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starryhyuck · 17 days

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pairing: alpha!soulmate!jeno x afab!omega!reader

words: 2.9k+

summary: your first meeting with the notorious lee jeno sends you spiraling into heat.

genre: smut

warnings: a/b/o dynamics, knotting, breeding kink, cunnilingus, degradation, mating, some public sex

“You’re coming with me to the Governor’s Ball tonight.”

Your eyebrow raises at Hyewon, who is eagerly sitting across from you, practically jumping out of her seat. The Beta in her is naturally timid, so she must be extremely excited to be acting this way.

“And why would I do that?” You ask, displaying no interest in the event. “It’s just going to be a room filled with rowdy Alphas.”

“That’s why we’re going, duh,” Hyewon says as if you’ve lost a few brain cells. “It won’t just be an event with any regular Alpha — these Alphas will be the most handsome and richest of all!”

Hyewon comes from an affluent family that has an expectation of her to marry wealthy. You know she has been trying for years to pair with any man who has millions in his bank account, yet none of them can match her standards.

You, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about finding an Alpha to mate with. You’ve always envisioned yourself with a calmer Beta, someone who had realistic goals and expectations and wasn’t driven by the feral nature of their genetics. Alphas are known for being possessive and dominant, and it just doesn’t seem like an ideal relationship for you.

“Hyewon, I really don’t think that’s my scene.”

“Come on,” she pouts at you. “Do you know how lucky you are to be an Omega? I would kill to present like you and have every Alpha bend to my whim.”

The statement is slightly exaggerated but not entirely untrue. As an Omega, you do recognize that you have more of a leverage with Alphas as your scent is naturally more alluring to them than a Beta’s. However, you have always opposed the idea that Omegas are solely born to satisfy Alphas. They see you as nothing but a hole to fill and a neck to be marked.

Hyewon clutches to your wrist and pleads loudly, drawing looks from other students lingering in the cafe.

“Please, please, please-“

“Okay!” You huff, withdrawing your hand and looking down bashfully. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

She throws her arms up and cheers happily.

—

Hyewon wraps you in a stuffy, form fitting dress which is covered head to toe in expensive crystals. She insists you have to shine at the event in order to stand out from all the other Omegas in attendance tonight. Despite your indifference, you let her play dress up as she wants.

She tugs you into the lavish Governor’s Ball, where most of the political leaders of your town are gathered. Hyewon’s eyes lock into the Lee family, the most influential household in werewolf existence.

You don’t know much about the Lee family despite their powerful presence, but Hyewon is quick to fill in the gaps. “That’s Lee Taeyong,” she whispers to you as she points to the stoic man standing across the room. “He’s the oldest, and he’s actually nicer than he looks. The one next to him is the middle child, Lee Mark.” The man she points to has a similar bored expression painting his face, slowly swirling his champagne glass to find a source of amusement. You can tell from the lilt in Hyewon’s voice that he is the Alpha she has her sights set on for the night. “And that guy is the youngest, Lee Jeno. Don’t even try with him, he’s a waste of time.”

Your eyebrows furrow at the Alpha, who appears angrier than any other male in this ballroom. You can practically feel his disdain coursing through your veins.

“Why is he so… grumpy?”

She laughs at your question. “I told you, he’s a waste of time. He’s always pissed off at these events for no reason and hates it when any Beta or Omega tries to make conversation with him. He’s the worst Lee brother to mate with.”

Hyewon soon leaves you to your own devices, heading off to try and win Mark over. You awkwardly make conversation with a few other Omegas around you, but they seem more interested in gathering the attention of the Lee brothers than actually engaging with you.

Midway through the event, you head to the bathroom down the corridor to freshen up. You gasp when you turn the corner and suddenly ram straight into someone’s chest. Your champagne glass falls to the floor and shatters across the marble, but that is the last thing you’re concerned about.

Your body suddenly starts to feel like it’s on fire, heat spreading through your core rapidly. You choke and clutch your stomach, glancing up to see the reason behind your misery.

Jeno stands in front of you, eyes blooming red as he drinks you in. You pant and take a step back from him, recognizing the signs of your approaching heat.

But that can’t be possible — your heat isn’t due to come for another few weeks.

“W-What did y-you do-“ You wheeze, embarrassed by the slick dampening your panties.

“Omega,” Jeno says, stern glare painting his face as he reaches for you. “Calm down.”

His fingers brush by your mating gland and you gasp. His touch feels like someone rubbed a match and lit a fire against your skin. You turn and run as fast as you can, reentering the ballroom and darting straight for Hyewon’s figure. Every Alpha’s head turns at the scent of your growing heat, baring their teeth at your lewd display.

“Hyewon,” you beg, clutching her arm. “You need to take me home.”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

As a Beta, Hyewon can’t smell your growing arousal or detect the signs of you going into your heat. All she sees is her friend with a desperate look on her face. Mark, who is standing across from her, shifts his predatory gaze to you. Hyewon notices the change in him and she quickly pulls you behind her.

“A-Are you going into heat?” She asks quietly.

You nod and whimper. She asks no further questions, wrenching your figure close to hers and locating the nearest exit. She shoves you into the first limousine in the parking lot and shuts the door behind her, shouting your address at the driver.

You grasp her elbow and cry. “Hyewon, this is a strong one-“

A wave of arousal shoots down your spine, causing you to fall deeper and deeper into your subspace. If Hyewon doesn’t lock you in your bedroom soon, you’re afraid you might offer yourself to the first Alpha you see.

“Why didn’t you say you were about to go into heat?” She chastises, grabbing a tissue to dab at your sweltering forehead. “Let me call Jaemin.”

You stop her from taking her phone out of her purse. “N-No, don’t call him. I don’t want him.”

“What? You always use Jaemin for your heats.”

“No,” you shake your head, still unsure of why you’re denying her. She’s right — since your first heat, you have always asked Na Jaemin to come over and take care of you. He was a family friend and never took advantage of you at your worst. However, there’s a sinking feeling in your gut that’s telling you Jaemin is the last Alpha you want to see right now. “Just get me home.”

You barely register Hyewon helping you into your apartment, faintly remembering her guiding you to your bed.

“W-What should I-“

“Please leave,” you say, writhing and desperately pulling at the zipper of your dress to get it off you. “Trust me, you don’t want to see me like this.”

She frowns, her voice filled with concern. “But-“

“Please, Hyewon,” you plead. “Thank you for getting me here but you need to leave.”

You hear the front door close just as you fling your dress to the floor, quickly locating your vibrator in your nightstand. You pull your panties to the side and sigh in relief when you sink the toy into your heat. It only quenches your pain slightly, but it’s enough to simmer down the fire in your belly.

You’re unaware of how much time has passed when there’s another knock at your door. You’re writhing on the bed sheets, begging for another orgasm as your hand has grown tired of lazily pushing your vibrator in and out of your dripping pussy. Your fingers circle your clit slowly as you plead for the moon to end your misery.

You miss the sound of your door rattling off its hinges, mind overtaken by a cloud of fuzziness. Loud stomping echoes throughout your apartment and a large figure invades your room, growling when he sees the sight of you hopelessly twisting your hips to gain any sort of comfort.

A hand wraps around your throat and squeezes, forcing another gush of arousal to leak down your thighs.

“What do you think you’re doing, Omega?” His voice scarily questions, nearly spitting in your face. “How dare you touch what’s mine?”

They used to spread stories of true mates when you were in high school — stories of how when an Alpha meets the destined Omega they were born to be mated with, it would immediately send the Alpha and Omega into their corresponding ruts and heats. You always thought it was some odd wolf propaganda created centuries ago to carry on the belief that true mates still existed. However, as you look at Jeno hovering above you, there is no doubt in your mind that he is your true mate.

The fuzzy parts of your brain start to clear. “J-Jeno?”

He grins, leaning down to lick at the shell of your ear. “That’s Alpha to you. Present yourself.”

You scramble to follow his order, shoving your head into the pillow and arching your ass up in the air. He clicks his tongue mockingly.

“A pretty, submissive Omega. You know, I always wondered what cute little thing I was destined to end up with. I never thought the moon would grant me a beautiful mate like you,” he hums, digits collecting the remnants of your orgasm across your thighs. He groans as he licks the taste of you off his fingers. “You want your Alpha’s knot, baby?”

You nearly unravel at the thought of him filling you deep with his cum, giving you so much of it that it spills out of your tiny pussy.

“A-Alpha,” you whine. “Please Alpha, please knot me.”

You hear the clink of his belt buckle and your body thrums in excitement. He plants his knees down on the mattress, shrugging off his slacks and throwing his stuffy blazer to the side. He ducks his head to lick a stripe up your folds.

You shudder, bunching the sheets in your fists and practically sobbing at the need to have his cock inside of you. You’ve never felt this hopeless during your heat before, never craved another Alpha’s cock like this.

