#ask: suleyman i

[i-cant-sing]

Have you watched magnificent century??? I feel like you’ve captured suleymans character really well!

i did!!! i think i was quiet young when it came out and my mom used to watch the dubbed show- back then i was sooo mesmerised by their dresses and beauty, honestly turkish people beauty is on a whole another level- TO THIS DAY!

then during exam season, i used to watch it on youtube with subs. i didnt watch the whole show, no- the only turkish drama i ever watched to the end was- ask memnu. its iconic, legendary- love it.

[flowerishness]

By-law infraction re: tulips

in 1554, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, ambassador of the Austrian Habsburg empire, visited the court of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Grand Potentate of the Byzantine empire. There he saw tulips in the Royal Gardens in Constantinople and asked if he could take a few bulbs back to Vienna as a gesture of goodwill, and, as the old saying goes, the rest is history.

These beautiful tulips are growing on a grassy verge a few blocks from my house. Legally speaking, the sidewalk and the grassy area next to the street belong to the city. Most homeowners mow this grassy verge for appearances sake but some refuse, and I’ve seen quite a few ‘dandelion farms’ in my neighborhood that prove this point.

However, this particular homeowner, who styles herself Garden Mama, has chosen to defy the law and has converted this ‘easement’ into a flower bed. As a tulip lover, I say “Bravo!” If a bylaw inspection officer has the temerity to stick a business card on her front door (re: tulips), I will rally to her defense. If necessary, I’ll put together a noisy, placard-waving demonstration at City Hall. Care to join me?

[zeldaxxi]

there's something in the way Afife protects and stands up for Firuze even AFTER she befriends Hurrem.

like when Hurrem throws Firuze in the dungeons, Afife struts her ways to her chambers and asks for an explanation, even saying "She is the favorite of His Majesty, i won't allow anyone to treat her like this". when Hurrem refuses, Afife then goes straight to Suleyman. and remember, this is all after she saves Hurrem! at this point in this story she likes her!! Afife will go against an all powerful sultana, even one she likes, to protect a "mere concubine".

and why does this make me so emo?? because young Hurrem was thrown in the dungeons as well, and NO ONE batted an eye. she rotted in there for like a day and it took Suleyman's summoning to get her tf out. even then, they still tried to cover it up!!! i don't think any of that would have happened had Afife been there from the very beginning. she would have stood up for Hurrem against Valide\Mahidevran the same way she stood up for Firuze against Hurrem. and i think Hurrem knows this as well and it absolutely kills her. it really adds a deeper level to the "when i arrived at this palace nobody protected me" speech and explains perfectly why she said it to Afife.

@shivrcys (tagging you cause you're just as invested in Hurrem and Afife's relationship)

[ofsappho]

Treehouse Ask: I like how you have drawn inspiration from different historical and mythological couples to create Morpheus/Reader's relationship. Using Suleiman the Magnificent and Haesaki Hurrem Sultan was a great choice because it was very much a real-life darker Cinderella story (not to romanticize enslavement). While Hurrem was considered lovely with her (possible) red hair and green eyes it's said her wit and intelligence captivated her husband. I feel like that was similar to Reader.

Hi!

Sorry it took me a bit to answer this! I actually am just sitting down to watch Magnificent Century as I write chapter 29 and it reminded me that you sent this ❤️.

I LOVE the love story between Suleyman and Hurrem and I admire Hurrem so much. I have been wanting for years to work in elements of their romance into something but nothing was ever the right fit. Their dynamic was so complicated, given the historical/social context, yet very beautiful.

As I was planning out Morpheus and Reader’s relationship, I realized I needed to find inspo/themes that would somewhat accurately translate my perspective of their dynamic and how they handle the immense power he has over her while being romantic/passionate/loving. To me, bringing the two stories together was the perfect fit.

As a nod to this inspo, I have titled Lucienne’s position within Morpheus’ realm as one of his Viziers. This won’t be the last we see of the Ottoman court hierarchy in treehouse!

[starbabe569]

Non Hurrem/Suleyman Scenes I Wish Had Been In The Series

**After Suleyman Returns To Find Hurrem Has Been Burned**

Suleyman questions everyone surviving Hurrem to find out how she's been doing scenes the attack. He's told she rarely leaves her chambers, she has the main entrance to her chambers bard every night and sleeps with a knife. Suleyman then calls an architect to design and build a new set of chambers contacted to his.

A few days later word begins to spread through the harem about the new chambers Suleyman has ordered. Hafsa and Mahidevran assume that the new chambers are for Mustafa.

