#how to measure a successful leader

[thinkingonscripture]

Godly Leadership: A Different Metric for Measuring Success

When considering those called into service by the Lord, success is measured by faithfulness to God, His Word, and the call itself, rather than output or results.

By most standards, successful leaders get good results. Their success is not measured by their output, but their outcomes. If the good results are not there, the leaders are called a failure. This is true in politics, business, sports, academics, nonprofits, etc. Ideally, we like to see leaders who operate by high moral standards AND produce good results. Sadly, there are some leaders who will…

[gureumz]

project aphrodite

rating: explicit

member: jungwon

premise: in a post-apocalyptic world, you and jungwon are excellent scientists and are at the relative top of the list of people who are ideal parents for the next generation of this dying world. it's now your job to repopulate this earth so you ask your co-worker to pretty please knock you up.

notes: sci-fi elements, dystopian au, scientist!reader, scientist!jungwon, fem-bodied reader, reader is referred to as a woman, dom!jungwon, breeding, impreg kink (like heavily), dirty talk, platonic (?) breeding, co-workers with benefits (?), idk this is kinda speculative fiction but also suspend your disbelief a bit lol

a/n: first of my 1k follower special! not quite sure what order i'm following here but i hope you stay for the ride nonetheless! enjoy!

it's a strange feeling.

in your line of work, 'strange' is hardly any cause for concern. as a biologist with a concentration in genetics, you've seen all the ways nature does its job. from the familiar concepts almost all people learn about in science class like the basic 'mom-meets-dad-equals-baby' to the eerie methods organisms in the deep sea evolve to survive.

you've learned about it all, pored over each punnett square, stressed over the formulas. so, this shouldn't be anything to worry about.

and yet, you're still worried.

"i mean...what did we expect?" jay speaks up from beside you, eyeing the phone in his hand.

"we're presently some of the world's most brilliant minds so...," he adds, locking his phone before hunching over his desk. to your ears, it sounds as if he's trying to convince himself rather than you.

you scan over the document flashed on your own laptop screen. the harsh fluorescent lights overhead buzz nonstop, going on and on, a background hum all of you in the bunker have grown used to. at this moment, it lulls you into a daydream, vision swimming as you repeat the words in your head.

all government personnel with a status level 7 and higher are recommended to partake in project aphrodite. those falling under level 10 are strictly required. participation at this level is compulsory.

common citizens with a status of 9 to 10 are also required to participate. ample compensation for those successful will be provided.

"you're a level 8. it's not as if you have to," you mutter, fingers digging into your temples.

jay snickers. "how many level 10 government personnel are there in this ruined world? a few hundred or so doctors, another few hundred scientists, even fewer world leaders. that's not taking into account the difference in sex. my information's not up to date but last time i checked, there is a hell of a lot more men than there are women. it's a shitshow waiting to happen."

you turn to meet jay's eyes, not meaning to convey any certain emotion, but the way jay's expression falls leads you to believe that you look way more upset than you're letting on.

"oh shit, yeah," jay curses. "you're a level 10. i forgot."

you sigh, tilting your head back against the headrest of your seat.

"i'm sure they'll release more regulation soon," you begin. "this is just the initial memo. with our world hanging in the balance as it is, no one's gonna let this devolve into some patriarchal anarchy, i hope."

"yeah, of course," you hear jay agree. "most of the proponents of project aphrodite are women, anyway, so i'm sure they'll take extra measures to keep you safe."

you sit up straight, looking at jay once more. "this is the world, huh?"

you and jay pause before sharing a quick chuckle.

"'go make babies, or else,'" you say in a mock radio announcer voice. jay lets out a laugh, his voice echoing off the empty office walls.

the two of you fall into silence, as if retreating to your respective thoughts. all that's in your mind at this moment is your current project, the very thing the few people more powerful than you had assigned for you to do: leading your team in stopping that godforsaken virus ravaging the outside. you've been making steady progress so far, but with the weight of this new responsibility, you're not sure if you could keep the momentum up.

you realize with a passing thought that most of the scientists on your team are level 9s and 10s.

"well," you begin before you could stop yourself. you're suddenly overcome with a feeling of suffocation, the office space seemingly too small and continuously growing even smaller.

"i hope you find someone you'd like to procreate with," you say lightly, pushing yourself off your chair. you quickly gather your things: folders and binders and other loose papers in your arms.

you catch jay looking at you, a pensive look on his face. you stop as you're grabbing your reusable coffee jug.

"no," you deadpan. "not me."

jay's eyes widen, as if realizing he'd said something without really saying anything.

"i—no, wait—i mean...," jay stutters, ears quickly turning red.

you smile, patting jay's shoulder reassuringly. "in case you were thinking about it."

jay's mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water and you can't help but laugh.

"these are desperate times, but i'm hoping it's not too desperate," you add. without waiting for a response, you turn towards the door, already making your way to it.

"besides, dr. isa lee seems more your type," you say over your shoulder one last time before pushing the door open and stepping out into the hallway.

---

"hey."

you look up from the microscope, tearing your attention away from the specimen you were examining. your eyes readjust to their normal focal length as a tall figure enters the lab, perfectly crisp white coat hanging off his broad shoulders, thin-wired spectacles resting on the bridge of his tall, straight nose. your lips feel strangely parched as he makes direct eye contact with you and you're left with no choice but to moisten them with your tongue.

"oh hi, dr. yang."

the other scientist chuckles, setting down a stack of papers on a desk in the corner. "i've been here for three weeks. please, call me jungwon."

you swallow. "right. jungwon."

dr. jungwon yang was a new import from the seoul bunker, having come to your own area's bunker merely a few weeks prior. he was immediately put under your supervision, an addition to your already elite team of biologists, geneticists, and virologists. off the bat, you could tell he was a man of many talents, coming up with unconventional solutions and arriving at answers quicker than anyone else.

his presence in your lab made your heart swell. in pride, adoration, or desire, you're not quite sure.

"uh, yesterday's results are in that binder over there, in case you want to go over them," you begin. jungwon walks over to your side of the long table, peering over the slide loaded into the microscope.

ignoring the way he brushes ever so slightly against you, you continue. "the director's dropping by later this afternoon, but i wouldn't be too bothered with that. he's just looking for someone to blame for the slow progress at this point. if only they could get us those materials we asked for..."

"have you read the memo?" jungwon asks abruptly, straightening up. he towers over you, his eyes downcast as he stares at your face.

"of course, you've read the memo," jungwon corrects himself, chuckling. "what i meant was...what do you think of it?"

"it's a government-issued memo, it hardly matters what i think," you respond, focusing back on your work in front of you, although all you do is stare blankly at the moving microorganisms, mind unfocused with how much of jungwon's perfume you can smell.

"it's your reproductive health that's on the line. i'm pretty sure your opinion counts for something," jungwon says with a pinch in between his eyebrows.

oh, a feminist. that's even hotter.

"okay, yeah. i appreciate the new guidelines they put out," you admit, looking back up at jungwon. "though it's the bare minimum, i'm glad they're letting us keep the autonomy of choosing who to...boink."

jungwon laughs at that.

"and free fertility drugs for anyone who wants or needs it. oh, also, thank god they didn't have the brilliant idea of putting a time limit on it. having read some crazy speculative fiction myself, the things people are willing to do in fiction are crazy. who's to say they can't do the same in real life?" you continue.

you don't notice the way jungwon's smirk grows as he listens.

"kind of makes the whole thing unsexy, don't you think?" jungwon cuts in, raising an eyebrow. you blink, unsure of what he's talking about.

"i'm surprised they're not monitoring us with cameras and hooking us up to EKGs and shit," he adds.

"oh," you say with a soft giggle, finally catching on. "i'm sure some people are into being watched."

"are you?" jungwon asks.

"am i what?" you answer.

"into being watched."

a pause.

you shake your head. "how about you?"

"oh no," jungwon says. "i prefer to keep what's mine for my eyes only."

"hm. possessive. that's kind of sexy," you mumble under your breath, a sudden surge of confidence coursing through you.

jungwon just stares at you, but you can see his pupils dance in amusement, taking in your whole face and all your features. you might have imagined it but he seemed to have peeked down at your chest for a second.

"do you think it's attractive for someone to be into lego-building? or at least, used to be into it. i'd give an arm and a leg for a complete lego set nowadays," jungwon asks, leaning against the table, and only now do you notice the veins running over the back of his hands.

you think about whether his arms are just as veiny.

"do you think it's a good trait to pass on an offspring? lego-building, i mean," he presses on.

"uh, yeah. good problem-solving skills," you answer, humoring his question.

jungwon nods. "do you think leadership skills are important?"

you smile, leaning against the cabinet opposite jungwon. you nudge his foot lightly. "i lead a team of scientists myself. of course, i think leadership skills are important."

"you and i both," jungwon agrees.

jungwon shifts, placing his hands in the pockets of his lab coat.

"how about dimples? do you think dimples are cute?" jungwon asks once more, one corner of his mouth upturned. a deep crease on his cheek appears.

a dimple.

"very," you admit.

"i see."

there's a silence that stretches over the two of you, and the weight of uncertainty is daunting as you stare at a spot on jungwon's tie. finally, after a few seconds, you heave a sigh, unable to take the tension any longer.

"this is the weirdest way anyone has ever flirted with me," you declare, looking up at jungwon through your lashes. he's grinning and you nearly shiver at how utterly attractive you're finding him at this moment.

"but it's effective," jungwon says. that was a statement, not a question.

you tilt your head to the side. "how do you know?"

"because you would have blown me off two minutes ago if it wasn't," jungwon reasons, crossing his arms. by doing this, he just made himself appear even wider than he is.

"always so calculated," you say, impressed.

you stretch your neck, easing your head from side to side, watching as jungwon fixes his gaze on the taut tendons of your neck. "are you also this precise in bed, dr. yang?"

jungwon approaches, a large hand resting on your hip. "that's for you to find out."

your breath hitches as you feel his thumb rub through the fabric of your skirt.

"later?" he asks.

"my place or yours?" you reply, fingertips grazing the front of his polo. you can just about feel the slope and ridges of his toned muscles.

"i'd like to be a gentleman, so mine," jungwon offers. "i'll walk you back to your room after."

"i was kind of hoping i wouldn't need to walk back after," you say, a hint of teasing in your voice.

"is that a challenge?" jungwon says, his other hand pressing firmly on your lower back. he pulls you to him and your hands involuntarily reach out towards his shoulders to steady yourself.

a few seconds pass before any of you speak again.

"that's for you to find out," you say.

---

"kind of weird, isn't it?" jungwon asks, panting against your neck.

your back is pressed firmly against one wall of his sleeping quarters, a wide, loft-like room, similar to yours. a luxury offered only to level 10 government personnel, the room gives its occupants enough space and enough privacy.

and boy, did you need privacy.

"what's weird?" you say breathily, fingers threading through jungwon's hair as he kisses down the column of your neck. his fingers nimbly undo the buttons of your blouse and you whimper when you feel him lick at the valley between your breasts.

"coming up to coworkers or friends then asking them to reproduce with you," jungwon responds, tugging your blouse off of your shoulders.

(you both held enough respect for the institution that employed you both, so your work lab coats were neatly thrown over the back of jungwon's couch before anything got too frisky.)

"see, it's the way you say it that makes it weird," you giggle. you pull jungwon back up to your face, kissing him fervently, tongue licking into his mouth.

"oh yeah? how would you say it?" jungwon challenges as he pulls away slightly, his nose grazing your cheek. he licks a stripe on the underside of your jaw.

"please, jungwon," you whimper, playing up the whine in your voice just a little bit. "need you to knock me up. make me pregnant, please."

jungwon grunts in your ear, reaching behind you to rip the zipper of your skirt down. you let the fabric fall to the floor, stepping out of it quickly, revealing the matching red lace panties you had in tandem with your bra.

"yeah? want me to cum inside you so many times that there won't even be the tiniest chance that you're not pregnant?" jungwon says lowly, kneading one of your boobs in his hands.

you nod, hooking a leg around jungwon's hip, pushing your core right up against the bulge in his pants.

"yes," you breathe out, dragging your clothed pussy over his straining cock. "let's be good citizens and have a whole bunch of kids, yeah?"

jungwon chuckles, hands hurriedly working on his belt. you take this time to kiss up his neck, still rutting against him, desperate for any contact.

"come here," jungwon says through gritted teeth as his pants and boxers fall to the floor. he kicks them off unceremoniously, yanking you towards the couch. your eyes briefly catch the flash of white that were your lab coats.

the two of you fall onto the cushiony surface, with jungwon sitting up and you falling a little less gracefully on him. the two of you laugh as you adjust yourself, righting your posture so you could look at jungwon.

"take this off," jungwon commands, pulling at your panties. you swing off jungwon for a moment, pulling off the garment in record time. you reposition yourself over jungwon, his cock standing tall, hard, and painfully red.

"come on, show me how bad you want those kids," jungwon teases, tucking your hair behind your ear.

you roll your eyes. "you gotta help with the diapers."

a second later, you sink down on jungwon, moaning wantonly at how much he stretches you out, filling you up effortlessly. jungwon throws his head back, his bottom lip pinched between his teeth.

"i'll quit my fucking job at the lab if this is how good it feels to make babies with you," jungwon groans, his fingers digging into the flesh of your hips.

you whimper at his words, rocking back and forth on his lap. you angle your hips a certain way, the tip of his cock kissing at just the perfect spot inside you. you shudder, repeating your movement.

"god, you feel amazing," jungwon praises. "so warm, so tight."

"yeah," you respond. you're gliding up and down his cock, swiveling your hips as fast as you can. you clench down around him, the thought of jungwon cumming inside you your only motivation.

"filling me up so good," you add, watching as jungwon screws his eyes shut, neck shiny with sweat.

you move forward, attaching your lips just below jungwon's ear. you suckle on the salty skin, running your tongue over the spot, savoring the way jungwon lets a moan rip out of him.

"gotta let the whole bunker know this one's mine," you whisper as you let up on jungwon's neck. a faint red spot is left in the wake of your lips on his skin.

in a blink of an eye, your whole world tumbles upside down, jungwon's hands forcing you down on the couch by your waist. in a daze, you realize that jungwon has you pinned under him, his eyes wild with a hungry look in them. he pushes your legs right up against your chest, lining himself up with your entrance.

"the moment you start showing, no one in this goddamn bunker will have a single doubt who gave you that baby," jungwon counters, thrusting into you. he gives you no time to adjust, picking up where you left off.

you cry out, trying to anchor yourself on anything your hands can find. eventually, you find purchase in jungwon's shoulders. he feels your nails digging in, and he mutters a soft 'fuck', speeding up his movements, the wet sounds of his skin slapping against yours so incredibly obscene in the confined space of his room.

"give it to me, please," you say, meeting jungwon's eyes as he continues to fuck into you. his forehead is creased, a look of concentration washing over his face.

"cum inside, fill me up as many times as you want, fuck it deep in me," you continue, cradling jungwon's face in your hands, the tender gesture a contrast to how rough he's bein.

"god," jungwon groans, voice breaking at the end as he speeds up, but then he halts abruptly, his mouth hanging open in a silent moan. you feel him twitch inside you and you gasp, clenching down as hard as you can.

"fuck, yes, milk it all out," jungwon says. he starts to thrust up into you again, watching as his cock is slowly coated with his cum spreading all over your cushy walls.

you whine, your fingers finding their way down to your cunt, your middle and ring finger pressing onto your clit. you rub at it ferociously, the idea of jungwon's sticky release inside of you turning you on impossibly.

"i'm getting hard again, jesus christ," jungwon complains but his movements don't cease. he's shaking from the overstimulation but he wraps his arms around you, pulling your limp form up against him.

"rub that pretty pussy for me, babe," jungwon requests, thrusting up into you shallowly.

"make yourself cum while i fill you up for a second time."

---

"so?"

you jump a little at the sudden intrusion. you look up at jungwon through both of your reflections in your bathroom mirror. three pregnancy tests lie in a neat line on the edge of the sink.

"i just started the timer, jungwon," you reply with a laugh. jungwon turns you around to face him, kissing you briefly.

"hm," you say, looking up at jungwon questioningly. "you never kiss me unless you want something."

"well," jungwon begins, hands slipping under your sweater. "we can always kill time while we wait for the results."

you shake your head, but you're already pressing yourself up against jungwon. "you're insatiable, dr. yang."

jungwon winks at you, undoing your bra under your shirt. "you know it."

"plus, you just look too good in this damn lab coat."

[esotericalchemist]

𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 - 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 ₊˚⊹♡

Masterlist - YouTube (subliminals)

In Vedic astrology, the concept of Gnatikaraka provides insight into the challenges and difficulties a person might face in life. The term "Gnatikaraka" comes from the Sanskrit words "Gnati," meaning foes or adversaries, and "Karaka," meaning indicator. This planet in a person's birth chart is significant because it highlights areas of life where struggles related to conflicts, health issues, or financial challenges may arise. The Gnatikaraka is determined by identifying the planet with the second to last lowest degree in the chart, which points to the specific hurdles one might encounter. Understanding the influence of the Gnatikaraka not only sheds light on the nature of these challenges but also guides individuals in managing them effectively, turning potential setbacks into opportunities for personal growth and development.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐓?

Gnatikaraka is found by looking at the planet with the second to last lowest degree in your birth chart. The planets that can be your Gnatikaraka are: The Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the point Rahu. Ketu is NOT considered.

Step 1: Convert the birth chart to Vedic/Sidereal.

Step 2: Find the planet with the second to last lowest degree

Now that we have converted the birth chart to the sidereal system, we can identify the planet with the second to last lowest degree. Remember, only the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Rahu are involved. In the birth chart above, the planet with the second to last lowest degree is the Moon.

NOW THAT YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR GNATIKARAKA, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE MEANING!

✦ 𝐒𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When the Sun is your Gnatikaraka, it introduces specific challenges related to ego, authority, and personal identity. The Sun, as the natural indicator of self-expression, vitality, and leadership, shapes how you interact with others and perceive yourself. With the Sun in this role, you may frequently encounter difficulties in asserting your authority, dealing with power struggles, and navigating issues of self-worth.

One prominent challenge is the potential for conflicts with authority figures, leaders, or father figures. You might often find yourself at odds with those in power, driven by a strong need to assert your identity and gain respect. These conflicts usually stem from deeper issues related to ego and pride, where recognition and control play a significant role in your interactions.

In addition to external challenges, the Sun as your Gnatikaraka can lead to internal struggles with self-worth and identity. You may question your own value or feel compelled to prove yourself in various areas of life. This could result in periods of self-doubt or an exaggerated sense of importance, which can strain relationships and impede personal growth. Furthermore, these challenges may also affect your health, particularly in maintaining your vitality and energy levels, as the Sun governs these aspects of life.

How to navigate:

To turn the challenges of having the Sun as your Gnatikaraka into success, it's crucial to adopt a balanced approach to authority and self-identity. True leadership isn't about dominating others; it's about guiding and inspiring them with humility and fairness. By focusing on developing a self-worth that isn't dependent on external validation, you can overcome the internal conflicts that arise from this placement. Recognizing that your true value comes from within, rather than from how others perceive you, will help you navigate power dynamics more effectively, reducing stress and conflicts.

To manage these challenges effectively, cultivating self-awareness and emotional intelligence is key. This involves being mindful of how your ego influences your actions and decisions, and learning to approach situations with a calm and measured attitude. By embracing these qualities, you can transform the difficulties associated with the Sun as your Gnatikaraka into opportunities for personal growth and effective leadership.

Some tips:

Practice humility in leadership: Focus on guiding others with compassion rather than asserting dominance. True leadership is about empowering those around you.

Build inner confidence: Work on developing a strong sense of self-worth that isn’t reliant on external validation. Regular self-reflection and positive affirmations can help strengthen your inner confidence.

Manage conflicts with authority: Approach disagreements with superiors or authority figures calmly and respectfully. Aim for constructive dialogue rather than confrontational exchanges.

Prioritize self-care: Pay attention to your physical and mental health, ensuring that you maintain your vitality and energy. Regular exercise, proper nutrition, and stress management techniques are crucial.

Embrace self-awareness: Continuously work on understanding how your ego impacts your relationships and decisions. Journaling, meditation, and mindfulness practices can help increase self-awareness.

✦ 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When the Moon is your Gnatikaraka, it brings forth challenges that are intricately tied to your emotional life, relationships, and sense of security. The Moon, being the natural ruler of the mind, emotions, and nurturing, deeply influences how you process feelings, connect with others, and cope with life's fluctuations. With the Moon in this position, emotional challenges, especially those related to your sense of safety and well-being, become central themes in your life.

A significant challenge you may encounter is emotional instability or heightened sensitivity. You might experience frequent mood swings, making it difficult to maintain a consistent sense of inner peace. This emotional turbulence can impact your relationships, as your shifting moods may lead to misunderstandings or create emotional distance between you and others. Additionally, you might struggle to establish a sense of security, whether in your personal life, home, or relationships.

This placement also emphasizes difficulties in both giving and receiving emotional support. You may find yourself either overextending emotionally or feeling unsupported and unloved by others. These issues often arise from deep-rooted fears or insecurities, making it challenging to fully trust others or to feel secure in your emotional connections. As the Moon as Gnatikaraka makes you particularly vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion, it's crucial to prioritize your emotional well-being and self-care.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges presented by the Moon as your Gnatikaraka, it's important to focus on developing emotional resilience and stability. Begin by establishing healthy emotional boundaries, which will help you manage your relationships more effectively and protect you from emotional burnout. Learning to self-soothe and meet your emotional needs independently, rather than relying too much on external sources of comfort, is also essential. By cultivating a strong sense of emotional security within yourself, you can better handle the emotional fluctuations that life brings.