Jeno’s hands tighten around your hips as he laps at your cunt, groaning at the sweetness of your taste. It only takes a few seconds for you to gush into his waiting mouth, the sounds of him eagerly swallowing your release filling the room.

Your body slumps on the mattress at the weight of your orgasm. You barely have time to recover when you feel his tip prodding your entrance.

He growls. “Beg for my cock, Omega whore.”

“Please, Alpha, please fuck me. I want your knot to fill my pretty pussy, want you to mark me and make me yours-“

The thought of you being mated to him is what sends Jeno feral. He pushes his cock inside your waiting hole, slick dripping down your thighs and giving him easy access to slide in. You sigh in relief when he’s finally deep inside you, quelling the fire in your stomach that was pleading for him.

He doesn’t waste time — ramming into you at an inhuman speed, hands angrily digging into your sides and slapping your ass until his palm is imprinted on your backside. Your head lolls to the side, officially giving Jeno complete control to use you as you wish.

Just like with your other heats, your body throws you into climax after climax until the pleasure molds itself into your skin. Jeno is still spitting the most filthy, degrading words at you as his knot slowly approaches.

“Look at you, silly Omega. Offering yourself up to the first Alpha you see. Would you have given this cunt to someone else, hm? Let them take what’s rightfully mine?” At the shake of your head, he smirks. “That’s right. Pretty Omega’s pussy is made only for me. Designed for my knot, designed to breed for my future pups.”

The thought of him impregnating you with the future of the respected Lee line prompts you over the edge again. Jeno hisses and grabs the back of your neck, hoisting you up easily to his chest as you hear the sound of his balls slapping against your cunt forcefully.

“Gonna keep cumming around your Alpha’s cock? Never had a heat like this one before, have you, baby? That’s because the moon has finally brought you to your true mate, and you never have to spend another heat without me again.”

You cry in pleasure at the thought of being able to spend every heat with Jeno. You never minded Jaemin being your heat partner, but this satisfaction and connection is something you’ve never felt with anyone else. You genuinely think you’ll die if you go through another heat without Jeno beside you.

“A-Alpha,” you whimper, steadily holding onto his arm that’s securely wrapped around your middle. “Please knot me, Alpha. You’re the only one who can.”

“Yeah?” He groans at how desperate you sound for him. “Want your Alpha’s big knot? Want to be bred like a good little Omega?”

You nearly sob. “Y-Yes! Yes, please!”

He tilts your head and exposes your neck. His fingers carefully run over your mating gland, causing a shiver to run down your spine.

“And this? Is this for me to mark, Omega?”

You frantically nod. “Yes, Alpha. Only for you.”

You know it’s a big step, a permanent marking that would tie Jeno’s Alpha to your Omega forever. Your mind screams at you to reconsider this decision when you have a clearer head, but your heart tells you that there’s nothing to mull over — Jeno is your Alpha and you need the whole world to know.

As his knot begins to swell inside you, his teeth sink into your mating gland, uniting your souls into one. Every feeling Jeno’s ever had courses through your veins, multiplying your pleasure tenfold. Your thighs begin to shake at the amount of gratification flowing through your body.

You almost pass out from the overwhelming sensation, and your body goes slack in Jeno’s hold. His cum shoots deep into your womb, filling you and marking you as his until his release is leaking down your thighs.

You both collapse on the mattress, with Jeno pulling you close to ensure his knot stays rooted deep inside you.

Your head starts to free from your subspace temporarily, and you carefully scan your room as he licks at the wound on your neck to clean you up.

“Did you- Did you break my door?”

Indeed, you can see your front door laying flat in the hallway, nearly shattered. Jeno hums softly.

“It was in my way.”

You think about how your apartment floor must’ve had to evacuate from the profound smell of your scent mixed with Jeno’s. You would feel guilty about it but considering Jeno has no shame over it, his emotions overpower yours.

“Want to fuck you again, Omega,” he hisses against your skin. “Love being mated to you.”

His honest confession forces another wave of arousal to spill from your pussy, leaking around his knot.

“Yeah, Alpha?”

He grunts and starts thrusting into you again, only being able to move a few inches as his knot is still plugging his cum into you. You gasp and pull him down to kiss you.

“My friend-“ you murmur in between moans. “My friend told me you hate Betas and Omegas.”

“Of course I do,” he hisses, propping your leg over his hip so he can push in deeper. “I hate every Beta and Omega who thinks they have a shot at being my mate.”

“You looked so grumpy when I first saw you.”

“I am grumpy,” he mumbles, hands darting to knead your breasts. “Grumpy for everyone except you.”

He grins when you squirt around his knot, your cunt sensitive from the constant rounds of fucking. Your eyes roll to the back of your head at your unexpected orgasm, body twitching in your Alpha’s hold.

Jeno fucks you until the sun rises to indicate the start of a new day. You two barely sleep, exploring various positions throughout your apartment and even the hallway of your complex, ushering more and more residents on the lower floors to evacuate from your scents. Their dirty looks are quickly changed when they see the notorious Lee brother claiming his new mate for all to see.

His cock doesn’t allow your pussy to rest until he’s sure you’ve been impregnated.

When you finally come to, you’re sprawled on your living room floor with a mix of your slick and Jeno’s cum surrounding you. He continues to lick at your skin as if he’ll die without fully receiving his taste of you.

It’s odd since despite only knowing him for less than a day, you feel like you’ve known him your whole life.

“I want-“ you pant, trying to regain your breath. “I want to fuck you forever.”

He chuckles. “Is that so, Omega?” He raises his head to see you, a predatory gaze lingering in his eyes. You wonder if you have it in you to go another few rounds.

“Lucky for you, we’re mated for life. I’m not going anywhere.”

#nct smut #jeno #jeno smut

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saucerfulofsins · 1 year

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I’m sad and I”m tired and I’m mad that I was forced to finish my MA thesis by myself without any consideration for my circumstances (beginning late, my supervisor abandoning me--I contacted him yesterday and he was like haha yeah whatever not my business anymore--and generally NOT BEING SOMEONE WHO WAS PRIMED FOR ACADEMIA MY ENTIRE LIFE AND WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE “APPROPRIATE” AKA EXPECTED EDUCATION TO DO AN UNIVERSITY DEGREE and then asking for the help I would have received if my supervisor had not left--because I picked him as my supervisor for a reason--and receiving no help. None. And then getting graded super harshly for not “fixing” the issues. That I could have fixed. If I’d had any sort of decent supervision.

Basically I feel like I was set up to fail, and that’s an addition to how I feel about my life in general because every single step in my life feels like this, where I’ve to do it by myself, without the help everyone else I know gets, and then not doing as well because I’m not getting that help, with all consequences that result from this. Such as, you know, finding it more difficult to find a job, the impossibility of doing a PhD, and also the association of you know, this being the ONLY thing I’m good at and watching other people do better than me AND have relationships AND have friendships (irl), all of which I don’t.

Which leads me to the only conclusion I cAN come to: I fucking suck and the universe is against me and honestly it’d probably be calmer, easier, better if I just... didn’t just not pursue a phd, but just. Didn’t pursue life.

#i am VERY tired #and VERY sad #and I feel VERY alone and abandoned #and I just #don't know where to look for meaning #bec #for a long time #i thought studying english was my goal in life #and don't get me wrong i really enjoyed it aside from this entire abysmal past year that fucking SUCKED and for which i'd like to sue the un #uni*#but right now there's just #i don't have anything to look forward to #that's the thing #i don't find anything else enjoyment in my life #except uni #and now a phd is out of the question definitely #(and i kNOW people have said no it's not that bad but I also know my luck and the answer is I have none)#(that's not me being pessimistic that is me being realistic and based on 31 yrs of living)#anyway here ya go #i have nothing to look forward to #i am terrified of going job hunting because i don't think the way most people do #and i know that's this haha cute quirky date me kinda line but #it's been a major issue in my life in finding a connection with others #and #i havent found that in uni even #i've gotten close but never there and #then how the FUKC am i gonna get there in a job now #when i've never looked for a job before and ifk how to deal with that #and i idk i just #how to approach THAT even i just

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txttletale · 4 months

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obviously the "can't make an electoral victory omelette without abusing some trans children, them's the breaks" routine would be ghoulish and evil even if its central premise were true but for someone who's so smug about his ability to be a Realistic Reasonable Moderate that fucking guy is just absolutely wrong. transphobia doesn't win elections and uk voters don't give a shit about transphobic cultural war shit compared to basically any other issue. furthermore even if transphobia really was an electoral silver bullet for kill-em-all keir, he wouldn't need it. the conservative party are underwater and profoundly hated by the electorate after the last decade of disastrous government. fucking anybody could win the upcoming election, it's an open goal against an unpopular government that even their own voters are trepidatious about continuing to support . the leader of the labour party could be a balloon with a smiley face drawn on and still have a chance. & again even if none of this were true it would still be a deeply cruel and ghoulish opinion to hold -- but it is so fucking pathetic to be so obsessed with a masturbatory self image of Knowing About Parliament to the point of justifying signing off on borderline exterminationist rhetoric and then just being flatly wrong about electoral politics.

