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fragmentedink-archived · 4 years ago

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Hell to Pay: Part Forty-Nine

I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, IX, IX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XVIIII, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XL, XLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV, XLV, XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII

cowritten by @lux-scriptum

A/N: trigger warnings for mentions of past rape and triggers of past parental abuse

It was never fun to have Ash staring him down, eyes glowing bright green to let Lev know Ash absolutely could see him right now. The instinct to fidget under such a frustrated glare was strong.

“My fever didn’t come back,” Lev offered when the silence stretched too long for him to stand.

“Oh?” Ash said. “Why don’t you go ahead and pat yourself on the back for that, then, Lev. Since you think it’s perfectly okay to have intercourse after being brought back from the dead and almost dying from your heat, you must be perfectly fine and not need my help anymore, right?”

Lev shook his head. “No,” he admitted. And... as cranky as the healer was, he had a point. Lev probably should have asked him first. He hadn’t thought it through at all. No, he’d been thinking with his dick, per usual. “I’m sorry,” he added, honestly. “It didn’t occur to me. I should have- should have run it by you first.”

“No shit,” Ash deadpanned. “It’s not like I’m being paid for any of this- or that anyone’s bothering to listen to me about anything, but fine.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Lev touched the back of Ash’s hand. “I really am sorry,” Lev said earnestly. “And- I should have waited. It won’t happen again.”

Ash shoved his hands into his pockets. “See that it doesn’t,” he said. “Do anything else stupid lately? Besides Cameron?”

Lev frowned. “Be nice,” he admonished before he could think to stop himself. A flush crossed his cheeks, but he just went on to say, “Nik wasn’t happy Cam and I...” He shook his head. “And Nik was- he was weird before that.” Lev pulled his knees up to his chest. “Actually, I have a question for you. I... I still don’t remember any of that time. The months I was dead. Is there any way to get that time back?”

Ash looked at him, annoyance rippling across his face. “Yeah,” he said. “But it’s not pleasant. You sure you can handle it?” Ash stopped. “Of course you can, who am I talking to. We don’t listen to my medical expertise, anyways. When do you want it done.”

Lev stared at him. “I don’t know,” he said. “Ash, we don’t have to do anything. It’s not killing me to not know. I don’t think. If you don’t think I should I can wait.”

“No,” Ash said, “It’s not. However, they are your memories and you are entitled to them like you are to your body. It’s just very emotionally taxing and I want to know you can handle it before I decide to go through them.”

Lev gave a small shrug. “I’ll be fine,” he promised. “What- what do we have to do?”

Ash sat down on the coffee table in front of Lev and folded his hands. “We don’t do anything. You let me into your mind and I fix the damaged parts of your temporal lobe. Once it is healed, I can go through your memories and heal them- if you want.”

“What do you mean, heal the... memories?”

“Seperate the emotion from them so you can process. Some memories are too tightly wound with pain that it’s hard to move past them. I take the trauma and you heal.”

Lev looked down. “Is there any way to do that without- I want to learn to heal on my own. I just want the memories accessible to me so I can.”

“We can do that,” Ash said. “But I’ll still have to go through them.”

Lev nodded slowly. “Okay,” he agreed. “Then I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Good,” Ash said, “When do you want to start?”

“As soon as possible,” Lev said. “If that’s okay. If you think that’s wise.”

Ash seemed to think it was well enough, since he leaned forward and cradled Lev’s face. He closed his eyes, hands warming just enough Lev’s face flushed from the heat of Ash’s magic. “Don’t fight me.”

“I won’t,” Lev promised faintly.

Ash seemed to concentrate. His eyebrows furrowed as a pressure built in Lev’s mind. But soon enough Ash pulled back, looking even more annoyed than when he arrived. “There’s nothing to be fixed,” Ash said. “You’re keeping yourself from your memories and I can’t fix that. Well.” He thought on that. “I could, but it would do far more harm than good. How do you feel about a fire in your head?”

It took Lev several seconds to process what Ash meant. “There’s nothing wrong?” Lev finally asked, confused. And then, “A fire in my head seems counterproductive. I don’t want to trigger another fever...”

“Yeah, that was a rhetorical question, genius,” Ash said. “You’re going to need a demon for what you’re wanting. Specifically a telepath. Or to just face your memories head on.”

“Oh,” Lev said softly. “I don’t know any telepaths.” Which meant facing them, apparently. But- Lev didn’t know if he could do that. Didn’t know how to do that.

Cameron snorted from the doorway. “I do,” he said. “Happens to be the queen. Every bit as nasty as you could possibly imagine.”

Ash looked irritable. “Great.”

Lev opened and closed his mouth. “Oh,” he said faintly. “Would- would she even help an angel though?”

“Considering her mate is one,” Ash said, “I give it a 10/90 chance. She hates men more than she hates angels. In fact, from what I understand, she wants to string Nik up by his guts. Though who knows what she’d do with you.”

Because that was comforting. Lev looked to Cameron instead. “Is it a bad idea?” Lev asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” a low feminine voice said from behind Cameron. “Still making up my mind.”

Cameron seemed perfectly unfazed to see the slight, tanned woman who walked straight into the room. The sentries didn’t lift a finger to try and detain her. She cut a cold, calculating look at Lev. She then completely dismissed him and turned her focus right back to Cameron. “Care to tell me why you decided to go ahead and not tell me why you’re performing necromancy in my territories?” She held up a manicured hand and looked at Lev. “He doesn’t seem like much for the effort considering how much unrest seemed to come from this.”

Lev flicked a glance between all three of them before settling his gaze on Cameron again, looking for guidance on how he was supposed to respond. “I’m lucky to have someone who loved me enough to fight for me,” Lev finally said.

The woman lifted a groomed brow at that very diplomatic nonanswer and turned her icy eyes back to Cameron. “And did you love this angel enough to go over my head for such a thing?”

“No,” Cameron said, smoothly, matching her exact tone. “But Amara did.”

Lev winced. “She’s very headstrong,” he said softly.

The woman looked vaguely disgusted. “I’ve noticed,” she said, flatly. “Where’s the annoying one at?” She cut a look at Ash. “And I don’t mean that one.” She turned to Lev. “Do you know or do you not actually know anything besides how to be a thorn in my side.”

“Staying in angel territory,” Lev admitted after a long moment. “Amara’s keeping an eye on him.” He waved his new phone at her halfheartedly. “She says he’s safe.”

“Unfortunate,” She said, with enough deadpan that Lev winced. She stalked over to him and held out her hand. “Phone.” Her tone was laced with pure order.

Lev handed it over without a second thought.

---

Amara sat up, flailing for her phone. Where was it? That was Lev’s ringtone, and she was not going to miss a phone call from him. Without hesitation she crawled over Cin, ignoring his grunt when her knee found his ribs. Half off the bed, she put the phone to her ear. “Lev?” She answered, trying to pull herself back up with one hand.

“Try again.”

“Biela?” Amara asked, letting Cin haul her up. “What are you doing with Lev’s phone?” She paused. “Should I be worried?”

“Should you?” Biela asked, sounding bored. “Still making up my mind. Your answers will probably dictate whether or not you should be.”

“Delightful as ever,” Amara muttered, rubbing her face. She smacked Cin’s hand when he tried to fix her hair, but let him pull her in his lap and nibble on her shoulder. “If you’re pissed I killed Destris, he was a fucking- he deserved it, even if he hadn’t killed my cousin.”

“Why would I care about that piss-poor excuse of a man,” Biela said. “As far as I’m concerned it saves me a dry cleaning bill. I want to know why you decided to bring back an angel from the dead in my territories without my express permission and if you give me some bullshit about you being a mutt I’ll cut your tongue out.”

Well. Biela was in a mood. Normally, Amara would enjoy poking at it, but today she just sighed. “Honestly? Didn’t even cross my mind to ask permission. I did what I had to. And I’ll deal with the consequences of it, if that was a punishable offense. Lev’s done nothing wrong, except not have a single ounce of self preservation.”

Biela made a disgusted sound. “That gives me no reason to care about him,” she said. “However, as I just got my nails done, I won’t just kill him and put him back where he belongs. For now.” Biela was quiet for a moment. “I expect a visit.”

And with that the line went dead.

Amara flopped back with a groan against Cin’s chest. “And people call me a bitch,” she moaned.

“Biela?” Cin asked, tension lining his body.

“Yeah,” Amara muttered. She looked up at him. “Is it bad I’m turned on right now?”

Cin pushed her off his lap.

---

Nik wiggled out from under the several throw blankets Mami had smothered him in when he heard his phone start buzzing. He cleared his throat and frowned when he saw Lev’s name. He wiped his eyes and answered. “Yeah?”

“You go through the troubles of making my life difficult and you’re not even here?”

Nik blinked. “Who the fuck- Biela?” He sat up ramrod straight. “Why do you have Lev’s phone? Listen, he didn’t do anything to you-”

“Of course he didn’t,” Biela said, distaste coating her tone. “Everyone around him did instead. Your brother is mated with your king and I find out through my spies that necromancy is being performed in my territory.”

“Okay?” Nik said, his voice rising. “I don’t know what the fuck you want me to do about it. I’m not the one who fucking did it and Lev’s an angel and Amara likes to flount around that she’s some kind of mutt or whatever, and it was a witch that performed it. My bad you’re straddled with the paperwork.”

He could almost see that tiny, ferocious smile. “And what do you think I should do about it? I have angels in my territories deciding to break the laws of nature because, what, you all think this is a game with no rules? Even think about doing something like this again, and you won’t have to worry about the consequences. There’ll be nothing left of you.”

And with that, she decidedly hung up when his mouth dropped. “That bitch.”

Nik got up and went to find clean clothes.

---

Biela hung up the phone and dropped it into the angel’s lap. She glowered down at him and he only watched her with big golden eyes. The fact he had the nerve to do so after the trouble he caused, when she had no reason to trust or respect the angel, rankled her. She grabbed his chin- if she truly wanted, she could just give a sharp snap and this be done with, however, she gave Amara her word. For now. “Quit staring at me like that,” she said before walking out of the room, motioning for Cameron to follow her.

The sentries all stared down at the floor the moment she came into view on the way to Cameron’s office. The nearest sentry opened the door in time for her to walk inside and take the desk chair for herself.

Cameron stood mildly on the other side of the desk with a straight spine and hands oh so carefully folded behind his back. “At least with the first one,” she said, “I could respect that he was a warrior, even if he kept trying to sleep with me. This one? Is just useless.”

Cameron lifted a slight shoulder. “He keeps Nik on a leash when I’m busy.”

“And the fact they’re both angels?” Biela said. “I did not spend three hundred years in the thick of war for the sons of prominent angels to end up in the bed of one of my lords, Cameron. I have half the mind to feed them to demons and wash my hands of this whole mess.”

She crossed her legs. “However,” she said. “As they both are so heavily tied to the king of Liwen, I’ll let it pass. Bring another angel into this and I will not be so forgiving.”

“Of course,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to ease anxieties?”

She let a smile curl on her lips. “I expect you to debrief your pets. Let them know exactly what will be happening if they stay here. I do find it fascinating that you chose one that could so easily be eaten. Though, he was killed already, so I do suppose it’s not unsurprising.”

Biela rapped her nails against the wooden table. The security risks that these particular angels posed to her people, even if they seemed harmless enough, Biela knew better and she wasn’t going to make the mistake of her country shoved into another war. “Why don’t you tell me if I should be worried about something like this happening again, hm?”

Cameron didn’t blink an eye. “Permission to be frank?”

She waved a hand. “Since you asked.”

“Once more,” he said. “I have the resources to right a wrong done to one of mine. The blood is on my hands and I would like to balance the scales. There would be no security risk; there would be no other costs to worry about.”

“You’re going to perform necromancy. Again.” Biela said. “And why should I let this happen?”

“It’s a demon of your own homeland,” He said. “Your god is his god and he is no one to anyone.”

Her small smile returned. “Except to you,” she said. “Clearly he’s someone to you. You expect me to forgive this operation not only once, but twice? Is that what you are requesting of me?”

“Yes.”

“Because he’s what? From my homeland?” she asked, lifting a brow. “Do you take me for a sentimentalist?”

“I take you for a fair queen who would give her people a chance to make things right,” Cameron replied.

Biela stared him down. She could feel the weight in those perfectly calculated words. Not so long ago she had risked everything to right a wrong done to her. “Your toy mentioned a witch?” she said, finally. “Is that right? I know you’re not bastardizing demonic magic to perform this lunacy.”

“I am not,” he said. “The witch is pulling from Nature.”

She clicked her nails once more. “Where is this witch?”

---

Sorin watched Biela walk in his front door and damn near fell on his face in his haste to stand at attention. “My queen,” he said with a deep bow, even as his heart pounded. He didn’t even dare to ask why she was here. The last time he’d seen her had been when he’d been discharged from the army after Fax had died, and that hadn’t exactly been his best day.

“Where’s the witch?”

Again, Sorin’s chest tightened. “In his study,” Sorin said as he straightened, mouth dry. “Please. He’s all I have.”

Biela paused, leveling him with an unimpressed look. “What exactly do you think I’m going to do to him.”

Sorin didn’t know how to reply. Before he could figure it out, Cyrus appeared from his study. “It’s alright, Sorin.” Cyrus looked too tired, and there was a slight tremor to his hands. The witch looked at Biela calmly. “He’s always a bit anxious. How can I help you?”

Biela folded her arms. “Why are you performing necromancy on my lands?”

“A poorly thought out deal with Amara Claire, made on Sorin’s behalf.” Cyrus slid his hands into his pockets. “I’m a man of my word, and I offered her any spell she wanted. She chose necromancy.”

“A mistake,” she said, unimpressed, “making bargains with Amara Claire."

Cyrus flicked a look back at Sorin, who wanted so badly to go to his side. Instead he watched as Cyrus regarded Biela again. “It’s not a mistake I plan on making a second time. I only did so at the time for Sorin.” He paused, and added dryly, “It’s not like she was particularly helpful on her end of the bargain anyway.”

Biela lifted a brow. “But you’ll make the same mistake a second time anyways, for Cameron Luain, will you not? I’d be more lenient on the idea of it being a mistake if it only happened once, and yet, you’ll be performing the same spell a second time. Soon, if I’m understanding correctly. Why should I let you?”

Cyrus lifted a shoulder. “We all need different forms of closure. And when I summoned Cameron’s ghost, there was something in Cameron’s face. Whoever he is, he’s important. And I wasn’t going to waste bringing Levant back just to watch them all struggle if they need this man too.” He hesitated. “Cameron said Levant was asking for this demon. I’m assuming they met while Levant was dead.”

Biela’s face went very carefully neutral. “You make it sound like I care what that angel wants,” she said, coldly. But then just as quickly waved it off. “But fine. Have your spell. This one spell. But first, you will give me access to this spirit, and to your mind. Otherwise, it’s a no. And I will make sure you recognize the no as what it is.”

“Okay,” Cyrus said, reaching out for Sorin’s hand. Sorin was at his side in a heartbeat, helping Cyrus into his study. With a flick of his wrist, Sorin lit Cyrus’ candles, and then he settled on the floor beside his witch.

It took Cyrus a few minutes, but he managed to pull Darius’ spirit into being with a murmured apology.

Darius looked almost startled when he appeared. But the moment his eyes locked on Biela, a calmness spread across his light brown face. Biela and Darius both shared similar features of someone from the same homeland, even if Biela held herself worlds apart from everyone else.

Darius bowed at the waist deeply, before elegantly righting himself and offering her a small smile. “Your majesty,” he said. “It’s an honor.”

“I’m sure,” Biela said. “I understand you’re wanting to be brought back from the dead. How long have you been dead and why should I care about a resurrection? We all have lost someone, and Cameron shouldn’t get to bring back the dead because he made a mistake.”

Darius seemed to think on that. He didn’t look hurt by her brutal words, and just held her steely gaze steadily. “Cameron’s entire life has been very carefully moulded into a perfect tool for his parents. Would it be so bad to let him have one selfish thing to make up for five hundred years of isolation and depersonification?”

Sorin couldn’t decide who he should look at. Darius was- he was new. Biela was his queen. He didn’t know if he should keep his eyes on her out of respect, or the opposite, for the exact same reason. In the end, he fixed his eyes on Cyrus, who managed a wan smile just for him.

Biela’s face was kept at her perfect icy neutrality. “At the risk of even more dark magic being released into my earth? For one man? Compared to millions of people under my protection? I should kill everyone involved,” she said. “That kind of threat needs to be extinguished.” She slid her eyes to Sorin. “You’re exmilitary. You’ve seen the war and bloodshed, and the slaughter to our people. What do you think should be done?”

Sorin blinked, startled by being addressed. “I think,” he finally said carefully, “That- well-” Lying would get him nowhere, so he swallowed. “I think that necromancy is a dangerous thing. For the spellcaster, and for the people involved. I think most people don’t get the chance to even try, and- I feel like it’s not fair. But- I’m not sure I can give a good answer. I’m not unbiased. And I don’t know what I think, anyway.”

Cyrus looked a little pained. He swiped his thumb over the back of Sorin’s hand sympathetically, and then went still again. Right. Well then.

“You don’t know what you think,” she said. “Typical answer. I don’t know what else I was expecting.” She turned to Cyrus, eying him carefully. “I see you carry the braincell in the relationship. Then again, you were the one to release that bastardized magic. You were the one to taint my lands, and you were the one to decide to play with forces that do not belong to you. Can’t even get your own magic. You’re siphoning a demon to do the spell.”

Cyrus, to his credit, didn’t even blink. “I was,” he agreed. “I took a lot of effort to make sure my steps could not be retraced. Just as Amara took plenty to keep others from finding out Levant died in the first place. I don’t want anyone but me knowing this spell. I don’t think even I want to know this spell when it’s all said and done. It’s too much twisted power, and it’s not fair to other people grieving.”

Biela clicked her manicured nails along her arm. “So you admit that you tainted my lands,” she said. “And what do you think I should do about that? You admit that that was too much power, and too much dark power at that. Why should you get the pardon? Because you’re a witch and Amara tricked you? You’re the victim in all of this, right? Forced to help Amara Claire because of a poorly worded promise.”

“I’m not a victim. I chose what morals I needed to stick to. Releasing dark magic wasn't my intention. And I’ve made no such promise to Cameron Luain. I said I’d try. If you forbid it, that’s that. I tried.” He didn’t flinch when Sorin’s hand tightened on his. “I’m not a demon, but this is your kingdom, and Sorin’s your subject. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson about Amara Claire.”

“Hm.” Biela turned back to Darius, shifting her inky black hair behind her shoulder. He met her icy gaze steadily. “Cameron murdered you in cold blood,” she said. “Knife in your throat, yes? Just let you bleed out on his pretty carpets and you want to come back from the dead for him?”

“With all due respect,” Darius said, after a moment of thought, “I think we both know there was nothing cold blooded about an animal trapped in a corner doing what it took to survive.”

What a strange way to describe Cameron. Sorin found it hard to believe Cameron had ever been trapped in anything he didn’t have a way to get out of.

“Fair enough,” Biela said, airly. To Cyrus, she said, “I’ll grant it. You do not do it on my lands, and you do not use a single demon or their magic to do so. If you do, I will find out, and you will find your life, and Sorin’s life, forfeit. Do I make myself clear?”

Cyrus had the sense to dip his head respectfully as he murmured, "Understood."

Biela switched her gaze to Sorin. It took him several seconds to realize what she was waiting for. “Of course, Your Majesty,” Sorin said quickly, lowering his gaze.

And then she was gone. Sorin blinked at the space she’d left, the door swinging shut with a gentle click. Only after she was gone did Cyrus let out a very small, tired sigh. Sorin swung around, peering at his mate.

“Sometimes,” Cyrus offered, “I wish I wasn’t a witch.” He squeezed Sorin’s hand, before looking to Darius. “I’m sorry.”

Darius gave a small shrug. “I’m sorry you’re in this position.”

“It’s what I get for being a young witch genius without a coven,” Cyrus replied, not even a little bit of ego to his tone. “I should have known better than to make promises without terms.”

Darius offered him a small smile. “I am afraid that is something we must learn with age, and you are still very young.”

Cyrus considered that. “True,” he admitted. “It still stings to have been dragged into this by someone at least ten years younger than me, though. I should have realized she had ulterior motives.”

---

Lev hadn’t moved from the couch. He’d just pulled his knees up and rested his cheek on them as he stared past Ash and tried not to think at all.

“Just breathe. She’s not going to eat you,” Ash finally said, catching Lev off guard.

He shifted his attention to Ash. “I know,” he said. “She would have already... right?”

“...Sure.”

Comforting. Lev tucked his cheek against his knees again, closing his eyes. “I want Nik,” he finally said in a small voice.

“You could call him, you know,” Ash pointed out. “You have a phone.”

Lev looked down on the phone on the cushion beside him. “Oh,” he said. Right. Nik had to be worried; he hadn’t called him in the hour after Biela had used his phone to talk to Nik. As he found Nik’s contact info, he settled back against the couch, tucking the phone against his face.

Nik picked up immediately. “What the fuck do you want, you phychopath?”

“Nik?” Lev said, his voice getting smaller. He knew Nik wasn’t mad at him, but still.

“Oh. Lev.” Nik paused. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lev promised. “Are you? You... you’ve been gone for a while.”

Nik was quiet for a little bit. “I’m on my way home. I needed to think.”

Small chill went down Lev’s spine. He understood. “Are you mad at me?” He asked softly. “It’s okay if you are. I just wanna know.”

“I’ll get over it,” Nik eventually replied.

“Okay,” Lev said softly. He chewed on his lip briefly, and then said, “Drive safe?”

“I'll be home soon.”

Lev hesitated. “I’m trying to get my memories back. The months I was... gone.”

“Um. Are you sure you want to do that?”

“They’re my memories. Why shouldn’t I?” Lev flicked Ash a look, and then said, “Everyone’s being weird. I want to know what I missed.”

“Fair enough.” Nik was quiet for a bit longer, and then, “I’m still an hour out. I’d better go.”

“Okay.” Lev tightened his grip on the phone. “I love you.”

“Love you.”

Lev waited until he was sure Nik hung up to put the phone down. Somehow, he didn’t feel any better.

“Why do you think Nik’s mad at you?” Ash asked, snagging Lev’s attention before he could bury himself in his anxiety again.

“I had sex with Cameron after Nik- after he couldn’t sleep with me.” Ash looked pained at Lev’s words. “He- Nik - flinched. So I told him we could wait. And he didn’t like that. But- Cameron offered later, and Nik wasn’t home, and- things have been weird and I wanted normal.”

“I mean no offense, Lev, but you just got brought back from the dead. Normals not in your wheelhouse any time soon.”

Lev winced. “I guess I should have known that,” he replied. “But I want it all the same.”

Maybe Ash would have figured out a response to that, but before he could, Biela appeared in the doorway. Lev slowly sat up, settling criss cross. “Majesty,” Lev said hesitantly, dipping his head as low as he could without risking toppling off the couch.

