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arabellasleopardcoat · 2 months ago

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Threefold cord (Daemon Targaryen x Reader)

Summary: Daemon’s wife is presumed dead. But is she?

A/N: Blue beard, to finish my Halloween celebration because I cannot write on schedule. Also @just-some-random-blogger look! The fic I told you about.

Warnings: Hightower!reader x Daemon. Smut. Alicent, Gwayne and reader as siblings. Death of Rhea Royce. Happy ending!

“ARE YOU TRULY about to wed him?” You set your teacup down on its saucer. When your father had summoned you to the capital, you had known it was important news. But Alicent becoming a Queen? It surpassed everything you had imagined.

Your father wanted to make sure you were there to witness her triumph. Alicent lacked allies in court, beyond the Princess. And that relationship would sour as soon as the other girl heard just who her father was to wed.

Alicent was too naive to see it. Or purposefully blind. She claimed to not know what she had been doing when visiting the King, too. You guessed the thought made it easier to bear for her.

You didn’t blame her. King Viserys was old and beginning to show signs of being sickly. The thought of offering yourself to such a man, twice your age, on your father’s orders, wasn’t pleasant. You would rather pretend you were just being kind.

“It is for the best. Father says that he…” Alicent begins justifying her actions, and you tune out. You know it will just be a repetition of your father’s lectures. Duty. Bearing children. Women knowing their place.

You pitied her, for believing in his bullshit. It wasn’t as if either of you could escape your fate, but you at least tried not to lower yourself into thinking you were a lesser, gentler being, made to be bred. Instead, you enjoyed thinking you were a person. Just as human as any man, just as smart, just as strong. Only one trapped by your status as a noblewoman.

You sip at your tea. You are cautious not to make a sound when doing so, and not take too big of a sip. Anyone who gazes at your courtly smile and comely manners would not guess your innermost thoughts.

Alicent continues her tirade, describing animatedly how much she wants to do her duty and birth children. How she knows her body will not fail her as it did for the late Queen. She has an unfortunate thirst for proving herself, your eldest sister.

“And King Viserys asked me about you, the other day. He would like for you to marry Prince Daemon…”

The tea you are drinking goes down the wrong way. You start coughing, and have to hurriedly set down your teacup as to not burn yourself.

“Excuse me?” You say, once the coughing fit subsides a bit, and you are able to wipe your mouth with a napkin. “I will… What? Does father know of this?”

She looks at you, concerned, but says nothing about it. She pours herself another cup of tea.

“Prince Daemon’s wife has been missing for a while. They think she might have…” Alicent leans in, voice lowering. You are in the Tower of the Hand, surrounded by men loyal to your father, and yet she feels she cannot say it freely. You wonder what has Lady Royce done to scandalize her such. “Ran away. With a lover.”

“You prude!” You laugh. You had thought it much worse. “She wouldn’t be the first woman to do so, don’t be nai…”

“A female one.” Alicent interrupts, setting down her own teacup. The movement is a bit harsh, making the porcelain screech.

You open and close your mouth. You had not known that was even a possibility.

“How does one..?”

“Be as it may…” She raises a hand, halting you. “Father says you shall marry him, if he finds you agreeable.”

There was not much you knew about politics, but you were pretty sure the Prince despised your father and your house by extension. You doubted he would find you agreeable. Your father would doubt it too, but he was too blinded by the hope of getting Runestone.

Lady Royce had no heir. Her castle had gone to Daemon, the King needing little convincing to award it to his beloved brother. Imagining all that bronze in your hands, in House Hightower’s hands, would have him salivating. At getting his enemy away from court? That was only an unexpected bonus. If the man liked you and decided he wanted to play Come-into-my-castle with you, you were sure your father would dance a gig.

You wouldn’t. If it did happen… You shuddered, thinking of the man with the lecherous grin, always whoring. Twice your age, and crass as they came. The only times you had crossed paths, he had been busy ogling Alicent or his niece.

“I am not marrying him.”

Alicent frowns at you. Her eyes turn sad. When she gets contradicted, she looks much like a kicked puppy.

“I have never met him.” You explain, feeling guilty over upsetting her. She is just so much like your father, sometimes. It angers you, even when you know it is not her fault. She doesn’t have the same anger in her veins as you do. All she ever wanted was to please your father.

“He is looking for a wife, and King Viserys thinks it would be marvelous if you married him. I have told him all about you.” Alicent sounds excited about the whole thing, and just… No. You do not want to marry a man twice your age. Gross. Her tone turns softer. “I think it would be nice. To belong to the same House even after marriage. To be never parted from my sister.”

The want in her expression makes you soften. It is not often that Alicent admits to desiring anything, and you do not wish to discourage her.

“I’ll meet him.” You decide. “Just that.”

“Oh, how wonderful!”

And the Seven bless her, she actually seems delighted to hear it.

THE WEDDING IS awfully dull. The Septon drones on and on about the Mother and the Father, and the duties of marriage. Alicent looks stunning in her silk gown, beautiful but modest. It is no use. People already speak of what she has done to trap the King into marriage.

Princess Rhaenyra keeps sending her glares during the feast. Sometimes in anger, sometimes in hurt. She is not quite sure what to feel. You can tell from the way she pauses when looking at Alicent. You pity her too.

Losing a mother is a terrible thing. You can only imagine how much it hurts to see her replaced by a girl your own age.

The Princess is a woman who has everything and yet, it's still a woman. No power to stop her father from bedding her best friend, no power to change anything at all. The realization of her powerlessness is clear in her features.

In contrast, you doubt you have ever seen your father this happy. Ever. He is alight with pride. As if throwing his daughter to an old man is some great accomplishment. He has spared no expense on this wedding, the ceremony and feast lavish in a way that feels almost tasteless.

The pomp and luxuries have you feeling morose. You sip at your hippocras, tucked into a corner of the high table, and try to pretend you are invisible. Gwayne has left you far too soon, off to dance with some ladies.

He has always been the courteous sort, just like you. You enjoy watching him charm the ladies, and enjoy more the fact that he hasn’t tried to drag you to the dance floor.

For that, you are grateful. Some ladies are lively and dance as if gliding through water. You do not. Dancing had not been on the list of abilities you had acquired during your etiquette lessons.

It had always felt like peacocking to you. Showing yourself to others, showing how pretty you smiled, how graceful you were. The attention it brought made you uncomfortable. You much preferred blending in.

“Strange choice of drink you have there.” Prince Daemon says, sitting across from you. “Even stranger that you are still sitting at your sister's wedding.”

“I could say the same.” You reply, colder than you planned to. The hippocras is hitting you already, making your temper shorter. You have little interest in Daemon Targaryen.

There is a secret plan in your head. When you reach thirty, you will claim a sudden awakening of Faith and retire to the comforts of life as a Septa. You have done enough charity to know that Septas don’t do as much as they like people to think. The only thing you will miss will be the alcohol.

“Ah, but I am just sitting now.” He idly reaches for the carafe of hippocras you are monopolizing, and serves himself a goblet. “Is this any good?”

“At least it’s not dornish swill.” Dornish wine has to be the worst thing you have ever tasted, not even fit for pigs. Bitter and watery, the mere thought annoys you.

Prince Daemon barks out a laughter.

“Good Gods, where was Otto hiding you?”

“Probably in the same place as your decency.”

“Thread carefully.” Daemon’s expression turns far colder. His hand tightens around the stem of his goblet. “I might like your cheek, but I am still a prince of the realm.”

“One soon to be displaced.” You toast. A bit of hippocras spills from your goblet. You are far too drunk to care about his thoughts. “Be it by my nephews or your niece.”

His face reddens.

“Bitch.” He spits the word from clenched teeth. You laugh loudly.

“Knave.”

“You are an insolent little thing, aren’t you?” Daemon snarls, leaning over the table as if to throttle you. Drunk as you are, you don’t feel any fear. You have just enough rational thoughts left to believe you will be alright, since even the darkened corner you have chosen to sit in is too public for him to murder you without repercussions.

“I am small but fierce.”

“I can see that. Do all Hightower cunts have teeth?”

You smile at him, lazy and warm from the drinks you have had.

“I don’t know, care to find out?”

And Daemon laughs. He asks you to dance instead. As he twirls you and dips you, you come to find he is not bad company after all. And if you laugh a tad more than necessary, and accept his offer to walk the gardens the next afternoon, no one can blame you.

“IT IS BUT a couple of days.” Daemon says to you, softly. You lay on your stomach, head propped up on your arms. You twist your head just so to force him to see your sad little pout.

His hand comes to rub at your shoulders, as if you were a spooked horse he is trying to soothe. His touch is warm and calming against your bare skin.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

He has soothed you into complacency, this husband of yours. He allows you to indulge in fine wines, and be as frivolous as you wish. The only thing he asks of you is that you are warm and willing when he is. It is no chore.

Long gone is your rage. Now, you exist in a perfect bubble, where no one constricts your freedom. There is no screeching father to tell you that you are a disaster, nor is there a horrified Alicent. Instead, Daemon encourages all your eccentricities, and teaches you some new ones.

“Will you?” You roll on your side, stretching. You have done nothing today, not even dress. Daemon and you have spent the whole morning tangled in each other, warm and naked.

He smiles. That same grin that had once seemed so lecherous to you, now looks inviting.

You bite your lower lip, already anticipating what is to come.

“Minx.” Daemon laughs, before leaning in to press an open-mouthed kiss to your shoulder. The contact of his lips against your skin makes you shiver, a delicate sigh leaving you. “You won’t even notice I am gone.”

“Of course I will.” You whine, as he kisses a path down your spine. “Who will bring me such pleasure?”

A sudden, sharp pain on your arse makes you yelp and sit up. Daemon smirks, and feigns taking another bite out of you.

“You are so spoiled.” He laughs. “Cannot take even a little pain. I’ll leave you some coin, and you can invite your sister to keep you company. How does it sound?”

“Think the King can spare his Queen?” You have not seen your sister since your wedding. The ravens fly fast enough that you know the news already, but you doubt King Viserys will allow her to be out of his sight for long. Not when pregnant.

Daemon nips at your thigh. You jerk, but he coaxes you back into laying on your stomach.

“Before she gets too round to travel, yes. In a few moons, it will have to be us making the trip.”

