#may is happy to mother children from any universe to death :)

[sims-himbo]

THE SIMS 4: BARBIE Legacy Challenge!

oh hi there! i haven't posted here in a while, but i just watched the barbie movie a few days ago and needless to say, it is now my entire personality. so here's my first ever legacy challenge based on barbie's many, many careers and achievements!

apologies in advance, this challenge uses a lot of packs! i'm sorry! i might try to make a base game version at some point

portuguese translation by @demaciana-sims

sims 3 version by @appaloosawhims

challenge rules below the cut

All heirs must be female and named Barbie. (non-heir children may have any name)

You may use the freerealestate cheat for your first house, but try not to use money cheats after that!

You are allowed and encouraged to use lot traits and rewards to boost skill gain, anything that’s in-game is fair game.

Packs you will need:

EPs: Get To Work, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Get Famous, Island Living

GPs: Spa Day*, Parenthood

Optional packs (for the optional generations):

EPs: University, Cottage Living, Horse Ranch

GPs: Strangerville

*You only need Spa Day for the High Maintenance trait in one of the generations and nothing else, so it's fine to skip out on it.

You've been raised with traditional values: find a good man, start a family, be a homemaker... But you want your children to aim higher, so you'll make sure to set them up for success.

Complete Successful Lineage aspiration

Max Parenting and Cooking skills

Have at least 3 kids and 1 pet, each child must complete at least one child aspiration and they must all max out their grades in school

Must have Family-Oriented trait

Your mother was happy staying at home, but not you. You're ready to fight your way to the top and make enough money to support your family for generations to come.

Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

Max Charisma and Logic skills

Max Business career (Investor branch)

Must have Ambitious trait

Your family is pretty wealthy, so you've used your funds to open up your very own vet clinic and follow your dreams of being surrounded by furry little guys all day! But it might be more difficult than you thought...

Complete Friend of the Animals aspiration

Max Veterinarian skill

Run a 5-star vet clinic

Have at least 3 pets and be good friends with all of them

Must have either Cat Lover or Dog Lover trait

You grew up surrounded by pets, and you now want to explore even more of the animal kingdom... So you're going underwater! What magical secrets will you discover on your journey?

Must live in Sulani

Complete Beach Life aspiration

Max Conservationist career (Marine Biologist branch)

Become a mermaid

Max Logic and Fitness skills

Must have Child of the Ocean trait

Your mother had an almost supernatural level of fitness at sea, so now you've been inspired to master fitness on land! You're determined to reach your full potential in physical performance and become a world class champion.

Join Cheer or Football team as a teenager and reach highest level

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Max Fitness and Charisma skills

Max Athlete career (Athlete branch)

Must have Active trait

Your family has achieved many, many accolades, and you've set out to capture all of it in an epic Tell-All novel that you spend your entire life writing!

Complete Bestselling Author aspiration

Max Writing skill

Write Book Of Life and bind it to your parent, use it to successfully bring them back from a premature death

Must have Creative trait

Movie stardom is the next logical step for your lineage, so you set out to conquer the silver screen. Will you catapult the family name into even greater heights, or will it now be associated with infamy?

Complete Master Actress aspiration

Max Acting skill

Must reach at least Proper Celebrity status

Must have a secret affair with a fellow Actor!

Must have High Maintenance trait

As the child of a successful actress, people may roll their eyes and immediately write you off as yet another nepo-baby trying to start a music career... So you must prove them all wrong by becoming a proper rockstar!

Complete World Famous Celebrity aspiration

Max Singing skill

Max skill in at least 2 instruments

Max Entertainer career (Musician branch)

Must have Music Lover trait

What's next after conquering so many careers and reaching worldwide fame for the family name? World domination, of course! Become the greatest Leader this nation has ever seen!

Complete Mansion Baron aspiration

Max Politician career (Politician branch)

Max Charisma skill

Must have Self-Assured trait

Now that you've conquered the world, it's time to venture out into Space! There's so much to explore out there, and Barbie must leave her mark all across the galaxy.

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Logic and Rocket Science skills

Go to SIXAM at least once and bring a souvenir

Must have Genius trait

Still want more? Here's some extra Barbies that you can play with!

Countryside Barbie

Complete Country Caretaker aspiration

Max Gardening skill

Must make all money from gardening, farming, wine making, etc. No day job!

Must own a horse and have it max every skill

Must have Animal Enthusiast trait

Army General Barbie

Must live in Strangerville

Complete Strangerville Mystery aspiration

Max Logic and Charisma skills

Max Military career (Either branch)

Must have Erratic trait

Scientist Barbie

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Scientist Career

Be abducted by Aliens at least once

Must have Genius trait

Ultimate Barbie

Set lifespan to long

Complete at least 2 child aspirations

Complete Renaissance Sim AND Academic aspirations

Max 10 skills

Have 12 or more traits

Graduate from college

Reach the top of any career

Have a house worth 1 Million Simoleons

Have at least 5 kids and max your relationship with all of them

that's about it! if you play this, please use #sims barbie legacy

have fun:)

#sims 4 legacy challenge #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 #ts4 legacy challenge #ts4 #the sims 4 #the sims #sims 4 challenge #barbie #the sims legacy challenge #sims-himbo #sims barbie legacy

[justawritterwithideas]

Boy Wonder and the Rockstar | s.r

✩ next part ✩

summary: Spencer and Y/N meet in college after a book search, creating a friendship where opposites attract. But Spencer has to move across the country to pursue his happiness and completely loses contact with Y/N. What if fate decides it's time to meet after 15 years and with a crazy stalker in between? Spencer won't lose to fate again and will do anything in his power to protect Y/N.

warnings: mentions of death, alcohol, drugs, strong vocabulary, as well as talk of heartbreak, disappointment and arguments. It also contains content regarding CM season 13, so it clearly contains spoilers. this is a spencer reid x famous!reader story.

this will be a small series of chapters so here are the general precautions of the series, each chapter will have its own precautions. !!!

words: 3,909 words.

a/n: hey! here alme with a little series i've been planning for a couple of weeks now. as you may know, i've been talking about the spencer reid x famous!reader relationship but as hayley williams, so i decided to set myself the challenge and write a little series called "boy wonder and the rockstar", so i hope you like it. i haven't planned how many chapters it will have yet but i don't want to make it too long, and also patience with each chapter. so, I don't want to make it longer and I'll leave you the first chapter. thank you. ♡

𝟎.𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲.

Spencer always lived under the stigma of being a child genius. His I.Q. was 187, he could read 20,000 words per minute and had an eidetic memory.

Everyone around him told him what to do, from his mother, to his "friends," to his teachers, to his neighbors.

"Hey Spencer, with that brain of yours you could make it in the government" "Spencer you could be part of NASA" "Spencer you could be a mathematical genius like Einstein!" "Spencer you're going to get into the CIA!"

"And where are you going to go to college? Because you know Harvard is already a lock for you" "I bet you'll go to YALE, that's where all the smart ones go" "Princeton is an excellent choice for you!" "MIT could open a lot of doors for you"

Spencer this, Spencer that.

But no one really thought about what Spencer wanted. Maybe he wanted to be a magician and make children happy with his tricks. Maybe he wanted to be a trapeze artist, or a fireman, or an astronaut, or just an ice cream man.

All these expectations of Spencer reached a point where he didn't even know what he wanted in life. He lived under the shadow of the expectations and visions people had placed on him, and he didn't want to let them down. He was just a kid, a kid scared of adult life who had to impose himself because others imposed it on him.

That's how his brain made him skip grades, have to enter high school at age 12, and have to suffer a lot of abuse from the grown-ups for just being a boy genius.

Spencer sometimes wished he could make his brain disappear and have a normal one. Then he could have normal friends, go to a normal school, have a relationship, experience the problems people his age have, and be able to feel the phases of adolescence like any other kid.

But things were not like that.

He had to live the life he had been dealt, with his genius brain and the damn adult problems at 13.

CalTech was a new life he had to accept, but it wasn't as bad as the one he had before. His mind was kept busy for a long period.

He was forced to grow up around books full of equations, chemical elements and mathematical problems, managing at 16 to get his first college degree, which was Mathematics, and the following year to get a PhD in it. But he did not dislike this.

But as they say it is never enough, he kept on studying until he was 21. Thanks to this, he became a doctor of two more degrees, Chemistry and Engineering, in addition to Psychology, Sociology and Criminology.

His social life at the university was not so hectic, in fact, he only stood out for the fact that he was a boy genius, and that was it. To other people, he was a person like any other.

Until one autumn day, in the middle of his 19 years and studying psychology, his paths were interrupted by crossing that of others, and that, probably, is the person who changed his life the last years of college.

It was an ordinary day in the university library. Spencer had been rereading an encyclopedia of human anatomy for two hours. Why you may wonder, well, it was his way of killing time during his free time.

Acquiring knowledge was the best way to keep his brain fed and occupied, according to the boy.

He had eaten his sandwich a couple of minutes ago and let his brain feed on information at that moment, trying to persuade his intrusive thoughts at that minute. Through the pages you could see the muscular system, focusing on the leg and foot areas.

To be honest, it looked quite interesting.

That day, leaves were beginning to fall from the trees, filling the ground with their autumn colors; there was a gentle cool breeze, a strong smell of wet dirt and people were crowded in the warmer areas of the campus. It was no surprise to anyone that the library was one of the most crowded areas, the vast majority of people were gathered around the tables as large college texts lay open on them.

Spencer was sure he had seen more than one student curse at the fact that they couldn't find what they were looking for, and then walk out of the room in exhaustion. It wasn't the first time someone had cursed his name because they found themselves reading the text they were looking for and, besides, they weren't able to approach and ask for it.

He could believe it was cowardly on their part, maybe they were too shy to be able to do it or it was an excuse to put off studying what they were looking for. Even though he considered that the The study methods they had were not very good and, if they started studying earlier, they could increase their grad-

"Excuse me."

A voice interrupted the conversation Spencer was having with himself, pushing away his intrusive thoughts that were beginning to take over his mind. The young man's head turned and he saw a girl, perhaps his age, staring at the encyclopedia in front of him.

"I asked Miss Wellington about the Rouviére and Delmas encyclopedia of human anatomy, and well..." The girl looked over Spencer's shoulder. "She told me that maybe the boy sitting at the back table had it. There are no other tables in the back and you're the only guy sitting here, so I think my deduction is correct and you have it."

"Y-yes, this is the encyclopedia you're looking for." Spencer admitted, looking at the young woman.

More than looking at her, he was admiring her. She was wearing a red skirt and hoodie with some embroidered words on it, her legs were also wearing dark leggings and some rather damaged black converses, over it she was carrying another coat and a backpack; her arms were loaded with medical and anatomy books, plus her hair was disheveled.

"Great! Must be my lucky day that a cute guy has it." Her books fell onto the table and she sat down next to Spencer.

The boy could smell the scent of tobacco and mint mixed with the scent of cherry perfume.

"May I see?" Spencer turned to look at her and, even though he was reading that book first, his head nodded. "Fine! I just want to see..." The sound of the leaves was rapid, as if a fan was moving them. "This... Nervous system."

Suddenly, and as if by magic, a notebook appeared in front of them both and quickly the girl was beginning to write on the blank sheets, even though to Spencer it looked more like a scribble than a resume as such.

"Shit, what is this?" the girl paused to read more closely. "In the central axon, the electrical signal is converted into a chemical signal, and then releases the chemical signal with chemical messengers called neur-neurotransmitters." The sound of the pencil falling on the table made the boy startle.

"Nervous system?"

"That's right, I have a lecture in three days and I'm still trying to associate concepts in the nervous system. Like my nervous system isn't nervous anymore."

Spencer chuckled to himself, the girl had a funny sense of humor.

"In fact, when the brain interprets that we are in danger, it produces a rush of adrenaline that activates the heart and muscles to place them on alert, but if prolonged, it can lead to health problems such as cardiovascular disease like heart attack and is associated with hypertension and arrhythmias and is the enhancer of other cardiovascular risk factors." Spencer turned to look at the girl, who looked quite interested in what he was saying, jotting everything down in her notebook. "But it's not that your nervous system is 'nervous', it's that it interprets that it's in danger and so it sends that kind of stimulus to your body that makes you anxious."

"I see you know about the nervous system, much more than I do." The girl scanned him from head to toe. "Are you a medical student?"

"No, CalTech doesn't have a medical degree, but I am a doctor." The boy admitted.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Shit, and you already have a doctorate?"

"Actually I have three."

Silence stretched between the two, caused by the woman's shock.

"Are you some kind of alien or is your brain too big that it stores more information than I can retain?"

"Well, I have an IQ of 187 so I can read 20,000 words per minute, plus I have eidetic memory. But I prefer the concept of being more advanced than others."

The girl stared at him.

But to his surprise, the young woman only let out a giggle.

"You're funny, I like it." No one had ever told Spencer that he was funny. In fact, he thought that adjective didn't directly relate to him. "I'm Y/N, Y/N L/N."

"Spencer...Spencer Reid." Y/N denied.

"No, you're not Spencer."

"Excuse me?"

"You're Dr. Spencer Reid." Spencer smiled, she was right. "Well, it's nice to meet you, dr. Reid."

"Nice to meet you, Miss L/N." They both smiled.

"Well, now that I know your name, dr. Reid, we can start our friendship."

Spencer never thought making friends was so easy, even though he knew it was because the girl had gone to the trouble of calling herself his "friend," without even knowing him.

But that didn't bother him, in fact, he found it nice that someone had decided to be his friend.

Overnight, Spencer's evenings began to become more colorful, smelling of tobacco and mint, and filled with questions from Y/N, his new friend.

Although, at first, Spencer didn't seem comfortable around the girl, he quickly got used to it. He had learned several things about Y/N over the days, such as that she was a medical student at Pasadena City College, a college a couple of blocks from CalTech; she was the youngest in the family and had an older brother who had been diagnosed with leukemia a couple of years ago.

He had also learned that she was very into fashion, lived in an apartment complex nearby, smoked a couple of years ago, and only liked menthol tobacco cigarettes. Her favorite color was orange, but she didn't think it looked good on her, and she didn't see herself going to medical school, but she wanted to be a singer.

The first time Spencer heard Y/N sing was during a kermes in Pasadena City, she had been invited to sing on behalf of the medical school. Spencer never liked the idea of being around so many people, let alone at a kermes which was as unsanitary as possible, but his new "best friend" had begged him to go.

He couldn't say no.

He remembered perfectly how her hands shook with nerves, how she bit her lip as she cleared her throat and watched her bandmates, aka Y/N's other friends, rehearse with their instruments.

He knew she had practiced for this moment a bunch of times, had more than once arrived at Spencer's dorm wet from head to toe from running in the rain after a rehearsal, and hummed the songs under her breath every time they studied together in the library.

She was more than ready, but her own fears sometimes made her afraid of her talent.

Reid's eyes were on her, smiling confidently to convey that feeling as a guitar began to play the first chords, and announced the start of her performance.

Spencer didn't know what song it was, he wasn't even sure if the song was to his taste, but when he heard Y/N's voice he knew it had become his favorite song.

“Her name is Noelle

I have a dream about her, she rings my bell

I got gym class in half an hour

And, oh, how she rocks

In Keds and tube socks

But she doesn't know who I am

And she doesn't give a damn about me”

Their gaze was on each other, as if they were the only ones in that large space. The few times the eye contact was broken was when Y/N closed her eyes.

The song ended successfully and an avalanche of applause greeted Y/N, who thanked the audience for their attention. Soon another band filled the stage and for a few seconds, Spencer lost sight of Y/N. He wanted to tell her how great she had turned out, how all her effort and practice had made everything come out perfectly and that she looked like a total rockstar on stage.

"Spence! How was it, did you like it?" Y/N hugged the boy's arm, who turned to look at her with a sweet smile on his face.

"It was amazing, Y/N. Everyone loved it." Affirmed the boy.

"I was so nervous, I was so afraid it wouldn't go well, but I saw you there, and I felt like I could do it. You're my lucky charm, Spencie."

Spencer felt something jump in his chest.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm dying for some corn-dogs." Said the opposite.

"Y-yeah, let's get something to eat, my treat."

The day Spencer was accepted into the FBI academy was probably the most bittersweet day of his entire life.

At 22 years old, and in the middle of finishing his college semester for what felt like the fifth time, a letter arrived in his dorm room.

A letter of acceptance.

He could feel that all his hard work had been rewarded by whoever was up there. He quickly put on his sneakers and ran a marathon to the medical building at Pasadena City College.

His best friend's short red hair he could quickly visualize as he saw her smoking by the entrance, she seemed to be listening to something on her MP4 and bobbing her head to the beat of-who-knows-what song.

"Y/N! Y/N!" Spencer's voice sounded agitated, trying to get her best friend's attention.

The, now, redhead removed her earpiece and turned to see the tall boy running towards her.

"Spence?" From her mouth came the tobacco smoke, causing her to let the cigarette burn between her fingers.

"I made it, I got into the academy!"

The two big hazel eyes made contact with those of the girl, who dropped the cigarette to the sidewalk and hugged her friend tightly.

"I can't believe it, Spence! You did it! You did it! My goodness, I couldn't be prouder!" The younger girl began to do some jumping jacks as she didn't let go of her grip on his embrace.

"Thank you, Y/N. I couldn't have done it without you, you were the one who stuck with me through this whole process."

"You don't have to thank me, dorkie. I knew you'd make it, they couldn't leave out a genius like you." Soon they both disengaged from the embrace and the girl looked at the boy's face. "W-where is the academy? Tell me."

"I don't know, I-I didn't fully read the letter." He admitted embarrassed.

"Then read it! Go on." The girl took him by the arm and forced him to sit down on the faculty stairs.

Slowly, Spencer began to read the letter while Y/N listened intently to every word.

"The course begins on September 23rd of the current year in..." A pause.

Y/N looked at Spencer, who had stopped reading the letter.

"Where, Spence, what does it say?"

"The course begins September 23rd of the current year in Quantico, Virginia."

Y/N felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dropped on her.

Quantico? That was on the other side of the country!

"Q-quantico? Spence, that's on the other side of the-"

"Country, I know Y/N. I-I... I can't do it, I can't."

"What the fuck are you talking about!" The girl stood up startled, looking accusingly at her best friend. "No, I refuse. You have to do it, it's your dream, Spence! What you've always wanted for the last three years that I've known you, I refuse to let you back down now, I won't allow it!"

Spencer looked up from the letter, watching Y/N who was looking at him with her face burning with anger.

"You know I can't do that, what's going to happen to my mom? You know what's going on with her and her schizophrenia, I can't leave her alone."

"She would want you to go, Spence. Her happiness is where yours is, you know she'll be able to do it, there are plenty of options to help her." A long silence settled between the two of them.

