#she will beat the death allegations against her

[myfoodishappiness]

anyway, when sansa stark ends the book series as qitn [and finding someone brave, gentle and strong...👀] i will be vindicated for my girl.

[jadoue1999]

You and I, we were born to die

(Previously posted on AO3)

Summary: “I’m sorry Robs. You wouldn’t be dying in a freaky alternate dimension if I hadn’t dragged you into this.”

“I don’t regret it, I got to meet you.” A cough shakes her body, it sounds painful. When she finally catches her breath, her voice is tight. “Kinda wish we weren’t bleeding out in a psycho’s attic, though. Or that we could have at least reached 21.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles in agreement. “Still, it was fun while it lasted.”

"It was."

Or: Season 4 divergence where Vecna is defeated but Steve and Robin don't beat the death allegations.

Words: 3481

The vines stab right through him.

Steve chokes on the sharp pain, wishing that he could scream, but there isn’t enough air in his lungs to do that. He hears Robin grunt too, and fear stabs his guts even harder than the vines did.

Then they let go.

Without fanfare or parade, the vines suddenly retreat. They all collapse to the ground in a heap, his stab wound sending white hot pain coursing through his body. Steve can’t bring himself to get up, and one look at Robin is enough to know that she can’t either.

“Guys, come on,” says Nancy, oblivious to their injuries. Somehow, she’d been spared. “We can’t waste more time.”

“Nance—” he tries, but his throat is tight and it comes out gargled.

Still, she seems to understand him. “You can catch your breath after Creel is dead. You too, Robin.”

Nancy’s never been good at thinking of others during a crisis, that was his job. But that's why she’s such a good leader; she doesn’t let her emotions get in the way of the objective. Steve can feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, numbing the pain. He has to push through. Robin seems to be on the same page because she gets up at the same time as he does. They hold onto each other as they follow. Nancy doesn’t even look back at them.

He hopes that they can hold on until it’s all over.

***

They win.

Against all odds, they win.

Vecna’s corpse is burned to a crisp and Nancy smiles at it. The nightmare is finally over.

“Did we do it?” Asks Robin, surprisingly breathless. Must be nerves.

“Yeah,” she confirms, staring at the dying embers of what remained of Henry Creel. “We won.”

Steve lets out a relieved chuckle that sounds more like a wheeze; both teens behind her do. Alarms start blaring in her head when she hears Robin collapse to the floor.

“Robin!” She gasps out as she rushes to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“Nance…” Steve starts but she cuts him off.

“Not now Steve,” she dismisses. “Help me get her over there.”

He doesn’t argue and goes to grab one of Robin’s arms while she goes for the other. The girl doesn’t weigh much, so it’s a bit of a surprise to hear him struggle so much. The whole time they move her, Robin’s eyes are transfixed on Steve, she looks worried. As for herself, Nancy’s worry grows tenfold when she realizes that Robin isn’t just exhausted; she’s bleeding.

It’s not a light bleeding either, it already soaked through her shirt and jacket. She doesn’t have anything to stop the bleeding, so she uses her hands. She’s halfway through begging Robin to hold on when Steve suddenly falls to the ground, sitting beside his best friend. Robin curls into his side and his face briefly twists in pain. Nancy cannot believe that he would just abandon her like that. Doesn’t he want to at least try to save her? She tells him just that. But whatever reaction she might have expected, resignation isn’t one of them.

And yet that’s what she gets.

“Come on, Steve!” She urges. “We can’t just leave her here!”

“Nance—” he tries, but she doesn't want to hear excuses.

“We can’t just leave her here! We have to get her to a hospital—”

“Nancy,” interrupts Robin. Her face is glistening with sweat, so is Steve’s actually. The girl slowly turns her head towards Steve’s hand, which is holding onto Nancy’s tightly. Only then does she register the blood.

Steve’s hand is soaked in it.

“What—”

Steve removes his arm from his torso, and she freezes when she sees even more blood.

“W— what happened?” She stammers, struggling to understand what’s happening.

“The vines,” exhales Steve. “Guess Vecna wanted to make sure to go out with a bang.”

Both he and Robin laugh at that but she hates it. How dare they make light of their situation? She couldn’t carry them out of there, not alone. They were going to die here.

As though he could read her mind, Steve gives her a soft smile. “It’s okay, Nance,” he reassures. “It’s okay.”

She hates that he’s repeating what he told her two years ago, when he had assured her he didn’t mind her dating Jonathan, even if they hadn’t technically broken up yet. And she hates how relieved he sounds at the thought of dying.

“Had a feeling we wouldn’t make it out,” wheezes Robin. “We wrote letters, for all of you. They’re in Steve’s bedside drawer; can you make sure everyone gets them?”

At first, she’s tempted to argue because there’s no way they’re going to die here. They won, so they have to be alright, they have to celebrate with everyone. But it doesn’t take long for Nancy to realize that it’s not realistic. They’re not coming home, so the least she can do is make sure that the letters don’t gather dust.

“I will,” she promises.

The pair smile at that and it’s so much more painful than she’d thought. Nancy wants all this to be one of Vecna’s visions or a particularly bad nightmare, but the aching in her chest reminds her that this is very real.

She’s going to lose her friends.

Small sobs rip through her, but she can’t let them show, she doesn’t want Robin and Steve to think about how everyone is going to react. She has to be strong for them. As usual, though, Steve reads her like a book.

“Come here,” he says, opening his arms.

Nancy goes for the hug with no hesitation. Maybe it’s being held by the both of them, or maybe it’s the fact that this will be the last hug they’ll ever share, but she melts into tears. The worst is that Steve and Robin hold her tightly the whole time, whispering reassurances in her ears that she should really be telling them. She's painfully aware of their rapidly fleeting strength, like a slow countdown until their last moment together as their grip gets gradually looser. They eventually part, and Nancy can feel wetness on her shirt; she knows it’s not tears.

“You should go, Nance,” says Steve, a noticeable tiredness to his voice.

“I’m not leaving you,” she counters.

Robin exhales sharply. “We don’t want you to see us like that. We don’t want your last memory of us to be our corpses.”

She doesn't like it but she knows it’s for the best. Robin and Steve are protecting her, yes, but they probably need a moment alone together too. She’s never really understood their closeness, but now, seeing Robin curled in Steve’s side and him leaning his head on hers, she’s never understood it better. They’re a puzzle that fits perfectly into each other.

“Okay,” she agrees after a moment.

Nancy goes to leave, but she barely makes it past the door before she’s running back. She needs proper closure, and she knows they do too. Before she can stop herself, she grabs Steve’s face and kisses him deeply. He freezes, but it doesn’t matter. Nancy had felt the tension between them, the dying embers of a fire she had put out herself starting to ignite once more. She’d been scared, reluctant even, but there was nothing to lose now.

She lets go of his face and ignores the confusion in his eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be.”

He’s confused, but Nancy isn’t done yet. She then grabs Robin’s face and kisses her too. Her lips are softer, but Nancy kisses with anger. Anger that they’ll never get to explore why Robin is making her feel that way, anger that she was too much of a coward to let herself explore new experiences. Anger because the sparks she feels as Robin kisses back will forever haunt her with their intensity.

When Nancy lets go of Robin’s face, she’s delighted to see that she’s blushing. Actually, both Steve and Robin are flushed red and it makes her forget about their predicament for a moment. Not for long though.

Nancy brushes her thumb over the girl’s cheek as she whispers. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance.”

And then, before anyone has time to react or regret, she leaves the room. Silent tears falling down her cheeks. It doesn’t take long to reach the trailer. Both Dustin and Eddie are gone, they had thankfully stuck to the plan. She doesn’t think she could have taken another loss. She quickly climbs up the rope and falls on the mattress. A hand reaches to help her get up, but she doesn’t go to grab it. Sobs wrecks her body as the gravity of the situation fully hits her. 

“Where's Steve and Robin?” A small voice asks.

She meets Dustin’s worried eyes. Only then does she realize that she didn’t just lose her friends, Dustin lost his brother, and the Party lost their friends and their protector. 

“Nancy…” Eddie says, worry in his voice. “Why is there blood on your shirt?”

Her voice dies in her throat.

***

There’s a few seconds of silence after Nancy leaves and then they’re both high-fiving before immediately wincing in pain.

“Wheeler,” exhale Robin. “Who knew?”

“I certainly didn’t,” he scoffs. Out of everyone Steve knew, Nancy was literally the last person he’d thought would be queer.

“I thought she was jealous of us because she still had a crush on you. Never thought she might crush on us both!”

He laughs, and that laugh quickly turns into a coughing fit that shakes his entire body painfully. A thick blob of something climbs up his throat along with an impressive amount of saliva. He spits the dark mass on the floor littered with dying vines and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Steve spares a glance at his soaked hand and jacket and oh—

That’s definitely not saliva.

“Robs?” He calls out, trying not to sound too freaked out.

“Mmmh?” She responds quietly, tiredly. 

“Look.”

Begrudgingly, she slowly lifts her head. He waits for her eyes to focus, he waits for her to realize what she’s seeing and what it means.