Transforming these challenges into strengths involves embracing emotional intelligence. By becoming more aware of your emotional triggers and learning to respond to them in a balanced way, you can turn potential vulnerabilities into sources of strength. Practicing mindfulness and conducting regular emotional check-ins can help you maintain a steady emotional state, enabling you to engage with others in a more grounded and supportive way.

Some tips:

Cultivate emotional awareness: Regularly check in with yourself to understand your emotional state. Journaling and mindfulness practices can help you stay in tune with your feelings and recognize patterns.

Set healthy boundaries: Learn to establish and maintain emotional boundaries with others to protect your emotional well-being. This helps prevent emotional burnout and ensures that you don’t overextend yourself.

Practice self-care: Prioritize activities that nurture your emotional health, such as spending time in nature, engaging in creative hobbies, or practicing relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing.

Strengthen your support network: Surround yourself with people who provide emotional support and understanding. Building a strong, reliable support system can help you feel more secure and less isolated.

Develop emotional resilience: Focus on building resilience by learning to manage stress and adversity in a healthy way. Techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, or simply talking through your emotions with a trusted friend or therapist can help you navigate emotional challenges more effectively.

✦ 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Mercury is your Gnatikaraka, it brings challenges centered around communication, intellect, and mental agility. As the planet of communication, reasoning, and analytical thinking, Mercury greatly influences how you process information, interact with others, and handle the intellectual demands of life. With Mercury in this position, you may find that life's challenges often arise from misunderstandings, miscommunications, or mental stress.

A key issue you might encounter with Mercury as your Gnatikaraka is difficulty in communication. This could manifest as frequent misunderstandings with others, trouble articulating your thoughts clearly, or feeling that people often misinterpret what you say. These communication hurdles can create conflicts in both personal and professional relationships and may impede your ability to convey ideas effectively. Additionally, there may be times when your mind feels scattered or overwhelmed, making it difficult to focus or make decisions.

This placement also suggests a tendency toward mental stress and overthinking. You might find yourself worrying excessively, getting stuck in analysis paralysis, or feeling overwhelmed by details. These tendencies can lead to anxiety, restlessness, and a struggle to find mental peace. The constant mental activity associated with Mercury can make it difficult to relax, leaving you feeling mentally drained or fatigued.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Mercury as your Gnatikaraka, it's vital to focus on developing clear and effective communication skills. Start by articulating your thoughts and ideas in a way that others can easily understand. This can be achieved by practicing active listening, being mindful of your tone and word choice, and ensuring that your communication style fits the context of your interactions. By honing these skills, you can minimize misunderstandings and foster stronger, more harmonious relationships.

Another key to turning these challenges into success is managing your mental energy and reducing stress. Techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, or engaging in activities that help you unwind and clear your mind can be incredibly beneficial. It's also important to strike a balance between intellectual pursuits and relaxation to prevent mental burnout. By developing a more focused and organized approach to thinking and decision-making, you can handle life's challenges with greater ease and maintain a healthier mental state.

Some tips:

Improve communication skills: Practice clear and effective communication by being concise, listening actively, and ensuring your message is understood. Consider journaling or practicing speeches to enhance your verbal and written communication.

Manage mental stress: Incorporate relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga into your daily routine to help calm your mind and reduce mental fatigue.

Organize your thoughts: Use tools like lists, planners, or mind maps to organize your thoughts and tasks. This helps reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and improves your ability to focus.

Balance intellectual activities with relaxation: Make time for hobbies or activities that allow your mind to unwind, such as reading for pleasure, playing games, or spending time in nature.

Engage in continuous learning: Keep your mind stimulated in a positive way by learning new skills or pursuing interests that challenge your intellect without overwhelming you. This can help channel your mental energy constructively.

✦ 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Venus is your Gnatikaraka, it brings challenges related to relationships, love, pleasure, and values. Venus, as the planet of love, beauty, harmony, and material comforts, influences how you experience affection, connect with others, and define what is valuable in life. With Venus in this role, the obstacles you face often revolve around these themes, particularly in relationships and material desires.

A significant challenge you might encounter with Venus as your Gnatikaraka is difficulties in maintaining healthy and harmonious relationships. Conflicts in love and partnerships may arise due to misunderstandings, unmet expectations, or issues of dependency. This placement can make it hard to achieve balance in your relationships, leading to emotional turbulence or dissatisfaction. Additionally, you might struggle with self-worth, either undervaluing yourself or overly relying on external validation for a sense of worth in your relationships.

Another area where challenges may surface is in your pursuit of pleasure and material satisfaction. With Venus as your Gnatikaraka, finding a balance between enjoying life's pleasures and maintaining responsibility and moderation can be difficult. You might have tendencies toward overindulgence in luxuries, leading to financial instability or a sense of dissatisfaction when material desires aren't fulfilled. Furthermore, there may be a tendency to focus too much on superficial aspects like appearances, which can create a disconnect from deeper, more meaningful experiences.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Venus as your Gnatikaraka, it's crucial to cultivate a balanced approach to relationships and pleasures. Start by fostering self-love and self-worth that are independent of others' approval. When you recognize your own value and cultivate inner contentment, you can approach relationships from a place of confidence and security, which helps to reduce conflicts and dissatisfaction. In your interactions with others, focus on open communication, empathy, and understanding to build stronger, more harmonious connections.

When it comes to material pleasures and desires, finding a balance between enjoying life's luxuries and maintaining moderation and responsibility is key. This might involve reassessing what truly brings you joy and fulfillment, and distinguishing between temporary pleasures and lasting satisfaction. By focusing on what genuinely enriches your life, you can avoid the pitfalls of overindulgence and discover more sustainable ways to appreciate the beauty and pleasures that life offers.

Some tips:

Cultivate self-love: Focus on building your self-esteem and self-worth independently of others. Engage in practices like affirmations, self-care routines, and activities that make you feel valued and appreciated.

Improve relationship dynamics: Work on enhancing your relationships by practicing open communication, empathy, and active listening. Strive for balance in giving and receiving love and affection.

Practice moderation in pleasures: Enjoy life’s pleasures in moderation, being mindful of overindulgence. Set financial and personal boundaries to ensure that your pursuit of pleasure does not lead to negative consequences.

Prioritize meaningful connections: Focus on developing deeper, more meaningful relationships rather than superficial ones. Invest time and energy in relationships that bring true fulfillment rather than just temporary satisfaction.

Align values with actions: Reassess your values and ensure that your actions align with what truly matters to you. This alignment will help you find more lasting contentment and reduce the risk of dissatisfaction.

✦ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Mars is your Gnatikaraka, it brings challenges related to aggression, conflict, drive, and the way you assert yourself. Mars, the planet of energy, action, and determination, influences how you pursue your goals, handle conflicts, and express your desires. With Mars in this role, your obstacles often center around managing anger, dealing with aggression, and navigating power struggles, both within yourself and in your interactions with others.

One of the main challenges with Mars as your Gnatikaraka is handling conflict and aggression. This can show up as a tendency toward anger, impatience, or a confrontational attitude, leading to frequent disagreements or disputes. These conflicts can arise in personal relationships, professional environments, or even within yourself as you struggle to balance your intense drive with the need for cooperation and harmony. Mars in this position can also make it difficult to control impulsive behavior, leading to rash decisions or actions that can create additional challenges.

Another significant challenge associated with Mars as Gnatikaraka is the struggle to channel your energy and assertiveness positively and constructively. You might find yourself dealing with issues of control, either by feeling the need to dominate situations or by feeling threatened when others try to assert their will over you. This can lead to power struggles and competition, draining your energy and creating unnecessary obstacles in achieving your goals. Additionally, there may be challenges related to physical vitality, such as stress or burnout, especially if you push yourself too hard without adequate rest or balance.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Mars as your Gnatikaraka, it's crucial to channel your energy and assertiveness in a constructive way. Developing patience and managing your temper can help you avoid conflicts and build more harmonious relationships. Practicing self-discipline is also important, ensuring that your actions align with your long-term goals rather than being driven by impulsive desires. By focusing on controlled and deliberate actions, you can harness Mars' energy to drive success rather than create obstacles.

Transforming these challenges into strengths also involves finding healthy outlets for your physical and emotional energy. Regular physical activity, such as exercise or sports, can help you manage stress and maintain balance. Additionally, finding constructive ways to assert yourself, like taking on leadership roles or positively taking initiative, can help you turn Mars' energy into a powerful force for achievement.

Some tips:

Practice anger management: Learn techniques to control your temper, such as deep breathing, mindfulness, or stepping away from situations that trigger anger. This will help you avoid conflicts and maintain better relationships.

Channel energy constructively: Engage in regular physical activity to burn off excess energy and reduce stress. This can include activities like running, martial arts, or even yoga to balance your physical and mental energies.

Cultivate patience: Work on developing patience, especially in situations where you feel frustrated or eager to act impulsively. Practice waiting before reacting, which can lead to more thoughtful and effective decisions.

Focus on long-term goals: Align your actions with your long-term goals rather than short-term desires. This helps you use Mars’ drive and determination to achieve lasting success without creating unnecessary conflicts.

Develop self-discipline: Practice self-control in both your actions and emotions. Setting personal boundaries and sticking to routines can help you manage your assertiveness in a way that is productive and beneficial

✦ 𝐉𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Jupiter is your Gnatikaraka, the challenges you face often involve your beliefs, wisdom, expansion, and moral values. Jupiter, the planet of growth, knowledge, and spirituality, influences your worldview, approach to learning, and sense of optimism. With Jupiter in this role, obstacles may arise in areas related to your philosophy of life, pursuit of higher knowledge, and handling of moral and ethical issues.

A key challenge with Jupiter as your Gnatikaraka is potential conflicts over beliefs and principles. You might struggle with being overly rigid or dogmatic in your views, leading to disagreements with others who see things differently. This can create tension in both personal and professional relationships where differing values or ideologies clash. Additionally, you may face internal conflicts when life challenges your beliefs, causing periods of doubt or uncertainty about your direction and purpose.

Another challenge associated with Jupiter as Gnatikaraka relates to excess and overindulgence. As the planet of expansion, Jupiter can make it difficult to maintain balance, whether in material wealth, food, or other pleasures. You might struggle with overconfidence, taking on too much, or not recognizing your limits, which can lead to financial issues, health problems, or setbacks in personal growth. Additionally, missed opportunities or failure to realize your full potential can occur, often due to a lack of focus or discipline.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Jupiter as your Gnatikaraka, it's essential to cultivate balance and moderation in your life. Begin by practicing humility and openness in your beliefs, allowing yourself to grow and learn from others rather than holding too tightly to your own perspectives. By being receptive to new ideas and experiences, you can broaden your understanding and reduce conflicts stemming from ideological rigidity. In your pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, focus on applying what you learn in practical ways that benefit both yourself and others.

Another key to turning these challenges into success is developing self-discipline and mindfulness, especially in areas where you tend toward excess. Setting clear goals and maintaining a balanced approach to growth and expansion will enable you to harness Jupiter’s positive energy without falling into the traps of overconfidence or overindulgence. Additionally, emphasizing ethical behavior and upholding a strong moral compass will help you navigate challenges with integrity, ensuring that your actions align with your higher values.

Some tips:

Cultivate humility: Stay open to learning from others and avoid becoming too rigid in your beliefs. Embrace the idea that wisdom comes from diverse experiences and perspectives.

Practice moderation: Be mindful of excess in all areas of life, whether it's material wealth, food, or pleasure. Set limits for yourself to maintain balance and avoid potential pitfalls.

Set realistic goals: Focus on achievable, practical goals rather than overextending yourself. Break down your larger aspirations into manageable steps to ensure steady progress without burnout.

Apply knowledge practically: Use the wisdom and knowledge you gain in a way that benefits both yourself and others. Seek to make a positive impact through your learning and experiences.

Maintain a strong ethical foundation: Ensure that your actions align with your moral values and principles. Regularly reflect on your behavior to stay true to your ethical beliefs, even in challenging situations.

✦ 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Saturn is your Gnatikaraka in Vedic astrology, the challenges you face often involve discipline, responsibility, structure, and enduring hardships. Saturn, as the planet of karma, time, and limitations, emphasizes patience, hard work, and navigating life's trials. With Saturn in this role, you may find that your obstacles revolve around managing limitations, overcoming fears, and dealing with heavy responsibilities.

One of the main challenges with Saturn as your Gnatikaraka is coping with feelings of restriction or limitation. You may often feel weighed down by responsibilities, whether in your personal life, career, or relationships. This can lead to a sense of being held back or delayed in reaching your goals, causing frustration or a lack of confidence. Saturn’s influence can also bring a deep sense of fear or anxiety, particularly related to failure, aging, or not meeting expectations. These fears might result in procrastination or an overly cautious approach to life, where the fear of making mistakes prevents you from taking necessary risks.

Another significant challenge with Saturn as your Gnatikaraka is the struggle with discipline and perseverance. Saturn demands consistent hard work and dedication, often without immediate rewards. This can make you feel like you’re constantly putting in effort without seeing results, which can be discouraging. You might also become overly serious, pessimistic, or burdened by your responsibilities, leading to feelings of isolation or loneliness. Additionally, health issues related to stress, bones, or joints may arise if the pressures Saturn brings are not managed effectively.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Saturn as your Gnatikaraka, it's crucial to embrace patience, persistence, and responsibility. Recognize that Saturn’s influence demands hard work and that success will come through consistent effort over time. By developing a strong work ethic and focusing on long-term goals, you can gradually overcome the obstacles Saturn presents. It's helpful to view these challenges as opportunities for growth, understanding that Saturn’s difficulties are meant to strengthen your character and resilience.

Turning these challenges into success also requires balancing responsibility with self-care and finding ways to lighten your load. While Saturn emphasizes seriousness and discipline, it’s important not to become overwhelmed by your duties. Practice self-compassion and ensure you take time to rest and recharge. Building a support network can help ease feelings of isolation and provide encouragement when the weight of responsibilities becomes too heavy. By maintaining a balanced perspective, you can transform Saturn’s challenges into opportunities for personal growth and achievement.

Some tips:

Develop a strong work ethic: Embrace hard work and discipline, knowing that perseverance will lead to long-term success. Focus on steady, consistent progress rather than expecting immediate results.

Practice patience: Understand that Saturn requires time, and success may come slowly. Cultivate patience and trust in the process, recognizing that growth often occurs through overcoming challenges.

Balance responsibility with self-care: Avoid becoming overwhelmed by your duties. Make time for relaxation, hobbies, and self-care to prevent burnout and maintain your well-being.

Face your fears: Confront the fears and anxieties that Saturn may bring. Whether it’s fear of failure, aging, or limitations, addressing these fears directly can help you overcome them and build resilience.

Build a support network: Surround yourself with people who can offer support, guidance, and encouragement. Having a strong support system can help you navigate Saturn’s challenges more effectively and reduce feelings of isolation.

✦ 𝐑𝐚𝐡𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐚 ✦

Potential issues:

When Rahu becomes your Gnatikaraka in Vedic astrology, it introduces challenges related to desire, illusion, confusion, and unconventional behavior. Rahu, the North Node of the Moon, is a shadow planet symbolizing an insatiable thirst for material experiences and worldly ambitions. With Rahu in this role, you may find that your obstacles revolve around navigating illusions, managing obsessions, and dealing with unorthodox desires.

One of the main challenges with Rahu as your Gnatikaraka is the tendency toward confusion and illusion. Rahu often creates a "smoke-and-mirrors" effect, where things may not be as they appear. This can lead to a lack of clarity in your life's direction, difficulty in making sound decisions, or being misled by appearances and false promises. Rahu's influence can also cause intense obsessions with certain goals, desires, or people, driven by a strong but often irrational urge to achieve or possess something. These obsessions can lead you down paths that ultimately prove unfulfilling or even destructive, as Rahu's desires are often insatiable and elusive.

Another significant challenge associated with Rahu as Gnatikaraka is navigating unconventional or taboo areas of life. Rahu often pushes individuals to explore the unusual, the forbidden, or the unconventional, which can lead to unique opportunities but also to social alienation, scandal, or conflicts with societal norms. Pursuing these unconventional paths may cause struggles with identity, acceptance, or integration within your community or social circles. Additionally, Rahu's influence can create a sense of restlessness or dissatisfaction, where no matter what you achieve, it never feels like enough.

How to navigate:

To overcome the challenges posed by Rahu as your Gnatikaraka, it's essential to develop discernment and self-awareness. By learning to see through illusions and understanding the true nature of your desires, you can make wiser, more informed decisions. It's important to recognize when your obsessions or ambitions are leading you off course and to cultivate the ability to step back and evaluate your actions with a broader perspective. Practicing mindfulness and staying grounded in reality will help you navigate Rahu's challenges more effectively.

Turning these challenges into success also involves embracing Rahu's unconventional energy in a balanced way. While Rahu encourages exploration of new and uncharted territories, it's crucial to do so with caution and integrity. Channel Rahu's drive for innovation and discovery into positive, constructive endeavors that align with your long-term well-being and ethical values. By managing Rahu's intense energy wisely, you can transform its challenges into opportunities for growth and achievement.

Some tips:

Cultivate discernment: Practice mindfulness and critical thinking to see through illusions and avoid being misled by false promises or appearances. Regularly assess your goals and desires to ensure they are realistic and aligned with your values.

Manage obsessions: Recognize when you are becoming overly fixated on a goal or desire, and take steps to regain balance. This might involve setting limits, seeking advice, or shifting your focus to other areas of life.

Embrace unconventionality wisely: While exploring new or unconventional paths, do so with caution and integrity. Ensure that your actions are ethical and that you are prepared for the potential consequences of stepping outside societal norms.

Ground yourself: Practice activities that help you stay grounded and connected to reality, such as meditation, spending time in nature, or engaging in practical tasks. This will help you navigate Rahu’s restless energy more effectively.

Seek guidance and support: Surround yourself with trusted advisors, mentors, or friends who can provide perspective and support. Having a strong support network can help you stay anchored and make better decisions when dealing with Rahu’s challenges.

Masterlist

[natewriteslol]

Rumors: pt.1

Vil Schoenheit x Reader

Enemies to Lovers

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary: Vil and you have had a semi one sided rivalry as soon as your time at NRC began. However, the feud soon has to be put aside to stop an anonymous gossip blog attempting to ruin yours and possibly other students’ reputation. Will you and Vil be able to find whoever is behind this? Or will you be a fallen victim to those who call themselves, ‘The Catacombs?’ 

══════════════════════════════

Ever since your explosive introduction at Night Raven, you always had the tendency to stick out like a sore thumb, captivating everyone with minimal effort. You didn’t belong here amongst wizards, beastmen,merfolk and royals, yet you managed to fit right in.

 I think that was what really pissed him off, especially since he had worked so hard in order to accomplish what you do, impressing others and having eyes on him. However Vil had quickly got over it, his success wasn’t measured by popularity and validation from others, and he shouldn’t worry about a measly nobody that could never hold a candle to him. Instead, the dorm leader focused on keeping peace within his life, enjoying the routine and tranquility. 

Which just wasn’t your thing.

You were clumsy, loud and did things your own way with no regard for how others felt. He did give you credit for you having the confidence to be yourself and being extremely empathetic to those who needed it. 

Maybe the tipping point was you seeing him in his most vulnerable state, watching him overblot and lose control in envy against one of the people he hated the most. You were there to solve the issue and stop him alongside your friends. And worst of all he heard you point it out to them, believing that no one could hear your whispers. 

But he heard every word. 

‘He completely lost it over Neige, I’m glad we got it under control,’ he heard you say quietly to Ace and Deuce. 

Later on, you decided to offer him a juicebox as he sat on the empty auditorium stage…

Apple flavored.

Which he swears on his unique magic  that you did that on purpose to spite him, a sick joke that only made his distaste for you stronger. It felt like you knew exactly what to do at every moment to make him lose it, like yelling “on accident” when he needs to master a potion formula, saying something crude in the lunch room, the way it seems everyone is obsessed with you.

 And of course it was extremely shocking to Rook when his dorm leader had begun re-explaining his disdain for the new kid at school. Despite laying back on the dark purple bedding that would make anyone relax and the sunset pink lighting from the lamp, Vil was far from calm. He had to recount the latest anger-inducing incident to his friend during their “sleepovers” on a Friday night, being wary of his not yet fully dried mauve nail polish as he talked with his hands. 

It was this day that really made him angry, his last straw as some would say. He held his pen as he wrote notes busily into his notebook, heavily invested in order to pass the upcoming exam. It was wonderful, as the class was quiet just as he liked it, allowing him to fully concentrate and absorb the contents of the slide show created by Professor Crewel. 

However, it was easy to hear a decrepit wooden door close in the pin-drop silent classroom. As the black and white man’s back was turned to the class, reading out the text of the slides to the class, you, Y/N L/N thought you could be slick enough to be unscathed by Crewel’s wrath

You being late was more set in stone than the heat within the land of the Scalding Sands it seems. Your satchel was barely slung on your shoulder with your weird, round cat creature barely catching up behind, and it was just Vil’s luck that he had to be the poor sap that had the only seat that was available amongst the many wooden tables. Crewel began scolding you as you fumbled in your seat, and whilst onlookers found it hilarious they wouldn’t dare look or let out a snicker at the scene. Your nervousness  made you fumble your belongings in your bag as you attempted to get out your pen and notebook, your arm would touch his. 