**Sometime After Suleyman Returns To Find Hurrem Has Been Burned**

Suleyman has been back in Tapioca for a few weeks when Hurrem starts acting angry and jumpy. When he ask she says it's just nerves, so he questions Sumbal and Daya and is informed that Fatma the concubine responsible for burning Hurrem was brought back to the palace. Suleyman is furious and orders that Fatma be taken to the dungeons while he goes to comfort his mother.

**Immediately After Learning About Fatma**

Suleyman storms into the Valid Sultan's Cambers looking furious. Hafsa asks what's troubling him. Suleyman angrily confronts his mother about Fatma not only being brought back into the harem, but the fact that it's obvious that she wasn't truly punished. Hafsa try's to defend her actions to Suleyman despite the fact that he's obviously not buying it. At one point she says something that causes Suleyman to almost hit her, he stops himself before he even lifts his hand. He ends the conversation by telling her he will handle Fatma's punishment. He also tells her she needs to dismiss Gulsah because he will be appointing the new harem overseer.

**The Day After Suleyman's Confrontation With His Mother**

Suleyman has his mother and Mahidevran come to the viewing room used to over look events in the courtyard. There wondering why Suleyman has called them there, when he walks out. Their shocked to see him followed by Fatma who is being dragged by guards and an executioner. After Fatma is executed Suleyman looks up at the screen his mother and Mahidevran are standing behind before walking back into the palace.

**A Few Days After Fatma's Execution**

Word about Fatma's execution has spread through the harem. The concubines are gossiping and speculating about what this means for Valid Sultan's possession and the future of the harem. Sumbal inters to announce that Suleyman's has summoned Afife Hutan to take over as overseer of the harem, instead of Gulsah who Hafsa's chose.

**Early Season Three**

After her luncheon for the wives of Pasha and other high ranking men in the empire Hurrem holds a second uncheon for the wives and daughters of the foreign ambassadors. This event is held in the main area of the harem. Hurrem is using the mystery and speculation other countries have about the harem to guaranty the attendance of the women she's invited.

_I'm specifically basing this off of the scene in MC:K when Farya enters the harem for the first time._

**Early Season One Not Long Before Suleyman Returns From Campaign**

Hurrem is setting in her private chambers with Maria embroidering a blanket for the baby. Maria tells Hurrem that she's been worried that she'll be replaced as her concubine because she's not Muslim so she's going to talk to Sumbal about converting. Hurrem tells her she doesn't have to do that, she'll talk to Suleyman to make sure that doesn't happen. Maria responses that she rather do everything possible to make sure there not separated. Hurrem leans over and hugs Maria thanking her.

**The Night Hurrem Gives Birth To Mehmed**

Ibrahim has ordered Gulnihal to be sent to Halvet. As Sumbal is taking her to be prepared she's protesting that she can't do this to Hurrem. Sumbal tells her to keep quiet and when she's in left alone with Suleyman to introduce herself by her old name and nothing will happen. She nods her head and says okay, then keeps quiet while she's prepared.

When she's left alone with Suleyman she introduces herself as Maria, then drops to her knees and say she can't be here because it would break Hurrem's heart. Suleyman realizing that this is Hurrem's Maria who he'd given Sumbal instructions not to send to halvet he's furious. She gives an explanation that Ibrahim picked her and that there was probably confusion because she'd just converted and has been given her new name.

After Suleyman has calmed down they began talking with Maria telling Suleyman stories about Hurrem and her life before the harem with Maria telling him she was revealed to see Hurrem finally starting to live again. A few hours into their conversation Sumbal arrives to inform Suleyman that Hurrem is in labor.

**Season One Early Into Hurrem's First Pregnancy**

Hafsa tells Daya she has decided to marry Hurrem off while Suleyman is on campaign. Daya asks if she'd like her to take Hurrem to be examined immediately to confirm she's not pregnant or wait until a groom has been selected. Hafsa tells her to have the exam done immediately because she doesn't need the stress of having to back out of and engagement if she is pregnant.

_Hafsa trying to marry Hurrem off without finding out if she's pregnant or not was one of her stupidest designs in the inter series._

@redxluna @desmoonl @shivrcys @faintingheroine @minetteskvareninova

[hurremsultanns]

Hi! Love your blog and your posts! As someone who loves (and hates) MC, what are your favorite au/what if scenarios based in the show?

Mine are:

• What if Sadika had killed Suleyman?

• What if Sadika was too slow and the princes (Mustafa and Mehmet) had died in the fire?

• What if Valide had managed to tell Suleyman the truth about Ibrahim and his relationship with Nigar before passing out/getting sick?