“Is that blood?” Robin asks, trying to straighten up but she gives up when it’s clear that they’re too weak to move like that.

Steve sighs as he lets his arm lower to the ground. “Yeah.”

“We’re so fucked,” lament his best friend before curling tighter in his side. “‘M cold.”

“Me too,” he agrees.

They both know that it’s not just the usual chill of the Upside Down making them like this. He’s got his left arm wrapped around her shoulders, but he’s too numb to feel it. His body is getting heavier by the second but he doesn’t want to die yet, he’s got so much to say.

“Robin? Are you awake?”

It takes a moment for her to answer, and he fears that he lost her without saying goodbye. Thankfully, he’s wrong.

“Unfortunately,” she mumbles.

Steve feigns offense. “You’d let me die alone? That’s so selfish.”

“One of us is going to die first, dingus,” she snarks without bite. “I know you’re too stubborn to go first.”

He laughs softly, she’s right as usual. She thankfully sounds more awake than she did a few minutes ago; he counts that as a win.

“I’m going to miss our movie nights with the kids,” he confesses. “Dustin is going to be so pissed that we won’t get to watch ‘Back to the future’ together.”

Robin chuckles. “He’d kill us if we weren't dying already.”

“He’d raise us from the dead just to kill us again,” Steve jokes.

His best friend sighs sadly. “I hope the kids are going to be okay without their babysitter.”

His heart twists painfully at the realization, but he does his best to ignore it. “They’re not kids anymore, they’ll be fine.” He pauses before adding. “They have Eddie now.”

“They better make some fucking D&D characters in our honor,” grits Robin. “They better make them unkillable.”

Steve doesn’t know jackshit about their game, but he’s fairly sure that’s not possible. Still, it’s a nice thought.

“I don’t want to die, Steve,” croaks Robin,

“Neither do I,” he answers. 

He thought he wanted to die for the longest time. He thought he had no future, no use beyond protecting his kids. For the longest time, he figured he’d die a hero’s death, sacrificing himself for the greater good and finally atoning for all the wrong he’s done in the world. But now that he got his heroic death, he doesn’t want it.

He wants to live.

But really, Steve’s fate had been sealed since ‘83. Since the moment he’d gone back to the Byers and faced off against the Demogorgon instead of running away. He’d been on borrowed time since.

“At least…” starts Robin, and he knows what she’s going to say. They talked about this already.

“At least it’s not one of the kids,” he completes.

It takes a long time for things to die in the Upside Down, and that apparently includes them. His bat bites have been torn open and he’s been impaled clean through. There’s enough blood on and around them to know that they should both be dead by now and yet they’re still holding on. Some stupid, foolish, part of him hopes that they’ll be both rescued, like in a movie when the audience has lost all hope but the hero wakes up in the hospital, injured but alive. Hope is a bitch like that.

But he knows no one is coming for them, it would take too much manpower that they just don’t have right now. He wonders briefly what’s going to happen to their bodies before realizing that Robin hasn’t talked in a while.

“Robs?” He asks.

No response.

He tries again. “Robin?”

“What, dingus?” She mumbles.

Steve’s never been so relieved in his entire life, or what’s left of it anyway. “Thank god, I thought you were dead.”

When Robin speaks again, he can hear the grin in her voice. It’s weak but it’s there. “God has nothing to do with this. He abandoned Hawkins a long time ago.”

Steve chuckles bitterly at that. Knowing Robin’s track record, she’s probably right. “Do you think they’ll come back for our bodies? I feel like it’d be weird to bury empty caskets.”

“I don’t really care,” exhales Robin. Her voice is getting quieter, he tries really hard not to focus on that. “I just want our graves to be next to each other.”

“If that happens, there’s no way your parents are going to believe that we’re not married.” 

Robin’s parents had been on their case since they first saw them together. He’d had the full boyfriend talk despite their many protests that they were just friends. Recently, her family had moved on from thinking that they were together to believing that they had gotten married in secret with how close and comfortable they were with the other.

His best friend chuckles softly. “Wouldn’t be so bad.” 

Then, Robin is grunting and moving and it takes him a moment to understand that she’s reaching for his hand. He meets her halfway, but it’s a lot harder than expected. Still, she grabs his hand and squeezes his numb fingers as she recites. “In sickness and in health, through the good and the bad… and the really bad,” she adds.

She continues talking, and it takes him longer than he’d like to admit to realize that Robin is reciting wedding vows. 

“Til death do us part,” she finishes.

“Til death do us part,” he repeats.

Steve forces his uncooperative muscles to move so he can lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. If he sees silent tears running down her cheeks, he doesn’t mention it; just like she doesn’t mention his either.

“I do,” he murmurs.

Robin presses herself firmly against him. “I do.”

He notices the rattle in her breath, and it scares him. They’re both running out of time.

“We’re married,” breathes out Robin. “Guess the kids were right.”

“Platonically married,” he specifies before sighing. “I really thought we’d spend our whole lives together until we’d be all gray and wrinkly. Like grow old and die together, you know?”

Robin snorts. “You’re at least partly right. That’s more than your usual. One strike on the board, ‘you rule’ section this time.”

“Had to happen at least once.” Steve chuckles bitterly, thinking back at that summer before everything went to shit. They might not have been the closest, but that had been the most normal he’d felt in ages. “I’m sorry Robs. You wouldn’t be dying in a freaky alternate dimension if I hadn’t dragged you into this.”

“I don’t regret it, I got to meet you.” A cough shakes her body, it sounds painful. When she finally catches her breath, her voice is tight. “Kinda wish we weren’t bleeding out in a psycho’s attic, though. Or that we could have at least reached 21.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles in agreement. “Still, it was fun while it lasted.”

Steve feels a bit shitty about recalling their discussion in the Russian bunker, but they had been so sure that they were about to die until they got unexpectedly rescued. Maybe they can have one more miracle.

“It was,” completes Robin.

Silence fills the attic, occasionally interrupted by their labored breathing as they simply sit there, holding onto each other waiting for death to take them. His eyes are getting heavier, and it gets progressively harder to fight off the darkness. The adrenaline wears off as well at some point and the pain hits him full force.

Steve tries to focus on anything other than the pain and his eyes land on Vecna’s corpse. It’s barely more than a lump of melted flesh at this point and Steve finds it difficult to believe that this— this pile of goo was the source of all their problems. Honestly, if he could move, he’d stomp on it until he made a hole in the floor. Like he did with that Demobat. It’s at that moment that he realizes how quiet everything is. There’s no chittering sounds, no screeching, and no lightning; the army died with their general. 

Steve’s blood freezes in his veins when he realizes that something else is quiet; something that definitely shouldn’t be.

“Robin?”

He can’t hear her rattling breath and as much as he wants to believe that she just got better, the churning in his guts tells him otherwise. His throat tightens, but he has to make sure. They’re still holding hands, so he squeezes hers. 

“Hey,” he calls out. His voice breaks in a way that he knows Robin would have made fun of him if she could. He nudges his shoulder. “Hey.”

Robin is frighteningly still against him, which is so much worse than he can expect. She had never been able to sit still, even when her life depended on it. She was always twitching or fidgeting or rambling about whatever was going on in her head. God he’s going to miss her rambling so much. Steve knows that Robin is gone, and he’s going to follow soon, but he can’t just do nothing.

“I love you,” he says, sobs threatening to spill. “I love you so much and I hope we can find each other again, wherever we’re going next. I don’t know who I’d be if you hadn’t stumbled into my life. I was better than I was, but you made me feel like I could grow into something better, inspirational even.”

He pauses because he’s used to letting some time for Robin to answer. He gulps when he’s only met with silence. 

“I thought I’d take this secret with me to the grave, which I guess I kinda am, but here we go… I think I like Eddie. And not just ‘he’s a nice guy’ kind of like. It’s just his smile, and his eyes, and the way he just… is. I don’t know how to explain it but I think I love him.”

Some desperate part of him hopes that she reacts. If something is going to shock her enough to bring her back to life, it’s the fact that famous ladies' man Steve Harrington isn’t entirely straight. But Robin doesn’t do anything and his bleeding heart shatters in even tinier pieces than he thought possible. He’s honestly glad that he doesn’t have to carry on because he doesn’t know how he’d live with half of himself gone.

“We’ll be okay,” he tells Robin as his vision blurs and the call of sleep gets impossible to resist. “As long as we’re together,” he slurs, his mouth barely articulating the words. “We’ll be okay.”

Steve closes his eyes.

Notes: Thank you for reading! I'm slowly starting to write again and I, of course, had to do some angst to get myself into it. I should be posting a one shot of Fae Steve and Vampire Eddie soon, depending on the result of my poll!

I would love to know what you thought of this!

[kiirotoao]

Dani @will80sbyers with all of your s3 posts you’re making the gears turn… I can’t believe that the season where Mike and El have the most romantic screen time is also the one where they’re so unserious?? I get that s3 is the dawn of teenager-hood and the messes that come with new emotions and decision-making prowess (failure), but to focus all of that on Mike and El is wild.

