#this idea and execution came to me in a prophetic dream

[artharakka]

🌹 XXII Vampire / XXIII Vampire Hunter 🥀

[savannahsdeath]

THE LOOP ENDING

knight!ellie x princess!reader

read the first chapter; here

warnings: mentions of forced marriage, readers mom is a really bad person, nightmare, blood, death of an animal, public execution, runaway.. lmk if i missed anything !!

writers note: ellie is so silly i want to keep her in my pocket .

you woke up with a gasp, sitting up and propping yourself on your weak, shaking arms without even realizing it. you felt an uncomfortably slippery texture under your hands - your pillow soaked with sweat and tears which you unconsciously shed during your dream nightmare. and though sweat usually connects with heat, your trembling body was the complete opposite - you felt like a cube of ice, even with the covers hugging you.

and yet, there was some sort of a warm sensation that calmed you down.

"i'm here, your highness." a voice whispered, and you started to realize you're not alone.

indeed, the mattress was slightly dented on your left side, as if someone's weight pressed it down. you rubbed your eyes and catched your breath, tilting your head to face ellie.

you let out a dry sob and wrapped your hands around her, making sure your embrace isn't leaky, and she won't somehow slip out between your arms. you were sure it wasn't a hallucination as you felt her firm hands on the back of your head.

"another nightmare, huh?" she smiled against your neck, but you could guess how concerned she really was. "what did your mother do this time?"

you sighed but forced a weak smile on your own, tired face. "you have no idea." you shook your head, nuzzling your face in her shoulder.

"this woman is going to be the death of me." she chuckled and you noticed how raspy her voice was. she probably didn't sleep at all, knowing what awaits her— what awaits you both this night.

and you— you just broke down crying at her words. she was so right and she didn't even realize it.

no matter how bad you felt in this right moment, you had to do something. you couldn't wait.

"what time is it?" you asked, but you got cut off by some of your sudden sobs and sniffles.

"a good few hours passed since we came back from the garden. four, maybe five." she shrugged, stroking your hair.

so you were in the backyard with her. you watched the stars together and you— you shared a kiss. the rest of the week was just a dream. how is it possible?

"ellie..." you wiped your tears away, your sadness disappearing and getting replaced by confusion. "do you know anyone named luccy?"

"luccy?" her hand, which caressed your head, suddenly stopped in it's track. "how do you know about her?"

you let go of her, pulling away so you could see her worried expression. "she was in my dream." you explained. "she helped us."

us. because even if she tried to save ellie, she also relieved you. you'll never forget what the letter said, "my friend took care of me". somewhere, in the worst, most brutal universe, luccy was the savior for both of you.

"well, what was your dream about?" she murmured, nervously clearing her throat. she seemed to know it wasn't anything good, and the fact her friend was in it made it feel so real, so... prophetic.

"i—" you parted your mouth, but your voice slowly drifted off. you wondered when did it start. when did everything go downhill...

you figured out it may be your reckless ranting on the weddings day.

"it's one of the knights." you really weren't controlling the words coming out of your mouth and that could only mean one thing - problems. "ellie."

right, it must be it. what were you even thinking?

after a second you realized ellie would live if she didn't interrupt the ceremony. that's when it really happened.

but then again, maybe she'd survive if she picked a different hiding? maybe just luccy's house wasn't safe?

you got lost in the options. everything could lead to this tragedy. every little mistake. at this point, you didn't have any choices. only one thing could stop this — making sure the wedding won't happen at all. as long as you were married, you couldn't achieve a happy ending. it was simply not possible.

when you came to your senses, with a light jolt of your whole body, ellie's hands were resting on your shoulders.

"i'm sorry—" you mumbled. "i was... thinking."

a ray of sunlight was shining through the blinds, irritating your sleepy eyes. your knight leaned in, covering it and making you disappear in the darkness again. her hands cupped your chin and her thumb traced your bottom lip.

"something's wrong, isn't it?" she sighed, knitting her eyebrows together.

"yes." you lightly nodded, not wanting your movement to cause in her comforting touch leaving your face. "i won't let anything happen to you."

she chuckled, pressing her lips to your forehead for a few long seconds. "i'll be fine."

she's won't. not if everything comes out as in your nightmare. and you knew how easy it was to fail - everything can lead to an unstoppable situation. you got a second chance, you could fix everything. you won't get stuck in this miserable loop.

"no—" you shook your head, weakly repeating; "no, no... we should pack our things and—"

"and what, your highness?" she smiled, as if she didn't take you seriously, but you knew that's not true. she knows she's in danger. she has to know, she has to realize that. "we have nowhere to go."

you pulled away from her and fell on the bed, making it look like you were throwing a tantrum, what had some truth in it. you really were mad, not angry, but a little mad... how could she be so unfazed? did she not understand?

and then again, she was right. you wouldn't survive in the forest, probably not even in your poor town. you were really independent, as for a princess, but you were too used to living in luxury. only one thing came to your mind, and somehow, it made sense. "we have luccy on our side."

her pearly whites disappeared under her chapped lips, though the corners of her mouth were still slightly upwards. "what about her?"

you whined with a shrug, rolling on your side to not face her. "forget it."

"no, wait, tell me." she pleaded, laying down beside you. "i'm sorry, your highness. i w— won't laugh, 'promise." she raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, making her embarrassment obvious. your trust and respect was the most important thing in her life, not counting your love. the love that made you change your mind and open up to her, even if she'd shrug it off.

"maybe she knows a place..." you started but gave up midway. you truly didn't know what to say - you didn't have a plan, not even a single idea. the little bulb in your head was off and won't turn on, no matter how hard you'll focus. "i— i don't know, 'm sorry..." you rolled over to face her, even though you usually didn't want to let her see your embarrased state.

"well," she smiled, tugging a loose strand of your messy hair behind your ear, while her free hand rested between her head and one of the pillows. "i know a place."

your eyes flashed with curiosity, widening and brightening, reflecting some sort of light that wasn't even there, in your dark room. "you do?" you propped yourself on your elbow, parting your lips in focus.

"well, not personally..." she chuckled, looking away and fidgeting with her fingers. "i heard that— you know, in town— they have a map of neighboring cities. they often travel to trade things and..." you sat up, looking down at her with an expression that signaled your surprise. "i can try to talk with someone—"

you cut her off by leaning in and pressing a peck on her lips. "you're amazing, ellie." you stood up and started rummaging through your closet, after you pulled out an old leather suitcase from under the bed.

she trailed after you, though stopped at the edge of the bed. "what are you doing?" she frowned, pouting her lips in a way that made your mind squeal.

"packing." you spun around, making a show by throwing each neatly folded piece of clothing with exaggerated grace. "you should too!"

she got up and stared at your moves with crossed arms, what could feel judging matched with her slightly mocking pout. she nodded, as if it was obvious. "so you just want to leave like— right now?"

you dropped a dress you were holding on the floor and walked over to her, putting your hands on her shoulders. "yeah?" you shrugged, not sure what is making her so... confused. "it's now or never."

"now or never..." she repeated, still inclining her head up and down before stopping with a loud click of her tongue. "of course." she slowly walked backwards, towards the door. "you're crazy, you know that?" she laughed and for a split second you thought she's heading to the exit because she wants to leave - leave and tell everyone about your plan so someone would stop you. "let's meet in the garden as soon as you finish."

you let out a deep breath you didn't even know you've been holding. she winked and disappeared behind the scratched piece of wood you couldn't really call door anymore. you slammed it with force inappropriate for an innocent princess too many times.

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"how did you know there would be a hole here?" you pointed at a spot in the wall which lacked dozens of bricks, creating an empty circle enough for you to fit through.

"oh, sweetie..." she nonchalantly smiled, and you couldn't help but freeze at the nickname. it was definitely the first time she called you something else than 'your highness' or 'my princess'. "do you think it's my first time stealing a horse?"

"why would you steal a horse?" you pushed your bag into the hole, kicking it forwards with your leg to make room for yourself.

"well, not steal, i only borrowed them." she put her hand between the bricks and your head, protecting you from bumping into them if you'd accidentally raise your chin. "sometimes, when your mother pisses me off— nothing's better than some fresh air."

you hummed, crawling to the other side of the grey wall. you straightened up, wiping your dirty hands in your dress and jumping in excitement. "come on, ellie! i'm waiting!"

soon enough her package appeared next to you, reminding you of your own, so you picked it up with a loud, sharp huff. you swore that it weighs more than you and your knight (in full armor on!) together.

"let me take it." she extended her hand towards you, curling her fingers in a 'come on' gesture. you didn't see her coming, so you budged, what made you drop your suitcase. you raised it, this time holding back a gasp, and shook your head. "so stubborn." ellie murmured with a smirk.

"i— ugh— 'm not stubborn. i'm just— uh, strong." you whined, persistently dragging your bag with you.

"my strong princess." she taunted, lifting and withdrawing her own package like a weight. you rolled your eyes but you admired how easy it was for her - your strong knight. "we'll see how long you can last."

"oh— 's so mean." you huffed again, causing in some loose strands of your hair flying upwards.

you walked along the wall, letting ellie stay a few steps behind, as you searched for the back door of the stable.

the plan wasn't complicated. you couldn't just take your horses and leave - not before the sunrise. not only the guards won't let you, but they'd also tell your mother about your suspicious behavior. she'll immediately figure your plans out. so, you had to come in through the second entrance - the one from the forest's side. then, you'll just take your horse - without making much noise and... go wherever you want. you'll be free and in such a simple way. easy. too easy.

"ellie?" you started, seeing massive wooden door a few meters ahead. you waited for her curious 'yeah?' before continuing; "how are we going to get inside?" you let her laugh for a few seconds, but she didn't gave you any answer even after her burst out finished. "so, how?"

"do you think they guard it?" she asked, running four steps forward to catch up with you.

"they don't?" you knitted your eyebrows together. "but that's dangerous!"

she shrugged, though her nonchalant smile clearly communicated; 'i know something you don't'.

after a few minutes and ellie's messing with the padlock, you safely got inside the stable. you ran up to your white, well-kept horse - pearl - forgetting about the burdensome weigh of your package, which quickly stopped being your problem. your suitcase quickly got on pearl's back, just like you, though you had to hold it the whole time. ellie's animal was the opposite of yours. in appearance -  it was a chocolate shade of brown with a few lighter, as white as pearl spots, but also personality. whoever doubted that horses have personality could be easily proven wrong - when yours was a total princess (though it was easy to make her cross some boundaries), ellie's was way too confident and energetic.

you left the stable— or, well, pearl did it for you, and impatiently waited for ellie as she closed the door after you. on her way back to shimmer - her horse - she patted pearl and jokingly tugged on your leg, what almost made you kick her straight on her nose. yet she just laughed, and you did too. you had reasons to be happy.

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ellie helped you get off pearl before beginning to tie both animals to a nearby fence. "could you call luccy?" she asked with a loving smile.

"i don't know, ellie, i don't know her—" you explained, nervously stuttering and scratching the back of your neck.

you were scared of this moment. you were about to meet the person who tried to save ellie, a person who's actions could be so important in your story. could be, but you teared out a few pages and decided to overwrite them. you didn't know what genre will your book be, not yet, but you knew luccy will be in it. and she'll be a good character, even if she'd only appear in one chapter.

"nothing to be scared of." ellie reassured you, finishing her job and walking up to you. she put her hand on your lower back, slightly pushing you forward and, before you could protest, she knocked on the door for you.

you waited a few seconds, not too long but enough to let you know that she was doing something before you interrupted her. she was a tall, skinny woman with blonde, shoulder-length hair. her big blue eyes were squinted, signaling her defect of vision. she looked messy but, you had to admit, pretty.

she mumbled something you couldn't quite understand, maybe just a bunch of nonsense, and pulled you in for a hug. after a moment of hesitation, you wrapped your hands around her too, carefully listening to her rambling.

"come in, girls." she pulled away and stepped aside, making room for both of you. the way she acted around you carried a friendly tension - something that you never felt with any other stranger.

"we won't bother you for too long." ellie smiled, wrapping her arm around your waist to make sure you won't get lost. well, there was no way you'd get lost in this little cottage, maybe ellie was overprotective, or maybe needed an excuse to be close to you.

"oh, i hope so!" luccy laughed, closing the door with a loud creak which hurt your ears and made you wince. "my mother is sick. i have a lot things to do, really." her gaze wandered, staring into all the obstacles on the floor with a sigh. the area was... messy, to say nicely. "but i'm glad to finally meet you." she looked at you and you instinctively looked around to see if there's anyone behind you. after realizing she really means you, you honored her with a smile and nod. "ellie told me a lot about you."

for a second, you almost said something similar, before realizing ellie never mentioned luccy. you first met her in your dream, if you can even call it a 'meeting'.

and, obviously, 'we won't bother you for too long' turned into hours.

ellie asked her for a favor, a big and dangerous one. you didn't plan it with her beforehand, she surprised both of you. and the way she said it... so unfazed, so unbothered. "we know that gossips spread fast here so— i thought you could start a rumour that you saw the queen ordering someone to kill us." faking death was smart and making your mother responsible for it was even better but, jesus, why would she ask for that without consulting it with you? your own mother trying to kill you.

when you finally left, the sun was close to setting, but at least you had the map. it was an old, damp piece of paper with weird lines on it.

"this square is the castle." you remembered luccy tapping a purple shape, before tracing her fingers along a red line to a green triangle. "here's... our friendly neighbours. they shouldn't know you're the—... princess. i advise you to settle down here."

you tried to reconstruct the route, but it seemed way more complicated now. you knew where's the castle, but where's your current location? you passed the map to ellie and got on pearl with an annoyed huff.

"are you still mad for the rumour plan?" ellie asked in a hopeful, innocent and pleading voice.

"no—" you smacked your lips. "well, yes, that too."

her expression turned serious, but soft, and her voice had an understanding undertone to it. "you'll thank me once we'll live our life, free and happy."

────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────────

and you did. you thanked her everyday, you showed her how grateful you are all the time, in every way possible.

you quickly got accepted to the town's community. your silver coins were enough to buy a small cottage with some space for your horses outside. dina - a girl your age who was always there to help - said the previous owners died, by some disease unknown to you, related to animals. you still had a lot of change, so you kept it in a jar above your new desk. everything was new, so new and unusual. you had a lot to learn - how to hunt, and cook your prey, sow and harvest your seeds... but you could gladly admit you were doing just fine.

not long after you settled, you found barely breathing pearl in the backyard. her perfectly white skin was interrupted by a blurred, dark red spot. there was an arrow stuck in her leg, close to stomach, and you had no idea for how long she suffered before you found her. the whole morning? night?

"i'm sorry." ellie leaned down, pressing her head to pearl's stomach next to you. "i'll find out who did that and i promise—" you cut her off with a shake of your head and a weak 'no'. you hoped it was a mistake, a one-off situation. you hoped you won't have to take any action. ellie sighed, standing up after patting pearl's body. "i'll get dina, okay?" she asked, and you weren't sure if she's talking to you or to your poor horse, so you only hummed in response.

"we could save her, it's just a little arrow—" you persistently pleaded, but you were met with nothing more than disappointed sighs.

"a wounded horse is useless." dina shrugged, and no matter how much you wanted to disagree, you knew you have to trust her.

and that's how your best friend, because that's how you liked to refer to pearl, even if it's just an animal, turned into a few gold coins from the town's butcher.

ellie liked to pretend it doesn't bother her, really.

"things like that are normal here" or "we have to get used to... that" and finally "it's not a big deal, you know, not anymore".

yet, she checked on shimmer every hour. one day, when you were trembling from fear as she didn't come home after sunset, you found her asleep in the backyard with her own friend. you couldn't wake her up, not when she looked so calm and innocent, with her lips parted and deep, loud breathing. you sat next to her, eventually drifting off to sleep too.

you had a dream, first one since moving out of the castle. it was a reminder of the new start, not only yours, but of all the residents. revolution.

it was about an event, which happened a few months before. about two weeks after you crossed out your royal past, luccy visited you to tell you about the success of ellie's plan. when you got to town - on still well and safe pearl - you found an empty hill with a view on the gallows. it looked just like in your nightmare, though except your loved one, your mother was the one standing there with a noose around her neck. one of the men, which you also saw in your dream before, shouted out loud all the bad things the convicted did, and you felt relieved that her death sentence isn't only caused by you. it turned out she broke her own law more times than you could imagine.

"...ordering the murder of her own daughter, our only princess..." you heard him reading out loud, almost yelling, and much to your surprise he didn't mention ellie.

you couldn't help but compare this situation to your love's penalty - no one said what she did wrong. your mother was determined to make her die, and she did, not even bothering to make up some reasons. but it was just a nightmare, and now, you were glad everyone will know how horrible the queen really is.

"i— miss this place." you pointed at your surroundings and the small castle you used to live in, far, far, far away. "i wish i could let them know i'm safe." you looked at the people mourning you, knowing it's the end of your lineage. you were in line to the throne, and now... who will live in your castle? you couldn't come back, though. in their minds, you were dead. they weren't completely wrong - a part of you really died. an useless part, which you didn't need anyway. "but then they'll all realise my mother is innocent."

"oh, hey now!—" ellie chuckled, like she always did during serious talks about your mother. "just because she didn't kill us doesn't mean she's innocent."

for a moment, your mind wandered to how she treated the service. how she treated everyone, unless they were other royals and she needed something from them - like the prince. oh, how nice she was to him.

the list of her faults was long, much longer than just the mention of your death. you nodded and with that thought, proudly watched your mother die.

✧˖°

[another-dr-another]

question yamaguchi ?

Maeda - Why… do you think you’ll be able to beat the execution?

Tomori - You’re being really calm about all this, Yamaguchi- how come?

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - Okay…

Yamaguchi - Just… hear me out?

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - It came to me in a dream.

Maki - …

Maki - Can…

Maki - Monokuma, permission to leave the trial?

Maki - I can’t fucking do this. I.

Maki - …”It came to me in a dream” for the love of god, Yamaguchi? Actually?

Maki - I don’t… I don’t care about being here anymore, I’m ready to go sleep.

Maki - For fucks sake…

Monokuma - Request Denied.

Maki - Figures.

Uehara - …Yamaguchi, if you, uh… if you were to die, would it matter to you that you get your last rites?

Uehara - Just… for my peace of mind.

Yamaguchi - You don’t believe me, don’t think I’ll be fine- which makes sense!

Yamaguchi - I know what it sounds like!

Yamaguchi - But really, really, just hear me out.

Higa - Honestly, I’m a bit curious how you’ve been deluding yourself into this. Go on.

Tsurugi - I mean…

Higa - Oh don’t tell me you actually believe him.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - I think… we need to hear Yamaguchi’s account.

Tsurugi - At the very least, even if you all dismiss it… at least we’ll know?

Yamaguchi - Yeaaah, just listen!

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - Oh, no one has a comment to make? Okay then!

Yamaguchi - So…

Yamaguchi - It was the night before the pool party.

Yamaguchi - I had laid down to go to bed, and I guess I was really tired?

Yamaguchi - Because I fell asleep really quickly!

Yamaguchi - So… I fell asleep, and I think I’m pretty normal when it comes to dreams?

Yamaguchi - Not especially prone to nightmares, don’t get prophetic visions, ya know.

Yamaguchi - But…

Yamaguchi - So. At first, I didn’t realize I was dreaming; pretty standard for a dream, but…

Yamaguchi - Then I saw Midori.

Yamaguchi - I…

Yamaguchi - It was set in my dorm room- I thought I had just woken up, but once I had actually processed what I was seeing…

Yamaguchi - …I mean, no way that Midori was sitting on top of my dresser, y’know?

Yamaguchi - She…

Yamaguchi - …Midori is so nice. I’m not saying she’s a God sent child who’s going to preach to you about her love for wasps and hornets and all the other things she doesn’t like,

Yamaguchi - But even if she gets upset with her teachers and stuff… she wouldn’t tell me to kill someone.

Maki - …You got the idea to kill someone from her? And only then?

Yamaguchi - Yeah!

Yamaguchi - I know I kept pestering you about your brother, but both that, and my volunteering to help set up was innocuous.

Taira - …You committed murder because you …dreamed that Midori told you to?

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - So… in my dream, she was…

Yamaguchi - Again, she was sitting on the dresser in my room, and like…

Yamaguchi - I don’t remember exactly what she said? But the gist of it was…

Yamaguchi - That I needed to get out, and be there for her… it almost felt like I was being taunted, in a way?

Uehara - …

Yamaguchi - But I agreed that I wanted to be there for her, and help her…

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - She said…

Yamaguchi - That. If I killed someone, during the pool party…

Yamaguchi - I’d be given special treatment; enough that I’d be able to pull off an unsolvable murder.

Yamaguchi - …Think about it.

Yamaguchi - If Kobashikawa hadn’t tagged along, then I’d be able to argue that I was attacked from behind, and give myself a mark to match.

Yamaguchi - But since he showed up, I needed to make a mark consistent with their injuries…

Yamaguchi - At least, in the moment, I thought that’d be less suspicious- I had to wing a lot of things.

Yamaguchi - But… she wasn’t wrong?

Kobashikawa - She wasn’t… wrong?

Tsurugi - As in, she didn’t lie.

Tsurugi - You did get help killing Mekaru- not from a student… 

Tsurugi - …And I don’t think from the mastermind either.

Tsurugi - But there’s no way the murder could’ve been pulled off by a student all on their own, without things being changed to help them.

Tsurugi - M… Midori told the truth; she handled something, to help you murder Mekaru.

Yamaguchi - …

Yamaguchi - Jeez, it’s weird to see you actually being like… SHSL Police Officer…

Hatano - Wait, Tsurugi, what do you mean?