Making him neglect his usual manners and his side-eye of judgment fell upon you. Of course you didn’t notice as he began to study your features, the look of panic flooding your face. Although, this moment of looking at you ended up being a grave mistake.

“Mr. Schoenheit, if there is a huge problem with L/N being late to the point where your eyes can’t be bothered to take notes on the slides vital for your final then you will be delighted to join us in a discussion after class,” Crewell spat, his anger piercing the air. 

His lilac eyes quickly reverted to the projector placed in front of the usual chalkboard. He was embarrassed yet no one could judge him or usually break out in whispers, in fear that they would be included in the punishment. Vil cursed at himself internally but that damn out of season, raggedy bag you carried was enough of a distraction, not counting the person attached to it. 

All throughout the lecture, the actor had prayed that Crewell would forget about the mishap completely as there was an hour of class remaining, yet it had appeared that luck was not on his side at all.

He had tried to flee with the crowd of students rushing out the door, hoping no one would pay him any mind. But after he made one sharp movement to get out of his seat- 

“Mr. Schoenheit!”

Shit. 

Everyone had completely rushed out, with some snickering at the scene, not wanting to be there when the scolding would ensue as entertaining as it may be to see. 

“Care to join us in the conversation like I suggested earlier?” Obviously this was not a yes or no question and Vil had no choice in the matter, but nodded out of courtesy. 

“Yes, Professor,” Vil replied, coming down the short steps from his seat in the front row, not making even a hint of eye contact with you. 

“I understand that the action of lateness pesters you heavily, Mr. Schoenheit. Does it not?”

“...Well, yes it does, Mr. Crewel. However, I promise that another incident like this will never happen again and I will be sure to mind my business more when it comes to fellow students,” Vil said, wanting to spit out some words that could please his teacher into letting him go off the hook. 

“Despite being an actor, lying truly isn’t your area of expertise, young pup,” Crewel replied quickly, keeping a hand steady on the pointer he held. He then turned to you, his look softening as despite you not being an astounding student, Crewel favored you very much. Once again your formula of minimal efforts yet good results was absolutely infuriating to him. 

“I truly worry about you Y/N, as along with your grades, your attendance along with Grim’s as a default are. I will be having a meeting with Crowley about the extra work he has you doing on campus to allow you to live here as well. However, I will be suggesting a partner assignment that is extra credit for the both of you.”

“I mean no disrespect Mr. Crewel, but I personally am in need of no extra credit whatsoever. I have a 99.5 percent in this class which will obviously be rounded by the grading admin,” Vil explained with a slight laugh in his voice. You rolled your eyes as it was plain to see that the blonde was putting you down. Sure you may not have a 90 something percent, but he didn’t have gnomes gnawing on his ankles this morning that he had to take care of himself with no magic. 

But Crewel just looked at him with a concerned look, he was no stranger to shade being thrown and he was not about to tolerate that disrespect. He then explained as he moved to his desk organizing papers , “Oh dear, it looks like you have a bit of incorrect info dear pup. The grading admin stopped rounding this year due to academic dishonesty and such. Also I must add that you and Y/N had gotten the exact same test score, a C- if I remember. And with this being a huge difference from your usual scores, this will drag you down, I fear.” 

The blonde’s breath hitched, he would be fucked for this semester and although not royally, that lack of satisfaction would eat him alive. That last exam Vil had little to no time to study due to his role as a villain in “Love Conquers All” on MovieFlix but of course karma stops for no one.

“A way we could solve this though is through our extra credit tutor program. Both of you enroll, Schonheit tutors you and makes sure you get to class on time, and if there is improvement then both of you benefit. And Mr. Schonheit will get the satisfaction he craves for his grades.”

"Does that sound like a plan?" Crewel had waited for a nod from the both of you, but Vil quickly rejected that notion faster than Ruggie could snatch someone’s wallet.  

"How do I know that they will honor their promise, Professor? I am a very busy person and I do not wish to waste my time with someone who does not take things seriously,"

But you found his cocky attitude completely unbearable at this point. There was no way you were going to allow him to speak as if you weren’t standing right next to him. “I actually do take things seriously, please don't act as though you know me,” you said blankly, actually looking at Vil while talking for once.

"Excuse me?" Vil replied, he was thrown off completely due to you being completely silent this entire conversation. 

"Listen, I don't flunk because I don't want to and I don't show up late because I want to. I'm willing to fix it if Crowley changes the work schedule because it's virtually impossible to be a handyman and student all at once sometimes," you clarified. 

`

"I am an honorable person," you held out your hand to Crewel "and I swear I will change. I just need some help."

  Crewel smiled, enjoying the fire in your spirit to stand up for yourself. You then turned to Vil, holding out your hand with a stern expression and as unsettled as he was he took your hand in his gloved one and shook it.

"Good choice my pups, I know you both won't regret this."

But despite having many differences, you both thought the same thing.

‘Yeah right.’

~~~

After the dramatic retelling, the man grabbed the golden, hand held mirror on his night stand to pluck his eyebrows, carrying on his irritated commentary, “So now I have to watch over them like a babysitter. Can you believe this?” 

“Ah, Roi du Poison I do feel sorry for this causing you so much stress, but don’t you believe the little Trickster could hold their end of the bargain?” Rook questioned, as afterall, you were a good friend of his and he knew you of all people could keep a promise. It was always in your heart to get things done, regardless of how you feel about it. 

“Oh please, I will give it a week, Rook,” he replied, hyper fixated on evening the arches of his brows only for Epel with sleepiness intertwined still in his walk, wondering what the cause of the angry tone of voice from Vil was for. 

“What’s going on, you guys?” Epel questioned with a yawn. 

But Vil snapped his fingers in recall, completely ignoring the question, “Ah, Epel you just reminded me, remember when we were walking to class and L/N had come up to you, ruffled your hair and such and was very curt with me? What even was that?”

“...”

“What is it?”

“Vil, Y/N is really aware you don’t like them. They actually talked to me about it today,” Epel explained bluntly. 

Rook nodded in agreement, facing the vanity mirror as he peeled off his face mask“Oui, they try their best to not look at you even.”

Vil paused in thought, he didn’t think he made his dislike toward you so obvious but I guess it was quite the contrary.

“They don’t go spreadin’ but they told us, they’re cool about it though,” the lavender haired boy quickly added, not wanting to make anything worse for you. 

But it didn’t necessarily matter whether or not you both liked one another, what mattered is that you got the job done by solving your faulty grades and attendance. Dislike is just a small hiccup, plus there were plenty of justifiable reasons as to why Vil did not like you, despite being told otherwise from everyone. However, he didn’t face repercussions nor are there heavy consequences for an opinion after all. 

BUZZ.

The trio’s phones either vibrated or let out a cheery notification. Even from the door open ajar to the rest of the dorm, you could hear the different sound effects from student’s devices. The odd coincidence made them all look at their phones at the same time to look at what it was. 

“This just in for some hot new gossip! I heard from a little birdy that the fairest of them all is viciously bullying the new transfer from a whole new world. But…they’re being partnered up to tutor by Crewel! Looks like all beauty doesn’t come with grace :( 

-The Catacombs” 

“The hell is this?” Epel said quietly, staring at the anonymous text message. It wasn’t a registered number, instead it was an auto programming since it was only five numbers reading: 88709. 

“Oh mon dieu, Roi du poisson,” Rook uttered, unknowing of what to say, going from looking horrified at his phone to his dorm leader for any type of response. 

By then the phone notification of Vil’s was ringing out of control, and he could hear Pomefiore members’ reactions to such an appalling message. He was receiving texts non-stop from multiple people asking him all the same questions,

Is it true? 

 Why he would put someone down like that?

 Why does he have a problem with Y/N? 

But a text from one specific person ate him alive completely.  

Jack:

Hey, I don’t know if you saw the message

He quickly typed to the beastman in attempt to defend himself, knowing what they both went through together as children. Vil couldn’t let Jack of all people misinterpret him as this bully to his good friend. 

Vil:

I would never bully anyone, nor do I waste my energy on people I don’t like. The stress ages you too much 

Are you seriously going to believe this anonymous crap over me Jack?

Jack:

I’ll talk to you later.

It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I have never heard the nicest things about you from them.

Something like this absolutely could not get out to the public, bullying scandals can completely drag down a career as almost everyone goes through that traumatic experience of being casted aside because you’re different. And he would never be a monster like that toward someone, but playing villains in countless movies and tv shows would make it seem completely believable. 

It was them who most definitely put out that rumor, and Vil didn’t care whether it was late at night, or if Rook and Epel wanted him to stop.

He was paying a visit. 

~~~

With nothing planned and being extremely exhausted, this might’ve been the slowest moving Friday night you’ve ever experienced. And while you haven’t been inclined to care too much about what people say about you, to say you weren’t haunted by your encounter with Vil would be an understatement. Of course you were well aware of his distaste for you, but today it just felt as though it reached a boiling point with the way he was acting. But to take your mind off of it, you freshened up after a long day in class, slipped on something comfortable, put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and decided to watch some movies on your laptop whilst eating snacks with Grim. After all, you deserved a reward as it would be the last day of relaxation before you had to lock down completely on your education. 

Your cat and yourself ended up nodding off to sleep on your couch easily due to the calming environment of your house, as the ghosts decided to take a hint on the mood you were in and were extremely quiet. As both of you were catching up on needed rest, you heard an excessive pounding on your door.  Whoever this was, it felt like they were about to break down your door with how aggressive they were knocking. 

Grim nearly attached to the ceiling with fear, making you yelp in fear, naturally frightened to answer the door to see who was behind that hostility. Your eyes bolted to your tall case clock, the time reading 10:32pm, the late time didn’t ease your anxiety whatsoever.

However, after adjusting to your surroundings, you decided that you needed to answer as to whoever was continuing to hammer on your door as it was giving you a headache. Neglecting your human world instincts of not opening doors to strangers, you walked up to your tall mahogany door, only to find your favorite person on the other side.  

Vil Schoenheit. 

His face was painted with true anger that you’ve only seen during his overblot, “You have some goddamn nerve writing that shit about me.”

You were absolutely frazzled and confused overall, “What even are you talking about? And why are you at my house?”

“Answer your fucking phone and you will find out,” the blonde replied noxiously, watching your every move believing that you were trying to play stupid with him. 

As you opened your phone screen, your eyes were lit up by notifications, as everyone and their mother had texted and called you in a matter of minutes. 

But one message sat completely unfamiliar coming from that fateful, 5 digit number. 

It was horrible and beyond untrue, even though he didn’t like you, you would never stretch it to bullying. Maybe as a joke amongst friends but never to be taken seriously. And as you digested that everyone had gotten this text message and with him being a celebrity this would do heavy damage. And whoever wrote this was out to get you both as many are absolutely in love with Vil, others hate bullying and hearing a glorified superstar being accused of such horrible things would make tabloids run with this story. 

This was a complete lose lose situation. 

You looked up to see Vil hovering over you, watching you like a hawk, you swore you saw his eye twitch with irritation, “I would never write something like this. And listen I am so sorry-”

“Who else would write something like this? Do you think I’m a damn fool-?” A small hand on his shoulder cut off his angry tirade progressing as he was about to move forward.

“Vil, we are going to get nowhere if you just get angry and lose control, now Y/N do you have any clue as to who would write something like this?” your friend Epel questioned kindly, juxtaposing his dorm leader completely. 

“Not exactly, I don’t hate Vil at all like that and I wouldn’t spend my Friday night making up shit like that and you can check all of my technology,” you defended, offering your phone.

His suspicion got the better of him, snatching it out of your phone Vil scrolled through your phone messaging history. And despite going against his suspicion, he didn’t have any concrete proof that you were the culprit.

So until then, he guessed that you were just as wronged as him.

~~~

You all quickly moved to the inside of your house, both to get away from the cold night air, but also to get out of sight as to anyone who could be watching all of you right now. To say that this made all of you, especially you and Vil paranoid wasn’t an over exaggeration. Beginning to theorize with your two friends as to who would write something like this about you two. But unfortunately, every possible “lead” you had was just a dead end, no clear motive, but then again who would need a motive for a stunt like this. It was obvious that attention was what they craved, to drive both of you up the wall and unfortunately they succeeded.  

“All they gave is a nickname, but any phone number could be tracked to a specific device used,” You said, as student announcements used 5 digit numbers all of the time, this person had to be skilled in tech. 

Vil leached off of your theory, “The catacombs is quite a gothic name afterall, we need to search Ignihyde or Diasomnia.” 

“Why them? That seems stereotypical” you asked, feeling argumentative on such a baseless theory. 

“Because, Ignihyde is the most technologically advanced dorm, and Diasomnia students seem like the type to enjoy playing tricks like this anyway,” Vil explained as if it were obvious, his sharp gaze never leaving yours as he spoke.

While the flames of his anger had been flamed, it seemed as though his disdain for you was more permanent than a wine stain on a wedding dress. Never fleeting even during this moment of vulnerability from both ends, but you had no energy to begin bickering about it.

“Roi du poisson et mon Trickster, if we want to find whoever is doing this cruel joke, you must put aside your differences and work together,” Rook said, cutting the tension and bringing the platinum blonde back to Earth. 

Whilst both of you didn’t want to admit it, the archer was right. If you wanted to figure this out you couldn’t be at each other's throats, fighting one another constantly. Otherwise you would accomplish little to nothing. 

And there was no way ‘The Catacombs’ could be hidden forever, and you would make sure to uncover the skeletons within it. 

~~~

A/N: Hi everyone! This fic takes inspo from an amazing novel that I read called "Ace of Spades" please read it its absolutely fantastic and the author is a genius. Thank you for bearing with me for the long time it takes to pump out content, you guys are amazing and it's always great to have opportunities to write.

xoxo, Nate <3

Taglist: (pls let me know if you want to be tagged in the next part!!)

[the-twst-cast-needs-therapy]

Oooh Twst OC time.

I had this RSA guy cooking in my mind for a week or two. So here's my take on a TWST Arielle.

Name: Anderson Riverbay

Age: 17

Height: 174cm (on land), 189cm (in the ocean)

Homeland: The coral sea (obviously)

Species: Merman (again: of course!)

Hobbies: Surfing, Rollerskating

Best subject: foreign Languages

Pet peeves: littering

Talent: Singing

Trivia:

-Anderson is a merman who had the desire to start a life above ground after seeing people do various activities by the beach (Volley ball, surfing etc.)

-Just like Azul, he is a dorm leader, since he embodies the sea princesses passion (and yearning)

-He is incredibly confident in himself and dives headfirst into learning something new without any hindrance.

-He is Azuls old classmate. He was well beloved and did not notice how Azul was excluded. He always viewed Azul as very timid and figured that's why he was so distant. Sometimes he would ask Azul questions regarding his species (since this was the first time Anderson ever came in contact with an octopus merman), which Azul did not take kindly to.

-He heard about how successful Azul has become and is very proud that he came out of his shell.

-After managing to get a hang of walking land, he started multiple hobbies mostly revolving around leg coordination. Surfing is his absolute favourite. (Other hobbies to list: Roller skating, Inliner skating, Skateboarding etc.)

-After mastering his footwork he started a boot camp for Mermen on land. This is where he met Azul again. IMPORTANT EDIT: so I finally proceeded with the main story and to make a long story short, this doesn't work, so I hereby present my new approach: He is NOT the founder of the Boot camp (since it literally operated for ages), instead it was founded by one of his late relatives and he is one of the many many volunteers.

-Azul keeps trying to screw him over by selling 'junk', but Anderson somehow always ends up turning it into a profit.

-He is very kind and well beloved, but he tends to be ignorant of conflicts. He acts mostly out of self interest and doesn't stay on a singular path. Instead he goes whichever way he currently desires. He is free spirited and curious.

-He collects junk and sea shells in the ocean and by the beach. He has a collection of his most interesting finds on his bookshelf. He also turns some of the stuff he finds into jewelry and sells them. The money he gets is used to fund his MANY hobbies or goes towards beach cleanups.

-RSA does not have the equivalent of a Mostro lounge, but they do have a 20s themed restaurant called 'T&N's diner'. It employs a lot of students and has a beach bar themed section ('the fish fin'), which is responsible for all sorts of fun (non alcoholic) drinks. Anderson is in charge of it together with his dorm mates and they serve beverages on roller skates. In the evenings he sings in the main restaurant to entertain the guests.

-since being human is not his natural form, he sometimes has trouble to speak (especially since he uses his voice a lot more than other mermen on land) and uses sign language to communicate. He also does this as a measure of protection; he will refrain from speaking throughout the day to be able to perform at night.

-Sometimes, Azul eats sushi Infront of him, which makes him a little uncomfortable. He does not realise that Azul does this out of spite.

Anyways, doodle page!!!

And here are my first concept sketches of the guy:

[knightsbrig]

Swap au where Kokushibo defected and Muzan Frankenstein’s monster’d Yoriichi back to life as a replacement.

(Link to my divorce court post here)

Lore under da cut!

Muzan spent a good 300 years messing around with Yoriichi’s corpse in order to revive him; a measure that was equal parts revenge on Kokushibo and reassurance for the demon king himself.

Because of this, Yoriichi’s memory and personality are a complete mess— most demons take mental damage from working under Muzan, but it is much, much worse for Yoriichi.

He has no memories of his human life and is missing much of his personality. His Sun Breathing is also significantly weaker, and he is no longer stronger than Muzan.

Muzan abuses all of his demons to an extent, but I imagine he would take a lot of satisfaction from being particularly cruel to Yoriichi, or forcing Yoriichi to do things that he knows would be unforgivable to his human self.

Yoriichi, of course, doesn’t know any of that. He’s really not doing well mentally, but because he has no memory or reference point, is kind of just like, ‘this is my life.’

The few demons who’ve met him consider Yoriichi extremely unsettling and unnatural, kind of like how we humans might view a zombie or an uncannily lifelike animatronic.

His bare face is known to stun demons or give them extreme flashbacks, and has been mandated by Muzan to wear a veil at all times.

Yoriichi has never been challenged for his position by another Upper Rank.

He is NOT sun-resistant. Yoriichi perhaps could’ve been if Muzan hadn’t modified his biology so much (much of the modifications were born out of Muzan’s fear that Yoriichi would surpass or turn on him, as well as his spite for Yoriichi ever making him feel weak).

Yorriichi is not prone to cruelty or violence.

He doesn’t usually kill unless prompted to by Muzan or fed by Lady Tamayo, who, as Muzan’s lab partner and secretary, has frequent contact with Yoriichi.

BONUS FACT:

Because of his success in turning Yoriichi into a demon. Muzan has developed a habit of turning any demon slayer he encounters instead of killing them. There are a few Upper Ranks that were recruited through this method.

Nowdays, corps members will replace three or four of their back teeth with a potent wisteria toxin, as well as carry around an emergency vial on their person to inject themselves with in case they’re ever forcefully introduced to demon blood. It’s worth noting that this is a very modern invention, only recently developed because of the the joint efforts of the former shinobi clan leader, Uzui Tengen, and Kocho Shinobu, the corps head medical expert.

[inmyfxith]

Being a member of the Sully family (Oldest child version)

A/N: Female reader.

Being born before Neteyam, making you the oldest after Spider as you were already in your mother’s belly when your father transferred his consciousness into his avatar self. Bonding with your mother and the Pandoran collective consciousness through the Tree of Voices instantly after your birth and developing a strong connection to Eywa and the natural world.

As the daughter of Jake, you may have inherited some human physical traits due to your father's Avatar status. One such trait could be the presence of five fingers on each hand, rather than the four fingers that are common among the Na'vi. That would maybe lead to you experiencing discrimination or prejudice due to being a hybrid of both Na’vi and human ancestry.

As the oldest daughter of Jake Sully, you would have the opportunity to learn a lot from your father, who would encourage you to develop your curiosity, independence, your sense of adventure, and to pursue your own passions and interests. For example, your father might take you on hikes through the rainforest, teaching you about the different plants and animals that you encounter and encouraging you to ask questions and explore your surroundings. He might also teach you how to defend yourself and your loved ones, showing you different techniques and strategies that you can use in combat. Additionally, your father would likely encourage you to follow your heart and pursue your passions, whether that be in the arts, sciences, or other fields.

You would also have the unique opportunity to learn about both the human and Na'vi cultures. Jake would teach you the ways of the Na'vi and the importance of protecting Pandora. You would follow in his footsteps as a warrior, a leader, and a defender of your home, learning how to use your natural abilities and connection to Eywa to protect and defend your people. You would also have the opportunity to learn about human culture, gaining insights and understanding of their ways and customs. With your father's guidance and support, you would develop the confidence to become a strong and capable leader in your own right, using your unique perspective and connection to both cultures to make a positive impact on Pandora.

You can count on your father to be there for you whenever you need him. He will always be there to support you and help you through any challenges you may face. For example, if you were feeling overwhelmed, your father would be there to listen and offer advice and guidance. He would also be there to help you celebrate your accomplishments and successes, and to encourage you to pursue your dreams and goals. Additionally, your father would always be there to protect you and your family, using his skills and training as an Avatar to defend Pandora and ensure the safety of all its inhabitants.

As Jake and Neytiri’s oldest child, you would be expected to represent your family well in all your actions and words. This might mean working hard in your training and duties as a warrior, upholding the values and traditions of your clan, and always striving to improve and better yourself. You might also be expected to be a role model for others, especially younger members of your clan, and to be a strong leader who can inspire and guide others.

You might feel pressure to live up to Jake's legacy as a skilled warrior and respected leader within your clan. Jake has achieved much in his life, and you might feel that you have to work hard to measure up to his accomplishments. Being Neytiri's daughter may also involve a certain level of scrutiny and pressure from the community, as Neytiri is a respected tsakarum and leader within the clan. This could be both a source of motivation and a source of stress, as you strive to fulfill the expectations placed upon you.

