#cordeila

[alkilli-12]

Will sound like a hater but.

. .

James Herondale is the most boring character in the entire TSC series I'm sorry I did not enjoy reading his parts and his relationship with Cordeila was so frustrating and annoying to read.

[cordeliaandnestastan]

Nesta is nothing like Cordelia, Cordelia would hate her 🫣

Uhg I get so many of these like mind ya damn business kiddos

People have DEPTH and are MULTIFACETED i love them both for VERY DIFFERENT REASONS

They are both really cool strong Woman who are underdogs and care so much for their friends and family. They work hard are gorgeous and have REALLY COOL SWORDS.

Like yes, Nesta is alot more brash where Cordelia is very prim and niave. But like ???? Gaf (dgaf). They also have lived very different lives!

I think cordelia would recognise Alastair in Nesta if she met her. Both Al and Nes being really kind hearted people who due to their trauma have built walls and created harsh cold personas to protect them selves and their loved ones.

I love Nesta because she is unapologetically herself. She is unique and strong. She carves her own destiny. She is sexy and owns it. She loves HARD. Shes and underdog. Shes complex. Shes incredibly powerfull. She taught me the power of silence. Shes a book lover. Shes a hopeless romantic. She stands her ground. She loves music. She knows how to manipulate people, to intimidate, and throws off the most powerful of men.

Cordelia I love because of how she sees the world. I live how hard she tries. I love how selfless she is. I love how comited and tenacious she is. I love how she loves her friends. I love how she wants the best for others and looks out for others. I love her relationship with Cortana and being a shadowhunter and how BADASS SHE IS!! Shes an incredibly fighter! I love how far shell go for her friends. Shes also sexy af.

They BOTH dont fit other peoples mold, they are “outsiders” and underdogs who are worth so much more than they know. They are strong. They are talented. They are sexy. They have cool swords. The love hard and fight harder.

Cordelia is the rebel in me who loves that she lives in victorian england and is a badass.

Nesta is the part of me who feels misunderstood, snaps at people when we feel threatened, and want to be loved. We read romance and are strong and are physically active.

Cordelia is a tlh Character I fell in love with like I did with Emma Carstairs, and caused me to start this account and to enter the fandom. Nesta is a character I related too, saw myself in a rooted/root for. They dont have to like each other. They are both aspects of myself.

[kraniumet]

i think one of the main reasons whedonesque writing becomes so unbearable in the marvel movies is that they want EVERYONE to be buffy or spike or giles

[joshlane]

"From your mouth to God's ears," Josh replied with a shake of his head. He was pretty sure that the last thing that any of them wanted was to have to make a run from the beach to their cars, because getting soaking wet and covering oneself with sand didn't seem like the most appealing idea. Plus side -- they lived in a beach town and could always come back at another time if it did rain, even if they didn't want to have their day ruined. Still, if it was just a small, passing shower, they might be able to survive it with no worries. "Or just helpful friends who don't let your things go for a tumble along the beach," he laughed, before looking at the food that she brought along with her, smiling at the options. "You really do come prepared! Do you think that's the mother gene? Always wanting to make sure that you make enough that the kids have leftovers in case they eat it all up?" Or maybe just generally being a woman and being smarter than everyone around her, too. "I was! I did a little surfing, now I'm sort of where you're at -- relaxing a bit, enjoying the sunshine and the warm air. Ocean's just heating up now, you get far enough out there, it's still got that chill to it."

Maine was definitely full of surprises, it was beautiful and gave off the most beautiful scenery during summer time, but it still could be tricky sometimes. Which meant wind could pick up and send your picnic blanket flying down the beach. Thankfully someone she knew decently enough was nice enough to grab it before it became part of the ocean. "I think it's just early enough to catch those winds. Hopefully it'll settle as it gets later into the day and won't actually be a storm." Given she did want to relax and spend time outside instead of with her nose in a book -- or, specifically, a text book. "Always honorable." she chuckled, "But please at least let me." she dug through her bigger bag until she pulled out some container. "Apparently I bring enough in case I find a homeless group of people to feed." Because there was no way that Cordelia would consume that amount of food she had packed by herself. "It's perfect." Putting the dishes down on the blanket. "Can dip my toes in, come back here, get some sun, them hide under the shade." After all, she didn't need a bad burn or anything. That was one thing that could turn her into a big baby. "Are you down here enjoying a day off yourself?"

[castien-ffxiv]

Joie de Vivre

Mistake/Wild: Day 5 @daily-writing-challenge

It felt as if the past handful of weeks had been eons. She often wondered what Cyrus had been doing in their time apart. More often than not Castien had spent her time on ships when she wasn’t sailing the seas beneath sails and wading surfs she had taken up odd jobs at the Smoking Crow in Black Water Bay or upholding commissions that took full advantage of her skill set.

Crimson eyes traveled across the darkness to her companions whom she had been traveling the past few days with. The Lady Gray hadn’t been someone she was too accustomed to knowing but had been learning little by little during the journey they had been embarking upon within the wilds of Yak T’el malms from Tuliyoyall and the comforts of the seas that she had found peace within.

Wren she knew even less of aside from the fact she had been Ward to the Lady Gray and from what Castien could tell, the two were close but they kept the relationship professional – close friends more than the norm for what an employer and employee would be.

Then there was the Lady Cress, Vahalia. Still, quite the mystery as the woman often kept her private life under lock and key.

Smirking, Castien continued to carve at the curve of the piece in her hand, having worked at it for some hours now, “The lads back home must be quite jealous of our outing.” she mused with some mild jubilant snark while whittling away.

