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besanii · 3 years

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For SM-maybe after ripping our hearts out, we get a cute shirt fluffy one? I’m thinking after their wedding, there’s a scene like the end of Pride and Prejudice 2005? “What terms of endearment am I allowed, then?” LWJ to WWX. Just a thought. Delighted with everything you write.

Shattered Mirrors 72

[ set after #62 ]

Night has fallen by the time Lan Wangji is able to remove himself from the celebrations and return to his rooms, leaving the remaining guests in his cousin’s capable hands. Lan Guoyan even manages to dissuade some of the rowdier attendees from trying to storm the bedchamber—protectiveness flares in his chest at the thought of them in such a private space, not to mention seeing Wei Wuxian in his wedding finery—something for which Lan Wangji is immensely grateful. He resolves to thank him properly later, once everything has settled, but for now he hastens his stride through the winding pathways to his bedchamber.

He is relieved to find the candles within still lit when he arrives, half-fearing that the uncharacteristic lateness of his arrival would mean Wei Wuxian had already retired to bed.

It is your wedding night, he reminds himself, heat rising to his ears. Of course he would wait.

From inside, he hears the sound of laughter and recognises Wei Wuxian; the other voice he presumes to be Mo Xuanyu, who scarcely leaves Wei Wuxian’s side except to run errands. The third voice, however, is somewhat unexpected. He waves down the servants at the door before they can announce his arrival, and crosses the threshold when they open the doors, surprising the occupants inside.

“Wangye!”

Lan Jingyi scrambles to his feet, pulling Mo Xuanyu along with him, both of them seated on the floor at Wei Wuxian’s feet. Wei Wuxian himself is sitting at the edge of the bed in his wedding finery, red veil still obscuring his features from view, his hands folded neatly on his lap as the two boys bow low.

“Jingyi, Mo Xuanyu.” They flinch and keep their heads bowed. “The wedding chamber is off-limits at this hour.”

“Wangye,” they chorus, wearing matching expressions of guilt. “Forgive our intrusion. We will leave at once.”

“Wangye, don’t tease,” Wei Wuxian chides, lifting a corner of the veil to peek out at them with a smile. “They were keeping me company while you were out entertaining your guests.”

“Our guests,” Lan Wangji corrects him. He shoots the boys another look. “You are all dismissed. Take the rest of the night off.”

“Yes, Wangye.” Lan Jingyi grabs Mo Xuanyu by the arm and all but drags him to the door. He smiles at them, all cheek and humour, as they pull them closed. “Best wishes to Wangye and Wangfei for a happy, prosperous union.”

Embarrassment burns at Lan Wangji’s neck and ears and he is almost tempted to march out after them to dole out punishment for their impertinence. It seems he has been too indulgent with Lan Jingyi lately for him to speak so out of place. He will need to correct that first thing tomorrow—

“Your concubine greets Hanguang-wangye.”

He turns at the sound of rustling to find Wei Wuxian has slipped from the bed, sinking to his knees with his head bowed, the perfect picture of a docile, obedient wife greeting her new husband. The thought stirs something deep in his chest, something heated and possessive; he takes a step forward, careful and measured, as if treading too quickly would scare Wei Wuxian away. He reaches for him, sliding his hands under his elbows to help him to his feet, draws him close until the veil brushes against his chin and he can feel the Wei Wuxian tremble in his arms.

“Wei Ying,” he murmurs. A soft, shaky sigh stirs the edges of the veil. “You do not need to bow to me.”

Hands turn over to grasp his forearms in return, the wide sleeves of the wedding robes falling back to reveal pale, slender wrists. The golden bangles, from the Empress herself as a wedding gift, almost dwarf them in their size.

“Wangye is too kind,” Wei Wuxian murmurs. “Your concubine is only observing the proper customs expected of a spouse of the Imperial Family.”

Lan Wangji sighs. “Wei Ying, do not tease.”

The trembling turns into shaking as Wei Wuxian breaks out into soft laughter. It breaks the tension that has settled over the room since Lan Wangji entered; the breath rushes from his lungs and he, too, chuckles. He runs his hands up along Wei Wuxian’s upper arms, admiring the silky smoothness of the fabric, the way it drapes just so—even through the many layers of fabric, he can feel the curve of his shoulders, the jut of his collarbone, the rush of his pulse; Wei Wuxian’s breath hitches when his fingers brush against the sensitive skin of his neck and he draws back a fraction, uncertain.

“Is something wrong?” A shake of the head. “Then…will you allow me to lift your veil?”

“Yes.”

His breath had caught in his throat when he’d first laid eyes on Wei Wuxian this morning at Jing Manor; even with the long silk veil completely covering his head and face from view, there is no masking the slope of his shoulders, the grace of his movements, the way the layers and layers of red silk fall and drape over his frame. His skin is paler now than it had been in his youth, his body less toned and muscular, less sharp angles and more gentle curves, but the shape of his mouth, the way his grey eyes dance with starlight and mischief as the veil slips from his shoulders with a sigh—all of that is uniquely Wei Ying.

In the intervening years since they had last seen each other, he had often pictured in his dreams how Wei Wuxian would look if they had been able to marry. He would wear his hair in the intricate style of an Imperial spouse, with braids and gold pins holding it all together; his robes would be a darker red, almost crimson, the hems embroidered with the flowing clouds of the Gusu Lan Imperial Family in golden thread.

He would be so beautiful, Lan Wangji would think upon waking, when the yearning would tear at his chest until he choked with it.

He is breathtaking.

“Wangye? Hanguang-wangye? Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian lowers his eyes, obedient and demure, but his voice anything but as he murmurs: “Fujun?”

A pleased rumble sounds from his throat before Lan Wangji can stop it; Wei Wuxian laughs in delight as Lan Wangji flushes, mortified. Cool hands reach up to cup his face, tracing the line of his jaw and coming to rest against the burning skin on the back of his neck.

“Fujun,” Wei Wuxian repeats, rolling the new title on his tongue with relish. “Allow your concubine to serve you tonight.”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji’s voice is pained. “You do not need to address yourself thus.”

“Oh?” The hands at his neck trail down to his chest. “Then how shall we address each other, Fujun? If I address my husband by name in public, they will think our manners lacking.”

Lan Wangji takes both hands in his and gives them a gentle squeeze.

“Wangye, in public,” he allows. He runs his thumbs along the back of his hands as he thinks. “My name, at home.”

“And Fujun?” Wei Wuxian asks, teasing. Lan Wangji growls.

“Only in private,” he says roughly; one hand shifts so it covers both of Wei Wuxian’s while the other wraps around his waist to draw him close. Wei Wuxian laughs again, breathless and giddy.

“Then you must do the same for me,” he counters, his eyes dark and face flushed. His tongue comes out to wet his lips, and Lan Wangji suddenly cannot look away. “Although I cannot promise to always address you correctly in private.”

“You may address me however you wish, in private,” Lan Wangji tells him, lowering his head to brush their noses together. A thrill runs through him when Wei Wuxian does not pull away.

“Oh?” The word dances over his lips. “So you would not mind if I call you Lan-er-gege, as before?” Lan Wangji shakes his head with a smile. “How about…Er-lang?”

Lan Wangji closes his eyes, his grip tightening around Wei Wuxian’s waist as he tries to calm his pounding heart. When he opens them again, Wei Wuxian’s eyes are half-lidded and dark. His throat suddenly feels as dry as sand. He clears his throat.

“That is allowed,” he says, voice hoarse. He brushes their lips together, feather-light. “You may call me however you wish…A-Ying.”

He closes the scant distance between them and brings their lips together.

Notes:

fujun (夫君) - husband, more formal and old-fashioned (male version of furen 夫人)

er-lang (二郎) - previously used in Part #55, an affectionate address similar to er-gege, most often used between married couples

* WWX also refers to himself here as qieshen (妾身), which is an old-fashioned, humble form of address used by wives when speaking to their husbands; it translates to “this concubine”, but he is definitely the “wife” (main/legal spouse)

In general, married couples back then (especially those where the husband has a title) do not refer to each other by name in public (or even sometimes at home). They would refer to the other by their title or honorific when with other people (e.g. WWX would refer to LWJ as wangye when talking to others) or use a humble form of their relationship “title”, for lack of a better word (e.g. a husband would refer to their wife as neijian (内贱) - “humble wife”, nei literally meaning ‘interior, internal’ and thus referring to the wife as the one inside their home; jian meaning humble or lowly).

Master Post here

buy me a ko-fi

#hhpharaoh #asks #my writing #wangxian #mdzs #shattered mirrors fic #shattered mirrors au #lan wangji #wei wuxian #王爷机 X 花魁羡 #prince!lwj #courtesan!wwx #no knives!