Tsurugi - …Allow me to derail for a moment.

~*~

[Set-Up Squad]

~*~

Tsurugi - As soon as I entered the storage room, I knew Yamaguchi was the culprit.

Iranami - Th- that quickly?

Maeda - I mean, he clocked Inori as culprit once he knew a murder had happened…

Yamaguchi - Again. No one expects the cop to actually do cop things.

Tsurugi - …

//Tsurugi softly snaps his fingers.

Tsurugi - …So, let’s go back to the people who were setting up- I mentioned this to Maeda, and anyone who set-up should know this,

Tsurugi - But it’s also not hard to logic out.

Tsurugi - The room that Mekaru was found in was originally locked, serving no purpose but as a storage room.

Tsurugi - Due to it being locked, and our needing it in order to set up, Monokuma worked out a deal with us;

Tsurugi - While we set up, everyone who’d agreed to help would be able to enter the storage room.

Tsurugi - Similar to how we enter our dorms using E-handbooks, our handbooks would allow us to enter the storage room.

Tsurugi - …Maeda, you were there when I confirmed with Yamaguchi, the last person in the storage room, that he’d closed the door when he left.

Tsurugi - All doors opened via handbook lock in two different ways.

Tsurugi - You can manually lock it, from inside, or using your handbook.

Tsurugi - Or, you can wait for it to automatically lock after five minutes.

Tsurugi - …Five minutes being an estimate. I couldn’t find a timer to use, and I tend to count fast, so…

Tsurugi - A-anyways.

Tsurugi - …Right!

Tsurugi - So. The door would’ve definitely locked after Yamaguchi left the storage room, unless someone else who was setting up unlocked it.

Tsurugi - The only members of set up squad who left the main group after Mekaru left were Hatano and Yamaguchi.

Tsurugi - Hatano has a perfect alibi, and Yamaguchi was with Mekaru the whole time.

Tsurugi - This was only further confirmed as we investigated, found the murder weapon, which explained my injury,

Tsurugi - And I had to think of who was alone with the divider, and then…

Tsurugi - …I’m with Higa on this one: someone should’ve picked up on Yamaguchis head wound.

Ōtori - Thank you for ending with the bit about Higa.

Ōtori - It’s nice to have something to focus on instead of trying to process that you noticed all of that. 

Yamaguchi - Hold off on that for a second…

Yamaguchi - Tsurugi- so you got me from the start, crazy as hell, but that still doesn’t explain how you…

Yamaguchi - Already knew about the motive?

Tsurugi - Oh!

Tsurugi - Yeah, that one took some thinking.

Tsurugi - First off, you aren’t wearing your beanie, which I know was a gift from Midori.

Tsurugi - So that made me think about Midori!

Tsurugi - From there, I remembered that Midori was in your video, and was the only person there.

Tsurugi - Most people particularly attached to their siblings had them all in the video-

Tsurugi - For example, both Kobashikawa and Hatano had both their siblings in the video,

Tsurugi - And then there’s people like Iranami, who also had their close sibling in their video!

Tsurugi - No matter what, Midori was undeniably really important to you.

Tsurugi - So, to put that aside for a second…

Tsurugi - Let’s go back to the handbooks, and being able to access the storage room!

Tsurugi - That privilege was to be automatically taken from all the handbooks once Monokuma,

Tsurugi - …Ever watching the cameras,

Tsurugi - Saw that we had started the pool party.

Tsurugi - Which immediately leads to an unsolvable issue; at that point, no one was able to access the storage room.

Tsurugi - There’s no way around that- except for the idea that Yamaguchi lied about closing the door, 

Tsurugi - But that doesn’t make sense- besides, I’m not making any accusations, so it’s okay to get a bit circumstantial.

Tsurugi - So, assuming that Yamaguchi did in fact close the storage room, that means we have…

Tsurugi - Almost like a locked room case, but inverted? How did the crime take place where it did if the door was locked!

Tsurugi - Yamaguchis account pretty much confirms my theory-

Tsurugi - Still not excluding the idea that you’re lying for some reason, but currently, nothing points to that,

Tsurugi - And things get… decently explained if you’re telling the truth.

Tsurugi - But! My theory was that… Yamaguchi didn’t get his permissions revoked, because he was going to commit murder.

Tsurugi - …

Tsurugi - Uhm! The end?

Tsurugi - I uh…

Tsurugi - I’ve got some other thoughts, but they’re all really scattered, and I don’t feel like sharing them with the mastermind?

Tsurugi - So uh…

Tsurugi - Yeah, figured your motive was Midori because someone had told you to get out for her, and that they’d help you.

Tsurugi - Et voilà.

Taira - That’s…

Maeda - …Frightening.

Uehara - SHSL Perceptive!

Tsurugi - Oooh, I like that talent…

Monokuma - …

Tsurugi - Oh! That’s… that’s not good.

Yamaguchi - I uh- I’m going to get back to the whole thing with my motive?

Tomori - Honestly, so much information has been revealed I kinda forgot about your whole thing with execution…

Kobashikawa - So it’s not just me?

Kobashikawa - …It’s just because I’m tired. That’s why I’m having a hard time keeping track of everything.

Tomori - Right… you get it, Kobashikawa.

//Kobashikawa solemnly nods. Very serious matters.

Tsurugi - Okay, okay, we can talk tomorrow if anything-

Tsurugi - For now, Yamaguchi, keep going?

Yamaguchi - Things have worked out so far… so even though I got caught, I’m sure it’ll be fine!

Yamaguchi - I mean… it’s all about playing the game right, isn’t it?

Yamaguchi - I played into the masterminds favor, and did what I was supposed to…

Yamaguchi - So! It’s all going to be okay.

Uehara - …That’s it?

Uehara - Like… it feels a bit awkward, doesn’t it? To just be standing here, waiting…

Yamaguchi - Heyy, if anything, you should feel hopeful!

Yamaguchi - Once I get out, I’ll find someone who can come back and help you guys!

Yamaguchi - Just gotta beat the execution… 

Monokuma - The Blackeneds Motive Has Been Established. They Were Given Opportunity To Explain Their Crime.

Monokuma - For Disrupting The Peace Of The School, You Will Be Expelled.

Monokuma - Commencing With Execution In: One Minute.

Iranami - …

Iranami - And then you’ll get out, and find Midori, right?

Hatano - …Can’t imagine if it was one of my little siblings who showed up in my dorm…

Ōtori - …

Yamaguchi - …Breathe in… breathe out…

Yamaguchi - Yeah. I’m going to just fine… and I will get out!

Monokuma - Commencing execution.

Yamaguchi - For Midori.

//The curtains covering the wall directly behind Yamaguchi fly open, with the wall panel itself sliding over- from the pitch black depths, a steel collar attached to a chain shoots out towards the class. 12 students notice, yet there’s hardly any of the terror there was before. Only peace- or rather, tranquil confidence from one student, and uncertain, hesitant silence from the rest. 

//The collar closes around his neck a millisecond before the chain goes taught, and begins to retreat backward; the curtains and wall are already shifting back to place, just barely missing Yamaguchi as he is dragged by the neck to execution.

Monokuma - It’s Punishment Time!

~*~

Maeda, narrating - That’s…

Maeda - Something’s not right?

Maeda - Tsurugi…

Maeda - …I… I’ll keep that to myself for now…

Maeda - And I’ll just watch and h… see, if Yamaguchi will actually make it.

{Look to the Screen}

[scripttorture]

ST speaking of Pathfinder they also have a literal god of torture named Zon-Kuthon and his portrayal is interesting. And bad, like it shows Paldiens considered hero’s on the setting being tourtoured and “turned” evil

So this isn’t really a question and I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to respond or not, but I thought it might be interesting to try and unpack the idea of a fantasy God of torture. The majority of the time these sorts of things in a fantasy setting are pretty simplistic torture apologia. And it sounds like that’s what’s going on in this game.

 Let’s explore the concept though.

 To start with I think a lot of fantasy pantheons function a little strangely. They often lack the multiple functions and overlap of domains that you see in polytheistic religions.

 Both Pan and Dionysus are Gods of agriculture. Both are associated with fertility. But they’re also distinct. Pan is rooted in wild places, mountains, ‘rustic’ music and sheep herding. Dionysus is rooted in orchards and vineyards. While he’s also about ritualised ‘insanity’ and release he’s fundamentally rooted in more ‘civilised’ places.

 This effects the associations and meanings of both deities.

 Note that the wide range of what these Gods represent tells you a fair bit about Ancient Greek society. The fact that we are talking about vineyards and mountains instantly tells you something about the landscape these people inhabited. It also tells you something about their associations with the environment: wild mountains, civilised orchards.

 The portrayal of these Gods might tell you something about how the Ancient Greeks thought of the people who inhabited these parts of the country. It tells you about their priorities. It tells you what they thought important, moving and vital enough to be deified.

 For a fictional society to have a God of torture implies that torture is a big part of public life. But if we’re approaching this sensibly it also leaves out a lot.

 We don’t know the nature of this God yet, because we haven’t defined the other parts of their realm, the other things they focus on. In the same way that we do not know the nature of Pan or Dionysus when we call them ‘Gods of agriculture.’

 So if we’re designing a fantasy God whose realm includes torture it’s worth asking what the important part of that is? It could be rooted in concepts of suffering, self sacrifice, heroism even. It could be rooted in concepts of ‘just’ authority and legal penalties. Some societies have treated pain as cleansing so that could be a factor. Some religions have used torture as part of their consistent oppression of minority faiths in an attempt to force conversions.

 Anybody mention the Spanish Inquisition?

 We could even take this in a completely different direction. For instance a group of people who have survived genocide, occupation, torture and have taken this into part of their identity and memory- For them a God whose realm includes torture might be about their past, about survival, about healing even or compassion.

 What I’m driving at here is that this idea does not have to be some ‘edgy’ or apologist set of stereotypes. It doesn’t have to be boring.

 Part of achieving that means thinking it through as a religion. Making sure it makes sense. And that means questioning what ‘torture’ means in a particular fictional society. And that can be all sorts of things! It can tend towards implying that this society has a lot of torture apologia, like associating torture with law and order, with protection. But it could also tend much more towards supporting survivors because it could be about the aftermath of torture, healing, recovery, living with mental illness.

 I write a lot of fantasy and I think about making fictional pantheons a fair bit.

 Long term readers will have seen pieces of the story with Ilāra, I came up with a pantheon for this story and several different denominations of the overarching religion.

 It’s an animist religion; they believe that everything has a soul, desires, purpose. A voice. A big part of the religion is trying to communicate with other things. There’s a big sense of things, natural features, animals, even occupations belonging to the realms of different Gods.

 And I bring this up because I think that, if I wanted to, I could put a lot of things to do with the aftermath of torture or supporting survivors in to the realm of two of these Gods.

 Here’s what I wrote as background cultural detail for them:

 ‘There was on the Path a fog and the Prophet entered. Grey with mould and spores and creeping things. Here He, withered to bone, wasted with what will come.

“What are you?” The Prophet said.

Gentle He said. “I am Rot. I am what comes to those gone so what is left may endure; you that would spend your time in comfort come first to me.”

And here the Prophet dwelled a time and learnt of the small things on which life is built. Called him Kindly and Charitable, the Lord whose realm is inescapable.

“Do not go on.” The Lord said. “For the Path is long and there is worse ahead.”

But on the Prophet went.

 There was on the Path a circle and the Prophet entered. Sharp and bright with thought, each breath a memory, each blink a dream. Here She, old as birth, grown ancient with all that is known.

“What are you?” The Prophet said.

Unsmiling She said. “I am Thought. I am what makes your boundaries as a circle holds sigils; you that would truly learn come first to me.”

And here the Prophet dwelled a time and learnt of limits. Called her Strength and Indomitable, the Crone whose realm marks our souls.

“Do not go on.” The Crone said. “For the Path is long and there is worse ahead.”

But on the Prophet went.’

 What I’m trying to convey here is that cultural associations are a vital part of world building. If we’re writing fantasy we can’t be sloppy with those associations. Consistency and inventiveness are what brings a fantasy culture to life.

 It wouldn’t be inconsistent for one of the cultures in this world to talk about survivors in relation to worship of the Crone. She is the mind, it’s natural that serious mental illness would fall into her domain. I could see her being associated with torture in some regions. In moving past it, in healing. Because the lasting effects fall squarely into her realm.

 I could also draw a connection to the Lord if I wanted to. Death is part of his domain and a place where torture is associated with execution could draw a natural link. He’s also a symbol of suffering and compassion, he’s the patron of doctors. So anyone intervening or attempting to help survivors might call on him. Survivors might call on him as well.

 Fantasy religions shouldn’t be flat. We’re trying to create different cultures and really bring them to life in the story. Religion should be a major part of that. The more we box ourselves into the stereotypes and associations of our own culture the more likely that our fantasy worlds are going to seem… typical.

 At its best fantasy challenges our perceptions of the world by showing us different worlds. For me personally the worst thing it can be is boring. It’s a stonking great challenge to ‘go big’.

 Think things through. Question how different features of a culture would impact each other. Try to create a truly different perspective of the world.

 And if you want to make a God of torture in a fantasy world think about what that means. What part of the subject relates to the God? What does it say about the culture and history of the world?

 Write torture apologist cultures in your world if you want to, remember that there’s a difference between writing apologist characters and an apologist story. Be inventive. Fantasy is a challenge to push your creativity. We can rise to it.

 I hope that helps :)

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[theravennest]

Let’s Talk: The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion

I finished all 40 eps about two weeks ago, actually. I enjoyed it for the most part, the 1st half especially, but there were several things near the end that took me out. 

But first some of the good bits...

The cast chemistry was immaculate. Our four main lead actors were a lot of fun together. Not just Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi, but also Wang You Shuo and Xu Jiaqi (Loved them!). The four of them have such obvious ease with each other after their previous work together in Legend of Yun Xi and it made scenes with any combination of the main four really pop. 

I was especially drawn to the sisters’ relationship and the Prince-Vassal bond going on between Prince Su and Little Marquis. (Y’all know I’m a sucker for both sibling stories and stories about fictional royals and their loyal vassals.)

Most of the ancillary characters were interesting, actually. As y’all know from my last post about this one, I was crack shipping like crazy all the side characters. 😂 This cast made it easy for me.

Except for Prince An. (Sorry to hit the bad so early.) Good god, I hated that man. His character was poorly drawn in pretty much every way, which is unfortunate cuz he’s the main antagonist. Any story with a main antagonist that just doesn’t work is always gonna be weaker.

Also, no offense to people who like that actor but he was the only cast member who did absolutely nothing for me in terms of performance. So much of the story was focused on his weaksauce motivation and dry acting like, my god, put me out of my misery I do not care.

Anyway, the set design and costuming was top notch and I even enjoyed the broader story ideas the show was trying to put forth. The sitcom vibe of the first 20 eps or so was SOOO good. Our four mains’ comedic timings were pitch perfect. 

Unfortunately, the writing took a sharp nosedive in the back 3rd or so and it had a rough ending. (The lightning strike on the tower scene, the fight in the underground temple, the return of Prince An’s mom...all of that was trash. let’s be real.)

I mostly blame this on three things: the missteps with the Prince An character, the lack of development of Rong’s prophetic dreams even though that was the main premise of the show, and the jump-the-shark moment that was the wedding night and its subsequently underwritten fallout. 

Now to clarify, I don’t mean to say the wedding night event shouldn’t have happened at all but rather the execution of it within the story was poor and it negatively impacted 90% of the other character motivations/progressions and the overall pacing. 

You know, it felt like that thing you do as a writer where you wake up and have a specific scene in your mind. It’s evocative, impactful, fun, or otherwise intense. But you just have that scene and it’s something that would have to happen in the middle of your story. So you work your way backwards to try to get to that scene and you do your best to get the characters to make decisions to get there but when you sit down to write nothing works out. It’s clunky or OOC for the scene to still happen so you end up having to either scrap the evocative scene or keep the clunky lead up and hope no one notices. That’s what that wedding scene and everything that happened after felt like. They wrote themselves into a corner and just struggled to recover until the bitter end. 

The main pairing suffered the most because of the poor writing choices. No matter how much chemistry ZZH and JJY have together, even they could not completely salvage Rong’s yo-yoing behavior with Prince Su. They started off so wholesome and then dove into such toxicity and miscommunication for no reason. 

Don’t get me wrong. I can very easily enjoy angst. But Fu Rong consistently broke this man down. After ep 25-26, it stopped being good angst and became so awful to watch all the emotional manipulation and turmoil. There’s something broken in the writing if 9 out of 10 times Prince Su cried or fell into depression it was because of something Rong did or said to him after jumping to a conclusion with only part of the puzzle pieces gathered. 

I could forgive some stuff because Prince An was manipulating things but some stuff was just all Rong not giving Prince Su the benefit of the doubt or plain old not doing her due diligence in investigating. She is supposed to have inherited the most prolific and successful spy organization in the show and she still got 90% of her conclusions wrong. It was like she was determined to always think the worst of Prince Su no matter what despite how often he went above and beyond to help her. Despite the fact that he literally had a reputation as a general for being a harsh taskmaster but fair and just. 

I think what broke me was when she did the bare minimum investigation into her own father’s death and just fully blamed Prince Su without confronting him honestly or even considering his personality or their relationship up until that point. She really believed a single street seller’s entire testimony over the man she lived with and supposedly loved for months. Girl...

And this is after she’d previously mistakenly accused him of killing her mentor with very few facts to the point where she stabbed him on their wedding night.

There came a point where I actually wanted Prince Su to finally, truly divorce Rong and settle down with someone who could love him right. Maybe give him time to heal from the repeated heartbreaks, betrayals, and the literal stab wound in his chest but he was so fucking in love with Rong, he just couldn’t escape.

(If there were behind the scenes production reasons for the clunky-ness of the back half, I would not be surprised at all but ultimately they don’t matter cuz the story we got was the story we got.)

Imagine if we had gotten a Rong who used her prophetic dreams to navigate the cut throat world of royal politics. Or imagine if we’d gotten Rong as a true apprentice to Ruyi who learned both metalsmithing and spycraft in the first half and took over the pavilion as a competent leader in the second half. As it stands, it just felt like wasted potential.

I’m glad they had the modern day special AU eps tho cuz those were great. Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi had the opportunity to really showcase their incredible chemistry but in a modern setting and with better writing than the back 3rd of BRYP.

Now let’s talk Zhang Zhehan since he was the reason I started this in the first place. I loved him in this. I truly did. He was stern and serious but also playful and sweet. He was romantic but awkward, badass but vulnerable. He really delivered a nuanced and charming performance. I loved every second.

I think my favorite moment wasn’t some badass fight or even a super romantic moment. No, it was when he got drunk and started crying like a little baby cuz Rong was constantly doubting him no matter what he did. It was simultaneously sad and hilarious. Like gut busting funny. Y’all can watch it here:

I laughed so fucking hard at this. Oh my god, guys! This shit was too much.

Random Thoughts:

The romance between the 2nd leads was A+. Truly an adorable affair. Though I think they should’ve gotten together officially earlier around ep 25 or so and we should’ve seen the rest with them as a couple.

The costuming was so good y’all. For all the main four characters but I was especially drawn to Prince Su’s outfits.

The ghostly pale look with the bright red lips and eyeshadow makeup for Rong did not bother me at all. I actually liked it for her though I think it would’ve worked better if she’d had more explicit prophetic abilities.

I could’ve used more actual war scenes with Prince Su and Little Marquis.

The OST for the show SLAPPED!

That one kid spy in Ruyi Pavilion was voiced by the same actor as Chengling from WOH and I have never double-taked harder. lmao

Even though there were things I didn’t like in this show, I appreciated how gay I could make it in my last post. Truly it was a bisexual’s dream aesthetically.

[jackoshadows]

Do you think that Daenerys will burn kings landing in the books? She did it on the show and she has to show the strength of her dragons in Westeros like in Essos.

For the answer to this question, I would direct you to Dany blogs that dissect her story arc using the books. You could read their theories and speculations based on the books and come to your own conclusion on this.

As for my speculations on this,

1. Dany has done nothing so far in the last 5 books that leads towards her going on a random rampage in KL. She has shown a lot of concern and care towards the civilians and common folk of Essos. More than the likes of Robb Stark for example.

2. Dany burning down KL would turn her into her father. This goes against what I think is GRRM’s message in the series -  that the younger generation can rise above their birth and the societal biases against them.

3. That said, I do think that the author means for us to question and speculate, along with Daenerys, if she would turn into her father. This is an internal conflict that the character is struggling with and a part of her story. More on this below the cut.*

4. I think there will be a second dance of dragons between Young Griff/Aegon and Daenerys in KL. Going back to the original outline, the second book of the original trilogy - titled the Dance of Dragons -  was supposed to be about Dany’s conquest of Westeros. There will be casualties in this war. GRRM has been explicit about the consequences of war on the small folk due to the WOT5K.  Robb Stark may have had a just cause but innocent people suffered and died due to his war for independence. Even with Stannis’ march to Winterfell, we see a 14 year old soldier being burned to death as punishment for cannibalizing a corpse because he was so hungry and there’s no food. War is brutal.

5. Dany can win KL without massacring thousands. The Lannisters did it in the books when they sacked KL and no one - not even the honorable Ned Stark - complained about it. She could have done it on the show and won - except, suddenly pacifist Tyrion kept advising against it. In fact if the dragons act as a nuclear deterrent, there will be less casualties. Aegon the conqueror won the North without a single casualty.