• What if the child Mahidevran had miscarried had lived? Bonus: what if that child was Mihrimah? (Idk I just think Mahi was very sweet to Mihrimah when she was little. Being the mother of his eldest son and his only daughter would boost Mahi up. Plus I like the idea of Hurrem getting her wish in season 1 of only bearing sons (it’ll be a boy again and then a boy again and then again). Also, even if the same thing happened where Mustafa ended up being executed, Mahidevran could go and live with Mihrimah who would be super rich like she was on the show and in canon.

• What if Hurrem had fallen for Shah’s trap and actually tried to place Bayezid on the throne?

• What if Hatice had decided to divorce Ibrahim?

• What if Nurbanu had been the concubine/consort for one of the other princes (either Mustafa, Mehmet, or Bayezid)

• What if Mehmet had lived and Mihrimah acted like his Valide Sultana?

• What if Mihrimah had gotten to be with and marry Taslicali like she wanted?

• What if Hurrem and Mahidevran’s arrivals were switched? So like Hurrem would have been with Suleyman when he was still a prince in Manisa and Mahidevran was the one who showed up in Istanbul after he was already the sultan

• What if Mihrimah had chosen to support Selim?

• What if seeing how much Mahidevran had moved on from him made Suleyman want to get back together?

• What if Hurrem and Leo had reunited earlier (before she was ever pregnant) and they ran away together?

• What if Hurrem hadn’t noticed that Suleyman was in the room listening to her and Valide’s conversations and he heard her admit the truth about Leo?

• What if Cihangir had recovered at the last minute and lived? What would his relationship be like with his family for the rest of his life?

• What if Gulnihal remembered that it was Gulshah who attacked her?

• What if, after being given the poisoned fur, Gulnihal decided to switch her loyalty to Mahidevran? (Hurrem’s thing is that she’s able to gain loyalty from people who were once her enemies so I thought it’d be interesting if it was flipped)

• What if Fariye had kept her loyalty to Mahidevran and Mustafa and gone through with killing Hurrem?

• What if Defne had gone through with killing Bayezid?

• What if Bayezid had gotten hurt/killed when he ran away from the palace to join the army?

• What if Selim had gotten caught tampering with Bayezid’s arrow?

• What if Hurrem actually had gotten the plague when she refused to relocate during her exile?

Thank you so much! It's so kind of you to say that you like my posts.

I'm interested in what a potential modern AU could look like.

That said I also have to ask what would change if more people knew the truth about Mehmet's death?

My all time favourite AU for my own personal satisfaction (and I am biased) is that I think Nigar and Esmanur should have been allowed to escape and get to freedom. It's what they both deserved.

The rest of them are basically just 'what if this element was handled better/written with more nuance?'

[gulnarsultan]

Hi it's me again is it fine to request headcanons for yandere suleyman for a Christian reader? She doesn't want to let go and face reality that her former life is gone. She vowed to never love again and keeps to herself most of the time

Hello. Welcome back. Feel free to write your wishes. I hope you will like it.

" Scenario "

It was the year Sultan Suleiman ascended the throne. Valide Sultan had chosen women to dance for her son. (I mean the part in the movie where Hürrem dances and takes the purple handkerchief. The only difference is that Sultan Süleyman chooses the reader.) You were one of the Hatuns chosen by the Valide Sultan, as you were the Hatun who danced and sang beautifully in the harem. You were praying that the Sultan among you would not choose you. You never gave up on your old life and religion. Until you came to the palace, you swore that you would not love, so as not to experience heartache again because of what happened to you. You thought you wouldn't be selected just because you wouldn't dance. However, you were very wrong. That evening, Sultan Suleiman did not take his eyes off you for even a moment. When the dance was over, Sultan Suleiman came before you and gave you the purple handkerchief. Your frown and your dissatisfied facial expression did not go unnoticed by Suleiman. While preparing you for that evening, you were looking for a solution to avoid going to the Sultan. Nigar warned you that when you ask for help from a journeyman, you have to make up your mind. He said that if you enter the heart of the Sultan and give birth to a son, no one can stand before you. When you got to the room in the evening, you went next to Sultan Suleiman and kissed your skirt as per the rules. He gently grabbed your chin and made you look at him. As he chatted with you, it was not difficult to understand that the reason for your behavior was sympathy and understanding in his eyes when he found out. After that evening, he would call you over most nights. In fact, after a few weeks, you felt at home with him. Perhaps you were beginning to think that God had compared you with Sultan Suleiman to give you a second chance at a family. You accepted Islam in a short time and found yourself happily spending your days in the arms of Suleiman.