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moving-to-sweet2tangy · 4 years

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My Zesty, dear master- I was having this conversation with @jiyuu-chan, and got this idea. What would happen if our dear MC, says that she is from the future to all the warlords and says that she read about them. And then she gets angry and rambles on about how much she had to break her head learning history - about them, just to score marks- like their policies, legal wives and children and so on 😏😏

OH MY GOD AAAAAA!!! Ok so you and Jiyuu are two of my many favorite people on this entire website, and I literally love you guys and your amazing ideas, so I had SO MUCH fun writing this! I’m so sorry it was so late, but thank you for the great request, as usual! 😂💕💖

I hope you don’t mind, but I only did this for the Azuchi warlords because it makes more sense. But if you want to, I can still write the same headcanons for the Kasugayama warlords!

With that being said, enjoy! ^^ ❤️💖

゜｡*※Оﾟ｡※｡*※Оﾟ｡※ ゜｡*※Оﾟ｡※｡*※Оﾟ｡※ ゜｡

Nobunaga: Ok so, when you told him that you’re from the future, you had already sparked his interest, but when you started to tell him about how you had to learn about Japanese history, including him, he was even more intrigued. Even if you were rambling angrily, he was happily listening, especially when you mentioned the fact that he was the most powerful daimyo in Japan, popular with women, and the country’s first great unifier. He also raised his eyebrows at how Mitsuhide did end up killing him at Honnoji, but didn’t think much of it (he’s prepared with knowledge now 😌). However, when you mentioned that Kichou was his wife and that Ranmaru was practically his sex kitten, he almost choked on his konpeito, and was humiliated by Masamune and Mitsuhide when they found out. I guess fame comes at a price ((but he was relieved when you told him that the marriage with Kichou wasn’t a happy one and that the person who bore him his three sons was his concubine *coughcough* Kitsuno *coughcough*))

Hideyoshi: He was a bit startled when you began ranting to him about your experiences as a miserable high school student being forced to learn about “pointless things” when you’d rather sleep in bed all day. He became even more surprised when you told him about the fact that he was the second unifier of Japan after Nobunaga (and was secretly proud of himself), however, it all came crashing down when you told him about his affairs while he had a wife, Nene, and how he married Nobunaga’s niece, Yodo-dono. It became even worse when you told him that Nobunaga sent Nene a flirtatious letter, telling her that even if her husband thought she was spoiled goods, Nobu thought she was a fine piece-a meat (not word for word but that’s the gist of it). He was also a bit salty about Ieyasu taking Japan from Toyotomi rule. But when he found out about Kichou marriage with Nobu and Nobu’s sexual relationship with Ranmaru he had a stroke.

Masamune: Out of all the warlords, he was the most excited when he learned about the future, especially how history text books in your times describe him. He practically sparkled when you mentioned the campaigns he’d lead at the age of 14, how he was responsible for the first Japanese voyage across the globe as well as being a patron of the arts, and even gave katanas to the Pope!!! He was incredibly proud when he heard that his wife and several other concubines had bore him 16 children, and earned a smack from Hideyoshi when he gloated about it. Though, when you mentioned that Kichou was Nobunaga’s wife and that Ranmaru was a side piece, he laughed for what seemed like 10 minutes, and didn’t let Nobu off for like,,, weeks.

Mitsunari: He couldn’t really register your anger but he was still extremely impressed that you managed to remember so much information about everyone. He was totally flattered when you mentioned how good of a tactition was, but was undeniably surprised when you mentioned the battle of Sekigahara, where he fought against Ieyasu. Of course, he didn’t think too much of it and even when you told him that he died in that battle, he congratulated Ieyasu on his victory (cue a very embarrassed Yasu—). He was utterly clueless about the whole Side-Hoe-Ranmaru and Kichou being Nobunaga’s wife thing.

Ieyasu: He was starting to get really annoyed by your rambling until you mentioned his role in the history of Japan, which shocked him. You mentioned how he was not only the third unifier of the country after Toyotomi but also the first Tokugawa Shogun, and how he fought against Mitsunari in the battle of Sekigahara and won (he was secretly really proud about that, though, and also the fact that he overthrew the Toyotomi, but would never admit that either.) He was also pretty surprised that he was married to Hideyoshi’s half sister, which also sort of gave Hideyoshi a stroke. However, Yasu spat out his tea at Kichou being Nobunaga’s wife and his affairs with Ranmaru.

Mitsuhide: He was smirking the entire time you rambled on and on about your miserable history class experiences learning about Japanese history, and his smirk only grew wider when you told everyone about his reputation as Nobunaga’s best assassin. He obviously teasingly ignored the angry looks of suspicion Hideyoshi gave him when you mentioned the incident at Honnoji, where he had successfully killed Nobunaga by forcing him to commit seppuku. However, all the attention was off of him as soon as you brought up Nobunaga’s embarrassing relationships with both Kichou and Ranmaru, which Mitsuhide used to his own advantage by ruthlessly teasing Nobu.

Ranmaru: He stared in wonder as you explained all the details of every warlords’ life, but was very unpleasantly surprised by the information that you presented about him. He literally curled up into a ball for an hour out of humiliation, but after that traumatic experience was over, he just focused on the fact that he was at least Nobunaga’s favorite page.

#ikesen #ikemen sengoku #ikesen headcanon #ikemen sengoku headcanons #ikesen scenarios #ikemen sengoku scenario #ikesen imagines #ikemen sengoku imagines #ikesen masamune #ikesen hideyoshi #ikesen nobunaga #ikesen mitsuhide #ikesen mitsunari #ikesen ieyasu #ikesen ranmaru #azuchi #oda forces

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lscore · 4 years

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Chapters: 16/108 Fandom: Naruto, 微微一笑很傾城 | Love O2O (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Eventual Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Eventual Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, eventual Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Sai / OC, Eventual Aburame Shino/Inuzuka Kiba Characters: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura Additional Tags: Romance, Fluff, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gaming, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Slow Burn Summary:

Second-year Computer Science student Sakura never thought her road to find true love IRL would begin with a divorce in-game. But the Way of the Ninja is long and winding - and the person who takes her hand to travel it together is the last person she was expecting. How does the server’s number one know who she is?!

Chapter 16 is up! In which Sasuke defends his dear wife.

No extra notes this week (I don’t think anyone wants to hear me bitch about writing a fight scene yet again - pretty sure the r/Fanfiction discord is sick of it, lol). I lied, I do have a note to add about this scene about MDW (read the chapter if you’re confused) - whew I can’t believe I nearly left it out. No, it is not bitching about writing the fight scene. Thank you to Reglee for doing his Beta thing!

Also on FF.Net:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13527403/16/A-Tiny-Smirk-is-Devastating and Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/923290761-a-tiny-smirk-is-devastating-chapter-16-the-duel

My Dear Wife! Hahahahahahaah okay I’m glad most people got that one, although I did get one FF. Net reviewer who asked me what MDW was (My Dear Wife if you are wondering as well). I need to explain this one.

So this has an interesting tie in to Naruto calling Sakura 3SIL (third sister in law), which I handwaved away by using Naruto’s knowledge of KungFu movies. In Chinese culture, I feel like it’s a lot easier to call a good friend sister or brother, and thus their partner or significant other your sister in law or brother in law (There are several words for it).

Also (mandarin digression, but also I wasn’t raised in China so I’m pretty sure my mom dumbed down the rules for me, so if I’m wrong, feel free to chime in), calling someone “Older Sister” or “Older brother” can be both very respectful but also very intimate. For example, I call my cousin’s husband (made up name) “John” in English (because we’re way more casual about it), and absolutely shocked my mother (because it’s does not sound good if you think Chinese first), but in Chinese I call him “Yang Ge Ge” or “Older brother John” (also a made up name) - which is more respectful and waaay more appropriate than just calling him by his first name because he’s older than me, but less formal and more friendly than “Jiefu”, which is what his official title in Chinese would be and what I would call him if I had a very distant/formal relationship with him.

In love O2O, since it’s a game, and the status is not at all formal, imo, the formal nickname for Weiwei in game has an additional layer of joke/intimacy i.e. they use the formal title for what’s clearly a close nickname. So I wanted to keep that nuance… mostly because I like it.