“Gods, I hate babes.”

“So do I.” He rubs at your inner thigh, slowly prying your legs open. “So? Is my spoiled wife happy?”

“Very.” You rub your face in the pillow, all kittenish. You like being called his. “Do I get the keys of the castle, too?”

Daemon kisses the place where your thigh meets your arse. You can feel his smile against your skin, promising sin.

“Of course. Just don’t go into the room with the red door, alright? I forbid it.”

“You do?” You challenge, thinking it part of the game. So far, you have yet to explore all of Runestone, always too entertained by him to do so. There are a few rooms he is cagey about, but you have always blamed it on Daemon being very private and needing his space. He has never allowed you into his personal library, either. Says you would ruin the books.

You have never minded it. You understand your place here, the dumb young wife. Men never like thinking the woman they are with can be more interesting than them. To think you can also have an interest in books, apart from being frivolous, would be too much for him to handle.

The warning about the red door only registers to you as part of the games you usually play in the bedroom. Something he can punish you about later on, something that might excuse a round of rough lovemaking.

But his expression turns into a frightening mask of utter rage. He pinches you in the thigh, and this time, it really hurts.

“Fuck!” You cry out, fighting his hold. His grip has turned from the sweetest chains into unforgiving iron around your hips. You cannot move. Not even as he slaps your thigh, hard enough to make your eyes water. “Daemon, what the..?”

“I mean it.” He is cruel about it, slapping again the stinging flesh. “I do not want you in there. If you disobey, I’ll know.”

You stare at him, open-mouthed, You cannot comprehend how fast he has flipped, from kind lover to whatever this is. The rogue Prince is mercurial, you think, echoing the letter your father had once written complaining about him, his moods dangerous.

“Fine!” You cry out, desperate to evict this creature that has taken sudden hold of your husband’s body. “Fine! No opening the red door.”

Daemon softens then. His shoulders slump, and his face goes back into a mask of devotion.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” He presses a kiss to your thigh, to the place he slapped. You tense. “It is dangerous for you. Like the Moondoor in The Eyrie.”

Yet, as his touch turns back into loving, you do not forget. There is something about what lies beyond that red door that turns him into a monster. A creature capable of hurting even you.

You intend to find out what it is.

THE FORTNIGHT SPENT with Alicent is by far, the best of your life. Runestone is grand, with intricate tapestries and artwork decorating the walls. Your sister has always loved art, and the time spent surrounded by beautiful things seems to rejuvenate her.

Her pregnancy appears to be easy and without fuzz. There is no nausea preventing her from having as many lemon cakes as you two wish, or from exploring the Vale’s markets, trying on dresses and tasting expensive food.

The money Daemon has left you is enough to fund your shopping sprees. You have so much fun, running in the halls and trying on dresses, it feels as if you are little girls again. The only thing missing from your childhood is Gwayne.

So you send for him.

Despite how much joy your time spent with your sister brings you, you cannot shake the thought about the red door.

It is situated in one of the towers, near the place where Daemon keeps his books. You pass by it daily, for Alicent’s rooms have been placed in the same tower. Housing a Queen is no easy task, much less when she carries the heir to the Iron Throne inside her. She had come with servants and guards, who had to be housed too. There was no space but that tower.

That tower. Each time you pass it, you have to clench your fists hard to stop yourself from reaching towards it. Every time you open a door, your hands linger on the only key you will never use.

What lies behind the red door? What can possibly upset your husband such and change him from a careless hedonist into a violent man?

When no one is near, you kneel by the door and try to look through the keyhole. The lock on the door is old and smells faintly of iron. The only thing you can see looking through the keyhole is rust.

Trying to look under the door gives you the same results. Rust and iron, and a nagging curiosity that will not leave you alone.

You try to forget about it. You owe obedience to your husband, and you remember all too well the tale of the woman who owned a jar that should never be opened. It had been a favorite of your father during your youth.

A wife must never pry. For she might find something she doesn’t like.

Yet, when you think of Daemon grabbing you hard enough to bruise, you realize you already have found something you do not like. It is that thought what helps you make up your mind. One afternoon, when Alicent claims to be too tired to keep you company, you decide to open the door.

Your hands are slick with sweat, and shaking so much it takes you two tries to fit the key into the keyhole. Your heart feels like it will leap out of your chest. Suddenly, you are paralyzed.

You cannot turn the key. Your hands have gone rigid. Your fear overwhelms you. What could possibly be in here, if not a terrible secret?

You turn it. The lock clicks, and the door gives with an ominous creak. You step inside, as careful as you can. The floor is slick and sticky. When you look down, your shoes and the hem of your gown are tinted red.

You scream. You turn towards the walls, only to find more blood. Bloodied rags, stains, a bloodied dagger. You begin to feel lightheaded. When you stumble towards a corner, you see her.

A corpse of a woman, hugging her knees to her chest. Her body is rotting, half of her face gone, but enough of it remaining so you can see that it has frozen in an expression of utter horror, much like your own. She wears a rune covered armor, and has several cuts all over.

This time, you fall down. The keys slip from your grip, and you scream so loud, you are sure you wake the whole castle.

The missing Rhea Royce.

“Good gods!” Alicent cries out, behind you. You stumble to your feet, terrified. She cannot see it. Daemon… Daemon was going to kill you both. “What is this? By the Seven, is that..?”

“He is going to kill me.” You say, wiping the blood clinging to your hands on your dress. You try to clean the keys as well, but the stain won’t come out. No matter how hard you try. “He’ll know.”

“He is not going to, we can go to the King, and I am sure there is…” Alicent sounds horrified. She lingers on the doorstep, already on her nightshirt. Her belly is barely beginning to show.

“Alicent!” You say, sharply. “He’ll know. You have to run, Alicent. He will kill us both.”

“And leave you to die?” Your sister sounds indignant. “I cannot. You cannot…”

You cannot run, you wish to say. You cannot because if you do, Daemon will know even quicker, and chase you both. If you stay, maybe you can fool him. Or at least, give your sister a fighting chance.

“Please!” You cry. “Do it for the babe.”

Alicent’s lips turn white from the force she uses to keep them closed. She looks into your eyes, and hesitates. You fear she might not go through it.

“Go!” You cry, slipping on all the blood.

And Alicent, big brown eyes wide, hikes up her skirts and runs.

DAEMON NOTICES AS soon as he asks for the keys. You have never been a good liar, and the blood still stains them. When handing them over, you shake.

His smile drops. He no longer is the happy husband, but the creature that had frightened you the other night. The creature that had killed Rhea Royce, and took her lands.

“You couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” He grabs you by the neck, snarling.“I told you to leave it alone.”

Your pulse begins to race. You cannot speak, and you can only take shallow breaths. Your panic must show on your face because Daemon smiles at you, coldly. He squeezes a tad harder, enough to cut off your breath.

You gasp. It comes out more like a choked hiccup.

“Look at what you are making me do.” When you are starting to feel lightheaded, breath coming out in desperate wheezes, Daemon gives you a shove. “I never wanted to do this. This is all your fault.”

“You don’t have to kill me.” You plead, voice shaking. “I’ll keep your secret.”

Daemon looks at you, and laughs.

“I assure you, I have not gotten away with it this long because I believe every pretty thing telling me they will keep their mouths shut.”

Your eyes widen. The phrasing is strange. Every pretty thing…

“There had been others?” Daemon scoffs at your question, but doesn’t answer. You look into his eyes, and try pleading once more. At this point, tears are streaming down your cheeks. You are sure you make a very pathetic sight. “Just… Don’t kill me.”

“Good Gods. Are all Hightowers this dumb or is it you and Aliwhore?” Daemon grasps your face, roughly. You cannot believe your ears. Where is all this hatred coming from? It seems like the man you loved, the one that had courted you for endless summer days, is gone. All that is left is his profound hatred for you and your family. Had he only pretended not to hate you, and was showing his true colors now? “At least die with some dignity, you pathetic cunt.”

Dignity. Dignity could buy you time. You need it, to think of a way to survive.

“Allow me to pray, then. To make my peace with my death.”

Prayer wasn’t your strong forte. But you guessed you could possibly buy an hour with it. You had never been as devout as your siblings, but you could pretend well enough to fill the time as you tried to make your own miracle happen.

Daemon studies your expression closely. He tilts your head up and down, and then gives you a patronizing little pat on the cheek.

“Fine.” He spits out. “Pray. Only a few minutes, not a second more.”

You walk past him, intent on going back to the tower where a statue of the Mother stands. You watch his face carefully when you pass by him, worried he is only toying with you and has no true intention of allowing you to pray in solitude. But he doesn’t stop you.

You make your way to the highest tower, kneel by the feet of the statue and weep. Your weakness only lasts you a moment because when you lift your gaze, you catch sight of a green standard approaching the gates.

Could that be..?

“Are you done?” Daemon asks, from behind the closed door. You can hear the drag of steel against steel, and picture him in your mind’s eye. Taking Dark Sister out of her sheath, face full of bloodlust.

“Just a minute more.” You beg, watching the rider stop at the gates and being allowed in by the guards. “Don’t kill me, please! Not yet!” You cry out, as loud as you can, hoping your voice carries.

Daemon bursts in, Dark Sister held by his side. His smile is cold, his face the image of calm. One would never guess he is about to kill someone by watching his expression. You notice the dagger he carries at his hip, but do not dare to try to take it. Not when Dark Sister’s reach is much longer.

“Oh, spare me the hysterics. More prayer will not spare you.” He lunges at you, and you evade him, but there are only so many places one can run to in a small room. Daemon catches you by wrapping your braid in his hand, giving you a harsh tug that makes you tumble down. You scream.

“Shut up. Seven Hells, quiet.” Daemon places the sword at your throat. “You will…”

The door is thrown open by a kick, the loud bang startling him and making his grip falter.

“She will do nothing.” Gwayne says, firmly. You can see Alicent standing behind him, wrenching her hands together. You have never been more grateful to see them. “Or I’ll gut you like a fish.”

“Oh?” Daemon shoves you. You do not fight his push, laying limply on the floor. He turns towards Gwayne, sword no longer focused on you. “You think you can beat me, boy?”

