#^^^^ this choice makes a lot of sense sometimes

[grotesquevi]

cw  # this story continues what happened in the arsonist, settled in a medieval au, feel free to read it before as you might be confused if not. 18+ mdni as it contains smut at some point, homophobia, internalized misogyny, sevika cameos.

this is just a teaser from the entire fic that will come out in a few days, also not proof-read so any mistakes? let them be — wc: 1.8k

vi dreams of coming back to winter.

craves the silence of a snowstorm even when it only causes disaster to the realm, finds herself unable to close her eyes again without recurring to the same thought: are you even affected by her like she is? do you spend countless nights under the poor illuminations of a candle slowly consuming over your nightstand? staring at the ceiling and not moving a muscle like she does — do you wish she was closer to you like she wished upon your company every night?

even when the time passes, she yearns for coming back to a weather she hates if it means you’d be there in the cabin again, trying to warm up in her arms, too loyal to her beliefs to ever fall again in your traps. it's not possible but she's distracted sometimes during the day when you're walking past her and your perfume stays in the air even when you're long gone, how you carried yourself with grace despite having to endure your mother's slowly rotting away in a gigantic bed.

"what we did," vi remembers her own words like a spell from the witch in the woods, haunts her like a childhood nightmare "it cannot happen again, my lady."

a royal is destined to a bright future, a huge impact in life meanwhile vi's stuck being a nobody, ready to die for the crown, for you. the metal on her waist yanks heavy on her belly cause she swore years ago about giving her life for the well-being of your family, die for a greater motive, something good.

"if that's your choice violet," it saddens her somehow. the fact you don't seem bothered at her words, even when vi's hearts already pounding in her chest like a horse running to meet death in war. "i'll still ask about having you in my personal guard. i think your skills are helpful in a higher rank."

"as you wish, my princess."

she doesn't want no special treatment — fuck that, vi needs to earn it. however she's bound when you're looking at her like that. bound to protect you, to serve and be nothing but a weapon in your ruling hand when swearing upon her honor, bended knee in front of your mother last rational moments. you could have her heart if it's a demand for the greater good. it's what every knight would offer, what she needs to do.

so violet's following you around in a silver armor from months now, impeccable, clean white cape on her back. your knights now on council meetings, outside your room day and night, in the hallways and it's driving her to an insanity she cannot comprehend: since the very moment you fell asleep in her arms, since you melted in her touch she cannot stay close for more than a minute. impossible to share a room when no one's around cause she gets distracted, and her work relies on keeping you alive, on answering for your well-being: can’t afford any distraction.

in her entire life, she has never felt so useless, so inebriate to someone's charm — a knight its not supposed to burn for the love of it's princess, held such feelings that went beyond her duty to serve, but she's trapped there in whatever you are, whatever you showed her outside the castle. makes sense you’d set her soul ablaze. the forever unworthy dog that's waiting outside your door despite all efforts of pushing you away, of standing still and ready for combat even when she flinches when some old man of the council has the nerve to raise his voice ever so slightly at your new ideas.

violet vanderson has now become a burden, a burden with a good name, a good place in the court and a secured future, a known knight that's attracting a lot of attention even when she would rather be showing a fist of iron to the injustice in the realm. something in her new position more than just your personal guard.

hope is a dangerous thing for somebody who has nothing, and to vi it's hard to keep her desires in check as you continued with your life holding no physical ache for her touch, not at plain sight at least cause you're so collected, so aware of yourself, of the power you carry now on your shoulders and haunts you night and day.

hope is a dangerous thing.

"i don't think my marriage is something we absolutely need right now," in the wall close to your seat vi's brows furrow in question when you're suggested by half of the council the need to join forces with noxus in an arranged marriage, already plotting for decent suitors without you knowing — "my mother's dying, and i'm going to ascend to the throne before i'm thinking about any political alliance."

"a marriage would benefit the people," at the lack of the presence of the queen you're responsible for the realm's destiny and its future, holding the weight of ruling a nation in your bare hands. "they’re cultivating fear already upon the uncertainty of the queen's destiny, afraid war's coming. we don't have the resources to protect the citizens from hunger, nor the pains of a war."

"noxus has been our declared enemy from years now," you reply, making vi’s gaze falter for a moment cause she can smell it in the air still: you’re annoyed — "any alliance with them is nothing but a lie. and i won't feed the people outside this castle with nothing but honesty. we'll make arrangements with piltover if necessary, i know the queen and they owe it to us."

