#but he doesn't have the time to pursue love so an arranged marriage seems a perfect option

[wri0thesley]

arranged marriage jing yuan.....

[xiaowhore]

playing hard to get [pt. 3]

premise. he delighted in being the object of your affections. the apple of your eye, your dearest treasure, your one and only darling—

so why aren't you acting like it now?

(or, in which he takes his admirer's love for granted until you decide to play hard-to-get.)

includes. ayato & heizou !

part one. diluc, xiao & childe.

part two. zhongli, albedo & kazuha.

note. i send snippets of wips and post something entirely different. oops. also this is extremely long compared to prior chapters (my favoritism is showing).

ayato dreads arranged marriages. even now, as the yashiro commissioner who understands the importance of forging political alliances, the thought of it is distasteful. presently, he has no person in his heart he'd rather marry, but that doesn't mean he finds the idea of pursuing a loveless relationship agreeable.

so when he first meets you, he's a little surprised. you're fidgety just like he is, but it isn't out of agitated worry; you look excited, can almost be described enthusiastic for the deal.

ridiculous, ayato thinks. you must be one of those shallow people easily wooed by appearances. he knows he's dashing, but he never liked anyone who's only drawn to that part of himself, and he doubts that will change in the future.

(still, as the marriage talk progresses between ayato and your parents, he finds himself distracted by the way you blow on your hot cup of tea, scrunching your nose when it burns your tongue. the moment you notice him staring however, you quickly switch gears and duck your head down in panic, reviewing etiquette lessons in your mind and trying to remember if blowing on your tea is a form of disrespect.)

(cute.)

(no it isn't, what are you thinking.)

ayato doesn't have the free time to afford frequent visits. most of the time, you're the one visiting the kamisato estate, often unable to see him and ayaka receives your presence instead. in the few chances you do catch him in a good time, conversations over tea and pastries are awkward and strained, made even worse by ayato's unwillingness to reply in a sentence longer than five words. he doesn't want you to get any closer to him, and perhaps you'll finally lose interest if he keeps up this charade.

(but sometimes, just sometimes, really, he'll gift you tea leaves he procured from foreign lands. they cost a hefty price, but he always puts a frown on your face, and if they bring back just a quick upturn of your lips, he'll consider it a successful apology.)

yet when you lose interest in him, he isn't very ecstatic.

he should be. you send less letters recently, and your visits to the estate even lesser. there's no attendant knocking on his door alerting him of your presence to interrupt his flow of work, and there's no guest he's obligated to entertain. most importantly, there's nobody he's obligated to marry.

(that doesn't stop him from worrying. doesn't make him feel any better. doesn't make him any less disappointed even when this result was what he was hoping for.)

eventually, rumors start to circulate. they say you're now besotted with a lord in the south, often spotted strolling around together and conversing over shared meals. they say you've fallen out of love for the yashiro commissioner you once begged your parents to let you marry, disillusioned by his stoic nature devoid of affection. they say you much rather prefer the romantic lord gifting you pretty robes and fragrant perfumes, finding comfort in his lavish sweetness opposed to ayato's cold indifference.

for that, he can't fault you at all. this... lord seems to court you properly. what rights does he have to be angry when he's done nothing to deserve your attention? besides, it's a win-win for everybody—ayato doesn't have to go through the arranged marriage he couldn't refuse due to your father's persistence, and you can be wed to a man who's genuinely fond of you, eager to treat you well.

still. still. these irrational thoughts keep plaguing his mind, ugly feelings blooming in his chest when images of you with another man settle in the corners of his subconscious. it's difficult to focus when you could be elsewhere locking hands with someone other than him, cheery laughter spilling from your lips as dappled sunlight makes you glow gold. you could be elsewhere wrapped in another man's embrace, protected from the chilly wind within his heat as he whispers sweet nothings to your ear. you could be...

you could be perfectly happy without him.

ayato hasn't spent much time with you, if at all. you didn't have any meaningful conversations, any beautiful memories you could look back on.

