#ironically i think the solution to this may lie in accepting his friend request so he can see my socialismposting and block me

[archiephd]

2024 already afflicting me with lesbian revelations

[samwpmarleau]

strange bedfellows: prelude

No matter how much they make love, Rhaegar’s seed will not quicken, and Elia is desperate for an heir with Aerys as her good-father. (x)

“I’m sure of it this time, Maester. I haven’t bled for two moons now.”

He is paid well, she knows, for in his face there is no annoyance or pity, only encouragement. “Well, let’s have a look.”

She had been sure, and even the maester hadn’t been able to conclusively refute her findings, but weeks continue to pass with no change, and then one morning Elia awakened to find her sheets spotted with blood—a normal amount, a monthly amount, nothing to indicate a lost child. Which would have been devastating, but at least then she’d know it was only a matter of time.

It’s been five years since she and Rhaegar wed, five years of regularly taking him into her bed and praying until her throat ran hoarse that she would finally bear his heir. The whispers have been growing stronger for ages: when they’re not about her health, they’re about how she must be broken, how it’s her fault nothing is quickening, how it serves the crown right for choosing a Dornishwoman as Rhaegar’s bride.

She grows sad at that. Throughout it all, he’s never once been unkind to her, nor blamed her, simply came to do his duty. But in the last year or two, she’s begun to see the strain, for he, too, feels the pressure behind needing a child. Especially with Aerys growing madder by the hour, in case anything happened to Rhaegar in the meanwhile, it’s imperative he leave a legacy.

Greeting the dawn, Elia wanders through the dreary halls of Dragonstone until she reaches Aegon’s Garden. Being winter, nothing especially beautiful is growing, but it’s quiet, and the plants don’t snicker at her. She sits on one of the stone benches, staring into the sparse flowerbeds and wondering what exactly would happen if she never bore Rhaegar a child. Oh, she’d be set aside, surely, but then what? Back to Sunspear to see if there are any men left who want a prince’s cast-off? Or else she’d live out her days as nothing more than an aunt, nothing to show for her efforts but failure.

The scent of iron and leather passes over her, and with a jolt she looks up at the passerby, only relaxing when she recognizes the face. A comely one, it has to be said, though usually always solemn. “Ser Arthur, what brings you here?”

“I have a gift for you, princess,” he says. In one of his hands he has a single wildflower bloom, bright yellow with a sunburst of white at the center. “Mother always said the brightest flowers bloom when winter is at its fiercest.”

“Ever the romantic, your mother.” She takes the flower from him anyway, twirling it between her fingers. “Is there some occasion I’ve missed?”

“No occasion, only a flower I happened upon and a maiden who looked like she might need it.”

His use of happened upon has her sighing. “Rhaegar sent you after me, didn’t he?”

“In a fashion,” he admits. “He wishes to speak with us and I knew where to find you.” At her confusion, he elaborates, “You used to hide away for hours in the gardens of Sunspear when you were unwell. You do the same here.”

Elia blinks, surprised at the information. She’d never told him that. Then again, there’s not much she has told him. They’d not spent a lot of time together during his squireship, what with having different interests and him engaged in training more often than not. He was always polite, though, she remembers that.

“What is it that ails you?” he asks.

“What usually ails me? I thought I was pregnant, again, and I’m not. Aerys grows madder by the hour, and I can’t give the realm a prince. Not for lack of trying, mind.”

He seems unsure of what to say to that. “Well, mayhaps Rhaegar has good news for you.”

She can’t possibly imagine what news would assuage her worries, but she has nothing to lose by meeting with him either. She and Arthur make their way to Rhaegar’s solar; as they enter, she can tell from the grave expression on Rhaegar’s face that this will not be the pleasant visit Arthur had proposed. They are both invited to sit.

“I hold the two of you in too high of regard to mince words, so let me get to it,” Rhaegar begins. “I need an heir. That much is for certain, as is the fact that thus far there has been no sign of one.” Elia flushes, but Rhaegar’s tone softens. “This is no aspersion on you. My mother had troubles conceiving after me, and when her womb did quicken, more often than not the child didn’t live long. But there is a decision that needs to be made.”

She knows where this is going. “I understand what you must do.”

“I very much doubt that,” says Rhaegar. “Many would say I must find a new wife, but I am not so callous, nor am I so sure that is the best solution. I’ve spoken candidly with the maester, who mentioned that sometimes it is…sometimes the deficiency does not lie with the wife. I’m quite fond of you, Elia. Your counsel and your company have been invaluable to me, and I don’t want to send you away, especially if you are not the problem.”

Her confusion only deepens. “What are you saying? You wish to try with someone new?”

She’d almost suggested it herself, more than once. It’s not a thought she ever particularly liked to entertain, but it was hardly without precedent. Fewer kings didn’t take mistresses than those who did.