Spencer didn't want to leave California, he didn't want to leave his mother or Y/N, he couldn't.

"Spencer Reid, I know what you're thinking right now, but I won't let you let this opportunity pass you by. You have dreamed of this exact moment for years, for as long as I have known you you have always wanted to go to the academy and you have done everything in your power to do so. Now they are offering it to you on a silver platter, you have to do it, there is nothing more you can do here in California. You've already studied all the existing careers in the world, you've already done what anyone in 50 years would have done and at your short 22 years you're already a doctor of three careers." The girl settled back down beside him, letting her icy hand wrap around Spencer's warm one. "You can't just limit yourself to staying here just because you have an engagement, the world has to know who Dr. Spencer Reid is like I know him, you have to go."

Spencer drew an elongated smile, feeling his body fill with that feeling of sadness that pervaded him from head to toe.

The redhead's words were true, it was his dream. But he didn't want to leave the only thing that made him happy on the other side of the country, he would love to carry it in his pocket to Virginia and have his dose of serotonin after each day.

He didn't want to stop smelling her tobacco and minty breath, the cherry smell coming off her clothes and the blueberry smell coming off her hair. He wanted to keep seeing the reddish locks of hair on his clothes and the cheesy paper notes in his pockets every time they met. He wanted to keep listening to the music on Y/N's MP4 every time he went to her apartment and drink coffee with lots of sugar that she made for him, keep hearing her voice in the shower and get biology questions at three in the morning every time she had a test.

He wanted to go to thrift stores to try on printed T-shirts and watch Y/N's camera fill up with pictures of the two of them, keep going to her shows with her band and eat frozen pizza after every gig.

He wanted to keep being with her.

But if she was letting him go, then he had to let her go too.

"I think I can go on living without hearing your bad jokes." Spencer's words lifted Y/N's spirits, who gave him a playful smile.

"Hey! My jokes are the best, last time you laughed for two hours."

"Because it was stupid."

They both laughed, letting the tension of the moment go with the last echo of their laughter.

"So you'll go across the country to make me proud?"

"Yes, I'll go make you proud."

Y/N's arms wrapped around Spencer's body, resting her head in the space of his shoulder and chin.

"I'm glad you didn't make a dumb decision."

Staying here with you isn't a dumb decision, Spencer thought.

They both pulled apart.

"Well, screw the skeleton. Let's go to the library and write your answer."

The girl's small hand imprisoned the boy's large hand, guiding him to the library to write what would be Spencer's fate.

The flight from California to Washington was five hours.

Five hours where Spencer and Y/N would be separated, and they would have to accept that fate had something different in store for the two of them.

Despite California being a sunny paradise, that day he wanted to keep the two friends company as they said goodbye at the airport.

"You already know my number, you know you can call me whenever you want." Commented the girl, who was in charge of carrying the book she had given him to read during the trip.

"I'm not such a fan of technology, you know that."

"There are pay phones over there too, Spence. It only costs a couple of cents to call me, plus they must have landlines there, and you have my email." The girl stopped in front of the door that separated goodbyes with new beginnings. "And if not, you can send me a letter. You know my address."

"A letter doesn't sound bad at all, in fact, for centuries, it was one of the most widely used means of communication by human civilizations since man began to write and whose importance transcended nations. The oldest courier service ever found was in Egypt in 2400 B.C. and in 1840, Sir Rowland Hill created the first postage stamp, which was called Penny Black, which was a profile drawing of Queen Victoria of England that had the rate 'One Penny' written on it."

"Oh Spence, I'm going to miss your fun facts about absurdly boring things." Commented the girl before she could hug him.

Spencer felt his heart clench.

"I'll miss you listening to me." They both turned in an embrace so tight it could take all the oxygen out of their bodies.

Neither wanted to be the first to say goodbye, neither was ready to leave the other. Their hearts were bound together like puzzle pieces, and just as when you lose one, the puzzle will no longer be complete.

"Now, you must go, your flight is about to leave." Y/N commented, separating from the young man as she wiped away the small tear that escaped from her eyes. "Miss me a lot, huh? And show off how pretty your best friend is."

"Always. Remember that wherever you are, whatever you do or whoever you're with, you'll always be in my heart."

A pout settled in Y/N's mouth, who felt like she was letting a part of her go with Spencer.

"Don't forget about me, because I will never forget about you." Demanded the girl, who was pushing the boy to go for his flight.

"It's impossible for me to forget you, I have an eidetic memory." He said laughing, waving goodbye as he received the book the girl handed him.

The two met in a final embrace, where Spencer could smell the girl's cherry and menthol tobacco scent for the last time.

"Write me!" Y/N vociferated, waving goodbye to the boy who nodded and disappeared behind the airport doors.

Y/N and Spencer didn't know that at that moment fate would place them on trial, causing their paths to diverge for many years until, magically, they would come together again.

“When two souls are meant to meet, fate brings worlds closer, erases distances, joins paths and defies the impossible.” Anonymous.

@alexa-33 | @ahhhhyesk | @imthefuckingleader | @narmothewraith | @kneelforloki | @niyahwhoreworld | @lexie0037 | @deadunicorn159 | @corpsebridenightamare | @preciousbabypeter | @sakuramadae | @zzz000eee | @runefirestarter | @sebastiansstanswhore | @whateverrrrrrrrs | @xsarcasticwriterx | @chris-seb-marvel | @bellaramseygfsblog | @lillysbigwilly | @dezibou | @astrophileous | @ily2lia | @sophiario | @valenftcrush | @oxace-of-heartsxo | @spencerrxids | @w31rdg1rl | @ineedsomezzz | @yeehawbitchs

If you like it, don't forget to like and repost it.

a lot of love, alme. ❀

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x you #spencerreid #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid x famous!reader #criminal minds fanfiction #it's my first series #almeseries

[letshavedeernnertogether]

We'll meet again

the plot is: (Y/n) started a new life, but every day she feels more and more lonely.

tw: a short episode with being attacked by a thief, Alastor is little bit out of character and he also lives through some trouble times, possibly grammar mistakes (english is not my mother-tongue.) I guess that's all. Well, maybe a little bit angst but there will be a happy ending (if I may call it like this)

I'm sorry it took so long, I had another busy week at university. I guess fics will appear once every in seven to ten days

The part three, by your side

*. ⋆ ✧.·:·.* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *.·:·.✧ *. ⋆

(Y/n) had been living in New Orleans for three years already. She liked this city very much. It captivated her with its charm and picturesque streets.

She had a job that didn't bring her much earnings, but brought her a lot of joy. She made the podcasts about literature. (Y/n) usually told about classics but she loved the most to tell about the older books, that were not popular in modern world. She liked to popularize the unknown, yet interesting books, because their influence was as strong as the influence of more popular stories.

From the money that was her dowry she bought a house. It located outskirts and stood alone near a forest, so (Y/n) felt herself like she was at home, but nobody demanded anything of her now. She also liked this house being near the forest, because it was very important to her to be close to nature. She did her strolls under the majestic branchy trees almost everyday and couldn't hide a smile when she understood how many deer lived in this area.

People said that this house once belonged to a famous radio host who was also a serial killer, whose crimes were discovered only after his death. He buried a body in the forest and a hunter mistook him for a deer and shot him.

(Y/n) softly smiled when she first heard this story. It was just a hearsay, a very old story, but (Y/n) liked the thought that she lived in the house of her devil.

When (Y/n) moved in her new house, the neighbours knew about it only after a week. Her nearest neighbours, a married couple with already grown-up children, who lived in fifteen minutes walk, came to her to congratulate with the new home. (Y/n) gave them a welcome, not too warm, and never let anyone in again.

She got a reputation of an unsociable and reserved lady very quickly. Nobody knew where she was from. Her speech was strange. She had a strange accent and knew many languages, but she didn't speak any of them as it was her native. She seemed out of this world. She usually appeared on the streets early in the morning or in the late evening. She wore long dresses, a long pearl beads like in 20's and a black veil, covering the upper part of her face.

She didn't have much aquaintences, didn't have friends. Sometimes she went to the city to the meetings to discuss some business, connected with her podcast. Rarely (Y/n) invited somebody in her place. It was only women. But she never let them to cross the threshold. (Y/n) and her guests sat in the garden in the backyard and chated about something.

(Y/n) liked her life in New Orleans. She didn't feel alone, didn't feel any pressure of her family. She felt absolutely free and safe.

The one thing that didn't leave her mind was he.

She missed him every day.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

Once in the late evening she was on her way home from the studio. She recorded an excellent podcast! She was sure, it wouldn't be popular, but it wasn't the main thing. She did her job because she liked it. All she had to do is to read, to write scenarios, to talk about her favorite topics and then she just had to apply the necessary effects and cut out what didn’t sound very good. That day she talked about a German novel from neinteenth century.

"Salutations, my dear hearers! Today I will tell you about the miraculous story of Peter Schlemihl. The man without his shadow... Hahaha! Oh, my! whenever I read this story I can't stop laughing! I'm very sorry for Peter and for his solitude, of course, but don't you think that he could benefit from his position? I mean, he had no shadow, so what?! People should be afraid of him, but instead of it, he was afraid of them! I find it quiet pathetic..."

"Moreover he had the devil's help by his side. But he failed to benefit from the deal. He chose money, another stupid decision of him. I would choose something more potent, what I could you use both on earth and in hell."

"Well, I shouldn't to tell you everything at once, when you probably haven't even read this book. So, let me to discuss the author's life with you, it was no less entertaining."

She enjoyed that day. She was walking along the road on the grass and thought about devils, shadows, contracts...

(Y/n) thought about Alastor. About his voice, which she hadn't heard for three years already; she thought about his smile, words, touches, protection.

His protection.

"What on earth does "choose wisely" means?" (Y/n) muttered, "Won't I stop trusting anyone the moment they attack me? Well, let's imagine. I did trust somebody, and allow them to be too close to me, but the moment they, for example, raise a knife over me, they wouldn't be the ones I trust anymore, would they? But why then does this point exist at all?"

(Y/n) didn't know that the answer was on her way.

She heard steps behind her and turned back. She saw a silhouette. It was in several meters behind her, quickly steping forward. (Y/n) saw that this person had a gored skirt and a leather coat.

"Only a woman," (Y/n) thought and breathed a sight of relief.

She turned around and continued her way, trying to remember what she was thinking about.

She walked without thoughts for some time. The night air was chill, and she breathed it with pleasure.

Suddenly the steps behind her became louder, and, before (Y/n) could thought anything, she felt that something squeezed her neck. Something thin cut into her skin. She began to suffocate. (Y/n) tried to remove that thing from her neck, but it was too tight. She heard the woman's voice behind her, "Hush, everything will be alright, I won't hurt you." (Y/n) felt that she was losing consciousness. Her eyes rolled up and legs gave way.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

As she opened her eyes, she felt a strong headache. With a weak moan she sat. She felt dizzy, but cool and wet morning air made her feel better. It was dawning. The sky was grey. A light fog surrounded her. The crows croaked in the woods. It was still dark but just in several minutes the sun would rise. How long had she been lying on the road? She touched her neck and saw little blood stains on her fingertips.

That woman... What did she do?

(Y/n) checked her bag and understood that that woman robbed her.

So what did that mean? It meant that (Y/n) relaxed when she saw, that she was stalked by a woman. (Y/n) never thought that any woman could rob the other one. She sighed deeply, stood up and slowly headed for her home. Her knees were shaking.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

She looked in the mirror. Pale face, dirty hair, a red line on her neck. It looked like (Y/n) was beheaded and then put her head on the place again.

She took a bath, treated the wound, changed her clothes. She was depressed and didn't want to think about anything.

In silence she moved to the desk where she worked. The best way no to think about anything is working. So now she was going to edit her last podcast.

When she heard her own voice, deriding the shadowless man, she couldn't help watch at her shadow. It was deeply black as usual, so black that it could be seen even in the darkness of the night. Just like on the road last night. Did that woman noticed the anomaly? (Y/n) didn't know, but even if so, the woman didn't run away in fear, she made her to lose consciousness and robbed her. The woman didn't care about who or what was (Y/n), the woman only wanted to get what she desired.

So maybe she wasn't the only one like that? Other people, desired something and saw no obstacles, they also did not care about essence of her and her shadow.

That meant that if (Y/n) wanted to be never harmed, she couldn't trust anyone.

She looked at her shadow again. At his shadow. She craved for seeing him again. It was so long.

She stood up, brought a candlestick from the living-room and matches from the kitchen and headed for a corridor at the far end of the house.

This corridor was the longest in the house and it was dead-ended. If the killer from the past had kept his victims in this house, and if they had tried to escape, they would probably have been caught in this hallway.

When (Y/n) moved to the house, she did some minor renovations: changed the wallpaper, updated the furniture that was too old and falling apart. She left the paintings, photos even and hunting trophies. A lot of antlers were hanging on the walls in this long and broad corridor.

She stopped in front of the dead-ended wall. It was also the darkest place in the house, as it had no windows. The only source of light were the candles in the sconce. She placed the candlestick on the floor and sat between it and the wall back to the candles, so a big black shadow fell on the yellow wallpaper.

She was waiting. Just give him time and he'll come.

Slowly the shadow grew bigger. Antlers grew on its head big as the branches of a tree. Its shoulders became sharper and its neck lengthened. An old radio, which she thought was no longer working, suddenly turned on. A soft white noise filled the hallway. She didn't move when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"I apologize, my dear, but I cannot be by your side right now," He said very quietly, she barely heard him because of the crackling. She didn't say anything.

"I have some business... that I must complete." He said it, drowning in the white noise more. She knew it meant that he was exasperated.

"Are you in hell now?" (Y/n) asked without taking eyes from the macabre shadow.

"I am, dear." His voice became softer. "We met in wrong time, mon cher..." Quiet calmy crackle. "I wish we could meet more often."

"I was attacked." (Y/n) said as soon as he finished his sentence. Not because she didn't want to listen to him. The point was her eyes we're filling with tears as she heard his tender whispering. She didn't want to cry if he couldn't wipe of her tears away.

The corridor filled with a nervous crackling. It took long enough for him to answer.

"And how could it happened? Don't you trust anyone?"

"It was a woman," She answered, as it could explain anything.

"Ah, now I see."

Somnolent noise filled the air again. She noticed how strange he was this time. He usually knew what to say and never kept silence for too long.

"Tell me, how are you, dear?"

"I'm fine."

She couldn't take this suffocating atmosphere anymore. Suddenly she wanted to scream his name, to cry, to crash the radio, where he was hiding. She felt hate and despair, love and hope.

The shadow moved, as if the candles' flame was disturbed by somebody's inaccurate movement. The white noise almost disappeared, and she felt somebody's presence behind.

She was still sitting on the floor and saw two shadows on the yellow wall. Her usual, yet too black, shadow and his one, with deer ears, little cute antlers and a cane in the hand. His shadow leaned over her and she felt his breath on her cheek and then her neck.

"It won't work that way," he whispered, looking at the red line, crossing her neck. "Are you sure, you don't want to rewrite the contract?" She heard a smile in his words.

"I assure you that it will not happen again. No one can even come close to me."

"I see," (Y/n) could feel like his words touching her skin. She was glad, she was sitting on the floor, otherwise she could fall because her knees were too weak.

Their shadows blended in one.

His wet lips gently touched her wound. She felt his sharp fangs on her skin. (Y/n) didn't want to move away, she wanted to press herself to his mouth. Alastor raised his head higher, leaving a trace of hot breath on her cold skin, and left a kiss on the crown of her head.

She saw Alator's shadow bent in the waist and his head touching hers, when he left the gentle quick kiss.

He straightened up.

"Remember your words, dear. I don't want to see any wounds on you, unless I gave them," He chuckled. "Until we meet again, dear."

The sound of his footsteps faded away until another radio crackle was heard. It spilled over into an old song, repeating his last words.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

Since that day (Y/n) became more isolated. She stopped to invite anybody even in her garden. Her reputation of an uncommunicative woman became stronger. She only read books, recorded podcasts and made her forest strolls, which became more frequent.

(Y/n) didn't feel lonely.

Since last meeting of her and Alastor, the shadow became more independent. When (Y/n) was alone, the shadow could change its form, it smiled and grimaced. Sometimes it could even take a physical form. Then (Y/n) could even touch it.

Slowly the shadow turned into something more than a dark figure underfoot. It became her friend.

*. ⋆ ✧.·:·.* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *.·:·.✧ *. ⋆

Several years had passed. (Y/n) had fame and yet she still was the biggest mystery for her listeners and residents. But she had tired of her loneliness. She didn't want to accept that she could feel lack of intimacy. All this years she ignored that feeling, but every day it became stronger. It was eating her alive. The shadow was friend, indeed, it protected her and saved in time of need, from both men and women. People dissapered and nobody could find any trace of them. It brought (Y/n) joy at first, but with time she tired of suspicious glances and the strangers under her windows. They were so annoying...

His shadow could even touch her, it could embrace her, they even danced sometimes, but she still felt like something was missing.

It was like you watch at a home landscape and understands that something has changed, but you can't understand what. Until you notice that an old tall tree didn't touched the sky with its green leaves anymore.

She couldn't deny that she missed Alastor. Not just felt longing for him, she felt like she had missed him, as if she had lost him. This feeling grew stronger with everyday.

"I need him more then ever," (Y/n) thought. Being without him felt like a torture. The feeling of losing him scared her. Couldn't he die in the hell? She didn't want to even think about it. The pain grew stronger, when she realised that it was his home town, it was his house, it was his shadow. He was everywhere, and yet never beside her. Just a torture.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

"I WANT YOU TO FUCKING COME!" She screamed at the top oh her voice; so load that her throat hurt. She suffocated with sobbing. She felt so furious. (Y/n) had cast the spell for three times already, but he hadn't come.

She needed him, she wanted him; why was he ignoring her call?

She hated him that moment and hated herself. He promised to come whenever she wanted him, but he had been ignoring her for all these years.

"ALASTOR!"

Suddenly a flash of bright green light filled the room. Shadow tentacles were moving in the the fog. In this explosion (Y/n) saw his figure. Alastor was down on all fours, as if he was suffocating from pain. When the green fog disappeared (Y/n) noticed that his eyes were coloured in black. He glanced at her from under his forehead, and his eyes changed into their usual crimson colour. His red hair stood on end, his teeth were sharper than usual, the tails of his frock coat were tore. All his appearance told (Y/n) that something had happened with him. She had never seen him... so weak.

He looked away and stood up. The macabre lights and shadows disappeared. He looked normally now. Alastor stood opposite (Y/n) with his shoulders wide and with a self-satisfied smile.

"Verily, my dear, your command is much stronger then powers of overlords of hell."

She stood silently. He had come. Tears of rage ran down her face.

"Why, my dear!" Alastor exclaimed in surprise, "What has happened?" He made a step forward her and leaned over, "Why are you crying?"