but that was because he didn't give you a chance to. he chose to disregard your existence, deliberately avoided reciprocating your efforts to connect. he didn't see you for who you were, he looked at you as the person he wanted you to be—someone vile, someone shallow, someone easy to despise.

and no matter how many rumors there are reporting how you supposedly begged your parents to establish an arranged marriage between you and ayato, he knew better: you should've been as miserable as he was about it. you never asked to get married either.

at first, he thought you already fell in love with him the first time you saw him; your eyes were sparkling with joy. but now that he thinks about it, perhaps you were just relieved you weren't about to get married to someone twice your age. he looked fairly decent, far from the horrific men you'd hear about disrespecting their spouses when they marry into the family. if it was him, known for his fair ruling in his territory, being married probably wouldn't be too bad.

and ayato had fantastically ruined that impression of himself by being the biggest dickwad possible.

so he hastily makes his move—he sends flowers to your doorstep, writes heartfelt letters referencing love poems. he still doesn't have the time to visit in person, but he gives you jewelry and hairpins he thinks would look good on you and hopes he can see you wearing them the next time you meet. he recalls every piece of information you've shared with him and gifts you books you expressed interest for in the few times you talked, presents you with tea leaves you once told him you wanted to try but haven't gotten an opportunity to due to its rarity.

ayato knows best how rumors tend to exaggerate the subject matter. surely, your relationship with the lord hasn't progressed too far. you've yet to call off the engagement, but ayato shouldn't be complacent either. he should make his intentions clear—he's not giving up on you.

after two weeks of this charade, you rush to the kamisato estate, red-faced and flustered and considerably confused. ayato smiles at the blue crystals adorning your bracelet, familiar with its design. (he picked it out himself, after all.)

“i apologize for my... absence,” you can't find the proper words to say it, gaze flitting from one place to another. you find it difficult to meet his eyes. no matter; ayato finds that shyness cute, too. “i was preoccupied– but!”

your formal tone disappears immediately as you hasten to say, “please don't listen to the rumors about me! i really, really haven't been seeing someone else!”

...???

“i'm very sorry for failing to include in my letters the details about the festival our territory celebrates.” at this, you bow deeply, thus missing the dumbfounded expression on his face, looking incredibly stupid. “in truth, i've been busy with preparations the past month... the lord i've been meeting with is known for the silks his household provides, and we commissioned him our clothes for the festival rites. he's very knowledgeable about perfumes as well, he gave me samples of- oh, i have some on me i thought ayaka might like! of course, i have some for you too, but i can't guarantee you'll like it...” you wince at that, smile turning sheepish. “i did try my best basing off your preferences, but i apologize if it isn't to your satisfaction.”

numbly, he gestures for a servant to accept the gift, fixing his expression into something more blank rather than an obvious display of his thoughts. his very, very messy thoughts, the few he can manage to think amidst the pure shock at the revelation. “i... i see. i appreciate the thought.”

you fidget at his robotic way of speaking, feeling awkward. “did you perhaps... believe the rumors?”

his heart breaks when your voice trails off at the end of your sentence, shrinking to yourself in shame. “absolutely not,” he says. you know, like a liar.

“then that's a relief!” your lips stretch to a relieved smile, punching another spike of guilt to his chest. “i feared you would think lowly of me.”

“ridiculous,” he states, tone unwavering. it takes you slightly aback, and warmth bleeds into his next words, coaxing a deeper red to tint your ears, “i like you a lot more than you think.”

oh, you have no idea.

it doesn't take a detective to know you have a massive crush on heizou.

the way you can't meet his gaze, the flush high on your cheeks, the nervous stutter in your words when you invite him for a stroll around town; heizou would have to be an idiot not to notice. unfortunately for you, he is far from one, so he notices every stare you pin to his figure, every quiver of your lips as you fight back a smile when he looks back, every sign of your elation as he makes his presence known.