Mike is always like “they’re conspiring against me” and blaming Max for making El “spy” on them, and he’s so focused on blame. It’s not his fault for anything he does, which is an incredibly immature mindset, especially towards your supposed lover. It’s not even his fault for Will not liking girls, too. We all know the line and the hurt that he brought with it. So amongst all those offenses, when he looks back, who does he look back to? Who does he show to have offended most and desire to reconcile blame with?

It’s so obvious who he truly cares for. He’s not confused over Will’s emotion. He knows when he hurts him. Meanwhile, he’s making the most confused and detached-from-the-point faces at El when she points out how he hurt her.

Mike cannot read the room when El’s in it. But he can when Will isn’t. That’s true attachment and connection.

And don’t even get me started on the fact that El’s having the time of her life with Max and not Mike. In fact, Elmax’s love throughout this season alone powers El to connect so deeply with Max that she’s able to bring Max back to life after clinical death. In one season.

For the kids, season 3 is about Max being a girl’s girl to El as she dumps Mike’s ass, Lucas being a bro’s bro to Mike while he barely beats a single allegation against him, and Will the Wise ultimately being a fucking boss (with the floundering Sir Mike at his feet as seen above).

Even in such a funny and lively season, it can’t get any clearer to me how much Mike and Will’s relationship is foundational to the emotional storyline of ST and what true love means. Just look at this scene. I remember first watching it and being so moved by how suddenly, between all the bright summer sun, Nancy’s fun dresses, the perpetual noise and laughter, we get this.

This is an argument that bursts because of love. They’re trying to reconnect and understand why they don’t see eye-to-eye anymore. It comes with hurt, but doesn’t love come with hurt? A parent’s discipline. A flesh-wound to heal. Holding someone when they’re crying. Giving up something that you wanted or had. Arguing before you realize your mistakes and come together again. Love does not come when you dump someone who’s not adding to your life. Or when you eat your feelings away instead of facing the problem. Or when you try to fill your apology with material goods. Or when you give compliments. Or especially, love does not happen when you can’t express it.

Love persists against all testing, and we see how that doesn’t work out for Mike and El who stay broken up until the very last second but Mike and Will get back together as a team within the next episode. And people still dare to say that Byler isn’t going to happen? Okay.

[liquidpaperdraws]

@lawlightweek2024 day 7: AU

!! I do not support JKR, which is why I enjoy Harry Potter exclusively through fan content and other means that don't put any more money in her pockets !!

That being said, this idea has been kicking around in the back of my head for months.

I'm honestly surprised almost nobody has done this crossover. I looked it up and there's maybe 7 or 8 fanfics and 12 pieces of fanart on all of tumblr, deviantart, fanfiction.net, and ao3 in total that combine Death Note and Harry Potter. It seems like it should be a more popular AU considering the overlap in time period and target demographic.

Alright, now here are some headcanons:

Light:

5th year

Was supposed to go to Slytherin, but convinced the sorting hat to put him in Gryffindor instead (that's where his father went, after all)

Gryffindor's token Evil Friend™

Wants to eliminate the death eaters and all dark wizards by any means necessary (as well as anyone who looks at him funny)

Is against unforgivable curses except when he uses them, because he totally has good reasons you guys

Nearly was able to get all three deathly hallows for himself

Avada kedavra avada kedavra avada kedavra

Good at persuasion, memory charms, and making polyjuice potion

Keeps killing so many others who are also trying to fight Voldemort for not being willing to murder as much as he is

Created the Death Note himself so he wouldn't have to keep spamming avada kedavra

L:

7th year

The sorting hat had a hard time deciding, but eventually picked Ravenclaw

He was disappointed (he wanted to be in Hufflepuff for the snacks)

Master of mind-reading, invisibility, divination

Possible werewolf

kept breaking the dress code by "forgetting" his socks, sweater, and shoes so he mastered illusion spells solely for the purpose of cloaking it look like he was wearing the uniform correctly and not getting in trouble

frequently uses duplication charms on cake so he can eat more of it without eating more calories

Doesn't talk to anyone but somehow knows all their secrets (he was spying on them using an invisibility cloak, crystal ball, etc)

His parents are unknown and dead so nobody knows how to be blood-racist to him

Lawlight:

L and Light constantly try to one up each other at wizard chess supposedly to show their superiority but really it's to impress each other

L got his hands on an invisibility cloak so he could follow Light around and spy on him but Light used the marauders map to figure out that L was following him

they won't admit their feelings for each other

Light started dating Misa (Hufflepuff) to beat the gay allegations but she realized what he was doing and decided to slip him a love potion to force him to love her back. L was the only person who noticed and begrudgingly decided to help Light by reporting her. Light confessed his feelings for L after that.

[raxistaicho]

find it funny the edelcrits are still going after you and this red character. How did u get looped in racist accusations, didn't one of them write that one horrid throuple fanfiction that was racist af to Claude and a total character annihilation of edelgard or is it someone else away from their circle?

Good luck as always

No, you're thinking of Reynaattheend, she's on the same wavelength in terms of analysis of the game, but since she's not on Tumblr (to the best of my knowledge anyways) I wouldn't call her an Edelcrit.

Her fic is pretty dang yikesy though, featuring such wonderful features as,

some Nabateans leaving Fodlan to go "fix" other nations and being the apparent source of all religions (not beating the colonizer allegations at all)

Dimitri being a white savior for Claude

Byleth struggling with her emotions to hysterical woman levels and constantly relying on her two boyfriends to save her from almost getting herself killed (to give an example, Byleth struggles for page upon page against the Death Knight only for Dimitri to show up and one-shot him)

Just... everything to do with Edelgard

The Agarthans and Almyrans, despite their cultures very strongly and clearly leaning Greek and Persian, having German and Japanese as their languages, as though Reyna just thought any foreign language was as good as any other.

Byleth taking measures to hide Rhea's knowing distortion of Fodlan's history.

Sothis's destruction of two city states being lauded as a good thing for which holidays should be thrown (because I guess it was a Sodom and Gomorrah situation where literally every living soul in both cities were evil and deserving of death, meaning double genocide is heroic!)

Characters just swearing constantly because I guess she thinks that makes the fic more mature

Really glad to see people are starting to treat her fanfic with a more skeptical eye, I've done my bit to help push things along there.

[nobaraisalive]

Fascism has targeted their victims in Argentina 

The group H.I.J.O.S. (Sons and Daughters for Identity and Justice against Forgetfulness and Silence)  denounced this Thursday that a space activist was the victim of "a political attack" at her home. The woman was beaten, sexually abused and received death threats. The perpetrators of the attack left graffiti on the wall of the place with the acronym "VLLC" (Viva La Libertad Carajo) which is usually used by President Javier Milei in his public messages and which identifies libertarian supporters.

The member of the group H.I.J.O.S. who was attacked in her home in the city of La Plata gave details of how she was attacked on March 5. 

The Rosario activist noted that when she arrived at her home "everything seemed normal, door closed, lock not forced," but that two men "in their forties, big, with strength" approached her inside her home. Although she reiterated to them that she had no money, they began to beat her. "Don't talk again. Look what you get for speaking out, we know you work in human rights. We know who you are, we didn't come to steal anything from you, they pay me for this. We came to kill you,” the victim said she received in response.

On August 3, Susana Beatriz Montoya, wife of an ERP militant/activist who disappeared during the last dictatorship, was found dead this Saturday. “We are going to kill them all. Now we will go for your children. #Police”, the alleged authors wrote on one of the walls of their house. His son, Fernando Albareda, had received threats with Nazi symbols in December, after Javier Milei's victory. Caution and alarm in Human Rights organizations.

[mikodrawnnarratives]

My Marina redesign so far + comics for backstory story beats in their relationship im planning

More of my thoughts under the cut :3

I don't know for sure if antistalker got cut short because of Webtoon's bullshit, but regardless I think it was a real shame we never got any time spend exploring the beginnings of Kira and Marina's relationship. The early days when Kira was alone after her parents' deaths. What Marina thought of Kira

So I'm amending that in my wip rewrite. And along with the ideas I'm brewing I also redesigned Marina. So far it isn't drastically different from canon aside from having a different skin color and hair type. (and nose too but common everyone has the same nose I'm not gonna give that nose to a now black character)

I'll talk about their story another day and leave you with no context for the images sry

Marina's design changes: At first I changed her skin cuz. there are too many white characters in antistalker I wanted to change up at least ONE persons melanin amount. But I also now really like how I can now experiment with her hair reflecting different stages in her arc and place in the story.

She starts out wearing a wig in S1, then her secret is revealed and she no longer wears it while in custody, her hair is in braids until she is released/her and kira resolve their relationship. Then she's cut her braids and have her hair all curly

Most of the changes in her design are to differentiate her from other characters. Kind of get rid of some SERIOUS same face syndrome canon had going on

Canon didn't get to the point where it was IMPOSSIBLE to tell between characters, the closest to that happening was August and Yulai literally looking the same aside from hair color

but um. it was still not great

jkdfjklfdsjkl i edited this. its. something

granted i colored over anton's freckles so out of everyone here he's got the most against the same face syndrome allegations

Again. its not a big deal given it doesn't interrupt the story with "wait who is this" like LORE OLYMPUS does, but still not great

also. I don't hate canon's designs btw.

well. I don't hate Kira and Marina's designs. Redesigning kira was mostly for fun, Marina even more so. I haven't gotten to Nadya yet but she isn't bad either. The rest? yeah they need an upgrade.