“Let’s get this over with,” was all she said.

Lev bit back his surprise that she was even going to help, but the next moment he could feel her, holding his mind without even taking a step in the room. He was dragged along with her as she went through his memories. Memories so old it was eerie seeing them again. His mother’s face. His father’s. Their death, and living with his Gramma.

The only time Biela slowed in her precise, unflinching sorting through his memories was when she dug up flashes of times he absolutely hadn’t wanted to see again. And the details. He’d asked for this, but he hadn’t expected to go back so far. He’d purposefully forgotten how bad it’d been, with Remi, with Vehuel, even with Silas, despite Silas’ attempts to shield him. Going back through them was more visceral than he expected; he could feel every touch, hear every word, and it struck him to the core all over again.

He was still reeling when Biela found his more recent memories. He didn’t have time to feel embarrassed about his brief but warm time with Fax, or how quickly he fell for Nik and Cameron after they took him in. How quickly he came to find a home here, in a way he had only begun to feel with Fax.

But it was a new sort of pain to see the months where he had been dead. Watching Nik and Cameron struggle- and what Lev had done.

By the time Biela let go and pulled her thoughts from his, he was crying silently. He touched his cheeks, wiping the tears away with shaky hands. To his surprise, Ash put his hand on Lev’s shoulder. After a few seconds, Lev lifted his gaze to Biela and Cameron in the doorway, only to realize Nik was waiting there as well. How long had-?

“Nik?” Lev finally croaked.

Nik gave him a lopsided smile. “Hey Princess. You doing okay?”

Lev shook his head, and might have gotten up if Ash hadn’t kept his hand on Lev’s shoulder. Thankfully, Nik crossed the room, settling beside him. Lev twisted until he could bury his face in Nik’s shoulder, grabbing at Nik’s shirt as he took several deep breaths. Old memories flickered behind his eyes, but he pushed them back for now.

Only when he was sure he wasn’t going to start crying again did he look up at Biela again. She seemed to have paled, and though she kept her face neutral, she looked tired. “Thank you,” Lev finally managed. “For helping me.” Even if guilt was already eating away at him.

“You’re welcome.” She looked to Cameron. “I want to speak with you.”

They left, and Lev almost started crying again. After he got himself under control, he said to no one in particular, “Can you help me to the kitchen? I- I need to move.”

Nik helped Lev up without saying a word. Ash followed behind, also silent. Diner was done, sitting on the stove ready to be served, and Cameron had even set the table. He stared at everything, breath hitching. His thoughts were still spinning, and he couldn’t quite catch them all. Nothing made sense, except the one phrase that kept echoing in his mind.

It wasn’t fair.

Before he could think about it, he scooped up a bowl and shattered it on the floor. Beside him, Nik flinched, but the sound of it breaking was so satisfying he threw another, just to hear it again. By that point Cameron appeared in the doorway.

Lev looked right at him, and blurted, “It’s not fair. None of this is fucking fair. I didn’t deserve this. Any of it.” Cameron only stared back, face unreadable. “I didn’t ask to be born like this. I didn’t ask for Rem- for- he raped me, for years and I- I didn’t want it. I didn’t deserve- Fax didn’t deserve- and then- Destris-” He was crying again, breath hitching. “I was pregnant. That’s why I left. I was trying to figure out what to do because you don’t want kids, and we already have Eden, and now it’s gone-”

Nik was moving, leaving, and Lev didn’t blame him, not one bit. “But none of that matters, if- what I did while I was dead- I might as well have tried to actually kill him. And that’s not okay. That was my fault. And no one’s done anything about it. No one told me. What I did was unforgivable. To you, to Nik, to Nate. And no one let me face the consequences. You didn’t let me face Remi. You didn’t let me face Vehuel. And maybe I couldn’t, but no one has ever given me the choice.” He wiped his face. “I’ve been trying to be better. They made you a weapon, but they made me a doll and then they got angry when that’s all I knew how to be. But even that doesn’t excuse what I did.”

“You can start facing them now,” Cameron said.

And somehow, that calmed Lev down some. “I can?” he said, caught off guard.

Cameron lifted a brow. That was all the response Lev was going to get, apparently.

Lev looked down at the mess he made. Right. He’d done that. He knelt, reaching for the bigger pieces. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, taking a shuddering breath. “I shouldn't have- I’ll buy you more.”

“Leave it. Nik needs you more than some broken glass.”

Lev stared at the mess. “I- I’ll clean it up later,” he said. Promised.

Cameron gave a slight nod, and so Lev eased to his feet, setting the pieces in his hands on the table. He slipped past Ash, in the doorway, and paused when he saw Biela. Her face was unreadable, but she just said, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Lev had no idea what to say to that, so he just gave a quiet, “Yes ma'am.”

When she didn’t stop him, he moved on, tracking Nik down by scent and a little luck. His mate was curled up under several blankets in Cameron’s bed. Lev crawled up next to him, but left space between them.

“Nik?” he said in a small voice. When he got no answer, Lev settled down, tucking his face in the pillow. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” he said. “I’m not angry with you.”

From under the blankets, Lev heard a sniffle.

Lev reached out to touch Nik’s head over the blankets. “I wasn’t- I didn’t mean to tell you like that. I’m- I should have found a better way.”

“Are you going to stay like that?” Nik finally asked from under the blankets.

“Like what?” Lev asked, hesitantly.

Nik was quiet for a long moment. Eventually he said in a voice just as small as Lev’s, “Violent.”

Oh. Guilt rose up, yet again. “No,” he promised. “I’m- I was wrong. I should never have acted like that.” He pulled at the blankets questioningly. “Nik. Can- can I see you?”

Nik slowly poked his head out.

“I’m never going to hit you,” Lev promised. “I won’t. And I won’t- I won’t let myself get angry like that again.”

Nik nodded slowly. Lev reached out, stroking Nik’s cheek. Nik shrank back, just a little, so small Lev almost missed it, but not enough to pull away.

Lev meant to reassure him again, but all that came out was, “I know you’re pregnant. And I want you to know I’m not mad.”

To Lev’s horror, Nik’s face crumpled. Before Lev could do anything else, Nik was crying, hard. Lev scooted closer, crawling under the blankets with Nik without a second thought. “It’s okay,” Lev whispered. “I promise.”

Nik pressed his face in Lev’s neck, still crying. Eventually he said, “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” Lev promised. “It’s okay.” He pressed a kiss to the side of Nik’s head. “I don’t care what happened.”

“Does Cameron know?” Nik whispered.

“Yes,” Lev said honestly. “We were waiting for you to tell us.” He stroked Nik’s hair. “At your own pace.”

Nik stiffened under Lev’s hands. “Is he mad at me?”

“No.” Lev cupped Nik’s face. “Neither of us are. We just want you taken care of.”

Nik nodded against Lev’s neck. “Okay.”

Lev closed his eyes. “Okay,” he repeated softly. He patted Nik’s hair again. “Nik? While we’re on deep and scary subjects, do you wanna talk about the mate with a capital M thing, or...?”

“Not really.”

“We can wait,” Lev promised. They’d avoided it since his heat. He could wait a bit longer.

Tagging: @incandescent-creativity @solangelo3088 @lil-miss-red @halstudies @littleyellowdinosaur @caelisis @idreamonpaper

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #wip boost #ch: cameron #ch: nik #ch: ash #ch: biela

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ebdaydreamer · 6 years ago

Text

Mother of Cats

It’s Mother’s Day in the UK so I thought I’d write a little something. This is my first GoT fic and my first fic in a while so constructive criticism is more than welcome.

Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV)

Pairing: Jonerys, Past Drogo/Dany

Warnings: Mentions of violence and underage sex but hey, this is Game of Thrones

Summary: Although Jon and Dany's histories with mothers are somewhat rocky, they've made their own Mother's Day tradition. A Modern AU.

[AO3]

There was never any reason for either of them to celebrate Mother’s Day: both of their mother’s died in childbirth after all.

As per usual, Jon had been invited for dinner at his Uncle Ned’s but had made up some excuse as he had done every year since he moved out. Whilst the rest of the Stark’s had accepted him as their own, his Aunt Catelyn had always resented her husband treating Jon as an equal son. Jon never brought it up, but Dany could see how the lack of mother figure compared to his adoptive siblings had affected him.

Despite the lack of mothers in their lives, Dany had woken up to a joke card for the past six years from ‘her children’: Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion.

6 years ago

“Are you going to your Uncle’s this Sunday?” Dany inquired from her position on the couch, Viserion curled in her lap.

Jon returned from the kitchen with the Pringles. “No, why would I?”

“Well,” Dany began, stealing the crisps from him, “it is Mother Day.”

Jon hesitated. “I haven’t really done that since Uni.”

“Why not?” Dany asked in between munches. “I thought you guys were close?”

“We are,” Jon sighed, glancing away. His face was becoming broody. After six months of dating, Dany had learnt the signs of a brood. “I mean, I am with my uncle- most of my cousins are like siblings to me-”

“Most?” Dany handed him the Pringles.

“Aye. Sansa and I were always distant.” He took three crisps into his mouth at once, chewing as he stalled. “She idolised her mother, you see. Aunt Catelyn… well, it was clear her priorities lay with her own children above her dead sister-in-law’s orphan.”

Dany’s heart stung. How could a woman - a mother, no less - make a child feel unimportant? How could she not see a child in need of love and then deny it them?

“It’s not a big deal, but I think she would rather spend Mother Day with her own children.”

She shuffled closer to him and lay her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “It’s alright. Saves me a trip to Winterfell.” He turned, a rare smile on his face. “And I can spend the weekend with you instead of those nutters.”

Dany giggled, “Smooth, but I have plans.”

Jon’s brow furrowed, “With who?”

“My children,” Dany replied, lifting Viserion out of her lap to show him.

“Of course,” Jon rolled his eyes playfully. “What is it Missandei calls you? The Mother of Cats.”

“Don’t mock,” Dany glared, pulling Viserion into her arms for a cuddle. “I found them. I raised them. They’re my children - possibly the only ones I’ll ever have.”

Jon's eyes snapped to hers, and Dany instantly realised her mistake. Shit: that morbid joke of hers was supposed to stay between herself and Missandei. She’d only had a few ‘boyfriends’ since Drogo, and they’d never gotten very serious so the issue had never come up before. She wasn’t even sure when a good time to mention something like that was. Yet, she’d never felt anyone the way she’d felt about Jon. She’d never felt this safe with someone before. She’d never felt desired for more than her pretty face. She’d never felt so open with anyone before.

“What do you mean?”

His voice forced her to focus and breathe. Tragic backstories were something she’d never really shared before Jon either - not with a romantic partner anyway. Jon wasn’t the first she’d told about her parents - with her father’s reputation before he died, she’d never really needed to - but he was the first she opened up to her life in foster care and her emotionally abusive older brother.

“Ok.” Miraculously, her voice didn't come out shaky, but it was still a whisper. She placed Viserion on the floor and stuffed a few Pringles in her mouth. “Ok.” She brushed the crumbs off her palms and turned to face him. She sighed heavily, unable to force the tale to her mouth, until she felt Jon’s hand reach for her’s.

“When I was fifteen, living in Essos, Viserys was trying to get in with this gang. Have you heard of the Dothraki?” Jon nodded, running his thumb across the back of her hand. “Well, he set me up with their leader-”

Jon’s eyes widened. “Set you up… romantically?”

Dany nodded, willing herself not to cry until the end of her story.

“Gods above, Dany. How old was he?”

“Thirty,” Dany managed to gasp. “He was thirty years old and he was my first boyfriend. Let me finish, please,” Dany begged when she saw he was about to express his outrage. “Vis was my legal guardian by then and… well… he threatened more than emotional abuse if I didn’t comply. I looked older than my age, so I flirted and batted my eyes when Vis introduced me to him and he… saw what he liked.” Dany shoved some more crisps in her mouth to give herself a break. “Surprisingly, he was actually quite kind to me - compared to Vis he was a saint. I promise, Jon, he never did anything I didn’t want to. Yes, I know I couldn’t legally give consent; yes, I now know it was statutory rape… but Jon, he was the first person to ever show me respect. He treated me like an actual human being capable of making her own decisions.” Dany inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, trying to ignore all the emotions she could see coming from Jon. “I fell in love with him, and it felt so real back then. Now I can see I did it more for survival than anything else.”

Drogon chose this moment to jump up on the couch between them, desperate for attention as always. With her free hand, she dragged him into her lap and began petting him, knowing she’d need his presence for the rest of the story.

“Then I skipped a period.”

Jon inhaled sharply. “Dany-”

“Please. Just let me…” she glanced down at Drogon, happily purring away before forcing her gaze back to Jon.

“I was fifteen, I was terrified. I barely spent any time in school because of Drogo, but I couldn’t go to the doctors without someone finding out, so I went to the school nurse.” Dany tightened her grip on Jon’s hand. “I was pregnant.”

The tears began to fall now, and Jon brought his free hand up to wipe them away with so much care Dany almost began to cry harder.

“Drogo was ecstatic and this… this was the only time I felt I didn’t have a choice with him.” Dany gave a shaky exhale. “I warmed to the idea, actually. I’d already accepted that I would have no education and my life would be with the Dothraki, so I might as well have something that was mine.” Her eyes darted to the floor where Rhaegal was now rubbing against her leg, sensing her distress. “Vis wasn’t quite as happy.”

She paused, unable to bring herself to finish. Missandei was the only person she’d had to repeat the tale to thus far, and she’d been much less sober then.

“Dany?” Jon’s voice was barely a whisper. “You can stop. You don’t have to carry on.”

“I do.” She redirected her gaze to his. “I want to.” She swallowed. “He threatened me. His standing within the Dothraki was not what he intended. He wanted to be Drogo’s right hand but felt I’d stolen his focus, especially now with the baby. He threatened to slice me open and rip the fetus out of me, so Drogo shot him dead. And I was relieved. My own brother, my only flesh and blood, had just been murdered in front of me and I felt relief.”

“Shh,” Jon soothed her as the tears came heavier and faster. “He’d just threatened your life, Dany. He made your life a living hell. You were free from your tormentor.”

“I know,” she continued, “but it appeared the Dothraki agreed with him about me. Less than a month later, a group of them attacked us with knives… they stabbed Drogo in the chest and left him to bleed out in an alleyway, they-” she choked down a sob, “they stabbed me in my stomach. The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital a week later after what was apparently quite a few surgeries.” The hand stroking Drogon shifted towards her abdomen where her scars had mostly healed. When anyone asked, when Jon had asked, she said they were purely surgical scars and steeled herself to not get emotional at the sight of them. “I was told that Drogo was dead and I had lost my baby. I woke up alone.”

“Gods, Dany,” Jon muttered, his free hand now running gently up and down her arm.

“I was in the hospital for a few weeks regaining my strength before I was sent back into the foster system. I had about a month left before my sixteenth birthday and I’d be out on my own anyway.” Dany’s upper lip tugged upwards, “Lucky for me, I knew where Drogo kept his emergency stash and managed to get myself a little flat.” Her smile fell again when she remembered the point of her story. “But I had a checkup at the hospital and they said everything was fine…” Dany trailed off, her head shaking involuntarily, gaze dropping to her lap. “‘Everything is fine, Miss Targaryen, everything is fine except’... Except. Expect there was some damage - from the surgery or the stabbing they’re not sure - but there was some damage to my fallopian tubes and because of that it is likely that I may never be able to conceive a child again.”

She refused to look at him. She refused to move. She knew she’d ruined it. It was too much to admit she was this damaged after six months.

She almost jerked away when she felt his hand under her chin, lifting her head up to meet his eyes. Her blood tingled at the sight. He was staring at her with such awe and compassion and love that she wanted to cry all over again. In that moment, she knew there was no denying it: he loved her and she loved him.

She was speaking again, completely unaware of the words coming out of her mouth because they were so unbelievably honest it burned. “A lot for a sixteen-year-old, I know. It was an odd feeling, because I was unsure if I’d ever want kids after… everything. ...But I felt so alone, because I felt like I’d never have a family again. I knew I’d never have any blood relatives again. The once great Targaryen Family died in that alleyway. And I’m alone,” Dany finally sobbed.

Hastily, she was pulled onto Jon’s lap, his hands running soothingly up and down her back, as her’s found its way into his hair to steady herself, whilst another grasped his shoulder.

“You’re not alone,” he breathed into her ear. “You’ve got Missandei, you’ve got Jorah and Barristan. You’ve got hundreds that love you and care for because you set up your shelter and helped them, you showed them that they are loved, and so are you, Dany” He leant back, and she reluctantly followed, resting her forehead on his. “You are loved.” He cupped her face and wiped her tears. “I love you.”

A fresh wave of tears came crashing down at his words. She’d told him. She’d told him and he’d stayed. “I love you too.”

It wasn’t until later that night in bed that Jon asked, “So, why the Mother of Cats?”

Dany chuckled. “I actually found them when I was walking home from that checkup. Three tiny kittens in a box in an alleyway. After taking them to the vet I adopted them, and I supposed I imprinted my maternal instincts onto them.”

“Hm, so you get your nickname from the happy ending to a quite tragic story.”

“Mhmm.”

“And it has absolutely nothing to do with how you coddle them?”

“Absolutely nothing to do with it at all.”

She woke up that Sunday with a card written in his scrawling hand, signed from Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion.

The next year, after they moved in together, Ghost was added to the list.

“Good morning,” she greeted, lured into the kitchen by the smell of bacon.

Her husband glanced over his shoulder, mercifully shirtless as he cooked. “Morning, love.”

She pulled herself onto the stool by the island, enjoying the view of Jon in just his pyjama bottoms. Her card was sat waiting for her. “Thank you, love.”

“Don’t thank me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ah, of course.” She spun in the chair to see the cats lounged on the couch. “Thank you darlings.” She then turned to Ghost laying on his bed. When he met her gaze, the wolf came bounding over, stopping calmly by her side and nuzzling her leg. She smiled, “Thank you too, Ghost.”

She turned back at the sound of a plate being placed on the island and wasted no time in chomping down on her bacon sandwich.

Jon grinned. “Who knows, if all goes well, maybe we can add another child next year.”

Dany returned his grin. They had been trying for over a year now and were due to begin IVF treatment in a few weeks.

“I cancelled the appointment.”

Jon’s face dropped. “You did what? Why? Dany, if you were having doubts you-”

“No, love, come here.” He rounded the island and stood in front of her, shooing a reluctant Ghost away. She took his hands. “I cancelled the appointment because we don’t need it anymore.”

His eyes widened. “Are you… Dany are you saying…?”

Her face split into a smile so wide it was almost painful. “I’m pregnant.”

He lifted her out of her seat and she wrapped herself around him, burrowing her face into his neck. They held each other for a few moments before Jon began to shake, overcome by tears.

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. “We’re having a baby?”

Her face-splitting grin fell to a warm smile as she cupped his face, softly wiping away his tears. “We’re having a baby.”

Jon glanced to the wolf at their feet. “Now your behaviour makes sense,” he said accusingly. “I was beginning to think he started loving you more than me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, he’s always loved me more than you.”

Jon laughed, setting her down on the floor as he did, clasping her hands instead.

He pressed his forehead against hers. “We’re getting the family we always wanted,” she whispered.

“Aye, love. I promised you that you’d never be alone again and I am a man of my word.”

She brought their hands to her abdomen, lightly pressing against her scars.

“Happy Mother’s Day, Daenerys.”

#jonerys #game of thrones #jonerys fic #jonerys fanfic #jonerys modern au #got #got fic #my writing #ellie talks

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jessikahathaway · 6 years ago

Text

Into Eternity Part VI

Sorry that I am a slut for this story.

Please enjoy?

I DON’T OWN THE GIF!!!

Pair: Park Jimin X Reader

Genre: angst, smut (kinda sorta riskay beach fun), drama, action

Words: 7,638

“A holiday?” you asked as you and Jungkook walk down the corridor near the barracks one morning. Jungkook nods quickly, smiling in childlike delight.

“Yes, there’s a palace by the sea that his Majesty and Jimin went to every end of summer. He hasn’t gotten to go for the past few years as his father’s health took a turn, but now there’s a chance that he could go again. But he’d never unless prompted by you, my Lady,” he stated.

“Are you asking me, in this time of turmoil, to drag my husband to a palace that may or may not be safe for a holiday? Near the ocean?” you raised an eyebrow.

“Well, we’d all go with you and ensure your safety no matter the consequences for us but-”

“Would there be swimming involved?” you asked, trying not to sound too giddy at the prospect.

“Absolutely, my Lady,” Jungkook grinned.

“Well,” you started, rubbing your chin. “I guess I could use my persuasive skills to get Jimin to leave here for at least a week.”

“I have every faith in you, my Lady,” Jungkook bowed before heading out to the training field.

You waved and watched him leave before smiling to yourself. A beach! A holiday near the ocean! Excitement coursed through your being. Swimming in the river near your childhood home had been one of your favorite pastimes after sneaking past your jailer of a mother.

The soft sound of the water trickling past, the feeling of the cool liquid moving across your skin. It soothed you like no other, and it could prove for some fun in this slightly melancholic castle. Jimin had been starved of fun the past few weeks, seeing as how his coronation is getting closer and soon he will be in charge of an entire kingdom.

Then there is something to do about that pesky witch that has been trying to kill you...

“You seem to be deep in thought,” a voice echoed through the hallway. You turned sharply on your heel and stood face to face with Hoseok. Your blood ran cold at the sight.

The man who brought news of the Forsaken taking over villages to the south, and the news that your death needed to be swift. It didn’t help that your introductions hadn’t gone very well either...

You were at breakfast the morning after your incident. Everyone was jovile and happy around the table. Jimin making jokes, Jungkook and Taehyung being children as per usual. Namjoon and Father Jin were in a deep discussion about something very interpersonal. It was far too early for that in your mind, but they seemed entertained enough. Even Yoongi had made it for the meal that morning. Something that Jungkook and Taehyung said was unheard of.

You were plating up your food went the room went silent.

“Is this your bride, Jimin?” Hoseok’s voice was cold. Taehyung stood and so did Namjoon.

“Yes, Hoseok, I’d like you to meet Y/N,” Jimin said, standing up and placing his hand on your chair. Biting your lip you kept your head down. Suddenly your food wasn’t that appetizing.

“She’s still alive is she?”

“Hoseok!”

“Brother, that’s enough,” Namjoon said, moving towards him.

“I’m sure she’s already aware of her standing, you’ve no doubt told her everything,” he commented.

“Please, join us for breakfast,” you offered the seat next to yours. Hoseok raised a brow before scowling at you.

“Are you aware of the destruction and agony that is being spread because of your still being alive?” he snarled. You pressed yourself against the back of the chair.

“Enough, that’s not her fault,” Taehyung demanded.

“We’ve done things a certain way for years. Once she’s dead, the line is done. She’s the last one. Highness, she is the last one of the damned bloodline. The witch will leave us alone once she’s gone!” Hoseok cried.

