#it may seem like marriage and have a lot in common as marriage but its platonic!!!!!!!!!!

[nanzyn]

when you try to write a close, platonic relationship that includes a conversation about their relationship to one another and a deep partnership built on companionship but you know people are going to read it into a romantic relationship bc they want to turn every close male-male interaction into a romantic relationship

[weirdmorefics]

So Very Basic- Spencer Reid X Reader

A/N- This may have just been an excuse for me to infodump about Pride and Prejudice but I swear the fic is still good! Reader is also very Autistic coded but I am Autistic so that happens a lot when I write hope you don't mind.

Pronouns- She/her

Tooth-Rooting Fluff

Word Count- 822

Summary- Spencer judging your book tastes on the jet back home.

Spencer and I have made it a habit of sitting next to each other every flight home. We usually talk about the recent books we have finished or are currently reading. Sometimes we just sit in silence and read together. These are my favorite moments in my life I never feel calmer in the jet with Spencer by my side or across from me. This time it felt different though Spencer's eyes have not left me once I swear he hadn't flipped a page of his book.

"Hey Spence, What's your book about?" I say trying to hint at the fact that I can obviously see he has not flipped a single page.

He seemed startled by my sudden question but proceeded to tell me the entire synopsis of his book.

I slam my book shut and shout, "You have read that book already!"

He seemed perplexed by my reaction "There is no rule against rereading books I think authors would prefer you reread their works."

I groan, "There is when you spend the whole flight staring at me distracting me from my book."

Spencer flushes and I am one hundred percent sure I am right now.

"Hotch the children are fighting again!" Rossi shouts like a mother making me shake my head at him.

"Hotch Spence is poking meee," Emily teases in her best Y/N impersonation. JJ of course joins in playing the role of Spencer, "I am not Y/n." She draws out my name.

Spencer and I look as red as two tomatoes and my safe space has turned into an inescapable nightmare.

He leans in and whispers in my ear, "You know this is your fault for picking the most basic Jane Austen novel."

I gasp dramatically which of course just causes more stares from the team.

Derek sighed knowing this Y/n gasp all too well, "Pretty boy what are you doing offending Y/n? Do you want to listen to another one of her defensive rants for thirty minutes?"

"I quite enjoy them," Spencer smiles.

Rossi rolls his eyes, "You would."

I stand up, "Pride and Prejudice is beautiful from its book, it's movie, and it's BBC Special!"

JJ sighs," Here she goes."

"The drama in the book is spectacular as it delves into each sister's feelings about marriage and how at the time it was their only option. Don't even get me started on the twenty-seven with no prospects speech! Oh my goodness Darcy is the perfect match for Elizabeth with them both being so headstrong makes for the best enemies to lovers! Speaking of Darcy in the film when he does that hand-clench thing it was not even in the book! It wasn't even scripted! Which made me feel he was the perfect actor for Darcy he understood the role perfectly!" I ramble out putting my hand on my chest the rest of the team is annoyed at another one of my outbursts but Spencer is looking at me like I am the only person on the plane and I flush when I meet his eyes.

Hotch shouts at me, "L/N would you sit down we are about to go into a patch of turbulence." He of course says this too late and I embarrassingly fall on top of Spencer.

I immediately try to scramble off Spencer but he holds me there. I look away from him trying to hide my flushed face and he asks if I am alright.

"Yup, just mortified but everybody needs a good daily dose of that am I right." I smile trying to play it off but I play with my hair a common tell of mine that everyone in the BAU knows by now.

"You know I have never seen the Pride and Prejudice film," Spencer says slyly.

My eyes light up "You must see it! It's on Netflix I have seen it over a hundred times! I can probably quote all the words by now."

"I actually don't have Netflix I don't really watch television," He rubs the back of his neck.

"That's fine I could totally bring my laptop to you to watch it! Or we could watch it at my apartment!" I ramble out coming off more excited than I meant to.

"That sounds great," Spencer smiles, "Do you really know all the words you could recite some now?" He teases.

I turn the deepest red I think I have ever been in my life and of course, Derek has to jump in.

"Oh pretty boy has moves," he whistles.

Spence rolls his eyes "Shut up Morgan."

"Could we all shut up? Some of us like to rest so we can actually focus on work when we get back." Hotch says in his typical annoyed-with-us voice.

"I guess reciting Pride and Prejudice to you will have to wait," I whisper into Spencer's ear it was finally my time to make him blush.

[elysiansparadise]

Synastry Observations VI

🟫When your Rising falls in others 12th house tells us about a mirror relationship, I would dare to say that it is even more mirroring than if it fell in the 7th house. It may be an unpopular opinion, but if we analyze it, the 12th house is a house that tells us about the hidden, what we hide and/or repress from ourselves. You will be the reflection of the other person in terms of what he does not show, either due to fear or personal insecurities. In this relationship, you will help them to open up more, to show themselves in a transparent way and not to be ashamed of being who they are. They will feel drawn to precisely because you will be the reflection of what they feel they do not have or have not known before. You will help them to know sensations, feelings and things that they did not know or that they subconsciously refused or did not believe they deserved (i.e. to be loved, to have a good friendship, to open up, etc).

🟫If you have a stellium and it falls into a house of your partner that does not have planets, you can help them find a deeper meaning to the themes that that house rules, and you will help them develop the themes of that house more easily. But, if that stellium falls in the house where your North Node is, it is very likely that what you live together will be a very important part of your own development, you will teach you important and decisive lessons in your life and you will be able to begin to be the version of them that they themselves have as a goal to be.

🟫When a person's Jupiter is making a conjunction, trine or sextile with your Rising, you will notice that with its presence your spirits will improve a lot, that your perception of life will be better and more positive and that you will see yourself in a more constructive, optimistic and beneficial to yourself. This person, in addition to bringing you new perspectives, will help you develop self-esteem and encourage you to be more independent and authentic. Contrary to what you might think, this person will love all sides of your personality, even the ones you're ashamed of or don't share with others (it's enhanced if their Jupiter falls in your 12th house but it's conjunct Rising).

🟫The opposition between Moon-Moon is a fairly common aspect in marriages or long lasting relationships. This is because their emotional needs are more similar than they seemed, despite the small differences at the beginning, they understand the other and treat them with sweetness and delicacy. They may have similar ideas about family life and their ideologies about traditions. However, they have a somewhat different way of showing their emotions and finding comfort. Despite this, one of the purest and sweetest expressions can arise.

🟫When your Venus is conjunct their North Node, the romance that you experience will be something very significant for them, something that will mark them deeply and something that they will remember for a long time. This aspect indicates that both will bring out their romantic side much more easily than they would with other people. They will love each other sweetly and with a touch of passion and they will share many hobbies and preferences, their way of loving will be similar and they will teach each other that it is possible to have a nice and tender romance.

🟫If Sun or Moon are conjunct IC, no matter if it's on 3rd or 4th house, the planet person will play a crucial role in the life of the IC person. CI is the most sensitive point of the entire chart, so anything that comes into contact with this point will be very important for the person's life. The Sun/Moon person becomes the soft spot of the other, provokes in him emotions that he probably never imagined he would feel, or at least with that intensity. They become very memorable to the IC person and it will hardly be possible for them to forget them.

🟫If your Rising falls in their 3rd house, they will be very intrigued by you from the start. You are probably at first that stranger they saw on one occasion that they can hardly stop thinking about. Once they get to know each other better, they will think that you are a very witty, creative and intelligent person, someone with whom they share opinions that they consider crucial and a person with whom it is easy for them to spend hours and hours talking. They seem delighted by the way you express yourself and even if they are very quiet or reserved, they will become very chatty if you are around them and they will talk to you a lot about the way they see you and what you mean to them.

🟫When you have the North Node squaring the other's North Node it is usually indicating that you will teach each other important lessons, especially related to ego and balance. Both will be taught patience and perseverance, to learn to discern when it is valuable to fight for something and when it is not. In case these people want the other in their life, they can put a lot of focus and desire in the relationship, even if external factors want to get in the way.

🟫In case the Nodes are positively aspected (trine or sextile) we find a relationship in which they mutually help each other to achieve what they want, it is very usual for these people to be that peace after the turbulence, things can be more fluid than what they perceive from the outside world. Both will help each other grow and will be very understanding of what the other feels and thinks.

🟫When your Rising falls in someone's 9th house it indicates that this person sees you positively, as a very charming, fun and radiant person like a ray of sunshine. You make him feel and think that there are still good and well-intentioned people in the world. You have a knack for inspiring them and opening their minds, they may feel more open to receiving new ideas, especially if they come from you. They see you as a teacher and as a person who subconsciously motivates them to be a better version of themselves.

🟫Many people either take this aspect as a downfall or do not give it much importance. When it comes to a square between Moon-Venus both people can teach each other new things in terms of relationships. The basis of this aspect is that both have somewhat different emotional needs and preferences, meaning that if both are very stubborn and closed-minded, they see it as an immediate off. But, what happens if we open up to meet the other or if there are other positive aspects? Both people can teach the other to open up to other ways of making themselves feel loved. For example, if one of them has difficulty verbalizing their feelings, and the other is more verbal, they may find themselves intrigued and fascinated by this quality of the other, since they feel that they cannot do it themselves. This square is one of the easiest to work with, since the nature of both planets is already quite compatible. If they share other trigons or conjunctions, they can be used as ways to work this square.

🟫The positive aspects between Mercury and Mars (trine, sextile, parallel, quintile or biquintile) make both people easily happy and motivated when talking or after talking with the other person. The Mercury person learns to think and plan better for the future and to put his ideas into action, he feels that his ideas are clearer and he learns to think and plan independently, as well as to say what he thinks and be faithful to what he really wants. While the Mars person obtains a better direction, he learns to be more rational and analytical when undertaking an action or idea. Both teach each other to be more spontaneous and feel more dynamic being together. Communication is fluid and somewhat fun.

🟫Saturn-Venus contacts can be truly sublime for both parties. For the Venus person, they can feel that they are taken seriously, that they have found someone very devoted to them and someone who can give them that firmness and sense of stability that they may have lacked in past relationships. While the Saturn person will be fascinated not only by beauty but also by sweetness and affection, being able to melt that hard shell with which he usually approaches love. Both can have a stable relationship and it should be added that there may be a fear of making a mistake in the relationship that makes the other feel misunderstood or unloved, this happens especially for aspects such as conjunction, opposition or square. Even so, no matter how tense the aspect is, it does not take away the loyalty and commitment of the relationship.

🟫The Sun-Mars conjunction is extremely interesting and gives us a powerful attraction for both parties, but especially for the Mars person. Both of them can become and behave very flirty with the other, they can find themselves irresistible and feel a fascination for the body of the other. The Mars person sees the Sun person as alluring, powerful and dominant, while the latter will see the Mars person as someone chaotic, intense and equally seductive. There can be some competition in some cases (especially if Mars is making a lot of tense aspects with the rest of the planets), and it can give us an enemies to lover vibes at times. They both feel very dynamic after spending time with each other, especially the Sun person. There is that sexual tension that is capable of being felt from the beginning.

🟫There is a spiritual touch to the relationship of those with a Jupiter-Pluto trine/sextile. They both feel that they grow with the other, that they learn a lot and that together, they can face whatever life throws at them, becoming much braver since they are with each other. They feel a strong connection because of their similar beliefs and ways of seeing complex issues, such as death or sex or even the true meaning of life. Both learn to see life with different eyes and can feel that they begin to truly enjoy it with the presence of the other person. Jupiter person will bring a lot of light, joy and new insights to Pluto person who will be very intrigued by it. While Pluto person will bring transformation, changes and an intense union to the life of Jupiter person, who will feel very attracted to them.

🟫Many times when we are told about the square between Venus-Mars it is painted as something fully sexual and somewhat chaotic. One of the problems that can arise is the difference when it comes to showing desire and forming love. Both may have very different ways of showing love, but that doesn't mean they don't feel it. To solve this square, two factors are crucial: good communication and acceptance. If both are mature enough, they will understand that they cannot change the other. When we see this aspect, it is recommended that both make clear the way in which they want to be loved and what attitudes they do not like. The attraction is very strong, as much as the adoration for the other.