“Nary such for myself,” Wren replied and Cordelia simply remained quiet. The book within the Lady Gray's hand must have kept her attention far better than the conversation, or perhaps, it was simply a pleasant excuse.

“And you?” Castien gazed to Vahalia.

The Lady Cress only afforded Castien the slightest of smirks and a shake of her head, “I’m certain details will have to be shared though to their dismay it might not be as interesting as they play it up to be in their mind.”

“So there is someone within the darkened halls of yours?” Castien asked blowing the slivers of curled wood from the piece, listing forward she handed it off towards Vahalia.

Taking the wooden carving, Vahalia turned it over in her hand as the piece itself seemed to be very much a small gift for her. The slope and shape of the item depicted that of a tulip-shaped bell sans any true detailing but it was quality in and of itself. There was no mistaking that this had been carved with Vahalia in mind, “Yes. Though it matters little.” she finally responded to Castien, remembering something she had been privy to several months prior, “You and Cyrus though, I recall Cyrus asking me for wood of great calibur for you when you both had seized the most recent ship some moons ago.”

A small nod came and Castien pulled another piece from her bag, half-finished but it was easily starting to resemble that of a moth’s wing, “If that is your subtle way of asking if he and I are together, then yes.” the knife continued to work away at the soft wood and a few blows expelled from Castien again to rid the work of debris, “Quite the odd way we happened to meet though it makes for an interesting story. Caught him out hard on his luck and while he was in need for work I directed him to Ishgard. That is where he came upon Eivor, Carrera and eventually you.” she bobbed her head towards Vahalia, “Bit of a wild thing that man if you haven’t noticed.”

“I have but the said could be said of you, Bancroft.” Vahalia swiftly replied, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the tell-tale signs.”

Castien paused and her red eyes pinned across to Vahalia before cutting to Cordeila and Wren nearby. Cordi was still enveloped in her book though Wren looked rather intrigued.

“Worry not.” Vahalia laughed, “To make you an enemy would mean to make one of myself. It seems we all are familiar with the same dark halls. Make no mistake, you’re well within your proper circle here.”

For a brief moment, Castien caught a looming sensation that lingered in the darkness behind Vahalia, the space before her between Wren and Cordelia illuminated well by the fire's light but still, she had felt less of a threat enclosing the space and more at peace with the notion of being somewhere she belonged; darkness included.

Outside of Cyrus – these were her people.

Mention(s): @cyrus-black - @promethea-silk - @vahalia-cress - @song-of-wren

[vahalia-cress]

⸸ ᚲᛟᚾᛩᚢᛖᛋᛏ ⸸

Enigma/Victory: Day 7 @daily-writing-challenge

[ Inspirational Music ] [ TW/Content: Blood, death, battle ]

“Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Won’t be much longer now.” the male voice cut through the low chatter around him.

“We haven’t the time to sit and twiddle our thumbs, I expect results.” the female replied as she loomed over the firepit that the collective had been preparing. With one arm tucked under her bosom, the other had been hiked towards her face, nail teasing at the corner of her lips as her stoic mien regarded those who she employed. These men worked for her.

“Aye ma’am, there isn’t much else we can do, the night is far too dense here, not even the moon reaches us. The canopy is –”

“I don’t care.” she rescinded flatly, “Do what you must and we’ll begin again at dawn.” her words cut though remained low as the woman turned towards one of the tents. Perhaps a reprieve from the annoyances would have given her time to think.

Time to recount their steps and to plan for those that would soon follow.

A city of gold?

Her brothers were folly to think they would have found much else beyond gossip and mere speculation.

She had been sent halfway around the world to track down any truth to the myths. She knew better than to challenge what could be as the world itself – this Star – held mysterious great wonders but none of which she believed to be a city of gold; a poor man's dream.

However, the Whitlock name needed funds.

What was more, there was little else in Dalmasca other than to pillage and plunder when she could to keep things a well-oiled machine where it mattered.

The heart of home.

Ophelia’s nose scrunched briefly as though she had caught the wind and before she could turn around to regard the area she had just left, a volley of yells cried out and her hand ceased to move at the tent’s flap, nearly ready to enter.

The thunderous clash behind her rang out and the embers of the fire the men had just started to bring larger to life split, sparks decorating the darkening sky. It was there in her eye she caught the vision of a blonde Viera woman, the hefty sword raising once more before it came crashing down for a blow to the squatting man nearest the pit.

It wasn’t the sounds, it was the new scents she had picked up and everything ticked by in slow motion before Ophelia cried out, “Arms!” she demanded and in a flurry she rushed from the tent, rapier drawn instantly.

There was more than one, another with chakram piled through several of Ophelia’s men, a faral turret of aether was expended and as Ophelia ducked from the oncoming weapon more of her men charged forward and the clangs of battle rang out.

Castien and Wren cut through those who were caught unawares and meeting those with weapons head-on in the heat of battle. Just beyond the smoke and torches Ophelia’s eyes caught sight of two figures nearby – no, three.

Clamorous and panic swept the small camp as they attended the battle with guts and hopeful glory.

Vahalia stood with her arms crossed and her head ticked gently to the side after giving enough ample time to render the situation for what it was. Her form held a semblance of enigmatic poise as she stood on with Cordelia, “We have work to do, sister.” she spoke calmly and a few steps guided her forward, Creature in tow though not before he afforded Cordeila a depth-seeking glance and followed his Keeper.

“Then work we shall.” Cordeila replied in kind and she started after her kin.