In a similar fashion, in love O2O, Xiao Nai actually calls Weiwei “Furen”, which is a very formal and old fashioned way of saying wife (I think it means “person of my house”), and if all the historical novels I read don’t mislead me, it’s also used to designate the “official wife”, the one whose kids are legitimate (and not concubine-born, back in the days when polygamy was totally legal in China). This is different from the way a husband would affectionately call his wife now - “Lao Po” (aka Old woman. Yes, the way to affectionately call your husband is “Lao Gong” or old man). Basically, she knows he’s teasing her and she’s embarrassed by using this ancient address for wife, but he’s not realllllyyyy professing his undying love for her.

So because of that, I didn’t want to actually use what Sasuke calls Sakura in Boruto (Tsuma) because that’s a more modern, truly intimate form of address, like bordering on sexual harassment if you call someone that, and probably not a joke. And if you actually know Mandarin and think my grasp of the language is awful up there, it’s even worse in Japanese, cause I’ve never studied it, not even half-heartedly. So I had to come up with something that would definitely not be serious, but also not be ridiculous (like Wifey), so after much handwringing, Beta nudging (and the Beta nudging back that I was thinking too much about it), and teeth gnashing, I came up with MDW, because “My Dear Wife” sounds suitably sweet and not-ridiculous, but also it doesn’t have any serious relationship connotations. Plus no gamer worth his salt regularly would type out my dear wife.

And if you’ve gotten this far in my paroxyms about literally one tiny detail… thanks, you’re my true hero :P

Oh and I threw in Tenten calling Sasuke Sakura's Hubby because I wanted to use Wifey, lmao.

#sasusaku #sasuke x sakura #naruto fanfiction #a tiny smirk is devastating

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ottomanladies · 5 years

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Review: Kösem Sultan (İktidar Hırs ve Entrika) by Özlem Kumrular

my Goodreads rating: ★★☆☆☆ Positive parts: the extensive bibliography which made me discover more books that I now want to read Negative parts: her way of presenting information, the almost total absence of historiography reasoning and if present its weakness, the lack of more information in the notes section.

I am often asked what I think about this book, so I have finally picked it up. I'll admit I have not read it all: I have skipped paragraphs or even whole pages. I did not read chapter 3, “Valide Sultan in the Old Palace: Mustafa I, Osman II and again the reign of Mustafa I”, because I have read in a review that it is not really about Kösem... and I was not interested.

I must say I am very disappointed. I don’t know if I had high standards or what, but it really wasn’t what I expected. I thought it was academia but it may have actually been popular history. I hope it’s popular history at this point, because it doesn’t seem like academia at all. Information is just presented like that, there are no explanations about how the author reached her conclusions-- which is something that I love reading about in historiography books, as someone who wants to do this job.

On the other hand, I deeply appreciated the research she did for this book: she drew from Spanish, Turkish and Italian archives, and books in english are listed in the bibliography as well. I particularly liked that she used Pedani as one of her sources in harem matters, it made me very happy as an Italian. Unfortunately, she did not transcribe the quotes she got from ambassadorial reports; this doesn’t allow you to check her translation, which is something that is very dear to me.

[very long rambling ahead-- I am so sorry]

As for her more unconventional claims: that Ahmed I had married Kösem and that şehzades Selim and Orhan were two of Kösem’s children, I was not satisfied with her reasoning. Her claims rest on a letter that - apparently - was sent to Venice on Kösem’s orders when Murad IV ascended the throne; it was found in the archives of Venice and it was in Ottoman Turkish. Kumrular included a translation in Latin Alphabet in her book of the important passages. [you can look at it here: x]:

“His generous mother Kösem, for the dead Sultan Ahmed, whom Allah took with him, was a very important person and the Sultan loved her so much that he honoured her by marrying her. In addition to the ruling sultan, she has two younger sons named Sultan Selim and Sultan Orhan.”

Now, Kumrular claims that the prince Selim who was born in 1611 to Ahmed was the son of another concubine, and that this is another Prince Selim. She explains the absence of Kasim and Ibrahim (who were clearly very much alive) saying that Venice probably already knew that they existed... it’s a little weird. Historian Erhan Afyoncu says that Selim and Orhan may have been Kasim and Ibrahim’s other names, but Kumrular answers this by saying that no source mentions that they had more than one name. Which is true but I remembered when I read some Venetian ambassadorial reports back in November, and Giovanni Cappello in 1634 clearly calls Murad IV’s younger brother “Orcan”:

“Tiene Sua Maestà due figliuoli nell'infanzia, d'incerta riuscita. Ha due fratelli, li quali, non ostante l'uso contrario della morte nell'assunzione degli Imperatori, vivono tuttavia; il maggiore di nome Orcan è in età di anni 19 con concetto di buon talento. Il Re sovente seco tratta con umanità, permettendogli la barba, privilegio riserbato alla sola persona del Re in serraglio...” “His Majesty has two sons in infancy, uncertain in survival. He has two brothers who - contrary to the tradition of putting them to death on the emperors’ ascension - nevertheless live; the eldest named Orcan is 19 years old with a good intellect. The King often treats him with kindness, allowing him to grow a beard, a privilege reserved to the only person of the King in the Serraglio...”

At the time I thought that it was a simple mistake of Cappello’s, who misunderstood “Kasim” (I mean, Mihrimah was called Cameria in Italy so everything is possible at this point), but maybe he did not and he was right? Maybe Kasim was truly called Orhan Kasim or Kasim Orhan? Cappello says that in 1634 he was 19 years old, which means that he was born in 1615-- a date often attributed to Kasim’s birth.

While he mistakes Orcan for the eldest of Murad IV’s brothers (Bayezid was in fact the eldest, being born only a couple of months after Murad IV), we cannot simply distrust his whole testimony.

It is sad that Kumrular did not read this relazione (or did not find it useful to her book) because I would have liked to see her conclusions.

About Kösem’s marriage, her reasoning is... pretty weak, in my opinion: she first says that the letter must have been written on Kösem’s orders, who knew that official wives had a great importance in Europe so she could have said that just to enhance her status.... but then says that it is unlikely that she outright lied in a state document:

“It is obvious that Kösem, in front of a country as important as Venice, wanted to mark the legality of her position. Emphasizing that she is the wife of the deceased ruler and the praises directed at her were aimed at raising her relationship with the Venetian state, gaining respect for her and therefore listening to her words.”

To be honest, the claim that Venetians would have looked down a non-married consort is out of the world; they had entertained relations with the Ottomans for two centuries at that point and they very much knew that Ottoman sultans did not frequently get married.

Moreover, there is no proof that this letter was sanctioned by Kösem herself. It was written by one Mustafa çavuş in 1624 (dated by Pedani), who says that it is the second time he is sent to Venice as an Ottoman emissary. It is certainly strange that in it he claims that Murad IV is fifteen years old, which he definitely was not. At the end of the letter he says that the rest will be included in the letters penned by the Sultan and the Grand Vizier. Unfortunately, either these letters did not surive or Kumrular did not read them... she did not explain it in the book.

In any case, she attributes mistakes to the person who actually wrote the letter (high-ranking women dictated their letters) which is... rather convenient, I guess.

The rest of the book is just a narration of Kösem’s life. There is so much she doesn’t look at in depth and at the end of every section I was not satisfied with the amount of information given. There was always something lacking, I felt like there was more she could have said but for some reason didn’t.

The book is 336 pages long and at the end you’re left with only the surface of Kösem’s life. It was more like reading an - admittedly long - Wikipedia article than a biography.

Unfortunately this book was not very reviewed by her peers, which is a shame. I could only find one review, by Hüseyin Çalış (who is apparently a member of the Izmir Katip Celebi University), who says that the book sometimes seems like a novel and that there are deficiencies in it but that all in all is a good contribution to Ottoman historiography, considered that it was written in just one year.

I am not sure I agree with his positive view of this book. I didn’t feel satisfied when each topic was over, it felt like she was just listing events happening - most of them not about Kösem - with no reasoning behind. I am also disappointed that the notes section is very poor of information; she did not add anything in it except the titles of the books she had drawn her info from-- often they were books which contradicted her own claims but she did not explain that.

The bibliography part was very rich, though, and this is what I most appreciated about this book. I have written down a couple of books I want to read, among them: Murat Kocaaslan - Kösem Sultan. Hayatı, vakıfları, hayır işleri ve Üsküdar’daki külliyesi, which I think may be better than this book altogether. I had the chance of reading a chapter of his book about Mehmed IV and it’s more academia than Kumrular’s: better written, better researched, better noted as well.

In conclusion (I am so sorry this got way too long, I was supposed to write just a couple of things about this book), maybe it’s my fault but it truly was not what I thought it would be and I am not sure I will buy her book about Nurbanu and Safiye after all. I personally prefer pure academia compared to... whatever this was (half and half? who knows)

If you can’t stand academia, though, and want something... lighter? maybe this book will be for you. It certainly looked like popular history sometimes.