🟫When your Rising is conjunct someone's MC this person shows a lot of admiration for who you are and what you have accomplished. In their eyes you are a great person, someone who achieves what is proposed and in general someone who inspires and motivates them to try to be better every day. This is because the MC often displays traits that we admire and what we consider to be superior to ourselves in some way. With this overlay-aspect we have a relationship based on motivation, admiration and self-improvement.

🟫When your Moon is conjunct another's North Node, it means that this person will help you develop your emotional side. The North Node native will be delighted with the Moon person, they will feel a lot of inexplicable warmth towards this person and they will have a well-developed instinct to protect and care for them. While Moon Person will see to their well-being and pay a lot of attention to them, treating them with great delicacy and treating them with great affection. Both of them will feel that this connection was fateful and they will see each other as a very special person in each other's life, especially for the North Node person, who will see the other as a very special person in their life regardless of the time that has passed or if the other person continues or not in their life.

🟫If your Saturn is aspecting your partner's Sun or Chart ruler, chances are they think you bring order and stability into their life. You make them have a need to want to improve either as a person, professionally or in any other way so that you see and feel that something stable augurs you with them. In your case, you can see them as people with whom you can have a lasting, solid and secure relationship. There is a lot of trust between them and they can feel that they finally have someone to rely on.

🟫When a Mars-Rising conjunction occurs but with Mars positioned in the 12th house, both natives are extremely attracted to each other, in an uncontrolled way and seem not to understand exactly why, at least initially in some cases. A feeling of having seen the most fascinating person in the world, with a touch of having connected before or feeling like you know the other. The Rising person is the one who usually feels this much more magnified than the Mars person, this is because, as I have mentioned many times, the person who will always feel the effect of the overlays is the house person. However, the Mars person is also included, since it is set to the Rising of the other person.

[loversatthegreatdivide]

Heavy Lies the Heart - Chapter 6

Masterlist // Continue Reading

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x F!OC Word Count: 2.6k Tropes: mutual pining, fluff, angst with a happy ending, royalty Warnings: death Summary: When two second-borns looking for direction meet by chance, can they find purpose in each other? Or will circumstance keep them apart? A/N: First of all, writing as Whistledown is rough. Second, I'm glad that it seems like everyone is liking this story so far! I had a lot of fun with this chapter, so hopefully you'll enjoy it too!

Dearest Gentle Reader,

This author hardly knows where to begin, with last nights ball so abound with secrets and scandals.

The young ladies of the ton never shine brighter than in the darkness of the evening. Yet last nights events have shown that, while some gleam as brightly as the stars, there are others whose light shines far dimmer then the rest.

Penelope Featherington, out now for her third season in the marriage mart, is one such dim light. Miss Featherington, who was so certain that she would be unable to find a husband on her own, enlisted the help of Mister Colin Bridgerton. And while we all knew Miss Featherington's hopes of finding a husband were slim at best, this recent scandal will certainly make any further hopes disappear. Whatever faint glow Miss Featherington may have once possessed has surely now gone out.

But Penelope Featherington was not the only scandal we witnessed unfold.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Beatrice shown brilliantly on her second appearance of the season. The young princess garnered much attention from the members of the ton, but none moreso than Mister Benedict Bridgerton.

Having shared her first dance of the season with Mister Bridgerton, it was clear to this author that sparks were flying. Their shared looks were hardly subtle, and one has to wonder how two relative strangers found themselves, by all appearances, so well acquainted.

The princess danced five times in total, sharing a scandalous three with Mister Bridgerton. Their lack of proprietary and the princesses clear favoritism shocked many of the ton, but this author cannot help but applaud their boldness.

A royal falling for a commoner is hardly a new story. However, with the crowns stiff traditions and the rumored strict parenting of the Prince Regent, will this tale end in tragedy? Is there to be a royal wedding in our future, or will circumstance keep these two lovebirds apart?

This author, as ever, eagerly awaits to see what unfolds.

---

Benedict once again found himself slumped deeply onto the settee in the Bridgerton drawing room. His arms lay crossed over his chest as he looked anywhere but at Anthony, whose scowl had made an unwelcome return after its brief, but welcome, absence.

"What in God's name were you thinking?" he asked roughly, brandishing the latest copy of Lady Whistledown in his hand. The rest of the family, excluding the two youngest members, sat around the room, with expressions ranging from sympathetic and worried, to extremely uncomfortable. "Of all our siblings, I thought you the least likely to cause trouble this season. I thought you had more sense than this Benedict."

Eloise scowled at the veiled accusation. She looked to Francesca, whose only reaction was to stare blankly at the floor until the hostility inevitably subsided.

"It was quite a surprise--did you not tell me yourself last night that it was your first time even seeing the princess?" Colin asked.

Anthony turned his scowl on his younger brother, "You are not off the hook yet either--while our reputation may not have been effected by your actions, poor Miss Featherington's is all but ruined thanks to you."

Colin looked away from his brother, a look of guilt clear on his face. Unnoticed, Eloise's expression mirrored his.

"However, that will have to wait," Anthony turned his attention back to Benedict, "At present, our biggest concern is what in the world possessed our dear brother to act so foolhardy, and what is to be done about it."

"Now, perhaps we can all calm down for a moment," Violet suggested, smiling as she attempted to defuse the situation.

"Yes Anthony, your mother's right," Kate agreed, "We have not even heard what Benedict has to say about it--this could all just be a misunderstanding."

Everyone turned their attention to Benedict, eagerly awaiting his response.

He had another choice in front of him. Either he could downplay the situation to the best of his ability, hoping to keep his family in the dark about the full extent of his relationship with Beatrice. This seemed at least somewhat doable; it was unlikely any of them suspected he was taking late night promenades with an unchaperoned princess.

The other option was simply to tell them everything. His family did seem to have a knack for discovering secrets that its members would rather keep hidden. He knew it was only a matter of time before they learned everything; and all the more likely, given his desire to be with Beatrice. It would be rather obvious he had lied if he continued to pursue her publicly.

Benedict sighed, sitting up as he clasped his hands in front of him. He looked at Anthony, who stared back exactingly.

"Alright fine, you've caught me. I suppose there is no point in lying about it now: Beatrice and I have been seeing each other in secret, and we have become quite...attached," he admitted.

There was a silence throughout the room as his family stared back at him in shock and horror. In an instant, the silence was filled with the roar of multiple voices shouting out at once--including two that had, until this moment, been eavesdropping quietly in the next room.

"You've been doing what?"

"Have you gone mad?"

"Did you just use the princesses first name? Just how close are the two of you, Benedict?"

"What does attached me? Brother, you didn't..."

"Heaven help us, how will her majesty react to all this?"

"If the two of you marry, will that make Benedict a prince?"

"What? Does that mean we would have to call him your highness? Because I absolutely refuse."

The jumbled voices mixed together until Benedict could hardly make out what was being said. Finally he stood, throwing his hands out.

"Alright enough!" he shouted, quelling the storm of questions and concerns, "I know it was...unwise to meet a young lady unchaperoned, but I can assure you the time was spent on conversation--nothing more," he emphasized, "I was...unaware of her station when these meetings began. She had kept it a secret, and I only learned of her title when she was presented at the ball last night--though I will admit to knowing she was likely of higher rank."

He ran a hand through his think, brown hair as he looked to the floor.

"I have no idea what is to be done now, if anything can be done but," he sighed, "That being said, it is my intention to pursue her...as far as we are permitted to go," he looked back up at them, "I...I love her."

The room was silent once more, no one quite sure how to respond to his bold declaration. Benedict swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, uncomfortable in the uncharacteristically quiet room.

"Oh, Benedict my dear," his mother finally spoke. Her voice was a mixture of happiness and sympathy, clearly unsure what to make of the situation or how best to advice him.

Benedict looked down, "If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a response, he quickly made his way out of the drawing room; the wide eyes of his family following him as he went.

---

Beatrice sat, stiff and silent, as the queen sipped her tea in the chair opposite her. Dread filled her as she waited for her grandmother to speak: To reprimand, to yell, to show some sign at all as to what she was thinking. Be she waited in vain, the queen seeming content in leaving the words unspoken as Beatrice's heart threatened to give out with every passing second.

Queen Charlotte had of course received the latest copy of Whistledown that morning, reading it with haste as she always did. Not that she had needed Whistledown to tell her what she had seen with her own eyes. After her first dance, the queen's eyes hardly wavered from Beatrice. Charlotte had watched her granddaughter like a bird of pray stalking a field mouse, observing her every move, her every expression and gesture.

Their carriage ride home had been eerily quiet. Charlotte was hardly known for keeping her opinions to herself, yet she had said nothing to Beatrice the entire trip back to Buckingham House. Now, having not spoken since their arrival at the ball the night before, Beatrice grew more and more anxious of what would be said when that silence was finally broken.

Her grandmother set her teacup down with a clank, and Beatrice sat up as straight as a board.

"Beatrice," Charlotte spoke at last.

"Y-yes, grandmama?"

"You know I am no fool." It was a statement, not a question.

"Ah...yes, grandmama."

"I am unaware how it is you've managed to spend time with that man without notice, and I suspect I would not be happy to know. However what I do know, is that whatever has been transpiring between the two of you stops now."

Beatrice looked down shamefully, "Yes, grandmama."

"Your father will no doubt have heard the news, and is assuredly on his way here to scold you severely. I suspect he will likely insist on you leaving Buckingham House immediately."

"But--" Beatrice began to argue, only to be silenced by a piercing stare from the queen.

There was a long moment of quiet as Charlotte ran her hands over the small, fluffy dog in her lap. She seemed to think something over.

"Tell me, what are your intentions with this Benedict Bridgerton? A passing fancy is well enough for the common crowd, but royalty hardly has such a luxury. Our every move is scrutinized--you moreso than others as the daughter of the future king."

"It is not a--" Beatrice was clearly upset, but willed herself to stop and take a breath, "I know father would never approve, but it is my deepest desire to be with him. I love him, grandmama, and I...well I don't care what father thinks, or anyone else for that matter." She held her head up as she attempted to look resolute.

The queen quickly took another sip from her teacup, hiding the slight smirk that had formed at the corner of her lips.

"I see," was her only reply.

Silence fell between them once more as they awaited the inevitable arrival of the Prince Regent. The queen's face was a mask that hid her true feelings, while Beatrice's face betrayed her renewed feelings of dread. Her grandmother may not have been harsh--a miracle if there ever was one--but her father would most certainly not have the same composure.

---

"The absolute indignity of it all--the indecency!"

George IV, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the future king, and Beatrice's father, paced the floor of the lavish drawing room as he ranted on and on. His displeasure with the situation had been expressed in at least one hundred different ways already, yet he seems to always have more to say.

"Papa, if you would only listen--" His daughter pleaded, but to no avail.

"Listen? As I listened when you requested to stay at Buckingham house for the season? As I listened when you promised me nothing of consequence would occur? As I listened when you assured me that you would behave as a princess should?"

"It was only dancing papa, nothing more!"

"Then why is there word across London that you've been having secret trysts with this man--this Bridgerton--since you arrived!"

Beatrice stood, her fist balled at her sides, "That is a lie! Whistledown has made everyone believe something untoward has taken place between us, but that is untrue!"

Queen Charlotte, who sat watching silently from the sidelines, eyed her granddaughter. Whether or not she believed her, she said nothing.

"So you would have me believe there is nothing between the two of you then? That you and he have no attachment?" George asked skeptically.

"I," Beatrice hesitated, "I would not say that is entirely the case."

Her father's face went red with rage as a tense air filled the room.

"You are to return to Warwick House immediately," the prince ordered through gritted teeth.

Beatrice shifted in place, before looking her father in the eyes with as much courage as she could muster, "I...I will not."

