#The Game is NOT more important to his relationships

[dilemmars]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“ DIE WITH A SMILE. ”⠀⠀───⠀⠀arcane.

⠀⠀𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗌𝗈𝖽𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖾.⠀( welcome to the playground , 7.7k words. )⠀by dilemmars.

1.⠀⠀ PAIRING⠀⠀:⠀⠀violet x f!reader.

2.⠀⠀GENRES⠀⠀:⠀⠀based on the storyline and universe of arcane ( league of legends tv show )⠀; first love trope, started dating recently, stablished relationship, exes to lovers. basically you and vi were dating before the start of the story, then got separated.

3.⠀⠀WARNINGS⠀⠀:⠀⠀i will add the warnings that the tv show has: slight presence of sex and nudity, foul language, alcohol, drugs and tobacco. moderate scenes of fear and terror. high content of violence and gore. in this first chapter, not more than that. pretty calm chapter, introductory. some steamy kissing hehe.

4.⠀⠀AUTHOR 'S NOTE⠀⠀:⠀⠀first chapter out! i really really hope you like this silly story! this is just the beginning, a little bit of introduction to the backstory of the characters, and scenes you already know from the show. enjoy 🤍

5.⠀⠀IMPORTANT⠀⠀:⠀⠀this is a work of fiction. i do not own arcane or any content produced or owned bychristian linke, alex yee, riot games or netflix. all rights belong to netflix and the writers of arcane. all plot events and character developments that are not related to the main character's story belong to the writers and creators of the series.

You rested your hand on the rough wooden wall after reaching the last step, and paused your movements. Just for an instant, you allowed yourself to close your eyes and take a breath of air. You rolled one of the screws you'd been working with between your fingers, the shine of the stained metal glinting next to the chipped nails painted a dirty maroon colour, and forced yourself to walk along the small landing at the back of The Last Drop. You ignored the dull ache in your ankle, which crept up your leg if you stepped too hard, and the animated murmur of people greeted you as you opened the door, swallowing the silence that had surrounded you for most of the afternoon.

Despite the heavy gloom that shrouded the downside of the town, you had to squint at the large lamps in the shop, illuminating the large room with an amber light. You tucked the screw in one of the pockets of your cargo trousers, rotating your shoulders to release some of the tightness that had taken over them after an afternoon slouching in the studio, and made your way clumsily towards the bar counter. You caught a glimpse of Vander's broad back skilfully pouring two pints of beer for one of The Last Drop's regulars, and grimaced. You knew he would be working —it was his establishment, after all— but you didn't want to meet his disapproving gaze.

You raised your hand in a quick wave when the guy who had just paid for the two beers, Huck, smiled at you, and you mentally thanked that Vander was too busy following him with his eyes to notice that you had disobeyed his request for rest. You let him concentrate on the irregular-looking meeting the man with the dark ponytail was about to carry out with the two strangers Vander watched over, vigilant, and slid awkwardly under the plank that separated the inside of the bar from the rest of the place. Hopefully, if he was too busy he wouldn't say anything.

‘Where did you leave your watchdog, sweetheart?’ you heard, and got startled by how close Sevika's low, honeyed voice sounded, sitting on one of the bar's high stools, the criminal's sharp gaze glinting with amusement, hidden behind her own jug.

‘None of your business,’ you replied, but a smile danced on your lips as you faced her, your hands resting on the metal cover of the counter, damp against your skin. She smiled too, a sort of reply to the game you always played with each other, and set the jug down in front of you.

‘But it's strange not to see her glued to you,’ she replied, the caricaturistic pout in her mouth a mocking sneer at the person she was talking about, Vander's older adopted daughter.

Her golden breastplate shimmered under the spotlights hanging from the ceiling above you, her dark jacket fading into the shadows, and you rolled your eyes playfully. You could hear a soft melody from the gramophone you had managed to fix a few months ago, but it was completely drowned out by the shouts of those winning and losing at the pool tables to your right. Sevika loved to pick on you, throwing comments that you answered in a scathing manner, with that haughty little girl's mask that had earned you a fight or two.

They were harmless words. She'd throw a jab, you wouldn't stay silent. But that night the absence of the lively group of teenagers Vander was in charge of seemed more present than usual, and it made your heart hammer just to think that their unaccustomed delay was because something unexpected had happened. You reached into the inside pocket of your threadbare leather vest and pulled out the old hand-watch you always carried with you. The hands seemed to be moving too fast, a tick-tock-tick-tock that anticipated an uncertain outcome.

‘I thought I told you to stay downstairs,’ Vander murmured behind you, the comforting sound of his voice enveloping you like the hand he rested on your shoulder. His fists had once been wielders of daunting violence, you'd been told, his strong, dangerous-looking arms characteristics attached to his name and reputation, but you'd only known the tenderness with which they could embrace you.

‘I get bored alone in there,’ you confessed, pouting, ignoring the breathy laughter of the criminal in front of you. It wasn't true, as everyone who met you knew how easily you were able to abstract yourself in any situation. The truth was that the living room of the small home Vander had built under the pub felt lifeless if your friends weren't in it.

You didn't say it, but it was implied in the softness that tinged the man's gaze when he looked at you. He slid his hand from your shoulder to your arm, as he had done so often since you had known him, always a gesture of understanding and comfort, and you listened to his reproach with brows furrowed upwards, accepting his words.

‘Still, you shouldn't overwork that foot until it's fully healed.’

Sevika made a noise of affirmation, a victim of enough injuries to know what was best for a simple sprain, and it served as enough convincing to let Vander take you by the waist and sit you in one swift movement on the counter. A sigh of relief spilled from your mouth, which you didn't hold back just to let the bartender know he was right, and you thanked him with a smile, the clock still racing against time in your hand.

They weren't back yet, and you couldn't ask Vander if he'd heard anything about a disturbance topside, because it would imply that you had full knowledge of what your friends were up to behind their father's back. It had been a mistake to rush into planning the heist, and even more so knowing that you could not be a part of it, having been forced to rest after a silly sprained ankle a couple of weeks ago while trying to jump from one building to another. It had been a bet with Mylo, the annoying middle brother who knew what strings to pull to make you act out of pride, but you had all agreed not to tell anyone about it.

He disappeared into the crowd with his inseparable pipe between his lips, and you deflated, sliding off the bar and onto the floor to run away.

‘Can I have another before you go, you damned little wraith?’ asked Sevika, pushing her empty jug towards you with her fingers, compassion floating in her gaze. She too had been a child, she too had kept secrets from her father.

You merely nodded, turning back to her to pick up the metal glass, and stood on your tiptoes to reach the beer tap, wincing as you flexed your ankle. You waited for the bubbling foam to reach the rim of the jug, almost spilling over your fingers, and your pulse trembled as you caught a fleeting glimpse of turquoise hair in the back of the crowd. The same turquoise hair that you had braided and decorated that very morning, still sitting up in bed, with a twin screw to the one in your pocket.

Powder. The youngest of all of you, last in the group line. Leading the way, Vi's strong figure, camouflaged under the hood of a sleeveless jacket, marking a quick step towards the door you had exited just minutes before. Your heart began to stutter against your ribcage, realising that they wouldn't be coming in unnoticed, head down, if something terrible hadn't happened. And they weren't carrying the backpack they'd left with.

You set Sevika's jug down on the counter perhaps a little harder than necessary, giving her a nod by way of farewell, and duck under the table to retrace your steps, limping your way to the door through which Vander's four adopted children had just sneaked in. Your breath caught in your throat as you took the first step, pain running like electricity through the muscles in your leg, but you clenched your teeth and continued forward, stumbling as you opened the second door, pausing for a moment before attempting to continue on one foot.

‘Vander learns none of this,’ Vi was saying, her raspy voice cutting through the air in a sharp warning.

Oh, no. Something had definitely gone wrong.

Whatever Mylo was about to say got drowned out by the silence the four of them fell into as you put your injured foot on one of the wooden timbers you had marked as squeaky, and you bit your lip, placing most of your weight on the handrail. You knew that if your ankle still hadn't healed after two weeks it was because you were incapable of sitting still, but every time you got a jolt of pain like that, you wished you'd laid in bed for days. You bent over slightly, frowning, muttering a soft, ‘It's me, it's me, don't worry’.

You heard Vi's quiet sigh as you massaged your ankle, the soft sound of the armchair as she stood up, and every step she took until you saw the tips of her boots on the step below the one you were on. She rested the palm of her hand between your shoulder blades, and you let its warmth run across the leather of your vest, feeling her hand slide to the small of your back, its comforting touch making you let out a soft whimper. When you looked up you saw concern swimming in her gaze. All you wanted was to flash a calming smile.

‘It's alright,’ you said, taking a breath, carefully placing your foot on the floor and getting up. ‘I'm alright, how are you guys?’

‘We're good, cupcake,’ she whispered, sliding her hand around your waist, drawing circles with her thumb over the small sliver of skin between your vest and the waistband of your trousers, as if in a rehearsed choreography: the uneasiness of one face mirroring the distress of the other, both trying to reassure one another. ‘Come here, yeah?’

You huffed, but let her anyway. Vi moved her hand slightly up, towards the curve of your waist, hovering over you, and you had to stifle a gasp as she caught you in her arms, her warm palm against your back once it slipped under your shirt. You couldn't help the way the end of your lips curved upwards, a mirror image of the one you felt on hers as she pressed a quick kiss to your temple, and you slipped an arm around her neck as she began to descend the stairs, pressing you against her body.

‘You stink,’ you said, ignoring the way her t-shirt clung to her sweaty chest, how the fringe of her pinkish hair fell over her eyes. You tucked it behind her ear, sliding your fingers over the bruise that had already begun to form on her cheek, and frowned. ‘What happened?’

‘Powder jinxed the plan,’ Mylo replied, and you turned to him, who was sprawled on the couch, next to Claggor, his feet on the coffee-table, his arms folded, and looking just as dishevelled and dirty as the rest. ‘Again,’ he added, and Vi's chest rose with a tired sigh alongside you.

‘I tried, okay?’ replied Powder, wrinkling her freckled nose as Vi turned around the couch she was sitting on, with you in her arms. ‘You don't get it,’ the little girl complained, ‘you're older, you're bigger.¡ You left a soft kiss on Vi's jaw as a silent thank you before she carefully settled you down next to her sister, and you tried to imagine what had happened to make Powder have to defend herself that way. ‘It, it isn't fair.’

You caught a glimpse of Mylo's gaze, his eyebrows raised in disbelief, and then you turned your face to Powder, huddled against the sofa with his knees drawn up to his chest. And you got angry. It wasn't the first time the boy had reflected his own insecurities back at her, jabbing at her with phrases that undermined her confidence, and though you always tried to keep your cool, telling him off in private afterwards, there were times when it pained you not to stand up for her out loud so as not to pick a fight.

‘Of course it isn't fair,’ you interjected, glaring at Mylo, folding your good leg under your body to make yourself more comfortable. You felt Powder's eyes on you, hanging on your every word. ‘You're more experienced too,’ you continued, leaning your head against the backrest in a lazy gesture, as if the conversation was boring you. ‘I still remember the kind of things you used to do when you were Powder's age.’

Before you could tell some ridiculous anecdote about him, at least to try to cheer Powder up, the door burst open, Vander's powerful figure appeared in the doorway, and the words died in your throat. Tense, the five of you stood still, waiting for a reaction from the owner of The Last Drop.

‘Everyone alright?’ he asked, coming down the stairs agonisingly slowly.

You saw Mylo remove his feet from the table in a hurry, sitting up, and the tightness in his attempt at a smile as he spoke.

‘Never better,’ he replied.

‘Good,’ Vander pronounced, his voice dangerously calm, taking his time getting downstairs. ‘I don't suppose you can explain why it is that hearing about an explosion and a foot chase topside?’

