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codylabs · 1 year

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I like Samus

(Miscellaneous notes in no order)

She's kind. I've gone into detail about that before on one page of my comic, but it bears repeating here. She doesn't often do things in anger, and she shows mercy and goodwill when she can. I think that's a big difference between her and somebody like Doomguy who just kills anything in his way; it's always more complicated than just "kill the monsters," and she does ponder and respect that complexity, even if, all too often, the only reasonable and responsible option IS killing.

Speaking of, dang there is blood on her hands. None of Batman's "There's one line I won't cross" philosophy; she's been in war and crossed lines. She's killed people. A lot of people. Fanon often characterizes her as the one who blows up planets, but that's not fair or accurate, since she was only involved with ONE [1] of those, but even if not, she IS still the type of person willing to make those tough calls. And leaving the planet-killing out of it, we can see the grizzly truth that most of her killing is intentional, and done in person, face-to-face. Watching interviews with real soldiers, that type of thing often has some serious effects on mental health, and I feel bad for her for that.

She's nearly silent, but she's not mute. More in a reserved, cowboy-just-passing-through sort of way. It's believable that she just doesn't have a lot to say, especially to strangers, or especially on missions. Super Metroid, Fusion, and Other M have her deliver longer dialogue, but it's usually a pretty dispassionate account of her actions, of what she's done and seen. Yeah that's probably a feature of the game format, but if you read into it, a lot of the personal interactions in her life may boil down to that: recounting stories or delivering reports.

*slaps roof of armor* shit's sturdy as hell.

Her gun can't be disarmed or set aside, but she carries it at the expense of a hand; it may be a little goofy, but if you read way WAY too far into it, it can be taken as symbolism for the violence inherent in her duty. But in that vein, there's another kinder side to the symbolism: the Chozo didn't give her two guns, they left her one hand. So killing isn't all that her duty entails.

Double genocide survivor is a frankly bizarre backstory. Like, this poor woman; what are the odds. But it's semi-necessary to the narrative, and I love it because it sets her so far apart. She looks human, she could be a human, any human she meets would think she was one, but deep down, her true people are the Chozo. And with the Chozo gone, she remains an alien wherever she goes. She's bound so tightly to her past that she will always be a stranger.

Related to previous, her armor is obviously alien technology. And not in a "ooh it's too advanced and shiny and glowy" way or whatever, but I mean it's distinctly Not Shaped Like A Human. Stand a Chozo next to a human and you can tell which one it was built to fit. As the series' art style has progressed its proportions have even evolved to match the Chozo's proportions; it's anatomical difficulties have never been resolved or lessened, it's never gotten more humanoid. Which is more than a little goofy (cue rekindling of decades-long debate of how her shoulders work or how her legs are so long) but I think it's awesome.

The built-in jetpack is not for flying, it's for running fast and sick flips.

g gre gr green lights...

The Mother complex is a controversial thing to like, since the only thing the games gave her to be motherly toward is a mindless jellyfish bioweapon (and that was in the worst-written game too, ouch) but I do like it. I like the idea of her being tender/caring/affectionate to the point of being good with kids or animals (if ever given the opportunity (which she never is.)) In another life, in some gentle elseworld, she could have excelled at a happy, perfectly normal domestic life, and it would be a happy ending to the series for her to finally find that life, though I don't expect such an end.

Most of the games represent her death animation as the suit exploding. Which I choose to interpret as a literal self-destruct, to avoid the horrors of her capture and the technology falling into wrong hands.

Ridley. I love her relationship with Ridley. It's the classic image of the knight vs. the dragon, but it never ends, and neither of them ever die. I feel like there's some symbolism I can't quite grasp about how he always comes back through the power of whatever OTHER thing she's currently dealing with, like he's never even plot-relevant, he's just there because she's there, tied to her, hounding her, he's there because her real duty isn't done.

Big strong woman let me touch your abs mommy

Actually could I take that last one back? Her modern fanon portrayal as 7 feet tall and shredded is probably better than some portrayals before (hourglass figure with heels), but I don't think it's accurate or necessary to her character either. Yes, I draw her more athletic, and yeah her job requires some physical prowess, but 90% of the time that prowess comes wholesale from the power armor, in which context the pilot's flesh isn't much more than wasted space. (Plus whenever I see abs I think of an interview with a powerlifter who was dissing bodybuilders, saying that abs aren't a sign of strength, they're just a sign you aren't eating enough.) In any case, I think the Samus portrayals I like best are those that make her just look like an ordinary lady, covered in the wrinkles and scars of her life. Prime Remastered did her right by my book.

The Chozo could have raised anybody to be their champion, a boy, a girl, one of their own, a defected pirate, why an alien like her? Why a human? Why an orphan who already had burdens enough? I am lead to believe by the canon that she selected by a Chozo prophecy, but from Whom does the prophecy spring?

And to what end is her prophecy? Is her great task in life to stop the lawlessness of the Space Pirates? To exterminate the X? Or Phaazon? (Judging by the events of Prime 3, I think the Federation could have done all such things on their own, and the Metroid Prime wearing her suit as an exoskeleton probably made the situation worse.) Or did the wellspring of the Chozo prophecy recognize the Chozo's own failings, and elect a champion intentionally not from among their own as a means of cleansing the universe of their mistakes, and handing the torch to the metaphorical next generation of races in the galaxy?

Prime 1 has a statue of a Chozo holding a tray, and a scan shows it's meant to represent their race balancing the weight of existence in their hands. Heck if I know whether that's an accurate assessment or just so much pride and hubris (the Metroid universe is admittedly a savage and fragile place in desperate need of balance and wisdom,) but it does make me wonder if Samus believes in all that.

If you held a gun to my head and made me give a headcanon about Samus's sexuality, I'd probably say cisgender and straight, since that's statistically most people, but I also recognize that she hit puberty surrounded by alien bird monks who wouldn't know what lips are without looking it up, and I don't know WHAT that does to a young lass, so I don't feel qualified to say. In any case, the canon never mentions friends, personal life, or significant other, in any way at all ever, which implies either A) she keeps privacy even from the narrative B) she doesn't have a lot of free time to spend in those contexts C) she's always on the move D) she tends toward a life of loneliness or E) all of the above.

One wonders what did her time in the military looked like. Did the Federation allow this genetically anomalous cyborg to just walk into the recruitment office? Did she have to apply for citizenship first? Did she just go into battle in her bright yellow? Did they know about her Power suit? Could she even speak human language at this point?? Did she like human food or does she prefer mixed grain and mealworms??? I headcanon: why not, yes, no, no, not much, sure.

#metroid #samus aran

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ritu-writes · 2 months

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Jocasta: a mother and wife

☆ Oedipus Rex, a play by Sophocles, performed sometime between 430 and 426 BCE, that marks the summit of classical Greek drama’s formal achievement, known for its tight construction, mounting tension, and perfect use of the dramatic devices of recognition and discovery. It examines the story of Oedipus, who, in attempting to flee from his fate, rushes headlong to meet it.

At the outset of the play, Oedipus is the beloved ruler of the city of Thebes, whose citizens have been stricken by a plague. Consulting the Delphic oracle, Oedipus is told that the plague will cease only when the murderer of Queen Jocasta’s first husband, King Laius, has been found and punished for his deed. Oedipus resolves to find Laius’s killer. His investigation turns into an obsessive reconstruction of his own hidden past when he discovers that the old man he killed when he first approached Thebes as a youth was none other than Laius. In the end, Jocasta hangs herself in shame, and the guilt-stricken Oedipus blinds himself

Jocasta is a character from Sophocles’ Tragic Play ‘Oedipus Tryannus’ first performed around 429 BC. She is wife to the king of Thebes- Laius, Mother, and wife to the later king Oedipus, and a sister to Creon.

Jocasta is considered to be a tragic character who develops and progresses over time. She is first portrayed as a docile wife to King Laius. She seems quite modern for her time (1100s) as she doesn’t pay much heed to prophecies or oracles. However, it all changes when it is prophesied that their son will kill his father and marry his mother. Keeping the prophecy in mind, the king and queen abandon their three-day-old son at a cliff and pierce his ankles together- to escape their fates by tying their son’s.

Alas, fate catches up with life and Oedipus unknowingly kills his father at the crossroads and Beds his mother, Jocasta, who bores his children born of incest. When Jocasta, along with Oedipus, comes to learn the truth about what they’ve committed, she hangs herself. She exhibits what is often interpreted as a denial of the truth of the prophecy, a change from her earlier skepticism. The latter can be viewed as motherly love and redemption and acceptance of her sin, rather than denial. It was so unbearably horrifying for her that she could not live with it and thus decided to kill herself. Oedipus however, chooses to be burdened with the truth his whole life and blinds himself, after being brought to light.

It is imperative to keep in mind that Jocasta, along with Oedipus committed what they did unknowingly, though it doesn’t change the fact Jocasta and Laius did attempt to escape their fates, which triggered the prophecy in the first place. When she learns of the truth, she puts an end to it, switching roles from a wife to a protective mother figure while doing so, which shines a light on the theme of ‘knowledge’ as well as ‘Religion’ in the play- about how knowledge can bring inevitable changes to one’s life. Jocasta’s actions after the inevitable appear to be as much a commentary on knowledge as religion and duties. She is unable to avoid acting after learning the newly founded information and in an act of doing her motherly duty, decides to end it.

In conclusion, Jocasta appears to be somewhat of a mistaken character, when it is a pure fact that no matter the sin she committed, she was not aware of it, no one could be, and none of the characters were. Does it change the nature of the action? No. But it does change the reflection of her character and how the audience and the characters themselves view it.

She is a flawed character, who attempted to do the righteous when she could, but in the end, no one can escape their fates.

#oedipus rex #greek mythology #sophocles #greek tragedy #greek heroes #oedipus #mother #jocasta

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jazzpostsrandomthings · 5 months

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Journey Retold: My First Days of Adventuring

<;< Previous Entry

So, my hardest exam had just passed (and I did pass it, gladly), and I had also finished Endwalker on 18th of December, which means that I can go back to writing about my experiences in the critically-acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV once again! I will talk about EW when I will reach it during this series of diaries, however.

Btw, now this series of entries has a name! It's 'Journey Retold'! It came to my mind quite suddenly but I really like the sound of it.

And now, without fruther ado, let' me look back at my first days of adventure in La Noscea!

My second day begun with me finally leaving Limsa Lominsa, not before taking the blue quest at Arcanist Guild as I was instructed to by my two companions. Now, I don't remember how was I actually doing that quest, but I remember really liking the whole quest-line. I found K'lyhia to be a fun character, and her growth during the story quite nice. The conclusion to the questline was also very satisfying.

Anyways, I remember starting the main story quest at Summerfold Farms, then getting side-tracked by Arcanist quest... which resulted in me opening half of the map of entire La Noscea in a day. Yes, even the areas that were too high level for my level 11 lalafell without a proper equipment. Yes, I was that stubborn and I also wanted to see more areas this place had to offer that badly. You just can't help it when you are especially fond of exploring fictional worlds.