"I beg your pardon?" George stared at his daughter in disbelief.

"I, I wish to stay, and," she swallowed, "And I wish for Benedict Bridgerton and I to be allow to court."

Charlotte's eyebrow raised in interest, her gaze returning to her son as she waited to hear his reply. George was nearly dumbstruck at the request. It was a rare occasion that his youngest daughter ever spoke back or questioned his authority--for her to do both in one sentience was practically unheard of.

"You, I--How dare you ask--"

"You allowed Charlotte to choose her husband, why should I be allowed any less?" Beatrice questioned, feeling emboldened with every word.

"The situation with your sister was quite different, as you are well aware. And at the very least she had the good sense to choose a prince!" her father reminded her loudly.

Beatrice scowled, "That does not change the fact that she refused the marriage you arranged for her in favor of one she chose for herself! And did you yourself not try to take a commoner for a bride? How can you scorn me my love when you out of everyone should understand my feelings?"

"Love?" George repeated, clearly on the verge of another hours-long lecture.

"Alright, I believe I have heard quite enough," Queen Charlotte cut in, standing as she looked to her son.

"Mother--"

"Enough, Georgie," she commanded, and, despite his position as regent, he obeyed, "You have already agreed to allow Beatrice to stay at Buckingham House--so she shall stay."

"But I--"

Charlotte raised her hand, "I am not done. In addition, I would have you consider the request your daughter has made from you."

"What? I would never--"

"It is your decision of course, you are the Prince Regent and thus have the final say on all royal marriages. However, I implore you to consider the misconduct and scandals you and your family have already brought to this, the noblest of houses."

"That is hardly--"

"Frankly dear, the people dislike you. Allowing Princess Charlotte to marry the man she chose was perhaps the one thing you've done so far that has won you any manner of good will from the people. Perhaps allowing Princess Beatrice, a current darling of the ton, to do the same will have a similar effect on the rather poor image the people have of you."

George stood silent, stunned at his mother's stance on the issue. Beatrice looked between the two of them, just as surprised. She hadn't a clue as to why her grandmother seemed to be championing her relationship with Benedict, but she would hardly complain. Her grandmother was perhaps the only hope Beatrice had of convincing her father to agree to her wishes.

"I," George paused, "I will take it under consideration, mother."

"That is all I ask. It is, as I said, your choice to make," Queen Charlotte smiled, "Though you should consider quickly--we will be expected to make a statement of some sort soon enough, lest the rumors grow wild and out of control."

"Yes, mother," he replied, his anger all but deflated in his mother's overbearing presence.

"Wonderful," Charlotte turned to Beatrice, "Now, shall we then, my dear? I believe I would enjoy hearing some music after all this noise."

Beatrice responded quickly, hoping to leave the negative atmosphere permeating the room as soon as possible, "Ah! Yes of course, grandmama!"

Queen Charlotte moved elegantly out of the drawing room, with Beatrice following close behind. This left George alone, standing awkwardly in a stiff, unpleasant silence. He huffed, shaking his head and grumbling to himself as he exited the room soon after.

----------

Tags: @empressnatsume @sarahskywalker-amidala @may-and-lay @asterizee @g4ns3y @bubblegumcat229 @mhmoony

[mugentakeda]

pls tell me more about her + her relationship with iroh and lu ten.. she's so fascinating

GUH. thank you for asking anonsie pie. (TAKES DEEP BREATH

fuhua is a firebender, but wasnt part of the FN army. she was an entertainment firebender at this speakeasy/club for the elite joint in caldera city. her and iroh were both pushing thirty already when they met. he was just sorta tooling around with his military buds doing bachelor playboy prince shit and they ended up going into the joint. fuhua was the biggest hardass out of all the girls working that day, so she was the one entrusted to entertain His Royal Highness and his posse of noble dickheads.

iroh and fuhua actually hit it off pretty well. he was very enraptured by her while watching her perform and bend and whatever, so he followed her when she took her break and struck up a conversation with her, bought her fancy drinks and stuff. he liked her whole attitude (he is well known for liking women with attitudes) and look and whatever. she found him charming and easy to talk with despite his status. irohs pals ended up leaving after a while but iroh stayed behind because he wanted to talk to fuhua allllllll day and was totally caught up in their growing tension. eventually fuhua had to leave, so he offered to walk fuhua home. she accepted, they (naturally) had a one night fling, iroh went back to the palace, that was supposed to be that. cus having flings isnt an out of the ordinary thing for young iroh he was a #slut I'm sure we can all agree on that.

HOWEVER azulon naturally at this point is very tired of his favorite son going around whoring himself out but never picking a wife because he's pushing thirty and he needs an heir if he wants to do more military stuff. so azulon lined up a bunch of well born daughters and was like "Okay son I've had it with your dumbassery pick a wife right now". and iroh didn't like ANY of the women azulon had picked out. but then he remembered fuhua, who he got along with like a house on fire.

now please note, I made it clear in my awesome comprehensive list of Horrible No Good Fuhua Personality Traits that this woman is NOT built for marriage OR having kids. she's meant for the single hot girl life, bottomless mimosas everyday and coconut hair treatments and living alone with a cat that's as much of a jackass as she is. But its not like she can say NO to the crown prince of the fire nation, obviously. even if he seemed like a decent (????) guy. iroh found her not long after and proposed to her like "hey my dad wants me to get married but i didn't like any of the noble women Please Please PLEASE be my wife I'll make sure you never have to want for anything".

having a fun little evening chit chat session at the bar and then getting freaky for one night with a handsome guy is one thing. Being forced to marry him and have his kids is another!!!!!!! <- and fuhua is tormented by fear of having kids. on top of her just Not liking them and not being willing to give up her single hot girl lifestyle, she is tormented by fear of pregnancy and labor and all that. pregnancy and childbirth can kill you, it can kill your child (AND THEN SHE'LL HAVE TO GET PREGNANT AGAIN because she cant stop until she gives iroh an heir), it can ruin your body, so on so forth. there's a lot of factors to it that get overlooked.

and on top of that, fuhua may have worked in a club for the elite, but she was not well born. she is not a noble. she has no military creds, no training, no nobility rich people etiquette, no nothing. azulon was NOT pleased, and he made that very clear to iroh. iroh didn't give two shits, but what he didn't do was defend fuhua from azulons ire. because azulon would insult fuhua pretty openly, ALL the time. about her commoner status, her lack of "manners", how she doesn't support iroh's military ventures and shit, so on and so forth. azulon wanted iroh to have a wife that was like ilah, basically. and the worst part is that azulon would do it AROUND fuhua, but never to her face- he'd always phrase his antagonism as a question to iroh, as if fuhua was irohs misbehaving lapdog or some shit. and iroh NEVERRRR got on his dads case for it because "that's just how my father is lol don't let it get to your head dearest!!!!". just very blase and ignorant. naturally, fuhua got sick of it VERY quickly.

she took her frustration out on anyone she could. she stopped being nice to the servants, she'd antagonize ozai (who was like. a teenager at the time.), despite ozai going out of his way to avoid fuhua at all costs (ozai shared his fathers sentiments on her status and lack of manners, but he couldn't compare her to his mother. because ozai never got to meet ilah himself<- i hc that ilah died in childbirth having ozai (which is part of the reason why azulon hates ozai so much and iroh was so distant with ozai)), so on so forth. fuhua has a pretty short fuse, so she got super angry and bitter with EVERYTHING very quick. she tries to pick fights with iroh but iroh is like???? somehow oblivious to his wife's turmoil.

and then she gets pregnant and he just starts writing it all off as hormones. she hates it as much as she knew she would, but her growing hatred for iroh and everything in existence makes it even worse. she treats being pregnant like having a bug under your skin or something. its like her worst nightmare. she isn't even allowed to smoke her pipe while shes pregnant. she would, if it meant that shed kill the baby, but then she'd just have to get pregnant again. might as well get it over with. <-its at this point where she already starts planning to run away from the palace as soon as she gives birth to the baby.

on a rare night where shes pretty relaxed, iroh asks her if she wants to come up with names with him over tea. its so randomly pleasant that for a second she thinks that maybe she could become okay with this life, so long as she can get her husband to grow a pair and defend her from his father. they come up with a big list of girl and boy names, and end up going with hana for a girl, and toshiro for a boy.

azulon announces literally the next day that the kids name will be either ilah ii for a girl, or lu ten for a boy. iroh puts up zero fight about this despite him having literally just decided on names with his wife the previous day. fuhua goes right back to hating his fucking guts.

fuhua does not internally acknowledge the baby as a human. she insistently refers to the baby as an it, sees the baby as irohs spawn, etc, etc. at the point in her pregnancy where her hormones and body pain are at its peak shes genuinely insufferable to be around. like to the point where even iroh cant take it, so she just. holes herself up in their chambers for the most part. but soon she gets weirdly excited- because while even the idea of inevitably giving birth very soon scares her shitless, and even sensations of movement and whatnot from the baby makes her want to cry hysterically- its also the final bridge she'll need to cross before she can leave.

she'll leave the baby with iroh. he can have it, she doesn't want it. shes not sticking around long enough for it to be decided that iroh needs a spare heir. she'll leave empty handed and leave the main island entirely, cut her hair even. she'll go and live quietly in shu jing with one of her cousins or something. if the palace sends out a witch hunt to try and find her, she'll run to the fucking earth kingdom if she has to. shes not raising iroh's child, she's most definitely not having another one with him. she'll kill herself if all else fails.

and essentially, lu ten is born without complications, is confirmed to be a firebender. fuhua notes that iroh holds the baby with tenderness and reverence, but decidedly wouldn't care either way. she leaves in the night as soon as her legs allow her.

azulon almost sends out a witch hunt for her, but iroh tells him no, he'll go look for her himself. its not like she would've gotten far, as she's still recovering from childbirth. iroh just sends out some of the domestic forces all across the island to sneak around and try and find her. fuhua had decided to stop and stay one night at a little inn by the docks of the homeland before leaving to shu jing at first light, but for a hefty price (and fear of the royal familys wrath), the innkeeper rats her out to the soldiers that come in asking about her.

the soldiers return to business as usual once shes found just as asked, because iroh wanted to confront her alone. by the time he gets there in the early morning, he finds her preparing her raft by the docks. they confront each other and have a final one sided screaming match, fuhua pulls a knife and tells him if he tries to take her back she'll kill herself. iroh is pretty despaired, but thinks better of it and lets her go. he returns to the palace and convinces azulon (with difficulty) that he's okay with her leaving, and that lu ten is probably better off with just him anyway.

its only when azulon realizes that he agrees with that sentiment and expresses relief and satisfaction that it hits iroh how much azulon hated his wife. for some reason. but its not like he can do anything about it now.

iroh finds out through his contacts where exactly fuhua has settled down, but he ends up dropping it because he stopped caring. he has no time for a wife anymore regardless and probably never has, feels distant guilt about that, but also gladness that fuhua took the initiative to put herself first (<-WHICH IS UNFOUNDED ON HIS PART). because he'd rather she do that then stay and have lu ten subjected to her vitriol (<-IROHS FAULT).

and fuhua does end up living alone with a cat that's as much of a jackass as she is and gets coconut oil hair treatments and bottomless mimosas everyday like God intended. she doesn't keep track of whatever the fuck her ex husband does unless she hears about it on the street or whatever.

a few years later she hears that iroh's brat younger brother has taken a wife, and she has to laugh about that. she goes home and pours one out for the poor wretch.

even later than that, she hears that all the suffering she went through for iroh amounted to nothing. because iroh has allowed the dirt eaters in ba sing se to kill his son. it takes all the strength within her to not feel any kind of satisfaction or vindication at the karma of it all.

when the whole nation has a state of mourning in lu tens honor and portraits of him are plastered everywhere, its the first time she gets a glimpse of what he ended up looking like. he has iroh's square jaw, his eyebrows, his sharp eyes- but he has her high cheekbones, her narrow face, her long nose, her dimples, her deep brown skin. handsome and gentle-faced.

she looks at him for a while longer, digests all that information, and then promptly goes back to browsing the market. because shes making crab and asparagus soup tonight and frankly, that's more important to her.