You didn't see him, but you heard his footsteps behind you, calculated, restrained, and it took you a second longer than necessary to process the words that had just come out of his mouth. An explosion? And a chase, a foot chase. You opened your eyes in surprise and turned slightly towards him, but he wasn't looking at you, his gaze locked on Vi. He'd known about it practically all afternoon and hadn't said anything to you. It was obvious. You wondered if he wouldn't ask you to stay downstairs instead of helping him pour beer to keep you from finding out too. Would Sevika have any idea of that?

‘Four children fleeing the scene,’ he added, as if it wasn't clear enough.

If the enforcers had chased them to the limits between topside and undercity, they would do whatever it took to search house to house and find the culprits. Especially after collapsing a building, and particularly if valuables had been stolen. You felt Powder's hand slip around your arm, hiding in the tiny gap between your body and the couch, and you tried to make eye contact with Vi, unsure of what to say without really knowing the circumstances of what had happened, but she avoided your gaze.

‘What the hell were you thinking?’ inquired Vander, the measured tone doing nothing to try and disguise the frustration in his words.

Your heart raced in your chest. There had been many versions of the conversation that had started, softer, more lighthearted, in the past, but you could tell the anger buried in father and daughter with just a glance —Vi's frown, her fists clenched, and the tension in Vander's shoulders. Vi's voice didn't falter as she answered.

‘That we can handle a real job.’

Vander's response was just as quick, his scepticism lashing out like a whip, ‘A real job?’

‘We got our tip, planned a route, nobody even saw.’ she said, and just the quick glance she gave you after uttering it made you bite your tongue. She said we, which wasn't a lie, but she used the loophole of your involvement in the planning so that Vander wouldn't scold you too.

‘You blew up a building!’ he exclaimed, and you flinched.

‘That wasn't…’ Vi blinked at her father, as if the fact that they were all home meant it hadn't been that big a deal, but was interrupted by a barrage of accusatory questions.

‘Did you even stop to think about what could have happened to you?’ demanded Vander, and you began to feel the guilt creep up your throat. ‘Huh? To them?’

You perceived the way Vander pointed towards the two couches facing each other, the ones where you and Powder and the two boys were sitting, but you weren't really looking at him. Once he had said it, you could only notice everything you hadn't when you had seen them after their absence: the little girl's scraped knee, Claggor's bloody shirt around his neck, the tiny particles of dust and plaster in Mylo's spiky hair. The bruise you'd caressed, a gaping cut on Vi's other cheekbone.

Playing at being criminals was practically harmless in the undercity, always backed by Vander's intimidating reputation, but going up to Piltover to loot was something else entirely. There was a risk that became all too real, you moved under rules that applied differently to those who came from where you were from. It had been too dangerous, a hazard you hadn't seen when you had planned it from the comfort of your room, and you had been the one to send them up there, while you stayed in the safety of The Last Drop.

You heard Vander sigh, defeated.

‘Where did you even get this tip?’

You felt Powder stir beside you, leaning out so her father could hear her better, ‘We just heard it at Benzo's.’

‘From?’

‘Little Man?’ she muttered in reply, unsure if telling the truth was safe, even if it was the right thing to do.

You wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against you, as soon as you saw Vander's brow begin to furrow. He obviously didn't think it was good advice coming from an eleven-year-old, you'd seen it coming —and that was why you hadn't wanted to say anything to him— but Ekko was worth a lot more than the adults liked to think, with those quick legs and the ability to put together the most complex gadgets to learn all the secrets and whispers of Benzo's shop.

You saw Vander open his mouth to respond, but before he could articulate a word, Vi shot up from the couch, storming with anger in her voice, ‘I took us there,’ she said, face to face with her father. ‘If you wanna be mad, be mad at me. But you're the one that says we have to earn our place in this world.’

Vander sighed again, as if he were exhausted from facing the same conversation all the time.

‘I also told you time and again the Northside's off limits,’ he repeated, as he had so many times before. ‘We stay out of Piltover's business.’

‘Why?’ reproached Vi, and you could see the change in her gaze, that shift that suggested that she had had enough too, but of witnessing the social injustice that went on every day in your country, and of no one doing anything to stop it. ‘They've got plenty, while we're down here scraping together coins. When did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?’

The intensity of her words left you breathless, amazed that she had dared to utter what she had so often whispered to you when she was angry with Vander and needed someone to talk to. There was a deathly silence in the room, tense and thick, and you all respected it, knowing that the conversation had become too personal.

‘Everyone out.’

You made the attempt to stand up, ready to intervene, to try to negotiate a situation in which no one regrets what can be said, even if you don't have a say in the situation. Play mediator, something you've always been good at. But before you can open your mouth, Vander is giving you a harsh look.

‘Out,’ he repeated.

You looked up at Vi, who was frowning, but her eyes softened as she met yours and saw your expression. She nodded almost imperceptibly, resting a hand on your shoulder, and helped you up to get out of there. You knew they needed to talk to each other, but it stung that you couldn't be there to protect her if Vander went too far with his words. You sighed, remembering that he would never hurt his children, and limped a few metres, followed by Powder.  You heard Claggor and Mylo rise behind you, waiting for you to go up the stairs. You were prideful enough not to accept help from anyone, even if your cheeks were flushed red from how long it took you to get to the top.

You closed the door after Powder passed last, and leaned your back against the wooden surface, closing your eyes for a moment. You were grateful that Mylo didn't make any of his comments, and only turned away when Powder demanded your attention, puffing upwards at her fringes.

‘Can I go look in the pipes outside?’ she murmured, her restless legs trembling to get the hell out of there.

‘Yes, of course,’ you replied, smiling at her. 

You placed a hand on the wall once you saw her disappear down the stairs where Claggor had sat, and took a step towards him, leaning on his shoulder so that you could sit next to him. You rested your head on his shoulder, sighing, and ignored the gadget Mylo pulled out of one of his many pockets to gossip the conversation.

‘Was it that bad?’ you asked, your voice low.

‘Pretty much,’ Claggor told you, shifting underneath you. ‘We don't know what caused the explosion, we just ran out of there as soon as it happened.’

‘But you're all okay, aren't you?’ you wanted to clarify, trying to imagine all the scenarios that had happened. You hadn't seen many explosions in your life, but the four of them had come back in one piece, and that would have to calm you down. It should, at least.

‘Except for the part where Powder lost the bag we were bringing the stuff in,’ Mylo chimed in, glueing his ear to the goldish device, and you rolled your eyes. He had to be joking, putting a couple expensive items above his and everyone else's safety.

‘We're all okay, yeah,’ Claggor replied, and you turned your head slightly so you could smile at him. ‘How are you doing with the...?’

‘Shh,’ interrupted the youngest of you three, his eyes widening, ‘Vander's telling her that it's her responsibility what happens to us.’

‘I'm fine, Clag,’ you continued, ignoring Mylo's words. ‘It hurts less and less every day.’

‘And now he's asking for the stuff!’ he interrupted again, raising his voice slightly.

‘You are aware that eavesdropping on other people's conversations is rude, right?’ you sighed, shooting him an amused look, knowing he wouldn't care. Mylo was a nosy one.

He didn't answer you, too busy analysing every word of what was being said on the other side of the door, and you shook your head slightly, leaning part of your body against Claggor. You felt your ankle throbbing, protesting at the effort you had put it through, and your head was beginning to ache. You needed to think of something to convince Vander that it wasn't all Vi's fault, that if there was a punishment, it wouldn't fall on the rest of them.

Staring blankly at the floor, you waited. You decided you would follow Vander back to the bar to talk to him, even if it was just to find out how the situation had affected both the topside and Vi. You figured she'd want to be alone, but when she felt ready you'd return to her arms, as always. And then Claggor tapped your knee gently, urging you to pay attention, and you saw the look of concentration on Mylo's face as he failed to hear Vander's heavy footsteps —which you could literally hear without his gadget.

When he finally realised that the man was on the other side of the door, he jerked away, turning hurriedly to pretend that he had been waiting with you and Claggor, his back to both of you. The towering figure of Vander appeared with a large sack slung over his shoulder, and a scowl on his face, though it was the serious face he adopted in his day to day life. Perhaps it hadn't gone so badly after all.

‘Get up, Claggor,’ he said, closing the door behind him, ‘we're going out.’

‘Wait, now?’ he complained, huffing.

You lifted your head from his shoulder, offering him an apologetic smile. If your foot were okay you would have offered to accompany Vander in his place, but even in that situation you had to recognise that too much walking would cause irreparable damage to your ankle. You stroked his shoulder encouragingly, grimacing as you saw the colour the bruise in his eye was beginning to take on, and watched him stand up, as Vander snatched Mylo's  device from him.

You listened to his complaints as Vander ignored them, and ducked your gaze when he faced Mylo, ‘You wanna be treated like adults, right?’

He threw the bag at Claggor, who had to lean on the steps to keep from falling, and you tried to get to your feet to help him, wincing as you rested your foot irremediably on the ground. It was hard to figure out the specific mood of Vander at that moment, the tonality of his words contrasting with the way he treated you.

‘Then you should know better than to come back from a job empty-handed,’ Vander said, resting his hand on the handrail to start walking up. You stepped aside, stepping down to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mylo, and avoided looking at him as he spoke the final words, ‘I'm going to have a little word with your informant.’

You exchanged one last glance with Claggor, mouthing a quiet ‘Good luck’ before he nodded in defeat, following in Vander's footsteps, disappearing up the stairs Powder had gone a few minutes before. You leaned your back against the closed door that led to the bar, realising that the plan you had in mind had fallen like cards blown by the wind, and considered simply heading off to bed to rest.

‘You coming?’ muttered Mylo, bumping his shoulder against yours.

‘Huh?’ you looked at him, momentarily unsure what he was referring to, until he nodded his head towards the door.

‘Let me help you,’ he asked, holding out his hand in front of you, ‘don't be stubborn.’

You folded your arms, snorting, and played hard to get.

‘You know Vi would kill me if she found out I let you walk down those stairs by yourself again,’ he added, one hand over his chest dramatically, as if suffering the wrath of your girlfriend was probably the worst possible fate —and you didn't doubt it.

You rolled your eyes playfully and accepted his hand, slipping your arm over his shoulders and letting him wrap his around your waist, making it easier for you to limp. You walked slowly down the stairs, focused on not falling, and you were almost relieved about the absence of that dull ache in your ankle. You had to start taking better care of yourself.

Vi's figure greeted you just as you had left her, slumped in her armchair, one leg up on the armrest and her head resting on one hand. You pouted at the sight of her, worn out and for a moment looking older than she actually was, but the expression on her face morphed into just a smile, sitting up slightly at the sight of you. Mylo guided you in front of her, one hand still on your waist in case you wanted to sit elsewhere, and you thanked him, leaning on the armrest still free of the armchair.

You heard Mylo pick up a ball and plop down on the couch you'd been sitting on with Powder, but all your attention went to Vi, her greyish gaze, calm, soft, and the way her hands slid down your hip, yours tangling in her hair.

‘Hey, pretty girl,’ you murmured, your lips drawing a soft curve over your mouth, ‘everything okay?’

She smiled in response, dropping her head against the back of the chair and letting out a long sigh. With her eyes narrowed, and her hands clasped around you, the ends of her smile spread a little wider, and suddenly you were pulled into her lap. You muffled a gasp of surprise, spilling laughter onto her skin, and settled into her arms.

‘Now? Hell yeah,’ she replied, his lips brushing your temple.

‘How are you feeling?’ you said, your voice barely a whisper, snuggling against her.

‘Exhausted,’ she admitted, and you began to trace shapes on her arm with your fingertips, ‘I really missed you today.’

You pouted at her words, turning your head away a little so you could look into her eyes, ‘I really missed you too,’ you replied. ‘My studio felt too quiet.’

‘Did you make any progress?’ she asked, shifting her body so that she could stand as close to you as possible, still looking you in the eye.

‘Yes!’ you exclaimed, sitting up slightly so you could explain. ‘I've fixed the wing mechanism! It works perfectly now, and it doesn't make that awful noise. I even tested it, and it's able to stay in the air, so I'll be able to create the first sample in no time.’