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2soulscollide · 1 year

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Write your book STEP BY STEP

hello hello, it's me again!

today i'm bringing you a step-by-step / checklist to finally get your book done. i know it can be a bit complicated to put everything together to make your idea come to life (you're definitely not alone!)

that's why i compiled some tips and made this post, in hopes to help some author out there :D

let's get started.

PREMISE

assuming you already have a good idea in mind, you should start by writing a premise. to help you with that, try to answer these questions:

who is the main character?

what are their goals?

which troubles will they face / what's stopping them from achieving their goals?

do they have an opponent? if so, who?

now that you know the answers to these questions, it's time to write the premise. the premise consists in a sentence that summarizes your whole idea.

PLOT OUTLINE

there are infinite ways to plot your story. you can do it by writing down ideas and linking them together, following a scheme, or any other method.

the most common plot outlines are these:

synopsis outline: one to two pages, where you hit all the major beats of the story

in-depth outline: outline each chapter/scene

snowflake method: develop the premise into a bigger paragraph, and that paragraph into a page (etc.) until you have the whole outline of your story

booken method: plot the start and end of the story, and the main characters

the novel factory created plot sheets for free, and you can choose from eight different templates. you might want to check it out!

KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS

having your outline defined, you should start developing your characters now. the main character's profile might be more detailed than the others, however, it's up to you. there are many character sheets out there on the internet that will help you create flawless characters.

i have a post with resources that might be helpful when creating a character, check it out!

and here you have some prompts and sheets to create a character:

Quick Character Creator - EA Deverell

Extremely detailed character sheet template - @hawkasss

The Best Character Template Ever - Dabble

Character Twenty Questions Worksheet - The Writers Circle

at this point, you should also define the narrator's voice, tone, etc, as well as the pace of your novel.

LOCATIONS

define the principal locations of your story, the settings, and where the story is taking place. it's important to know how the environment looks, and how your characters feel about it.

for this part, you might find it useful to do some research about some locations, if you're not familiar with them. find inspiration on Pinterest, Tumblr, or even on books, paintings, and art. everything is valid.

if your story takes place in a fantasy environment, you might need to fill out a template to create it or write down the way you imagine it to be. try to get as many details as possible, so there are no holes when developing the novel.

SUBPLOTS

you might want to give more depth to your novel by developing a subplot (or more than one). make sure it doesn't get too confusing or that doesn't take the focus away from the main action.

the subplot can be a romance, another character's relationship, a character's arc, a backstory, etc. this will make your story more real and 3D, more realistic.

develop it as a side story and mix it with the principal plot but don't make it as important as the main story, otherwise, none of the plots will make an impact.

SYNOPSIS

write a synopsis as long as you wish, covering every important part of the story. this will help you to really know your idea, and have a solid structure for it. it can range from 500 to 2,500 words, but you don't have to restrict yourself to a number.

things the synopsis should cover:

the status quo

the complication

initial challenges

midpoint

further challenges

the low point

the climax

the resolution

DRAFT

and we get to the best part which is writing! now that you know everything about your story, characters, locations, and scenes, all you have to do is to put all that together in words. don't feel pressured to make everything look perfect already, just write what comes to your mind. if you have a new idea for the plot, good, write it down! if this character doesn't make sense anymore, okay, get rid of them. just go with the flow, following the structure you've planned, and everything starts to come to life.

i know it's so tempting to go back, read what you wrote, and start editing and polishing, but trust me, don't do that! it's a waste of time, and you will take so much more time to finish your first draft. in fact, i've given up on so many stories because of that...

just when you finish the first draft, you will re-read everything and start editing, fixing plot holes, changing what doesn't fit well, etc. but for now, just write, get the first draft done. enjoy the process, don't rush.

thanks for reading!

i hope this post was helpful!

also, you might be interested in this free workbook with over 90 pages and many exercises! check it out here: THE WRITER'S WORKBOOK

resources for this post:

How to Choose a Plot Outline Method: 4 Techniques for Outlining Novels

How to Write a Novel: A Step-by-Step Guide

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tannieastrology · 2 months

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Solar Return Observations💋❤️🌹

💋This year I have a Virgo Ascendant in my solar return along with 2 Venus returns and Ive been so much more health/beauty focused. Like I care more about myself and am trying to break bad habits that I made in 2023. Im also alot more driven in sports/goals and back when I had this in 2020 I was also into skincare and makeup alot too and was into running and working out. I feel like the year you get a virgo ascendant for your solar return is the year to cleanse bad habits that youve made in the previous year its like a chance to start new.

💋The year you have Uranus in the 11th house is most likely a year where you will lose friends but will also get the chance to make new ones. I had Uranus and North Node in my 11th house last year and my 3 year long friend who claimed we were “besties” backstabbed me and cut me off with no explanation BUT I also found a friendgroup who are here to stay and am incredibely blessed to have met them. This was a year where my view on society and people changed significantly but i feel it was for the better.

💋Last year I had Sun and Pluto in the 8th house along with Moon and Mars in the 12th. I struggled really bad with my mental health(also a Gemini Rising) and my whole personality shifted from these experiences. From January my grandma almost died of cancer, I faced unrequited love, bullying from “friends”, losing friends, and overall felt pressure from school. I was just sensitive to what people said about me and let little things bother me and now that Im looking back none of it was a big deal but I dont know in the moment it affected me way too much. It made me realize that you cant ever really put your faith in people and that you need to trust and respect yourself the most. That you cant be attached to people and your faith should be put in god (atleast thats what I think). Most of the pain came from lowself esteem and I do believe that these placements made me grow a thicker skin and to become more independant. Im a completely different person now and while I did lose my innocence to the world I feel that I can survive on my own now. I guess I just grew a backbone which im really thankful for.

💋Everything that happened last year (like growth transformation death) is all related to the 8th house which is where gemini is in my natal so also keep that in mind where your solar ascendant falls in your natal.

💋This year I have a Moon in Libra in the 1st house and a Virgo Lilith exactly conjunct my ascendant and Ive been getting so much praise from woman its weird? Weirdly guys have been liking my instagram stories and when I posted on my birthday so many people came and viewed my story who dont even follow me. I also feel more pretty and empowered this year and Ive been trying to figure out how I want to present myself more. Compared to last year I feel like I am more upfront with my feelings. I feel like this year I might not struggle as much since im a Libra Ascendant and my solar return is Virgo and almost aligns with my natal chart.

💋My sadness and pain from my 2023 solar return actually really did last until my birthday aka my 2024 return😭 So keep in note that solar returns will remain effective until your next birthday.

💋I have Pluto, Mars, Sun, Vertex, Mercury, and POF, all in the 5th house this year and Im really hoping I can finally meet someone to date for the first time but so far its manifested as being more interested in hobbies/ having fun. Im not complaining tho I actually have been so much happier and I havent cried that much at all from this new Solar Return. I will say I feel like having Pluto in the 5th house will make your view change a bit on relationships. I lost feelings for my 3 year crush and I also feel like its impossible for me to properly catch feelings now. I dont know its like I broke the cycle of infatuting crushes and am way more realistic when it comes to love. Part of it is probably just me getting older but I think thats a good thing. I dont expect love like the movies anymore but i just want something REAL.

💋The year you have 8th house Venus a old flame might come back into your life.

💋Tell me why I have Jupiter, North Node, and Chiron in the 8th house this year and ive been attracting money/all the things i want so easily? I got almost $450 for my birthday, a vanity, a lulu bag, and a big party and its only been like 2 weeks😭

💋 When I turn 18 in 2026 I have a stellium of Venus, Mercury, Sun, Mars, and Pluto in the 12th SOOO im predicting that I might be struggling with mental health that year, probably lost in where I want to head after high school, or Im either hiding sum secret love affair(8th house ruler of libra in 12) or like something about it is forbidden/ secretive. I also do have Moon and Jupiter in Cancer in the 5th house that year so that should be interesting lol. Let me know what aspects/ placements in your future solar returns yall find interesting and have down in the comments I wanna see.

💋A Saggitarius Ascendant/ 9th placements might mean that you get opportunity to travel

💋Having Lilith in the 2nd house might mean that you struggle with eating consistently or might struggle with self worth and body image.

💋Venus in the 4th house will be a year where you try to improve your home and find comfort in familial relationships

💋Look at transits to your solar return too theyll give you a deeper dive in whats going on you can look on astroseek.

💋12th house placements will make you inclined to find god

💋On November 16 2021 I caught feelings bad for this guy and I would go on to like him for a long time. Near that time I had a Venus Return and also a transit Solar Return with a 7th house stellium(Sun,Mars,Mercury,Moon in Libra/Scorpio). I was around this guy 24/7 and it just unexpectedly happened. Near that time Iwas having so much fun with my friends in cross country I feel so fond about those days that I could never forget.