#ottoman history #ottomanladies reviews #kumrular: kosem sultan #long post

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dreamofasupernaturalchamber · 3 years

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Dabb's Dream of a Red Chamber: Death's Library (Bo Ming Si) and Dean as Qin Keqing

I've seen a lot of SPN meta on this website, and in typical fashion, I'm YEARS late to the game. But I think there are some things that can only be understood in retrospect, and SPN's structure is one of them. What I'm trying to say is this: when Dabb took over, he turned Supernatural, a Western show about saving people and hunting things, into Dream of a Red Mansion, a Chinese literary classic about inter and intra family conflicts, class conflicts, political conflicts, and above all-- women.

Yes, I know how absurd this sounds. Why on earth would Dabb do that? My guess: because there is no surpassing Dream of a Red Chamber when it comes to metafiction-- the answer to the question "why metafiction?" will probably devolve into speculation about the network, so I won't get into it now.

What really tipped me off was that scene in 13x05, where Dean tries to commit suicide, but ends up Death's library instead. Some necessary background info: there is a scene in the first few chapters of Dream of the Red Chambers where Baoyu takes a nap in Qin Keqing's room (which is scandalous in its own right) and is transported to Taixu Huanjing, a dream world of goddesses in another dimension. The English translation? Taixu = The Void (note how this corresponds to the Empty, which makes its first appearance in 13x04), Huanjing = Dream World. Baoyu comes upon Jinghuan Xianzi, the goddess in charge of this world, who then takes him into a library called Bo Ming Si-- the Office of Unlucky Women-- and shows him books containing the fates of all the women in his family.

Does this sound familiar? Because it should. Here's a screenshot of Bo Ming Si from the 2010 adaptation:

A screenshot of Jinghuan Xianzi leading Baoyu through Bo Ming SI:

A screenshot of how the books are kept:

Now let's take a look at Death's library (pics from Superwiki):

Look at how the books are stacked in both shows. The reason they're stacked horizontally in Dream of a Red Chamber is that Chinese books tend to be very soft. The reason they're stacked horizontally in SPN is???

But that's just a coincidence, you might say. But Dabb doesn't just stop there. He borrows symbols, motifs, character relationships, family conflicts, and more from Dream of a Red Chamber-- he even borrows the structure. I'll talk about the structure and the motifs in another post-- today I'm here to talk about Dean.

Readers familiar with Dream of a Red Chamber might ask at this point-- is Dean Baoyu? No. (I'll talk about Cas, Jack, and Baoyu in a separate post.) So who is Dean?

Billie tells Dean that "every notebook on this particular shelf tells a version of how [he] die[s]." Let's see what Jinghuan Xianzi tells Baoyu-- he's shown three volumes titled "The Twelve Beauties of Jinling." The main volume records the ladies of his household, the second volume records the concubines, and the last volume records the maids.

Dean gets multiple notebooks because he's a combination of multiple characters from the first volume-- he starts off as Qin Keqing, who has multiple identities in the book, despite dying within the first thirteen chapters. Who is Qin Keqing? She is:

- the younger sister of Jinghuan Xianzi.

- the one who teaches Baoyu the matters of love in the dream world. She is his sexual awakening, and even though she doesn't do anything more scandalous than let Baoyu sleep on her bed in the human world, her brother is Baoyu's introduction to gay sex.

- the wife of the first and only son of the legal wife of the older branch of the Jia family. In other words, she's the wife of the future head of the household.

- there are theories that she may be the daughter of a prince who lost power, but I doubt those count for much here.

- she "dies from illness" but according to the "The Twelve Beauties of Jinling," she hangs herself after everyone learns that her father-in-law raped her.

- her death signals the beginning of the end of the four major families; her funeral is far too lavish, as is her coffin (it's made from wood that was originally reserved for a prince's funeral), and it's hinted that this is the beginning of the end of the Jia family, because they've reached above their station.

Now let's see how this matches up with Dean. We know that he:

- has played the reaper and has a special connection with Death.

- teaches Jack about romantic love in 14x06.

- is the head of the household.

- is possessed by Michael at the end of S13, an experience that's coded as rape, and is suicidal for most of S14 as a result. He then brings back a special coffin, which later causes Jack to lose control, which marks the beginning of the end for the Winchesters. Of course, the coffin scene references other media too. Angel comes to mind.

Now let's talk about Qin Keqing's best friend, Wang Xifeng. I'm not implying that Dean is anything like Wang Xifeng (although a case can be made that her panci might have influenced Dean and Cas's storyline, but that's a separate post). I bring up Wang Xifeng purely because I want to compare Dean to Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng's aunt and Baoyu's mother. If you're a Dean stan who's read Dream of the Red Chambers, you're probably livid right now. But think of it this way-- Lady Wang is a victim of patriarchal feudalism, and while Dean isn't a woman living under this sort of oppression, Dabb alludes to a similar power structure, and there's a reason why there are so many posts comparing Dean to the Eldest Daughter.

Late season SPN is where Dabb explores female-centric themes in a male centric show. Yes, I find this absurd too, but that's the choice he made. It's why Amara exists. It's why he brought back Mary. It's why S12-15 is extremely domestic. And it's why he covers a range of female experiences through Dean.

Let me go back to Qin Keqing. If she hadn't died, she would have been in charge of running the household, and she would have done an excellent job. But would she have been happy?

No.

The only other woman who matches Qin Keqing's talents is Wang Xifeng, and she dies relatively young. If she'd lived-- would she have turned into her aunt? Lady Wang is described as "wooden," but we know from Grandma Liu that before she married into the Jia family, she had a fiery personality, just like Wang Xifeng. Marriage turned her bitter. Indeed, Baoyu remarked that marriage turned women from pearls into dead fish eyes. And even though Dean isn't married, the role he plays in his family and his conflicts with Cas (and his resulting dislike of Jack) are very similar to the problems the legal wife of a wealthy man in ancient China would face. Or rather-- they're very similar to the problems the wife of a wealthy man/noblesman in a patriarchal feudalistic society would face. He probably would have identified with Catelyn Stark in GOT.

I'll probably write another post exploring how Red Chamber influenced the intra family conflicts in SPN, but before I do that, I want to talk about one more thing: Qin Keqing's nickname is Jian Mei, which means Both Beauties; she's considered to share both Daiyu and Baochai's beauty. Am I saying that there are shades of both Daiyu and Baochai in Dean's late season characterization? Yes. Dabb leans toward Daiyu = Dean and Baochai = Sam, although he plays with Baochai = Eileen too. Let me give you the shorthand for what these women stand for.

Daiyu = rebellious, bucks societal conventions, dies from a broken heart when Baoyu is tricked into marrying Baochai.

Baochai = obedient, adheres to societal conventions and thus the patriarchy, marries Baoyu but is then cast away because Baoyu decides to become a monk.

Tomorrow, I'll go into greater detail on how Baoyu, Daiyu, and Baochai appear through Cas, Dean, Sam, Jack, and Eileen, and how these choices tie into the finale.

#spn meta #dean winchester

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mermaidsirennikita · 6 years

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February 2018 Book Roundup

I’d that this was a pretty diverse month for me in terms of reading. Sure, there was plenty of my traditional fantasy in there, but I also went through a biography, some contemporary YA, a historical fiction novel about Eleanor Roosevelt, alt-history, and some very silly (but very enjoyable) contemporary romance. My favorite book of the month was probably Purple Hearts, the conclusion of Michael Grant’s Front Lines trilogy--but I’d be lying if I said that one of those romance novels didn’t rival it. Unfortunately, my least favorite book was that aforementioned Eleanor Roosevelt book. But hey, I tried it.

Purple Hearts by Michael Grant. 4/5. The final book in Grant’s Front Lines/Soldier Girls trilogy, Purple Hearts sees Silver Star recipients Rio, Rainy, and Frangie return to the European front in World War II. Rio is battle-hardened and growing increasingly fearful--not of what she faces at war, but how she, a girl very good at soldiering, will adjust to life afterwards. Rainy is undercover and subjected to horrors that have a deeply personal ring as she deals with the guilt of surviving, killing, and becoming even colder than she already was. Frangie is struggling with her faith, saving many as a medic but losing more--in ways that she wouldn’t have imagined. This series--a take on World War II with the premise that girls were allowed to enlist and be drafted in America--really was way better and far more realistic than it had a right to be. There were clumsy moments, largely because Grant is (I assume) a guy trying to be as inclusive as possible. But you know--even when certain scenes came off as a bit awkward, I appreciated the diversity. And the fact is that you have different reasons to bond with each of our leads, and the people they care about. I’ll always have a soft spot for Rio most of all, because she embodies that “naive innocent turned into a battle-hardened killer” character type I love so much. But Frangie goes through so fucking much in this book (they all do, but Frangie seemed like such an optimist at first) and even Rainy, the heroine I had the most difficulty connecting with, finally opens up and becomes a fully-realized character. “Purple Hearts” struck me as the most brutal book in the trilogy, and there are a lot of horrific scenes throughout. But it was ultimately very satisfying, and a great end to the series.