Gwayne cannot. He had lost to him in a tourney not even six months before. You do not hesitate. You grab the dagger at Daemon’s hip and stab him in the stomach, hard. And you do it again, and again, until your hands and face are covered in blood, and Daemon does no longer move.

You look up at your siblings, then. Alicent’s face is horrified, but when she senses your eyes on her, she smooths down her expression. Gwayne watches with vague interest. At some point, he seems to have taken Dark Sister from Daemon’s hand because he now holds it.

The three of you stare at each other. The blood on your hands is rapidly cooling and turning sticky. You wipe your hands on your dress.

You had thought you would feel something if you killed another person. Instead, you only feel numb. Empty. Daemon is gone, and so are his things. His kisses, his threats, the monster that lurked beneath.

It’s Alcent who first speaks, face pale. “The red room. We need to get to work.”

By the end of it, it is as if he never came home at all. The three of you hug, on the brink of tears. Another string tied you now, beyond the sibling bond. The man you had murdered, and the duty to forget him.

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fawnforevergone · 1 year ago

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Quick List of References to Dante's Inferno in "Unreal Unearth" (Part One)

HELLO !!! there is now an updated list since we have now heard the old album so please go check that out instead: [ the ultimate "unreal unearth" reference list" ]

[ PART TWO ]

If I miss anything or get anything wrong, let me know! I'm so interested to know what everyone else thinks, too :]

Another long post, but I simply have too much to say.

THIS WAS MADE BEFORE THE ALBUM RELEASE !!!!

"DE SELBY (PART ONE)" "You take in the blackness of air, the likes of a darkness so deep that God, at the start, couldn't bear." The theme of darkness is a repetitive one in Dante's Inferno, representing sin and it's deceiving behaviour. Particularly in the opening of Inferno, Dante and Virgil have to treck through a thick blackness after entering the gates of Hell.

"DE SELBY (PART TWO)" "Let all time slow, let all light go, I don't need to know where we begin again." DS(P2) is another song that references the absence of light, and would make sense being a continuation of DS(P1). "Let all time slow" references the eternal and infinite nature of a punishment in Hell, and "let all light go", again, show the darkness of Inferno. "I don't need to know where we begin again" is more a repetition of Hozier's own work with his multiple references of death not being the end - "Francesca", "Work Song", "All Things End", "Wasteland, Baby", etc. - but still references the idea of entering a new life after entering Inferno.

"FIRST TIME" "And the soul, if that's what you'd call it, uneasy ally of the body, felt as nameless as a river, undiscovered underground." It appears, in the track list, that we are now moving beyond the threshold of Hell. The mention of "a river, undiscovered underground", is a reference to the river Acheron that runs through Inferno. The river contains a ferry, ran by the Greek Psychopomp, Charon, who escorts the souls of the underworld. Dante is known for mixing different mythologies together in Inferno, so the mentions of "soul" and "river" and "undiscovered underground" all seem to be a reference to Charon and his role in Inferno.

"FRANCESCA" The whole song of Francesca is a reference to the story of Francesca da Rimini, who was sentenced to the second circle of Hell, 'Lust', after caught in an affair with her husband's brother, Paolo. Francesca claims that love has seized her so tightly that she can't stop loving Paolo, not even in Hell. The entire song references this story so I won't pinpoint these lyrics. "My life was a storm, since I was born. How could I fear any hurricane?" The second circle of Hell is plagued by violent winds meant to reflect the passions of reckless love. The winds are so strong that the inhabitants of 'Lust' find themselves thrown around and unable to stay in one spot. Hozier claims to not be afraid of these winds, saying that love has always felt this reckless, even in mortality, and death will not phase him. Whether he is saying this from the perspective of himself or Francesca is up for debate.

"I, CARRION (ICARIAN)" The whole song is very clearly about the tale of Icarus, and even has some mentions to the titan Atlas, "You have held your hands beneath. Once I had wondered what was holding up the ground. I can see that all along, love, it was you all the way down." Icarus and Titans are mentioned throughout Inferno, Hozier again hinting at the mosaic of mythology Dante created. In Inferno, Dante compares his own dread to the plummeting of Icarus, and Hozier now compares his love to the dreaming and hope of Icarus as he flew, making it a fitting song for the 'Lust' circle as well.

"EAT YOUR YOUNG" We now enter the third circle, 'Gluttony', and the song is very overt in its imagery of hunger. As far as I'm aware, the song has more political references than it does direct references to Inferno, but the song is very obviously about Gluttony.

"DAMAGE GETS DONE" The minimal lyrics we have for this song don't give me a lot, but I would say they definitely don't reflect hunger, so I think we have entered the fourth circle, 'Greed'. 'Greed' is categorised as one of the sins committed out of a lack of self-control, like 'Lust' and 'Gluttony'. However, Hozier seems to be fighting this idea in the lyrics, claiming, "But I know being reckless and young is not how the damage gets done." The idea of "damage" also reflects the circle of 'Greed', as the punishment for this sin is that the inhabitants are grouped into halves, and each half are forced to engage in an eternal battle that leaves them so injured, they are impossible to recognise.

"WHO WE ARE" I'll be honest, in terms of references, we don't have a lot for this song, although, as mentioned in the next paragraph, "Son Of Nyx" has to be about the fifth circle, 'Anger', so "Who We Are" is either another 'Greed' song or it's a second 'Anger' song. Although, we do have the lyric, "But it sharpens like a knife", which throws me back to the knife imagery of "Take Me To Church", a very biblical song in terms of imagery, and in the fourth circle, 'Greed', Dante sees varying members of the Clergy, so perhaps "Who We Are" is a similar song to "Take Me To Church", and takes place in 'Greed'. TMTC: "You can sharpen your knife", "My lover's the sunlight", "She demands a sacrifice", "Only then, I am human." WWA: "It sharpens like a knife", "We're born at night", "Darling, we sacrificed", "It's who we are." The biblical similarities could present this as a 'Greed' song, referencing the various clergymen who reside there. "SON OF NYX" Though we have no lyrics, we know the song after this is "All Things End", which is about the sixth circle, 'Heresy', so this song has to be about the fifth circle, 'Anger'. Nyx was a Greek Goddess who was the personification of night, once again referencing darkness in this album. Nyx has many offspring, all presenting various different things. Nyx, however, did inhabit the dark recesses of the underworld, respected and feared by even Zeus. We have no lyrics ( although, perhaps it is just this song renamed ? who knows ), so I can't say for certain how this relates, but a Goddess that resides in the underworld seems very fitting for Inferno.

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Again, if I missed anything, please tell me! I'm already so obsessed with this album, I need to know if there is content I am missing, thank you soldiers. (ง’̀-‘́)ง

#hozier #unreal unearth #lyrics #francesca #eat your young #son of nyx #damage gets done #who we are #de selby part 1 #de selby part 2 #i am so obsessed with this album i cannot stop thinking about it #music #music analysis #lyric analysis #literature

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astaldis · 5 months ago

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Why is House of the Dragon allegedly so much better than The Witcher?

Just watched House of the Dragon S2 and I must say - I found it pretty boring in many parts?

Sorry, but the whole thing mostly and disappointingly feels like a very long and repetitive prologue to what might come in S3. And they do many things that are loudly criticised in The Witcher, some even a lot worse, but with HotD people seem to not mind? Honestly, this really puzzles me. Yes, the costumes and make-up might be better, but:

It's all over the place on the whole continent of Westeros and even outside of Westeros with people traveling from place to place in no time at all. OK, on dragon back, you can do that, but they also do it on foot and by boat. I remember some of the geography of the continent because I was very much into Game of Thrones some years back when it aired and also read all the Song of Ice and Fire books that were available (not the ones HotD is based on though), but the constant jumps from one place to the next are really confusing imo and you'd need to have a map by your side all the time to remember where is what. When the Witcher does that, it is criticised heavily.

Same with people, there are so many main and minor characters, some even with similar or the same names, how the fuck are you supposed to remember who's who and who is related to who and how, who belongs to which house, and who's allied to who and who's feuding who without looking it up again all the time somewhere on the internet? With all the incest and extramarital activities resulting in a host of illegitimate progeny, I found this extremely confusing, a lot more so than in The Witcher.

And does anybody have a shimmer of an idea of how much time has passed since the old king's death? Must be at least months but you hardly ever get any hints about it. And this poor girl, how long is she wandering around the desolate highlands alone trying to find the wild dragon? Must have been weeks judging by the other things that happened in the meantime ...

Maybe it's just me, but I did not find any of the characters really compelling. Not that they are not well acted, the acting is good enough, but emotionally they did not really leave any impression on me. Maybe the only character I find a bit interesting is Queen Helaena and this very young Lord Tully who shows unexpected spine and stands up to Daemon in front of the Riverlords. There are so many seemingly random new side characters popping up all over the place, too, miraculously gaining importance that one is supposed to keep track of, but also none of them that was in any way inspiring it me. And the poor cute Bracken knight only drew his sword and was already dead in the mud on a battlefield with hundreds of men hardly a second later ...

Rhaenyra suddenly and out of the blue kisses this lowborn woman (was her name even mentioned? I cannot for the life of me remember it). I don't have anything against women kissing, not at all, but why? There is no mention of anything going on between those two at all afterwards. Are they in a secret relationship now or not? I haven't read the book and don't know if it's in there, but how is that kiss, as it seems to have no relevance to the plot at all, not 'woke' catering to the LGBTQ community? But everything the Witcher does is?

Then there are the dragons you have to keep track of in addition to the many people and places. How many dragons are there? And who rides which one? And why the heck would a dragon in its right mind choose this dubious Ulf character who accidentally stumbles into its cave as a rider???

And the plot? Honestly, was there, beside the one fight between the three dragons, anything that was really exciting? I remember nothing, no battles, no good sword fights, nothing but TALK. At lest 90% of the plot is repetitive talking about politics and plotting and scheming. I have nothing against a nice political intrigue and of course that's what happens at courts and it can be interesting too. It was in Game of Thrones where you had really interesting characters, too. But here I found it mostly boring and uninspired. And The Witcher is criticised for having too much politics and too many side characters although it has a LOT less so than this season of HotD.