“If you think that a horrid woman such as that would leave us alone, after all the tormenting she’s done throughout the years, because of her death... Then you are a fool, Hoseok,” Father Jin declared. Hoseok chuckled softly before grabbing an apple that sat on your plate.

He bit into the red flesh of the fruit and marveled at its sweetness.

“I’ve just spent weeks, fighting with those damned Forsaken... Watching women, children and good men die because of her. Hundreds of women more beautiful, more intelligent and more worthy wait to be your bride, Highness. This mere farm girl, is she truly worth all this suffering?”

A sob broke from your throat as you stood taking the verbal abuse.

He was right...

“Hoseok! That is enough,” Jimin growled. Hoseok raised his eyebrows and then sighed.

“Terribly sorry, my Lady,” he sneered, before waltzing off. The sound of the crisp apple ringing in your ears.

And now, he stood before you... Alone...

“Good morning, Hoseok,” you said, trying to keep your composure.

“My Lady,” he bowed slightly. You tried not to scoff, it was an insult.

“Is there something I can do for you, Hoseok?”

He smiled before pinning you against the wall, knife at your throat and his hand covering your mouth. Frightened tears sprung to your eyes. You wanted to wipe at them, but his strength was unmatchable. You swallowed and felt the sharp edge of the weapon graze your tender flesh.

“I simply want for you to be aware of how easily I could kill you. The only reason you are alive right now is because the Prince would no doubt hang me for your murder. And right now, I still have a purpose for my life. But once that purpose is fulfilled, you will die,” he snarled. “I won’t let one life stand in front of thousands of others.”

You huffed behind his palm, struggling to breath. He wasn’t lying, or merely trying to scare you. He meant every single word coming from his mouth. However, his words were not was chilled you to your very bones. No, his eyes were what made your knees tremble and heart clench.

They held so much fear... and a frightened man was capable of many dangerous things. If anyone found the two of you like this, he would no doubt be locked up for a few months. Lose his standing with the court and much more, however here he was...

“Now you can scream and cry to Jimin if you so desire, but I will find you no matter the distance. Because I care for the people you think so lowly of. Unlike you I grew up with nothing, and I will go into the ground with nothing. So, do as you wish. Just remember, I decide when you die... because Jimin won’t do it himself.”

With that, he released you. You scrambled up and bolted down the hallways as fast as you could move. Your heart hammered in your chest so hard that you thought it would certainly burst.

Coming around a corner you collided with, none other than your husband.

Jimin had just come from a meeting to find you, and here you were.

“Y/N, I was just coming to find you. What is-”

You cut him off by throwing your arms around his shoulders tightly. Jimin stopped and felt your trembling form. He moved to question you, but you simply held on tighter.

“Don’t ask me, please,” you whispered. “Just hold me.”

Jimin nodded slow before wrapping you up in his arms. Letting the question sit on his tongue unasked.

* * *

That night you looked out over the field with mute interest. Jimin didn’t ask what had frightened you so, but you knew he was curious.

Hoseok hadn’t come near you, keeping his distance at dinner. However the mere sight of him had your heart pounding hard in your ears. Although he acted as if both transpired between you two. As if, just hours ago, he didn’t have a knife to your throat.

You felt warmth wrap around your waist.

Jimin pressed his head against your shoulder, keeping you locked in his arms. “I don’t know what happened, and don’t feel as though you must tell me. But you worried me, I thought someone had hurt you,” he murmured.

“I didn’t mean to alarm you,” you apologized. Jimin shook his head, soft tufts of hair brushing your skin. It felt like a warm breeze caressing your neck.

Warm breeze...

The beach!

That’s what you wanted to speak with him about before Hoseok...

“Jimin?” You asked softly.

“Mmm?” He answered, obviously tired.

“I was thinking, perhaps we need a change in scenery,” you suggested. Jimin’s head popped up from the crook of your neck.

“What?”

“Well, it’s getting colder and autumn is almost in full here... but I just remembered I hadn’t gone swimming all summer. I adore the water, and-”

“You adore the water?” He asked, smiling at you.

You nodded back quickly. “Yes, I would sneak out all the time when mother was asleep to swim in the river,” you confessed.

“Naughty girl,” Jimin teased. You bit your lip and turned in his hold.

“Do you think we could go? To the ocean?”

Jimin sighed and seemed to think for a moment. “I don’t see why you couldn’t go for a week to our Palace on the Albion sea. It’s warm this time of year, should be perfect for swimming,” he promised.

You... Not we...

“I’m not leaving without you,” you said. Jimin huffed and let you go, walking to the railing.

“I have much to do before my coronation. Plans to make, people to meet with... a witch to kill,” he growled. You walked behind him and rubbed his shoulders too ease his anger.

“It’s too much stress on you, you’re going to make yourself collapse at this rate! For your own health, come with me,” you urged, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Darling I would enjoy nothing more than traveling to the seaside with you, but I have responsibilities,” he reasoned.

“You know, I’ve never been one for those bathing gowns that women use to swim. I much prefer just discarding all the unnecessary fabric and swimming freely,” you grinned. Jimin tensed against you.

“Don’t start,” he warned.

“I’m merely stating a fact,” you said, removing yourself from him. “Well, if you’re certain you can’t go then I have no doubt that Jungkook and Taehyung would accompany me to the palace. For the week. Alone.”

Walking back to the bedroom you heard Jimin whisper, before quickly making stride with you.

“Perhaps I could have the advisors do the heavy lifting this week. After all, I haven’t been to the beach in ages as well,” he agreed.

You smiled, silently cheering in your head. “If you think they could manage,” you goaded. Jimin just shook his head and sighed in defeat.

“There’s no winning against you, my dear,” he chucked.

“I’d say my win is in our best interest,” you smiled. Jimin nodded before heading towards the bed. You turned to shut the balcony doors when you saw it... However small it was, fading against the darkness of the forest. Your eyes were not mistaken.

The same orange light from days ago...

* * *

Loading up the carriages had taken a majority of the morning.

Father Jin, Hoseok and Yoongi were staying to ensure that the Castle was protected in Jimin’s absence.

You hugged Father Jin tightly, knowing a week without him would be dreadful. He patted your hair, letting you hold him tight.

“Be good, I will be praying for your safety,” he whispered.

“I’ll be back,” you grinned. “But I can’t promise my behavior will be that of a Lady.”

Jin coughed and then let you go. “I will certainly be praying,” he sighed.

You waved to Yoongi as you climbed into your carriage. Hoseok gazed at you, making your heart stutter painfully. You hadn’t told Jimin, and you didn’t intend on it.

For now, you were safe.

Jimin pulled himself into the carriage beside you and shut the door quickly. You raised an eyebrow at him, knowing he wasn’t supposed to be riding with you.

“Highness,” You tutted.

“Is it so wrong that I wish to accompany my wife?” He asked.

“You know that’s not the worry,” you reminded.

“It’s not a long trip, I’m confident that we can ride together,” he stated.

A knock came on the carriage door. Namjoons face greeted you as he looked in.

“Damn,” Jimin breathed.

“Your Majesty, I believe your carriage is the next one up,” Namjoon said. Jimin huffed and a pout made its way onto his face. You struggled to not giggle.

“I’m going to ride with my wife for this trip,” he said.

“Highness,” Namjoon warned.

Jimin groaned before turning to you. “Apparently I’m being called away, my dear. I'll see you in a few hours,” he said. Leaning close he place a soft kiss to your lips.

You froze in shock. Jimin had been incorporating small displays of a affection to you since your incident. Gentle hugs, soft kisses. It was wonderful...

Letting your mind wander you found your hand gripping his sleeve. Jimin smirked against your mouth before pulling away. Your cheeks stained pink and lips wet, you were incredibly enticing.

“Y-you know, a few hours will be an awfully long time without you,” you breathed. Your husband grinned, pressing his head against yours.

“Shall I give you plenty to think about while I’m gone?”

Jimin leaned in once more, before someone cleared their throat. He stopped and found Namjoon standing outside the carriage with pink cheeks. You laughed and placed a sweet kiss to his face.

“I think I’ve got plenty to think about,” you grinned. Jimin sighed and moved away from your form.

“I can’t wait to walk along the ocean with you, I’ll see you in a few hours,” he murmured before opening the carriage door once more.

You smiled as Namjoon scolded the Prince as he walked towards his carriage. A chuckle escaped you as Jungkook approached your door. He knocked and you nodded for him to open.

“Would you mind if we shared the carriage, My Lady?” He asked.

“Not at all, please,” you said, gesturing to the seat across from you. Jungkook sat down and soon after, the vehicle jolted.

“Are you excited?” Jungkook asked a few minutes into the ride.

“More than you could know,” you breathed, watching as the castle became smaller behind you.

“Have you been to the ocean before?”

“No,” you shook your head. “But I’ve heard so many stories of its beauty I can’t believe I’m going.”

“I’m glad we could go... I’m not sure when Jimin will get to see it again,” Jungkook whispered. You looked and saw worry on the guardsman’s face.

“What troubles you?” You offered. Jungkook bit his lip and shuffled in his seat.

“His Highness... I’m worried once he is crowned King, that he’ll forget that he’s also many other things... not only a King, but an older brother. Friend and fellow man of arms... a husband,” he whispered.

“A father,” you noted. Jungkook coughed and then looked at your stomach in panic.

“My Lady, does Jimin know? We mustn’t let word of this travel you know, it’s already so volatile a situation-“

“Jungkook, Not now. But in the future, ease your frantic thoughts,” you laughed softly. Jungkook panted and rested his head back against the seat.

“My Lady I thought my heart was going to stop,” he huffed. You just smiled and shook your head.

This trip would be good for you.

All of you.

* * *

You awoke to Jungkook gently nudging your arm. “My Lady, we’ve arrived!” He announced.

Lifting your head you saw the setting sun, and a vast amount of open water. Your heart hammered in your chest at the sight. You were so entranced that you didn’t notice Jungkook’s departure. He went to clear his throat when Jimin appeared.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw the ocean... it feels like forever,” he breathed.

“It’ll be good for you to relax, Highness. I’ll help Namjoon with the luggage and horses. Why don’t you and Lady Y/N go inside to take tea?” Jungkook suggested. Jimin nodded and moved to help you out of the buggy.

“Darling, we’ve arrived,” Jimin said, reaching for your hand. You tore your gaze away from the breathtaking view of the ocean and leveled your eyes with his.

He was a vision in this moment.

Hair ablaze from the setting sun, his eyes sparkling in the burning light. He was reaching for you, and you couldn’t help but acknowledge how right this felt. To be here with him. You realized that it could be anywhere with Jimin and it could feel like this.

Because if he was there, at least you had him.

If everyone in the world abandoned you... except for him... the world would still shine just as bright. Because he was the sun in your eyes. The light of the day and promise of a brighter tomorrow.

The words you ached to say sat on the tip of your tongue as Jimin helped you out of your seat and onto the different terrain. Your shoes sunk slightly, making you lean on your husband for support.

“The ground is softer than at home, my dear. Be sure to not hurt your ankles,” he warned, wrapping your arm around his.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

“Jungkook suggested we go for some tea, what do you think?” Jimin said, raising an eyebrow at you.

“Sounds enjoyable. But I think I’d prefer some coffee,” you jested. Jimin laughed and lead you towards the castle entrance.

It was so different than the other castles you’d been in while with Jimin.

The Palace of the Kingdom was bigger and of a deeper color stone. Almost black with age, holding an antique air about it.

Taehyung’s castle was also different. Sharing similar type of architecture to the Royal Palace, but clearly newer and of lighter stonework.

However, this Castle was breathtaking. Almost pure ivory it gleamed in the setting sun. You were astounded by its brilliance, and you wondered if you could make this your permanent residence.

“It’s made from the sandstone from a quarry three days travel from here. It is said this castle pre-dates my ancestors rule. The locals of the village to the West call it a Sand Castle. Isn’t that humorous?” Jimin said as the doors opened for the two of you.

If the outside had impressed you, than the inside astounded you.

The most luxurious of fabrics hung from large windows that lined the corridor. Huge chandeliers with glittering gems dangled from the ceiling. You looked around and noticed the sunlight coming in through the glass panes like a flood of flames.

“It’s beautiful,” you breathed, unable to comprehend the beauty before you.

Jimin looked at you as you were bathed in the twinkling afternoon light. You were focused on the view before you, but Jimin thought you were easily more worthy of his attention.

Your hair flowing from your shoulders in delicate curls, cheeks twinges pink and the light of the sun warming your skin. The fabric of your dress shifting in the glow of the atmosphere around you.

Everything about you was enthralling, and he couldn’t believe you were real. Standing before him wearing a ring that bound you to him for life.

Even though you’d gone through so much as a child. Being told you were meant for him from a young age. Not being allowed outside often and being punished when you weren’t absolutely perfect. Withstanding the criticism of marrying into a society based on lineage, of which you had none.

Living through the torture of being alone in the palace. Relying on Father Jin and your own mental strength to continue on each day... staying with him even though he hadn’t been faithful or attentive.

Giving him so much love and affection. Being understanding of his situation, and working with him to get out of it all together.

Having a witch trying to murder you, and then coming back from it twice...

You were incredible in his eyes.

And more than perfectly suited to be his wife, his Queen...

The mother of his future children?

With you, the possibilities didn’t seem so daunting anymore. Because at the very least, you had each other.

Jimin wasn’t sure if what he felt for you was love, adoration or just comfort. Comfort in knowing that there was someone beside him, and that he wouldn’t be alone in his castle either.

“Come, let us get some coffee,” Jimin suggested, taking your hand and leading your towards the many corridors the castle had to offer.

You looked around in awe at the passing paintings and many windows that showed views of the ocean.

Everything here sparkled in the evening sun. You found yourself being dragged into a cute little parlor room that had been decorated with elegant turquoise satin.

The slipper sofa sat against the wall angled so whomever decided to rest there would see the sea in all its splendor. Jimin brought you to the glass French doors that sat encrusted with delicate gold lacing.

This Palace screamed elegance and luxury. Never in your life did you imagine being married to the Prince would bring you to a place of such glamour. You thought your life would be spent, locked away from the world. Bringing children into the world for the purpose of continuing the throne. But, life decided to give you the sweetest of apples instead of a sour lemon.

And he stood there, basking in the sight before him...

Your sweet apple.

“The ocean breeze is lovely this time of year, not too hot to cause you to perspire, but not so cold to give you a fever,” he sighed.

“I’m glad we could come,” you smiled.

Jimin nodded. “Me too... I remember playing down on the beach with Father,” he frowned. “Unfortunately, my father won’t ever be able to see this palace again. His state is far too feeble to travel. It pains me to know his last memories here are fleeting ones from my childhood.”

You wrapped your arm around his and leaned your head on his shoulder. “Memories are still as such, I’m sure he doesn’t regret his time here with you and your mother. When we return to the Royal Palace, we will tell him of the fun we had here. And he’ll remember his memories here with you. I know when I’m old and weak in my bed, I’ll remember this place with such fondness,” you assured. Jimin brought you close and held you in his arms. Your words were so sure, so full of attentive affection for him that it made his heart swell.

You were far too good for him. Someone who was willing to kill you in order for an old tradition to be fulfilled. In order to protect, but at what cost was that protection?

He wasn’t going to be trading lives.

Because you can start doing atrotricious things with those kinds of thoughts. Eventually, human life holds no value any more... Jimin didn’t want to turn into that. He wanted each life to be precious. To hold weight in a room and discussion. People weren’t merely pawns on a board for him to be the decider for. They had pathways to travel, and sometimes paths intertwined.

Like yours and his.

Paths intervening and changing, twisting into different directions no one ever thought they’d go. Jimin surely thought this marriage would be the worst part of his life. However, you were kind and good. Your heart pure and courage prevailing over his stubborn exterior.

Jimin was cradling you in his arms so carefully, you wondered what he was thinking... As if you were a precious memory to him already. Something tangible in his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Gently brushing your fingers through the nape of his neck, you smiled as you finally felt like you weren’t alone.

* * *

It was incredibly dark...

So dark and you were running. Running so fast that you couldn’t feel your legs anymore. You had to move, and quickly.

Your stomach throbbed as you looked down, you saw the swell of a babe resting in your womb. You were panicking. Someone was trying to hurt you and your baby.

Fear drenched you like a cold fabric, clinging to your mind as you continued to run. You had to go faster, to get away from the danger. You didn’t dare turn to face said terror. Certainly your heart would fail if you did.

Suddenly, you tripped and landed on your side.

Pain erupted from your body and you lay still in the brush. You struggled to lift yourself up, being heavily pregnant. There was shouting, someone saying your name.

“Y/N! Darling, where are you!?”

It was Jimin!

“JIMIN! I’m here!” you cried, throat feeling sore and scratchy. Footsteps came quickly, then Jimin’s head of blonde hair greeting you.

“My darling, are you alright?” he asked, cradling your face. You sobbed and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“They’re trying to catch me,” you whimpered, holding your stomach. Jimin examined your side and then moved to help you up.

“Hurry, this way my love,” he urged. You followed him blindly, moving towards the darkness. Jimin’s hand was cold in your own. But that didn’t matter, because he was here.

Your mind was delirious from exhaustion. You just wanted to rest, body aching from the fear and exercise.

Jimin lead you into a small hut in the woods, nothing like the palaces you’d grown accustom to. “Here, my darling,” he offered, helping you sit. You did so, gently easing yourself onto the bed in the corner of the one room.

“Jimin, she’s coming,” you whispered. He held your face in his hands and kissed your forehead. “She wants our baby,” you sobbed.

“I’d rather die than let that happen,” he swore to you, gripping your hand. You nodded and felt a sweet kiss go to your lips.

“Jimin, I love-”

“Gah,” Jimin gasped. You looked down and saw a blade protruding from his stomach. Jimin’s lips were stained red from his blood. He collapsed to the floor and there stood Hoseok behind him, blade dripping crimson.

“I warned you,” he whispered.

“Jimin!” you cried, falling to his side at once.

“Why couldn’t you let me do it?” he asked, chest heaving with effort to inhale and exhale.

“Do what, my love?” you asked, applying pressure to his wound to keep him with you just a moment longer.

“Let me... kill you... Now we all suffer, because you are selfish... Not only me, but our child as well,” he rasped. Placing his bloodied hand on your stomach, he looked pained. However, not from his wound. “I’m sorry my child, I must go before you.”

“Jimin, please! You promised me we’d do this together! You promised!”

The room went dark and you heard sharp cackling from all angles. As if you were being suffocated by the sound. Your heart thrummed in your ears as you felt a deep contraction in your stomach.

Were you going into labor?

“W-Who’s there?”

“She who has been betrayed by you, and those before you...”

The voice was like ice drilling into your skin. Sheer terror erupted from your frame as you tried to find a way out. To get away, to be safe.

“My darling...”

Jimin’s voice whispered.

“Why couldn’t you let me do it?”

“Jimin, please where are you?” you begged.

“Enjoy these moments, my sweet. Because they will be fleeting in the end, and so will your life. Fleeting, and ending soon... Sweet dreams, Y/N...”

* * *

You awoke screaming.

Jolting awake in bed you felt tears burning in your eyes. You throat was raw and you couldn’t stop your trembling.

You couldn’t stop screaming, the fear and that voice... It was still in your mind and it wouldn’t leave. Only you screaming kept it at bay.

Jimin flew up in his position beside you in a flustered mess. “Y/N? Y/N what’s wrong?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

He wrapped his arms around you and tried to comfort your cries. You held your head and tried to get the damned voice from your mind. All you wanted to do was drift into blackness, somewhere the sound of the ice wouldn’t follow.

“Shh, my darling, shhh,” Jimin spoke right in your ear. You froze and stopped howling in fear. Jimin rubbed your back and you turned to look at him. His eyes were bleary with sleep and he was exhausted.

“J-Jimin?” you asked, looking at his lips.

They were slightly pink and chapped from sleep... But there was no blood.

“I’m right here,” he assured, pushing some of your hair behind your ear.

“Oh God,” you sobbed, wrapping your arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. “I thought I’d lost you.”

A strong cage locked around your waist. Jimin was holding you to him as you cried. All you could see was him on the ground with blood pouring from his wound. The mere thought of it made you want to gag. You moved away from his and held his face, checking for wounds. You moved your hands over his body, making sure that he was alright.

“He stabbed you,” you whispered, pressing your hands against his stomach. Jimin looked at your shaken form next to him, and he felt so helpless.

“Who, my darling?” he asked, holding your hand gently.

“He who wishes for my end,” you whispered.

“MY PRINCE? LADY Y/N? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT IN THERE? WE COULD HEAR SCREAMS FROM THE BARRACKS!”

Jungkook’s voice echoed from behind the door.

“We’re alright Jungkook! A nightmare plagued her, go back to sleep. I will soothe her,” Jimin called back.

“OF COURSE HIGHNESS! REST ASSURED LADY Y/N! WE WILL PROTECT YOU WITH OUR LIVES!”

The image of all those you’ve come to care for, bloodied and unresponsive on the floor flashed before your eyes. You tightened your grip on Jimin, unwilling to let go of him for even a moment.

“Y/N, what did you dream about?” Jimin asked, brushing a hand down your spine.

“The witch...”

Jimin’s face grew dark. “She won’t come near you, not if I have anything to do about it.”

“Perhaps she doesn’t need to... Maybe, it would be easier if I-”

“Hold your tongue, you will not utter that sentence,” Jimin warned.

“Jimin-”

“I won’t have it!” Jimin cried. “No! She doesn’t get to win, I won’t allow her to. For once, I’m happy. For once, I feel like I have someone who will listen to me not because I’m a Prince, but because you care about my feelings... I don’t want to lose my only support I’ve ever had... I also, don’t want to lose my future Queen... Most importantly, I can’t lose someone whom I’ve only just began to uncover,” he panted.

“Jimin, all of these people... And those not even born yet,” you swallowed thick. “All of them are at risk because of me. I can’t sleep with their lives on my conscience.”

“We’ve bent to her will for far too long. Father Jin is correct. If we believe your death would stop the years of heinous torture she’s procured, then we are truly the fools. I won’t let her win,” Jimin promised, wrapping his hand around yours.

A sour taste was left in your mouth as you discovered your defeat.

Jimin noticed your uneased and lifted your hands from your lap in into his own. “Y/N?” he asked, lifting your hands so you were palm to palm before your faces.

“Yes?” you responded softly.

“Do you know what the bands on our fingers mean?” he asked, pushing his ring finger against yours softly.

“That we are married, bound together by God and-”

“Not only that, darling... But we have duties to one another. I as your husband, and you as my wife. We can’t fulfill those duties to one another if you’re dead. I’m not through with you yet,” Jimin teased. You felt heat rush to your cheeks.

“Jimin,” you breathed.

“You need to rest,” he urged, laying you down gently.

“I can’t sleep,” you whimpered. “That dreaded voice... It will follow me.”

“I’ll sing to you then, until you are asleep,” Jimin whispered.