She looked at him with her eyes burning with anger, "Why? Why?! You're asking me why?!"

Alastor didn't expect such fit of anger. He drew himself up and let her to continue. As she screamed, she gesticulated wildly, pulled her hair and looked at him like mad.

She didn't care who she was yelling at. She was devilishly angry and wanted to let all her anger out. He didn't stop her, letting her to vent all the emotions, even if he found it extremely senseless.

"I've been crying for you for..! for four years! I tried to summon you for numerous times! And you never showed up! Tell me, is the hell so far, that you can't even hear my screams, my cries, my prayers to you?!"

Her fury almost frightened him, and he thought what a powerful overlord could she be. Even a human she was frightful. She knew black magic, she didn't care for people's lives, she loved only herself and her power. But her words made him to feel pain I'm his chest. She was so deeply hurt. He was the cause of the pain, and for the first time in his life, he didn't like it.

She stopped screaming. She breathed more heavily and looked at him with teaful eyes. Pain in his chest became stronger.

Alastor said, pressing his hand to the chest, "I am ever so sorry, my dear. I apologize. There are some forces... That I can't resist."

(Y/n) was silence for several minutes. He couldn't understand what was on her mind. And then she said the thing Alastor didn't expect to hear, "I forgive you."

These words hit him. She said it so seriously, with clear eyes. He always tried to act like a gentleman, as his mother though him, but when he apologized, he always felt superior to others. He looked up on others with a wide smile. He found it funny, how he could to say "magic words" and then people or demons actually could take their armour off. But was he like that towards her? She was hurt by him indeed and yet she forgave him. Alastor understood that he needed her to forgive him, and that he apologized with all his heart. He felt sorry that they hadn't seen for so long. He missed (Y/n). And he was also glad that she summoned him in the moment, when he was in a quiet unpleasant situation. So, he was assuredly sincere.

But still he was amazed.

She looked at him, already calmed down. Alastor stared at her in wonder.

"We all have some... Difficult things to do sometimes, don't we?"

"Yes, indeed, dear."

(Y/n) looked at grandfather clock and asked Alastor, "And I suppose we don't have so much time, do we?"

He looked at the time too. If he weren't in the state he was now, they would have a lot more time.

"I'm afraid you're right, dear."

"How long?" She still looked at the clock.

"Until the dawn, I believe," He said quietly, coming closer to her.

"Only six hours," Murmured (Y/n) and turned to Alastor so quickly, he stopped in wonder, "Then you will do everything I ask."

"And I ask you now," She continued, because Alastor was silent, "to stay with me for this night, and you won't disappear or go away."

"If you wish, my dear."

(Y/n) took a candlestick from a commode.

"Follow me," She said.

* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *

Alastor followed her through the dark corridors lightend only by the candles in her hand. The walls were lined with woods, the furniture was old-fashioned, some floorboards creaked underfoot. He couldn't take his eyes off every object that arose in the dim candlelight, when they passed by. Alastor knew, if (Y/n) weren't here with her light he still would have found the way to the bedroom where they headed for. Everything was very familiar. His heart was aching.

"My dear, tell me, is this house- "

"Your house?" She interrupted him, not turning back, "Yes, it is."

Alastor heard smile in her words.

"Honestly, I didn't know it was yours when I bought it. Well, I was told that a serial killer lived here, but I thought it was just a commercial. But I understood that it was true, when I realised how hard it was to get it. After all, I had enough money to buy anything I wanted to."

"So they remember me?"

"Of course they do!"

Alastor was pleasantly surprised. He was an unknown serial killer and a famous radio host when he was alive. He liked his double life, but he liked more when people were afraid of him. And he was a little sorry, that no one knew about his crimes, when he was alive. And when (Y/n) told him the legends about him, how children frightened each other with stories of his deeds, Alastor was glad.

They came up to the bedroom door. (Y/n) stopped and asked Alastor to wait outside the door until she changed her clothes. As she disappeared behind the door, her shadow slipped under the door, mergering with his one. He tipped his head, looking at it.

In the bedroom (Y/n) changed her dress to a cotton nightgown in nineteenth century style. She turned on the lamps on the night tables and saw her shadow. It was her own shadow. Pale, dim, so abnormal. (Y/n) thought how defective looked her shadow without deep black colour of him.

She hastened to the door and let Alastor in. As he entered, the shadow backed to her. She breathed a sight of relief, but she thought about her addiction to the power and him.

She slowly came up to a big bed and lay under the blanket. The demon stood still in front of the bed. It wasn't his mother's bed, that once stood hear in this room. Some thoughts from his past filled his mind.

"Com here," He heard (Y/n)'s voice. She sat in the bed, surrounded by dark-red and white pillows. Her hair was plaited, naking her neck; she looked innocent in the nightdress, fit loosely on her body.

"Pardon?"

"I said," She said with a smile, beating each word with her palm on the mattress, "Come. Here."

He slowly came up, and sat down next to her. She glanced at him with a blink of fun in her eyes.

"Tell me," She said with a sly smile, "Do you have hooves?"

Alastor looked at her frowning but still with a smile.

"Just wondering," She smiled softly, "I just can't let you in my bed unless you take off your shoes."

She looked extremely cunning but he still saw traces of sadness in her eyes. He definitely didn't like what she invented to do, yet he took his shoes off and even his coat and lay beside her.

(Y/n) looked down on him and lay.

They looked at each other in silence in dim lightened room. She didn't realise how much she missed his crimson eyes, his wide sly smile, his funny sharpe ended nose and his deer ears. Several minutes ago she was so mad, she could kill him. Now she thought that to spend time together was much worth than any fights. (Y/n) moved closer to him and lay her head on his chest. Alastor turned on the side, so she clung closer to him. One of his hand laid under her head, other one embraced her waist. Alastor knew, her height was above average, but in his arms she still was very small.

"Do you demons ever sleep?" She wispered.

"Yes, dear, we do," He answered with a quite chuckle, "But not me, I'm afraid. Insomnia."

(Y/n) felt heat of his body. She clung even closer to get warm. Alastor's touches and breath were very hot; his breath tickled her skin; his right hand patted her head, and his left one squeezed her waist. She felt his claws gently touching her scalp and it gave shiver down her spine. The atmosphere of dark bedroom, his soft touches and quite radio crackling, his warm made her eyes close.

"I'm afraid to fall asleep." She mumbled and opened her eyes. Alastor saw her eyelashes were trembling.

"Why, my dear?"

"I want to feel you presence," She spoke very quietly, "but if I fell asleep, I wouldn't feel you anymore. And I want to spend every twinkle we have together."

(Y/n) felt his breath above her head and how he pressed his lips to the crown of her head. Then he pulled slightly back to look at her, and he saw tears in her eyes. He didn't like tears, especially when it was so much of them. With his long forefinger Alastor gently wiped her tears away.

"My dear," His voice was very low, "What is use of crying? I'm here. Wasn't that you wish?"

"It was, right, I just... Uh. Well, I missed you much and now..." She hid her head in Alastor's chest. She remembered last four years. And three years before it. The memory of her pale shadow flashed in her mind and (Y/n) shrank. It seemed like she wanted to bury herself in his rib cage. "To be honest I don't like my life. It feels like a threshold of life. Your power and protection freshed me, but I still feel like I don't belong to this world."

Alastor silently listened to her. Her breath became more intermittent, and he understood that she was crying again.

"I hate myself for being addicted to you, and yet I'm still like this. I'm so weak, so pathetic. I'm not even sure if you want my soul... It's the darkest and the coldest place in the whole Universe. It is more greedy and merciless than the Black Hole. But there is the only star in it. Just one warm star. And it burns for you. For you only, whatever you like it or not."

Alastor was impressed with her such poetic speech, but for the woman who had spent her entire life communicating only with books, this was normal, he thought.

"The only star in her soul that burns only for him," He thought. Such a lost girl. Such a lost soul. But he felt a strange longing for her. He didn't understand it and didn't like it. But he couldn't help it. Just as she couldn't stop her tears, he couldn't stop himself to touch her, to press his lips against her head, to call her "dear" putting a special meaning into the word.

She looked into his eyes and then looked down at his lips. They were the same colour as his skin — grey. She was looking there for too long, and Alastor raised an eyebrow, smiling expectantly. She leaned to him, but Alastor shown his teeth in a smile and moved a little bit back. (Y/n) smiled to him and left a kiss on his forehead. Alastor felt his cheeks pinked up.

"I'm sorry," She wispered and buried herself in his chest again. She didn't cry anymore, just lay in his arms movelsee as if she was already dead.

He was thinking. It could really be the last night they spend together. He didn't know when he would be free again. He tried to do everything that was possible, but it was still not enough to get back his freedom, to find the backdoor of that deal. But while he was here, in this house and in this room, with (Y/n) by his side, he could not to think about it.

Alastor made a decision. He made (Y/n) lie on her back and leaned over her. She opened her eyes in wonder, as he put one on his hand on her shoulder so she couldn't move. (Y/n) tried to bend her knees but touched his foot, no, his hoof. It gave her a very strange feeling, making her blushed. Alastor made the lamps to light even dimmer, and (Y/n) could see now, that his eyes radiated the red light. She opened her month to say something, but he leaned lower and kissed her. It was a long, deep kiss. His mouth was hot and wet, and she slowly closed her eyes. The metallic taste filled her mouth and she felt the touch of his tongue. She quietly moaned, and he pressed closer. His hands were searching her body; the lamps lighted up brightly and then go out again; she embraced him tight; sometimes she gently touched his ears and softly laughed, when they twitched, and he looked at her with assumed displeasure.

*. ⋆ ✧.·:·.* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *.·:·.✧ *. ⋆

After several days the newspapers told about a woman died in the forest near her house, in the house where a famous serial killer had once lived, and in the forest where the killer had died. It was after two weeks since (Y/n) and Alastor had met for the fourth time. After that night she woke up alone. She was the happiest and the saddest person in the same time. She went to the woods and didn't appear again. Some of her colleagues became worried and decided to visit her, dispite the fact tha she didn't receive anyone. The house was silent, and they checked the garden that was also empty. And then they went to the forest. They were looking for her for several hours and found her under a tree, a big and wide pine. A young deer bent over her body. It disappeared into the depths of the forest, seeing people. Her body had already begun the process of rotting. It was hard to name the cause of her death. There were only theories. People called the house where she had lived cursed. They told eerie stories about the deer in the woods. What a strange animal, they told, one man was mistook for a one and got shot, and other woman was guarded by the same animal. Residents noticed that with the death of the woman, people stopped disappearing without a trace. But none of the bodies were ever found. So New Orleans residents decided, that the famous podcast host was the murderer, and that she had a unique way of disposal of the bodies. People made up legends about a foreign woman who killed her enemies, guarded by the spirit of a last-century killer and who was friends with his shadow...

*. ⋆ ✧.·:·.* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *.·:·.✧ *. ⋆

A new overlord appeared in the hell. A woman in a long black dress, with green wide eyes and big antlers. Nobody knew her name, and she was called The Wood Witch. The Radio Demon was especially close to her. Soon they took control over the hell. They were the most dangerous and enigmatic overlords. They never seperated from each other. Those demons who still believed in love considered them the most lovely couple. They captured the hell and nobody dared to stand in their way.

the end

*. ⋆ ✧.·:·.* ☽ ･ ｡ﾟ･ ☾ *.·:·.✧ *. ⋆

invitation for a deernner: @noraunor

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanfiction #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel x y/n #alastor

[zwy01]

Millennium AU!

Hi everyone!!! After three years I finally updated+upgraded my Millennium AU lineup! Now I have a total of 15 ocs for this AU instead of the previous 10! This is probably my magnum opus as a noblesse fanart/fan-content creator lol.

For context, this is an alternate universe where Razark is alive, it’s 1000+ years in the future, and everyone has kids.

Important note: this is not a happy AU. There are happy moments, but with the general settings of characters and their relationships with one another, and the way Lukedonia is defined by Lord Raskreia… not very optimistic. It’s angsty. I’ll explain more as this post goes, and you’ll see why.

On how nobles have kids in my headcanon: nobles reproduce asexually. To be precise, children are born from soul fragments. Soul fragments can be extracted at the cost of some of the parent’s own lifespan. Two soul fragments create a new soul, aka the child. Because how this entire process has lifespan shortening qualities, children are usually proof of true love or repaying a major favor/debt to someone. It’s a huge deal for nobles, so it is never taken lightly. If a clan’s last clan leader/pureblood dies without an heir, a new heir/child/soul is born from the mystic energy that the air/ground of Lukedonia emits. Kind of like a thin-air baby appearing out of nowhere.

How to read this lineup:

White text: character name

Blue text: parents’ names, if any.

Ring + heart: parents are in love & married.

Heart: parents are in love & not married.

Green diamond: parents are not in love. Soul fragment donation as debt repayment. Children do not carry their donor’s surname.

Eldest to the left, youngest to the right.

Now introducing the characters!

Alois Elenor: Male. First child of Ludis Mergas and Rozaria Elenor. Name means “famous warrior”. An introvert. Nicknames: Al, the hair guy, magic boy. Relationship with family: Ludis (father, good), Rozaria (mother, good), Susanna (sister, good)

Alois is the first born of the entire nextgen cast. He is very very shy, and almost never talks, and if he does it’s when he thinks it’s necessary. He doesn’t like eye contact with virtually anyone who isn’t family, so he usually has his eyes and face covered with his bright red hair. If you try to brush his hair aside to see his eyes, he WILL freak out and turn you into a frog. That’s reserved for his family and his crush, sorry. He’s usually calm, but has an anxious side to him that shows when he feels stressed out. He’s also quite sensitive, but people usually have no idea about what he’s thinking since he doesn’t talk, and they can’t see his face. His younger sister Susanna can always tell, though. She reads him like a book. Alois is a very big family-oriented guy and will do anything to make his family happy. The four of them have an extremely close relationship, and make a happy family unit. Though Alois being the only introvert in his family means that sometimes he gets overwhelmed by their excess energy. He may not show it in the way his family does, but he’s very very happy to receive their love. Dotes on his younger sister Susanna. Has a major crush on Luzia Tradio. Super big fan of Kei Ru, idolizes him.

Luzia Tradio: Female. First child of Kei Ru and Claudia Tradio. Name means “light of the day”. An introvert. Nicknames: Lucy, Cici, witch queen. Relationship with family: Kei (father, not very good), Claudia (mother, good), Jia (sister, bad)

Luzia Tradio is never seen to smile, and she always wears a frown on her face. She is a bit grumpy and standoffish. If you look at her with the wrong expression she might give you the death stare… or so it seems. You see, she has a history of casting curses on people and making them vomit maggots for hours, but hey it’s for a good reason. They annoy her too much. Just don’t get too close to her, or ask too many questions. She has inherited her grandfather Lagus’ talent, and is the most powerful in the entire nextgen cast. But what most people don’t know is that she is trying to recover Lagus’ legacy… specifically his research, creations, and abilities. Due to the Lagus’ traitor history, doing so has been banned by none other than Lord Raskreia. And even if it weren’t banned, Luzia trying to chase after Lagus’ research would make mommy dearest drop dead in anxiety. Luzia won’t actually try to take over Lukedonia; in fact she’s not interested in any of it. She just genuinely enjoys doing the same creepy/shady/illegal stuff gramps did. So she has an underground lab where she pursues Lagus’ legacy and conducts her… err, research. Just evil edgy witch stuff. No one needs to know. Hah. She has a great relationship with her mother Claudia and swears to protect her. She can’t stand her father Kei and sister Jia for… complicated reasons, so she avoids them and shuts them out. They try to reach out to her, though their attempts almost always fail. May or may not like Alois back… welp, she’s in denial. Likes candy.

Aretis Verja Di Reiner: Male. Only child of Razark and Erga Kenesis Di Raskreia. Name means “the deciding warrior that defends virtue”. An extrovert. Nicknames: N/A. Relationship with family: Razark (father, good), Raskreia (mother, very very bad)

Reiner is Raskreia’s heir and the next lord. Reiner’ story is a complex one. He is naturally very charismatic and shines in his own way, but that gets affected by his upbringing and now he’s just majorly depressed and too tired to care about anything. You see, his mother Raskreia isn’t the best at expressing her emotions as she is naturally stoic.. and has her sense of pride, even when it comes to loving her son. She believes her duties as Lord comes before anything else, even if it’s her family. So, she makes it to clear to young Reiner that he is her heir and subject before he is her son. Welp, that’s certainly very…reassuring to hear from your mom-lord. So even when Raskreia and Razark love each other very much, Reiner was raised almost entirely by his father Razark, whom he shares a good relationship with. Reiner has a very strong sense of justice and seeing how Raskreia’s ways are stubborn, archaic, even borderline tyrannical and how she is headed towards failing Lukedonia, he protests againsts her ways and seeks to abolish their system altogether in favor of a democracy. Reiner fails and proceeds to leave Lukedonia out of anger and helplessness and decides to never become Lord, though he had already made this decision long ago when he cracked under pressure to become the perfect prince. Raskreia sees his act as a rebellion, and deems him a traitor. Uh oh, his own mom-lord might be after his head. Time to run. He’d probably be way happier to stay away from all the trouble at home and work as a cashier in the human world. Sigh. Give him a pat on the shoulder and tell him good work. Too depressed to like anyone.

Jia Ru: Female. Second child of Kei Ru and Claudia Tradio. Name means “auspicious”. An extrovert. Nicknames: little tigress, bedrock annihilator, them muscles. Relationship with family: Kei (father, good), Claudia (mother, good), Luzia (sister, neutral)

Jia is an excellent martial artist, just like her father Kei, whom she absolutely adores. She enjoys sparring with others, often running out of people to challenge just because she does it so often and they’re all tired and want to rest. What do you mean you wanna rest, it’s only been the 8th spar of the day! Ugh, y’all don’t exercise enough. She has sharp canines that show in a toothy grin when she’s happy. She is on good terms with most of her peers though sometimes she may or may not offend others with her bluntless. She doesn’t mean any harm, she just doesn’t really have a filter and says whatever’s on her mind…even around their Lord. Whoops. Luckily Raskreia wasn’t too pissed. Be careful next time. She does get extremely shy around Alois though, whom she has a huge crush on. Her hair accessories (set of golden hoops) are gifts from her mother Claudia. Claudia wears the other pair. Kei isn’t the best with expressing love and he mostly only gives combat-related compliments that roughly translate into “I love you”. He does call his daughter “little tigress” when they are alone; it’s a nickname he gave to her as a child. Jia knows Kei loves her, and he knows she loves him, and they’re happy. She doesn’t like sweet food, and loves meat.