Empress of the East by Leslie Peirce. 4/5. Hurrem Sultan, also known as Roxelana, was the first woman in centuries to legally wed an Ottoman sultan, thus becoming an essential empress. However, like any concubine, she began life as a slave before catching the eye of Suleyman the Magnificent and beginning one of history’s greatest love affairs--that would result in six children and a fundamental change in Ottoman politics. Peirce has to make a lot of assumptions when writing this book--little is known about Hurrem, referred to by the name Roxelana in this biography. But she sticks to accuracy whenever possible, and none of her assumptions are all that out there to me. I’d call this more popular than academic history, but if you’re looking to get into the history of Hurrem and the Ottoman Empire, I think it’s a great start.

Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones. 4/5. Six months after leaving her husband, the Goblin King, behind in the Underground, Liesl is attempting to make something out of her life. Yet her brother Josef, a gifted musician, hasn’t responded to any of her letters and she finds herself unable to compose. After receiving a proposal from a mysterious benefactor, Liesl goes to further her career in Vienna, only to realize that the boundaries between our world and the Goblin King’s are deteriorating at an alarming rate, and something is seriously wrong with her brother. Liesl must return to the Underground to figure out what’s going on--but can she do so without losing her sanity? This book... is a lot. It’s beautifully written, incredibly dark at points, and takes a pretty bold turn. Liesl’s story in “Wintersong” was really of self-discovery and sexual awakening, whereas here the story revolves--fairy stuff aside--around her mental condition and her relationship with Josef. Along with a bit of Goblin King backstory for good measure. And for the most part, I’d say it’s successful. Yes, there were points where I was like “honestly Liesl should probably do something rather than thinking about how bad shit is” but... “Wintersong” wasn’t a very plot-driven book either, so I can’t say that I felt that plot was meant to be a priority in the sequel. It’s all sort of delightfully eerie and morally ambiguous, holdovers from “Wintersong”. But it was missing the Goblin King. Again, I feel that this book was very ambitious and super interesting and enjoyable, but it was missing something that made me absolutely adore “Wintersong”. And I’m not ashamed to admit that that something was the Goblin King and all the emo sex he had with Liesl. There were definitely points where I almost felt like Jones was trying to push back against the fact that most of the praise surrounding “Wintersong” was around how hot her male “hero” (................ ish) was, but I’ve got to say that that story did seem a bit more effortless to read. Basically, I wouldn’t change the plot of “Shadowsong”, I think it’s a really good book and followup, but I would add more Goblin King and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Still, I really loved it and was overall satisfied with the book.

Immortal Reign by Morgan Rhodes. 4/5. I’m not going to bother on a summary for this because it’s the conclusion to a 6 (?) book series that is all very convoluted. Essentially, Immortal Reign takes all of the characters we’ve followed and concludes their stories in the expected ways, and while I wouldn’t say that the Falling Kingdoms series is good, exactly... it does what it came here to do. It’s a very trope-y Game of Thrones for teens type thing with a feisty princess and a brooding dark prince at the center taking up the actual plot (which involves some elemental gods or whatever) with their arranged marriage angsty sexual tension shenanigans and honestly? It’s fun. All’s well that ends well.

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan. 2/5. Sophie, a cossetted politician’s wife, is shocked when her husband James revealed that he had an affair with a young employee. James is charismatic and prominent, and though Sophie can believe that the affair happened, she doesn’t believe what comes next--the reveal that James allegedly raped the woman he was sleeping with. Kate, an experienced lawyer, is ready to prosecute James, completely convinced of his guilt. But which woman is right? I honestly debated doing one or two stars here, and I think I went with two because I get what the author is going for. But like... here’s the thing. We know which woman is right. We know from the start, especially after James’s perspective is introduced (side note: the way the POVs were handled seemed wonky). I’m all about the issue of rape being handled in fiction, especially when we’re talking about charismatic politicians. It’s very relevant. But the thing is that there is room for doubt in some cases; a very, very small amount, sure. However, there’s a reason why trials happen in rape cases. (Unfortunately, those trials often don’t end as they should, but that’s another issue.) There should have been doubt in a book that touted itself as a thriller, but all I got was preachiness and a “twist” that... did not... impress me. Kate’s perspective was incredibly holier than thou--so even though I agreed with her beliefs, I felt like I was being *told* how to feel rather than convinced through the story or writing. Like, obviously I should agree with everything Kate says. Obviously. Also, the writing just wasn’t great--slow and strange at times. The descriptions of people were weird. Like, way to take your novel about a feminist issue and describe the evil defense attorney in a way that is suggestive of her weight--she’s described as a “weighty” woman who “plumps” herself down. Which... whatever. Good idea, downright unintelligent and uninspired execution that probably would have been more interesting if we focused solely on Sophie’s point of view.

White Houses by Amy Bloom. 2/5. Lorena Hickock tells the story of her decades-long love affair with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Though American history has never been my jam, I was intrigued because the existence of Eleanor’s affair with “Hick” is debated to this day, despite a lot of evidence towards the fact that Eleanor was a) interested in women and b) in love with Hick, and vice versa. And this should have been so interesting. Not only is there the inherent interest factor of a first lady having an affair--and with another woman in the early twentieth century, at that--but Eleanor was a multi-dimensional, controversial woman married to a controversial man (who had plenty of affairs of his own). But Amy Bloom’s writing style and characterization of Hick (who had a horrific childhood that was handled... I don’t know, rather coldly, by the writing style) just sucked the life out of everything. I won’t say that there weren’t some pretty moments and I feel like the approach to depicting a long relationship was good, but this was too boring.

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann. 3/5. Alice has recently suffered yet another bad breakup--and the reason why her girlfriend dumped her is especially painful. Biromantic and asexual, Alice struggles to communicate to her partners how she feels, and how her romantic attraction to them doesn’t mean that she experiences sexual attraction. Right after proclaiming that she’s done with dating, Alice meets the handsome, kind Takumi, and is immediately head over heels. But does she dare tell him about her feelings--and her sexuality? This book was definitely hard for me to rate, because in all honesty... I didn’t really like it. I didn’t really hate it, either. It was fine. The representation is so important that I feel like I can’t not recommend it--Alice is black, biromantic, and asexual. That’s huge. I don’t know if the author is asexual or not--I know she’s black--so I can’t speak to how the book handles asexuality (another reason why I wasn’t sure how to rate it) but I did appreciate that race wasn’t ignored in the book. The thing is that while Takumi was very cute, much of the book felt more like a Tumblr spiel than a story. Alice has a right to have her feelings hurt by the fact that her girlfriend doesn’t want to be with her; but I also felt like the girlfriend was a bit demonized for wanting to feel sexually desired, and the fact is that... that’s okay. Alice’s friends seem to say the right things a bit too often, especially considering how little the average person knows about asexuality. Alice herself annoyed the shit out of me, for reasons that had nothing to do with her sexuality--she was just so fucking cutesy, and in all honesty I had a hard time believing that a girl her age thought the way she did. It also felt as if that fed into the perception of ace people as these fairy-like unicorn types who love all things soft and cute, which... I don’t know. Maybe an ace person would read this and say otherwise. I’m not ace, so I have no idea. Basically: good idea, not so sure about the execution, great rep. Important, but perhaps a little too After School Special for me.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. 3/5. Following the events of The Bear and the Nightingale, Vasya is left with two choices: marry, or join a convent. Spirited--and still being mentored on some level by the frost demon Morozko--Vasya is quickly gains the esteem of the Prince of Moscow after a battle with bandits. But that leaves her disguising her gender, an d in more danger than ever before. I remember liking The Bear and the Nightingale--but I’m not sure that it left a huge impression on me, because I felt like I was going into this book blind. I remember the characters--it’s a big cast--but I wasn’t excited about anything but Vasya and Morozko. I don’t know, it all came off as a bit slow to me. Beautifully written and interesting, but slow. I plan on giving it another shot at some point.