But according to my screenshots, I eventually came back to MSQ after I made a safe return to Summerfold Farms from Costa del Sol on the same day. Here I ran around the area, helping to get people to work and to make sure the oranges got delivered in time. Then time came to investigate a grotto nearby...

I am the waves that bear. I am the winds that guide. I am the evening stars. I am the morning sky. I am born of the sea. And there shall I die.

As my character turned around, he saw a peculiar white-haired catgirl approach... what was the race's name again? Meekotee?... Mino...te? Ah, right, "miqo'te". A white-haired miqo'te woman with a branch for a weapon approached me, mentioning something about the way the citizens of Limsa Lominsa live with the wordes carved into the stone in the middle of the grotto. But before she could say more, a giant rock-like monster ran inside the cave and we had to fight it.

This was my introduction to instanced duties. I don't really remember seeing those in MMOs I've played through before, but maybe I am misremembering or something, but it definitely felt new to me. Either way, we made a quick work of the frenzied goobbue (that's the name of the rock monster from what I've gathered later) and it seemed to have dropped something... some blue crystal, to be precise. Pi picked it up, the head started to hurt, and then he seemingly got transported into a dark void.

Some weird sigil appeared underneath my character's feet, and the blue crystal got inserted into one of the six slots. "Aha, we need to collect those to progress the story", - I thought immediately, because I was already familiar and comfortable with that sort of progression in other games.

Then the dark skies clouded, and stars begun to fall from above. I didn't understand yet what that meant, and frankly I didn't give it much significance at the time, because immediately after, I heard a familiar voice...

Hear... Feel... Think... Crystal bearer...

I am Hydaelyn. All made one.

A gargantuan crystal was now right in front of Pi as he floated through the void. The crystal introduced herself as Hydaelyn, and told my character to go banish the Darkness with the power that was now bestowed to him, and soon after, he left the place to return back to the grotto.

This was the first scene that captivated me in a way. It's nothing special, but the huge shiny crystal of light talking to me with a gentle, almost motherly voice really did make me go "woah" at it all first time I saw it.

Also right then my friends asked how far was I into the story, and once I told them I talked to a giant crystal, they...

The player of the self-proclaimed Emo Catboy: That's mom, don't forget her. The player of the stern-looking Auri man: Yeah that's mom. Say hi to her for me.

"A mom, huh? Sure enough, I will keep it in mind", - was my reaction, and I continued the MSQ. Ended up finding out that one dude who couldn't delived the oranges in time had gone to a cave with his pals and got beaten up by some Serpent Reavers guys who knew him previously. I had shown up quickly enough, the dude's head was still on his shoulders, and I did find it funny these grown-ass guys just didn't laugh outloud at a little child with chubby little body, but again, lalafells are just dwarves of this universe so they have to be used to seeing them.

Some Organization XIII looking ass then does an evil chant (and you know it's evil because it's written in red), summons a Golem and scares Serpent Reavers off. Pi fights and successfully defeats it, the black hooded guy vanishes and the white-haired miqo'te from earlier arrives to help the beaten up guy with the relation to Reavers. Then Pi's head suddenly starts to hurt and... a scene change occurs? The woman is in Limsa, going around the city, but...

...the lesser moon, Dalamud, that fell from heavens the five years ago, was still in the sky.

Oh my god, we can now look into others' memories for different characters' flashbacks, dope.

Either way, once Pi wakes up, the miqo'te woman gets a call from someone. Sure, medival fantasy with walkie-talkies, I will take it. And before she goes, she introduces herself as Y'shtola. Now, it took me a while to figure out how to actually read it, originally I thought it was "Ee-shtoe-lah", but it was actually "Yash-toe-lah" all this time. It's a nice name.

After going back and forth for a next hour or so, I decided to end this playsession. I picked it up the next day. My friends wondered if I was enjoying the game so far and I replied with an "yes, but running around on foot is tiring". That's when the person controlling the white-haired lizard man decided to "Uber" me.

The fact they chose a bike and then decided to take off into the skies made me think of Harry Potter lol.

But yeah, we got around MSQ much quicker that way. They also showed me a few other mounts like a giant gorilla and a flying armchair that made me think so much about Dist from Tales of the Abyss lol. Then my other friend joined and was helping me with the enemies while chilling and chatting with two of us over VC. He too was a Free Trial player at the time.

Now, nothing much of note had happened during that time. We (Pi and Y'shtola) fought the hooded guy again and killed him. He left behind a purple crystal that I didn't really want to pick up (but my character was interested in it), but it had disintegrated before my lalafell could touch it.

After that I had my first encounter with the Admiral of Limsa Lominsa and... hoo boy, she was testing myself. I am sorry, but that woman is incredibly badass and I wouldn't mind it at all if she was my companion for the rest of my life. Anyways, she acknowledged Pi's recent successes and invited him to a banquet, where she found out Pi was like one of those legendary Warriors of Light who no one remembers but to whom the entirety of Eorzea owes their lives to, all because of the crystal from Hydaelyn. And then another headache happens to show a flashback back from the time Battle at Carteneau occured. It had a lot of characters I haven't seen yet, but I knew I will meet them eventually because they seemed too important to be already dead lol.

Once Pi woke up, he got told that Admiral has a mission for him, a mission that requires one to travel to different capitals - Gridania and Ul'dah, which were the other starting cities.

And thus we took off into the air and traveled to the lands beyond...

Next Entry >>

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #ff14 #lalafell #ffxiv wol #ffxiv journal

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

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Why Show!Alicent Does Nothing for Me and Why Book!Alicent is Morally Corrupt

EDITED (9/4/23)

[BOOK] Alicent attempts to take the throne from the protagonist, Rhaenyra, using her gender as the reason and to install her own son as the ruler—-as a rule, if I see a person attempt to block a woman from setting a precedent that would put women in general in higher positions of power or even just find it for themselves, then I am automatically against them—but I prefer Book!Alicent over HotD because Alicent shows more self determination there than in HotD

[BOOK] -- This is more of a disgust with Show!Alicent Stans–Even as a noblewoman who has been conditioned against illegitimate children by the Faith of the Seven [EDIT: this actually only solidified after Daemon Blackfyre, much later; however the belief that bastards are lower life forms existed for much longer and earlier-- Argilac Durrandon vs Orys Baratheon], Book!Alicent's prejudice against Rhaenyra's 1st 3 kids to the point where she justifies their murders as being less deserving of consideration or empathy than her own hypothetical kids disgust me. It always will, because that is an unequivocal indication of a person who believes in "blood purity", yet it is treated as a pure moment of motherly love and saintliness by Alicent stans. Where's the claimed "objectivity" given to Alicent towards Rhaenyra saying what she said about Nettles being too "brown" and "common" for Daemon, while herself developing serious paranoia, before ordering her execution?

[SHOW] Alicent has too weak of character. And I mean of will and philosophical inner strength. She is nothing without being a tool for her dad and following what she thinks the men around need from her. All of her daring has to do with protecting her kids in terribly misguided and abusive attempts to actually make herself feel better for allowing herself to be pushed around for years and seeing Rhaenyra finding ways of being happier while also doing her "duty". It's like if you get mad at a person for having had great insurance for most of their lives while you just sat around and waited for someone to give you good insurance.

[SHOW] If we truly think Alicent is in the moral, absolute right or even that she is a "little" right, we'd have to subscribe entirely to the opressive values that she herself is trying to enforce: women must have sex within marriage and never before or they will lose their value and other men will not see her as deserving; the status of people (example, bastards vs trueborns) inherently determine their value from birth to death; men of authority are always right or the only ones deserving of power, so we should not question their actions; repress your desires 100% of the time to fill the expectations and standards of the ones in authority or really any person around you instead of developing critical, independent thinking skills -> don't be your own person or even try to think for yourself, just be as everyone else is doing and submit yourself to the assumptions of others–deny your own personhood and become a model of conformity

[SHOW] There is simply nothing at all aspirational about her. And if she were to stay alone, what does she contribute to the progression of the story except to hold back actually progressive things? Say what you will about Rhaenyra (and it's probably made up, wrong, or hypocritical), but Rhaenyra is giving determination and cleverness. Alicent is giving dollface fighting to remain a doll. Her often repeated power moments or most interesting actions are her: wearing the green dress (and it going nowhere with how badly written her character is), her giving feet looksies to Larys with no pushback, her attacking Lucerys and Rhaenyra, and her protecting Aegon from Meleys and Rhaenys.

[SHOW] She is written inconsistently. In episode 6, she's all gungho to ruin Rhaenyra. In the 8th episode, she's suddenly fine with being buddies after years of thinking Rhaenyra is out or definitely will be out to get her and her kids and after she rejected Rhaenyra's proposal of epi 6 to marry their firstborns because Jacaerys is a bastard and shouldn't get Helaena to her. In episode 8, Alicent doesn't understand that Vaemond is also very willing to drag Rhaenyra. In episode 9, she is surprised by Otto and the council doing big moves against her yet screams at them to leave Rhaenyra be...while also trying to depose her after Viserys does but should know that this civil war is inevitable from the moment she planned and allowed this despising. She is supposed to dress much more modestly after episode 7, yet in episode 8 at the feats she is back in her garb before that episode and switches back and forth. She sends a page to Rhaenyra....yet is still going to try to rock her shit by deciding her at all as if this would realistically mollify anyone after years of trying to depose her at court and get her kids killed, and the fact that medieval pages are not mass produced like modern ones, so these vellum (animal skin, most of the time sheep) pages would have been kept not because of sentimental value but because it literally costs a lot to reproduce a single book if at all. Who is this person and why she is either so badly written or so delusional and why are we supposed to feel bad for her instead of repulsed and wary?

Why I Think None of the "Accomplishments" or Any of the Cool!Alicent Moments of the Show Really Matter

Episode 5 – Her Green Dress Moment

After learning Rhaenyra slept with Criston Cole and deceived her, Alicent seems to decide that Rhaenyra is her enemy and declares it through her wearing her house color of green instead of the red and black or reds she used to wear after marrying Viserys. (Rhaenyra saying that she didn't sleep with Daemon still has her lying about her virginity, which is what Alicent was aiming for and what Rhaenyra herself was trying to avoid censure for–I think this was actually great of Rhaenyra, but that's for a different post.)

By wearing the Targ colors, we're made to see Alicent as trying to assimilate or be more a part of the Targ family/house and display her allegiance to her husband and/or Rhaneyra–fulfill that value. (If you are a Rhaenicient or Rhaeniciente-leaning person, you may believe or have a notion that Alicent was also trying to get closer to Rhaenyra, get back into her good graces, or show her allegiance to her specifically and support her political claim/status.)

When she talks with Rhaenyra in the garden after Viserys blows Rhaenyra off, we see Alicent express that Rhaenyra's marriage predicament is her coveted one, since Rhaenyra has many different men to choose from for herself--that's she's allowed the choice.