5. Westeros is already in a bad way and winter has come to KL by the end of the fifth book. Dany will end up in charge of a war torn Westeros down south. By which time, the North is overrun, Winterfell is lost and the survivors head south. IMO, the Others will not be defeated at Winterfell in 30 minutes like on the show. They are the central antagonists and the last book will mostly be about the rest of Westeros uniting against them. Dany will acknowledge the central premise of the series - ‘ When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?’  and joins Jon, Bran, Arya and others to defeat the army of the dead.

6. I have no idea how her story will end in the books. Considering she dies on the show and if it’s the same in the books, I would think that if she goes out she will go out a hero and not a villain. There’s a lot of prophecies associated with her and I would speculate that her character is instrumental in defeating the Others. Fire and Ice and all that.

7. And speculate is all we can do, considering we will never get the last book and a conclusion to GRRM’s version of the story.

* Now to expand a little bit on the point number 3 above.

I would like to comment on a line of thought/discourse regarding Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow and Targaryen madness.

I have seen a few posts from time to time making the assertion that if one speculates on mad queen Dany, but does not do the same for Jon Snow, then this is sexism. I disagree.

Now, if one is making that argument that by genetics, Daenerys Targaryen is designed to go mad and she will go mad, burn down KL and die while Jon goes on to be King or goes into exile etc. then yes, this argument would indeed be sexist, IMO. If we are going to speculate based on Targaryen genetics, then, not much is different between Jon and Dany. They are both Targaryens. Dany is not fire proof and neither is Jon. While Dany has some strongly prophetic dragon dreams, there are indications that Jon’s dreams are prophetic as well.

“Sleep came at last, and with it nightmares. He dreamed of burning castles and dead men rising unquiet from their graves”

He has dreamed of Winterfell burning, of Ned being executed, of being told that he is not a Stark by the old kings of winter in the crypts where his mother is buried and of Bran as a weirwood.

Jon’s dream here is very similar to what Dany dreams of:

“Snow,” an eagle cried, as foemen scuttled up the ice like spiders. Jon was armored in black ice, but his blade burned red in his fist. As the dead men reached the top of the Wall he sent them down to die again. - Jon Snow

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent.- Daenerys Targaryen

We know zombie ice spiders are going to be a thing. And the armor of black ice that Jon references here could be Euron Greyjoy’s black valyrian steel armor.

So if Dany is going to go mad because of genetics, then there is every chance that Jon will as well.

But from a narrative point of view, the author wants us to question if Dany will go the same way as her father. The mad king Aerys III is a part of Dany’s story. She questions if she is going to become her father. Other characters – allies and enemies – do the same. It’s a conflict that Dany wrestles with as she comes to terms with her Targaryen identity. It’s an obstacle she faces as she takes on both enemies and friends.

"Freedom to starve?" asked Dany sharply. "Freedom to die? Am I a dragon, or a harpy?" Am I mad? Do I have the taint? (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

A shadow. A memory. No one. She was the blood of the dragon, but Ser Barristan had warned her that in that blood there was a taint. Could I be going mad? They had called her father mad, once. (ADWD, Daenerys II)

The old knight did not blink. "Your father is called 'the Mad King' in Westeros. Has no one ever told you?"

"Viserys did." The Mad King. "The Usurper called him that, the Usurper and his dogs." The Mad King. "It was a lie."

"Why ask for truth," Ser Barristan said softly, "if you close your ears to it?" He hesitated, then continued. "I told you before that I used a false name so the Lannisters would not know that I'd joined you. That was less than half of it, Your Grace. The truth is, I wanted to watch you for a time before pledging you my sword. To make certain that you were not . . ."

". . . my father's daughter?" If she was not her father's daughter, who was she?

". . . mad," he finished. "But I see no taint in you."

And then there is the discourse that her enemies start about her being mad. The propaganda that she is just like her father. Propaganda that will no doubt be also used in Westeros.

The clever Volantene swordsman who always seemed to have his nose poked in some crumbly scroll, thought the dragon queen both murderous and mad. "Her khal killed her brother to make her queen. Then she killed her khal to make herself khaleesi. She practices blood sacrifice, lies as easily as she breathes, turns against her own on a whim. She's broken truces, tortured envoys … her father was mad too. It runs in the blood." (ADWD, The Windblown)

Madness and the mad king is nowhere in Jon’s story arcs or narrative themes. GRRM still thinks that R+L=J is some big secret and was so impressed that Benioff and Weiss figured it out he gave them the show. The author does not question whether Jon is going to become a mad Targaryen with a fascination for burning people to death.

Jon’s internal conflicts and the problems he has to surmount are different in nature. He is a bastard born of ‘lust and deceit’. If we want a connection here to the Targaryens that explores Jon’s narrative arc, then there is the Blackfyre rebellion. Daemon Blackfyre’s attempt to usurp the throne is used as an example in Westeros to be wary of all bastards, noble or base born.

So if the speculation is that Dany is going to turn into her father and become the mad queen, then the narrative equivalent for Jon would be that he would be a deceitful usurper who takes Winterfell from his trueborn siblings.

And this is something that is explored in Jon’s story.

When Stannis offers Winterfell to Jon, the only reason he does not accept is because of his oaths as a NW brother and his reluctance to burn down the heart trees in Winterfell. But in his heart, he wants it.

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger … he could feel it. — Jon Snow, ASOS

Just as Dany wrestles with whether she will turn into her father, Jon wrestles with his feelings of wanting Winterfell and feeling ashamed of those feelings.

His dreams in regards to this are interesting:

The world dissolved into a red mist. Jon stabbed and slashed and cut. He hacked down Donal Noye and gutted Deaf Dick Follard. Qhorin Halfhand stumbled to his knees, trying in vain to staunch the flow of blood from his neck. "I am the Lord of Winterfell," Jon screamed. It was Robb before him now, his hair wet with melting snow. Longclaw took his head off. Then a gnarled hand seized Jon roughly by the shoulder. He whirled …- Jon XII, ADWD

Jon literally beheads Robb in his dreams.

There is a lot of speculation here that after he comes back from the dead,  we are going to get a darker Jon Snow who is going to go after Winterfell and not care much about the trueborn siblings ahead of him in the queue. We could see conflict between Jon and Rickon or Jon and Sansa. The original outline hinted that Jon and Bran would not get along.

And just like Dany faces the ‘Mad Queen’ propaganda because of Aerys III, Jon too faces the biased prejudice against bastards because of the actions of Daemon Blackfyre.  While prejudice against bastards existed before then, the Blackfyres are often used as an example to caution against them.

Catelyn’s hatred for Jon Snow is based on the fear that someday he would usurp and take away Winterfell from her children.

“Not unless he’s legitimized by a royal decree,” said Robb. “There is more precedent for that than for releasing a Sworn Brother from his oath.”

“Precedent,” she said bitterly. “Yes, Aegon the Fourth legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. And how much pain, grief, war, and murder grew from that? I know you trust Jon. But can you trust his sons? Or their sons? The Blackfyre pretenders troubled the Targaryens for five generations, until Barristan the Bold slew the last of them on the Stepstones. If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again. Should he wed and breed, any sons you may have by Jeyne will never be safe.” - Catelyn, ASoS

Similarly the Blackfish – having not even met Jon Snow – distrusts him.

"I will permit you to take the black. Ned Stark's bastard is the Lord Commander on the Wall."

The Blackfish narrowed his eyes. "Did your father arrange for that as well? Catelyn never trusted the boy, as I recall, no more than she ever trusted Theon Greyjoy. It would seem she was right about them both..." - Jaime Lannister, AFfC

The existing prejudices against bastards in Westeros is strong.

"Trueborn children are made in a marriage bed and blessed by the Father and Mother, but bastards are born of lust and weakness." - Jon Snow

Orys Baratheon was a baseborn half brother to Lord Aegon, it was whispered, and the Storm King would not dishonor his daughter by giving her hand to a bastard. The very suggestion enraged him.

Go away, I wanted only Freys up here, the King in the North has no interest in base stock.— Walder Frey to little Walda Rivers

Bastard children were born from lust and lies, men said; their nature was wanton and treacherous. Once Jon had meant to prove them wrong, to show his lord father he could as good a true son as Robb Stark -  Jon Snow

So both Jon and Dany face internal conflicts and the author wishes to interrogate if Dany can overcome her own self doubts with respect to her father and society’s opinions of her and if Jon can overcome his desires and personal ambition for Winterfell and society’s opinions of bastards as untrustworthy and deceitful.

If a reader is therefore making the argument that Dany will become the mad queen like her father and burn down everyone – they should also rightfully be arguing for Jon turning against his family for a selfish power grab and essentially turning into Daemon Blackfyre.

Remember how Daemon took the Targaryen sigil with colors reversed – a black dragon on red giving him the nickname ‘The Black Dragon’

Jon was referred to as the ‘White Wolf’ on the show and as per the books, two bastards have reversed the sigils. Jon’s direwolf Ghost is white and he would therefore have a white wolf on a grey background as opposed to the Stark grey direwolf on a white background.

The sexism arises when Dany is singled out for turning into exactly what her enemies expect her to be, while the Starks overcome societal prejudices and expectations and end up the heroes. That, while Dany turns into her father, Jon Snow continues to love his Stark family (i.e Sansa Stark) so much and would sacrifice everything for them.

The show’s thesis and final message for these Targaryens is that they cannot rise above their birth and are exactly what society makes of them. That their final destiny is decided from birth and that they cannot change it no matter how much they tried. Daenerys turned into her father, randomly burned down KL for no reason and massacred thousands. Jon Snow pretends to support her, gets close to her, deceives her and kills her. He becomes a kinslayer, a queenslayer, a traitor – deceitful and untrustworthy and is exiled. It was an utterly nihilistic ending for house Targaryen.

I strongly believe that GRRM is not heading in this direction for these characters. It would be very disappointing if this is what he intends for them. It would indeed be sexist if GRRM wrote Dany as turning into her father, while Jon remains good and faithful to his family. From my reading and interpretation of these books, the story is about these underdogs triumphing over their internal conflicts. The conclusion of this tale would be Dany not turning into the mad queen, Jon not turning into a deceitful traitor, Arya not fleeing Westeros because she does not belong, Bran becoming king despite being a cripple.

But that is the final answer. In the meantime, GRRM means to explore these characters and their narrative themes and conflicts. In that context, it’s valid to question and theorize whether a possible direction for Dany’s story is her becoming her father. Five books in there is nothing to support this theory, but it is a theme that GRRM is interested in examining for the character of Daenerys Targaryen.

[pastelsandpining]

Santa Tell Me (New Love)

The eighth prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​, the prequel to prompt seven here

Prompt List

Words: 2419

Summary: Zelda finds a friend in the little forest boy who claims to be the Hero of Time. 

Ocarina of Time, post-game, child timeline(???)

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

The Princess of Hyrule was bubbly and bright, and she felt like she could take on the world. She wanted so badly to go on a grand adventure, to escape the walls and locks of the castle and explore the kingdom she was set to rule over one day. How did she know what was best for her people if she never met them? But her father wouldn’t hear a word of it and Impa wouldn’t let her try. Little Zelda was forced to instead play by herself in the courtyard. She liked to pick up sticks and pretend to fight, and she liked throwing crushed up leaves and berries into a water filled hole to make potions. She liked to fall in the dirt and scrape her knees. 

She did not like practicing the ocarina.

“But you promised!” she whined, tugging at the arm of her caretaker. “You said you’d teach me how to be Sheikah!”

“I promised to teach you Sheikah ways,” Impa corrected as she stuck the little blue instrument into her hands. “But not today, little princess. You haven’t practiced in weeks, and you promised your father you would.”

Zelda huffed and gripped the tear-drop shaped piece of wood tighter. 

“But it’s so boring!”

“You’ll have to do many boring things in your life as queen,” Impa replied, ruffling the cap that covered her hair. Zelda scrunched up her nose and, defeated, brought the ocarina to her lips. It was drilled into her where her fingers should go as she played a set of scales to warm up. 

The three note melody her family named after her (or, rather, after Zelda in general) came naturally, and she played it twice before stealing a glance at Impa. She didn’t look satisfied, so Zelda huffed and turned around to face the window instead. There was her father, sitting on his throne while speaking with a man—a man she’d seen a few times before. He was tall, and his eyes seemed to glow with an evil that made her nervous. But her father wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to tell him that he scared her.

“How did you-“

A ruckus followed Impa’s unfinished question, so Zelda turned with furrowed eyebrows. Stood before her was a boy no older than her, dressed in green with a sword by his side. She stumbled a little backwards. He resembled the forest boy from her dreams a little too perfectly to be real. And yet something about him felt so familiar.

“Who..?” she started to ask, but the boy dropped to a kneel in front of her.

“Princess,” he greeted, his voice shaky and quiet. “I’m Link. I.. I’m the Hero of Time, I think.”

Zelda blinked. She’d never heard of such a thing, but he sounded too serious to be joking. But despite everything she’d felt within the past few weeks, she was unconvinced. 

“How can you be something without knowing it?” she asked, placing her hands on her waist. 

“You’ve gotta believe me!” the forest boy pleaded. “Ganondorf’s gonna get the Triforce and take over and destroy the world!”

So, the Hero of Time was here, as nothing more than a child, making the claim that her dreams would come to pass. As ridiculous as it probably sounded to Impa, it shook Zelda to her core. But her father didn’t believe her, much less a little kokiri boy. She was running out of ideas.

“Prove it,” she challenged, holding the ocarina out to him. “This is the Ocarina of Time, an heirloom of the royal family for generations. Play something only the Hero of Time would know!”

Link took the instrument from her hands and raised it to his lips. Zelda pulled at the sleeves of her dress in anticipation, shifting on her feet. What was she expecting him to play? Would he be able to play? If he could, how would it prove anything? 

Her lullaby was being played back to her.

“How..? You--you heard me playing it!” she accused, taking a step back. It was the only explanation, it had to be.

“You taught it to me! Right here! Don’t you remember?”

He looked so crestfallen and scared. He was as small as she, yet he spoke as if he’d seen war. If he really was who he said he was, then… he had. And he was there to warn them.

“Tell me everything,” Zelda demanded, holding her head a little higher. 

“Princess--”

Zelda looked over to Impa and whispered a soft “please”, then shifted her gaze back to the little kokiri boy. 

Link was hesitant, but he retold everything he could remember. He told her that she sent him to retrieve the spiritual stones, and he pulled the Master Sword, and that Ganondorf had followed him into the Temple and touched the Triforce, sealing him inside of the Sacred Realm. He told her how he woke seven years later to Hyrule in disrepair, with Ganondorf as the new king. He told of the temples and the destruction, and how he was forced to travel back and forth in time to undo all the King of Thieves had done. By the end of his story, Zelda was on the verge of tears. It was her plan that caused such a downfall--the very same plan she’d wanted to share with him as soon as he appeared before her.

“We have to tell my father,” she said, spinning to face Impa. “Please.”

Impa too was hesitant, but Zelda wiped at her tears and grabbed Link’s hand, pulling him towards the entrance to the castle herself.

“Princess-” Impa called again, but the little princess was determined. Ganondorf was leaving just as they entered, and she felt Link’s hand tighten around her own. But she couldn’t stop now. She had to make her father listen if there was any hope at all.

Just as she’d expected, her father was dismissive. He wanted to write it off as a childish nightmare, but Zelda forced Link to recount everything he’d just told her. The king remained unconvinced, but he looked a little bothered and she could work with that.

“Zelda, it is very immature to get this little boy in on your fantasies,” he scolded. “I cannot arrest the Gerudo king on the account of two children, not when we’re so close to mending the split caused by war.”

“But you heard his story! The Hero of Time said he fought Ganondorf himself!” Zelda argued, stomping her foot.

“Your little friend snuck onto the castle grounds unpermitted, so I would hardly deem him trustworthy. Unless he can prove that he is who he says he is, I will not take action.”

Link lifted the ocarina to his lips again and Zelda waited anxiously for the three note lullaby to hit her ears--but it never came. 

“I’ll pull the sword again,” Link declared, standing up as straight as he could. “I’ll travel to Gerudo Valley and find Nabooru--she’s a Sage and she could tell you everything Ganondorf has planned!”

“I will not send a child to that desert-”

“Then take me to the Temple of Time,” the hero challenged. 

The king looked hesitant once more. He scratched his beard as he looked between Link and his daughter, and Zelda tried to look as serious as she could manage.

“Link’s story is exactly what I saw in my dreams. You know daughters of the goddess can have pro.. prost-”

“Prophetic,” Impa supplied. Zelda nodded once.

“-prophetic dreams because you said mother had them too!”

“I cannot take you into the Temple of Time,” the king said, slumping back into the throne. “If you really are the Hero of Time, then there’s no telling what pulling the sword will do. But I will look into this. If I find nothing, then the two of you will be in very big trouble.”

Link didn’t look happy, but Zelda would take it. She was admittedly too scared to keep thinking about it, and any action her father took would be better than none.

“Promise?” she asked her father, stepping up to his throne and sticking out her pinky.

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his larger finger around hers. He wiped at her cheeks after that, and Zelda leaned into the comfort of her father. She didn’t want to lose him too. 

Link was allowed full permission into the castle after all that had transpired. Zelda met up with him any chance she could get, and they would run around the courtyard together with sticks and matching bruises. His stories sounded far less scary when he acted them out before her, and Zelda often stole Impa’s headband and pretended to be a Sheikah named Sheik--just like the other Princess Zelda he spoke so highly about. 

Their courtyard playdate was interrupted when a figure passed by the window. The Gerudo king had arrived in chains, and Zelda grabbed Link’s arm and pulled him out of view.

“What’s going on?” he asked, but Zelda pressed a finger to her lips and snuck towards the entrance so they could hear what was happening. There was a lot of yelling, but she heard her father condemning him for plans of overthrowing the monarchy.

“--guilty of treason of the highest measure. For the crimes you have committed, you will be taken to Arbiter’s Grounds and executed.”

Zelda nearly tripped over Link as she stumbled backwards. The Gerudo king was being led their way. His eyes, burning with hatred, settled on her and Link, and he ripped himself free from the guards’ hold. Ganondorf reached for her with hands twice her size and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She tried to think of what Sheik would do, but she hardly got a chance before Link was in front of her, his kokiri sword pointed at the King of Thieves’ hands. Ganondorf laughed, a deep, evil sound that shook her to her core, and the guards took hold of him again, and he was dragged away, still laughing. 

Link turned around and wrapped her in a hug, and Zelda, still shaking, grabbed his shirt and closed her eyes. The yellow eyes of the Gerudo king would follow her into her nightmares, she was sure of it. 

In the following week, her father held a ceremony to acknowledge and thank all of those who saved Hyrule. 

Link and Nabooru, who’d acted as an inside source, were gifted with titles of honor and medals of service. Zelda too was awarded for her wisdom and insistence, but she didn’t think she deserved it as much as the other two. It was her fault Link had gone through all he had to begin with, and she didn’t think she could ever shake that feeling of guilt. But the party afterwards helped to lift her spirits, because her father told her she could have as many sweets as she wanted, and she could stay up as late as she wanted. 

“We did it!” Zelda cheered, once she’d found Link in the crowd. People were gawking at him and asking questions, but she threw her arms around him anyway and they landed in a pile on the floor, giggling like crazy. She could hear Impa in her head, scolding her about how improper and unladylike she was acting, but the princess didn’t care. A war had been avoided, and she made a good friend in the process. 

A friend who took her on adventures around Lake Hylia now that there was no threat, and protected her from any monster that tried to show its face. He took her to Lon Lon Ranch, where she met Malon and Epona and rode a horse of her own. He took her to Zora’s domain, where she met the little Zora princess who looked too interested in Link for her liking, and he took her to Goron City (under the supervision of Impa) to meet Darunia. 

But their time together was short lived, because their courtyard playdate took an awkward turn when Link held out a handful of colorful flowers and told her he had to go. He looked so sad, and she wished she could squeeze him tight until his sadness was gone.

“I lost a friend,” he explained, avoiding her gaze. “Every kokiri has a fairy, and I lost Navi when.. when I was sent back. I need to find her.”

She wanted to ask if he had to go. She wanted to beg him to stay here and find another fairy. But even as a selfish child, she could tell how much had been taken from him and she didn’t want him to hurt more than he already had. She would be a bad friend if she didn’t let him go.

“Will you come back?” she asked as she held the flowers tighter. 

“I’d never leave you behind,” he answered, giving her a shy little smile that made her cheeks burn.

“Do you promise?” she questioned, sticking out her pinky. 

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his finger around hers. Zelda hesitated for a moment, but she leaned forwards and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“You better not break your promise, or I’m gonna be really mad at you,” she said as she pushed him away and looked at the ground.

“Just watch! When I come back, I’ll be your knight and we’ll get married,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug. Zelda giggled and held him tightly, because she wouldn’t be seeing him again for a very long time.

“You’re gross!” she declared, but the little princess liked the idea, even if she didn’t know the full story of what a marriage involved. They were too young for that anyway, but Impa told her later that love had no age and that souls that were meant to be together would find each other again in time. 

She didn’t know the word for what she was feeling when he left the courtyard for the last time. He looked back at her with a wave, but she couldn’t find it in her to raise her arms. They felt heavy and tired. She spent the first few months in naive hope, waiting in the courtyard and playing the ocarina as if her songs could bring him back. She held onto Impa’s words and onto the matching medals they had, and she came to question herself if she did indeed love the little boy from the forest. 

Perhaps when she saw him again, she would tell him properly.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

New Intrigues of Polytheists

None of the applied acts of torture and persecution could restrain our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from delivering his message. Furthermore, his uncle, Abu Talib, did not object to anything he said or did and would protect him instead.