‘That's amazing, cupcake,’ she commented, smiling proudly. Whenever you were asked about an invention you were working on, you started babbling information, and Vi was one of the few who actually paid attention to what you were saying. ‘Next up is designing the body, right?’

You nodded, remembering that the reason you'd gone up to The Last Drop in the first place had been that you'd promised yourself to ask Vi if she wanted to be involved in the design. You'd had to leave the mechanical crow halfway through, waiting for her response.

‘Wanna help me?’ you said, turning to her and tucking a pink lock of hair behind her ear. You let your palm linger on her cheek for a moment, melting as Vi pressed her face against your skin, closing her eyes, and added, ‘The idea was yours.’

‘The idea was Ekko's,’ she whispered, correcting you, turning her face so she could press a kiss to your palm, and then she looked up at you, the grey of her gaze warm against yours, ‘but I'll be happy to help.’

You lowered yourself over her, swallowing her breath, and joined your lips in a tender kiss. Vi wasn't a big fan of grand displays of affection in public, except for the occasional protective gesture that always worked if she felt a little jealous of the way you were being looked at in the street, and kissing was usually reserved for when you were completely alone. So you were surprised when she sighed against your mouth and bit your lower lip, slipping her tongue in as soon as you let her. The taste of her distracted you, and you slid your hands up her shoulders, feeling her hands anchor around your waist, drawing you into her body.

But then you brushed your thumb over her cheekbone, as you always did, and felt her wince in pain. You pulled away, fearful, and remembered the cut you had seen earlier. Much to your reluctance, you decided to pause the kiss, leaving one last peck on her lips that she chased, and you smiled at her, changing the subject.

‘And the studio topside?’ you wanted to know, picking up the conversation where you had left off. ‘Was it as cool as Ekko predicted?’

‘Oh, it was otherworldly!’ she exhaled, breathy, as if trying to focus on what you had said, remembering her failed incursion. ‘Truth is you would've loved it, with all those tools and maths equations, and the weird, complex artefacts.’

‘Maybe if I had gone, things would have had a different outcome,’ you sighed, resting your forehead on hers, closing your eyes.

‘Maybe,’ she conceded, drawing comforting circles on your hip bones, 'but you had to rest.’

‘I know,’ you acknowledged, trying not to let the guilt seep into your voice. Then you pulled away slightly, your hands still resting on her shoulders, ‘now you have to rest.’

‘Do I?’ she asked, amusement in her eyes, smiling.

‘Of course you do!’ you said, analysing the wounds on his face. ‘And wash up too. You still have blood in your face.’

‘Aren't you going to ask how the fight went?’ she inquired, humming, bringing her hands up to your lips to undo the pout with soft fingertips.

You raised your eyebrows at her words, as if the answer was obvious, ‘Oh, you won.’

‘Yeah, I did,’ she replied, chuckling under her breath.

You slid your gaze across her face, taking in each small wound, the smeared blood from the cut on her brow, the gradual colour of the bruises on her cheeks, and then slid it around the room, looking for something to treat her wounds with.

And then you saw the open bottle of alcohol on the table, a solitary drop of liquid sliding on the glass, and you knew that Vander had been the one to smear the blood on Vi's brow. It had been a friendly conversation, then. You smiled at the thought.

‘Let me clean you those wounds, yeah?’ you whispered, caressing your girlfriend's jaw before getting up to reach for the bottle.

‘As you wish,’ she replied, waiting for you to sit back on her lap, her fingers tingling to touch your skin again.

But you stood in front of the armchair, pulling a roll of bandages from the small pocket on your belt, always ready to be able to change the ones Vi wore from her knuckles to the forearm of her right hand. You took your time cutting a generous piece, pouring alcohol on the cloth and tapping Vi's leg on the armrest to get her to move it.

She huffed, raising her hands in a gesture of defeat, and sat with her legs together, leaving you the perfect gap for your knees to rest on the sides of her hips. Once back in her lap, you cupped her face with one hand, palm holding part of her jaw so she couldn't move it, and blew on the cut on her cheek before pulling the wet bandage over it.

You saw a drop slide off her skin before the alcohol touched the open wound, and her brow furrow as you slid the cloth across her cheekbone, sucking in a sharp intake. You looked at her, knowing it was going to sting anyway, but she kept her eyes closed, concentrating on not moving. You wiped it off as quickly as you could, moving on to the half smeared cut on her eyebrow, and Vi held still, her hands tense on your waist, until you discarded the bandage, leaving it on the table behind your back.

Then you took her face in your hands, whispering that it was done, and laid six quick kisses on her bruised cheeks, all soft caresses of your lips on her skin. She smiled at the attention, running her hands up your back to slip under your shirt, but you stopped her, aware that she had forgotten Mylo's presence in the room.

You turned to him, seeing that he had been turned towards the back of his couch, trying to give you as much privacy as possible, and questioned him.

‘Hey, Mylo, you got any cuts you want me to clean up?’

He stirred, rolling over until he was sprawled on his back, and picked up the ball he'd left between the couch cushions, his gaze unfocused.

‘You know, Powder's a problem,’ he said, as if he hadn't heard a word, running his free hand over his face to snap out of his trance.

‘Oh my God, you've been overthinking all this time about that?’ you exhaled, disbelief painting your voice.

Vi sighed, resting her forehead on your shoulder, exhausted, ‘Mylo, I'm really not...’

‘Do you remember what was in the bag?’ he interrupted, throwing the ball against the wall in front of him and catching it on the fly.

You rolled your eyes, tired of his obsessive attitude.

‘Jeez, I'm sure it wasn't as...’ but he interrupted you too.

‘The biggest payout we've ever seen,’ he continued, giving vent to his complaints, not understanding why you didn't give it the same importance. ‘And she just lost it.’

‘She made a mistake.’ Vi leaned back in the armchair, resting her head on her hand.

‘Name one time she hasn't.’

‘Myls, she's still young,’ you tried to interject, defending Powder while avoiding creating an argument, as usual.

‘Don't bullshit me,’ he said, still determined to blame her for all his problems. ‘Vi was twice the person half her age.’

‘Vi had to grow up way too soon and fight for Powder to have a decent childhood without parents,’ you countered, starting to stand up, the knee of your bad foot still propped up on the couch so as not to overload it, but giving Mylo a venomous look. ‘Do not bullshit me.’

Vi put a hand on your hip, her hand warm against your skin, and helped you sit on the armrest, then propping her elbows on her knees so that she was face to face with her adopted little brother.

‘You know what, Mylo? You're right,’ she said slowly, sensing the way you tensed behind her back. She wasn't going to agree with him, was she? ‘There's a bunch of things Powder can't do.’

‘You don't have to tell me twice,’ he said, a hint of superiority spilling out of his mouth.

‘Like complaining about everything,’ Vi continued, sitting up, and you allowed yourself to relax, knowing she was going to teach him a lesson.

‘What?’ Mylo frowned, the ball tapping rhythmically on the wall in front of him.

‘And brag non stop.’

‘Okay, okay, I see where this is going...’ he replied, sitting up in his corner of the couch as Vi towered over him, catching the ball in mid-flight. You crossed your arms over your chest, remaining silent.

‘Pick fights with the group when we need to focus.’

Mylo gave a nervous chuckle, ‘Vi, I...’

‘And tell strangers on the street that we got a nice haul,’ she finished, her back to you. You couldn't see her face, but you could see his regretful gesture.

‘Oh my god, you did what?’ you muttered, surprised. If Powder lost the stuff then it was because she had to defend herself from a fight that Mylo had probably started. And Powder wasn't much of a fighter.

‘I, I didn't mean to,’ he defended himself.

‘Powder's my problem, okay?’ announced Vi, to which you nodded. They had both been through too much. Even if they lived under the same roof as Mylo, Claggor, and even you, their relationship was always going to tie them together in a much deeper way. ‘Your problem is never knowing when to shut up,’ you watched as she moved even closer to him, face to face, and lowered her voice so he could hear her clearly, ’but I'm gonna help you with that. Ready? You see this look on my face?’ she pointed to her face, and you saw Mylo swallow, nodding. ‘This will always mean it's time to shut up.’

‘But...’ he tried to say, to which Vi pointed to her face again, ‘I...’ she did it again and he groaned.

You couldn't help but let out a giggle, covering your mouth with your hand as Mylo rolled his eyes, giving up, and dropped his head against the couch. Without a word he put his hand to his lips, running his fingers over them as if he were zipping it, and stood up quickly, hurrying up the path to the stairs. As soon as he was gone, Vi turned to you.

‘Where were we?’ she asked, approaching you with a smile tugging at her lips.

You slid down the armrest until you were sitting on the cushion, and opened your arms to receive her, beaming. She knelt in front of you, wrapping her arms around your waist, and shuddered as you slipped your fingers into her hair. She closed her eyes, sighing, and left six quick kisses on the sliver of skin that peeked between your shirt and the waistband of your trousers, over your hip bone.

You giggled, wiggling your hips, and asked her, ‘Why was that?’

‘I don't know,’ she said, resting her chin on your belly, looking up at you with sparkling eyes, 'you always give me six kisses on the cheek.’

‘You always hurt your cheekbone, which is different,’ you corrected, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear, ’I just give you kisses to make it heal faster.’

‘And why six?’

You looked away, embarrassed, and cleared your throat before confessing.

‘A while ago Sevika told me,’ you began, remembering when the criminal had discovered your obvious crush on your best friend, ’that there is an ancient type of number, Roman numerals, which are written with letters. And the ones in the number six are a v and an i.’

‘Vi,' she whispered, surprised, ‘my name.’

‘I don't know if it's true or if she was lying to me,’ you acknowledged, smiling between your flushed cheeks, ’but it's been my favourite number ever since.’

You watched her close her eyes, sighing a disbelieving laugh against your skin, and murmured a quiet "Oh, I love you", her lips still moving as she lifted her head so she could look at you again. She sat up a little, seeking her mouth with yours, and you bent low enough to kiss her again, both of you alone this time.

You slid your hand through the portion of her hair that was partially shaved, an impulsive decision she had made a few years ago, and drew her to you, knowing which parts of her face you shouldn't touch to avoid hurting her further. She dug her fingers into your flesh, opening her lips over yours, and you stifled a whimper when you had her in your mouth again.

When she slid her tongue over your neck, aiming to drown in your skin, and you managed to take a breath of air, you remembered that Vander could be back at any moment. And reluctantly, you had to make the decision to stop.

‘Hey, pretty girl,’ you inhaled, closing your eyes as you felt her open-mouthed kiss against the crook of your shoulder, ‘someone could walk in at any moment.’

She didn't stop, lost in you, and you had to make a superhuman effort not to just blow it all off and ask her to keep going.

‘Vi, baby,’ you tried again, ’c'mon.’

‘Fuck,’ she murmured under her breath, resting her forehead on your chest. ‘One day..., one day I'm going to have you all to myself. I swear.’

‘We'll decide on what day that will happen,’ you promised her, leaving another kiss on her lips, ‘I need it to come soon.’

She kissed you back, forgetting what you had just said, and you had to resort to another way of convincing her.

‘Besides, Powder would really appreciate it if you went to see her,’ you murmured against her mouth, ‘I'm sure she needs her big sis right now.’

Vi feigned a pout, ‘And you don't need your big girlfriend with you?’

‘I think I can survive without you for a moment,’ you replied, laughing as she put her hand over her heart, making it look like she was too hurt by your words. You quickly corrected yourself, ‘but just for a moment. I need you right back, huh?’

Her lips curved into a smile, the soft freckles on her cheeks stretching with happiness, and she ran her mouth up your neck, trailing kisses over your skin until she reached your lips. Exactly six.

‘I'll be right back, then,’ she said, rising to her feet.

‘I'll be waiting,’ you replied, your hand entwined with her.

She began to walk slowly backwards, stretching your arms until your fingers inevitably parted, and you curled up on the couch as you watched her disappear before you.