Alicent wears a bare-armed, red and black structured ensemble with red fabric falling from her shoulders while Rhaenyra has a more form-fitted, rose gold, floral sort of dress withe cut sleeves at the elbows baring her forearms. Both highlight their youth and current sexuality, but differently. Rhaenyra is more direct as her dress is softly colored and superficially more "modest" than Alicent's, but it still shapes well to her body and curves her hips and breasts well enough that we can see them while still having the floral and softness to display her youth, as if Rhaenyra we're at some moment of freedom (sexually, maybe some foreshadowing?). Alicent's dress is a little more boxy and, color wise, harsh against her skin. To me, it looked more like a Halloween costume than a dress made in that fictional universe. While it leaves her arms bare, it still doesn't make use of Alicent's body like Rhaneyra does and how her green dress does. Alicent's dress shows how stifled and confined her sexuality is, how it's doesn't "form" to her but she tries to form herself to it. It contains her.

After Alicent sits with Viserys and calls Rhaenyra "stepdaughter", it's clear that she's decided to fight Rhaenyra and we're supposed to think she developing her own faction. We even get to see her be complimented and assured by her uncle/the Hightower head in the same dinner. Yet, Alicent, even in this feast episode, doesn't really have that much going for her afterward nor some sort of private confrontation or conversation with Rhaneyra like Joffrey and Criston, Daemon and Laena, etc.

And in the episodes afterwards, Alicent somehow doesn't have enough support in the Red Keep and frantically wants her father back. She sits at the table and looks upset for most of the time, and even when Rhaenyra is in danger or when Criston Cole is revealed with Joffrey, why don't we see her reaction to piece out her state of mind then? Where is the promised independent spirit, or why not draw that out in multiple encounters even just for our entertainment (I’m talking about the time jump)?

Episode 7 – Her Attack

Some say that Alicent grew so fed up with how Viserys doesn't support her or their kids in favor of keeping Rhaenyra safe from infidelity and treason accusations. That years of the same thing, of Viserys ignoring her frustrations over Rhaenyra being allowed to have bastard son after bastard son and not getting punished is not fair to her, who has followed the rules and has not had a scrap of pleasure or happiness for herself, how she's a victim of the patriarchy by being married as a child.

However, while you may be desperate to hurt others to protect your family (like how some have praised Daemon) it doesn't make you a good person yourself. It just makes you a terrified & vengeful parent. And losing complete control in the face of perceived danger to yourself or to your loved ones in any scenario doesn't make you a hero–it means you are scared. It's not an evil thing by default, but it's not heroic either.

When Otto praises Alicent for being "determined", he's operating from this notion that Alicent is acting as if Rhaenyra/the blacks (for him, Daemon) are the unequivocal enemy that needs to be destroyed. However, we are supposed to know that Alicent is not acting politically ambitious at all, or that it is secondary.

Unlike Book!Alicent, she's not even pursuing Rhaenyra's end for the sake of her son's becoming the king, just so he can become king and she become the number one woman in Westeros. Show!Otto doesn't know shit about Alicent--he's only looking to use her. He's pleased that she is acting how he wants her to act, and he's projecting his own desire to fuck Daemon up onto her, through her. Seeing what he wishes he could do without sacrificing his own face like Alicent did.

And then there is the consequence of Rhaenyra/the Velaryon boys actually being revealed: death, exile, and/or universal condemnation of women trying to be leaders, the execution/exile/universal hatred or death threats for the three boys themselves. Anyone who is trying to get this done for a person who lied about sex (so that they are not condemned for it)--esp without even trying to be ambitious or addressing an actual direct threat (Ottoman Empire law at one time actually had the winning male descendant of the past Sultan kill all his other brothers to assure his own place)--is ridiculously narrow-minded, acting on unjustified fear, and needs to be regarded as such. Just because they were taught to regard others that way since birth, doesn’t mean they are not those things.

It also treacherous if they were both a woman and a friend of that person...who would want to be friends? Even after what we are lead to think by Alicent's first green dress appearance and her trying to get Rhaneyra and her killed or banished or villainized by their entire society?

Writers, make up your mind, who is this woman, what does she want?!

Alicent is not “heroic” in attacking Rhaenyra because she attacks her ("Where is duty? Where is sacrifice?!") not to protect her kid (at that point he's already hurt) but because she is angry that Rhaenyra managed to avoid being as sexually repressed (sacrifice) as her. That Rhaenyra's "duty" appears less heavy or demanding as Alicent's (when really, if you truly analyze it, it isn't. At all).

Alicent doesn't see that this is not an individual thing but a systematic thing and that she is just making things worse for herself, her kids, and Rhaenyra. What makes Alicent less sympathetic is that she going after the wrong people and that her actions against Rhaenyra, beginning from episode 4, were wrong from the get go.

These are not hallmarks of a hero or someone to root for. She's not trying to shake things up for herself, so she can't be classified as a classic tragic hero. Nor is she like firefighter or a nurse, a person who puts themselves at risk for someone unaffiliated with them to save or maintain their lives, so she's not a modern American "hero" either. And the perceived danger of Rhaenyra has no strong basis, so she's not fighting against or resisting the real evil (Otto/Viserys/patriarchy, as the show makes it).

She's a horribly misguided and abusive mother who defaults to her one, universal job–protect the kids. And even then, her kids are not really protected from the schemes of her dad and the incompetence of Viserys (Helaena's marriage and unwillingness to connect with Alicent, Aegon's alcoholism and raping, Aemond's anger and violence). A blind, repressed, unintelligent love doesn't make you a good parent, successful parent no matter how many times you push your kids behind you.

And when Alicent attacked Rhaenyra, it was more about herself and her lack of realizing she can think out of the box and getting angry at Rhaenyra for doing so. Yes, she is obviously angry at Viserys' doing nothing. However, the moral or ethical answer is not mutilating the supposed offender--then it's just about saving face and showing a kind of strength than actually righting a wrong and that needs to be remembered. And she wasn't just angry about Viserys but about Rhaenyra's lie and her ability to have some freedoms that Alicent herself rejected long ago to conform. As already stated.

If anything we would do better to see Alicent's act as the desperation of a mom and a victim, not the determination of a person who is the advocate of the right, moral ideology.

And ironically, Alicent lost a lot of face when she went after Rhaenyra, which is why she is so differently dressed and publicly showing her Faith with the Star around her neck, why she takes down the erotic tapestries to make the Keep bare, why the Keep (supposedly, I saw no difference because nothing much was shown) looks so different from the past. (Except the defaults back to her way of dressing again at the family dinner in episode 8? The style where her shoulders are more out and some of her hair is down, some pinned up. Writers, make up your mind!)

Larys and Her Feet – Episode 9

Honestly, I agree with everything this anon asker to la-phacienne said about the matter: LINK.

A section of what they wrote:

I don’t think people realize how serious it is. Alicent's actions immediately following Viserys' death and at the Green Council in Fire and Blood are the narrative peak of her character's contributions to the Dance of Dragons. This was arguably her most powerful moment in the book, the moment she held the most political sway. And what was Alicent's most memorable scene in episode 9 ? The foot scene. The Green Council was supposed to be a dramatic, incredibly tense, and history-defining moment, but we are mostly talking about a foot fetish. I don't think she'll ever recover from this.

However, I don't think Larys has an innocuously idiosyncratic foot fetish per se.

I think that he loves the fact that Alicent feels that he has more power over her or has what she needs and only he can give this one thing--specific information--to her. That--not really her feet themselves-are what motivates and thrills him.

Still, the anon made a good point that Alicent has been reduced from her moment in Fire and Blood to this person who doesn't try to even use the power she does have as a Queen whose husband is out of commission (even if not dead, still very inactive and the greens have taken over the court by how the writers want us to think). Like how Cersei did to Peter Baelish in GoT--however strange that scene was.

Which tells us about what kind of person the writers and show runners want Alicent to be: a shrinking violet with no will to enact and dream of agency for herself.

Her Pushing Aegon behind her and Rhaenys/Meleys – Episode 9

Same point as for Episode 7 about Alicent's motherhood being used as a justification for actions. Again, any parent that actually believed they cared or truly cared for their kids would do the same. She goes after the wrong people.

It's not exceptional of her to protect Aegon even with her not liking him or thinking him for for kingship. She is compelled to protect him just on the fact that he is her son and that she had been on a mission to keep him safe from a perceived danger that is not as dire as Otto makes it seem.

Rhaenyra would definitely do the same or something similar (not the physical attack but the act of protecting her kids) and she did in refocusing towards Aemond’s accusation BUT she thought that was the only thing to do. In the book, Rhaenyra even tried to keep her sons from becoming dragonriding soldiers at Rhaenys’ suggestion--to immediately use the dragons to raze the greens during the black council--because there are green dragonriders (ahem, Aemond) who could put these boys in danger. Daemon himself makes it clearer with his comment about Old Valyria.

So really, it’s not motherhood that people like about Alicent. It’s that she’s desperate and the “perfect” victim who tries to follow the Andal/Faith patriarchal rules to receive the status & security she thinks they will provide...but finds out that she won’t. Resenting/blaming Rhaenyra for “being in her way”.

In All....

Show!Alicent doesn't see or now that Show!Rhaenyra had fought with Viserys before about her not having the ability to choose if she was even going to get married, so Alicent and some in the audience seems to forget that Rhaenyra has much less choice than they think she has. And Alicent herself is still a noblewoman. Every single noblewoman/girl is in the same predicament of having less choice than noblemen in who they get to have sex with.

It is the parents/ruler who decide who their kids marry–boy or girl–not the child themselves. But men at least can have sex with literally anyone they choose as long as they are discreet about it. Yet in practice, even then not really, since there are little real or lasting punishments for when they have illegitimate children.

If a woman has a bastard, she's made into this villain, and not just based on "cost-analyses" in politics. She's made into this she-devil who has dared to limit her sexual pleasure to what her husband, random people, and family determines for her. Who has disparaged her own chastity, disgraced her house, and invited "danger" into the same house. (Think Daena Targaryen and Aegon IV, how the maesters condescendingly wondered how she could have "hurt" her house by pursuing Aegon IV and sleeping with him after escaping her tower.) That Alicent never truly thinks deeply about how amoral her conservative values are doesn't place her in my favor.

#hotd critical #house of the dragon #fire and blood #alicent hightower #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #hotd #hotd comment #Rhaenicent #alicent's characterization #hotd characterization

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msweebyness · 1 year

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Class of Heroes AU: Science Kids (w)Bonus Headcanons)

A continuation of my Disney Hero AU, I would like to thank the lovely @artzychic27 for allowing me to use their OC’s from Mendeliev’s class, and for giving me the ideas I used for Nathaniel and Nino. I hope you like my choices!

Jean: Kuzco. Flamboyant and overdramatic to the core, this young emperor was sent to the school to learn how to focus on others and properly carry out his duties. (Still a work in progress…) They love to be the center of attention and head the school’s drama department.

Denise: Wreck-It-Ralph. A video-game baddie brought to life, beneath their tough exterior lies a caring and protective friend who’s tired of being labeled as a ‘bad guy’ due to their… destructive tendencies.

Simon: Peter Pan. A curious forever-teen with the ability to fly and a penchant for making wry and sarcastic comments, he loves to tell stories of his adventures back home. Though he’s considering leaving Neverland due to his growing feelings for Denise.