[ragewrites]

hello💗 love your writing and your blog, you’re so so talented

AND I just wanted to ask if you have any good court drama recs lmao

💕

Thank you! And oh yes 👀

At the time of those tags I was knee-deep in the waters of Chinese web novels (recs from that journey are The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort, Eight Treasures Trousseau, Like Pearl and Jade; Your Mileage May Vary, however, since I like slow-paced things) but I also have some drama-proper recs, namely:

Magnificent Century (Turkish production, follows the ascent of Suleyman the Magnificent’s wife in the harem; liberties are taken, but it’s actually not that unfaithful to the truth, and Meryem Uzerli is...honestly a revelation)

Nirvana in Fire. Honestly I cannot recommend this one enough. It’s just so—so!!

Bossam: Steal the Fate is partly this. Other Korean recs include The Crowned Clown and Mr. Queen, and I heartily recommend watching them in that order, actually, because you will need the levity Mr. Queen has, particularly early on, to cope.

From the web novels (additional rec: The Remarried Empress. This is a Korean work, and is currently being serialized as a webtoon, also, with very pretty art) I went on to reading Katie Quinn’s series of books set in Rome, which were...sadly only decent, so not a particularly strong rec, just a mention. Instead I’ll rec Megan Whalen Turner’s sequels to The Thief, which turn into this: they are The Queen of Attolia; The King of Attolia; A Conspiracy of Kings & Thick as Thieves.

Also, last year Jacqueline Carey utterly rewired my brain, particularly with Phedre’s trilogy (Kushiel’s Dart, Kushiel’s Chosen, Kushiel’s Avatar) but while court drama features in these, it’s not the point, exactly.

Hopefully this is a wide enough net of things for you to find something you enjoy within it ^^

[alicentsultana]

Hi! So i was looking at the beautiful camelot kiss in the background (and the Alicole of it all) and i was wondering ,are you an arthuriana fan ?

Also ,i really need to start watching The Magnificent Century and i wanted to ask you two things on it .

1)What do you think are the strong and the weak points of the show ?

2)Where did you watch said show?

Have a good day/night !

Hi! Coincidentally, there is always some arthur stuff in my tl, but I never watched any movies or series. However I like the legend and it's very intriguing (guy puts out a sword becomes king and his wife have an affair with this knight, there is a dumbledore doing magic and he has a sister too). But beyond the legend, who's to say that there wasn't a guy who suddenly became King, folklore and ancient believes told by this ancient guy, and the King's wife had an affair? This is something that people would want to talk about but also hide.

Girl you have to watch it!!!!! I can't wait 🙈🙈

1. I think one strong point is the mix of fiction and fact, we have recordings and letters but they really built this day-to-day routine with the characters in the Palace, like how the slaves arrive, the Muslim calendar and traditions, the world of women/world of men, they tried to embellish the High of the Ottoman Life. One think that I really really love is the fact that they didn't took the personality of the slaves girls and outsiders, like Hurrem still sings and uses much of her Rus/Ukranian pride, and she was known as Rossa Solimana (the Russian of Suleyman), or the probable origins of Nurbanu as a noble woman/noble bastard. It's an interesting feature.

Also, the amount of characters beyond the main ones and the minor stories are very interesting in building the world and side happenings, it's very similar to the Brazilian novels, so for me it was a bonus.

The weakest for me is: Nigar's story, like they really messed it up, you'll see. The costumes, no matter how pretty, they could and should have gone full turban, no men allowed, henna, arsenic paste, the lessons of turkish, read, write and recite the Quaran, like it was done in the past, and etc. I believe they also failed to show Hurrem with more significance as the favorite and wife. She had a title created for her, the first to use it, she was above dynastic Princess, she was The first lady. Though I really like how they worked in her growth, I believe it wasn't explored to it's maximum.

2. At the time I watched in yt, but it was like three episodes with english subs, a bunch episodes in spanish, cut scenes, some other things in Turkish, and yeah it was a struggle.

Anyway, thanks for asking! Looking forward for the next one hahaha 💚💚

Have a good day/night!

[theresnothingformehere]

Favourite episode of MC?