[maglors-anion-gap]

I've been mulling something over lately. It's almost a given that one will find questionable elements to older texts; some are overt and some sneaky even to the modern eye. There are, undeniably, many such elements in Tolkien's work, and they cause a lot of trouble for marginalized readers and for fan creators grappling with it in relation to meta and fic.

That the Silmarillion is a largely-omniscient myth-text narrative, composed from a variety of drafts, the discarded versions of which we also have access to, further compounds the issue. Who has read what? Who samples from what? How deeply do some themes pervade both the text and the fandom? There are discarded portions that raise eyebrows (and thankfully, were edited out at some point). However, there are moments where those discarded portions shine through the cracks in exposition, dialogue and reasoning left in the official composite text by the sweeping style of the narrative. The composite can be seen to still rest on certain narrative and valuational presuppositions of Tolkien's - presuppositions he assumes the reader to share.

In the text, of course some have value or more of it, some have honor or more of it, some overcome darkness while some naturally succumb to it. The narrative certainty in these characterizations rests on these lurking (racist, antisemitic, ableist) presuppositions, and in some cases handwaves any deeper exploration or explanation.

There seem to be two fan solutions to reckoning with a cross-draft-consistent bigoted theme. 1) Write meta that explores its traits and manifestations in the text and syncretizes canon assertions with authorial biases, and/or fic that directly addresses the in-text impact of these biases. 2) With an awareness of the bigoted themes, create headcanons, new verses, and fic that subverts, rewrites, or negates the original theme. The former refuses to allow the presuppositions of the text to become the presuppositions of the fandom. The latter allows (particularly marginalized) fans generative space, fodder to create anew, breathing room, and expanded perspectives. Different functions, parallel purposes, both important.

Because it's fandom, and it's large, and our idea of on-the-side fun and not our job or our marriage, we do not have the same preferences for how we go about dealing with these textual issues or the cohesive pressure to be like minded (even as we recognize the need to deal with them). One person's way of reckoning with textual biases or gaps may strike another as reaching too far from canon to be of appeal. This is a common reaction to headcanons, canon divergences and alternate universes, and crack or humor, particularly in the tolkien fandom. However, personal preference is not a basis for asserting that someone is reading the text wrong, especially when the issue at hand is one of reparative analysis and creation.

I am drawn to the issue of the Petty Dwarves. Most information on them comes in pieces from disparate drafts and satellite texts. Some information was erased entirely from the published Silmarillion. However, many people have noted the continual issues in Tolkien's treatment of the Dwarves, the iterative issues with his treatment of the Petty Dwarves, and rightly begin to link the two, plumb them down to their connecting factor, and begin excavating the silences in the narrative which Tolkien allows to be filled by presupposition.

I have found that people who cite personal preference may bring up canon elements to excuse or disprove certain readings; I would argue that the canon elements cited are less often exculpatory of our faves and more often proof of deeper biases, proof of biased presupposition as a stand in for rich characterization. Let me explain. We hear from the Sindar that the Petty Dwarves are reclusive, aggressive, and territorial (on this they base their initial assessment that the Petty Dwarves are two-legged animals for hunting). We hear from the Dwarves who cross the Blue Mountains later that the Petty Dwarves descend from expelled Dwarves who were the smallest, weakest, most conniving and self-serving, and violent persons. At one point, Tolkien describes the Petty Dwarves as older residents in Beleriand than both the Sindar and the eastern Dwarves, and the original inhabitants of Nargothrond, and it is them who Finrod hires to finish its construction. Tolkien describes the Petty Dwarves as agreeing to do this under false and duplicitous pretenses (for what reason, he doesn't say); later, Mim tries to kill Finrod (again, the narrative is sparse on motive), and Finrod alternately outs the Petty Dwarves from Nargothrond or pays the other Dwarves to turn them out. Tolkien evidently means for this to paint a picture of a group of people who are inherently wicked, cannot help but be so, are hated and pitied (for one does not preclude the other, and all good people should pity bad people, after all), and bring about their own diminishment. There's the in-universe justification for it.

I mean to explore why it is not satisfactory to leave the matter alone at "the Petty Dwarves brought about their own downfall." To begin, why does Tolkien rely on the characteristics he does when describing both the Petty Dwarves and Dwarves in general? These are multiple pieces of bigotry at play, chiefly some old antisemitic stereotypes (which have already been unpacked at length and by Jewish fans who are more knowledgable than I; if other have more to add, please do so). But I will give it a try.

First, Tolkien never pins down why the Petty Dwarves are expelled westward, only vaguely pinning it on their inborn characteristics. One old piece of antisemitism held that Jewish people were smaller and weaker than gentiles; Jewish men are still held to be less masculine, which can be traced from a medieval supposition that Jewish men menstruated. Coupled with the ableism of expelling the stunted and the inutile, Tolkien describes here a sort of itinerant and pitiful scrounger who does not belong in a society to which it cannot contribute and into which it cannot assimilate. The concept of vagrancy and the homelandlessness (consider the antisemitism in the concept of the cosmopolitan Jew, and Tolkien's deliberate linkage of Dwarves and losing their homes), is further connected to antisemitism by the Petty Dwarves being duplicitous, self-serving backstabbers toward Finrod, who Tolkien sets up as innocent and trusting enough to sleep unguarded near Mim, further juxtaposing the two. Furthermore, the gentile assertion that Jewish people are violent is escalated to accusations of blood libel and sorcery. Tolkien may not go that far, but he ties this predisposition for violence into the passage about Nargothrond, and their territorial defensiveness and their aggression toward the Sindar. Jewish people have long been stereotyped as insular, traditional, and cold to outsiders (consider the gentile furor over "goy"). All of this passes under the surface of the text - where Tolkien does not elaborate, this rises to the surface to color the reading.

When fans identify these elements in the text (and realize they are very similar to Tolkien's handling of the Dwarvish sacking of Doriath, or gold sickness, or Dwarvish isolationism as a whole), they begin to investigate the places they show up in text. The meta they write must try to syncretize the canon of what is said with the authorial context applied in the characterization. The fic they write must try to fill in lazy gaps left, and to imagine and then confront the missing exigence to the conflict while refuting the antisemitic presuppositions upon which the text relies in place of characterization.

Because it's fanwork, some people may have concepts that you think miss the mark or push further with assertions than you think is logical. However, no one who is in good faith creating, exploring, or trying to remedy the issues of the text, can be accused of using their ideas as a cudgel against canon or against others. Discussion is welcome, when it is conducted in good faith as well.

Relying too heavily on the surface-level assertions of canon to shoot down these musings at times verges upon what I have described above: leaning into the in-world justifications of hierarchy and subjugation to excuse the real-world hierarchies upon which these presuppositions are built. It is not so important how or when the Sindar realized the Petty Dwarves were people: what matters is that Tolkien created a character group, designed to be hated and pitied but never respected, onto whom he mapped real world stereotypes, and set them up in events where these stereotypes lead. It's highly worth considering why we are defending portions of text that are inherently bigoted. The whole broth here is the issue, but people are quibbling over whether they've fished out a potato versus a turnip.

[laurellerual]

Oh, Lay My Sweet Lass Down in the Grass

My Featherbed has one of the most complete lyrics Martin wrote into the books. Its wiki page speculates that the 'real' title of the song may be Oh, Lay My Sweet Lass Down in the Grass. I always thought this was the name of another Tom's song with similar themes, but that makes me wonder...

If this is true it could be an indication that we still don't know the full text of this song. It is in fact common for this kind of ballad not to have a real title, but to be known by one of their verses and Lay my sweet lass down in the grass sounds a lot like a lost verse.

In the first eight verses the lord explains to the lass how their relationship should be according to the traditional canons of marriage. In the next eight verses the lass explains to him what the relationship could be like, she rejects this canons and propose her alternative. Therefore the text as we know it closes with an open ending: will the lord accepts the lass for who she is?

Oh, lay my sweet lass down in the grass seems to be the positive answer to the lass's proposal. These words could be part of a final rhyming couplets, or a refrain, or two lines of a lost final stanza. Let's see:

One of the clues that My Featherbed and Oh, Lay My Sweet Lass may be the same song is the words repetition. In the known text of My Featherbed there are internal repetitions and by connecting these two lost verses other significant repetitions are added. Especially noteworthy is lay down which appear at the beginning and (according to my theory) close the song, with the reconciliation of the two lovers.

Another important clue usefull for interpretating the song in its entirety lies in the words the lord chooses to speak to the lass:

At the beginning of the song he says to the her: "I will dress YOU", almost without taking into consideration the lass' will.

And the lass responds reaffirming herself by telling him: "I will dress MYSELF", in a “this is the person I am and if your love is true you'll accept it” kind of way.

In the hypothetical lost final stanza it's againg the lord's turn to speak, but this time he has listened to her and learned his lesson. This time he doesn't say "I'll lay YOU down", but "YOU lay YOURSELF down". In this way he shows he understood her point and in fact he no longer calls her my lady love, but my lass because he accepted to be her forest love and gave up being her lord.

Conclusions:

I think this missing part of the song reinforce the idea of Arya and Gendry as an anti-parallel to Lyanna and Robert.

Also the missing verses thet tell us about the reconciliation of the two lovers, after overcoming the social expectations that separated them, may have been omitted on purpose. Why? If I'm right I expect that, after reuniting, Arya and Gendry will hear the song again, this time in its entirety, in a scene that may parallel Acorn Hall.

The end. I did my best with the analysis, but if anyone with more experience in English poetry than me would like to contribute to this post they are welcome.

[brionbroadway]

“Princess, is it your time to rest? Or do you want your story to continue?”

Rosamund is glad to be asked.

This is what she wants: a chance to write her own story outside of the narrative that’s planned for her. She is not ready to rest--she already rested for a hundred fucking years--and true love is no longer an option. It must be something else; there has to be something else for her to choose. She will take her scrap of a page and discover what it is.  

“I don’t think it’s my time to rest.”

“Then I think—”

She feels the briars before she sees them, wrapping around her heart the way she guaranteed a lover never would. With each pulse of her heart, the briars pierce it.

But her heart must be stronger than everything than every piece of Thumbelina, because she splits in half.

“I take it back!” Rosamund yells. “I take it back!”

“Oh, my dear Rosamund.”

The voice comes from a briar that’s coiled itself into her ear. It’s unrecognizable as any individual fairy, but it drips with both the saccharine sweetness and depraved wickedness Rosamund has realized they all possess.

“You cannot take a choice back, my girl. This is why you should have trusted the ending that was written for you.” The voice tuts, a disapproving parental figure that never gave Rosamund anything but rules. “Your gifts did not come without a curse. You have sacrificed the one condition that would break it. You have rejected rest. What did you think was left for you, Sleeping Beauty?”

Rosamund tries to use her own voice, but a briar invades her mouth and replaces her smile. Its teeth are sharper than her own.

“Oh, I know what’s that like.”

The voice in Rosmaund’s heads changes, a conspiratorial older sister like she tried to be Red. The briars morph into thick strands of golden hair.

“It’s a shame we never got to talk.” Rapunzel’s voice comes from everywhere her hair touches.  “We have a lot in common. Locked away, someone else claiming to know what’s best for us, unable to make our own choices…”  

The briars spin, like hair being twirled around a finger.

“But when we did write our own story, we gained power. I know it hurts, Rosamund. I know it may not seem like it, but my hair hurts too. It chokes me, and restrains me, but more importantly than any of that, it keeps me safe—”

She’s cut off, because Gerard is eating Rapunzel on the battlefield. Her voice returns, hoarse from screaming. It sounds the way her hair feels in Rosamund’s throat.

“He will consume all of you, Rosamund. He has already done so to Elody in their marriage, though she does not recognize that. You must him put him to sleep.”