You leaned your head back against the backrest, listening to your girlfriend's footsteps climb the stairs to the upper floor, where the bedrooms were. Powder had probably done enough rummaging through the old plumbing outside, always on the lookout for new gadgets for her little inventions, and you reminded yourself to check the last ones she'd made to see if they worked. Ever since you had taught her everything you had learned among the streets of the Lanes, her passion had been to imitate the complex mechanisms she saw in your workshop —though no doubt with a more atomic outcome.

You adored that little girl.

Thinking of her, her wonderful big sister and what the future would bring, you spent some time lying on Vi's couch, resting your ankle, until you moved and your pocket watch dug into your ribs. When you pulled it out you saw it was so late that there was no point in waiting to see if the others would come back. 

You walked up the stairs with a pipe-turned-cane that Vander had left around in the hope that pride wouldn't prevent you from using it, and took refuge in Vi's unmade bed.

It was later in the night, when you heard Powder hushing Vi to enter the room in complete silence, that you felt your girlfriend's arms slip around you in an embrace, pressing herself close to you to sleep beside you.

‘We're going to be fine, right?’ you asked, half asleep, your voice mushy and your eyes still closed.

‘Of course, cupcake,’ she whispered back, her lips moving against the skin of your shoulder. ‘I promise.’

ㅤㅤ© dilemmars ★ do not copy, translate, repost or share this work as yours on other platforms ! consider leaving a comment or reblogging.

[toxycodone]

PLEASE! TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT DAISUKE AND A POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. I'm begging and crying, please

ship. daisuke x reader

content. sfw + romantic

an. i have not been reading any other content but I’ve seen the massive complaints of people babying him through the grapevine 💀 so well. hopefully my thoughts are good

We all know this but Daisuke is seriously such a cutie.

Just. He’s so outwardly kind and enthusiastic, so before you two are even dating he’s practically just glued to your hip.

I think before any romance is involved he makes a great friend. He’s inviting you to his house to play video games (his mom makes snacks which is lowkey embarrassing but also pretty cute).

Honestly I think his mom is trying to teach him to be an adult but also like. Cannot stop babying him. Like he’s such a good son could you resist spoiling him?

And it just spirals to you too bc like! You’re the guest! Going to his place is always nice bc it’s like yay! It’s like they practically adopted you. (It wears out tho his mom makes you start doing your own dishes or something and it’s like oh. You’re *really* apart of the family.)

ANYWAYS ENOUGH. but before you two get together. Daisuke’s crush on you is like. So obvious.

He tries so hard to keep it to himself bc he’s afraid to ruin whatever you have right now but. Geez.

He lights up when he sees you and is almost talking a mile a minute—he’s just so excited to be with you and be talking to you!! You’re his favorite person!!!

And he’s always trying to impress you…like, it’s always something so dumb too. Showing off his arcade skills or whatever. He’s silly.

I think he can’t resist blushing when you’re around too. Like. There’s always a nice mauve stain on his cheeks and it’s ADORABLE.

He doodles. He doodles you. The stereotypical initials in hearts. YEAH. When he’s in classes or taking notes he most definitely starts daydreaming and ends up with silly doodles and hearts and crap UGHHH

His sketchbook is where it really gets dumb and crappy and romantic. Which he tries SO HARD TO HIDE FROM YOU ITS CRAZY.

when he musters of the courage to tell you his feelings (there’s a lot of stuttering and crap) he’s fist pumping and going LETS GOOOOOOOOO (when you’re not around but you manage to catch it probably)

He’s such a good boyfriend oh my god. In my mind he really values family and stuff so you are EXTREMELY important to him (and by default his fam)

You have a good relationship w his mom off the bat she ADORES you for how happy you make her son oh my god

He does a lot of stupid romantic shit like…pulls a chair out for you at dates, gives you flowers, tries to write love notes 💞

DUMB THRIFTING DATES WHERE YOU PICK OUT OUTFITS FOR EACH OTHER. UGHHHH DONT TOUCH ME.

But dating you also makes him think more seriously about life. Because he gets waaaaay ahead of himself and is like “oh my goodness,,,I have to prepare and get a job so we can get married and have a giant wedding and buy a nice house and get a pet and” (he’s naming your kids in his mind btw.)

[arnivold]

Having played Emmrich's romance from start to finish I can say it does a shockingly good job of realistically portraying a romance with a significant age gap, speaking from experience as someone who once dated a guy in his fifties while I was in my twenties

Spoilers under the cut

So when you first start flirting with Emmrich, he doesn't assume you're being serious or doesn't even register it as flirting. Then he realizes what's going on and plays along with it. Then he starts flirting back, and uh oh we both acknowledged there's chemistry and now we have to figure out what we're gonna do with it.

Then you start dating. Or at least you're sorta dating. And your friends notice what's going on and immediately they voice their concerns. Are you sure this is a good idea? Happy for you but do you think maybe you're going a little too fast? Does the older person have bad intentions here? These are all questions the companions and even Hezenkoss ask in banter when you start the romance with Emmrich

And yeah when you first start dating someone new these questions don't seem to matter cause you're in love. You're charmed by Emmrich's gentlemanly ways, Emmrich likes the feeling of having a young person show interest in him because it makes him feel younger so he doesn't have to grapple with his mortality

But then as shit gets more and more serious and you near the end of Act 2, Emmrich wants to have a genuine discussion with you about the relationship. He's concerned that maybe this isn't such a good idea after all, because even though you both have the best of intentions, eventually you will have to deal with losing him and it will be decades before you have to worry about your own death.

And you have to ask yourself, is this serious or not? How are we gonna introduce each other to our families? Are you prepared to care for a sick/elderly spouse in your 40s and 50s? If you want to have children, are you prepared to handle having a partner who is already a generation apart from you and old enough to be your children's grandparent? How will it look when an older person in a teaching position is dating someone the same age as their students?

And for a lot of people these are serious obstacles to having a serious long term relationship! And discussions like that often do end in a fight like it does in Emmrich's romance! It happened to me in my relationship with an older man, too! It didn't work for me in my specific case but some people are able to work that stuff out, and in the case of Rook and Emmrich, they eventually do. But those are important discussions to have when you enter that kind of relationship

Idk man, the whole time I was romancing him I kept hearing the same comments my friends and family made about my relationship, the same arguments and discussions we had about the logistics of that kind of relationship, etc. etc. I figured they were just gonna go the route of indulgent wish fulfilment, and I was left slack-jawed when the game actually delves into the realities of dating in age gaps that large

[lilianade-comics]

Stolen Sanguine's Storyline

@taptrial2 requested information about my Danny Phantom vampire AU, Stolen Sanguine. I previously made a post about the AU's world-building. This post will summarize the story as far as I've developed it.

*Vlad begins the relevant history of this AU as a vampire, and the details of his turning are not important as they are not the inciting incident of his revenge plot.

---

THE PAST.

A little over thirteen years ago, Vlad was a rich, powerful vampire living the typical vampiric lifestyle with the added bonus of some mad science human/vampire experimentation on the side. But after years of living like that, he realized it wasn't satisfying him and there was something very big and important missing from his existence. Under the weight of crushing loneliness, and knowing it's supposed to be against vampiric nature to form real connections, Vlad decides to run an experiment: Is it possible for him, a vampire, to form a real relationship with a human and never introduce blood consumption to the dynamic? Is it possible for him to experience genuine love?

Enter Jack and Maddie. Maddie was about six months pregnant at the time, and the story she tells Vlad is that her husband was a merchant whose ship sank recently. Jack is in the role of her servant. They quickly form a friendship with Vlad and in Maddie's case, she allows Vlad to believe he's wooing her. They run the long game on Vlad, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and that moment comes a few months after Maddie's twins are born. Jack and Maddie, vampire hunting husband and wife, turn on Vlad and attempt to slay him, citing his many, many crimes against humanity and evil, blood consuming nature as the reason he's a fool to think they ever cared about him at all.

Vlad escapes Jack and Maddie because his castle is full of secret passageways, but he's suffering a nasty facial wound from a stake and reeling from the betrayal. He watches from a distance as they burn his home down and destroy his immortal life's work, and bitter hatred takes root in his black heart because he actually had hope his experiment was working. That he could love and be loved and finally feel satisfied...

Immediate revenge is the only option. Maddie gave all number of excuses why she wouldn't let Vlad meet her infant (the cholera outbreak in the area is too dangerous) in a thin attempt to protect them should the plan go awry, but she didn't realize Vlad's powers far extend the norm. With a trace of Jack's blood on one hand and Maddie's on the other, Vlad can taste both and have an approximate idea of where their offspring resides, so he sets off to destroy Jack and Maddie's world.

Jack and Maddie would never have expected Vlad to find their little traveling murder wagon, so it's relatively undefended save the ridiculous amount of anti-vampire measures, half of which are useless and the other half pose no more than a slight inconvenience. The biggest obstacle is the fact that Vlad can't enter the dwelling uninvited and keep his powers, but he's beyond caring at this point and he meets no opposition from the cowering caretaker tasked with minding the treacherous leeches's spawn.

He wasn't expecting two babies, and after forcing entry Vlad is feeling more fatigued, vulnerable, in pain, and anxious than he anticipated, so he makes the hasty choice to take one and leave the other. Had he been more decisive, he probably would have done something far more grisly, but this choice sealed the fate of both children for better or for worse. Vlad flees the Fenton's traveling home with his stolen prize and vanishes into the beyond, never to be found.

(Jack and Maddie return some time later, exhausted and emotionally spent from hours of trying and failing to find their prey. To say that day went from bad to worse for them is an understatement. They continue to search for Vlad and their daughter for weeks, but the day they find a blood soaked baby blanket in the woods is the day they lose all hope.)

Vlad's retreat from his pursuers was stressful and made more difficult due to the fact that he was injured from the attempted slaying and powerless from forcing entry, but fortunately for him the tiny object of his revenge will conveniently provide the blood needed for his expedient recovery. Vlad has never eaten a child before--the thought is somewhat distasteful to him, but he puts this discomfort aside in the face of his hunger and seething, furious need to hurt Jack and Maddie.

It's funny, then, how when he removes the infant from its blanket and looks into its blue eyes and observes its little fisted hands and feet, holding it aloft and away from his body like the sacrifice it's supposed to be, Vlad hesitates. In those best days with Jack and Maddie, he could have sworn his experiment was working. That if they had never tried to kill him, Vlad could have seen fully past his desire for blood and simply be their friend, no strings attached. That he could have fully loved them. That they could fully love him. It was they who had ruined everything, they who were the monsters, not him. Vampires could love, if they chose to. He just needed to find someone without prejudice, someone without hate...

Danielle's life was spared that day. As she grows up far, far away from her birthplace, Vlad ensures she knows what he wants her to know: That he, a vampire, adopted her after her evil parents used her as bait in an attempt to kill him. It's not the unedited truth, of course. But it's true enough. What's even more true is that Danielle loves him wholeheartedly, and Vlad, in his own disturbed way, loves her too. He shields her from the darkness of his world and does everything in his considerable power to keep her happy, healthy, and safe. He's not lying when he claims he's never bitten her. She's his daughter, a word that isn't in the average vampire's vocabulary. It's the sweetest revenge imaginable: the child of vampire hunters, now the child of a vampire.

---

PRESENT DAY.

Danny is turned inside his own home. It was a freak accident, and he wasn't even bitten. All it takes is one little scratch and a tiny drop of venom; and he wakes up the following night with a craving for the unimaginable. Brought up to believe vampires are the most evil creatures alive and terrified of what he might do to his parents, he flees home and camps out at the Foley farm, where Tucker sneaks him livestock just to keep him alive.

Jack and Maddie were going to let Danny apprentice at an astronomer's guild in the near future, so Danny leaves them a note to tell them he was so excited about it he left early. The truth is too terrifying to admit, and he knows they're too caught up in the hunt for the vampire that got away from them thirteen years ago to question it. They kept saying they were close; which means Danny is free to...do what, exactly?

He has nowhere to go. Tucker can't hide him forever, and as much as Sam pretends that she's a witch she can't undo his curse. And Danny feels that hunger still, that hunger driving him to hurt his closest friends. So he leaves them too, fearing their safety.