and, well. maybe it is a little amusing to watch you squirm. heizou doesn't consider himself a cruel man, but he'd be lying if he said he doesn't enjoy seeing you worked up because of him.

he wonders what you find so charming. pursuing romance has never been a high priority for him, flaunting his appealing traits to potential partners lesser so, and as honorable chasing after criminals can be, he doesn't think anyone would find that attractive in the romantic sense.

more often than not, he's told to be too dedicated in his job, which he would normally take as a compliment, thank you very much, but he does see how it could be a flaw as a spouse. it's pretty much general knowledge he can't guarantee his undivided attention for anyone, even his special person (that he's not very eager to find right now).

once, you commented as such, teasing him he won't be able to get a significant other at this rate. jokes on you—from what heizou can see, you're a willing volunteer now.

before, though, was entirely different. in fact, you couldn't even call yourselves friends until just recently. your interactions were hardly noteworthy, simply exchanging cordial greetings when you ran into each other on the road or sharing the briefest conversations if the situation called for it.

you only became proper friends when you got involved in one of heizou's cases and helped him through it. turns out you were extremely compatible all along, to the extent heizou regretted not befriending you earlier. you're bubbly and cheerful, always making him laugh when you crack the most unexpected of jokes. even in companionable silence, he felt a little brighter and optimistic—you were like a positive ball of sunshine, a great pal to have.

so he received the shock of a lifetime when he first began to notice signs of your budding crush.

your easy-going smiles looked tighter, eyes not quite focused on his face, hands fidgeting behind your back. at the start, heizou thought maybe you did something wrong, or you were hiding something from him...

then you were blushing, asking him if he was free after work. heizou is ashamed to admit his brain had gone completely blank that time, truly empty with the exception of your face flashing in his mind, holy fuck, you're blushing, you've never done that before.

he doesn't remember his response. still can't, even now. but what he does remember is how your face lit up when he said something, eyes sparkly with enthusiasm. you talked about some trendy restaurant that just opened around the block but heizou could hardly hear your explanation over the sound of his heart hammering in his chest. the new revelation had his blood rushing, and he really, really didn't know what to think of you.

weeks later, he finds you cute.

the initial panic wore off and now he enjoys seeing you flail around. you're cute when you're clumsy, tripping over air when you make eye contact with him. you're cute when you get embarrassed, woken up by heizou when you accidentally fall asleep on his shoulder. you're cute when you're shy, stammering as you offer to walk home together.

you're cute, and heizou has to do something about that soon.

not once has he thought to distance himself from you upon realizing your feelings. sure, it felt awkward at the beginning, but if there was something he was certain of, it was that he didn't want to lose you. now, he wanted to be closer than ever, the closest he's ever been to another person.

apparently, you didn't get the memo because you're the one distancing yourself from him.

it's not hard to guess what you're thinking. you're probably getting worried you're being too obvious about your feelings, missing all the blatant signs that point to heizou feeling the same, and feeling the very delayed horror of being rejected.

no, seriously. it's very delayed. you're supposed to be scared first before you think of hitting on someone. all of your concerns are void anyway; heizou has known about your crush ages ago.

you're surprisingly good at hiding. heizou has been missing you by a hair, all of his acquaintances claiming to see you some time around the day conveniently when he isn't present. there are traces of you everywhere, trails from your favorite snack stall to the bookstore you frequent to the flower fields you help take care of, but he could never catch you on time. his frustration is nearly overriding his rationality, even though he knows for a fact putting up wanted posters of your face would be a bad, bad idea.

fine, he thinks. i'll lure you out myself.

and that, he does.

one of the few things he first learned about you is your curiosity; when a mystery piques your interest, you won't rest easy until it's solved. that's why you began to follow him around, watching him dig through secrets and piece together deductions. you have a fascination with the unknown, and heizou knows best how to take advantage of it.

he leaves bait, a simple riddle scrawled on a sticky note posted on your office desk to make you scratch your head. when you take it too lightly and ignore it, he steals your prized hairpin—a birthday gift he gave you a year ago—as a warning. in panic, you provide a correct answer, and the very next day, the hairpin is back on your table, together with a brand new barrette considerably nicer in quality.