“No. I want you to.”

For a moment, she’s as perplexed as ever. And then Rhaegar’s meaning hits her like a spear. She looks from Rhaegar to the seated Kingsguard, aghast. “Arthur? You want me to take Arthur as a paramour?”

Judging by how white Arthur has gone, he’d had no idea this was coming either. “Sire, I don’t—I don’t understand.”

“There are no options for me to pursue a woman outside the bonds of marriage without publicly declaring that bastards can now be in line for the throne, and I have no intention of following in Aegon the Unworthy’s footsteps.”

“How is this any different?” Elia asks weakly.

“Because no one would know.” Not bothering to restrain a grimace, he continues, “My heir would not be of my blood, it is true, but what other recourse do I have? I fear Viserys is more like our father than anyone would like, and I would rather impale myself than risk my pugnacious cousin of Storm’s End getting anywhere near the throne.”

“Why me?” Arthur asks from beside her. “I respect you, Your Grace, but this is…you want me to break my vows in the most egregious of ways. They would be shattered beyond repair. My integrity, my honor, everything.”

“I know,” says Rhaegar. “But you are the only one I would trust with this. And also…forgive me, but pragmatically, you are the only one. No matter what comes through, the child would look either Targaryen or Martell. There would be little room for suspicion.”

Arthur stares at his lap, as if to hide his damning purple eyes. All Rhaegar says is true, of course. Though Arthur has the pitch-black hair of his mother, his late father’s was a sandy blond. Outwardly, any feature could, theoretically, be passed off as inherited from Rhaegar.

For as much as her husband is concerned for her, Elia’s concern lies more for Arthur. Her part in all of this would not be particularly difficult. Arthur is kind, the brother of her dearest friend whom she’s known for most of her life, and not hard to look upon either. While she dislikes the underhanded, twisted nature of the situation, physically it would be no hard task to lie with him.

But Arthur…he would be going against every oath he’d sworn. He would father a babe he could never claim, carry the burden of knowing the future of House Targaryen would be borne of no Targaryen at all.

“You need not give me an answer now,” hastens Rhaegar, seeing Arthur’s burgeoning resentment. “Just please think on it.”

Arthur leaves the room so abruptly that his chair is nearly knocked over. The door slams, and Elia fixes Rhaegar with a withering glare. “You ask too much.”

“I did not come to this decision lightly,” he says. “You think I want to call as my heir a child that isn’t even mine? You think I want to spend every day praying rumors don’t spread? You think I want to face the possibility that it is I who’s barren? It’s shameful every way around. Yet what are my alternatives?” He runs a hand over his face, looking far older than his twenty-six years would suggest. “Do I ask too much of you?”

“Me? My life has not been easy, Rhaegar, but I do not think this needs to be counted amongst my trials. It is not me you should worry for.”

“Do you think he will accept?”

“I can’t say,” she replies honestly. “You’ve known him half your life—what do you think?”

For once, Rhaegar looks at a loss.

A week later, she is once more called into his solar; she’s alone, this time, which gives her a sense of foreboding. “You have received an answer, then?”

“Arthur has agreed. He told me this morning.”

“Just like that?”

“Not entirely. He did have one stipulation.”

“Which was?”

Rhaegar doesn’t have any particular expression on his face other than resignation. “If it works, he says he will wait until the baby’s born, to be sure of its health. After which, he has requested to be stationed back in the Red Keep and have Ser Oswell come to Dragonstone in his stead.”

“I didn’t realize he was so eager to leave.”

“He wasn’t,” Rhaegar says. “He doesn’t want to be around the child in case of a resemblance. I accepted, of course. It was a noble request.”

“Oh. Yes, that is very noble. How soon are we to begin?”

“I would rather not know the details,” Rhaegar says, “but the sooner the better.”

Tonight, then. She can’t help but feel rather like a broodmare. “I suppose you may tell him that I’ll see him later this evening.”

“Very well.”

The tension is too much to bear, and she excuses herself back to her chambers. Absurdly, her only clear thought is:

What shall I wear?

Part 2

[seekermusings-blog]

How a Small Mistake On Facebook Got My Startup Popular

My friend, Mayukh and I started Science Panorama two years ago, and we were extremely enthusiastic about what we were doing. There was very less of what could stop us from going to the top. We started as a science blog, and it was all gold and glitters we could see. Nothing seemed hard. I would write an article, he would write an article, and the few friends, we had in the team would write some more. We’d have had around 4-5 articles a week and the blog would run wonderfully. We were looking to reach as many people as possible.

Over the time, with all the Marketing gimmicks that worked on Social Media, the best one was ‘Free Giveaways’.

One random evening in November 2012, Mayukh called me up and said,

“Bro, Let’s give away free ebooks, I’ve got some great ones in my collection”.

