#he was a child who was born into so much drama and politics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

akane-kurokawa · 4 months

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“Does Oshi no Ko NEED the reincarnation aspect to work” is a sentiment I’ve seen a lot lately, especially on the subreddit (which I still check regularly despite what it’s devolved into) Personally, I think that’s the wrong question, you should be asking “WHY is the reincarnation aspect present.”

First, let’s talk about parasocial relationships. The idol industry is built upon them, more-so than any other industry. Idols are supposed to be the ideal -yet unattainable- partner to fantasize about, to the point where they’re forbidden from having those kinds of connections in real life without facing scrutiny.

Ai Hoshino is the “Ultimate” idol. She doesn’t have ANYONE she has those genuine connections with, even her fellow group members hold her at the same untouchable distance that her fans do. She became an idol in hopes of loving others, and recreated the motions so perfectly that her lie became all anyone wanted from her. To the point where her true humanity was rejected, like by Nino in 45510.

Enter our protagonists (Layer One)

Sarina Tendouji is a hospital bound fan of all of B Komachi, but especially Ai. She idolizes her for being a girl her own age with a pretty face and incredible singing and dancing skills. This especially resonates with Sarina who’s studied B Komachi’s choreography non stop, but was tragically not able to dance herself due to her condition.

Goro Amamiya is an OBGYN in a small town that became a diehard fan of Ai after Sarina’s passing, superimposing the two in his head as he described it. When he met Ai in real life and became her doctor during her pregnancy, he found her off camera personality charming and internalized her philosophy about lies.

Then of course, after his death they were reincarnated as her twin children. During that time they saw her in a much more human way, worrying about money and providing for her family, harboring insecurities, being the best mom that she could be despite her circumstances.

They saw the way she gets treated by the industry and public she came up in as well, her parts cut out of her first drama due to corporate politics, her being speculated on and called a whore for just talking to an old classmate, and especially how her death was received. By this point, their relationship with her is much closer than the parasocial place it began.

But has it?

Enter our protagonists (Layer Two)

Sarina Tendouji was a girl rejected by her mother as her condition got worse. She loved her mother deeply and wanted to be just like her when she got older.

In the last few years of life she never even saw her mom, that void filled with the presence of a doctor loitering in her room to slack off work, and the idol she watched. What she wanted more than anything though was for her mother to come see her again.

Goro Amamiya was a boy born from a woman who hid her pregnancy and died in childbirth. That death painted the entirety of his life going forward.

Even then he’s haunted by his feelings of helplessness when he loses the child patient he had befriended early into his residency. He’s become a passive person, following the whims of others because of his perceived helplessness.

Both of them take these complicated feelings into their next life, and it paints their relationships with Ai after her death.

Ruby wants to follow in her moms footsteps once again and be just like Ai, to the point of naming her idol group B Komachi. Ultimately, I think she mostly takes positively from her time as Ai’s daughter, and looks more to Ai’s life rather than her death.

Aqua on the other hand, witnessed his mother bleed out in front of him in almost a metaphorical recreation of his first mother’s death, and this has shaped him irreversibly. Except this time there’s an object for his hatred other than himself. This time, his mother was murdered. He could do more than follow in the motions of preventing it from happening to others. This time he could get revenge.

Now “Why is the reincarnation aspect present.”

Ai Hoshino was never understood by anyone, her parents, her idol group, even her trusted adults. But two people, born with traumas and biases that paint their perspectives, were both brought into this world with their goal to try.

Aqua more investigatipvely, tracking down loose ends from her past, holding onto people with the ability to profile her from videos and images. Whereas Ruby is on a more personal journey of understanding her, recreating the steps of her journey more directly and coming to her own conclusions about it.

This leads us to the 15 Year Lie, the potential climax of the series as a whole, and the event referenced from the prologue chapters. The movie that began as a documentary meant to tell the true unfiltered life of Ai Hoshino as she always wanted. It had even made some headway prior to her death, but it’s hard to say how much.

This movie finds itself as the roadmap of both twins journey in understanding. Aqua now has the resources and connections to speak to anyone from Ai’s past, her mother, her fellow idol members, and likely more. But by this point, Aqua also knows the name of the man his tunnel vision hatred is focused on. And hatred is seeping into this story down to the script itself

Ruby is also now in the position of very literally playing Ai, the arguably highest point on her journey to walk in her mother’s shoes. Compared to Aqua, I think she’s getting much closer to her goal.

Of course, it’s still too soon to say how that will go for her, I expect her journey of understanding will continue for the entirety of of the movie filming process. There’s still the entirety of Ai’s relationship with Hikaru and her children as well as her death to be covered and I’m sure Ruby will have plenty of challenges and breakthroughs with those too.

In conclusion, not only is the reincarnation aspect needed, I think it’s crucial to what the story is trying to say thematically. If they were just children who lost their mom young and tried to understand her it would be compelling, but thematically it wouldn’t carry nearly the same weight as fans pulled across the parasocial line with their own projected baggage.

Remember, being ‘reborn as an idols child’ is inherently a parasocial fantasy.

#manga post #mine #ai hoshino #aqua hoshino #ruby hoshino

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mypoisonedvine · 2 years

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A part three of trying with Joseph talking about his baby girl at a convention >>>>

ahhh of course I have to!!

trying (iii) ~ joseph quinn x reader

part i | part ii

word count: 3.1k

warnings: implied smut (18+ only), basically just fluff, touch of angstiness and hurt/comfort

“So, you’ve been to this convention before, quite a few years ago, but something’s changed since last time,” the interviewer beamed, and Joe nodded in anticipation. “You’re a father!”

“Yes, that’s the latest development,” he smiled as the audience applauded and cheered briefly in recognition.

“How old’s your daughter now?” she asked.

“Um, she’s four and a half,” he recalled, “the ‘half’ is really important to her so I’m mentioning it. She’s really incredible— very smart, which she gets from her mother, and a total drama queen, which she gets from me.” There was a pause as the interviewer laughed politely, before Joe continued while reaching up to hold the back of his neck. “And, actually, I’ll take the time now to tell you all that we’ve got our second on the way.”

The applause was stronger this time; the interviewer seemed to get especially excited. “Oh! That’s incredible, congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Joe mumbled through his smile.

“Do you know yet if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“Well, the first time ‘round we waited until she was born to find out, which was nice and all, but I think we were both a little stressed out about that much surprise this time— so yes, we do know,” he nodded.

“Aaaaand maybe you’ll tell us?” the interviewer pressed. That was when Joe turned his head to look at you, standing just off-stage.

Can I? he mouthed to you. You smiled and gave him a nod of approval. “Yes, alright, I will,” he decided, and a hush of anticipation befell the crowd. “We’re having a boy.”

He looked at you again, smiling wide, as everyone reacted enthusiastically. While there was something undeniably strange about thousands of strangers applauding your unborn child, you certainly appreciated their support— and hey, who can say that they were that popular before they were even born?

“How does your daughter feel about that?” the interviewer wondered.

“Oh, she’s ecstatic,” Joe laughed, “she’s actually rather upset that the baby can’t sleep in her room. I’m not sure she’s quite put together that this is not just, like, some highly advanced babydoll toy that’s just for her to play with. But yes, she’s looking forward very much to being a big sister.”

“That’s so sweet,” the interviewer cooed, “I’m sure she’ll be great.”

“We’re hoping so!” Joe agreed.

“Forgive me if this is a personal question, but I know it’s something on a lot of minds— I’m curious how you balance work with parenthood,” the woman wondered.

“Well, it takes a village,” he began, “and my wife’s sacrificed a lot to be the mother of my kids, so that effort is greatly appreciated, to say the least— we’ve both had to turn things down to be able to stay home, but we also have a fabulous nanny who provides extra support for us when we’re both working or traveling for some kind of something. This is going to be my last hurrah for a while before we both hunker down and just prepare for the new baby— the plan is to be, just, home all the time until he’s at least six months.”

“That should be nice! A break from working just to be with the family,” she smiled.

“It will be very nice, yes,” he agreed.

Joe had this incredible ability to make James laugh. His favorite way to do so was to shove his face into James’ belly and pretend like he was about to eat him— sounds stupid, sure, but it made James squeal and scream happily like nothing else. He would kick his little roly-poly legs around and grab at his dad’s hair or beard, without much luck. When he felt like mixing it up, Joe might grab one of James’ arms or legs and pretend to gnaw on one of those for a while; you couldn’t understand what James thought was so funny about it, but you didn’t need to. You could watch them together for hours.

“Look at you, Daddy’s big boy,” Joe was singing some made-up song to him now, bouncing him around on the floor, holding him under his arms so he could make him pretend to dance.

“You know, he might not enjoy being treated like a ragdoll,” you warned your husband, “or your horrible musical improv.”

“Nah, he loves it, see?” Joe insisted, showing you James’ completely neutral face. It was cute, though, the way his cheeks and neck were all squished up together from the way Joe was holding him. You snorted and sat down beside them on the floor. “Big boy Jamie’s six months old today…”

James’ eyes stayed on your face, and eventually he reached for you and Joe made a little pouty face. “Oh, you want me to save you from Daddy and his cruel, forced theater?” you laughed as you took him out of Joe’s hands, lifting him up as high as you could— he was getting fucking heavy already— before bringing him down for a kiss on the cheek. “Poor thing.”

“Mummy’s boy,” Joe frowned at him, sticking his tongue out and crinkling his nose. James clung onto you and Joe reached over to pet his head for a moment before Hope came running in from her bedroom.

“Daddy, look!” she beamed as she held up a drawing she’d made.

“Oh, wow!” he gasped as he admired it, gently pulling it from her hand so he could hold it steady and actually see what he was looking at. “What is it?”

“It’s a giraffe!” she explained. “But it’s pink!”

“I see it now— that’s the neck, right?” he pointed at a massive scribble. “Giraffes have long necks, huh…”

“Yeah!” she agreed excitedly. “And that’s its tail— and those are the spots— and those are its wings.”

“Er—” Joe began.

“My giraffe can fly,” Hope clarified.

“Oh, well, then yeah, he’ll need those,” Joe hummed.

“Daddy, she’s a girl!” Hope frowned. “A boy giraffe couldn’t be pink.”

“Yes he could,” Joe insisted quickly. “He could be any colour. I mean, I think a real giraffe would just be… giraffe-coloured… but being pink wouldn’t make him a girl.”

“Oh,” she sighed.

“But, this one’s a girl, good to know,” he nodded, “does she have a name?”

“Hmm… Blob,” she blurted out.

“Okay… Blob the flying, pink giraffe— should we put her on the fridge?”

“No, I want you to keep her,” Hope decided, “when you go away.”

Your heart twisted, and you saw the look on Joe’s face: the look of a man wondering if he’s failing as a father just because he has to leave for work for three months. He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything, and you knew he was too busy going through his own crisis to notice that Hope was still waiting for affirmation. “It looks great, sweetie,” you informed her, “I’m sure Daddy will love to keep that with him on his trip.”