Omg, that's such a hard questioooon

But if I haaad to choose one I think it definitely is episode number 13 (I had to look up the number), when Ibrahim returns to Parga

I know you hate him and you know I love him hahahaha But yeah, that episode it's special to me because one of Ibrahim's traits that I love and I love all kind of feelings he shows related to that it's his feeling of not belonging, his feeling of missing home and wanting to go back and BE NORMAL, have a life, the kind of life I know he wants. Also that constant battle he has his whole life between wanting that and also LOVING POWER and being the grand vizier. Anyway I love that episode because I see him just being a man, hurting, missing, loving. It shows his soul. AND I WANTED SO BAD FOR HIM TO JUST STAY IN PARGA FOR GOOD LEAVE HIM ALONE, AND HOW SULEYMAN TAKES THAT AWAY FROM HIM AGAIN ITSSSSS, I think it hurts him so much, it hurt me so much when they made him go back, but I love that part too? hahaha

Anyway, I have to rewatch to remember better, but yeah. I love episode 1 too. Episodes where there is Nigar x Ibrahim content. Episodes where there are juicy fights/arguments between Hurrem and Ibrahim. I like episodes where Hurrem have some victories, like when she marries Suleyman or when she becomes the one in charge of the harem. Believe it or not, I love her but I hate her when she hurts Ibrahim. But I love her. But I hate her hahaha I'm a little biased because of how much I love Ibrahim and my little crush on him (think of Nigar here lool). I also like the……last episode of Ibrahim because yeah, I suppose I like to suffer and also see how much he means to Suleyman and to Hurrem (as her favorite enemy lmao) and to everyone..

Tysm for asking, love you <3

[davidcescleo]

Do you think Suleyman knows about Leo and Hurrem or at least suspects something?

Okay as much as Suleyman is a easy to manupilate narcist maniac, he is by no means an idiot. He knows Ibrahim randomly presented him with the dairy of Leo, he saw how tense Hurrem got, he knows something happened between Ibrahim and Hurrem while Victoria was trying to kill him, he knows Leo vanished, and Valide tells him about Leo.

I mean he asked about it to Ibrahim but he can tell whether or not Ibrahim is lying from a mile away.

[obi-wan-hoe]

One of my favorite moments in MC is Hurrem telling Mahidevran she's going to die soon. Mahidevran seemed stunned, because despite all of this animosity and bitterness she had for Hurrem, I can't help but feel like she saw her as this force of a woman, and to be told her end is near, it's almost inconceivable. Especially by a disease, it doesn't seem the way Hurrem would go (she isn't explicitly told, but I think it was a somewhat logical conclusion to come to). In comparison to when Mahidevran sees Suleyman in the marketplace, it's as if she knew there was no other way for him to end (old, frail, alone).

There is so many other things I enjoy too. While I would have loved to see Meryem's Hurrem do the scene, to close off the chapter of her rivalry with Nur's Mahidevran, I thought Vahide's portrayal was amazing. She showed how much Hurrem had grown from the beginning, not only by being calm and collected, but by accepting that the top of the harem wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But her maturity I think is shown most when she genuinely doesn't seem to enjoy seeing how low Mahidevran had fallen, in terms of status and living situation. She too seemed taken aback and almost sad, as if she couldn't fathom her enemy this way either. The bow at the end was a great show of respect too.

There was also the realistic feelings of Mahidevran, not just being all happy to see an old enemy, but by understandably resentful as she was considered the loser, and Hurrem the winner, which was at least visibly the better option and at least allows Hurrem to understandably act with more grace in the beginning.

~ Hurrem's nervousness of asking for forgiveness, knowing there's a big chance she may not get it, and it goes beyond maturity. Hurrem was dying, and was at a place where she needed to get everything in order, Mahidevran was not. Also, I did like how they both seemingly acknowledged that while the other forgave them, they were not washed away from the terrible things they'd done.

~ The realization that they're both mothers, that their children may not have driven them to play the game in the beginning, but they certainly had by the end. Hurrem telling Mahidevran that they should kill each other where they stood if it would bring them some relief from the pain was a masterful moment.

Overall, both woman may not have always liked one another, but they definitely understood their opponent was never one to be taken lightly. It was almost as if they both had thought the other was beyond the rules in which the others were beholden too.

Anywhos this got way longer than I'd anticipated and if anyone sees this, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this scene.

[protoslacker]

The trick hadn’t really worked, or so I thought – ChatGPT’s questions were mostly generic talking points. I’d asked it to try a bit harder. “Certainly, let’s dive into more specific and original questions that can elicit surprising answers from Mustafa Suleyman,” it had trilled. The results still weren’t up to much. Even so, I chuck one at him as he sits in the offices of his startup in Palo Alto on the other end of a video call (he left DeepMind in 2019). “How do you envision AI’s role in supporting mental health care in the future,” I ask – and suddenly, weirdly, I feel as if I’ve got right to the heart of why he does what he does.