They also seem to have conveniently forgotten that in GoT they established that Targaryans would not burn from fire. In the books this happens only once because some kind of blood magic was performed, but in the show it happened several times, so it seemed to be the rule, not the exception. HotD thus kind of refutes their own made-up lore, which I found confusing and had to look it up online. (They could easily have made Aegon suffer from bad injuries due to the fall instead.)

The music was rather uninspiring, too, imo, except for the intro which is the well-known one taken from GoT and the music at the end of E8 which was partly based on the Rains of Castamere, otherwise there was not a single piece of the soundtack that would make me want to buy and listen to it. The Witcher has quite a few that I listen to again and again (including, of course, Jaskier's songs, but many more).

What I also like a lot better about The Witcher: It does not take itself that seriously and there is quite a bit of humour in it. In HofD S2, the imo funniest piece of dialogue was: "I want you to fuck my wives." - "How many wives do you have?" (that was between this pirate commander, don't remember his/her? name, and Lord Tyland, was that his name?) . And maybe the truest sentence in the show by this random braggart in the tavern who miraculously turns into a dragon rider Ulf: "A sense of humour would do you all good."

All in all, the only thing that I have found to be really good and outstanding about HotD S2 are the dragons. Without them, it would be less than mediocre. I don't think I would want to rewatch it and feel no desire to look up any of the characters and their relationships etc to find out more about them. I cannot say in how far it is or isn't faithful to the source material as I have not read the book(s?) HotD is based on, but even if it's more faithful to the source material, this has failed to make it a great watch like GoT (minus the ending, that was worse than the poorest fanfic could have thought it up). With the dragons it is alright to watch once, hoping for a more exciting S3, but there is absolutely no way it deserves higher critic/audience scores/ratings than The Witcher S3, the contrary.

Update: To clarify, I don't really mind many things that I mentioned about HotD, I can totally live with an unclear timeline and many characters, even if it's not easy to remember every name, relationship etc. If I really like a show or character, I simply look it up, no problem. But these are all things I have seen people criticise The Witcher for on social media, and then they say HotD is so much better. That's what really puzzles me. What I definitely liked about HotD is the diverse cast and that there are many female characters with a lot of screen time and importance. It's not a bad show, only I like The Witcher much better despite its flaws. This is not meant as an anti HotD post but a pro Witcher post.

#house of the dragon #hotd s2 spoilers #hotd #hotd season 2 #hotd s2 #the witcher #the witcher netflix

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velvetvexations · 7 months ago

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can I be honest I feel like people in the fandoms (and to an extent the IH) treatment of KLCK compared to Fabian is a clear case of misogyny

our rich privileged soft boy vs their rich privileged annoying bitch

our boy who makes race insensitive remarks sometimes but it's not his fault vs their bitch whose mental issues make her make bad remarks in private

our self centered but adorable cute boy vs their self centered narcissistic bitch

idk if I'm onto anything honestly I'm very tired and have my brain on npd mode and if I posted anything about KLCK's mental issues on the subreddit I'd be ridiculed so I need to scream at someone who gets it. hope you've been doing okay! fbdnfnds

Brennan really honeypotted all the NPD members of the D20 fandom with her, huh?

But I think you're half-right. The immediate and insane reaction to KLCK having an annoying tone of voice and going hogwild on her to the extent that the fandom did, especially the infinite repetition of calling her bitch and cunt, definitely smacks of misogyny. There are other factors, though, chiefly the parasocial relationship making the fandom not only reflect but greatly amplify the opinions of the Intrepid Heroes. Like, if Brennan said he didn't like mustard this fandom would riot in the streets until mustard was removed from store shelves. With Siobhan and Ally going as hard as they did on despising KLCK, the urge to partake in the activity with your fake internet celebrity best friends did what it does.

The fact that Kipperlilly's parents were in the housing market in particular did not do her any favors. Like, the fans call Brennan a decolonial philosopher. Like I've said a few times before because it's the perfect metaphor, the fandom loves to LARP the Cultural Revolution - and that's barely even a metaphor as opposed to just literally what they're actually doing. The political aspect combines with the parasocial one, too, because now you're saving the world with your fake internet celebrity best friends. The moment, I mean the exact moment I started getting into KLCK, because up until then I was right there with everyone else going wHaT aRe YoU FoUr DiFfErEnT DoGs, was when I noticed fans on Reddit calling her a nepo baby. I started a thread about it trying to just, like, educate these children on what that term actually means and the replies drove me completely out of my mind.

So it's like, Fabian mainly gets a pass because he's a PC, because the fandom is wrapped around the cock of every PC and stubbornly refuses to accept them as anything less than perfect baby angels. Like I said, though, you are for sure correct in identifying that misogynistic element of how fans pounced on KLCK and identified her as a bitchy cunt bitch whore because her energy is very slightly grating. Or really, not even grating, honestly? Like she's clearly supposed to come off as obnoxious, but she's nothing but polite and mildly cheerful all the way up until "I want you to go fuck yourself", and even THAT was in response to the Bad Kids picking a fight.

#dimension 20 #fhjy #kipperlilly copperkettle

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 17 days ago

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[ please support this blog ]

🦇 A Monsoon Rising Book Review 🦇

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite enemies-to-lovers story? 🦇 Even after a lifetime of war, being married to a sworn foe feels far from peaceful. Talasyn must play the part of Alaric’s willing empress while her allies secretly plot to overthrow his reign. But the longer the couple are forced together, the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them. When the time comes to act, can she trust him, or must she ignore her heart for the sake of so many others?

💜 The second book of The Hurricane Wars trilogy starts exactly where the first leaves off. Let's break it down:

✨ Characters: As the second book in the trilogy, we should see the bulk of character development in this novel--moments that hint at Talasyn & Alaric seeing one another's perspectives to the point of changing their ideologies about the world & how it should operate. While we are given those moments, they're nearly always rooted in lust (namely, throughout the second half of the novel). The tension I loved so much in the first book still holds, but the pattern starts to become repetitive: an argument, a heated kiss, no real discussion of their feelings & thoughts. Yes, the third book requires Talaysn & Alaric to hold steadfast to their secrets (& potential betrayals), but they could have at least been honest about their messy feelings for one another. The cast grows a little in this book, but we barely see any real characterization for the supporting cast.

✨ Plot and Pacing: This novel focuses on the cataclysmic event, the Moonless Dark, that partially drove Talaysn & Alaric's political marriage. It takes place over the span of four months, with multiple time jumps. Still, the pace seems to drag at times. It's the action-packed scenes that drive the pacing (as they should). More reveals (political secrets, information about Talaysn's mother) would have allowed suspense to drive the pacing faster.

✨ World-Building: Just as before, Guanzon's descriptions of this world are beautiful & descriptive. I can't believe I'm typing this, but I wish there were fewer descriptions & more INFORMATION. What about the universe beyond the Continent and Nenavar? What about Nenavar's culture & history? There are small hints, but not enough to expand this universe.

✨ Romance: You bookish bats wanted more smut from this trilogy, & you got it. The spice definitely amps up in this one, but again, it becomes a distraction for Alaric & Talasyn when there's SO much more going on. That tension between them remains, the sassy banter still builds toward eruptive moments, & they're both definitely falling for one another. It wasn't the smut that caught my attention, but the soft intimacies between them that REALLY mattered. They start opening up to one another in ways that MATTER--I just wish there was more of THAT than the mindless, poorly timed, frenzy of smut.

✨ Mystery/Suspense: There's DEFINITELY a reveal lurking in the shadows of book three, namely, about Talaysn's mother, Hanan (my mom's name, which throws me out of the story EVERY time I see it). This story DOES end on a cliffhanger, albeit an awkward one, so we'll see where it goes.

🦇 Recommended to fans of Avatar the Last Airbender (or Zutara and Rylo shippers), Fourth Wing, and ACOTAR.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 🌀 Romantic Fantasy Trilogy 🌀 Enemies to Lovers 🌀 Forced Proximity 🌀 War/Occupation 🌀 Southeast Asian/BIPOC 🌀 Marriage of Convenience 🌀 Slow Burn 🌀 Feminine Rage

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

💬 Quotes ❝ “His Majesty ought to grant me a title.” “On top of all the other names I already call you?” ❞ ❝ “Little hellcat,” he muttered, lost in her narrowed eyes flashing with hints of gold. “Claws out even while you purr.” ❞ ❝ “Deadly. Magnificent. The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” ❞ ❝ Just him and me and the monsoon. ❞ ❝ Ever since we met, I have lived in a dream of what could be. ❞

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sanguinesorcery · 2 months ago

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What is your muse's favorite hobby/ies? Are there any hobbies they tried but never got the hang of?

Come, Sit, Learn || Accepting

Outside of the obviousness of cultural staples [such as singing or dancing or combat], Fariah does have a few hobbies she likes to indulge in when she has the time to do so.

Of all of them, she finds reading is the easiest to find time for; when not pouring over research for one problem or another, she finds her enjoyment here reading to wind down at night. Given most of her world is surrounded in politics and their form of realism, she shuns non-fiction and instead pulls to other genres that do not mirror the world she comes from: fantasy, horror, and romance tend to be the three most popular genres on her personal bedside table, and so scattered among handwritten notes and stacks of books and records to help fuel whatever issue she really should be thinking about is a novel or two she is currently in the middle of.

Needlework falls into a requirement she was forced to learn but became attached to. Unfortunately, it is a very time-consuming hobby and so while she is adept at it, she uses it more for tradition and political affairs more than anything; Sidhe Empresses have always gifted handmade linens and tapestries to foreign allies for special events. Royal marriages and the birth of young heirs are the two most common events, and while she will set aside time to stitch or weave for these auspicious times, it is more for the good of the people and less for her own enjoyment. She simply gleans enjoyment of the peace of mind such repetition gives her in the moment.

Sailing falls under another hobby she was taught as a requirement and still enjoys. Although she doesn't get to sail as much as she would like, it is a quiet moment she will use it for in order to find time to hide and get away from being Empress for a small breath in her routines. She was taught by her father at a young age, under the guise that not just the Imperial but all Sidhe should know how to sail, and she remembers such times with a melancholy fondness, determined to put his teachings to use to help calm herself when she needs it most.