Susanna Mergas: Female. Second child of Ludis Mergas and Rozaria Elenor. Name means “to be joyful/graceful lily”. An ultra extrovert. Nicknames: Susa, teacup, cupcake. Relationship with family: Ludis (father, good), Rozaria (mother, good), Alois (brother, good)

Susanna might be the shortest and tiniest of the bunch, but she is jam-packed with raw energy. Fun energy. Chaotic energy. Loud energy. Just pure energy. She’s the ultimate definition of a social butterly. As long as something moves, she’ll want to befriend it. Hey you! You can be her 278th best friend! Seriously. She’ll love it and so will you. What do you mean you can live for tens of thousands of years and still haven’t memorized everyone’s names? That’s impossible! Lol. She loves hanging out with people and finding fun things to do. Tea parties is one of her absolute favorites, and she too has mastered the art of tea parties under the guidance and apprenticeship of her beloved daddy and the master of human traditions, Ludis. A day is never dull with her and her family. They just love partying. As loud and energetic as she is, she is actually quite good at picking up very very subtle cues of how other people are feeling, and will quiet down and approach you differently if you need it. Smothers her brother in affection, and loves being doted on by him. Arya’s girlfriend.

Kaelestis Blerster: Male. Only child of Karias Blerster and Rael Kertia. Name means “of the sky, heavenly”. An extraverted-introvert. Nicknames: Kaekae, dad, the no-fun guy. Relationship with family: Karias (father, good), Rael (donor, good) Raegyn & Arya (half-siblings, good)

Kaelestis is the most mature out of the bunch. Unlike his eccentric father Karias, he is very proper and does not engage in the former’s speech and actions. In fact, he’s probably closer to being the parent than the other way around. He often calls out Karias for his behavior and does not hesitate to reprimand his father for his inappropriateness. Karias just laughs, does a fake dramatic flop down the floor, whines to his son about how he’s just no fun at alllll. Kaelestis just shakes his head and sighs. Kaelestis actually got his nickname Kaekae from Karias because Karias gets okay’d by his son all the time. “Okay Clan Leader, time to act maturely like a proper noble”, etc. Even his friends call him “dad” as a joke. The only time he’s ever acted “improper” was when he called Raskreia “auntie”… but that’s because Karias lied to his son and told him daddy’s Lord’s brother. And Kaekae believed it. Never again for those petty tricks. Kaelestis is also an excellent painter and architect, and is responsible for Lukedonia’s artistic projects. His personality may not be romantic, but his crafts certainly are. Just breathtakingly beautiful and you won’t see talent like this anywhere else. Likes Izar.

Raegyn Kertia: Male. First child of Regis K. Landegre and Rael Kertia. Name means “little king/impulsive”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Ray, the genius, mr. Celebrity. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good), Rael (father, good), Arya (sister, good), Kaelestis, Garyth & Alethea (half-siblings, good)

Raegyn is a surprisingly good diplomat, as he is the smartest of the entire nextgen cast. Though, he is seen as a good diplomat and loved by all not because he truly is that way. He is just very, very smart and knows how to get things… and people to be the way he wants. At his level manipulation is quite easy, though usually he doesn’t need to do so as his natural charm does the job for him. He’s already everyone’s favorite guy #1. He’s snarky and witty. Sometimes, he might come off as arrogant because he expects people to understand things without needing him to explain and gets frustrated when they don’t. He doesn’t show this side easily, but he’s secretly very apathetic and loves dark humor. By human standards sometimes you’d wanna call him lil’ shit. Damn, it’s just lonely to be at the top. He has a good relationship with his fathers, and Rael often comes to his son for advice. They have casual debates sometimes and Rael always loses. So proud of my son. He’s the smartest. Yaaaaa. Likes Umbra.

Arya K. Landegre: Female. Second child of Regis K. Landegre and Rael Kertia. Name means “noble/air song”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Ari, Yaya. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good), Rael (father, good), Raegyn (brother, good), Kaelestis, Garyth & Alethea (half siblings, good)

Arya is the opposite of everything elegant. She’s actually quite cringy, in a good way. She’s loud, fidgety, and cheerful. If you brought all these kids to a fast food restaurant, she’ll be the one throwing fries around like confetti and convincing everyone else to join in. If it weren’t for the black stripes in her hair, you would’ve never guessed that she’s a Landegre because she doesn’t act like one at all. Truth be told, part of it is a show. She is sad to see Lukedonia so somber, and tries to cheer up others by putting on an act, thinking she can try to get others to feel a bit happier, if she pretends to be happy too. But mostly it’s for making her clan leader and father Regis happy to know that she’s “happy”, now that he has a really shortened lifespan and they don’t have too much time together. A not-so-healthy coping mechanism for her soon-to-be grief. Someone get this girl an oscar and some therapy. Susanna’s girlfriend.

Garyth J. Loyard: Male. First child of Regis K. Landegre and Seira J. Loyard. Name means “honest/tender person”. An introvert. Nicknames: Gary, angel, starlight. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good ), Seira (mother, good), Alethea (sister, good), Raegyn & Arya (half siblings, it’s complicated)

Garyth is the most beautiful child in the entire nextgen cast. You’d take one look at his face, and you’ll want to throw chocolates and diamonds at him. He has super long eyelashes that seem to flutter like feathers in the wind. He also has an angelic voice, and is an excellent singer. You’d get distracted and walk face first into a pole if you happen to stumble upon him singing. He is also the great-grandchild that resembles Gejutel the most out of the four that exist, despite being the Loyard heir. His mannerisms are also very Landegre. He’s very obsessed with being elegant, and while he is very dignified, he can engage in playful banter just like how Regis does it. Susanna probably handed him a sharpie once and told him to “color his hair” since Gary is just so obsessed with the Landegre side of himself. Smooth one, Susa. Gary is super embarrassed. Garyth does have a lingering sadness inside once he learns of his mother Seira’s trauma and past. He loves her very much and will do anything for her. For that reason, he absolutely hates Rael’s guts for his history of stalking and harassing Seira. He loves Regis very much too but is confused why Regis forgave his former nemesis and even married him. He avoids his half siblings for the same reason, since they remind him of Rael. Confused Garyth harbors a deep resentment and sadness inside for not being able to help. His sister Alethea knows of it, but wonders why her brother never talks about it. Has a lil’ thing for Reiner.

Alethea J. Loyard: Female. Second child of Regis K. Landegre and Seira J. Loyard. Name means “truth”. An introvert. Nicknames: Thea, bunny. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good ), Seira (mother, good), Garyth (brother, good), Raegyn & Arya (half siblings, good)

Alethea resembles her mother Seira so much, she could very much be her. Seira’s little clone basically. If you put her side-by-side with her mother’s younger self, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them. Seira nicknames her daughter “bunny”, and Alethea blushes when her mother calls her that. Alethea is quiet and reserved, though not entirely due to being an introvert. She suffers from low self esteem. Being Seira’s second child she won’t get a soul weapon nor will she become clan leader, and she is fine with that. Her low self esteem stems from her feeling extremely out of place in this world. Everything feels so foreign even though she’s experiencing everything in her own skin. She just never feels like she belongs here, and often zones out because of this. She suffers from a lack of purpose. She is just observing this world, and prefers to not partake in it. She is very empathetic though, and shares a close bond with her family. She doesn’t avoid her half siblings like her brother Garyth does. Prefers to hang out with great grandfather Gejutel, just the two of them, in his library. That’s where she feels the most at home. Nice safe space. Likes peace and quiet.

Bellona: Female. Gradeus’ clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “goddess of war”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Belle, Nana. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Bellona was born to be Gradeus clan’s heir. Gejutel names her in good will, hoping that she becomes a good leader, should she choose to use her powers in battle. Interestingly, Bellona channels her energy into dancing. She is a skilled fighter, though she prefers to let her energy out by dancing and her dance moves mimic those of battle. Intense and passionate. Fiery. A berserker of a different kind. She can feel it in her muscles, in her bones, in her soul. Dancing is her life. She’s that person who tells you working out will help with feeling sad. Often drags Reiner around and forces him to dance, much his annoyance and Raegyn’s amusement. C’mon, it’s gotta help! Just shake the tension off. Feel your feet on the ground, and forget the thoughts in your head. Good friends with Cordelia Kravei. Ps she sometimes summons Messad and swings it around as dancing prop, because hey it looks pretty damn cool. Likes Garyth.

Izar Siriana: Male. Siriana clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “star”. An extraverted-introvert. Nicknames: Izzy, bookworm. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

To Gejutel, Zarga just… seemed bit lost. So in hopes that this his heir finds a passion in life and shines brightly, he names this boy Izar. Just as his name suggests, he develops a love for astronomy and the maths. Most nobles nowadays arent too concerned with being empirical aside from a few who also have an interest in these subject matters, but Izar takes it to another level. Having a passion that grounds him to the earth while he stares into the sky makes him happy. A neet. By human standards you’d be questioning how long he hasn’t showered. He’s not shy though, just prefers to live with his books. One day hopes to discover alternate universes and conquer the black hole, probably. At least he jokes so. Vomited maggots many times from Lucy’s curses from being too annoying and pestering her nonstop for a possible “research buddy”. Lucy doesn’t care for hot burning elemental cores or numbers. Leave her alone. Has a super smart pet ferret named Charles who acts like an assistant and helps him fetch his books and papers. Drinks coffee not because he needs it, but because it’s fashionable and trendy scientists do so. Right? That’s what you call them… scientists!! He even got himself some round glasses to complete his look. Sooo cool. Maybe he’ll ask Lucy for some of her eyeshadow to give himself dark eye circles. …You really wanna vomit maggots again? Likes Jia.

Asa Drosia: Male. Drosia clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “healer/morning”. An introverted-extrovert. Nicknames: N/A. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Edian had suffered from multiple unfortunate events prior to her death, so Gejutel names her heir Asa, hoping that he lives a peaceful, hopeful life. Asa is surprisingly good at talking and is quite diplomatic. Unlike Raegyn who only pretends to care and seems like nice guy thanks to his charm, Asa is genuinely nice. He is calm, and mentally and emotionally stable. He’s basically the local therapist kind of guy. He never judges anyone for their circumstances and is accepting of everyone. If you even just look at him in the eyes and see him smile, you’ll feel an uncontrollable urge to cry. Everyone (excluding funny Lord Rask) truly loves him and he’s glad to help. He’s pretty much the only dude in the entire cast not affected by depression. Just like how his SW is a pair of sharp rapiers, he’s good at pinpointing issues and digging them out from the source… though sometimes it hurts to bring out those old scars, even just to talk about them. Which is why Reiner even avoids him because. Cant hide anything from this guy. Ugh. Reiner’s pride. It’s okay, Asa won’t judge you. He has a collection of scented candles, and likes to do knitting in his free time. Likes Bellona.

Umbra Agvain: Female. Agvain clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “shadow/shade”. An introvert. Nicknames: Umbie, firecracker. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

In contrast to Urokai’s character, Gejutel names her in hopes that she’d be calm and collected, with shadow in her name also meaning she’d protect the ones she loves…instead of the opposite. Unfortunately, she isn’t calm at all. Just like her predecessor, she is quite explosive, but for a different reason. She isn’t angry, nor is she jealous. She is frustrated. She feels and senses everything much stronger than everyone else. If she loves something, she loves it to death. If she hates something, she hates it to death. Everything comes so strongly, she only ever eats plain food, and uses her powers to suppress light and sound around her. Avoids people. It’s just too much for her. Cries and screams often when she is alone from the overwhelming sensations and feelings. Ironically, her hobby is cooking and makes great food. Stress cooks. Doesn’t eat any of it though. Susa’s more than happy to help herself to Umbra’s cooking. Likes Asa.

Cordelia Kravei: Female. Kravei clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “heart/jewel of the sea”. An introvert. Nicknames: Del, Lili, fish girl. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Cordelia is the last one to be born in the entire nextgen cast, which means she’s the youngest. Since Lukedonia is surrounded by the sea, Gejutel names her Cordelia in hopes that her heart and soul feels at home. Cordelia is a great illusionist and magician. Not magic in the sense of Elenor and Tradio, but as in tricks and visual effects. She spends a good amount of time by the sea and teaches herself to manipulate aura into various shapes and forms outside of battle usage. She can conjure beautiful illusions of both marine animals and mythical sea creatures, and often works with her best friend Bellona, giving a great show of illusions while Bellona dances. She’s good friends with Kaelestis, with Kaelestis often getting inspiration for his paintings from Cordelia. A pretty chill person in general. Likes Alethea.

Annd that’s it! For a little end note, yes Gejutel raises the last five. Why? Because of bad examples. The Previous Lord kept dumping stuff on Gejutel without explanation. Raskreia observes her father’s doings, and concludes that that’s the way to go when she doesn’t know how to approach something. Just hand it to Gejutel. So when the five thin air babies appear…. Yup, she just assigns Gejutel to them and yolos. Not my business. They’re the traitor clans’ new heirs, and back then Gejutel took good care of Claudia and her clan so he can manage five more right?? Right?? And as of now she doesn’t want to associate with them so… good luck Gejutel. Sorry. Ehh maybe not sorry. Anyways grandpa vomits blood and says goodbye to retirement. But he does follow her orders. Now he has 5 more kids to raise. Ugh. Btw Gejutel names all of them too cuz Rask being the negligent paranoid Lord she is, she doesn’t bother with it either. Gejutel raises them and has a good relationship with all five.

#noblesse #manhwa #myart #oc #original character #millennium au #my magnum opus for real #alternate universe #alois elenor #luzia tradio #aretis verja di reiner #jia ru #susanna mergas #kaelestis blerster #raegyn kertia #arya k. landegre #garyth j. loyard #alethea j. loyard #bellona #izar siriana #asa drosia #umbra agvain #cordelia kravei

[limerental]

ficletober 2022 day seventeen - yenralt wingfic

Magic-born children inherit wings along with their magic. Yennefer sacrifices her wings in exchange for her enchantments and her place at court, and Geralt's are crippled at Kaer Morhen.

Content warning for child abuse, past injury, ableism and canonical infant death

For years, her mother had prayed and pleaded with the gods. That her crooked spine and unnatural eyes were the extent of the unlucky inheritance her father would pass to her, that she would grow into an ordinary girl as capable as any of being married off into reasonable comfort. She could do the washing and cooking well enough, even for her physical limitations and would make some village boy a decent wife.

But then, at thirteen, despite her mother’s desperate hopes, Yennefer had begun to fledge.

It began as twin sore spots on her shoulderblades.

She did not notice as swiftly as someone else may have, given that her twisted shoulders always carried some ache in them, but before long, the painful spots on her back protruded enough to be unmistakable.

Her mother cursed and cried and kept her at work indoors the whole week, no longer allowed to shuffle along the river each morning or go foraging in the woods. Yennefer was forced to stoop to scrub the floors she had scrubbed just the night before and clench her teeth against the deepening agony of the pain in her back.

Young Yennefer already knew how to bear agony, and she bore it well.

The next week, they fully emerged at last.

Her wings. 

And they were beautiful, a glossy-black at first appearance but when touched by light the feathers rippled with iridescent color.  At this age, they were still small enough to hide by binding flat to her back, though it was hopelessly uncomfortable to have them restrained so tightly. 

It was alright. Yennefer had known discomfort her whole life.

Her mother pursed her lips and fretted, binding them tighter and tighter. She knew what would come next. That the wings were only inherited alongside magic. That soon, a spark would flare, and her daughter would be taken from her. If only she had been born ordinary, her mother repeated, gripping her tight by the shoulders. She could have lived a long and happy life.

Her conduit moment inevitably came, and a witch of Aretuza appeared to retrieve her. Falling in the muck of the pigsty, her wings ripped free of their bindings, flapping against her inevitable loss of balance. Her stepfather sneered, her mother wailed, and the witch examined the shimmering wings with a sad and pitying smile. 

In time, Yennefer learned the horrible truth of it. That great power and magical fraternity always came at a cost. The natural laws of the universe required it. Something must always be exchanged for something else.

To assure herself a place as a court sorceress, to solidify a long and happy union with the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, to spit in the face of all those who claimed she was too ugly, too cowardly, too weak to join their ranks, Yennefer endured a lengthy, horrifically painful procedure to surgically excise each of her glossy-black wings in exchange for enchantments to change her body and boost her power.

Yennefer knew very well how to endure pain.

It was a poetic sort of tradition, she thought much later, bitterly mourning her young and foolish choice. Clip the wings of their loyal ranks and no one among them could ever fly free and independent.

She had had very little else to give up. No titles, no land. No one who cared for her enough to sacrifice something in her name. Yennefer had only had her wings, which decades on, she still felt as a phantom presence. 

Sitting on a nameless beach, her palms gritty with the sand she had pressed over the face of the dead infant, Yennefer closed her eyes and lifted her wings high, imagining she could feel the sea breeze rustle through her feathers. Imagining the sun shimmering along their massive span, colors shifting in and out of the black.

She would see them returned to her, she decided. She would not rest until they existed as more than a spectral presence. It was an impossibility, the same as resurrecting the dead, but she would persist.

Yennefer knew stubborn persistence in the face of misery very well, after all.

*

When she first met the Witcher, falling into him with a strange sort of gravity, she had no way of knowing that he was magic-born. 

It came out one night that they lay together, sated and quiet, one of Geralt's rough fingers gently tracing the ugly scars along her shoulderblades.

He knew of her dogged desire to somehow resurrect the lost limbs and had said little about it, but it had always been clear he did not understand. Yennefer had thought it nothing but the simple ignorance of those born without wings. How could he understand the loss of something so intimate and so strange? Winged individuals were vanishingly rare these days.

"My mother was a druid," Geralt said without preamble, his fingers stilling along the curved length of her scar. He breathed out. "She left me at Kaer Morhen when I was–"

"You're born of magic," Yennefer interrupted, turning towards him. He looked surprised at his own casual admittance. Normally carefully reticent, he spoke aimlessly to her in moments like this and thought brazenly of desires and beautiful things that she could freely pluck from his mind. "Does that mean you– did you–"

"Yes," he said, voice returned to its regular gruffness. "Yes, I fledged. At Kaer Morhen. My instructors debated sending me to Ban Ard, but in the end, they–" 

"Show me," demanded Yennefer, and Geralt meekly rolled onto his belly before her. She straddled him and brushed aside his silver hair, felt along the span of his broad shoulders. He was scarred here the same as he was most everywhere else, but he did not bear the twin scars that Yennefer did.

"The amulet," he said, muffled by the pillows, hiding his face. "Undo the clasp."

Yennefer's fingers trembled on the thin chain the Witcher wore about his neck. She had long known it was a magical object, of course it was, but had not guessed that its use went beyond minor interference detection and a symbol of his guild. The clasp was tangled in his hair at the nape of his neck, and she carefully released it. 

His wings sprang into existence, crooked up from his back, and Yennefer gasped.

"Oh," she breathed. "Oh, Geralt."