the next mysteries continue in a similar pattern; a reward for the right answer, a punishment for the wrong one. he makes you solve puzzles, decipher secret code, unravel riddles—each time, you complain about the work and your determination not to seek out heizou for help chips away, but you've never showed any indication of conceding defeat. you're determined to find the “thief” who's always threatening to rob your possessions if you don't play along his silly games and confront him once and for all.

finally, heizou is finished preparing his greatest puzzle yet—a grand treasure hunt encompassing the entire town. it's a big project involving a large number of people, some of which have probably caught onto his intentions, but heizou wills away his embarrassment; if he lets his shame get to him, then nothing will change.

he's had enough of playing hide and seek.

and as your hand grips the final letter, eyes sweeping over the provocative message, the clock ticks closer to the grand finale—

“i have one last trick; don't worry, if you're lucky, it'll end quick.

beneath the stars, find the treasure by nine. if you fail to catch the prize, i will take back what is mine.”

(a worthless threat—how could he take back his heart that's always been yours?)

[woahiwrite]

I like your writing so far ! Wish you good continuation ! Can I ask for how would Bi-han confess his love and how eventually ask for marriage? Thank u ❤

Bi-Han Confession/Asking for Marriage HCs

Warnings: None that I can think of, went on autopilot and wrote a lot, Gender Neutral Reader!

Hello Anon, thanks for enjoying my writing! Hope you have a good day/night ❤.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

• Bi-Han seems like the type of guy to me to not really pursue love unless it was already arranged, he just has too much on his plate

• Especially the closer you get towards the actual story, between wanting the Lin Kuei to get more powerful and the more personal stuff he's got clinging to him, he is not really worried about love from anybody, just loyalty

• But I will try my best to do something different, perhaps the childhood friend route?

• Bi-Han simply won't immediately fall head over heels, he feels like he'd just be really confused with how to handle his feelings

• Once he realizes he is starting to feel...different, around you, he might start off giving a cold shoulder, only interacting with you just so he can make sure that you're alright

• Kuai Liang and Tomas realize this quite quickly

• Honestly you should thank Kuai Liang because he often was the one to encourage Bi-Han to actually put some effort into pursuing you

▪︎ "You shouldn't always turn them away, brother. A strong marriage would benefit both you and the Lin Kuei."

• Like Bi-Han didn't know that

• But marriage, the both of you? Impossible

• Real talk, the big reason for the disconnect was that he didn't know what he was supposed to do

• He didn't want to hurt you, or completely turn you away from him, so he just decided not interacting was the best option

• A neutral ground, so to speak

• Honestly, Bi-Han thought it would continue like this for the rest of time, the thought exhausted him

• Like he wasn't the main reason for his own exhaustion

• He couldn't even tell if he really liked you or not

• At least he couldn't until he had gone on a mission that had gone out of hand, being gone from the compound for a little over a month without communication

• He didn't realize it at first, but whenever he had a moment to think, all he could think about was you

• And all he could recall was your more solemn expressions when around him, because what did he give you lately that was worth smiling about?

• Even like that, though, even saddened by the situation with your friendship, Bi-Han found himself thinking you were beautiful

• You held yourself as he thought you should, you knew your strengths, knew your weaknesses, and you were loyal

• Even as Bi-Han gave you nothing to work with, nothing to look forward to, you remained by his side, always greeting him when he returned from missions and always there to wish him farewell when he was to leave

• Those thoughts were what drove him to think, maybe I should put more effort into this

• When he finally returns, he is almost shocked to see how genuinely shaken you looked

• How your hands fail to remain steady as you clasp them together, your eyes running over his form searching for any injury that might be causing him serious harm

• His brother waited diligently by your side, and Bi-Han doesn't miss the way Kuai Liang also seems to relax upon seeing him

• Bi-Han didn't suffer anything serious, but he still requests

▪︎"Join me at the healers?"