Rosamund cannot see a prince on the battlefield, only a monster. 

Suddenly, the hair transforms into chains.  

“Hello, my love.”

The deep, cruel voice of the Baron of Bricks feels like the weight of the chains on Rosamund’s skin. It comes from the ones trapping her heart into beating.

“I know, of course, that I am not your true love,” he says. “I know you will not get that. But, I do believe we have more in common than either of us first thought. You have rejected death, and I respect that, but I must warn you that it will not last as long as Death is around. She just took a Beast. She can certainly take a Princess.”

Rosamund cannot see a girl on the battlefield, only The Big Bad Wolf.

“If you need to put her in a stew, I have a recipe. Otherwise, you have all the tools you require. You must put her to sleep.”

The chains drop, but Rosamund is quickly snatched up by sharp claws. The Baba Yaga runs them down her face, her neck, and finally stops at the same wrists she considered feasting on. Her voice comes from the wounds she created.

“Thank you, Princess, for your gift. I am taking good care of your true love. He is only feeling the pain you would have caused each other after happily ever after.”

She cackles, and it infects the wounds.

“You made a wise choice in putting him to sleep.”

The claws release Rosamund, and the briars consume her again. Slowly, a pattern appears on them that represents a kind of evil she still had not accepted existed.

“I am sorry my son could not keep you safe, Rosamund. You do not need to worry about punishing him for that; I assure you I will take care of it.”

The Stepmother’s voice sounds like Rosamund’s own thoughts.

“Sleeping Beauty, I know what it’s like to have a role assigned to you. But, I also know what it’s like to edit the story. We can change this together. You can make your own choices, just as you wished. Put them all to sleep, Rosamund, and we will write the stories this world deserves.”

There is no happy ending for Rosamund. Only what must be done in this room.

[mewvore]

why do people marry people they dont like and act like its normal

I think dislike is something that grows over time; I don't think anyone sets out to become partners with someone they activily hate, but rather a lot of factors play a role in growing resentment.

One major one is probably lack of honesty. It seems like something that can be avoided rather easily by just... being honest? but for a lot of people they dont think theres much incentive to be honest about who they are all day every day especially when courting someone. They might present a version of themselves thats appealing moreso than it is honest and when they finally get a partner they might think they can drop the extra bells and whistles. But when the bells and whistles are what got them in the door, the lack of them might be what gets them pushed out, metaphorically.

I'd say the feeling of it being normal comes from how older generations were raised on the idea of marriage = stability and many people were raised to just put up with whatever for survivals sake. People have parents, grandparents, great grandparents who just didn't like each other but stayed together because they had to and that gets passed down to the younger generations so it seems like "a thing that just happens when you get married" is extremely common

Theres a lot of nuances to it but its something that happens, and it happens frequently enough that a lot of people understand and accept it as a thing. That doesn't make it a good thing, that commonality doesn't totally equate to normalcy. But theres a chance the person you like might do something thats completely intolerable for you and its a core part of their personality and you may never find it out until they feel comfortable enough to share that with you, and that comfort may not come until well after you married them.

[julietasgf]

hey its the plinth family anon! i really enjoyed and appreciated your long answers to my questions! I guess only Suzanne knows why on earth Ma stayed with Strabo... I am curious about whether Ma's parents and siblings would have taken her in if she had left Strabo though. In the book, she had one sister who still kept in touch with her so I wonder if that sister would have been willing to take her in if she had left Strabo? Tbh I'd be pretty confused if Ma's parents and siblings didn't want to take her in if she left Strabo because she may have married a scumbag but by leaving him, at least she kinda sees the light and is escaping him? why wouldn't her family want to help her then? I'm so curious about your hcs for how Ma and Strabo met and why Ma is so loyal/in love with him! you mentioned sejanus and coriolanus and keeping the cycle going, so does this mean you hc Ma and Strabo to have met and befriended each other when one of them was going through a hard time? seeing Ma trying to ignore all of Strabo's wrongdoings is making me think of this tiktok i saw where it said something like "you don't have to lie to women, if she likes you enough she'll lie to herself"...it's kinda mind-boggling to me how tightly Ma is clinging onto Strabo, like did this man save her from certain death when they were younger or something???

hello anon!! I'm so glad you appreciated the long answers bc I'm too talkative and if you let me, I'll talk endlessly about this stuff, I actually have to look back and be like "okay, now I'm talking too much, let's stop here" 😭 but I saw that it got accidentally sent your other thoughts, so I'm going to answer both in only this post, I hope that's okay by you :D

there's some stuff in the book that makes me feel like suzanne collins is the type of writer to make the whole background story of side characters, but not show them bc they're unnecessary story wise, you can't tell me she doesn't know exactly what the hell is the plinth backstory in D2 (I think she did it but I just can't prove it....)

I hardly think her family (except, maybe, the sister that still talks to her) would take her in, imo. D2 seem like a district that it's full of proud people, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but strabo being a dick is not the worst part of this marriage: is that he betrayed the whole district. the plinths are despised back in two. I think ma's family didn't like him from the start, but he was not the worst; he was the worst when he betrayed everyone, and when she chose to not leave him, she made her choice of who her loyalty lays with. it's with him, not with them. and besides, taking back a plinth (even if it's an ex-plinth) and welcoming her in their home would definitely not be seen with good eyes.

(maybe it's a bit of self-projecting, but where I live, it's much more common for the woman to still keep in contact and close with her family, not the man; I grew up with my cousins from my mother's side and I hardly know anyone from my father's side. siding with your husband in a situation like this would be seen as a BIG offense, something that's very much unforgivable. I could see that being the case)

now, from now on, there's a lot of my personal headcanons and thoughts bc I'm OBSESSED with the plinths and their life in D2:

OKAY SO there's a very, very small and discreet line on the ma plinth study I wrote that goes like: "vesta had dreams, even if her father rolled his eyes at most of them." I actually plan to write something from strabo's pov and explore more about this, but basically, I think ma plinth had a not very good relationship with her parents, and most of all, with her father (the cycle keeps on cycling). I think her family was overprotective and she felt suffocated (I think she was the youngest, the baby sibling, and this just made everything much worse). now, I have exactly in my mind how I think they met: ma plinth went with her father to the city center, and her father was searching for a gun to buy to leave at home as a way to protect the family. the plinths didn't have an industry yet; it was little more than a small thing, where they built some modest models to sell. strabo was there. he was talking to her father, and then turned to her and asked if she would like anything. her father made a comment diminishing her, saying that she was too dense to understand about guns, and poor ma was so embarassed even though used to it because her father always do that kind of thing, but to her surprise, strabo plinth didn't laugh. he looked at her father very seriously and said that she looked smart enough to understand about it, and if someone has hands, that person can shoot well.

he was the first person to actually defend her in front of her father from these kind of "jokes" and comments. not even her sisters or her own mother had done that before, all too terrified to say something. and that was enough.

about strabo and his siblings: fucked up shit happened. let's go about my personal hcs about him and his family: he's the only son of his father and his mother, but his mother died and his father married again when he was around 5 or 6. his father and his stepmother had two other kids. he never had a good relationship with his stepmother and he resents his father very much for marrying shortly after the death of his mother (omg cinderella hiiii). strabo was the eldest, he had to basically raise his half-siblings as his father was always at their small industry and his stepmother worked for endless hours. he learned to shoot from a young age to know how to protect them. he didn't hate his half-siblings, but he was tired of having to carry all the responsability on his shoulders, especially when they still had a loving mother while he didn't. it seemed so unfair.

(the sad part is that his half-siblings did look up to him. they loved him. they saw him as an example.)

his father got sick when he was a teen and he started to work hard on their small factory. and strabo has a lot of flaws, but let me tell you something: that man works hard. he worked enough to make their small shop rather famous in D2, and worked enough to pay for everything his father needed to while sick. his half-siblings never were interested in the industry, and neither was his stepmother, so when his father died when strabo was in his late teens, he was pissed off that his stepmother wanted to inherit the factory. they never worked a single day on it while he kept it going on. his half-siblings tried to reason with him, but he was just so angry, and a lot of hurtful things were said. in the end, strabo got the factory, but he left home and never came back. he said things that were too cruel to his half-siblings, the kind of thing that they could never really forgive.

ma is very family-oriented and couldn't really understand why strabo resented his half-siblings so much (specially because she also had family issues, being close with her sisters was what kept her going on), but she tries to have empathy with it, knowing people react in different ways to different things. I can totally see her one day trying to bring the subject of in-laws and strabo just looking so annoyed and resented that she knows that there's bad blood involved.

(it's so ironic to me that she didn't understand how he was so resented with his half-siblings, but in the future, her own sisters were as resented with her)

strabo is genuinely so interesting, I really wish to know what went through his mind, or just know more from his canon backstory, what made him make the choices he made. he's ruthless and cold, he sold guns to people that hated his guts and hated where he's from. he didn't betray a single person, he betrayed his whole PEOPLE. but he seems to care about ma and sejanus to a certain level, in his twisted way. he moved to the capitol thinking about giving them a better life, and still, he's hated by his own son, the one he thought he was protecting by moving to the capitol. ouch.

[eviestrology]

Synastry Ship - quruxbadan

@quruxbadan Thanks for requesting!!

ASPECTS

Sun Conjunction Sun: You have similar personalities and energy levels. You just “get” each other. However, the parts of yourself that you don’t like may show up in your partner and cause some aggravation. You may find it hard to be with someone who exhibits the things you dislike about yourself. The more you accept yourself, the more beneficial and delightful your relationship will be.

Sun Conjunction Jupiter: This aspect puts emphasis on your long-term goals resulting in a great abundance of whatever you both seek to experience in your lives. Good luck is emphasized, and material and spiritual benefits are indicated as you help each other expand your horizons. You will have higher confidence and a better sense of who you are. You will ultimately give each other the benefit of the doubt in most situations.

Sun Sextile Neptune: You intuitively know how the other is feeling and may feel that you have found your soulmate. It’s easy to forgive each other and love flows easily between you two.

Sun Trine Pluto: Very strong and supportive aspect. You will experience a lot of magnetism and sexual passion towards each other. You feel you can trust each other and feel safe when you’re together. You have a safe place to work out old fears. You want the best for each other. There is a great opportunity for transformation in this aspect.

Moon Opposition Mercury: You have endless conversations about your deepest concerns, hopes, and fears. But, you see things differently so you may end up having arguments over these issues. You have a more emotional approach while he has a more rational and critical approach. You have different interests. It is difficult to fully understand each other, and you are unable to listen sympathetically to each other. 

Mercury Sextile Venus: This aspect makes it easy for you to express your feelings to each other. Communication is usually easy-going and loving. This breeds respect for the way you speak to each other, which, in the long run, will draw you closer than pretty much any other aspect in synastry. You feel good when you are in each other’s presence, and you will often look to each other for comfort when feeling down. Romantic poems and text messages can very likely be a part of everyday communication. This aspect helps smooth over other areas that might be problematic in the relationship.

Mercury Trine Mars: Conversations will be lively and productive. You encourage each other to put your ideas into action and give each other confidence. There is a healthy competition between you two mentally and you will have many intellectual debates.

Mercury Square Pluto: You challenge each other to think more deeply and to back up your ideas, but the intensity created from this can be overwhelming. You may hang on to old issues for too long. You do not see things in the same way, and this creates issues and conflicts between you. 

Mars Trine Mars: When problems arise, you often agree upon the best course of action. It is favorable for situations involving teamwork and problem-solving. Whether you’re working actively together towards a common goal or pursuing separate interests, you are supportive of one another. You might feel that together, you can accomplish pretty much anything and overcome obstacles.

Mars Square Pluto: Strong sexual attraction. The problem is both planets are powerful and usually very stubborn. You both have strong desires that don’t always align. At its worst, there seems to be an underlying competition between you two or a great deal of pride and controlling tendencies. Both of you need to be very mature and willing to compromise for this relationship to not turn ugly.