Cooking is not a skill or hobby she took to very well. She can easily make fast and edible food in the case of survival, but the finer dishes in her life -including many staples of the Three and Ten- are foreign processes to her. She understands the steps, but even if she follows a recipe to exact detail, it comes out terribly. It's something she lets the actual chefs handle on a day to day, even if she tries off and on for her own benefit, or to solidify it's still not happening.

@serandipity

#Answers #Headcanons Meme #serandipity

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vanbredevoort · 1 year ago

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--- PSA

What REALLY happens to Lydia in Thanedd

Hello! I'm briefly going to explain what happens to Lydia during the Thanedd coup in the books, in a comedic fashion bc if I think about this seriously I might combust internally and not in the fun way. i guarantee you'll laugh once. if you don't, a stick figure artwork of your muse will be given in compensation.

Be warned of: spoilers from thewitcher books (Time of Contempt) / mentions of death, blood and suicide (if that's a trigger for you, please do not read) / constant and i mean an absurd amount of stabbing jokes.

Thanedd has two sides. The 'defenders of the North + their kings' and the 'traitors who allied with Nilfgaard and put pinapple on their pizzas'. They put the traitors in dimeritium shackles, AKA Francesca and Vilgefortz bc he apparently poster boi of betrayal and knightly costumes. SUDDENLY there's a fight, and one of the fighters is Lydia.

The fight stops because Lydia dies. It is IMPLIED that she went van Stabbyvoort and did the thing herself, because daggers are pretty and they're prettier when they're INSIDE UR HEART. Red is a pretty color too. EVEN PRETTIER WHEN IT STAINS THE HALLWAYS AND IT'S YOURS.

Lydia was to give time to Vilgefortz to get resistant to dimeritium, bc he's a mighty powerful god / cutest kinda deranged dictator wannabe, and there's no better way to do so than idk killing yourself.

Why go to such lenghts? Because she loved him like a lot. the book describes her love as 'silent, stubborn and relentless'. She was in love with Vilgefortz, went hearteyes every single time, and that love made her lose stuff in translation, as in:

vil was like 'gimmie time!' lyd went all 'instructions unclear will stab self'

This makes a good show and with good show I mean shit festival, because it was supposed to be all political mambo jambo. No deaths. Triss is like YOOOOOOOOO WHY CORPSE IN MY LIVING ROOM WHO CORPSE OOOOOO FUCKED UP FACE CUTIE NOOOOO.

So Lydia's death forces everyone to take a good look inside their little tiny ugly hearts and go 'yeah we kinda fucked up, didn't we' not because they care about lydia but because, and i might sound repetitive but THE COUP WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE WITHOUT KILLING PEOPLE. it was a political affair. a sorceress with a fucking dagger stuck to her tit is not political.

Tissaia blames Philippa. No one wanted any deaths.

LYDIA'S DEATH SETS THINGS IN MOTION. It marks the separation between Tissaia (who ends up killing herself after the fiasco) and Philippa (she literally goes like 'lyd be dead? oh daaaaamn'). it helps vil. it makes tissaia lift the ban on polka dots and using magic there.

Vil, now free because his assistant decided to become a human pin cushion, went to tor lara bc child of the elder blood with the power to bring the armaggedon of evilness and evil looking elves yada yada, and Geralt says GET THIS MAN OUT OF MY LAWN.

Vil is all 'let us go togetherrrrr ♥ we can hold hands while we stop thE PANDEMONIUM OF ICE AND BAD STUFF.exe, she's probably scared let us sing dora the explorer songs together'

And geralt is like 'do you know what's a good idea? let's talk about LYDIA AND DEAD LYDIA. IN THIS THREE HOUR PRESENTATION I WILL EXPLAIN WHY IT IS YOUR FAULT SHE WENT GUESS-I'LL-DIE.PNG'

Bad choice. like really bad choice. like 'i need to heal in brokilon bc i got fucked up real real bad' bad choice. everything was fun and games until he blames vil because of lydia's chest jewerly and accesory. so vil does the sensitive thing and pulls out a baguette and teaches geralt a lesson on humility and baguettes.

lydia is not your average villain power corrupted evil bundle of doom. lydia is a girl who loved too much, and allowed that love to kill her. it's fucking poetic.

#·· shut up vic / OOC #·· PSA #( the witcher books spoilers )#( tw: suicide )#( tw: blood )#( tw: death )#( human pin cushion is my new favorite nickname for lydia )

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tiredgamergirl · 2 months ago

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With around 60 cases written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, Sherlock Holmes has a decent track record with some outstanding stories, some simple but clever in execution, and a few that can be quite unremarkable. Despite The Five Orange Pips being one of the few cases that which Holmes failed, it usually ranks among the unremarkable ones. Usually when people say “a fruit of its time” they are trying to measure something by today’s standards, but in this one, it is focused on something that your typical English man at the time would not be any wiser but nowadays anyone with any cursory knowledge about politics or American History would know. That was why Ms. Holmes: Five Orange Pips caught my curiosity: how would Elephant Games work this concept?

The game starts strong with an ominous opening of someone swearing revenge and an unknown person breaking into Sharlotte’s house looking for something and leaving a threatening message. What would be the connection of the case of the Five Orange Pips? Who is behind the threats? It is a straightforward mystery, it does set up a series of questions but not all of them have a pay-off or an explanation, unless it might come up in a future title or was an overlooked detail that I failed to notice. It does expand on the current status quo of the series, presenting new allies and revisiting the aforementioned obscure case.

The investigation aspect is stronger now, both as part of the hidden object scenes and casual exploration of the places and once again many of the puzzles are well-integrated with the main plot and serve a purpose. None of the achievements -that, once again, are only in-game and not steam-compatible- are too outrageous to archive or require the player to go out of their way to complete. Everything is snappy, there is hardly any inventory bloating or backtracking, and the brisk pace makes for an enjoyable adventure.

Once again the graphics are mostly focused on cool colors, which makes a certain character stand out and her place in the story can be a little confusing. The story certainly centers around her motivations, but they are hardly elaborated. Will she be the “Moriarty” of this new Holmes? Only time will tell. The leitmotif of the game can be heard in many key moments to the point it can get a little repetitive, but the soundtrack itself is enjoyable. The voices are alright although the secondary cast can be a mixed bag.

The bonus chapter, however, is a fully self-contained and realized story that has a bittersweet conclusion. It does brings some variety to the mix, especially in terms of visuals, and can be appreciated in its own terms.

Ms Holmes : Five Orange Pips brings an interesting follow-up to a forgettable Sherlock Holmes’ case, yet leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest flaw of this game is that it can be very short and it feels like it is over before it really starts. A good title for fans of the genre and a nice continuation of the series.

#game reviews #hidden object #hidden object game #hidden objects reviews #steam games #Ms Holmes

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grison-in-space · 19 days ago

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which is, in fact, why the Asexual Agenda was created ten years ago: to make space for more in-depth discussions of the experience of being asexual without being constantly derailed by 101 shit. you gotta make different spaces for those conversations if you want to have them.

I do think you are being a little harsh, though: awareness weeks are not about higher-level discussions, they're about education and, well, raising awareness. that's the point of them! and I will say, also, as someone who has been around and part of asexuality activism communities for, shit, nineteen years now, you are taking a lot of progress done by that same basic-ass awareness shit for granted.

like. a lot.

when I was a fourteen year old kid realizing I was ace almost twenty years ago, I was pretty sure I would never meet another asexual person face to face and I was equally pretty sure no one would ever believe me if I used the word in front of them. fifteen years ago I was crabby because I couldn't tell which queer orgs wanted to be welcoming to aces like me, in theory, and which would explode in fury if I showed up with my full self. ten years ago I was cranky and tired because I had just navigated the immigration system with my (ace!) spouse and the whole process was exhausting and more than a little terrifying. five years ago I was trying to gently put the in-person ace community with its weekly meetings formally over to someone else before I left town. today I can look at a post like this and nod and think, "yeah, it is frustrating that asexual awareness week is always so focused on existing--but hey, I saw an infographic the other day pointing out that libido, interest in participating in sex, attraction, and political alignment with the goals of sex positivity are all totally unconnected axes!" which was a conversation I was part of hosting and promoting over a decade ago! today we're treating that shit like 101 material we expect allies to see, internalize, and move on with.

creating cultural recognition and a space for a whole group of people who had previously been treated like medical freaks at best is a long, slow project that involves thousands of frustrating, often annoying, repetitive conversations. it's okay if you feel impatient about that and want to do other work for a while. there are lots of jobs to be done, and you do not owe asexuality (or bisexuality) your educational allegiance to make a difference for your community. that does not change the reality: this is work that has been happening for decades now, and it will continue happening for decades to come, and every time it happens, the focus of the message is going to seem incredibly boring and incredibly basic. even if it's really getting just a tiny bit more complicated each time, it will always feel way below your level... because that is what 101, awareness, and education mean. it's teaching people who were not only out of class last time we did this, but who were listening to their friends gossiping in the hallway the time before that. that's the nature of the beast.

good luck. I'm glad you can take the more complex discussions for granted today. I hope you find something here to soothe some of your frustration and very valid impatience.

were activists who talked about the same issues we talk about today 30, 40, 50 years ago really "ahead of their time" or have we simply not progressed nearly as much as we should have?

#asexuality #for the peanut gallery I used to go by sciatrix and wrote a fairly loud blog back in the day #before burnout well and truly caught me

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tomorrowusa · 11 months ago

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In the past, Republicans have been more effective than we have been at using culture wars as a political weapon. However they just shot themselves in their gonads with the insane right wing conspiracy theories regarding Taylor Swift. If we do not use this like a cudgel against them repeatedly then we probably need to take a remedial Politics 101 class.

President Obama's former communications director Dan Pfeiffer gives us some perspective.