“Y-yeah,” he agreed, coming back to reality, “I will.”

He scooted a little closer to where she was standing, holding her head as he kissed her temple.

“You know I’m gonna miss you, right, lovebug?” he asked. She nodded, puffing up her cheeks a bit. “And Mummy’s gonna bring you to see me a few weeks after I leave.” She nodded again.

“Are you excited for flying on a plane?” you prompted her, and she smiled. “You haven’t been on a plane since you were little— not much older than your little brother is now.”

“Is little brother coming too?” she asked.

“Yeah!” you answered, pulling James off your chest for a second to look at his sweet, chubby face. “Yes, you’re gonna go on a plane to see Daddy! Yay!”

Joe was still a little out of it that night, laying his head on your chest as you read a book in bed. Again, you knew better than to press him on it, but you were having trouble focusing on the pages in front of you when you were just waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

“Babe?” he finally said, sitting up a bit so he could lay beside you and look at your face. You sighed with relief, setting the book aside and meeting his gaze.

“Hm?” you replied, pretending to have no idea what was coming.

“Should I go?” he asked— okay, to be fair, you hadn’t expected that, exactly. You thought he was gonna say that he felt bad about going, or that he wanted you to bring the kids more than once during his time filming in New York. You never thought he’d really consider pulling out of a project this close to production.

“Wh— of course!” you said quickly, sitting up a bit more yourself. “Joe, c’mon, this is a great film, it’s worth it.”

“Is any film worth leaving the kids here?” he groaned, falling back onto the pillow. “Three months… and you can only visit once. I mean, that’s a long time for Jamie. This is far from Hope’s first go-round with it, but will he even, like, remember me when I get back?”

“Don’t say that,” you frowned, rolling onto your side so you could rest your head on his shoulder. “Joe, you’re his father— he’s not going to forget you.”

He sighed— that sigh he made when he knew you were right but was wanting to be upset about it for a bit longer.

“Hey,” you breathed, reaching up to his face which you gently turned to look at you. “We’re gonna miss you. But we’ll be just fine… and we’ll be here when you get back, same as you left us.”

Shutting his eyes, he let you stroke his cheek and then scratch his beard a bit— which made him scrunch his nose up slightly. “Don’t wanna leave you at all,” he mumbled, “that’s my point.”

“It’s work,” you insisted, “it’s part of life. You get to be home all day when you’re not filming, how many jobs let you do that? It kills me when I have to leave, too, but it’s something we have to do.”

Joe grabbed you and pulled you into a tight hug, taking a deep breath beside your cheek as you returned his embrace. “Just… call me as much as you can, alright?” he requested quietly.

“Of course,” you agreed, holding him tighter.

“Fuck, m’gonna miss you too,” he groaned. “As if being away from my babies isn’t bad enough— now I’ve gotta leave my woman here all alone, too.”

You snorted a laugh as you pulled away from the hug. “Your woman? What happened to Mister Feminist who was explaining to Hope that her giraffe could be pink and male?”

“He’s still right here!” Joe laughed, raising his hands to his chest defensively. “And his woman’s gonna be so lonely without him around—”

“Shut up,” you groaned with a smile as you rolled away, but he slipped up behind you to be your big spoon.

“Don’t deny it,” he cooed, kissing your neck as he spoke, “you’re mine, love— and I’m yours, just as much. There— am I a feminist again?”

“Hmm, maybe,” you sighed, “but if you were a really great feminist you would… I dunno, go down on your wife or something.”

“Yeah?” he purred, kissing lower down until he reached your shoulder, guiding you to lay on your back. “A little goodbye gift, something to remember me by?”

“No, this is just for your gender equality points,” you explained. “All of your come inside me afterwards is what I’m gonna remember you by.”

He growled playfully and kissed you; you weaved your hands into his hair, and when he tried to start making his way south a little too soon, you whined quietly and pulled him back up to kiss you more. “Huh?” he mumbled.

“Not yet,” you breathed, and he obliged as he slowed down a bit— kissing you a little softer, pressing his body against yours. “I love you,” you reminded him.

“I love you too,” he returned. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

You told Hope a thousand times not to run ahead of you, but guess what she did the second she laid eyes on Joseph, coming out of his trailer to greet you?

“Daddy!” she yelled as she ran straight into his arms, and he picked her up as he peppered kisses all over her face.

“Hey, lovebug,” he returned, and as you walked closer with James on your hip, you realized his eyes were watering. He rested his hand on the back of Hope’s head, holding her close and tight; you hadn’t intended on crying, but when you saw him get choked up…

He didn’t set her down for quite some time, until she was wiggling too much for him to hold anymore. James was reaching for him already, trying to lean out of your arms as if he didn’t understand that he would fall straight onto backlot asphalt if he got his way. Joe didn’t take him from you though— instead, he gave him a kiss in the head and then embraced you. You slipped one arm around his torso while still balancing James; he held you for a while, even after Hope had started tugging on the leg of his jeans to try to get his attention. When he did pull back, he cradled your cheek in one hand and kissed you— really kissed you, like he was a soldier who’d been off to war for six months and not just an actor who’d been filming in New York for six weeks.

You had to really be careful not to get too into it and lose your hold on James, but wow… it made you a little weak in the knees.

“Woah, slow down, Quinn,” a voice interrupted, and your cheeks warmed as you pulled away and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, looking at one of Joe’s costars standing nearby. “Better be careful ‘fore you end up with another one of those,” he warned, pointing at James, and you laughed.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Joe chuckled, “darling— this is Luke, we’ve been working together a lot for the past few weeks.”

“Which means I’ve been hearing about you, oh, a ton,” Luke grinned.

“Nice to meet you,” you nodded at Luke.

“And who are these two adorable little creatures?” he asked as he looked down at the children.

“Here’s Hope,” Joe announced proudly as he mussed with her hair, “and that’s my son, James.”

“How old are you, miss?” Luke asked Hope.

“Five!” she smiled.

“Oh! Must be getting ready to start school soon, then,” he assumed, and she nodded.

“She’s really looking forward to it,” you told him, and he looked up at you for a moment.

“Ah, I’m sure,” he agreed, “school’s the best.”

Luke was only the first of many cast and crew members to come over and dote on your kids for a while, and then to ask you all kinds of small talk questions while Joe just waited for however long they needed until he could shoo them away and have you all to himself.

“Guess they’re all excited to meet my family,” he mumbled to you as you both watched Hope get a ‘makeover’ from the make-up artists (which was mostly just glitter, everywhere), “I talked about you all so much.”

“So, it’s your fault that they’ve mobbed us?” you pressed, and he laughed quietly before giving you a kiss on your shoulder while he rubbed your other arm.

“Good news is, I’m sure they’ll be happy to babysit later,” he explained, “while we… talk, alone.”

“Talk, huh?” you smirked.

“Yeah,” he whispered, leaning in closer. “We can talk about that picture you sent me last night, little tease…”

He nipped at your ear and you giggled. “Just something to hold you over before I got on the flight… in case you forgot how much I missed you.”

“Hold me over? Drove me crazy,” he sighed.

“How crazy?” you wondered.

“You’ll see,” he promised— and what a promising promise that was.

“One more, just one more?” he whined. “Darling, please—”

“You’ve already got two!” you reminded him, crossing your arms so hard that you made yourself bounce slightly on the mattress. “Two perfect kids who get along great already— we could mess up the whole ecosystem if we have a third.”

“But I want one,” he pouted. “I miss having a baby.”

“You miss that?” you laughed. “Being stuck at home, not working, burping and changing and feeding—”

“Yes!”

“They’ve only just gotten old enough for you to stop being upset every time you have to leave for a while,” you noticed, “now you’re planning to start all over?”

“But…” he mumbled, resting his chin on your lap as he blinked up at you, “but I want one…”

You rolled your eyes. “You already said that. You are so spoiled.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, straightening his back but still kneeling on the floor. “Yeah, I am spoiled. I have this amazing family, two beautiful kids and a sexy wife a-and a… hamster…”

You snorted. Hope’s pet hamster was a handful… literally, he filled about one palm, but he was also the latest little devil in the house, right after James who was going through a slightly destructive phase in his toddler years.

“And I just think it would be perfect if we had one more,” he decided.

“And I just think you need a puppy or something to keep you occupied,” you suggested instead.

“Nah, puppies are cute, but they never learn to talk or grow to resent you, where’s the fun in that?” he laughed, though he suddenly got a little more serious as he stood up straight and gently pushed you back onto the bed, climbing over you. “I bet if I ask really nicely, you’ll let me have another baby.”

“I’ll take that bet,” you grinned.

He kissed you, not for very long. “Please.”

“No.”

He kissed you again— longer, harder. “Please.”

“No.”

He kissed your neck, hungry and sloppy as you purred and spread your legs instinctively. “Please, love…” he whispered.

You shivered. “N-no…”

“I want another baby, darling,” he cooed, “I wanna get you pregnant again, I want my child inside you.”

You whimpered as he pressed his body down on yours. “Joe,” you breathed.

“One more baby,” he said soothingly, kissing down your chest, “one more precious little baby, all ours…”

“Joe,” you said again, halfway to a moan.

“Please?”

He looked up at you from where he’d stopped his path of kisses between your breasts, not just waiting for an answer— waiting for a yes. Cocky little shit. “Oh god,” you groaned as you shut your eyes, “I swear, Joseph, I’m not naming it Agatha…”

“Yes!”

#joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn rpf #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn smut

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separatist-apologist · 1 year

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Still A Sunbeam

Summary: As a child, Elain Archeron is pushed into a pond by the heir to the Day Courts throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver, and vows she'll never forgive him for it. But as an adult, Elain finds that if she wants out of an arranged marriage to a Spring Court prince, she will need Day Court's help. More is at stake than a decades-old rivalry, and when their home is threatened, Elain and Lucien will have to set aside old differences and work together

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“Stop fussing.”

Impossible instructions for nine year old Elain. While her mother tried her best to tie a large, cream colored ribbon in her bouncy curls, Elain tried to inch herself further toward the window. A lilac scented breeze poured in, ruffing sheer curtains playfully, while buttery beams of sunlight illuminated her mothers bedchamber.

All of Prythian was about to descend on the Spring Court. For the first time in seven years, given the current rotation of courts and lords. Elain had been only a baby then, and too young and unimportant to be allowed to go to any of the other courts. She was minor nobility—a Wildwood on her mothers side, which meant something among the Spring courtiers. Her line was ancient and old, and the fact that she’d married an Archeron had been unusual.

Her father, after all, was little more than a merchant from Hybern, come to settle after the last war with Prythian. He’d left his home and everything he loved for Elain’s mother, and though he was mostly respected at court, he’d never be anything other than a foreign born working man.

No matter how wealthy he was, or how his ties improved the High Lord of Springs relationship with the once volatile nation.