Cosette: Robaire. The lead singer of a famous and beloved pop group, 4-Town. They decided to take a break from performing in order to attend school. It has legions of fans who would jump at the chance to spend even a moment with her, but only one blonde has their eye…

Reshma: Isabela Madrigal. The eldest of a family blessed with magical gifts, Reshma often feels the pressure of needing to be the perfect daughter, though she’s learning to let loose more with help from her friends. Has the power to grow flowers.

Ismael: Genie. Alix’s childhood friend (She found him much younger and used her first and only wish to free him.), Ismael is sharp as a tack with the wit to boot. He can still use much of his power, but likes to pull pranks and use it for snark purposes.

Aurore: Blue Fairy. Caring and motherly, but also rather strict in terms of behavior, Aurore watches over her class and is always quick to act when there’s a problem.

Mireille: Simba. A young human/lion hybrid Queen-to-be who is fearful of the responsibilities and timid in the face of adversity, her newfound friendships at school help her gain the courage she will need to stand up to her evil uncle. Very worried about making her late mother proud.

Lacey: Tinker Bell. Spunky and creative with a fiery temper, this tinker fairy is always on the hunt to try new things. She doesn’t like being told what to do, and will challenge someone she feels has hurt her friends, especially Simon, her lifelong bestie.

I immediately knew that Jean was Kuzco. Who else could he be? As a bonus, here are some HC’s from my AU!

* Juleka will sometimes get extremely upset and start ‘beasting out’, tearing apart everything in sight. Luka will soothe his sister by playing music, one of the few ways he can still communicate with her since becoming a piano. The curse’s deadline looks closer every day. (I used the 2017 version for this particular part, where they’re becoming real household objects.)

*Ondine has a year to fulfill the terms of the witch’s agreement. If the one she loves declares their love to her and seals it with a kiss, she will be able to remain in the surface world. If not, she’ll turn back into a mermaid and be the witch’s slave. And she can’t tell anyone about it.

*Tomoe was blinded fighting with Mor’du(He probably needs a new name since they’re not Scottish, I’m open to ideas). (She serves as Elinor and Fergus.) It’s a big part of the reason she keeps her daughter so close, fear of her being in danger again. Naturally, she hates bears.

*Aurore was the one who brought Sabrina to life, and as such feels responsible for her, in a way. She looks after her like a big sister and tries to keep her on the right track.

*Tikki and Plagg both serve as Mushu for Marinette, with Plagg filling the role more closely and Tikki actually trying to be helpful.

*Kim is Alix’s favorite victim when it comes to her thieving habits. You would think he’d learn to check his pockets around her.

*Marinette fell for Adrien when he used his power to heal a wound she had gotten training. One of the first things she told him was that he had a beautiful voice.

*Nino frequently misplaces his wand, and it’s led to to some mayhem around the school…

*Reshma is quite protective of her youngest sister, the only one in the family not to receive a gift, often defending her from the ridicule of others.

*Jean has a burning hatred for llamas. No one knows why.

#ml au #miraculous ladybug #disney au #science kids #artzychic27 #mlb ocs #akuma class #mendeliev’s class

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merlieve · 2 years

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work in progress

ART DECO | Benedict Bridgerton x Reader (almost complete)

reader is super clumsy and benedict is always there to take care of her (he would hold her when she’s about to trip and maybe wipe off something that’s on hand he always thought he sees her only as his little sister. but when he sees her with another man, who is just as considerate with her as he is, he’s afraid that he would lose her forever.

HAPPINESS IS A BUTTERFLY | Anthony Bridgerton x Reader

Would it be possible for you to do an Anthony Bridgerton x fem!reader where it’s like that scene where he brought a candidate list for a wife and the when it’s time for him to interview the reader, he gets emotional because she did something to him that reminds him of Siena. So instead of interviewing her, he told her everything about Siena, and how sad he was when they both broke up. And the reader consoled him, and she promised to help him get Siena back. They became best friends and the reader become super close with the Bridgertons, and one day she talked with Violet telling her about Siena, hoping she would finally accept her. The reader would also go to Siena’s flat to tell her how much Anthony loves her still. Anthony finally gets Siena again, but when he saw the reader having a great time with another man (like the scene where Kate got into the boat) he becomes jealous, and that’s when he realize that he falls in love with the reader all this time.

TRAINING WHEELS II | Anthony Bridgerton x Reader

Dark!Anthony x reader where they’re at a ball and no one has danced with her all night because Anthony threaten any man who did try, so that way he could swoop in last minute and save her from further embarrassment.

GIRL OF MY DREAMS | Anthony Bridgerton X Reader 🚧

How about a request where Anthony is head over heels for the reader because of her motherly nature. First, he sees how she would play with Daphne’s son, and he just feels how great it’s like to be taken care of (like the reader would take care of him when he’s sick and help him with all the family duties) since all this time he took care of his siblings. The Bridgertons (and Simon) sees how in love Anthony is with the reader and they help with the proposal plan.

THE MAN | Eloise Bridgerton X Reader

I’d love some headcanons or a sort of fic of maybe it getting out and back to lady bridgerton that Eloise is in a secret courtship with another women. Eloise and her mom have a rather angsty relationship, her mom is so desperate for her to find love and be happily married, it’d be interesting how she would react to this. Would she accept that Eloise has finally found love, but it’s just not with a man.

BLISS | Jerry Baynard X Reader

Can you do a Jerry x Reader where Jerry is hiding from reader whenever anne brings her to the cuthberts because he has a huge crush on the reader and he doesn't think he's good enough for the reader to be her bf and reader thinking jerry hates them. So reader approached jerry quietly and leads to a confession.

PAPER RINGS | Prince Friedrich X Reader

since you asked for bridgerton requests,, what about prince friedrich x reader who traveled to london to find a man to marry(the bridgertons host her since she was a friend) and she immediately thinks of going for the prince because he would be the smarted decision for her family and she just wants to marry him but he asks so many questions that makes the reader be like wait omg he’s not only a prince but he has a brain for himself and i find him quite funny and he’s genuinely interested in me and they end up in like a garden or something and she confesses that she originally didn’t see him as anything more than his title and he has a moment of ‘..what’ and she says like ‘—BUT i found something better than just a prince i found someone i may want to give my entire self to and share thoughts with’ something like that and he like walks away from her in the garden and back to the ball and she just sits there crying about how she fucked up and then the next time there’s a ball where the queen is present he asks the reader to dance with him and he doesn’t say anything to her just ignoring her and then after the dance he takes her to the queen and profusely confesses his much he loves the woman next to him and says like ‘usually people only see my title,, but she has learned to look past and truly see me’ and like i much rather favor pearls over diamonds

I received all of your requests! But, these are the few I’m working on.

#work in progress

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saintaemond · 1 year

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Hi, since you seem to be quite the Alys/Aemond fan, I want to share with you some hints in the show that I feel I have discovered in regards to Alys and Aemond’s relationship.

Aemond may have been fond of Helaena, a dreamer. So, I’m not a shipper towards these two, though I don’t have anything against it, so hopefully nobody comes after me, but lemme just say something. I think Aemond did admire/love his sister at one point as a child and wanted to be the one betrothed to her. I think this because of that casting call leak that was shared on Reddit where it accurately described Aemond, but also mentioned that he loved his sister as a child. It’s odd, but in a house where your own mother betroths your two older siblings, I wouldn’t completely put it past little Aemond. He clearly defends Helaena against Aegon and seems to watch her with curiosity, even as she speaks prophecies. She also seems a bit connected to him, knowing he’s gonna lose an eye, and seemingly relaxing in her body language when he’s around. She even stands way nearer to him during the coronation, and he watches her carefully when Jace dances with her. Now, I think this could also just be sibling love and trust, which would still work anyway. Even if little Aemond liked little Helaena, but abandoned such feelings for the sake of duty later on, he is still linked to her regardless. A key element to all of this is Helaena being a dreamer…seeing “much and more.” Many shippers take this detail and often say that it could mean Alys will be cut and Helaena will take her place as Aemond’s love interest. I disagree. I think it’s quite the opposite. They are hinting that Aemond is drawn to dreamers, ones who are considered odd or strange. That’s Alys. If little Aemond was intrigued by Helaena and liked her, even in spite of her unusual gifts and behavior, then I imagine when he meets Alys, we will not share the same disdain and suspicion that the historians clearly held for the “evil witch” Alys Rivers. Aemond will understand her, and perhaps even be drawn in. End of hint one.

Hint two is that strangely placed brothel scene in episode 9. I’m going to be honest, that scene feels so unnecessary in the grand scheme of things based on how Aegon is eventually found. Aemond and Criston make no progress. Aemond tries looking for Aegon at one brothel and then basically gives up mentally, gets lost in the city, and finds Aegon by chance after wandering for who knows how long. So, what was the point of that brothel scene if not to develop Aemond in some way? Or hint at an issue he has? Because that’s what it did. We learned that he’s basically repulsed by sexual promiscuity in complete contrast to his brother, who started that distaste when he took Aemond to a brothel on his thirteenth birthday. It’s clear that this was a nasty, uncomfortable experience for Aemond, who thought as a child that his big brother just wanted him to learn about something important and necessary for the sake of education. It humanizes Aemond further and adds to his story, but I think there’s also a hint here about Alys. The woman he is implied to have had…a bad experience with, is clearly a much older lady. Literally a motherly-type. I don’t think it’s a coincidence, and I think they have set up a particularly vulnerability in Aemond’s character that would potentially balance out the power difference between him and Alys. He may be the one that descends on her home with the dragon, but on a more intimate level, she would possibly have the upper hand because of her age. Now, it could be creepy or it could be good. It depends on where the writers go. If they want Alys to manipulate Aemond, then they’ll utilize his childhood sexual trauma, but if they develop the relationship in a more romantic way, they’ll have Alys help him heal in his weak area. It just depends, but I don’t think that brothel scene with the older woman was there for no reason. I also think Criston being there was important because it might be Criston who is suspicious and weary of Alys later on, because of what Aemond revealed to him during that scene. The tension between them on the subject could be what makes the historians think that they were rivals for Alys’s attention. However, I think Cole will simply be concerned for his younger son figure falling for an older woman that could potentially be manipulating him. That would be a fascinating dynamic.

Finally, I think the last hint is Aemond’s casting. I personally don’t think he looks that old, but a lot of people do. They say he looks like the eldest of the three siblings that we’ve seen, and I have to wonder if that was intentional. He’s supposedly 19 as of right now, but if they cast an older actress for Alys…they may want the two to look closer in age, or rather…they don’t want an uncomfortable difference in age between two actors that may have intimate scenes together. They didn’t bother with this for Aegon or Helaena because those two are just already together and we don’t see much of their marriage. Aemond and Alys may end up being a big on-screen relationship, so the actor for Aemond had to have been over 18 at least. I mean, Milly Alcock and Matt Smith were 22 and 40 during their scenes, but Milly looks her age. She looks young, so it looks kinda wrong and weird when they started getting close, like how it looks wrong when Viserys and Alicent have an intimate scene. With Daemon and younger Rhaenyra, it never went anywhere because it still had to be a relevant relationship that fans could enjoy watching at times. Hence why with Emma and Matt? 30 and 40 years of age? They went right for the intimate scenes. If they have an actress closer to 40 for Alys, it’s going to be a bit odd, but if Ewan Mitchell is really 25, while looking older than his siblings, it won’t be as uncomfortable. It’s definitely kinda iffy, but that’s nothing new on this show. Age gaps are a thing, and Aemond/Alys are pretty tame compared to some. But hey, it’s still got some messy elements and honestly, that’s not a bad thing. The more complex it is, the more interesting it will be.