[crimxonwrites]

Blood-painted kisses | Aemond Targaryen x female!OC | Chapter 2 ❝the Wild Dragon❞

☽➛ Summary: Nothing satietes Maehrys Velaryon's hunger as well as revenge. Growing up at the Red Keep as the bastard of Rhaenyra Targaryen did not come trouble-free. Her childhood consisted of bitter words and repulsive looks from nearly everybody in the castle. As she grew older, Maehrys grew meaner. Once the Velaryons return to King's Landing to defend Luke's claim as Lord of Driftmark, Maehrys decides that it is time for the people who hurt her in the past to pay.

☽➛ Warnings: heavy mentions of self-harm, mentions of attempted suicide, bullying, mentions of blood, overall 18+!!!!

☽➛ Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x female!OC (slowburn enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers again?? romance is a subplot)

☽➛ Word count: 2.7k

!!DISCLAIMER: English is not my first language! feel free to correct me at any time!

Chapter 3

 Aemond was playing dirty.

 A mixture of fear, anxiety and slight excitement ran through Maehrys’ veins when she tried to take the dagger that she hid under her garter. The book about Old Valyria fell on her foot in her attempt to grab the dagger. Aemond swiftly grabbed her other hand. The silvered hair prince pushed her against the library shelf with such force that she swore she bruised a shoulder. The impact was sudden, and her right shoulder throbbed in pain. The small blade fell from underneath the red gown onto the floor and Aemond kicked it further away, not letting her go.

 “I should have your eye, you know.” He said on a low, ominous tone. “I should take revenge for what your younger brother did.” He kept on applying more and more pressure onto her wrist, his nails digging more and more through the princess’ pale skin.

 “You’re dreadful.” She spoke, voice trembling with hate.

 “You’re a bastard.” Aemond spoke back, his eye looking down on her.

 The same never-ending bitter words. Maehrys was tired of Aemond’s hatred springing from her alleged paternal figure. But which one was he referring to now? Was he talking about the late Laenor? The father who does not look like her, and who was absent even before his death? Or perhaps he was talking about Ser Harwin Strong, who was more of a father figure than Laenor ever was. Or perhaps her great-uncle-stepfather, Daemon… who she was sure he did not care for children that are not white-haired. She had lost count.

 “And how am I to blame?” She raised her voice, and he quickly placed his palm over her lips, shushing the girl.

 “Shh, now.” His lips curled with a sinister smile. “I wouldn’t want people assuming that I was harming you, princess.” He could not claim this victory, because it was not a fair one.

 Maehrys was afraid, angry but also confused. Why was Aemond doing this to her? If he really wanted to, which he certainly did, he could have killed her already. She could not comprehend why he has not done it already. The prince slowly removed his hand.

 “How am I to blame for my mother’s doings? You think I chose to be born a bastard?” She asked, frantically trying to escape his grip.

 Aemond pushed harder and she winced at the pain coming from her shoulder. “No, but I think you had the right intentions when you tried to take your life.” He finally let her go and she exhaled all the air she had been holding. Aemond took a step back and picked up the valyrian steel dagger. “I just wished you would have gone through with it.” He spoke his final words and walked off.

 Maehrys’ heart was beating as fast as her thoughts were sprinting through her mind. The pain in her right shoulder was growing larger and her wrist was bleeding. She just stood there, processing what had happened not long ago. Aemond could have killed her; he had her pinned down, he had a blade in his hand. He did not even need the blade, his force was enough to suffocate her, or snap her neck, or gauge her eyes out.

 Aemond Targaryen did not need a blade to kill her.

 The princess picked up the book that she previously dropped and, despite the intense pain in her right shoulder and her left wrist, started sprinting to her chambers, hoping she will not encounter a familiar face on the way. Maehrys used to enjoy walking from the library to her chambers when she was younger. She used to look forward to reading a new book and fall asleep with it in her hands. It used to be a comforting, delightful way to end her day. But that was when she still considered the Red Keep her home. She was foolish and young: the Red Keep was all she knew. As of recent, she could not call that castle her home.

 She tunnel-visioned her chamber and did not pay attention to the hand that had been placed on her shoulder until she felt the awful aching again.

 “It’s late.” Daemon’s voice was low and sharp. Rhaenyra’s husband appeared like a tall, ghostly figure; his features slightly lit up by the candlelight. Maehrys shivered at his sight. “What happened to you?” He asked, glaring at the girl’s bloody wrist.

 ‘Aemond scratched, cut and hit me, again’ was what she would have said, if Daemon was not the way he was. She did not want to talk to him or be in his presence. Maehrys did not like him.

 “Paper cut.” Maehrys lied, avoiding eye contact with the prince. Ever since she met him, Maehrys found his violent tendencies fascinating. There was a point in the princess’ life where she wanted to be just like him. Those moments passed fast when she realized how much of a cunt Daemon can be.

 “You’re a bad liar.” He spoke. “And here I was, believing you are your mother’s daughter.” He added and the princess finally looked up at him.

 “Perfect. Now everyone in the castle is not only going to question if Laenor is actually my father, but also if Rhaenyra is actually my mother.” She spoke, quickly regretting her words. Maehrys did not have any intention of pursuing the conversation any further. Her whole body was aching and all she wished to do was fall asleep reading. “I have to go.”

 “Not so fast.” Daemon’s grip tightened around her shoulder. Her eyes started watering because of the pain. “What of your dragon eggs?” He asked and she frowned.

 “What of them?” Maehrys questioned, the conversation suddenly piquing her curiosity.

 “Any signs of them hatching as of recent?” Daemon’s gaze was sincere, with a sprinkle of confusion, and the princess swore she could of identify of some hope behind his blue eyes.

 “I shall check when I get back in my chambers.” She said, deciding not to question the reason behind his curiosity tonight. “Good night, your Grace.”

 Before allowing Daemon to say anything else, Maehrys picked up the pace to her chambers. When she reached her chambers’ door, she struggled to open it. A handful of maidens were tidying up her room, and she felt her knees shaking with exasperation. She felt drained.

 “Out! Now!” She commanded and the women hurried to leave.

 Alisha remained in the middle of the chamber, watching the princess as she placed the book on the table and desperately looking around the room. “You’re bleeding.” Alisha stated, trying to grab the princess’ arm, but Maehrys took a step back, shaking her head. She has had enough physical contact for the day. Her body felt dirty with Aemond’s touch still fresh on it. “I prepared a bath for you.” Alisha pointed to the big tub. “Hot-fiery water, just as you like it.” She added, in an attempt to get a few words out of the princess.

 “I wish to be alone.” Maehrys whispered, feeling as if her speech has abandoned her.

 “Very well, have a pleasant bath, your Grace.” The lady-in-waiting said.

 Just after she heard the doors closing, the princess positioned herself in front of the long mirror and began to take off her red dress. Once every article of clothing was resting on the floor, she ripped the jewellery that was holding her heavy hair in place, throwing it. She could not stand looking at the reflection in the mirror any longer. It repulsed her knowing that she had lost to Aemond Targaryen that evening.

 The girl groaned in pain as her skin made contact with the hot water, but not because of the temperature of the water, but because of her open wounds. She never minded the fire; it was one of the advantages of having Targaryen blood. The freshly made wounds on her left arm felt like small, sharp blades were piercing her skin. One, two, three, four, five. Maehrys counted five moon-shaped marks on her arm. Fuelled by self-hatred, the princess allowed the scorching water to soak her body when she disappeared under the water.

 She hated herself for being foolish and believing that Aemond would not attack her when he had the chance. She hated herself for thinking that her uncle was mature enough to at least hurt her during a fair battle. The one-eyed prince remained as cruel as he was in their youth. If Aemond was playing dirty, she ought to play dirtier.

 The princess emerged from the water when she felt like she could not hold her breath any longer. She was a fool to think that the Red Keep would ever feel like home again.

 The morning came soon, and the first few minutes of bliss passed quickly as Alisha entered the chamber, bringing in fresh clothing and a tray of jewellery. Maehrys got up from the bed, feeling her sore shoulder quiver in pain. Alisha helped her dress up in a simple red and black gown, her mother’s favourite colour combination. She made sure the dress covered her left arm, down to her wrist in order to avoid showing off her newly made scars.

 “The Princess Helaena has requested your presence for breakfast.” Alisha placed a necklace made out of gold around the princess’ neck and she shivered when the cold metal touched her hot skin.

 Maehrys frowned at Alisha’s disclosure. If she was being true to herself, out of the three silvered-haired children of Alicent Hightower, she hated Helaena the least. From what she could recall, during her childhood, Helaena did not try to harm her, she simply used to always speak strange words that Maehrys could not comprehend. She would have been lying if she said she was not curious about Haelena’s current state.