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata. 4/5. At twenty-six, Jasmine is past her prime as a figure skater, and her pairs partner’s abrupt departure has caused her to miss a season. She should be thrilled to be asked to partner last-minute with Ivan Lukov, the current world champion--but Ivan is also her best friend’s older brother, and her arch nemesis since she was a teenager. He’s arrogant and stuck-up; she’s got a chip on her shoulder. It’s a romance novel. We know what’s going to happen. But this was one of the most fun love/hate romance novels I’ve read in a while. Honestly, there’s nothing INCREDIBLY deep going on here--the stakes are relatively low, there aren’t any major obstacles or even a last minute shocking reveal~. Ivan and Jasmine really just need to stop being assholes to each other and fucking skate. Also, make out. But it’s such a fun book. Like, the writing is nothing spectacular--there’s some repetition and awkward descriptions--but the leads’ chemistry keeps it together and I pretty much wolfed the book down.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata. 3/5. For two years, Vanessa has been the long-suffering personal, assistant of football star Aiden Graves, who acts as if she doesn’t exist. Fed up with being taken for granted, Vanessa quits--only to have Aiden show up on her doorstep, asking her to marry him. A Canadian, Aiden is in danger of having his visa expire, and the easiest way for him to stay in the U.S.--the only way he’ll accept--is through marriage, and Vanessa is the best potential (fake) wife. After Aiden promises to pay off her student loans and buy her a house, she agrees--but can she keep her real feelings at bay? Another cheesy but charming romance from Zapata, but this one I found a good bit less compelling. It was likable, sure, but I didn’t feel the chemistry between Aiden and Vanessa on the same level that I did Ivan and Jasmine’s in the above book. For that matter, while Aiden wasn’t as nasty to Vanessa as Ivan was to Jasmine--well, Jasmine dished it as well as she took it. Vanessa, on the other hand, was just a doormat as Aiden had her wash his sheets, cook for him, basically handle everything an adult should handle... while acting like she didn’t exist. It certainly diminished Aiden’s appeal, though I didn’t hate him. Again, it was fun, but not nearly as good as From Lukov with Love.

#books #recs #book roundup

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clairetherose · 6 years

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Draecember2017 Day 16 - Celebrating Her Birthday

Yes, I’m very late. Yes, I’ve been absent. And yes, I’m picking up where I left off. I do want to finish these, in order. I have them all planned out. Some things happened in my life that drove me away from writing for this last week, and I had to force myself to sit down and do this one. I don’t feel it’s very good. But it’s an important step to getting me going again.

It had been a hell of a year. The war with the Legion had dragged on long, full of too many dead to count. So much had happened, but they seemed to be winning. Somehow, everyone Kelci was close to had survived. Whether from their own skill or just blind luck, they were all here. Hiwasawa, her wife. Cyllissa, a Kaldorei assassin, distant family of Hiwa’s. Aeschielle, another Draenei and Cyl’s fiance. Even Aranu, freshly arrived from the other Draenor, was there. There were a few missing faces, but those that Kelci considered her family had all turned out to celebrate her birthday. She was turning two-thousand, eight-hundred, and ninety-two, today.

Hiwa turned to Kelci with a smile, “Is this everyone, my love?” She looked around. These were all of their closest friends, or at least those still around. “Cyl keeps complaining about wanting to open the wine.”

Kelci snickered, “She would. But… no. I invited one other to join us. She mentioned she might bring someone along, as well. Give her another few minutes, alright?” She kissed her wife on the cheek and smiled. Hiwa just looked confused. Who else could be coming? Kelci laughed softly and shook her head, “It’ll be a surprise, love.”

As if fate had intervened on Kelci’s side, a knock came on their door, right then. “Perfect timing,” she nodded toward Cyl, who was nearest. “Get the door?”

The Kaldorei shrugged and did so, swinging it open. She was much taller than whoever was outside, as she all but obscured them from sight. “Oh. It’s you. Was wondering if you’d ever come see us again.” She called over her shoulder, “Kelci, it’s just some uppity twerp. You sure you want me to let her in? Oh! ...there’s actually two of them!” She stood aside, revealing a pair of Sin’dorei. Blood Elves.

One of them, most of the others in the room recognized. Mytherili, who usually just went by Myth, was someone they had encountered during the fighting on Argus. An incredibly talented spellcaster of just about every school imaginable. She held a unique sword at her side, the mark of a Timebender. The other had a similar look to her, likely also a mage. There was an odd, glowing rune at her neck.

“Myth!” Kelci called out, beckoning her inside. “I was worried you weren’t going to show up.”

Myth stepped in confidently. “Yeah, well,” She replied in perfect Common, “I’m not used to having to physically go to a place. I hate not teleporting. Sorry I’m late.” She realized her companion was still outside, and she turned, “Talera? Don’t stand outside like a street urchin.”

The other Sin’dorei, apparently called Talera, blinked. She looked apprehensive of the house filled with Draenei and Night Elves, but finally sighed and walked through the door, which Cyl promptly shut behind her. She spoke, also in perfect Common, the rune on her neck lit up with her words. “You’ll excuse me for being cautious around a group that would usually kill us on sight.”

From the back of the room, Aesch spoke up. “We could say the same of you, you know. Just be polite. Kelci wants you here, so you’re fine by all of us.” She looped an arm around Cyl’s waist, as she’d just walked back over to her. The Kaldorei tugged on one of her horns, playfully, then pecked her on the lips.

Myth just grinned, “You see? They don’t care about what we are.” She turned in place to address Talera in their native Thalassian. “I promised you these are good people. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.” Smiling, she laced her fingers with Talera’s, “Come on.”

Most of the others knew at least some Thalassian, but turned back to each other, not wanting to interrupt what seemed a private moment. Finally, when the Sin’dorei women finally joined the rest, did they turn. Kelci was the first to speak, “Myth, you didn’t introduce us. Is this your girlfriend?” She smiled.

Both Myth and Talera went red at the question. They hadn’t really discussed what they were. It didn’t seem important for how their relationship had been playing out. Myth spoke, “Uh, well, see. I think if we’re going by the strictest legal definition, I’m her… concubine?” Talera smacked her lightly on the back of the head. “Ow! I guess not that. Whatever, consort. Friend with a lot of benefits. Something like that?”

Cyl snickered, “I’ve been that, before. By choice, of course.” She gave a reassuring look to Aesch, “Uh, not with you, love. Some people before you. One of them I started to feel a thing for. Which was weird.” She grinned. Aesch just rolled her eyes. “You were all real.”

Finally, Aranu said something. Her Common was still rough, at best, so following the conversation was difficult. She spoke in Draenei. “Cici. I’m starting to feel like I’m a uh. What would this be, a seventh wheel?” She headed for the stairs near the back of the room. “Happy birthday and all, but--”

“Anu, stop.” Kelci cut her off. She got up from the couch and went over to her friend.

“What, Cici?” Aranu looked annoyed. “Everyone has someone, but me.” They spoke in hushed tones, so the rest of the group couldn’t hear them. The others began to converse among themselves, jovially.

Kelci just hugged her. “Oh shut up, you have me.” She refused to let go, despite some protesting. “You have friends here. I care about you, Anu.”

Aranu managed to struggle away. “No, Cici, you don’t…” She ran a hand back through her hair and over one horn. “Not just friends. You know I wanted more than that, back then, but now I see you so happy and I…” She tears away from her friend. “Tonight is just rough, okay? I know it’s your birthday, but I… I just have to go.” She headed up the stairs, quickly, hooves clopping on the wood as she went.

Kelci winced and sighed, heading back for the others. “Anu had to get to bed early.” She wished her friend could have joined them, but she understood. Aranu was already dealing with so much. They’d talk tomorrow, most likely.

Hiwa gave Kelci a knowing look, but said nothing. Aesch and Cyl swapped glances, a bit confused, but paid it no mind. Myth was whispering something to Talera, who still looked vaguely uncomfortable.

Worried the mood might have spoiled, Kelci retrieved a bottle from a hidden place under the couch. “How about we open some wine?” She smiled at everyone collected. “It’s--”

“Whitesun?!” Myth stared at the bottle, dumbstruck. Even Talera perked up at it. “That’s-- I had a best friend for a while who owned that winery!” Despite all her claims of being a “filthy commoner,” Myth always seemed to have a connection to someone or something important.

Talera gave her a look, “...you know the Whitesun house? I swear, Myth, you’re a better noble than I am, sometimes.” She laughed and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

“A noble!” Cyl snapped her fingers, “Well, that explains it.”

“Explains what?” Talera gave the Kaldorei a cautious look.

Cyl pointed at Myth, “Why you have such excellent taste. Would you just relax, already? It’s Kelci’s birthday.”