Both wings were horrifically crippled, one bent and healed at a strange angle, both rippling with burgundy scarring that left huge swathes of missing feathers. The feathers that remained were gauzy and pigmentless and tattered. Burns, she thought, and reached a hand to touch. Geralt grunted when her fingertips skimmed the bare flesh, and his wings quivered and flexed.

It was clear by the look of the wings, disheveled and wispy, that he had not bothered to preen them in a long while. Likely had not even looked at them.

Without saying a word, Yennefer reached carefully and smoothed her hand along a primary, tucking errant plumage back into place with a muscle memory her fingers had not forgotten despite the decades.

"Yen–" Geralt grunted, and made to flatten his wings and roll beneath her, but she shushed him, laying both hands against the scarred base of the appendages.

"Let me," she said. "Geralt, let me."

After a long moment, he let out a shaky breath and tentatively opened the span of his wings again. Yennefer got to work at once, her fingers deft and gentle. He held his wings high enough to hide his face in the tremble of his patchy flight feathers, but as Yennefer worked her fingers deep into the down of his crippled wings, he slowly lowered them. 

She avoided meeting his eyes. She knew what fond softness she would see there and did not know how to respond to it, could not bear the way he looked at her. She could do this at least. A quiet and purposeful thing.

She straightened each tufted feather and did what she could. Some grew in crooked and some no longer grew at all. She wondered what horrific things had been done to him as a fledgling to render his wings so deformed and broken. She could not wonder long without trembling with barely withheld anger.

With no one to unleash that rage onto, she leaned to press a kiss between Geralt's shoulderblades. The base of his wings flexed against her temples, and she sighed and spread her hands across the span of both at once. If she concentrated, she could feel the echoing flex in her phantom wings.

She imagined them stretching to their full span alongside his own, a great mass of dark feathers and wished that she could draw them close and cover him, to draw him deep into the downy darkness and envelop him entirely.

Geralt may not be able to imagine a future where the cruelty of the past could be undone, but fortunately, Yennefer had enough imagination for the both of them.

#my fic #yenralt #yennefer x geralt #the witcher #wahhhh #ficletober

[hamliet]

Rereading A Dance With Dragons

Behold, the last ASOIAF book as of... the past eleven years. Eleven years ago I was only just beginning to escape my upbringing. Woof. But I will reread the TWOW chapters that have been released thus far after this.

In case you missed it, in light of my recent Fire & Blood reread, I decided to reread the whole ASOIAF series because, well, why not. Below are some general observations/musings on the themes, character arcs, alchemy, and foreshadowing. I’ll do this for the others as well. It’s not really a meta proper, so much as observations and thoughts.

Thoughts on A Game of Thrones here, A Clash of Kings here, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows.

Themes

Death and Rebirth and Identity

There's a major motif of fakeout deaths and real deaths this book. Aegon appears to be back from the dead. Wyman Manderly fakes Davos' death. Theon claims to have died back in Winterfell.

Tyrion himself thinks of himself:

And if truth be told, he had perished long ago, back in King’s Landing. It was only his revenant who remained, the small vengeful ghost...

Jon literally dies. And Daenerys undergoes a miscarriage and is feared dead after flying away on Drogon.

Then we have all the minor deaths in the story. I particularly want to talk about Janos Slynt, because his death seemed particularly cruel even for a terrible man. He begs for mercy. Death is something people in this series are happy to sling about, but when it comes for them, they are scared. There is nothing scarier than death.

To see what Martin is doing with this, let's look at the way Theon is portrayed. He slowly starts to reclaim his identity, his name. Because of this, he takes heroic actions he never would have previously.

To be a hero, you must confront death in an intimately personal way in ASOIAF. Why? Because the final villain is death embodied in the Others. And yet death itself is a paradox, because there's nothing so universally human as death, not even birth. Realizing that is a way of defeating death as well.

People vs Ideas

Martin continues this theme through Tyrion pointing out to Aegon that he's assuming Daenerys is an idea:

“She will. She must.” “Must?” Tyrion made a tsking sound. “That is not a word queens like to hear. You are her perfect prince, agreed, bright and bold and comely as any maid could wish. Daenerys Targaryen is no maid, however. She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats. She may not prove as willing as you wish.” “She’ll be willing.” Prince Aegon sounded shocked. It was plain that he had never before considered the possibility that his bride-to-be might refuse him. “You don’t know her.”

What is ironic about this is that Aegon is himself an idea, a concept. Varys says as much:

Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk.

He's not the real Aegon (more on that below), but does it matter? It won't in King's Landing, nor to the Faith when they crown Aegon (and I do think they will). I've talked before about Aegon as an idea here and here.

Aegon isn't the only one interested in an idea, though. Dany's suitors all just want her for an idea this book.

Hizdahr marries Dany to be king, not because of her as a person.

Victarion just wants to spite Euron.

Euron just wants power.

Dany herself acknowledges Daario would leave her if she wasn't a queen.

Quentyn is a sweetheart but thinks only in terms of obedience rather than romance. He does not know Dany.

That's why I think Jon's romance with Dany is necessary: she has never had someone who loves her for her, for who she is. To quote TGCF, to be loved in a way where "what matters is you, not the state of you."

The Value of Children

Again, Martin hammers us with this question: "What good is peace if it must be purchased with the blood of little children?"

But it isn't asked with an idealistic end. Yes, a child is everything. But which child?

Martin suggests every child matters, as shown in Princess Daenerys of Dorne's story:

It was Daenerys who filled the gardens with laughing children... She could not tell the high-born from the low. Naked, they were only children. All innocent, all vulnerable, all deserving of long life, love, protection... It is an easy thing for a prince to call the spears, but in the end the children pay the price. 

But in practice, it's hard, and doing the right thing doesn't mean it'll all be okay.

Jon and Dany both take child hostages. Dany insists on protecting them, but in her absence, Shavepate isn't likely to maintain that same kindness. Jon's wildling boys are more protected because Tormund is there, but Gilly's baby, the first hostage whom he didn't even need to keep, is very much not protected.

The Inner Child

Both Jon and Dany's arcs start with dead children.

Kill the boy, thought Jon.

Safe. The word made Dany’s eyes fill up with tears. “I want to keep you safe.” Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. “No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don’t always know what I should do.

Jon is aware of his inner child and determined to kill it, because if he allows it to live, he won't be able to be the Lord Commander. Dany clings to her inner child (how many times this book does she say "I am only a young girl innocent in the ways of war"), but in the end it leads both Jon and Daenerys to the same place.

The message isn't nihilistic, however. It's honest. No one can live purely idealistically in a world that will not move the way you want it to. People are people. They are not ideas.

Tyrion also finds his inner child, and ends up caring for it in the person of Penny. Like, yes, Tyrion is on a downward spiral, but Penny is vital to remind him of his humanity.

Idealism, and Adventure Stinks

"Adventure stank"<--so go the first words of Quentyn Martell's POV chapters. Adventure is a ship here, but it's also like, a symbol for how the actual journey for Jon, Daenerys, and Tyrion goes. Is it worth it to save the world? Yes. Does it suck? Also yes.

When ADWD opens, Jon's already hardcore into pragmatism. He starts the book by bullying Gilly into abandoning her kid only to find out he didn't need to do that because Melisandre literally helped save Mance instead of burning him. I mean, he literally threatens to murder the kid: "You will. Else I promise you, the day that they burn Dalla’s boy, yours will die as well.”"

But that can't save him, because the reality is that being all mind and pragmatics and no heart isn't realistic at all. He can try to deny his family for the sake of his vows all he wants. There is no way to erase your identity completely, and no way to completely erase the emotions, the heart.

Daenerys's arc is parallel, which fits since she's Jon's alchemical partner, red to his white. She insists on idealism, but idealism doesn't work in this world (nor, sadly, in the real world). So she compromises, but still resists fire and blood until the end of the book. (I find it odd when people assume Dany's last chapter is somehow unique and not a parallel with Jon's.)

Jon locks Ghost up, and dies because of it, and will warg into Ghost for a bit. Dany locks her dragons up, to the detriment of ending the slave trade, and can only escape through her animals. Both Jon and Dany need to face their Jungian shadows, best represented in the animals that are literally a part of them, to accept them (probably at the end of TWOW or even in ADOS).

Come TWOW, Jon's going to ditch the duty he tried to protect this book by leaving the Wall. Dany's going to ditch peace and go into dracarysing the slave trade all the way to the ground so that there's no choice but to start from scratch in Essos.

Foreshadowing

Jon's Resurrection

Gee, the prologue is about a warg thinking about Jon Snow as another warg and planning how to survive his coming demise in the form of his wolf. Wonder what that could foreshadow.

Also, Melisandre sees Jon in her flames as "a man, now a wolf, now a man again."

Volantis is Doomed

Also, this:

He has been preaching that Volantis will surely burn if the triarchs take up arms against the silver queen.

Byebye Volantis.

Bran is Gonna Make Hodor Hodor and It's Bad

Bran thinks to himself:

No one wants to hurt you, Hodor, he said silently, to the child-man whose flesh he’d taken. I just want to be strong again for a while. I’ll give it back, the way I always do.

Clearly, we know that the show's take on how Hodor became Hodor is more or less accurate. The main difference I think is that the books will deal with the psychological and moral compunction in Bran, rather than him just becoming an emotionless wonder.

Euron x Daenerys

While with Daario, Daenerys has this dream: "that Hizdahr was kissing her … but his lips were blue and bruised, and when he thrust himself inside her, his manhood was cold as ice."

Clearly, this is Euron. However, as I've said previously, I don't think Dany will really get together with Euron in any lasting way. I think their story is likely to mirror that of the Night King and his Other bride, except Daenerys will refuse Euron and choose life (Jon). Dany also wakes from this dream disturbed.

Surviving the End

Not too likely for our heroes, because again, death is human, and an enemy all the same. We are always fighting ourselves.

The hero sets out with his friends and companions, faces dangers, comes home triumphant. Only some of his companions don’t return at all. The hero never dies, though. I must be the hero.

Tyrion as a Dragonrider

I see no need to focus on Tyrion's obsession with dragons so much unless Martin intended to do something with it.

Once, when his uncles asked him what gift he wanted for his name-day, he begged them for a dragon. “It wouldn’t need to be a big one. It could be little, like I am.” His uncle Gerion thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard, but his uncle Tygett said, “The last dragon died a century ago, lad.” That had seemed so monstrously unfair that the boy had cried himself to sleep that night.

I do think Tyrion will ride a dragon despite not being a Targaryen. If that is indeed the case, I wonder if Bran warging the dragon might also be, like, a thing. Especially if the dragonriders don't all survive the journey to defeat the Others, it'll be helpful to have someone who knows what happened.

Dany Having a Kid

I know that the prophecy Mirri Maz Duur gives Dany is often assumed to be about kids, when it's really about when Khal Drogo will return... except it's not. When Daenerys considers Mirri's words, she never associates them with Drogo. She associates them with her not having kids. So, regardless of Mirri's intent or the semantics, that's what it means in-universe.

He shall be the stallion that mounts the world. Dany knew how it went with prophecies. They were made of words, and words were wind. There would be no son for Loraq, no heir to unite dragon and harpy. When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, when the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. Only then would her womb quicken once again

What Dany doesn't seem to be connecting is that if her prophecy about her son didn't come to pass in her understanding of it (Dany herself will be something akin to the Stallion, I believe), then this prophecy is also wind.

Plus, aspects of the prophecy have been fulfilled. Quentyn Martell, the son of the house which has a sun as its sigil, dies/set in the east. The Greyjoys (sea) are fighting on land, and the Dothraki seem poised to follow Daenerys to Westeros in TWOW. The Mountain is dead and the Meereenese pyramids are likely to crumble like dust, too.

Again, I really don't know if Dany having a kid works without the five-year gap. I just don't know if there is time by the time she meets Jon in ADOS. But... her having a miscarriage is also clearly meant to make readers wonder if she is truly barren like she believes.

Aegon is a Fake

I think this is pretty well understood by the fandom, but just in case I was paying extra attention this time. It's pretty clear that Aegon is actually the son of Illyrio and Serra. Illyrio notes how he loved Serra, who is from Lys. His love for her appears to be genuine as well, as his story mirrors Tyrion's and Tysha's but without the interference of Tywin:

Serra. I found her in a Lysene pillow house and brought her home to warm my bed, but in the end I wed her. Me, whose first wife had been a cousin of the Prince of Pentos. The palace gates were closed to me thereafter, but I did not care. The price was small enough, for Serra. 

The Lysene are noted to have Valyrian features several times in this book. And when Tyrion asks Illyrio what he gets out of it and Illyrio gives a lame answer, Tyrion thinks:

Liar, thought Tyrion. There is something in this venture worth more to you than coin or castles.

It's also not a coincidence that both Tyrion and Jon Connington's chapters mention Bittersteel multiple times, since Bittersteel was one of the founders of the Blackfyres. Like, when Jon Connington meets the Golden Company, this happens:

All the skulls were grinning, even Bittersteel’s on the tall pike in the center. What does he have to grin about? He died defeated and alone, a broken man in an alien land. On his deathbed, Ser Aegor Rivers had famously commanded his men to boil the flesh from his skull, dip it in gold, and carry it before them when they crossed the sea to retake Westeros.

Well gee it's almost like Bittersteel's plan is about to be fulfilled through Aegon Blackfyre. As if we didn't get the point, the same chapter also has Jon Connington meeting people who "claimed names that had once loomed large in the histories of the Seven Kingdoms... two Strongs, three Peakes, a Mudd, a Mandrake, a Lothston, a pair of Coles," and then JonCon notes that not all of the names are real (in other words, people are impersonating them). Almost like we should wonder if Aegon is an impersonator.

Jon Connington and the Bells

The Show That Ruined Everything had Daenerys snap at the sound of bells during the surrender of King's Landing. It's not quite accurate to say bells have no significance for Dany, but they're certainly not a huge trigger (they're just associated with the Dothraki for her). Bells are, however, strongly associated with Jon Connington's trauma at the... Battle of the Bells.

... his ears rang to the sound of distant bells. Deep bronze booms and silver chiming pounded through his skull, a maddening cacophony of noise that grew ever louder until it seemed as if his head would explode. Seventeen years had come and gone since the Battle of the Bells, yet the sound of bells ringing still tied a knot in his guts.... That was Griff’s task. He had failed Prince Rhaegar once. He would not fail his son, not whilst life remained in his body.

I'm not the first to make this prediction, but this seems clear as day that when. Dany shows up at King's Landing after Aegon and Arianne are crowned, Arianne will probably order a surrender because she's got brains. Jon Connington is dying anyways of greyscale, and he's likely to refuse to surrender... which means Dany will resort to dragonfire, hit Chekov's wildfyre, and up King's Landing will go.

I mean, look at this:

There is where you’re wrong,” Myles Toyne had replied. “Lord Tywin would not have bothered with a search. He would have burned that town and every living creature in it. Men and boys, babes at the breast, noble knights and holy septons, pigs and whores, rats and rebels, he would have burned them all. When the fires guttered out and only ash and cinders remained...

Bells and regrets associated with not burning them all? (An Aerys phrase?) It's hard not to see the foreshadowing.

Aegon's Ending, and Arianne

Tyrion notes that Aegon plays with "a young man’s formation, as bold as it is foolish. He risks all for the quick kill."

Aegon is also clearly set up to marry Arianne. JonCon is advised that:

Prince Aegon’s hand. A marriage alliance, to bring some great House to our banners.... I would think that many an ambitious lord might be eager to wed his daughter to such a man. Even, perhaps, the prince of Dorne.

Plus, the import of having Dorne s strongly emphasized in the same conversation as speaking of marriage:

"And Dorne.” That was the crucial step. Lesser lords might join their cause for fear of harm or hope of gain, but only the Prince of Dorne had the power to defy House Lannister and its allies. “Above all else, we must have Doran Martell.”

Now, I don't think Doran will buy that Aegon is really Aegon, but I do think he will have to if Arianne--another headstrong character who rushes into things without thinking--marries Aegon.

Alchemy

Bran and Meera

Bran clearly has feelings for Meera, but it also seems to be a plausible childhood crush. He won't be old enough by the time the series ends. Presumably. But Meera is marked as earth and water, and like I speculated before, although Bran's marked the same way, he is told that he will fly in the future. So, he's marked as air, and I wonder if he'll switch over into being more red-marked, like Daenerys did.

Daenerys as Heart

Daario calls Dany "bright heart."

Quentyn as Earth

Quentyn is said to be "mud" multiple times. Barristan Selmy even remarks that Dany needs fire, and Quentyn is just mud. However, he's wrong (and he's shown to be very uneven in his perceptions): Dany needs earth, and water. But what would be even better is if that partner has fire in him, too. Basically: Jon. It has to be Jon.

Jon as White

Melisandre tells him: "You should look behind you, Lord Snow. The moon has kissed you and etched your shadow upon the ice twenty feet tall." (The look back idea also parallels Dany's refusal to look back despite Quaithe telling her to go back to go forward.)

Arya as White

Even when blind, this is said about Arya: "Her nights were lit by distant stars and the shimmer of moonlight on snow...

She also continues to compare herself to a water dancer. And there's this: "Her face was still water, hiding all, revealing nothing."

Val as White

Martin explicitly marks Val as mind (wise), white, mind, silver, earth, and water. She can't have a lasting relationship with Jon, because they aren't complimentary.

Val’s sister, Mance Rayder’s wife. She said that sorcery was a sword without a hilt. There is no safe way to grasp it.” “A wise woman.”

Val glanced at the sky. The moon was but half-full. “Look for me on the first day of the full moon.” The light of the half-moon turned Val’s honey-blond hair a pale silver and left her cheeks as white as snow.

Arianne as Fire, Aegon as Water

If only Arianne and Aegon weren't destined for tragedy, they'd genuinely be a good match. Arianne is marked as fire and the sun, and red. She always wears copper suns, though... and copper is the highest of base metals. She's not destined to be gold. She could be. It'll just... sigh.

Aegon, of course, is a sailor with blue hair and eyes. He's supposed to be fire as a Targaryen... but he's not.

Quaithe and Melisandre: Alchemists

Quaithe seems to be Daenerys's alchemist like Melisandre is Jon's. Well, also Stannis's. But also Jon's.

Melisandre notes: The Lord of Light in his wisdom made us male and female, two parts of a greater whole. In our joining there is power. Power to make life. Power to make light. Power to cast shadows. The reconciliation of opposites is, of course, a central tenet of alchemy.

Other Notes

Satin. If anything happens to Satin I'm going to take it up personally with George RR Martin. He can meet me at dawn. (I'm very, very worried about him post Jon's assassination.)