The battle continued as Vahalia stalked towards the fray, her hands coming down to draw the pair of sickles from her belt. Cordeila’s form bolted past the Lady Cress with rapier drawn, attire keeping her limber and svelte as she needed it to be.

There was no resistance or hesitation as the blade pierced past the large flames and her body followed by extension, the point nearly striking Ophelia as the instinctive parry came. The clash of the slender swords glinted reflecting what light it caught as Cordeila and Ophelia traded their well-timed strikes. A lunge, a ripose, and several casts of fire and flame egnited the space briefly as the mages tested their mettle against one another.

Vahalia knew fencing well and this was simply a product of further teaching, a match perfectly befitting a Magi such as Cordeila. 

She reveled in the nature of the woven beast that was combat, eyes never straying from the exchange as she placed her wager on Cordeila who seemed to be getting the upper hand, looking for a proper time to administer a fletching blow.

Vahalia worried less of what would become of the Lady Whitlock’s forces as they seemed to be thinning and in short order gratitude being that for Wren and Castien, Creature’s attention shifting between each as if though feeling the count dwindle and his patience thinning, “𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡.” he glared at Vahalia.

“And you shall have it. Soon.” she procured in response, the curved blade of the reaper’s twin-sickle drawing through her palm as she held it out to Creature, “Now, we must make them fear what lurks beneath. Monster of shadows, a personification of my shadow, embodiment of the void.” she welcomed him.

Strike for strike, parry for parry, Cordeila and Ophelia were matched though Ophelia did have several ilms on Cordeila which certainly affected her reach. A difficult task for the well-mentored Magi to keep up with and pausing, Cordeila smirked towards Ophelia, a silently agreed pause as Ophelia trained her rapier in Cordeila’s direction, “You fight well enough, consider me surprised.” the Whitlock woman spoke.

Several strands of Cordeila’s hair dropped over her eye and she chortled with amusement, a confident smirk still present, “Surprised? I’m surprised that even in this lighting I can tell you’re a little heavy on the eyeliner.”

No sooner had the words left her had her body lurched forward, cold steel protruding from her chest as Cordeila regarded the weapon embedded into her, she hadn’t considered a sleazy move from behind which was either her folly for not noticing or that of Wren to have let one slink by. The fight was over and her brain had already processed the immense pain as she cried out instinctively.

The rapier in her hand dropped, losing a firm grip on the weapon as already Cordeila felt her fingers tinkle with numbness and the sickening sound of her vital oozing and sword being removed had become a blur as she dropped to her knees and covered the wound with both her hands; as much pressure as she could muster.

Wren’s voice called out to her cutting through the voices and yells and then the world around her became fuzzy as she tried to apply pressure to the wound.

Ophelia advanced, “There is nothing that will keep me from my goal.” she pointed the tip of the rapier just under Cordeila’s chin, “The esoteric calls to me and so, I answer. It’s nothing personal Lady Gray.”

A whorl of shadow shot forth and the force of it lunged so quickly past Cordeila that she damn near toppled and Ophelia had been tackled at the front, both bodies falling to the ground and the tent nearby fluttered to the ground as the two rose. It was hard to truly see if it was Creature or Vahalia but in that moment Cordeila’s cool grey eyes regarded the figure before her – it was the both of them….merged.

The perfect host.

The Lady Gray smirked weakly as she stilted her hand to the ground to keep herself from collapsing, the shining red and yellow eye pinned to their kin as Wren rushed over to Cordeila’s side.

Vahalia was the sword.

Turning back to Ophelia to dodge the oncoming fireball the merged entity drew its attention firmly to the prize before it. Vahalia was unlike anything she had become before or had shown those around her, letting them into the very depths of her capabilities. This was a reaper.

Tendrils of void drifted around her from feet and hair, shining crimson eye trained to Opheila as if though words at the moment wouldn’t begin to scratch the surface of what needed to be said. Whitlock was the betrayer and Vahalia was coming to collect. 

Blood littered the ground around them and one of the bodies that Vahalia had implaed along the large tendril thrashed, tossing the person to the ground like a mere slab of meat. Without a word she pointed towards Ophelia with the gnarled hand twisted with thorns of void and seething darkness, the hissing fizzling around her, the small but subtle crackles of void and electricity like one within her frame, she had completely assimilated Creature, “𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔬 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰.” the hollow feminine voice spoke, part Creature, part her and the chittering of voices around the corporeal form sang out.

𝔎𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔦𝔱...         𝔎𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔦𝔱.

                    𝔎𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔦𝔱!

Ophelia rushed forward, rapier drawn as once more she began an attack, this time each attempt was met with sheer force and power as both tendrils and the witch’s sickles deflected. She began weaving magic and melee attacks in swift succession, realizing that this thing wasn’t trying to kill her else it would have done so already – it wanted her alive.

Fatigue was starting to set in as Ophelia felt her heart race, adrenaline waned into worry coupled with her stubborn nature to keep going, and her lungs heavy and tired. It was one small tremble in her strike that caused the entity to cling to that, Creature sensing the overt weakness that was gripping Lady Whitlock and he seized the moment as one of the tendrils emitting from Vahalia’s form snapped forward and caught Ophelia by the neck.

“𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔡. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔢𝔡 𝔔𝔲𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢. 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔣𝔢𝔦𝔱.” 

“Heh.” Ophelia forced out as she felt her feet leave the ground, the force of the strike had caused her to lose her foci and rapier, her hands now clutching to the front of the tendril at her throat seeking swift reprieve, “They will come….for you…” she choked out, her vibrant eyes pinning viciously to Vahalia.