HOUSE OVERLAYS

His Sun in Your 6th House: This works best for a business relationship, but it can be helpful in a marriage. You feel the need to organize his life and he feels obligated to obey you. One way this relationship could go is you each will do your share of the chores and the household will run smoothly. The other way is that you could become overly bossy leading to resentment or him becoming over-dependent. It could also be the other way around, with him organizing your life.

His Moon in Your 8th House: Intense, magnetic attraction that can easily lead to obsession. The relationship could move very quickly. You instinctively connect on a deeper level, and you know how the other is feeling just by looking at them. You want to know everything about each other and find your partner irresistible. There can be issues with jealousy and possessiveness.

His Mercury in Your 5th House: You brighten each other’s life. It’s easy to express yourself and conversations are fun and playful. You most likely will want to raise children together, and you have similar views on how to raise them. You enjoy spending time together and there is a lot of romance in your relationship.

His Venus in Your 7th House: Great aspect for marriages. You care deeply for each other and do everything you can to make the other happy. You both try to make the relationship as harmonious and peaceful as possible. It’s easy to communicate and get along. You both feel like the ideal partner for each other. 

His Mars in Your 1st House: There is a lot of sexual attraction in this connection. He makes you feel more confident and wants to improve. He is enthralled by you and maybe a bit obsessive. However, he may not like it when you assert yourself or stand up for yourself. The way he pursues you could be a bit overwhelming. You either find him too aggressive or very attractive.

His Jupiter in Your 6th House: He likes helping you with chores and errands. Running errands and doing laundry are more enjoyable when together. Make sure you don’t take his help for granted and make sure you know he is appreciated. He also helps you loosen up and have fun. If you have a bad day, it’s easy for him to lift up your spirits.

His Saturn in Your 7th House: He is serious and mature in this relationship and wants to take things slow. You see him as someone who you can count on. He helps you learn how to control your emotions and maintain boundaries. You both feel responsible for the other. The negative side is you could feel restricted by his seriousness and that there isn’t much fun in the relationship.

His Uranus in Your 4th House: He shakes up your ideas about how home and family life should be run. If you live together, you might have an unusual living situation, or your home may have very eclectic decor and designs. You could also move around a lot. If you want more stability, he could rebel or sabotage these efforts. 

His Neptune in Your 4th House: He can help you overcome any childhood traumas or past hurts. You give him comfort and security. You like reminiscing about the past together. You help each other heal.

His Pluto in Your 2nd House: He helps you increase your confidence and self-worth. He can also help you with your finances. He likes helping you manage your finances, but he may be a bit obsessive and judgmental over how you spend your money.

OVERALL RANKINGS

Emotional intimacy: 5/5, you have a strong, intuitive emotional connection. His feelings can easily become your own. Communication is open and flowing, so it's easy to express your emotions.

Physical chemistry: 5/5, a magnetic and passionate attraction that can easily lead to obsession.

Trust and Boundaries: 4/5, you have similar personalities and communicate with ease so it's easy to trust one another. You feel safe with each other and forgive easily. However, you both can be very obsessive with each other and not give each other enough space.

Equality in the relationship: 4/5, he'll try to be the more dominant one in the relationship and wouldn't like it when you try to stand up for yourself at times. He can be a bit bossy over how the household runs and about finances. Power struggles and dependency can be issues.

Satisfaction: 4/5, you both work hard to keep harmony in the relationship, and conflicts are easily solved. Your intense emotional bond can be overwhelming at times. There can be a lot of dependency and obsessive tendencies. You'll have to work on making sure both of you get some alone time and don't neglect responsibilities outside your relationship.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 15/01/2024

2023! YEAR OF THE PORTAL RADIO!

Season 7 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume Ruby

Ripped by Retro Gaming Visuals by Tocinin

Look, I've been kind of racking my brain to try and remember...why I picked this one? Like, I knew I wanted a Season 7 rip to cover this week, and I knew I'd picked one but couldn't remember which one, but now...well, it's time for Nyan Cat I guess! Yet even without a speech prepared, its not difficult at all for me to say that 2023! YEAR OF THE PORTAL RADIO! is just, really funny.

I'm unsure if I want to truly label Season 7 as the *start* of it, but it feels like SiIvaGunner as of recent has had a lot of fun covering a bunch of different parts of internet culture, without avoiding any sort of them for any perceived nature of "cringiness". SiIvaGunner's always been a celebration of the internet, of course, but let's not forget that the entire core storyline of the channel began from a perceived notion that anime music, and anime in general, has no place on the channel - and only recently, the creator of Field of Love and Cringe made an excellent post covering the insecurities they had over what they felt "allowed" to like or not like when online. I feel like with the rips of Unregistered Hypercam 2's reign and the fallout of it, with everything that happened behind the scenes at SiIvaGunner over the course of Season 4, 5 and 6, things gradually became a lot less cynical, a lot of the team's rough edges were finally sanded off.

And now that it's finally getting close to wrapping up, I feel like Season 7 can truly be labeled as one of the most fun, silly, enjoyable times in the entire channel's life - a greatest-hits of everything that makes SiIvaGunner great, althewhile feeling more sincere and proud of the internet it inhibits than it ever has before. And that does also include rips like 2023! YEAR OF THE PORTAL RADIO!: completely disconnected from any event, from any Hypercam 2 silliness, it is just a pure tribute to Nyan Cat and the Portal series - in other words, a tribute to the early internet meme-posting days of the late 2000s. The marriage of songs seems so obvious that its incredible it hadn't been done before, and its pretty much everything you could've ever expected the rip to be, even down to the absolutely perfect visuals on top.

Even though it's been that way for a long time now, there's still just something delightful about seeing a comment section completely that's just...completely void of all the forms of edgy hostility, void of that form of cynicism that was once so common to see online. Those people still exist out there, for sure, but I'm so proud that the SiIvaGunner community, scattered as we may be, at least appears to have grown up a bit, or at least grown up to be happier, more relaxed people. We're able to see a rip using two thoroughly outdated memes, Nyan Cat and the Portal Radio music, and not label it as overplayed, or as part of a cringier time in the internet, or what have you. And while its probably also due to nostalgia...I dunno, I just get a good feeling from SiIvaGunner nowadays. Not unlike 2023! YEAR OF THE PORTAL RADIO! itself, things simply feel very good right now :)

[elainsweetcobalt]

Feysand/Nessian/Elriel analysis triangular theory of love

Disclaimer: This is a post, Pro Elriel, AntiElucien/AntiGwynriel

Disclaimer #2: This post is long and written in somewhat technical language if you have any questions you are more than welcome to ask as long as you are kind.

This theory was proposed by the psychologist Robert Sternberg (1986) describes the different elements that make up love, as well as the possible combinations of these elements when forming different types of relationships.

Robert Sternberg is an American psychologist, professor at Yale University, widely recognized for his research, not only has he been interested in love, but intelligence or creativity have also been objects of interest in his research, his contributions in the field of intelligence study are well known and accepted.

For Sternberg, love is made up of 3 qualities that are manifested in any love relationship: intimacy, passion and commitment. These elements, in practice, are intermingled with each other, but knowing how to distinguish them in a theoretical framework helps us to understand the phenomenon of love and to better recognize its nuances and details.

Intimacy: Intimacy refers to the feeling of closeness, the bond between the two people who are part of the love story, the trust between them, friendship and affection. Passion: This component is the emotion or energy of the relationship. Feeling of physical attraction and wanting or needing to be with the other person and be sexually intimate. Commitment: It refers to the decision and willingness to maintain the relationship, together with the feeling of responsibility.

The possible combinations or types of love According to the possible combinations, Sternberg affirms that there are different ways of loving.

These ways of loving can be heard in isolation or as stages:

Liking/friendship Affection refers to true friendship. There is only intimacy, but there is no passion or commitment. Members of the relationship feel close and trust each other, but there is no desire for intimacy or commitment as a couple.

Infatuated love In this way of loving there is a lot of passion, however, there is neither intimacy nor commitment, which makes this type of relationship superficial. It would be a kind of romance but ending soon or the beginning of a relationship, where there is a lot of desire to be intimate but not enough trust and commitment.

Empty love There is the commitment to be together, but the passion and intimacy have died. They do not feel anything for each other, but there is a feeling of respect and reciprocity. In arranged marriages, relationships often begin with empty love, It also usually manifests itself in long-term relationships.

Romantic love Romantic love is a way of loving in which the members of the relationship feel attraction and excitement, and also have trust and closeness. If this stage continues with great experiences together, it will end up provoking commitment.

Companionate love It usually occurs in long-term relationships. There is intimacy and commitment, but no passion. It is the type of love that can manifest itself when the couple lacks desire and excitement towards the other person, but living together, children and experiences together keep them together. This relationship may seem satisfying to the members and last a long time.

Fatuous love In fatuous love, passion and commitment predominate, but there is no intimacy. Fatuous love can occur because the members of the couple want to be together, since there is a desire and excitement to live intimate experiences, however, they do not have much in common.

Consummate love This is complete love. It is made up of the three elements of Sternberg's pyramid theory. Consummated love is the main love archetype, it is the ideal love and is also called mature love.

With an author like SJM it should come as no surprise that in fact most of his romantic partners always end in consummate love, all going through different stages but ending up the same with all three components present in their relationship.

Let's start by looking at the evolution of Feysand.

Liking/friendship: This relationship began with intimacy that led them to understand each other and have moments of empathy and acceptance.

Romantic Love:Feyre and Rhys begin to have moments of sexual attraction but these are accompanied by affection and mutual appreciation, they understand each other they have affection and security (Intimacy + passion)

Consummate love Feyre accepts Rhysand and they decide to commit to their relationship, we saw how they went from understanding each other to understanding and accepting, they also have sexual chemistry and intimate desires with each other and finally there is an acceptance of being a couple and building a relationship. (Intimacy + Passion + Commitment )

Let's see the romantic evolution of Nessian

Infatuated love:  Nesian there is first a lot of desire to have intimate relationships but there is not enough trust or commitment. (Passion)

Romantic Love: We can see how Cassian and Nesta's relationship evolved to the point of understanding each other, appreciating each other's presence and what Cassian can bring to Nesta and vice versa (Passion + Intimacy )

Consummate Love: We know how difficult it was for Nesta to let go of control and committing to a relationship requires giving a bit of control to the partner, we see how Nesta evolved to feel good about commitment. (Passion + Intimacy + Commitment)

Let's see the evolution of Elriel

Liking/friendship: We see how Elain and Azriel's relationship in a certain way always remained on pleasant terms since they met, they felt comfortable enough to question each other as the books progress we see how little by little their relationship grows to understand each other enough to notice specific details in the other and enjoy mutual company (intimacy)

Romantic love: is a way of loving in which the members of the relationship feel attraction and excitement, and, in addition, they have trust and closeness, they can often understand each other without words since they know, perceive and notice each other so much that they discover what they think, there is a physical attraction on the part of BOTH ELAIN AND AZRIEL and an emotional attraction.

He needed to know what the skin of her neck tasted like. What those perfect lips tasted like. Her breasts. Her sex. He needed her coming on his tongue-

Azriel’s cock strained behind his pants, aching so fiercely that he could hardly think. He prayed she didn’t peer down. Prayed she didn’t understand the shift in his scent.

“Yes,” he said, his thumb sweeping in long strokes along the side of her throat.

Her arousal drifted up to him, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sweet scent. He’d beg on his knees for a chance to taste it. But Azriel just stroked her neck again.

For Sarah's favorite archetype Elain and Azriel need to have the commitment factor, we know that will be the plot of the Elriel book.

Now let's see where Elucien would fit into these categories.