Being Jake's daughter also comes with certain privileges and opportunities. Jake is well-respected and influential within your clan, and his position as your father could open doors for you and provide you with access to resources and support that might not be available to others.

Your father may also rely on you to help him in his leadership duties within the clan, such as mediating disputes or assisting with important decisions. However, Jake's overprotection and control could also be a source of frustration for you, as you may feel that you are not being given the same opportunities to make your own mistakes and learn from them as your younger siblings are.

Overall, you would have a close relationship with your parents and siblings. But you may also struggle with jealousy and resentment towards your siblings, especially if you feel that Jake favors one of them over you. This could lead to conflicts within the family, and you may need to work on managing these emotions in order to maintain a healthy relationship with your siblings.

Neytiri would likely be a strong influence on your upbringing and would teach you about the importance of harmony with nature, the sacredness of Pandora's wildlife, and the role of the Omaticaya clan in the spiritual and cultural life of Pandora.

You may also have additional responsibilities towards your siblings, such as looking after them and helping them to learn the ways of the Na'vi. You may also feel a strong sense of loyalty and protectiveness towards your family and may be willing to put yourself in danger in order to defend them. As the older sister of Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Tuktirey, you may also have a close and supportive relationship with your siblings. You may act as a role model for them and help to guide them as they grow and learn about Pandora and the Na'vi way of life.

You have a close and supportive relationship with your younger sister Kiri, and you often act as a mentor and guide for her even if you’re only a few months older. You try to be patient and understanding with Kiri and to be a positive influence in her life. You deeply love and care for Kiri and you are always ready to lend a helping hand when she needs it.

Neteyam and you often work together on various activities, whether it’s hunting or exploring the Pandora wilderness. You also share a strong bond through your shared experiences and challenges, such as growing up in a world filled with danger and uncertainty. Despite the occasional sibling rivalry or disagreement, you deeply love and respect Neteyam and value his guidance and advice. You have a deep understanding and appreciation for each other, and you know that you can always rely on each other for support and love.

You have a supportive relationship with your middle brother Lo'ak, although you sometimes struggle with his reckless and impulsive behavior. Despite this, you deeply care for Lo'ak and you are always ready to stand up for him when he needs it. You try to be understanding and supportive of his feelings and to see things from his perspective.

Tuk often looks up to you and seeks your guidance and support. You also deeply care for Tuk and you are always ready to lend a helping hand or offer advice and guidance when needed. You try to be a positive influence in her life.

[mariacallous]

If Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted defeat in June 2021, finally yielding the stage to a coalition of his opponents, he could have retired at the age of 71 with a decent claim to having been one of Israel’s more successful prime ministers.

He had already surpassed the time in office of Israel’s founder, David Ben-Gurion, becoming the country’s longest-serving prime minister in 2019. His second stretch in office, from 2009 to 2021, coincided with perhaps the best 12 years Israel had known since its founding in 1948. The country enjoyed relative security, with no major wars or prolonged Intifadas. The period was one of uninterrupted economic growth and prosperity. Thanks to its early adoption of widespread vaccination, Israel was one of the first countries in the world to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. And toward the end of that span came three agreements establishing diplomatic relations with Arab countries; more were likely on the way.

Twelve years of Netanyahu’s leadership had seemingly made Israel more secure and prosperous, with deep trade and defense ties across the world. But this wasn’t enough to win him another term. A majority of Israelis had tired of him, and he had been tainted by charges of bribery and fraud in his dealings with billionaires and press barons. In the space of 24 months, Israel held four elections ending in stalemate, with neither Netanyahu nor his rivals winning a majority. Finally, an unlikely alliance of right-wing, centrist, left-wing, and Islamist parties managed to band together and replace him with his former aide Naftali Bennett in June 2021.

At that point, Netanyahu could have sealed his legacy. A plea bargain on offer from the attorney general would have ended his corruption trial with a conviction on reduced charges and no jail time. He would have had to leave politics, probably for good. Over the course of four decades in public life, including 15 years as prime minister and 22 as the Likud party’s leader, he had already left an indelible mark on Israel, dominating the second half of its history. But he couldn’t bear the thought of giving up power.

Within 18 months, he was back as prime minister for the third time. The unwieldy coalition that replaced him had imploded, and this time around, Netanyahu’s camp of far-right and religious parties ran a disciplined campaign, exploiting the weaknesses of their divided rivals to emerge with a small parliamentary majority, despite still being virtually tied in the vote count.

Nine months later, Netanyahu, the man who promised, above everything else, to deliver security for Israel’s citizens, presided over the darkest day in his country’s existence. A total breakdown of the Israeli military and intelligence structure allowed Hamas to breach Israel’s border and embark on a rampage of murder, kidnapping, and rape, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and taking more than 250 hostage. The calamities of that day, the failures of leadership leading up to it, and the traumas it caused will haunt Israel for generations. Even leaving completely aside the war he has prosecuted since that day and its yet-unknown end, October 7 means that Netanyahu will always be remembered as Israel’s worst-ever leader.

How does one measure a prime minister?

There is no broadly accepted ranking of the 13 men and one woman who have led Israel, but most lists would feature David Ben-Gurion at the top. Not only was he the George Washington of the Jewish state, proclaiming its independence just three years after a third of the Jewish people had been exterminated in the Holocaust, but his administration established many of the institutions and policies that define Israel to this day. Other favorites include Levi Eshkol, for his shrewd and prudent leadership in the tense weeks before the Six Day War, and Menachem Begin, for achieving the country’s first peace agreement with an Arab nation, Egypt.

All three of these men had mixed records and detractors, of course. Ben-Gurion had autocratic tendencies and was consumed by party infighting during his later years in office. After the Six Day War, Eshkol failed to deliver a coherent plan for what Israel should do with the new territories it occupied and the Palestinians who have remained under its rule ever since. In Begin’s second term, Israel entered a disastrous war in Lebanon, and his government nearly tanked the economy. But in most Israelis’ minds, these leaders’ positive legacies outweigh the negatives.

Who are the “worst prime ministers”? Until now, most Israelis regarded Golda Meir as the top candidate for that dismal title. The intelligence failure leading to the Yom Kippur War was on her watch. Before the war, she rejected Egyptian overtures toward peace (though some Israeli historians have recently argued that these were less than sincere). And when war was clearly imminent, her administration refrained from launching preemptive attacks that could have saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

Other “worst” candidates have included Ehud Olmert, for launching the second Lebanon war and becoming Israel’s first former prime minister to go to prison for corruption; Yitzhak Shamir, for kiboshing an agreement with Jordan’s King Hussein that many believe could have been a significant step toward resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict; and Ehud Barak, for spectacularly failing to fulfill his extravagant promises to bring peace with both the Palestinians and Syria.

But Benjamin Netanyahu now surpasses these contenders by orders of magnitude. He has brought far-right extremists into the mainstream of government and made himself, and the country, beholden to them. His corruption is flamboyant. And he has made terrible security decisions that brought existential danger to the country he pledged to lead and protect. Above all, his selfishness is without parallel: He has put his own interests ahead of Israel’s at every turn.

Netanyahu has the distinction of being the only Israeli prime minister to make a once reviled movement on the right fringe of the country’s politics into a government stakeholder.

Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of a Jewish-supremacist group called Kach, won a lone seat in the Knesset in 1984. He openly called for replacing Israeli democracy with a constitution based on the laws of the Torah and for denying Israel’s Arab citizens equal rights. During Kahane’s single legislative term, the entire Israeli political establishment shunned him. When he got up to speak in the Knesset, all of its members would leave the plenum.

In 1985, Likud joined other parties in changing election law so that those who denied Israel’s democratic identity, denied its Jewish identity, or incited racism could be barred from running for office. Under this provision, Kach was never allowed to compete in another election. Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990. Four years later, a member of his movement killed 29 Muslims at prayer in Hebron, and the Israeli government proscribed Kach as a terror organization and forced it to disband.

But the Kahanists didn’t go away. With each Israeli election, they tried to rename their movement and adjust its platform to conform with electoral law. They remained ostracized. Then, in 2019, Netanyahu saw a roadblock on his path to reelection that they could help him get around.

Several Israeli parties had pledged not to serve in a government led by an indicted prime minister—quite possibly, enough of them to shut Netanyahu out of power. To prevent that from happening, Netanyahu needed to eke out every possible right-wing and religious vote for his potential coalition. The polls were predicting that the latest Kahanist iteration, the Jewish Power party, which is led by the thuggish but media-savvy Itamar Ben-Gvir, would receive only about 10,000 votes, well below the threshold needed to make the party a player on its own; but Netanyahu believed that if he could persuade the Kahanists and other small right-wing parties to merge their candidates’ lists into a joint slate, together they could win a seat or two for his potential coalition—just what he needed for a majority.

Netanyahu began pressuring the leaders of the small right-wing parties to merge their lists. At first the larger of these were outraged. Netanyahu was meddling in their affairs and, worse, trying to coerce them to accept the Kahanist outcasts. Gradually, he wore down their resistance—employing rabbis to persuade politicians, orchestrating media campaigns in the nationalist press, and promising central roles in future administrations. Media figures close to Netanyahu accused Bezalel Smotrich, a fundamentalist settler and the new leader of the religious Zionist party, of “endangering” the nation by making it easier for the hated left to win the election. Soon enough, Smotrich’s old-school national-religious party merged not only with Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power but with an even more obscure, proudly homophobic party led by Avi Maoz.

Netanyahu did worry a bit about the optics. Throughout five stalemated election campaigns from 2019 to 2022, Likud coordinated closely with Jewish Power, but Netanyahu refused to be seen in public with Ben-Gvir. During the 2022 campaign, at a religious festival, he even waited backstage for Ben-Gvir to leave the premises before going up to make his speech.

Two weeks later, there was no longer any need to keep up the act. Netanyahu’s strategy succeeded: His coalition, merged into four lists, edged out its squabbling opponents with 64 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

Netanyahu finally had the “right-wing in full” government he had often promised. But before he could return to the prime minister’s office, his allies demanded a division of the spoils. The ministries with the most influence on Israelis’ daily lives—health, housing, social services, and the interior—went to the ultra-Orthodox parties. Smotrich became finance minister; Maoz was appointed deputy minister in charge of a new “Agency for Jewish Identity,” with power to intervene in educational programs. And Ben-Gvir, the subject of numerous police investigations for violence and incitement over a period of three decades, was put in charge of a newly titled “Ministry of National Security,” with authority over Israel’s police and prison services.

As Netanyahu signed away power to the Kahanists, he told the international news media that he wasn’t forming a far-right government. The Kahanists were joining his government. He would be in control. But Netanyahu hadn’t just given Israel’s most extreme racists unprecedented power and legitimacy. He’d also insinuated them into his own formerly mainstream party: By March 2024, Likud’s candidates for local elections in a handful of towns had merged their slates with those of Jewish Power.

Likud long prided itself on combining staunch Jewish nationalism, even militarism, with a commitment to liberal democracy. But a more radical stream within the party eschewed those liberal values and championed chauvinistic and autocratic positions. For much of the past century, the liberal wing was dominant and provided most of the party’s leadership. Netanyahu himself espoused the values of the liberal wing—until he fell out with all the main liberal figures. By 2019, none was left to oppose the alliance with Ben-Gvir’s Kahanists.

Now more than a third of Likud’s representatives were religious, and those who weren’t preferred to call themselves “traditional” rather than secular. They didn’t object to cooperating with the Kahanists; indeed, many had already worked with them in the past. In fact, many Likud Knesset members by that point were indistinguishable from the Jewish Power ones. Israel’s worst prime minister didn’t just form an alliance of convenience with the country’s most irresponsible extremists; he made them integral to his party and the running of the state.

That Netanyahu is personally corrupt is not altogether novel in the history of the Israeli prime ministership. What makes him worse than others is his open contempt for the rule of law.

By 2018, Netanyahu was the subject of four simultaneous corruption investigations that had been in motion for more than a year. In one, known as Case 4000, Netanyahu stood accused of promising regulatory favors to the owner of Israel’s largest telecom corporation in return for favorable coverage on a popular news site. Three of the prime minister’s closest advisers had agreed to testify against him.

Investigations of prime ministers are not rare in Israel. Netanyahu was the subject of one during his first term. The three prime ministers who served in the decade between his first and second terms—Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert—had all been investigated as well. Only in Olmert’s case did police deem the evidence sufficient to mount a prosecution. At the time, in 2008, Netanyahu was the leader of the opposition.

“We’re talking about a prime minister who is up to his neck in investigations and has no public or moral mandate to make fateful decisions for Israel,” Netanyahu said of Olmert. “There is a concern, I have to say real, not without basis, that he will make decisions based on his personal interest of political survival and not on the national interest.”

Ten years later, Netanyahu would be the one snared in multiple investigations. Then he no longer spoke of corruption in high office but of a “witch hunt,” orchestrated by rogue police commanders and left-wing state prosecutors, and egged on by a hostile news media, all with the aim of toppling a right-wing leader.

Netanyahu was determined to politicize the legal procedure and pit his supporters against Israel’s law-enforcement agencies and judiciary. Never mind that the two previous prime ministers who had resigned because of corruption charges were from the center left. Nor did it matter that he had appointed the police commissioner and attorney general himself; both were deeply religious men with impeccable nationalist backgrounds, but he tarred them as perfidious tools of leftist conspiracy.

Rather than contemplate resignation, on May 24, 2020, Netanyahu became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to go on trial. He has denied all wrongdoing (the trial is still under way). In a courthouse corridor before one session, he gave a 15-minute televised speech accusing the legal establishment of “trying to topple me and the right-wing government. For over a decade, the left wing have failed to do this at the ballot box, and in recent years have come up with a new idea. Elements in the police and prosecutor’s office have joined left-wing journalists to concoct delusional charges.”

The law didn’t require Netanyahu to resign while fighting the charges against him in court. But doing so had seemed logical to his predecessors under similar circumstances—and to Israel’s lawmakers, who had never envisaged that a prime minister would so brazenly challenge the justice system, which he had a duty to uphold. For Netanyahu, however, remaining in power was an end in itself, one more important than preserving Israel’s most crucial institutions, to say nothing of Israelis’ trust in them.

Netanyahu placed extremists in positions of power, undermined confidence in the rule of law, and sacrificed principle to power. Little wonder, then, that last summer, tensions over the role of Israel’s judiciary became unmanageable. The crisis underlined all of these reasons that Netanyahu should go down as Israel’s worst prime minister.

For 34 of the past 47 years, Israel’s prime ministers have come from the Likud party. And yet many on the right still grumble that “Likud doesn’t know how to rule” and “you vote right and get left.” Likudniks complain about the lingering power of “the elites,” a left-wing minority that loses at the ballot box but still controls the civil service, the upper echelons of the security establishment, the universities, and the media. A growing anti-judicial wing within Likud demands constitutional change and a clamping-down on the supreme court’s “judicial activism.”

Netanyahu had once minimized these complaints, but his stance on the judiciary changed after he was indicted in 2019. Indeed, at the start of his current term, Likud’s partners demanded commitments to constitutional change, which they received. The ultra-Orthodox parties were anxious to pass a law exempting religious seminary students from military service. Such exemptions had already fallen afoul of the supreme court’s equality standards, so the religious parties wanted the law to include a “court bypass.” Netanyahu acceded to this. To pass the legislation in the Knesset, he appointed Simcha Rothman, a staunch critic of the court, as the chair of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee.

He also appointed Yariv Levin, another fierce critic of the court, as justice minister. Just six days after the new government was sworn in, Levin rolled out a “judicial reform” plan, prepared by a conservative think tank, that called for drastically limiting the court’s powers to review legislation and gave politicians control over the appointment of new justices.

Within days, an extremely efficient counter-campaign pointed out the dangers the plan posed, not just to Israel’s fragile and limited democracy, but to its economy and security. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested in the streets. Likud began to drop in the polls, and Netanyahu privately urged the leaders of the coalition parties to delay the vote. They refused to back down, and Levin threatened to resign over any delay.

Netanyahu’s motives, unlike those of his partners, were not ideological. His objective was political survival. He needed to keep his hard-won majority intact and the judges off-balance. But the protests were unrelenting. Netanyahu’s independent-minded defense minister, Yoav Gallant, pointed to the controversy’s dire implications for the Israel Defense Forces as hundreds of volunteer reserve officers threatened to suspend their service rather than “serve a dictatorship.”

Netanyahu wasn’t sure he wanted to go through with the judicial coup, but the idea of one of Likud’s senior ministers breaking ranks in public was unthinkable. On March 25 of last year, Gallant made a public statement that the constitutional legislation was a “clear and major threat to the security of Israel” and he would not be voting for it. The next evening, Netanyahu announced that he was firing Gallant.

In Jerusalem, protesters besieged Netanyahu’s home. In Tel Aviv, they blocked main highways. The next morning, the trade unions announced a general strike, and by that evening, Netanyahu backed down, announcing that he was suspending the legislation and would hold talks with the opposition on finding compromises. Gallant kept his post. The talks collapsed, protests started up again, and Netanyahu once again refused to listen to the warnings coming from the security establishment—not only of anger within the IDF, but that Israel’s enemies were planning to take advantage of the country’s disunity to launch an attack.

The debate over judicial reform pitted two visions of Israel against each other. On one side was a liberal and secular Israel that relied on the supreme court to defend its democratic values; on the other, a religious and conservative Israel that feared that unelected judges would impose incompatible ideas on their Jewish values.

Netanyahu’s government made no attempt to reconcile these two visions. The prime minister had spent too many years, and all those toxic electoral campaigns, exploiting and deepening the rift between them. Even when he belatedly and halfheartedly tried to rein in the radical and fundamentalist demons he had ridden back into office, he found that he could no longer control them.

Whether Netanyahu really meant to eviscerate Israel’s supreme court as part of a plot to weaken the judiciary and intimidate the judges in his own case, or whether he had no choice in the matter and was simply a hostage of his own coalition, is immaterial. What matters is that he appointed Levin as justice minister and permitted the crisis to happen. Ultimately, and despite his professed belief in liberal democracy, Netanyahu allowed Levin and his coalition partners to convince him that they were doing the right thing—because whatever kept him in office was right for Israel. Democracy would remain strong because he would remain in charge.

Trying to diminish the powers of the supreme court isn’t what makes Netanyahu Israel’s worst prime minister. The judicial reform failed anyway. Only one of its elements got through the Knesset before the war with Hamas began, and the court struck it down as unconstitutional six months later. The justices’ ruling to preserve their powers, despite the Knesset’s voting to limit them, could have caused a constitutional crisis if it had happened in peacetime. But by then Israel was facing a much bigger crisis.

Given Israel’s history, the ultimate yardstick of its leaders’ success is the security they deliver for their fellow citizens. In 2017, as I was finishing my unauthorized biography of Netanyahu, I commissioned a data analyst to calculate the average annual casualty rate (Israeli civilians and soldiers) of each prime minister since 1948. The results confirmed what I had already assumed. In the 11 years that Netanyahu had by then been prime minister, the average annual number of Israelis killed in war and terror attacks was lower, by a considerable margin, than under any previous prime minister.

My book on Netanyahu was not admiring. But I felt that it was only fair to include that data point in his favor in the epilogue and the very last footnote. Likud went on to use it in its 2019 campaigns without attributing the source.

The numbers were hard to argue with. Netanyahu was a hard-line prime minister who had done everything in his power to derail the Oslo peace process and prevent any move toward compromise with the Palestinians. Throughout much of his career, he encouraged military action by the West, first against Iraq after 9/11, and then against Iran. But in his years as prime minister, he balked at initiating or being dragged into wars of his own. His risk aversion and preference for covert operations or air strikes rather than ground operations had, in his first two stretches in power, from 1996 to 1999 and 2009 to 2021, kept Israelis relatively safe.

Netanyahu supporters on the right could also argue, on basis of the numbers, that those who brought bloodshed upon Israel, in the form of Palestinian suicide bombings and rocket attacks, were actually Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, the architects of the Oslo Accords; Ehud Barak, with his rash attempts to bring peace; and Ariel Sharon, who withdrew Israeli soldiers and settlers unilaterally from Gaza in 2005, creating the conditions for Hamas’s electoral victory there the following year. That argument no longer holds.

If future biographers of Israeli prime ministers undertake a similar analysis, Netanyahu will no longer be able to claim the lowest casualty rate. His 16th year in office, 2023, was the third-bloodiest in Israel’s history, surpassed only by 1948 and 1973, Israel’s first year of independence and the year of the Yom Kippur War, respectively.

The first nine months of 2023 had already seen a rise in deadly violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as terrorist attacks within Israel’s borders. Then came the Hamas attack on October 7, in which at least 1,145 Israelis were massacred and 253 kidnapped and taken to Gaza. More than 30 hostages are now confirmed dead.

No matter how the war in Gaza ends, what happens in its aftermath, or when Netanyahu’s term finally ends, the prime minister will forever be associated above all with that day and the disastrous war that followed. He will go down as the worst prime minister because he has been catastrophic for Israeli security.

To understand how Netanyahu so drastically failed Israel’s security requires going back at least to 2015, the year his long-term strategic bungling of the Iranian threat came into view. His mishandling didn’t happen in isolation; it is also related to the deprioritization of other threats, including the catastrophe that materialized on October 7.