A crimson smirk presented itself as the mortal side of the abomination shined through, dimple nestling into Vahalia’s cheek as it often did, “ℑ'𝔪 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔱.”

It wasn’t a question of how long it would take her to die or lose complete consciousness but a matter of where she would find herself when she woke.

‘A lousy way to loose’ Ophelia thought.

And then everything went dark. Mention(s): @promethea-silk - @song-of-wren - @castien-ffxiv

[one-and-only-ariadne]

Oh the fair lady Ariadne how beautiful art thou- cordeila the sea nymph

Thank you!

Im pretty sure you gorgeous too

[narilily]

Nari felt a warm, sincere smile touch her lips when Cordelia complimented her, said that it was the truth, knowing that while it meant a lot from anyone who had it in them to say something kind, it meant something extra special when it came from people she was genuinely close to, and people who seemed to have her best interests at heart. Cordelia wouldn't tell her that she was good just for the sake of telling her, for example. "Oh, that's the tale as old as time!" she laughed, nodding her head. "Every little girl grows up envisioning herself in a ball gown, looking like a true princess. And then when the time comes for them to try on dresses, their tastes have changed so drastically that they can't even imagine walking down the aisle in that," Nari let out a low whistle, shaking her head. "So don't worry, we'll find you the fit that you're looking for, the most perfect silhouette, fabric, all of it. No problem."

Hopping up from where he she had been sitting, Nari followed after Cordelia as the twosome headed towards the stairs, and to the second floor of the house. Rosalyn's little bedroom was adorable, perfect for the little girl, and she found herself laughing as Cordelia talked about Colton's. "That's fair, teenaged boy, I get it," she could only imagine what horrors could be waiting there. Unless he was a neat kid, which she could also see, given that Cordelia was in his life. When they headed through the rest of the house, and eventually landed back in the kitchen, Nari did a little spin, looking around the space. "I can definitely see your touch! The whole house is gorgeous, honestly, you must be so happy to finally be home after so long working on it. And now it can be a labor of love to get it all done, right?" Although truly, Nari could live in a place like that for the rest of her life, with nothing else done. "Need any help with the drinks?"

"It's simply the truth." Nari might be just starting her label in town, she knew that she was incredibly talented. She wasn't afraid to push boundaries, while also making beautiful things. It only made sense that she would be the one she would ask. "Mimosas it is, I'll never complain about those." Which was true, she loved a good orangey drink in the morning. Given it would be a little bit of an adult drink while gushing over fabrics and designs, it wasn't like they needed to have a bunch of them. "I definitely did, I thought I would always go for the whole princess ball gown look, but I put them on and it was an absolute no." Shaking her head, "Maybe I still had this idea of what I would have worn at eighteen stuck in my head and I need to do more of the woman I am today." Even though she was marrying the love of her life, she wanted to feel feminine, womanly, sexy.

"So I'm glad you'er here, because I am hoping you can put together what is going on in my brain." She had ideas, she had thoughts, but it didn't seem to all make sense. "Okay let's start this way." Leading the woman towards upstairs, "These aren't all fully finished so keep that in mind, we just have the important rooms finished." she said. "This one is Rosalyn's room." Flipping on the light, "I would offer to show you Colton's room but I'm not sure what it looks like up there on the next floor." she admitted. She lead the woman through the different places that were finished before into the kitchen. "And my favorite place." Or one of them, "The kitchen I probably had some of the most say in." As she grabbed out a pitcher and the orange juice to start making mimosas."

[ricard-blythe-ffxiv]

DWC - Day 1 - Appearance/Mysterious

@daily-writing-challenge

To anyone looking in from the outside the gathering would have had the appearance of a typical family meal. 

The patriarch seated at the head of the table, nursing his coffee and flipping through whatever papers seemed to have garnered his attention this particular morning. His wife seated beside him, quietly (and not so subtly) eyeing their only son who seemed blissfully unaware of the scrutiny - or perfectly content to ignore it. 

In fact this was quite typical in the Blythe household whenever Ricard stopped by to ‘visit’ in order to keep his mother from stopping by his estate unannounced (a strategy that while it sounded good was ineffective in practice), but one step inside the room would have given away that this particular morning was anything but typical…if  the tension was anything to go off of. 

Even the staff had been unwilling to stay in the room for long, only stepping in long enough to refill a drink or to remove a plate and quickly scurrying away, leaving the three to their rather heavy silence that no one quite seemed willing to break.

Or no one had, until Catherine Blythe’s tolerance for silence had been reached.

“Enough is enough. Where the hell were you for the last three weeks, Ricard?”

“Catherine…surely there was a more tactful way to ask the question…” Beside her, the silence now broken, Gerald sighed heavily, setting the paper he’d been ‘scanning’ down and reaching for his coffee before glancing between his wife and his son. 

“Perhaps, but I’d rather get a straight answer and someone is rather adept at side-stepping questions if given the opportunity. Besides, there’s no one in here but the three of us, and you don’t care if I curse and you,” she pointed across the table at Ricard who was looking entirely too amused for his own good, “- seem to find new ways of making me curse on a daily basis. Now answer the question, son.”

“A question for a question. Why does it matter? As I told father - I informed him and the office that I wouldn’t be in but would be available if needed and all the work was handled. There were people at the estate who could get a message to me if they needed to. And - as we’ve previously discussed - my private life is very much my own and I will share when I’m good and ready to.”

Gerald cleared his throat gently. “...You did say you were going to stay out of things, dear…”

A decision that clearly wasn’t well thought out, as he winced back in his chair as his wife’s attention whipped over in his direction. 