This time, the polytheists tried something else. Ten individuals from among the leading figures came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib, your nephew has cursed our idols, has decried our religious practices, said we were stupid, and continued saying that our fathers and forefathers were on the wrong path. Now, you need to detain him from saying and doing such things or you will have to move out of the way.” 

What could Abu Talib do in the face of such an ultimatum? On one side, there were his tribe’s customs and traditions and on the other side, the genuine love that he had for his nephew! Which one would he prefer?

At last, he was able to dismiss the committee through his soft and kind words. 

Second Complaint to Abu Talib

The polytheists made another offer to Abu Talib when they received no results following their first complaint. “O Abu Talib, you are among one of our elders and are one of our leading figures. We petitioned you to dissuade your nephew from his actions. However, you did not comply with what we wanted. By God, we will no longer put up with his disapproval of our fathers and forefathers, his allegations that we are stupid, and his insults against our idols. Either you will dissuade him from doing this or we will continue fighting both of you until one of the parties is eliminated.” 

Abu Talib realized that he was facing a very dangerous situation. He did not want to be abandoned by his tribe but he could not abandon his nephew, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), either. What could be done in this situation? After thinking very deeply for some time, he called forth our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and begged: “O, my brother’s son, the leading figures have petitioned me and repeated what you had said to them.  Please feel sympathy for yourself and for me! Do not put upon us a load that we cannot carry. Give up saying words that displease the tribe.” 

This was a very delicate situation. Until that day and in some way, Abu Talib had been his sole protector from among his tribe. Was he going to forgo his protection?

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was downcast upon hearing this proposal and thought deeply for some time. Afterwards, in the comfort of knowing that Allah was the true Guardian, he replied with an answer that was as sharp as a sword: “O Uncle, know that if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either Allah will make this religion dominant, or I will die in His service." 

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH was concerned that his own uncle would abandon him, thus he burst into tears while saying these words. It was as if his holy tears were trickling upon his uncle’s heart. How could his uncle leave him alone after seeing him in this state? How could he abandon his nephew whom he loved personally and very dearly?

Abu Talib understood that his nephew, who possessed indestructible willpower, would never give up exclaiming his cause, therefore he hugged him and said: “My Nephew, continue your work, do whatever you want. By God, I am not going to surrender you to anyone for any reason whatsoever.” 

After making this promise, the polytheists absolutely understood that Abu Talib would not leave his nephew alone and would continue to protect him despite everything.

Another Offer Made to Abu Talib

The polytheists could not tolerate seeing so many people running to attain Divine Guidance right before their eyes. They thought of some other maneuver. They appealed to Abu Talib once more and made the following offer:

O Abu Talib, let us give you Umara bin Walid, the strongest, toughest, most handsome, and the most intelligent youth from among the Quraysh for you to adopt as your own son. You will benefit from his intelligence and help. In return for this, you will give us your brother’s son; we will kill him! A man in exchange for another man, what more could you want?

Abu Talib responded to this senseless offer, “First, give me your own sons so that I can kill them. Only then will I give him to you.”

The polytheists reacted to this offer: But our children are not doing what he is doing!”

Abu Talib did not leave these words without an answer as he replied in a stern manner: “By God, Muhammad is much more auspicious than your own children. And you are making me this ugly offer? How can this be? You will give me your own son for me to raise and then take mine so that you can kill him? I will never permit this to happen! 

The polytheists’ spite and hatred came to a head. These bad feelings were no longer directed towards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims alone; they had now shifted towards Abu Talib as well.

Fate had a strange twist; the negative attitude the polytheists struck towards Abu Talib helped the Sons of Hashim take our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under their wing. There was only one individual who avoided protecting him: Abu Lahab.

During this time, Abu Talib gathered the Sons of Hashim and warned them to be careful in protecting our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Abu Talib’s action led the polytheists to finalize their decision to kill Allah’s Apostle (PBUH)!

They convened at the Masjid al-Haram to execute their inauspicious plan. Abu Talib heard this and gathered the youth from among the Sons of Hashim. He immediately went to the Kaaba with them and threatened the polytheists once he arrived there: “By God, if you kill my nephew, Muhammad, know that none of you will remain alive. We will not stop following you until we and you perish in this path.”

The polytheists did not utter a single word against Abu Talib’s threat and they quickly dispersed.

At the end of his speech, Abu Talib spoke about the Master of the Universe (PBUH) as follows:

“How could this person, for whose sake the clouds were invoked for rain, be abandoned? He possesses such kindness; the orphans depend on him just as the widows and the poor trust in him. The destitute from among the Sons of Hashim take refuge in him.

“O Community of Quraysh! I swear to the Baytullah that you are mistaken for disclaiming him and that you are overcome with empty dreams. Do you think that your assassination of Muhammad will take place without a fight as we all circle around him? We will not release you until we all die around him, until our children cause us to forget about, and until we stop defending him.” 

New Intrigues of Polytheists

After all this, the polytheists of the Quraysh understood that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would not succumb to their inflicted torture, force, and tyranny.

For that reason, they continued to contrive new plans and tried to invent imputations and slanders against him. Their goal was to belittle his exalted character (God forbid), to have the people think poorly of him, and to hinder the people from hearing about his sublime purpose and goal.

They gathered around Walid bin Mughira, one of their elders whom they highly respected and regarded in this matter. They began to talk about our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the representative of the thriving Islamic cause that was bestowing immense happiness within the hearts of its followers.

Walid bin Mughira, one of their founding fathers, spoke to his friends, who circled around him and whose faces reflected the ugliness of disbelief, “O Qurayshis, the Hajj season has arrived. The Arab tribes are going to flood our territory. Surely, they have heard of Muhammad’s situation. They are going to ask you a series of questions. For that reason, we must share and agree upon some idea regarding him so that we will not fall into some conflict.”

This was a sly idea. Separate and differing ideas would surely put them in a situation in which their words would be unbelievable and unreliable. Thereby, they would not be very influential upon the influx of people.

The Qurayshis wanted to hear Walid bin Mughira’s opinion on how to take precaution in this matter. They said, “Tell us about your ideas, thoughts and precautions regarding this matter too so that we can make the same claims and behave in the same way.

However, Walid wanted to hear their ideas first.

The polytheists proposed their ideas, “We will call him a soothsayer.”

Walid did not agree with this idea and said, “No, by God, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers and what he recites is not what the soothsayers mutter and invent. A soothsayer will tell both the truth and will lie. However, we have not heard a single lie from Muhammad!”

The polytheists then said, “In that case, we will say that he is mad.”

Walid objected to this as well, “No, he is not mad, either. We have seen mad people and know what insanity is. His state does not resemble that of an insane person at all.”

The polytheists made a third offer, “Then we will say he is a poet.”

Walid did not deem this option as appropriate, “No, he is not a poet. We know of every kind of poems and his recitations do not resemble any kind.”

The polytheists made one last offer, “We will call him a magician.”

Walid did not deem this option as acceptable, either.

“No, no! He is not a magician. Besides, we have seen their spells and the magicians themselves. His recitations are not what the magicians recite and blow, nor is it what they knot and tie.”

The polytheists, whose every offer had been rejected transferred the burden to Walid, “Then tell us what to say, Father of Abdushshams.”

Walid’s response was surprising: “By God, there is a completely different kind of sweetness in his words. No words can be sweeter than his. He is a light. He possesses such sweetness; he is like a date tree with lush fruits whose roots have grown in very fertile land and in water-filled gardens and whose branches extend to its surroundings.”

The polytheists were alarmed upon hearing this expression. Had Walid, one of their “masterminds” from whom they sought advice, become a Muslim? Walid left them and went to his home, which further increased their worries; they even began to say, “Walid has left his religion.”

However, Walid had not left his religion. He had withdrawn to his home to think about what kinds of slander and accusations would be most suitable. After he made his decision, he came back to the polytheists and said:

“Out of all of the options that you have mentioned, which are all bound to be proven to be lies and as being completely groundless in a short time, saying that he is a magician is the most plausible one. He has arrived with such a captivating message that it is driving a wedge between children and their fathers, brothers, husbands and their wives, as well as clans and their tribes.” 

They all agreed upon this view. From now on, they were going to call our Holy Prophet (PBUH) a “soothsayer” (God forbid) and attempt to keep him away from the community by spreading this allegation and slander.

In the verses that God Almighty sent, the cunning plan of Walid b. Mughira was referred to as, “Woe to him! how he plotted!”; God informed us about the end of him as follows:

“Soon will cast him into Hell-Fire!” 

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) was not a soothsayer as the polytheists had said he was since a soothsayer’s words are based on estimation and are ambiguous. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) spoke the truth and of reality which every sound mind would affirm. His words were far from being ambiguous and based on estimation since they had very clear and definite meanings.

He was not crazy as they had claimed since his friends were not the only ones who witnessed the excellence of his intelligence; his most unruly enemies also testified to this truth when the occasion arose.

He was not a poet as the polytheists had claimed since the bright, luminous truths that he mentioned were far from needing the ornamentation of poetry.

God Almighty sent a verse that addressed our Holy Prophet (PBUH) following the allegations, slander, and planning the polytheists had devised:

“Therefore, remind (mankind of Islamic Monotheism, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman…” 

[shalebridge-cradle]

Historical References in What Are You Going to Do With Your Life - Chapters 10-12

Chapter 10

Boleyn mumbles something about a priest. W. S. Pakenham-Walsh (1868 - 1960), Vicar of Sulgrave, Northhamptonshire, had a strong interest in Anne Boleyn. He claimed to have a series of spiritual experiences after praying at Boleyn’s burial site, and contacted clairvoyants to channel her spirit in the hopes she might become his guardian angel. He also claimed in his diary that he had contact with Henry VIII and other notable members of the Tudor court.

While witchcraft was often punished via the death penalty, Henry VIII made the law explicit in 1542 (though it was later repealed no later than 1547, under Edward VI). Several witchcraft laws were made in the UK over the years, in 1563, 1604, 1649 and 1735. These were all repealed and replaced with more general consumer protection laws, and the last person to be indicted for witchcraft (under the 1735 act) was imprisoned in 1944.

Tarot was a regular set of cards for most of its history, used in various, but similar, trick-taking card card games. It became associated with ancient wisdom in 1781, when Antoine Court de Gébelin wrote an essay claiming (with no evidence) that ancient Egyptian priests had distilled the mystical Book of Thoth into the cards.

“Psychic is Greek, and clairvoyant is French. One is about thinking, and the other is about seeing.” Psychic comes from the Greek word psychikos (‘of the mind’) and clairvoyance is a combination of two French words (‘clear’ and ‘vision’). Catherine of Aragon was known to speak both French and Greek, as well as Latin, her native Spanish, and English.

Cunning man (or woman) was another word for folk healers.

In 1532, Catherine Parr’s brother-in-law from her second marriage, William Neville, was accused of treason for allegedly predicting the king’s death and his own ascension as Earl of Warwick (a title made extinct during the Wars of the Roses, but would be recreated in 1547 and twice after that). He went to at least three magicians to confirm this prediction, all of which agreed that it was meant to be true (it wasn’t). One of these magicians was Richard Jones of Oxford, who was imprisoned and questioned on the matter. He did his best to exonerate himself of responsibility. I have found five references confirming his existence – but many of them claim he had a sceptre he used to ‘summon the four king devils’, which he used for divination purposes.

Chapter 11

Jones of Oxford was taken in for questioning as part of the Neville affair, and he did his best in his confession to exonerate himself. Neville’s claims of a prophetic dream showing himself as Earl of Warwick were now a “fair castle” which Neville assumed must be the castle of Warwick, and a shield with “sundry arms I could not rehearse”. He did admit to writing “a foolish letter or two according to [Neville’s] foolish desire, to make pastime to laugh at”. No treason, just jokes, please don’t execute me Thomas Cromwell. Jones claimed to take his alchemy seriously, however, and wrote that “To make the philosopher’s stone I will jeopard my life, so to do it,” if the king so wished. He would require twelve months “upon silver” and twelve and a half “upon gold”, and was willing to be imprisoned while he worked. Jones made a similar offer to Cromwell, but there is no evidence either man accepted. Jones was released in exchange for revealing incriminating evidence against another figure of interest. The other magicians caught up in this incident, William Wade and a man known only as ‘Nashe’, had perfected their disappearing act and were not sent to the Tower.

There is a story that Elizabeth I attributed the destruction of the Spanish armada in 1588 to John Dee’s wizardry. Given that, as mentioned, Dee was out of favour with Elizabeth at the time, this is likely untrue.

Elizabeth I’s death was in March of 1603, after she became sick and remained in a “settled and unmovable melancholy”, sitting on a cushion and staring at nothing. The death of a close friend in February of that year came as a particular blow – that of her second cousin and First Lady of the Bedchamber, Catherine Howard.

James I (or James VI, depending on where you’re from)… James I of England was also James VI of Scotland. His mother was Mary Queen of Scots, who was executed by Elizabeth I, and his great-grandmother was Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII’s sister.

“Anna, born Duchess of Jülich, Cleves and Berg.” This was how Anna signed hers’ and Henry’s marriage treaty, known as the ‘Beer Pot Documents’, because someone drew a stein at the bottom.

Bowling, as a game, can trace its origins back to ancient Egypt, and has been quite popular the world over throughout history. Henry VIII was an avid bowler himself (when Hampton Court was remodelled, bowling alleys were included with tennis courts and tiltyards), but banned the sport for the lower classes. The law against workers bowling (unless it was Christmas and in their master’s presence) was repealed in 1845.

We return to the ground, because from it we were taken. Paraphrasing of Genesis 3:19.

The (possible) first appearance of the word ‘alligator’ in the English language is from Romeo and Juliet. The description of The Apothecary’s shop mentions “a tortoise hung, an alligator stuff’d, and other skins of ill-shaped fishes”. Traditionally, medieval apothecaries and astrologers kept skeletons, fossils, and/or taxidermied pieces on display to demonstrate their worldliness.

The anger over calling the alligator ‘William’ could come from Parr, or from Anna. Her brother’s name, Wilhelm, is often anglicised as William.

Midsomer county does not exist and never has. It’s the setting for the long-running mystery TV show Midsomer Murders. Incidentally, Catherine Parr’s native county of Westmorland existed at one point, but no longer does (the area is now in the county of Cumbria). She is not the only English-born queen who this applies to; Jane Seymour’s Wiltshire and Anne Boleyn’s Norfolk still exist (and have since antiquity), but Katherine Howard was most likely born in Lambeth, which would have been in the county of Middlesex at the time. The area is now under the ceremonial county of Greater London.

“Honestly? Margaret Pole’s was worse.” Margaret Pole, Countess of Sailsbury and the last of the House of York, was kept in the Tower of London for two and a half years for her supposed support of Catholicism’s attempts to overthrow the king, before being informed of her death ‘within the hour’ on the 27th of May, 1541. She answered that she did not know the crime of which she was accused (and had carved a poem into the wall of her cell to that effect), but went to the block anyway. It allegedly took eleven blows from the inexperienced axeman to separate her head from her body. There is another story that she tried to run from the executioner and was killed in the attempt, but this is likely a fabrication. Regardless, pretty much everyone thought this was not only a bad idea on Henry’s part (killing Margaret removed any leverage the king had on her rebellious son, Cardinal Reginald Pole), it was also pointlessly cruel and a painfully undignified end.

(She was also Catherine of Aragon’s lady-in-waiting, and governess to Mary at several points.)

That everyone around her, bar a few visitors, would actively benefit from her death… Yet another quote of Elizabeth Tyrwhitt’s testimony: Parr, on her deathbed, claimed she was “not well-handled” by those around her; “for those that be about me careth not for me, but standeth laughing at my grief, and the more good I will to them, the less good they will to me”.

Chapter 12

According to a lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn claimed she would rather see Catherine of Aragon hanged “than have to confess that she was her queen and mistress”. This incident is probably the origin of the lyric “somebody hang you!” from Don’t Lose Ur Head.

Catalina uses a few Spanish phrases in this chapter, which don’t get directly translated. The first, No se hizo la miel para la boca del asno, directly translates to ‘Honey is not made for the donkey’s mouth’, and essentially means ‘Good things shouldn’t be wasted on those who won’t appreciate them’. Lavar cerdos con jabón es perder tiempo y jabón is ‘Washing pigs with soap is a waste of time and soap’, and is meant to indicate some things aren’t worth the energy.

…like that dream she has where she is cut up by a servant… An autopsy was done on Catherine of Aragon as part of the embalming process, which revealed the growth on her heart. This was done by the castle chandler (a dealer or trader) as part of his official duties.

Jane Seymour got rid of most of the hallmarks of Anne Boleyn’s tenure during her own queenship. The extravagance and lavish entertainments were banned, along with the French fashions Boleyn had introduced – including French hoods, which Boleyn is wearing in the portrait we have of her. Jane, as mentioned, wore a gable hood in her portraits.

“I don’t know why I’m so surprised that people care about what I say.” In the words of nineteenth century proto-feminist Agnes Strickland, Jane “passed eighteen months of regal life without uttering a sentence significant enough to warrant preservation”, which is kind of a mean thing to say. Seymour certainly said things during this time, we know this from reports, but there aren’t any direct quotes from her during her time as queen.

Here’s the painting mentioned, from 1545, during Catherine Parr’s tenure. Jane is on Henry’s left.

It was only after her death that Henry ‘loved’ her, but she is certain that he mourned for only for his own loss. There are reports that, during Jane’s labour, doctors advised Henry he might lose either Jane or Edward. Henry is claimed to have replied, “If you cannot save both, at least let the child live, for other wives are easily found.”

Countdown is a British television game show that revolves around word and number puzzles. It has been going for almost forty years, and is one of the longest-running game shows in the world, with over 7000 episodes.

“I saw a ghost bear kill someone, once.” Anne isn’t making this up. Supposedly, the incident occurred in 1816, when a Yeoman Warder saw a ghostly bear somewhere in the Tower of London. Terrified, he tried to stab it with his bayonet, only for the weapon to go through the image and strike the door behind it. The guard died of shock later on. A similar event happened in 1864, where two guards witnessed “a whitish, female figure” gliding towards one of the soldiers. The soldier in question charged this figure, only to go straight through it, upon which he fainted.

Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a little over two months in 1554, as a result of Wyatt’s Rebellion against Queen Mary. The rebellion was also the likely reason for the execution of Lady Jane Grey – both she and Elizabeth were Protestants in line for the throne, and therefore ‘more suitable’ as ruler. Both Elizabeth and Jane Grey denied any involvement, but the latter’s father and brother (also executed) were direct contributors.

“… you did die, Elizabeth was really upset about it…” Elizabeth took the news of Parr’s death badly. She refused to leave her bed, and was unable to go a mile from her residence, for five months following Parr’s passing.

Not because she liked that bearded potato man, God no… I found this deeply cursed engraving (first produced in 1544) in one of my books on the six wives, and now I want you all to suffer with me.

Anne of Cleves reacted poorly to being told her marriage would be annulled – some accounts say she fainted, others says she cried and screamed. Both could be true. The reasons given were threefold – One, the marriage was unconsummated (From testimony given by two servants, Anne thought a kiss goodnight counted as consummation – likely untrue, but this is the only reason that actually has merit). Two, Anne was precontracted to Francis of Lorraine (Untrue – the betrothal would only take effect if Anne’s father paid the dowry, and he didn’t). Three, Anne was not a virgin as claimed, based on the description of her ‘breasts and belly’, a Tudor way of saying Anne had previously given birth (untrue, and conflicts with the testimony for reason one). The annulment went through without Anne’s involvement, but (probably looking at the examples of her three predecessors) she accepted the ruling and kept herself from being banished, beheaded or otherwise.

(Other fact that has no bearing on reality – while researching Anne of Cleves, one of the pages that came up was The Simpsons Wiki. Apparently she’s the only wife who can claim the honour of having been in two episodes. :/)

Dogs don’t need to answer for their sins, they don’t have any. Katherine Howard was reportedly fond of animals in general, but had a particular soft spot for dogs.

She did the right thing. She told the truth. She died for it. Katherine Howard insisted, to the end, that she had no pre-contract of marriage to Francis Dereham. Would she have survived if she said she did?

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

Chopped Madness Masterlist

To say we are overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year for sure. This challenge was so incredible, the fics we received were spectacular and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the positive and supportive space that we were able to create with your help. During such a crazy time in the world, we hope that this was able to distract you, even just a little, from the harshness of reality, and bring you some level of joy. We received an astounding forty-seven (47!!!!!!) fics in our anonymous collection, that were submitted for voting, as well as four (4) amazing fics that were added to our non anonymous collection following prompts from this event, bringing our fic total to a mind blowing FIFTY ONE (51!!!!!) fics! We honestly cannot even begin to express our thanks to all of you for putting in the time and hard work to share such creative, exciting, well written pieces of fan fiction for this event, and we hope that you all enjoyed it as much as we did! If you haven’t had a chance to read all of the brilliant fics shared with us for Chopped Madness, you can find them all below, or in our AO3 collections, which will be linked at the bottom of this post.

To all of our writers, for Chopped Madness and all other Chopped events, Chopped would not be what it is without you. You take our ideas and turn them into beautiful stories that we are privileged to read and share with this fandom, and we owe you all a huge thanks for everything you do.

We hope you all (and all your loved ones) are staying safe during this uncertain time. Keep being creative, positive, and sharing your art with the world. And dont forget to keep your eyes pealed for the next Chopped events ;)

And obviously, a huge congratulations to our CHOPPED CHAMPION, the lovely @the-most-beautiful-broom​!