Ok, that’s all I got for now. Sorry for the essay, but lemme know what you think!

HI HELLOO

i do love them! but i know as much as you do.

I just see the potential the pairing have as these two people who are dark, broken and damaged when they meet and in a twist of events, find a mirrored soul in each other, someone that takes them as they are, scars, bad reputation and all 1. I personally don't know if it adds more to the story to include the love triangle theory with Helaena. I would appreciate (1) platonic sibling bond here, for ME personally! But if they do go with this, it still works, I agree. Because once he's on the war path and he meets Alys Rivers, and falls for her, it implies he's finally growing out of those childhood feelings of inadequacy.

When he chooses to be with Alys Rivers it means he's moving on from that Second Son syndrome of wanting what Aegon has always had, and finally chooses a partner that challenges everything he once thought he needed (titles, targ traditions, etc) to prove himself as worthy or better than.

2. Yeah, the brothel scene says a lot about how he did have a bad experience and it just breaks my heart but idk how to guess what it's meant to set up, because they could go in so many different ways.

(This scene also kind of makes the theory that Aegon's children are his seem kind of preposterous to me.) But anyway, I can't know for sure where they're going with it so we'll just have to see.

I think Criston will be wary of her no matter what (love potions theory is so lame i cant) and he'll just want to protect his son from being naive like he was once with Rhaenyra 3. I'm not sure what else to add about the ages for casting but I'm just glad they chose Ewan and whoever is going to be his love interest will have to match that intense energy, so I'm pretty excited to see who it is, holding a prayer vigil every night for that insane chemistry istg

#aemond x alys #alys rivers #alysmond #aemond targaryen

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oraclekleo · 2 years

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@the-wordis-bird + Bang Chan (Stray Kids) - The Path of the Dragon - Relationship Progress ver. Couple Reading

Disclaimer:

All readings have purely entertainment nature

I don’t know any of the celebrities personally

Don’t base life decisions purely on tarot readings

I can never guarantee any of what’s said in the reading

Before requesting, read the pinned post and appropriate linked post

Tarot readings are my hobby - I’m not obligated to accept any of the requests nor to complete them, it’s my choice, not duty

Waiting time is long, even several months

If you can’t wait, please, seek other tarot reader

Reading Info:

Rating: 18+

Reading Type: Single - Couple

Requested: Yes - No

Requester: @the-wordis-bird

Deck: Dark Mansion Tarot

Spread: The Path of the Dragon - Relationship Progress ver.

Questions:

The Offering (First Meeting)

The Sacrifice (Dating)

The Fox (Kissing)

The Punishment (Making Out)

The Purifying Fire (First Night)

The Death (Sexual Chemistry)

The Dragon (Wedding)

Celebrity Info:

Full Name: Christopher Bang

Stage Name: Bang Chan

Group: Stray Kids

DOB: 03.10.1997

Sun Sign: Libra

Chinese Sign: Fire Ox

Life Path Number: 3

Masterpost: Stray Kids

Ko-fi - Voluntary Tip for Readings

@the-wordis-bird + Bang Chan

Christopher Bang

Bang Chan (Stray Kids)

Deck: Dark Mansion Tarot

Spread: The Path of the Dragon - Relationship Progress ver.

The Offering (First Meeting) [14] - Knight of Wands

Your first meeting comes out of the blue, you might literally crush into each other. It’s likely for the two of you to meet through actual collision, maybe on the street or you both bend to pick something up and crash your heads. The important thing here is that you both will laugh it off and start talking like you knew each other for ages.

The Sacrifice (Dating) [42] - 0 The Fool

Dating Bang Chan is likely to be the happiest time of your life. You would feel refreshed, renewed, like a new born child with him again. Any weights, harms, traumas you gathered over the years will be forgotten and pushed aside by the pure and carefree joy. Bang Chan inspires you to be more open, adventurous, courageous and to have fun in life. He’s your happy pill, the sunshine of your days. He knows how to elevate the dark clouds surrounding you and make you act goofy and silly.

The Fox (Kissing) [48] - Queen of Swords

While your everyday activities are all fun and games, intimacy is something you both take very seriously. Kissing with Bang Chan might feel a bit impersonal and distant at first. None of you want to rush it and so you might be a bit reserved in the beginning. You simply want to do this right, take it slow and get to know each other on a more intimate level before you let the flames burn high.

The Punishment (Making Out) [21] - 9 of Wands

So you have explored and studied each other through kissing and built a deep rooted bond, well done. Now when you feel more comfortable, you actually become hurricanes of passion clashing. You are likely to challenge each other during make outs, trying to win over each other. Both of you want to be on top and so your make outs can look like play fights.

The Purifying Fire (First Night) [44] - XVII The Star

Bang Chan is your light in the darkness and guiding star. And it applies to your first night spent together as well. It’s likely to be one of those romantic blissful moments you experience all the time with him, only at that moment, you realise how special and important he has become for you. And your kisses become more meaningful and you both naturally decide that this is the night without saying a single word (unless he demands your spoken consent). Afterwards you feel peace in your mind and soul like you have never felt before.

The Death (Sexual Chemistry) [56] - Queen of Pentacles

You both deeply care for each other. You pamper and spoil each other and always check on each other’s health and feelings because you are both a bit motherly when it comes to your relationship. It can go as far as transmission - when Chan kicks his thumb, your own thumb will hurt as well. You feel each other’s joy and pain like if you were one creature living in two bodies.

The Dragon (Wedding) [75] - Queen of Cups

If you ever meet, it’s actually very likely your path will lead towards marriage. You feel so deeply in love and such a powerful bond that you can’t simply imagine being apart. The wedding would probably become the most romantic event of your lives, it’s very possible you would get married near a body of water. If the beach seems too cliché to you, you could consider a wedding by waterfall, mountain lake, river bank or in Venice!

Thank you for reading!

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Comment! 💬

Reblog! 🔁

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Any Feedback is Welcomed ✅

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thekimspoblog · 3 months

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Me: One of the most important scenes I still need to write for SK is the opening to Ep 6, where Kim tracks down her mom and visits her. Kim says to her mom that she forgives her for the neglect. Kim's mom says that she has nothing to apologize for; she did the best she could as a single parent living paycheck to paycheck. It's an uncomfortable conversation, and the reconciliation goes nothing like Kim had hoped it would, but the point is that if she can let go of the anger at her mother, Kim can let go of her own self-loathing.

It's not explained until 3 episodes later, but this was the moment Kim decided that if she still had time, she wanted a daughter of her own. That even if she can't give her kid a much better childhood than she herself had... her childhood wasn't ALL BAD; maybe there's enough to be worth passing on.

I'm very interested in how Kim's psychological baggage shapes her decisions, and getting more in-touch with her maternal side would be an interesting character study.

Friend: It sure would be a way to take her out of her usual context, as you said being a career focused woman. Would you go with her trying to balance her pregnancy, and eventual... Motherly duties with her career or she would need to leave her career on hold (I dont think she would do this, but you know, just to spin something) and trying not to resent the baby and/or eventually Jimmy himself for "putting" her on that situation? I may be asking something thats already on the fanfic jsjsjs now that I think about it

Me: In my original "Sheepdog" fanfic, there was more exploration of the idea that Kim doesn't really want this baby and how a surprise pregnancy triggers an existential crisis. But that prediction for Season 6 never came true, so "Sheepdog" was just a nightmare Kim had.

"Slippin Kimmy" which is my new story, picks up six years after the events of BCS season 6. So in this timeline, Kim has already been disbarred because of what she did to Howard. Her career is already ruined, so she might as well settle down at this point. Kim is still trying to help poor people, especially homeless women, but without a license to practice, Kim's boss recommends that she shift her focus to lobbying. Eventually, this leads Kim to fall in with a group of progressive evangelicals, and the Church is able to get Jimmy released on house arrest after only six years of his sentence. Impatient to make up for lost time, they get remarried and start trying for a kid.

So to answer your question... Kim's not a lawyer anymore, but she still has a career as an activist. They are able to lie low and just bask in the domestic bliss for nine months, but once Iris is born, the plan is for Kim to go back to work while Jimmy is more than happy to just be a stay-at-home-dad; he's tired and frankly a little agoraphobic at this point. Saving the world is his wife's job now; Jimmy just wants to stay out of trouble.

The joke is that between 2010 and 2016, Kim was still just trying to be a decent, quiet person volunteering in Florida. But after the election, she sort of SNAPPED. Gave up trying to be a moral person when clearly nobody else has been trying, and went back to doing the things that make her happy: chicanery and her jailbird ex. She didn't want to bring a kid like them into this world, when neither she nor Jimmy could ever function comfortably in polite society. But if the country is teetering on the brink of anarchy... actually maybe this is the perfect time to pollute the genepool.

There's definitely a sort of feralness with how I write her: she still tries to solve problems rationally, but she's learned to sometimes just act on instinct. The LAW has no interest in keeping her alive; her nerves and muscles are the only commands she can trust.

#kim wexler #jimmy x kim #bcs #slippin kimmy #fan sequel #headcanon

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wonkywillowschocolatefactory · 2 years

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Chocolate Advertisements in America

Chocolate has always held specific innuendos relating to the relationship between men and women due to it being an aphrodisiac. The use of chocolate dates back to as early as Europe’s conquest of Mexico and since then, chocolate had an involvement in the relationship between men and women. Men would give chocolates to court women but eventually, culture changed and women were able to buy chocolates themselves or chocolate had different uses besides being used for courtship. As culture and society in America changed, so did chocolate advertisements in order to make sales and through the changes of adverts and the consumption of chocolate, historians are able to learn more about the culture of America throughout the 1900s.

Nowadays, women had the power to buy their own chocolate and didn’t have to depend on others to get it for them. This was possible due to women obtaining more equal economic and social opportunities and since women were now buyers of chocolates, advertisements had to be changed in order to appeal to them. Advertisements for chocolate were specifically made with white women on them as the group was the main cultural representation that companies believed would make sales. Since it was believed that women were the main consumers of chocolate, advertisers thought that having a woman on the advertisement would relate more towards female buyers. Advertisements would range from women buying chocolates for their male counterparts in the 1920s or to women buying chocolate to satisfy PMS cravings as these different ads portrayed the roles of women.