He travels for a bit by night, subsisting off animals and avoiding people as much as he can. He has some close calls: a white-clad vampire slaying cult nearly catches him after he gets a little too bold going after livestock, and even though Danny knows he needs to avoid people, he can't help but take advantage of his newfound immortality and help people who need it. A victim of highway robbery here, a stuck wagon there. One freezing cold river and one rescued swimmer later and Danny discovers that he's exceptionally pathetic for a vampire; he can't die by hypothermia or drowning, but he lacks the resistance and recovery speed these monsters are supposed to have. He spends hours staring at the stars, hoping no one finds him like this, and all he can think about is blood.

It's at one rural village miles away that he hears whispers that he's officially in vampire territory. He's passingly familiar with these concepts: vampires aren't typically nomadic and usually reside in one or two locations, amassing enough power and wealth and political or economic influence so as to be untouchable, and presiding over a handful of villages or even a city that don't dare to oppose them. This particular area apparently has a relatively high concentration of vampires, which normally would have him going the other direction. But one name stands out from the rest, one name gives him pause. Vlad Masters, or Plasmius as he is colloquially known underground. The one who escaped from his parents, all those years ago. The one who killed his baby twin sister.

Curiosity is only a fraction of what drives Danny into Vlad's domain. Is it anger? A sense of vengeance for a sister he never had the chance to know? Misguided heroic principles telling him to save the poor people in Vlad's village? Or something far more complicated, the need to look at another vampire and compare himself--to understand---what he is. What he might become. Either way Danny finds himself readying a wooden stake on the way to the manor and realizing he might be more like his parents than he's willing to admit.

It's midday when Danny arrives. He long ago picked up a heavy cloak to shield him from the sun, and he figures that Vlad is more likely to be inactive and less powerful when it isn't night. And since Danny has never drank human blood, he has no powers to lose when he enters the manor uninvited. He doesn't know what he's looking for. A murder dungeon, probably. Body parts strewn everywhere. Blood smeared on the walls. Evidence of a terrifying vampiric mad scientist's crimes. Not prim little houseplants and stacks and stacks of gaudy decorations. Unfortunately for him, Vlad has been functionally diurnal for years at this point, and Danny doesn't notice he's been snuck up on until Vlad is right behind him and inquiring just what does this little intruder think he is doing?

Coming face to face with his sister's murderer with no warning wasn't ideal, but Danny has been on the open road long enough that his reaction time is sharpened to a knife's point. Or a stake's point, as it were. And perhaps if he were facing a human he might have managed to do something with it. But Vlad catches his swing comically easily and holds it in place, like he's trying to decide if it was meant to be a feeble joke. Danny wrests his arm away and falls back, and his hood slips back from his head, revealing his face.

Vlad's unprecedented expression of shock and recognition is all Danny needs to see, and he's on his feet again in a blink. "Recognize me?" he inquires. Vlad audibly confirms it, that Danny must be Jack and Maddie's son, the other baby in the cradle. The twin left behind. And at this Danny's anger and panic gives way to bloodlust, a terrible surge of violence with one target. He can't believe he's endured weeks of pushing down his monsterous urges just to give in here, but Danny can't let the death of his sister slide.

Attacking Vlad again goes no better than it did the first time, and now Vlad's mostly recovered from the shock and remarking on how....amusing it is that Danny has found him after all these years. And look at that! Are those adorable canines pointed? Why, that's just the most delicious cosmic irony possible, and Vlad's smug musing at how this must have utterly destroyed his parents only enrages Danny more. Try as he might, he never even comes close to harming Vlad, who dances around him like it's all a very cute game.

Vlad maintains the insufferable veneer until Danny, furious and panting, reminds him that he happens to be the bastard who killed an innocent baby- his baby sister, and Vlad shows a glimmer of genuine irritation for the first time. Suddenly he's closer than he was a second ago, and he playfully tells Danny that being a presumptuous brat will not improve his chances of making it out of the manor alive. Danny takes the golden opportunity to swing at him again, but Vlad finally goes on the offensive and grabs him in a vicelike chokehold.

Still conversational, Vlad tells Danny he has left him in a most interesting position. Shall he kill him? That would certainly be fair, since Danny has tried to kill him already, and he's clearly unable to control himself. Or should he spare him, and reveal the true nature of his sister's fate? Danny struggles for air, with no idea what Vlad is talking about. He tries to wheeze something goading, but the moment ends abruptly when a door swings open behind them and Danielle runs into the room, not finishing her sentence when she sees the confrontation.

Saved by his sister's appearance, Vlad reluctantly releases Danny and lets him cough pitifully on the floor while he attends to Danielle, who has forgotten what she wanted and is staring wide eyed at the strange boy, not letting Vlad coax her out of the room. Danny recovers his breath, bloodlust long gone, and stares right back. Vlad, for once in his life, briefly looks at a loss, before deciding that an explanation is definitely necessary and he introduces Danielle to the impertinent little intruder who just tried to stab him, her long lost twin brother Daniel. And to Danny, he introduces Danielle, placing great stress on my beloved daughter.

Dinner that night is unbelievably awkward. For Vlad and Danny, that is. Danielle is thrilled. It comes to light that Danielle not only knows she's adopted, she knows the whole story of how she came to be with Vlad...or, at least, Vlad's edited version of it. Danny is appalled, especially when Danielle excitedly exclaims that now that he's escaped his parents, he can live with her and Vlad forever! Vlad chokes on his wine (or is it blood?) while Danny shoots him a thunderous look. Danny inquires why Dani thinks he escaped his parents, and she, sensing his unhappiness, explains that they probably tried to hurt him for being a vampire like they tried to hurt her father, didn't they? Vlad watches Danny closely, because that's exactly the assumption he made as well, but Danny manages to grind out that his parents love him and are good people, and would never, ever hurt him.

Later, after Danielle has shown Danny every nook and cranny of the manor and babbled excitedly about her life and asked him a million questions about his, after Vlad finally sends her to bed, Danny finds himself alone with his sister's murderer again. No, not her murderer. Her kidnapper. Her manipulative liar of a "father". He tells Vlad as much, sitting across from him with a lit fireplace between them. Vlad only scoffs and asks when, exactly, did he lie to Danielle? Did he lie when he said Jack and Maddie used her and Daniel as bait? Maddie was with child when she courted Vlad. Bait, my dear boy. What sort of parents knowingly place their unborn children in the sights of a vampire? Did he lie, then, when he said he rescued her from them? Judging by Daniel's unfortunate fate, no.

Danny's face colors with rage, but he can't say anything for a moment. You're still evil, you're still a monster, you won't get away with this, all flit through his mind, but he settles for telling Vlad that his parents had nothing to do with his "condition" and he's not afraid of them hurting him. Vlad smirks in that punchable way of his, and says that's evident in the way he ran for miles just to fall at the feet of their worst enemy. Danny doesn't rise to this bait. He goes on to say that he's not scared of his parents hurting him, he's scared of the reverse. Of the very real urge he feels to hurt them.

Then Danny brings up the thing that has been eating at him since he first saw Dani. The fact that she was not only happy and alive, but whole and unbitten. She's been living with a vampire for thirteen years and Vlad's never...? Vlad regards him and says nothing, face impassive save an amused quirk to the side of his mouth. How? Danny wonders. How is that even possible? Vampires aren't supposed to be able to treat humans like anything other than food. How did Vlad figure out how to resist the hunger?

Seeing that Danny is being earnest, Vlad asks him why he's here and what he wants. And Danny falters, thinking. As much as his skin crawls at the thought, he wants Vlad to teach him the secret to beating the hunger. He wants to stay close to his sister's side. And he wants to hold onto that glimmer of hope that maybe he doesn't have to be a monster. Vlad drums his fingers against the rich texture of the armchair and remarks how fortunate Daniel is that he bears such a striking resemblance to the one person in the world Vlad would never deny anything. And with how happy Daniel's presence has made Danielle, it would be a pity to separate the siblings again so soon. So with the wary promise that Daniel will do exactly what Vlad tells him to and that he will do nothing on pain of death to endanger Dani's safety whether it be by word or deed, Vlad agrees to teach him his secrets.

---

[mangasstuffcomics]

You just noticed that the dcamu writers treated dick grayson like garbage and basically diminshed damian character

Damian in the dcamu is not a vegetarian the vast majority of his pets are gone damian being a artist not there damian liking video games something mentioned in mutiple comics not there he also likes ice cream and action figures

They also transfered damian relationship with tim onto dick which didnt work at all they have dick saying things he would never say like the pyschos keep getting younger toothis day we still have people who havent read the comics saying things like damian and dick hate each other who havent read comics because of this

Because if they did this is what they would see dick outright saying he loves damian

Dick giving up weapon made from a trapeze bar he used with his family when he was with the flying graysons

The same dick who put coordinating two battleflieds and saving the world on hold to go save damian because to dick damian safety is more important than both of things saving the world can wait to dick damian will always come first

And that is why dcamu writers didnt understand there relationship

And in these flims dick role in damian life is taken by other characters like the teen titans teaching damian to have fun that was dick grayson in the comics part of the reason damian is the hero he is because of dick grayson

Dick made him robin dick is the one who trained and put in the effort the time and patience to help damian one of the first people in the batfamily to accept damian

And hoppefully james gunn dcu does a better job with there relationship we dont need dcamu 2.0

[mystverse]

♡ THOSE THREE DAYS : : 이 동혁 [LEE DONGHYUCK] | YOUR GALLERY

♡ 120322 - YOUR BIRTHDAY : : No, you didn't tell him that it was what you wanted but he knew it. How? Because, he listens as much as he speaks. He loves it when you tell him your interests and he thinks that he should know. How else would he know that you'd be the happiest if he took you to the bookstore? Ever since he knew, he plans these dates that revolves around reading. He gets you a book and lies on your lap while you read it to him. He got that little moon lamp you wanted for your study table. Anything that makes you comfortable. He even tries to get into it, though he's more of a movie person. But who would have thought he would just show up at 10 in the morning asking you to get ready and take you to the bookstore on your birthday? He'd have the whole day planned, and you can just relax and switch off your brain. (He'd not forget to take a selca from your phone to set it as your wallpaper, though. It is to shoo away people he says.) The day will end with you talking to him in your softest voice as you scroll through bookstagram and him staring at you with so much love.

♡ 060622 - HIS BIRTHDAY : : It's your time to plan. A day to celebrate the sunshine in your life. It's one of those outdoor dates you planned. Take him to a nice outdoor restaurant which has a killer view and delicious food. What you had thought would be a romantic date turned into a mini circus? You watch him be silly and adorable while you wait for the orders to arrive. One minute he is sitting and next he's hanging off a tree branch. There's never dull moment around him. You click pictures all throughout the day to reminisce because you had been the happiest while watching him. You'd say he's the weirder one out of you both while you watch him pose in intriguing ways. This is that one hell of a day that you'd never forget.

♡ 090922 - THAT DAY THAT HE LET EVERYONE KNOW : : You didn't think that he would. Your relationship with him had always been private, and you had been satisfied with that. On a random day, he asked you if you minded making your relationship public. You had said no because as much as you loved the 'private but not secret' game, you've always wanted to play the 'public and don't give a fuck' game. You are dating Lee Haechan, and you are flexing it because he's that good of a lover. But you hadn't really thought that he would just say it. You thought it was a fleeting thought that comes and goes whenever he sneaks into your bed at 3. You still remember how it went on that day and you understood why he bought you VIP tickets to that concert, THE DREAM SHOW 2, IN A DREAM in Seoul. You had been taking pictures of him all night charming everyone in his rockstar like glory. It was during the last ment he had spoken about you, and his words still are carved into your heart.

"여러분 오늘 밤에는 중요한 사람을 소개하고 싶습니다. 그녀는 내가 달려가는 팔이었고, 내가 울부짖는 어깨였고, 내가 꼭 안고 있는 마음이었다. 그녀는 나를 태양이라고 부르기 때문에 나는 그녀가 나의 달이라고 생각한다고 여러분에게 말하고 싶습니다. 달에 대한 사랑을 숨겨야 한다는 건 억울한 일이겠죠?"