David Shariamadari in The Guardian. ‘I hope I’m wrong’: the co-founder of DeepMind on how AI threatens to reshape life as we know it

From synthetic organisms to killer drones, Mustafa Suleyman talks about the mind-blowing potential of artificial intelligence, and how we can still avoid catastrophe

The Comming Wave:Technology, Power, And The 21st Century's Greatest Dilemma

[starbabe569]

Some scenes between Hurrem and Suleyman I wish we'd gotten in the show. Part One

I'll be the first to admit I'm betting at coming up with ideas than I am at actually getting them written down. So if anyone would like to use any of these as writing prompts or something similar go for it, just please send me a link so I can enjoy your hardwork.

**Early Season Two**

Suleyman sitting on his throne/couch looking tired while he reads state reports or correspondence, so Hurrem just sits down next to him and takes the paper out of his hands and starts reading out loud.

**Early Season One**

Hurrem enters Suleyman's chambers to see him reading reports for his upcoming campaign. She notices he's looking tired and suggests he take a break, but he says he needs to finish reading the reports for the upcoming campaign. Hurrem pulls a chair over to his desk and when Suleiman briefly sets down the report he's currently reading Hurrem picks it up and starts reading out loud. After a bet Suleyman smiles fondly and starts working on a piece of jewelry. Every now and then she'll ask Suleyman about a word she doesn't know yet.

**After Hurrem Has Given Birth Bayezid**

Hurrem is laying in her bed laying in bed holding Bayezid when Suleiman enters. He removes his shoes and climbs into bed next to Hurrem with a stake of letters he's received. He begins to read aloud as Hurrem lays her head on his shoulder.

**Early Season One**

Somehow Hurrem and Suleyman start talking about the bath and Hurrem tells Suleyman she misses being able to take an actual bath. She explains that it was rare for her parents to pullout the tub, but she loved it. She admits she would spend all day in the tub if she'd been allowed to. The next day Suleyman talks to an architect about remodeling his private bath while he's on campaign.

When Suleiman returns from his first campaign Hurrem is pregnant with Mehmed. Suleyman tells her he has a surprise for her after dinner. Suleyman shows her his remodeled bath now with a large bathtub. Hurrem immediately ask if she can use the tub, Suleyman tells her she has access to it when ever she wants.

(In a better written season Mahidevran wouldn't see Hurrem until her second pregnancy. So no poisoning during Hurrem's first pregnancy.)

**Shortly Before The Russian Concubines Arrive**

Hurrem and Suleyman are in Suleyman's private bath with Hurrem sitting behind Suleyman as they talk about their respect parents that passed away. We mainly focus on Suleyman talking about his complicated relationship with Silem 1st.

(Think the scene from Pretty Woman where Vivian and Edward are in the tub together.)

**Between Mihrümah and Silem's Births**

Hurrem and Suleyman are walking a path in the main garden. It's obviously raind recently, Hurrem removes her shoes before stepping on to the wet grass and laughs. Suleyman tells her she's being childish in as loving away as you can. She responds by say being childish every now and then is good for the soul. She then with a bit of prodding gets Suleyman to remove his shoes and join her.

**Very Early Season One Afte Suleyman's First Trip To The Market**

The night Suleyman returns for his first incognito trip to the market Suleyman is telling him about his excursion outside of the palace. This leads to Hurrem telling Suleyman about going to her villages local market with her mother and young sister.

A few days later Suleyman summons Hurrem early in the day, when she arrives Suleyman is dressed as he does when he blinds in with the public. He hads Hurrem a bundle of clothes and tells her to change into them. As she's changing she questions Suleyman about what's going on. He tells her it's a surprise as he places a head scarf over her hair and lower face.

Hurrem is surprized when she sees that Suleyman and his guards are leading them out of the palace. She delighted when she realizes that their head to the market. While looking at a piece of jewelry Hurrem ask Suleyman if she can borrow some money. Suleyman tells her he'll pay for anything she wants, she doesn't need to pay him back. She explains that she wants to buy a gift for Maria so she has to pay him back or it's not from her. Suleyman smiles and tells he'll except her paying him back then.

**During Hurrem's Pregnancy With Silem**

Hurrem is eating with Suleyman on his terrace and she dips a piece of quell into her pudding causing Suleyman to look at her funny. She tells him to stop looking at her like that it's what the baby wants. Suleyman laughs and kisses Hurrem's forehead. Hurrem repodes that if her thinks this is strange he should have seen what Mehmed and Mihrümah wanted while she was pregnant with them.