You bit your lip before nodding. Jimin began to hum a simple lullaby, something you remember your own father singing to you as a fitful child.

The nostalgic melody swirled in your brain, and soon you were drifting back to sleep...

* * *

The following days passed in a blur. You were haunted by your nightmare, making you nearly unable to enjoy the ocean and the beautiful sights Jimin was enthralled with. You tried so hard to make sure that he came here with you, and now you were acting disinterested in everything he suggested!

What a horrible wife...

You did manage to go with him to the small village and meet with a couple people of the Council there. They cooed over your beauty and Jimin simply brushed it aside. The people here were known for loving luxury and holding things of beauty and grace to the highest standard.

But, they were kind and showed great amounts of hospitality.

While on your excursion, Jimin managed to get you to smile and laugh with him while exploring the woods.

He remembered you mentioning that you were a bit of an adventurer back in your childhood. Of course, Jungkook and Namjoon weren’t thrilled by the idea of you both running off into the woods unattended and quickly found you and redirected your adventuring to the city streets.

Returning back to the castle on the final night was bitter sweet.

You hadn’t been able to go swimming the entire time you were there due to high tides and a little storm that passed through two days prior.

However, tonight the water was calm...

You slipped on your silk nightdress and some slippers in the moonlight. Jimin was sound asleep in your bed. He’d gone out hunting with Jungkook and Namjoon that morning and came home dead tired.

Careful as to not disturb him, you pulled open the door and made your way down the stairs.

The castle was silent at night, not even the sound of animals outside were there to fill the deafening silence. But you heard the call of the ocean.

The gentle waves crashing on the shore sang out to your deprived heart as you quickly made for the beach.

Climbing over the large rocks and treacherous dips and sharp angled stones your heart began to race.

When was the last time you’d been swimming? Had it been so long that the sensation of climbing over such dangerous areas now filled you with fear? A spray of sea water hit you in the face and you stood in awe of the beauty. You couldn’t believe how thrilled you were to feel the ocean.

Water of any form called to you in such a way you couldn’t explain.

Dropping onto the damp sand you removed your slippers and tossed them aside.

The waves pushed and pulled against the shoreline, dampening the sand present. The moon and stars glimmered against the water like gemstones in jewelry. Although this sight was worth so much more than mere money.

Just being able to stand here, and witness nature... It filled you with so much gratitude. You were thankful to be alive so that you could experience things like this. To feel the water rushing over your toes and making you giggle.

Walking into the water you felt it encasing your legs. The temperature was pleasant if not slightly chilly. The weather was turning colder up north, so no doubt the same was occurring here. But for now, the water was perfect. Looking down you saw your nightdress darkening with the water.

You quickly dove under the waves, feeling the liquid caress your body and fill your heart with such joy. Breaking the surface you pushed your damp hair away from your face. Placing your head back in the water you looked at the bottom with interest.

However, soon your eyes began to sting because of the salt in the water. You pouted as you rubbed your eyes. The river never had that kind of effect on your eyes.

“I might like the river better,” you muttered, splashing the ocean in punishment.

“You know, it didn’t get to choose whether it wanted to be salty or not,” a voice carried through the night air.

You jumped and turned quickly to cover yourself.

Jimin stood on the shore, his arms crossed as he watched you.

“H-How long have you been standing there?” you asked, biting your lip in embarrassment. This was incredibly unladylike.

“I heard you leave the room. I was curious as to where you were going, so I followed behind you,” Jimin stated. You heard a small amount of anger in his voice, something that confused you.

Until you thought of why you’d be leaving in the middle of the night without telling your husband. A smirk grew on your face. “Did you think me to be having an affair?” you questioned, laughing at the end. Jimin flushed and quickly rubbed his neck.

You knew it.

“Of course I wouldn’t think so lowly of you,” he stated.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Jimin,” you accused. Jimin huffed and crossed his arms in defiance.

“I am not jealous,” he declared.

“Surely not, I a merely jesting with you,” you chuckled. Jimin scowled.

“Don’t make me remind you whom you married,” he warned.

“You needn’t remind me, I always know who I married,” you smiled, brushing your hair from your face, flashing him your ring.

“You had better,” he stated. You shook your head before walking closer to shore.

“Would you like to join me?” you asked, walking just close enough for your dampened nightdress beginning to show. Jimin bit his lip and cleared his throat.

“I think you should come out of the water, you’ll catch a cold,” he coughed. You raised an eyebrow.

“Are you certain you wish for me to get out? These are my night garments, and there is nothing underneath this dress,” you warned. Jimin went slightly pale before glaring at you.

“That’s it,” he growled. Pulling his shoes off he stormed towards the water. You squealed before quickly swimming away from him.

“I was only teasing!” you cried from laughter, watching as Jimin chased after you in the water.

“I’ll teach you to tease me!” Jimin yelled, amusement hidden in his tone.

You both waded through the water, evading and attempting to capture one another. Your face hurt from smiling and laughing. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt so light and bubbly.

You tripped up over a rock and were sent tumbling into the water backwards. Jimin was quick to grab your hand and pull you close to his body. You were panting from pushing yourself through the different medium. Jimin was tired also, soft puffs of breath hitting your face.

“You’ve caught me,” you announced, smiling. Jimin blinked slow, gaze flickering from your eyes then lower.

“So I have,” he pants.

“Shall you take a prize for your capture?” you whispered.

“I think I might,” Jimin confirmed before leaning forwards and pressing his lips against yours.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back slowly. You’d never been kissed like this before. The only other time you recall having such a passionate kiss was when Jimin aided you with your lust potion.

His soft, plump lips worked against yours as he began to move backwards towards the shore. You followed blindly, letting the waves and your husband guide you from the water you so loved.

The two of you fell to the ground, Jimin landing in the sand on his back. You falling on to of his torso, legs hooked over his hips. He stared up at you, eyes lidded and lips slightly swollen from yours.

It was silent except for your harsh breathing and the waves behind you.

Jimin brought his hands to your damp thighs and rubbed warmth into them. You shuddered at his touch and smiled down at him.

His hair was wet from the water, his skin sparkling in the moonlight. His hands traveled higher until they were locked with yours as he sat up. Jimin looked at you, shining under the light from the sky.

He could feel something burning in his blood. As if he couldn’t keep his mind straight while looking at you. All he wanted was to kiss you, make you submit to him and to have you all to himself. It was incredibly selfish, but he wanted to lock you away for only his eyes to view. Only his lips to kiss.

Only his love to have.

“I’m-uh, I’m not sure what I’m feeling right now,” Jimin confessed, easing your hands around his shoulders. You smiled and kissed his forehead gently.

“Until you’re sure of your feelings, then we can stop. For right now, sitting under the starlight with you makes my heart fill with joy,” you smiled. Jimin wrapped his arms around your waist and hugged you tightly.

“The nightmares that plague you, I am worried for your health,” Jimin sighed into your skin. You shuddered at the sensation, and because of the nightmares.

They had only gotten worse while being here.

And everytime you got closer to Jimin, it was as if the nightmares punished you for feeling so elated when he held your hands. It was like not being able to be happy without fear of doom befalling you later on.

“I-I... I’m sorry they frighten you so,” you tried to soothe him. He chuckled and pulled your face away to look at you.

“I believe in this situation, I am supposed to be comforting you my dear.”

You shook your head. “No,” you stated. “I don’t want you to have to worry about something as trivial as nightmares. It’s a childish fear anyways.”

Jimin frowned at your statement. “If it frightens you, then I don’t think it is childish. Even grown men and women are allowed to be afraid... Fear isn’t something you can outgrow.”

You sighed and brushed your wet hair off your face. Jimin marveled at the sight, unconsciously taking a strand between his fingers. You watched as he twirled it around his fingers and it fell against your chest.

Jimin’s eyes followed the strand and he moved forward, moving you on your back. You stared up at him as he sat with his hips against yours and face hovering over your lips. “I know this one emotion well,” he breathed. “Desire.”

He brought his lips to yours again. You were powerless to his advances, becoming pliant under his hold. All you wanted to do was please the man atop you. If that meant giving him your maidenhood right here on this beach then you would do it.

Everything about him intoxicated you. He was like the sweetest of wine in the middle of summer’s heat. A refreshing burn that left you light in the head and weak in the knees. A vibrant blush on your cheeks.

Jimin hadn’t seen you in such a state of undress in a long while, and he almost forgot how beautiful you were without those suffocating gowns. He scowled at the thought of the corsets that he mentioned the last time you were intimate.

He found you wearing them less, however you obviously weren’t comfortable in your own skin yet. Jimin knew the feeling well. He never felt like he looked desirable. However, you seemed to be enjoying his body at the moment...

You mewled when he pushed his groin against yours while he shifted up to get a better angle to your lips. He broke away for just a moment to heave in a large breath of air before diving back into your deadly kiss.

This was him...

Giving up...

He knew now, anything you’d ever want he’d give it to you. As much jewels as you could carry. Enough drink and food to make you soft under his touch. As many dresses and clothing items to fill fifty closets.

As many children as you would bear for him.

All of it he would give to you, because this feeling in his heart was so strong. So pure that he didn’t want it to ever leave. It felt like a part of him; you had become a part of him.

Somewhere along the way, you had stitched yourself into his heart. And now losing you would no doubt kill him.

“Jimin,” you breathed, bringing him from his thoughts. He set his forehead against yours and panted on your lips.

“Yes, darling?”

“I-I think we should go inside,” you whispered. “We’re both damp from the water, we’ll catch our deaths out here. Perhaps a warm bath for us both?”

“Shall we share the water, Y/N?”

You squeaked and turned a bright shade of pink before shaking your head quickly. Jimin just laughed and brought you both to your feet. “It was merely a suggestion my Lady, however you are correct. If we stay out here much longer I don’t think that I will be able to keep you pure,” he huffed. You bit your lip before interlacing your fingers with his.

“Come, before the chill takes us,” you smiled.

Jimin nodded and ran off with you towards the castle.

Everything was perfect in this moment.

If only it could stay that way...

174 notes · View notes

ianxfalcon · 6 years ago

Text

You should not vote for the Sweden Democrats.

The Swedish election is just a little over a week away. I’m pretty sure most people are already decided, and I’m pretty sure that if you have decided you want to vote for the Sweden Democrats, nothing I say is going to change your mind - because after everything they’ve done and said, if you still want them to rule this country, you’re clearly okay with it.

But I’m doing this anyway, because I need to say it. You should not fucking vote for the Sweden Democrats. They are Sweden’s answer to Trump, only there are more of them.

Let’s start with the most concerning question, namely, their idea of “Swedish identity”. Which they, in their manifesto, claim the right to define for you, as well as the right to revoke if you don’t fit into their idea of “Swedish”. (To quote the manifesto: “ På samma sätt som den som är född in i en annan nation senare i livet kan bli en del av den svenska nationen menar vi också att man även som infödd svensk kan upphöra att vara en del av den svenska nationen genom att byta lojalitet, språk, identitet eller kultur.” [In the same way a person born in another nation can later in life be a part of the Swedish nation we also mean that a native Swedish person can cease to be a part of the Swedish nation by changing loyalty, language, identity or culture.]) So if you’re not “loyal” enough to Sweden for them, they want to revoke your right to call yourself Swedish, and presumably your right to be Swedish. Because, yeah, that’s right - they also want to change the Swedish constitution to be allowed to revoke citizenships. If the citizen in question came by the citizenship by illegal means, they say, but with what I mentioned above, what is “criminal” might be easily changed. If they want to change the constitution, what else would they want to change? Oh yeah, they are also against dual citizenships, meaning that if you apply for a Swedish citizenship you will have to give up your earlier one, which in turns mean that if you lose that Swedish citizenship, you are stateless.

And wait! There’s more! They also have a very narrow definiton for who is Swedish to begin with. Sami people and Jewish people, for example, are not Swedish, according to former party secretary Björn Söder. Muslims are also not Swedish in their view, and in fact the Sweden Democrats want to restrict religious freedom for Muslims. Meanwhile, they want the Swedish state to be less secular and not “religiously neutral”, which should be worrying to anyone who isn’t a Christian. Then there’s the whole infamous “inherited essence” thing, which is also in the manifesto. According to Sweden Democrats, all humans have an inherited essence: “Delar av denna essens är gemensam för de flesta människor och annat är unikt för vissa grupper av människor eller för den enskilde individen.” [Parts of this essence is mutual for most people and others are unique for certain groups of people or for the individual.] In another part of the manifesto, they rather blatantly hint that criminality is “culturally” conditioned (”culture” is a less questionable word for “race”). They also want to cut all fundings for any cultural project that is not “Swedish” culture, but can’t define exactly what Swedish culture is other than “Christian”. (This, too, is in the manifesto. If you want to vote SD, you should read their manifesto.) They want to separate Swedish people and “non-Swedish people”. They suggested creating a “B-prison” with lower standards for asylum seekers who commit crimes (this is based on their theory that people come to Sweden only to commit crimes because Swedish prisons are nicer - this is kind of a weird statement to make because most asylum seekers who commit crimes are deported, either before or after the prison sentence). They also want to be able to deport people to countries where they risk the death penalty, which is illegal per the Swedish law. (Oh, yeah, and some representatives have themselves stated a willingness to bring back the death penalty, so there’s that too.) And they want to make it illegal to hide asylum seekers who run the risk of being deported. Now, where have we heard that before...? A lot of their representatives have expressed blatant racism and nazism. Like, a lot. Usually, when one is discovered, they are expelled from the party - but not always, it depends on who the person is. Despite the fact that they expel most of the open racists who are revealed to be open racists, there never seem to be any less of them. Each week, basically, a new one is uncovered. You would think that if it was just a few “bad eggs”, as they claim, there would at some point not be any more of them. And keep in mind that these are only the ones that are discovered. It’s fair to assume that there are a lot more who are smart enough to not say out loud that they want to murder Muslims and shoot migrants with an automatic rifle (yes, someone did say this; her name was Gunilla Schmidt, look it up!). Why does this party attract these people? Hmmmmm. Of course, not that this would change anything for the voters. Back in 2012, it was revealed that three of the party’s head honchos - Kent Ekeroth, Erik Almqvist and Christian Westling - had spent a night in Stokcholm running around drunk, shouting racist and sexist slurs at people, assaulting a woman, and armed themselves with iron pipes. They filmed it all, and that film ended up in the hands of the newspaper Expressen, who naturally posted it on their website. Not only did two of the people involved stay in the party afterwards, this also didn’t seem to affect their numbers in the last election, which was their most successful one so far. Another thing that didn’t affect their numbers? Party leader Jimmie Åkesson being recorded singing a song that celebrated the murder of former prime minister Olof Palme. Yes, this happened in 2009, but still. (Hell, if SD insist on bringing up how the Social Democrats were involved in eugenics in he 40s, then I can bring up how SD’s current leader sang Nazi songs ten years ago.) They are also homophobic and sexist. They are against same-sex couples’ right to adopt (and also single parents), and Björn Söder (yep, him again!) compared homsexuality to bestality once. He’s still in the party, by the way. They recently demanded a library that is used as a voting station remove all their Pride flags because the flags are “too political”. What else? Oh, yeah. They want to limit abortion rights, and they campaign for the right of healthcare personel to refuse to perform abortions (in Sweden, refusing to perform abortions is reason for discharge). They spread a lot of anti abortion propaganda. On top of that, they want to outlaw burkas, because limiting women’s rights goes hand in hand with racism. And they believe women have different roles in society than men (manifesto again). Oh, and when female representatives within the party report sexual harassment or sexism, they are not only kicked out, but also harassed some more, often with added threats of rape and violence. SD are anti-union. They want to reduce striking rights and believe that labour unions need to reach a “compromise” with the employers. They used to be against privatising and monetary gains for the public sector, like healthcare, but they changed their minds after increased contact with private contractors. Oh, and they don’t want Labour Day to be a holiday anymore, because it’s not religious in nature. They want to control the free press. They have at several points expressed a willingness to shut down press that criticises them, including state-run TV company SVT and, very recently, the radio channel P3 (the latter was because they roasted Jimmie Åkesson on a show specifically aimed at roasting the party leaders). Like, the moment a political party says that they think the press should be controlled, we have a problem, okay? They also don’t believe in global warming; Jimmie Åkesson called it “propaganda” concocted by SMHI (the Swedish meteorological institute). Coincidentally, they’re also the only Swedish party to vote against the Paris agreement. And they want more nuclear power plants in Sweden. They are also dipshits. Like the woman claiming that 400 000 euro equals - hold on to your hats - forty thousand billion Swedish crowns (one euro is worth around 10 Swedish crowns), creating a meme in the process. Or the man who carved a swastika into his own forehead and claimed that he had been assaulted by a bunch of “non-European left wing extremists”, apparently completely unaware that medical professionals can tell when a wound is self-inflicted. Or the local group who copied their budget proposition from another local group and only changed the names, leading to their propositon expressing a lot of concern for the countryside 700 miles south of them and suggesting taking money from a project that did not exist in their county. Or that time a few of them ran around in Stockholm hurling abuse at people and filming themselves and then somehow leaking the video to one of the largest newspapers in the country. Also, apparently nobody ever tells Jimmie Åkesson anything because every time he is questioned about anything, his response is always “I don’t know.” Oh, and since a lot of their representatives have been kicked out (some went on to join the even worse party AfS), they have left a lot of vacant chairs both in parliament and in local councils all over the country, meaning their voters aren’t getting the representation they voted for. Also, many of the still sitting representatives never show up in parliament or in the municipal councils they’ve been elected for. This basically means we pay taxes for them to not do anything. As a follow up to that, in some municipals they couldn’t find any actual representatives willing to sit in the council, meaning their voters don’t get the representation they voted for at all, just vacant spots that the tax payers fund. And actual Nazis have taken advantage of that by getting themselves voted into council on an SD mandate, and then leaving the party – or never being a member in the first place, since SD allowed voters to write any name on their ballots – so they can impel their own politics. Of course, since a lot of SD representatives have been seen hanging with actual Nazis, this probably doesn’t bother them, but it should bother you. Because fucking Nazis.

SD were openly Nazis when they started out in the 80′s. A lot of the people who were members back then are still there. Don’t you ever forget that.

In short: don’t vote for SD. Also, don’t vote for the Moderate Party, because they have said they are willing to work with SD. And don’t vote for the Christian Democrats, because they are like SD, only more religious and slightly less racist.

#swedish politics

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wolfandpravato · 7 years ago

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The case against special judicial deference in immigration and national security cases

Japanese-American children detained at the Manzanar internment camp in California, during World War II. The internment was in part a consequence of special judicial deference to the executive on national security issues. (AP/National Park Service)

One of the issues at stake in the ongoing litigation over President Trump’s travel ban executive orders is the extent to which judges should give special deference to the president in cases involving immigration and national security. The administration and its defenders argue for sweeping deference of a kind that would not be accorded in other constitutional cases. Such claims are far from unique to Trump and the travel ban cases. But they are wrong nonetheless. Rejecting special deference does not mean that all national security and immigration policies should be subject to a high level of judicial scrutiny. Many need not be. it simply means such policies should not get a blanket exemption from the kind of judicial review applied to similar policies in other fields.

The usual rationale for judicial deference on national security and immigration is that these issues pose great risks, and that the president and Congress have specialized expertise on them that judges cannot hope to match.

In an excellent recent article at the Lawfare website, legal scholars Ganesh Sitaraman and Ingrid Wuerth critique such “national security exceptionalism” by pointing out that national security policy isn’t really all that exceptional:

By national security “exceptionalism,” we mean arguments that all national security cases as a group should be subject to different analysis than cases not related to national security. For example, courts and commentators sometimes reason that in all national security cases, courts should defer to the executive branch because the courts lack expertise in the field of national security, or because national security issues are uniquely important…

Unfortunately, these justifications do not withstand logical scrutiny. Take the importance of national security issues. It is true that national security is an important objective and that errors could have serious consequences. But domestic issues such as surveillance, data collection, health care, property rights, and firearms are also of great—or sometimes even greater—significance to the lives and well-being of millions of Americans, and errors could be significant in those arenas. Yet courts routinely adjudicate those cases.

What about the executive branch’s expertise in foreign affairs and national security? It is true that courts don’t have as much depth in these areas, but courts also have less expertise than bureaucrats in a wide variety of extremely complex issues that they routinely address, including antitrust, financial regulation, public utilities rate regulation, nuclear waste disposal, and insurance markets. In our system of generalist judges, there is no reason to single out “national security” decisions as categorically too technical or otherwise difficult to evaluate. While there might be particular issues within the national security realm that warrant some deference based on the comparative expertise of the executive branch vis-à-vis the judiciary, the broad category most certainly does not.

Sitaraman and Wuerth are absolutely right about national security exceptionalism. Even if we confine the analysis to risks to life, it is far from clear that national security cases on average involve greater danger than many other categories. For example, vastly more Americans die every year because of ordinary domestic crime and traffic accidents than because of war or terrorist attacks by foreigners or immigrants. In 2016 alone, some 40,000 Americans died in traffic accidents, far more than all US fatalities in the War on Terror and the Iraq war combined, and twelve times more than the fatalities from all foreign-born terrorists since 1975.

Like national security policy, traffic safety and domestic law enforcement involve a variety of technical issues on which the legislative and executive branches have greater expertise than courts. Yet the courts regularly decide cases in these fields without granting the government any special deference. For example, a landmark Supreme Court decision struck down a traffic safety law that discriminated on the basis of sex, despite considerable evidence indicating that young male drivers created greater risks than female ones of the same age.

Special judicial deference in the national security field is also sometimes defended on the grounds that national security policy relies on secret information that is inaccessible to the judiciary. But this is far from universally true. As Sitaraman and Wuerth point out:

Some national security decisions need to be shrouded in secrecy, while others do not. Some might require great haste, others do not. At the same time, many ordinary “domestic” issues require secrecy or haste, and yet the Supreme Court has never accepted blanket claims of deference to the president for all domestic policymaking. Courts should accordingly afford the president greater discretion than normal only when based on a specific justification—not on the general principle that all national security cases pose unique risks.

Indeed, a deferential posture toward the executive branch for the category of “national security” or “foreign relations” cases creates a dangerous incentive for the executive to claim that virtually every policy is crucial to national security.

Even in the comparatively rare instances when cases do turn on secret information, courts have established procedures for considering such evidence “in camera,” without revealing it to the public. Strikingly, the Trump administration has chosen not to avail itself of such procedures in the travel ban litigation. They have agreed to confidentially reveal the government report supposedly justifying the most recent travel ban order to one of the federal judges considering its legality, but have urged him not to consider the report in making his decision. I suspect that is because the report does not really provide any good justification for the order.

What is true of national security policy is even more true for immigration policy. Here, there is even less reason to believe that either the risks involved or the government’s special expertise are any greater than in a vast range of domestic policy fields. True, some immigrants turn out to be criminals or terrorists. But the crime rate of immigrants (including undocumented ones) is actually far lower than that of native-born Americans. The risk that that any given American will be killed on US soil by an immigrant terrorist is about 1 in 51 million per year, much lower than the risk of being killed by a lightning strike.