"you're taking a rushed decision my princess," the title is a reminder of your level, how you're not yet a queen, a regent royal who's in control of the final decisions. makes your body stiffens and vi, even from she is, can see the tension in your muscles, the invisible threads that came out of your back and connected you to the ceiling, kept you up like a real-life-puppet. "we cannot reject their proposal this quickly, you cannot be so blind to not see the future of our nation. your mother would wish upon your marriage as soon as possible too, this- it could lead to a new war."

"despite joining forces with piltover, i'm afraid it won't be enough," another man adds, agreeing to the proposed idea, "the noxian forces hold great power, and compared to our tropes, i'm afraid we don't have the necessary."

"that's enough," much like your family, the tone you use travels across the room like a wild fox chasing its food. makes vi shiver under her armor, looking away cause she's afraid her eyes were already digging holes in back of your skull, too frightened to think about what you'd think if finding out how her chest twists at the thought of you marrying a man — "until my mother get out of bed i wont be doing no courtship. the nation of noxus is not at war with us still, and i'm intending to keep it that way gentlemen. the meeting is over."

you don't have to say anything. vi works in sync with you now, been getting used to you since the night after the cabin, knows what you're up to like your shadow. turned into your guardian as she walks beside you when you storm away from the room and it's so nice, so nice to see you mad. wrong probably on so many levels, but the thought crosses her mind a time or two when she's following you close by, far still, at a fast pace when you cross the hallway infuriated.

"marriage," you spat to the air offended, and the knight's sure you're not talking to her cause you never do. barely look her way after the night you shared with her like it embarrasses you enough to act as if it never happened "can you even believe that, knight? my mother is dying and all they care about is if i'm marrying a noxian."

it must be the sixth or seventh time you're looking back at her after months, and vi's lungs seem to fill with a different kind of oxygen when your eyes travel through her face and you're aware of the details of it, the scar on her upper lip, the tattoo on her cheek. it lingers on her for seconds, seconds the knight uses like a plant uses the sun to survive, makes her forget what she's gonna say for a second.

"you don't have to marry anyone if you don't want to" her voice is rougher than before but wishes to ignore the real motive behind it: how can a simple act from you already have her spiraling to the gates of hell? how are you so fast to speak like a friend? — "it's a decision you can only make, my princess. the council's job is to follow your rules and do nothing but advice. you don't have to follow their suggestions if they aren't fitting."

you seem stuck in the wording, on how her mouth moves to say it: my princess. she'd said it before, but it has never affected you the way vi's able to see from where she's standing, so clearly as the sun shining on a summer day.

she asked for this. haunts her when vi's the one that pushed you away in the first place, the one that's so sure of your negative opinions on her, how you should hate her since she's the reason you're back and far away from your desired freedom moons ago. you're a spine on the palm of the hand, and itch she cannot scratch not at bare fingers, not so easy anyway.

you have a royal duty. violet owns you her entire life. the money her family was now enjoying and the good position she was granted with? it was thanks to you. in her chest still rests the medal she got for taking you back to where you belonged, hanging right against her heart as a constant reminder of her victory, of how she earned a trust she wished to keep like the greatest treasure she owned.

"you're right," it's a warm feeling the one that spreads in her chest at your response. "i don't have to marry nobody, i will be the regent queen."

"you will, my princess," she continues still, arm's-length distance, almost refusing to look at you like she wanted to — "the kingdom does not follow the council's words but your own."

and vi have to repeat it to herself once again when the sun hits your face for a moment and your complex green gown gives her enough access to look at your cleavage, squished tits under a corset that only strangled you: she asked for this.

"what we did. it cannot happen again, my lady."

everyday it's the same from now on, sometimes a knight can be blatantly stupid, she knows all about it.

[jerreeeeeee]

what do u think r important aspects of the IPRE crew that can be easily overlooked or like misunderstood? I'm so obsessed with all ur thoughts towards the characters i wanna hear every thought uve ever had about them LOLL

ahh thank you!!! i think about them SO often..

