the box and didn't even consider opening it until he knew for a fact that annoying bird was gone. His hook scooped the box closer and he opened it. A thin powder that resembled the dance powder. Along with it was a formula that looked to be modifying it in a way. "Impressive." The warlord was pleased to see such higher quality and nearly began to think of a way to thank Doflamingo until he flipped the formula over.
His blood boiled as the scar on his face tinted crimson. He was disgusted, repulsed, and.. is it that big?! The stupid pink menace had put the formula on the back of an image of him in nothing but his pink feather coat and holding his cock. Crocodile stabbed his hook right through that image. Grabbing his whiskey glass and downing it before shattering it in bare hand. "What a freak!"
Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4
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5five5five5five5five5five · 1 month ago
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FICTIONAL FAMILY!!!! have some B day hcs under the cut. tw for drinking and drugs
they all go to diego and lila's because they have the biggest backyard
they wish the kids could join them but they know each other, it wouldn't be safe. diego and lila's kids are with lila's parents and Claire is old enough to stay home. (idk if ray is here but tbh he probs stayed home too, this family is nuts when its their birthday lol. he would rather give Allison a wonderful birthday night at home just for her.)
this is probs in the future where drinking around klaus isn't a HUGE risk for relapse. i feel like prior b-days were less booze\drug heavy for his comfort but its gotten to the point where they want to PARTY. he's the designated driver if anyone does want to go home + so is ☂️ ben so the rest have a good sober duo to watch their backs. and klaus has that voice of reason if he does need it. (s3 ending credit ben my beloved, wish he was canon. he exists here.)
bc im about to take gummy and i always kin when i do, viktor and five took edibles beforehand bc that's their norm in my universe.
Allison helps lila set up before hand. i love the idea of them being mom friends and sister in laws. viktor and five were early and helped too.
five brought so many gifts. one for each person+ custom cards. he does this every year and everyone is still in awe that he goes overboard. the 364 days of the year, they forget he can be this thoughtful. but all the gifts are a *bit* off and not 100% personal. like luther got a telescope bc. the moon. this is like the 3ed year in a row. and klaus got smth that five had to suffer though a spencer's gifts to get. it was so painful. five does it more for the wrapping, card making and seeing his siblings smile then actually knowing HOW to be thoughtful and generous.
they all have a nice time outside and enjoying early fall. Diego set up a projector and they watch all their fav movies as kids. they have a fire pit too and do smores. this really is the day they set to BE man-children and regain their childhoods.
lila COVERED the ceiling of their house with balloons and that is NOT fun to traverse though when your high af, drunk af and need to pee.
they each got a personal cake to take home and a candle to blow out at the same time.
they shit on their dad and bond over their mutual hate for their life before but can agree that life is better now (Allison holds her tongue to not say 'i told u so' ray has helped her understand that and other actions would be a 'cunt move'. shes mellowed out bc of him to the point of being allowed here in the first place.)
klaus some how ends up setting something on fire. this has happened for EVERY BIRTHDAY since they were 6. diego has a fire extinguisher on hand...but doesn't know how to use it so lila has to do it.
they do karaoke. Diego complains and yet was the one who got the machine and set it up. he likes watching lila sing~
Klaus made the playlist.
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our-arospec-experience · 8 months ago
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Do you know that post from a queer person who grew up with queer parents and who said they can't really relate to many of the "typical queer experiences" because of it? Like the fear of coming out to your parents (even the idea of having to come out to them at all), growing up not knowing queerness is an option bc you never see queer people, feeling like there's something "wrong" with you?
I feel similarly about being aro. I never had to wonder whether what I was feeling was romantic attraction or not (bc I used to be alloro, so I could tell the difference when I became greyro and then aro), I never thought there was anything wrong with me for be(com)ing aro (bc I knew aromantics existed before I became aro), my personal "pan to aro pipeline" was literally just going from legitimately being panromantic to being aro, etc. I wasn't confused, I didn't think ppl were lying about experiencing romantic attraction (though I did think affective empathy was made up as a kid, but that's a different story), I only thought I might be a late bloomer bc I actually was, a little (not even significantly late, just a bit later than my classmates), etc.
I've seen people genuinely say self-loathing and thinking you're broken are "aro culture" (Youtube comment section my beloathed) and it makes me want to simultaneously shake some of my fellow aros and wrap them in a soft warm blanket bc that's bullshit and they deserve better, but they're also spreading the idea that it's normal and expected to have that kind of internalized arophobia and they gotta stop. It's not okay to define ourselves through suffering! It may be common, but it's not an inherent part of the aromantic experience! Yes, we need spaces to talk about the arophobia we face, including internalized arophobia, but we can do that without acting like it's inevitable, bc we deserve better than that!