We love you all,

Sara & Bailey <3

The image above is not an entirely accurate representation of how each writer was paired up, it was the best we could do considering we shifted the order each round based on the rankings. The number next to the authors name in each bracket is their rank for that round!

———

Qualifying Round

Character Focus: Bellamy Blake

Theme: Canonverse

Tropes:

Fairy Tale AU

Write a Good Guy as a Villain or a Villain as a Good Guy

When the party’s over (Rated T) [Bellamy & Octavia] by safeandsound13 @captaindaddykru​

Summary: Bellamy goes into the anomaly to save Octavia. What he finds, is a trail of bodies. {Or: a canonverse take on Hansel & Gretel}

don’t be who you were (Rated T) [Bellamy & Diyoza] by sapphictomaz @iexasheart​

Summary: Bellamy’s forced to stay in the bunker, alone, for six years. Diyoza trapped alone on her ship. They find a way to help each other survive, because that’s what they know how to do.

Straight On Until Morning (Rated G) [Bellamy & Kane] by she_who_the_river_could_not_hold @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold​

Summary: Bellamy and his unruly band of Delinquents have been living life as they wish. Their days are filled with games and exploring while their nights are spent coordinating attacks against the dreaded Wanheda and her Mountain Men. It’s all fun and games in a world where no one gets older. But then a strange man appears one day and Marcus Kane provides a reality check to Bellamy that he’s not prepared to accept.

Where is the path to Wonderland? (Rated T) [Bellamy x Clarke] by myonetruelove @justwalkedaway​

Summary: Separated from their friends in the Anomaly, Clarke and Bellamy find themselves lost in a world so different from their own.

The Sixth Bride (Rated M) [Bellamy x Roan] by Shen_Gong_Oops @shen-gong-oops​

Summary: For their wedding, Roan gifted him an antique skeleton key attached to a thin, leather cord. Rough, callous fingertips grazed the base of his neck as they secured the necklace in place. While his husband allowed him full reign of the tower, the key provided access to the only room he barred Bellamy from entering. He was never to set foot in the sole room on the highest floor. Into Roan’s private reprieve from the world. And to be fair, Bellamy respected Roan’s right to privacy - for a while.

Gunning for Glory (Rated T) [Bellamy x Gina] by teeandrainbows @teeandsnowflakes​

Summary: While on a routine mission for Kane, Bellamy comes across a mystery girl who points him towards a treasure trove that might prove useful for Arkadia, but danger lurks up every spiraling staircase. It may just be the distraction he needs, though, to get over Clarke leaving.

On the Ground and What Bellamy Found There (Rated G) [General] by elle_stone @kinetic-elaboration​

Summary: Bellamy has a prophetic dream. An Alice in Wonderland AU.

to dream about a life (where you’re the shining star) (Rated T) [Bellamy x Murphy] by ProbablyVoldemort @probably-voldemort​

Summary: Bellamy has been dreaming about going to the coalition’s annual Camp Rock since he was a kid. The chance to escape his life and his step-father and spend his days travelling between clans and singing. This year, he finally has a chance to go–as a chef. Murphy hated what came of Clarke’s treaty with the Grounders, but even he knew it could’ve been worse. But that didn’t mean he wanted to spend his time performing for the people who had kidnapped and tortured him. He could do it, though. He could sing at whatever the fuck Camp Rock was, and he could help pick whichever winner the Grounders wanted him to pick. He could play nice. That didn’t mean he had to like it.

There’s Gonna Be a Party When the Wolf Comes Home (Rated T) [General] by kuklash @kuklash​

Summary: “Dante?” she asks, her voice a mixture of confusion and surprise. Bellamy straightens the nameplate on his desk, and the gold plaque reflects the dim fluorescent lights above him. He taps it twice, drawing her attention to the words “Dante Wallace” written in a fancy script. “That’s what they call me.” A Canon Divergent Fairy Tale AU staring Bellamy Blake

No Ordinary Apple (Rated T) [Bellamy & Josephine] by andthelightbulbclicks @andthelightbulbclicks​

Summary: When Josephine awakens in Clarke Griffin’s body, she has no reason to believe anything about her reincarnation is anything out of the ordinary. Then she learns that Clarke was far from a willing host and meets Bellamy Blake. She doesn’t expect to become invested in their love story, and she certainly doesn’t plan on risking her own like to make things right. And yet, here she is. All in the name of true love.

Brother Knows Best (Rated G) [Bellamy & Octavia] by Dylanobrienisbatman @dylanobrienisbatman​

Summary: Octavia grew up in a cave, hidden from the world, with only her brother to care for her. He kept her safe, safe from a world where people like her, where nightbloods, were hunted and slaughtered. But even with so much danger, she longs to see the world, so when a handsome stranger stumbles into their cave, she makes her escape to spend one night out under the stars. But in just one night, she begins to wonder if everything she’d grown up believing was true after all.

seeds in silence (exploded in riot) (Rated T) [Bellamy & Clarke] by justbecauseyoubelievesomething @justbecauseyoubelievesomething 

Summary: Seeds. Not the modified seeds Farm Station constantly churns out in unending batches. Genuine seeds. Earth seeds. The kind of seeds that the scientists from Alpha will sell their souls for. Doctor Griffin talks a lot about genetics and lost patterns, but Bellamy’s mind is a million miles away. He can get anything he wants for Octavia and his mom. He can make it so Octavia doesn’t have to live in hiding. He can bring the chancellor himself to his knees, if he’s careful enough.

i’ve got a heart in me (i swear) (Rating T) [Bellamy x Murphy] by hopskipaway @hopskipaway​

Summary: Belonging was not a familiar word in the Book of John Murphy. That was a fact that seemed grounded in concrete; what he wouldn’t give to stumble upon a sledgehammer someday and be reunited with his bruised and feeble, but still beating, heart.

2199 Nights (Rated M) [Bellamy x Clarke] by Mobi_On_A_Mission @mobi-on-a-mission​

Summary: Every day, the Commander Bellamy took a new wife and executed her the next morning, until one day his fleimkepa’s daughter volunteered. She kept him entertained with tales of far-off places, sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise…

we’d up and fly (if there were wings for flying) (Rated G) [Bellamy x Clarke] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: Bellamy and Wells are held captive and interrogated by the Grounders, and when he returns to Arkadia, Bellamy finds some things have changed.

The Storyteller (Rated T) [Bellamy x Clarke] by thelittlefanpire @thelittlefanpire​

Summary: A heartbroken Commander, betrayed by her beloved, vows to slay each and every one of her future lovers after they’ve spent their first night together. Bellamy Blake, the latest to be taken into the Commander of Death’s chambers, will try to save his life by weaving a succession of tales to the woman that lasts for one thousand and one nights.

How to Kill a Two-Headed Turkey (Rated T) [Bellamy & Octavia] by vmreed @vmreed​

Summary: After everyone at camp collapses from a mysterious illness (thanks Murphy), Bellamy and Octavia are sent to hunt enough food for 100 sick teenagers. When they find themselves lost, far from camp, what else can they do but move forward? Thankfully, a kind woman took them in, but all is not as it seems. Anya’s been waiting to meet these Skaikru…

simmer, simmer, simmer (Rated M) [Bellamy x Clarke] by Pawprinter @pawprinterfanfic​

Summary: When Sanctum falls to starvation, it is up to Bellamy and Clarke to find a solution. They aren’t prepared for the horrors beyond the Sanctum barrier.

So Familiar a Gleam (Rated T) [Bellamy x Clarke, Bellamy & Octavia] by Anonymous

Summary: When the dropship first lands, Bellamy is hopeful. It doesn't last. After all, the humans who were left behind, they've been on there own for a while. Things have changed. (Maleficent meets The 100 meets the author's glaring ignorance about either franchise.)

———

Round 1

Character Focus: Harper McIntyre

Theme: Angst

Tropes:

Strangers to Lovers

Road Trip AU

into a cloven pine (Rated T) [Harper/Maya] by justbecauseyoubelievesomething @justbecauseyoubelievesomething

Summary: Maya starts sitting with her at meals, shrugging aside the judgmental looks of delinquents and Mountain Men alike. When Harper tries to delicately suggest that she sit somewhere else for her own good, Maya levels her with an icy glare and threatens to kick her under the table. For some reason, that makes Harper giggle and she figures that someone who makes her giggle must be alright to sit with. So, she ignores Miller’s warning head shakes and Fox’s teary-eyed frowns and she plays footsie with Maya Vie. Life is weird. She might as well just go with it.

I Need You (Like I Need a Gaping Head Wound) (Rated T) [Harper/Echo] *Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death* by kuklash @kuklash​

Summary: “And that was the new track from Lou Bega: ‘Mambo No. 5’ off his new album ‘A Little Bit of Mambo’. Stay tuned for Backstreet, Britney Spears, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers comin’ at’cha in the next hour.” Harper shuts off the radio and leans back in the driver’s seat, taking her hands off the wheel and rubbing her temples. Traffic is worse than normal today, meaning she’s gonna be late. She’s already 45 minutes late getting back from lunch, meaning that Roan will probably call her into his office. That’s the last thing she needs today. Harper nearly jumps out of her skin when the passenger door opens and a tall, brunette woman vaults into the car. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU D–” “Drive,” the woman says, voice barely above a whisper.

venus, planet of love was destroyed by global warming (Rated G) [Harper/Monty] by safeandsound13 @captaindaddykru​

Summary: In a world tainted by darkness, Harper meets Monty.

Take back my life (Prove I’m alright) (Rated T) [Harper/Monty] by myonetruelove @justwalkedaway​

Summary: Harper and Monty have been married for ten years and she is beginning to notice the cracks in their marriage. Will a road trip for a job interview be able to save their marriage?

Like dust behind the wagon (Rated T) [Harper/Monre] *Major Character Death* by teeandrainbows @teeandsnowflakes​

Summary: Harper and her family were in search of a better life in Oregon when tragedy struck. She didn’t think she would ever recover, and then she met Monroe, a lone traveler looking for a ride to Fort Bridger.

you can bloom again (Rated T) [Harper/Clarke] by sapphictomaz @iexasheart​

Summary: Harper’s always been a survivor. She’s survived an orphaned childhood, kidnapping, and torture. When a wave of fire stretches across the sky, she knows that she’ll survive this, too - but when she meets a girl with a smile brighter than the sun, Harper wonders if surviving alone is what she really wants.

The Hardest Thing (Rated T) [Harper/Emori] by Mobi_On_A_Mission @mobi-on-a-mission​

Summary: After shooting Baylis and escaping to the woods, Emori was utterly alone. She travelled through the lands of the Coalition, stealing from anyone and everyone. All of that changed when she met the last sky girl after the Mountain Men wiped out the rest of her people. Harper had a map to a peaceful village across the sea, and Emori had nothing to lose.

Release (Rated T) [Harper/Murphy] by elle_stone @kinetic-elaboration​

Summary: Her whole body is still tense, but this long habit of distrust has been formed in her, is not native to her, and his lazy, laconic air tempts her to put herself at ease. And she is curious. Behind them, the Detention Center is teeming, yet the desolation of the dim light and barren highway makes Harper feel as if they were the only two on the wide Earth. Upon being released from the Arkadia Juvenile Detention Center, Harper takes a road trip to California with an old friend, his boyfriend, and another recently released delinquent.

What the Hell is a Pulmonary Embolism? (Rated T) [Harper & Clarke/Murphy] by vmreed @vmreed​

Summary: Harper McIntyre wasn’t trained for this. She was just a tour guide, how was she supposed to deal with the bus crashing in the middle of nowhere?

something more than momentary (Rated T) [Harper/Murphy] by ProbablyVoldemort @probably-voldemort​

Summary: The first rule of working for the Princess Protection Program was, well, keep your princess safe no matter the cost. The second rule was don’t get attached. Agent Murphy had followed that rule to the letter for years and never had an issue. But now he’s stuck in a car for the foreseeable future with a princess and a gunshot wound, and everything he’s ever believed in just might be changing.

and the road gets tough (Rated M) [Harper/Monty] by she-who-the-river-could-not-hold​ @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold

Summary: It’s the end of the world and Harper McIntyre is done running. She’s done fighting against a life that relentlessly keeps pushing her down. But she has her son to worry about and she desperately wants him to have a new life and to experience it all. When they hit the road, she’s helped by a kind stranger who changes the course of things. Monty Green represents a life she wished she had been able to have, but it might still be too late.

everyone’s a different flower (Rated T) [Harper/Monty] by andthelightbulbclicks @andthelightbulbclicks​

Summary: Harper McIntyre’s life on Earth has been a simple one, and she’s always been happy with that. But with a single diagnosis, her simple life is completely upended. Her best friends think that an intergalactic trip across the universe is just what she needs to get her mind off of things. Raven thinks the change in scenery will do Harper some good. Clarke thinks the girl time will help. (Harper thinks the cute space-botanist she meets might just do the trick.)

I wanna shoot the whole day down (Rated T) [Harper/Monty] *Major Character Death* by hopskipaway @hopskipaway​

Summary: Tell me why I don’t like Mondays...Or Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, or any day since you left us.

Never Gonna Give You Up (Rated T) [Harper/Raven] by Shen_Gong_Oops @shen-gong-oops​

Summary: Unknown: Hey, Monty guilted me into a road trip with those damned puppy dog eyes and seeing as neither of you can be in the same car, I am your road trip Uber. Name’s Raven. Harper: Rookie mistake, you never look Monty in the eyes. That’s how you lose. A road trip, huh?

Macushla (Rated T) [Harper/Monty] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: Harper Noelle Margaret McIntyre, Countess of Rothes, must survive the unthinkable, when the unsinkable ship hits an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic // aka the Titanic AU that isn’t Jack and Rose

Both (Rated T) [Harper/Monty] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: “Emori doesn’t understand why I’d want to go back up.” Their backs are against the wicker, just waiting now, as the balloon floats downward. “Emori’s my sister,” Harper clarifies. “She thinks I should be scared, and just leave it behind. But if I left, if I never went up again, then everything I’ve lost would be for nothing.” It hovers in the air, like the snow, like a balloon. “All my life,” Monty says, “I’ve found certainty in science. In numbers, quantifying things. But...this has shown me. You have, I mean. There’s a beauty in the most barren of science, and my equipment and notes cannot account for it. And I thought it was science, logic, before, but now I see: the only person that could’ve taken me to the stars was you.” {a marper Aeronauts AU based heavily off the 2019 movie}

———

Round 2

Character Focus: John Murphy

Theme: Dystopia

Tropes:

Partners In Crime

Bed Sharing

poison but tasty (Rated M) [Murphy & Josephine, Murphy/Emori] by safeandsound13 @captaindaddykru​

Summary: In a world where genetics and individual resilience decide who gets to procreate and who doesn’t, babies are a rare breed. That’s why Murphy gets the lucrative idea to steal one, and sell it. In comes Josie, who kind of, sort of? Maybe? Has the same idea? He figures, what the hell. Might as well combine their efforts and split the profits. or, Two Psychopaths and a Baby.

even heroes have the right to dream (Rated M) [Muprhy/Emori] by justbecauseyoubelievesomething @justbecauseyoubelievesomething

Summary: He doesn’t deal with people one-on-one anymore. He works his shift at the factory. He comes home. Takes his pills. Drinks himself to sleep. He doesn’t go on road trips. Or smuggle little girls under the cover of darkness. Or make small talk with his ex.

don’t mess with the flow, oh no (stick to the status quo) (Rated T) [Murphy/Clarke] by ProbablyVoldemort @probably-voldemort​

Summary: Harper and Monty tried out for the spring musical, and now everything is going to shit. Jocks think they can bake. Nerds think they can dance. Stoners think they can play cello. And Harper and Monty, Jock and Nerd respectively, think they can get callbacks for Murphy’s part. This is not what he wants. This is not what he planned. And, he’s just gotta say, he does not understand.

Good to be Back (Rated G) [Murphy/Emori] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: Murphy has been out of the wet work game for years now, but when someone from the past shows up at his bar, he doesn’t think twice before diving back in.

make a wish (count to three) (Rated T) [Murphy/Emori] by teeandrainbows @teeandsnowflakes​

Summary: In Alpha City, anyone who isn’t a Prime, the top tier of society, is claimed by a factory to work for a meager living at the age of 18. When Murphy is selected for the factory overseen by the mysterious Alie, he thinks life might finally be getting better…

The Taste of Hope (Rated T) [Murphy/Raven] by elle_stone @kinetic-elaboration​

Summary: Murphy has lived his whole life on Factory 6, stripping the planet of its resources for the benefit of the elite ruling class on The Jewel. His existence has never been more than work, sleep, and the mindless distractions of gossip, drinking, and parties. Until he and his girlfriend, Raven, start to wonder: could there be more?

Survivor’s Move (Rated G) [Muprhy/Emori] by she_who_the_river_could_not_hold @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold​

Summary: In a dying society ruled by an iron fist, it’s crucial to stay low. John Murphy has mastered that, an ex-thief doing what he can to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds him with the arrival of another ex-thief, and more importantly, his ex-girlfriend. Emori needs his help and he finds himself confronting their breakup while also trying to express to her the importance she has in his heart.

Complex Wiring (Rated T) [Murphy/Raven] by andthelightbulbclicks @andthelightbulbclicks​

Summary: According to the Commonwealth of Arkadian, cyborgs have been wiped out from the nation for years, any scientists willing to do the surgeries arrested or worse. John Murphy, whose primary goal in life is to be a general nuisance to the guards in his crummy village, has no reason to believe otherwise. That is, until he unexpectedly meets a group of cyborgs in hiding who are looking for “the Cockroach” to do a job for them.

———

Round 3

Character Focus: Raven Reyes

Theme: Modern

Tropes:

Superpowers

Found Family

if you choose to fly (Rated M) [Raven/Bellamy/Echo] by teeandrainbows @teeandsnowflakes​

Summary: It’s always been the three of them, for as long as she can remember, and she’s happy. Bellamy kisses her forehead and Echo raises a hand to her cheek, reaching across and pressing a featherlight kiss to her lips. A week later, she finds herself missing the tranquility of the moment. or the origin story of Raven Reyes

Hands That Burn (Rated T) [Raven/Clarke] by elle_stone @kinetic-elaboration​

Summary: WELCOME, reads a large banner, hung up between two poles in front of her, TO FLOUKRU RETREAT. The font on the banner matches the font on the invitation Raven received two months ago. Why she decided to attend this particular event, she cannot entirely explain, even to herself. Six ex-superheroes, and ex-best friends, meet for a weekend retreat, ready to confront their feelings and the past tragedy that tore them apart.

Into the Blue (Rated G) [Raven/Zeke] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: Her name is Raven Reyes. She was bitten by a radioactive spider her senior year of college; for the last two years, she’s been the one and only Spider-Woman. She joined a band, saved her dad, couldn’t save her best friend, so now she saves everyone else. She doesn’t really do the friends thing, not since her last best friend was turned into a giant lizard and she had to kill him, but things are mostly fine, going solo. Until a kaleidoscope opens in the ceiling. She’s suddenly in Times Square, but it’s not, it’s like some Other Times Square. There’s a billboard for Cocoa Kola (what even?) and there’s a Spider-Man (typical) here, and on the Other Times Square screens, she watches Zeke die again, this time as Spider-Man. // or a zaven!into the spiderverse AU

the color of truth is gray (Rated T) [Raven/Murphy] by andthelightbulbclicks @andthelightbulbclicks​

Summary: Raven’s firm beliefs on super villains have held true for as long as she can remember. And she prides herself in being a part of the Spacekru team, protecting their territory in Polis and bringing those villains to justice. But slowly, she comes to realize that maybe their super-powered world isn’t as black and white as she’s always chosen to believe. And maybe a certain villain isn’t really a villain at all. (Or: Three times Raven fights a villain, and one time she saves him.)

And It May Sound Absurd, But Don't Be Naive (Rated T) [Raven/Zeke] by Anonymous 

Summary: "Yeah, well, if life were to suddenly get fair, I doubt it would happen in high school." A Sky High AU where Raven just wants to sit there and do her Mad Science homework in peace, but life has a funny habit of removing that as an option.

———

Round 4

Character Focus: Luna kom Floukru

Theme: Thriller

Tropes:

Parallel Universe

Doppelgängers

Excuse me, where are the dinosaurs? (Rating M) [Luna/Raven/Roan] *Graphic Depictions of Violence* by ​andthelightbulbclicks @andthelightbulbclicks​

Summary: Luna is living her life on the island of Floukru with two goals in mind. 1. Keep her animal rescue up and running. 2. (Somehow) turn her relationship with her two roommates into a romantic one. When the three of them find themselves on a very different version of Floukru where living, breathing dinosaurs still exist, she supposes she should add two more to the list: 3. Avoid the psychopaths who inexplicably look exactly like them. 4. Make sure no one gets eaten by a T-Rex.

we cross our bridges and burn them behind us (Rating T) [Luna/Lincoln] by the-most-beautiful-broom @the-most-beautiful-broom​

Summary: When SHRDR powers up and tears a hole in the world, Luna watches Lincoln die. Three years later, he steps out of thin air and asks for her help. So yeah, that's how her day is going. It's fine. Everything is fine.

Promise (Rated M) [Lincoln & Luna] *Graphic Depictions Of Violence Major Character Death* by teeandrainbows @teeandsnowflakes​

Summary: During the Conclave, Luna and Octavia find themselves in another version of Polis where vampires have been terrorizing what's left of humanity.

Please take a read of all these incredible fics! Leave the authors some kudos/comments! They worked so hard this whole event. Thanks so much!