[B]y picking these culture war fights, Republicans demonstrate how disconnected they are from typical American life. While this whole Taylor Swift psyop thing has gotten some attention, most voters don’t know just how far from the mainstream Republicans have wandered. Therefore, it’s our job to tell them. Two tips for doing so: First, when taking on an extremist faction, particularly one with authoritarian leanings, it’s always helpful to remind the public that this faction is a minority in the country. This helps isolate the threat and rob them of their power. It’s also empowering to the rest of us to be reminded that we are the majority. We are not in this fight alone, and we are joined by most of our fellow citizens. Second, having a bizarre meltdown over Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the Super Bowl is fucking weird and Americans don’t elect fucking weirdos. Just ask Ron DeSantis, whose candidacy was doomed the minute people discovered that he eats pudding with his fingers. The Right picking fights with Bud Light is weird. Their opposition to vaccines (which is why they hate Kelce) is weird. Their obsession with trans kids is weird. The fact that the Right focuses on all of the wrong and weirdest things makes them unrelatable to most people. In 2016, Trump re-appropriated Richard Nixon’s racially tinged “silent majority” language. In 2024, he is leading an extremist minority of weirdos.

Remind people whenever you can slip it into a conversation, and not just with fellow Dems, that Republicans are extremist weirdos who are far out of the American mainstream; the GOP's wacko preoccupation with Taylor Swift should be cited. And do not be squeamish about repetition. Repetition is your ally – ask any successful advertiser.

#taylor swift #travis kelce #super bowl lviii #vaccines #deep state #psyop #republicans #far right conspiracy theories #maga extremists #republicans are weird #culture wars #donald trump #dan pfeiffer #vote blue no matter who #election 2024

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iksidaorvali · 5 months ago

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❛❛ eowyn arryn . ❜❜ ― 🪶 ― sweet little songbird in a gilded cage, how you yearn to spread your wings and fly (marriage may be your only escape but is it truly the key)... patience was a virtue forced upon you by your parents’ repetition to wait, and yet there was never any ending to it (is it still patience if you’ve given up?)... your siblings returning from the adventures you’re so desperate for, the stones they bring you serving as your only taste of the outside world (at least this is better than nothing)...

BASICS.

full name : eowyn aemma arryn

name meaning :

eowyn : literature | "horse lover"

aemma : german | "universal"

arryn : english | "the light bringer"

nicknames : ey, wyn, wynnie

epithets : little bird of the eyrie

titles : lady of the vale, lady of the eyrie, lady of the gates of the moon

gender / pronouns : cis woman / she/her

sexuality : pansexual

date of birth : first day of the tenth moon

age : one and twenty years

zodiac : libra

place of birth : the eyrie, the vale, westeros

accent : english

languages : common tongue, old tongue

allegiance : house arryn, the vale

religion : the faith of the seven

APPEARANCE.

faceclaim : abigail cowen

height : 5′0″

eye color : blue

hair color : strawberry blonde

dominant hand : right

glasses : n/a

MEDICAL.

mental : insomnia, audhd

physical : n/a

PERSONALITY.

positive traits : empathetic, passionate, intuitive

negative traits : naive, distracted, fanciful

hobbies : singing, reading, embroidery, falconry, collecting rocks, daydreaming

RELATIONSHIPS.

parents :

prince consort ___ royce; father [ 55-60 ]

queen regnant ___ arryn, née rogare; mother [ 50-56 ]

siblings :

crown princess alynn arryn; eldest sister [ 30 ]

prince ___ arryn; eldest brother [ 25-27 ]

prince ___ arryn; older brother [ 22-24 ]

extended family :

ruling lord ___ royce; paternal cousin [ 49 ]

queen consort myranda lannister, née royce; late paternal cousin [ 23, deceased 13 years ]

house royce of runestone

via her father

house lannister of casterly rock

via her late paternal cousin's marriage

spouse : n/a

children : n/a

pets :

vardis [ caucasian ovcharka ]

hura [ gyrfalcon ]

airis [ mauritius kestrel ]

ADDITIONAL INFO.

quick facts :

she has a map table in her bedroom in the vale with rocks laid out over the location they came from. each rock was gifted to her

a major animal lover who will refer to her pets as her babies

just a fuckin nerd about rocks. if you let her, she will go on about them for hours and still have more to say

earned the nickname of 'little bird' not only for being the youngest arryn, but also for her small size and beautiful singing voice

could stare at the moon forever. it's her favorite rock

more coming soon. i just wanna write.

biography :

doc here

feel free to ask me anything, as this is a work in progress.

CONNECTIONS.

betrothed : being from a great house, eowyn has lived her life knowing that her marriage would most likely be used as a political tool. while she has come to terms with this truth, it hasn't stopped her from hoping to find love within the arrangement. or friendship, at the very least. (i figure we can plot this out.) i'd love for it to be someone she's not yet met, something arranged by their parents a month or so ago with the intention of introducing the pair while in king’s landing for the the name day festivities. i have a preference for someone from one of the great houses, but am open to other noble houses if the pairing makes sense politically for house arryn. ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍

personal guard : this individual has become not just her guardian, but also her confidant and most trusted ally. likely assigned to her after a few escape attempts, their bond was forged when they argued for her to at least be able to explore the outdoor areas closest to the eyrie. ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍

ladies in waiting : tba ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 (𝟎/𝟐)

#regis.intro #━━ ⟢ 𝕀𝕍 ⦂ ⋰ * ✧ about ⌜eowyn arryn⌟.

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ofarryn · 5 months ago

Text

BASICS.

full name : eowyn aemma arryn

name meaning :

eowyn : literature | "horse lover"

aemma : german | "universal"

arryn : english | "the light bringer"

nicknames : ey, wyn, wynnie

epithets : little bird of the eyrie

titles : lady of the vale, lady of the eyrie, lady of the gates of the moon

gender / pronouns : cis woman / she/her

sexuality : pansexual

date of birth : first day of the tenth moon

age : one and twenty years

zodiac : libra

place of birth : the eyrie, the vale, westeros

accent : english

languages : common tongue, old tongue

allegiance : house arryn, the vale

religion : the faith of the seven

APPEARANCE.

faceclaim : abigail cowen

height : 5′0″

eye color : blue

hair color : strawberry blonde

dominant hand : right

glasses : n/a

MEDICAL.

mental : insomnia, audhd

physical : n/a

PERSONALITY.

positive traits : empathetic, passionate, intuitive

negative traits : naive, distracted, fanciful

hobbies : singing, reading, embroidery, falconry, collecting rocks, daydreaming

RELATIONSHIPS.

parents :

prince consort ___ royce; father [ 55-60 ]

queen regnant ___ arryn, née rogare; mother [ 50-56 ]

siblings :

crown princess alynn arryn; eldest sister [ 30 ]

prince ___ arryn; eldest brother [ 25-27 ]

prince ___ arryn; older brother [ 22-24 ]

extended family :

ruling lord ___ royce; paternal cousin [ 49 ]

queen consort myranda lannister, née royce; late paternal cousin [ 23, deceased 13 years ]

house royce of runestone

via her father

house lannister of casterly rock

via her late paternal cousin's marriage

spouse : n/a

children : n/a

pets :

vardis [ caucasian ovcharka ]

hura [ gyrfalcon ]

airis [ mauritius kestrel ]

ADDITIONAL INFO.

quick facts :

she has a map table in her bedroom in the vale with rocks laid out over the location they came from. each rock was gifted to her

a major animal lover who will refer to her pets as her babies

just a fuckin nerd about rocks. if you let her, she will go on about them for hours and still have more to say

earned the nickname of 'little bird' not only for being the youngest arryn, but also for her small size and beautiful singing voice

could stare at the moon forever. it's her favorite rock

more coming soon. i just wanna write.

biography :

doc here

feel free to ask me anything, as this is a work in progress.

CONNECTIONS.

ladies in waiting : tba ➢ 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 (𝟎/𝟐)

#regis.intro #━━ ⟢ 𝕀𝕍 ⦂ ⋰ * ✧ about.

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speedyposts · 11 months ago

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Gaza and the dilemmas of genocide scholars

It is interesting that it was Israeli leaders and their allies in Washington who first brought the term “genocide” into the Gaza conflict. In the aftermath of Hamas’s attack on October 7, they repeatedly brought up references to the Holocaust.

A number of Holocaust and genocide scholars and centres followed suit in condemning Hamas. This included a group of more than 150 Holocaust scholars, who signed a statement released in November condemning Hamas’s “atrocities … [which] unavoidably bring to mind the mindset and the methods of the perpetrators of the pogroms that paved the way to the Final Solution”.

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This prompted another group of more than 50 Holocaust and genocide scholars to publish a statement on December 9, condemning Hamas, but adding a warning about “the danger of genocide in Israel’s attack on Gaza”.

An endless stream of interventions in the media accompanied and followed these initiatives, exhibiting mounting polarisation and politicisation. A number of prominent intellectuals – from Germany’s “left-wing” philosopher Jurgen Habermas and French intellectual-activist Bernard-Henri Levy to American political theorist Michael Walzer and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek – also joined the fray.

This public split among scholars prompted the Journal of Genocide Research, the leading and oldest periodical in the field, to organise a forum on the topic “Israel-Palestine: Atrocity Crimes and the Crisis of Holocaust and Genocide Studies”. It invited a small number of leading figures in the field to put forward their contributions with the goal of injecting more restraint and judiciousness into the debate. I was one of the scholars asked to join.

Like all fields in the social sciences, Holocaust and Genocide Studies has a paradoxical relationship to its subject. As a “science”, it must distance itself sufficiently from it to gain “objectivity” and authority. But it also needs to be sufficiently engaged to achieve relevance and impact. Another dilemma stems from its subfield, Holocaust Studies, insisting on its singularity and uniqueness. If these characteristics are accepted, this hinders the drawing of lessons relating to prevention and the “never again” determination.

These two paradoxes converged in the current Gaza conflagration, as academics readily abandoned their authoritative ivory towers in the direction of partisanship. The unique significance of the Holocaust was affirmed and simultaneously denied to condemn Hamas’s October 7 attacks as a repetition of it. It was also used to shield Israel as a self-declared symbol for Holocaust survivors from condemnation of its indiscriminate retaliation on Gaza and characterisations of its actions as genocidal.

The challenge for participants in the forum was to be sufficiently non-partisan in their writing to project authority while staying relevant to address the question of the day. With that challenge in mind, the organisers invited scholars who represented a broad spectrum of positions.

In this brief critical review of the debate, I concentrate on just two points: the key question on whether Israel’s actions in Gaza qualified as genocide and to what extent the field of Holocaust and Genocide Studies has been revalidated (or harmed) by taking the lead in this debate.