Elain knew these things because she wanted a seat at the High Lord’s table someday. Not as a wife, which she knew was whispered about, but an equal. A political player to rival even the wiliest of Autumn Court.

More than that, Elain wanted to study in the Day Court. She wanted to learn from the High Lord and his lady, wanted to sit in their famed libraries that reportedly held the compendium of the world's knowledge. Which meant today, with a perfect ribbon in her immaculately curled hair, and a pretty, daffodil yellow dress, that Elain had to impress the Lady of Day Court.

Amera Spell-Cleaver. Rumored to be the most beautiful female in all of Prythian, Amera had been wed to not one, but two High Lords. Beron Vanserra had claimed the Autumn born lady as his bride, and sired four sons with her before a mating bond snapped between Amera and Helion, High Lord of Day. Elain had been alive for none of the following drama, though she’d heard a war had nearly been fought on her behalf. In the end, a deal had been struck—Beron kept his sons, and Amera was allowed to leave and remarry.

She had another son Elain had never met, though she knew his name. Lucien. Elain knew the names of all the one-day High Lords. She knew the names of the daughters who would intermarry into other courts, strengthening the ties of their brothers and their allies.

As a second daughter, Elain felt less pressure to marry well. She was certain a proper match would be arranged for her eventually, but marrying an important lord—or even an heir—would fall to Nesta. Feyre was far too wild to ever marry, no matter what the youngest son of the High Lord of Spring thought.

“Are you paying attention?” her mother demanded, pulling open a wooden box of jewelry. Elain nodded her head, though of course she hadn’t been. She was so afraid she’d miss the arrival of Amera and thus her chance at making a perfect first impression.

“It’s your job to keep Feyre in line,” her mother told her, handing Elain a pair of pretty, pear earrings. Elain slid them in carefully, lips sealed though she wanted to protest. “We can have no embarrassments. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mama,” Elain agreed, knowing full well her mother wasn’t asking so much as telling. No matter how hard anyone tried, Feyre was never going to be a great lady which irked their mother to no end. She’d all but written Feyre off as unsalvageable. Elain pretended it didn’t hurt her feelings, even when her parents made their blatant favorites known.

“Do try and keep from being too underfoot,” her mother added, taking one last look at Elain. Whatever she saw satisfied her, which Elain took to mean she was beautiful. “I know how you love parties.”

Elain offered a beaming smile. “Yes, mama.”

And with those final, parting words, Elain was allowed to leave her mothers chamber in the High Lords sprawling country estate. Elain’s own bedroom was just down the hall, a trio of interconnecting chambers she shared with both Nesta and Feyre. Elain had grown up among the rolling, lush hills dotted with wildflowers. She’d spent days in the woods, playing hide and seek with the other children at court. In between her own lessons, Elain spent time in the garden, working the soil until she managed to make something lovely grow. The Lady of Spring didn’t mind and had encouraged Elain with her own set of gardening tools.

Elain found Nesta in the grandhall, beautiful like always with her braided crown of golden brown hair and her nose pressed into a book. Elain bounded toward her, plopping beside Nesta on the rose-carved bench.

“Are you excited?”

“No.”

Elain huffed out a sigh. Nesta glanced over, one brow arched. “You know, one day some male is going to think you like politics so much because you find him fascinating. And then what, Elain? When you have to marry some boring lord's son, all because you don’t know when to make yourself scarce?”“At least I’ll have someone to talk to,” Elain snarked back.

“Yes,” Nesta’s lips curled into a sneer so reminiscent of their mother that Elain sat up taller instinctively. “How interesting he’ll find you.”

“Oh, shut up,” Elain snapped.

“You’re better off in the woods with Feyre,” Nesta added, her silvery blue eyes drifting toward the archway. Elain started to look before the sound of chatter down the opposite end of the hall caught her attention. Someone had arrived. Elain jumped from her chair, nearly smacking into Killian. The second born to the High Lord of Spring, he and Elain might have been friends had he been born a century earlier.

And he not been so cruel. Oh, he was kind to her, but to those he found unworthy of his time or attention, Killian was often vicious. He made her nervous, despite his easy, golden good looks. He didn’t particularly care for Nesta, who was snappish, and she’d heard him once shout at Feyre for dragging mud into the estate.

He was nice to her, though. Catching her by the arms, he offered her a handsome smile. “Careful, princess.”

She’d long since stopped reminding him she wasn’t a princess.

“Sorry,” she said instead, dipping into a polite bow. His smile widened, one hand reaching for one of her springy curls. He was always touching her hair for reasons Elain couldn’t make sense of.

“No need to apologize. Where are you off to?”

Green eyes sparkled with some unknown joke. Elain wanted to pull the hair he was threading through his fingers out of his grasp. She could see her older sister from the corner of her eye watching, those silvery blue eyes burning with dislike.

“I heard someone arrived.”

“Dawn,” he said conspiratorially. “Punctual, like always.”

He didn’t budge, forcing her to keep her attention wholly on him. Elain still wanted to meet the other delegations.

“Of course, my lord.”

“Why don’t you let me walk you through the garden, little princess?”

An arm looped through Elain’s and all at once, Killian dropped the curl he’d been fingering. Nesta stood beside Elain, her book clutched in her free hand.

“No need, Lord Killian. I will occupy my baby sister.”

His easy smile faded. Dipping a head of shoulder length blonde hair, Elain watched him retreat. She had the sense there’d been some sort of power struggle and that Nesta, despite being eleven, had won.

“Come on,” Nesta grumbled, tugging Elain down the corridor. “We’ll miss everyone’s arrival if Killian keeps talking.”

Elain rounded the corner just in time. Freezing in place and gripping Nesta’s hand so hard her sister yanked away with a hiss, Elain made it to the foyer just in time for the Lady of Day to step inside.

She was beautiful. Elain had never seen anyone as lovely as Amera Spell-Cleaver. Draped in a gown of gold and crowned in a bright, sunburst tiara, she looked warm. Russet eyes sparkled while her auburn hair cascaded about her slim shoulders in a glossy waterfall. She was greeted by the pretty Lady of Spring while her husband, Helion Spell-Cleaver, offered the High Lord of Spring a tense smile and a tight bow.

“My son,” Amera said sweetly. Her voice was like music, Elain decided. Even Nesta seemed taken aback by her sweetness. Amera pushed forward a boy who couldn’t have been older than Nesta. He had his fathers face, though all of his features seemed too big for his lanky frame. His golden brown skin was offset by shoulder length red hair half braided from his scap. Like his father, he wore a white pleated skirt around his skinny legs, while a bolt of fabric clasped over one of his bony shoulders.

He did not look pleased to be there.

Elain started to take a step forward, which proved to be a mistake. The Lady of Spring noticed her. Smiling, she said, “Poor Lucien looks exhausted. Tamlin is out with his older brother, but perhaps Lady Elain could show you around?” Lucien looked over at Elain before turning to his father. “I want to stay with you,” he said, not looking at Elain a second more.

“Go,” his father urged as he placed a broad hand against his son's back. “Make a friend.”

Nesta snorted, well aware Elain had been thwarted. But Lady Amera was looking at her, and Elain was able to sink into a deep curtsey before the Day Court royals. Looking only at Amera, she said, “It’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Elain.”

Amera’s smile widened. “If my son gives you any trouble, you come find me.”

“Of course.”

The adults pushed forward while Nesta took off, determined not to be roped into entertaining a foreign prince. It left Elain to stand before him awkwardly.

“Do you want to see the garden?” she asked him. Lucien shrugged.

“Fine.”

Elain gestured for him to follow her out onto the lawn. A paved stone path wound from the front drive, leading around the side of the estate toward the sprawling garden. Elain was giddy with excitement. She’d show Lucien around, take him back indoors, and charm the mother he clearly didn’t appreciate.

“Do you like flowers?” she asked him.

“No.”

“What do you like?” she pressed, a little annoyed with how sullen he was.

“Swimming,” Lucien finally said, shuffling his sandaled feet. Elain thought of the starlight pool before casting it from her mind. It was too far from the grounds to trek out that far, especially when she barely wanted to be in the garden.

“Well—”

“Little Lucy,” crooned a masculine voice just behind them. Lucien went still for a second, his face wan. Elain turned, frowning when Eris Vanserra strolled around the hedges, his hands jammed in his pockets. He was fifty something, far older than either of them.

“Do you want a tour of the garden?” Elain asked, thinking it would scare him off. Eris grinned, canines gleaming beneath the golden light of Spring.

“I would love a tour, little princess. I hear this was a mating gift from the High Lord to his wife.”

Eris was far better company than Lucien based on that one sentence alone.

“He did!” she said with a smile, resuming her pace along the path.

“How lovely. Mates are so rare…so cherished—”

“Shut up,” Lucien hissed under his breath, his hands balled to fists. “Shut up about father right now.”

“What did I say?” Eris asked innocently, and too late, Elain realized she was caught in the middle of a fight between half brothers.

“You know what you’re doing!” Lucien accused. Elain sidestepped them both, backing toward a pond at the edge of the garden. A little bench beckoned for her to sit, to wait this out until she could return indoors.

Eris, every inch a grown male, stared down his straight nose at his brother. “Why don’t you, in all your infinite wisdom, tell me what I’m doing.”

It was a warning. Elain lived with four brothers, all of whom fought like this. Telling Eris, the heir apparent to Autumn, to stop, was far too frightening. Lucien was just a boy, though. Eris’s amber eyes flashed as a warm breeze ruffled his short auburn hair. Both Lucien and Eris favored their fathers too much to look similar, though they shared that same shade of red hair.

“Maybe we could keep walking?” Elain asked, the words coming from her in a squeak. Eris’s eyes snapped to her face.

“A wonderful idea—”

“I don’t want to be out here with him!” Lucien snapped, whirling so fast Elain knocked into him. Lucien’s hands collided with her chest, shoving her out of the way. Elain reached for something that might prevent her from falling into the pond and found only air.

Her back hit the cold water with a splash. It wasn’t deep where she’d fallen, but when Elain scrambled up onto her elbows, looking at a stunned—and maybe apologetic—Lucien, fingers curled around her ankle and yanked.

She tried to scream. Water filled her lungs and Elain screwed her eyes up tight, choking and spluttering with panic. She knew who held her—one of the water wraiths had found her and was dragging her to the bottom where Elain would be made into a meal. Twisting and thrashing did no good. The grip on her was ironclad, bruising her ankle to the point of crushing bone.

Elain felt a sob rise in her chest. She wanted her dad, or her mom, or even her sisters. Someone to save her.

Strong hands gripped Elain’s shoulders. More wraiths, she thought as she fought violently against the hold. The water had warmed, was almost too hot, though that might have been her imagination. The hand on her ankle vanished as the ones on her arms wrapped around her body. She couldn’t fight them, could only accept this miserable fate.

Her head hit the air first. Elain spluttered, blinking open her eyes. Eris Vanserra waded toward the shore, his hair plastered to his forehead.