Just as a reminder, our non-anon collection is always open and we are always so excited to receive any submissions! The Chopped Madness official collection has been CLOSED but if any of our prompts inspire you, please share your fics with us in our non-anon collection! Simple put ‘Chopped_Non_Anonymous’ where it asks for the collection name, and be sure to put what round you are writing for in your notes so we can be sure to tag it appropriately when we share! Also, just as a note, fics submitted to the non-anon collection do not have to follow the word limit and do not require the same strict adherence to the tropes, though we do ask that you comply with our other rules regarding no rape, incest, negativity, and things like that! Happy writing!

Chopped Madness AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Madness

Chopped Non-Anon AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Non_Anonymous

[desert-dyke]

the things I’ve read in 2020 and some thoughts...

hey blacklist this now because it’s gonna get long from here. I spent NYE home alone and reading and it has really set the tone for this year. Fortunately, I’ve been reading way more for the first time in...I literally don’t even know? Maybe forever? Which is really dope! Books are fucking fantastic and I hope this trend continues for the rest of the year. So I’m gonna use this post (and continue to add to it as I finish books) to talk about the things I’ve read. It could be annoying. I could give up on it really soon. People might not read this at all. It’s okay! It’s my blog I’ll use it how I want and I want to talk about books I otherwise don’t really have a place to talk about them. 

The Shape of Water - Guillermo Del Toro & Daniel Kraus

If you know me irl you’ll know that I love this movie. Like, it’s probably my favorite movie as an adult. I love watching a movie and then going back and reading the book to compare and vice versa, but knowing that the book came out after the movie did discourage me at first, making me think it was nothing more than a cash grab. Though I was talking to (my boss) who also loves this movie and is a huge bibliophile and she highly recommended the book, so I figured I’d give it a stab.

The writing style is beautiful and enticing and overall I was impressed with the quality of it. It’s fast paced and switches perspective between characters frequently, though remains easy to follow. The book focuses a little less on Elisa and more on the other characters and stories around her, including, surprisingly, Elaine Strickland, who despite never wondering much about during the movie, I enjoyed being included in the book. There’s a deeper exploration into pretty much everyone’s backstories, and more prominent character development. It’s excellent as a standalone piece, and supplementary to readers who have seen the movie. There’s also some alternative takes on certain scenes, which I don’t necessarily like better or worse than the choices made in the movie, but it makes for an interesting read. 

The book explores themes of alienation and being othered, with a main cast that breaks the stereotype of straight white fully-abled male. Elisa is a mute woman, Zelda, a black woman, and Giles a gay man. With the political climate of the 1950′s, all of them are outsiders and all of them find solidarity in each other, despite their unique struggles, and also with the creature.

The only thing I didn’t quite like was the portrayal of the creature. I think greater efforts were put into making him more godlike and otherworldly, but also, simultaneously, he comes off as much more like a wild animal in the book, and the latter came off as strange to me, and not in the way I like it. Overall, even if the movie didn’t exist and I only read this, I’d still think it was a really good story.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate - Becky Chambers

If I depended on the synopsis on the back of the book to decide whether or not I wanted to read this, I don’t know if I would have bothered. To be honest, I only wanted to read this because Becky Chambers is my current favorite author and all other of her works I’ve read I’ve absolutely adored, so naturally, I wanted to give this one a chance, even if the concept wasn’t as riveting as I would have hoped.

She didn’t disappoint. 

Whereas her other books take place in a vast space civilization where humanity is integrated with aliens and there’s technology beyond our dreams, this book took place in a different creative universe, a little more closer to our timeline. The book is about space exploration for the sake of learning and taking care to be as least intrusive on the explored worlds as possible. It’s a nice break from what I usually see in sci fi, with colonization and owning space and wanting to use knowledge in order to hurt others. It follows a research crew of four, sent to research four planets in a far solar system. There’s a lag in travel time, since FTL travel had not been discovered yet, so a common device is communication with Earth is off by years. Eventually, the crew realizes they have lost contact with Earth and Earth had likely suffered some sort of devastation. It wonders if Earth has forgotten them or if it’s even worth it to return since they might be the last astronauts of their time. 

The worlds they visit and research are unique and vivid and fill me with wonder. They’re realistic to the point where I found myself questioning if the book was prophetic. Chambers makes effort to incorporate science into her novels, but in a way that does not estrange a reader like me who only has a basic knowledge in science. It’s one of the things I find most attractive about her work, because it has this added realism and this feeling of “wow, this really could happen” and yet remains easy to follow. 

I found the crew to be likeable and diverse. Three of them are in a relationship with each other, and while polyamory isn’t usually an interest of mine, it’s in the background as well as it’s never used as a point to cause drama. It’s a healthy functional relationship. Also, one of the crew is a trans man and another is asexual, both details that exist within a single line, but yet important to be included to flesh out the characters. 

What I didn’t like was the almost rush to the end of the book. It’s a short book, roughly 100 pages, but it seems to me as if it reaches it’s climax and then the book just ends and it kind of feels like it’s still in the middle of things. I’ve had time to think about it, though, and I’ve considered that maybe anything else written would have been redundant or just filler and therefore not needed. So in that case, that’s fair. It still felt a little abrupt to me, but that’s what fic is for. 

Overall, if you haven’t read anything by Becky Chambers you need to change that immediately. Please don’t leave me alone and fanning over this incredible author!!

All Systems Red - Martha Wells

This was another short one, and in fact, I read it entirely in one sitting. The concept of the book was really intriguing, and actually I selected it because I liked the opening line so much. I have a lot of feelings about AI and robots, so this was a naturally alluring story to me. Mixed with the fact that the beefed out security robot, who calls themselves “Murderbot”,  was absolutely obsessed with soap opera tv just absolutely gets me!

The story is told through Murderbot’s perspective, who is assigned to guard a research team. They had recently hacked their government module, which now allows them full autonomy and no longer having to obey orders from their assigned humans. It’s interesting to see Murderbot actively choose to help the humans. Also, needing to maintain an illusion that they aren’t unshackled, since what they did was forbidden. 

The research team is full of interesting characters, who I find tragically under explored. The only couple in the story is wlw, which I vastly appreciated, along with they obviously cared and loved each other and their relationship was not used for drama purposes. In favor of the lack of development with the cast of characters, since the narrator is Murderbot and part of Murderbot’s personality is they are actively trying not to care about these humans, it does make sense. Still, I would have loved to see more of the crew and more development between Murderbot and them. 

I like the dark lore that is hinted behind Murderbot’s existence. There’s organic counterparts to their machine made from cloned humans. It’s creepy and morbid, but a lot is with the lore of the universe that the story takes place in. There’s hints towards a heavy capitalist society in space where the humans and Murderbot came from, where the right price will get you anything, regardless of morals. The overall tone of the story is very quirky, but it needs to be to offset just how dark everything that happens actually is. The book explores the concept of corporate greed, from the existence of Murderbot to the deaths that come to humans on the planet the crew is studying.

This book was deeply fascinating, but I didn’t love the way it was written. I love every concept and choice made, but I didn’t love the execution. It left me wanting without satisfaction. It’s not a bad book and I still over all enjoyed it. It is part of a series, which I did not realize at the time of reading it, but the ending leaves room for more to be written, so maybe in the following books there will be the development I desired. However, the ending of the book leaves it apparent that Murderbot will not be interacting with the same characters of the first, but that is just an assumption and I could be wrong. I’m not sure yet if I will read more in the series but I’m not entirely opposed to it.

All the Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Anders

This is another one that I definitely would not have read if I had to choose based on the synopsis alone. The synopsis made it sound so run-of-the-mill star-crossed-lovers, which, hey, maybe that actually helps sell the book because its a pretty well loved trope, but for me it was off-putting, as well as isn’t fair to what the book actually turned out to be. But that’s what reviews are for, and I found this book from some sort of list, I think it was best sci-fi books written by women.

The general idea of the book is a witch and a techie fall in love while the world is falling apart due to a conflict between magic and technology. The book is lauded for bending genre and honestly, it fucking has. It’s as equally a sci-fi novel as it is a fantasy novel. There’s advanced technology, such as robots, two second time machines, rocket ships, and ultimately, a portal leading to a different universe in hopes of escaping the destruction of earth. On the magic side, there’s a connection to nature, rules that have to be abided, quirky witches and magicians and mystique. Both Laurence and Patricia are outsiders that have seemingly found these secret niches in the world that becomes their own.

Both plots are interesting in their own, and could possibly exist as two separate books, but what ties the entire story together is the connection Laurence and Patricia have, and their ultimate romance.

The romance is a wonderful slow burn, from childhood friends, to adult friends to lovers. By the time Patricia and Laurence finally get together, you really fucking want them to. They weave in and out of each other’s lives throughout their own personal plots. There’s tensions and there’s release. And most importantly, they have lives outside of each other. Their romance compliments the story, rather than the story being entirely about romance. 

Similar to the former review, there’s a lot of quirkiness in the story, that ultimately offsets how dark the story can be. The story doesn’t shy away from complicated relationships with parents and siblings and friends and other people, people of mixed ages and backgrounds. It explores abuse, bullying, natural disaster and loss. The story would have been miserable and a drag to read without the whimsical qualities of it. Plus it’s a fantasy/sci-fi, so it should have some quirkiness to it! And it made for a very enjoyable read!

My criticism for this one is, yet again, the ending. The conflict resolves and the story comes to an end. In favor of how it was written, the way things resolve, I believe the world is about to go through a grand change. While the story is quirky, I think it would have been too corny to have had a glittery magical wave drag across the land, altering the world as it went. So, it’s fair, I guess, that the author chose to end it where she did. Still, it left me craving more. Maybe because the story was so good and I wasn’t yet ready to let it go.

Also, as a side note, the author is a trans woman. So if you’re looking for books written by trans authors to support, put this at the top of your list.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer III: Justice

I opened my eyes to a dimly lit space. I was hooked to an IV.

As soon as I turned my head, I saw Chisei in a white shirt and black pants. In front of him was a table of munitions. The man looked rough, a hollow of his former vibrant and frightening self.

He looked at me briefly. “You’re awake. Good. You’ve already started to heal. I need to return you to your teammates.”

Return me? I sat up, wincing against the bandages under my shirt. My ruined dress was gone, replaced by a thin white top and a bright red hakama.  “Where am I?”

“We’re back at the shrine. It’s far from Tokyo and the only safe place now.”

I watched him as he pulled a gun holster around his waist.

“Chime?”

“Resting. I’ll be sending him and Erii away, out of Japan. It’s the only way to be safe.”

“I wanted to tell you, the King controls Chime with a woodblock...”

“He told me...” He glanced at me and slipped throwing knives into the sides of the holster.

“You’re still going back to the city?” 

He paused, eyes narrowing, full of hatred. “You think I would leave after hearing something like that? I’m not leaving until the King is dead.”

I gripped the blanket covering me. “My wish is for you to get out of here alive. You wanted to be free from Hydra, right?”

“You had the chance to leave as well didn’t you? You didn’t take it.” He replied.

“How do you know that?”

“I heard you and the owner of the Takamagahara talking.” He tossed his trench coat over his shoulders and smiled at my open mouthed shock.

“You were there!”

“I was there for a while. And I am free from Hydra. Turns out that the King had planned for this. I’m not sure how he got the location of the White King. But he attacked as soon as she started her rampage. Immediately after the tsunami, he had forces in place to take us down in the chaos.” 

He pulled black gloves over his hands. “Minamoto Heavy Industries was taken. Kaguya is gone. Yasha is dead. We lost Fuma in the escape... Hydra is completely defenseless. I thought we had won the war. Turns out the Devil Clan never cared about their own deaths or loss of territory. They had their ace in the hole... all our efforts were useless.”

He stopped. “Had I known I never would have....”

“But you didn’t know.” I said, raising my voice. “None of us did! This is all complete... insanity. The only person who had any clue about what was about to happen was Lu Mingfei! And I need to tell you something! Listen!”

He finally turned to me. 

“I believe Lu Mingfei has been having prophetic visions. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But he told me he’s been dreaming about something terrible happening to Erii. He said first with water... and now with fire. Did he say anything about that?”

From the way his eyes shifted he seemed to be recalling something. He answered. “When he was with me, he did have frequent nightmares. About the sea and an unseen enemy. He said it was a dream of the future.”

“Now he dreams of fire.” I whimpered. “And Erii...”

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll get her out... Immediately.” He walked to me tucking under my arm to lift me up and carry me out to the waiting helicopter. It was still dark outside. 

“Where are we going?”

“Anjou put out a call for you all to meet him at the Tokyo Meteorological Institute.”

“And what will you do? Are you going to come fight with us?”

“Heh. Unlikely. Anjou probably has his own ideas. For all I know he’s here to get you out.”

“No! I won’t leave here-”

He gave me a sympathetic look. “He’s already taken over Tokyo at this point. You don’t have a say in anything any more.”

My heart sank even as helicopter lifted. He was right. As we soared over the landscape, we stayed silent. I realized that he was saying goodbye. It was unlikely that we would see each other again, at least, not in a dragon slaying capacity.

“Keep in touch. Please? Don’t delete my number.”

“Why?”

“There’s so few people who are like me. Even surrounded by other hybrids, I feel lonely. And Mingfei will worry about Erii.”

He didn’t answer. I got the feeling he wanted to leave everything behind and that I was part of a past he no longer wanted. 

Tokyo was a city becoming a ghost town. Lines of cars were backed up and people were abandoning them and walking with whatever they could carry. I felt a deep sense of failure. I was supposed to prevent this. I was sent here to stop this very thing.

I leaned my head against back of the seat, too miserable to even cry about it.

We landed. Chisei got out with me. I found I was already able to walk on my own, though it was still very painful to do much else. We went slowly to the elevator which we took down to a hall that led to a large conference room.

As soon as the door opened, I saw Anjou with Johann and Nono. They were sitting around a table discussing something. Turned out I was late to the meeting.

A man I didn’t know was saying. “I will contact the chief executive now, but he was out of contact and being evacuated. I'm not sure of his status.”

“I only need the coordinates!” Anjou was saying. “As long as he’s still alive let him talk to me. That arrogant bastard has already messed things up. That’s the least he should be able to do to help!”

I scowled. “Hey!”

They all turned to me. Johann stood up, eyes wide. “Meixiu!”

Chisei chuckled and squeezed my shoulder. “I am indeed and arrogant bastard who made a mess of things.”

Johann approached and I easily swapped Chisei’s arms for his. His hug hurt and I grunted in pain. 

“You’re injured!”

“Is just a flesh wound!” I tried to joke, but the pain in my eyes said otherwise.

“Water storage well number 13, Design code Red Well, in the mountains near the Tama River. Here are the coordinates.” He handed the seething Anjou a piece of note paper.

“Principal. I’m sorry, I tried I really tried...” I pulled away from Johann.

“I will not accept any apologies from you young lady.” Anjou’s cold eyes brooked no argument. “Your mission was very simple and became... very complicated!” 

I’d never seen Anjou so furious, gazing at Chisei who took it with numb indifference. But the man had lost everything and I couldn’t stand that Anjou was going to take his anger out on him.

“I won’t testify against him! He was only doing what he thought was right!”

Anjou cut me off. “You’ll be permitted to stay in this room so long as you don’t say another word.” 

Johann’s hand squeezed my shoulders. “Easy...” He whispered, guiding me to a chair.

Anjou handed the note to a man behind him. “Johann, Nono, let me talk to these two alone.”

Johann left me and walked out. Nono glanced at me but looked away before I could read her expression. The door shut. 

For a while, no one said anything while Anjou gathered his thoughts.

“When I came to Japan,” He began. “...you were one of the few people I wanted to meet. But you kept refusing to meet me. This is the first time I’ve traveled abroad to meet a former student and have been repeatedly rejected. You even received my scholarship, only to waste it.”

“It is my pride as a student to be able to get the principal's scholarship... it is my prerogative as a patriarch to refuse to meet you.” Chisei said quietly. “Unfortunately, I am not a good student and I have not learned the most important things from you.”

Chisei then looked at me. “I am not a competent patriarch. Those people who believed that I was the coming Amaterasu died for me. and I failed to give them a brand new future... and now my clan is at its end.”

I didn’t want to hear that from him. But I wasn’t allowed to talk any more, so I avoided his eyes and silently brooded.

“And after so many years, you’re still being pursued by your past, Chisei.”

“You mean Chime? Someone told you?”

“You told me.”

I looked up at Chisei.

“You forgot? You told me years ago, back when you were at Cassell. We were drinking together when you told me this story... only you talked about it like it had happened to someone else. At that time you were asking about the cost of justice.”

“I... have forgotten. I thought I would never tell anyone that story.”

He told me. Perhaps I’d grown closer to him than even he realized.

“Then you forgot what I told you about justice?”

Chisei looked a little sheepish. “Can you... please tell me again?”

The atmosphere had relaxed quite a bit. My ears perked up.

“You remember Benedict’s book?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“He talked about an ultimate justice. That so long as this person obeys this justice, then the world will never reject him. Because it’s above the individual.”

He pulled out a cigar as this was a very long lecture for him. He lit it, letting the smoke curl over both sides of his face.

“However, there is no justice that can exceed the individual. For some people, revenge is justice. For others, protection is justice. If your brother’s happiness is he most important thing in your heart, then you should be willing to take on the entire world for him. You think you paid the price for ‘justice’.”

He turned to look at Chisei. “But the justice you obey is not what you really want. The Justice you obey is taught to you by others. It is not your individual justice. So now, even though you did what you thought was right, you’re tormented by your conscience!”

Chisei glanced away, looking all the world like a scolded child. “For you... revenge is justice, principal!”

“It is! Haha!” He laughed. “My life has been summer and it has been winter. When I met my friends I was lonely and poor in life. But they turned it into summer. I belonged. I had true friends. And then... the dragons took that all away. The remainder of my life is growing shorter. There no one else like me in the world. No one shares my experiences, my memories. I am truly utterly alone. My revenge is all I have left. So... it is my justice.”

He took a long drag on his cigar and I lowered my head. I’d never thought of the Principal as a lonely person but who else had lived as long as he did?

“But,” He’s voice brightened. “...it is not the only justice. Let’s take our genius, Carli here for just a moment.”

I gave him a deer in the headlights look.

“Chisei, you and your organization have left her life an absolute misery! You destroyed everyone she loved. And you pursued her with the intention of killing her. And yet. I say one word against you and she leaps to your defense! Do you know why?”

Chisei shifted, uncomfortable. “I...”

Anjou’s expression changed to one of bewilderment as he gestured to me. “It’s because she has no concept of hatred! It’s not in her nature, not even a little bit!”

I looked at Chisei who avoided my eyes. 

“She’s the only one I’ve ever met like this. At least, to this extraordinary degree.” He puffed his cigar. “Now... some would look down on this. After reading the reports, it was clear that she was slow to act to escape from the Takamagahara. She took unnecessary risks in attempting to align with the people pursuing to kill her. Things could have easily gone another way.”

“It took another man’s hatred to finally move things forward. These are facts. However...” He took another puff.

“It’s also a fact, that had Chu Zihang been leading, your brother would be dead. You probably would be dead as well. The mission would have succeeded on a mountain of death. Had Nono been lead, likely similar circumstances with perhaps a lower body count.”

“Many would say, Carli’s route was much more difficult. Much more fraught with danger. Much more risky. Slow! However, unlike her loved ones, your loved ones are still alive.”

Chisei didn’t look at me.

“Carli?”

“Yes... sir?” I asked hesitating.

“Do you regret anything you’ve done here in Japan?” He looked directly into my eyes with a laser like intensity.

“Um...” My eyes shifted a bit, thinking. After that moment’s consideration, I answered. “No sir.”

He turned to Chisei. “Do you see the difference?”

A memory popped into my head, Johann Chu at my bedside. My voice saying: Don’t tell me what to do! 

I lowered my eyes again, examining the grain of the wood on the table, chewing my lip.

Chisei took a deep breath and let it out. “After this many years, it’s great to listen to your lectures again.” He said.

With that Anjou ended his lecture. “From this moment on, the control has been transferred to Cassell College. You have a good rest. I hope we can all see the sun rise tomorrow.”

“You’re using the space based kinetic weapon on the White King?”

“I no longer need to discuss the White King with you, Chisei. I know you wanted to stop it on your own, but you failed.’

I looked back up again.

Anjou gave me a hard glare, that was dampened by a smile that appeared after it. I was still not allowed to talk.

Chisei took the rejection in stride. He got up, slowly bowed to Anjou and left through the long corridor. I stood up and pursued him. “Chisei!”

He paused. 

“Please... be safe.”

He turned away, walking back to the helicopter.

I turned away to find Johann who had been waiting on the other side of the hall. I threw my arms around him.

“Are you alright?”

“Neither of us will face consequences.” I looked up at him. His expression was blank but his eyes were kind. I was happy to see him. I stretched up to kiss him and then flinched. “Ow.”

“The lounge is right over there. Go sit down. I’ll get you something for the pain.”

[militant-holy-knight]

Tom Kratman’s Caliphate Review: Disturbingly Prophetic

Its easy to forget that outright right-winged/conservative literature actually exists though admittedly it’s hard to find those with actual merit nor enjoy the same popularity as other types of works. I’ve came across one example written by retired US Army soldier Tom Kratman whom you may or may have not heard about if you are familiar with the Sad Puppies incident from 2015, where the Hugo Awards were biased against writers with conservative leanings. Kratman is someone who delights in offending left-wing sensibilities by his own admission and it’s reflected in his works that often deal with themes like fighting Muslim terrorists in sci-fi settings. One such of these works is Caliphate, written in 2008 and it struck me how... prescient this book was about the contemporary times and may well still be for the future.