“That was before our son decided to disappear for almost a month without leaving any indication of where he was going or who he was going with.” She turned back towards Ricard, her eyes narrowing. “I don’t care how old you are, Ricard, you are still my child, and as foolish as it is I worry about you when you disappear like that. So you could be a bit more considerate and perhaps tell us where in the hell you’re -”

A heavy sigh left him as he reached up and ran a hand through his hair, glancing up at the ceiling for a long moment as his mother continued her lecture. 

He considered waiting for a ‘good’ moment, he really did. But there wasn’t going to be one, and what better way to break his mother out of one of her tirades than to shock her off course?

“I’m courting Cordeila Gray.”

Gerald coughed, nearly spitting out his coffee - managing to lower the cup to the table before slowly turning to look at his wife who had, rather abruptly, stopped talking and was staring wide-eyed at their son.

Rare was the event that could shock Catherine Blythe into silence.

“...What was that, Ricard?”

Ricard grinned - a shit-eating grin to be sure, but a grin nonetheless - before finishing off his coffee. He stood, adjusting his vest and brushing a few imaginary crumbs off of his slacks before giving his father a gentle pat on the shoulder and moving around to kiss the top of his mother’s head. 

“I thought it was quite clear. I’m courting Cordelia Gray. The last three weeks I was gone because I was with her at her family estate. Don’t worry - everything is by the books, no foul play, nothing out of the ordinary. I’ll be organizing a dinner in the next few weeks for the four of us to sit and spend some time together, so how about you don’t show up at her door-step this time, hm? Since I’m actually providing you with a first and last name this go ‘round.”

He offered a wave over his shoulder as he moved towards the door. “Father - I’ll see you at the office next week. Mother - perhaps you should take it a bit easy today. You look like you’ve just had a shock.” A quick wink and he was through the doors and gone, leaving the elder Blythes to themselves and their thoughts.

“...Gerald?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Did he just say he was voluntarily courting someone…”

Gerald’s stunned gaze shifted from the door, where Ricard had been standing moments before over to his wife. “...he did.”

“And he told us who it was. Said he was going to arrange a dinner and all - I didn’t imagine that.”

“No…no you did not.”

“And we’re certain that was our son?”

“I would assume so - otherwise it was a mysterious stranger who wanted to come in and deal with the questions you often put forth to our son…”

The stifling silence returned for a long moment before Gerald realized his mistake. “I didn’t mean it that…” He’d barely started to speak when the croissant hit him between the eyes and he sighed. 

Fortunately for him, Catherine’s attention was already turned back towards the empty doorway - one could almost see the wheels in her head turning. 

“Leave them be Catherine.”

“I know…I know. It’s just….he was betrothed once before and that fell through, and this is only courting - just to be sure I don’t think it would hurt if I…”

“It would.” Gerald stood reaching down and taking his wife’s hand, gently urging her up out of her chair and looping her arm through his. “Leave them be. We’ve met the woman once before, we’ll meet her again, and whatever happens will happen. Do not press.”

She huffed as the pair exited the room…she’d leave things be for now. 

But she never had been one to ignore a good mystery. 

She and her son had that very much in common.

Mentions: @promethea-silk

[vampires-bitrs]

Please write your story about sacrificial brides! The DL fandom is still very active, however rarely do people write about the dark and twisted side of this franchise. Or at least share your ideas and headcanons on what your story or OCs would be like! 😭🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

OMG OMG THIS ASK HAS ME GEEKING ＼(^-^)／

So far, the story is still in its outline phase. I did have a writer wave where the ideas flowed freely so now I'm just trying to piece all the fragments together

I know some people don't like to know what happens at the end of a story but I feel like the appeal of doing that setup comes with the progression of the actual story but on to the headcanons

Cordeila is still alive during this time (yes, the MC will run into her)

It takes place around 1994

The boys are living in Romania

My OC for the story I was having a hard time coming up with a name or specific look for her, so I was thinking maybe she could just be nameless or a self insert like Y/N L/N but I'm still deciding...

I have noticed that the boys have been written more fluffy in recent years and don't get me wrong I love it but sometimes I do wish there was a little bit more content focusing on their more darker side so if your looking for more DL fanfiction like that @jardinsdeminuit has a wonderful one shot selection of fics on their ao3

My personal favourite was "Shackled" 🤭

"The Switch" by Rinster is truly one of the best DL fanfiction I have ever read. The story telling, the boy characterization, the fact that it's choices based, meaning your actions can have consequences it's still ongoing, but so far it has 74 chapters, which should be plenty for now!

If you're looking for art that really captures the mood of the different routes, @ausd has amazing art that captures that chilling feeling, especially laitos route mmm CHEFS KISS everytime I look at their art it's just!

If you want some analysis that'll make you cry read "The Fall of Yui Komori: A Partial Analysis of Laito’s HDB Route" by @everything-laito I swear after reading this I needed to put my phone down and take a breath of fresh air it definitely gave me a new found perspective on just how strong Yui it's just so good.

@carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich also makes analysis, but her fanfictions MWAH they capture Shin sadistic side perfectly my personal favourite is Siren’s Call (Siren!Shin x Reader One Shot) (this one is not a shin fic but it's my guilty pleasure Bathtub Merman - Merman!Azusa Mukami x Reader One Shot you can tell I have a thing for under water creatures)

@dixbolik-lovers does all the boys and her Aus are to die for, and the fanfiction can be found on ao3 and Wattpad as well.

@sakamakibride "Lunacy one & two" based on the DIABOLIK LOVERS VERSUS Ⅱ Vol.2 Shuu VS Reiji perfectly grasp the tension between the Shu & Reiji If you have time, I would recommend a read.