“You’re fine,” he said when she began trembling. Elain wrapped her arms and legs around him, trying to climb higher in order to escape the water and the wraiths she was certain would return. “Calm down, you’ll drown us both.”

“I want my daddy,” Elain managed, sucking in a breath of air. On the shore, Lucien stood looking terrified.

“I—” he tried, but Elain couldn’t help the wailing sob that escaped her.

“She’s fine,” Eris told his brother, rising from the water. Water sluiced off them both, creating large puddles as Eris walked her back to the estate. Elain couldn’t help her frantic sobs, face buried in Eris’s fine green tunic.

“What happened?”

“No,” she whispered, hearing Killian’s voice just behind her. Eris’s grip on Elain’s body tightened ever so slightly.

“Nothing that concerns you,” Eris sneered.

“Hand her over,” Killian ordered. Elain clung to Eris tighter.

“I want my dad,” Elain whimpered as Eris glanced down at her.

“Is this your father?” Eris asked, well aware it wasn’t. Elain shook her head back and forth, unwilling to even look at Killian.

“Eris–”

“Mind your own business,” Eris snapped, his younger brother still trailing at his feet.

It was humiliating—all of it. Killian didn’t leave, which meant by the time Eris found Elain’s father, another argument had broken out between the pair. Eris’s own father was furious to see his son sopping wet while Amera Vanserra had listened to Elain explain what happened with big, disappointed eyes.

“You don’t know when to quit, do you?” Amera said to her eldest as Elain’s father held her tight.

“I guess it runs in the fucking family,” Eris had spat, turning his back to her.

“I messed this all up,” Elain whispered. Lady Amera would never forgive her for this.

And in turn, Elain would never forgive Lucien, either.

*fifteen years later*

“WAKE UP LUCIEN!”

Lucien had the vaguest sense of his bedroom door banging open. Of sandals slapping against marble floors…and a blanket being ripped off his body. Beside him, a feminine voice moaned with displeasure.

Lucien peeked open an eye. “Arina,” he said lazily, running a hand down his chest. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Get up,” she hissed, eyeing the three naked females surrounding him with distaste. “Helion sent me.”

“He knows where I am.” Lucien smiled as a set of lips kissed down the side of his neck. Arina reached for a pillow and threw it at the offending female so hard she fell off the bed in an attempt to avoid pain.

“Get out of here. Lucien has things to do.”

Lucien groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Is she here, then?”

“Not yet,” Arina told him, watching the females from the night before dress quickly and file out. Lucien would need them again, likely before the day was out. He didn’t know which he enjoyed more—watching them pleasure each other, or how well they pleasured him.

When it was just him and Arina, Lucien sat up, not bothering to hide his naked frame. It was nothing the willowy blonde hadn’t seen before, though Arina might have been the only female at court that hadn’t climbed into his bed. She was just as prolific—she merely had no interest in him. They’d grown up together, and Lucien supposed Arina was more like a sister. A sister he’d once watch suck someone off in a corridor, at any rate.

“Your mother would like me to remind you that drowning Elain Archeron is forbidden.”

Lucien scowled. “She’s never going to get over that. It was a fucking accident.”

Arina shrugged. “Is that why you hate her so much?”

Lucien rose, kicking aside a set of underwear that did not belong to him. Lucien hated Elain Archeron for any number of reasons. She was everything wrong with Spring, for one–pretty on the outside, rotten on the inside. She was spoiled, pampered, and selfish. Lucien had been delaying her coming to Day for the last five years, certain she’d give up and marry one of the High Lord’s sons and free him of the misery that was her presence.

She wanted to study politics in his family’s libraries. Wanted to learn from Helion Spell-Cleaver himself. And though Lucien would never admit it, he hated how much his mother seemed to like her. As if she wished Elain was the daughter she’d gotten, versus the son that disappointed her.

Lucien pulled a white and gold chiton over his head before plunking down in a chair. Arina plunged her fingers into his hair, plucking at last night's braids with her long nails.

“I don’t hate her,” Lucien finally said. “That would require caring about her, which I don’t.”

“Good. Then you have no problem greeting her at the door.”

He had a lot of problems with that. Lucien had managed to avoid her since that day in Spring. Elain wasn’t considered important enough to join the delegations in other courts, and the one other time he’d been trapped in Spring, he’d avoided her like the plague. Lucien had never forgotten the look of anger on Eris’s face the day Elain was nearly drowned—nor had he forgotten his fathers anger and his mothers quiet disappointment.

No matter how many times he insisted he’d never meant to shove her, that they’d merely collided into each other and he’d been just as afraid she would be hurt as Eris had been, no one believed him. Elain had sniffled through that story like a doe eyed mouse and claimed he’d been so mad he’d pushed her.

I was only doing what I was told.

Yeah, well, fuck her.

Lucien laced up his sandals, satisfied his hair was decent enough, and turned to Arina. “How long am I supposed to endure her presence?”

Arina sighed as she smoothed out her own vibrant, purple dress. “She’s one female, Lucien. You’re supposed to be High Lord someday. You’ll have to endure far worse than Elain before then.” Lucien reached for a wavy strand of her golden hair and tugged. She smacked him in the stomach, a scowl twisting her pretty features. Lucien took her hand in his and pulled her from the bedroom. Day Court was unlike any other palace in Prythian. Built atop a hill, the structure stretched skyward with yawning spires that, at high noon, seemed to touch the very sun itself. Open and vibrant light poured through massive windows while the corridors were often the site of passionate debate among scholars, politicians, and other folks who’d come up for the day.

Helion hosted musicians and artists, as well as priestesses who had a temple in the city of Rhodes below. No one was ever truly alone in the palace, and while the noise occasionally got to him, Lucien rather liked the bustle of his home.

There were always things to do.

Today, though, Lucien only had one job. He knew he was late when he strolled into the throne room where his father sat, crowned High Lord of their home. His mother was at the foot of the dais, holding the face of Elain Archeron in her hands. Lucien could see the cascade of honey blonde hair trailing to her waist and the blush colored gown hugging her frame. He was grateful to see nothing else—from behind, Elain was exactly his type.

“Lucien,” his mother breathed, smiling over Elain’s head to look at him. “You made it.”

Lucien swept into a deep bow, pausing at Elain’s shoulder. The smell of jasmine and honey slammed into him, heady and sweet like Spring itself. Lucien kept his eyes on his mother, well aware somewhere behind him, Arina was still watching.

“Lucien is our most skilled emissary,” his mother told Elain affectionately. Her praise filled him with warmth only for a moment, replaced in the next second with cold dread. Why was she telling Elain this?

Elain tilted her head to look up at him. Lucien couldn’t breathe fully as he faced her. What had happened to the chubby cheeked child he remembered? The sniveling baby with the big, watery eyes? Elain was, without a doubt, the most beautiful female he’d ever seen in his entire life. Lucien gave himself permission to stare just for a heartbeat. She still had those big, brown eyes though they were somehow more appealing in that soft, heart shaped face she had. Pouty, pink lips were curved into a strained smile, as if looking at him pained her.

Lucien’s gaze swept toward her small, pert breasts, pressed against the top of her dress before looking back at his mother with a lazy smile.

“Will Lord Lucien be taking me to Summer, then?” Elain asked with a soft, lilting voice. Lucien’s gaze snapped to his father, reclining in his chair with an easy, amused grace.

“Yes. I trust no one more than my son. For the year you’re with us, Lucien will be your instructor.”

Lucien’s stomach bottomed out. “Will she be accompanying me on my various trips?” That was going to cause him problems, given how Lucien liked to obtain gossip from the other courts. Pillow talk was his best weapon—outside of his cock, of course.

“If you’re able.”

There was a flash of warning on his fathers face that kept Lucien silent. Elain glanced up at Lucien one last time before beaming at his mother. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity.”

As his mother began to walk Elain out, intending to give her a tour, Lucien made his way toward his father.

“Don’t,” Helion warned, holding up his hand to silence Lucien. “This will be good for you.”

Lucien plopped down on his mothers throne. “What is the point of this? Spring doesn’t allow female emissaries or politicians. Am I training her to be someone’s well-informed wife?”

Helion smothered a smile. “Between you and I, Killian has made his intentions toward Elain very plain—”

“Good, then let her marry him—”

“And your mother thinks Elain was meant for more. She wants more, and I think as long as she’s willing to fight for it, we shouldn’t stand in her way. What could be more terrible than being forced into a marriage you don’t want?”

Lucien groaned. Of course his parents were thinking that. Of course they’d draw parallels between spoiled Elain and Lucien’s lovely mother. “They are hardly the same.”

“Be kind,” his father urged. “Don’t push her in the pool—”

“It was an accident!” he hissed, causing his father to laugh.

“I know it was. Your mother knows it. It’s a year of a very, very long life, and I trust you will set her up with enough foundational knowledge and your connections in the other courts that, should she decide to leave, she isn’t forced to go back to Spring.”

“And if she wants to stay?”

His father’s smile told Lucien he very much hoped she did. “Well. You can’t be emissary forever.”

Lucien scowled. “I’ll do as you ask. I won’t enjoy it, though.”

Lucien didn’t turn as he strode out of the throne room.

And he ignored his father's booming laughter trailing behind him.

#elucien #elain x lucien #elucien fanfic #you asked for an elucien long fic #here you go

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ystrike1 · 1 year

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Why Ophelia Couldn't Leave - By Samoh (9.5/10)

A woman worthy of obsession. Lots of stories about obsession are missing this key element. Our heroine is damaged by unforgivable crimes and an unbearable codependent relationship, but she remains a sympathetic character. The romance itself is morally grey from start to finish, but it is well deserved. Ophelia does deserve to be happy. The man she loves believes that too.

Isolde.

The social butterfly. A beauty that loses interest easily. She vanishes with the wind. Somehow, she keeps marrying upward. Her husbands keep dying, but men keep flocking to her.

Isolde has one child. Ophelia, who was borne with her first dead husband. Isolde is a greedy woman who cares nothing for love. She just wants more. Isolde was born the daughter of a farmer. Her father tried to sell her to an old landlord for cash. Isolde learned how to process plants into poison, and her story began. When her first husband died she got sympathy. Some invitations. Then another, richer husband. That wasn't enough. Isolde is all desire and no emotion. Ophelia is terrified of her, but she loves her mother because she has no one else. Her mother isolated her and used her as a tool to assist in the poison murders. Ophelia is excellent at burning evidence, because she is a mage. She's untrained, but she has a massive amount of magic. When she uses it it's dangerous, and it can injure her. Isolde obviously never cared. Having a convenient daughter helped her get more money. That was all that ever mattered to her.

Ophelia can't accept that.

Then, she meets Baroness Blanche. Blanche is a lovely woman. The only real and normal mother Ophelia ever had. Isolde wanted to marry her husband. Her husband did not love her. It was a political marriage. So when Blanche fell ill he didn't care. Blanche and Isolde were "best friends". Blanche trusted them and smiled for her until the end, where she died of sepsis.