Empty love: We see on several occasions how the only thing that unites Elain and Lucien is a bond mate with which they both feel uncomfortable so they are currently in "this kind of love"

In this relationship there is no "intimacy" they do not understand each other, they do not know each other, they do not enjoy each other's company, we have not seen signs that they desire each other sexually other than those of the bond when we enter Lucien's mind

Could a relationship like this be the key for intimacy and passion to grow? YES AND NO, intimacy could develop but it would be a product of commitment, not mutual trust and passion could occur but the same would happen, it would be a product of the need to commitment. A small reminder this type of relationship is the most unsatisfactory for those involved.

Let's see where Gwynriel falls into this category.

Well, actually, Gwynriel is in a very special type. Sternberg introduces non-love, which is when none of the three components of love are present in a relationship.

There will be people who argue that Azriel and Gwyn are friends but that is not true. Azriel does not think of Gwyn as a friend, also in his conversation he wanted to avoid her and it seems that he stayed alone so as not to seem rude.

How are the books right now that is the romantic relationship that couples have based on this theory.

This post was written thanks to my bestie @nitecourtfairytail I talked to her for hours before I dared to make a post, we also spent until dawn trying to find NESSIAN's first romantic moment haha ​​Thanks friend ❤️

Here you can check the information: Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological review

[see-arcane]

Lord Ruthven, the Unbeaten Vampire Bastard Who Spread Misery and Murder Long Before Dracula Ever Left the Castle

A while ago I talked about my favorite underappreciated vampire babe, Clarimonde, who is well overdue for a modern day debut. But now I want to shed a little light on a gentleman of wealth and bad taste that some vampire lit fans may have come across while deep-diving through the old stories. Specifically, the grandaddy of all psychologically torturous, enigmatic, undiluted evil undead villains, Lord Ruthven.

Ruthven is the masterfully malevolent antagonist of John William Polidori’s short story, “The Vampyre,” published in 1819. He technically had his pre-publishing literary birthday in the same period as Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, as he was a product of the infamous challenge made by Lord Byron in the Villa Diodati to pass the time, urging his scribbling companions to write the scariest story they could. That was back in the summer of 1816, so hey, happy birthday to you, you old Nosferasshole!

Now, who is Lord Ruthven?

Spoilers for, “The Vampyre,” below

We’re introduced to him on the very first page like so:

It happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon a London winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman, more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank. He gazed upon the mirth around him, as if he could not participate therein. Apparently, the light laughter of the fair only attracted his attention, that he might by a look quell it, and throw fear into those breasts where thoughtlessness reigned. Those who felt this sensation of awe, could not explain whence it arose: some attributed it to the dead grey eye, which, fixing upon the object's face, did not seem to penetrate, and at one glance to pierce through to the inward workings of the heart; but fell upon the cheek with a leaden ray that weighed upon the skin it could not pass.

His peculiarities caused him to be invited to every house; all wished to see him, and those who had been accustomed to violent excitement, and now felt the weight of ennui, were pleased at having something in their presence capable of engaging their attention. In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a warmer tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection: Lady Mercer, who had been the mockery of every monster shewn in drawing-rooms since her marriage, threw herself in his way, and did all but put on the dress of a mountebank, to attract his notice—though in vain—when she stood before him, though his eyes were apparently fixed upon hers, still it seemed as if they were unperceived;—even her unappalled impudence was baffled, and she left the field.

But though the common adulteress could not influence even the guidance of his eyes, it was not that the female sex was indifferent to him: yet such was the apparent caution with which he spoke to the virtuous wife and innocent daughter, that few knew he ever addressed himself to females. He had, however, the reputation of a winning tongue; and whether it was that it even overcame the dread of his singular character, or that they were moved by his apparent hatred of vice, he was as often among those females who form the boast of their sex from their domestic virtues, as among those who sully it by their vices.

Lord Ruthven: What’s up, I’m pretty, I hate you all, my goal in life is to ruin any and all happiness happening near me, thirsty chicks DNI, sinners ditto, y’all got any virtuous ladies around here? Asking for non-nefarious purposes, honest

The well-to-do of London, apparently: Guys, guys, check out this sexy well-spoken goth we found, he makes us miserable, we love him

Following this, we’re introduced to the protagonist, a well-off young man named Aubrey who is, the narrative points out, a wee bit sheltered due to a lot of soft living, general naivete, and a big mushy Romantic’s heart about things like honor and art and so on. He meets Lord Ruthven. He becomes fascinated by his character. One line in particular spells out his mistake perfectly:

—allowing his imagination to picture everything that flattered its propensity to extravagant ideas, he soon formed this object into the hero of a romance, and determined to observe the offspring of his fancy, rather than the person before him.

The young man attaches himself to Ruthven like a puppy, even going out of his way to schedule his traveling to time itself with Ruthven’s own plans to move on.

Aubrey: Hey, buddy! :) I just happened to overhear you were going to do some traveling! :) So am I! :) What a coincidence! :) Would be super awesome not to go alone, though, being my first time really out and about, with no learned and mysterious handsome older gentleman to wander around with, ha ha! :)

Lord Ruthven:

Aubrey: :)

Lord Ruthven: …Would you like to join m—

Aubrey, already dragging his luggage: YesYeahSureIfYouInsist

So off they go, enjoying the tourist spots. Aubrey just wishes Ruthven was more interested in, you know, the vacation aspect versus abjectly, almost supernaturally, casting ruin upon everyone he comes in contact with. In true Devil-in-All-But-Name fashion, Ruthven has a habit of turning every interaction with others into one resulting in an act of cruelty. One of the most interesting points is the way he gambles.

Namely, if he’s in a game with some lout who will only use his gains to sink deeper into personal vices, he always loses, with great sums and not a tear shed. If he enters a game with a desperate player whose every cent is precious, needed for their life and the well-being of loved ones, the tables being a last recourse between themselves and destitution? Ruthven wins. Every time.

The rule holds the same when he gives out charity as plain old alms. Desperate and good and simply an unfortunate trying to get by or get a leg up? Fuck off. Begging for money to feed a wretched and self-destructive habit? He empties his pockets. Reading this, it could just be taken for an ordinary combo of skill and sadism, or a manner of psychic vampirism. Either way, our guy is showing his true colors.

Aubrey also discovers what happens to all the virtuous ladies Ruthven appeared to prefer over less scrupulous babes back home. All of them, without fail, fell apart into degeneracy in a way that suggests a total deformation of their former selves. Yeah, we’re going full ‘corruption of the innocent’ here. Dude just needs horns and a pitchfork. So where does the vampire stuff come in? We’re getting there. (Also, note that said degeneracy is later revealed to be him at his tamest when he picks out a nice girl. Not all of them get to live.)

Aubrey, now informed of his traveling companion’s MO and freshly wary for some new sweet girl Ruthven’s been sniffing after, leaves a warning for the targeted family and straight up ditches the guy. He heads to Greece solo. He falls in love with the daughter of a family he stays with, Ianthe, who shares horror stories of the vampire. And their predilection for feasting on young girls.

Guess who gets vamp-murdered, with her cries and a very familiar voice reaching Aubrey’s ear in the night? RIP Ianthe.

Aubrey falls to grief and a fever. While he’s in bed, guess who shows up?

Lord Ruthven: :)

Aubrey: >:(

Lord Ruthven: Sorry about your girlfriend. I was conveniently very far away in Alibi Land when I heard of the tragedy. Want to be friends and travel again?

Aubrey: :)

Obviously there’s more nuance, but Ruthven is very much the absolute king of persuasive wordsmithing (or else is just too handsome to stay creeped out at). They travel some more. Then Lord Ruthven dies.*

*Mostly. Poor Ruthven is shot by robbers and the wound necrotizes over a few days. As he’s near ‘death,’ he forces Aubrey to swear a vow of silence about both his illicit deeds and his being dead to anyone for at least a year and a day from now. A bit Fae in the wording there, Ruthy. So much so that, even after the corpse is laid out under the moonlight as was requested by the dying man, even after Aubrey is well away from the place, every time Aubrey feels the urge to mention something of Ruthven to others—including his sweet younger sister—he senses/hears/is grasped by Ruthven.

“Remember your oath.”

It doesn’t help that, surprise, Lord Ruthven is back in town! Alive! And now courting Aubrey’s own sister! Again, fever and a sort of madness locks down on Aubrey, making him seem wild and incoherent even as he tries to work around the binding power of the oath to warn his sister against marrying the man. The ending scenes should scratch a particular itch when it comes to us folks who have theorized about what fate might have befallen Jonathan Harker if he was counted so loony that he needed protection from himself.

Namely …

Aubrey, when he was left by the physician and his guardians, attempted to bribe the servants, but in vain. He asked for pen and paper; it was given him; he wrote a letter to his sister, conjuring her, as she valued her own happiness, her own honour, and the honour of those now in the grave, who once held her in their arms as their hope and the hope of their house, to delay but for a few hours that marriage, on which he denounced the most heavy curses. The servants promised they would deliver it; but giving it to the physician, he thought it better not to harass any more the mind of Miss Aubrey by, what he considered, the ravings of a maniac. Night passed on without rest to the busy inmates of the house; and Aubrey heard, with a horror that may more easily be conceived than described, the notes of busy preparation.

Morning came, and the sound of carriages broke upon his ear. Aubrey grew almost frantic. The curiosity of the servants at last overcame their vigilance, they gradually stole away, leaving him in the custody of a helpless old woman. He seized the opportunity, with one bound was out of the room, and in a moment found himself in the apartment where all were nearly assembled.

Lord Ruthven was the first to perceive him: he immediately approached, and, taking his arm by force, hurried him from the room, speechless with rage. When on the staircase, Lord Ruthven whispered in his ear—"Remember your oath, and know, if not my bride today, your sister is dishonoured. Women are frail!"

So saying, he pushed him towards his attendants, who, roused by the old woman, had come in search of him. Aubrey could no longer support himself; his rage not finding vent, had broken a blood-vessel, and he was conveyed to bed. This was not mentioned to his sister, who was not present when he entered, as the physician was afraid of agitating her. The marriage was solemnized, and the bride and bridegroom left London.

Aubrey's weakness increased; the effusion of blood produced symptoms of the near approach of death. He desired his sister's guardians might be called, and when the midnight hour had struck, he related composedly what the reader has perused—he died immediately after.

The guardians hastened to protect Miss Aubrey; but when they arrived, it was too late. Lord Ruthven had disappeared, and Aubrey's sister had glutted the thirst of a VAMPYRE!

Yeah.

He gets away with all of it. The absolute fucker.

It honestly stuns me that he doesn’t get any modern mileage, same as Clarimonde. These two are at the perfect polar opposite ends of the vampire spectrum.

Clarimonde = Full Bacchanalia Mode, Baby, Let’s Bang, Let’s Bleed, Let’s Party Like the Church Isn’t Watching (and If They Are, See If I Give a Fuck!)

Lord Ruthven = I Can, Must, and Will Ruin Everything and Everyone in Reach, I’ll Drink Your Girlfriend, I’ll Drink Your Sister, I’ll Blow a Fucking Blood Vessel in Your Brain, Try Me

“The Vampyre,” is available to read on Project Gutenberg (though you have to scroll a bit to pass the introduction), same as Clarimonde’s story, “La Morte Amoureuse.” I sincerely recommend both as prime Classic Vampire © ™ tales that precede the more well-known, “Carmilla,” and Dracula. They deserve more love (or, in Ruthven’s case, more loathing). If we’re heading into some Draculean Old School Vampire Renaissance in the midst of all our Dracula Daily/The Invitation/Last Voyage of the Demeter/Renfield/yes, even Moffat’s wet fart of a Dracula series goings-on, these guys deserve to catch some belated bloodsucker limelight too.

 (Credit to @theskyismadeofpenguins​ for the cropped illustration, the original art is a thing of majesty, it deserves a spot in the MoMA)

[fieldsofview]

The Orphan Story - Baby Steps into Storytelling

I had a realization today because three of my interests (Spider-Man, D&D, and Writing/Storytelling) got their wires crossed - bear with me because this is probably going to be a long-winded post.