I know I'm lucky, but dammit, lucky should be the norm! None of us should ever be made to feel broken for our orientation or identity, whether aro or otherwise queer. Isn't that the whole point? Isn't that what we fight for?
(This ask got away from me, sorry)
it would be nice if “lucky” was the norm, and we need to remember that all arospec experiences are valid, nice or not. I hope the rest of the community has been accepting of you (comment sections are never a nice place to go)
everyone is valid, no matter their experience!
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lifenconcepts · 2 months ago
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My secret is that im scared
I’m scared, in my purest form i am scared
The most primal fear i have felt.
My mind is too simple to comprehend the thoughts of higher beings, watching my every move. Judging me. Being able to destroy worlds with a single touch.
Everything is so complex that it makes me want to rip my head out in frustration. And yet i am so morbidly fascinated by it, to where i am constantly blipping in and out of reality, panicking and crying at the thought that everything i do and say is being watched.
I am merely one simple-minded troglodyte being faced with the secrets of the universe
And i hate it
And yet i cant seem to pull away
I understand you so much, truly and genuinely. I has the same exact problem and feeling but yet I can’t explain how else this could be.
It’s simply apart of us. we exist and so does the divine energy constantly surrounding each step and thought of ours. I have a theory of most people on the schizospec simply being exposed to the wrong side of this world, there’s much kindness in the omnipresence that watched - I assure you, yet sometimes the mind does this strange thing of convincing us that it’s dangerous, that it wants harm, or that it’s bad.
Being afraid of the unknown is imbedded in us since birth. The deep undersea, space and what’s beyond the stars, the vast space in deserts and the Antarctic, and nothingness of everything - but to some, there’s an insatiable urge to explore these places. Most stay docile, and that’s alright - finding peace and comfort in what’s familiar to them, tending to their own hearts and surroundings, focusing on the crops of their mind and home. Yet to others, such as I, there’s a roaring flame that beckons to explore. Be the one to find new things and places, to find new ways of thinking and seeing! To be the one who breaks all of society’s rules in the most raw way possible.
and I don’t mean simply “hey! debolish all gender norms, destroy capitalism!!” Although that too I stand by, but.. that’s the most baby step of it all. Why force yourself to even have an identity? Just to fit in with others and oblige with the norms.. why have a name? Why have a face? Why be among those which fail to understand the true importance of nature and beauty of everything!? Nothing is important, everything is important. Everything is important. Nothing is important.
It’s not given to everyone, that much I understand, it’s impossible to be given to everyone, that much you can understand. Not all will have the same mindset or ability, so it’s illogical to assume that they will even try grasp at the understanding, at the concept. Yet.. funnily enough, plenty of such souls exist. These poetic, artistic souls. Deriving pleasure through merely existing and finding suffering the pinnacle of their art. The search for knowledge isn’t a new thing, it’s always existed, and people thrive in different aspects of it. The world is so large! do you know?? The world is SO large!!! And yet.. not one individual is the same. Similar, sure. Nearly identical, sometimes. But the main word is nearly.
Not one person will be exactly 1-1 identical by memories, desires, opinions, wants, beliefs, biological, and aspirations. The main step in kindness is understanding that. Hey - also wanted to say that the core to demolishing all the norms in society is leaving the very foundations and main values of why it ever was a thing - connection, kindness, decency, love, and respect. To be a proud outcast yet still have some knowledge not to go out and fking yell and destroy stuff. Don’t scream by the things you stand for. Don’t harm others (without their consent). And don’t be a damn jerk, you still live here and so try to stay quiet as others are, you know - many of these people also want the same, deep down, but are trapped by a system of work work work. But what I was going to is that all people have their own interests and specifics they thrive in, some in science, some in maths, some in philosophy, some in drama, some in acting, some in art. You can’t expect everyone to be able to understand art the same way you can’t expect all to understand maths and quadratic formulas or not. (P.s. .. so there’s no misunderstanding, I don’t mean the new art ‘culture’, I mean the fact art is something that’s meant to speak from the soul and not be just a cash grab. That’s something I’m sickened by). So ofcourse not everyone will get the other dimensional plane, the fact they’re surrounded by spirits and passing energy, and even feel their own soul, which despite being ever so present in most, is something I admit that doesn’t come to all.