💋 Last year having a Gemini Rising but placements like Mars and Moon in the 12th made me get talked about unknowingly behind my back so keep that in mind. Girls secretly hated me and also one of my “friends” twisted my words and spread drama about me.

💋Pay special attention to Chiron and where it is in your chart ESPECIALLY if its in retrograde

Anyways I hope yall enjoyed this was very last minute and I know people have been complaining about there not being enough Solar Return observations so here I am lol. See yall next time💋

#astrology #astrology observations #solar return #my observations

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eamour · 9 days

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the bridge of events.

something that most of us eventually do or have done is try to "fix" a certain situation in our physical worlds. we have encountered something very unlikable and therefore want to "un-manifest" it by thinking of a way to do so. however, that's not your job. moreover, that's not your GOAL.

definition.

the "bridge of events" refers to the lined up situations you will have to experience or go through in order to reach the physical fulfillment of your desire. it's an unpredictable process that describes how, when and where you will receive your desire in the outer world, basically the "bridge" that's between your current and your desired reality.

disregard the bridge.

can you decide the way in which your heart's desires are going to come to fruition? most definitely, you can. but you don't have to. see, you don't have to come up with a detailed solution on how an unfavourable situation is going to change to a favourable one. you don't have to mess around with logical possibilities and realistic outcomes. actually, you don't even need to be bothered by it. you do not need to worry at all.

concentrate on the destination.

you only need to be concerned about WHAT you want, nothing and no one else. you need to focus on what's at the end of the line and fixate your mind on it. nail your thoughts on the version of yourself who HAS and IS what you wish to have or be already, and don't care about the obstacles in your reality. don't "reason" your way into obtaining your desire. go to the end and make sure to stay in alignment with that version of yours. dwell on that version. be it, be the end, not the bridge. do not wait or wonder. enjoy your desire. experience it in the mind. within an infinite range of realities, your desired one already EXISTS!

renounce all circumstances.

if you witness something that brings you off track or just generally throws you off your path, what are you going to do?

exactly, you are going to dismiss it. it's entirely up to you if you use a different term to deal with the outer world — such as ignore, renounce, abandon, neglect, reject, refuse — as long as you do not accept it as true.

whatever happens physically is none of your concern, none of your interest and not worth your time, energy and attention. do not let it get in your way. do not let it affect or influence your new, freshly established assumptions. because the undesirable reality that's currently being displayed isn't the reality you want to begin with. the reality you are manifesting ISN'T the one you are experiencing right now! it has nothing to do with you. you are not obligated to accept or associate yourself with it. it holds no truthfulness, no rightness, no correctness and definitely no realness. and remember: it does not serve as a form of validation either!

do not interfere with the physical. do not intervene. do not take action. withhold from any acts that do not take place in the mind. leave the world as it is, as the old reality doesn't reflect your new one anymore.

consequently, feel the way you would feel and then let go of it. you want to distance yourself from the story that's no longer yours. you no longer identify with that version of self anymore.

"the display of the old story and its circumstances isn't an invitation to return back to it."

persist in imagination.

let it come to pass. let it unfold in your reality. simply persist in your newly chosen reality. select your desired reality every day and don't stop. accept it as true, as correct and as real. your imagination is your confirmation. your imaginative acts are your source of validation. so have faith and trust yourself.

the thing is, if you continuously persist in your desired outcome, you are going to walk the bridge one way or another. your desire is going to announce itself and you will acknowledge it — there is no way around it! it WILL show up, and you WILL notice it. you HAVE to. that's the law!

with love, ella.

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pascaloverx · 5 months

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Rewrite The Stars

Chapter One

Summary: One photo changes your whole life, when you accidentally bump into a celebrity and the world starts to believe that you are a couple.

preview chapter two

The night ends up being good, taking away the pain in your head that doesn't seem to go away. Serving at Pedro Pascal's table is much calmer than you thought it would be. You just need to control yourself so you don't ask for an autograph or over-treat him. Oscar Isaac is also here, having dinner with him. You believe they are just friends having dinner together but you don't want to assume anything.

"I don't know what you did, but the manager is calling you. And I'm telling you, he's in a horrible mood." Your coworker speaks close to your ear and you feel butterflies in your stomach. It can only be about the incident with Pascal. You prepare to hear some nonsense.

"If I don't get out of there in five minutes, rescue me. I feel like even my third generation will be insulted today." You say looking at your colleague as if you know you got screwed. She nods her head positively with a look of empathy. You head towards your manager who is standing near the back door, right where the whole incident happened. You're officially screwed.

"Can you explain to me how you cause an accident with a celebrity on the same day that I made it clear that nothing could go wrong?" Your manager says, while you are confused.

"Sir, as much as it seems like it wasn't me who caused the accident. It was a coincidence, nothing more than that." You speak softly, trying to stay calm.

"There are no coincidences in the world of customer service. This is a renowned restaurant, not a corner diner. My team must be impeccable. Your mediocrity offends me to the point that I won't even ask for your advance notice. Remove your things from my establishment and go to HR as soon as possible." Your former manager speaks, with a tone of contempt.

"You are being unfair, I did my best to carry out my tasks with mastery." You speak almost out of despair. This job is all you have.

"What I am or am not is none of your business. Oh, and don't use this work as a reference, I will make it my personal goal to ruin any job opportunity you have." It was at that moment that his emotional shock turned to anger. Resigning is bad, but getting in the way of having another job is too much.

"So if I have nothing left to lose, I'm going to take this opportunity to be very realistic." You speak losing the last bit of control you have over yourself.

"And what are you going to do about it?” He asks, almost mocking your face. You then take the jug of orange juice and throw it at his head.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll leave with the rest of my dignity." You say, turning around and noticing that people in the restaurant have noticed your disagreement with the manager. Everyone's eyes were on the situation you had just been in and you felt embarrassed. You even wondered where Mr. Pascal was, since you hadn't seen him.

"Are you looking for me?" Mr. Pascal speaks behind you, and you jump discretely scared.

"Do you have a habit of surprising others unexpectedly?" You say, composing yourself and walking towards the employee area. Surprisingly Mr. Pascal accompanies you.

"It's not a habit of mine but I think it's happening a lot when it comes to our dates with each other. I apologize if I'm being intrusive." Mr. Pascal speaks sincerely in your tone of voice.

"You don't need to apologize, I may have been rude. This night suddenly turned into chaos." You say it, trying to be as subtle as possible, but the truth is that you're screwed and you can't even hide it.

"I witnessed the scene with your old boss. I must say that despite the waste of a beautiful orange juice, he deserved every drop of that juice." Mr. Pascal speaks, almost containing his laughter, and you feel happy to amuse someone that night.

"Do you need anything, I still work here until I take off my uniform." You say, imagining that he followed you because he needed something.

"Actually, I came to give you something. I know it doesn't make up for your dismissal but I think you You deserve it for your effort." He hands you a piece of paper, more specifically a check.

"Sir. No need to give me a check for the inconvenience, seriously. At the end of the day, this job wasn't the best." You say, trying to return the check but Mr. Pascal doesn't accept it.

"Take it as a tip for causing all this and for you getting fired because of me." Mr. Pascal says, forcing the check into my hands. You smile thinking that you are incredibly lucky of being in the presence of a celebrity that you like but that your boss made you feel as if you were insignificant.

"Thank you, sir. It was an honor to meet you." You say, taking the check and putting it on your uniform, not seeing the amount or anything. Mr. Pascal takes your hand lightly and you feel as if the world stops for that split second in which he held your hand.

"It was my pleasure, I hope that if we meet again, your life will be in a better situation." Mr. Pascal speaks with an unusual kindness, his smile could light up a village but you could only focus on the fact that he was lightly holding your hand. Your hand in his and his hand in yours.

"Good evening, Mr. Pascal." You say it as soon as you can come to your senses. He nods as if accepting my goodnight and then he returns to his table. And you return to your reality.

#pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #fanfic pedro pascal #reader insert

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loving-n0t-heyting · 1 month

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Fwiw, i think the realistic answer to scott aaronsons question of "how would we prevent a surge of antisemitic violence afterwards?", given my fantasy ~end state of a unified multiethnic palestine with generous redistribution of land and wealth, is probably the traditional solution for transitions to democracy after the ouster of despotic regimes marred by ethnic-sectarian bloodshed: a foreign peacekeeping force, probably administered by an international body like the UN. This would be in keeping with the coercion by the intl community that would be necessary anyway for any satisfactory resolution to the havoc israel has contributed to the region since 1948

This state of affairs would have benefits beyond the direct goal of preventing outbreaks among the victorious arab population of revenge against random former israelis (and, even more importantly, quashing any recrudescence of violent jewish supremacism and separatism among ex-israeli citizens and their immediate descendants). It would have the salutary psychological effect of impressing upon the former citizens of the local hegemon their dependence on the intl community at large, and facilitating the dissolution of an israeli national identity. The sight of armed convoys in tel aviv emblazoned with the insignia of the UN mission in united palestine would signal that the post-apartheid jewish palestinian population, while worth defending, was not worthy of self-defence as a distinct cultural/ethnic unit, any more than it would be tolerable to organise internal security along racial lines in the US or religious lines in Ireland. It would, hopefully, be a bridge to acknowledging the legitimacy of an integrated and democratically controlled law enforcement wing of a secular and multiethnic successor state, and a funeral for any dreams of a sectarian ethnostate

Obviously this comes with problems. No occupying power, even the most transitional and well intentioned, has ever been devoid of misconduct. But its hard to see how israeli society could otherwise be trusted to accept the terms of secular democracy, given its amply evinced intransigence otherwise in the face of even moderate palestinian demands, or how this envisioned occupation could hope to match up to the horrors of the ongoing one. Plus none of this is particularly likely to happen in the foreseeable future so i might as well daydream

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beakersmeepersmeep · 10 months

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Something I am really looking forward to in the Community movie is (presumably) getting to see Troy return with a greater sense of who he is as an individual. I want to know about his hobbies and interests and opinions and values. And I want to know these things not just because I care about Troy as a character, but because I love the relationship between Troy and Abed.

I think that Troy has one of the more meaningful (albeit incomplete) character arcs in the show. We watch over the first two seasons as Troy lets go of his former identity as a jock and prom king, and learns that he can be vulnerable, or silly, or dorky. He realizes that being a man doesn’t have to look a particular way, and all of these realizations are largely due to Abed.

But stripped of his old identifiers, Troy begins to build a new identity largely based on his relationship with Abed. And while his relationship with Abed is unabashed, and joyous, and revolutionary (for both parties), the reality is that it’s not possible for Troy to build a stable, healthy identity based solely on a relationship with some other person, no matter how fulfilling that relationship is.

[I’m always slightly torn here with this lack of individual identity for Troy at this stage. On the one hand, it leads to this aforementioned meaningful character arc. Moreover, the idea of someone shedding an old identity and trying new ones on is a good and realistic storyline for a show set in college, especially one like Greendale. On the other hand, it sometimes seems like the writers just never got around to fully reconceptualizing the character of Troy after this shift away from jock-Troy, instead relying on his chemistry with Abed, together with DG’s talent for improvising funny one-liners, his ability to make gif-able faces, and his knack for portraying a physical and/or emotional meltdown. Okay, tangent over.]

In many ways we reach the full realization about Troy’s lack of an individual identity by Pillows and Blankets in the back half of season 3. And while we see some additional exploration of Troy via the Truest Repairman plot line as well as via his relationship with Britta, I think Troy largely postpones exploring his own sense of self (whether consciously or unconsciously) up until his decision to leave Greendale and sail around the world in Season 5. [I certainly don’t want to assign value to characters based on their labor output, but I think it’s telling that in the episode Repilot, Troy can’t seem to name anything he has been doing—whether recreationally or otherwise—and instead can only share a vague, half-joking plan to sue Abed in the future.]

Meanwhile we get some really wonderful Troy/Abed moments throughout this time period, but to me they often feel bittersweet, exactly because we as the audience are aware of this tension and its lack of resolution.

I’ve been focusing on Troy thus far—simply because Abed is the one that stuck around, so we actually do get to see him grow and change further—but Abed, as the other half of this duo, has the opposite struggle and we can see his journey in parallel to Troy’s:

Abed knows who he is as an individual but is inexperienced in connecting to others and in building and maintaining relationships. (Unlike Troy who is tremendously likable and connects easily with others but does not know who he is yet.)

It is Abed’s relationship with Troy that shows him he can in fact connect with others. (Just as Troy’s relationship with Abed helps Troy to shed his fake persona.)

But because Troy has a propensity to always defer to Abed and to not stick up for himself, Abed was able to build a relationship with Troy without fully accepting the importance of compromise in a partnership. (Similarly, Abed’s strong personality, imagination, and creativity meant that Troy could adopt Abed’s interests and goals instead of finding ones of his own.)

None of this diminishes the value of Troy and Abed’s relationship—if anything, I think it elevates its importance, as each was exactly what the other needed. But I think it does mean that, as written, Troy’s departure became the inevitable conclusion. And you could write a series that diverged from the prime Community timeline around Pillows and Blankets which allowed for Troy and Abed to both grow and change without either of them leaving, but that’s not the show we got, and ultimately, I’m not sure if it would be a better series. After all, I think Community really shines in this bitter-sweet intersection.

So one of the things I am most looking forward to in the Community movie is getting to know who Troy is as a more fully realized individual, and then getting to see the relationship between new Troy and new Abed. Having a more complete arc for Troy is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and I think it is going to be cool and funny and really cathartic.

#community #nbc community #troy barnes #abed nadir #trobed #six seasons and a movie

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jeannereames · 3 months

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Shows or movies based on historic figures and events are hard to pull off if the goals are to be both entertaining and somewhat true to history. If we accept that some inaccuracies can't be avoided in order to appeal to audiences what would you consider cornerstones and pillars about Alexander and his history that can't/shouldn't be touched in order to paint a somewhat realistic picture in media based on him and his life?

I saved this to answer around the time of the Netflix release. For me, there are four crucial areas, so I’ll break it down that way. Also. I recognize that the LENGTH of a production has somewhat to do with what can be covered.

But, first of all…what story is one telling? The story arc determines where the focus lies. Even documentaries have a story. It’s what provides coherence. Is it a political tale? A military one? Or personal? Also, what interpretation to take, not only for Alexander but those around him. Alexander is hugely controversial. It’s impossible to make everyone happy. So don't try. Pick an audience; aim for that audience.

MILITARY:

Alexander had preternatural tactical skills. His strategy wasn’t as good, however, especially when younger. Tactics can be a genius gift (seeing patterns), but strategy requires experience and knowledge of the opposition. The further into his campaign, the more experience he gained, but the cultures became increasingly unfamiliar. He had ups and downs. He was able to get out of Baktria finally by marrying Roxana. That was strategy, not tactics. He beat Poros, then made a friend of him; that’s strategy. Yet he failed to understand the depth of the commitment to freedom among the autonomous tribes south along the Indus, which resulted in a bloody trek south. And his earlier decision to burn Persepolis meant he’d never fully reconcile the Persian elite.

So, it’s super important to emphasize his crazy-mad tactical gifts in all forms of combat, from pitched battles to skirmishes to sieges. Nobody in history ever equaled him except maybe Subatai, Genghis Khan’s leading general. In the end, I think that’s a lot of Alexander’s eternal fascination. He fought somewhere north of 250 battles, and lost none (where he was physically present).

But HOW to show that? What battles to put on screen? Oliver Stone combined three into one + Hydaspes because he had only 2-3.5 hours (depending on which cut you watch). The Netflix series is going to show all four of the major pitched battles…or at least all 3 for the 6-episode first part. They had circa 4.5 hours to play with, but they cut out other things, like Tyre.

Another issue, from the filming/storytelling point-of-view is how to distinguish Issos from Gaugamela for the casual viewer. They’re virtually identical in tactics (and players on the field). So it made a fair bit of sense to me for Stone to conflate them. In a documentary, it’s more important to separate them, largely to discuss the fall-out.

Some v. important clashes weren’t the Big Four. Among these, the sieges of Halikarnassos and Tyre are probably the most impressive. But the Aornos Rock in India was another amazing piece. I’d also include the bridging of the Indus River to illustrate the astonishing engineering employed. Again, if I had to pick between Halikarnassos and Tyre, I’d pick Tyre. I was a bit baffled by Netflix’s decision to show Halikarnassos instead, but I think it owed to an early error in the scripts, where they had Memnon die there. I corrected that, but they’d already mapped out the beats of the episodes, so they just kept Halikarnassos. That’s fine; it was a major operation, just not his most famous siege.

Last, I really wish somebody, someday, will do something with his Balkan campaigns. What he did in Thrace and Illyria, at just 21, showed his iron backbone and quick thinking. It’d make a great “and the military genius is born” set-up, drama wise. But you could use the Sogdian Rock to show the clever streak, at least (“Find men who can fly” … “I did; look up.” Ha) Plus it has the advantage of being where he (maybe) found Roxana.

Last, he fought extremely well--wasn't just good at tactics. Being a good general doesn’t necessarily mean one’s a good fighter. He was. Almost frighteningly brave, so show that too.

RELIGIOUS:

Ya gotta deal with the “Did he really think he was a god?” thing, and the whole trip to Siwah. I obviously don’t think he believed he was a god; it’s one of the things I disliked about the Netflix show’s approach, but they were dead-set on it. I DO think he came to believe he was somehow of divine descent, but of course, that’s not the same as most moderns understand it, as I’ve explained elsewhere. It made him a hero, not a god on a level with Zeus, and to ME, that’s an important distinction that Netflix (and to some degree Stone) rode roughshod over.