Netanyahu flew to Washington, D.C., in 2015 to implore U.S. lawmakers to obstruct President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Many view this gambit as extraordinarily damaging to Israel’s most crucial alliance—the relationship with the United States is the very bulwark of its security. Perhaps so; but the stunt didn’t make subsequent U.S. administrations less supportive of Israel. Even Obama would still go on to sign the largest 10-year package of military aid to Israel the year after Netanyahu’s speech. Rather, the damage Netanyahu caused by presuming too much of the United States wasn’t to the relationship, but to Israel itself.

Netanyahu’s strategy regarding Iran was based on his assumption that America would one day launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear program. We know this from his 2022 book, Bibi: My Story, in which he admits to arguing repeatedly with Obama “for an American strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.” Senior Israeli officials have confirmed that he expected Donald Trump to launch such a strike as well. In fact, Netanyahu was so sure that Trump, unlike Obama, would give the order that he had no strategy in place for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program when Trump decided, at Netanyahu’s own urging, to withdraw from the Iran deal in May 2018.

Israel’s military and intelligence chiefs had been far from enamored with the Iran deal, but they’d seized the opportunity it presented to divert some of the intelligence resources that had been focused on Iran’s nuclear program to other threats, particularly Tehran’s network of proxies across the region. They were caught by surprise when the Trump administration ditched the Iran deal (Netanyahu knew it was coming but didn’t inform them). This unilateral withdrawal effectively removed the limitations on Iran’s nuclear development and required an abrupt reversal of Israeli priorities.

Senior Israeli officials I spoke with had to tread a wary path here. Those who were still in active service couldn’t challenge the prime minister’s strategy directly. But in private some were scathing about the lack of a coherent strategy on Iran. “It takes years to build intelligence capabilities. You can’t just change target priorities overnight,” one told me.

The result was a dissipation of Israeli efforts to stop Iran—which is committed to the destruction of Israel. Iran sped further than ever down the path of uranium enrichment, and its proxies, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, grew ever more powerful.

In the months leading up to October 7, Israel’s intelligence community repeatedly warned Netanyahu that Iran and its proxies were plotting a major attack within Israel, though few envisaged something on the scale of October 7. By the fall of 2023, motives were legion: fear that an imminent Israeli diplomatic breakthrough with Saudi Arabia could change the geopolitics of the region; threats that Ben-Gvir would allow Jews greater access to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and worsen conditions for Palestinian prisoners; rumors that the deepening tensions within Israeli society would render any response to an attack slow and disjointed.

Netanyahu chose to ignore the warnings. The senior officers and intelligence chiefs who issued them were, to his mind, conspiring with the law-enforcement agencies and legal establishment that had put him on trial and were trying to obstruct his government’s legislation. None of them had his experience and knowledge of the real threats facing Israel. Hadn’t he been right in the past when he’d refused to listen to leftist officials and so-called experts?

Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7 was the result of a colossal failure at all levels of Israel’s security and intelligence community. They had all seen the warning signals but continued to believe that the main threat came from Hezbollah, the larger and far better-equipped and trained enemy to the north. Israel’s security establishment believed that Hamas was isolated in Gaza, and that it and the other Palestinian organizations had been effectively deterred from attacking Israel.

Netanyahu was the originator of this assumption, and its biggest proponent. He believed that keeping Hamas in power in Gaza, as it had been for nearly two years when he returned to office in 2009, was in Israel’s interest. Periodic rocket attacks on Israeli communities in the south were a price worth paying to keep the Palestinian movement split between the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank enclaves and Hamas in Gaza. Such division would push the troublesome two-state solution off the global agenda and allow Israel to focus on regional alliances with like-minded Arab autocracies that also feared Iran. The Palestinian issue would sink into irrelevance.

Netanyahu’s disastrous strategy regarding Gaza and Hamas is part of what makes him Israel’s worst prime minister, but it’s not the only factor. Previous Israeli prime ministers, too, blundered into bloody wars on the basis of misguided strategies and faulty advice from their military and intelligence advisers.

Netanyahu stands out from them for his refusal to accept responsibility, and for his political machinations and smear campaigns since October 7. He blames IDF generals and nourishes the conspiracy theory that they, in alliance with the protest movement, somehow allowed October 7 to happen.

Netanyahu believes that he is the ultimate victim of that tragic day. Convinced by his own campaign slogans, he argues that he is the only one who can deliver Israel from this valley of shadows to the sunlit uplands of “total victory.” He refuses to consider any advice about ending the war and continues to prioritize preserving his coalition, because he appears incapable of distinguishing between his own fate, now tainted by tragic failure, and that of Israel.

Many around the world assume that Israel’s war with Hamas has proceeded according to some plan of Netanyahu’s. This is a mistake. Netanyahu has the last word as prime minister and head of the emergency war cabinet, but he has used his power mainly to prevaricate, procrastinate, and obstruct. He delayed the initial ground offensive into Gaza, hesitated for weeks over the first truce and hostage-release agreement in November, and is now doing the same over another such deal with Hamas. For the past six months, he has prevented any meaningful cabinet discussion of Israel’s strategic goals. He has rejected the proposals of his own security establishment and the Biden administration. He presented vague principles for “the day after Hamas” to the cabinet only in late February, and they have yet to be debated.

However one views the war in Gaza—as a justified war of defense in which Hamas is responsible for the civilian casualties it has cynically hidden behind, or as an intentional genocide of the Palestinian people, or as anything in between—none of it is Netanyahu’s plan. That’s because Netanyahu has no plan for Gaza, only one for remaining in power. His obstructionism, his showdowns with generals, his confrontations with the Biden administration—all are focused on that end, which means preserving his far-right coalition and playing to his hard-core nationalist base.

Meanwhile, he’s doing what he has always done: wearing down and discrediting his political opponents in the hope of proving to an exhausted and traumatized public that he’s the only alternative. So far, he’s failing. Polls show that an overwhelming majority of Israelis want him gone. But Netanyahu is fending off calls to hold an early election until he believes he is within striking distance of winning.

Netanyahu’s ambition has consumed both him and Israel. To regain and remain in office, he has sacrificed his own authority and parceled out power to the most extreme politicians. Since his reelection in 2022, Netanyahu is no longer the center of power but a vacuum, a black hole that has engulfed all of Israel’s political energy. His weakness has given the far right and religious fundamentalists extraordinary control over Israel’s affairs, while other segments of the population are left to pursue the never-ending quest to end his reign.

One man’s pursuit of power has diverted Israel from confronting its most urgent priorities: the threat from Iran, the conflict with the Palestinians, the desire to nurture a Westernized society and economy in the most contested corner of the Middle East, the internal contradictions between democracy and religion, the clash between tribal phobias and high-tech hopes. Netanyahu’s obsession with his own destiny as Israel’s protector has caused his country grievous damage.

Most Israelis already realize that Netanyahu is the worst of the 14 prime ministers their country has had in its 76 years of independence. But in the future, Jews might even remember him as the leader who inflicted the most harm on his people since the squabbling Hasmonean kings brought civil war and Roman occupation to Judea nearly 21 centuries ago. As long as he remains in power, he could yet surpass them.

[yudrein-aile]

I have reached ch 400 of turning. Kinda obsessed with the difference between the two timelines Kishiyu... Yudrain is like. Young! And doesn't understand politics that well. And there's so much baggage. And meanwhile Yuder is like. 30. He's constantly like "ah these young kids". There's still baggage but he is so much older and experienced and Kishiar responds to that differently than he did + different circumstances (like. Ch 400. Full info not yet revealed). Anyway I came to !!! Because idk who else to !!! At about this

Please !!! here any time, I love hearing your thoughts! sorry you're getting a whole god damn essay reply i had to put a read more.

Yuder is, and continues to be, incredibly harsh on his younger self, especially at the start, some of it is deserved - calling his younger self arrogant and quick to anger - but a lot of it, I think, is also just colored by how much was asked of him vs. how much he could do.

Yuder judges immediately in the first chapter that joining the Cavalry seemed "like a chance for dazzling success and thrilling adventures" as he had not "outgrown his boyishness". In the same paragraph he also judges that he didn't know anything about the intrigues and politics he'd find himself in, "that everything comes with a price, and that he was not well-suited for such pursuits".

In chapter 3 he straight up calls his twenty-year-old self "a poor country bumpkin with a gloomy expression".

So like, the impression we get of twenty-year-old Yuder, to me, is that of a 20 year old kid, who's not really socialized because his grandfather died seven years ago and he's been on his own ever since, and thinks that maybe getting to meet others like him, measuring his powers against them, would be fun.

Generally spekaing, the vibes I got from Yuder is that if he could, he would've done nothing but train all day. He's not interested in leadership, but then he's made Cavalry Commander. In chapter 2, he points out this rise in status himself:

"The previous Yuder had held a great deal of power and influence as the Cavalry commander of the Empire, but now he was nothing more than a young newcomer from the countryside. Who would actually listen to someone like that?"

Think back on the literary lessons - most Cavalry members couldn't even read or write when they joined the Cavalry. Yuder could read, but not really write well. Imagine that, he's twenty, he just learned how to write properly, Kishiar manages to mcfuck himself up during the Red Stone Retrieval Mission and decides "yes, that one will be my successor".

Like to Yuder, even ten years later, it seemed like Kishiar pretty quickly and decisively decided to make Yuder his successor.

Why did Kishiar La Orr pass the position of leader to Yuder at that time? And without any hesitation, as if it had been planned from the beginning.

And it's mentioned at times - a lot more later when Yuder knows what's up - we learn also that Yuder received proper lessons from Kishiar (and Nathan) and probably a whole bunch of other people to prep him for his work as Commander. Because Yuder does do well. The Cavalry is thriving, outpacing every other organization withing years. Sure, he's an interpersonal nightmare, but he did also pay for like parties if it was requested or so. And again, he went from semi literate commoner to Count and, argueably, one of the Emperor's most trusted men. That's insane.

And now in the second timeline, Yuder takes that knowledge with him. He knows what to expect, what he learned by trial and error. Just think about the second gender manifestations that go well. Heck, his own, I'd argue, is his turning (ha) point. The first 150ish chapters really do feel like Yuder's only in survival mode, but after his own second gender manifestation, the thing that IMO definitely fucked up his and Kishiar's relationship in the first timeline (mutual non-con my beloved trope <3), it's like an awakening (sorry full of bad puns today).

And for their relationship in the 2nd timeline!! Kishiar and Nathan both pick up that Yuder's more skilled than he should be. In chapter 17 we have this exchange:

"Nathan." "Yes." After Yuder left, Kishiar, staring at the chilled teacup on the opposite side, opened his mouth. Kishiar's cup was empty, but the one on the other side remained untouched, just as it had been from the start. "What do you think of that guy?" It was an unusual question. Nathan pondered for a moment before answering. "If I hadn't heard of his background beforehand, I would never have guessed he was a commoner." He was unmistakably a commoner, an orphan, barely twenty, yet he did not falter in front of Nathan, let alone in front of the noble duke who was as esteemed as the heavens.

And in chapter 59 we got:

Ever since first meeting him, Nathan Zuckerman had been continually investigating Yuder Aile's background. But just as his lord had predicted, there was nothing to find. His past was impeccably clean.

People regularly are in genuine awe of Kishiar because of the whole sun god thing, and I'd say in the first timeline, while also annoyed with Kishiar, to a degree did treat him according to station before he was made Commander and was even more annoyed with Kishiar.

And now here comes second timeline Yuder who had like. meals with the Emperor and knows Kishiar, to a degree at least.

And Kishiar very much picks up on this. He's got a prodigy on his hands who's not afraid to say what he means - not because of arrogance, but because he's straightfroward and correct. He's fascinated with Yuder to the point of propositioning him to figure out what he's on. (rip to Nathan hope you never learn of this).

Like, man if I have to put it into words, I think 2nd TL Kishiar falls in love because he's fascinated and interested by Yuder and wants to know him wholeheartedly, while for Yuder it hmm feels a lot more like hmm devotion/dedication to an ideal? Which makes Kishiar's genuine joy when he learns a small thing about Yuder a delight to read and vice versa when Yuder realizses why Kishiar acts in a certain way.

Like in 199 we got Kishiar saying , "I was merely asking out of curiosity. Isn't it a natural human tendency to want to know more about a subject of interest?"

(Also love how in 200 Yuder is like "Kishiar is so smart and skilled it's only a question of time until he manages to seduce me" babygirl what the FUCK is that thought process. can't you just say he's hot and charming and you both have a competency kink)

uuh. i think i lost the plot a little replying to your ask but like. yes. i love how the different circumstances shape their experience and attraction to each other,

[drabblesandimagines]

Got a reader x Clive one for ya.

After years of friendship and one too many pints of Molly’s brown late one night they confess their feelings for each other. All the fluff and maaaaaaybe some shenanigans from Gav to get them in the ale hall together.

Libations

Clive Rosfield x female reader, fluffy nonsense, everyone's a bit drunk

Your eyes widen as Gav places yet another tankard of Molly's brown down in front of you, with such gusto that a good measure of it splashes across the table. 

"Gav..." His name slurs across your tongue. Drinking had only become a possibility once you've joined the Hideaway after all, and you'd be a liar to say you'd built up a decent tolerance. "Another?"

He nods, dropping down in the stool heavily opposite you. "Another."

"What's the occasion?" Usually the Cursebreakers would partake in a round or two after a successful mission, but there'd been no such feats today. 

"No real occasion, like." He lifts the tankard to his lips and takes a deep gulp. "Just helping you attain liquid courage."

"Liquid what?" 

"Courage." He gives your tankard a nudge with his hand. "Drink up."

"I don't understand." You whine, but the scout shakes his head and nudges your tankard once more.

"Drink up, then I'll tell you."

You lift the tankard by the handle and take a deep drink to placate him. Gav had become one of your closest friends after all and had seemed rather adamant earlier that evening that the two of you needed a proper catch up. Surely another pint couldn't hurt... 

"Good." He slams his tankard back down on the table, wipes the residue off his top lip and grins. You know that grin a little too well. "I am sick and tired of waiting for you and Clive to get off your backsides and admit your feelings for one another."

You feel momentarily sober with the shock.

"W-what?"

"Don't play coy with me, lass. I see it,” he pokes himself firmly in the chest, “Jill sees it, Otto sees it, even bloody Torgal sees it!"

"Nonsense. We're just... We're friends. Good friends. We always have been." You take another ill-advised gulp of the ale, hoping to steady your nerves. 

"Right, I may only have one bloody eye, but I'm not completely blind to the looks you two give each other when you think the other's not looking!”

“I don’t know wha-“

“So,” he interrupts, placing his palms flat down on the table, “you're gonna finish that drink, march up to his chambers and tell our sourpuss-faced leader exactly how you feel, like."

"No-"

He leans across the table then, raises his hand to press a gloved finger to your lips.

"And I’m not taking no for an answer, like."

You push his arm away, a little clumsily. "Let’s say even if I did feel that way about Clive," your cheeks flush red with just the idea of a confession, "I couldn't possibly do it slightly merry with Molly's brown on my breath."

"Uh-uh, I've already worked that out. Don't you fret." 

You do fret, find yourself reaching for the tankard for another sip - a deep one, unaware of the door to Clive's chambers sliding open and Otto giving Gav a curt nod and a wave from distance.

"Excellent." Gav jumps to his feet - probably thinks he's graceful too but it's nowhere near - and strides over to your side of the table, swiftly hauling you up by your arms.

"Wha...?"

“Clive and Otto were having a toast to Cid earlier, aided by the finest bottle of winter mead I've been brewing under the floorboards the last few months." He declares, now pushing you across the floor of the Ale Hall towards the stairs to Clive's chambers. "Clive can handle his ale a little too well all things considered, so your old uncle Gav made sure it's even ground..."

"Uncle?"

"Pretty much." He shrugs, though it isn't true. You're the same age... or older? Everything's getting fuzzy.

There's no time to argue as some how you're now at the chamber doors. Gav slides them open without knocking. You open your mouth to protest but he gives you what he’ll later claim to be an encouraging nudge but was really quite the firm shove. Your balance is usually better, but the ale has done its job a little too well and you topple to the floorboards, scuffing your knees.

"By the Founder...!" Clive's voice sounds different, a slight slur to usual gravelled tones, Gav's mead having done it's work. 

You look up to apologise profusely for the intrusion… only for the words to die on your tongue as you see Clive in a state of undress, looking tastefully dishevelled. He must've been getting ready to retire for the night, his leather armour stripped - trousers still in place but little else - when Gav had so rudely pushed you into the room.

You try and scoot back, averting your gaze out of decency as Clive holds his discarded shirt up against his chest - ever the gentleman.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Gav sighs, dramatically, bending down and pulling you up to your feet, only to shove you once more in Clive's direction.

The Fire Dominant's reflexes are fast, thankfully, stopping you from hitting the floor again but in sacrifice of dropping his shirt as he catches you by the shoulders.

He smells of ash - always has - and there’s a distinct tang of the sweet mead on his breath, as he looks down at you with hazy eyes.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine." You answer, feeling somewhat breathless.

"Gav,” he calls to the scout over your head, hands still holding you upright, “what is the meaning of this?"

"You like her, she likes you..." Gav steps backwards, resting his hands on either side of the chamber doors. "..you’re both a little merry - you're welcome." And with a flourish, he bows his head, takes another step back and slides the doors over with a slam.

"I am so, so sorry..." You look down, though you're not sure that's any better considering your position. "I had no idea what he was planning and I've had too many of Molly's brown and-"

Clive places two fingers beneath your chin, coaxing your head back up to face him.

"My lady, is what he said... is it true?"

You lose all train of thought again as you look into his eyes, reminding yourself to keep focused on his face and not his chest.

"What he said...?"

"That you..." He swallows, you see his Adam's apple bob in his throat, "..you like me."

The brown has loosened your tongue, it seems, as there is no hesitation.

"Yes." It’s your turn to swallow then. “Is it true that you like me?”

“Very much so.”

You step closer then, the liquid courage stepping in, and press a soft, chaste kiss against his lips. It can barely be a few seconds long before you try and step back, but Clive’s arm wraps around your waist, keeping you still as he returns your kiss.

You wrap your arms around him, wanting him closer, to kiss him deeper but this time he retreats, looking bashful.

“I want this, my darling, I truly do, but… I always pictured it differently.”

“Differently?” Oh, Founder, what have you…?

“Without the merriment, I mean. I am grateful to Gav for the method of encouragement, but…” He sighs. “Forgive me, I cannot find the words to truly express this.”

“No, I understand. You’re a gentleman, of course. I should go.”

You go to turn, retreat to your own bunk in shame, but his arm stays around your waist, a frustrated pout on his lips.

“I do not wish you to go, only for us to pursue… certain activities at dawn, when the libations have passed through our systems.”

“Oh.”

---

Comments, likes and reblogs make my whole day x

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi/Commissions

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Frankly, the tragedy of Colin's life is that he cannot be—rather, is not allowed to be—Just Some Guy by his sociopolitical reality and the rules of the games that power plays simply because his grandfather was a tragically less successful Marquis de Lafayette. Importance can be inherited in this setting, and who one's grandfather was can, will, and often does override everything else about one's lived reality. Power is measured in blood, in more ways than one.

Lucas Fontina led Lacramor against "some royals who were putting their boot in the neck of the people." He was possibly noble himself, given he had a coat of arms and his child was a secret; this detail is a mere footnote in history, but perhaps it matters when the system revolves around hereditary power and when Colin is hunted for being a direct descendant. In all cases, the core point is: he was a rebel leader who nearly won his war, on that merit alone he is important and threatening to the throne.

The rest of Colin's other biographical details—he was born to an unacknowledged son, he was never eligible for titles or lands, he grew up on the streets in poverty, he has no political or social power, any other detail emphasizing that he is thoroughly of the commonfolk—don't matter to power because this is a sociopolitical system where importance, relevance, and power can be inherited and thus ancestry matters desperately. The identity of his grandfather has the ability to outweigh everything else about Colin's life, and it does because Fontina was a political threat so powerful that his memory haunts Lacramor decades later. It is a system of hereditary succession, and thus the throne will continue to worry about Fontina's bloodline until they are secure, more threatened by something else, or crumble.

Colin's father is suggested to not even be a recognized member of Fontina's family, being a secret child. It does not matter; despite otherwise being nobody of note, he was still someone important and threatening enough to established power to be worth murdering immediately upon the discovery that he is Fontina's son. The mere identity of his father elevated him into Someone Of Note; it was a status inherited, even as it materially brought nothing but fear and death, a symbolic power passed down a lineage in the way so much power in this setting is.

Colin, like his father, isn't allowed to be someone unimportant simply because Fontina was actually someone important for having crossed the Powers That Be in the way he did. Those powers and this system that places such importance on lineage made sure that Fontina's children and his grandchildren will bear that burden as well, of being someone noteworthy and important to the power struggles of the Islands, no matter how inconsequential they are otherwise. No matter what the details are in the rest of his biography, Colin is someone simply because he is Someone's grandson.

Power is measured in blood, through lineage as much as violence. Unfortunately for Colin, this means that the Powers That Be place an inordinate amount of importance on the identity of his grandfather. In the eyes of the throne and according to the rules of hereditary power, Colin inherits the symbolic power that Fontina wielded in life—so long as the throne continues to fear its authority will be challenged in the way Fontina did. The social system will not allow Colin to be an unremarkable common person. He cannot be Just Some Guy within this political situation and system of power, it isn't something allowed to him, and that's the tragedy and terror of his life.

[girlactionfigure]

Pre-World War I, neither #Arabs nor #Jews had their own states; and the #MiddleEast was controlled by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. During the 30 years between the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in 1918 & Israel declaring independence in 1948, there were many opportunities for peace.