i don't know that its fair to say its overlooked/misunderstood per se for davenport since he has so little screentime and most characterization for him is more or less invented wholecloth but i wish people explored his wrath more often. we don't really see what that actually is in reference to in canon, but that just means there are a lot of directions to take it and i think it has a lot of potential to be really interesting

merle in general is kind of easy to overlook.. he's a fantastic character but also just like. he's very understated for the majority of the story. and there's a lot of interesting themes but i don't know what to do with them. him and his kids, his tendency to run away, that's interesting. his failed marriage and his response in wonderland's dating game and the way he sees romance, that's really interesting. his relationship to faith and divinity, that's interesting as well. everything to do with john is extremely interesting. but i don't know what direction to take it or how to make it into something coherent if that makes any sense

i think for barry its like. guilt. like the scene where he's talking to taako right before lup disappears, taako talks about feeling weird and out of place in this world that's meant to be home now, and barry says "i would feel guilty being a citizen in a world that i... poisoned." which is in reference to the relics, obviously, and a lot of other characters feel guilty about it too, and are all rationalizing it as best they can. but he denies himself participation in the world because of it. and then also in his coin monologue he feels like his love for lup (and imo widely for the crew) "defined and redeemed" him. what's that about? what did he need redeeming for? all i can think of is that 1. he's kind of a dick with his memories gone, and 2. on the judges' cycle, his sins were sloth and envy, that he never participated in the world and was jealous of those who did. but damn, do those things really need redeeming? that's such a strong word to use. idk i guess it just sorta seems like he's someone with a lot of guilt

god what ISN'T overlooked and misunderstood about taako... i think if i had to pick just one it would be that most people are aware that his idiot wizard thing is a facade, but i think you have to go farther than that too and recognize how deeply intelligent he is. like that is his major character defining trait to me more than anything else, he's pragmatic and shrewd and clever. and actually i can't just pick one because he's goofy too. it gets lost a little bit because its easier to remember the emotional moments in the show and because its a comedy podcast so everyone else is funny too, but like, he's just a strange guy and he is intentionally goofy in-universe in a way merle and magnus aren't as much. like they crack jokes sometimes but taako has pocket pudding and pretends to be godzilla and does silly dances to cheer up his sister ykwim

for lup i think i'd just say the full extent of her effect on the story is easy to overlook because she's only actually present toward the end. the reason lup haunts the narrative is because she is literally a ghost carried in taako's hand but also because she set the whole thing in motion by coming up with the relic plan and then disappearing. she's eminently important to the entire thing because of her choices and convictions. like her relic was the first one the boys encountered !! they come across her body before they even meet lucretia!!

magnus is hard because his arc is so laid out and clear in the show so i think it's pretty difficult to overlook parts of his character? and i'm not much of a magnus scholar lol. i guess i'd just say that he's pretty ruthless and violent sometimes, like he cares about his friends for sure and he loves to pet dogs and everything but he's also murdered a lot of people lmao. which like. i find interesting the way the medium (dnd) intersects with the story. you can characterize your fighter as a rustically hospitable gentle giant all you want but in the end he is going to murder people with an axe because that's how the game works. which is kind of horrific. its odd

lucretia is such a complicated character it's difficult to fully capture her.. but the thing that's coming to mind is how like. unsure she can be. its easy to think of her as someone with a lot of confidence and conviction because she's so in control and has so much gravitas, but in the smaller quieter moments, i'm particularly thinking of her convo with merle at the spa, she seems to be sort of trying to convince herself she did the right thing. like, i'm not saying she's indecisive or plagued by doubt, we see that's not the case, but stubborn as she is, she also seems to second-guess herself a bit, which i think in the end makes her an even more well-rounded character

[makingsenseofwhathappened]

Building a Support Network (when work gets messy)

Hello friends. Hello work week.

In the spirit of getting through, I wanted to start this Monday off by sharing a few quick thoughts about how to keep your head when something at work crosses a line (harassment, retaliation, just a gut-level this isn’t okay thing).

In my experience, it's easy to veer into full on self-protection mode. By either shutting down completely or oversharing too fast. That's normal, but trust me, it can backfire. One moment of panic or pressure can lock you into choices you didn’t actually want to make.

You need people who help you stay grounded and make decisions that are right for you, not reactive ones fuelled by fear or rage.

WARNING: I have a feeling this one might be a longer post than usual, but I think (I hope) it’s worth it!

Assess Your Workplace First: Before you confide in anyone or take action, pause. Does this place protect its people or protect itself? Have others been supported, or quietly pushed out? Taking the pulse will help you gauge how careful you need to be, and what kind of support makes sense.

Go slow with coworkers: Even the ones who seem safe and the ones who “get it” If you share too soon, you risk gossip, misinterpretation, or triggering a formal response before you’re ready. You deserve time to process and decide what you want to do.

Pay attention to who isn’t helpful: If someone dismisses it, changes the subject, or says “Are you sure it was that bad?” that may seem neutral, but I'd say it's a red flag. You’re not wrong to notice who makes you feel smaller.