 Besides being married to Aegon, Maehrys did not know anything about her.

 “Very well.” The princess nodded as she got up from her vanity.

 “And later today, the trial court begins.” Alisha added as they left Maehrys’ chambers.

 Perhaps she could kill Vaemond Velaryon before the trial.

 A few ladies in waiting opened the big doors to Helaena’s chambers and the first thing that Maehrys noticed were the two silvered haired babes playing on the floor. She could not believe that Helaena gave birth. The concept of motherhood always terrified Maehrys, mainly because her mother’s birthing screams still haunted her dreams. She vividly remembered being in her chambers at Dragonstone while Rhaenyra gave birth to the twins, Viserys and Aegon. Rhaenyra screamed so loudly that her voice was gone the day after.

 “Niece.” Helaena’s voiced changed since the last time Maehrys’ heard her.

 “Your Grace.” Maehrys did not bow when Helaena greeted her but chose to sit down at the table.

 “This is Jaehaerys and Jaehaera.” Helaena introduced her babes. “Their father will join us soon.”

 The thought of Aegon joining their breakfast made Maehrys frown. It would have been polite if her half-aunt announced Aegon’s presence prior to Maehrys accepting to have breakfast with her. Helaena is not stupid; she knew that the princess would never agree to have breakfast with her if she mentioned her betrothed’s name.

 “You’ve grown so much.” Helaena said while sipping on her tea. Maehrys nodded, giving Alisha a puzzled look. “Have you bled yet?”

 Maehrys’ gaze suddenly shifted towards her half aunt, astonished at the outrageous questions she asked. “Yes.” The princess responded quickly and started eating, hoping that if her mouth were full, she would not have to answer Helaena’s questions.

 “Your name day is approaching. Are you to be betrothed to one of your brothers?” Maehrys felt a piece of bread being stuck in her throat when Helaena continued to ask her strange questions. She took a sip of water and swallowed quickly.

 “No. Jace and Luke are to be wed to Baela and Rhaena.” The concept of wedding one of her brothers was strange to Maehrys. It frightened her. She did not carry any other affection for her brothers besides sibling-love.

 Helaena began eating her breakfast in silence, and Maehrys could not be happier. She was relieved that her half aunt did not speak in riddles anymore, but terrified of her peculiar questions. She had only discussed the concept of marriage and motherhood to one person prior to her: Alisha. Rhaenyra instructed Alisha to teach the princess about the principles of both from an early age, but Maehrys buried that conversation deep in her memory.

 She did not wish to wed a man or give birth to a child; she did not even have a dragon yet.

 “You are to wed the wild dragon.” Helaena stated, breaking the silence. Maehrys looked at her aunt in awe. Helaena’s eyes drifted towards the window; she looked as if she had been taken away by a dream.

 The sound of the doors opening startled Maehrys. Aegon entered Helaena’s chambers in a rush and sat down as fast as he could, next to his sister-wife. He looked as if he has not slept in a fortnight and, since Maehrys saw him last, he cut his hair. His icy locks were gone, and his hair was barely touching his shoulders. Maehrys could swear she caught a glimpse of Alicent before the doors to Helaena’s chambers were closed.

 Aegon did not wish to be here.

 “Maehrys. It is lovely to see you.” Aegon spoke, his voice raspy and out of breath. The prince took a glass of water and chugged it before telling one of the servants to fill it up with wine.

 Of course, Aegon grew into a drunk, debauched man.

 “Your compliments are appreciated.” Maehrys lied as she took a final look at him. Aegon did not make her blood boil and he did not send her heart racing, in the way his brother did. The princess felt it in her bones that she could easily defeat Aegon in combat.

 “You are to wed the wild dragon.” Helaena’s dream-like words caused Aegon to snicker.

 Maehrys concluded that they were both laughing at her. Half of the realm knew that she was one of the only Velaryon children to not have claimed a dragon yet.

 “You are to wed the wild dragon.” Maehrys jumped when she felt Helaena’s hand grip hers.

 Helaena’s grip tightened and the princess suddenly got up from her seat, already overwhelmed with the two siblings. She did not need any more silvered-haired children laughing at her. Maehrys did not bow and did not say farewell as she stormed out of Helaena’s chambers. Alisha followed the princess while she was pacing through the halls.

 “I am not going to wed a fucking dragon.” Maehrys swore, making her way back to her chambers.

 “Wait, your Grace!” Alisha’s voice echoed through the empty hallway.

 Maehrys’ mind drifted to the encounter with Daemon last night. He seemed strangely interested in her dragon eggs. Maybe Helaena’s words were true, and her eggs hatched. Maybe Daemon had a prophetic dream, and her eggs hatched. Maybe, maybe, maybe. She opened her chambers’ doors and walked directly to the chest where her three dragon eggs were held. Filled with rage and resent, Maehrys opened the chest, hoping that at least one of them hatched. Hoping that she could finally prove everyone wrong. Hoping that she will finally have a dragon of her own. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

 The princess sighed in disappointment at the sight of the intact eggs.

 “Princess!” Alisha entered her chamber and closed the door. The lady-in-waiting approached Maehrys, who collapsed besides the opened chest.

 “What am I to do, Alisha?” Maehrys asked, frustration coating her words. “How am I to defeat them if I do not have a dragon?” She cried as Alisha wrapped her hands around the princess.

 “Perhaps you will wed one.” Alisha said, wiping her tears away. Maehrys giggled through the tears. The joke was laugh-worthy when it came out of her friend’s mouth.

 A knock on the door surprised them both, as Jace’s figure remained in front of her chamber. “The trial is starting, dear sister.” He announced.

 Maehrys wiped her tears and straightened her gown. It was time she supported her brother’s claim to Driftmark.

˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°˜”*°

Also read on: AO3 | Wattpad

Taglist: @watermel0nsugarhigh

[asumofwords]

🎬 au anon here! I didn't really want to write this cause it would be extremely disrespectful for me to write an alternate ending but good lordy the amount of people I've seen being sad??? it makes me feel bad for them so to the people who wanna cope lmao 😭

“AND CUT! that's it. We're can wrap it entirely up now.” the director announces and everyone claps and cheers, You hug jace, baela before leaving to hug cregan, he rubs your back in reassurance before throwing you a sweet smile.

Aemond walks over before shaking hands with cregan and give him a bro hug, “Good job, Creg.” Aemond says and Cregan nods, “You too Aemond, sorry I stole your wife.” he jokes earning a joking punch from Aemond to his chest. “Still haunting her forever though.” Aemond giggles and you scoff, which turns his attention to you, “Girlie can't catch a break.” you say which makes both Aemond and Cregan laugh, “I mean, they are meant to burn together.” cregan says and you shoot him a playful annoyed looked which makes Aemond throw his head back in laughter.

“Are you attending the wrap up party next week?” Cregan asks and you shrug, “I'm not sure, Lucerys (now aged 4) and Aenys (the 7 month old who is now 2) might not allow me the time to do so, “Speaking about them, where is Lucerys? He acted so well it gave me chills.” Aemond says and just then your eldest son's runs screaming at you and hugs his fathers leg tightly, Aemond picks him up and places a kiss on his forehead.

“They managed to give him the creepiest of dialogues.” Cregan comments making you snort, “So true tho, he can communicate with his dada.” Aemond rubs his nose against Lucerys cheek which makes him giggle. “You did good baby! I'm sure the viewers will be surprised to see you.” you kiss Lucerys on the cheek, making him giggle.

“I loved how they waited for him to grow to film the final episode, the dedication because they wanted our actual son to act as our son in the show too.” You say, earning a hum from Aemond, “When will my death air?” he asks and you chuckle, “Next week.” you say, “Can't wait to see everyone's reaction, I just know they'll be crying.” Aemond smirks which makes cregan laugh, “I'll miss aemond too, hashtag aemondforever” he says which makes you giggle.

“I can't wait to see the shipping discourse.” You hear someone say from behind and you jump, realising it's Aegon and you sigh in relief, “You fucking scared us.” you quip which makes him laugh lightly, “What are you doing here anyway? Who invited you.” you say sarcastically earning a pout from Aegon. “Damn, you didn't have to be that rude.” he rolls his eyes playfully, “And excuse you, I have a right to be here, I want to support my younger brother.” Aegon says wrapping an arm around Aemond's shoulder, though it looks awkward since Aegon is short.

“Y/N!!!!!!!!!” you hear helaena yell and you immediately embrace her, she pulls away and looks at Aemond, “You know it doesn't hurt you to smile right?” she teases and Aemond jaw drops, “I cannot smile! It's literally in the script, I'm supposed to look menacing.” he says and you nod “You did look menacing, even I am traumatized.” you agree which makes helaena laugh.

“So will you all be attending the party next week?” Cregan asks again and you shrug once again, “I would love to, but Lucerys and Aenys... And on top of that we have Visenya too now.” you remember your daughter who was just born recently.