Myth blushed, Talera laughed, while Kelci, Hiwa, and Aesch just rolled their eyes. Cyl was up to her usual antics. The bottle of wine was opened, and shared. Another three or four went the same way. Kelci spent her birthday the way she most wanted; surrounded by her friends and those she considered family. Her heart ached for Aranu, but there was no easy solution. Still, as the night went on, even Aranu couldn’t stay sad. She came back down in the middle of the third bottle of line, to cheers and welcomes. The two Sin’dorei had managed to fit right in. And together, the celebrated the life of the woman who brought them all together.

#draecember2017 #draecember #draecember day 16 #draenei #warcraft #writing #roleplay #kaldorei #sindorei #kelci shadeleaf

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ultravioletsoul · 7 years

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A Woman’s Duty [ Salen Kotch x F!Reader ] Part 2 / 2

So here’s the second and final part, yay me! I managed to finish a fic at long last.

Not much to say other than… I feel aliiiiiive! Now I should complete my other projects and stop procrastinating by watching and reading weird things that steal my sleep. Also, I need to stop inserting plot in every smut I want to write because I usually wind up with long stories that take about 10+ chapters to get to the good stuff. Bad habit of mine…

Hope you enjoy and, well… eem, see you later.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Call of Duty Infinite Warfare or its characters. They all belong to Activision and Infinity Ward. No copyright infringement intended. All I’m trying to do is provide entertainment to the readers and by no means do I have lucrative purposes.

Warnings: Unbetaed work. Misogyny. Implied abuse. Squick. Cousincest (depending on your views on such relationships). Possible OoC. OCs. English isn’t my first language.

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First Part:[here]

Part II

Marriage and sexual relations between first cousins weren’t strange or new practices in your world; in fact, such unions were thought to be beneficial— even encouraged, sometimes— as it created stronger bonds and kept the wealth within the family. Generally speaking, it was thought that both parties would be more comfortable in a relationship with a relative than a stranger, given that they knew each other beforehand. Of course, a study on the groom’s and bride’s genetic codes was carried out to avoid any unwanted surprises that could appear during the conception of a child. But even if that was the case, gene therapy solved virtually every problem by then.

Your elder sisters had taken vows with the sons of other important figures in the council. Being the child of a concubine yourself, you wouldn’t be allowed to do the same but your father wanted to give you a chance to have what he considered a ‘good marriage’. While you appreciated his concern, you very much preferred being with a nobody whom you could grow to love one day. That would never happen on his watch, unfortunately, and while you didn’t like the idea— for your cousins were like siblings to you, despite the fact that Salen acted as anything but— you knew there were far worse situations than this. Such was the case of a man who had turned one of his half-sisters into his mistress, as they weren’t legally permitted to marry, though you doubted she’d been happy to be the focus of his attentions. It was most disturbing to think this could become the norm in the future, but something deep inside your heart told you that it’d always been this way despite many efforts to conceal the truth and keep up appearances.

At least Salen had never tried to force himself on you, but it was difficult to tell for how long he’d remain like this. Once you married, you would have no choice but to submit and do as he said. It was the duty of a woman to obey her husband and give him descendants, the same way a man had to care for his wife and ensure she and their children wanted for nothing.

To be honest, you weren’t looking forward to it.

Before you realized it, Victory Day came. It was an important date for your people to commemorate the Secession Wars and celebrate the liberation of Mars from Earth’s yoke. Cydonia being the capital and core of the Martian economy and military power— as it was the location of Tharsis 02, one of the biggest and most important shipyards of the SDF— was the epicenter of these festivities that lasted for many sols. The metropolis was busy with exceptional parades and demonstrations of the prowess of the SDF armed forces that, you’d heard on numerous occasions, would put Earth’s to shame. Being the daughter of a hierarch, you were required to attend these events with your family and, of course, there was the private celebration reserved for members of the council and other families of renown.

On this occasion it was held in the residence of your father. Given that you were in your own house you’d chosen to retire to a safe haven, with the excuse that you were tired after a long day, despite the objections of your father’s wife. In truth, you had no wish to see Salen and she knew that you wanted to avoid him. Emin, on the other hand, was more understanding and allowed you to take your leave. At any rate, he knew you’d be spending a lot of time with your future husband… until one of you decided to die.

“I admit I never thought you and Salen would end up together. I thought it was only our parents joking because you were always arguing,” your sister Kalyna said, which prompted you to roll your eyes. The engagement had been announced not long ago during a familiar dinner and, while your siblings and cousins had congratulated you on the decision, you couldn’t say you shared their thrill.

“Seriously, must we talk about him now of all times? Are you trying to make me lose concentration, so you can win in Hounds and Jackals? That’s cheating, I’ll have you know.” Gently you petted the cat dozing off on your lap, eliciting contented purrs from her, whilst Kalyna heaved a weary sigh and regarded you with unease.

“You refuse to talk every time someone mentions the topic, but I see you’re distressed and that’s not a good sign. If only you would open up to me, then maybe I could help you deal with this. I know how you’re feeling because I was in your place once.” Her green eyes focused on the board, as she paused for a moment to move one of her pieces before nodding at you. “It’s your turn.”

“If I cannot avoid it, then I’ll ignore it. As simple as that.” Grabbing the sticks, you rolled them in your hands and cast them. A smile appeared on your lips, then. “Oh, triplets!”

“Um, I’m afraid that’s not how it works. You’re only blinding yourself to—”

“I don’t care.” It was a lie, of course. You did care, but there was nothing you could do about it. If your father said you were getting married to Salen, you would have to do it whether you agreed or not. “Don’t ruin such a lovely evening, please.”

“I understand you’re upset at these news, but this is an important event in the life of any woman and our father is a prominent member of the High Council.”

“That is the problem. He could have chosen anyone to be my husband yet, for some caprice of him and his brother, he decided that Salen is the best option for me. How tragic do you think that is? I’ll be stuck with a bastard for the rest of my life!”

“You know, I don’t think Salen is as bad as you believe him to be. Maybe if you actually gave him a chance, you would discover attractive qualities about him.” She was trying so hard to make you see the good side of your misfortune, but her kind words didn’t offer any solace for you.

“He has had plenty of chances to fix the wrong he’s done, but he’s not even sorry. What makes you think he will be a better man after we sign a contract that practically makes me his property?”

“It’s not as terrible as it sounds. The more you resist, the more difficult it’s going to be getting used. It happened to me with Erazem, and I was unhappy at first… but I promise it’ll get better once you start to accept him. Otherwise, trust me, you’re not going to have a good time.”

Other people would say you were overreacting and you probably were, given your circumstances and the fact you’d always known this would happen one day, but you didn’t really want to marry Salen. Time and again, it had been proven that you’d never understand each other so what was the point in trying to force a relationship between you and him? Willingly or not, your father was condemning you to a life of misery. You knew that you would never have hope of finding love or happiness with someone like your cousin, who seemed incapable of any kind gesture or affection. It was sad recalling that you’d once pitied the woman who would one day become his wife, only for you to be the one.

“Why is it always the same story? It shouldn’t have to be this way. We are not things!” you grumbled, flinging one of the jackal pegs to the floor with such force that it split in two. The racket scared your poor cat and she jumped off your lap, rushing to hide somewhere, as you watched the head of the pawn skid a distance away from you until it came to a stop near a pair of black leather shoes.

To your dismay, Salen had to appear at the most convenient of times, accompanied by his younger sister Roshan. His arm was linked to hers as they walked in the room, but he let go of the girl to pick up the strange item that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere, staring at it with casual interest before giving you a knowing look that did very little to put you at ease. Salen approached with the aplomb of a man who owns the world, not an ounce of hesitation or modesty in him, and you had to divert your gaze from his smug expression lest he’d take it as a silent invitation to test your patience.

He came to a stop by your side and greeted Kalyna briefly, then focused his attention on you as he tossed the head of the jackal at you. “Did you lose your head, my sweet?”

What a charming man he was…

Rolling your eyes in disgust, you held the item with the tip of your fingers and set it aside with a grimace. “Oh, Salen, each day I’m more convinced you’re the reason we can’t have nice things.”

“It’s good to see you both,” your sister greeted apologetically, trying to lighten up the mood, and Roshan seemed to find the situation hilarious for some reason.

“Why the long face, (Y/N)? Come on, you should be all smiles for your fiancé,” she teased, prompting an irritated huff from you.

“If he wants me to smile, then he should give me a reason to.”

“I would, dear cousin, but where is the fun in that?” Salen’s reply didn’t surprise you at all. It was evident that pestering you had always been one of his favorite pastimes, for as long as you could remember.