Then, Ophelia tries to turn against her mother. Blanche was not a horny idiot undeserving of pity. She was a good person who did nothing wrong. Ophelia confronts her murderous mother, and tells her the next marriage has to be her last.

Isolde meets a Duke. Their controversial marriage is fiery, but it takes a very short amount of time for Isolde to grow bored of the Duke. Isolde is getting sloppy. Cruel. She's starting to enjoy the murder too much. Isolde even tries to kill the Dukes son, Alexander, with poisoned medicine when he gets the flu.

It's the final straw.

Ophelia has a crush on Alexander. Her brother through her fourth stepfather. She has had enough. She loves her mother so much, but she also knows Isolde is a monster. A monster who only keeps her alive because of her useful magic.

Ophelia uses her magic to plant an invisible bomb in Isolde's honeymoon carriage, and it's over. She intends to leave the mansion and repent in the holy land forever. The Duke's family slaps her around because they want power, and Ophelia is just an adopted daughter...but Alexander protects her.

He stops her and says he needs her. She is an adult. He needs three years of her time. After he is of age his family will have no claim over his wealth. It's a reasonable request, and Ophelia has nowhere to go. She stays.

A maid named Henrietta is madly in love with Alexander. She is from a fallen noble family and she has magic. She is so obsessed that she messed with the wheels on the honeymoon carriage, to kill Isolde. In order to get rid of Ophelia. Everyone with eyes knows that Alexander is in love with Ophelia. He instinctively follows her around the mansion. Henrietta gave up her chance to go to private magic school because she wanted to stay close to Alexander. She has even tried to seduce him in a nightgown multiple times. She can't take a hint.

Ophelia says Henrietta can have him after the three years are up. Henrietta is too jealous though. She can't bear to watch Alexander fawn over Ophelia, so the drama gets crazy.

Years pass. Ophelia is an insane beauty. She has completely dominated Henrietta. Alexander is still trying to seduce her, but her heart is closed. She is only helping him because she feels terrible about killing his father. It was the only way to get rid of her mother for sure, and she was also blinded by rage. She knows she owes Alexander, so she remains the adult guardian of the household.

Alexander is 19, and very close to being a real force in the political world.

He always reads books about children killing their parents. He knows Ophelia killed his dad. He doesn't know why, but he's too crazy to care. He doesn't care about anything but Ophelia. He uses Henrietta like a rag, even though he knows she loves him and gave up her future for him. When Henrietta dies he straight up doesn't give a shit. Henrietta tells him she messed with the carriage to get his attention, but he knows she's not the culprit.

He ignores her until the bitter end.

Who killed Henrietta?

This guy. He's in investigator from the Imperial Family, who has proof that the deadly crash was no accident. Wait! No he isn't. He's a fraud. Cain is the son of Isolde's second husband. He was abandoned by his mother, but his father Cameron came for him. His father gave him love and money. Cameron was saved from orphanage life. Then, Cameron married a beauty. This is where we learn the truth. Isolde was a great actress, but she deserves no pity. Cameron loved his illegitimate son. He searched for the boy even after the woman he slept with abandoned him. Isolde poisoned Cameron, and she banished Cain from his own home. Cain had to play hide and seek in his own home after Isolde got it in the will. Cameron cursed Isolde as he died, because his beloved had...for some awful reason...chosen to cast out his very young son. Cain grew up on the streets. He played with Ophelia in secret for a while, before Isolde chased him away for good. Cain wants Ophelia to suffer, because she's rich and happy with a Duke. He had to live on the streets after he watched his father die. That is pretty unfair. When he strangles Ophelia in her bed she burns half of his face off, and they fight.

Ophelia wants closure. She's sorry for what she did for her mother. None of it was worth it. She wants to kill Cain with her own hands. He's a pretty scummy criminal with a sad past, who was definitely going to torture her. The boy she met is gone. When he's on the ground Alexander stops her....so he can do the deed. He noticed that Cain seemed attached to Ophelia. He's been waiting for a chance to kill the annoying pest.

Also. He doesn't want Ophelia to use magic. He wants to blame all of the crimes on Henrietta. For that to happen Ophelia has to continue pretending that she isn't a mage. Ophelia sort of wants that too. She has raw power, but she's not super skilled with it and it's connected with all of her trauma.

She confesses that she fell for her mother's angelic lie. She doesn't know if she'll ever accept the fact that her mother definitely saw her as a tool. Killing her was the right choice, but the Duke dying by her side was tragic.

Alexander admits he will not change. He didn’t know that his love was love at first, because it was so abnormal. Ophelia has the ability to charm, like her mother. Alexander is extra jealous because he knows other mad men will lust over Ophelia in the future. He thanks her for saving his life (remember, Isolde was going to poison him.) He even tries to empathize. He recognizes that Blanche was her real mother, and the reason why she became a better person. He respects her and loves her.

They live happily ever after and Alexander probably kills a bunch of her admirers in the future.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #Why Ophelia Couldn't Leave

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yuesya · 10 months

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How much would things change if Shiki were Satoru/Nanami’s age or older?

Feel free to ignore I just had that question bouncing around in my head, especially with season 2 finally coming out.

You know, that was actually an idea I briefly considered at some point? In an AU where Shiki is older than Satoru -there is a lot more Clan Drama.

Shiki has cursed eyes. Cursed, blue eyes. That are most certainly not the Six Eyes.

... So what in the world happened to the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes??

The clan is split between two factions, one supporting the talented child with powerful cursed eyes, and another with staunch traditionalists refusing to accept such a child as the clan heir and honored one. After Gojo Satoru is born -there's even more of a shakeup in the tenuous situation. The faction supporting Shiki splits; some support the 'true' clan heir, others dig in their heels because they're already committed, etc. The traditionalist faction originally supporting Gojo Satoru splits, too -unlike Gojo Satoru, Shiki's behavior is much more 'befitting' of a 'proper' clan heir. She's also a girl, so she would be easier to control. Perhaps if she was married off to a proper young man, with the right connections and the right family backing her...

TLDR: Lots and lots of clan drama.

In this setting Shiki and Satoru are pit against each other by their clan. They don't see eye to eye for the longest time. Shiki is five years older than Satoru -she's only five years old when suddenly people who smile at her begin ignoring her and treating her harshly, when she's shunted from the main family back to her branch family.

However, if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's that in this AU Shiki holds no desire for the position of clan heir, either. She gracefully cedes the position to Satoru when the festering situation reaches the boiling point, even despite the ardent wishes of those who support her. It's also the point at which Satoru finally begins to see his older cousin for who she is, instead of the 'mindless puppet' he'd always thought of her as this entire time.

The relationship between the two begins to thaw. This time, Shiki is the one with the older sibling/mentor role between the two of them, and she helps Satoru navigate the politics of sorcery clans.

Although she doesn't always express it openly, Shiki is very concerned for her little cousin and does her best to watch out for him. When she hears that he receives a Very Important mission to guard the Star Plasma Vessel, she speedruns the rest of her assignment in Italy and hops on the first plane back to Japan.

#QA #zenith of stars au #obviously i didn't go with things here #in this case it would REALLY take us forever to reach canon haha #plus i thought it would be more fun to explore gojo in a Responsible Adult (?) role #and have an MC more involved with canon characters by the time canon timeline rolls around #writing

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princess-of-the-corner · 1 month

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So I just got done Zuko alone for the first time and maybe I'm imagining things but I'm 85% sure Ozai tricked Azula into dragging Zuko behind the curtains to watch while he requested to be made heir instead of iroh since the entire throw room scene felt weird

Okay honestly though there's just so much fucking weird with that scene that I would totally believe that like.

So I think the one thing here is that I am a firm believer that Ozai and Azula lied about what Azulon decided as punishment.

Like like like. Azulon is quite understanding of Iroh's devastation to the loss of his son, and while he's of course upset that it caused a loss at Ba Sing Sae, isn't exactly mad at Iroh for what happened. He's furious at Ozai's callous audacity to suggest that this makes Iroh 'weak' and that he should be replaced as heir to the throne.

Given that, it doesn't make sense for him to be down for killing Zuko. It seems off to me.

And even if Azulon was the type to feel sympathy for Iroh's situation while being morally bankrupt enough to kill Zuko just to 'teach Ozai a lesson', there's two problems with that.

Firstly, the fact that he picked Zuko. Azulon would know that while Zuko is the first born, it's /Azula/ who is Ozai's favorite, the golden child, and would probably be named his heir regardless of birth order. If he wants to make it be 'an eye for an eye', then he should've suggested killing Azula.

Secondly, the larger political situation outside of the family drama.

Lu Ten was second in line for the throne. And he's now dead. Iroh was so broken by this that they experienced a devastating loss in the war and he's low-key quit the military as a whole.

This is an event that is a devestating blow to the Fire Nation as a whole. It's people would lose morale, while the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes are emboldened and pushing back harder than ever in the war.

To have another member of the Royal Family die, even if it's not in any way directly related to the war effort as this is a child who would likely just 'have a fatal accident', would worsen this situation. Given that what little we know about Azulon involves him being a good strategist, I can't see him ordering Zuko's death knowing this would be the outcome, even if he were a ruthless person wanting to teach Ozai a lesson.

Another thing to note that goes in this favor:

/we never actually hear Azulon order Zuko's death/

We don't see it in the show, we don't see it in the comics. We see him say that Ozai will be punished, but we don't hear Azulon say what the punishment will be. The scene always cuts to Ozai and Azula saying that Azulon ordered Zuko's death.

But Ozai and Azula are unreliable narrators. We can't trust them to be telling the truth.

So yeah I /genuinely/ believe that Azulon didn't actually say that. Some people have speculated, but in general I believe that Azulon was just going to cut Ozai out of the line of succession as a whole.

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shih-coulda-had-it · 1 year

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Five head canon game:

AU AFO is All Might's Bio dad and All Might Izuku Bio dad family drama ensues, can be afohiko if you so desire!

hope you have a nice day!

Another addition to the dfohiko verse! Alright then,

Similar set-up to previous dfohiko branches. Toshinori spends a few years in the States. He returns to Japan when he’s in his mid-to-late 20s, and with Sorahiko’s info, and makes excellent headway in dismantling AfO’s network at the expense of exposing his identity to AfO. AfO is displeased with his son’s decision to reject the ‘good’ family legacy, complains to his followers about red-blooded, hot-tempered youths, and receives the following tentative question: Does Toshinori have a significant other? A boyfriend? A girlfriend? A partner in general?

AfO, who romanced and married and had a child with Sorahiko by Toshinori’s current age: omg you’re so right. He just needs to redirect his passions elsewhere, and then he’ll realize what a terrible world this is to raise a child. Who among you have weddable progeny? To clarify, I want you all to know that this WILL lead me to be that child’s father in-law, and I WILL be taking all grandparent rights.