1918 - First Meeting Between #Zionist & Arab Leaders

At Aqaba, Zionist leader Dr. Chaim Weizmann first met Emir Feisal (photo below) - son of the Grand Sharif of #Mecca, ruler of the Hejaz, direct descendant of #Mohammed, leader of the #Arab revolt against the Ottomans & by far the most well-known & respected Arab leader of the early 20th century.

Feisal knew that what he called “Southern #Syria” (referred to by the British as “Palestine” & by the Jews as “Eretz Israel”) had become a neglected, largely barren, arid, malarial-swamp-infested wasteland under the Ottomans & felt the #Jewish zeal to revitalize the Land would benefit both Jews & Arabs.

1919 - #Paris Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference convened to discuss post-war peace terms & how land of the former Ottoman Empire & Imperial #Germany would be divided.

Emir Feisal represented Arab interests at the Conference

Jan 1919: Weizmann-Feisal Agreement Signed

Dr. Weizmann and Emir Feisal, in Jan 1919, signed an Agreement acknowledging:

“the racial kinship & ancient bonds existing between the Arabs & the Jewish people” and mutually recognizing the Balfour Declaration by declaring “Palestine” the Jewish National Home on which “[a]ll necessary measures will be taken to encourage and stimulate #immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants upon the land through closer settlement and intensive cultivation of the soil.”

March 1919: Feisal & Frankfurter Exchange Letters

After a meeting between Emir Feisal & Zionist leader Felix Frankfurter in March 1919, Feisal drafted & signed a letter to Frankfurter with the Arab position:

“We feel that the Arabs & Jews are cousins by race, suffering similar oppression at the hands of powers stronger than themselves, & by happy coincidence have been able to take the first step towards the attainment of their national ideals together. We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement … we regard [the Zionist proposals] … as moderate and proper … [and] wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home … The Jewish movement is national and not imperialist … there is room in Syria for us both. Indeed I think that neither can be a real success without the other.”

Frankfurter replied to Feisal in a letter acknowledging the Arab position “with deep appreciation” & stating:

“[W]e knew that the aspirations of the Arab and the Jewish peoples were parallel, that each aspired to re-establish its nationality in its own homeland … The Arabs and Jews are neighbors in territory; we cannot but live side by side as friends.”

Apr 4-7 1920 - Violent Nebi Musa Riots & Their Rejection By Several Arab Leaders

While the policy of the #British government was pro-Zionist & pro-Arab, certain British officers on the ground were deeply #antisemitic & worked to foment Arab violence against Jews.

Specifically, British Colonel Waters Taylor (financial advisor to Military Administration in Palestine), met with Arab extremist Amin al-Husseini & encouraged him to incite a riot during Easter to show the Arabs did not support #Zionism.

For four straight days, al-Husseini’s incited mob of ~65,000 Arabs engaged in a riotous #pogrom against the Jewish community in #Jerusalem.

The mob chanted things like, “slaughter the Jews,” “the Jews are our dogs,” and “we will drink Jewish blood,” as they destroyed & looted Jewish shops, homes, & synagogues and then raped and murdered their way through the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

As horrifying as the riots were, not all hope was lost as Arab sheikhs from 82 villages around Jaffa & Jerusalem (who claimed to represent 70% of the population) published a document fully condemning the Arab riots & violence against Jews & expressly proclaiming Zionism was “not a danger” to Arabs.

April 20, 1920 - San Remo Conference

At the San Remo Conference, Ottoman & German colonies were split into 15 legal mandates awarded to the Allied powers.

One of those mandates was the British Mandate for Palestine (containing all of modern day Israel, #Gaza, the #WestBank, & the country of #Jordan), which expressly required the British to hold the land in trust while encouraging Jewish immigration to the Land on which there would be a reconstituted Jewish National Home.

Feb 1921 - Churchill meets Jewish & Arab leaders in Palestine

Winston Churchill was put in charge of Britain’s Palestine policy by Prime Minister David Lloyd George & he visited the Land to meet with Jewish & Arab leaders in Feb 1921.

Churchill was stunned by the degree to which the Jews had already developed the land & built large, fully-functioning communities over the prior decades; he also marked the groundbreaking ceremony for #Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Days later, Churchill met with Arab leaders - only those with whom he met were led by another member of the al-Husseini clan, Musa Kazem al-Husseini.

Churchill was stunned as he listed to the Arabs read aloud a 39-page memorandum filled almost exclusively with hatred, demonization, & absurd conspiracy theories about Jews and world domination.

Churchill expressed his disapproval & told the Arab leaders in attendance it was “manifestly right that the Jews should have a National Home … [a]nd where else could that be but in this land of Palestine, with which for more than 3,000 years they have been intimately & profoundly associated? … [W]e also think it will be good for the Arabs who dwell in Palestine.”

March 1921 - British Commission Empowers al-Husseini & Terror Ensues

The British Commission in Palestine appointed Amin al-Husseini “Grand Mufti” - a position that did not previously exist (“mufti” existed, but not “grand mufti”), and that gave him lifelong tenure as the most prominent Arab leader in Palestine.

Al-Husseini almost immediately instigated organized “fedayeen” terror attacks against the Jewish community culminating with riots in Jaffa and Petah Tikvah that left 43 Jews dead only three weeks later.

Following the riots, al-Husseini consolidated his power & took control of all #Muslim religious funds, the mosques, the schools, & the courts. He then wrote to Churchill & demanded an end to Jewish immigration & for Palestine to be “reunited with Syria.”

1922 - Mandate made Official & the First Partition of Palestine

By international treaty, in 1922, the League of Nations officially formalized the British Mandate for Palestine, which adopted the Balfour Declaration, acknowledging the Jewish people’s "historical connections” to the Land, & declaring the British requirement to “facilitat[e] Jewish immigration [and] encourage settlement on the land” while acknowledging the “moral validity of reconstituting” the Jewish nation.

Meanwhile, Churchill acknowledged a segment of the Palestinian Arab community violently rejected the Jews, but he also received express declarations from hundreds of Palestinian Arab sheikhs & mukhtars supporting Jewish immigration to improve the industrial development of the land, which they said would improve the lives of Arabs as well.

In an attempt to quell any further violence & Arab anxieties, with the stroke of a pen, Churchill partitioned the British Mandate for Palestine by slicing off 3/4 of the Land (everything east of the Jordan River) to create a new Arab Muslim country called “Trans-Jordan,” to which Emir Feisal’s brother, Abdullah (also widely recognized as an Arab Muslim leader from #Saudi Arabia), was named king.

Jews were irate at the loss of 75% of the territory promised to them, but ultimately decided to accept Churchill’s White Paper in the spirit of good will toward their Arab neighbors.

Al-Husseini (who now had his thumb on the majority of Palestine’s Arabs, especially since most would not dare challenge him lest they be summarily executed) flatly rejected the extremely Arab-friendly partition & said the whole of the land was Arab.

Just one year later, the British were forced to suspend the Palestine Constitution after Al-Husseini refused to participate in the Mandatory government.

And al-Husseini continued to organize ongoing violence against Jews culminating in the particularly barbaric 1929 Hebron massacre, which began as a result of the now oft-repeated & nearly 100-year-old lie that the Jews were attempting to “destroy al-Aqsa mosque.”

1936 - Start of the Arab Revolt

In April 1936 (3+ years after Hitler first came to power & while the situation of Jews in #Europe was rapidly deteriorating), al-Husseini organized a terror attack on a Jewish bus, which was then followed by three years of organized terror between Palestinian Arab clans & by Arabs against both Jews and the British.

Al-Husseini formed the Arab Higher Committee, declared a national strike & made three demands: (1) cessation of Jewish immigration; (2) end of land sales to Jews; & (3) the establishment of an Arab national government in the whole of Palestine.

1937 - Peel Commission & Recommended Second Partition of Palestine

Britain set up the Peel Commission to investigate the cause of the Arab riots & to make recommendations.

One of the Jewish Zionist leaders, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, was interviewed by the Commission, & his words were hauntingly prophetic.

Jabotinsky told the British the Jews of Europe faced “a disaster of historic magnitude … We have got to save millions, many millions … who are virtually knocking at the door [of Palestine] asking for admission.”

As to the Arab population, Jabotinsky was clear there was no Jewish desire to “oust” any Arabs and he further said “Palestine on both sides of the Jordan should hold the Arabs, their progeny, and many millions of Jews.”

Jabotinsky then acknowledged a movement of Palestine’s Arabs to create yet another Arab state in the land, but he said, “when the Arab claim is confronted with our Jewish demand to be saved, it is like the claims of appetite versus the claims of starvation.”

The Peel Commission ultimately recommended a second partition of Palestine - this time leaving the Jews with only an extraordinarily tiny portion of what is today a sliver of the northwest coast of Israel, and giving the remaining 80% of the land for an Arab state.

The Jews felt betrayed. But they understood, at least on some level, the disaster awaiting their brethren in Europe & the immediate need to provide safe haven.

So, the Jews accepted the Peel Commission’s partition, assuming the Arabs would accept it & agree to live side-by-side in peace.

This time, not only did al-Husseini reject the planned partition, but neighboring Arab leaders & states did as well.

A Syrian pan-Arab Congress rejected the Peel Commission’s recommendations & declared its goal to “liberat[e] the country and establish[] an Arab government.”

1938 - Woodhead Commission & the Evian Conference

The following year, Britain established the Woodhead Commission to study Palestine & try to find borders that both the Jews & Arabs could accept.

The Woodhead Commission made three proposals, all of which saw the once large Jewish nation continue to shrink exponentially.

In its report, the Woodhead Commission noted, “Arabs of all parties & shades of political opinion were unanimous in condemning the plan as inequitable & wholly unacceptable.”

The report further noted that the thought that “peace to Palestine” would be brought by any partition that included a Jewish state of any size was something “we cannot venture to hope.”

One Arab witness interviewed by the Woodhead Commission said if partition is set in motion that creates any Jewish state, “you will have to have a barbed wire right right it … with pill boxes every half kilometer … Hostility in our lifetime there will be.”

Another Arab witness said, “There would be a violent reaction to anything which gives any part of Palestine to the Jews.”

One other Arab witness said that even if a tiny Jewish State was proclaimed, the Arabs might stay quiet at first, but they would merely be “bid[ing] their time, that is all” until the Jewish State would be destroyed.

The Woodhead Commission declared the Arab position as making the conflict in Palestine “irreconcilable.”

Meanwhile, also in 1938, the Evian Conference was called by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in #France to allegedly attempt to deal with the Jewish #refugee problem caused by rise of #Nazi Germany.

All 32 nations in attendance at the Evian Conference refused to permit any significant immigration of Jews to their country.

The #Nazis even mocked the world and their “fake” sympathy for the Jews by declaring in Nazi newspaper headlines, “JEWS FOR SALE AT A BARGAIN PRICE—WHO WANTS THEM? NO ONE.”

1939 - St. James Palace Conference & the White Paper

In February 1939, the British held the St. James Palace Conference in #London to try to find a peaceful solution to the problems in Palestine.

However, the Conference was dead on arrival as the Arab delegates refused to meet with their Jewish counterparts.

Meanwhile, just two months later, Britain (then led by anti-Zionist Neville Chamberlain) was preparing for potential war with Germany, acknowledged its dependence on Middle Eastern oil to win that war (thus requiring Arab goodwill), & decided to appease the Arabs.

The 1939 White Paper was issued, abandoning Britain’s legal obligations to establish a Jewish State in Palestine & shutting the doors to further Jewish immigration almost entirely.

When the British submitted the White Paper to the League of Nations for approval, it was rejected as “not in accordance with … the Mandate.”

But the world was on the brink of war, and the League of Nations had no enforcement power. So Britain ignored the League of Nations’ decision.

The Jewish Agency for Palestine called the White Paper a betrayal in the midst of the “darkest hour of Jewish history.”

Zionist leader (and later first Prime Minister of Israel) David Ben-Gurion called the White Paper “the greatest betrayal perpetrated by the government of a civilized people in our generation.”

Dr. Weitzmann called it, “a death sentence for the Jewish people.”

When war broke out later that year & the Holocaust ensued, Europe’s Jews did not have any place on Earth in which they could seek refuge.

Millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis, but it could be argued they were condemned to their fate by the failure of the Evian Conference and the issuance of the British White Paper.

1945 - End of WWII & the Holocaust

In 1945, the full extent of Nazi atrocities & their systematic slaughter of 6 million of Europe’s Jews (2/3 of the population) was revealed to the world.

Those Jews who survived had no homes to which they could return; & there were multiple violent pogroms against the few Jews who tried to go “home.”

Hundreds of thousands of Jews were homeless #refugees & survivors of #Hitler’s madness; but they could only be put into Displaced Persons camps, which were often in the same location as the Nazi concentration camps in which they had been tortured & where their families had been murdered.

U.S. President Harry Truman was appalled that even in light of the Holocaust & the condition of the surviving displaced refugee Jews, the British refused to end its illegal White Paper policy; and he demanded Britain immediately permit the entry of 100,000 Jewish survivors to Palestine.

Britain, then under the leadership of anti-Zionist Prime Minister Clement Attlee, refused.

1946 - Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry

The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry was set up in 1946 to study the Jewish refugee problem & the status of the situation in Palestine and make any recommendations.

The Committee found the Arab intransigence to any Jewish immigration & to any Jewish state remained; but given Britain’s legal obligations under the Mandate & the condition of the Jewish refugees in Europe, the Committee recommended the immediate immigration of 100,000 Jews to Palestine to be followed by further steps to arrange a compromise between the Jews & Arabs.

1947 - Britain Abandons the Mandate & Seeks Resolution by the UN

Foreign Minister of Britain (and well-known #antisemite) Ernest Bevin declared in Feb 1947 his recommendation that the Mandate be abandoned since “there is no prospect of reaching … any settlement which would be even broadly acceptable to the two communities in Palestine.”

Bevin described the “irreconcilable” nature of the conflict to the British House of Commons thusly, “For the Jews, the essential point of principle is the creation of a sovereign Jewish State. For the Arabs, the essential point of principle is to resist to the last the establishment of a Jewish sovereignty in any part of Palestine.”

In May 1947, the UN created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (“UNSCOP”), & four months later, UNSCOP made its recommendations that included a partition of Palestine into one Jewish state & one Arab state - each on approximately 50% of the Land (which, for the Jews, represented a mere 1/8 of the territory originally set aside for Jewish immigration and a Jewish State).

The Jews accepted the UN’s proposal, but the Arabs rejected it.

Sept 1947 - Attempts to Avoid War

On Sept 16, 1947, Zionist leaders met with the leader & secretary-general of the Arab League, Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha.

The Zionist leaders pointed out the #UN had spoken, but also said they were “genuinely desirous of an agreement with the Arabs & [were] prepared to make sacrifices for one.” Generous compromises were offered.

Pasha, however, responded thusly: 

“It’s likely … that your plan is rational & logical, but the fate of nations is not decided by rational logic. Nations never concede; they fight. You won’t get anything by peaceful means or compromise. You can, perhaps, get something, but only by the force of arms. We shall try to defeat you. I’m not sure we’ll succeed, but we’ll try.”

Abba Eban (later Israel’s first Ambassador to the UN) tried to reason with Pasha, saying he would “welcome any counterproposal from your side.”

But Pasha responded: 

“An agreement will only be acceptable at our terms … We have only one test, the test of strength. If I were a Zionist leader, I might have behaved the way you’re doing. You have no alternative. In all events, the problem now is only soluble by the force of arms.”

Oct 2, 1947 - Zionist Leaders Urge Reconciliation with Local Arabs

The Assembly of Palestine Jewry issued an appeal on Oct 2, 1947 that read: 

“We will do everything in our power to maintain peace, & establish a cooperation gainful to both [Jews & Arabs]. It is now, here & now, from Jerusalem itself, that a call must go out to the Arab nations to join forces with Jewry & the destined Jewish State and work shoulder to shoulder for our common good, for the peace and progress of sovereign equals.”

There was no similar call from the Arab world in response.

Nov 1947 - UN Partition Vote & Outbreak of Civil War

On Nov 29, 1947, the UN voted to approve General Assembly Resolution 181 adopting partition as recommended by UNSCOP.

The Jews celebrated international legitimacy for their State; but, like all UNGA Resolutions, 181 was a mere “recommendation.”

Since the Arabs flatly rejected Resolution 181, there was no means by which the UN could enforce it.

The next day, Arabs attacked a Jewish bus on the Petah Tikva-Lod road, killing five passengers, & Jewish neighborhoods in and surrounding Jerusalem were attacked.

A Civil War had begun.

May 1948 - Israeli Independence

At 8 a.m. on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared independence for the State of Israel.

Ben-Gurion began by stating:

“Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained statehood, created cultural values of national & universal significance & gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.”

But Ben-Gurion also ended by stating:

“In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve the ways of peace & play their part in the development of the State, on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions … We extend our hand in peace & neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all.

Only hours later, the neighboring Arab countries (#Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, #Iraq, and #Egypt) launched a full scale invasion of the nascent State of Israel.

Sec-Gen Azzam Pasha proclaimed, “This will be a war of extermination & momentous massacre, which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres & the Crusades.”

Pundits filled the airwaves with talk of a second Holocaust considering the Arab states had a population of 200 million with well-equipped armies, & Israel’s entire population was ~600,000 men, women, & children with no formal military training.

Plus, both the United States & Britain maintained an arms embargo on Israel.

However, in what was a true modern-day miracle, the Jews of the reconstituted Jewish State of Israel, a mere three years after the Holocaust & once again facing extermination, fought back the Arab armies to armistices signed in April 1949.

@CptAllenHistory

[blueiscoool]

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

Five things you probably didn’t know about the biggest art heist in history

Most art galleries and museums are famous for the art they contain. London’s National Gallery has Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”; “The Starry Night” meanwhile, is held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, in good company alongside Salvador Dalì’s melting clocks, Andy Warhol’s soup cans and Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, however, is now more famous for the artwork that is not there, or at least, that is no longer there.

On March 18 1990 the museum fell prey to history’s biggest art heist. Thirteen works of art estimated to be worth over half a billion dollars — including three Rembrandts and a Vermeer — were stolen in the middle of the night, while the two security guards sat in the basement bound in duct tape.

The robbery is a treasure trove of surprising facts and unexpected plot twists. Here are five things that make the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and its famous theft, so interesting.

The woman behind the building:

Isabella Stewart Gardner, the museum’s founder and namesake, is a fascinating character. The daughter and eventual widow of two successful businessmen, Gardner was a philanthropist and art collector who built the museum to house her stash.

“When she opened the museum in 1903 she mandated that it be free of charge, to gain the appreciation and the attendance of all of Boston,” Stephan Kurkjian, author of “Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art Heist”, said in the programme. “Her museum, at that point in time, was the largest collection of art by a private individual in America.”

Gardner also had links to the fledgling campaign for women’s political rights. The museum displays the photographs and letters of her friend Julia Ward Howe, an organizer of two US suffrage societies, and a print of Ethel Smyth, a composer and close friend of the English Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst.

Gardner met Smyth through their mutual friend, the painter John Singer Sargent, whose portrait of Gardener raised eyebrows for the low-cut neckline he gave her.

Gardner seemed to enjoy flirting with scandal and gossip: she once arrived at a Boston Symphony Orchestra performance in a hat band emblazoned with the name of her favorite baseball team, Red Sox, and an illustration in a January 1897 edition of the Boston Globe showed her apparently taking one of Boston Zoo’s lions for a walk.

Somewhat ironically, when the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, Gardner told her museum guards that, if they saw anyone trying to rob them, they should shoot to kill.

The art not taken:

The thieves’ loot is estimated to be worth over half a billion dollars. However, they left the building’s most expensive artifact: “The Rape of Europa” by Titian, which Gardner bought from a London art gallery in 1896, then a record price for an old master painting.

Why commit history’s greatest art heist and leave without the priciest piece in the museum? Well, size may have played a role. The largest artwork taken was Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee,” famous for being Rembrandt’s only seascape and measures roughly 5x4 feet. “The Rape of Europa,” meanwhile, is larger, at nearly 6x7 feet.

The Napoleon factor:

Around 2005, the investigation into the stolen artworks took a detour to the French island of Corsica in the Meditteranean Sea. Two Frenchmen with alleged ties to the Corsican mob were trying to sell two paintings: a Rembrandt and a Vermeer. Former FBI Special Agent Bob Wittman was involved in a sting to try and buy them — but the operation eventually fell apart when the men were arrested for selling art taken from the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nice instead.

Why would “Corsican mobsters,” as correspondent Randi Kaye described them in the programme, be interested in robbing a Boston art museum? The answer could lie in the Bronze Eagle Finial, the 10-inch ornament stolen from the top of a Napoleonic flag during the heist.

“It was sort of an odd choice for the thieves to take (the Finial),” Kaye said, “but it turns out that Corsica is essentially the homeland of Napoleon.” The French emperor was born on the island in 1769, and a national museum is now housed in his former family home.

“It is a very compelling notion,” Kelly Horan, Deputy Editor of the Boston Globe, said in the programme, “that a Corsican band of gangsters might have tried to steal back their flag and pull off the entire rest of the heist in the process.”

A rock’n’roll suspect:

March 18 1990 was not the first time a Rembrandt had been stolen from a Boston museum. In 1975, career criminal and art thief Myles Connor walked into Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and walked out with a Rembrandt tucked into his oversized coat pocket. He was the FBI’s first suspect in the Gardner case, however the walls of federal prison — where he was incarcerated on drugs charges — gave him a pretty solid alibi.