But I’d like to see more inclusion of sacrifice and/or omen-reading—religion in general. Cutting the Gordion Knot (omens!). His visit to Troy (Netflix tackled that one). A really cool thing would be to make more of the lunar eclipse before Gaugamela. Again, Netflix touched on that, but it’s one of those chance events that might actually have affected a battle’s outcome, given how seriously the ancient near east took sky omens. (A solar eclipse once halted a battle.) The Persians were freaked out. Even his massacre of the Branchidai in Sogdiana was driven by religion, not military goals. Pick a couple and underscore them.

I give Stone big props for the sacrifice before the Granikos/Issos/Gaugamela battle. It was so well-done, I’ve actually shown it in my classes to demonstrate what a battlefield sphagia sacrifice would look like.

Alexander was deeply religious. Show it.

POLITICAL:

Ah, for ME the most interesting stuff surrounding Alexander occurs at the political level. Here’s where the triumph story of his military victories all went south. He knew how to win battles. He was less good at managing what he’d conquered.

In terms of a story arc, the whole period up to Gaugamela is really the “rise” of the story. Post-Gaugamela, things began to collapse. And I would pin the turn on PERSEPOLIS. Yes, burning it sent home a message of “Mission accomplished.” But he was selective about it. Areas built by Darius I were spared, Xerxes’ were destroyed: a damnio memoriae.

Problem: Persepolis embodied Persia, and ATG essentially shat on it. Not a good look for the man who wanted to replace Darius III. That he also failed to capture and/or kill Darius created an additional problem for him. Finally, his lack of understanding of how politics worked in Baktria-Sogdiana resulted in an insurgency. Bessos was going to rebel, regardless. But Spitamanes might not have. Alexander created his own mess up there.

Another matter to look at is why he created a new title—King of Asia—instead of adopting the Persian title (King-of-Kings). I don’t think that was a “mistake.” He knew perfectly well the proper Persian title (Kshāyathiya)…and rejected it. He adopted some Persian protocol, but not all of it. After the summer of 330, he was essentially running two parallel courts, which seemed to satisfy neither the Persians nor his own men. (Kinda like docudramas are a hybrid that seems to annoy perhaps more than satisfy.)

So I’d like to see this handled with some nuance, but it’s intrinsically difficult to do—even while, if done well, it would be the most interesting part of an Alexander story, imo.

So, what events, what events…3-4 leap out after Alexander’s adoption of some Persian dress. The Philotas Affair, the Pages Conspiracy, the Death of Kleitos, the marriage to Roxana. I’d show it all, although I could also understand reducing the two conspiracies to one, for time, in which case, the Philotas Affair because it resulted in the fall of Parmenion. But the fact there were two, not just one, tells a story itself.

What about the proskynesis thing with Kallisthenes? I’ve come to disbelieve it ever happened, even though it’s symbolic of the whole problem. So, weirdly, I’m of two minds about showing it. OTOH, it won’t be in my own novels. But OTOH, I could easily see why a showrunner or director might want to include it. And it certainly appears in several of the histories, including Arrian.

Then we have the two indisciplines (mutinies)…one in India that made ATG turn around, and another at Opis. They’re really two different things as one was an officer’s rebellion, the other the soldiers themselves. But will viewers be able to distinguish between them? It’s like the Issos/Gaugamela problem, or for that matter, the two conspiracies. They’re similar enough to confuse the casual viewer. “Didn’t we already see that?”

But if they were narrowed to one, how to choose? The mutiny on the Hyphasis provides an explanation for why he turned back. But the Opis event was more dramatic. The man jumped down into the middle of a rioting crowd and started (essentially) knocking heads together! So if I had to pick…Opis. The other might could be mentioned in retrospect.

PERSONAL:

Here are five things I think really OUGHT to be shown, or that I have yet to be pleased by.

1) Philip isn’t an idiot and should get more than 10 minutes of screentime. Oh, and show Alexander did learn things from him. Stone had to make his movie a Daddy-Issues flick, and the Netflix thing did very little with Philip as they wanted to get to the Alexander-Darius face off (which was the meat of their story). But there’s a very interesting love/competition story there.

2) Olympias is not a bitch and was not involved in Phil’s murder, although I can see why that is catnip to most writers. She did kill Eurydike’s baby and (by extension) Eurydike. One of the historians in the Netflix story (Carolyn, unless I misremember) talked about the rivalry between the two wives, at least. But I think ATG planned to marry the widow and Olympias got rid of her to prevent it. Now THAT’S a story, no? But they were in too much of a hurry to get to Persia.

3) Alexander was not an only child! He had sisters (and a brother) with whom he was apparently close…and a cousin who was his real rival. To me, missing that cousin rivalry overlooks a juicy personal/political story! Too often all the focus winds up on Alexander-Olympias-Philip-Eurydike-Attalos, but man, a more subtle showrunner could do a lot with the Alexander-Amyntas rivalry. But he’s constantly cut out. I can’t think of a documentary that actually addresses Amyntas except in passing (if at all)l

4) Hephaistion’s importance is a must, but I’d like to see him treated as someone with a personality and authority of his own, besides just as ATG’s lover. At least Netflix Went There onscreen with the love-story part, but otherwise, the writers couldn’t figure out what to do with him. Neither Stone nor Netflix really portrayed him as his own person. I do understand why they can’t show the whole cast of characters. I had to do weeding myself in the novels, but I’m annoyed Netflix showed only Hephaistion and Ptolemy. Where’s Perdikkas (so important all along really, but certainly later)? Or Philotas, Kleitos, Krateros, Leonnatos, Lysimachos (later king of Thrace)? I think viewers could probably have handled at least another 5 people, especially if introduced gradually, not all at the beginning.

This brings me to….

5) Alexander’s apparently very real affection for the people in his orbit, from personal physician (Philip) to childhood pedagogue (Lysimachos [not same as above]) to Aristotle to various other philosophers. He was so loyal to his friends, in fact, he initially jailed the people who brought word of Harpalos’ first flight.

He needed to be loved/appreciated and wanted to give back to people. Yes, generosity was expected of kings, and as a king (THE king), his generosity had to excel that of anybody else. But he seemed to genuinely enjoy giving presents. I think of him like that one friend who heard you say you liked that cute pair of “Hello, Kitty” socks…then 6 months later they’re your Christmas present from them. Some of his gifts were grandiose, but not always. I love the dish of little fish (probably smelts) that he sent to Hephaistion, presumably just because his friend liked smelts!

To me, point #5 would be easy to get in with a skilled scriptwriter, tucked into the corners of other scenes. It’d be fun to highlight the personal side. If we can believe Plutarch, he was a PRODIGIOUS letter-writer. Also, he loved to hunt, so that’s another thing. And he loved the theatre, and to watch sport. These would all be very humanizing details.

I think the biggest issue is that most of these documentaries/docudramas are done by people who don’t know squat about Alexander aside from a few things, before deciding to make a documentary/movie about him, or write a book. Their research is shallow, and even if they bring on the experts, they don’t always listen. Stone DID at least have a long fascination with ATG, but it caused him to try to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. It wasn't as bad of a film as some have made it out to be, just horribly bloated and for all his reading, he never understood the WORLDVIEW. I wrote about that some while back in my review.

The best documentary/movie would be told by an actual specialist who knew enough at the outset to craft a better, more complex story arc.

Or maybe I’m just biased because I tried to do that myself in my novels. 😂😂😂😂

#asks #alexander the great #oliver stone alexander the great #netflix alexander the great #telling the story of alexander the great is intrinsically difficult #docudramas #historical movies #historical documentaries

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leidensygdom · 2 months

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Idk if it's intentional on your part but while your art shows a lot of talent and thought, it isn't really... Pretty. None of your characters make me want to look at them more than once. It's something in the face, I think, but might be the whole body and way they carry themselves. If that's your vibe, then don't stop on my account!

I... Uh, I really don't know how to feel about this! It's a bit of an odd ask!

I do try to make a conscious effort to try to have a bit of variety with my characters- Bigger noses, jaws, I've been trying to push towards more realistic body types lately too. I feel like a lot of that is really underrepresented in artist circles. Everyone's androgynous hot elf of the day ends up blurring up a bit for me, specially because I'm quite faceblind.

I don't know, I grew up seeing stuff like League of Legends all around, with all the same-faced, same-bodied flawless women and I kinda felt really bored! I feel like there's a lot of beauty and fun to be had trying to depict people, and it feels not very realistic to stick only to the most perfect beauty-standard characters. I also just like meat I guess, the way a tummy hangs, necks that don't feel all too chiselled, all that stuff.

Then again, I'm a sex-repulsed ace so I don't really understand physical attraction all that much. I wonder if that does affect how I draw in some way. I just enjoy going outside and seeing an unusual nose bridge, and then trying to capture it when making a new character. Some artists have the goal to make the prettiest art in every sense, and try to depict only the prettiest of people, but... eh. I don't think that's my goal! And I'm having fun with that!