If domestic crime control policy does not qualify for special judicial deference on grounds of risk and expertise, neither should immigration policy. Similarly, immigration policy does not rely on secret information any more than policymaking in a wide range of other areas.

The tragic history of special judicial deference on national security and immigration casts further doubt on the justification for this practice. In the national security field, special deference led to such now-reviled rulings as the Supreme Court’s decisions upholding the persecution and intermment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and rulings permitting serious abuses of civil liberties during World War I and the early Cold War. In the immigration field, judicial abdication helped empower the government to enact cruel and racist policies, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the exclusion of many Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism in the 1930s. By contrast, it is difficult to find examples where special judicial deference on national security or immigration policy led to the upholding of important beneficial policies that would otherwise have been invalidated.

In recent years, special deference in these two fields has been considerably eroded by Supreme Court decisions. For example, the Court showed very little deference to the Bush administration in the various cases challenging the legality of detentions at Guantanamo, such as Boumediene v. Bush (2008). Special deference in the immigration field is also in gradual decline. The courts should repudiate the idea of special deference more fully.

Repudiating a general doctrine of judicial deference in immigration and national security policy does not mean that all government policies in these fields would be subject aggressive judicial review. It only requires that constitutional challenges to government policies in these two fields should get the same treatment as those challenging policies on other issues. Policies that do not impinge on constitutional rights or structural constraints on federal power should still be upheld with little or no difficulty. The appropriate level of judicial scrutiny should be determined not by whether the policy in question involves immigration or national security, but by the degree to which it threatens constitutional limits on government power.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/10/22/the-case-against-special-judicial-deference-in-immigration-and-national-security-cases/

#Law #Lawyer

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wendynerdwrites · 7 years ago

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Meta Repost #1: The Trident Fight: Why We Need to Stop Blaming Little Girls and Start Blaming Irresponsible Adults and the Awful Society They Perpetuate

It’s back!

I feel embarrassed that I feel the need to discuss the Trident scene in a meta at this point in time. It’s been four books and nearly twenty years since George R.R. Martin wrote the damn thing, and yet people still keep bringing this up as not only A defining moment for certain characters, but THE defining moment for certain characters. Especially for Sansa.

This is wrong. The person to be angry at isn’t Sansa or her sister. While both girls can get blamed for this event, Sansa tends to get the bulk of fandom hatred for the events that led to the death of Lady. I want to focus on why this viewpoint is wrong.

It’s just that so many of the mentions of the fight at the Trident between Arya and Joffrey, Sansa’s reaction, and the fallout are so often used to make really bad arguments. And, in fact, the whole instance is just misinterpreted a lot.

Usually, the Trident and subsequent hearing is often cited when people want to argue that Sansa Stark hates her sister, or Sansa was weak and stupid, or Sansa was super-duper-evil-selfish-and-wanted-to-throw-her-sister-under-the-bus-just-so-she-could-wear-a-tiara-and-was-willing-to-betray-everyone-to-do-it-and-also-she-is-probably-a-secret-Nazi-and-the-writer-of-High-School-Musical. Sansa has no honor. Sansa cared more about being a princess and impressing her crush than she did about anything. Arya is awesome and Sansa is the worst and here’s why. Sansa utterly betrayed Arya. Sansa was stupid. Sansa should have told the truth and she didn’t so she is the worst.

Okay, so everyone? Sansa may have actually done Arya a huge solid by saying she didn’t remember. It’s likely that her answer of “I don’t know, I don’t remember” was the best thing she could have done for not only her well-being, but Arya’s as well. The person who failed Arya wasn’t Sansa, it was Ned.

No, seriously. Hear me out on this one.

Now, a few things off the bat I want to establish: 1) Joffrey Baratheon was a sadistic little boy who attacked Mycah out of the desire to see him bleed. He got off on the suffering of others and that was his intention all along. 2) Yes, Sansa did often resent and antagonize her sister. I know that Jeyne Poole came up with the “Arya Horseface” name and that we don’t actually see Sansa use it. However, the fact that the name became wide-spread enough for people to remember it, and that Theon would have made the mistake that the name came from Sansa does indicate that she either used it herself or at least gave it enough of a blessing to allow that name to continue. As a huge Sansa fan, I have to say that in my opinion, Sansa’s lowest point as a character was her rant to Arya about how she should marry Hodor because she’s “stupid and ugly.” Sansa bullied Arya. Not all the time (and certainly not to the extent that some people claim), but it did happen. It was wrong and messed up, but it is true. 3) The relationship between the two sisters was seriously strained. 4) Arya was trying to defend her friend and what happened at the Trident was horrible and not her fault. 5) Yes, Sansa blinded herself to Joffrey’s cruelty in AGOT. She blamed Arya for the incident unfairly.

6) Up until the Trident fight, Sansa had no way of knowing Joffrey wasn’t Prince Charming.

7) Arya also had a tendency to antagonize and resent her sister unfairly. Why? Because that’s what siblings DO. Also, she’s a child. Kids can be dicks. Arya is not exempt from this. Because she’s a child. Sansa, being older and more capable of fitting into the social roles of her family, was in a position to do more damage to her sister. However, she was more or less actively encouraged to pick on her sister. Both girls were pitted against each other. Their primary caretaker, Septa Mordane, often made nasty comments about Arya while making rude comparisons to Sansa “Arya has the hands of a blacksmith”, etc. This happened CONSTANTLY. Sansa’s bullying of Arya was reinforced from all sides by their authority figures and the society they lived in. Arya’s resentment of Sansa, therefore, was likewise reinforced. The two fought in almost every interaction we see between them, partly because most of their interactions occur after the Trident. Their memories in later books are kinder. They used each other as outlets for their hurt feelings and acted out at one another. Because they’re children. It’s just that Sansa’s poor treatment of Arya was informed and reinforced by the abusive system they lived in. That is not Sansa’s fault. It doesn’t make what she did RIGHT, but it is the source of a lot of the emotional damage done to both girls and did insure that their relationship reached such an antagonistic level. Arya’s resentment towards her sister was also informed by the system in which they lived. 8) It doesn’t matter what Joffrey’s motives were in attacking Mycah. Not at all. At least, it doesn’t matter when it comes to the outcome or the reaction. Joffrey was always going to get off scot free for what happened. 9) Sansa and Joffrey were betrothed. It was considered a binding arrangement. Marriage was a system of ownership in Westeros. The husband owned his wife (they put it in kinder terms, but let’s not white-wash things here. Women were property. Husbands had legal rights to abuse, rape, command, control, imprison, and in some instances even kill their wives) 10) Joffrey was also the future king, giving him even greater authority over others. The common husband, according to TWOIAF, was allowed to beat his wife with seven strokes of a rod as wide as his thumb. Joffrey, as king, was allowed to order Sansa to be “beaten bloody” and stripped in front of the court. King Aerys Targaryen got away with raping, burning, and abusing his wife, Queen Rhaella. Aegon the Unworthy was allowed to systematically abuse and rape Queen Naerys and took joy in endangering their son (a story Sansa was intimately familiar with). Maegor the Cruel was able to kill multiple wives for not giving him an heir (another story Sansa would have known well). Baelor the Blessed imprisoned his sister-wives (another story Sansa definitely knew) Rhaegar Targaryen was only prince and still was able to abandon his wife for a younger woman and carry off Lyanna Stark. While Rhaegar DID NOT get away with this, it was only because of the huge war and rebellion that took place after. If Robert’s Rebellion hadn’t succeeded, Rhaegar likely would have gotten away with it. When a complaint was lodged against Aerys, the man set Lyanna’s father and brother on fire. Elia Martell and her children, left behind in the Red Keep by her husband, were brutally murdered and neglected more or less. Lyanna Stark died. Another story Sansa would have known VERY WELL. 11) Westeros is a country with a majorly divisive feudal, caste system. Highborn girls like Arya playing around with the sons of butchers was a HUGE breach of custom. The rights and safety of someone like Mycah didn’t matter to those in power. While Winterfell might have been an environment where Arya could have been “underfoot” and played with the children of the cooks and smiths, this was in no way the norm. Girls like her were encouraged and expected to consort with other girls of nobility or some sort of higher social status. For a “butcher’s boy” like Mycah, playing with the daughter of a Lord Paramount and the Hand of the King would have been considered him going above his station. It’s also a place where highborn people constantly get away with abusing and even killing common folk. Furthermore, “respect to one’s betters”, i.e., people of higher social standing, was expected and could be punished to the Nth degree. 12) Westeros is also a society that brainwashes young women to believe that it is their duty to accommodate their husbands at every turn. Ladies obey and please their lords, and to fail or resist is a dereliction of duty. 13) Westeros is also a society that encourages ideas of chivalry, of highborn men saving innocent women and children, often from monsters or evil lords or, on occasion, “common peasants.” 14) Arya was breaking more than one rule when she was playing with Mycah at the Trident. 15) (Controversial opinions time) Ned Stark is a really bad parent and shoulders quite a bit of the blame for what happened. Arya and Sansa are both little girls put in an awful situation. Their father utterly failed to handle it. None of this would have happened if Ned Stark wasn’t impressively negligent. I know people give him a lot of (deserved) crap for how he handled himself in King’s Landing vis a vis Cersei and the court, but I don’t see him called out for this shit enough. He’s no Tywin Lannister, but he still utterly shit the bed as a father to his daughters.

Okay, so with all of that background, let’s talk about that day and the morning after. I’m going to focus on this sequence of events in particular:

1) The events of Sansa I, where Sansa and Arya have an argument, Sansa encounters Ser Illyn and the Hound, spends the day with Joffrey, and the incident at the Trident happens 2) The events of Eddard III, the hearing and execution of Lady.

By the time we get to Sansa I, we know that Arya’s seen Joffrey act like a real dick. The fight with Robb showed her that Joffrey was a petulant brat, something Sansa didn’t witness. The only criticism Sansa’s heard of Joffrey thus far is, “Jon says he looks like a girl” per Arya I. Sansa’s interactions with her future husband so far have indicated that he’s polite. Also according to Arya I, he told Sansa that she was beautiful and gave every impression of being “gallant.”

Sansa’s been trained to be the perfect lady and wife, and to believe in romance, but also to accommodate royalty and men, as is her duty.

It was a great honor to ride with the queen, and besides, Prince Joffrey might be there. Her betrothed. Just thinking it made her feel a strange fluttering inside, even though they were not to marry for years and years. Sansa did not really know Joffrey yet, but she was already in love with him. He was all she ever dreamt her prince should be, tall and handsome and strong, with hair like gold. She treasured every chance to spend time with him, few as they were. —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Then there is Arya.

The only thing that scared her about today was Arya. Arya had a way of ruining everything. You never knew what she would do. — Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Now, granted, this seems kind of a dick thing to say. But the problem is… Sansa is sort of right? In a way? Sort of. As much fun as Arya is, there is a good reason Sansa has to worry about Arya misbehaving and/or embarrassing her. Take this passage of Arya I, for example:

“What are you talking about?” Arya asked suddenly. Jeyne gave her a startled look, then giggled. Sansa looked abashed. Beth blushed. No one answered. “Tell me,” Arya said. Jeyne glanced over to make certain that Septa Mordane was not listening. Myrcella said something then, and the septa laughed along with the rest of the ladies. “We were talking about the prince,” Sansa said, her voice soft as a kiss…… “He’s going to marry her,” little Beth said dreamily, hugging herself. “Then Sansa will be queen of all the realm.” Sansa had the grace to blush. She blushed prettily. She did everything prettily, Arya thought with dull resentment. “Beth, you shouldn’t make up stories,” Sansa corrected the younger girl, gently stroking her hair to take the harshness out of her words. She looked at Arya. “What did you think of Prince Joff, sister? He’s very gallant, don’t you think?” “Jon says he looks like a girl,” Arya said. Sansa sighed as she stitched. “Poor Jon,” she said. “He gets jealous because he’s a bastard.” “He’s our brother,” Arya said, much too loudly. Her voice cut through the afternoon quiet of the tower room. Septa Mordane raised her eyes. She had a bony face, sharp eyes, and a thin lipless mouth made for frowning. It was frowning now. “What are you talking about, children?” “Our half brother,” Sansa corrected, soft and precise. She smiled for the septa. “Arya and I were remarking on how pleased we were to have the princess with us today,” she said. Septa Mordane nodded. “Indeed. A great honor for us all.” Princess Myrcella smiled uncertainly at the compliment. “Arya, why aren’t you at work?” the septa asked. She rose to her feet, starched skirts rustling as she started across the room. “Let me see your stitches.” Arya wanted to scream. It was just like Sansa to go and attract the septa’s attention. “Here,” she said, surrendering up her work. The septa examined the fabric. “Arya, Arya, Arya,” she said. “This will not do. This will not do at all.” Everyone was looking at her. It was too much. Sansa was too well bred to smile at her sister’s disgrace, but Jeyne was smirking on her behalf. Even Princess Myrcella looked sorry for her. Arya felt tears filling her eyes. She pushed herself out of her chair and bolted for the door. —Arya I, A Game of Thrones

I hate to tell you this, guys, but that’s the sort of thing that WOULD give a person a good reason to worry. Arya interrupted a private conversation about Joffrey. She insulted the crown prince in front of his sister. She attracted the attention of Septa Mordane (something she blames Sansa for, which, you know, is wrong. “Her voice cut through the quiet of the tower room” while Sansa had been trying to keep things quiet). Sansa actually covers for her when Mordane comes over and asks what they’re talking about, being courteous and pretending that Arya did the opposite of insult royalty. Then Arya gets reprimanded and she cries and runs from the room. So yes, sorry, Sansa does have a reason to worry about Arya turning things into a fiasco. She of course does it in the most resentful, pre-teen way possible, but her worry isn’t exactly unfounded.

But back to Sansa I.

She found Arya on the banks of the Trident, trying to hold Nymeria still while she brushed dried mud from her fur. The direwolf was not enjoying the process. Arya was wearing the same riding leathers she had worn yesterday and the day before. “You better put on something pretty,” Sansa told her. “Septa Mordane said so. We’re traveling in the queen’s wheelhouse with Princess Myrcella today.” “I’m not,” Arya said, trying to brush a tangle out of Nymeria’s matted grey fur. “Mycah and I are going to ride “upstream and look for rubies at the ford.” “Rubies,” Sansa said, lost. “What rubies?” Arya gave her a look like she was so stupid. “Rhaegar’s rubies. This is where King Robert killed him and won the crown.” Sansa regarded her scrawny little sister in disbelief. “You can’t look for rubies, the princess is expecting us. The queen invited us both.” –Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Okay, so this isn’t great. The royal family invited both girls to ride with them. And yes, this is, as Sansa says, a great honor. It’s also pretty important for her future. Joffrey is her betrothed, Cersei her future mother-in-law. Making them happy will greatly affect her future. While Sansa’s determination to be “in love” with Joffrey does seem silly to a modern reader, there’s a very good reason for it. The second part of Bluecichlid’s excellent series of metas covered this pretty well. Joffrey is her future: her future monarch and her future owner. Both Cersei and Joffrey are going to be major influences on her for the rest of her life.

It’s better for her psychological well-being to believe that Joffrey is “all she ever dreamt her prince should be.” If not, well, the young man her father sold her to is a bust, and so is the rest of her life. Betrothals were considered VERY binding, marriage even more so. So yes, a lot is riding on Sansa impressing and pleasing the Lannister-Baratheon clan, including the wife of her monarch. Her well-being could very likely be shaped by the impression she gives now.

And then there’s Arya, who wants to snub the honor of Cersei’s invitation, covered in mud, and saying things like this:

“I don’t like the queen,” Arya said casually. Sansa sucked in her breath, shocked that even Arya would say such a thing, but her sister prattled on, heedless. “She won’t even let me bring Nymeria.” She thrust the brush under her belt and stalked her wolf. Nymeria watched her approach warily. “A royal wheelhouse is no place for a wolf,” Sansa said. “And Princess Myrcella is afraid of them, you know that.” “Myrcella is a little baby.” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Remember, her sister also decided to mention aloud that their half-brother said that Joffrey looks like a girl in a room where Joffrey’s sister was sitting. So yes, Sansa’s frustration and fear is pretty warranted. As far as she knows, her entire future could be at least partially determined by the impression she makes on the Lannisters today (it is, as it turns out, just not in the way she expects). She’s an eleven-year-old girl who is looking at a future in a high-profile position as the wife, partner, and property of an extremely powerful person whom she doesn’t know very well. That is a ridiculous amount of pressure for a young girl to be under.

If Arya causes trouble, it isn’t just some brief embarrassment Sansa has to worry about. It’s her entire future and position.

So, keeping that in mind, there’s also this:

One day she came back grinning her horsey grin, her hair all tangled and her clothes covered in mud, clutching a raggedy bunch of purple and green flowers for Father. Sansa kept hoping he would tell Arya to behave herself and act like the highborn lady she was supposed to be, but he never did, he only hugged her and thanked her for the flowers. That just made her worse. Then it turned out the purple flowers were called poison kisses, and Arya got a rash on her arms. Sansa would have thought that might have taught her a lesson, but Arya laughed about it, and the next day she rubbed mud all over her arms like some ignorant bog woman just because her friend Mycah told her it would stop the itching. She had bruises on her arms and shoulders too, dark purple welts and faded green-and-yellow splotches; Sansa had seen them when her sister undressed for sleep. How she had gotten those only the seven gods knew. —- Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

And this:

“You’re not supposed to leave the column,” Sansa reminded her. “Father said so.” Arya shrugged. “I didn’t go far. Anyway, Nymeria was with me the whole time. I don’t always go off, either. Sometimes it’s fun just to ride along with the wagons and talk to people.”” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Okay, so sorry guys, but Sansa’s actually totally right that her father should have told Arya to behave. And then enforced that. Especially after the flower incident. The fact that Ned didn’t take that as a warning and instead just smiled and allowed his daughter to continue breaking rules and direct orders is kind of… Super shitty parenting.

Yes, Arya got some flowers that just gave her a rash. But the next day? It could have been flowers that give her an even bigger rash and an infection that requires a medieval amputation. Arya’s not exactly kept things hygienic in an already bath-phobic society. The fact that Arya was rubbing fucking MUD on her skin inflammation… Yeah…

Of course Arya does this stuff. She’s an energetic kid who likes to have fun. She’s going to want to do these things. She’s got this cool older friend who told her that helps the itching. She prefers hanging out with her exploration buddy. Especially since every time she tries to join the sewing circle like a “proper lady”, she inevitably gets Septa Mordane on her ass insulting her in front of her peers.

But, you see, that’s sort of why Ned has a job to do, one he’s not doing. He’s left his daughters to a caretaker that neglects and emotionally abuses the younger one. And then doesn’t do much to protect his daughter and/or keep her from running around random countryside where she’s already encountered POISON FLOWERS. He doesn’t take the Poison Kisses as an indicator that MAYBE he should at least send a guard with Arya when she goes on these little expeditions.

And no, having her run around with a temperamental direwolf doesn’t count. Neither does having her run around with the kid who told her to rub mud into her rash.

Okay, so Sansa’s got her sister defying orders, bringing home poison flowers, covering herself in mud and bruises, insulting Sansa’s future royal in laws, and announcing plans to snub the queen. The queen. The mother of the future king Sansa is going to marry and, once again, BE LEGALLY OWNED BY.

And for the record, Sansa does try to coax her sister by promising cake and feather pillows and lack of mud-covered poison rashes. That was Arya’s cue to insult the queen.

So, now, completely humiliated, faced with having to tell her future mother in law that “I know that you invited us to come and spend the day with you, but my sister decided to go look for rubies in a lake with a boy that smells like dead meat instead. Have I told you how great an honor it is that you invited us? I can’t wait to join your family.”

Is it any surprise that minutes later, upon meeting Illyn Payne, she has a panic attack?

She heard the queen say, “Joffrey, go to her.” And her prince was there. “Leave her alone,” Joffrey said. He stood over her, beautiful in blue wool and black leather, his golden curls shining in the sun like a crown. He gave her his hand, drew her to her feet. “What is it, sweet lady? Why are you afraid? No one will hurt you. Put away your swords, all of you. The wolf is her little pet, that’s all.” He looked at Sandor Clegane. “And you, dog, away with you, you’re scaring my betrothed.” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Yeah, there’s Joffrey, looking cute and telling people who are scaring her to stop freaking her out.

Then this happens:

“Joffrey, perhaps you would be so kind as to entertain our guest today.” “It would be my pleasure, Mother,” Joffrey said very formally. He took her by the arm and led her away from the wheelhouse, and Sansa’s spirits took flight. A whole day with her prince! —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Okay, so Joffrey’s just “saved” her from the freaky executioner dude. And now she has ALSO been spared the prospect of giving her queen the “My sister prefers the company of the boy who smells like dead cow to you” speech. And to top it all off, she actually gets to finally spend time getting to know the king-to-be her father sold her to. She’s going to make a good impression! Exactly what she needs!

““What would you like to do?” Be with you, Sansa thought, but she said, “Whatever you’d like to do, my prince.” Joffrey reflected a moment. “We could go riding.” “Oh, I love riding,” Sansa said.” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

This is a lie. Earlier in the chapter, she thinks about how much she hates it. But, also remember points 9, 10, and 12. We also know she’s afraid of making him angry, because earlier in the chapter:

“I can answer,” Sansa said quickly, to quell her prince’s anger.” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

“If you like,” she said uncertainly. “I suppose I could tie Lady up.” She did not quite understand, though. “I didn’t know you had a dog …” Joffrey laughed. “He’s my mother’s dog, in truth. She has set him to guard me, and so he does.” “You mean the Hound,” she said. She wanted to hit herself for being so slow. Her prince would never love her if she seemed stupid. “Is it safe to leave him behind?”” — Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

That’s a good question, Sansa. No, strangely enough, it is safe to leave him behind, even though logic dictates that it shouldn’t be. You’d think bringing a guard with the two high-profile, rich children would be the safer option but it’s the Hound, so no, not really. But good on you for having more sense than your father WHO NEVER SEEMS INTERESTED IN SENDING GUARDS WITH HIS CHILDREN. (yeah, there might be a whole other meta on this)

But then there’s this. “Her prince would never love her if she seemed stupid.” Points 9 and 10, guys. It’s super important that her prince love her. Which is also why she keeps drinking when Joffrey tells her to keep drinking. Why she suddenly loves riding. Why she takes his word for it that he’ll protect her.

Then the magical day starts. And what is described is what sounds like several hours of Joffrey charming her petticoats off. He promises to protect her, he gets her food, and he sings to her. He acts like every story she’s been told to believe in her entire life.

Also…

“They dined on trout fresh from the river, and Sansa drank more wine than she had ever drunk before. “My father only lets us have one cup, and only at feasts,” she confessed to her prince. “My betrothed can drink as much as she wants,” Joffrey said, refilling her cup. They went more slowly after they had eaten. Joffrey sang for her as they rode, his voice high and sweet and pure. Sansa was a little dizzy from the wine. ” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Guys, the eleven year old is drunk now. Sansa doesn’t know how to hold her liquor yet. She’s eleven.