@nutaella-kookie-storage has some of Nutaella-kookie old works wonderful OC amazing headcanons and unique world building.

Honestly, if you want the boys at their rawest, take them straight from the translation! @dialovers-translations

[spunkypigeon]

Your analyzes are really helpful and so valuable to the community. It was from your latest analysis of Reiji that I got motivated to research the boys more thoroughly and became very knowledgeable about behavioral issues. But as I replayed each HDB and MB route, I suddenly realized something.

Each of the brothers is very different, but they all seem to share a lot in common when it comes to punishment and obedience. Despite being raised by such different types of mothers, many of the brothers use one common control tactic - a "reward" for obedience or punishment for disobedience. Of course, some of them can take the reward as such, while others have it quite twisted. And it seems that this practice really works on Yui, because this way they train her to obey without a second thought so that she can to avoid the pain, but I got the impression that they didn't see it that way. For most of the development of Yui's "relationship" with one of the boys, this goes to an extreme and eventually she starts to lose the line between pain and pleasure and things get complicated. But I wonder if they are doing this to make her a masochist? As far as I am informed, a man cannot suddenly become a masochist, but is born with such a tendency, and over time, so to speak, learns to awaken it. Does this mean that Yui is actually really a masochist, and it's not just words when brothers say so?

Of course I know your focus is mainly Reiji and I have no idea if you've played any of the other routes to you know. Also, Reiji isn't as mentally screwed up as Cordelia's sons and he acts very carefully and thinks his actions out more than his brothers. But since you also mentioned this reward and punishment tactic, I would be very happy if you could give me your opinion on the subject.

This is a very astute observation! You are right with each brother engaging in Operant Conditioning (or punishment and reward) even though they each have different mothers; I don't think this is coincidental. From what we see of their mothers, it can be implied that the behaviour is learned - we predominantly see this with Cordelia and her general behaviour, but we also see this with Beatrix and Shuu (I would mention Christa but I feel I lack a thorough understanding of her character). From each of the brothers, to the mothers and by extension even the Mukamis, they all seem to exhibit this form of behaviour; the only way for this to occur [beyond coincidence] is for there to be an interlinking variable. In this case, our good friend Karlheinz - CEO of Beans, Means, Heinz.

From what we learn from Ayato's and Laito's routes, it's implied that Cordelia met Karheinz when she was young - in other words, he preyed on her for her blood, and for her heritage. This can imply that Cordelia may have, in fact, been groomed (for Karl's plan) - since it can be implied that he too engages in the punishment and reward system. This is mainly theoretical, however, from Cordelia's extensive collection of fine jewellery - that, (if I'm right) come from Karlheinz (and can even be implied to be 'love bombing'). We know that Cordelia becomes self-destructive and abusive when she isn't with Karl, possibly implying that his time and gifts act as the "reward" - whereas him marrying Beatrix, Christa and generally discarding Cordeila acts as the "punishment". Cordelia possibly learned her behaviour from Karl and imprinted it onto her children - a sort of "cause and effect" if you will - whereas I've implied Beatrix to suffer from some form of generational trauma; though Karl may have also [possibly] used Operant Conditioning on Beatrix, and Christa, too.

And yes, you're right - some brothers are generous with the rewards and do something that actively makes Yui happy, such as Ayato, Azusa and Kou. However, brothers such as Laito, Kanato and Reiji present a more twisted version of 'reward' - such as Laito forcing himself on Yui [in basically every chapter let's be real] or Kanato wanting to turn Yui into a wax corpse - but that's heavily due to their response to their trauma.

You're also right about Yui being easily 'trained' via Operant Conditioning. However, I think this is a precaution - a means to demonstrate complete and utter control - and like I've mentioned with Reiji, he spares no time in enforcing that; meaning that he's likely done this hundreds of times before (and most likely so have the others). In other words, the Operant Conditioning may just be a standard routine among the brothers. I do like your interpretation that they're doing this so that Yui can avoid their punishments - it definitely puts them in a more sentimental light (and I appreciate that you've read it like this). For characters like Subaru, Shuu, Ayato (and even Kanato) I can definitely see this interpretation - as punishing Yui is more trouble than it's worth; they want her to behave and do exactly as they want.

However, for characters like Reiji and Laito, they particularly enjoy pushing Yui around, they enjoy making her slip up so they can punish her. I see this as more of a demonstration of power and control - as well as a boost to their ego. Reiji and Laito are two characters that lacked control and authority in their childhood - implying that their actions towards Yui are possibly a way to achieve that. For characters such as these, I don't belive that they want Yui to avoid pain in the beginning. Throughout the mid-way section and the end of their respective routes, they don't delight in Yui's pain - it's only in the beginning, and I think this is due to their trauma-response. In other words, the abused become the abuser - they delight in Yui's pain because she feels a physical manifestation of their mental/emotional pain. It's sadism at its most ironic.

So yes, I agree with you on that front - I don't think they see Yui's 'training' in a pet-like way - instead I believe it's a fail-safe. It's a way for each brother to be in complete control, while having the security that Yui can't escape, act out or leave them. At the end of the day, each brother values and desires affection and acceptance - using this form of control over Yui guarantees that. It's a twisted way for them to garner the emotional security they need.

However, I don't believe that any of the brothers use Operant Conditioning to actively or purposefully make Yui a masochist. From what I know, researched and from my own experiences, no one is born a sadist or a masochist. Instead, I believe it to be a learned response. Sadism and masochism are responses to pain - I don't believe people are intrinsically born to enjoy pain - it's called 'pain' for a reason. However, and this is drawn upon my own experiences, I believe that sadism and masochism arise from the exposure to suffering.