“I swear you two are like children,” Kalyna lamented whilst you eyed him out of the corner of your eye, assessing his appearance with subtlety. In this occasion he donned his navy blue full dress uniform, sporting several medals on his double-breasted jacket to account for his exemplary service since the beginning of his military career, and the stars on his golden and black shoulder boards denoted his recent promotion as Captain 1st Rank.

He removed the peaked cap from his head— revealing dark hair that was smoothly slicked back underneath—, placed it on the divan you were sitting on and unbuttoned the high collar of his jacket. While you could have agreed that he looked particularly handsome that evening, you would never entertain such asinine thoughts of infatuation for him.

Your gaze followed the trail of his facial scar, from the center of his forehead to his right cheek— an old wound that you’d found appalling, when you saw him for the first time after his return from training and naval college. It was an ‘accident’ that nearly cost him his eye and his career, his sisters had explained. Something, indeed, was very wrong though you couldn’t dig much deeper into the issue and you were scared to do so. Those who dared question the regime had disappeared in mysterious ways and were never seen again. No one would tell you what was going on but you weren’t an idiot. The name of Intracore, the police that enforced the law on Martian territory and executed the will of the High Council, was enough to give anyone second thoughts about being nothing but happy to serve the SDF.

“Dear Kalyna, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Roshan’s voice interrupted your train of thought, and your elder sister turned to the youngster with a curious expression on her face.

“And what would that be?”

However, Roshan seemed a little withdrawn suddenly, and you dreaded what she might say next as she threw a sly look her brother’s way. “I’m afraid I need to talk to you in private. Hope you don’t mind, (Y/N).”

“But we’re playing Hounds and Jackals… ” The little runt! Though you knew you should be angry at Salen, since this was probably his idea and Roshan was merely doing what he wanted.

“I’m sorry but it’s really important!” She sounded truly abashed for doing this to you and, while you wanted to tell her to get lost when their elders were speaking, you could never say no when she looked at you with those cute chocolate eyes of hers— a trait that, unfortunately, Salen had also inherited. It had been that deceiving look he wore which convinced you to give him another chance, until you realized that beneath that facade of his there was only hardness of heart and cruelty.

Figures. “I’ll be on my way then.” The more distance you put between you and him, the better.

“Oh, no, no!” Roshan shook her head. “It would rude of me to make you leave like this, and I’m sure Lyna will agree on that. Please, don’t worry about us. You stay here with my dear brother. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about.” She laughed under her breath, taking Kalyna by the hand and dragging her away. “Come, we must hurry.”

You couldn’t believe they were actually leaving you behind. Kalyna stared at you with sympathy, aware that you weren’t going to have a pleasant time with Salen, but there wasn’t much she could do to save you from him. It wasn’t in her power to do such a thing.

“Using your little sister as an excuse to annoy me? Outstanding.” Sarcasm dripped from your voice, something that didn’t escape his notice.

“Using your sister to avoid me? Predictable,” he remarked with a chuckle, and you glared daggers at him.

“Does this seem amusing to you?” Of course it was. He got you where he wanted you.

“Well, the truth is, I’ve always found your short temper entertaining,” he began, holding one of the hound pegs in his hand to inspect in an absent-minded fashion.

“So you made it a hobby to harass me, apparently.”

“Harass you? No, love; I only intend to make you understand your place. Ever since we were children, you have been too spoiled and outspoken for my liking or your own good.”

“Oh, is little Salen mad because someone dared talk back to him? Aw, how cute. That wouldn’t happen very often if he showed consideration and respect for others, don’t you think?”

Setting the object in his hand down on the board, he shrugged— clearly impassive at your words. “Laugh while you still can. Your father may have gone easy on you all these years, but rest assured that I won’t. Once you have pledged yourself to me and we have consummated, you will not dare go against me.”

The reminder that your first intimate experience, and all subsequent encounters, would be with him made you sick. If you refused him, he would force you— no doubt about that— and no one would even consider it a crime.

“Are you threatening me?”

“Take it as a warning that I will not tolerate insolence or disobedience from anyone, and certainly not from you.”

“You are despicable. I can’t believe you actually agreed to this arrangement. Out of all the men in Mars, it had to be you! Why couldn’t you choose someone else and leave me alone?”

“Why would I settle for less when I could have you?” He grabbed a lock of your hair and you flinched at his touch, slapping his hand away with a scowl. “And to think you once said you wouldn’t marry me, even if I were the last man left in the solar system. Life is such a delightful irony, isn’t it?”

“And I see you, your father and mine, have forgotten to ask my opinion.”

“A woman must do what her patriarch decides. You know it very well. Like it or not, you’re going to be mine— all mine like my dog, or any other of my possessions.” He then frowned in deep thought, considering something for a moment. “Though, compared with my dog, I will love you more… and trust you less.” At this, you had to laugh if only to conceal how miserable that statement made you feel. “You will never do the things to me you would have done to another man, batting your eyelashes without shame and giving them coy little smiles.”

Oh? Did he want to bet, then?

Putting on your best facade of loving young lady, you arose with delicate poise until you were standing small and fragile before him— the way he wanted to see you. Your chiffon farasha dress, embroidered with a pectoral collar of precious stones, shadowed the curves of your body under your long silk slip but it showed just enough to draw his attention, which made you smirk in anticipation. With a sweet look in your eyes, you closed the distance between you and him, smiling tenderly as your arms slipped around his broad shoulders.

Your lips hovered his but never touched fully, and you knew he wouldn’t be able to resist when his breath caught in his throat at the sensation of your body so close to his. It took less longer than you’d expected for him to fall victim to your pretense. His strong arm wrapped around your waist and he pressed you against him, fingers tangling in your hair before he claimed your mouth in a heated kiss. It was possessive, meant to assert his ownership over you, and you played along to make him believe you longed for his touch. It would be a lie saying that his overpowering lust didn’t ignite something in you, and you knew you were at fault for that. But your contempt for him was much stronger than any odious desire you might be harboring deep inside, and you weren’t going to forget that any time soon.

He should have a taste of the affection you’d never feel for him, of the passion you’d deny him every time you were in his arms.

As the kiss came to an end, Salen parted from your flushed face, his eyes half-lidded as they took in your sweet expression that was soon replaced by one of smug triumph. Realizing you’d deceived him, he frowned in indignation and you couldn’t hold back your laughter at having hurt his pride. Your actions had clearly angered him, for he gave an irritated growl and pushed you to the divan on top of the satin cushions. Oh, the look on his face was priceless and you surely savored this small victory!

His chocolate eyes narrowed dangerously, as he circled you like you were his prey, and he retrieved his peaked cap with a forceful snatch. “I know you, my sweet. You’re a sharp-clawed treacherous little peacock, but you’re a prize that many want to claim… and I’m going to have all of you.”

He had clearly misunderstood your intentions. Even if you were his wife, you’d never be truly his and that was what you wanted to make very clear. “In your dreams. Did you think my kiss was a promise of what you would have?” How quick he was to jump to conclusions. “No, little Salen. It was to let you know what you will not have. I could never love you.”

The black-haired man arched an eyebrow and scoffed in amusement, much to your surprise and discomfort as that wasn’t the reaction you were expecting from him. “Does that matter?” What a fool you’d been to believe he would care. In less than a second, however, his expression darkened and you felt a knot in your throat at the clear menace in his gaze. “You will be my wife. I will have you whenever I want you, and I will enjoy that very much. Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair…” He placed the covering on his head and threw a last glance at you, as one of the corners of his mouth rose in a smirk, “but I think you will.”

At long last, Salen walked away and left you to sulk in your bitter desolation, incensed at the way he’d turned the tables on you. With a glower, you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand to get rid of the taste of his wicked lips and quivered as your stomach churned in disgust.

A soft meow came from beneath and you looked down to find your cat staring with concern in her blue eyes. Jumping to your arms, she purred— as if trying to comfort you— and you petted her soft fur, refusing to shed tears because of him.

“At least I have you…”

It was just an average day for the woman of Mars,after all.

A/N: What can I say? Salen has such a way with the ladies in my fics :P what a romantic gentleman he is!

This two-shot was heavily based on a scene of the Ten Commandments, an old movie from the 50s. Nefertiri has always been my favorite character and I thought her story was tragic and sad ;A;

You can see for yourself how I butchered the scene on my story:

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#salen kotch #call of duty #infinite warfare #kit harington #kit harington fanfiction #my stories #i don't know how i managed to delete this #tumblr app is great #what am i doing with my life #what is this story?

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