The thing is, it’s not enough to just fling sexy singles in the area into Toshinori’s path. Toshinori is, worryingly, taking after Sorahiko’s practice of abstinence and just not going on any of the dates that AfO is setting up. So AfO hops over to Sorahiko’s place to complain about their son’s destructive habits, and the lack of grandchildren being brought into the world. The unexpected turn of conversation tricks Sorahiko into thinking, ‘Oh, shit, I’ve accidentally taught my son that love is a nightmare and marriage is a deal with the devil.’

By the time Toshinori entered his late thirties, he’s obliviously rejected any and every potential spouse that AfO AND Sorahiko have set before him. His parents are in despair, though for different reasons. Then. THEN. On a rare evening of freedom, Toshinori spies a despondent young woman sitting alone at a table, holding a book with a red rose’s stem tucked inside like a marker. People are side-eyeing her. He hesitates, but takes the plunge, politely asking Inko if he can sit opposite of her while grabbing his dinner. She’s grateful, but equally wary.

They order dinner, and drinks, and in the meantime, conversation happens. A tentative spark of connection happens. One dinner turns into another, and another. Toshinori nervously confesses to Inko that he has no model for a happy marriage, but he knows what good partners do for each other. He remembers that much, at least. And Inko promises that whatever family they’ve left behind, the one they’ll make will be better.

+1 Izuku is born; Sorahiko learns about his grandson when Izuku manifests the tell-tale AfO hand holes at age four, and a panicked Toshinori calls for advice; AfO learns four years after that, when he crashes All Might’s Bring Your Child to Work Day.

#bnha #afohiko #toshinko #all for one #gran torino #torino sorahiko #yagi toshinori #all might #midoriya inko #dfohiko verse #shih.txt #asks #ravelights #the devil’s in the details for the family drama reunion tbh #the drama stems from both afo and sorahiko's competition to matchmake toshinori #and also the fact that AfO just. skipped a generation.#popping up stronger in Izuku than it does in the grandfather himself

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frodothefair · 3 months

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Expats. [Ch 1/?]

An Elijah Wood real person fanfiction.

Pairing: Elijah Wood x OC (Marina) Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Elijah Wood, no offense or defamation is meant, and Marina is not real. Tags: @konjugaltdien @konartiste @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @bumblingbriars @invisiblewashboard Summary: Elijah Wood gets romantically involved with a fan, and to escape some unexpected Hollywood drama, the two of them move to Ukraine, the country where she was born, and where she lived as a child. A/n: I went a little nuts. That is all. This could turn into a longfic... or into a post I delete the next morning. A scorpion bowl of the mind may have been involved.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every fan dreams of being with their idol, and it is a truth equally well-acknowledged that it hardly ever happens.

And yet, for nearly ten years, Marina Kotchoubey (1) was living that reality.

As far as biographies went, Marina’s was perfectly ordinary, except for the fact that at nine years old she had moved to LA from Ukraine. She was also fairly unremarkable, as far as Ukranian girls went – for she had dark-blonde hair and vaguely pretty features, she had grown tall and lean in middle-school, she had done ballet, and she excelled at school – for nothing short of A’s was accepted by her mother, herself a tall and lean academe, who had also done ballet.

In fact, the only feature that distinguished Marina from her mother was that Marina, in spite of every maternal reproach, could not help but slouch.

But that aside, she was quiet, and she loved music and movies.

She had seen Lord of the Rings when she was a junior in high school, on a Tuesday night when the movie tickets were cheap, and she had fallen deeply and hopelessly in love with a man who had the face of an angel and bitten-down, stubby fingernails.

When she was a freshman at UCLA, she had begged, borrowed and stolen to get a ticket to the Lord of the Rings Oscars Party, an event geared toward fans. It was the year that that The Return of the King had swept the awards, and Marina, quite inebriated, found herself being admitted by the imperious bouncer, and entering the large, dimly lit venue, wearing an outfit cobbled from bits and pieces from her friends’ closets, and somehow – she had no idea how – she ended up speaking to the man whose likeness had decorated her notebooks for years, and was the screensaver on her computer.

And when Marina was inebriated, she had a habit of fancying herself a poet, and saying terrifyingly stupid, regrettable things.

At first, she lost no time in confessing that she had watched The Ice Storm no less than thirty times to soften the horrors of the college application process. Then, she gave a treatise on why she thought Elijah’s character in that film had autism. (2)

And then, at some point, they spoke of the Gypsy punk-rock band Gogol Bordello, and how Elijah was fascinated by their music even though he could not understand a word, and his plans to film Everything is Illuminated in Ukraine. Marina (of course) had shared that she was Ukrainian, and Elijah commented politely on her having no accent – as everyone did – and then she told him that if he happened to be Kyiv, he should go to her favorite restaurant – the one she always frequented with her father whenever she was back – and that the fish in that restaurant tasted like it had leapt right out of the river, high on life because it survived cancer.

She did not remember much after that, but she could not shake how awkward she felt. Why on earth did I just tell Elijah Wood to eat cancerous fish? And, Why must I be so cloying and so zealous? He’ll think I’m one of those deranged stalkers! And she remembered thinking that she had taken up far too much of his time – for it was his night, after all. But the complimentary drinks had been deceptively sweet, and blush-colored, and little plastic scorpions and crabs lay across the bottoms of the glasses… And she was drunk, far too drunk to remember how to end a conversation.

And so it was, in a few minutes’ time, that Billy Boyd appeared at Elijah’s elbow, his smile going not to Marina, but through her, and with remarkable tact, he had intoned that there was someone he thought her idol should meet. And she knew, right then and there, that she had overcrowded her welcome, in a sense, and she gave a small, frozen half-smile as he said his good evenings and was gone. And then she felt awful, and rued every word after “Hello,” and every drink after the first. So she stood in line and got herself another. And in a corner, feeling nonsensical and overdressed, she ruminated.

She had ruined his night so much that he had needed a friend to spirit him away. And that – that made her feel like Gollum. In the corner, in her borrowed dress and borrowed heels, she began to weep. But the weeping turned into a senseless, foolish laughter – until Billy Boyd, who had all but air-lifted Elijah away from her, tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

She cursed the screen-printed cocktail napkin for refusing to absorb her tears, but courtesy demanded that she turn around, so she did. And Billy, whose face and shoulders looked older than they had done when he was Pippin, said very little – though his eyes were kind. He only handed her a small white napkin, folded diagonally, like a triangle, and said, puzzlingly, “Elijah wanted me to give this to you.”

Bumbling thanks was all she could give in reply, and Billy Boyd bid her good evening, turned on his heel, and melted into the crowded night.

Feeling poorly and baffled, she stood like a statue for a long time before opening the napkin. Inside it were ten digits and a couple of dashes. A phone number.

She did not believe it was real. The scorpion bowl drinks were full of alcohol and fiction.

For a week, she agonized over whether to open the napkin again. The necklace, heels, dress and perfume all returned to their rightful owners, the only things she had left of the Awards party were her creased ticket of admission (General Admission: Admit One) and the triangular napkin. They sat like orphans on the painted-over radiator.

She was certain that if she opened it again, she would call. And she was certain that if she called, she would find that it was not his number, but some anonymous digits, or the rejection hotline, or the police.

But in the end, she called. Of course she did. And it did turn out to be his number, and they met in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Venice Beach that very same weekend, drank Last Words served by an unscrupulous bartender who checked neither of their IDs, and talked for hours. He then took her home to her college apartment in his modest BMW 3-series – modest for a movie star, anyway, and there were crumbs all over the interior – and they continued to meet, frequenting live concerts, and arthouse movie matinees with five other people in the audience, and karaoke bars in Japan and Korea-town.

Elijah was surprisingly easy to be with – as unassuming, kind, and humble as his public image suggested, and far quirkier and more cheerfully irreverent than any camera could capture. Before long, they had all but invented their own language – a bubbly vernacular of cockeyed misquotations, and twisted references that only they understood (3). By her 23rd birthday, he had proposed, and they married quietly, wearing their rings on their right hands in the Ukrainian way so that nobody would guess. (4)

In the years that followed, Elijah made film after film, became a DJ, and started a record label and a production company, while Marina had gone to law school and joined a firm, her angular student awkwardness blossoming into a chic, sublime femininity. They lived in Venice Beach, and tried to keep a quiet existence – and for the most part, they succeeded.

But in the end, it was as true a statement on Earth as it was in Middle-earth: the hearts of men, and women, were easily corrupted.

Kotchoubey is a noble family name that originated in Ukraine. After the revolution of 1917, however, few of its members remained in the Soviet Union. The fictional Marina’s ancestors were among the ones who stayed behind and did not flee, as she herself is a Ukrainian immigrant who came to the US in the early 90’s.

Based on the fact that yours truly has watched The Oxford Murders repeatedly for the last month. I watch it at least three times a week, on weekdays, as I eat and relax.

Mr. Nisile and I have such a language. So thick is it that military code-breakers would pull out their hair.

In parts of Eastern Europe, wedding rings are worn on the right hand, while in Western Europe and the US, they are worn on the left. In real life, Elijah is also often seen wearing a plain silver band on his right hand, though I doubt he was ever secretly married to a Ukrainian beauty.

Bonus: What do you think Elijah calls Marina in private? Answer: Mari. ;)

#elijah wood #real person fanfiction #fanfiction #lotr #lord of the rings #writing #fanfic #lotr fanfic #lord of the rings fanfiction

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bouncycloud · 6 months

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Top five favorite fics + honorable mentions

Top five?? How can one choose top five out of millions😭

But i'll certainly try. Here's my all time faves in the ✨HP fandom ✨

1. Miðgarðsormr by xXAonoNYmouSPXx

I'm sure it's not a surprise 😄 This fic has me hooked, i even wrote a fanfic for this fic. Basically, tomione has a magical child, and when i say magical, i don't mean he's just a wizard. Their child is so much more haha. The twist: Tom had never met hermione and Hermione doesn't even know that her child has a father. Motherhood suits hermione so well in this fic and we get the bonus of seeing Tom riddle got dragged into parenthood haha. BAMF Hermione

2. In the Black + Black Mask by izzythehutt

It's a series. Regulus survived the cave and went to Sirius then boom: BLACK FAMILY REUNION. It's Sirius-centric and Sirius's characterization in this fic is so good. This story delves deep into Black family drama and the war. SiriusxOC, and while i usually don't read many HP fics with OC as a prominent character, this fic is so worth it to read.

3. Hermione Granger, Demonologist by BrilliantLady

It's a light read and it has great theories! I like to read it from time to time. Kid Hermione summoned demons in attempt to make friends and becomes a dark witch so naturally. But even though she's a dark witch, she is still very hermione!

4. Strange Attractors by Mistakes_And_Experiments

Tomione and world building! Smart people talking smart things. Tom is deep into politic. Very slow paced. Very sweet, not dark at all, unlike many tomione fics. Hermione is a bit ooc in this one, i think (not a hot headed gryffindor at all, but rather calm like luna). Still, it's an awesome read that i like to return to.