[ Everyone, there's an important person I want to introduce tonight. She has been the arms I run to, the shoulder I cry on, and the heart I hold close. She calls me her sunshine, and so i want to tell you guys that I think she's my moon. it's unfair that i have to hide my love for the moon, right?]

The spotlight is on you as Haechan smiles and walks closer to the side you are in, looking up ardently. That playful smile never left. No one noticed the tremble in his voice but you did. You place your hand against the glass and look at him with a soft smile. You see his glassy eyes and you tell him not to cry.

"달이 참 아름답죠? 너희들은 내가 달을 가지고 있는 걸 부러워하지?"

[The moon is beautiful, isn’t it? You guys are envious that I have the moon, right?]

He chuckles while the rest of the dream laugh at him, all because he's looking not the moon but at you, just you.

: MYST

[your-local-granny]

okay before i forget. i've been trying to put my finger on why people saying phoenix and maya are 'sibling-coded' pisses me off so much and I think a big part of it is how important mia is to both their introduction and also the foundation of their relationship and how calling phoenix and maya 'siblings/sibling-coded' waters down all of their relationships

phoenix wishing that maya was mia is a very big part of maya's arc as well as a big sticking point in phoenix and maya's relationship. phoenix spends the majority of turnabout sisters wishing that 'the chief' was there and when maya fails to channel her he shows outward disappointment. this is something that maya obviously picks up on and internalizes as we see throughout the rest of the games. most notably maya shows remarkably little self-preservation, throwing herself at von Karma's taser and in contempt of court to help edgeworth (and by extent, phoenix). she openly admits to feeling useless when she can't channel mia and phoenix never refutes this out loud until he of course presents the bullet to her showing that she wasn't useless. phoenix is notably bad at expressing his thoughts/ and feelings so its honestly debatable whether this gets through to maya but thats neither here nor there

on the other side of it, maya wishes that phoenix would be the caring adult figure that she was missing for most of her life (and especially after mia dies) and phoenix does not do a great job of being that figure. he likes her sure, and they're good friends, but he's definitely not nurturing or sensitive whenever maya is in distress. at the end of turnabout sisters when mia tells maya to "take care of phoenix" for her, maya starts calling him nick (because that's what mia said phoenix's friend calls him) and their dynamic for the most part is solidified. maya is not able to find mia in phoenix and accepts him as his own person and a part of her life as a friend.

phoenix has a more complicated journey with viewing maya as her own person partially because of the whole spirit-channeling thing, and partially because maya is younger than both the chief and himself. phoenix is constantly looking to a mentor for guidance and feels out of his depth for most of the cases in the trilogy. he frequently wishes that mia could be there, and is shown to value maya's ideas less, or at the least question them more at face-value. nevertheless, by the second game phoenix relies on maya greatly as shown with how he copes (or fails to cope) with her absence in rfta and 2-4, and 3-5. phoenix views her as both an integral part of his life and support structure, but also views her as someone he has to put on a brave face for, much like pearls. maya is phoenix's young friend that he leans on and wishes to protect.

maya's love for her sister is a core theme that spans the entire trilogy and culminates in maya almost dying in 3-5. phoenix's love for mia is a constant driving force that pushes him past what he believed himself capable of, and encourages him to trust those who become those closest to him. phoenix and maya's relationship is colored by their own relationships to mia, and how they view each others relationship with mia. they both represent a part of her that they never knew as well as a part of her they can keep loving in her place after she is gone, but most importantly, neither of them will ever be mia. no one else can be maya's big sister and no one else can be phoenix's mentor. they meet each other as two strangers set adrift by the same lost mooring, and though they'll never be secure in the way they were before meeting each other, they have a friend to help keep themselves afloat.

[mamawasatesttube]

Is there anything in fanfics that you would like to explore more into?

*hastily shoves my 12 partly-written wips and 8948278 unwritten fic ideas under the bed* haha whatttt i mean maybe a few ideas but nothing craaaazy...

my wip folder rn:

cass's secret weapon… superstud.docx

gender i hardly know er.docx

i could spread YOU in the sheets.docx

jons big bro has got it going o.docx

nerd 4 geek type friendship.docx

red sub projector. i mean sun. i mean.docx

serlkon tacky earring exchange.docx

tim drake hits on supernova. whore.docx

ttk time.docx

what if im not a spicy enough boyfriend….docx

who would win. two heroes or one ouppy dog.docx

ideas that would take more than just a quick oneshot and therefore that i have not actually committed to doing yet:

tim and kon get trapped in a black mercy-esque shared dream world. for some reason, kon's mental paradise involves dating a guy who's like, almost exactly just tim, but a little to the left. what's up with that? is kon... into tim? but that can't be right because if he was, surely his dream would just involve dating tim. right? it can't just be that this is the hallucination world's solution to kon's desperate fear of ruining things and losing tim because he's convinced he's broken and not made for lasting relationships because he hasn't processed his trauma around being groomed. ...right? (and then tim proceeds to do mental gymnastics that would do the flying graysons proud.)

a rewrite of sotm that includes much more of the steels, an actual talk about the time mae told kon he wasn't worthy of the s-shield and physically ripped the patches off his costume, some real kon & kara, and more discussion of kon's suicidality.

the timkon love square au... ouhhhh it would be so fun. it'd have a backdrop of the superfam being just much more isolated than they are in canon and how that would play into their themes of loneliness in the heart of the world. and it would include tim being a nosy little fuck and being so lois lane-coded.

kon & cassie duet character study or something about their nearly simultaneous realizations of "oh fuck i'm gay" and "wait shit i'm a lesbian" and then the ensuing "oh no was i never actually into you? did i lead you on for that entire time? was i stringing you along and playing cruel games with your heart without meaning to?" guilt. and the catharsis of it all when they come out to each other and realize that this was actually why they felt drawn to each other, and why it felt so safe with each other. would delve into cassie's struggles with how people ripped into her for not being donna and for not being pretty enough, with her grief and her loneliness with the lack of her secret identity, and with her own internalized homophobia, and with kon's struggle to grapple with his previous unacknowledged relationship trauma and how therefore a relationship where his girlfriend wasn't actually into him made him feel so safe. because like. they are so so so important to each other even if it's not romantic and that is important to meeee

the "kon unionizes the labor guild" new krypton au that lives rent free in my mind but that i have not properly plotted out yet but that i still desperately need. it'd be heavy on immigrant feelings and also the kon & kal & kara trio.

...and more!!! augh!!!

[madlori]

A breakdown (no, not that kind)

So, in an effort to be clear-headed about the ship, I am here reporting a complete list of the scenes in which Tommy appears or is discussed in the context of his relationship with Buck. I'm not counting 7x03 as that was all pre-relationship (shoulder touch notwithstanding). Scenes in italics are ones in which Tommy is discussed or is present in the conversation but does not appear.

7x04

Buck visits Harbor Station

Sewer rescue (Eddie tells Buck about all the cool stuff he and Tommy have been doing)

Firehouse workout scene (Buck's angling to get an invite to basketball where he can see Tommy)

Basketball game

Tommy visits Buck's loft, first kiss

7x05

First date

Conversation with Maddie

Conversation with Eddie

Coffee date

7x06

Bachelor party

Hospital kiss

7x09

Medal ceremony

Conversation with Bobby (Tommy's good people)

7x10

Dinner scene

8x01

Birthday party scene

8x05

Tommy comes to the hospital for Buck's shoulder

Tommy and Buck at home before bed

Breakfast scene and discovering boils

Eddie comes over to look at the boils.

Waiting at the hospital for Denny

Cemetery

8x06

Miceli's anniversary date

Talking with Josh and Maddie

Final loft scene

Now.

This is not a lot of scenes. It's 24 scenes total. But what's even more telling is that 18 out of those 24 scenes are from the first two eps (when the relationship was being established) or the last two (when it was being dissolved, although that isn't apparent until the last scene).

So...six scenes in between. And that's counting one scene Tommy didn't appear in. Six scenes to carry the relationship between establishing it and breaking it down.

It felt like more, didn't it?

I can tell you why that is. Because the fandom took away from those scenes faaaaaar more than just the content of the scenes.

The birthday party scene was short, but from it the fandom inferred: Tommy is being incorporated into Eddie's life. He's maintaining contact with Chris and important enough to be included in this zoom call. He and Buck are relaxed and flirty with each other. There's some sexual sparks between them. Eddie's comfortable with the two of them.

The dinner scene was less than one minute, but from it the fandom inferred: They're cooking at home together. Buck's coming home to his person after a hard day. Tommy's opening up about his father, and their relationship isn't great. Tommy's asking about Buck and being concerned about his emotional state. Buck is listening intently to what Tommy's telling him. They have a close, settled rapport. Tommy's comfortable in Buck's kitchen. They're being flirty/naughty a bit and enjoying it. They have a healthy sexual relationship.

Tommy wasn't even there for Buck's conversation with Bobby, but from it the fandom inferred: Bobby approves of this relationship. He has seen how Buck has been while dating Tommy, and it's doing wonders for him. He hasn't had to talk about it with him or ask. He's used to seeing Buck to go Tommy overnight, motioning to the bag Buck is packing. He's happy they're dating and is all but giving his blessing for it to go on long term. Bobby is Buck's father figure, and Buck will take this as a confirmation that he's on the right path this time.

So these scenes are doing a lot of heavy lifting, but is the show doing that, or was it us?

Now, none of the inferences I just described are WRONG. Everything I just said is totally reasonable for the fandom to take from those scenes. But a casual viewer, or someone who didn't care about or like the relationship, wouldn't take that much from it. And how much we examined, analyzed and discusses every single scene in depth magnified its presence in our minds until the relationshp gains a weight in the storyline that really...isn't there as much as we thought it was.

It was NOT unreasonable or delusional of us to think this relationship was being positioned to be long term. If they had continued, if 8x06 had ended happily, that would be the first beat in the continuation. It wouldn't feel out of place that the intervening ten or so episodes only had like four scenes of them, because more would be coming, and for a potential LTR, it doesn't matter that much. So how much of that positioning was more about Tommy's identity as a character, his potential as a new member of the 118 firefam, his friendship with Eddie, him being a firefighter. The only one of those things that the show actually used was his friendship with Eddie.

It's a waste of potential. But I can't exactly call Buddie fans wrong when they say it was underdeveloped. It was developed GREAT...by us. It started real strong, trickled off, and then built up again just to end. 8x05 was by far their strongest episode, and if they'd done one or two more like that in the interim, with Tommy a much more present character, it would have been even clearer that he was to continue. But now...it just feels hollow.

I still don't know if they meant this to be a "starter" relationship all along (I still think you don't give the starter boyfriend the heroic rom-com hospital kiss, but it's clear by now I don't understand a lot of the writers' thinking) or if they were originally thinking long term and pivoted at some point. I'm frankly tired of theorizing about that. But it feels like season 7 was a lot more committed to the relationship than 8 was. The few scenes they had, had more import.

Anyway. I'm not casting any aspersions. If we read more into things than was intended, well, that's more or less the short definition of fandom.

It was fun while it lasted and I will always love the relationship, even if we never see it return.

[noxlysium]

Why Jean is so important to me

Welcome to my insane ramblings, enjoy your stay (or don't). Most of this is also very self-indulgent, by the way. Warning: Mentions of abuse, alcoholism, mental illness, self-destructive thoughts I'd also like to remind you that this isn't me justifying Jean's behavior in any way, he's a fucking asshole and doesn't know how to handle Harry, or himself. They're both flawed individuals and that's okay. This is just me talking about my own experiences. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get to the actual thing.

I'm not even sure where to start. When I first found out Jean had clinical depression, I immediately felt a connection. It's relatable. Very relatable, in fact. I myself have been depressed for years. It all started at a young age, I was about 13, but due to trauma it could be very much earlier than that. I don't remember much from my childhood because most of it are bad memories. I'm 21 now and still going through a lot of shit, so it's been about 8 years. Jean strikes me as a guy who has been fucked over his entire life, no matter where he goes or what he does. It always comes back to him. After I have finished DE for the first time and looked more into the lore of Jean and Harry, I started to notice the similarities between the relationship with him and Harry, and the relationship with me and my own parents.