Although advertisements portrayed the different roles women had in the world, it also showed how much gender imbalance there was and how women sought for equality. At the start of the twentieth century, the ideal woman was confident, educated, middle class, and white. Chocolate advertisements sought to replicate this standard by having a woman with these traits on their boxes and this only pressured women of the new age to try and fit these standards. To combat this pressure, some women in the 1920s, also known to be the Progressive era, sought to create social reforms that let women be involved in the workforce and politics. While this change was occurring, advertisements were changed to mirror the current group of women and now, ads had working class women in them. No longer did advertisements also show women longing, but now she was fulfilled.

When the Great Depression took place, America was at its all time low morally and economic turmoil affected the country. Despite this occurrence, chocolate advertisements were still going at it and instead of being an educated middle class woman or a working class woman, advertisements now had women as mothers who were expected to still perform their motherly duties. When World War II was happening, chocolate was portrayed as “fighting food” and chocolate companies like Hershey and Nestle held contracts with the government. In the 1960s, feminism was at an all time high and instead of men buying chocolates from women, women began buying them themselves as well as attacking the sexist innuendos and remarks advertisements used. As a result of these changes, chocolate no longer was shared to initiate courtship between men and women in a romantic way, but could be shared alongside anyone. Chocolate became eroticized subsequently due to an article mentioning it as an aphrodisiac. Ads then would portray naked women or women with men sexually in order to fit this image. It wasn’t until the mid 1990s when women had power within society for themselves and ads began to be feminized to appeal to the notion that women could eat chocolate if they wanted to and there was nothing wrong with that.

Chocolate advertisements were necessary in order to sell chocolate in America as the culture and society was changing, these advertisements morphed in order to mirror it. The sale of chocolate, at first, mainly occurred because men wanted to give women chocolate in order to court them. Advertisements portrayed couples, or the ideal new women in adverts, and this helped create an image of what Americans should be like. As history unraveled and events like the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, and World War II occurred, advertisements changed the subjects of their ads to create whatever agenda they wanted. It wasn’t until post 1960s that chocolate no longer related to courting and it became sexualized or feminized. Through these adverts and the history of chocolate consumption, we are able to see how culture shifted in America from the early 1900s to modern days.

Bibliography:

Nutter, Kathleen Banks. “From Romance to PMS Images of Women and Chocolate in Twentieth-Century America.” In Edible Ideologies. Suny, 2008.

Picture Source:

https://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2020/05/vintage-and-retro-whitmans-chocolates.html

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dcviated · 2 years

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@psychcdelica sent:

"It's been a while since I've last seen you Suzy, I have heard you're studying hard in college? Congratulations on getting in, are you enjoying your studies?"

Her room is about as disorderly as she remembers leaving it. Yes, there was the option to remain and continue using it while she attended university. But that independent drive was at awkward odds with the notion. It was nothing against her mother of course. She’d spent nearly a decade living with them before she was away. It’s weird to think about, which life held the most nostalgia. Where did the memories dwell? Where would they go? Was life supposed to be transient like this?

Brows are furrowed as they filter the question like sand through a never ending sieve. Fortunate or not, there’s a knock at the door and Suzy’s mom is all too eager to let her know that it was Sae coming to visit, and to make sure to say hello.

“...I might have lost track of time, I suppose it has been a while since I saw you last. You look well.” And how much had happened in that time? She and her husband had been wed just as she left for university. And now they had a child. It would explain some of the barely concealed fatigue. By Suzy’s guess this was a rare time away from those motherly duties. “My studies are progressing. But I imagine business management is a far less exciting path than law school. Oh. Congratulations. On the baby.”

#psychcdelica #psychcdelica :: sae #muse :: suzy #inbox :: answered ic #verse :: aitsf #I really really really need to make some kind of timeline :^)....#for my own overthinking sanity #to match up suzy mizuki and seina for ages

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zuko-always-lies · 3 years

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ATLA AU Idea which is Basically “Azula Raises Katara for Several Years”

I’ve had this idea kicking around my head for months, and, since I have no intention of writing it, I figure I might as well post it. To be clear, the premise of this fanfic is “Azula, Katara, and Sokka get traumatized in ways they weren’t in canon, but the events that traumatize them potentially help lead to a better outcome in the long-term,” so be prepared for rough sailing.

This idea is very much inspired by all the “Katara gets kidnapped young and raised within the Fire Nation royal family” fanfics, which I think can be excellent if done with care. However, in a situation where Katara and Azula develop a relationship when they are young, the natural tendency is to make Katara the “motherly” or parental one, and I wanted to turn that on its head. I also wanted to explore some of the possible implications of Azula taking on adult sized responsibilities as a child and of the perverse ways that power differentials can influence things. I also wanted to explore some of the ways that Azula’s commitment to duty and responsibility can be a positive thing. Another ~2000 or so words under the cut.

The premise is that, shortly after Zuko gets banished, Katara gets captured by the Southern Raiders as the last Southern Water Tribe waterbender and brought back to Caldera and presented as a trophy to Ozai. Ozai’s first reaction is to have her executed, but fortunately Azula is also present in the throne room. For reasons which Azula doesn’t entirely understand herself but which definitely have something to do with her guilt over what happened to Zuko, Azula decides to intervene, despite the risks involved. However, not being Zuko, she manages to do this without provoking Ozai, through convincing him that Katara is more valuable alive as a trophy, a symbol, and a plaything than she is dead. Ozai doesn’t really care that much, so he pawns Katara off to Azula and basically forgets about her, accidentally using language that implies to Azula that Katara and taking care of Katara is now Azula’s responsibility. Azula is at an age where she’s started to take her responsibilities and duties with deadly seriousness.

Katara doesn’t know what to make of this all. She’s been severely traumatized by being kidnapped and torn from her family and culture and by having her life threatened by Ozai. She’s aware that Azula saved her life, but the language Azula used to in order to do so sounds warped and screwed up to Katara, who is unaware that Azula had to say what she said in order to manipulate Ozai. Katara noticed that Azula seemed a little nervous when she talked to Ozai, but Katara doesn’t initially know how risky and dangerous what Azula did was.

Again, Azula takes her responsibilities with deadly seriousness. So, when it becomes her responsibility to take care of Katara, Azula is determined to do the best possible job, even though she’s 11 and Katara is also 11. If there were any responsible adults present, they would intervene and talk to Azula about how awful an idea this is, but there aren’t any left. In any case, Katara’s waterbending abilities make it so she has to be kept under some kind of supervision, Azula is perceptive enough to worry that Katara might be mistreated if she got fostered out, and in any case Azula is convinced she can do a better job than any foster family.

Azula is a badly abused 11 year old who grew up indoctrinated in an absolutely toxic ideology. She’s never really seen good parenting in her life. The idea of her trying to parent should be terrifying. Yet she’s aware that Ursa didn’t do the best job with her, and since Katara isn’t a “monster” Azula sees no reason to replicate Ursa’s behavior. Azula believes the way that Ozai treats her is absolutely justified, even though she has some knowledge of its negative effects on her, but since Katara isn’t a princess who has immense duties to her nation and family, Azula sees no reason to treat her that way. In fact, Azula is aware of ignorance about parenting, and tries to read as much about parenting as she can. She also reads as much about the water tribes as she can in order to try to understand Katara better.

In terms of being a “parent,” Azula is overall a little standoffish, absent, and demanding. She doesn’t need to directly look after Katara’s physical care(she has servants for that), but she has to look after Katara’s emotional needs, her education, and her overall care. As a temporary measure, she arranges that Katara sleep on a cot in Azula’s room because she’s not sure where to put her, and this arrangement becomes permanent. This means Azula and Katara usually eat together, since Azula has taken most of her meals in her room, but Azula is very busy with her duties, training, and education, so they don’t spend much time together in a typical day. Azula has Katara officially declared a servant(but one who only reports to Azula) in order to regularize her status and allow Katara to draw a salary(most of which Azula holds in escrow for when Katara comes of age), but Azula only rarely asks Katara to do work; Katara had far more chores back in the Southern Water Tribe. On the other hand, Azula demands that Katara work hard in her education and on practicing her waterbending. Katara is too old to be sent to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, but Azula obtains tutors for her, in addition to getting her whatever waterbending scrolls she can and trying to obtain the best possible bending coaches for Katara’s waterbending, sometimes even stepping in herself to try to coach Katara.

Azula is aware that Katara wants to return home, but she doesn’t think that Ozai would ever allow that, and, in any case, Azula is an imperialist who thinks Katara is better off being “civilized” in the Fire Nation than she would be back in her ignorant and “savage” home. A large portion of Katara’s education is intended to “civilize” her. Azula doesn’t have firm ideas of where adult Katara will fit into Fire Nation society but plays with the idea of marrying her into the nobility or of making her governor of the conquered Water Tribes. So overall, Azula does a shockingly good job as “parent” given she’s an abused 11 year child acting within the toxic norms of the Fire Nation, but that still means she does a bad job, and her relationship with Katara remains pretty toxic.

Ozai and the rest of the court have some awareness of what’s going on, but they honestly don’t care as long Azula continues to be an exemplary princess, fulfills her duties, and continues to exceed expectations. Some members of the court even find Azula’s personal commitment to “civilizing” a savage to be inspiring. However, the burden of taking care of Katara means that Azula is under even more pressure than she is in canon, with the good news being that Azula has something more of a support network than in canon. Katara provides some measure of support, and in this AU Azula never has the energy to really push Ukano’s political career forward, and so Mai never has to leave, so Ty Lee also stays put.

Katara, again, is severely traumatized by her experiences, and to a degree feels helpless. She knows that she can’t escape and go back home. She’s resentful of Azula and particularly of the efforts to cut Katara off from her culture, but at the same time Katara ends internalizing some Fire Nation culture. Yet after a while Katara gets a sense of how toxic the environment is at the Royal Court, and she soon(after overhearing a conversation between Mai and Ty Lee which was supposed to be confidential) learns what happened to Zuko and realizes how much Azula risked in order to protect Katara, and Katara can’t help but feel intense gratitude to Azula for it. Azula also gradually becomes more and more respectful of Water Tribe culture, and Katara deeply appreciates the emphasis Azula places on Katara mastering waterbending. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are also the only people in the Fire Nation who are ever consistently kind to Katara, and Katara ends up deeply bonding with each one of them, although the resulting relationships are not the healthiest. Katara eventually starts to develop a sense of how each one of them has been deeply victimized by Fire Nation culture. Azula goes to great lengths to hide her own struggles and pain from Katara, but Katara spends a lot of time with her and sometimes notices. Several years in, Katara notices some positive changes in Azula and begins to play with the idea that she can positively influence Azula so that Azula will be become a kinder and anti-imperialist Firelord.

Azula thinks Katara’s waterbending is the coolest thing ever(well, aside from firebending at least), a sentiment shared to a lesser degree by Mai and Ty Lee. Azula also thinks that learning to fight is vital, so she brings Katara along for her spars with Mai and Ty Lee. Katara makes rapid progress, particularly due to her access to many waterbending scrolls. As a result of this, and of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee not separating, all four girls end up being significantly better combatants than they were in canon.