Shireen's greyscale. There's pretty much no way to read Val's warning about Shireen's greyscale as not intending to foreshadow anything, but it almost certainly can't since we know Martin's said Stannis will sacrifice Shireen. Making her actually a spreader of greyscale makes it far less of a desperate sacrifice. So... okay.

Kevan. I don't like Kevan Lannister per se, mostly because what Cersei's walk of shame is his doing and it's grotesque. But he's probably the only man in this entire series who acknowledges that men can be sexually abused. He directly calls Cersei out for what she did to Lancel.

“You think I care about a cup of wine? Lancel is my son, Cersei. Your own nephew. If I am angry with you, that is the cause. You should have looked after him, guided him, found him a likely girl of good family. Instead you—”

Loras. My suspicions about Loras's injuries remain. The fact that the mention of his fate is cut off implies that he's alive, and/or something matters about him that we've yet to hear. I'm just not certain what exactly he's up to.

“Soon,” said Septa Scolera, “but her brother—” “Hush.” Septa Unella turned to glare back over her shoulder at Scolera. “You chatter too much, you foolish old woman. It is not for us to speak of such things.”

Asha. Is she pregnant? I don't think so, and her arc is absolutely ending with her taking over the Iron Islands, but Martin did write about her worrying about making moon tea for herself after sleeping with Qarl and then they're captured by Stannis like five seconds later soooo. Of course pregnancy isn't exclusive to Asha taking over the Iron Islands, but not sure what it'd offer her arc.

Victarion. Oof. The oaf. He may use the dragonbinder horn... but a dragon is not a slave. I don't doubt it's not gonna last and he's going to go the way of Quentyn, who was a much better man.

Theon. Theon's chapters continue to be some of my favorite "redemption arc" chapters in existence. They're genuinely moving, realistic, and when he jumps off that battlement with Jeyne, I get chills. I honestly think it's better than That Show that it's Jeyne and not Sansa, because it shows Theon's decision to be a better person, not just make things up to those he's hurt. Jeyne is exactly the type of person no one cares about, like Gilly's child, and Theon even comments as much. But he saves her anyways because she's a person.

Bran. In contrast to That Show showing Bran as some emotionless prick who doesn't care about anyone or anything after becoming the Three Eyed Crow, Bran is incredibly compassionate. It's strongly implied that he's talking to Theon through the weirwoods, even though Theon doesn't realize it. He just has to say Theon's name. Identity is another important theme, and Theon's desire to be Theon again, along with Bran not remotely giving up his love for his loved ones in exchange for power, stands in contrast to Arya, who is determined to deny her humanity. Clearly, Arya needs to ditch the Faceless Men.

Septa Lemore. She may or may not be someone in disguise, but she's definitely not Ashara Dayne. Still, the only other people we know who've had kids are like... she could be Tyene's mother, which might well help cement the Arianne/Aegon match, but Arianne mentions visiting her, so I doubt it. Wylla maybe?

Ashara and Ned. They clearly had a thing at Harrenhal, and her stillborn daughter was Ned's and probably explains a bit of his reluctance to talk about Ashara with Catelyn. It wasn't cheating because Catelyn was engaged to Ned's brother at the time. They probably genuinely loved each other, but then a war split them apart, Ned had to marry someone else, and then Ashara not only had a stillborn kid, but she's almost certainly the one who sent Ned Lyanna's location at the Tower of Joy... which means that she's part of the reason why Arthur Dayne, her brother, is dead. Their story is a true tragedy.

Joanna and Aerys. As I said in my post on ASOS, I don't think Tywin's "you are no son of mine" indicates Tyrion is actually not his son. The opposite, in fact. The only piece of potential evidence for this theory in this book, with the story of Aerys taking liberties during the bedding of Joanna. Still, that's years before Tyrion's birth, and there's little to suggest he actually had sex with her. I don't quite get the point of bringing this up, though, unless there's something to be done with it, which again the most obvious thing to be done here is Tyrion Targaryen, but it doesn't work thematically, soo.

The Dragon's Mercy. Dany's final chapter in this book is one of the best chapters in the entire series, filled with symbolism that other writers have done excellent jobs dissecting. Particularly, obviously, the famed "Dragon's Mercy" meta. While I think that meta does wonderfully in its symbolism analysis and in explaining some of the foreshadowing, I think the analysis neglects key context for the chapter, and blurs "pivotal" with "final." In other words, yes, it's a pivotal chapter for Dany. It's also not a final chapter for Dany, and with two lengthy books to go, it's hardly likely to be the end of her arc.

The genre of ASOIAF--Romantic literature--is also ignored in the analysis, and the context most of all. The context is survival, which is never mentioned in the meta. The chapter returns us to the start of Dany's story, in the Dothraki sea, where she makes a decision in AGOT to survive. Here, she does likewise. Rather than assimilate this time, the Dothraki will follow her. Her end goals remain the same: home and peace and happy children. The problem is that her methods for achieving this have shifted, and it's foolish to think that she won't have to wrestle with the question of "what good is peace built on the blood of children" far more in the coming books.

Lastly, the Others are never in this meta, and most people misunderstand the idea of the Others. There's this idea that the Others are somehow either not real villains and need protecting (they accept sacrificed children I think it's pretty clear what George has framed them as), or that they can't be final villains because they aren't human citing this quote from Martin:

“You don’t just have people who wake up in the morning and say, “What evil things can I do today, because I’m Mr. Evil?” People do things for what they think are justified reasons. Everybody is the hero of their own story, and you have to keep that in mind. If you read a lot of history, as I do, even the worst and most monstrous people thought they were the good guys. We’re all very tangled knots.”

Incorrect. The Others are not human, nor evil, yet they are still villains.

Why? They represent the only universal human experience: death. Not every person will be born or get to breathe, but every person will die. The struggle against them is so very, very human in meta form. The entire series--everyone's arc--is about the struggle against death against the inevitable reality that valar morghulis--all men must die. But if we are lucky, we live on in songs--like the Song of Ice and Fire.

#asoiaf #daenerys targeryan #a dance with dragons #adwd #asoiaf theory #asoiaf others #jonerys #jon snow #quentyn martell #arianne martell #val #arya stark #the dragon's mercy #white walkers #alchemy #quaithe #melisandre #theon greyjoy #asha greyjoy #tyrion lannister #ned stark #ashara dayne

[strawberry-soot]

This is not a proper ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 🏹ROOK BIRTHDAY SSR FLOWER ANALYSIS* 🏹 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ since all the pics I’ve seen of his card are too low quality for me to confidently say what his flowers are or aren’t but considering Rook holds a special space in my little heart I decided to share some first, highly un-educated guesses about his bouquet! I'll post a proper analysis once I get my hands on a better quality pic of his SSR!

Please enjoy some flower-musings!

The big white ones I assume to be marigolds. Marigolds are a symbol of the sun and represent power, strength, and light that lives inside of a person. They can also mean passion, positive energy and emotion, as well as creativity. (There’s also the expression “to be someone’s marigold” – in this case marigold is a person a person that protects and helps the other thrive, encouraging them to grow.) (However, marigolds may also symbolize a feeling of despaired love, grief, jealousy and mourning, resurrection, remembrance and honoring the dead.) Otherwise, they may be white hydrangeas which symbolize purity, grace and abundance, heartfelt emotion, gratitude for understanding, and apology, or they’re Chrysanthemums which represent loyalty, honesty, and devoted love (as well as happiness, longevity and joy). (White chrysanthemums can also represent death and are popular funeral flowers.)

The darker pink/maybe slightly purple-ish/mauve, if you will, ones could be bellflowers which symbolize affection, constancy and everlasting love, delicacy and humility, maturity and attraction, as well as gratitude, support, and romance. Or they're candytufts (iberis) which stand for joy, beauty and sweetness (as well as stoicism and indifference.) They might also be dianthus which symbolizes feminine beauty and innocence – in purple dignity and power. Lilacs could also be an option which represent purity, innocence and spirituality. (They are also symbolic of a first love.)

At one point I thought foxgloves might be in his bouquet and while I’m no longer convinced of the idea, I still don’t want to rule them out as a possibility until I’ve seen his card in better quality. Foxglove is associated with insincerity, pride, intuition, creativity, and energy, magic, ambition, productivity, communication, cooperation and confidence. In the Victorian language of flowers gifting someone foxgloves means “I am ambitious for you, rather than for myself.” (I just think they'd fit him really well other than the insincerity part. But like I said, not sure any of the flowers in his bouquet actually are foxgloves.) (There also is a folktale that picking foxgloves angers faeries so we might see them again in a Diasomnia bouquet? (foxgloves are poisonous so that belief likely is a simple tale to discourage children from plucking them.))

Moving on to the dusty pink/lighter pink ones: baronesse garden roses symbolize achievement, completion and perfection, and are, as all roses are, a universal symbol of love, desire, and beauty. Another possible rose variation is the hybrid musk rose (rosa moschata) which represents charm. They could also be begonias which represent love, romance and affection, or caution and consideration, as well as good communication between different parties.

Or they are (tower chamois) China asters which stand for love, wisdom, and faith, as well as daintiness. Technically pink carnations are also an option but personally I think they’re too small for that. Either way, pink carnations symbolize gratitude and are generally used as Mother’s Day flowers. Another maybe, more likely not are freesias which symbolize joy, renewal, and friendship.

Onto the more peachy ones: hibiscus flowers’ meanings include ephemeral beauty, romantic love and passion, friendship, hospitality, and joy, as well as happiness, sunshine, and good luck.

At the top left he has what I think are amaryllis which mean pride, strength and determination.

The green ones I believe to be gerbera daisies - a symbol of innocence (of children’s hearts), happiness and gratefulness for the life you've been given. Basically, they are a vibrant celebration of life in fragrant flower form. Or they might be zinnias which represents love that is growing or being renewed (as well as good wishes to someone who’s building and hoping to grow a business – so good luck for financial endeavors)

He has little wheat looking things which may or may not hold any meaning. They might be foxtails, which commonly symbolize financial difficulty and economic change, but they are also believed to be a sign of protection.

One of December’s birth flowers is narcissus which might also be in his bouquet but I can’t say for sure yet. If they are though, they represent creativity, inspiration, awareness and inner reflection, forgiveness, and vitality. (You may give someone narcissi to let them know they’re ‘the only one’ for you.)

These’re all of my personal thoughts/predictions on what Rook’s bouquet might consist of that I'm only sharing because I feel like there's a big lack of Rook brainrot-flower-analysis on my dash. Again, I’m not a flower connoisseur and the pictures I’ve seen of his SSR have been horribly blurry so basically I’ve been going “and this mass of yet-undefined shapes and color that might be purple or pink or mauve or something in between could be that flower :o” and hoping for the best. But as promised, I’ll make a proper post with more accurate (and maybe more detailed) flower-thoughts soon. Until then, that's all I have but please feel free to let me know if I missed or wrongly idenitfied any flowers!

#twisted wonderland #twst #rook hunt #twst rook #flower analysis #kind of #flower musings and predictions more like #the rook brainrot is real smh

[thetavolution]

Full name:  Ingrid Ellen Sullenberger Name meaning:  Ingrid: beloved or beautiful; Ellen: sun ray or shining light; Sullenberger: habitation name for people from Sollenberg or Schallenberg Pronouns: She/Her  Race: Wood Elf Age: 128  Orientation: Pansexual Romance: Halsin Class: Druid Subclass: Circle of the Spores Origin: Sage  Theme Song: Why Am I Like This? — Orla Gartland

Personality Ingrid is soft-spoken and timid. She can be shy, but once she feels comfortable, she loves to talk! People are surprised at how at ease she feels with the dead and the spores, but it makes perfect sense when you get to know her. She respects all aspects of nature, including death and decay. Oddly, it’s become a way for her to confront her own fear of death.

She’s a pushover and she lacks assertiveness. Or, at least, that’s who she was before she became a leader of a ragtag team of certified weirdos. She had to get it together and take care of them. Her bravery comes from how terrified she is. If she didn’t have other people to take care of, she’d probably curl up in a corner and cry. When other people are relying on her, she quickly musters up every ounce of courage she has and powers through her terror.

She always comes through in a clutch. Even when scared out her mind, she’ll never abandon anyone. She’ll just go have a panic attack after it’s safe. She has an incredibly kind heart and strong sense of empathy. 

During the entire adventure, she does a good job tricking everyone into thinking she's fearless. In reality, she just doesn't let herself stop to think long enough to cower like she wants to.

Background Ingrid was born near Baldur’s Gate, but she’s not from the city proper. It was a small settlement of elves, half-elves, and halflings. She comes from a polyamorous family so she had several guardians in her life along with her birth parents. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the loving polycule that many other wood elf children experience. 

Her father, Sully, had a few partners and one of them was Anna, a high elf. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem, except that Anna didn’t actually agree with the polycule arrangement. She only agreed to it because she didn’t want to lose Sully.

It cause a lot of heartache and jealousy among the adults. Sully’s children were often pitted against each other, Ingrid included. It was a situation that all of the adults seemed to hope would sort itself out. It never did. 

The tension between Greta, Ingrid’s mother, and Anna was particularly high. Anna would take her anger out on Greta’s children and Ingrid, as the most timid child of the bunch, bared the brunt of it. Ingrid left home the moment she came of age to escape the unhealthy situation.

Ingrid found a way to make a living for herself by offering tattooing services. It’s something she practice from a young age and she made a decent living off of it in the city.

She would meet Minty when she first arrived in the city, but she wouldn’t meet Laura until she moved to the city a few years later. Ingrid had settled into a routine in Baldur’s Gate, not entirely sure she was happy with it.

The universe would throw a wrench in the works when she was abducted and given a tadpole.

Note: Her background deviates the most from her home universe just because none of it really works in the BG3 universe. This is who she’d be without any influence from The Bonneville Game. She does do tattoo work in both worlds though.

Likes: Tattoos, tattoo artistry, drawing, scary stories, romance stores, cute outfits and accessories, spiders, sweets, animals, autumn, the beach, forests, and winter

Dislikes: Disrespecting the occult or nature, standing up for herself, baking, sand (it gets everywhere), and bitter foods

Fears: She’s terrified of dying and getting older. It consumes her thoughts often. She fears one day she’ll be old and alone, and left to die a lonely death. Keeping her spore zombies and skeletons close helps her feel better as strange as it may sound. She’s afraid of being “thrown away” by those she loves at any moment.

She's also scared of becoming like her mother, a complete pushover who is too afraid to live her own life.

Quirks:  She struggles to speak up and it’s hard to hear her at times. People misunderstand her a lot due to the fact her voice doesn’t always carry very well. Her eye twitches when she's anxious or hasn't gotten enough rest.

Mental Health:  She has anxiety and depression. She is preoccupied with her fears of death and aging beyond what is reasonable. She’s terrified she has no value for the people around her and could be discarded at any moment. Her depression can make her listless sometimes. If she doesn’t have a job to do or someone to help, she’ll struggle to get up to do anything for herself.

Favorite Foods: Strawberries, Potato Soup, Pasta, Lentil Soup, and Honey Cake

Favorite Drinks: Chili Chai

Favorite Flower: Camellia of the Black Lady

Height:  5’3”/ 160 cm 

Skin: Beige (Blush Tone 5)

Hair:  Dark Blue (Blue 5)

Eyes:  Blue (Blue 1)

Color Scheme:  She loves wearing blues, but she’ll also wear “nature’s colors” a lot, like browns, oranges, and greens. 

Fashion Sense: She straddles two worlds. She loves to be in nature with clothing to match, but she also loves to wear cute outfits made by merchants Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter.

She’s not as free with nudity as Halsin is, but she wants to be more at ease at it. She can handle other people’s nudity. She’s just self-conscious about her own.

She has a lot of tattoos that are only visible when she wears more revealing clothing.

She has a lot of tattoos that are only visible when she wears more revealing clothing.

Family: 

Calvin “Sully” Sullenberger Sully is the head of the household and he’s in total denial about the fact it’s not working. He also secretly likes having people fight over him, ignoring the damage it has done to his children. He’s friendly and boisterous, but a bit self-serving. He’s oblivious when it suits his needs most.

Greta Sullenberger She’s Ingrid’s mother. She’s a lot like Ingrid, but even more docile than her daughter. She doesn’t stand up to her husband as often as she should. Ingrid fears she may be too much like her mother.

Anna She’s the high elf that Sully brought into the polycule, but she’s not actually happy with the arrangement. Rather than just leave, she tries to sabotage it to get what she wants. It hasn’t been working and she’s only accomplished making a hostile environment for everyone, especially the children. She’s could be described as a narcissist which is part of why she can’t just walk away like anyone else might.

Varis He’s one of Sully’s other lovers. He never wanted children of his own, but he’s happy to take care of everyone else's children. He’s the “safe space” guardian that the kids adore. He’s genuinely nice and loving. He isn’t on good terms with Anna, but he tries not to be too obvious about it.

Aramil, Caelynn, Delimira  They’re some of Sully’s other lovers. They aren’t as hands on, but they are part of Ingrid’s life. Anna’s casts a shadow over all of them. Caelynn was eventually driven off by Anna’s behavior. Ingrid misses her and has no idea where she is.

Sebastian He’s Anna’s only child. He is the apple of her eye and he hates it. He actually likes his siblings and really wants to just get along with them, but his mother makes it near impossible. He also left home early to avoid dealing with his parents’ drama. He’s off being an adventurer in Faerûn. Ingrid hasn't seen him in years.

Thea, Rinn, and Erdan They’re some of Sully’s other children. They’re younger than Ingrid and Sebastian. They remain at home with their parents.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tav #tav bg3 #tav oc #tav baldur's gate #bg3 oc #baldurs gate tav #baldurs gate 3 #halsin x tav

[thatndginger]

Happy STS! What holidays are celebrated in your wips? Do any of your ocs partake in them?

Thanks for the ask Erin!!

I'm on a bit of a War Witch kick, and since I really need to pin down some worldbuilding in this area, this ask is very well-timed! (Under a readmore for the convenience of those who don't want to listen to me ramble lol)

Starting from the top, there are the God Days; holidays dedicated to a specific god. Patron gods of a county - such as Korin's twin patron gods - can have God Days that last up to a whole week, while lesser known or lesser liked gods may only see a single day (or part of a day). In Korin, prominent God Days are state-sponsored and funded, and almost always mean a day (or days) off of work, a trip to the temple, and participating in activities meant to honor the specific god everyone's celebrating. God Days are times of celebration and community, religious observance for the pious, and taking time to appreciate the specific aspect of life that a specific god embodies.

Example: Vitalex and Morsex, the twin gods of Korin, are the gods of life and death respectively. Vitalex's God Week is usually full of giving life and light - it is held in spring when flowers abound, and there are lantern festivals and candle ceremonies. Morsex's God Week is held in late fall, when plants begin to wither and die, and children play games of leading each other blindfolded and the dead are remembered.