5. when sunsets look like blood (hold me till the stars appear)

Again, Tomione. Hilarious and deep. Tom riddle is not some evil overlord in this fic. Still rather evil, but just a teenager. I read this one a long time ago, but i still love it to this day.

Honorable mentions

The Laughing Heart : Regulus-centric, one shot. This fic makes you feel. It's regulus black, duh.

R. v. Riddle : Another light read! Or is it dark read? 🤔 About a murder case gone wrong (or gone right, in Tom's opinion). Intelligent Hermione but tom riddle is so much more haha. In this case, tom riddle played Hermione like a cheap kazoo :)) i really recommend this, it depicted tomione perfectly.

You Should Know : Adult hermione and adult tom riddle/voldemort. Hermione is born in the 30s, so a bit younger than tom riddle. Another light read that i like to read from time to time. It's canon hermione who grows up in the 30-40s and doesn't have harry or ron as friends.

Aberration : Harry/Hermione. Hermione is sorted into Slytherin. Honing her cunning out of necessity

Yesterday is Tomorrow (everything is connected) : who doesn't know this fic, honestly. I don't particularly like james/hermione but it's BAMF hermione so i can't resist. I'm glad i decided to read it, because this fic influences Mad Adventure a lot (I got the idea of using the Crouch family for Mad Adventure because of this fic). This fic is not one of my top favorites, but i put it here because it made great impacts on Mad Adventure

As you can see, I mostly read Tomione fics 😅 I know my fave list lacks any Regmione, but it is what it is :( I only got into regmione because i just think Regulus will suit Hermione well and deserves so much better. In any case, The Damned is one of the most memorable regmione fic for me - it's just so different and interesting.

If you have any fic recommendation for me, feel free to share! I mostly read HP and Naruto, sometimes BNHA, so if you want to share some fics from those fandoms, feel free to do so!

#ask me stuff #harry potter fic

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thekingofwinterblog · 4 months

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Any next gen Soul Eater ideas, like CroMa kids or something? Maybe they could finally start really healing the human-witch divide, unlike the copout super convenient manga truce🤷🏿‍♀️

Well to cover it in full, i'll start with how i would have handled their role in the plot, then gone over the individual characters and how one might handle them.

Now i would very much have the younger generation be directly involved/responsible for the two sides making peace, but one thing i would put a lot of emphasis on, is that this is NOT the case that the young was able to make peace with the witches because they had lost nothing.

This is one of the cheapest aspects of the way Kid made peace with the witches. Rather than forcing him to have to accept that people he cared about would go unavenged, kid never had to deal with having witches as a faction kill people he cared about, and so he never developed real hatred for them the way his father did.

This is very cheap, and it's the opposite of how i would have handled it with the next gen.

I would have had most if not all of them suffer real, genuine, personal losses in the war against witches which has ramped up during their early years.

Thus them eventually growing to tire of the war, and realizing that the conflict has to end at some point, even if it means giving up on revenge and payback would have had real, genuine bite.

And with that said, lets get into the real fun part. Dissecting the various aspects you could use to craft the next generation.

In regards to our favorite triangle, there is a lot of potential here.

To confront the most obvious thing out of the way, there is of course the question of wheter any biological child of Kid would also be a shinigami, and if so would the child be like Asura, who's senzu lines was already finished, but not full, or would they be like Kid's own.

If the latter, that completely changes the dynamic, because it means that the child in question has the potential to succeed him as the next great old one of order.

Kid was created with the goal of his father making a true successor that would ideally surpass him.

If kid has a child that has that same potential, it means that the kid in question is both someone Kid loves, but also the reality that to achieve that same potential that Kid unlocked, Kid in turn would have to die.

Even if any kid of Liz and Patty are not shinigami, their nature would still be very big parts of their dynamics with the world and their dad.

Because if fully Human, there is the very real fact that Kid will outlive them. Even in the best case scenario, where they die of old age, peacefully in their bed, their dad would still be eternally young and at their side to see it happen.

Needless to say, this is a great springboard to build character drama off, as the kids in question could easily have a very complicated question with their dad, who might be overprotective of them, and struggle to balance being a father, being the effective monarch of Death city, and their boss if they are Meisters or weapons.

And thats not even taking into account that as any story with half siblings born from a triangle, there is no guarantee that the kids would get well along. Liz and patty worked great because they had a very clear, uncomplicated and mutual love for one another.

As any look into histotical harem politics can tell you, this sort of dynamic very, very rarely appears amongst half siblings.

I imagine both liz and patty would both try to make their kids essentially the next generation's version of them, and that kind of thoughtless but well meaning parenting could easily lead to a very volitile couple of half siblings

And thats great, because theres a lot of ways you could write them with that background and dynamics in mind. And subsequentally, lots of character development you can get by putting this kind of complicated relationship of love mixed with rivalry through the wringer.

As for the kids personalities, the fact is that Kid, liz and Patty all have so many different traits and quirks that they could easily pass on to their kids that it's sorta all up to the author how each would turn out.

Moving on from the triangle, to the ninja duo, we have a parent and child dynamic that would either be great, or absolutely terrible.

Given how black star is, i have no doubt any child of him and tsubaki would probably embrace the fact they are the child of the strongest meister alive, essentially being very similar to him, or they would grow up to absolutely resent it.

Its not hard to see a kid who grows up trying to be black star, growing to absolutely reject the very concept of attaining power just because they want it.

And there are actually several ways to write that.

Obviously the kid could absolutely fail, and the story is about the fact they never had any shot at becoming as strong as he did, and so had to fidn their own way. But you could also write the opposite. Someone who DID attain the absolute peak... Then came to feel that it was all a waste of time, that by trying to be as great as dad, they wasted their entire life so far. That power was not all that important in the end.

Or they could be a happy go lucky kid who takes everything in stride for the most part like Black Star himself.

There are a lot of ways to write this relationship and the kind of person the kid would be.

Im not sure whas aort of relationship the kid would have with their mom though. I imagine Tsubaki would be a good caretaker, but other than being a good mom, i don't really see her as nearly as large a defining presscence in her childs teenage development as Black star is.

As for personality, wheter cynical or joyful, i would probably have them share a lot of traits with black star, like a love for the dramatics, a natural inclination to act over the top(if not mayhaps in the same attentionwhore manner as their dad), and maybe not being the brightest tool in the shed.

As for a child of Maka and Chrona, i would have said kid be the main protagonist of this story, just like her mother was the protagonist of the original.

And the reason for that, and for giving her a very distinct gender, is that i would explore this big conflict between Death's side, and the witches as a whole, by someone who is both.

Namely i would make full use of the fact that said child would be the granchild of Medusa, and in turn, be a witch just like her. Heck you could even have her take more from Medusa than either of her parents when it comes to look, which people have no problem pointing out.

One of the big problems with the witches as a faction is that we never really had a character to explore their inborn desire from destruction, and what that actually means... Well here's a great character to do that with. Someone who has chosen the side of order and law and is generally a good person... While also having all the same inborn urges that the opposition, the ones her own side deems as pure evil, has.

Its a great idea for a character journey, and thats withouth taking into acxount that if she has black blood, she would probably be prone to madness, just like Crona was.

That could manifest itself in bouts of utter bloodlust against evil enemies, just like how stein was when defeating medusa.

As for relationship with her parents, i like the idea of her growing up in a loving home, in stark contrast to her parent Chrona, she was the pride and joy of both her parents lives, and unlike her mother, she didnt groe up in the shadow of a broken relationship where everything just disitegrated.

Heck, even her relationship with spirit(as it would not be tainted by the man's infidelity), would probably be great.

No, her journey and character voes comes from the fact that while she has a great relationship with her family, unlike the rest of the cast, she has a far, far more tumoltous relationship with her homeland, the city state of death city.

There is an old african saying that "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth". That would be her personal conflict in a nutshell.

She has loved ones in Death city... But she does not love her home the way the rest of the cast does.

As a witch who kills her own, she suffers not only from racism from both sides of this conflict, but would probably also feel like nobody loves her, with all the self loathing that entails. Every single relationship she has is either family, or someone her parents introduced her to.

In other words, she is a very lonely individual, with a lot of issues regarding wanting to make friends, but having huge problems doing that.

In fact, i would use Maka and Crona's best moment, their connecting in the basement so long ago, as something she holds up as an ideal. She WANTS something like that... And the reality is she probably is not going to get it. If she wants to find her own soul mate, she'll have to do it her own way, just like her parents did.

And if she cant... She will one day find herself completely alone in the world, as the only one who'll live as long as she will, is her boss Kid, who she isnt all that close with.

So a bit of a mix between her parents. She has maka's bravery, but just like crona, she has terrible absolutely capacity for friendmaking, and because that attempts at making new relationships leads to constant failure, at some point she became afraid to even try, to risk rejection.

Needless tos say her coming to terms with her issues would very much tie in to the two sides who she like it or not, are connected to both of, begin making peace.

As for personality, probably a mix of her parents with Maka's overall attitude and fluctuating confidence levels, but with Crona's inclination of selfimposed withdrawal and isolation.

As for Soul, if this story has maka and Crona hook up, that probably means he hooks up with... Blair.

Now there is a lot of irony here, that the relationship that was set up as the obvious "false lead" ended up becoming the actual one that happened, and by the time it did, Maka was actually okay eith it, but there is one idea i kinda did want to explore with this relationship.

Namely their kid.

Blair is unfortunately one of soul eaters most wasted characters. Other than fanservice, and one later arc where they got to be cool, she was never really used to good effect.

Essentially what i would do with her and Soul's kid is a do-over. Explore the ideas of having a very distinctly non human main cast member, who has a very nonchelant attitude to everything, life, love, death and so on.

They are the observer that doesnt really fit in, who has very different priorities than the rest of the crew, who yes, is fighting against witches, but isn't actually ideologically invested in the conflict the way the rest are.

Wheras all the rest have very distinct ideological and personal reasons for wanting to comtinue this fight until they "win", they dont care.

This is just a job, not in the sense they get paid to do so, but rather it's a lifestyle choice, that just happens to also include a lot of cash that can be traded for fish and other goodies.

As such, this cat boy/girl could also act as a voice of reason as the ultimate point of this story is the painful march to peace.

As for relationship with their parents, I would have this also be distinctly non human like. Soul WANTS a traditional, father child dynamic. But the reality is that while his kid is both fond of, and loves him, at the tender age of early puberty, they feel like they have grown up and it's time to leave the nest forever and be independent.

Something that weirds out the rest of the cast, but which blair finds perfectly normal and is proud of.

As for personality, very similar to Blair, just with way more focus on their friendship with the rest of the cast.

As for the main other pairing who would probably be really important here, stein and Marie, i... Have no idea honestly.

The fact is both of them are wacky, and insane, just in very different ways, and you could combine both... Or you could have their kid end up being completely normal.