“Beyond, in a clearing overlooking the river, they came upon a boy and a girl playing at knights. Their swords were wooden sticks, broom handles from the look of them, and they were rushing across the grass, swinging at each other lustily. The boy was years older, a head taller, and much stronger, and he was pressing the attack. The girl, a scrawny thing in soiled leathers, was dodging and managing to get her stick in the way of most of the boy’s blows, but not all. When she tried to lunge at him, he caught her stick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his wood down hard on her fingers. She cried out and lost her weapon. Prince Joffrey laughed. The boy looked around, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. The girl glared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, and Sansa was horrified. “Arya?” she called out incredulously. “Go away,” Arya shouted back at them, angry tears in her eyes. “What are you doing here? Leave us alone.” Joffrey glanced from Arya to Sansa and back again. “Your sister?”” —Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

So here is the scene they’ve come upon: A girl and a much older boy are hitting each other with sticks. The much older boy is winning and hits her so hard she drops her weapon. And Joffrey knows that the girl is highborn. And Mycah, who is a good three or four years older than Arya, is the butcher’s boy.

Points 11 and 13 come into play now. Which is why Joffrey does this:

““And you’re only a butcher’s boy, and no knight.” Joffrey lifted Lion’s Tooth and laid its point on Mycah’s cheek below the eye, as the butcher’s boy stood trembling. “That was my lady’s sister you were hitting, do you know that?”” — Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Points 1, 8, and 13 guys.

Highborn girls were expected to obey and not take up swords. For Mycah, the son of a butcher, to play with a girl as highborn as Arya was a HUGE breach of conduct. That he was hitting her with a stick didn’t help. Nor does it help that Arya’s been spending her days with him and coming home with bruises everywhere for weeks now.

Joffrey wanted to hurt Mycah for fun. He doesn’t give a shit about Arya, and he finds the situation hilarious. He’s a sadist. The problem is: it doesn’t matter. Because he’s the prince, because Mycah is lowborn, because Arya is much younger than Mycah and a lady, because princes like Joffrey are supposed to be chivalrous and protect ladies from harm, because Joffrey’s got a powerful family, because a lowborn boy hitting a little lady is a HUGE taboo. It doesn’t matter why Joffrey does it.

All Joffrey has to say is this: “He was hitting my lady’s sister.”

And boom. Excuse for him to attack an unarmed, innocent boy in the eyes of Westeros law. Joffrey, as prince, is allowed to hurt boys like Mycah, especially when boys like Mycah were hitting his lady’s sister. He was being “chivalrous.” He was maintaining the status quo.

He was definitely doing the latter, at least.

“Arya went for him. Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince’s head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa’s horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion’s Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, “No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you’re spoiling it,” but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey’s head. She hit his horse instead, and the blood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. “Stop it, don’t, stop it!” Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffrey followed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. Sansa didn’t know what to do. She watched helplessly, almost blind from her tears.” — Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Okay, so Joffrey is bleeding and attacking Arya, Sansa’s freaked out and calling for them to stop, and Arya has attacked Joffrey and is afraid. Sansa has gotten her first glimpse of Joffrey’s cruelty and feels helpless. In comes Nymeria. She bites Joffrey. Arya calls her off and brandishes a sword at Joffrey, Joffrey threatens to tell his mother, and Arya bolts when Sansa bids her to leave Joffrey alone (good advice).

“Joffrey,” she sobbed. “Oh, look what they did, look what they did. My poor prince. Don’t be afraid. I’ll ride to the holdfast and bring help for you.” Tenderly she reached out and brushed back his soft blond hair. His eyes snapped open and looked at her, and there was nothing but loathing there, nothing but the vilest contempt. “Then go,” he spit at her. “And don’t touch me.”” —-Sansa I, A Game of Thrones

Sansa is totally screwed at this point. There’s no going back. She doesn’t know this, but she’s aware that this is a huge problem. Even as she is trying to help him, he’s looking at her with hatred. Even though she’s not done anything. Joffrey is the type of boy who attacks little girls. Joffrey is looking at her with the vilest contempt. And Joffrey is the boy she is tied to for the rest of her life. The boy her father has betrothed her to.

Okay, so let’s move on to Ned III. They’ve found Arya, and she’s brought before the king after a night of being lost. She’s crying and sorry and freaking the fuck out because she’s a nine year old who was attacked by the prince, spent a night in the wilderness, and has now been dragged before the entire court like a criminal.

“Why was I not told that my daughter had been found?” Ned demanded, his voice ringing. “Why was she not brought to me at once?” —Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Arya should have never been allowed to leave the progress unguarded in the first place.

She felt so tiny in his arms, nothing but a scrawny little girl. It was hard to see how she had caused so much trouble. “Are you hurt?”” — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Oh, I don’t know, maybe she’s an energetic kid left completely unattended in the wilderness and has a wolf for a pet? Maybe that’s how she caused all this trouble. (Actually, she didn’t and you know that. But whatever, look at the little girl who you know was defending her friend from the nasty, armed prince and view HER as the source of the trouble). Maybe the wolf you brought home and the guards you didn’t give her might have had something to do with the trouble. Even if you wanted to indulge her and let her go running with her friend, SEND SOME FUCKING GUARDS. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS. POINT 15.

Now the actual trial part:

“The queen stepped forward. “You know full well, Stark. This girl of yours attacked my son. Her and her butcher’s boy. That animal of hers tried to tear his arm off.” “That’s not true,” Arya said loudly. “She just bit him a little. He was hurting Mycah.” “Joff told us what happened,” the queen said. “You and the butcher boy beat him with clubs while you set your wolf on him.” “That’s not how it was,” Arya said, close to tears again. Ned put a hand on her shoulder. “Yes it is!” Prince Joffrey insisted. “They all attacked me, and she threw Lion’s Tooth in the river!” Ned noticed that he did not so much as glance at Arya as he spoke. “Liar!” Arya yelled.” — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Okay, first of all, this is a farce: It doesn’t matter what the truth is.

Second of all: A surprising amount of what Joffrey and Cersei said were lies. Mycah didn’t hurt Joffrey, and he and Arya didn’t beat Joffrey with clubs, and Nymeria attacked him without Arya’s bidding. But it is true that Nymeria kind of tried to tear his arm off (good puppy) and you and Nymeria did attack him, and you did throw Lion��s Tooth in the river.

And unfortunately, that’s all that’s going to matter. Because you live in a awful, unfair world, Arya.

Seriously, one of the saddest parts of this whole thing was “He was hurting Mycah.”

Why? Because it doesn’t matter to anyone but Arya and the readers. Arya, it doesn’t matter that he was hurting Mycah. It doesn’t matter to the king, the queen, and his court. That would never affect the outcome of any of this. Joffrey is (supposed to be) the son of the king. Mycah is the son of a butcher. 8, 10, 11.

All Joffrey has to say is that Mycah was hitting you with a stick. That is true. If anyone with power over the situation might have cared, your game with Mycah would put an end to that. It won’t matter that you were just playing. You’re not supposed to play with fake swords, you’re a girl. You’re not supposed to play with the butcher’s boy, you’re noble. According to the standards of class and chivalry, Joffrey was intervening in a wholly inappropriate situation and punishing the lowborn boy attacking the highborn girl.

You should have known this. But your parents kind of suck at preparing themselves and their children for the world around them. So yeah. Mycah is getting his throat slit by the Hound for attacking the prince as you passionately testify that Joffrey was hurting him. I’m sorry. You’re a little girl who lives in a world where everything is terrible.

Okay, so then both Arya and Joffrey tell their version of what happened.

And then Ned decides to make another really awful parenting decision.

““They were not the only ones present,” Ned said. “Sansa, come here.” Ned had heard her version of the story the night Arya had vanished. He knew the truth. “Tell us what happened.”” — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Eddard Stark, YOU agreed to have your eleven-year-old daughter tied to this family. You had her swear an oath to marry Joffrey. You signed a contract. You did it so that the Lannisters would not question your loyalty as you investigated them for the murder of Jon Arryn. You are heading to King’s Landing to find evidence and bring the most powerful family in the country up on charges. The same family you have tied Sansa to in a legally binding sense. Sansa, the daughter who has been raised from birth to follow custom, be a perfect lady, and obey. The daughter who is tied to the boy you now know to have attacked your other daughter. The daughter whose future in laws you suspect of murder and treason. The daughter who has no idea WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.

An hour ago, you were terrified that the Lannisters were going to hurt or kill Arya. You believe that the queen is responsible for Jon Arryn’s death. You know that she sent THE HOUND and her brother THE KINGSLAYER after your nine-year-old daughter.

So you’re asking eleven-year-old Sansa to go before her future husband and his murderous, traitor mother and call the prince a lying brute who attacks children. The same prince you’ve legally tied her to.

Both Joffrey and Cersei have attacked and/or tried to attack your children with lethal force. You KNOW this. Sansa is supposed to marry Joffrey, an arrangement you agreed to. And now you expect her to go up against them in a court of law.

“His eldest daughter stepped forward hesitantly. She was dressed in blue velvets trimmed with white, a silver chain around her neck. Her thick auburn hair had been brushed until it shone. She blinked at her sister, then at the young prince. “I don’t know,” she said tearfully, looking as though she wanted to bolt. “I don’t remember. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t see …” “You rotten!” Arya shrieked. She flew at her sister like an arrow, knocking Sansa down to the ground, pummeling her. “Liar, liar, liar, liar.” “Arya, stop it!” Ned shouted. Jory pulled her off her sister, kicking. Sansa was pale and shaking as Ned lifted her back to her feet. “Are you hurt?” he asked, but she was staring at Arya, and she did not seem to hear.” — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Sansa’s entire future might have depended on this moment if not for the fact that the Lannisters are insane. In a somewhat sane, logical world, where fathers don’t betroth their daughters to the sons of suspected murderers, what Sansa did in this passage might have saved her and her sister.

If she had backed up Arya’s story, it would not have helped the situation. The closest thing to consequences that might have come about for Joffrey would be for attacking Arya. And even then, an argument might be made for self-defense. It wouldn’t be a valid one, but it would win out because Joffrey is heir to the throne.

Joffrey might have been punished somewhat. Not severely, though, if Cersei has a say (and she does). Joffrey would still be heir to the throne. Someday, he’d be king. And he’d be very, very angry with both Stark sisters.

She’s seen Joffrey attack her sister once. Someday he might do it with a crown on his head and absolute authority. As far as Sansa knows, she’s still going to marry him.

We know she told Ned what happened earlier. The fact that her father didn’t decide right then and there that the betrothal would end speaks volumes. Her father didn’t make that decision. But he has made the decision to drag her up in front of her future husband and have her call him a lying psychopath.

If Joffrey doesn’t hate Sansa, if she finds a way to rectify the vile contempt she saw on his face, she’s potentially not the only person who is safer.

Yeah, Arya is safer if Joffrey likes Sansa as well. Everyone is. This won’t happen, but Sansa doesn’t know that.

In a drunken haze, partially blinded by tears, Sansa saw Joffrey attack her sister. Before that, Joffrey had been charming. Sansa’s approach to her relationship with him even before this happened was to “quell her prince’s anger.” She’s always intended to be a tempering influence on him. That becomes much harder if he hates her.

However, if she agrees with Joffrey’s story, she’s selling out her sister and possibly subjecting her to a cruel punishment. It’s a capital offense to attack the prince. Even though Arya, due to her birth and age, wouldn’t be executed or tortured or something, it likely that this incident would ruin her life and lead to some severe violence for her down the road. Years from now, she’d have a king who hates her and the mark of being a criminal to make her even more vulnerable.

So, Sansa gives a non-committal answer.

She’s already told her father the story. He didn’t pull the plug on the betrothal even though he believes her. He didn’t use her honesty to protect her. He used it to fling her out in front of the most powerful family in the country and endanger her entire future. The future HE set her up for in the first place.

The thing is, it doesn’t matter if Sansa backed her sister up for another reason:

“Their only good fortune was that both Jaime Lannister and Sandor Clegane were missing, leading searches north of the Trident.” —- Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

It had already been decided that the Starks would suffer for this, regardless of who was at fault. The king allowed his wife to send her brother the Kingslayer and The Hound out after a nine-year-old. Justice for Arya and Mycah was never in the cards.

And then the wolves.

That was when Sansa finally seemed to comprehend. Her eyes were frightened as they went to her father. “He doesn’t mean Lady, does he?” She saw the truth on his face. “No,” she said. “No, not Lady, Lady didn’t bite anybody, she’s good …” “Lady wasn’t there,” Arya shouted angrily. “You leave her alone!” “Stop them,” Sansa pleaded, “don’t let them do it, please, please, it wasn’t Lady, it was Nymeria, Arya did it, you can’t, it wasn’t Lady, don’t let them hurt Lady, I’ll make her be good, I promise, I promise …” She started to cry. All Ned could do was take her in his arms and hold her while she wept. He looked across the room at Robert. His old friend, closer than any brother. “Please, Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.” The king looked at them for a long moment, then turned his eyes on his wife. “Damn you, Cersei,” he said with loathing. Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa’s grasp. — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

As much as I want to completely blame Cersei and Robert and Joffrey for Lady’s death, I can’t.

Really, Ned? THAT is the extent of your protests? Sansa did absolutely nothing wrong. You are Hand of the King. Offer to send Lady back to Winterfell (and send your daughters back too, FFS).

Or better yet, offer to do it yourself and then sneak Lady out of there!

“Shortly, Jory brought him Ice. When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.” “All that way?” Jory said, astonished. “All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.” —- Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

NED YOU SUCK ALL THE DICK.

You’re denying Cersei the pelt. You feel confident enough to deny the crown proof that Lady is dead. You want to send her back to Winterfell. You do.

Lady SHOULD have been sent back to Winterfell, but not to be buried. The fact that she is? Yeah, NED’S FUCK UP. AN UNNECESSARY ONE.

And then this:

“No sign of your daughter, Hand,” the Hound rasped down, “but the day was not wholly wasted. We got her little pet.” He reached back and shoved the burden off, and it fell with a thump in front of Ned. Bending, Ned pulled back the cloak, dreading the words he would have to find for Arya, but it was not Nymeria after all. It was the butcher’s boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood. He had been cut almost in half from shoulder to waist by some terrible blow struck from above. — Eddard III, A Game of Thrones

Remember what I said about justice never being in the cards? Here is your proof. The Hound didn’t even know they’d already found Arya. But he slaughtered Mycah. This was an inevitability, just as Joffrey getting away with what happened was. No matter what Sansa said.

Even if she backed Arya up. Even if Joffrey was punished and judged the sole aggressor. Mycah would still be dead. Joffrey would still be heir to the throne and angry at both Stark girls. And Sansa would never have a chance of “quelling her prince’s anger.”

A lot of people hate Sansa based on this and the fact that she blamed Arya for the incident later. That she didn’t see what Joffrey was then. That she trusted Cersei.

As Bluecichlid says in her meta, confronting the reality of the situation would cause a huge psychological break for Sansa.

Sansa has a history of rewriting events in her head to cope. The most famous example would be the Unkiss, where she remembers the Hound kissing her during the battle of Blackwater. He didn’t. He snuck into her room, put a knife to her throat, forced her onto the bed, and threatened to kill her. But she rewrites it in her head as a kiss.

She does the same thing with the Trident. In her subsequent chapters, she looks back on the event internally blaming Arya. It’s not just something she says, but something she thinks. She believes her sister, who had a habit of insulting the royal family and misbehaving, who literally attacked her in front of the entire court, attacked the prince with Mycah. She remembers again when she can no longer deny what Joffrey is, but consciously, throughout the rest of A Game of Thrones, she believes her sister is responsible.

George R.R. Martin has gone on record saying that the loss of Lady has had a serious impact on Sansa’s mental state. It’s not entirely surprising—all the Stark children, according to Martin, are wargs, and they come into their powers through their bonds with their direwolves. We see it with all of Sansa’s siblings. Even Rickon and Bran, who are far younger than her, enter their wolves’ minds. Arya possesses Nymeria even after they are parted and can possess the minds of other animals at will. Meanwhile, Sansa’s power hasn’t developed at all. This natural ability has been cut off and stunted.

During the fight, it’s mentioned that Sansa is “blinded by tears”. And soon after, she is robbed of her ability to ever see through the eyes of her wolf, who is a core part of her being. Despite the fact that Sansa didn’t do anything wrong, she, like Mycah, was punished. And she is still legally tied to a cruel boy. So yes, she alters her conscious memories and refuses to confront the truth. She stays blind in order to keep some semblance of her sanity and hope for her future.

Neither girl was responsible for what happened. Both of them were neglected and put in an extremely dangerous situation. Sansa, who lost her wolf, processes this internally, in an unhealthy manner to cope with the tragedy. Arya, who didn’t lose her wolf, does remember what happened. She “hates” her sister as much as Sansa “hates” her (they’re super, super pissed at each other with the sort of anger one can only feel towards family and congressmen). They both unfairly blame one another for things that are not their fault. The difference is, Arya didn’t have a piece of her soul killed by her father. So she deals with things like a normal little girl. Sansa, who lost Lady and is still looking at an impossible future, does not.

#Arya Stark #Sansa Stark #Eddard Stark #Joffrey Baratheon #asoiaf meta #asoiaf #long post

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real-life-pine-tree · 7 years ago

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Leo Will Never Know: Getting Stronger (4/?)

In an alternate timeline, Yugi indirectly prevented the events of Arc-V from ever happening. But how could this small change have an impact on a few selected people? A spin-off of the Arc-V Aftermath series. Based on the hilarious comic by @justanotherotakuandartist. Co-written with @violetganache42.

Within a few days, Ray had regained enough strength to go on the Domino City field trip. She has been looking forward to it before falling victim to the Society of Light because she gets an opportunity to visit her father and see how he's been doing the past few years. Michael admitted that it felt weird to be heading back to their hometown for a visit, but it was also remarkable to walk in the streets of a city where some important historical dueling events took place involving his idol Yugi Muto. He never forgot those words of advice to stay true to himself and he still cherished that memory to this day.

Ray noticed Michael's happy expression. "What got you smiling?" she asked.

"Before we met, I got to talk to Yugi Muto himself," Michael said. "He encouraged me to follow my heart and stick to my beliefs. He's the reason why I'm sticking to my Dueltainment dreams."

Ray remembered him telling her his dream to be a Dueltainer and was honestly impressed to learn how much he idolizes Yugi and was the reason for his future. She then began to ponder about her own future…again. While recovering in the nurse's office, she kept thinking about her possible dream to be a fashion designer. Her simple modifications to the female jackets led her to becoming an idol around campus and open up her own uniform repair business. Earlier that same week, the non-converted students were devastated to learn about her being manipulated into joining the Society of Light and the aftermath that followed, which explained the service's sudden hiatus, but they were all relieved that she's alright and that she'll be heading back to fixing up clothes in a little while. She didn't mind her abrupt popularity, but she has come to understand their undying respect, loyalty, and admiration for her, regardless of her being fooled into "embracing the light". Her talent for sewing and modifying clothes contributed into the life she was now living and left a positive impact on the dress code, and quite frankly, she was highly content with that. She hoped that her dream will leave an influence in the fashion world when she gets older.

"Michael, if you manage to become a Dueltainer, can I design your costumes?" Ray asked.

"Really?" Michael asked in response.

Ray smiled and nodded. "During my time in Duel Academy, I have become well-known for being a fashion designer. What if that's my true future?"

Michael definitely knew how much Ray was admired for her fashion skills. It would be awesome if she does utilize them to pursue her dream to design and fix clothes. He even imagined what costumes she would make for him to wear for his Dueltaining career.

"Sure," Michael said. "Can't wait to see what costumes you have in mind for my performances."

Ray's face became happy upon hearing those words of support. It was obvious that everyone adored the clothes she made and repaired, so being a fashion designer was officially going to be her future.

Not long after the two's discussion, the Duel Academy students arrived at Domino City. Everyone scattered all over the city; most of them gave themselves tours as they went to locations where important events occurred from Battle City while Sartorius headed towards KaibaCorp to talk to Kaiba about something. As for Michael and Ray, they walked down the streets together, talking about how it felt nice to be back in their hometown. She mentioned how she knows what her dad's hours are, so she'll visit him after he's done working. As usual, knowing the couple, they always unintentionally come across Jaden with his friends; this time, they saw him at the pier with Syrus and Hassleberry, who were both arguing about Yugi's duel against a mind-controlled Joey and—not surprisingly—who is worthy of being Jaden's best friend.

"Have you noticed something is a bit off with that Hassleberry guy?" Michael asked.

"Aside from having dinosaur DNA?" Ray asked.

"Not just that," Michael clarified. "It's how he treats Jaden."

"What about it?" Ray asked.

"He seems a little more chummy towards him," Michael said. "He even calls him 'sarge'."

Ray immediately knew what Michael was talking about. "You don't think...?"

"Probably," Michael guessed. "I never saw him express an interest in girls."

Even if Hassleberry doesn't have a preference for females, Michael and Ray both agreed that he wouldn't be the right fit for Jaden. Maybe it was for the best for him to be just his friend.

Later on, as Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry went to Kame Game Shop, Michael walked by KaibaCorp. As he looked at the building's structure, he reflected on how this gaming company was run by someone who ruined his girlfriend's old life. He was glad that she's moving on from it and looking towards the future. Just then, he heard a growl from Odd-Eyes Dragon, almost like he was eager about something.

Michael took out the card. "What's that, Odd-Eyes?" he asked. "You're sensing someone in there?"

Odd-Eyes growled out "Yes", leading to his owner to head to the window where he was sensing not someone, but rather something. It was a Duel Monsters card, leading to Michael to read its statistics. His name was Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and he was a Level 8 DARK Dragon Monster with 2800 ATK and 2000 DEF, requiring 2 DARK monsters—except Tokens—as Fusion Materials. On the turn he was Fusion Summoned, he can gain ATK equal to a special summoned monster the opponent controls until the End Phase. He can also target a Level 5 or higher opposing monster and obtain its name and effects, but it can only be done once per turn. If he was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, his owner can destroy all special summoned monsters the opponent controls.

"Wow!" Michael exclaimed, impressed. "I never saw a card like that before!"

He heard Odd-Eyes enthusiastically roar, as if he may have found a new dragon to include in his owner's deck. Michael wasn't sure if it was for sale or available in stores, but he did hear him call out to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Michael turned his head to see where the voice came from and it was none other than Seto Kaiba himself, the same person who was not only Yugi's self-proclaimed rival, but also ruined Leo and Ray's lives. The Obelisk Blue student couldn't believe he was actually meeting him…at first.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, sir!" Michael exclaimed. "But it felt like that card was calling out to me and-"

"Say no more," Kaiba interrupted. "I want you to come with me."

Come with him? Was there something important going on? Does it involve the Society of Light? Regardless, Michael listened to what Kaiba instructed and followed him.