Try trained support: Hotlines and harassment-specific services exist for moments like this, not just worst case scenarios. You don’t need a full story, just a place to think out loud with someone who won’t judge, push, or oversimplify.

Friends & family aren’t always it: Sometimes the people closest to you don’t know how to help. Start with someone who truly listens - who doesn’t immediately problem-solve, give ultimatums, or make it about themselves. Your needs have to come first here.

Look for survivor spaces: Online communities. like subreddits, Discords, private groups, can help you feel less alone. But a lot of advice is U.S.-based. If you’re in Canada, double-check legal guidance locally before taking steps at work.

Build a layered team: A steady friend, a trained listener, a survivor community. Each offers something different, and together they give you options and a feeling of control when things feel chaotic.

Rule of Thumb: Caution is wise and boundaries are healthy. Taking your time doesn’t make you weak. it makes you smart. And if you can find even one person who helps you feel clear, grounded, and believed, that’s a solid start. The rest? You get to choose.

TL;DR = Partly covered in this nice article.

And a really solid Canadian-based Reddit for support with workplace sexual harassment.

Take care & much love 🥰

[torturedromantic099]

“Ain’t nobody hurt you like I hurt you, but ain’t nobody love you like I do.”

Why am I hearing Robert and Aaron in every song? The brain rot is real lol.

I was just thinking back on their whole relationship and I mean, I really get why Aaron hasn’t climbed Robert like a tree yet. Aaron had his whole relationship ripped away from him. On some level, Robert understands that it must have hurt him (“I still see your face when I have you the rings back” and “I know I have no right to just walk back into your life”). While Robert probably worked out his choice logically in his head, he hadn’t gotten to see what removing himself from Aaron’s life did to Aaron. I don’t blame Aaron for not wanting to put himself in that position again.

But, everyone and their mother knows that no one is going to love Aaron the way Robert does. We’ve got a million receipts - Robert willing to burn 100k to show Aaron he loves him more than money, Robert jumping back in the lake to get the rings after he just about refused to leave Aaron to die alone, Robert willing to move away to another country permanently and leave his unborn kid to give Aaron what he thought he needed, letting Aaron go when he thought he could be happier without Robert, trying to ask Paddy for his blessing, etc.

I mean, sometimes, as people grow older, they realize that they want a love that is steady rather than a love that burns. When Aaron walked back to marry John, he wasn’t settling or denying himself in his head I think. He chose what he believes he needs, something he doesn’t trust Robert to be able to give him anymore.

I understand that Robert has been through A LOT in prison. Ideally, I’d love for Aaron to be there for Robert like Robert was there for Gordon. But it’s not exactly realistic. Back then, they could pretend that they didn’t mean this much to each other, that they were capable of simple friendship. Now, as Aaron put it, “I know what we are. We’ll get into something.”. Aaron knows what the smallest gesture of kindness will be taken as, what it could turn into. Sometimes, I actually think that Aaron isn’t half as scared of losing John as he is of getting back with Robert and being in a place to get his heart ripped apart like that again.

I still think and hope affair 2.0 will happen anyways. This is Robert Sudgen and Aaron Dingle - since when have they been able to keep away from each other? Whether it’ll be physical or emotional, I don’t really know. I’d think it would make more sense for it to be physical because:

1) Parallel to affair 1.0

2) Aaron probably won’t find it easy to make himself emotionally available to Robert

3) We’ve already seen that they’re no good at keeping their hands off each other if the kiss on the bridge was anything to go by. Even when they hurt each other, are angry at each other, they still want each other.

What I hope is that we get to see Aaron want to leave John before he’s revealed to be a psycho. I want it to be clear that Aaron is choosing Robert when they get back together properly. Not optimistic on that front however given that Cain and Tracy seem to be teaming up to investigate which probably leaves little time before a reveal…

Anyhoo, that’s my 2am Robert and Aaron rant. Excited to see Robert actually make a friend of his own hopefully.

[whosname]

[Id. Hijikata in his salarymen au persona. He looks very tired and has mayo hairpins on his hair; he is fidgeting with a pencil and has some nicotine patches on his chest and arm. Some messages from Kintoki on his right read "wait, the pdf looks blurry... (...) I attach the branding (it's just a logo)" End Id.]

Venting again.