**After Some Time After Cihangir's Birth**

Suleyman is looking over finances for his next campaign when Hurrem arrives and sees his dinner/lunch untouched. She ask him why he hasn't eaten yet, his response is that he's busy and will eat when his finished. Hurrem kind of shakes her head and walks over to the table and fixes a plate before head over to Suleyman at his desk. After a bit she holds a piece of food in front of his mouth, he try's to gently push her hand away. After that doesn't work he gives in and eats the bite, then Hurrem takes a bite for herself. This becomes a pattern until Suleyman finishes his work, Hurrem gives him a bite then takes a bite for herself.

@desmoonl @redxluna @shivrcys @faintingheroine @minetteskvareninova

[hurremsultanns]

My personal explanation that I made up (for my own sanity):

• the reason Mahidevran gets away with everything (in season 1), while Hurrem gets away with almost nothing, and that she has so much love and support from the dynasty members (Valide, Hatice, Sah, Ibrahim) is to 1) demonstrate how unfair the harem system is 2) to showcase the power of the dynasty and the importance of connections 3) to contrast with Mahidevran’s ending in which she has no support from anyone in the dynasty (I know technically that Selim promises to give her a salary but 1) we never see it actually happen in the show and 2) that doesn’t erase the years she spent in poverty and isolation) and 4) to ironically contrast with her son’s fate because Mustafa gets blamed for the things that he didn’t do while his siblings by Hurrem get away with worse things than he does

• the reason Hurrem has the most painful entrance and beginning (in season 1) is to contrast with the fact that she has the most peaceful and satisfying character ending because she died 1) as the most powerful woman in the Ottoman dynasty and knowing that the dynasty would be continued by her bloodline no matter what 2) as secure in her relationship with Suleyman as possible 3) peacefully with the knowledge that she had protected her children for as long as possible 4) after having a clear conscience and asking for forgiveness and doing charity

I have similar thoughts about this I think. Overall the point that I think that the show was making was about a specific dynamic in toxic families and the idea of the scapegoat and the golden child. In which the scapegoat gets the blame and punishment within the family and the golden child gets shielded from it. In this case, Hürrem is the scapegoat and Mahidevran is the golden child. (@zeldaxxi is a psychology student so she can hopefully back me up or correct me if I'm wrong here)

So Mahidevran gets covered for but is still expected to behave 'properly' and be perfectly loyal. It is of course notable that the Valide drops her after episode 55 because in her eyes Mahidevran was no longer loyal to the Dynasty or to her. For Hürrem, Mahidevran is the exemplar that she is held up against ('take a lesson from Mahidevran'). But that is restrictive and traumatic in its own right. After all being the golden child doesn't mean you aren't hurt by the toxic environment that you're in. You can see this in the speech that she gives to Ayşe Hafsa about how she is expected to sit quietly and behave but she can't just do that when she's in so much distress. Being the exemplar is also hard because you can't stray from the example that you are supposed to represent.

On the other hand, Hürrem takes all the blame and gets punished comparitively far worse as @redxluna has pointed out on multiple occasions. She is exiled multiple times, separated from her children, attempted murders of her are covered up or justified. Whereas other people intervene on Mahidevran's behalf to ensure that she doesn't go through this. And because everyone else is unwilling to give her the benefit of the doubt, she gets painted as the villain. As Hürrem herself says to Afife 'Everyone talked about me. The cruel one, the witch the tyrant. But no-one talked about what they did to me.'

Mahidevran is meant to be someone who doesn't really challenge the status quo. And it's only when she actually does in episode 55 that Ayşe Hafsa turns against her. Unlike Mahidevran, Hürrem was always a 'whistleblower' who didn't just accept things. And the fact that she challenged things and stood up for herself from the getgo made her an easy target of abuse. To the best of my knowledge, this also parallels the golden child and scapegoat dynamic. But once again @zeldaxxi can feel free to back me up on this point if she would like to or to correct me if need be.

As for their fates, Mahidevran's is straightforwardly a tragedy. Whereas Hürrem's is more bittersweet. Hürrem's tendency to be the 'whistleblower' ties into her thematic connection to memory as well as to her sense of humanity. Both of which are reasons why she is implied to be saved by the narrative in episode 134.

[fishylife]

Spoilers for Magnificent Century episode 52

...Is Mihrimah going to grow up a brat. Big oof if so.

The first time we saw hints of there being differences between Hurrem and Mihrimah is when Mahidevran complimented Mihrimah and Mihrimah took it very well. Not that there was anything else Mihrimah could have done in that situation other than thank Mahidevran for her compliment, but I think Hurrem was displeased by how Mihrimah relished in the compliment even when she would have known that Hurrem hated Mahidevran.