Mai and Ty Lee have complex reactions to Katara, but they eventually come to like and even love her. There is an element of resentment present because Katara takes up so much of the ever busy Azula’s time, but Azula forces her friends to spend time with Katara, and they end up bonding with her. Katara’s empathy and compassion works in her favor here, especially since she rapidly develops into one of the few people who sees and appreciates them for who they are. Mai and Ty Lee also find Katara’s waterbending to be an interesting and intriguing method of combat, soon come to respect Katara’s budding combat skills, and, as people deeply unhappy with their own places in society, they find Katara’s stories of life at the south pole to be interesting. Mai has issues with Katara being a little too “motherly,” but on the other hand appreciates that Katara pays attention to Mai’s actual desires and needs. Ty Lee sometimes finds Katara to be a little too similar to her for comfort, but also at the same time appreciates Katara’s caring side and the way she’s not reluctant to give her positive attention. Frequently Azula is too busy to join her friends, so Katara, Ty Lee, and Mai end up hanging out together. Freaks and outsiders stick together.

Azula, through her research into the Water Tribes, personal experience with Katara, and interest in Katara’s waterbending, begins to subtly yet strongly move in anti-imperialist directions and doubt Fire Nation ideology, but her transformation has scarcely begun by the time Book 1 begins. She does benefit from better relationships with her friends, though, and Katara gives her some emotional support. Meanwhile, to a lesser degree Mai and Ty Lee have had their own doubts develop about imperial ideology.

Azula tends to see her relationship with Katara mainly in terms of responsibility and duty, but she ultimately comes to fiercely love Katara.

Zuko and Iroh do their things, just like in canon. They receive vague reports about Katara’s presence in court, but they don’t understand the significance of them.

Sokka gets badly traumatized by losing his sister and believes her to be killed by the Fire Nation. Hakoda, Bato, and the water tribe warriors also still leave to fight the Fire Nation. Sokka is absolutely dedicated to seeking vengeance on the Fire Nation, and when he accidently defrosts Aang, he sees an opportunity.

Book 1 largely plays out the same, with minor changes. I think an interesting one is that Suki ends up joining a badly understrength Team Avatar and temporally leaving her warriors behind in order to aid Avatar Kyoshi’s reincarnation with the fulfillment of his destiny.

Book 2 opens with Azula being sent to capture Zuko and Iroh. Mai and Ty Lee tag along, in part with the hope of making sure Zuko is captured without being harmed, and Azula decides to bring Katara too rather than leave her alone in Caldera. However, the operation goes south, and Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Katara soon find themselves hunting the Avatar. Katara’s loyalties are about to be tested like never before…Meanwhile, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee all have seeds of anti-imperialism growing within them, but what will it take for these seeds to blossom and give fruit? Meanwhile, Azula grapples with not only her canon trauma but also the trauma she experienced through her parentification.

#Azula #Katara #Zuko #Iroh #Mai #Ty Lee #Ozai #Dangerous Ladies #Dangerous Ladies + Katara #ATLA au

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floral-force · 3 years

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Knight in Beskar Armor: Chapter 1

Audience with a Hunter

words: 2.9k

series master list | read on ao3

“Wake up, Princess! You have a long day ahead of you.”

The familiar voice of your maid drifted into your ears, waking you from your slumber. You groan and open your eyes, then hiss and recoil when the bright Coruscant sunlight hits your tired eyes.

“Maker, Nelly! Did you have to open the curtains all the way?” You growl, your voice hoarse. You tug your bedsheets over your head and groan again, even though you know Nelly won’t give in to your fit.

There’s a soft thump and you feel weight tug down on your mattress by your feet. A sigh follows, and you can picture how Nelly must look—forehead wrinkled, pinching the bridge of her nose, thin lips pursed—as she tried to find a solution to your stubbornness. Silence envelopes both of you; all you can hear is a lone morning bird chirping faintly outside as you wait for her to respond. You slowly peek out from the sheets and see Nelly perched on the end of your bed, the morning light highlighting the lines on her face and making her frustration into a divine portrait like that of a saint.

And if anyone was a saint, it was Nelly. She had been your nursemaid initially and then remained your maid after you refused any other nanny or maid presented to you. Nelly was there when you were brought into the world, and she was there for your first words and steps. Nelly kissed your childhood wounds and dressed them with gentle hands, whether it was bandaging a scrape on your knee or holding you after you overheard your parents arguing. Nelly guided you through your anxieties about womanhood and all that it brought with it, physically and mentally. She was the one who helped you accept your future role as Queen of Naboo.

You slowly sat up and reached out to touch her hand where it was resting on her lap. She heard your movement and looked at you, and you could have sworn you saw a weariness in her eyes that you hadn’t seen before. She took your hand and squeezed it, smiling weakly.

“Oh, Nelly, forgive me. I—”

“Hush, Princess. I know you have been anxious about this day for a long while now,” She squeezed your hand and leaned in closer to you. “I’m sure it didn’t help that I let the sun blind you.”

You chuckled. “Not really. But I’m more awake now.”

Nelly rose, outstretching her other hand to you. You took it and she pulled you out of bed, just as she had always done since you were a toddler. You were a bit taller than the short maid, but not enough that she had to strain to look into your eyes; when Nelly kissed your forehead, you had to slightly tilt your head so her lips could meet your skin. The routine gesture was something you had never received from your own mother, and the more you reflect on it, the more you realize that Nelly provided the comforts your own mother could never give you.

“Let’s get you ready—you have a long day.”

You nodded and followed Nelly into your boudoir, then sat in front of your vanity and started fixing your hair as Nelly prepared water for you to rinse your face with. As your morning routine progressed, you felt yourself awaken more and more. While Nelly was tightening your corset and fixing your gown, you stared at yourself in the floor length mirror. You were then consumed by your own thoughts and anxieties, both about yourself and the day. You’d spent your entire life being prepared for your future, and now that it was approaching, you were terrified. All of Naboo would have its eyes on you, as would the other planets in the system. The weight of the kingdom would soon fall on your delicate shoulders.

The touch of cold metal around your neck snapped you out of your anxious trance, and you watched as Nelly placed a simple silver necklace around your throat, centering the modest teardrop diamond to fall right between your collarbones. It complimented your simple sapphire blue gown, the silver in the necklace matching the thin silver belt that accented your waist. The lace on the square neckline was the only detail you disliked about this gown; it made your chest itchy, and you had no way to relieve that itch until the end of the day. Flowing out under the belt in a centered upside-down V was a simple floral pattern embroidered in white. The hem of your gown had the same pattern, and you adored how delicate it looked.

Nelly carefully put a simple bandeau tiara on your head, making sure not to disturb the hair you had pinned back and away from your face in a simple low bun, a few pieces framing your face. In the center of the tiara was a gorgeous oval sapphire that perfectly matched the hue of your gown. You stepped into a pair of pointed slippers that matched your gown, finishing your daytime outfit.

You thanked Nelly, and the two of you left the boudoir and your chamber to walk to the garden for your breakfast. Whenever it was sunny, your palace staff knew to set your breakfast outside; you loved the way the garden looked in the morning, and it was your favorite place to be on the palace grounds. After a silent walk through the palace’s winding hallways, Nelly opened a door and you stepped outside and into the fresh Naboo air, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath through your nose, immediately feeling relaxed when you exhaled and opened your eyes. Nelly rubbed your back and guided you to where a mug of hot tea and warm food was waiting for you, your chair set to face the expanse of bright flowers and the lush foliage. You gave Nelly a kiss on the cheek, and she left you to enjoy your morning by yourself.

The morning was the only time you felt at peace. The nighttime was good; you were by yourself and could read by candlelight, stargaze on your balcony, relieve stress through pleasuring yourself, or you could put yourself to sleep with fantasies about a different life. The morning, however, never began with stress. The night was when you had to cope with the day’s stress, but the morning was when you enjoyed your last moments of peace before being subjected to whatever your day brought with it. There was beauty in these intimate and peaceful moments that were reserved purely for you, and they let you connect with yourself and clear your mind.

You listened to birds sing their morning ballad as you ate, the sun warming your skin. After you finished your meal, you sipped your tea and admired the flowers. You heard the door click open, and you recognized Nelly’s soft footsteps. She asked if you were finished, and when you nodded, she walked over to you and you stood, linked arms with her, and left your paradise for the confines of the palace.

“Nelly?”

“Yes, Princess?”

You looked down at the floor, watching it pass your feet as you gathered the courage to speak. “I-I’m nervous.”

You felt a tug when Nelly stopped walking, and you stopped as well, eyes still on the floor. Her free left hand cupped your cheek, and you lifted your eyes to look into her green ones. She was frowning, sad and concerned. It wasn’t pity—you knew Nelly didn’t pity you. It was the face of a mother worried for her child. Nelly had always told you she still saw you as the little girl she tended to, and you realized she must be a bit scared for your next chapter in life just like you. She breathed out your name, a soft motherly sigh, her thumb stroking your cheek.

“You are more than capable for this, for your new duties, for your life. All that is soon to come, you will handle with grace.” She smiled gently at you. “I know it.”

You smiled back at her, placing your hand over hers. “Thank you, Nelly.”

She simply smiled, dropped her hand, and you both started to make your way to the throne room, where your challenges would begin.

Upon reaching the throne room doors that were flanked by two knights on either side, Nelly unlinked your arms to turn and face you, and squeezed your hands. She rubbed your arms, centered your necklace and tiara, remarked your beauty, and then left you to finish her morning duties. You took a deep breath and nodded at the silent knights, letting them open the doors to where you’d be spending a majority of your day.

You saw your father and mother sitting at the very end of the elegant room, seated on ornate thrones atop a high marble platform that rose from the floor. Your feet gently tapped the ornate rug that stretched all the way from the doors to the foot of the platform’s marble steps, casting a shadow on it as sun poured through the arched windows on the east side of the room. Portraits of former Naboo monarchs lined the opposite wall, and as you approached your parents, your heart started beating faster. The royal blue banner of the Naboo crest behind your parents seemed more ominous than it had ever appeared to you before, and you tried your best to ignore it and focus instead on maintaining your posture and keeping your head lifted. Your parents could not see you stumble or slip up, especially today.

Finally, you reached them, and you gave them a deep curtsy, awaiting their words when you rose. Your mother seemed to be judging every aspect of your appearance, even if her gaze didn’t show it. You could see the wheels turning in her head, and you felt your mind begin to race with critiques about your body, the way your dress looked on you, your face, your hair…everything. You were brought back from your internal critiques when your father’s voice echoed through the hall.

“Daughter,” he gestured to the empty throne at his right side. “Come. Sit.”

You obeyed, feeling like a village dog after your father’s commands. Every day, you hope he’ll ask about your morning, or how you’re feeling, or even just smile at you. You read once that insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Maybe you were a fool for hoping your father would finally show you a tiny bit of affection, but the small girl within you constantly hoped for it.

He didn’t have to tell you what would be filling your morning; you’d sat through many audiences before. Commoners from all across Naboo entering the throne room, airing grievances, asking for help with their villages’ needs, some even sinking to their knees and begging for help with a dire situation. Over time, you’ve learned to suppress visible emotional responses, focusing instead on your father’s responses. Someday soon, it would be you making these decisions, speaking with your planet’s citizens, and you had to learn to put your emotional nature aside in favor of practicality and logic.