The premise is as follows: Islamic terrorists seize nuclear weapons and use it to nuke three American cities during September 11 (as well as London and Israel). The American outrage against Muslims spirals into the election of a third-party populist candidate who promises vengeance against this attack, which he does by simultaneously nuking all Islamic countries in the world (and North Korea for good measure). This disaster leads to an massive exodus of Muslims into Europe who migrate there and thanks to their massive birthrates, they are able to hijack countries by voting for hardcore Islamist parties (as democracy must abide by the majority). They transform Europe - or at least Western Europe or the countries associated with the EU - into a Islamic empire, the titular Caliphate which functions like a hybrid of the modern day Islamist regime like the Taliban, ISIS and Boko Haram (public executions, lashings, women can’t be seen outside without being covered), and the Ottoman Empire (conscription and brainwashing of dhimmis into military service).

The story follows two parallel narratives: one in the distant future over a century after the terrorist attack where America has transformed into a totalitarian empire know as ISA (Imperial States of America) which is in cold war against the Caliphate in Europe and a second one set in “present days” when things are relatively normal but then we witness the events quickly fall apart. The first one follows John Hamilton, an disillusioned American soldier who is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate the Caliphate and investigate a trio of Canadian scientists who are working in a virus to destroy America. The second one follows Gabrielle, a liberal German woman that sees the collapse of Europe up close and tying them together is that she is the ancestor of one of the main characters. These narratives are told simultaneously and are always accompanied by critical quotes of Islam in their opening.

You’d think a work like this would be simply “AMERICA FUCK YEAH” and “FUCK ISLAM” over and over, but Kratman actually does a surprising amount of nuance. For one, it’s made clear that this America is really a dystopia and not an ideal place to live, reflected by its actions and Hamilton’s thoughts about it - at one point, US soldiers carry out ethnic cleansing against Moros in the Philippines and Hamilton is disturbed even after someone close to him died because of them. And while the book doesn’t hold back in bashing Islam, not all of them are portrayed as intolerant religious fanatics - there are genuinely good characters and even some grey ones with complexity added to them. For that matter, even non-Muslims can be villains too so it isn’t a black and white kind of work.

A surprising amount of world-building was put in place to make this world interesting: it’s established that the USA has occupied Canada and the Philippines, England has turned into an absolute monarchy, China has become some kind of transhuman empire, only a portion of Europe is actually under the Caliphate control with most of Eastern Europe under Russia control (because of course) and it’s heavily implied Israel has carried out a final solution against Palestinians. This can however can be a detriment because all these interesting paths are presented but never truly explored. We never see how the UK is under the absolute monarchy, nor this Russian tsardom and we only hear whispers about how bad China is in the distant future (which is implied to be worse than the Caliphate). The one that truly does get any exposure is the Neo-Boer State which was established in the southern half of the African continent by European refugees fleeing from Muslims in their own country and has a section of the story taking place there.

Besides Hamilton, there are other viewpoints in the story with the ones after his following German brothers Hans and Petra, two Christian siblings that live in the Caliphate and are taken apart by the devishrme-like system. He becomes a janissary soldier, while she becomes a servant in a Muslim household. Their stories are actually far more compelling than Hamilton since their struggles are more personal while Hamilton wouldn’t be out of place in a video game where he starred as it’s generic Space Marine protagonist. Hans remains a Christian despite his outward conversion to Islam and actively rebels against Caliphate culture which leads to him adopting a crusader identity, while Petra’s storyline explores the woes faced by women under a fundamentalist Islamic regime i.e. not unlike what those who endured Taliban or ISIS regime.

And make no mistake: the story never holds back on the graphic content. There is plenty of violence including impalement, crucifixions, sexual attacks and etc, which may be a turn off for many readers, and it doesn’t help they have to drive home how dystopian this setting is. It may come across as over-the-top as it made me wonder how plausible this Caliphate could even function (it’s established that the Caliphate can only function in a slave-based economy or taxing the dhimmis, which they can’t afford to abuse or exile since they’d collapse). The Arab Peninsula was once unified under Muhammad and his four successors who drove out all Christians, Jews and polytheists from their lands, but then fell into tribalism and stayed that way for centuries with only Mecca and Medina (the only relevant sites of Islam) being controlled by outsider Muslims.

I know I make the story sound unrealistic and fantastical, but the main takeway from this book I had was how prophetic the story was in regards to the current and political atmosphere. Keep in mind that what I am about to write was published in April 2008, in a completely different scenario than the one we live:

The insane American president who nukes the Islamic world is very Trumpesque and shares similar slogans (”WE WILL MAKE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS PAY”). He is basically what leftists believed Trump would actually do if he was elected like put Muslims in internment camps like the Japanese-Americans in WW2.

Great Britain actually breaks out from the European Union, except under much different circumstances: rather than voting themselves out like Brexit, they turn into an absolute monarchy once again and become completely isolationist.

The rise of an brutal, terrorist regime mirrors the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that rose to prominence during the Arab Spring in 2011.

A large-scale migration of Middle-Easterns into the West triggered by some kind of disaster, only it was an genocidal attack in the book rather than the consequences of a regional movement that led to the collapse of MENA states with the Arab Spring.

The “present day” narrative also presents scenarios no different than the current reality of Europe with no-go zones where migrants of Muslim background are involved in criminal activity and target the native population as seen in France, Germany and Sweden.

Islamists infiltrating democratic institutions in order to impose their values as seen with many neighbors in Belgium and the Netherlands where Muslims are the majority to the native population.

Russia expanding their control over Eastern Europe mirroring their foreign policy to consolidate their regional superpower status.

China being up to no good with technology.

And of course a deadly virus engineered to destroy political rivals, though this time by rogue scientists working for Muslim terrorists rather than China.

It’s possible that some of Kratman wrote was already true of his time which served as basis for the present day narrative. But reality was much different back then: Obama was yet to become President and Bush was still in office (and nobody had an idea how the former would turn out), China was less despotic then than it’s now under Xi Jinping, the Russo-Georgian War was still to take place and migration to the West was relatively low compared to after the 2015′s refugee crisis, the UKIP was considered a fringe party and the UK leaving the European Union was a distant dream. Nobody was talking about no-go zones, but then again the Internet wasn’t as big back then as it’s now. Rather than writing about the modern political atmosphere of his time, Kratman envisioned a possible future which he predicted fairly closely and at the same time, it spoke about issues that are relevant to anyone who isn’t afraid to speak about the problems regarding Islamic ideology or integration of migrants into their host countries.

What depressed me the most about the book is that it’s dystopian reality may be our own future. It’s an common concern for conservatives and right-wingers that Muslims become a majority in the West - a boast that they never cease making - soon which might lead to an eventual clash of civilizations. A quarter of Belgium might be Islamic and this is possible because of enabling from leftist politicians that flirt with radicals for convenience and consider the values they promote like women and LGBT rights to be an acceptable sacrifice to overthrow conservative capitalism. This kind of behavior is actually acknowledged and mocked by Kratman, as Gabrielle is an radical SJW that hates Western conservatives more than Islamists to the point this leads to the breakdown with her relationship with an Egyptian migrant that converts to Christianity and ends up moving to the USA before becoming a authoritarian regime.

The book presents Islam’s conquest of Europe as a complete surrender without a fight - the migrants just breed like rats and vote for Islamist parties to hijack the government through legitimate means and one American ambassador chides Gabrielle and her people for abandoning their own values and allowing this to happen. This probably speaks a lot to the more cynical among us who see our governments bending over to outsiders over their own people and see where it might be headed. Personally I don’t believe a caliphate is where the future is headed, as it provides no real attractive alternative that the West has presented, but it certainly won’t stop some people from trying and there will be certainly a fight.

Are we really going have to look forward for an revived Ottoman Empire in the heartland of Europe where Christian boys are whipped into slave-soldiers, girls are sold to harems like cheap prostitutes and non-Muslims live like second class citizens being forced to pay outrageous, humiliating taxes like the jizya? Hopefully not, but the possibility of terrorists acquiring nukes is an always constant one, and with the Iranian nuclear program will push it’s neighbors to do the same as form of deterrence if they feel threatened. Knowing how fragile Muslims states are and that if those nukes fell into the wrong hands, the events of the book could be precipitated but luckily for us, nuclear armament is expensive and takes a lot of work which not even the wealthiest countries like Saudi Arabia can afford to develop it themselves, let alone the poorest ones like Syria and Iraq so that might not be a reality just now.

Do I recommend this book? The world is very interesting, it’s actually a bit more complex and nuanced as both sides don’t come off as “bright” (albeit the Caliphate is presented as worse). If you want to see a book that talks about issues you find relevant like immigration and terrorism from a conservative perspective, this is a must-read. The main protagonist can be very dull whereas the secondary protagonists are more compelling - it depends on how much you like military heroes written by an American veteran I guess. While the ending to the main story was satisfying on itself (the present day ends on a sad foregone conclusion), it sets up a sequel with many plot threads going unresolved. It’s disappointing to me since this is a standalone book and Kratman hasn’t indicated any plans on writing a follow-up, though if he did it now I am sure he would have done so without a completely different perspective than the one he has in 2008 and he would have certainly got more material to work with. 

P.S. This book has a Skanderbeg reference, so it’s an instant win for me.

[inmyownlittlecorner5]

Moonlight Chapter 5: The Morning After

A fanfic Novel by la-topolina

Rated for Mature Audiences

Warnings: Language, Violence, Sexual Content

Chapter 5/26

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Severus felt the late morning sun on his face as he gradually swam back to consciousness. The delectable memories of the night before swirled through his lucid dreaming and he dreaded to open his eyes. He knew that if he did he would be back in his wretched house at Spinner’s End, looking up at the pesky water mark that he could never quite remove from the ceiling of his bedroom. He kept his eyes stubbornly closed, trying to continue his dreaming, but he was awake enough now that that was impossible. He ran his hands experimentally over the bed and, while he was alone in it, he realized that the sheets were smoother and finer than his sheets at home. The bed was softer and smelled faintly of lavender. He opened his eyes and a smile spread over his lips as he saw Miranda’s airy bedroom rather than his own gloomy chamber. 

He heard a pleasant clatter of pans and dishes through the closed door and smelled a mixture of tea, coffee, and sausage. He stretched languidly and got up to dress. He took his time doing up the buttons on the front of his frock coat and idly studied the room as he did. The bed stood under the window that was letting in the sunlight. There was a bookshelf on one wall filled with novels and poetry and a handsomely carved cherrywood armoire standing on another. The final wall was covered with children’s drawings inscribed with the names of the various artists and dedicated to ‘Auntie.’ A framed piece of needlework with the inscription ‘From Mama’ hung in the middle of this gallery. The embroidery was a nicely executed border of roses surrounding a piece of Latin prose: ‘Nisi Dominus ædificaverit donum, in vanum laboraverunt qui ædificant eam.’ He scoffed at the sentiment and turned to the mirror hanging on the back of the door. His hair was a bit tangled from the previous evening’s exertions and he did what he could to neaten it. He turned and considered the bed for a moment. The twisted sheets both pleased him with their implications and irritated him with their disorder. He was toying with the idea of returning to the bed rather promptly following breakfast, but he decided it would be more entertaining to scramble the linens again rather than to leave it thus. He flicked his wand and the bed made itself up neat as a pin. Satisfied, he emerged from the bedroom to find his partner in crime. Miranda was standing by the stove, flipping omelettes with the efficiency of a short-order cook. She wore a long blue sheath dress and her feet were bare. Her hair flowed over her back, restrained by a copper colored scarf as she cooked. He approached her and pulled aside the curtain of her hair to drop his lips onto the back of her neck. She made a sound strikingly similar to a purr but said, “I’m afraid I’ll have to eat if you’re hoping for another round. For some reason, I forgot to have dinner last night. I can’t imagine why.” She smiled impishly over her shoulder at him. “I suppose I can overlook such weakness this once,” he replied smoothly, returning her smile.

She handed him a plate of omelette and sausage and they convened at the table which was already set with toast, butter, marmalade, tea, coffee, and The Daily Prophet. They ate and read in companionable silence and, if she spent much of the meal running her bare foot up his leg, he certainly wasn’t one to complain about it. When they had demolished the food and were loitering over coffee and tea, a bell over her desk started ringing loudly.

She glanced up from her half of the paper and gave the bell an annoyed look. “I’m going to have to answer that,” she said. “It’s my father trying to check in and he’ll think I’m dead if I don’t talk to him. It’s been a few days since I gave report and I don’t want him to send someone looking for me.” She smiled at him and went on, “Would you mind terribly pretending you don’t exist for the next few minutes?” “Are you saying that you’re ashamed to have your father know that I’ve stolen your virtue?” he teased. She laughed and kissed his cheek lightly. “I knew you’d understand.” She went to the desk and took a small mirror out of one of the drawers, then she headed into the potions closet. He returned to the paper but, as the closed door did not completely muffle the sound, he could not help overhearing her conversation. “How are the Royals doing, Papa?” she was saying. “I can’t get a paper or anything on the radio about them over here.”

There was a whistle of disapproval and a deep male voice replied, “Not good, pixie, not good. The Yanks pummeled them last night. They’ve been on a losing streak for a while now. They don’t get their act together soon, they can forget about the playoffs.” “Hmmm, maybe I’m glad I can’t witness it then.” “I sure wish I couldn’t. Did you finish the paperwork on the Islington case?” “Yes Papa, and I swear they make it more complicated every time I do. I don’t even want to think about what I’m going to have to go through after the next case.” “Better you than me. It looks like you’ve got a lot of work rolling in over there. Do you want to stay?” “I think so. I have enough to keep me busy through the first quarter of next year at least. Honestly, I wonder if there’s something stirring things up. That vampire was harder to catch than he should have been and I usually don’t have a waiting list this long. The Minister of Magic himself approached me yesterday and wants to meet about something.” “That’s my girl, hitting the big time. You behave when you meet with him, do you hear me? Don’t be telling your dirty jokes just to act cute.” “Papa, I do know how to behave when I want to. But where do you think I got my material in the first place?” “Don’t go blaming me for things that are my fault. Watch your back. I’ll talk to you soon.” “I won’t, and I will. Love to Mama and the rest.” She came back into the room and replaced the mirror in its drawer, but she was frowning a bit, as though she were pondering something. She returned to her seat at the table and asked, “You don’t happen to know of anything that might be stirring up a load of Dark Magic over here, do you?” It was an innocent question, and if she had asked it of another wizard, he would have shrugged and shook his head. However, Severus was unfortunately very aware of who was behind the rise in Dark Magic in England at the moment. He kept his eyes on the paper and his expression blank. “No.” “It is strange, though. Usually there are only a few cases in a given year in England. And the darker creatures that I’ve been rounding up are stronger than I would usually expect. There must be something egging them on.” She sipped her coffee and went on, half to herself, “I’ll have to do some digging. Who’s that Headmaster at your school? Albus Dumbledore, isn’t it? Do you think he’d have time to meet with me? I imagine if anyone had his thumb on the pulse of magic in Britain he would.” “Albus Dumbledore is a very busy man.” He stared unseeing at the paper, his mind starting to go down an unpleasant path.

“Hmmmm. I seem to remember some incident in the fourteenth century where St. Patrick’s Purgatory at Lough Derg opened a bit wider than usual and all sorts of things got out. I wonder…” Her voice trailed off and she wandered over to the bookshelf, scanning the titles. Eventually she picked out an enormous leather bound tome and scooted some dishes over so that she could open it on the table. She started leafing through the aging pages, completely unaware that Severus’s expression was darkening. This had been a mistake. He was a thirty-five year old wizard, and one would think that he could enjoy the favors of a willing female without any terrible consequences. However, he was Severus Snape and nothing good ever happened to him. He was embroiled in a plot to bring down the Dark Lord. He spent his days teaching the ungrateful child of his murdered love and her wretched husband, and his nights playing the role of a faithful Death Eater. One false move, one unguarded thought could bring instant, painful death to himself and any number of other people. And really, how much did he know about Miranda Rose anyway? Who was to say that she wasn’t some sort of trap set for him? Merlin, he hated his life. He sighed and decided it was best to end it quickly. He hoped that she wouldn’t cry or do whatever embarrassing thing women did when their lovers jilted them. He set down the paper and said in a cool voice, “I think it is time I were leaving.” She closed the book and looked up at him with a smile. “You don’t have to leave. I can do this later.” He stood slowly and summoned a bland, cold expression. “I don’t think you understand, Miss Rose. This was a mistake that will not be repeated.” She arched an elegant eyebrow at him. “Oh?” “You’ve been a charming diversion, but I’m afraid I simply do not have time for any more such foolishness.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her bare feet on the table. The skirt of her dress slid up her legs, exposing them to the thigh. She took out a cigarette and lit it, her face a mask of amusement. She blew out a long line of smoke and murmured, “Goodness me. The dreaded morning after attack of scruples. I’m disappointed in you, professor. I had thought your moral code sufficiently flexible not to be bothered by them. What a shame.” Her mocking tone angered him in a way tears would not have done. He could not help trying to take her down a peg and said silkily, “Perhaps my moral code is not the problem. Perhaps I was simply dissatisfied with your performance.” She smiled nastily at him. “Please. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a pathetic display of eagerness and gratitude as you provided last night. How long had it been? A year? Five years? Ten?” “What a disgustingly vulgar trollop you are,” he sneered. “Sticks and stones, professor, sticks and stones.” She swung her pretty legs off of the table and sashayed to the door. When she reached it, she opened it gracefully. “This is a door. Feel free to use it.” “I sincerely hope that your next mark separates your obscene head from your indecent body,” he snapped as he stalked out of the cabin. “From your mouth to God’s ears,” she returned. “Have a nice life.” She slammed the door after him and angrily started cleaning the breakfast mess. She scrubbed the dishes without magic in order to better vent her anger on them. What the fuck was wrong with him? He’d seemed perfectly fine and even rather amorous this morning. Then he’d suddenly turned cold and nasty for no apparent reason. And really, even if he hadn’t been completely thrilled with their encounter, there was no call to be an ass about it. Hadn’t he ever heard of a one night stand? She finished the dishes and stalked into her bedroom to air the bed clothes. It was her habit to do this most days, and she definitely wanted to do so today. She had no desire to sleep on sheets that smelled like that cold fish of an Englishman. She jerked open the bedroom door and stopped short. He’d made the bed. Men never thought to make the bed. She sighed and opened the window, letting in the breeze off the Channel. She flicked her wand at the bed and the linens pulled themselves backwards and hung on an unseen clothesline, fluttering gently in the wind. She sat down and stared out the window without really noticing anything. It had been a lovely night. She thought she had hit rather close to the mark with the gist of her insult this morning, but there had been nothing pathetic about him. They had both been a bit awkward and sloppy at first, but they had soon managed to remember how everything worked. Indeed, he had seemed so intoxicated by the heady drug of rendering one’s partner helpless with pleasure that she had half wondered if he had ever experienced it before. She felt a bit sorry now for being quite so cutting with her tongue, but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be seeing him again and that was that. She supposed she really should get to work. There was research to be done and potions to brew and bullets to make. She got up, intending to be virtuous and start with the potions—her least favorite—but a particularly delicious waft of sea air blew in through her window. She changed her mind and went to pack her leather messenger bag instead. Bathing suit, towel, sun hat, novel. She braided her hair, put on her sandals, and headed down the the village. A little sun bathing and a swim in the Channel would be just the thing. She could be virtuous tomorrow.