In this episode 52, Mihrimah was playing with Hurrem's crown and broke it. She then blamed it first on the concubine and then on Mehmet. Not that kids lying to deflect blame is unusual, but I think it was supposed to set up Mehmet and Mihrimah's personalities. Mehmet wanted Mihrimah to do the right thing; as a prince and future sovereign, it's important that he knows what's right in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, Mihrimah, like many women in the palace, have to learn to scheme, but I think what's special here is that she is beginning to scheme and lie against her own family (Hurrem, Mehmet, and the rest of her brothers). Mihrimah asked her mother to forgive the concubine that was dismissed; I wonder if Mihrimah will use that to threaten the concubine as well, showing her that Mihrimah has that much power over her.

Mihrimah has a crush on Bali Bey and she caught Bali Bey and Aybige talking intimately in the garden. Mihrimah also tattled on Aybige in front of all of the important women, unknowing of why it might have been dangerous. That being said, again, she is still a child and I don't think she knew the bigger ramifications of what should said. Everybody just took it as a joke because they knew that Mihrimah had a crush on Bali Bey, but I think the others might suspect that there is some truth to it, considering Aybige was so unwilling to the marriage at first. Mihrimah told Aybige that she would watch her; again it's just a kid's jealousy but it may fracture things between Hurrem and Aybige if it gets further. Aybige was one of Hurrem's already few high profile allies.

There is one thing that has been mildly surprising to me so far in this show, and it's the fact that Hurrem hasn't really suffered any huge falls from grace yet. Again if I'm going to compare Magnificent Century's story arcs to Zhen Huan's story arcs, Zhen Huan's fall from favour happened fairly early on and was important to her development as that was when she began to be more careful and purposeful about the scheming.

In this episode, Mustafa confronted Hurrem for intimidating his mother and he put her in her place. That was probably the first time Hurrem was truly outdone, as in that moment she could not fall back on having the Sultan's love, because Mustafa has status in a way that Hurrem never could (being a son of the Sultan). Nothing Mustafa said was untrue.

When it came to the political side of things (as opposed to the harem side), Hurrem didn't have any allies. Mahidevran had Ibrahim, but Ibrahim was Hurrem's mortal enemy. And now that Mustafa was grown, he was a political enemy as well (all princes are political figures as possible heirs to the throne). So whenever Hurrem got in trouble on the political side of things, the only way she could really ever support herself was to tattle to Suleyman.

However, this time, Suleyman sided with Mustafa and made Hurrem apologize to Mustafa. I would say that perhaps this is her first fall from grace, but I would still hardly call having to make an apology anything huge. The episode ends before she does apologize, but I think that she will, but then grow very hateful of Mustafa.

My prediction is that Hurrem will continue to not really have any allies on the political side, not until Mehmet grows up and finally starts getting his hand in politics.

A pet peeve of mine is how Gulsah, despite having been moved to be Valide Sultan's attendant, has basically retained her spot behind Mahidevran. I know the point is that Mahidevran and Valide are on the same side so Gulsah serving Valide is basically the same as her serving Mahidevran, but I would have liked some differences in the actual administrative side of things.

Ibrahim finally admitted that he was in love with Nigar and not with Hatice anymore, and it's basically in line with what I'd thought. Ibrahim became tired of the fact that Hatice was his sovereign. He was walking on eggshells around her, but he said that the breaking point for him was when she accused him of hiding a lover (when he was hiding Isabella at the hunting lodge). When he said that it was a matter of state affairs, Hatice said that she was of the state so he was politically accountable to her as well. Which enforced the idea that their relationship was not one of love but one of politics.

On the other hand, Nigar is so loyal to Ibrahim, still being madly in love with him even when he was so mean to her. Of course Ibrahim feels at ease around her.

Hatice's breakdown was oof. When Hatice thought that Ibrahim was dead, her breakdown was similar to that of Beyhan's. But now we have more background to this relationship. We saw how Hatice and Ibrahim were deeply in love. And then over time we saw how their relationship of love slowly deteriorated. For Hatice, my guess is that because she was a princess and a royal, she grew up getting her own way, and when something doesn't go her way, she's extremely frazzled by it. So any unfavourable events in her life bring about huge reactions from her, which is starting to tire out Ibrahim. When Hatice pleaded for him not to stay, he didn't even bother to soothe her.

Hilarious how I'm on episode 52 and I'm not even half way through this show lol. The episodes are so long and the show is so long X'D