I know what alcohol does to people, I've seen it all. And it's not great for either parties. I'm stuck in a repetitive cycle of wanting to help someone to get better, only to realize that they don't want to get better and then I start building hope again. Rinse and repeat. I know I cannot change them. But I keep hoping for a change anyway, and get upset when it never comes. Of course it doesn't. No matter what I've tried. I have tried so many times. I'm a fucking hypocrite because I sometimes drink as well. I don't want to become like them. I drink for fun every once in a while and try to not over-do it, because every time I touch alcohol, something in the back of my mind tells me I'm becoming like my father. I thought about smoking a few times, but I don't want to destroy myself like my mother does. I'm really fucking scared of smoking and its consequences. Which is funny, because I should be as scared when it comes to alcohol, but I'm not. They both drink every day at 3 pm, after work. Every single day.

And it has been like this for years. Nothing has ever changed. A few months ago I had an actual discussion with my parents. We usually never have these sort of conversations (That's the issue, by the way. A very big lack of communication. Does that ring any bells?) and I was actually surprised when they told me they wanted to lay off the alcohol. I tried to approach the topic carefully and even offered them help (therapy etc.) but.. they also didn't want that. They straight up told me they don't need help. Which is really fucking frustrating because I want them to understand that they do, but they don't care.

I know change is really fucking hard and I've been there, but my parents had so many opportunities to change and never took them. Nothing has changed for so many years and I'm tired of it. I'm waiting for a change to happen but I know it's never coming anyway. I'm tired, mad, disappointed. That's how Jean feels about Harry, he just doesn't know how to help him and is an ass about it. And I'm just letting it happen, because there's nothing else I can do. I'm watching them destroy themselves every day and it fucking hurts. Something in me still feels a tiny flame of hope, when in reality that flame is already extinguished. I want people to understand, my father really fucking reminds me of Harry. The emotional abusive, the physical abuse, the alcoholism, the sexist remarks.. It just screams Harry. Especially given with how he had been around people Pre-Martinaise, which I have read in the game inside the damaged ledger. The fact that I love Harry to a certain degree says a lot of things.

The marriage between my parents is like if Dora never left Harry, and it's fucking awful.

-

That is mostly why I can relate to Jean so much. There's also some smaller things and I'll get to those now.

He fucking sucks at feelings. You can see it with the way he's trying to handle Harry, and it's not working.. Which, yeah. I suck at those too.

He likes to hide his sadness underneath a layer of cynicism and sarcasm as a coping method.. I do this all the fucking time.

Let's face it, this man is a fucking nervous wreck. He picks at his facial hair and displays a lot more habits like that, like him fixing his clothes (even though they look clean, according to one of the skills in the game), running his hand through his hair.. I do this without even realizing it.

He's depressed and fucking empty on the inside. He most likely hasn't felt real love from anyone or for himself in years. He needs therapy (lots of it), anti-depressants and a hug.. And I know what that feels like. I know it too well.

Lastly, he's a fucking mess. Like in every single way imaginable.. Again, very relatable.

Jean is such an amazing character for me to project on, to relate to and to find comfort in. I'm glad they made him fucked up, because that's what I love about him. He has so many flaws and I love every single one of them. He's in the game for like 15 minutes or less, but the impact he's had on me is insane. I've had a fair share of characters I would obsess over, but Jean hits different.

I'm so glad Jean-Heron Vicquemare exists, because I wouldn't know where I would be if I never met him. I want to thank my lovely friend (who is not on here, but I'm still saying it because I care about him a lot) for gifting me this amazing game.

And I want to thank you for reading this mess of a post.

If you have made it this far, I want to show you one last thing.

[lucy90712]

heyyy can you please do a dating Kenan Yildiz headcannon🎀

- Kenan isn't just your boyfriend he's so much more than that he's your best friend too you were friends before you started dating and Kenan never lets that bond go he wants to always be there for you at any time whether that be as your boyfriend or as your best friend 

- He always treats you like a princess he always makes time for you and plans romantic dates at least twice a month he tries his best to do weekly date nights but he likes to take you out to a nice restaurant or something similar a couple times a month to make up for the amount of time he spends away from you 

- You are always his main priority so he always checks in with you to make sure you are happy and are coping with whatever you have going on at that time he always likes to make sure life isn't too much as he knows his reality is quite crazy and full on so he likes to make sure you are keeping up and if you aren't he wants to help you 

- This sentiment is carried through every second of your lives if you need him he will be there no matter the day or time he'll be there he can't always be there physically but he does his best to help you from wherever he is and if he has to he'll get his friends to go to you if you just need someone there

- Kenan is completely obsessed with you from the moment you met he was completely infatuated with you and that only got worse when you actually started dating he is so in love with you that sometimes he doesn't even know how to process his feelings towards you. He is so in love with you and he doesn't care what anyone else says they can make fun of him all they want but he knows how he feels and he knows he's never going to love anyone else more than he loves you 

- He can be quite clingy after a long day all he wants to do is have his arms around you for the rest of the day he is literally attached to you at the hip as you try to do anything he always has his arms wrapped around your waist and his head in the crook of your neck as he just wants to be close to you and you will never complain about having him be so clingy 

- His love language is definitely physical touch his hands are always on you when you are around but he also loves to give you gifts at the end of every week he likes to bring home something for you to show his appreciation for you even though he tells you everyday how much he appreciates you. Usually it will be something small like flowers or your favourite snack but sometimes he'll get you something he knows you've been wanting like a new book or a switch game you can play together

- Kenan never has a bad word to say about you when anyone asks him about you he will only ever say how truly amazing you are not just as his girlfriend but as a person. Even if you’ve had an argument Kenan will never speak badly about you as he knows anything he says won’t be true and he’ll feel awful about it later. He knows that you receive a lot of hate on social media and he never wants to add to that so he wants to show people how amazing he thinks you are in hopes that it makes even a small bit of difference 

- You two don’t often fight as you are good at communicating with each other and you know what annoys the other so you don’t do it but of course there are times that you do argue like any other couple but you always make up within a few hours. Kenan has a rule that you never go to bed angry at each other after one argument and a night apart that really hurt you both and since your relationship has been so much better 

- He is your biggest supporter and you are his he loves seeing you there to support him at his games wearing his shirt but he loves to be there for your achievements more. He would never skip something that is important to you even if he gets in trouble for missing training he doesn’t care. He knows that you will be in his life longer than football so he wants to be there for all the big moments in your life

- Kenan already knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with you so he makes sure he treats you that way you aren’t just his girlfriend your his future and he always wants you to know that

[wisteria-lodge]

Hi! I would like to ask this Narcissa seems to love Lucius and Draco, cares for them and appears to be a family oriented person but how come it is stated in her wiki that she despises the Blacks, wouldn't this imply she considers herself more of a Malfoy and I mean why would she despise the Blacks when it comes to blood purity/superiority, I don't know the correct term but don't they practice/talk about it more/the Blacks prioritize it so shouldn't she be proud of being a Black?

So I just want to say real quick that the fanwiki is not always... accurate. It includes a lot of data from the games, interviews, interviews with the actors that I would never count as canon, and it's also written by y'know, fans. it's actually pretty funny to read through the entry on say, Lucius, and be told that he was a "high achieving model student" and "his talent in potion-making even earned him a place among Slughorn's elite Slug Club." (right. it was definitely just the potions.) I'm learning that he "favours a more elegant, refined technique when he engaged an adversary and generally demonstrates great form in his duelling style." [citation: Jason Isaacs is pretty]. And while we're on that topic "it is likely that his looks might have improved upon the fall of his former Master." Very important that we know Lucius gets hot again after the books.

My guess is that this is the bit you read:

[text id: Narcissa had a close relationship with her oldest sister Bellatrix despite their differing temperaments and personality traits. Narcissa always despised the Blacks, but had great respect for those who did. The ones who dared defy their family's beliefs, such as her older sister Andromeda and cousin Sirius Black, leading her to ignore and disown them.]

I don't know about this. Maybe Narcissa and Bellatrix were close at some point, they do use nicknames to refer to each other, but in the timeline of the books there's a LOT of friction.

Narcissa is actively trying to get Bellatrix to "leave [her] alone" during the Spinner's End chapter (which is what the snippet up there is citing.) Bellatrix is... unhelpful about the Draco situation, saying things like, “If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!" She's also blaming Lucius for the Department of Mysteries fiasco, which Narcissa is pissed about:

“Don’t you dare — don’t you dare blame my husband!” said Narcissa, in a low and deadly voice

We also see some sort of power struggle between them later on, in Malfoy Manor:

“This is my house, Bella, you don’t give orders in my —”

In the books, I don't think we get any details about how Narcissa specifically feels about Sirius, or Andromeda. There's this:

“I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius.”

Which is just a very Narcissa way of saying "you're on thin ice." I guess the "dear" feels slightly mocking. But she's also actively threatening Harry, so not the most representative moment. We do get this from Bellatrix:

“We — Narcissa and I — have never set eyes on our sister [Andromeda] since she married the Mudblood.”

But... she is also speaking for Narcissa, and panicking in front of Voldemort. This might not even be true.

As for the wiki saying "Narcissa always despised the Blacks, but had great respect for those who did" - that's such an odd sentence I kinda feel like there must be a typo in there. I'm not sure there's any evidence in the books that Narcissa despises the Blacks.

(I mean I do think, in a fun headcanon way, that you can make a case that she went subtly low-contact with her family after she married Lucius. The Blacks seemed to have a pretty toxic family dynamic going on circa the first war, and one thing you can say about the Malfoys is that there's a lot of love there, and as a family unit they seem solid. Maybe Narcissa did start to think of herself as more of a Malfoy than a Black. (Maybe her Malfoy-blonde hair isn't natural...)

I also think there's something going on with the house elves. The Blacks clearly have a culture of house elves, and the Malfoys... don't? Like there don't seem to be any house-elves there once Voldemort takes over (and I mean, Dobby was such a *stunningly* bad security breach, I'd be shocked if there were.) But the house seems to run just fine, while hosting a bunch of Death Eaters, Snatchers, and prisoners. Makes me think Dobby was the *only* house elf, and that he was originally a Black family house elf who came over with Narcissa when she got married. In that case, I suppose the decision not to get more might mean something. But all that's just me having fun with the worldbuilding. )

[jasminerva]

c o n t r a i l s

“Let go for me,” (loosen the rain)

Inspired by this muy delicioso shower art by Q_Q1110. I still cry about it.

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Banner img from R18 josei series Did My Biceps Turn You on? by Takayama Koba & Sakaki the Lazybones Shows His Talents at Night by Potsunen Jin. I totally recommend giving the latter a read 🥵

nagumo yoichi x f!reader | 5.3k words | Tags: shower sex, PWP, porn w/ feelings, established relationship, happy endings (wink-wonk), smut Content Warnings: blurry shower smex gif below the read more (it's one of the positions written - which I had to include in the chapter itself thanks to the hot af gif!), explicit descriptions, peen to vagine sex, unprotected sex (assume a different kind of birth control other than condoms are used).

( read on AO3 - only excerpt below )

Rain dripped from your coat as you stepped inside Nagumo’s condo, your body shivering slightly from the cold. Outside, the storm was relentless, leaving you soaked and chilled to the bone.

In contrast, his home was warm—comfortingly so—and as you shrugged off your damp jacket, you couldn’t help but feel a small sense of relief, knowing that he was waiting.

The place was unusually quiet, a rarity considering his usual chaotic energy. Your subordinates at the JAA had been chasing him down for days, needing his signature on an important document, but—true to his nature—he’d been deliberately elusive.

After they’d had no luck, it had gone up the food chain to you. You were the one who had to track him down, knowing full well that a straightforward interaction was unlikely.