When he wasn’t lifting famous artworks from their displays, Connor was a musician. It was through gigging that he met Al Dotoli, who worked with stars including Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli.

In 1976 Connor was jailed for a separate art theft committed in Maine. Hoping to use his stolen Rembrandt to leverage a lesser sentence, he needed Dotoli — who was on tour with Dionne Warwick — to turn the painting in to the authorities on his behalf.

An invisible thief?

One of the stolen artworks, Édouard Manet’s “Chez Tortoni,” was taken from the museum’s Blue Room on the first floor. The painting stands out for two reasons, the first being its frame. The thieves left almost all of the frames behind, cutting some out of the front.

“To even leave remnants of the painting(s) behind was savage,” Horan said. “In my mind, it’s sort of like slashing someone’s throat.”

The “Chez Tortoni” frame was unusual for where it was left, though: not in the room it was stolen from, but in the chair of the security office downstairs. Even more remarkable, not a single motion detector was set off in the Blue Room. Bar investigating the possibility of ghost robbers, investigators wondered if this pointed to the plot being an inside job.

“At the FBI we found that about 89% of museum institutional heists are inside jobs,” Wittman said. “That’s how these things get stolen.”

By Caitlin Chatterton.

[the-littlest-kojin]

The Journal of Shio Shinju: The Coming Dawn (Dawntrail, Journal I)

Spoilers for: MSQ up through "The Coming Dawn".

Today, I was asked by Erenville to meet a client - not as Warrior of Light, but as a hero and adventurer. It is... Pleasant, to have someone recall that I do not wish to be always seen as the hero of the land.

The client is a Xbr'aal by the name of Wuk Lamat, who was recommended my services by Erenville. He is very careful with his words, but knowing that he has tacitly endorsed the task that Wuk Lamat wishes is enlightening, even if he is loathe to show it.

To demonstrate that I am sufficiently skilled for her task, Wuk Lamat had me accompany her for a miscellaneous task upon the Isle of Haam, wherein we dispatched an overgrown colibri - the kind of thing I used to do in the days before the Scions as odd jobs for the Adventurer's Guild. Apparently, my prowess with the blade was enough to convince her to lay out the task she wished of me, in addition to a bevy of personal details about her.

Wuk Lamat is the child of Gulool Ja Ja, Dawnservant of Tuliyollal - nation and capital city both - which lies at the heart of governance of Tural. It seems that there is to be a succession, as the current Dawnservant is aging past his prime, and so four claimants have stepped up. Erenville and Wuk Lamat both are rather quiet on the subject of most of the claimants, but one of them is "A man who is too ambitious by half", who "cannot be allowed to rule".

Concerning as this is, apparently Gulool Ja Ja expressly encourages the claimants seeking aid from outside of Tural, and so Wuk Lamat reached out to Erenville, who she considers a close friend. (Erenville professes to consider her an acquaintance at best, but see my note above, regarding whom exactly he recommended for her trial.) I was assured I do not need to give an answer this day, and so I will return to my room to ponder this - seeing a new land will be a wonder and a relief, and to be hired as what seems to be, in essence, a bodyguard sounds like a refreshing reprieve from my usual fare.

As a client, Wuk Lamat seems... Dishonest, but not in a malicious way. She lies as casually as breathing, but in the way that I have witnessed many people do when they are insecure, afraid, or both. She lies about her capabilities, and she lies about those lies, in order to make me like her. It accomplishes the opposite. But, I have worked for worse clients. I could work for her, easily enough. Leaders lie all the time. She seems to affect a gregarious visage when the mood strikes her, I could very easily see her rubbing elbows with Nanamo, Aymeric, and suchlike. She could very easily be a leader with such a skillset.

But I do not think she would make a good leader.

I think I shall have to see this other claimant with my own eyes - the one who is "too ambitious by half". Take his measure for myself.

Side-note: Investigate Turali language, a constructed language of all of the peoples of Tuliyollal, attain fluency without Echo ASAP.

Before I was able to retire to my chambers for rest, the (allegedly) retired Scions waylaid me - specifically with Alisaie hearing about the new job, and the twins setting out to attain their own invitation from Wuk Lamat to join the voyage to Tural - to further their goals of rebuilding Garlemald. Loathe as I am to share yet more of my time with the Scions, I can only hope that they recall that I am no longer their employee and no longer required to feign friendship with them. Cordiality shall be my refuge, I feel - Grandfather wishes me to not let asymmetrical feelings fester in my mind, and so I shall not.

I do, however, wish that whomever was primarily responsible for tutoring the Leveilleur twins taught them how to ask things, rather than assume or state them. Wuk Lamat has been polite and careful to always frame things as invitations or queries, and I hope that this habit of hers is not eroded by exposure to Alphinaud and Alisaie.

Krile, on the other hand, concerns me considerably less. While I have enough familiarity with her tactics vis-a-vis interpersonal relationships to not trust her (such as her manipulations with Estinien), I can understand her desire for an understanding of family and legacy. I will support such as best I can, while maintaining a cordial distance - although, if it comes to a conflict of her own interests against that of Wuk Lamat's claim for the throne... I cannot rightly say.

Too much unknown, too much hinging on the mystery of this "unfit claimant".

[jaynovz]

Madi Fic Rec List

Well hello again! I’ve been compiling this list for quite awhile, but I finally sat down to finish it. 

To me, Madi is characterized by this strict balance between her fiery spirit and the poise she must display as someone raised from birth to be a leader, to be royalty. She’s wicked smart, but also desperately young and inexperienced. She’s thoughtful and conscientious, but with an underlying desire to just go, explore the world, be part of something big, and effect change for her people.

Anyway I just love Madi a lot, and these are some of my favorite stories featuring her in the fandom. They’ve been helpfully categorized into sub-sections! 

Enjoy~~

--

Madi-centric:

Burial at sea by le_mru:

Summary: Two years after Skeleton Island, Madi sets out to find Flint and recover the treasure for the Maroon community, Flint is adjusting to a life after death, and Silver interferes as usual.

in a vault of starlight by whimsicalimages:

Summary: The distance between Nassau and Savannah can be measured as: six hundred and thirteen nautical miles, five thousand pounds’ worth of pearls, or four extraordinary lifetimes.

Alternatively: in the aftermath, Madi writes her own story.

Lightbringer Verse by ElDiablito_SF:

Summary: After failing to fix her relationship with Silver, Madi sets off to find Captain Flint again.

i’m a black ocean leaping and wide by loosedindecember:

Summary: “I am going to Jamaica,” she tells Long John Silver, pirate-killer and pirate king, “and I will have my war after all. And you are going to help me.”

Madi gets her war, and a life beyond war, too.

Quid Pro Quo by annbonny:

Summary: "Trust is a strong word, particularly pertaining to pirates.

She trusts John Silver, but with every day that passes, she is gradually realising that he may not always be around. If Flint ends up killing him- or more likely, she suspects, they kill each other- who will guarantee that the alliance will hold? What is to keep Teach from wiping out her and her people when he feels they inconvenience him?”

OR: Madi adjusts to her role as queen. It is a steep learning curve.

armed with the past and the will by whimsicalimages:

Summary: The language of winning and losing, this language that men favor – Madi can speak this language, though she disagrees with its precepts. Success takes different forms, and failing once does not mean failing forever. It does not even mean failing the next time.

lacuna by doomcountry:

Summary: Madi loves him, and that is her misery. She hates him, too, and the two are at war without ceasing in her breast; the torment, now, after sixteen years together all told, is that it has all dulled, all settled out like water undisturbed.

SilverMadi:

Where There Is Great Love by stele3:

Summary: A brief interlude in the Tether series that jumps back in time to...establish certain things.

“Do you not have a comb?”

Twitching with surprise, Silver turns. The princess—Madi—stands on the shoreline, only a few feet away. Silver quickly glances around and finds her bodyguard standing back near the treeline. Kofi, that’s his name. (Stoic man, much taller than Silver, always has a knife and knows how to use it. Silver would need the captain or Billy with him to survive an encounter.)

He smiles for the princess. “I fear that would only make the problem worse. We had little to eat in the doldrums, and that made all of this quite breakable.” He gestures to his hair but lets his hand trail longer through the air. Better that she think them weak and easily overcome. If his own body is to be a metaphor, well, at least he finds it apt.

Love and Kindness by Wildehack:

Summary: “This is insulting,” John complains, as Madi fastens the shackles around his wrists, looping a chain through to the hook in the bulwark above his bed. “I’m not rabid.”

(Or: the inevitable sex-pollen AU.)

anything for your queen by urca:

Summary: the Silvermadi pegging fic, as promised!

lover please do not fall to your knees by lucystonersix:

Summary: Despite themselves, despite everything, Madi and Silver fall in love. Missing scenes, with spoilers only through the end of season 3.

Into the Blue Blue Sea by Magnetism_bind:

Summary: Madi slowly realizes she's drawn to the pirate with the blue eyes.

FlintMadi:

Maybe in Another Life by samedifference61:

Summary: At the rail of a ship James doesn’t command, they stand shoulder to shoulder.

"John still thinks you’re dead,” James states, because it’s something that needs to be said aloud before they continue.

With eyes unblinking toward the rolling sea, Madi says, “And he still thinks you should be dead.”

James’ lip curls in anger. The wounds of betrayal are too fresh for either to say anymore.

your legs are the north star by jaynovz:

Summary: Then there’s a hand on his shoulder, warmth seeping through his shirt. He peers up into deep solemn eyes. Madi. They've struggled, side by side, ruling in concert, for weeks. Through the toil of retaking Nassau, hardening themselves from this feeling which weakens his knees in its intensity, the sheer hopelessness swamping him like dark waves.

Flint cannot let himself fall away into the abyss, he cannot fade and forget. There is at least one thing left, standing strong and entrenched as a mangrove tree, even as she mirrors his own sorrow.

"Come, Captain, it is late. Let us rest."

taking orders by le_mru:

Summary: Written for the Black Sails Rare Pair Week:

“To be entirely frank,” Madi says, her voice loud and clear in the silence of the evening, “I am concerned if you can take orders, Captain.”

“Orders?” He scoffs. “From whom? Blackbeard?”

There has been some discussion around making Teach Admiral of the fleet, which Flint was, of course, firmly against.

“No.” Madi takes a step to the side and turns graciously, facing him fully. “From me.”

she hangs upon the cheek of night by ElDiablito_SF:

Summary: Madi won't let Flint sleep, but he secretly doesn't mind.

(Set after 4x05)

Line of Sight by samedifference61:

Summary: Flint leans in close so the others won’t hear him. “She wants me to teach her how to use a blade.”

Or, Flint finds it difficult to refuse Madi, and Silver has insecurities.

On Gossamer Wings by khazadspoon:

Summary: It was the first time he had seen a woman naked since Miranda.

Miranda had been slender. Her skin was pale and soft, her hands lightly calloused but still delicate when they touched him. She had been commanding in her sexuality and he had loved her because of it. She had taken control from him, taken the reins and lead their lovemaking with confident and caring hands.

But Madi… Madi was not Miranda.

stitched with its color by x_etoile_x:

Summary: He is my friend too.

She’d reached out to him for the first time after he’d said those damning words, slipping her small hand into his and leaning against his side. Had duty not pulled them back into the world, he thinks they might yet be standing on that beach, like silent watchers in some myth, fading away to nothing with their eyes fixed on the sea.

-

The scene where Madi tells Flint that Silver is alive.

let it rain, cuz you and I remain the same by jaynovz:

Summary: “We have some time yet to wait,” Madi says, taking note of the sun’s position. Their contact isn’t due at the tavern until after dark.

James strides over to the bookshelf. "What would you suggest?" he asks, humming. He strokes a finger along the spines. "I bought a new book in the last port. If you wish, I could read it aloud." James casts her a hopeful smile over his shoulder, standing at a loose parade rest, eyes crinkled and warm.

Madi is so helplessly fond of him in this moment, the way he brims with excitement at the thought of such a simple pleasure. It is appealing, she admits, the thought of settling against James’ sturdy chest as he reads to her, feeling his voice rumble against her back while Madi is charged with turning the pages. Madi stretches languidly and rises from her seat. As much as she enjoys that type of quiet domesticity, she has a more adventurous suggestion for how to pass the time. In truth, it’s something that she's been considering for a while.

Madi cuts James a sly glance as she approaches. "Do you remember the time I caught you in here with John?"

something beyond by eleutherya:

Summary: "The bay isn’t visible from the rebel encampment, but he faces it as surely as a compass points north. Up on the fort, Flint stands with his back straight and his shoulders set, his hands folded neatly behind him. He stands there as though, if he simply waits long enough, if he hopes hard enough, the sea will return John Silver to him."

Madi and Flint have a discussion about grief after losing John Silver. Set directly after 4x01.

By Faith of My Body by x_etoile_x

Summary: Flint is unmoored in the aftermath of the battle on Maroon Island, struggling with grief and his troubled relationship with Silver. Discovering an unexpected bond with Madi prompts a difficult conversation, and perhaps the start of a new friendship. But what evolves between them quickly becomes more complicated, and Flint is forced to confront parts of himself he'd thought buried.

This fic started as a response to a prompt asking for more FlintMadi content, with a special request for non-sexual BDSM, building on the special deference he shows her and the beliefs they share. However, the dynamics between all three characters are explored and it's building toward OT3.

Written for the Built On Sand Black Sails Event 2023

OT3, MadiSilverFlint:

I’m getting tired, and i need somewhere to begin by lacecat:

Summary: Madi watches him steadily as he approaches her. “Perhaps one day,” she begins, but cuts herself off with a swallow, blinking back tears. They won’t be able to fill the hole between them, but maybe they can try to build around it, accommodate it.

He lays a rough palm on her cheek, gentle. He loves her so much. “Perhaps,” Silver says, even though they both know it’s the furthest from a promise. They have survived on far less, after all.

how we could be brought here by love by mapped:

Summary: A 4x03 AU where Flint receives a minor injury in the battle of Nassau Town and Silver is very shaken by it.

I wish for once we could stay gold by jaynovz:

Summary: Madi has discovered that pirates truly are a grimy bunch, but her two have managed to keep fairly clean the last few months when they had access to fresh water.

The governor’s mansion is filled with bustle, men scurrying about, seeking answers from both Captain Flint and their new King, but there is time enough to steal them away. Time enough this evening for some respite, to cleanse the grief and violence from the last few days alongside the dirt.

Good Morning by bana05:

Summary: As Madi prepares to take care of her lovers, they instead decide to take care of her first.

the only way out is the way back in by samedifference61:

Summary: And Silver obviously means to further agitate Flint’s state when he says, “Do you know what she said to me this morning? She said, ‘I cannot understand why the two of you have not been intimate yet.’”

a shared bath, a conversation about death, and a promise

a three way knot by jauneclair:

Summary: Flint knits; Silver pries; and Madi secretly doesn't mind at all.

your heart is the only place I call home by vowelinthug:

Summary: Madi learns the secret of John Silver's past: he used to be the worst.

pass on your way, then, with a smiling face by youremyqueen:

Summary: Flint sleeps in the spare room until he doesn't.

join your hands to your hearts by jauneclair:

Summary: Madi's approach to diplomacy in negotiating relationships is not what Flint expected.

Two Points In Space by illgiveyouallofme:

Summary: Since Silver returned from the dead, Madi has watched him and Flint dance around each other. She decides to take matters into her own hands.

And then everyone takes some things into their own hands.

--

As always, if you have a potential inclusion, feel free to DM me and I will check it out! Thanks.

[docpiplup]

#JON SNOW FORTNIGHT EVENT 2023 @asoiafcanonjonsnow

DAY 10: ECHOES OF THE PAST 🗝️📜 (1/2) ->

Historical parallels with Medieval bastard Kings.

Nowadays, ‘bastard’ is used as an insult.

Being born to unmarried parents is largely free of the kind of stigma and legal incapacities once attached to it in Western cultures, but it still has echoes of shame and sin. The disparagement of children born outside of marriage is often presumed to be a legacy of medieval Christian Europe, with its emphasis on compliance with Catholic marriage law.

Yet prior to the 13th century, legitimate marriage or its absence was not the key factor in determining quality of birth. Instead, what mattered was the social status of the parents – of the mother as well as of the father. Being born to the right parents, regardless of whether they were married according to the strictures of the church, made a child seem more worthy of inheriting parents’ lands, properties and titles.

It’s not until the late 12th century that evidence for the exclusion of children from succession on the grounds of illegitimate birth first appears. ‘Bastard’, as we now understand it, began to emerge here.

Importantly, this shift in the meaning and implications of illegitimacy did not arise as an imposition of Church doctrine. Instead, ordinary litigants began exploiting bits of Church doctrine to suit their own ends. Perhaps the earliest signs of this can be found in the annals of English legal history, with the Anstey case of the 1160s. This might have been the first time an individual was barred from inheriting because her parents had married illegally. And it happened not because the Church intervened, but because one clever plaintiff figured out how to exploit some scraps of theological doctrine. After that time, more and more plaintiffs began to do the same.

For example, towards the end of the 12th century, a regent countess of Champagne rushed to make use of an allegation of illegitimate birth against her nieces, in an effort to secure her son’s succession. Daughters could inherit in this region, and so these sisters did have a claim to the county once ruled by their late father. But the regent countess denounced the sisters as the product of an illegal marriage and therefore not legitimate heirs of their father. The strategy worked in that both daughters did eventually renounce their claims to the county, but not without first obtaining a great deal of money, enough to make them both extremely wealthy. As this suggests, the papacy had a far more passive role than is often imagined.

As bastardy began to acquire its modern meaning, in the early 13th century, it remained the case that the papacy focused on the regulation of illicit unions rather than the exclusion from succession or inheritance of those born to illicit unions. Hatred of illicit sex did trump dynastic politics on occasion. Hatred of the children born to such unions did not. There is very little evidence to suggest that an interest in keeping illegitimate children from inheriting noble or royal title outweighed political or practical considerations in the same way that the policing of illegal marriages sometimes did.

Understanding the changing meanings of bastardy helps us to arrive at a clearer picture of the workings and priorities of medieval society before the 13th century. Society then did not operate subject to rigid Christian canon law rules. Instead, it measured the value of its leaders based on their claims to celebrated ancestry, and the power attached to that kind of legitimacy. To be sure, marrying legitimately certainly received a good deal of lip service throughout the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, in this pre-13th-century world, the most intense attention was paid not to the formation of legitimate marriages, but to the lineage and respectability of mothers. Only beginning in the second half of the 12th century did birth outside of lawful marriage begin to render a child illegitimate, a ‘bastard’, and as such potentially ineligible to inherit noble or royal title.

Source

Well, George R.R. Martin has been using real life historical events as an inspiration for creating the lore of A Song of Ice and Fire, more concretely English and Western Late Medieval Europe history for Westeros, and it was precisely in the Late Middle Ages when the legal situation for bastards worsened by reinforcing marriage and legitimacy laws, reinforcing concubinates to disappear and laws to avoid any kind of polygamy.

In Westerosi society there's the stigma that comes from being born as a bastard, they're said to be born from lust, lies, and weakness, and as such, they are said to be wanton and treacherous by nature, and although they could get some prominent position either in the Citadel, the Kingsguard, Night's Watch or the Faith, they are generally discriminated by other Westerosi (except in Dorne, where there's tolerance towards bastards) and they rarely inherit his father's titles nor become kings. In the Asoiaf lore, there's recording of a bastard of a Bracken and a Blackwood, Benedict Waters, who founded the House of Justman and became King of the Trident as Benedict I; as well as Alyn Velaryon, a Velaryon bastard who was legitimised and became Lord of the Tides after The Dance of Dragons.

Till the events of the published books, Jon has reached the position as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and King Beyond the Wall in all but in name, two positions he has been chosen for.

But he would not have the possibility to inherit any title as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North/King in the North as a bastard, unless someone legitimised him, like Robb did in his Will. Jon has the chance of standing as a candidate for the Northern Succession Council after defeating the Boltons.

So, if The North stays away from the Iron Throne, Jon would be a good candidate for Lord of Winterfell and King in The North, but the question is... Is there any historical example of bastards who became kings?

Yes, there are, and in this meta we're going to down through history and remember those kings. This list probably doesn't include all of the bastard kings, just a selection, if you know about some more, feel free to share it.

The most common concept for bastardy is a child born of parents who were not married when the child was born, so firstly we'll list a few kings who are included in that group, as we consider Jon as Eddard Stark's bastard or Rhaegar and Lyanna's.

Their circumstances in which those kings got to throne are diverse, but we'll get into them searching for any simmilarities between Jon's story and their lifes.

Let's start, the list is on chonological order, and we'll notice that after the 13th century the amount of bastard kings is less, like we cited at the beginning of this meta.

8th Century

-> Mauregato I of Asturias (719-788), who reigned during the late 8th century, between 783 and 788, and was the son of Alfonso I of Asturias and a Muslim concubine or servant named Sisalda. He took the throne when the nobility had declared his nephew Alfonso II of Asturias as Silo's successor, although he probablyhad support of some parts of the nobility. He wed Creusa and had a son with her, Hermenegildo. Bermudo I was elected as King of Asturias after Mauregato died.

The identity of Mauregato's mother is a bit unclear, but her being a Muslim servant is considered a common statement, so his parents followed religions, Christianism and Islam, like Rhaegar and Lyanna, the Faith and the Old Gods.

Plus as happened to Mauregato, Jon may have some problems of nobles in the Northern Great Council because he's bastard and the other candidates would have support for being legimate, although they are kids, they would need a regent, that could be beneficial for them to control the North if they want to, but maybe some other members of the Council suggest or support Jon as their leader.