The morning turned into afternoon, and you felt yourself getting restless. Luckily, a recess was called, and you exited the throne room alone, walking to the gardens again. It was refreshing to step outside and breathe in the scent of flowers after spending hours inside a stuffy throne room. You walked along the path, meandering deeper into the gardens, brushing your hand against the flowers, grounding yourself with the touch of petals and leaves. Finally, you reached the pavilion, where you could get a clear view of Naboo’s gorgeous landscape beyond the gardens. You smiled, looking up from the flower bushes, and your breath hitched when you caught a glint of armor across the pavilion.

There weren’t normally knights here; why was he here? However, he couldn’t be a knight, he wasn’t wearing the same armor that Naboo’s Royal Guard donned. You took a slow step back, suddenly aware of every breeze and every pebble under your slippers. He seemed to be staring directly at you from across the pavilion, and even though his face was hidden by his helmet, you could feel his gaze piercing you. It unnerved you, and you felt your blood freeze. Your backward steps picked up in speed until you turned around entirely, nearly jogging to get away from the unknown knight.

When you were approaching the marble patio, you noticed a glass of water and a plate of fruit, cheese, and biscuits were left out for you. Scared that the knight was following you, you scarfed it all down, and then hurried inside back to the throne room. You had never wanted to be stuck in a stuffy room with your parents before now, but it was only because some strange knight frightened you in your safest place in the palace.

The afternoon audience carried on in the same fashion as it did in the morning. This time, however, your father allowed you to respond to some commoners, adding on when he saw fit or deemed your response inadequate. Although he never addressed you or gave you explicit instructions or tips, you sensed that he was guiding you in the only way he knew how. You watched as candelabras and sconces slowly began to glow automatically, a product of your planet’s advanced technology. Finally, the herald called forth the last case, and you felt your heart stop.

It was him. He approached the platform, and as he came closer into view, you noticed his broad shoulders and the blaster holstered on his thigh, the ripped cape trailing behind him, and the signet on the right shoulder of his armor. You weren’t close enough to make it out precisely, but you were confident you didn’t want to ever be that close to him. He knelt when he reached the base of the platform, dropping his head.

“Rise, Mandalorian.”

Mandalorian. You remember reading about Mandalore during your lessons; you thought all remaining Mandalorians were either dead or hiding in the Outer Rim. You felt silly for not realizing the stranger was a Mandalorian—you should have remembered the distinct helmet style from your readings. In fairness, you were frightened and not paying attention to detail, just on putting distance between you and the ominous stranger.

Your father continued after the Mandalorian rose to his feet, his gaze now directed at your father. “I trust you bring news on your latest quarry?”

“Yes,” the Mandalorian said, his voice modulated through the helmet. “The quarry is outside of this room.”

Your father nodded. “Very well. Sir Morn, give the Mandalorian his pay.”

The Calamari treasurer appeared seemingly out of nowhere—he must have entered the room at some point, and you didn’t notice it because your entire body was frozen on the Mandalorian—and presented the Mandalorian with a bag of credits. He pulled them out, examining them in his gloved hands. Maker, your father paid the Mandalorian handsomely; at least 500 credits were in that bag. Satisfied, the Mandalorian cinched the bag closed, and Sir Morn walked away.

“Mandalorian, I have a proposition for you.”

“If it’s another quarry, you know what my answer will be,” he stated, tucking the bag away in a satchel at his hip.

“Join my Guard.”

Your eyes widened and your head snapped to your father, who had a straight face, his chin lifted. He was exuding confidence, but it terrified you. He was crazy to believe a Mandalorian would join the Royal Guard.

Without hesitation, the Mandalorian replied, “I work for no one.”

“I already reward you for hunting the threats to Naboo.” The king shrugged, resting his elbow on the throne’s armrest. “Why not make it official?”

The Mandalorian’s helmet turned slightly to the right. Was he intrigued? You couldn’t tell. Your heart was beating out of your chest as you waited for his modulated response.

“I refuse to ‘officially’ work for anyone. This is The Way.” The Mandalorian’s words sent a chill across your skin, and you felt the tension in the throne room increase.

Your father sat back in his throne, nodding. “Very well. In that case, I suppose we shall continue to conduct business as we have been.”

The Mandalorian nodded, and turned to walk away, but your father’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“But Mandalorian, seeing as this quarry was particularly difficult—I’ve fought plenty of those wretched Barabels in my time—I welcome you to rest in my palace tonight.” He paused, then added, “I can also see to it that my bay crew fix your ship.”

The Mandalorian paused, considering the deal. “No droids.”

Your father smiled. “Of course.” He rose, and you and your mother followed suit, trailing behind him as he descended the steps to meet the Mandalorian. “I’ll have one of my stewards show you to your chamber for the night.”

As you exited the throne room with your parents and the Mandalorian, your mind was racing, still terrified, but now you were…intrigued. Your curiosity was getting the better of you, turning your fear into stupid interest in the mysterious Mandalorian.

When the steward led the Mandalorian down the hall, you could have sworn he was staring directly at you, eyeing you up like one of his bounties.

#mandalorian x you #mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x y/n #mandalorian fanfic #mando x you #mando x reader #mando x y/n #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin x y/n #din djarin fic #mando fanfiction #slow burn mando

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onlyfreds · 3 years

Text

Fragile as Porcelain | Family of Four

Title: Fragile as Porcelain

Summary: Even when pregnant, Y/N can be a bit rebellious sometimes.

Warning/s: Mentions of slipping, Y/N being stubborn

Series Masterlist

I leaned back on the couch, absorbed in the world of the book I was reading.

I was jolted back into reality when I heard a sound similar to glass breaking.

I got up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen to see Fred already repairing the glass with his wand.

“Woah, woah, woah.” He said when he saw me, rushing over to my side immediately, “Is there something wrong? Do you need anything?”

I shook my head, “Nope. I just heard the glass, figured I could’ve cleaned it up.”

He led to me the couch and made me sit down, “You should be resting princess. If you need anything, just go ahead and call me. I can manage.” He added the last part with a small wink.

I playfully rolled my eyes as he handed me the book I was reading earlier, “I’m not porcelain Freddie. I won’t break that easily.”

Ever since the start, Fred had been overprotective and clingy and it just got progressively “worse” as the months passed by.

I had already finished the book and like Fred, I also had a rebellious side. So, I looked around to see if he was anywhere in sight or earshot. Then I stood up and headed to the bookshelf.

Once I got a new book, I sneakily walked back to the couch. Only to slip on a small puddle of water, the book flying out of my grasp as I was able to hold on to the kitchen counter for balance.

“For Merlin’s sake Y/N, I told you to sit down rest.” Fred suddenly said, causing me to jump slightly.

“I’m fine Freddie, honestly.” I said, as Fred handed me the book.

“You’re not bloody fine, I told you to sit down and rest. Are you hurt? Did something fall on top of you? Did you slip?” He said, scooping me up bridal style as if I weighed nothing and plopping me down on the couch.

“I’m okay Fred, I’m not hurt. Nothing fell on top of me and I was about to slip, but I was able to hold on and maintain my balance. You don’t have to panic love. Besides, I am not as fragile as porcelain. I’m not going to break.” I tried to reason.

But Fred wasn’t buying any of it, “Yes, you’re not made of porcelain. But you’re currently seven months pregnant with our twins and that’s the same thing.”

“Now what’s all this about.” The familiar and motherly tone of Molly was heard.

Fred smiled, “Nothing much mum. Y/N just won’t listen and get some rest.”

I playfully rolled my eyes at him, “Molly, I’m completely fine. Your son is just overreacting.”

“Overreacting?” He asked, “You nearly slipped on the puddle of water a few minutes ago. And may I remind you, you’re pregnant with our twins. So, as your husband, it is my duty to protect and keep you and our children safe at all costs.”

I gave Molly a pleading look, “I’m telling you; he’s overreacting.”

Molly laughed at us, shaking her head slightly, “I don’t know what to do with the two of you.”

“Just tell her to stop being stubborn and let me take care of her.” Fred said with a small smile.

He ducked as I threw a pillow at him, “I’m not being stubborn. I’m just trying to say that I don’t need you doing everything.”

He chuckled, leaning forward and kissing my forehead, “I know. But I don’t want you, or the kids, getting hurt. The three of you are my top priority and always will be.”

“That’s what I find cute about the two of you.” Molly said, looking at us with a soft smile, “Your fights are playful, they’re never anything serious.”

“Was is it always in his nature?” I asked, “Being so protective and caring.”

Fred scoffed, “Oh come on darling, don’t pretend like you haven’t known me for the last decade.”

Molly thought about it for a moment, “Well, at young age he didn’t showcase it much. Sure, he would care and be protective over his younger siblings, especially Ginny, every now and then. But we only really saw that side of him, when you came along. Oh, I already lost count of how many times George told me he caught you two cuddling in the common room, fast asleep in each other’s arms.” She said, smiling fondly at the memory as Fred and I blushed.

“I have a surprise to show you after the dinner.” Fred said out of the blue, causing me to look up from our meal.

“What is it?” I asked.

Fred laughed, “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

I gave him a skeptical look, “This better not be a prank.”

He leaned forward and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, “This is even better than that.”

“It better be.”

After dinner, he placed a blindfold over my eyes as he led me up the staircase of our flat.

“Where exactly are we going Freddie?” I asked as I walked around blindly, relying only on Fred to get to wherever we were going.

“Just trust me doll.” He said, the smile evident in his voice.

We then stopped in a room.

“You ready?” He whispered into my ear, placing a small kiss on my neck.

I nodded, “Yeah.”

He slowly removed the blindfold as my eyes adjusted to the light.

Right in front of me was a room with two cribs in it, the walls were painted a light shade of scarlet.

There was a chest of drawers on the left side of the room, a small framed picture of us placed on top of it.

It was a nursery for our twins.

“Do you like it?” He asked quietly, anticipating something out of my speechless reaction.

I blinked, trying to keep the tears at bay, “I love it.” I said, tackling Fred into a hug as he pulled me closer to his body.

“So, this is what you’ve been up to.” I said looking up at my wonderful husband, “I thought that George has been making you work overtime at the shop.”

He shook his head, running his fingers through my hair, “Nah. I’ve been working on this in my spare time. I did had a little help from George though.”

I stared at him lovingly, “Thank you Freddie, it’s beautiful.”

He kissed the top of my head, “Anything for you princess.”

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@lumosandnoxwriting @wand3ringr0s3 @famdomhideout @nova-darling @gaycatlord-stuff @pandaxnienke (if your username is crossed out, that means I couldn’t tag you)

𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝:

@the-romanian-is-bae @manuosorioh @lucymfer @lunylovelovegood

#fredweasley #fred weasley fanfiction #fredweasleyimagines #fredweasleyfanfic #fred weasley fluff #fredweasleysmut #fred weasley angst #fredweasleyoneshots #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x you #pregnant #fred weasley series #dadfred

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