“Aemond never beating the breeding kink allegations, not in the show, not in real life.” Aegon speaks up which causes you to laugh.

“Watch her reveal that she's pregnant with another kid now.” Jace jumps in, having heard the earlier convo and your face drops before a small smile creeps up your face and Aemond gives you a knowing look.

“No fucking way, actually?” Aegon asks shocked. And you nod.

“Dude let her rest, is your plan just to keep her full of you now?” Cregan says, earning a laugh from him, “That is my plan, yes.” he replies, which got him a smack from you.

“Seriously? Girl you just gave birth 4 months ago.” Helaena says before she glares at Aemond who just shrugs, “You really should shove a dagger deep into him, like actually.” Helaena says, rolling her eyes, which earns a smirk from Aemond, he covers his kids ears before speaking

“Mhm yes deeper haa” he says lewdly which makes your eyes pop out of your skull.

“FOR FUCKS SAKE AEMOND—”

The rest of the day was filled with laughter and you hanging out with your colleagues, spending them with them as the filming had come to an end.

Small treat for those who want to live in denial, ONCE AGAIN I'M WRITING THIS BECAUSE I FEEL BAD FOR EVERYONE HAHSHAD this isn't an official ending of sf&a, unless you wanna live in denial, but like yeah,

I LOVED THE SERIES SO MUCH.

The way I’m smiling like a good reading this!!! Omfg I LOVE IT !

[kateshistoryspot]

Firebrand Part II: Was Jude Law's Henry VIII Accurate?

TW: DV, mention of executions

I recently got in trouble on a Facebook group for my thoughts on this, which was an interesting affair to say the least. But a lot of Tudor Enthusiasts are fighting right now about Jude Law's portrayal of Henry VIII. So, as an historian, what do I think on the matter?

Apparently my take was too hot for the group I put it on lmao

In Firebrand, Jude Law's Henry VIII is violent, narcissistic, and quick to harm. In one of the first scenes with his character, Kit questions him about the implications of the execution of her on-screen friend, Anne Askew, and Henry doesn't hesitate to grab her hair, force her to kneel, and snarl at her. Later in the film, a drunk Henry beats a pregnant Kit, having begun to think that her child isn't his. This version is much colder than JRM's portrayal, and much, much nastier than Keith Michell's. But, was it accurate?

Henry VIII did have a history of pretty crap behavior: this was the person who executed the Duke of Buckingham on flimsy evidence that they were planning a coup. He was also well known for beating his advisors, specifically Thomas Cromwell. Although he began as an affable prince who was kind to women and those in need, it didn't last long: he left Catherine of Aragon to die at Kimbolton when she had heart cancer, and refused to let her daughter see her before her death.

Henry is also well known as the king who executed two of his wives: Anne Boleyn in 1536 and Katherine Howard in 1542. Anne, his second wife whom he created the Anglican church for, had failed to give him a son by 1536, and had behaved inappropriately as Queen of England: conversations about the King's death had circulated, as well as bullying behaviors. Mind you, Anne was a knight's daughter: she had not been trained for this role in her youth, nor did she receive that training after her ascent to the throne. Henry used false charges, some of which surrounded her inappropriateness, to have her arrested and executed. Anne is widely believed to be innocent: a sentiment that I, too believe.

Katherine Howard was Henry's fifth wife. Historians hope that she was closer to 17 at the time of her marriage to him, but there's a chance she was closer to 15. Katherine's main offence was a tricky one: she retroactively violated a law that did not exist at the time of her marriage to Henry: that any woman who married the king must disclose her sexual history within 30 days of the marriage. Katherine had a history, thanks to her upbringing at her grandmother's estate.

The Dowager Duchess Agnes Howard owned Chesworth House in Horsham, where she took in aristocratic children who were down on their luck. Katherine was a member of the infamous Howard clan, thus securing her place in the house. Although Chesworth sounds like a lovely place on paper, it housed an open secret: there was neglect within the walls, and the girls' dormitory had no lock on it. It is alleged that Katherine Howard had two very inappropriate relationships during her tenure there: both with older men, and both while she was a pre-teenager. Today, we call what happened to her grooming, however that was not the case back in the 16th century: it was fornication, and retroactively a crime.

Katherine also had a friendship with one Thomas Culpeper: Culpeper had a history of sexual violence, and it seems he became much too close to the naive, young Queen. Their letters were used as evidence that they both committed adultery with one another: once against a statement that is being seen through different lenses in the history community today. Henry swore once he heard the news of her infidelity that he would strangle her himself, and often wept.

Both would lose their lives over this malarky.

On another note: what we call domestic violence in the 21st century was once legal, and it was so in the Tudor era. Within marriage vows, a woman promised to be "bonny and buxom in bed and in board," and if she failed, she could be expected to be beaten. Men were the head of the household: a woman was beneath him, and so were the children, and he was expected to discipline both. This often came in the form of hitting, boxing, or using a switch to get the job done. However, there were rules pertaining to how a husband could beat his wife: if the rod he used to beat her was too thick (thicker than his thumb), he could get in massive trouble with the church. If a man used violence too often in the household, or his discipline was life threatening, a woman could annul her marriage on the grounds of cruelty.

Henry, by the time he was married, was expected to discipline his wives: he was their leader and their head, and they were to obey. It was nearly expected that he would discipline them.

So, was Jude Law accurate to Henry VIII? Very much so. I think he captured the essence of the real man perfectly. Law really got into this role, even securing a perfume that smelled like stool to be more accurate to his character. I think it's high time that we stop fantasizing about Henry VIII as a cordial and romantic husband and recognize him for who he was: cruel, cold, and tyrannical.

[nix-whythisfilm]

Movies on Writers and Artists

For the writers and artists. Might update it if I find or remember more...

Little women (2019)

An absolute classic of literature, with Jo March being the prime writer in the film. The film covers the domestic life of five women where they all move into their own directions through the course f the story. They start out being artists and writers amongst themselves and then branch out due to various life circumstances. The people who do move into art successfully are Amy being the painter, Jo being the writer, and Beth being the pianist despite her early death. The movie has a strong message for women that they can endure and do anything they put their minds to.

Something I personally liked in the movie is her writing spree at the end. She was driven, by strong feelings and more. The scenes that added up to her writing were something really inspiring to have the writing flow. It often helps me to write whenever I rewatch the movie.

Kill your Darlings (2013)

The film was based on real writers Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs through their journeys at Columbia University. This film seems like a pinnacle moment that went on to influence their lives during the modern and post-modern eras of literature. Most English Literature degrees around the world cover the Beat movement and Literature by at least one of these writers. In my undergraduate degree we had the poem "Howl" and studied the Beat movement and the spirit it encompassed.

The movie I felt was incredibly inspiring. It hits like a motivational speech, making you want to grab a piece of pen and paper, making you itch to write something and be a part of the history of English Literature. Their stories are something that people would love to call fictional and completely reckless. But they had a point, they made it a point to establish that writing necessarily does not have to be formatted and traditional. They wrote something revolutionary and made sacrifices that were personal. The movie itself stuck a personal chord in me.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

The movie is obviously very old compared to the movies that are easily watched by the majority of the audience. The film, old as it is, is bound to a certain level of ancient traditions and beliefs that may be considered old-fashioned. There was a time when it faced quite a few allegations that it was misogynistic and male chauvinistic. I will not completely disagree, but it does have a spirit that can be enjoyed without being entirely conscious of the offensive remarks that sound mild. The film itself is a story about a group of boys in a boarding school and an inspiring teacher who wants to awaken the humanity in his students while fighting against the norm of monotonous career paths.

The movie is a personal favourite, considering that I came from a family struggling to accept that I was a student of the Humanities. It had a very important lesson that I often want to preach to everyone around me, with the majority of people I know very casually insulting and degrading artists and writers. It is a hard choice of career, and most struggle to achieve a balance in their life while also contributing to the field of Literature. With so many people so close-minded, a person of humanities is often ridiculed for having an open mind despite it being something helpful, rather than not.

Colette (2018)

The film is based on the true story of the writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette in France. The woman was talented in more ways than one, and the film itself speaks about her journey as a writer and mostly through her marriage with Henry Gauthier-Villars. The story talks of a harsh relationship where he often forced her to write for him, along with his other faults, while she only endured them and even went along with his schemes to be the power couple they both quickly became.

Something remarkable in the film is her fiery spirit. Kiera Knightly has played her part excellently, not sure how accurate it might be to the actual story. The film moves in a quick fashion, showing her attitude of taking everything for the better and quickly adapting to any situation she is in and making the best out of it. Her rage and her various frustrations, she somehow always channelled into something she can present to the world and profit from it. That itself was what made the movie so memorable to me.

Frida (2002)

This film stars Salma Hayek and many other significant actors of that time. While the film covered the life story of Frida Kahlo, it also shows much about the working of the world around artists and how they are spun into the web of politics. This film spoke a lot about how people are involved in politics or drama, casually.