#again it's strange to send an ask like “i think the people you draw are a bit too ugly to look at”#like well i do like them. some people like them #it's all worth when someone says they're happy to see the hooked nose they're super self-conscious about represented in a drawing #or when someone says “oh my tummy looks just like that! i never see it in art!”#that's really the high i am after

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mudisgranapat · 5 months

Text

II. Crash

Word count: 3,9 k

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley X F!Reader Content: zombie apocalypse, mention of dead bodies, mention of dead children, mention of death, children, enemies to lovers, slow burn

Taglist: @poohkie90 @gaida-511

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Note: If the storyline is confusing at some point, please let me know so I can explain with more detail! Also, there is some stuff that will make more sense with time, so have that in mind. I'm trying to make this a bit realistic, so it will be a slowish-burn. With all that said, have fun :)

He doesn’t surprise himself with how fast his reflexes kick in anymore - the cameras were only on for seconds before Simon shot them down. He remembered where each one of them was, he barely had to look in their direction before aiming; besides, there was no use being discreet now. There was a reason Simon Riley had survived every single test life had put him through. He was fucking good at what he did.

It was also the exact same reason why he didn’t have a life outside of work. He was a soldier with every fiber of his body: he acted like war. He didn’t take the least aggressive route, and he didn’t put people before the mission’s goal. His hands had a mind of their own when they curled into fists and when they held a gun it was turned into an extension of his body.

None of those were compatible with dealing with an infant, and that was why, following the sound of the gunshots, a terrified cry erupted from the tiny baby’s body. Simon could swear that the noise was more aggravating than the sound of a thousand grenades exploding in his ears. All he could do was stare back at the baby through the hollow eyes of his skull mask, watching as the little girl’s face started to turn red.

“Are you out of your mind?” He didn’t need to look to know where that voice was coming from. Any small progress they had made into turning the girl into a less angry version of herself had gone out the window, and she was back to giving what seemed to be her signature disapproving glare. Somehow, the fact that Simon towered over her didn’t seem to scare the attitude out of her body. He wondered what would. “Do you not realize that there is a child by your side? You could have busted her eardrums!”

“I’m sorry about that.” Gaz says quickly. He seems to feel guilty about the whole thing, which Simon doesn’t understand. He had eliminated the threat most efficiently; if anything, she should be thankful that whoever had access to those cameras would only have seconds' worth of footage.

“You’re not going to say anything?” She insists. Soap watches with an amusing grin. He had never seen someone challenge Ghost like that, especially when he was dressed with his whole skull mask, skeleton gloves, and tactical gear combo. The Sergeant swore he could see his Lieutenant’s eyebrow raise in surprise behind the mask.

“A deaf baby is better than a dead one.” Simon states dryly. Y/N’s mouth drops open with an offended gasp and, seeing that as his cue, Johnny intervenes to stop the situation from escalating. He knew Simon wasn’t exactly a patient guy, and he was surprised that Ghost had stayed quiet for this long. Not that he would ever make small talk, but he figured that by now he would have at least told the woman to leave him alone, probably not so politely. Now he wished Ghost was mute, so he wouldn’t have to deal with him insulting a child.

“We’re sorry about that, lass.” He notices that there is still some urgency that lies beneath her words, and he wonders where such worry about being seen by the cameras comes from. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright.” That was a phrase every soldier was trained to say, and it slipped out of Soap’s lips easily while he put a comforting hand on Y/N’s shoulder. It was meant to reassure people and get them to trust you, and he pushes further to try and get some information out of her. “What are you not telling us? I’m sure we can help you.”

She doesn’t try to pretend she has nothing to hide but doesn’t seem willing to open up either. “Yeah, like you would care. I know you just came here to do your job, so don’t pretend you care about the damage you leave behind. I know the type of guy your little group is made of.” She pushes the hand away from her shoulder and starts to sway the baby in her arms, her venomous tone quickly switching into a sweet one as she whispers calming words into the little girl’s ears.

“We’re not here to hurt you, or cause any trouble.” It’s the Captain’s turn to intervene, and he shoots Simon a dirty look, like a dad that reprimands their child for saying something that, albeit true, is incredibly rude. “I know this must be scary for you. And I don’t mean just the four of us walking into your house, armed. Caring for a baby in a situation like this must not be easy.”

Maybe it’s the crying, maybe it’s the Captain’s voice (the old man can be sweet when he wants to), but she finally seems to let her walls crumble a little bit. Sitting on a nearby chair, she lets out an exasperated sigh. She looks at the baby with eyes so lovingly that they almost make Simon believe that he too could be loved. “You don’t understand. It’s more complicated than it looks.”

“Try me.” John gives her an encouraging smile and pulls a chair for him to sit. He has one of those faces that makes you want to trust him with your life. Simon envied that about John. Sometimes he looked in the mirror and wondered if people only saw Ghost when they looked into his eyes, even after the mask was gone. He knows he does, every morning when he stares back at the lifeless eyes that watch him through the mirror. Every time he takes his mask off, he wonders if he should sew it permanently into his face - maybe then he would have an excuse to never get rid of Ghost, and let Simon slowly wither into the memory of a man he had always been.

Y/N looks at Simon, and and the hesitance behind her eyes when she looks into his, lets him know that she only sees Ghost. “I stole something from the Resistance.” She finally admits. “They are looking for me, that’s why I’ve been hiding in here.” She takes a shaky breath. “They are going to kill me if they find me.” The second part of her confession is quieter, as if she didn’t want the baby to hear the terrible faith that awaited her.

“We won’t let that happen. We have a safe place, you can come with us.” That suggestion goes against every single one of Simon’s instincts, and he genuinely starts to worry for his Cpatian’s sanity. They can’t afford two more mouths to feed, two more people to take care of, two more people to share their resources with. But then he looks around and notices that neither Soap nor Gaz seem to disagree with Price’s offer. Then, he realizes that this is just another one of those moments where his stone-cold persona stops him from understanding why people would offer things just for the sake of being kind.

“In apocalypse lingo that means you have a cult.”

“It’s not a cult.” Gaz laughs. “We are mostly military personnel and their relatives, trying to survive.”

“I would say you’re doing more than surviving. I mean, what even brought you here? And don’t say you’re just looking for food. I’m no idiot.”

“Never thought you were, lass.” Soap looks at his Captain for approval to share information about their mission. It’s not like anything was classified anymore, but habits stick. “We have some scientists that still believe they can find a cure - we came here to see if we could find anything useful.” At that, he points at Gaz, who is still sitting by the computer, now trying to load whatever he had managed to uncover into a pen drive.

Simon notices how she visibly tenses under the word cure. His eyes are trained to see people’s reactions to information. That usually tells more about them than their own words. “I really appreciate the offer, but I am fine on my own. I will figure things out.” Y/N gets up and starts to walk towards the door, the abrupt change of humor taking them by surprise. “I always have. Good luck on your mission though, I hope your scientists are right.”

Soap takes after her, but Simon stops him. “Let it go, Johnny. We have a mission to finish.” The Sergent nods in agreement and moves to search through a pile of old papers with a defeated look. Soon she is out of sight, but they can still hear her shuffling in a hurry downstairs. If she didn't want shelter there was nothing they could do about it. It pained Soap to watch the girl leave, but he understood a thing or two about having a hard time trusting people; he just wished there was something he could do about it.

As they continued looking through the room, gathering the few bits of information they thought were slightly useful, Simon found himself looking through the window. That is when he caught a glimpse of Y/N, getting into an old red car she uncovered from some tarp. He was not only surprised that the junk still worked, as it looked pretty wrecked, but that she had been prepared for an emergency. He could tell the car was stuffed full of materials, blankets, and all sorts of crap that might come in handy. He lets out an amused chuckle but quickly covers it up with a cough before anyone can notice. He could tell she was resourceful from the beginning but was just now finding out to what extent.

A few documents and a pen drive later, they decide to call the mission a success and head back to the Humvee. “You think she is gonna make it, Cap?” Gaz asks with a hint of sadness in his voice. Surviving that long hadn’t been easy, not even for them. They might have been trained to shoot moving targets, but nothing can prepare you for the blanket of dullness that covers the atmosphere during an apocalypse. No matter how long a soldier is deployed, they still have a place to come back to, a reason to fight for. But fighting and surviving are completely different things, and when life becomes empty of any motivation to keep going, you find that a rifle is lighter to carry than a heavy heart. Simon was all too familiar with that concept: It was embedded in his brain since revenge tasted like sugar and anger sounded like a song that lulled him to sleep.

“There is no use thinking about that now, Sergent.” John says, turning on the ignition. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

They were getting in the car when Gaz stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Aw shit! Forgot my cap in the house.”

“Make it quick, Sergent.”

“Will do, Captain!” He shouts from the distance as he makes his way into the house, knowing he probably won't honor his promise. He has no idea where he left the damn thing.