look.. I’m fascinsted with this world beyond ours, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t scared as fuck. I hid under my blanket like a child at the mere thought and feeling of another presence, but I matured and grew to understand them. Appreciate them, even. I had a mischaracterisation of ‘omg there’s cameras in my home!’ Which I don’t blame for infact I was being watched yet without the questionable intent of humans. I do admit, some spirits can be unkind, but that doesn’t mean all are. I haven’t met much yet, but the few that I have have been nothing but kind to me, helping me along the way. I have been in the presence of one unkind one, which made me soul absolutely fall to my stomach and make me grow with worry and dread, but at the first instance of being told to leave, I did (was walking in a graveyard just to check things out, but even there, I had a spirit express how thankful they were for a visitor, so exited to see someone venture into the far and overgrown path). I know many won’t understand, many won’t even try, and some may even see this as some insanity - but I don’t think that affects me. I am who I am and I will be who I will be. The spiritual world is a dangerous and wild place, and yet, so are humans. If I even had to choose, I’d say humans are more unpredictable. Spirits are much more complex feeling wise yet more intelligent with limited words, I can just say ‘please leave’ and they go away, which honestly surprised me, but I’m thankful for. im quite glad to have some guides for this adventure, so ofcourse I don’t expect anyone to follow my footsteps exactly, but I just can’t help but share this with the world.. my mind yearns to express these things.. and I am so happy for the ability to. I value communication a lot.
oh I could just talk for hours..
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misfithive · 1 year ago
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Thank you for the way you handled that ask about Wille's and Simon's drama. Because that sentence 'On the other hand, Simon needs to have a bit of more drama thrown at him' made me so furious. It was so insensitive! The fact that he suffers in silence and alone in his room not to bother other people doesn't mean he doesn't suffer enough and needs some more! The fact that he didn't jump on the table or say he feels like dying doesn't make his experience any less traumatic than Wille's. What he needs is to process his trauma rather than brushing it aside, not to get some more.
Once again thank you, you put it all beautifully.
Yes 😭 this is a very common hope for Simon to get pushed to the point of a breakdown but it’s like .. at what cost?😩 He has been thru enough trauma for a lifetime and a half. And the thing is, most people cannot actually stop and process the trauma if they are constantly being hit with more. I think we are more likely to get simon opening up if he is able to find safety which he did not really have. he is expected to be the strong one by everyone in his life. His friends try their best but still, telling him to rebound is the same message him mother gives him of “you are strong”. Bc they dont want him to sit with his feelings and cry (it’s uncomfortable and not the norm for them), they want him to forget about the Prince and move on. Up until s3 he has not had someone to cry to- thats why he writes his songs and holds wille’s sweater. Even when he is talking to Rosh and Ayub in the kitchen if he was actually crying to them i feel they would show it- it appears he probably cried on the way home before they came (this is my hc if yall think he cried to them u can believe that if u want)
i think Simon’s character is very accurate to what a lot of men, people socialized as men, and also people of color experience and how we deal with our emotions. I get that for a lot of people it is cathartic to sob but for many of us, crying like that especially in front of someone else is terrifying. we are conditioned that letting other people see u in that vulnerable state is a weakness (puts you in danger or will be used against you & that anger is safer). I know some men who have not cried since they were children and told me they dont even remember what it feels like to cry or how to actually let the tears fall from their eyes. It is messed up. Is that fair? No. Is it true that it is a weakness? No. But not everyone learns that. The patriarchy sucks and harms us all lol i wish people would understand that and have empathy for the deep sadness that simon is carrying and hiding whether he lets it out or not.
Not to mention everyone deals with their trauma differently and i think it is cool that the show is realistic and shows people dealing with things in different ways. Simons character is relatable bc of this and instead of people saying “it’s not fair that Wille gets to express himself in this way and Simon doesn’t” i want people to think about WHY Simon is not be able to. I know wanting simon to cry comes from a good place but it does upset me a little bit bc even if he doesnt have a breakdown s3, that doesnt mean that the writers hate him and arent doing his story justice which is what people say abt s2. At the same time, if he does have a break down, that would be totally warranted. i'm just saying that if it doesn't happen that's valid too.
THAT BEING SAID. I think s3 is a great opportunity for Simon to hear from Wille that he doesnt always have to be strong and that Wille can be a reliable safe space. I think Wille’s tenderness is something that Simon sees and now that they are on good terms and Wille has worked to rebuild the trust, I hope Simon will turn to Wille for emotional support however that looks.
Ermmmn I’m very sorry that this turned into a dump but i had to get it off my chest.(made a few edits for clarity and spelling mistakes bc i posted this in the middle of the night)
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