Now, standing in his living room, you heard the faint sound of water cascading in the shower.

Figures. He always had a flair for timing.

Rolling your eyes, you moved further into the apartment and towards his bathroom, a thin stack of papers tucked under your arm.

Nagumo had a habit of brushing off anything that didn’t immediately entertain him, and by now, you’d learned to navigate his games. Still, this felt deliberate—like he was enjoying watching you chase after something he could’ve handled in five minutes.

As you approached the shower door, the glass was fogged, revealing nothing but a silhouette on the other side. 

You paused for a second, debating whether or not to knock. But before you could, you heard him.

“You’re not going to just stand there, are you?” his voice came through the mist, playful and teasing as always.

Of course. This was his plan all along.

You exhaled, mentally bracing yourself. "I’m not leaving until you sign these documents. Now, Nagumo.”

There was a soft laugh behind the glass, and you saw the blurred shape of his hand moving. Then, a motion. 

Nagumo wiped his hand across the misted glass, revealing his face and that familiar smirk, water dripping from his hair. He didn’t say anything. Instead, with a single finger, he started tracing something in the condensation. 

Slowly, a heart appeared on the fogged-up surface, drawn with his fingertip, followed by the curve of his mischievous smile.

Your heart gave a little kick of annoyance, but you weren’t going to let him distract you that easily.

( read the rest on AO3 )

Thank you, @dearsecretlover / @toyboxterror for your help with an idea in the fic~! It truly made it so much better!!!

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

Aha I’m back for the oc ask game! This time around, mayhaps any of these?: Kaleb x Taryne, Sarra x Yorick, Aldreda + Brandon, and Kaleb + Cassana?

Can I hear a round of applause for world class slut & professional other man for Lord Kaleb Dormaire?

We have already established with the Aldreda ship that this man is willing to bottom, but I really think Taryne would push that limit. Does he love a strong woman? Yes. Will he take the strap like a champ? I fully believe in his ability to do so. Can he exclusively be a sub? Honestly, I don't know if he's got it in him & Taryne will not give up control in the thing she's doing Just For Herself. That said, I don't think they wouldn't not work. I feel in my bones that Kaleb & Taryne would be more a "friends with benefits" type thing than whatever exactly she has going on with Gwayne.

It'd probably start out in a similar way of "I have a pre-established relationship with Alicent, & when I came back to King's Landing to see her here is some rando she's made part of her household since Lyonel Strong's promotion/Jasper Wylde got a job. Things have now spiraled a little out of control a little bit." Kaleb would definitely have more tact than Gwayne upon first contact, but he'd wind up in a similar situation of picking up the queues of how awful & traumatizing Taryne's marriage is, & once some level of comfort was there between them he'd offer some form of companionship at the very least just to give her some moments away from her husband, & from there it just kind of builds until they act on whatever attraction is there. They'd both definitely be having a nice time, & letting Taryne be in charge on occasion is probably nice, but bestie I am looking at this man's amount of kids & his pullout game is not good enough for Taryne to have him be her regular Other Man unless he's willing to never put it in. Kaleb, I see your breeding kink. You can't hide it from me. My son, Yorick, is the same fucking way, I perceive you whether you like it or not. Taryne's definitely fond of him though! He's an actual good, genuine man who won't hurt her, & that really goes most of the way for her. Not a long way, like 90% of it. The bar is on the ground.

They've definitely got "judging & side-eyeing people at the function, & maybe they hookup after it" vibes.

Yorick & Sarra sounded familiar, so I did hunt through the tag & I have ruminated on this before actually! So linking

Oh, you mean her step-son by way of fucking both his parents?

Gonna be real, she looks at him & just sees her youngest brothers, because some of them died young enough that temporarily being heir to Lonely Light or the expectations of their dad or Ironborn (specifically at Lonely Light) never had a chance to super get to them. So Brandon is kind of a What If scenario for her. "Would any of my brothers have been like him? Would they have been friends?" That type of thing

I think he'd be interested in Aldreda as a person regardless of what canon we're going with (Alicent alive at Lonely Light with Aldreda or her canon fate) just because she's important to his parents & "she's a cool warrior woman who let me have a knife!" And that would obviously evolve as he gets older to probably seeing her as some sort of extra parent or aunt or something--how that plays out I think would just really depend on what happens with Alicent (& by extension probably where he winds up going)

Honestly though, Aldreda would probably waffle a lot on if she wanted to be around him when he's younger. She'd never be outright cruel to him or send him away, it'd be more a "do I have the mental capacity to be around a child?" Part of it is her having never thought about her own ability to have kids & the subsequent having of them/motherhood & being at least a little confronted with it by now kind of being his step-mom, & part of it is the weird "my younger brothers were all this age once" that turns into "he's older than [brother x] ever got to be." It's, like, "am I mentally okay to be around the happy, optimistic child? If yes go be near the child. If no, decide if you want to do emotional self harm or not & proceed from there." (I never said Aldreda was the healthiest person out there). She'd definitely be encouraging of him & would probably give him pointers for training, but she'd also be rolling her eyes at the knight thing, I cannot lie. But you can't totally blame her, there's no knighthood culture on the islands! She wouldn't discourage him though, she'd just privately think that there's better things to dream of. Also, she's definitely taking him out on her longship at some point because "every boy needs to go out on the ocean. It puts hair on their chest." Did she tell Alicent or Kaleb beforehand? Maybe.

I think they'd be at least casual friends, with varying closeness depending on if it's SOTF or TRP. Because, like, they were both growing up in The Red Keep, but she was also never really a part of Rhaenyra's friend group until they were both a little older.

In SOTF, it'd definitely be a case of "this is my husband's cousin's boy (aside from Laenor, of course) that I also know & have a positive opinion of. Of course I am going to be kind & welcoming to him!" Because Cassana Strong is, first & foremost, a big sweetie pie. She's a little insecure, but she's a sweetie pie & she will never make someone feel unwelcome unless they've given her a reason to. She'd maybe be a little judgey about him having so many bastards (because she's even judgey about her brother in that regard), but she wouldn't say anything to him about it. Because that's rude & also it's kind of just expected in Westeros. Not stopping her from being gossipy as hell though.

In the TRP crossover AU though, they're definitely closer since he's married to Her Girl. Like "that's Daenys's man, your honor. I have to giggle about him with her, that's girl code." Also, like Rhaenyra, she's definitely encouraging them & probably helping to set them up, because she's watching Daenys moon over him too! Her insecurity would make a bigger impact, temporarily at least, on their relationship here though. I'm not going to go into too much detail, because that's spoilers for her arc in that fic, but there would be a rough patch where she kind of ices him out & is kinda harsh towards him for a couple months. Yes, it would be a bitterness thing & she is butting heads with at least Daenys & maybe even him depending on how much he's willing to try to pus that due to her very sudden 180 on how warm & friendly she normally is. It's not beyond repair, & she gets over it, & I also think she'd be willing to tell Kaleb what was going on more than she probably is Tyland in noncrossover TRP since, like, she's known him since he was a kid.

Overall, I think Kaleb & Cass would have a very nice friendship. Maybe not a best friendship, but a comfortable one.

[mullermoment]

does this parallel make sense to ANYBODY but me. am i alone in this. it's ok if i am

[chronologically-challenged]

Everything around the Isabeau confession is so well written.

Firstly, the set up. When you're playing the game, killing the King is just a vague goal. A natural one! But other than the vague desire to hit an end point, there isn't really a strong emotional reason compelling the player forward. But Isabeau!!! Telling you he will tell you something once you beat the King!!! That!!! That is a tangible goal to lean onto especially over time as you get more and more endeared to the whole party. Even if you're not aware of it being a love confession, getting to Isabeau to hear what he has to say is still a compelling reason get to the end.

And if you're Aware of how these things go for stories like these, you may also say, "Well shit, we're not gonna get a confession until the end of the game, are we?"

Second, the interruptions. The order of the interruptions are so quietly brilliant. I can't get over it. Bonnie interrupting first is such an excellent choice. You know Bonnie!!! Bonnie has been jumping into conversations all game so far. So interrupting Isabeau doesn't seem all that out of place. Then Mirabelle interrupts next time. And you go, okay. Thats two of three.... but surely Odile won't interrupt, right? By this point, the player has seen Odile tease Isabeau multiple times about him liking Siffrin, so surely she won't interrupt... right? Right??? But she does. And despite it being obvious that she would, the player is still left in tension if she would.

The way things are set up, there's a plausible deniability each time. You don't expect the first interruption, Bonnie naturally would interrupt so Mirabelle could be surprising, and Odile interrupting feels so outside of what she'd usually do that you don't expect it.

And yet!!!! Saying all this!!! This is very tropey!!! Very time loop tropey!!! Stopping people from messing things up so you can have your moment is quintessential time loop tropes and yet!!! It doesn't feel tropey due to good characterization and story structure.

(And if you do realize that all three are going to interrupt from the beginning, you get a wave of DREAD when you realize that you're going to be here. Again and again. That you have to beat the King again and again and again... and as you watch the confession fizzle, seeing the Head Housemaiden there, despite Siffrin's happy demeanor, you can't help but feel it all about to crash down before it even happens. In that moment you have a taste of what the game is about to put you through).

Third, the family quests. I have two points here. Firstly, "yelling at your screen like it's a telenovela" is the best summary of my feelings on the stargazing scene. Even if you KNOW Isabeau isn't going to confess until the end of the game bc that's how these things go, it won't happen until the end because that's how good writing works, You Still Want It To Happen. So Badly. You want Isabeau to confess to Siffrin!!! You want that tension to release!!! But you have to watch and see that perfect confession slip away every time and it hurts to watch, especially if you do the quests multiple times. Second point is the fact you can't continue the Isabeau confessions on a family run kills me. It's so good. Like you're never going to get everything in one go no matter what you do so you have to pick and choose. And!!! That plays into Siffrin feeling like he's manipulating Isabeau!!!

Of course Siffrin isn't actually manipulating Isabeau but when you're so aware of what you're doing and how events could have played out, it's difficult not to see a situation where you changed the outcome as manipulation. Which... of course leads us to Siffrin's feelings at the end of trying to stop the interruptions...

Fourth, Isabeau stopping himself when confessing. It hurts so good. Idk just. Denying the player that payoff. Denying Siffrin that moment of confession. Because really Siffrin didn't learn the lesson needed to actually get this moment of vulnerability between the two of them. It's such a genius choice that brings that awful dread and hopelessness. And in the end, I suppose all five of them stop the confession from happening because from that point onward, Siffrin interrupts the confession every time. Siffrin doing everything they can to get what they want only to accept that they're never going to get it. Never CAN get this because he doesn't deserve it.

Finally, bad touch. People have talked about bad touch enough, so I dont need to go too far with it. I will say I appreciate how much it doubles down on subverting the "romancing someone in a time loop" narrative. These loops while in some ways made Siffrin more perceptive, they're also PAINFUL. They mess with his head, lean towards making worse and worse decisions, and a large part of that is his role in his family's lives. Especially with Isabeau!!! So yeah. Of course the surprise kiss doesn't go well. Especially with the context that Isabeau doesn't think Siffrin wants to be touched let alone kissed? It ends in disaster just like most of the sidequests do.

In general, the ongoing Isabeau plot is very well implemented. The seeds for it are planted immediately, and it takes a lot of commitment to see all the parts of it. As a result, unless you try to do a ton of runs in act 3 immediately just to get the confession, it's a very slow burn part of the story, doing well to parallel Siffrin's mental state and the growing hopelessness in the loops. It grounds the story in a tangible goal from the beginning and in many ways, once you get to the end of it, get to bad touch, you're left bereft. Something... lost after you spent so much time being aware of Isabeau. That tangible feeling that you're slowly running out of things to do, of ways to spend these two days.

(And of course, then you have act 6 confession, and the pure relief, the joy in finally having the confession after it being set up from act 1. Siffrin doesn't need to reciprocate for it to have its impact. Something has CHANGED they have changed. And finally FINALLY after all this time, the moment can happen. And it's beautiful).