Initially, I was reluctant, for obvious reasons. Didn’t seem like a great idea, but went with it anyways. We got together on a Skype call and decided on the titles we were going to give. The best one, and the one that seemed to have had an amazing readership over the years was ‘Cosmos’ By Carl Sagan. We went with it, we announced it on our Facebook Page. The deal was, “Like our page, and post on our wall in simple line saying, ‘I need the ebook’”. It was something anyone would have done to get a free copy of ‘Cosmos’. And guess what? Overnight, we got hundreds of likes and posts on our wall. And it kept pouring in the following days. Finally, we shared the book on Google Drive and shared it on Facebook so that our fans could download it.

Nothing was wrong until a few hours after posting it. Then the comments of protest against Copyright violation started pouring in. Oh, Boy! Trust me we hadn’t seen that coming. People started commenting things that could potentially jeopardize the reputation of the website over the coming years and we could’ve been sued for giving away the book for free. We immediately killed the link and took the book offline. But people wouldn’t shut up anyways. They continued criticizing. Apart from those who were furious about sharing the book, there were people unhappy about us taking the link down. Because we couldn’t stand up to the promise we had made. We apologized for sharing the book online and then apologized again to those whom we couldn’t give the book to. We actually trended No.1 on Reddit for a whole night under Science Topics for this blunder. And yeah, that got us loads of free exposure too.

At this time, I was just scrolling down our Facebook Page reading comments from people.

One particular comment struck me hard, (It got me furious. We never had intended on Copyright Violation or taking away breads and shit like that. We were just two teenagers trying to give away ebooks so we could increase our reach on Facebook). It read something like,  

“There are hundreds of people who make a living out of this, you cannot take it away. If you really want to share knowledge, why don’t you write your own book and then give it away for free? ”

Well, writing a book was far from our reach at that point. We couldn’t even write great articles, to be honest. But then, I something flashed to me-

Me and Mayukh had already worked on a magazine called ‘PDEP’. The creation of the magazine was what had brought me close to Mayukh. It was his idea, to publish a magazine that was free, to share ideas from people and publish articles that everyone could read for free. Well, until then I never knew I wanted to work on something like that, but when I got introduced to Mayukh in early 2012, I just got along with him on making the magazine for his Physics Blog. We had published it in May 2012 and it hadn’t really reached many people. Only a few hundred of them had actually downloaded and fewer had actually read it.

Now, seemed like a good idea to release it again. People were challenging us to write a book and publish it for free, we couldn’t do that. I said to Mayukh, “We have everything ready, Let’s just republish the magazine with a new name and design”. He agreed right away. We announced the same night that we were going to publish a magazine in the next few weeks and that it’d be free for everyone. Suddenly, all the furious comments turned into applause. People started congratulating us and appreciating for taking a bold decision to publish a magazine for free. More ‘likes’ poured in over the next few weeks while we were working on redesigning the magazine. To add icing on the cake, we requested physicists, Abhas Mitra and Maurice de Gosson to write feature stories for the magazine and they agreed. A hearty thanks to them.

All this took place between November 10th and December 26th, 2012 on the day when we released the magazine. We named it WIRE which was an acronym for Where Ideas Reach Everyone. We had left no stone unturned in spreading out a word that we were publishing a science magazine. Our fans had grown from 2.5k to 15k before the night of release, without even spending a penny on marketing.

Well, the whole thing did not work out as planned, but we ended up getting loads of love from people.

We got an amazing exposure. And over the next few months of release after the magazine, it got over 50000 downloads. I had very less expectations on the reach (Actually, We had thought we’d get somewhere around 8-10k downloads based on our Facebook Fans.) but it turned out to be huge. We got more popular over the next few months. We released the second issue of magazine on June 6th, to our 50,000 fans on Facebook.  

Why do you think it all worked out pretty well? I never expected to get thousands of likes and even publishing a magazine on the internet that was read by thousands of people was something I had never imagined. But I think, In all the happenings, I learnt some important lessons. I guess, We did a few things right. Here’s what I learnt,

Never be afraid of trying new things. You never know what it can do for you.

Be very conscious about grabbing opportunities that might lie under the problems you are facing. Beat the iron when it’s still hot. If we had never released the magazine when people protested, I think we’d have never grown this big and come this far. Beat the iron when it’s still hot.

Take quick decisions. Opportunities don’t wait for you to finish thinking about it.

Find a partner/cofounder who compliments you well and someone who trusts in your decisions and vice versa. This is very important. If you’re going to spend most of the time arguing about what to do, good things might have passed by you already.

Never be hesitant on making mistakes. Make mistakes, Fall down, but be sure to get up quick and fix things and keep moving forward.

More than anything, be sure to accept everything with a positive attitude. Everything problem can be solved if we concentrate more the solution than on the problem itself.