Then there are the 'universal' holidays throughout Korin. There's the holiday of observance for the Shattering, holidays celebrating a handful of important rulers, some to mark an important battle of the past. Not everyone observes these days, but most of the major cities mark these are banking holidays. These days usually have less celebrating, but prominent officials and the current King/Queen will make speeches and hold parades to commemorate the day.

In more rural areas, there are yearly festivals and holidays to commemorate aspects of agricultural life - planting and harvesting, aspects of livestock care, the like. These ones are specific to individual communities, and can 'wander' depending on the particular year's weather and hardships.

-

Now, for the characters!

Jon Terazza doesn't observe holidays, really. He may be a soldier and an employee of the state, but most of his time is spent away from civilization, scouting and maintaining order in the Drushlea Mountains. If his unit's occasional returns to civilization coincide with a holiday, he'll participate in the food and drink (and occasionally a dance or two) but for the most part, he just doesn't care.

Mari Adairon loves holidays and festivals. She's not very into the religious aspect of God Days, and rarely sets foot in a temple, but she is always excited for the days. Her mother Roisin has brought along some Aillan holidays that the Adairon family observe in the quiet of their home, but for the most part - since they live in a major Koric city - they really only observe the primary Koric holidays and God Days.

Nate Kraemer is rather ambivalent about holidays. Being a boy from the upper crust of society, holidays usually just mean a well-to-do ball or soiree where the rich show off and pretend they still care about the gods. Since meeting Mari and being introduced to the ways 'commoners' celebrate God Days, he's grown a bit fonder of them, but he doesn't like state holidays. His father being a Senator (think Roman patricians and English lords - landowners and politicians with lots of power) means that all state holidays must be observed, usually in the public eye, and usually very boringly. Nate doesn't enjoy the boring part.

#storyteller saturday #WIP: War Witch #thank you for finally forcing me to name the Koric twin gods! #i've been dragging my feet on that for a very long time

[brother-emperors]

Could you please write some more facts/thoughts about ascanio&ludovico's relationship? (or really any other sforza-related thing - that is if you want to, ofc)

I also adore your blog, I was so happy when I found another sforza enthusiast! And your art is gorgeous as well :)

yes yes YES 👏👏👏 I absolutely can, I spend. a lot of time thinking about the Sforzas/Ascanio. (also tysm anon!!! 💓💖💞)

A General Preface: at least half of the texts I'll cite are going to be in italian for obvious reasons (and for less obvious reasons, on the absence of english scholarship on Milanese history: here), and I do not translate*, so where I can, I'll try to provide english texts discussing the event as an attempt at a middle ground

I will be sticking to Ascanio and Ludovico (and probably mostly Ascanio) because if I start talking about the Sforza family as a whole, I'll dive really deep into Leonardo da Vinci's time in Milan, or the impact they had on the arts, or Galeazzo Maria Sforza and tennis, or I'll get started on Milan's history of plague protocols and how they came to the conclusion that illnesses were spread through contact and created an early form of contact tracing on top of everything else. Shout out to the Viscontis, I would LOVE to have you in charge of the country I'm living in right now bc I sure do hate it here.

Contagion Theory and Contagion Practice in Fifteenth Century Milan, Ann G. Carmichael

so. Ascanio and Ludovico are interesting. Ascanio is his mother's son in a couple of ways: in 1448, Francesco Sforza was in Pavia, and Venice attacked Cremona, so Bianca Visconti put on parade armor, pulled together the some troops, and defended city, and later would go on to handle the administrative affairs of Milan when Francesco was either away or ill. (there is a set of armor out there that is may have been commissioned by Ascanio, but either way it's attributed to him

(this link goes to a power point pdf from the University of Milan because, and I cannot emphasize this enough, it is Difficult to get a hold of italian books where I live without paying an arm and a leg for shipping)

Now! if we look slightly to the left at Ascanio. Here's someone who path in life has already been more or less set in stone on the basis of his birth (second youngest son in a set of 8 children): getting married to the Catholic Church. (There was a brief moment where he was considered for a political alliance marriage, but it fell through) One time he declared he would rather be a military captain, but. well. it's Cardinal Ascanio Maria Sforza for a reason.

Popes, Cardinals and War: The Military Church in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe, David Chambers

Politics and Dynasty: Underaged Cardinals, 1420-1605, Jennifer Mara DeSilva

And I'll now put the rest of this under a cut because this gets long.

Okay, so: didn't work because Ludovico still married him off to the Church (there was a good reason for this, since Milan's power structure was shaky after Galeazzo's death, and having someone in a position of power with Milan's interests at heart in the Vatican would be a good strategic move since a lot of Italian politics played out in Vatican rooms)

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

but not before Ascanio decided to go in with the father-son relationship comparison. so. that was something.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

Ascanio did go on to raise and fund armies for his brother's causes as cardinal (king shit tbh, since the cardinalate was supposed to function as an extension of the pope) in direct opposition to the Church's position and in defiance of the pope, and also worked the political scene in favor for Milan constantly (there is a definable faction of cardinals that are associated with Ascanio, and by extension of Ascanio, Milan), so in a way he did get to play at being a military captain, on top of everything else he was doing.

Popes, Cardinals and War: The Military Church in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe, David Chambers

anyway, Ascanio traded his compliance with Ludovico's wishes for a fuck ton of money.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

on the topic of Ascanio and Money, the Marco Pellegrini biography talks about Rodrigo Borgia won Ascanio in the conclave vote with money and it's. Interesting.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

(It also goes on to say that Ascanio played literally everyone in the Vatican court like a fiddle, so that scene in Showtime's Borgias show where della Roveer talks about Ascanio playing the cardinals against each other before taking down the one left standing without breaking a sweat was accurate, actually)

There is something™ Gender Adjacent to being Socially Othered

Popes, Cardinals and War: The Military Church in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe, D.S. Chambers

and while we won't forget that Ascanio was a rich motherfucker and Milanese nobility on top of being a cardinal prince (Catholic cardinals existed in a similar function to a secular Prince for reasons of politic, since the Church was (is) a political entity), regional prejudices, city-state-kingdom bickering, and like. uh. well all of That with Ascanio and della Rovere. did exist.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

and now to jump to the year 1497, which sure was a year that happened! Ludovico's wife Beatrice d'Este dies, and within a very close time frame, his brother Ascanio falls seriously ill**.

Like, ill enough that he tries to change his will, and Rodrigo Borgia refuses to finalize it because he's betting on Ascanio dying and being able to seize his assets on his death to fund Cesare's adventures (there is a letter in which Cesare complains that the two cardinals they were hoping would die did not, in fact, die).

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

A Companion to the Early Modern Cardinal

Rodrigo wasn't exactly wrong to hedge his bets on Ascanio dying, it was pretty bad! Everyone except the Sforza family thought he was dead for sure

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

That said, I'm still killing Rodrigo with my mind. It's not enough that he's already dead, I need to go Doom Guy on him in hell.

Ludovico sends a physician from Milan to Rome, and the King of Naples sends his own personal physician.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

While Ascanio's fate is unsure, Ludovico begins making plans to have Ascanio's body brought back to Milan to be interred in Santa Maria delle Grazie, which is where Ludovico's wife had been buried. And if you just. look a little to the right. Ludovico's reaction to Beatrice d'Este's death. Was A Lot. As in Ludovico spent more time in the Santa Maria delle Grazie than he did in his own home. There is a definitive before and after with Ludovico as a person, and the event that marks it is the death of Beatrice.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

Great news, unless you're Cesare or Rodrigo Borgia! Ascanio doesn't die!

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

After, when Ascanio began recovering/Ludovico heard his brother was on the mend, they respectively poured a truly spectacular amount of money into the arts, donations, charitable works, and so forth.

Ascanio Maria Sforza: la parabola politica di un cardinale-principe del Rinascimento, Marco Pellegrini

This is....getting very long so I'm going to end it here, before I start talking about Ascanio's relationship with Bernardino Lonati, with my favorite piece of Ascanio trivia (besides his entire life): he had a baton of command that had a hidden dagger built into it, which was very sexy and fun of him!! also he was considered a prime suspect in the murder of Juan Borgia, Duke of Gandia. and----

*Ah! you might say. Cardinal! haven't you said you're translating the Ascanio biography? Yes! it's not good! since it's largely for my own reference, it's very clunky and blunt, like oh my god I cannot emphasize how clunky it is. professional translators deserve to have stacks of cash thrown at them.

**So several scholars attribute this to syphilis on the grounds that Sanuto writes that Ascanio was afflicted with the French Disease, and there are a number of problems with this assumption, starting with the fact that Sanuto wasn't one of the physicians or doctors attending to Ascanio and that we have records from those people that should be treated as a primary source before fucking Sanuto. Also the immediate assumption that the French Disease automatically is syphilis is problematic because the diagnosing process of the time period meant that several other illnesses could all be diagnosed as the French Disease without it being syphilis. The physical signs of syphilis weren't mysterious or unknown either, and the timeline/symptoms/length of time Ascanio was ill and spent recovering vs the conclusions scholars have reached citing only Sanuto isn't enough for me. But also take all of this with a grain of salt, I went to art school and all I have on my side is uh. like a decade long obsession with how plagues and diseases spread throughout history, coupled with an interest in historical medical practices, which does not make me an academic or a historian or scholar by any stretch of the imagination.

Gender, Sexuality, and Syphilis in Early Modern Venice, Laura J. McGough

#anon 🤝 me: sforza enthusiasts #anon im sliding you a piece of cake 🍰 thank you for giving me an opening to talk about the sforzas/ascanio #long post #LONG LONG LONG LONG IT IS LONG #ask tag #rec tag #anyway!! the sforzas!!!! i love them!!!!! they take up a truly impressive amount of space in my brain #i want to go to milan someday and see the archives for myself and also visit pavia

[wisdomrays]

LOVE AND MERCY: Love

Love is the most essential element of every being, and it is the most radiant light, and it is the greatest power; able to resist and overcome all else. Love elevates every soul that absorbs it, and prepares these souls for the journey to eternity. Souls that have been able to make contact with eternity through love exert themselves to inspire in all other souls what they have derived from eternity. They dedicate their lives to this sacred duty; a duty for the sake of which they endure every kind of hardship to the very end, and just as they pronounce "love" with their last breath, they will also breathe "love" while being raised on the Day of Judgment.

It is impossible for souls without love to be elevated to the horizon of human perfection. Even if they lived for hundreds of years, they could not advance on the path to perfection. Those who are deprived of love, as they are entangled in the nets of selfishness, are unable to love anybody else and die unaware of the love that is deeply instilled in the very being of existence.

A child is received with love when he is born, and grows up in a warm atmosphere composed of affectionate, loving souls. Even if children may not enjoy the same love to the same degree in later phases of their life, they always long for it and pursue it throughout their life.

There are impressions of love on the face of the sun; water evaporates, rising toward those impressions, and after it has been condensed in drops high above, the drops fall joyfully onto the earth on wings of love. Then, thousands of flowers burst through with love, offering smiles to their surroundings. Dew drops on leaves glitter with love and twinkle with amusement. Sheep and lambs bleat and skip about with love, and birds and chicks chirp with love and form choruses of love.

Each being takes part in the grand orchestra of love in the universe with its own particular symphony and tries to demonstrate, by free will or through its disposition, an aspect of the deep love that is found in existence.

Love is ingrained in the soul of a human being so deeply that many people leave their home for its sake, many families are ruined, and, in every corner, a Majnun groans with love, longing for his Layla.[1] As for those who have not been able to uncover the love inherent in their being, they regard such manifestations of love as madness!

Altruism is an exalted human feeling, and its source is love. Whoever has the greatest share in this love is the greatest hero of humanity; these people have been able to uproot any feelings of hatred and rancor in themselves. Such heroes of love continue to live even after their death. These lofty souls who, by each day kindling a new torch of love in their inner world and by making their hearts a source of love and altruism, are welcomed and loved by people, have received the right to an eternal life from the Supreme Judge. Death, not even Doomsday, will be able to remove their traces.

A mother who can die for the sake of her child is a heroine of affection; individuals who dedicate their lives to the happiness of others are entitled "valiant devotees," but those who live and die for all of humanity are commemorated as monuments of immortality who deserve to be enthroned in the hearts of humanity. In the hands of these heroes, love becomes a magic elixir to overcome every obstacle and a key to open every door. Those who possess such an elixir and key will sooner or later open the gates to all parts of the world and spread the fragrance of peace everywhere, using the "censers" of love in their hands.

The most direct way of going to the hearts of people is the way of love, the way of the Prophets. Those who follow it are rarely rejected; even if they are rejected by a few, they are welcomed by thousands. Once they are welcomed through love, nothing can prevent them from attaining their ultimate goal, God's pleasure.

How happy and prosperous are those who follow the guidance of love. How unfortunate, on the other hand, are those who lead the life of "the deaf and dumb," unaware of the innate love deep in their souls!

O God, the Most Exalted! Today when hatred and rancor have enveloped everywhere like layers of darkness, we take refuge in Your infinite Love and entreat at Your door, begging You to fill the hearts of Your mischievous, pitiless slaves with love and humane emotions

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #ayat #revert #convert #religion #reminder  #help #hijab #prophet #Muhammad #hadith #sunnah #pray #prayer #salah #muslimah #dua #revert help #convert help #islam help #muslim help #welcome to islam #how to convert to islam #new convert #new muslim #new revert

[tawakkull]

LOVE AND MERCY IN ISLAM : LOVE

Love is the most essential element of every being, and it is the most radiant light, and it is the greatest power; able to resist and overcome all else. Love elevates every soul that absorbs it, and prepares these souls for the journey to eternity.

Souls that have been able to make contact with eternity through love exert themselves to inspire in all other souls what they have derived from eternity. They dedicate their lives to this sacred duty; a duty for the sake of which they endure every kind of hardship to the very end, and just as they pronounce “love” with their last breath, they will also breathe “love” while being raised on the Day of Judgment.

It is impossible for souls without love to be elevated to the horizon of human perfection.

Even if they lived for hundreds of years, they could not advance on the path to perfection. Those who are deprived of love, as they are entangled in the nets of selfishness, are unable to love anybody else and die unaware of the love that is deeply instilled in the very being of existence.

A child is received with love when he is born, and grows up in a warm atmosphere composed of affectionate, loving souls.

Even if children may not enjoy the same love to the same degree in later phases of their life, they always long for it and pursue it throughout their life.

There are impressions of love on the face of the sun; water evaporates, rising toward those impressions, and after it has been condensed in drops high above, the drops fall joyfully onto the earth on wings of love. Then, thousands of flowers burst through with love, offering smiles to their surroundings. Dew drops on leaves glitter with love and twinkle with amusement. Sheep and lambs bleat and skip about with love, and birds and chicks chirp with love and form choruses of love.

Each being takes part in the grand orchestra of love in the universe with its own particular symphony and tries to demonstrate, by free will or through its disposition, an aspect of the deep love that is found in existence.

Love is ingrained in the soul of a human being so deeply that many people leave their home for its sake, many families are ruined, and, in every corner, a Majnun groans with love, longing for his Layla. As for those who have not been able to uncover the love inherent in their being, they regard such manifestations of love as madness!

Altruism is an exalted human feeling, and its source is love.

Whoever has the greatest share in this love is the greatest hero of humanity; these people have been able to uproot any feelings of hatred and rancor in themselves. Such heroes of love continue to live even after their death. These lofty souls who, by each day kindling a new torch of love in their inner world and by making their hearts a source of love and altruism, are welcomed and loved by people, have received the right to an eternal life from the Supreme Judge. Death, not even Doomsday, will be able to remove their traces.

A mother who can die for the sake of her child is a heroine of affection; individuals who dedicate their lives to the happiness of others are entitled “valiant devotees,” but those who live and die for all of humanity are commemorated as monuments of immortality who deserve to be enthroned in the hearts of humanity.

In the hands of these heroes, love becomes a magic elixir to overcome every obstacle and a key to open every door. Those who possess such an elixir and key will sooner or later open the gates to all parts of the world and spread the fragrance of peace everywhere, using the “censers” of love in their hands.

The most direct way of going to the hearts of people is the way of love, the way of the Prophets.

Those who follow it are rarely rejected; even if they are rejected by a few, they are welcomed by thousands. Once they are welcomed through love, nothing can prevent them from attaining their ultimate goal, God’s pleasure.

How happy and prosperous are those who follow the guidance of love.

How unfortunate, on the other hand, are those who lead the life of “the deaf and dumb,” unaware of the innate love deep in their souls!

O God, the Most Exalted! Today when hatred and rancor have enveloped everywhere like layers of darkness, we take refuge in Your infinite Love and entreat at Your door, begging You to fill the hearts of Your mischievous, pitiless slaves with love and humane emotions!