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[oldtumblhurgoyf]

Leviathan

had some stuff conkin around the old noodle lately (read, the past 2+ years) and I’ve never bothered to write any of it cuz it’s all a mess so I’m just gonna kind of stream it below and see if some pieces start to fit better

there’s a woman who is a respectable vintner and rubs shoulders with the upper class and all that. she’s a low aristocrat living in a monarchy and while she’s doing alright for herself, especially compared to the commoners, she dreams of more

like she literally has dreams that are prophetic in nature. she doesn’t know how or why, but she just knows. if she acts on them they can become real. however she is cognizant of the fact that her husband doesn’t appear in any of these dreams and she’s not super sure why

one day the king is coming to visit the area and he’s heard good things about her wines and wants to try them. now she’s had lots of time to prepare for this and is super ready. in fact, she and her husband have planned an elaborate trick to rob the king’s treasury and get away with it

it’s a pretty well known fact that wine snobs would rather drink swill but go along with the popular opinion that it’s incredibly fine wine than buck that opinion to voice distaste and be lampooned as not actually knowing a damned thing about wine. this is more true if everybody knows the price of the bottle.

these two are gonna use that (and this woman’s background in forgery--did I mention she lied and cheated her way up into the aristocracy from peasantry? her husband knows and is pretty cool with it, but they both kept that secret so the two could marry without his family refusing to accept it) anyway these two are gonna use that to produce a very old and highly esteemed and sought after vintage--fake of course. it’s worth a TON and they’re going to offer to let the king buy it from them. there is a fine and old wine in the bottle, and the things so rare, nobody actually knows what the original vintage tastes like, much less after all this time. it’s a perfect crime

of course, something goes wrong. i’m not sure what yet, but they get found out. i’m imagining this elaborate dinner party with the king and his entourage (the whole court isn’t traveling with him, but lots of people are so it’s a hefty crowd) which turns into an impromptu trial when the forgery is somehow found out

now the thing here is, in my mind this is playing out as the two can both deny it and there isn’t hard proof to bring against them (this is a very good forgery, she excels at what she does). maybe in my protagonist’s head she is thinking this and then it comes down to the king’s temperament--does he side with the adviser who insists it’s a fake and punish them, or side with them against his adviser?

but her husband caves under the immense pressure of lying in the face of the king. he wasn’t born into this sort of life style, he just sort of married into it and then the worst he had to do was show his parents the well-forged documents of heredity or whatever proving that his bride-to-be was a distant cousin or some such of some foreign count. he’s never been in this sort of situation and it all just kind of comes up, maybe isn’t even entirely malicious on his part but is the absolute worst thing he could do in this situation

it cuts her so deep, to be betrayed by the man she loves like this. and the sentence for their crime, which in this monarchy is a form of treason, is death. he’s condemned them both... but despite this she can’t stand it and admits before them all her skill at forgery and how it was her idea and her work and here she claims that her husband was unaware of it, that she kept him out of it as well and thus only she should be punished

...except the adviser, who is persnickety and a stickler for details, recalls some small comment or happenstance earlier in the evening which somehow betrays that the husband must have been in on things. he knew and thus despite his wife’s noble attempt at self sacrifice, they must both suffer the punishment

which brings us to this king having a perhaps distorted sense of honor and justice and all that. he reads the husband as a sniveling coward who would sell out his wife to save his own skin (again, maybe that was the case, maybe not) and as such must suffer the fate of a coward (perhaps here the king even confirms that prior to his admission the king felt there was not enough evidence to condemn them and would have simply refused them payment under suspicion). as such it is better the husband be executed rather than “live life as a coward and die a thousand times a day” or some nonsensical line about honor and courage like that. dude’s murdered on the spot, in front of his wife and all. there are fucking cheers because people are like that--they just witnessed god’s divine judgment manifest before their eyes and had no idea dinner would come with such a great show today

he turns to the wife, life destroyed by her husband’s betrayal and subsequent death. she’s numb and traumatized and would welcome the same fate in this moment. the king has other plans. he notes her courage and gumption, if misplaced. he says in a different time, under different circumstances, she could perhaps have made a fine knight or some such, so determined is she and willing to face god and fate unblinking. he sentences her to meet her fate head on, in exile, condemning her to the Tentacles.

that’s part one

now what the fuck are the Tentacles, you ask?

Exogensis by Mac Rebisz

so imagine those things aren’t giant jellyfish but instead giant squid. like, planet-sized squid. the world my story takes place on is one of those squid and the planet is called Leviathan

the head/body of the squid is generally safe and habitable, like just imagine Earth more or less. but those tentacles are a mixed bag of hell. overall they retain atmosphere though it’s thinner and less stable so some areas (and without much rhyme or reason) you can asphyxiate or be exposed unknowingly to dangerous levels of radiation (not that anyone in this setting knows what radiation is and they only barely understand the atmosphere thing--they just know that the Tentacles are hell on Leviathan)

but even more dangerous is the fact that these things are just kind of floating out in space, trailing thousands of miles behind the head/body, and every so often they bang into each other. the appendages themselves can take this kind of beating, but anything on the surface--plants, animals, small towns that have popped up in the last couple of decades to a century since the last tentacle-on-tentacle bashing--is obliterated

life on the Tentacles is harsh and dangerous. for someone who has lived her whole life on Leviathan-proper, exile to the Tentacles is likely a death sentence

so part two picks up here and this is where things get really fuzzy for me. i’m not sure what the trajectory of this story is at this point but big picture here are some things i think i know about the world

Leviathan is one of many planets like this--squid shaped in orbit around a star. but there are no other planets immediately around like it. everything else orbiting this star is a spherical planet. this is because Leviathan is part of an ancient exo-planet colonizing entity. iunno if it’s a “man made” intergalactic space ship of sorts or alien species, but this thing exists to travel the universe, find habitable planets, then jettison a tentacle onto that planet before taking off to a new solar system in search of more planets to cultivate

the tentacle grows on that planet into a new leviathan. which then sets out in search of more hospitable planets to propagate the species

i’m not super sure why or how at the moment, but the surface life of these leviathans--plants, animals, people, all of it--is an intricate and indispensable part of this procreation process. which to me points toward it being an ancient alien seed ship, but i’m more intrigued by the idea of some sort of grand and natural symbiotic relationship where this cosmic entity needs the little bits living impossibly short lives on its surface as much as they need it

my heroine likely finds her way to one of these tentacles as it’s about to shoot off toward a habitable planet. i think she might be an Eve figure? like maybe the people are aware something is about to happen with this tentacle so they are making a mass exodus to save themselves but she’s able to find some sort of deep cave with something akin to stasis capsules and convinces these people they need to hop in ‘em. maybe it’s even just a “hey, we definitely aren’t getting away from this in time, death is certain, so let’s try this and hope against everything we know that a miracle happens”

and of course it does. they wake up to a lush new world. maybe even the Leviathan they came from can still be seen in the distance (though they can tell it’s no longer in orbit, it’s further from the sun and seemingly escaping this solar system--how much time has passed? everyone they may have known, that king that had condemned her and even his entire kingdom, is surely gone). she’s continued to dream in this stasis. she’s here to lead these people and try to better establish a history of where they came from and what these leviathans are, what their Leviathan will seek to do

anyway we get to see her working to establish a new society while also still dealing with the events of her past, which still feel very recent to her. i see the dinner with the king, her exile, and the tentacle jettison all taking place in perhaps two month’s time. then she’s in stasis and wakes up perhaps millions of years later feeling like she just lost her husband two months ago. how do you navigate that intense personal experience with the knowledge of how your actions might effect a global and even intergalactic scale

[livmoose]

Salomania: paradigmatic archetype shift

The narrative of Salome is widely known today: the princess of Judea dances to please her stepfather and asks in return for the head of John the Baptist served on a [silver] platter. But the understanding of underlying implications by modern audiences do not correspond to the initial story.

Henri Regnault ‘Salome’, oil on canvas, 1870

In the Bible, the dancing daughter is a twelve-year-old girl without a name. Not only that, but she is not even the hero (or rather the antihero) of the story; her mother, Herodias is.

Obviously, the character did a 180 throughout the years. Salome acquired her name, her sexual awakening, and even half a dozen years to fit the ideological framework of ever changing Christian mythology. A fascinating change.

After the year-long persistence of my friend, I finally got to reading Wilde’s ‘Salome’ followed by our discussion of the play. What piqued my interest was the difference of how each of us perceived the title character: I saw her as a conscientious seductress but my friend argued she was an innocent 14-year-old caught in the web of her desires. It turned out, neither of us was wrong.

Salome’s character is terrifyingly charming, ambiguous and open to interpretations. Wilde wrote her within the dual framework of a virgin whore (a patriarchal dream). In the play, she is on many occasions compared to the moon, the duplicitous symbol on its own. It’s beautifully chaste and divinely pure - thus the connection to virgin goddess:

[Salome] The moon is cold and chaste. I am sure she is a virgin, she has a virgin's beauty. Yes, she is a virgin. She has never defiled herself. She has never abandoned herself to men, like the other goddesses.

Oscar Wilde ‘Salome’

But it is also deceptive and threatening, undoubtedly pointing at its explicit sexuality:

[Herod] The moon has a strange look to-night. Has she not a strange look? She is like a mad woman, a mad woman who is seeking everywhere for lovers. She is naked too. She is quite naked. The clouds are seeking to clothe her nakedness, but she will not let them. She shows herself naked in the sky.

Oscar Wilde ‘Salome’

The moon symbolism is pervasive in the story, appearing in three states and three colors, white, red and black. Each of these leads to the interpretations of Salome as a goddess manifestation:

virgin: Artemis or Cybele who refused to lose their virginity - chaste and pure (white) moon;

whore: Aphrodite/Astarte/Ishtar in charge of love and sex - passionate and seductive (red) moon;

death: mysterious and scary Hecate - malignant dark moon (covered by clouds).

Though this is not a popular interpretation, I still like how flowing it is, especially given that each of the goddesses named has her own relation to the moon.

There’s a curious detail that empowers such a viewpoint. Salome’s dance as devised by Wilde is obviously a striptease - the seven veils that are dropped one by one. He probably developed this idea from one of the contemporary poets:

She freed and floated on the air her arms Above dim veils that hid her bosom’s charms... The veils fell round her like thin coiling mists Shot through by topaz suns and amethysts.

Arthur O’Shaughnessy ‘The Daughter of Herodias’

Striptease, however, was not a new concept (although I like toying with the idea Wilde, the flaming homosexual came up with the ultimate entertainment of a heterosexual man). The goddess Ishtar is known to have dropped her robes and jewels one by one seven times before every gate of the underworld when she was searching for her husband Tammuz. Seems like Wilde went heavy on symbolism here.

Furthermore, there’s a comparison between Herodias and Cybele that (given the similarities between Salome and her mother I’ll be addressing later) finely plays into the whole goddess thing:

Herodias appeared, her coiffure crowned with an Assyrian mitre, which was held in place by a band passing under the chin. Her dark hair fell in ringlets over a scarlet peplum with slashed sleeves. On either side of the door through which one stepped into the gallery, stood a huge stone monster, like those of Atrides; and as Herodias appeared between them, she looked like Cybele supported by her lions. In her hands she carried a patera, a shallow vessel of silver used by the Romans in pouring libations.

Gustave Flaubert ‘Herodias’

Foreshadowing in this short story is nothing but gorgeous.

Biblical story

At the beginning, there was a word. Not a single word - but the mention of Salome in the Hebrew Bible is still scarce:

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Matthew 14:6-11

The general outline of the story is the same: the girl dances before Herod and asks for John’s head on a platter. But the focus is completely different, the main player here is Herodias. The girl doesn’t yet have a name - that will be a later development, when, in one of the texts not talking about John the Baptist’s demise, the name of Herodias’s daughter is identified as Salome.

Mark gives a similar account with much the same details:

And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.’ And he swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!’ Then she went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ And Herodias answered, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’

Mark 6:22-24

Nothing in these accounts indicates the sexual dimension of the girl’s character. That changes in the Middle Ages.

Medieval interpretations

Disclaimer: this is where I enter the realm of guesses and speculations. Counter-arguments accepted.

As the Roman Empire fell and before the Renaissance struck, Christianity had its rule indisputable and undeniable. Establishing power over the populace through social events such as Crusades and subjugation of various functional institutions, the young religion rapidly developed its mythology. As part of its strategy of executing control, different groups of population were oppressed (everyone who was not a white male, basically), women among of them.

This is what I assume might have happened to Salome’s narrative: at some point, dance became associated with pagan cults and, as such, not exactly prohibited but condemned and looked down upon along the lines of ‘legs are given to us by God to walk the path of piety not to dance’. As a result, Salome’s dance suffered a blow that changed the character substantially. Here is the sophist argumentation behind the shift:

It is hard to imagine that Herod was so impressed by her footwork or enamored of her execution of dance moves. This dance had as its object the same as most dances - the arousal of sexual desires.

Jacob Hudgins ‘Expository Files 15:5’

The bias behind the argument is immensely, deliciously enjoyable. Besides, it flows quite naturally into the modernist and decadent interpretations of Salome’s story.

There is also a feminist spectrum for this narrative shift. I’m not particularly fond of it as it is tainted with the radical context. Still, it is a viable argument:

Let us be careful of the influence women can have over men.

Jacob Hudgins ‘Expository Files 15:5’

The author also hilariously binds the story of Samson into this. After Delilah tricked him twice already, Samson still trusted her with the secret of another of his weaknesses because of the ‘foolish reasoning of the man focused on fulfilling sexual desires rather than thinking straight’.

In order to exert control over women, they were reduced to two archetypes: a chaste maiden (embodied by none else but Virgin Mary) and a whore (naturally empowered by God’s antagonist and manifested through various characters, especially Jezebel).

As Salome’s dance ended with John the Baptist’s beheading, she could not be viewed as a virtuous character. Instead, she was merged with the vicious attributes of her mother, Herodias, the true villain of the story. This added the sexualized aspect to her dance, whether Salome seduced her stepfather at the direction of Herodias (earlier explanations) or on her own accord (later interpretations).

In favor of this argument is the fact that both Herodias and Salome at some point were associated with Jezebel:

‘Ah! Is it thou, Jezebel? Thou hast captured thy lord’s heart with the tinkling of thy feet.’

Gustave Flaubert ‘Herodias’

Jezebel is the figure of the Hebrew Bible so vile and despised that she became the powerful archetype in itself and later migrated to the New World as part of the ideological framework of slavery. She was associated with false prophets and, through her use of cosmetics, with ‘painted women’ (aka prostitutes). Notably, according to Flaubert, Herod (prior to being introduced to Salome) was seduced by Herodias in a similar manner - an argument in favor of the merging of the two characters.

So, at this point, Salome already possesses her name and the sexual aspect that was nowhere to be seen in the earliest accounts. Modernist view further enriches her character and adds the aspect of control that Salome lacked.

Decadence and character development

In XIX century, Salome crosses another threshold and that’s when the fun begins.

At first, she is still the instrument of her mother. In Flaubert’s short story, Salome is nurtured with quite the demonic intention of seducing Herod:

The dancer was Salome, the daughter of Herodias, who for many months her mother had caused to be instructed in dancing, and other arts of pleasing, with the sole idea of bringing her to Machaerus and presenting her to the tetrarch, so that he should fall in love with her fresh young beauty and feminine wiles. The plan had proved successful, it seemed; he was evidently fascinated, and Herodias felt that at last she was sure of retaining her power over him!

Gustave Flaubert ‘Herodias’

Salome obviously dances an overtly sexual dance, and she knows what she’s doing as the desire of the spectators does not escape her; on the contrary, she enjoys it:

Her round white arms seemed ever beckoning and striving to entice to her side some youth who was fleeing from her allurements. She appeared to pursue him, with movements light as a butterfly.

[...]

Her arms, her feet, her clothing even, seemed to emit streams of magnetism, that set the spectators’ blood on fire.

Gustave Flaubert ‘Herodias’

She is also trusted with carrying out the instructions given to her prior. It seems like Salome knows what Herodias wants from her and has no problem delivering it - however, it still is not her own intention:

[...] she leaned over, smiled upon the tetrarch, and, with an air of almost childlike naivete, pronounced these words:

“I ask my lord to give me, placed upon a charger, the head of—” She hesitated, as if not certain of the name; then said: “The head of Iaokanann!”

Gustave Flaubert ‘Herodias’

With this, the next step is obvious. Transforming from an innocent, even victimized pre-teen girl into an experienced seductress, the possibility of conscious effort has the ability to introduce Salome as the new villain of the story.

Gustave Moreau ‘Salome and the Apparition of the Baptist's Head’, watercolor, 1876

No longer was she merely the dancing-girl who extorts a cry of lust and concupiscence from an old man by the lascivious contortions of her body; who breaks the will, masters the mind of a King by the spectacle of her quivering bosoms, heaving belly and tossing thighs; she was now revealed in a sense as the symbolic incarnation of world-old Vice, the goddess of immortal Hysteria, the Curse of Beauty supreme above all other beauties by the cataleptic spasm that stirs her flesh and steels her muscles, – a monstrous Beast of the Apocalypse, indifferent, irresponsible, insensible, poisoning.

Joris-Karl Huysmans ‘À rebours’

This was the citation that got me digging deeper into the whole Salome story.

Driven by the hype around the subject inspired by the artistic tradition from Renaissance to Enlightenment, Oscar Wilde takes his turn in elaborating Salome’s character, taking the narrative even further. He gifts Salome with depth by applying decadent makeup to her character. Previously being merely a pawn to Herodias, ordered or manipulated into seducing Herod and demanding the prophet’s head, Salome obtains her own voice. Through giving her power of manipulation, Wilde sculpts her into a contemporary icon of femme fatale.

Wilde turns [Salome's] beauty from an object of inspiration to an object of horror.

Carmen Trammell Skaggs ‘Modernity’s Revision of the Dancing Daughter: The Salome Narrative of Wilde and Strauss’ 

Still, it is arguably relevant to regard his Salome as a spoiled child, a princess who knows no boundaries to her desires and cares little for the price of human life (hence her negligence toward Narraboth, the Young Syrian who kills himself before her eyes, devastated by her interest in Jokanaan and ignoring his advances).

Despite this naivety that stems from Salome’s youth and royal status, she is a figure of impending doom, in accordance to the ambiguity of the moon as her primary symbol in the play. After fascinating Herod with her beauty and seducing him into getting what she desired - Jokanaan’s head and getting a forbidden kiss from it, she scares the tetrarch to the point where he orders to ‘kill that woman’.

Aubrey Beardsley ‘The Climax’, pen and ink drawing, 1893

The motive of Salome’s gruesome death is not unique to Wilde. Cavafy takes a different approach to the character’s development, even though he still focuses the narrative around her unrequited love:

Upon a golden charger Salome bears     the head of John the Baptist     to the young Greek sophist who recoils from her love, indifferent

The young man quips, “Salome, your own     head is what I wanted them to bring me.”     This is what he says, jokingly. And her slave came running on the morrow

holding aloft the head of the Beloved,     its tresses blond, upon a golden plate.     But all his eagerness of yesterday the sophist had forgotten as he studied.

He sees the dripping blood and is disgusted.     He orders this bloodied thing to     be taken from him, and he continues his reading of the dialogues of Plato.

Constantine Cavafy ‘Salome’

This poem lends yet another dimension to Salome’s character, paralleling the insanity that Wilde’s play establishes. For decadent Salome, her own death is nothing if it serves the purpose of fulfilling her desire.

Notably, Wilde adds another magnificent detail that further enhances the narrative and serves as the marker that, starting from his play, modern audiences viewed this Biblical story through the lens of his ingenuity: the Dance of the Seven Veils. This little particularity that is not commented on in the play whatsoever is arguably the most recognizable element of the narrative today (Richard Strauss’s opera of the same name, strongly inspired by Wilde’s play, is famous specifically for this dance). Even the truncated prophet and his head on a silver platter is not as unique - Titian’s ‘Salome’, for example, is still sometimes viewed as Judith with the head of Holofernes.

Tiziano Vecellio ‘Salome’, oil on canvas, circa 1515

Modern interpretations

Salome is still as popular today as ever. Naturally, the story migrated to the screens, and there are a few notable screen versions (one of them being 2013 staging by Al Pacino; Jessica Chastain is absolutely terrifying as Salome, it’s really worth watching).

But the one that is actually really different and displays the character in response to the time context is 1953 film with Rita Hayworth.

Rita Hayworth as a title character in ‘Salome’, 1953

The film is truly ridiculous. Hayworth’s Salome is virtuous ad nauseam, the embodiment of the contemporary female ideal. She is beautiful - all men have their heads turned as soon as she enters the room. She is strong-willed when she tries to seduce the tetrarch to save Jokanaan. She defies her mother, refuses to obey Herod and actually turns to Christianity by the end of the movie. This is the most Out Of Character Salome to imagine: she is neither the little girl, an instrument of her mother’s political game, nor is she the experienced seductress pursuing her voluptuous desires. (By comparison, in 1961 production ‘King of Kings’, Salome - amusingly portrayed by 17-year-old Brigid Bazlen - is completely villainous with not a word trying to redeem her.) But, undoubtedly, she is the product of her time, which probably demonstrates the major feature of this and any other popular character: adaptability.

This film also starts the tendency of establishing political relevance of Salome. Herodias pursues John the Baptist because he defiles her - but her reasoning is to secure the throne to Salome. Similarly, in most recent interpretations of Wilde’s play, political commentary is not uncommon. According to these, Salome seduces Herod not only to get the head of Jokanaan, but also to get closer to the throne. To reinforce the idea, the focus of Salome while she dances seems to shift from pleasing Herod and his guests to the tetrarch alone - an intimate and subtly calculated move of a fine manipulator. To be honest, I personally still enjoy the dimension of Salome deep in the pit of her insanity more.

Modern poetry also has its take on the story. The focus is more or less dependent on a feminist point of view, with a touch of women empowerment achieved through exacting revenge on men who abused them:

Women are told to keep their legs shut. Women are told to keep their mouths shut. Some women are kept silent for so long, They become experts in the silent theft of power. The fifth veil has dropped.

Clementine von Radics ‘Salome Redux’

And talking about interpretations and weird turns they take. Skaggs discusses in her essay the possible homosexual subtext of Wilde's play. She specifically points to one instance in the play when Salome promises Narraboth a flower, a signal of homosexuality in Wilde’s time. Skaggs and other critics argue that Salome’s sexuality is presented as typically masculine, which makes the relationship between her and the Young Syrian border on homoerotic.

It's a big thing in representing Salome up to the point of the part being played by a male actor in recent stagings. Case and point: ‘Salomé’ by Royal Shakespeare Company. And then there’s Ken Russell’s 1988 film ‘Salome’s Last Dance’. The dance itself is not dropping 7 veils precisely, but is surely is unveiling - with a surprising twist. My jaw certainly dropped. Although I think this interpretation is going a bit overboard, Wilde would have ironically appreciated the critical effort. 

Conclusion

Salome’s narrative is nearly paradigmatic as it is exemplary of adaptability of many stories and characters that suffered similar changes through the ages (think Arthur, Robin Hood, and don’t even get me started on ‘The Iliad’). It is not a bad thing (oh no, just look at the beauty of Wilde’s ‘Salome’, which would not be possible without the initial shift). But it does show how myths intertwine with human psyche, how we use them to intensify the ideas and deliver them to our audiences, and how these myths reflect the contemporary questions people ask and values we seek. It’s an infinitely glorious thing, and I am deeply fascinated by it.

Bonus

Salome today is an undeniably tragic character. But there’s also this.