11th Century

-> Ramiro I of Aragon (1006/7-1063), natural son of Sancho III of Pamplona and Sancha de Aybar. His father Sancho splited his domains and passed down one of them to his sons; from the offspring she had with his wife Muniadona of Castile: García III inherited the Kingdom of Pamplona, Ferdinand I of Leon inherited the county of Castile and Gonzalo inherited the counties of Ribagorza & Sobrarbe; and Ramiro received the county of Aragon, and he annexed the counties of Ribagorza & Sobrarbe Gonzalo died. He unified the three counties to create the Kingdom of Aragon. His relationship with his siblings was complex, due to the rivalry between them for their kingdoms, initially Ramiro tried to conquer Pamplona but he was defeated by García III, and later Ramiro allied with García and his son Sancho IV against Ferdinand I.

His reign lasted 28 years.

Ramiro married Ermesinda of Foix and Agnes of Aquitaine, their offspring was: Sancho I of Aragon & V of Pamplona, Sancha, García, Urraca and Theresa, and he had a son named Sancho out of wedlock.

-> Magnus I " the Good" of Norway and Denmark (1024 - 1047), son of Olaf II of Norway and English concubine named Alvhild. His reign lasted 12 years. When he was 4 year old, his father was dethroned by Cnut the Great, and then his family travelled through other courts seeking shelter but finally they stablished in at the court of the Grand Prince Yaroslav I of Novgorod, where he grew up, was trained as a warrior and was educated in Old Russian and  Greek. Olaf was killed when he reurned to Scandinavia to fight for the throne. When Cnut left for England wife Ælfgifu and their son Svein as regents, Magnus and his supporters return to Norway and he was proclaimed king of Norway. Another son of Cnut, Harthacnut of Denmark, reclaimed Norway, but after Harthacnut died Magnus took his kingdom, but he had to face another pretender Sweyn II, Cnut's nephew, whom Magnus battled against using his father's battle axe, Hel, and he was successful, but died, and Sweyn II succeeded him as King of Denmark and Harald III as King of Norway.

-> William I the Conqueror (1028-1087), illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy and Herleva of Falaise. He was duke of Normandy and conqueror and king of England.

He started the conquest of England after his cousin, Edward the Confessor died without issue, and Harold II inherited the English throne, but he was defeated and William became the first king of England of the House of Normandy.

William and his wife Matilda of Flanders had 9 children: Robert I of Normandy, Richard, William II of England, Henry I ofEngland, Adelaide, Cecily, Matilda, Constance and Adela .

William seems to be the inspiration for Aegon I the Conqueror and his bastard brother Orys Baratheon, but he could have in common with Jon in becoming kings after their cousins died without issue (i.e. Robb) and having to defeat someone else to become kings, i.e. Jon helping Stannis to defeat the Boltons.

-> Harald III "Hen" of Denmark (1040-1080), illegitimate son of Sweyn II of Denmark and a concubine, Thora.

After Sweyn II died, Harald got elected over his brother Cnut by an assembly, and faced opposition from his brothers during his reign. He ruled over 6 years, he's known to be a peaceful ruler and introduced some monetary and legal reforms like substituting trial by combat or trial by ordeal and replace it with avsystem used by the English of calling upon honorable men to swear oaths on behalf of the parties in a trial.

Harald was married to his cousin Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, but did not leave any heirs, and was succeeded by his brother Canute IV.

-> Cnut IV "the Holy" of Denmark (1040-1086), illegitimate son of Sweyn II of Denmark with an unknown concubine. He succeeded his brother Harald.

Cnut is considered an ambitious and strict king, ruled during 6 years, limited the power of the nobility, gave great concession and donations to the Church, and took the property of a great quantity of common land for himself or the Church. He raided England a few times and created a fleet to invade it, since he considered William I an usurper, but on his way to lead the invasion, he was killed during a peasant revolt.

After he died, he was succeeded by his brother Olaf I of Denmark.

Cnut married Adela of Flanders. They had three children: Charles I of Flanders and the twin sisters Cæcilia and Ingerid. Ingerid's descendants, the House of Bjelbo, would ascend to the throne of Sweden and Norway and Canute IV's blood returned to the Danish throne in the person of Olaf II of Denmark.

->Olaf I "Hunger" of Denmark (c. 1050 – 1095) illegitimate son of Sweyn II of Denmark with an unknown concubine.

In his early years he was set aside and mistreatred and exiled by his brothers, who Ferrer he could be a political rival against them.

He succeeded his brother Cnut IV, and his reign lasted 9 years, that were plagued by several consecutive years of crop failure and famine.

Olaf married Ingegard of Norway, they didn't have any offspring, so he was succeeded by his brother Erik I.

11th Century/12th Century

-> Erik I " Evergood" of Denmark (c. 1060 – 1103), illegitimate son of Sweyn II of Denmark with an unknown concubine.

When he was young he was a supporter of his brother Cnut IV. After Olaf died, Erik was elected as new king.

Erik reign lasted 8 years, he was well liked by people, he was considered a strapping young man and a good speaker and diplomat, and ruthless towards pirates and robbers. Erik had a reputation as a loud man who liked parties, and even killed four of his men while he was drunken during one of his parties, and so he procced to go on pilgrimsge to Holy Land, journey in which he died. His brother Niels succeeded him.

Erik married Boedil Thurgotsdatter and had one legitimate son with her, Canute Lavard, father of Vademar I of Denmark. Eric had four children out of wedlock, Erik II of Denmark, Benedict, Harald Kesja and Ragnhilde, mother of Erik III of Denmark.

-> Niels I of Denmark (c. 1065 – 25 June 1134) illegitimate son of Sweyn II of Denmark with an unknown concubine. He was the last son of Sweyn to become king.

He was described as mild and forthcoming, though not a competent ruler.

Niels married Margaret Fredkulla, and had two children with her, Inge Nielsen and Magnus I of Sweden. He had a daughter born out of wedlock, Ingerd of Denmark.

During the majority of Niels' reign, 30 years, Denmark had internal peace, only broken when his son Magnus was forced from the Swedish throne and a conflict erupted between Magnus and his cousin Cnut Lavard, due to his popularity. After Magnus slew Cnut, Erik II took his brother's place in the conflict, and Niels supported Magnus.

Niels and Magnus died during the civil war and Erik II became king of Denmark.

-> Erik II "the Memorable" of Denmark (c.  1090– 1137 ), illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark with an unknown concubine.

Erik the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niels, and was declared king in 1134.

He punished his adversaries severely, and rewarded his supporters handsomely, as he was considered a harsh and unpopular ruler, he only ruled Denmark 3 years. He was killed by a subject in 1137 and was promptly succeeded by his nephew Erik III of Denmark.

Erik married Malmfred of Kiev, they had no issue, but Erik had a son with his concubine Thunna, Sweyn III of Denmark.

12th Century

-> Sweyn III of Denmark (1125-1157), illegitimate son of Erik II of Denmark and a concubine named Thunna.

He was elected king after Erik III of Denmark abdicated.

In 1154, Sweyn was overthrown by an alliance between Canute and Valdemar, who was crowned Canute's co-ruler as Valdemar.

This prompted the Danish magnates to force through a tripartition of the kingdom into Jutland, Zealand, and Scania. Sweyn chose first, and was made the ruler of Scania.

After that Sweyn organised apeace banquet, in which Sweyn planned on killing his two co-rulers, and succeeded in having Canute killed, but Valdemar escaped. After that Valdemar and Sweyn battled, Sweyn was killed while he was scaping from the battle. Valdemar I was proclaimed king of all Denmark.

Sweyn married Adela of Meissen, daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, and Luitgard of Ravenstein. They had two children Erik and Luitgard, who married Berthold I of Istria.

->Tancred I of Sicily ( 1138 – 1194), or Tancred of Lecce, illegitimate son of Roger III, duke of Apulia, eldest son of Roger II of Sicily, and his mistress Emma of Lecce.

Tancred was born in Lecce and inherited the county from his grandfather.

With his bastard uncle Simon plotted to remove William II, legitimate son of Roger II, but failed and went to exile.

Years after, Tancred returned to Sicily he swore fealty to his aunt Constance I as William II's heiress, Tancred rebelled and was crowned as King of Sicily. Constance I and her husband the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV fought against Tancred. Tancred died during the war after 5 years of reign, and was briefly succeeded by his son William III, who was soon captured and executed by orders of Henry IV.

Tancred had married Sybilla of Acerra, an their children were: Roger III, William III, Elvira, Constance, Medania and Valdrada.

13th Century

->Manfred I of Sicily (1232 – 1266), natural son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II with Bianca Lancia, legitimised later by his father.

Manfred became regent over the kingdom of Sicily on behalf of his nephew Conradin. As regent he subdued rebellions in the kingdom, until in 1258 he usurped Conradin's rule. After an initial attempt to appease Pope Innocent IV he took up the ongoing conflict between the Hohenstaufens and the papacy through combat and political alliances. He defeated the papal army at Foggia. Manfred was excommunicated by three successive popes, Manfred was the target of a Crusade called by the Popes Alexander IV and Urban IV.

Urban received the help of Charles of Anjou in overthrowing Manfred. Manfred was killed during his defeat by Charles at the Battle of Benevento, and Charles became King of Sicily as Charles I after having executed Conradin.

Manfred had married Beatrice of Savoy and Helena Angelina Doukaina, their children were Constance II of Sicily, Beatrice, Henry, Anselm and Frederick. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Flordelis.

His daughter Constance II married Peter III of Aragon, and with their supporters in the island of Sicily fought against Charles I, who, of the whole kingdom (the Kingdom of Sicily in that period was formed by Naples and the island of Sicily) now controlled only Naples, and Constance II and her children gained Sicily, that later became part of the Crown of Aragon, and their descendants Kings of Aragon annexed Naples some generations later, and Naples and Sicily were ruled by the same king again under the reigns of Alfonso V and his nephew Ferdinand II of Aragon & his descendants.

14th Century

-> Henry II "the Fratricidal" of Castile (1334-1379), or Henry of Trastámara, illegitimate son of Alfonso XI of Castile and his mistress Leonor de Guzmán.

Henry was the fourth of ten illegitimate children of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor de Guzmán, a great-granddaughter of Alfonso IX of León. He was born a twin to Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro, and was the first boy born to the couple that survived to adulthood.

At birth, he was adopted by Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias. Rodrigo died the following year and Henry inherited his lordship of Noreña. His father later made him Count of Trastámara and lord over Lemos and Sarria in Galicia, and the towns of Cabrera and Ribera, which constituted a large and important heritage in the northwest of the peninsula. It made him the head of the new Trastámara dynasty, a bastard branch from the Castilian branch of House Burgundy.

Alfonso XI gave Eleanor many titles and privileges for their children. This caused discontent among many of the noblemen and in particular the queen, Maria of Portugal, and her son Peter I of Castile.

When Peter I succeeded his father, Henry and his siblings revolted several times and were on a intermittent wars during Peter I's reign, in which Henry was supported by Peter IV of Aragon and Charles V of France.

Henry had numerous lovers, Leonor Álvarez, Elvira Íñiguez, Beatriz Fernández, Beatriz Ponce de León y Jérica, Juana de Sousa, Juana de Cárcamo and Juana de Cifuentes, and had in total 13 bastard children: Alfonso, Eleanor, Joanna, Constance, Ferdinand, Mary, Fadrique, Beatrice, Henry, Peter, Isabella, Inés and Joanna.

Henry married Juana Manuel de Villena and they had three children, John I of Castile, Eleanor and Joanna.

In 1369 Henry II defeated and killed his brother Peter I, and became the first king of House Trastámara. During his 10 year reign he faced opposition from Ferdinand I of Portugal and Constance of Castile, Peter I's daughter, and her husband John of Gaunt. Henry II was succeeded by his son John I of Castile

Due to his alliance with Peter IV of Aragon, John I of Castile wed Peter's daughter, Eleanor of Aragon, two of his children were Henry III of Castile and Ferdinand I of Aragon, and so House Trastámara ruled over the Crowns of Castile and Aragon.

14th Century/15th Century

->John I "of Fond Memory" or "the Great" or "the Good" of Portugal (1357-1433), John of Avis, natural son of Peter I of Portugal and Teresa Guille Lourenço. He's the founder and first king of House of Avis, bastard branch from the Portuguese branch of House Burgundy.

His first important charge was Great Master of the Order of Avis, and years after, when Succession Crisis broke out, John ended up being crowned as King of Portugal. John I ruled Portugal over 48 years, the most extensive reign of all Portuguese monarch, and m9st of its reign was able to rule in peace and concentrate on the economic development and territorial expansion. He was succeeded by his son Edward I of Portugal.

It maybe a coincidence, but it's interesting the contrast between Jon and Ramsay, both being Northern bastards, but Ramsay it's like the personification of the Westerosi prejudices against bastards, Ramsay Bolton was legitimised and became his father's heir because he (allegedly) poisoned and killed his trueborn brother Domeric, meanwhile Jon will be KITN because Robb died due to the Bolton-Frey treason and in his will he legitimised and declared Jon as his heir, and in that way there's the parallel between Jon and Ramsay and John I of Portugal and Henry II of Castile, John seemed to have a good relationship with his brother Ferdinand I of Portugal and after the Succession war he became the next king, and Henry II didn't get along with his brother Peter I and he became king after he killed him.

This is a brief introduction, the next part of the meta it'll be dedicated fully to John I of Portugal and his parallels with Jon Snow.

15th Century

->Ferdinand I of Naples (1423-1494), illegitimate son of Alfonso V of Aragon and his mistress Gueraldona Carlino. Ferdinand I of Naples was named after his grandfather Ferdinand I of Aragon, first king of Crown of Aragon from House Trastámara.

His father had conquered Naples after defeating René I and stablished in Naples during most of the rest of his life there since he left in charge his wife and cousin Mary of Castile and his brother John for the government of Aragon when he was away in Italy. Alfonso didn't have legitimate children, he only had three children with his mistress, Ferdinand being the eldest.

So, Alfonso managed to declare his son as heir of Naples, with some alliances with the local nobility, like a marriage between Ferdinand and Isabella of Chiaramonte, and the rest of the Crown of Aragon was inherited by John II of Aragon.

Ferdinand I had to face opposition from foregain royalty and nobility and some local barons who didn't accept Ferdinand' reforms and ambitions and because he was a bastard and he limited they power, and often allied against him, like Pope Callixtus III, John of Anjou, Mariano Marzano, the Angevines, his cousin Charles of Viana (John's II eldest son, although John II accepted his nephew's kingship), among others.

John II of Aragon sent a fleet to support of his nephew against the Angevines, and when the Catalan nobility offered the Aragonese crown to René I during the Catalan civil war, sent troops in support.

Ferdinand had married Isabella of Taranto and his cousin Joanna of Aragon, their offspring was Alfonso II of Naples, Eleanor, Frederick I of Naples, John, Beatrice, Francesco and Joanna, who married his nephew Ferdinand II of Naples.

He had several children with his mistresses Diana Guardato, Marchesella Spitzata, Piscicella Piscicelli, Eulalia Ravignano and Giovannella Caracciolo: Mary, Joanna, Ilaria, Henry, Mary, Alonso, Cesare, Maria Cecilia, Lucrezia, Ferdinand, Mary and Joanna.

He was a very passionate man, he had an almost pathological attraction towards young women and, despite the numerous lovers and concubines, he loved very much his wife Isabella of Taranto, a woman of exceptional virtues, whose death greatly afflicted him. As a father he was very present and very fond of his offspring, especially known is the strong affection shown for his daughters.

Despite the odds, Ferdinand I ruled Naples during 36 years and brought peace and prosperity to Naples, although he had to deal with opponent powers like the Ottoman Empire, France, the Republic of Venice and the Papal States.

He was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the time and an important figure of the Italian Renaissance, Ferdinand promoted Renaissance culture and art with his patronage, surrounding himself with numerous artists and writers who flourished in his kingdom, introducted the art of silk and printing, the King showed enthusiasm for music and established in Naples the first musical school in Italy and one of the first in Europe. Ferdinand expanded the very rich royal library founded by his father in Castel Capuano and grow at an impressive rate, thanks to purchases, gifts and the confiscation of the collections of the rebel barons.

He issued various social laws that undermined the excessive power of the Barons, favoring small artisans and peasants. This work of modernization and the resistance he put up against them led to the outbreak of the famous revolt which was subsequently suffocated.

Recognized as one of the most powerful political minds of the time, a very skilled diplomat, stablished the hegemony of Naples over other Italian states, and a dense network of alliances and relationships with Italian and foreign sovereigns, through marriages of his illegitimate and legitimate and children.

After Ferdinand died he was succeeded by his son Alfonso II of Naples, who in turn abdicated very soon in favor of his own son Ferdinand II of Naples.

To expand the list, there's another case of bastardy, in which their parents' marriage was declared null or invalid, if we're considering the possibility that Rhaegar and Lyanna secretly and it could be considered invalid because Rhaegar was already married to Elia and maybe the lack of credible witness make that the wedding could be considered questionable, so for a great sector of the society would be considered a bastard (i.e. The Faith).

9th Century/10th Century

->Athelstan of England (894-939), first king of England, son Edward of Wessex and Egwina. Their parents married, but due to his mother low status, their marriage got annulled. Athelstan succeeded to the throne of Wessex after his brother King Ethelweard, son of Edward and Ælfflæd of Wessex, died.

Aethelstan is known for being a great diplomat, strategist and reformer, created a strong system of alliances, istarted being king of Wessex and anexxed the other six English kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Sussex and Essex. He never wed and ha no children, so after he died, his brother Edmund I, eldest son of Edward and his third wife, Edgiva, succeeded him.

The English Heptarchy seems to be the inspiration for the Seven Kingdoms, and it's an interesting datail that a bastard from a kingdom, started becoming king of that kingdom and then he ruled the seven kingdoms , as Jon could be proclaimed King in the North, for fighting the Others, he'll have to try to convince and unify the rest of Westeros to survive the War for the Dawn.

11th Century

->Harold I of England (1016-1040), son of Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, Norway, Sweden & England, and Ælfgifu Ælfhelmsdotter. His parents got married by the Danish law, but once Cnut converted to Cristianism and conquered England, married Emma of Normandy, who was considered as his only wife by the Church. Harthacnut, son of Cnut and Emma, left Harold as regent of England while he was away, and later Harold was proclaimed king of England. Harold ruled for four years and sixteen weeks, when he died, Harthacnut took the control of the English throne. Harold married Ælfgifu, and had a son, Ælfwine, but he became a monk.

One of the speculations within the fandom about Rhaegar and Lyanna is that there could have been a secret wedding, maybe it could have been in front of a weirwood in the Isle of Faces following the Northern wedding custumes, in contrast of Rhaegar marring Elia by the Faith of the Seven ceremony.

12th Century/13th Century

->Ferdinand III " the Saint" of Castile ( 1199/1201 – 1252), son of Alfonso IX of Leon and Berenguela I of Castile, their marriage was annulled due to the consanguinity between them. He's the first king of the Crown of Castile, his reign lasted 35 years. Ferdinand III married Beatrice of Swabia and Joan of Dammartin. His children were: Alfonso X "The Wise" of Castile, Fadrique, Ferdinand, Eleonor, Berenguela, Henry, Philip, Manuel, Mary, Ferdinand, Eleonor, Louis, Simon and John.

13th Century/14th Century

->Ferdinand IV "the Summoned" of Castile (1285 - 1312), son of Sancho IV of Castile and Maria de Molina, their marriage got annulled due to consanguinity and because Sancho was betrothed to another woman, although Pope Boniface VIII legitimised Sancho and Maria union when Ferdinand IV was already king. His reign lasted 16 years. Ferdinand IV married Constance of Portugal, their children were: Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleonor of Castile, wife of Alfonso IV of Aragon.

15th Century

-> Edward V of England (1470-1483), eldest son of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. His siblings and him were declared as bastards by their uncle Richard III alleged that Edward and Elizabeth was null because there was a promise of marriage from Edward IV to Eleanor Talbot, to get his nephew out of succession. He didn't married and had children since he was 12 when he died.

In this case, Edward V's circumstances seems to have inspired Joffrey's as well as Young Griff and Bran's partially. Stannis states that Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are bastards and claims to be the rightful king of Westeros, like Richard III did with his brother's children and now he's trying to make it to the Iron Throne; Bran's part could be inspired by the Princes in the Tower event, in which Edward and his younger brother Richard were imprisioned and probably killed by orders of their uncle, and there were rumors during the following years that maybe one of the brothers scaped, fuelled with pretenders who claimed to be some of the princes, like Perkin Warbeck. In ASOIAF, Theon captures Winterfell and kills the miller's sons to pretend he has killed Bran and Rickon, although they had escaped and in the future the rest of The North is going to know they alived when they return to Winterfell; Young Griff claims to be Aegon VI, Rhaegar and Elia's baby son who was murdered by The Mountain during the Sack of King's Landing

In summary, after reading about the lives of these kings on the list, in many of them we can note the pattern of being elected in an assembly like the Danish kings or having to face adversaries that undermine their positions as kings for being bastards, sometimes by other relatives pretenders or the Church, like happened to most of them. And those are a couple of events that may happen to Jon in the future books, his rising to kingship probably being elected at the Northern Assembly, probably making negotiatons with the supporters of his other siblings i.e. Rickon being supported by the Manderlys, Sansa by Littlefinger and the Vale etc, but Jon could have the support of the Mountain Clans, the Mormonts, the Glovers, House Thenn and The Free Folk.

The meta doesn't end here, for the parallels between Jon and John I of Portugal click here.