[stompandhollar]

reminding everyone that the in-universe problem with The Doctor and The Master isn’t “ooo horrible nasty enemies who hate each other and don’t get along and fight all the time but are also in love”

the problem is that they get along. the problem is that they can’t stop themselves from falling naturally into a rhythm of riffing off one another and enjoying the other’s company. THAT is the problem. the problem is that it works and that’s the thing that caused all their issues. they like one another. they just click.

[javierduffy]

different.

[crunchycrystals]

ok so like a lot of the stuff i've seen about the ending of painted devils seems to say "sad that vanja can't remember the lesson she learned throughout the book" but i'd argue she does. she knows that she's worthy of love, that the people around her care about her. it's just a bit harder to accept because of her trauma but she knows it. she leaves not because she thinks she's unworthy of love, but because she knows she has it but the system doesn't make it easy for people like her to love and be loved.

the system perpetuating poverty is the reason why she became a thief and now it refuses to let her forget that this is who she is. see kirkling (literally used as an example of what im talking about when vanja runs away), always unfairly harsh to vanja but immune to the consequences of her bias because she's retired. and now she loves someone who wants to be a prefect, someone who is going into that very system to try and improve it, but it's still the same thing. the loopholes are still there and one day someone worse will exploit it to ruin emeric's life, prevent him from saving others from her fate, and she cares about him and those girls like her too much to let that happen

the book says that it's one thing to know something but another thing to believe it. in the same vein, it's one thing to know what you want, it's one thing to know you are loved, believe you are loved, but it's a completely different thing to be allowed to pursue that want or love. vanja and emeric don't have that freedom. gisele didn't have that freedom until vanja broke the leadership system in minkja, but no one's breaking the system for vanja. not yet at least.

[itspileofgoodthings]

thinking about how sometimes I cannot extroverted-bear to Not Be Noticed immediately and positively in a group setting and other times I love to blend into the furniture like you’ve never seen before.

[chaotictomtom]

lunch break a billions time better cos im at the marcus centered ep in my rewatch yipeeee

[deoidesign]

hi, I remembered about the ask about the vampire abilities (time travel, walking in the sun, compulsion) and I need to ask, what are the werewolf abilities?

and Steve own abilities since he can become a giant werebat and being the most convincing conman

Hi there!

So, werewolves can shapeshift into canines of course. But they also heal faster than humans, are stronger than humans, and they have a generally better sense of smell and hearing!

I also like to think they can see in the dark pretty well, too.

Steve specifically has... Well, his stuff is kind of messy. Werewolves and their relation to the moon and its cycle combined with vampires relationship to time led him to being unable to control his time travel, and instead it's forced around the cycle of the moon. This sort of goes with everything. He doesn't need blood to do things, but the werebat is insatiably hungry. It's extremely powerful, but uncontrollable. He doesn't need permission to enter a residence, but he also is incapable of compelling people.

The sort of thematic representation of this is all about his general place in the story as someone who has absolutely no choice, and that frustration of your agency being taken from you.

Him being a 'convincing conman' is a survival tactic, to be honest. It can make the difference between eating and not. With his only real benefit from all this supernatural upheaval being heightened senses, he's just become really observational and is able to read a room and adapt to it immediately. It's about the only thing that's kept him alive, besides the werebat... so really, it's the only thing that's kept the werebat out.

Some of this is admittedly getting into spoiler territory, though, but I do intend to canonize some things! I'm happy to delve more into the specifics once it's happened :)

[jerreeeeeee]

there are always like fandom specific “subgenres” of fic where there are a few really specific questions or big events in canon that a large percentage of fics want to explore. there are a few of these for taz balance fic but one of if not the biggest is “lucretia forgiveness”—which is usually about the question of how taako specifically feels about lucretia’s decisions post canon, and especially whether he forgives her. and while that’s definitely an interesting question, it tends to dominate, and it’s unfortunate because i find barry’s, davenport’s, and especially lup’s responses to lucretia’s decisions far more interesting

[some-horny-alt]

"I think my first idea for a nsfw text adventure was a bit too ambitious for a first try, I should start with something more simple."

*New idea ends up 100 times more complicated*

[bacchuschucklefuck]

I really like your space sweeper au? Do you have any ideas about stuff that you want the characters to do?

yeas I do

[ygodmyy20]

It's been months since I have felt excited for planning my wedding, and finally FINALLY today I feel exited again!!! I am working on my docs, I am getting my timeline put together. I am getting all my invites ready. I have my next fitting next week.

I want to yell from every rooftop about how happy this makes me!

[sleidog]

don't feel like spreading the poll of the week because theres enough negativity and pointed-ness around, however