"A few years ago, I never believed in fate," Kaiba said. "But then certain events occurred that made me realize things happen for a reason and it's not random."

"What are you saying?" Michael asked.

"I'm saying that if you really think that card called out to you, you can have it," Kaiba answered.

Michael was left stupefied but excited at the same time and thanked Kaiba for the offer. He was finally going to get a second dragon in his deck and Odd-Eyes his first dragon friend. "Wow, thanks!" he happily said. "I was actually trying to find another dragon!"

"Don't get too excited," Kaiba informed. "I'm only doing this because Sartorius told me about what happened to your girlfriend. I'm aware that it's my fault she ended up siding with him, but I had to make sure Solid Vision wouldn't cause the holograms to become self-aware. Leo Corporation going bankrupt wasn't my fault. People just happened to become fast fans of Duel Disks."

It was starting to become clear for Michael about why Leo and Ray ended up going broke. It was partially Kaiba's fault, but the general public was to blame for it. The CEO explained that he had to tell him because he feared she wouldn't believe him.

"You do have a good point," Michael said. "Ray has a tendency to be stubborn."

"So think of this card as my way of apologizing to the Akabas," Kaiba said. "After all, if you two are thinking about freeing the other students from the Society of Light, you're going to need a lot more powerful cards."

Michael immediately knew that Kaiba sensed something fishy was going on with Sartorius and the Society of Light after he spoke to the Arcana Force user. He was then informed about how security was keeping an eye on things at Kaiba Land after the CEO gave Sartorius permission to use the theme park.

"By the way, he also mentioned something about missing a card," Kaiba added. "He didn't seem to mind, but do you know anything about that?"

Michael remembered seeing the card a few days earlier when he was looking for Ray. He still had it with him and took it out from his deck. He explained that Arcana Force VI - The Lovers was originally supposed to be used to describe the couple's future together. It was unknowingly dropped and Sartorius used a different card to lure her into the Society of Light and mentally abuse her into becoming "the perfect Duelist".

"Then perhaps you can give that card to her," Kaiba suggested. "Ray might put it to good use."

"You think so?" Michael asked.

"Seems fitting since you're getting a new card," Kaiba explained. "Just don't waste this new power."

After staring at the Arcana card, Michael thanked Kaiba for the assistance. The two walked over to the display case and the latter unlocked it before handing Starving Venom over to the former and reminding him to take care of it. He said that he will and then exited the glass doors, leaving KaibaCorp.

The onion-haired teen ran through the streets to find his girlfriend and saw her near the city center. He then told her what Kaiba said about how the public's vast support of the Duel Disks was what caused Leo Corporation's downfall; she then face-palmed out of realization because she was so stupid to blame someone for her and Leo's poverty. She was reassured of how she had every right to be upset and was reminded on how Action Duels were rejected because Solid Vision with mass could make the monsters sentient and lead to global doomsday, making it Kaiba's fault for his decision, not the bankruptcy. She softly smiled after hearing this, making it a sign that her grudge against the CEO has lightened or maybe even faded away.

Michael then gave Ray a monster card. She asked what it was and he explained that they were given these two powerful cards to help them in their fight against the Society of Light.

"Wait a minute..." Ray said. "This is Sartorius' card!"

"Not anymore," Michael explained. "This was what he initially drew when he apparently read your fortune, but he must have lied in order to get you to join him."

Ray read the given information of Arcana Force VI - The Lovers. It was a Level 4 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 1600 ATK and DEF. When it is summoned, she must toss a coin to activate one of its two effects; if it lands on heads, she can treat it as 2 tributes for tribute summoning an Arcana Force monster, but if it's tails, then she can't tribute summon Arcana Force monsters. The effects seemed meaningless to her because she doesn't have that archetype, but Michael interpreted this card as a symbol for what her future was supposed to be: a bright and happy marriage with him.

"You really think so?" Ray asked.

"Of course," Michael answered. "You might have had a rough past, but it looks like fate wants us to be together."

Ray looked at the card again. "This could actually work," she realized. "Hope Dragon Flower's secondary ability allows me to special summon a LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from my deck or hand."

She may have found a new strategy she can use with the dropped card. She also pointed out on the card Michael was holding in his hand and he said Kaiba let him have Starving Venom Fusion Dragon because he felt a connection between them. As a bonus, this also made him Odd-Eyes' first dragon friend.

"Are you sure?" Ray asked.

"Of course," Michael answered. "I can hear him as well. He really likes being in my deck."

If that was the case, then Ray was proud of Michael gaining a new dragon partner. Now their next task was to find useful and powerful cards to battle against the Society of Light, so their best bet was to check out the card and game shops around town. Although they weren't able to assist Jaden and Aster due to their card search, it still didn't change the fact their mission to defeat Sartorius and free the students from his influence was necessary.

Not long after the Domino City field trip, the Genex Tournament was beginning shortly because Chancellor Sheppard was returning to announce it. During his absence, he has been giving various and professional Duelists one Genex Medallion to participate. Shortly after the tournament began, Dr. Crowler had called Michael and Ray into his office to speak with them about something important.

"Thank you for coming," Dr. Crowler said. "I wish for you to handle the professional Duelists who are participating in this tournament."

The two Obelisk Blue students were surprised by this request. "How come?" Michael asked.

"Because they are giving the more inexperienced students a hard time," Dr. Crowler explained. "I feel that it is an unfair disadvantage. I have already asked Damon and Belowski for their help and, as the two best Obelisk Blue students in your class, I wish for you to do the same."

"Thank you, Dr. Crowler," Ray said. "We won't let you down."

The best part is they can try out their new strategies now that they got Starving Venom, The Lovers, and some new cards they bought back at Domino. They were both given the last two Genex Medallions to let people know they're participating: one for Michael and one for Ray. They left the office and went outside to the island to start dueling the professionals. Some of them like Mathmatica and Maitre'D make the students afraid because they wish not to duel them due to how strong they are with their skills, but the couple won't back down from a challenge, even if they are from pro Duelists.

"Well if it isn't the rumored Obelisk students of Duel Academy."

The two students turned around to see a figure standing behind them. They recognized the red suit and the light blue and black striped mask anywhere. It was the legendary and infamous Arkana, who was one of Marik's Rare Hunters hired to defeat Yugi during Battle City and tricked into reuniting with his beloved Catherine. Since that day many years ago, he never forgave his former master for deceiving him like that, but he still has his Dark Magician and is no longer a cheater.

Michael stepped forward. "You're the illusionist Arkana," he said.

"Correct," Arkana said. "The one true Dark Magician user."

Michael smirked at that. "As if," he said. "That title goes to Yugi Muto."

"How would you know?" Arkana asked.

"Do you really think you're the only one who likes magicians?" Michael asked, revealing the magician cards in his deck. "I bet my lovely magicians can beat yours."

"You dare challenge me?" Arkana asked.

"Sure, I could kill some time," Michael answered.

The two activated their Duel Disks to initiate the duel and to see if Arkana's Dark Magician can handle Michael's Magicians and Sorcerers, especially the surprise he has in store for his opponent. While that is going on, Ray wished her boyfriend good luck before heading off to find another pro Duelist to duel against.

"Well what do we have here?"

Ray stopped waking to see the person standing in front of her. It was Rex Raptor and his brown hair with purple-dyed strands on his forehead were a clear giveaway. Ray has heard a lot about him since she was a kid and she knows that he has high dueling morals and plays fair despite his arrogant and tyrannical personality.

"So you're the one with the Hope Dragons," Rex commented.

"Indeed," Ray happily replied. "You want to see them in action?"

"Whaddya think?" Rex asked as he readied his Duel Disk. "I love a good challenge, but don't get too cocky. My dinos have gotten stronger over the past few years."

Naturally, he was one to talk because he was cocky. Ray also prepared her Duel Disk as well as she was about to start Crowler's assignment of dueling the professionals along with Michael. If she was going to be honest, she didn't expect legendary Duelists like Rex and Arkana to show up on the island, but it makes the tournament more fun to take part in.

So far, the couple have been fairing really well as they gained more Genex Medallions by defeating many pro Duelists. They spotted Damon and Belowski, who were both exhausted after dueling for a while, so they picked up the pace and dueled more professionals, including those that were defeated by their classmates and Alexis (since she still showed respect and pride for her Obelisk Blue companions). While they continued to search for any more pro Duelists on the island, they spotted a duel was going on and ran to where Jaden, Aster, and Hassleberry were standing. From what they saw, it was a battle between brothers with Syrus going against Zane, who looked and acted much differently than he normally did.

"Weird..." Michael said. "Was Zane always that cold?"

"Probably," Ray answered. "But Syrus seems...off."

Well, they weren't exactly off. Jaden and Aster overheard their curiosity and filled them in on what was happening. After his defeat at the Pro League, Zane soon became sadistic and disrespectful towards his opponents after his duel with Mad Dog. Syrus doesn't like his brother's new personality, so he decided to duel him to try and reclaim the latter's old persona. He was also "off" because of the shock-amplifying devices they were wearing, which electrocutes the Duelist whenever they lose Life Points; Zane was used to the shocks, but Syrus wasn't. He was using a continuous Trap called Life Force where he can reduce the Battle Damage to 0 at the cost of 400 LP.

Ray was absolutely horrified, her hand immediately reaching up to her neck. Despite her recovery, she could still feel the shocks she received during her time in the Society of Light. Why would Zane do such a thing?

Michael instinctively place his hands on Ray's shoulders to calm her down while reassuring her that it was going to be okay. Jaden and Hassleberry recalled hearing the story of the mental abuse Sartorius gave her while she was regaining her strength.

"Sarge and I heard about what happened," Hassleberry said. "Didn't even known that was goin’ on."

"None of us knew," Michael pointed out. "Sartorius imprisoned her in a room and prevented her from escaping."

"You feelin' alright, Ray?" Jaden asked.

"It still scares me from time to time," Ray answered. "But I think I managed to make a full recovery."

"That's the spirit!" Jaden encouraged, doing his signature pose to get Ray to smile.

Ray always saw Jaden's pose whenever he won a duel against someone up to where she can instantly spot it, even at a far distance. It undoubtedly helped her relax and crack a smile on her face. "Thanks Jaden," she said, knowing how he could still remain so calm and happy during dramatic moments.

The Slifer Red student pointed out that he'll do anything for a friend, a fellow classmate, or a student regardless of rankings. The five Duelists watched from the sidelines as the Truesdales' duel progressed. At one point, Syrus fell onto his knees after getting shocked and draining his LP down to 1600 due to Life Force, with his glasses falling off as well. It was nearly impossible for him to respect his older brother when he's like this, but Zane harshly claimed that there's only enough room for respecting victory, even if it means disrespecting his opponents. Hearing this cruel irony shocked Michael, Ray, Aster, and Hassleberry, but not Jaden.

"Syrus, no!" Jaden exclaimed. "It's not true! Don't listen to him! He's wrong, fight it! And don't forget: Zane isn't himself! You need to remind him about respect! Respect for his cards, respect for his opponent, and respect for himself!"

Syrus stood up and put his glasses back on face before drawing a card, which was revealed to be Power Bond. He wasn't expecting to find it in his deck and looked at Jaden until he realized that his friend went to his dorm room to look for it and shuffled it with the rest of his cards. Michael had to muffle a laugh when that was revealed.

Ray asked what was so funny until she spotted Power Bond and Syrus' comprehended expression. She could've sworn he was afraid of using that card yet the look on Jaden's face said that now was a good time to use it and to help remind Zane about respect.

As Cycroid and the Equip Spell Training Wheels returned to the field, the Vehicroid user used Power Bond to Fusion Summon Pair Cycroid with its ATK doubled to 3200, but was decreased down to 2700 by activating its effect to remove 500 ATK in order to declare a direct attack. Zane activates Power Wall and sent 27 cards to the Graveyard to nullify the attack, resulting in his younger brother to play a face-down. Power Bond's final effect would cause Syrus to take damage equal to Pair Cycroid's original 1600 ATK, but thanks to his face-down Mirror Guard, that damage is redirected to Zane, who activated Fusion Guard to cancel the effect by sending one Fusion monster to the Graveyard.

Once the Cyberdark user drew a card to start his turn, he used Warp Bean to reduce Cyberdarks Horn and Keel from 2800 to 800 ATK by sending Infernal and Exploder Dragons to the Graveyard and removed 200 more ATK on both monsters to attack his opponent directly. Life Force was activated twice, bringing Syrus' LP down to 800, and he used it a third time after Cyberdark Edge attacked directly through halving the Battle Damage, lowering it down to 400. Zane activated his face-down Rebirth Judgement to declare all monsters in both Graveyards as Dragon Type; he then used Instant Fusion to Fusion Summon Cyberdark Dragon by using Horn, Edge, and Keel as Fusion Materials. By using Cyber End Dragon's first effect to equip itself onto the special summoned monster, the ATK ricocheted from 1000 to 5000, and because there were 38 cards in his Graveyard, Cyberdark Dragon's third effect gives it an ATK for every discarded card x 100, making its total ATK 8800.

Zane targeted Pair Cycroid, but Syrus played Emergency Provisions to give himself an extra 1000 LP by discarding Mirror Guard and activated Life Force again to reduce the damage to 0 by costing 400 LP, bringing it down to 1000. He thought he won because that meant there were no cards left for his older brother to draw, but in an unexpected twist, De-Fusion was used and Cyberdarks Horn, Edge, and Keel were on the fields with 800 ATK each. They all dealt a direct attack to deal 2400 damage to him, causing the devices to electrocute him once more as his LP dropped down to 0 and he collapsed onto the ground as a result. Aster was left speechless at the duel's outcome while Michael and Ray were terrified; Hassleberry shouted out to Zane as he walked away while Jaden ran towards Syrus to see if he was okay, only to see his friend pass out. It was clear he needed to be taken to Nurse Fontaine's office right now.

"I don't know what's worse," Michael said as Ray was panicking due to the duel still reminding her of Sartorius' abuse. "The Society of Light or a deranged version of Zane."

Already knowing Ray was in a state of panic, Michael hugged her as much as she could to help regain her senses. Just witnessing the duel led her to become so terrified that she stated she might not be feeling well. This was a sign of her suffering from PTSD, and the shock-amplifying devices sending electricity to the Duelists were the triggers.

Michael started stroking his girlfriend's hair. "I see you hiding all alone," he started singing. "Crying oh so softly. Eyes looking down, feeling low." He started speaking normally. "Come on, RayRay. You love this song."

The song he was singing was the song "99%" by BOWL. He wanted to sing this to remind that despite the struggles she's been suffering, there will always be someone to help her through life's hardships.

"Rethinking all those memories," Michael continued singing, now having to separate from the hug to try to get her to dance with him. "Sadness comes across you and casts a frown. But things are more than they seem."

A small smile started to appear on Ray's face. "When darkness turns to daybreak," Michael sang. "Go out and seek for your sake. The people of this world may share with you your pain. But when a wall surrounds them, discourages and drowns them, they get up. So why don't you do the same?" As he sang that last part, the onion-haired teen booped his girlfriend's nose.

There was no point in resisting as Ray gave in and started dancing to the song. Michael may be dorky sometimes, but she was glad that he was her dork and she didn't want anything about that to change.

Ultimately Michael stopped singing and the two embraced in a sweet hug. "Thanks, you big dork," Ray said.

"Don't mention it, sweet princess," Michael replied.

For the rest of the school year, they continued participating in the Genex Tournament. They eventually lost all their Genex Medallions to non-Society students, but that moment meant they were now officially ready to take on the Society of Light. They joined Chazz—who wanted to make amends for his actions during his time at said organization—and a group of Obelisk Blue students as they freed most of them from the Society's grip while the dark-haired teen now possessed their Medallions. Ray felt this was an interesting way to take out her grudge against Sartorius, who was now under complete control by the Light of Destruction and dueling Jaden with the fate of the world at stake.

Just as Chazz was getting ready to declare himself the winner of the tournament, a disguised Blair Flannigan showed up who wanted to win this tournament and get into Slifer Red. Even though she soon lost and her opponent was officially the Genex Tournament Champion, she was still able to be accepted into Duel Academy as a Slifer Red student. It was also good timing too because Jaden defeated the Light of Destruction, freeing Sartorius from its control and disbanding the Society of Light for good.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Zarc (arc v)#Ray Akaba #GenesisShipping #ZarcRay #Leo Will Never Know

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ievag-blog1 · 7 years ago

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Mistress

Tarp apgriuvusių bažnyčios sienų aidi Ave Maria ir ji pravirksta.

Taip gražiai gieda. Taip gražiai pasipuošusi močiutė taip gražiai tyliai meldžias prie altorėlio mediniais rėmais, skirto Šv. Pranciškui. Vasarą taip gražiai žmonės pjauna pieveles prie namų. Vakarais taip gražiai nulyja, Ave Maria.

Vasaros dienos slenka lėtai, ir gera vaikščioti per ištuštėjųsį miestą. Ant suoliuko miesto parke sėdi pagyvenusios moterys, šalia jų vaikinas groja gitara.

Raudonas vynas ir vanduo, rytinės mišios, vakarinės mišios bare. Vasaros vakarai ilgi, ir šiltas miestas duoda daug erdvės. Gali lėtai kvėpuoti, gali pasiklysti, dažniausiai po prisiminimus. Ir visgi, kaskart einant per tą pačią gatvę kažkas pasikeičia, miestas kartu su tavimi įkvepia, iškvepia, auga.

Kartais gali eiti pro senus pastatus su gelėtais balkonais, ir pastebėti naują pelargoniją. Kartais gali atrasti vis naujas mažas bibliotekas, ir visada gali verkti kiek tik nori.

Visame mieste vis dar aidi ta nuostabi giesmė, jos skambesys virpina vyną taurėje, ratilai pasiekia visas nenupjautas pieveles ir tą gražiai, baltai išsiuvinėtais kalnieriais pasipuošusią močiutę. Ji rymo prie atviro, vazonais nusėto lango ir žvelgia į tolį. Į ją nuo sienos žvelgia Šv. Pranciškus, ant kilimo tupi katė ir žvelgia į jį.

Neakylus praeivis galvotų, kad taip atrodo vienatvė.

Iš tiesų, taip atrodo miesto širdis.

Taip atrodo metus iš metų nesikeičiantys ramūs sekmadienio vakarai birželį, taip atrodo metus iš metų nesikeičiantys miesto ūžesio sergėtojai. Tylus ir susikaupęs senos moters veidas atsispindi lange, tai jos žvilgsnis yra tikrasis nešališkas stebėtojas, tikrasis miesto archyvas. Tai tik nuo jos ritualų priklauso laikas, tai tik su jos pelargonijom ateina pavasaris.

Katinas pašaipiai žvelgia į šventojo paveikslą. Ko gero tai visai nėra tiesa, bet mano galvoje jo vardas Begemotas. Ko gero tai nėra tiesa, bet Margarita iš tikro visai nemirė, ji pabėgo ir nusipirko butą Kauno centre. Jai atsibodo visi Meistrai ir Azazelai, jai atsibodo nešioti sunkius geležinius šarvus Valpurgijos naktį, ji rado darbą viešojoje miesto bibliotekoje ir pradėjo reguliariai vaikščioti į bažnyčią. Galų gale, meistras net ir nebuvo jos pirmas noras. Ji įsteigė organizaciją padedančią smurtą patyrusioms moterims, o laisvais vakarais vis dar žiūri pro langą ir stebi miesto istorijas.

Ji yra meistras. Visos knygos lentynoje parašytos jos ranka. Čia jos miestas, čia jos vyno taurės, čia jos išsiuvinėti kalnieriai. Ave Maria? Ave Margarita, tyliai nusijuokia Begemotas, vasaros vakaras plaukia lėtai, ramiai, plačiai.

Kol ji sėdi prie lango, man, ir mums visoms, čia bus vietos.

*****************************************************************************************************

Ave Maria echoes between the old, ruined walls of a church and she begins to cry.

The chant is so beautiful. An old woman with such a beautiful dress is so beautifully quietly praying at the wooden altar for saint Francis. People are mowing their beautiful lawns in the summer. It beautifully rains every eve, Ave Maria.

Summer days slowly go by, and the walks through emptied city streets are so delightful. A couple of old ladies are sitting on the bench in the park; a guy next to them is playing his guitar.

Red wine and water – morning mass, evening mass in a bar. Summer evenings are long, and a warm city offers a lot of space. You can breath slowly, you can get lost, usually in your own memories. And yet, every time you pass the same street something is different, the city breathes in and breathes out with you, it keeps changing.

Sometimes, as you pass the old buildings with balconies full of flowers, you can notice a new pelargonium in the window. Sometimes you can discover yet another new little library, and you can always cry as much as you want.

The whole city is still full of echoes from that magnificent chant, its sound makes the wine vibrate in a glass, and its halo reaches every lawn that has not been mowed yet, it reaches the old woman and her beautifully embroidered white collar. She is sitting at the open window full of flowerpots, and glances at the distance. Saint Francis is glancing at her from the wall, a cat sitting on the rug glances at him.

An unobservant passerby would think that this is loneliness.

In fact, this is the beating heart of the city.

These are the peaceful Sunday evenings in June that go unchanged, year after year, these are the timeless faces that guard city’s chaos. Silent and content, the face of the old woman gets reflected in the window, and it is her gaze that is the true, unbiased observer, the real archive. It is only her rituals that define time; it is only with her pelargoniums that the spring comes.

The cat is sarcastically observing the picture of the saint. It is unlikely to be true, but in my mind his name is Behemoth. It is unlikely to be true, bet Margarita actually did not die at all, she ran away and bought an apartment in Kaunas city center. She got sick of all the Masters and Azazellos, she got tired from wearing the heavy metal armor at the Spring Ball, she got herself a job at the public library and started regularly attending the church. After all, Master was not even her first choice. She founded an organization to help women who suffer abuse, and during her free evenings she gazes through the window, documenting stories of the city.

She is the Master. She is the author of all the books on her shelf. This is her city, these are her wine glasses, these are her embroidered collars. Ave Maria? Ave Margarita, Behemoth laughs soundlessly, summer evening is flowing slowly, quietly, widely.

As long as she is sitting at the window, there will be space for me, for you, and for each an every woman here.

#kaunas #city #master and margarita #mikhail bulgakov

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conundrumkrp-blog · 8 years ago

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“I love animals—they’re not as trashy as humans are.”

CANON: Peach FACE CLAIM NAME: Ji Chang Wook, Actor AGE: 29

BIOGRAPHY.

He was born from a toxic bond between man and woman. He was a boy who was tied to a broken couple that had him due to their mistakes.

He never really understood it at first—accepting how his family was because that was how it had been for him for the longest time. Their insults towards him were met with blank faces and their lack of physical affection was something he was accustomed too.

The only one who would give him what a normal parent would was the Labrador Retriever that his mother owned. The dog would always be there for him from the moment he was born—looking after him and letting him play around with it. The boy would grow to only love it and not his parents. He would grow to be uncaring of his parents but loving animals with a passion.

ii.