If you're exposed to constant and unyielding pain, there's only a small selection of responses to choose from. You can't run from it, you can't hide from it - fighting it only makes it worse - therefore, the only way to deal with the relenting pain is to accept it, tolerate it...enjoy it. I touch on this in my MB analysis regarding Azusa and Yui (and how Azusa is a "dark parallel" to Yui regarding this exact topic). Since the female brain doesn't full mature until mid-twenties, I can afford to take some liberties regarding Yui.

When you're exposed to heavy abuse and physical abuse as a child, your brain does funny things. Now, I'm only talking from my own experiences - so any other views on this are greatly appreciated. But like I said, when you're exposed to pain at a young age, your brain tries to rationalise it and find an effective response. If it's constant, unyielding and inescapable, you can either fight it - and in some cases, make it worse - or you can accept it. When you're a child, or a young adult, you're constantly told the message that you should enjoy life; that you have nothing to sad about or anything worth crying over. Notice how I used the word: enjoy. This is intentional because this is where the brain begins to warp. So, instead of crying about the pain, you instead learn to see the positives - that whoever's inflicting the pain is giving you 'special treatment' for example. This is what we see with Azusa and his attachment to Justin.

People inflict pain because they want to see you suffer; from how my brain responded to that, the only way to combat that is to enjoy it. Once the pain's over - or it's finally stopped for good - that sentiment doesn't go away; instead it finds something to latch onto. Think of your brain as one big circuit board, and the masochism as a cord. Once the pain stops for an extensive period, that cord becomes unplugged - and another cord is plugged in its place; the circuit board fills up. The masochism is still there, the cord hasn't disappeared; it's dangling, and it needs something to latch onto. Once you grow older, your brain develops more plugs, more sockets for different cords and branches that need to be filled in - one of those plugs is sexuality. Now obviously, sadism and masochism aren't intrinsically sexual, they are both sexual and non-sexual: the sexual being self-explanatory and the non-sexual being oriented around amusement - again, it's irony being displayed in its most painful form. But I digress, once sexuality opens itself up to the brain - like with Yui - the unplugged cord of masochism has a socket to wire itself into.

The point I'm getting at is that I believe masochism - and Yui's masochism - to be a trauma-response. It acts as a way for her to 'deal' with the pain - however, since her brain is underdeveloped, her mentality surrounding it warps and distorts. The line between pain and pleasure does become blurred. In other words, it can be implied that Yui's masochism (and Azusa's) are coping mechanisms that have become warped and distorted over time.

Note that Yui never starts the game(s) as a masochist. If anything, she hates the pain. Yet by the end of the game, she is a masochist. She's masochistic due to the severe mental stress she's under and the vile abuse she endures - and her brain can't revert back due to the extent of the distortion. Routes such as Reiji's and Laito's hinge on Yui's mentality unravelling; becoming fragile and mouldable - this is how the masochism is able to infiltrate, it's a coping mechanism (but instead of being able to abandon it, it's latched onto another part of her brain, her sexuality).

Furthermore, when the brothers refer to Yui as a masochist, it could be implied to be an exaggeration, a way to riddle Yui's mind with stress, denial and self-doubt. In other words, it could be implied that they're gaslighting her to sow doubt and make her more susceptible to their mental manipulation. Additionally, it could be implied that they're enforcing masochism onto Yui so that they can enact their own sadism onto her without any complications - to make her a 'willing victim' if you will. In essence, the brothers could call Yui a masochist in order to imprint their own views and needs onto her - sadism and masochism is the giving and receiving of pain. It can be implied that the brothers' sadistic tendencies act as an outlet for their trauma; they need a recipient to take the pain they're giving - that being Yui. However, the brothers' sadism and Yui's masochism doesn't match up.

The brothers begin their routes revelling in Yui's pain, yet they don't end their routes with the same sentiment. Yui, however, starts the routes trying to escape the pain, only to yield to it - and by the end of the route, revel in it. And I'm not just strictly talking about her own pain either. In Reiji's HDB manservant ending, we see Yui delight in the pain and subservience of others. She gains control over Reiji, in which she belittles and emasculates him, all while playing the role of 'Cordelia' - and in Kanato's HDB manservant ending, we see Yui brutally (and sadistically) murders the other brothers, revelling in the affection she believes she'll get because of it. In essence, sadism and masochism are learned responses or coping-mechanisms (gone wrong), but that's just my opinion.

You're also right, Reiji isn't as screwed up as the triplets, and he does think out his every move - painstakingly so. The only other brother I'd say who comes close is Laito,since they're both highly manipulative and predominately enforce Operant Conditioning - with Reiji’s focus being on control and Laito's being on sex. When Yui behaves, they each reward her in non-material ways - for Laito, it's sex or physical affection, and for Reiji, it's remedies when Yui's sick, her favourite meals etc. What they both 'reward' Yui with is their vulnerability. In other words, manipulative characters like Reiji, Laito, Ruki and Carla enforce Operative Conditioning to gain the comfort of control; only once that boundary is established do they 'mellow'. In other words, the need for punishment and reward is a basis wherein the brothers can build a relationship that they can thrive in.

[mama-cordelia-leech]

a winged cat jumps onto Ms. Cordeila, looking very distressed and covered in ink mixed with water. it was holding the note it had found in Floyd'a dorm.

Mroww! Mreeww!!