With regard to the first question, Martin Shaw affirmed in the first intervention, Inescapably Genocidal, the genocidal consequences of Israel’s massive bombardment of Gaza, which “represented a strategic choice” rather than a tactical mishap. In this sense, the term “genocide” remains relevant and cannot be replaced by “alternatives”. However, Shaw adds that Hamas has knowingly provoked Israel’s genocidal acts, and thus is complicit in it. In this sense, Hamas was genocidal on October 7 and is also guilty of luring Israel into its own genocide against the people of Gaza.

Zoe Samudzi, in her article “We are Fighting Nazis: Genocidal Fashionings of Gaza(ns) After 7 October”, concludes that Israel has committed “nearly every act outlined in Article II [of the Genocide Convention] … that accounts for the more totalized ‘destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group’”. The author critically engages with a number of points that would appear to be mitigating circumstances, like using artificial intelligence (AI) targeting systems. She adds that “the use of algorithmic logics … is not necessarily illegal” since it operates within the colonially constructed international legal system of “genocidal statecrafting”. Due to Israel’s de facto “legal impunity”, “the question of genocide in Palestine transcends the applicability of the Genocide Convention”, Samudzi argues.

In his “Gaza 2023: Words Matter, Lives Matter More”, Mark Levene concurs with Shaw that the word “genocide” is inescapable in this context. He writes that early on in the conflict he recognised Israel was “on the cusp of committing genocide in Gaza”. Using A Dirk Moses’s concept of “permanent security” as an alternative to genocide, as well as terms, such as “urbicide”, genocidal warfare, social death, etc, he tries to avow making a determination of genocide. But whatever term is used, it is clear, he argues, that “the Israeli state this time has dissolved any remaining vestige [if ever there was one] of moral unassailability”.

Levene’s important insight is that this genocidal trajectory has roots in the fact that “Israel’s entire reality since 1948 … has been predicated on preventative securitization, tantamount to a perpetual state of war”. The trigger was not Hamas’s attack, but the trauma it evoked, calling for the “final obliteration of that perceived as having caused the insult”. In the light of the vocal calls for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians trapped in Gaza by extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the “charge of genocide [becomes] legitimate”.

In her “A World Without Civilians”, Elyse Semerdjian discusses Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s October 13 remark that the entire people of Gaza are responsible for the October 7 attacks as part of a wider phenomenon of modern war where the targeting of civilians is increasingly prevalent. Gaza, as the theatre for the “First AI War”, has also become “a laboratory for necrocapitalism”, where weapons are field tested on Palestinians to “fetch higher dollars at market”. However, these “smart” bombs levelled whole neighbourhoods “as crudely as a Syrian barrel bomb”.

Given the scale of destruction of civilian infrastructure, however, it appears the distinction between targeted “humane” bombing and indiscriminate bombing in Gaza – as in Syria and Chechnya – has largely vanished. Highlighting the added dimension of settler colonial “slow genocide” and its “eliminationist logic against the native”, Palestine becomes a case in point, where slow violence can do the work of nuclear weapons.

For his part, Uğur Ümit Üngör begins his contribution “Screaming, Silence, and Mass Violence in Israel/Palestine” by wondering why mass violence perpetrated by Israel attracts more attention (and outrage) than the much more massive genocidal violence in neighbouring Syria; or why the conflict in Gaza is more on focus than similar ones in Darfur, China, Armenia, etc. Many inconclusive answers are given and refuted, with a faint suggestion that Israel is probably being held to a higher standard.

Üngör also suggests the October 7 attacks may fall in the category of “subaltern genocide”, where subaltern violence breeds feelings of humiliation, fear, and indignation among the stronger party, and a disproportionate revenge. At the same time, he adds that the current Israeli onslaught on Gaza is “annihilating entire communities”, aimed at making “Gaza unlivable and render a future unimaginable”. The segregationist logic underlying this genocidal dynamic, maintained by “militaristic self-aggrandizement and racist denigration”, will outlive the current war, Üngör concludes.

In his “Gaza as a Laboratory 2.0”, Shmuel Lederman argues that Gaza has not become just a laboratory for testing Israeli weapons and security technologies, but also for the pulverisation of human dignity through multiple indignities. Since October 7, it has become additionally “a laboratory for genocidal violence”. Lederman intentionally avoids labelling Israel’s action as genocide, arguing that Israel’s intention is to suppress Hamas as a military and political power, and cause enough suffering to deter Palestinians in Gaza from supporting Hamas again – even though he accepts that the indignities visited on its people encourage “extremism”. His nuanced analysis accepts that Hamas has multiple objectives and fears that have prompted its attack that represented a literal manifestation of a colonial “boomerang effect”.

Finally, my own intervention, “The Futility of Genocide Studies After Gaza”, starts by refuting the “subaltern genocide” thesis generally and in Gaza’s case in particular, pointing to the near-consensus in the field that genocides are almost invariably perpetrated by states. A garrison state like Israel could not be threatened by an impoverished and besieged enclave like Gaza. By contrast, the genocidal intent and consequences of the Israeli assault are becoming indisputable by the day.

You cannot perform all that indiscriminate devastation if you care about human life. Noted is also the fact that the Palestinian question is rarely approached through the prism of genocide, even though some authors have begun to describe the Nakba and its aftermath as a “slow-moving genocide”, while others have linked it to settler colonialist genocides.

The paper concludes that Genocide Studies is under threat since its normative presuppositions are under attack. “The field espouses a firm alignment against mass atrocities, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators or their excuses, and assumes a firm international convergence on this. In the absence of either or both, its cohesion is threatened, and its audience disappears. That is not only a crisis for a field, but a calamity for humanity.”

This leads to the second core point of the debate: the “crisis” of the field of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The debate has been sparked, as Samudzi and Shaw remind us, by the discordant scholarly responses to the Gaza war, “mired in competing historical and socio-legal interpretations of the very concept of genocide”.

With the Holocaust as an exemplar of genocide, this has overshadowed the field’s purpose of accounting for a global scope of genocidal atrocities. In this sense, the epistemic divergences challenging Holocaust-centric conservative interpretations of genocide “represent an overdue disciplinary engagement of the so-called ‘Palestine Question'”, Samudzi argues.

Most interventions refer to A Dirk Moses’s concept of “permanent security”, on how insecure regimes seek “absolute security” through protection against current and future threats, real or imagined. Probably a better term would have been “permanent insecurity”, which aligns with what I call “hyper-securitisation”. Moses wants his term to replace “genocide”.

However we look at it, Israel appears to be in a permanent and frantic search for an illusive total security, namely through “the creation of separation barriers … [that] enabled Israelis to pretend Palestinians were living in some other far-away universe” – as Levene notes – and occasionally through trying to uproot and obliterate them.

Overall, in the forum, there was uneven worry about the health of the field, but near consensus that what Israel is doing in Gaza is certainly “genocidal” if not outright genocide. In my view, if an action is so outrageous that people are debating whether it is genocide or not, then it is evil enough to be condemned and harmful enough to make its prevention urgent.

I also stand by my point that the increasing polarisation and partisanship in the field, together with the “major democracies” simultaneously assuming the role of participants and deniers, is a very serious blow to the whole endeavour of genocide prevention.

This forum was called before South Africa brought its December 29 case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza. Nevertheless, several contributors referred to it. Its outcome may call for revisions of some claims and expectations about Israel’s legal immunity, or about strictures that make the UN Genocide Convention un-implementable.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

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adamwatchesmovies · 2 years ago

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

It’s in the title, but worth pointing out: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is a “part 1”. You’re not going to get a complete story of out this film alone, and not only because it’s the third in the series. The right way to see this picture - particularly now that it’s available on home video - is back-to-back with the sequel. If you do this, then this is a steady buildup that will pay off.

At the end of the last film, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her new allies escaped from the Hunger Games. Unfortunately, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been left behind and captured by President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Learning that her home District has been completely annihilated by military forces as punishment for her rebellion, Katniss prepares herself to become the symbol of the uprising against the Capitol.

If you found Katniss and Peeta being thrown into a battle to the death once again in Catching Fire a little repetitive, don’t worry. This film is about a whole other kind of game our young heroine isn’t ready for. Katniss meets the leader of the rebellion: President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore). She asks our heroine to become the woman everyone thinks she is. While attempting to win the people's hearts through propaganda videos, it becomes obvious Katniss is just a pawn being moved to further other people’s ends. At least in the arena she knew the other contestants were out to kill her. She knew no one could be trusted. This time, who knows? Who is really on her side? When do the games begin, and end? The tension comes not from physical traps but mental ones as the tribute must navigate between the legs of much bigger, more powerful opponents fighting above her.

While the lack of action makes this a slower film, it recuperates points through its characters. Elizabeth Banks's Effie Trinket is a standout. Despite being stripped of her opulent dresses and wigs, she remains determined to be a fashionista with the meager instruments she has at her disposal. Katniss’ younger sister, Primrose (Willow Shields) was a shivering leaf two films ago. Now she’s growing up and making herself useful by becoming a nurse. All of these individual, realistic people make you realize that there’s no way a teenaged girl, popular as she may be, could topple an entire fascist regime on her own. By learning this, Katniss becomes a more active protagonist and it leads to a turning point which just happens to land right before the end credits begin. Talk about a cliffhanger!

The performances in the series continue to be a notch above those found in the imitators. When Lawrence cries, it isn’t merely a few drops gently sliding down her cheeks, it’s agonizing, heartfelt stuff. Those emotional moments make you understand why the teenage-aimed love triangle is always present in this series. If you are a teen, it’ll wrench your heart dry.

On its own, Mockingjay Part 1 is the weakest entry in the Hunger Games series. In its defense, there’s no reason to watch it on its own - not anymore. What it lacks in action it makes up in political intrigue, careful chess-like moves and countermoves. I assure you it’s all building up to a solid conclusion. (On Blu-ray, December 7, 2018)

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tennessoui · 3 years ago

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would you ever do a hunger games au? like anakin and obi-wan in the arena and doing a katniss and peeta thing where they both survive? anakin maybe killing the competitors so obi-wan wouldn't have to? (just thinking that child killing is in character for him) anyway no pressure or anything I just haven't stopped thinking about a hunger games au of obikin and. I thought maybe you could do something with it!

i need you to know i shamefully snorted at the child murder thing i'm sorry and i'm also sorry this took so long and it's a bit all over the place and doesn't actually get into the Games at all (+ it's been years since I read the books so all inaccuracies should be tastefully ignored pls) this may not be what you asked for tbh but here you go!!