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #revert #convert #convert islam #revert islam #revert help #reverthelp #revert help team #help #islamhelp #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new revert #new convert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

[daimonclub]

Aphorisms and quotes about the mother

Quotes and aphorisms on mom Quotes and aphorisms about the mother, ideas and thoughts by different and famous authors on the mom and the great importance of her presence in everyone's life. After the end of time, mother, we will find ourselves in the reality that does not exist, in a fictional and mythical world; we will be happy, serene, at peace, and finally we will be able to enjoy what we are not. Carl William Brown Where there is a mother in the home, matters go well. Amos Bronson Alcott What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles? Louisa May Alcott Children and mothers never truly part; bound in the beating of each other’s heart. Charlotte Gray A mother who is really a mother is never free. Honore De Balzac My wife is the kind of girl who will not go anywhere without her mother, and her mother will go anywhere. John Barrymore The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom. Henry Ward Beecher Be kind to your mother-in-law, but pay for her board at some good hotel. Josh Billings From now on I want to imagine death as a tender and affectionate mother who with extreme love, smiling and holding me at her breast for all eternity, instead of giving me life will take it away forever. Carl William Brown The best thing that could happen to motherhood already has. Fewer women are going into it. Victoria Billings The Holy Virgin is the universal essence of woman, she is the divine symbol of the mother par excellence, she is the spirit of life and love who endures and resists pain, suffering and death, to make the memory of her children immortal. Carl William Brown You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. Albert Einstein There are so many times you will feel you have failed, but in the eyes, heart and mind of your child, you are supermom. Stephanie Precourt A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary. Dorothy Canfield Fisher When a woman is twenty, a child deforms her; when she is thirty, he preserves her; and when forty, he makes her young again. Leon Blum Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons. Napoleon Bonaparte

My Mom Innocenza Women know the way to rear up children (to be just). They know a simple, merry, tender knack of tying sashes, fitting baby-shoes, and stringing pretty words that make no sense. And kissing full sense into empty words. Elizabeth Barrett Browning Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same - and most mothers kiss and scold together. Pearl S. Buck The kind of power mothers have is enormous. Angela Carter There are lots of things that you can brush under the carpet about yourself until you're faced with somebody whose needs won't be put off. Angela Carter For Eliot, April is the cruelest month, and I agreed, in fact my father died in April, but then my mother passed away in October, so now the cruelest months are certainly two. Carl William Brown The chain of wedlock is so heavy that it takes two to carry it - and sometimes three. Alexandre (the Younger) Dumas For that's what a woman, a mother wants - to teach her children to take an interest in life. She knows it's safer for them to be interested in other people's happiness than to believe in their own. Marguerite Duras As my mom always said, ‘You’d rather have smile lines than frown lines.’ Cindy Crawford Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together. Pearl S. Buck No culture on earth outside of mid-century suburban America has ever deployed one woman per child without simultaneously assigning her such major productive activities as weaving, farming, gathering, temple maintenance, and tent-building. The reason is that full-time, one-on-one child-raising is not good for women or children. Barbara Ehrenreich Take motherhood: nobody ever thought of putting it on a moral pedestal until some brash feminists pointed out, about a century ago, that the pay is lousy and the career ladder nonexistent. Barbara Ehrenreich A mother's yearning feels the presence of the cherished child even in the degraded man. George Eliot But the mother's yearning, that completest type of the life in another life which is the essence of real human love, feels the presence of the cherished child even in the debased, degraded man. George Eliot The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint. James Fenton See also It's not over when you lose, but when you end it. Unknown The mother as a social servant instead of a home servant will not lack in true mother duty. From her work, loved and honored though it is, she will return to her home life, the child life, with an eager, ceaseless pleasure, cleansed of all the fret and fraction and weariness that so mar it now. Charlotte P. Gillman

Quotes on mom Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are. Cheryl Lacey Donovan A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s. Princess Diana Morality and its victim, the mother - what a terrible picture! Is there indeed anything more terrible, more criminal, than our glorified sacred function of motherhood? Emma Goldman The patience of a mother might be likened to a tube of toothpaste – it’s never quite all gone. Author Unknown Death freed my father and mother from their evils and imprisoned me even more in mine. Carl William Brown When I was a child, my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. Pablo Picasso Only after losing your mother forever can you understand the essence of true love and the excruciating pain of life passing away. Carl William Brown A mother is the one who is still there when everyone else has deserted you. Author Unknown You realize that you habitually thought of Mom when something in your life was not going well, because when you thought of her it was as though something got back on track, and you felt re-energized. Shin Kyung Sook No influence is so powerful as that of the mother. Sarah Josepha Hale A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done. Author Unknown Every man must define his identity against his mother. If he does not, he just falls back into her and is swallowed up. Camille Paglia He that would the daughter win must with the mother first begin. English Proverb A mother understands what a child does not say. Jewish Proverb God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers Jewish Proverb Men are what their mothers made them. Ralph Waldo Emerson

My mom when she was 20 All that remains to the mother in modern consumer society is the role of scapegoat; psychoanalysis uses huge amounts of money and time to persuade analysis and to foist their problems on to the absent mother, who has no opportunity to utter a word in her own defense. Hostility to the mother in our societies is an index of mental health. Germaine Greer The moments of happiness... We have had the experience of them, but the meaning has escaped us, as Eliot said. Or rather, we didn't realize it, so life passed by and in the end all I was left with was the pain of losing my dearest person, my mother. Carl William Brown Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle. Henri Frederic Amiel A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. Victor Hugo If at first you don’t succeed, do it the way your mother told you to. Author Unknown One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. George Herbert The tie which links mother and child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated. Washington Irving A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking. Helen Rice A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too late to let her know he sees it. William Dean Howells Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face. George Eliot Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy. Tina Fey Behind every successful man is a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law. Hubert H. Humphrey Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not. James Joyce The watchful mother tarries nigh, though sleep has closed her infants eyes. John Keble Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. Yutang, Lin All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. Abraham Lincoln

Quotes and aphorisms on mothers My father and my mother are no longer with us, but their spirit lives in me, and therefore is still alive, except that I am already dead. Carl William Brown It seems to me that the nursing mother of most false opinions - both public and private - is the excessively high opinion one places on oneself. Michel Eyquem De Montaigne Anyone who doesn't miss the past never had a mother. Gregory Nunn Maternity is on the face of it an unsociable experience. The selfishness that a woman has learned to stifle or to dissemble where she alone is concerned, blooms freely and unashamed on behalf of her offspring. Emily James Putnam There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one. Jill Churchill Whenever I’m with my mother, I feel as though I have to spend the whole time avoiding land mines. Amy Tan, The Kitchen God’s Wife Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequences than to have a really affectionate mother. W. Somerset Maugham The Enemy, who wears her mother's usual face and confidential tone, has access; doubtless stares into her writing case and listens on the phone. Phyllis McGinley It seems to me that the nursing mother of most false opinions - both public and private - is the excessively high opinion one places on oneself. Michel Eyquem De Montaigne When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I saw the woman who helped me give birth to myself. Nancy Friday Women’s natural role is to be a pillar of the family. Grace Kelly I know how to do anything – I’m a mom. Rosanne Barr A busy mother makes slothful daughters. Portuguese Proverb An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. Spanish Proverb If Freud had had my mother's dreams at his disposal, he would have become even greater than he was. Carl William Brown Think of your mother and smile for all of the good precious moments.” Ana Monnar

Aphorisms and quotes on the mother A mother understands what a child does not say. Jewish proverb Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are. Cheryl Lacey Donovan A mother loves her children even when they least deserve to be loved. Kate Samperi As her sons have seen her: the mother in patriarchy: controlling, erotic, castrating, heart-suffering, guilt-ridden, and guilt-provoking; a marble brow, a huge breast, an avid cave; between her legs snakes, swamp-grass, or teeth; on her lap a helpless infant or a martyred son. She exists for one purpose: to bear and nourish the son. Adrienne Rich The worker can unionize, go out on strike; mothers are divided from each other in homes, tied to their children by compassionate bonds; our wildcat strikes have most often taken the form of physical or mental breakdown. Adrienne Rich Mother – that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries. T. DeWitt Talmage A little girl, asked where her home was, replied, “where mother is.” Keith L. Brooks I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me “mommy.” Author Unknown Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. Erich Fromm Mothers are all slightly insane. J.D. Salinger That best academy, a mother’s knee. James Russell Lowell Setting a good example for your children takes all the fun out of middle age. William Feather Education commences at the mother’s knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character. Hosea Ballou In a child’s eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. N. K. Jemisin I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine — she helps me grow, prosper and reach great heights. Terri Guillemets A mother’s love liberates. Maya Angelou Biological possibility and desire are not the same as biological need. Women have childbearing equipment. For them to choose not to use the equipment is no more blocking what is instinctive than it is for a man who, muscles or no, chooses not to be a weightlifter. Betty Rollin Only in America do these peasants, our mothers, get their hair dyed platinum at the age of sixty, and walk up and down Collins Avenue in Florida in pedal pushers and mink stoles - and with opinions on every subject under the sun. It isn't their fault they were given a gift like speech - look, if cows could talk, they would say things just as idiotic. Philip Roth Apart from my mother, women have always encouraged me to deepen my knowledge of the profound illogicality of existence. Carl William Brown A mother holds her children’s hands for a while…their hearts forever. Author Unknown

Quotes and ideas on mothers There was never a great man who had not a great mother. Olive Schreiner Mothers are the most instinctive philosophers. Harriet Beecher Stowe Mother is the name for God on the lips and in the hearts of little children. William M. Thackeray My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. Mark Twain A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother. Author Unknown There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. Jill Churchill Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me. Lady Gaga Most mothers are instinctive philosophers. Harriet Beecher Stowe My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it. Buddy Hackett My mother always said I was beautiful and I finally believed her at some point. Lupita Nyong’o A mother's heart is always with her children. Author Unknown Mother weaves her loving art and leaves her magic in our hearts. Author Unknown Mother-in-law: A woman who destroys her son-in-law's peace of mind by giving him a piece of hers. Author Unknown Men never think, at least seldom think, what a hard task it is for us women to go through this very often. God's will be done, and if He decrees that we are to have a great number of children why we must try to bring them up as useful and exemplary members of society. Queen Victoria How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mother's names. Alice Walker My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind. Michael Jordan Mothers work, not upon canvas that shall perish, nor marble that crumbles into dust, but upon mind, upon spirit, which is to last forever, and which is to bear, for good or evil, throughout its duration, the impress of a mother's plastic hand. George Washington The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms. Jodi Picoult It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding. Erma Bombeck Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. Marion C. Garretty See also Without Courage, wisdom bears no fruit. Baltasar Gracian My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her. George Washington Young women especially have something invested in being nice people, and it's only when you have children that you realize you're not a nice person at all, but generally a selfish bully. Fay Weldon To a child’s ear, ‘Mother’ is magic in any language. Arlene Benedict What is a mom? But the sunshine of our days and the North star of our nights. Robert Brault

Mother quotes and aphorisms There is no velvet so soft as a mother’s lap, no rose as lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps. Archibald Thompson Mother’s hug… the drug that works every time, costs nothing and has no side effects. Hassaan Ali Motherhood is the strangest thing, it can be like being one's own Trojan horse. Rebecca West No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement. Florida Scott-Maxwell If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Ferrell Sims When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. Read the full article

#aphorisms #Balzac #Brown #divine #dreams #Fourth #FVreud #God #happiness #HolyVirgin #home #ideas #Kissing #Lent #love #mam #may #mom #mother #Mother'sDay #mothers #philosophers #Picasso #proverb #Queen #quotes #Second #Sunday #symbol #thopughts

[mlek13]

Winter, Year 8: Royals

(I set up this post wrong. Hopefully not putting the title in the right place does not mess up the formatting.)

I have been eager to get to this household since Lila and Deven rolled wants to get married last season.

At the start of the season, Princess Lila invites Deven Langerak over to propose and he accepts!

Deven still had a day left in university, but I had him skip it so he could move in and they could get married right away. (I didn't feel like bothering with the semester timer to let him finish in the castle, because it doesn't really matter.)

I invited aunts and uncles, siblings and their spouses, and few close friends. Even a limited guest list is a crowd.

They had a beautiful ceremony in the snow.

The guests take the party inside to dance and feast.

Queen Rosalin wants to become a witch, so she invites her good friend Justice over to see if he can help her. I didn't see any interaction for her to ask him to make that happen, so she didn't get her want.

Her time as a witch would have been brief, because her life had reached its end. :(

Queen Rosalin was the second queen of the realm. Her rule began following the death of her mother, Queen Lilliana, in the summer of Year 5, and lasted 43 simdays.

Queen Rosalin and her twin brother, Prince Florian, were the oldest of Queen Lilliana and King Anton's seven children. All except their younger brother, Prince Oliver, survive. Queen Rosalin was married twice. Her first husband, King Kevin Lam, who immigrated from a foreign kingdom, was the father of her four children, and died in the winter of Year 5 from the seasonal plague. They had been married for 17 simdays. She later remarried Grant Allbee in the summer of Year 8. Their marriage may have only been for 7 simdays, but they were happy in their golden years together.

Queen Rosalin is survived by her husband, Grant Allbee; her four children Elton, Laurence, Calvin, and Lila; ten grandchildren Roman, Louisa, Rosalie, Helena, and Adelaide Durden, Ansel and Laura Cade, Randall and Candace Clarett, and Kenton; her twin brother Florian, and her younger sisters Violette, Hyacinth, Dahlia, and Petunia. She also leaves behind her trusted ladies' maid, Lydia Mamuyac and her favored niece Nova.

Queen Rosalin survived to the impressive age of 85 simdays.

The entire household is devastated by her loss.

They also lose three family pets this season. The cat legacy I was attempting for this family has been broken. I know there are descendants of their original cats elsewhere in the neighborhood. I could try to adopt one of them into the family or just continue with the dogs. For awhile, there were way too many pets in this household and I'm not sure if I want to have to deal with that many again.

Grant tries to encourage everyone to look to the future. There's still Lila's new baby to look forward to. Maybe she's carrying the next heir to the throne.

Unfortunately Lila and Alida are not comforted by his hopefully words. They are still very much consumed with grief and finding it hard to be optimistic.

But they have to keep moving forward.

Lila goes into labor. The baby is a boy, so unfortunately not an heir, but they are happy to welcome baby Dillon to the family all the same.

Before the season is over Lila and Deven are already trying for their next child. I think it is unlikely that they won't produce an heir in the future, but if they do not, Lila's nieces (Elton and Lucretia's daughters) are next in line for the throne. It will be interesting to see how it ends up playing out.

Big brother, Kenton, has his birthday this season too.

Preparations are made for Queen Lila's coronation. To mark the beginning of her reign, Lydia sets to work painting Queen Lila's portrait.

Once it is finished, it is hung in the main hall next to the portraits of Lila's mother and grandmother.

Family members and heads of the main noble houses are invited to the castle for a memorial service and coronation.

Lila chats with her eldest brother, Elton.

Princess Violette takes a quiet moment to sit in the throne room with her sister's urn, before Princess Dahlia joins her. The sisters recall how happy Rosalin was to see her daughter's wedding just days ago.

The season ends with a couple of birthdays in the servants' quarters. Alice reaches her elder years and Alida reaches adulthood. Next season Lydia, Alice, and Alida are going to move out of the castle to pursue their own ambitions and I have already moved in someone new to fill Lydia's role and be a ladies' maid to Queen Lila.

#ts2 #the sims 2 #sims 2 #royal kingdom challenge #the royal household

[questionsonislam]

How should we treat old aged parents? We may have difficulty in being patient against their wrong behaviors. What would you advise?

If people are defeated by their souls, they should show the consequences of the events to the mind and this is how they should convince the mind and the soul. Respect for elders is essential. We might end up with an eternal punishment if we treat our elders in a way which may break their hearts. For this reason, we should always consider the cost that our behaviors may result in and we should always remember this. This will become a habit in time and in any case, spiritual consequences will be remembered first.

Our elders remained patient against any troubles and problems we caused them while they were raising us, similarly, now we should remain patient against our elders who behave like children.

The matter of respect for parent from the Risale-i Nur Collection:

Should one of them, or both, attain old age in your lifetime, do not say "Ugh!" to them (as an indication of complaint or impatience), nor push them away; and always address them in gracious words.Lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say: "My Lord, have mercy on them even as they cared for me in childhood. "Your Lord best knows what is in your souls (in respect of all matters, including what you think of your parents). If you are righteous (in your thoughts and deeds), then surely He is All-Forgiving to those who turn to Him in humble contrition.” ( The Qur’an, Al-Isra’, 17:23-25).

“O heedless one in whose house is an elderly parent or an invalid or someone no longer able to work from among his relations or brothers in religion! Study the above verses carefully and see how on five levels in different ways it summons children to be kindly towards their elderly parents. Yes, the highest truth in this world is the compassion of parents towards their children, and the most elevated rights, their rights of respect in return for their compassion. For they sacrifice their lives with great pleasure, spending them for the sake of their children’s lives. In which case, every child who has not lost his humanity and been transformed into a monster honours those respected, loyal, self-sacrificing friends, serves them sincerely, and tries to please them and make them happy. Uncles and aunts, maternal and paternal, are like parents.

So understand from this how base and lacking in conscience it is to be contemptuous towards those blessed elderly people, or to want their deaths. Know what a wicked wrong and iniquity it is to want the lives to pass of those who sacrificed their lives for yours.”

O you who struggles to secure his livelihood! The means of plenty and mercy in your house, and the repeller of disaster, is that elderly or blind relative of yours, whom you belittle. Beware, do not say: “My income is little, I have difficulty in making ends meet,” for if it was not for the plenty resulting from their presence, your circumstances would have been even more straitened. Believe this fact which I am telling you; I can prove it most decisively and can convince you. But in order not to prolong the discussion, I am cutting it short. Be content with this much. I swear that this is absolutely certain; my evil-commanding soul and own devil, even, have submitted to it. You should be convinced of a fact which has smashed my soul’s obduracy and silenced my devil.

Yes, the All-Glorious and Munificent Creator, Who, as the universe testifies, is infinitely Merciful, Compassionate, Bountiful, and Generous, provides infants with the finest of sustenance when His sends them into this world, causing it to flow into their mouths from the springs of their mother’s breasts. So too, He provides, in the form of plenty, the sustenance of the elderly, who are like children though even more in need and deserving of kindness and compassion. He does not burden the avaricious and miserly with their livelihood. All living creatures, all their species, declare through the tongues of their beings the truth expressed by the following verses:

“For God is He Who gives [all] sustenance,-Lord of Power and Steadfast [for ever].” ( The Qur’an, Adh-Dhariyat, 51:58)

“How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is God Who feeds [both] them and you;” ( The Qur’an, Al-Ankabut, 29:60)

they state this munificent truth. In fact it is not only elderly relations, certain creatures like cats, who are a friend to man-their sustenance also comes in the form of plenty, sent within the food of the human beings. An example which corroborates this and I myself observed is as follows: my close friends know that for two to three years my appointed lot every day was half a loaf of bread, the loaves in that village were small, and very often this was insufficient for me. Then four cats came and stayed with me as my guests, and that same portion was sufficient both for myself and for them. There was frequently even some left over.”

“This situation has recurred so often that it has made me certain that I was benefiting from the plenty resulting from the cats. I declare most definitely that they were not a load on me. Also, it was not they who were obliged to me, but I to them.”

“O man! If an animal which is as though wild is the means of plenty when it comes as a guest to the house of a human being, you can compare for yourself what a means of plenty and mercy will be man, the noblest of creatures; and the believers, the most perfect of men; and the powerless and ailing elderly, the most worthy of respect and compassion among the believers; and relatives, the most worthy and deserving of kindness, love, and to be served among the ailing elderly; and parents, who are the truest and most loyal friends among relatives, if they are present in a house in their old age. According to the meaning of, "If it was not for the elderly, bent double with age, calamities would be visited on you in floods," you can see what an important cause they are of disasters being repelled.”

“O man, come to your senses! If you do not die earlier, you too will become old. If you do not honour your parents, in accordance with the meaning of, “the punishment is similar to the act that required it,” your children will not be dutiful towards you. If you love your life in the hereafter, this is an important treasury for you: be dutiful towards them and gain their pleasure. While if it is this world that you love, still try to please them, so that through them your life will be easy and your sustenance plentiful. For if you are contemptuous of them, wish for their deaths, and wound their sensitive and easily hurt hearts, you will manifest the meaning of the verse,

“They lose both this world and the hereafter.” ( The Qur’an, Al-Hajj, 22:11)

“If you want the mercy of the Most Merciful One, be merciful towards those in your house whom He has entrusted to you.”

“O God, grant blessings and peace to the one who said: "Paradise is beneath the feet of mothers," and to all his Family and Companions.”

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