The artist itself was an enigma to the audience and the world with her indomitable spirit and being a force of nature in her life. She had tragedies in her life since the beginning but they never stopped her from doing what she wanted or from experiencing her life just like any normal person would. Her art, which was discovered relatively late in her lifetime, became a technique and style of its own. The film also shows how her life was full of scandal and much like a cinematic story.

The Guernsey Literary and the Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

This film was adapted from the book of the same name, based on studies on the German occupation of the island of Guernsey. The story is about the life of a writer Juliet who wrote about an artist in the times of war. While struggling to live in the city after having been a victim of the war herself, she constantly is shown to be out of place in social gatherings. And while a majority of artists in this industry are shown, and even are, introverts, Juliet here is an extrovert who has grown weary of society.

The film moves into the story quickly, showing the residents of the island becoming penpals and acquaintances of Juliet. There she tries to learn more about the effects of the invasion on the people who lived there. But somewhere in between the journey, she finds her home. The movie was truly enlightening on how the writers of different times fared against the tides of the world and made their way in their life.

Crimson Peak (2015)

Also a book adaptation, Crimson Peak is an extraordinary film directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston. The movie has intense colouring and a very heavy presence of music and dramatic mystery. The film has some gore, and maybe some bad CGI with horror elements. But it is a good watch, and one with something that keeps you curious to keep watching.

It's interesting how this film too shows another writer, the main character, who is the daughter of a self-made businessman in America after the wars. The story moves quickly in the obvious direction of her falling in love with the European man who is looking for investors. But mystery surrounds him and his sister, and her father questions his integrity. The film itself is a visual treat with a strong plot.

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)

The film, in the beginning, is a pain to watch. It drags and feels pointless, her inner monologue is borderline creepy and feels like so much drama. It surprised me that it was based on a book. But the more you watch the film, the more the pieces fall together. It is a challenging piece of media that expects the audience to have the patience and open mind to completely accept it. Mila Kunis has a very unique role in this, where she keeps switching her personalities.

The film is gripping and sounds so normal in the beginning, but the more we watch the more the false layers fall off. It is one of the slices of life movies based on a true story and strikes a chord among so many people around the world. It speaks of an experience that is so intimate but also something that leaves you so distant and unfeeling for yourself. It surely is an excellent watch. The only thing that anyone needs to watch out for is the assortment of swear words.

Hymn of Death (2018)

The mini-series is based on the stories of real-life artists and writers. The film is made in Korean but has a considerable amount of Japanese in it. The story covers the life of the playwright Woo-Jin and the soprano Shim Deok during the Japanese Occupation of Korea. They both meet in an institution in Japan where they have gone to pursue their studies, which is where they both fall in love.

As with any other situation, their lives get complicated quickly with their personal situations getting entangled and leaving them with some hard choices to make. The series itself has a streak of melancholy throughout while also showing the lives of the artists in that era and the culture. It is interesting to watch how some things exist across cultures and affects people despite their race, age, gender, or the society they live in.

Our Beloved Summer (2021)

This series has an extremely strong bias in my mind for the artist's work that has been put in for the direction. It stars Choi Wooshik who starred in the Oscar-winning film 'Parasite', and the character is nothing like the one he has played before. The story covers the life of the artist before and after ten years, the difference it had in his life and the romance of his high school. It is a specific genre of romance, comedy, and mild drama that is appealing for a comfortable watch.

Their personalities are a treat to watch as they mingle and spar over words. The series shows the flow of life that is easy and fulfilling though it might not always have everything we want. The protagonist is an easy-natured man who has been the same since he was a boy, but it also speaks of the way an artist thinks. It necessarily does not mean all artists are the same, but I was much like him when I was growing up. It is beautiful to watch, so many relationships blossoming through the journey, not devoid of pain and breakups.

[whitesinhistory]

On June 13, 1904, a white judge ordered a Black mother to brutally beat her 15-year-old son in front of hundreds of white people in the Lexington, Kentucky, town square. Judge John J. Riley imposed this sentence upon the boy, Simon Searce, as punishment for getting into a physical altercation with a white boy.

Compelled by the judge’s order, Simon’s mother took her son straight from the courtroom, through the crowded streets, and to the town square filled with white residents. There, her son was stripped of his clothing and tied to a post, and she administered 20 lashes from a buggy whip. If Simon’s mother had refused to whip her son as ordered, she risked facing her own charges of contempt and also risked angering the judge who had power to impose an even harsher punishment upon her son. This brutal punishment of a Black child was rooted in the prior era of enslavement. During that time, Black children, women, and men were whipped with impunity by enslavers and traffickers, leaving physical and emotional scars. Narratives of the experience of enslavement written by Black people who escaped bondage often described how white enslavers would cruelly force enslaved people to participate in the punishment of others. Forced to whip fellow enslaved Black people for running away, working too slowly, or other alleged offenses, these men and women were threatened with violence or death if they refused. For generations after Emancipation, white urban and rural communities alike witnessed and participated in the public spectacle of violent punishments inflicted upon Black people through racial terror lynching and deadly massacres targeting entire Black communities. A narrative of racial difference—the belief that Black people were inferior to white people—was constructed to justify this treatment. That myth of white supremacy survived the formal abolition of enslavement and evolved to include the belief that Black people are dangerous criminals. Black people, even children like Simon, were frequently met with harsh and often violent retribution from courts after being accused of minor social transgressions or for defending themselves against attacks from white people. Even white press accounts of Simon Searce’s punishment recognized the whipping scene’s roots in enslavement; one headline reporting the events declared, “REMINDER OF OLD DAYS: Negro Boy Whipped at Post in Kentucky for Striking White Boy.”

This presumption of guilt and dangerousness persists today and continues to make people of color vulnerable to racial violence, wrongful convictions, and unfair treatment. Our nation’s history of racial injustice has polluted the environment in which the criminal justice system is administered. Understanding how today’s criminal justice crisis is rooted in our country’s history of racial injustice requires truthfully facing that history and its legacy.

[minetteskvareninova]

So! I did some research for @faintingheroine's fic in the form of scouring the Magnificent Century YouTube channel and watching select scenes. These are my hot takes:

- FUCK IBRAHIM. Seriously, just fuck this guy. The way he treated Nigar after sleeping with her that one time is abominable. And I mean, even sleeping with her in the place is pretty heinous considering what was his wife going trough at the time. Nigar gets a pass because she had been in love with Ibrahim for a long time and homegirl probably couldn't handle refusing him emotionally, not to mention, as she rightfully points out - the power dynamic between them makes refusal potentially not even an option. Also? She didn't initiate it. She was over there peacefully pining from the distance (apart from the whole cupping thing lmao) when he came onto her. In short, Nigar deserved to have a revenge arch on this dude as far back as the middle of season 2.

- At the same time, it's pretty clear that Ibrahim's behavior is to a large extent motivated by guilt. He and Hatice are clearly happy before as well as after, and his "slipup" bothers him greatly, especially since he is still attracted to Nigar - and he turns all of these negative emotions against her, because he's the worst. Man, no wonder faintingheroine spends so much time obsessing over him. This guy is prime mindreading material.

- Hatice beating the bad wife allegations at every turn lmao. Granted she could be a bit jealous and demanding sometimes (her episodes after the death of her son notwithstanding), but for the most part? She was extremely devoted to Ibrahim. And the kicker is, so was Nigar! Meanwhile he's over there caring for noone but himself and did I mention that I hate Ibrahim, because I really can't stand this dude.

- She also tried her best to be a good mistress to Nigar, which... Well, you know. There are no good slaveowners and she happily overrode Nigar's wishes whenever she wanted. But, she tried. And I can't hate a fellow shipper too much.

- I am still not over the fact that Mahidevran of all people convinced Hatice to marry off Nigar, based on *checks notes* her bad vibes and the fact that some bad things happened during her stay at the palace. Okay, I am sure the actual reason had something to do with harem politics, but that's what she told Hatice. Just walked up to her and basically told her a servant Hatice actually seems to like is the devil. I love Mahidevran, but WHAT WAS THAT?!

- I am still not sure regarding Hürrem's feelings towards Nigar in season 2. The way she acts towards her often seems incredibly self-serving, and then there's the fact that she threatened her with death that one time??? Then again, there must be some reason why Hürrem couldn't seem to let go of the thought of getting Nigar back into her own service. My money is on the residual gratitude for helping her change from Alexandra into Hürrem Sultan.

[beardedmrbean]

Caleb Mwangi was beaten so severely at his school in Kenya after he took extra food at breakfast that he was put into an induced coma and spent 11 days in an intensive care unit.

"When I got there, he couldn't leave his bed. He couldn't speak," his father Fred Mwangi told the BBC.

This happened nearly two years ago when Caleb was 13 years old. Sitting now between his mother and father on the sofa in their home in Mombasa, a city on Kenya's coast, he says he tends to zone out from time to time.

The teenager is filled with rage that sometimes makes him punch the wall. The effects, he says, of the trauma caused by the near-death experience.

Mr Mwangi gets his son to stand and pull up his white vest to reveal a thick, angry scar covering almost the width and length of his back.