John chose to wait in the front seat with the ignition still on, smoking a cigar, while Ghost and Soap made idle conversation resting against the back of the Humvee. At times like this, it was hard to believe the world wasn’t normal. But then a zombie would come around and Johnny and Simon would do “rock, papers, scissors” to find out who would have to take care of it.

“Hey. LT, how many Germans does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Soap asks with a grin on his face, as he cleans his knife from the blood.

Simon pretends to think for a moment. They had been exchanging two-liners for as long as he could remember, and it was surprising they could still keep going after all this time. Once, he could swear he saw Johnny pick up a joke book from an old library that they had passed by during a mission. He never teased him about it, because he knew it would pay off during moments like this. “How many?”

“One. They are efficient and not very funny.”

“You’re not very funny.”

Before Soap could get offended, the sound of a single gunshot penetrates the air. “Hands up!” A coarse voice commands. Simon moves to grab his gun, but another shot follows dangerously close to his head. He and Soap slowly put their hands up in surrender, as they hear footsteps approaching from the front of the vehicle, effectively surrounding them. They hear Price step out of the truck, and soon he is right beside them, as they stand in a line, side to side. A small group of what looks like military men corners them. They don’t look like the unorganized militia groups that they usually come across, with improvised armor and guns they barely know how to hold. These people sport matching uniforms and seem to be well trained, carrying the weapons with a confidence that doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Where are the girl and the baby?” The same man asks. He has a scar that runs across his left eye, clearly jeopardizing his vision. “You’re a long way from home, soldiers. So why don’t you help me and answer the question? Maybe you can still make it back to the base before sunrise.”

John tenses after hearing how well the guy seemed to know them. He hated being at disadvantage. “We haven’t seen any girls ‘round here.”

“Now, don’t lie to me, John. I don’t like playing games.” He lets out a dry laugh. “I’ll ask you one more time: Where are they?”

He couldn’t believe this was the Resistance. Last Simon heard from them, they were a bunch of rebels running around without purpose, creating fires so they could put them out. Yet, there they stood in front of him, the unmistakable Resistance logo plastered on the left side of their chest: A red capital R with a dagger running through it horizontally. Not only did they know their names and address, they were asking about the girl and the baby. The girl and the baby that had been with them less than an hour ago.

They seemed familiar, and it irked Simon that he couldn’t exactly put a finger on why.

The Resistance is still the one behind the cameras in the lab, he concluded, with enough control over their surveillance to notice a couple of abandoned cameras going online for seconds and quickly respond to the disturbance with a group of soldiers. Seconds that had been sufficient for them to recognize the girl and the baby. Whatever she had done to piss them off, Simon could guarantee it was more than stealing something.

In response to the silence, the man puts his finger on the trigger of his gun but doesn’t raise it. Simon registers the name on his uniform: AJ Miller. When his arm lifts, a blast fills the air, in both sound and density, as a layer of smoke quickly covers the scene.

Gaz had thrown a smoke grenade.

Simon breathes in the smoke, and counterintuitive as it may seem, the vapor that fills his lungs brings clarity to his mind. He pulls out his gun, and the metallic smell of blood overpowers the aroma of moss that seems to always linger in the air these days. Gunshots wizz past him in every direction, each one missing him by either luck or his movements; it was hard to tell the difference. The smoke dies down and Simon counts: One, two three. No casualties.

That matter, it is.

Bodies lay on the ground in front of them, blood covering the old pavement, seeping through the cracks, and meeting the soil from where wildflowers grow. Empty shell casings reflect the sunlight with an even more golden hue and in a twisted way, remind Ghost of a starry night. Like most, the battle ended as suddenly as it started.

“Everyone alright?” The Captain asks, looking around the group. Gaz, Soap, and Ghost nod in agreement. “Good work, Gaz.”

“Steaming Jesus. What in the bloody hell was that?” Soap asks.

“The Resistance must have a new boss. Looks like someone has finally succeeded in weaponizing citizens.” John shakes his head, as if trying to find a logical explanation to what they just saw. “Last we heard of them, they were idiots chasing their own tail with a gun. Now they are a fucking army.” Silence never meant good things during war; they should have known better than to let the enemy grow undisturbed for so long. “Back in the truck, boys. Seems like Laswell will finally get the intel she has been waiting for.”

They were about to turn into the road when they heard shooting in the distance. Gaz is in the passenger seat this time, and he gives the Captain a pleading look. “They are going to die out there, Captain. We need to help them.” They don’t need to see the shooting to know what happened: the Resistance had found the girl and the baby. They had also been smart enough to divide the search into smaller groups of people so they could cover more area at the same time.

“The Resistance wants them, Gaz. She did something to piss them off and I don’t want to get us in the middle of the crossfire. They already know enough about us as it is.”

“She knows the Resistance better than us, Price. Maybe she can help us get the upper hand on those bastards.” Soap chimes in, taking Kyle’s side on the discussion.

“We don’t need the upper hand on them. We are not fighting against them. Besides, I doubt she would have anything useful to add.” Ghost argues, and neither Gaz nor Soap seem surprised that he is taking the Captain’s side.

“We are going to fight them, eventually. I mean, we have to, right?” Kyle asks. “They know too much about us to take a neutral stance against our group. They are becoming too powerful.” There was a pause and you could almost smell the hope that hung on Gaz’s words.

“They are right. Simon.” John finally gives in, as he takes a turn that puts them in the same direction the gunshots are coming from. “She might not be able to give us any useful intel, but the Resistance wants her, and until we figure out why, securing her will give us an advantage against them”. He steps on the accelerator. “Let’s just hope she didn’t get too far.”

As the commotion gets louder and their plan is laid out, Gaz positions himself out of the window, gun in hand. Soap takes the same position on the door on the back, and Simon prepares to jump out of the truck as soon as it stops. He hears a loud crash and looks out the window just in time to see the old red car get T-boned by a much newer black car. The red car drives off the road and hits a tree, and Simon wonders if the thing was built out of titanium as he watches it survive without immediately combusting into flames.

The Sergents start to shoot at the Resistance, giving Simon cover as he rushes out of the truck and in the direction of the crash. The sound of loud crying fills the air again, making his skin crawl, and soon enough he opens the door on the driver’s side. Thankfully, they had been hit on the passenger side, and the baby had been behind the driver’s seat.

“Take Cami. Please, you have to save her. You can’t let the Resistance take her.” Cami. That must be the baby’s name. He realized no one ever asked, and Y/N didn’t tell them either. Or maybe it’s Camille. Or Camila. He had never met a Camila before. Maybe it was Chamomile - he had heard of people naming their babies after flowers.

“You’re coming with me.” He reaches across her and undoes her seatbelt. As much as he was against the idea of taking them back to the base, he was a man following orders now.

“No. My leg is hurt, I’m going to slow you down. You need to take her and run somewhere safe. There’s no time.” She looks at him with pleading eyes. Eyes that seemed to have made peace with dying. They didn’t belong in a young face like hers. And as she stared into his eyes, she seemed to search for someone that wasn’t Ghost. Someone that would take her baby to safety, and watch it grow into a healthy young woman that she would never get to meet.

“I’ll carry you.” You’re not going to die here, he has the urge to tell her. But he doesn’t, because that is what Simon would have done, and Ghost knows that every second in a clock becomes an hour during war. And every second spent talking, is a second that is wasted.

“You can’t carry us both at the same time, you need to go-”

“Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. Arms up, now.” And before she can protest more, he is throwing her on his shoulders, almost as if she is weightless. Pain shoots across her leg, but all she can think about is Cami.

Is Cami hurt? Probably, she could hear her crying.

Is Cami dead? No, she could hear her crying.

Is she dead? She wanted to be. Her baby was crying, and there was nothing she could do to help her pain go away.

With his free arm, Ghost opens the back door. Y/N moves on his shoulders, yelling something about Cami that he can’t quite understand because he is not paying attention. But then her voice switches to a much sweeter tone when she says “Everything is going to be okay, my love, don’t cry” over and over again, and suddenly, that is the only sound he can hear.

He knows he should have gone for the baby first. Children should always be the first to be rescued. But for the first time, Simon was in the field and he was scared. The last time he had a baby in his arms, his brother was still alive. He remembers the silence when he walked into his house years ago, his whole family dead at his feet. He remembers Tommy’s pale and lifeless face, and he remembered it twice because he saw it again when he looked at Tommy’s dead son’s pale and lifeless face.

He opens his eyes and hopes he doesn’t remember it a third time: but she is red, and it’s not blood, it’s just the effect of her face scrunching up and the breath coming out of her lungs. She is a baby, crying in the car seat, and she doesn’t look like Tommy. She is alive, her hands reaching for Simon, because she is too young to see Ghost.

He is running back to the Humvee, carrying a woman on his shoulder and a child in his arms. Her voice still echoes in his head: "Everything is going to be okay, my love".

#simon ghost riley #simon riley #simon ghost riley x reader #call of duty #simon ghost x you #kyle gaz garrick #john soap mactavish #john price

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