(content warnings: hunger games typical discussion of child murder, but nothing graphic)

(1.7k)

Anakin’s first emotion after his name is called is a strange sense of relief.

Good, he thinks. I’ll get to go with Obi-Wan. He won’t be alone.

He dutifully steps forward out of the crowd towards the stage, where the announcer is waiting next to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan who is looking at him with an expression of naked devastation.

Anakin tries to convey that it’ll be alright, that it’s fine, that they knew this was a possibility. Sure, it’s Anakin’s last year eligible to be in the Games. Sure his nineteenth birthday is in two weeks, at which point he would become too old to qualify as a child to the Capitol, but what’s done is done.

Obi-Wan will be his mentor, because Obi-Wan has been the mentor for District Four ever since he won his own Games seven years ago when he was sixteen and Anakin was twelve.

That year’s known unofficially as the most boring Games in Panem history, but the Capitol loves how handsome Obi-Wan’s grown to be. So what if he didn’t kill his competitors messily or with a bloodthirsty joy? He’s so polite in his interviews all these years later, and look at those dimples!

It makes Anakin sick, every time Obi-Wan has to leave District Four and travel to the Capitol to be fawned over and stroked and used. His nightmares are always worse the weeks after he gets back, and he never lets Anakin hold him during them.

And it’s even worse during the actual Games, when Obi-Wan is put in charge of two children’s lives only to see them brutally murdered on screen a week later. The cameras always show his reaction when the competitors from District Four die. They must think he cries pretty or something.

Anakin hates the Capitol. He hates them for what they’ve done to Obi-Wan. What they’ve made him into

As he gets close enough to the stage, he notices that Obi-Wan’s hands are shaking slightly.

He doesn’t even listen to the name of the girl being called. She’s not important. She’ll be dead in a few days time. What’s important is Obi-Wan. What’s important is comforting him, is reassuring him. Is coming back to him.

This is the moment when Anakin resolves that these Games will become known as the quickest in history.

---

The girl is understandably sullen and upset on the train. “I should get a different mentor!” she demands. “It’s obvious you’re going to play favorites with him.”

Anakin doesn’t snap back because she’ll be dead in a few days. Though she really shouldn’t use that tone with Obi-Wan.

“I’m not playing favorites,” Obi-Wan insists. “I don’t have favorites.”

“You literally just wiped sauce off his mouth with your finger,” the girl points out. “And then he licked it!”

Anakin smirks at her. Of course Obi-Wan has favorites. Of course Anakin is Obi-Wan’s favorite. It took him years to wear down Obi-Wan until he allowed him this close, and years after that until he finally got to kiss him for the first time, just a few months ago.

If she thinks he’s going to give up any of his Obi-Wan time so she can get her hopes up about not dying in a few days, she’s got another thing coming.

But Obi-Wan shifts away from him and he looks guilty.

If Anakin could get away with killing the other person from his district, he would. But it’d probably make Obi-Wan sad.

“Is whining part of your strategy?” he asks waspishly instead. “I don’t think it’ll make you many allies.”

She has the nerve to look offended.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan chides. Underneath the table, he squeezes his knee.

“Everyone in the district knows about you two,” she glares at him. “You haven’t exactly kept it a secret.”

Anakin hasn’t exactly tried to keep it a secret. The first night Obi-Wan had kissed him, he went straight home and told his mother, his neighbor, his schoolmates, his cat, and his ex-girlfriend.

(No one had been surprised, except maybe the cat.)

“It’s not fair,” she cries. “Who can I talk to to get a different mentor for me?”

“The ethics board,” Anakin smiles, all teeth, settling back into his seat and slinging an arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulders.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says again, this time more exasperatedly. “Robin, I promise I will be the best mentor you can ask for. It is my wish to see you survive as long as possible in the next few weeks.”

The girl jumps to her feet in outrage. “You can’t even say you want me to win!” she yells. There are tears at the corners of her eyes. If she were a little less annoying, Anakin would feel quite bad for her. Obviously Obi-Wan doesn’t want her to win. Anakin’s right here.

She storms out of the train compartment, her face in her hands. Anakin barely waits for the door to close before he’s slipping into Obi-Wan’s lap and throwing his arms around his neck with a groan. “God, I thought she’d never leave.”

He isn’t pushed away. Obi-Wan must realize they only have a handful of days left to be together before he goes into the arena.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says wearily, even as his arms encircle his waist.

Anakin presses a kiss to his nose and then another to his cheek. “It’s alright to have favorites, Obi-Wan,” he murmurs. “And she should know there’s no way she’s winning anything. Don’t waste your time.”

“I will do everything I can to make sure she survives as long as possible,” Obi-Wan repeats. “I don’t think I can survive anything else.”

Obi-Wan’s voice sounds shaky, so Anakin presses their lips together. Best not to talk for awhile.

------

“We should discuss strategy,” Obi-Wan says later that night through frantic kisses. “Sponsors, story, training--”

“I have a strategy,” Anakin murmurs back as he moves further down the bed, rucking up his partner’s shirt. “Win.”

----

“You look absolutely radiant,” Anakin tells the girl in an undertone while they’re in line for their interviews. She turns around to glare at him. The designer for their district has gone for the typical fish designs that people always associate with District Four, and they’ve dressed her up in a shimmering iridescent gown that flares at the ends like a fish’s tail.

Anakin’s own outfit is mostly a fishing net draped over one shoulder and a pair of tight pants. The designer, much to Obi-Wan’s embarrassment and Anakin’s satisfaction, had taken one look at his shirtless chest and decided to dress him in as little clothes as possible.

“Weird braid,” is all she says.

Obi-Wan had done it late last night when both of them had tired each other out and Anakin had curled up on his chest. After his Games, Obi-Wan’s hands like to do something. The repetitive motion of braiding and unbraiding Anakin’s hair soothes his demons.

It’s one of the reasons Anakin’s grown it out to his shoulders, much longer than is practical for his district.

Obi-Wan had gone to unbraid it, and Anakin had stopped him. He wanted to keep it. To wear it into the Games.

“Thank you,” he says generously. “I saw your score. 7’s not too bad.”

She sneers at him. “Did you celebrate your 11 with your boyfriend?”

“Oh sorry,” he winces. “Did you hear us? I’m just so bad at biting my tongue when he does this thing with his.”

She scoffs in disgust and turns back around. “I hope he has to watch you die.”

Anakin glares at her back. He knows he can’t kill her himself. But there has to be a way to hurt her and her chances and still have plausible deniability.

When it’s her turn for an interview, she’s vapid and pretty. She laughs and touches the interviewer’s arm.

“I’ve never spent much time in District Four,” the interviewer says jovially. “But tell me, really. Is everyone there as beautiful as the people you keep sending us? I mean. Obi-Wan Kenobi, ladies and gentlemen, am I right?” The audience laughs and hollers. Anakin hates them all. “And now you, Robin, and Anakin Skywalker. Damn!”

Robin--Anakin needs to stop forgetting her name--giggles high in her throat. “It was a very, very enjoyable train ride up,” she says with a stupid wiggle of her eyebrows. “Just this side of too long.”

The audience loses it.

Anakin loses it.

He can’t believe she’s sitting there publicly suggesting that Anakin shares Obi-Wan with anyone. With her. The nerve.

The camera pans to Obi-Wan in the crowd, who looks shocked, embarrassed, and deeply troubled.

Anakin won’t let this stand. He just hopes Obi-Wan forgives him.

The interviewer greets him excitedly when he walks out, and Anakin gives him a sheepish sort of smile.

“Lady killer Skywalker!” the interviewer says. Anakin laughs along with him. “All the girls back home must have been heartbroken to see you leave.”

“But I’ve heard they love watching me go,” he jokes with a charming smile. If that girl--Robin--can do it, he can do it much better. “There’s really only one person for me though,” he murmurs, letting his smile die.

“Oh?” The interviewer asks, leaning forward with interest.

“But sometimes I wonder if they’re only using me for my body,” he says, casting his eyes down. “I love them. Heart and soul, everything I am. But when I told them, they just laughed.”

This is technically true. The first time Anakin had told Obi-Wan that he was in love with him, the older boy had laughed his confession off, saying he was too young to know what he wanted.

“Oh, to be young and in love,” the interviewer sighs theatrically. “So your plan is to win the Games and then win her heart when you get back home?”

Anakin makes himself look sad. Tragically sad. Like he can’t bear to go on.

“They came with me,” he says.

If the audience’s reaction to Robin’s fake confession was huge, its reaction to Anakin’s words is even bigger. Of course they think he’s talking about the girl. That’s exactly what Anakin had wanted. Now he’s the broken-hearted boy and she’s the vapid, self-absorbed bitch. She'll have a hard time finding sponsors now.

It’s very, very hard to hide his smile, a task made exponentially more hard when he sees Obi-Wan bury his face in his hands.

“It’s alright,” Anakin tells the interviewer, without taking his eyes off of Obi-Wan. “I’ll survive.”

#asks #hunger games au #anakin's a bit dark here lets be real i love writing him like that #his games are the quickest games for sure #he does lose his right arm #but he wins #and then moves in with obi-wan #and obi-wan kisses every mechanical finger of his hand before bed each night #anakins just so heartbroken over the death of the girl #that he leans on obi-wan to help in the aftermath #(the story he'll tell the capitol people)#thank god his friend obi-wan is such a strong rock in these times #he has to write the girl's name on his hand so he doesnt forget it #the capitol thinks its so he can carry a piece of her with him into the games #shes furious but how is she gonna set the record straight without admitting to lying herself?#she started it anakin was just finishing it #bitchy dark obsessed anakin my love #obi-wan would be just as obsessed remember #he spends anakins games avidly watching and worrying and going around trying to get sponsors for him #but like within 50 hours the games are over anakin won #obi-wans gotta call everyone back and be like 'um never mind haha'#prompt fill #obikin

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