He says the wounds were so deep the surgeon had to remove large pieces of skin from his thighs to use as skin grafts.

"This is him in hospital," says his mother Agnes Mutiri, showing pictures of Caleb on her phone, too graphic to publish. Lying face down on the bed, lacerations cover his legs, back and arms, and even his face. There were almost a hundred in total.

"His whole body was like this."

Corporal punishment in schools has a long history in Kenya, dating back to the era when missionaries and colonisers relied on it to assert their authority.

In 2001, the Kenyan government banned the practice in schools, but it has been harder to change people's attitudes.

Figures from the latest Violence Against Children report, a national household survey in 2019, revealed that more than half of 18 to 24-year-olds in Kenya agreed it was necessary for teachers to use corporal punishment.

BBC Africa Eye has uncovered a worrying increase in the number of severe cases being reported.

Caleb says in his case it was Nancy Gachewa, the director of Gremon Education Centre - a school in the town of Bamburi near Mombasa - who first beat him and then ordered other students to continue the punishment. Ms Gachewa denies this, and says she was not at the school when it happened.

"I was so hungry, I took five chapatis and ate them with tea," Caleb says.

Ms Gachewa and an older student, Idd Salim, were arrested and charged with assault and causing grievous bodily harm. Salim was sentenced to four years in prison last year and, in a plea bargain, he has testified against Ms Gachewa in court. The case against her continues.

While Caleb's case is horrific, it is far from unique. An employee at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), an independent organisation that manages all aspects of the teaching profession in Kenya, spoke to BBC Africa Eye on condition of anonymity.

They said that in the last three years, reports of the most severe school beatings have more than quadrupled from seven to 29. Most incidents are never reported.

"It is becoming a crisis and… we feel it is going out of hand now. Cases of children being injured and maimed. Some of these cases have resulted into very severe consequences, even death," they said.

The source said that cases of school beatings reported to the TSC at county level often never go any further, adding that incidents were "killed" and "never see the light of day".

"So many times, by the time the case reaches us, so much evidence has been corrupted. Sometimes we cannot even get a hold of the witnesses."

BBC Africa Eye contacted the TSC to respond to these allegations, but it did not reply.

The thought that a student could die at the hands of education professionals who are supposed to protect them is unimaginable for most people, but in the last five years, more than 20 deaths linked to school beatings have been reported in the media.

Fifteen-year-old Ebbie Noelle Samuels is believed to be one of them.

Ebbie was a boarder at Gatanga CCM Secondary school in Murang'a county, around 60km (37 miles) north-east of the capital, Nairobi.

On 9 March 2019 her mother, Martha Wanjiro Samuels, was called by the school to say her daughter was unwell in hospital.

When she arrived there, Ebbie was already dead.

The school said that she had died in her sleep, but witnesses say she was beaten by the deputy principal because of the way she wore her hair.

"The autopsy report revealed that she had severe head injury, blunt force trauma. So, somebody hit her to cause that kind of an injury to her, leading to her death," said Mrs Samuels.

She campaigned for four years to have her daughter's death investigated.

Last January, Elizabeth Wairimu Gatimu, the former deputy principal of Ebbie's school, was arrested for murder. She denies the charges against her.

"I will do everything that I have to do as long as I'm alive to ensure justice is served for my child," said Mrs Samuels, who is still waiting to hear the outcome of the case.

"I told myself: 'I will not be silenced. I will not keep quiet. I will not give up fighting.' Maybe the day I give up is the day that I sleep like my daughter. But as long as I breathe, I will not give up."

BBC Africa Eye requested an interview with the Kenyan Ministry of Education, but nobody was willing to speak.

One organisation which is pushing for change is Beacon Teachers Africa. Launched in Kenya four years ago by the non-governmental group Plan International, together with the TSC, its aim is to give teachers the opportunity to protect children in schools and their communities.

It now has a network of 50,000 teachers across 47 countries in Africa.

Robert Omwa is one of 3,000 Beacon teachers in Kenya. As well as educating children about their rights, he also holds workshops to train teachers how to deliver discipline without using corporal punishment.

"Initially I was sceptical about it. I thought this is Western ideology, an African child has to be beaten. But when I tried it, I felt relieved as a teacher. I felt lighter. I felt the children gravitating more towards me," he said.

Back in Mombasa, Caleb and his family are waiting to hear the fate of his school director. Ms Gachewa has pleaded not guilty.

The 15-year-old still finds it hard to process what happened to him.

"For me to get justice, I want this woman to be jailed."

[rise-my-angel]

It’s so dumb how Tg fans allege Rhaenyra and Daemon show Targaryen supremacy and blood purity when they both had children with non Targaryens and love them dearly. (Show Daemon also wanted to marry his ‘common whore’ and have children with her, and respected her wishes when she left him)

Meanwhile Aemond says he would ‘do his duty’ and marry his sister. He also commits treason my calling his sister Aegon’s queen. And Aegon is a rapist. Something daemon is not.

Alicent also has crazy bastard phobia when even the sea snake acknowledges the boys as his own grandsons. They are more pure in blood than her own children yet she thinks she has a right to question them being Rhaenyra’s heirs. (When even Laenor gives them his name)

Thoughs?

So, to be fair, that is NOT how bastards work in the world of asoiaf. Bastards are bastards until they go through the King and are given official documented legitimization that everyone knows about. They are bastards until that legal process is completed. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Bastards also do not have the right to inherit. That's a reasonable thing for Alicent to point out. I'm not going to go into the bastard phobic debate. Bastards cannot inherit and everyone knows that and is well within their rights to protest putting a bastard in the place of inheritance they should not get. The only reason Rhaenyra gets to try and do that is beacuse she's in the royal family.

No bastards not in a royal family get to inheirt, so Alicent is right in recognizing that Rhaenyra is doing "Rules for thee but not for me" by giving her bastards rights that no other bastards would ever be allowed to be involved with.

Laenor goes along with it but that does not mean they aren't bastards. Again they are until they receive a royal decleration from the King himself. It does not matter what anyone else says.

No one is claiming Jon Snow is not a bastard just beacuse Ned raised him with his other children. The strong boys are bastards and the fandoms tendency to get angry about that is hypocritical considering that outside of the specifics of the Targaryean family none of these people care about the rights of other bastards in the series who aren't part of that family. They cannot inherit and Alicent has every right to call out that they are bastards to draw attention to it.

No amount of "but thats not fair" from the audience is going to change that so I will not argue for it.

Also, Daemon and Rhaenyra's blood supremacy has nothing to do with their first spouses or children and everything to do with their mentality. They see themselves as better then and above the rules and use fire and blood to get what they want. Their children have nothing to do with that.

They ARE engaging in blood supremacy but it has everything to do with who they are as people individually and what they do and believe in that is only for the selfish benefit of their own motivations that align with the greater problem with Targaryeans as a whole.

Also, in order to pursue his 16 year old Targaryean neice, Daemon attacked, paralyzed, and beat Rhea Royce to death with a rock when she did nothing wrong, because he wanted to pursue his Valyrian teenage neice.

We are not pretending he doesn't deserve to be called out for his horrific nature. He does. If you disagree, tell Rhea Royce she deserved to die for simply being married to a man that she didn't even intrude on the life of until HE came to HER and BEAT HER TO DEATH.

I don't know what your point about Aemond is referring too. Targaryean children are raised to think their duty is to marry their brothers and sisters, thats what ALL of them think. Rhaenyra literally had killed (in the show she suggested having killed) Laenor just to marry her uncle. Sorry, but thats not really a point for Rhaenyra/Daemon against Aemond.

I don't like Aemond but he didn't commit treason by calling someone Queen in a situation thats literally all about a claim dispute. That's..sort of a non point. I don't know why thats a criticism when he's done far more unhinged and bad things to call him out for.

Aegon being a rapist has nothing to do with any of this so I don't know why it's a point brought up here.

Literally ALL of the Targaryeans and Valeryons are Valyrian blood Supremacist supporters in this story. All of them. All Team Green Targaryeans and all Team Black Targaryeans and Valeryons.

All of them are toxically addicted to their destructive families god complex superiority. Thats the point of calling the book about the civil war destruction of the Targaryean family, after their own House motto. Beacuse thats what ALL of these characters represent in the worst ways possible.

They are ALL fire and blood.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Im just saying one of the accusations against bathory was using witchcraft to send a stormcloud that rained feral cats onto her enemies to kill them, so yeah Im fairly certain she did not in fact do quite literally everything she was accused of

Are you saying you DON’T use witchcraft to rain feral cats upon your enemies?

Girls’ Night (gender-neutral) my friend

But seriously I’m not here to Girlbossify Elizabeth Báthory. I would 100% buy that she beat her servants and was a general asshole. Why not? Plenty of people are Just The Worst

But

Did she torture 80-650 women to death, as claimed in accusations made against her by people who stood to profit from her downfall, were ACTUALLY tortured into “confessing,” or who Heard It From A Friend Of A Friend Of The Alleged Chief Minister For Chucking Wet And Naked Girls Into The Snow To Die Of Hypothermia?

I. Have my doubts