Something that's really prevalent in the Spider-Man fandom is the trope of "Dead May Parker" in fic. Usually, it starts with Peter's aunt and primary guardian, May Parker, being killed off-screen to set up the fic, often with just a small blurb about it like it wouldn't completely shatter Peter's world, but ya know.

It can be done in any number of ways (car crashes, cancer, and being caught in a supervillain's crossfire are all pretty typical for this).

There are a myriad of common storylines that build from this choice. IronDad, Homeless!Peter, and Foster!Peter are all really prevalent. Sometimes it's so that characters that people ship with Peter will be pushed together out of a need for Peter to live someplace new and/or needing someone to lean on. (I could go on, but you get the idea).

I could spend a lot of time talking about each of these storylines and the ways they can be done well or poorly, and the greater implications for the fandom as a whole, but that's not what this post is about so I will leave that here.

Peter Parker as a character, despite his many iterations among the various Spider-Man comics and adaptations, has always been a character with tragedy engrained in his story (Richard & Mary Parker, Ben Parker, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, the clones, his marriage, etc., etc., etc.). It's not necessarily out of the norm for more tragedy to occur, and having his only living family and primary guardian for most of his life die would definitely be on par with the rest of his life.

However, I don't think that the instances of the "Dead May Parker" trope in fic are because of this. At least, not when you dig.

I think people do it because it's easy.

I'm not saying that writing grief is easy, but that's part of the problem. Most of the stories using this trope don't bother to show the grief. Her death is just a device used to further other relationships.

Generally speaking, it's easier to write stories with fewer characters. Balancing a large cast with varying points of view, backstories, voices, motivations, etc., is always going to be more complicated. For a writer who's starting out, or perhaps someone who just doesn't want to make things harder on themselves for their hobby-writing, it's easier to do what you can to shrink the relevant cast. And for something like Spider-Man, there are more side characters relevant to his life than I think any person could possibly count - especially when you look across all the versions/adaptations that exist.

(That's part of why I love this fandom, despite its flaws. There are SO MANY stories to be told and so much room to pick apart what's there and transform it into something new. Fandom is transformative in nature, after all, and comics like Spider-Man are a buffet to choose from.)

I also think that it's easier to put a character like Peter Parker (especially if you're writing him as a high schooler as so many adaptations seem to permanently keep him as) into convoluted situations if he doesn't have a primary guardian to keep an eye on him. Especially one who's loving and caring and is actively parenting him. (I would argue that this is the perfect time to write him as an adult with his own autonomy and whatnot, but you know, that's not what the movie makers seem to want so... I digress.)

And lastly, I think someone being young and completely orphaned with no caretaker to look after them is also a sort of trauma that is easy to understand. I'm not saying it's a trauma that's easy to live with, but as an outsider looking in, it's easy to say "Oh, well yeah, of course, that person is struggling. Look at the hand they've been dealt."

A character - just like people - with more complex reasons for 'Why They Are The Way They Are" TM, can be harder to empathize with, especially if those reasons are not something the reader is familiar with. And it's most certainly harder to write, with all the layers, intricacies, imperfections, and generally weird ways that the human experience works. (In the same vein, it's why people with certain traumas, triggers, mental health issues, etc., are often dismissed or harassed, but that's a whole other can of worms that I'm not going to dive into atm.)

"But FOV," you might be wondering, "How does all of this relate to Dungeons & Dragons?"

Well, y'all ever heard of the Orphaned Rogue Trope?

In the greater online D&D community, there are a lot of common tropes and character builds that people are familiar with. They're common enough that you get a lot of memes shared around about them and a lot of people building characters that both lean into the tropes and/or subvert them. (The horny bard, the dumb barbarian, the warlock with daddy issues, etc.)

One of these is the 'Orphaned Rogue'.

(Please keep in mind that I'm referencing 5e specifically. I've played many editions - don't quote the old magic to me, Witch - but 5e is the most common edition to ever be played and has brought a massive influx of people to this game in the last decade, so that's what I'm talking about here.)

A lot of people start out with a Rogue as their first character, I would argue disproportionally so. There are a few reasons for this. 1) Rogues typically (I'm not going to argue over subclasses here, don't come for me) don't have any magic, and magic-using characters are typically more complicated to learn to play than non-mages. 2) For players who aren't as familiar with high fantasy, a thieving, backstabbing character is usually still one that people can recognize. (Similarly, I think this is part of why a lot of people also start by playing Rangers). 3) Especially at low levels, Rogues don't have a whole lot of character abilities. They're really really good at the few things they do, but that's about it, so it's extra easy to step into as a beginner.

So where does the orphan part come in? Well, a lot of beginners to D&D are also beginners to storytelling in general (with exceptions, you'll always have the people who side-stepped over from LARPing, theatre, writing, etc.). This means that they're new to the idea of creating a character that has no reliance on their own personal history. Their character can be literally anyone, and they will be able to interact with the story in whatever way they want to.

Creating a character is one of the most overwhelming things for a new D&D player. It's a boundary to entry that I've seen turns a lot of people away from the game. It's work that has to be done before you even get to roll your first die. It requires math, decision-making, and creativity in a way that not everyone is prepared for right off the bat.

(Yes, I know I might seem to be exaggerating here, but please remember that we live on the hellsite for creatives. This is not the norm for a lot of people. I once invited a co-worker into a game who was an avid non-fiction reader and had never done any theatre, not even drama class. She had genuinely never put herself into a fictional character's shoes since she was last playing Let's Pretend as a small child at recess. It was a hard learning curve for her, but she grew to love the game a lot and now is an avid LARPer as well.)

Your character has to have somewhere that they came from. They are a person, through and through, and should therefore have lived experiences that shape their point of view, their actions, and the way that they interact with other people.

It's not easy to think of an entire history for a person all at once, all while you're just trying to wrap your head around the math and learn the rules required to play this damn game that your friends have been bugging you about for who knows how long.

And so - orphan. No existing family means no extra characters to have to build personalities for or shared experiences between your PC and them that you have to write.

It's easier. It's removing a barrier to entry to the game.

(This is probably also why amnesiac characters are also really common first-time PCs, now that I think about it.)

So what's my point in all of this?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure.

I think it's really easy for anyone who has been a storyteller of any kind for a while to see the annoying, problematic, or sometimes downright concerning ways these tropes manifest. There are connotations for the stories that use these 'easy' orphan tropes, and these can and should be talked about. As I said above, I could talk about the "Dead May Parker" trope and the problematic themes that regularly exist in these stories until I'm blue in the face.

But, at the same time, I think we should also take these things with a grain of salt. New storytellers of any kind are going to make mistakes. They're going to write imperfect things. Humans never pop into existence with a fully formed skill. These things need to be learned through practice and exposure, and these choices most often aren't made with malicious intent.

Long ago, when I was a wayward young teenager, my first major foray into fanfiction was through an A:TLA fic that I put on ff.net. (No, I will not link it here. No, it was not under any USN I use anymore. Don't ask.) But, looking back, even though I was so immensely proud of that story, it also had a lot of things in it that I wouldn't write today. Things that my gut reaction would be to judge and raise an eyebrow at, if I read them now. But I also learned a lot while writing it, and there was a lot of heart in that story, too. I was just writing from a naivete that made me think I had the know-how to tackle themes that I was too young to fully understand.

In many ways, I am still proud of that fic, not because of the story itself, but because of the effort I put into it and the things it taught me about storytelling and writing as a learned craft.

I think my point is this: everyone has to start somewhere.

Sometimes people need to start off with those easier stories so that they can learn enough and build enough confidence to tackle the bigger ones.

So, do I think we shouldn't critique something when it does have harmful implications? No, we absolutely should. Critique and open discussion are how individuals and communities learn to grow. (No, I am not advocating for you to leave criticism on random people's fics. I mean critique of tropes in general. It's never cool to leave negative comments on people's fic.) Open discussion is good and healthy, and it's part of what makes fan spaces and communities flourish and bond.

But I do think that those critiques can be done from a perspective of learning. I often see people so far split down the middle that it alienates people from each other.

In fan spaces where the content shared is inherently made as an act of love, freely given and freely received, it's easy for people to say that no criticism is ever acceptable. "It's free content, just enjoy it and move on!" & "You're taking it too seriously!" are often phrases I've seen spouted about both these communities. And they are true things to an extent. It is fictional and freely made content. There is a point where it can be taken too seriously. The other side will often say things like, "Enjoying ___ media makes you a ___ supporter!" & "Anyone who writes ___ is a terrible person!" I would argue that these also have some truth to them, but they are also taken too far.

(If you like a fictional trope that has problematic or harmful indications, it's a good idea to unpack why you like that trope. What draws you to it? What enjoyment do you get out of it? A lot of times, the answers to this are not actually harmful, but they can be, and it's always good to self-reflect.)

Fictional stories are a way for us to feel aspects of the human experience that we cannot experience for ourselves. It's also a way for us to find catharsis when a character does experience something similar to our own lives. It's a way to broaden our views and feel our way through the wide range of human emotions. It is not meant to reflect life perfectly, and yet it is often done best when there are still echoes of reality embedded in its soul. (I digress, again.)

Communities - even online ones - thrive when the people in them are doing their best to be open to each other's perspectives.

Nuance is never easy in online spaces. When the person on the other side of a post is an anonymous little picture with no connection to your life, it's easy to take one small piece and blow it up to be your whole picture. They become that one post, that one hot take, or that one fic in your mind. But that's not people.

People are always learning, growing, maturing. Every skill takes time. Everyone has to start at their first step - even if it's the orphan story.

So keep talking about those tropes. Keep discussing the harmful trends that crop up across fandoms. Keep breaking down the root of the problem and sharing ways to build better ones.

But if you see someone in their 'orphan story' phase, understand that they are new and learning. They might need a push in the right direction or a friend to guide them for the better.

[magical-glimpse]

Hi ! I was wondering how can readers channel the fs energy ? I mean everyone have free will and to be the fs of someone both oh them should have consent, right ? Like… i can’t say i’m someone’s fs without them knowing and agreeing. Or maybe there’s like a « soul contract » by default for a person to be a spouse, but with free will it can anybody else ?

Hi ! There are multiple ways to do this.

You are right that sometimes, there is a soul contract which mentions the marriage experience. It is not default, and not even common in my experience. Usually, soul contracts are things your soul would be very happy to do, or agreed to do in your highest good, so if there is a soul contract written then i havent seen yet in my experience people who didnt want it to happen in the end. Of course it can still happen, cause free will. But yeah.

Now in the 5D, time is different, it is not as linear, multiple timelines coexist and can be observed at the same time, but they all depend on your choices in the 3D. Out of this, you can pick out either the energy of a specific person from one of timeline ( could be the modt likely timeline, or one that is present in many timelines etc), or a mix of the energies of all or many of the people invovled, or the characteristics which would be common to all of them etc.

Lets do examples :

I read for person A's FS. I find a strong and ongoing soul link which seem to have the vibe of marriage. I find person B. I write for B as A's FS.

I read for C. C is young but really wants to get married someday.I look into the timelines, but it is still very blurry because there are so many choices they could make. I see one specific person they could meet in college, and a bunch o others they would meet at other points, but overall meeting any one of them would require them to move out of their hometown. I write down a sort of raw drawing of who the person they could marry could be, being aware that its many energies mixed into one box called "FS", and i mention the moving out.

I read for D. D is currently in what they think is a hzppy longterm relationship and is thinking of proposing to E. E is not happy, but is also scared to break up that far into the relationship. D is about to meet F, which they will vibe really well with and has a great potential for a long term relationship with. The reading for D's FS could end up as a mix of E and F, or any of them, depending on if E is going towards the decision of breaking up or waiting it out.

You read for me. I dont actually care about getting married or not, but i would like long term, queerplatonic, maybe even polyamorous relationship. You may pick on a commited energy. Depending on the reader, they either pick out on my current partner, who has a very fighting spirit, with a very scorpionic energy. Or they pick on a person i havent met yet, who seem to be my twin or something, whose energy is a lot more light and tender.

I hope it made sense !