It depends on what role you need them to fill honestly. If you need the older, cooler upper classman who is a few years older than the rest that could work, or if you wanna have them be the next stein with all the screws loose, that works too.

Honestly if you just wanna have them be the love interest who is more science oriented than fighting, that could work too as well.

Any of these combinations could emphasise different aspects of both Marie and Stein and still work just fine for their role.

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petri808 · 7 months

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Day 16 @flufftober “singing each other to sleep” Twiyor Drabble Inspired by art by @wildgirl86 Click Here to see the piece and support them! 💜 Also here is the song featured in the story, Dreaming of You by Selena.

A scream echoes through the silent apartment causing Loid and Yor to shoot up instantly awake— a reflex from their days of past. With a turn and a knowing look, they each jump out of bed and run to the source ready to do battle with any evil spy or boogie man in the closet. From the glow of the starlight globe on the nightstand, they see the raised outline of something sitting up under the covers and hear the wet sobbing of a child’s tears. Loid flicks on the light as Yor beelines it for the bed.

“Anya?” Yor questions in a soothing voice as she sits along the edge. With Loid standing by along with an anxious Bond, she peels back the blanket until it reveals the shivering little girl. “Did you have a nightmare?”

The child nods with tears still dripping down her cheeks.

“Was it the one about the lab?” Loid confirms.

Again, Anya nods. Her green eyes full of moisture and surrounded in a white sea of red squiggles are like a peridot gem being born from an erupting volcano. It’s evident that tonight’s dream is an especially bad one. This brings a frown to Loid’s face, a bit of guilt…

“Awww,” Yor scoops Anya up into a tight hug bundled on her lap. “I’m so sorry Anya!” She coos assuringly. “Wanna sleep with us tonight?”

“Yes!” Anya sniffles and wraps tightly to Yor’s neck. “Don’ wanna be awone,” she whimpers.

“Of course,” Loid confers with a smile, “you can sleep with us. Here,” he gestures to Yor, “I’ll carry her.” But as Yor is about to pass Anya up to Loid, Bond cuts between them grumbling. Loid chuckles, “I think he wants to be your trusted steed tonight Anya.”

“He does,” Anya confirms, which also brings back her smile.

Yor places Anya onto Bond’s back, then she and Loid follow behind as he trots to the master bedroom. Bond stops next to the bed so Anya can climb onto it. Once she’s off, he goes to the foot of the bed and lays down while Loid and Yor climb in, sandwiching her between them.

“Momma, will you sing me something?” Anya asks politely. “Pweeze?”

“Sure,” Yor kisses Anya’s forehead, who settles in and closes her eyes with a smile.

The couple face inward, Loid laying his right arm over and hand coming to rest on Yor’s waist to bundle them close. He too closes his eyes and relaxes to the sound of his wife’s beautiful voice. It isn’t often that he gets to hear it, he chuckles inside his head at the thought of feigning a nightmare of his own so she’ll sing to him too.

After a moment, Yor hums briefly to find her pitch and begins. “Late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up and think of you. And I wish on a star, that somewhere you are thinking of me too...”

Loid can’t help the genuine uptick of his lips as he zones into Yor’s voice. Just two years ago, he never would have believed of a scene like this being anything more than a fictional scene from a drama on television. When he signed up with WISE, he swore off normalcy, swore off family all together let alone having his own. Relationships were just a means to an end and children a prop in an operation. But Loids brows furrow again as he remembers their role in Anya’s nightmare, which is no nightmare but a memory of the laboratory that created her. Because he made a mistake, they kidnapped her and took her back to that awful place. Thankfully with Yor and Yuri’s help they were able to get her back, but not before they put her through a few more painful experiments.

“…I just wanna hold you close, but so far, all I have are dreams of you. So I wait for the day and the courage to say how much I love you. Yes, I do! I’ll be dreaming of you tonight. ‘Til tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be…”

Yor’s voice is slowly trailing off, so Loid opens his eyes too and sees she falling asleep. He brushes some stray hairs away from her face, causing her to relax even more and stop completely. This makes him smile. They make him smile. It’s times like this that makes him feel lucky to have met them both. Eventually the nightmares too will become a distant memory for Anya replaced by nights like tonight and her mother’s beautiful voice. All the pain they went through gave them this gift of a family, and there’s definitely nowhere else in the world better to be in.

“I love you too.” Loid leans over and kisses Anya first, then Yor on the forehead, before settling back in and closing his eyes. He keeps his voice soft and serene as he completes the lullaby. “Now I’m dreaming with you tonight. ‘Till tomorrow and for all of my life. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, than here in my room dreaming with you... Good night, my loves.”

#flufftober 2023 #twiyor #twiyor fan fiction #canon divergent #twiyor fanfic #spy x family #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #Petri808 #unedited

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lemonhemlock · 1 year

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hello! hope you are well. i love love love your posts. they are always so reasonable and aptly put. so thank you for all your hardworks <3

i was thinking about something for a long time. i'd like to know your opinion on that.

it's obvious that rhaenyra never should have married laenor. in the book she was threatened by viserys to marry him and if she had remained defiant, viserys would have disinherited her. she felt pressured to marry laenor in the show too, so that whole thing was unfortunate for her. when she married laenor, in the show she couldn't conceive his child. and then perhaps she and harwin began their relationship. when jace was born, it was obvious that he wasn't a velaryon.

so, exactly what was rhaenyra supposed to do after jace? she needed an heir to secure her position, but with laenor, it wasn't happening. and when jace was born, he didn't look like rhaenyra either. was there any way for rhaenyra to annul her marriage without offending corlys? and even if the annulment was possible, how it would have affected laenor? would people have called him "less of a man"? everyone knew for a fact that laenor was gay.

even though i am team green i feel some sort of sympathy for rhaenyra here because i still don't know if there were any possible way to get out of that situation without causing a huge drama. that being said, vaemond and his family deserved better.

i know, there are too many questions and for that i'm so sorry, i just had to ask them to you.

Hello, sweet anon, thank you for your lovely message!

As it happens, I already made a post that, I think, answers most of your questions (if you have other additional ones, hit me up).

it's obvious that rhaenyra never should have married laenor.

I think Laenor is actually a very good political match for Rhaenyra. He is also a kind man, who respects her, abides by her and would never hurt her. The problem with the Velaryons is inherited from the previous Targaryen generation. By marrying outside the family, Rhaenys created two additional dragon-riders with her children. Think about the fact that, at the time of Rhaenyra's marriage, House Velaryon had three dragon-riders, while House Targaryen only two. Uniting these two branches through marriage is a very good idea. Just like Viserys marrying Laena would have accomplished the same thing (🤢).

in the book she was threatened by viserys to marry him and if she had remained defiant, viserys would have disinherited her. she felt pressured to marry laenor in the show too, so that whole thing was unfortunate for her.

Only after she made a mockery of her betrothal tour and almost-slept with Daemon. She has a lot of opportunities and freedoms out of reach for many other noble lords and ladies.

when she married laenor, in the show she couldn't conceive his child. and then perhaps she and harwin began their relationship.

Not sure about Laenor's infertility. It's more likely he & Rhaenyra didn't really try.

when jace was born, it was obvious that he wasn't a velaryon.

Yes. Perhaps Rhaenyra hoped Harwin had some recessive blond genes in his background (not phrased in that language, obviously) and the child would come out looking more like her. But it was a huge miscalculation.

so, exactly what was rhaenyra supposed to do after jace? she needed an heir to secure her position

No, she didn't. See the first linked post. I think the better option here would have been to name Aegon her heir* and for Laenor to pass Driftmark to Laena's line after his death. Viserys had already produced enough children with Alicent and House Velaryon has no lack of cousins who can inherit, if needs be. There are enough Targaryens and Velaryons in the world by this point; they are not facing extinction.

*No, her life would not be forfeit in that situation. Legally, her claim is not very strong (narrative weakness / plot hole) and realistically-speaking people would not have much reason to rally behind her. I have a whole succession for the Iron Throne tag for this.

was there any way for rhaenyra to annul her marriage without offending corlys? and even if the annulment was possible, how it would have affected laenor? would people have called him "less of a man"? everyone knew for a fact that laenor was gay.

Previous post on annulment + another one. Important aspect to keep in mind: why would the High Septon award Rhaenyra an annulment when the Faith of the Seven is based in Oldtown, the home city of the Hightowers?

that being said, vaemond and his family deserved better.

Agree. That was a grievous abuse of power. 🤷‍♀️ Personal ambition is not a crime. Even if you want to argue Baela & Rhaena are ahead of him in the line of succession*, Vaemond has every right to petition his case and await the King's judgment. He is not seizing anything illegally here. He is officially appealing the institution of the Crown and stating his own argument. Not Vaemond's problem Viserys is rotting from the inside out and he is basically petitioning Alicent & Otto.

*Controversial opinion, but I'm not arguing that. I think the girls should be disqualified because they are not putting their own cases forward as a result of their conflict of interests (their father being married to Rhaenyra, who is actively trying to usurp the Velaryons out of her lands). Again, not Vaemond's problem they are unwilling or unable to argue for themselves and indirectly abetting Rhaenyra's takeover.

even though i am team green i feel some sort of sympathy for rhaenyra here because i still don't know if there were any possible way to get out of that situation without causing a huge drama.

It's not so much that Rhaenyra made one or two mistakes and now she should be punished for them, it's more that... I'm really struggling to see what/if Rhaenyra did anything right at all. She has been skirting her duties all her life and everything she does post ep. 6 is damage-control, which inadvertently backfires on her, because the hole she dug herself in is already too big.

Nevertheless, Rhaenyra is in a very difficult situation, no doubt. It is not fair that she has to clean up the messes left behind by Jaehaerys and Viserys, the two "peaceful" kings. Jaehaerys should never have passed over Rhaenys in the first place. Viserys should never have remarried and produced extra sons. It's a difficult task, but it is her lot in life, should she ever wish to become queen. She can always pass this on to Aegon and live her life as a rich, comfortable woman. No one is forcing her hand here.

The only way I see Rhaenyra having a sliver of a chance is if she maintains a good, honest relationship with Alicent and her sons, marries a powerful, rich noble lord and has his trueborn children + petitions, wines & dines, gives out bribes and favours constantly to the lords and important players in Westeros, makes constant royal progresses, gets to know them, gets them to like her, helps them with their grievances, just basically lobbies the fuck out of every power centre in the Seven Kingdom, including the common folk. So that, when the time comes, she has so much popular support that she can basically impose herself via some sort of charismatic authority. Doesn't flee to Dragonstone, abandoning the capital and the practical governance. And absolutely does not kill her husband and does not marry Daemon.

i know, there are too many questions and for that i'm so sorry, i just had to ask them to you

No worries, I just hope I answered them! 🦄

#ask #anon #anti rhaenyra targaryen #anti laenor velaryon #succession for the iron throne #bastardposting

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