-🐈‍⬛🪽

•She picked it up and read it•

“Dear Floyd,

I was wondering if you’d come over so I can tell you something. It’s a secret, meet me at my dorm in Heartslabyul. Room 1313

-Lilithin”

who the fuck-

[platinumaspiration]

Juliette, at this point, is absolutely feral. I think her mother is putting pressure on her and Juliette doesn't care who it is as long as they have a good reputation, black hair, and a heart (not a robot).

I'm hoping against all hope that she loves Dirk because fate has been decided for her.

Dirk is smitten with Juliette, even though he's getting over his feelings for Natasha Una - who broke off their relationship because she started living with a guy that could eat as many grilled cheese.

Nevertheless, Dirk has a thing for redheads. Arranged or not, Juliette is very pretty and fun to be around

Dirk, with the help of Cordeila and Capp money, planned a night out to Desiderata Valley's boardwalk.

Hostess: Ah, Mr. Dreamer, we've been expecting you! Right this way! We have a special table just for you.

Dirk: Juliette, we've been dating for quite some time, and I'd like to make it offi- Juliette: Be honest with me. Is he looking at me? I'm freaking out right now.

And just like that, Juliette is engaged!

I wonder if Dirk knows that he'll be taking her surname. Will this be the end for the Dreamer name?

[dia-land]

Idk if you do headcannons but can make ones of cordeila and her fem!human s/o?? How they etc..

Cordelia with female human S/O

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If she was really in love with her S/O, I'm sure she would do anything for her.

That could mean that she would kill whoever messed with her.

She might act a bit selfish with her S/O sometimes for things she might want but over all I'm sure she'd be caring.

But if she saw her S/O cheating on her or even talking to someone else, I'm sure she would be very jealous. But she's try to hide her emotions.

She would probably punish her too and teach her to NEVER talk to anyone else.

Cordelia would probably be the dominant one in a relationship. So don't even try to control her. (Periodttt)

Overall the relationship would be pretty cheerful and easygoing. (Unless you make a wrong move)

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((I'm not very good at making headcons but I tried. Feel free to ask more! ☺️))

[only-one-brain-cell]

Cordeila: not only do I have to come to school on Saturday BUT I have to cheak out a book on computers???????

Giles: I’m literally talking to the police but yes, your life is so difficult right now I can only imagine the stress your under.

[cagenewman]

"Yeah, let's not bank on the deposit," he winced as she mentioned it being a big 'if' knowing that her landlord was not the most trustworthy person on the planet. Much as he loved the town that they called home, it wasn't like you didn't still occasionally run into a few bad apples. But that was why they were getting her out of that situation; and the sooner, the better. "Oh, don't listen to her," he scoffed, rolling his eyes towards Cordelia as he looked at Rosalyn. "Mommy's just being silly. She's jealous that we're best buds, obviously." Not that he could ever dream of coming close to touching the bond that she had with her daughter, but he liked to think he was still up there in the rankings. "You're an angel," he shot her a blown air kiss before turning his attention back to the tasks at hand.

And thankfully, those tasks at hand involved… well, eating entirely too much. A major perk of having a girlfriend who knew how to cook was that Cage never walked away from the table feeling unsatisfied. Or like he had room for even a jelly bean. "I let you eat so much?" he let out a laugh, stretching his spine and letting out a breath, "but same, actually. I don't think she's mocking you, I just think that the meal was that good, so thank you," he let out a laugh, watching as she cleaned Rosalyn's hands. "Sure you don't need any help?" he asked as he picked himself up, torn between grabbing the dishes and grabbing Rosalyn, reasonably reassured when she ran towards the toys, instead, feeling a warm smile touch his lips. Then he turned his attention back to his girlfriend, nodding his head, "yeah, of course. Wine sounds good, ask me later about the apple juice, maybe for dessert?" he dropped to sit on the couch, reaching for the stack of papers that Cordelia had laid out, shuffling them together when his eyes landed on her bag, the papers that had half spilled out, eyebrows shooting up when he read the words in her recognizable handwriting, and felt his breath catch when he recognized the name. She hadn't even told him his name before… but he knew. Taking his bottom lip between his teeth, he reached to take the papers out, eyes scanning, not bothering to look up when he heard her approaching.

"I'm already cracking down on the apartment hunting, you break the door down I just don't get my deposit back, and that's already a big if I do." she said rolling her eyes. It was pretty obvious she had what was pretty much a slumlord. Merrock was wonderful, but it wasn't perfect. It was just like any other town, so she wasn't sure what to expect when she moved out. "No, you definitely encouraged the monster babe. Just remember that Rosie, he called you a monster." she teased the little girl as if she had any clue what she was saying and she knew Cage would never, not in a mean way. "Actually I do have breath mints, we can share." she grinned at the man shooting him a wink before flitting about the kitchen finishing everything up.

Once everything was out on the table, and deemed everything ready, she cut up some for her daughter and settled her in to probably make half a mess, while they ate and chatted about their days, different things they had coming up, general conversations that typically filled their time when together. Once finished she sighed, "Why did you let me eat so much." she patted her belly, which Rosalyn did the same thing patting her little belly, "I'm not sure if she's mocking me or..." she chuckled as she got napkins wiping the little girls hands and face clean. "There less pasta monster, more human." she teased as the girl squealed as she put her down on the ground and she was off to play with her toys. Collecting the plates she settled them in the sink and wrapped the leftovers, "Dishes are for a much later me. Want to dig into the listings?" she asked? "They're on the coffee table." she said, "I'm gonna grab a glass of wine though, up the strength from apple juice, want one or should I refill your juice?" she grinned calling out.