His mother would bring him to school in a scandalous attire, his father would bring him to school with a rough hold on him, and Lizzy the Labrador Retriever would always be the one who warmly sends him off with a soft nudge and warm gestures.

He didn’t really give much of a thought about the other parents who would give offended, disgusted or scared looks at them when they saw his parents treat him as such. Nor did he really give much of a damn when they kindly offered company or help or the like. He just merely gives them a small, polite smile—much too mature for someone of his age—and tell them it was alright.

His nature which was unlike the norm attracted the other children. Some children had been encouraged by their parents to talk to him, whilst other children were told to stay away. He didn’t care, of course, but to those who had decided to converse with him found themselves charmed. They felt like the boy would bring them somewhere different—and a child’s curiosity was a strong motivation for many of their choices.

iii.

He started to create circles, started to find himself to know everyone just as everyone knew him, started to build connections and use it to his advantage. It wasn’t done with any purpose, per se, he just didn’t really have any much thing to do. He didn’t even try to sink himself deep into everyone’s mind, only enough to make himself somewhere in the fine line between acquaintances and friends.

His life within the confines of his home was still very much the same, though. Mother goes off with her boys and father goes off to waste away money and himself. He’d be alone in his home with Lizzy as his only company and will never invite anyone to home.

Lizzy is getting older but she still gave him warmth and love and care. He found himself hold onto her like she was his mother. He would walk her out frequently and come across other animals and want to interact with them. Most times, there would be someone who was holding leashes to their pets and would notice his shining eyes on the animals. They’d let him touch their pets and talk about it. He would reveal his undying love for Lizzy and one time the stranger told him how if he truly loved animals he should help them out.

That would be the seed that shall bloom into the desires of needing to help out all animals in a way—and with that flower, he shall bear a fruit in the form of a charity.

iv.

With the bonds he made and a new passion, he tried to pursue a dream. He never had one before, all he had before was love for Lizzy and animals like her and a tendency to add more contacts in his list as if it was a game.

He learned more about animals and will make speeches to preach about why animals mattered to his classmates—or anyone he met in all honesty. He would entrance others and take their attention as he attempted to make people care much more about animals ( and by that, he meant that all animals mattered—not only the pets they lived closely to ).

When chances came by in the form of field trips or projects that let him help out the creatures—he’d take it and never waste the opportunity. At presentations and more, he’d explain with expertise like that of a professional business man to prove his points and a reason to back up all his purposes. His teachers had been greatly surprised by his enthusiasm when it came to such moments and had also been highly praised by them.

And it was as if he was morphing himself to be someone better—his eyes shone more and some of the people he did connect with had become close friends. Everything is changing for a better—

Until everything just decided to go for the worse.

Lizzy died. That wasn’t the reason his inner turmoil was such a pandemonium, though, it was because of how she died that made him want to scream and leave his home and just not associate himself with such treacherous people anymore.

Lizzy was expected to die when he was thirteen at most, he was aware of that. He knew she’d die and he knew he would never be ready for it. But what he did not expect was his father horribly abusing the dog to the point of death one day in his intoxicated state.

He had remembered that day he returned home from school alone without anyone accompanying him ( as school was close and his parents really could care less ). There had been no problems until he reached his house and started to hear the sound of broken plates and something being thrown against another. The sound of destruction made him panic and he hastily entered his house ( with its door unlocked ) and searched for the source of discord.

What he saw had haunted him forever. The sight of Lizzy with shards of plates on her body and already too lifeless to make a sound ( and could she even make a sound anymore? with the tape that was haphazardly put to shut her up ). His father continuously beating the poor labrador retriever and shouting strings of swears as he mutilated the dog even more.

His bloodcurdling scream was loud enough for his father—no, the horrid being— to focus its attention on him. It had terrified him, especially as it started to head to him with its wobbly way of walking. He ran as if his life depended on it and tried to survive. It was fortunate for him to have come across one of the people he made acquaintances with—who took him in and listened to him as he broke down. It wasn’t too long after until the police gained a report of animal abuse.

vi.

He grew to hate people.

Even though he knew and met people who were kind and were not like his father—he was aware that anyone was capable of such. He couldn’t help but be wary of others and set up distances between him and others.

For a long time, he couldn’t bear to look at Labrador Retrievers without remembering Lizzy. It pained him eery time and always made him feel unbridled hate towards his father extend to people who weren’t even involved.

But he is logical and never so influenced by emotions. He moves on but would always remember how cruel people could be. He would never be able to look at anything the same and that would be what fuels his briefly forgotten dreams.

He’s protect these animals. He’d make sure that none of them would end up like Lizzy.

vii.

He created a charity with the purpose of helping out animals and giving them homes that would be cruelty-free. He would use his connections to create a safe haven for them and—when they managed to raise more money than usual—use it to teach others about the importance of animals and why they must help the creatures out.

He acted differently with humans and animals but people who worked with him and assisted him saw him as a respectable, but distant, figure.

His life returns to its peaceful track after that event. Until one day, Mr. Yang ( a regular donator of his charity ) decided to donate an even larger amount of money than usual to his charity. It grew even odder as word of the man putting the charity into his will reached his ears.

But the true turning point would be the letter that he received to be invited to Mr. Yang’s mansion. It was curiosity at it’s finest and he had to admit he wanted to know why Mr. Yang did what he did.

So, he decided to join in the event. After all, what could go wrong?

( And the voice of his paranoia which was muffled by his curiosity would say: ‘Many things that could be as horrid as that day of Lizzy’s death.’ )

PERSONALITY.

Articulate and diplomatic, his way with words would make it easy for him to manipulate others. Not that he did, though, rather, he used it to make people realize the importance of animals’ lives. He also used it to gain connections which would prove to be useful for him in the future. A social butterfly who did not necessarily try to be friends but someone who one could see as a valuable ally if need be.

Aloof was he, despite how he talked with ease and have many people in his contact’s list. It was due to how circumspect he was of people after the death of Lizzy. He would always have the habit of looking at everyone with scrutinizing eyes as he tried to analyze them and see whether they would be as horrible as his father or not.

Towards animals, though, one would be able to see warm smiles and gentle touches. A seraphic man towards the creatures and with ambitions and determination that would overthrow others in the need to protect them. He was vehement about his love and passion for them and will make sure that they will be protected at all costs.

#cn: accepted #canon: peach

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shirlleycoyle · 5 years ago

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The 2030 Last-Minute Christmas Gift Guide

Buying Christmas gifts for you friends, family, and loved ones is always hard—and after yet another turbulent year it looked like maybe it was finally time to just cancel the holidays! But things are finally looking up, and we can’t think of a better reason to celebrate.

With the ceasefires still holding in Texas and Idaho, clean(ish) water restored to almost half of Los Angeles, and—most importantly—Amazon confirming that yes, they will be restarting deliveries to Evac-Bill registered US citizens in most major FEMA Relocation Camps, there’s never been a better time to get in the festive spirit with a little retail therapy!

Whether you’re a Tier 1 high flier with a bonus to blow or an Unranked trying to make that final Freedom Dividends payment last ‘till January, we’ve got gift ideas to match all wallets and payday loan repayment strategies!

Tier 1 Zone Day Pass From $199/day – restrictions apply, see below

Want to see how the other half lives? Well, I guess more accurately it’s the other 0.1%, but why get hung up on numbers? Grab a Tier 1 Day Pass from Darklake Security for a family member—and maybe one for yourself—and get a chance to explore parts of the city you’re never usually allowed to see! Want to hit the shops in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards? Have brunch under the Park Slope Climate Dome in Brooklyn? Take a stroll and check out the view from Pacific Heights in SF? With a Tier 1 Pass you can walk straight in to dozens of exclusive, restricted neighborhoods in cities around the world, no questions asked!*

Rub shoulders with the brilliant, beautiful, and financially solvent—who knows who you might bump into! And with the special Connect package deal, for just an extra 30 bucks, you can enjoy a whole day of Tier 1 internet access and surf like an influencer—stable connection, fast download speeds, nazi-free social media, data anonymity, and no pop-ups. Come and get a taste for the Tier 1 life—you’ll never look at your credit score again in the same way!

*Restrictions apply: Tier 1 Day Passes are available only to Evac-Bill registered US citizens. No exceptions. Security checks and infection tests must be completed before admittance to Tier 1 neighborhoods. All visitors must consent to wearing a tracking and monitoring device for the entire duration of their visit. Removal of the device, or breaking of any other laws or restrictions, will result in immediate imprisonment under the 2027 Emergency National Cohesion Act as it applies to Private Enforcement Contractors. Darklake Security Industries reserves the right to refuse or cancel entry at any time, without explanation.

B. W. Trump – Only The Hague Can Judge Me $29.99 from Amazon on vinyl/CD, streaming available only in Tier 1 Certified Access Zones

It’s been a tough couple of years for Lil BazE: abuse and kidnapping allegations, paternity cases, alleged connections to the Jacksonville Separatist Army, and the reports that his father was refusing to let him visit him in prison—but the triple Grammy-winning rapper is back with the long awaited follow up to 2028’s Air Fucks One. And it does not disappoint.

From the drive-by swagger of "Spray It Don't Say It" through the hot under the collar bump n’ grind of "Shorty Put The Ride In Auto" to the emo soul baring of "Alone On The Gulfstream" every track on Only The Hague Can Judge Me is on point. This is the work of an artist at the top of his career, and one whose talents only shine more as the haters try to step up. With the breakout single"Cancel Culture" currently topping the charts on both sides of the 40th Parallel DMZ, it looks like B-dub has already delivered another hip-hop classic.

The Unlimited Dream Company Bespoke Crisis Zone Tours Packages starting at $1399 per person

Want to get out and see some more of the world in 2031, but know there’s no way you’ll ever be able to afford international air travel again? Well, there’s still a lot of America to see and explore! It’s fair to say our great country has seen some challenging times over the last decade, including shifts in both our political and geographical landscapes, but as a nation we’ve stood up to and embraced the challenges—and what better way to celebrate this new era than going out and experiencing it yourself?

Want to take a low flying helicopter ride over the Texas Refinery District Toxic Exclusion Zone? Try urban scuba deep under what was once the Miami waterfront? Or maybe you want to take a leaf out of your favorite influencer’s book, and get your photo taken on the rim of the crater that was once the Space X test facility? The Unlimited Dream Company can make it happen, with its range of exclusive, customizable tourist trips. You’ll be given full safety training and orientation—including an entry level handgun course for trips in disputed states—and will be accompanied by medical staff*, Darklake certified security agents, and tour guides with unmatched local knowledge.

Prices are not cheap though, so this is definitely a gift idea for those of you firmly ranked as Solvent A-7 and above. Still, UDC also sells a full range of merchandise in its online store—from FEMA approved radiation-detecting temporary tattoos to "My sister visited the Baltimore Dirty Bomb Clean Up Zone and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" shirts. They make for perfect low cost stocking fillers.

*Medical expenses not included in package prices. Participants are expected to have their own health insurance.

Where’s Elon? – Mindfield Games Ltd $8.99 in the App Store/Google Play

Where did he go? Did he really make it to Mars? Is he hiding out on the dark side of the Moon? Has he really accepted Chinese citizenship? Or is he just chilling in his luxury bunker in New Zealand? Nobody knows for sure, but with this new mobile game from superstar designers Mindfield you can help track down America's greatest traitor! Based on the classic children’s book, Where’s Elon? challenges you to spot the world’s greatest entrepreneur-turned-environmental-criminal across a dozen beautifully illustrated, scrolling crowd scenes. When you see him point him out quick—and be rewarded with the satisfaction of watching a beautifully rendered drone strike! Fun for the whole family.

The InfoWars Flat Earth Atlas $25.99 from Amazon

Less an informative text and more an exquisite curio, the official InfoWars Flat Earth Atlas, 8th Edition is the perfect gift for that coffee table book enthusiast in your life. Learn about how everything you thought you knew about physics is a lie, and why nobody has ever been permitted to sail to The Edges, through a series of exquisitely painted and painstakingly annotated maps, charts, and illustrations. And with the addition, new to this edition, of QRcodes on every page that auto post content to Facebook with just a single scan, this is the perfect gift for that uncle that always sparks the most interesting family discussions. You might not be a believer, but can you ever really be sure? About anything? Take some time to shrug off the chains of reason and logic this holiday season and experience the buzz of free thinking—before they try and ration that too!

Marvel vs Star Wars VI – The Final Conflict $39.99 from Amazon/Disney on uBlu-Ray, streaming available only in Tier 1 Certified Access Zones

If the thought of Tony Stark wearing C3-PO’s face as a temporary face mask or the sight of The Hulk behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon doesn't get you excited, can you really even call yourself a movie fan anymore? This holiday sees the release of the final installment of the saga to end all sagas! For real this time! Will our heroes get over their personal differences in time to band together to save the galaxy from the cross dimensional threat of the Thanos-Palpatine Axis? Will Thor, now struck down as a mere mortal, pass his Padawan training and become a Jedi master worthy of the memory of Baby Yoda, tragically slain in the last movie? All these questions will be answered, plus a bunch that never will, in what is definitely, completely certainly, the last chapter in the series.

Plus as a bonus feature for Blu-Ray owners, make use of the exclusive Auteur Algorithms mode. Disney made a machine learning AI watch hours and hours of movies by classic directors whose IP they own—Kubrick, Kurosawa, Scorsese, DuVernay, and Hitchcock to name just a few—so that it can re-edit and re-frame the movie in their unique personal styles, in realtime. With every watch it will look unique! The long-awaited future of cinema is finally here.

Balenciaga Bug Out Bag $799, Nordstrom exclusive

If the last ten years have taught us anything, it’s that we all need to be ready to move out at just a minutes notice. We’ve all got—or should have—a bug out bag ready to go, and while being constantly prepared can cause considerable stress and anxiety, there’s no reason that you can’t look stylish! The Balenciaga Bug Out Bag might be expensive, but it’s guaranteed to make you stand out in any crowd, whether you’re trying to get out of the state or into one of the hastily designated public shelters. Packed full of goodies like San Pellegrino-branded water purification tablets and an exclusive Burberry designed insulation blanket, it’s got all the essentials you need to survive the next evacuation call while still looking tight. Got a keen teenage social justice warrior in the family? Then the special Pro Protest edition is perfect for them—with extras such as a Nike branded breathing mask (tear gas rated), an Anker mil-grade laser pointer, and a limited-edition facial recognition fooling make up kit from Sephora. Now you can send that adorable little protester out for the night knowing not only will they be safe but they’ll also be the envy of all their friends as they fight against the oil and tech companies, police brutality, the forced relocation of a local community, or whatever it is the kids get all worked up about these days.

FEMA gift vouchers $5 – $200, from Amazon and fema.gov

Still don’t know what to get that friend or loved one that’s been relocated to one of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s temporary residential camps? Then let them pick how they want to treat themselves with a FEMA gift voucher. Not only is it redeemable against certain product lines on Amazon, it can be used in-camp to make their stay a little easier by paying for extra food and water rations, extended shower times, and even little luxuries such as chocolate, fruit juice, and soap. Know somebody staying in one of the Amazon or Walmart co-administered camps? Then get them one of the new Duvet Day passes for just $75, that gets them out of all work camp duties for a full 24 hours!

The 2030 Last-Minute Christmas Gift Guide syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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aretia · 5 years ago

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Divorce Cases with Child Custody in Utah

In Utah, the increased rate of marriage among couples means that there are more newlyweds and this number tends to increase year by year. In 2017 Utah had a marriage rate of 8.7 per 1000 residents, which was the fourth highest in the U.S.A. one of the reasons why most couples get married apart from loving each other deeply is so as to start a family and get children. However, also looking into the facts also Utah had the 14th highest divorce rate in U.S.A which was 3.4 per 1000 residents and the figure has increased to 3.6 per 1000 residents.

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During times of divorce, it is usually an emotionally trying time for each of the spouses and the children also, especially when it comes to the matter of child custody among the parents. With increased divorce rates within the country, it means more and more children will be subjected to see their parents’ divorce. If the spouses are unable to agree on how to take care of the children then the court will make a ruling and it is usually in the best interest of the children. In this section, we shall be looking at various aspects associated with how divorce cases are conducted in the state of Utah and the child custody regulations and guidelines that are contained in the laws of Utah. Under child custody there are various aspects that it mainly touches on which include: (i) Legal custody and (ii)Physical custody.

Divorce and Custody

During a divorce in Utah, child custody can be determined in one of two ways. The first option is outside court by an agreement by both the spouses. Most parents in Utah usually have a plan on how the children will be taken care of even after both of the spouses have been separated since it is the spouses divorcing each other and not the children. This is agreed in the state of Utah and the court will respect this decision as long as it is in the best interest of the children.

However in the eventuality that both the spouses are unable to come to an agreement then the court will have to enforce one to both the respondent and petitioner. In Utah when the decision rests with the court there are various considerations that the court will take before making its decisions. This will include; who among the petitioner and the respondent is likely to consider the best interest of the child, the judge will also assess both parties past conduct and the demonstrated moral conduct of the parents towards the kids.

The judge will also determine which of the two parties are likely to share the child with the other spouse. The court may also consider before giving custody if either of the spouses has exposed the children to pornography or any form of material harmful to a minor. All this will be considered before the court can grant custody of children to any parent. Something to note is that in Utah physical disability cannot hinder a parent from getting custody over his/her own children. Also, gender-based preferences are not allowed during child custody cases this is due to Article Ⅳ section 1 of the Utah Constitution and the 14th amendment of the U.S constitution.

Custody Evaulation

A custody evaluation is a legal process in which a state-licensed social worker, psychologist (Doctoral Level) or a state licensed physician is chosen to evaluate a family and make recommendations to the court for custody matters usually it includes residential custody, visitation and a parenting plan. During divorce when the spouses are unable to agree the court may order a custody evaluation in order to determine who in the best interest of the children is most suitable to have custody over the children. If you decide you want to go this route, call Ascent Law to speak about the costs and elements involved. It is expensive to do this.

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The state licensed personnel conducting the custody evaluation should be unbiased and evaluate the family thoroughly. In conducting their investigation, the child custody evaluator is expected by the court to consider a wide range of factors before submitting their final findings to the court. These factors include: i. If the child is 14 years and above he/she may be asked to choose a preference on which parent they would like to live with. ii. The custody evaluator should consider the bond between the children and their parents. iii. Another factor to consider is how best to ensure the children are kept together and the benefits associated with it. iv. The custody should also assess the merits of maintaining previously determined custody arrangements. v. The custody evaluator should consider each parents character, behavior and his/her ability to function as a parent.

The judge is able to make a conclusive and inclusive decision on the divorce while considering what is in the best interest of the children. The judge usually looks at who between the two spouses will be able to give the children more personal care rather than surrogate care. The judge also tries to establish who between the two spouses will be the primary caretaker of the children. If the judge considers this approach so as to be able to determine who will have custody of the children then the following things will be considered; i. Which spouse prepares and plans for meals. ii. The spouse who baths and grooms the children. iii. The spouse who cleans and takes care of laundry iv. The spouse who is concerned with the medical care of the children v. The spouse who plans for social interactions for the kids’ vi. The spouse who properly disciplines the kids’ vii. The spouse who is concerned about teaching elementary skills to the kids.

After a custody evaluation has been conducted by the appropriate personnel then the judge can be able to grant a verdict over the custody of the children. Both the physical and legal custody. The will be one of three possibilities which are; a) Joint custody b) Sole custody c) Split custody

Joint custody

In Utah, this is usually the presumed judgment since it is usually in the best interest of the children if they grow with both parents within their lives. In joint legal custody, both spouses have a say in matters concerning the children’s health, education, social activities and general well-being. This means that all matters concerning the children have to be agreed on by both parties. Joint legal custody works well when: • When both parents agree that a joint legal custody arrangement is in the best interest of the child • If both the spouses are willing to cooperate • Both parents want to be very involved in raising their children • Parents share fundamental values Apart from joint legal custody, there is also joint physical custody. Joint physical custody is when each parent shares equal time with the children. Something to note under joint physical custody is that if the children spend over 111 nights annually at each spouse’s house then child support will be paid under joint custody worksheet rather than the sole custody worksheet.

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Sole custody

Under sole legal custody, it means that a single parent gains the mandate to make decisions on matters concerning the children’s lives, while the other parent usually does not have a say in matters concerning the children. While sole physical custody generally means where the children physically live. If one parent has sole physical custody it means that the children stay and reside with one parent, this parent is known as the custodial parent. The other parent has visitation rights or parent time and is known as the non- custodial parent. Sole physical custody can be filed under the following grounds: • When both spouses agree that sole custody is in your child’s best interest. • A parent travels extensively for work or their work schedule makes it difficult to have the children live with them. • Your child needs a primary residence for an age-appropriate custody schedule. • In case the parents live far away from each other and have a long distance custody schedule. • If a parent has problems with substance abuse or is mentally unstable. • A parent has a history of abuse or neglect towards the child, or a parent has been absent from a child’s life.

Split custody

Split custody, though not very common, means that the judge gives each parent sole custody of certain matters affecting the child as they grow up. A good example is when the father is granted the ability to decide on matters concerning the child’s discipline and education matters. This means that whichever decision that the father concludes is final and the mother cannot interfere. Also, the mother can be given custody over the children’s health and diet and meals they eat and where they stay. Thus the father cannot interfere with these decisions.

Parent Time

Parent time also known as visitation time can be defined as a court order from a judge where it establishes the visiting time for the non- custodial parent to visit his/her own children. Parent time usually comes from a divorce or separation between spouses. A visitation order must be clear and specific so that the court can be able to find contempt for violation of those orders. Usually, most parents usually have a plan for their children and how they will live after the divorce of which all are allowed in Utah. However, given the eventuality would occur that the two spouses can’t seem to agree then a standard parent time schedule is enforced by the court. Parent time is usually to allow for the non-custodial parent to have quality time with his children. Therefore the non-custodial parents have a number of rights under Utah law, including: • Child support and Family Time, neither of which can be withheld due to lack of compliance with a Family Time schedule • Notification within 24 hours of important academic, athletic, community or social events where a child is participating or being honored. Non-custodial parents have the right to attend and fully participate • All reports from schools, day-care centres or preschools • Immediate notification of a medical emergency and direct access to the child’s medical records • Virtual communication with the child via email, telephone, instant messaging, video messaging, or other technologies. These activities intended to supplement in-person time, not replace it. • Notification within 24 hours of any change in the custodial parent’s address, email address, telephone number, or virtual connection information • A division equally of participation in major religious holidays. A parent who celebrates a religious holiday not celebrated by the other parent has the right to be with the child on said holiday • Gradual reintroduction to a parent after a lengthy separation or lack of Parent Time to facilitate appropriate parent-child bonding • Detailed information whenever a child is travelling with a parent, including destinations, itinerary, travel dates, locations and contact information.

Divorce and Custody Lawyer Free Consultation

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

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