• You don't decline

• The check-up was quick, and Bi-Han could see how much steadier you are after seeing that he really was unharmed

• You think maybe you've overstayed your time with him, but Bi-Han doesn't seem to want you to leave his side

▪︎ "Accompany me to check in with everything?"

▪︎ "Watch over the new recruits with me?"

▪︎ "Join me for a walk?"

• It wasn't for a little while longer, but Bi-Han finally got the feeling that he could confess his love for you

• You smiled more often around him, you opened up to him, and you only got more beautiful than you already had been to him. Like a flower that had bloomed to grace his drab world with color

• The confession would happen on a walk

• He'd stop and softly call your name, drawing your attention to him

▪︎ "Bi-Han, what's wrong?"

▪︎ "I haven't been the friend I should be. I found that, that is because I want to be more."

• You are clearly confused, if the furrow of your brows and slight squint didn't say enough

• Bi-Han almost grows nervous, but instead he reaches forward to take your hands into his

▪︎ "I turned you away because I couldn't understand my own feelings. I like you, more than just a friend."

• Your silence nearly kills him, but at least you didn't look confused anymore

• He could feel himself growing tense as he looked at you, awaiting your response with bated breath

▪︎ "I had thought you hated me."

▪︎ "Obviously you know now that that is not the case."

▪︎ "Yes, obviously."

• You smile at him, not turned away by his bluntness, and Bi-Han felt himself relax

▪︎ "Well, I like you too."

• Things are easier after that

• Bi-Han doesn't openly show his affection for you, but it is easy to notice he isn't going out of his way to avoid contact either

• He just isn't one to make his love life public

• Go on walks with him, he might hold your hand, but more likely he'll walk so close to you that your arms brush together with every step

• He'll spar with you, not just to spend time with you whilst also being productive but so that he knows you can protect yourself

• Marriage crosses his mind faster than he had been able to come to terms with his feelings

• He trusted you, after all

• You had been friends with him your whole lives, even when he had began to turn you away you didn't leave his side

• Don't get me wrong, though, it still took him a bit to ask for your hand in marriage

• Like, three to four years

• He was just so busy, especially since, during that time, he had been given even more responsibilities

• The tournament was drawing near, the candidates would need to be recruited soon

• That meant the Lin Kuei had to train even harder in preparation to defend from a possible Outworld attack if Earthrealm were to lose

• Still, he found time for you

• Despite not being wed, it was often you shared his bed, not for anything explicit in nature, but because he found comfort being beside you

• Especially during such a stressful time

• He would probably confess during the night, after a long day of Grandmaster duties

• Nothing fancy would be set up, it would just be he and you enjoying tea you had made to help him relax

• It would be silent, save for the sounds of nature and the clink of the tea cups against the table

• I don't see Bi-Han as one to make some long speech, like, I really think he's more of a 'show don't tell' kind of person

• (He's not the best with words I'm living by this)

• So it'd come out of almost nowhere when he just

▪︎ "Will you be by my side forever?"

▪︎ "Of course."

▪︎ "Then, would you allow me to have your hand in marriage?"

• Very simple

• But he's trying his best

• He makes sure his voice sounds softer when he asks, just to show that

• He may not say it often himself, but Bi-Han really, truly does love you

• It shows in everything he does

• He'll hold you close when you sleep, protecting you from the dangers of the world around you

• You won't be left without a kiss on the head before he leaves in the morning, or before he falls asleep at night

• Calls you "my wife"/ "my husband"/ "beloved"

• You are the reason he finds himself being less irritable earlier in the day

• When this man loves he loves with his whole self, he will not do wrong by you

• That, you are always sure of

[lesbiansanemi]

Ok, imagine this idea. Mugen Train Arc but Kyojuro has a betrothed, a young woman around his age (maybe a little younger, but nothing alarming) he doesn't like that much, he doesn't even know her that much, but he wants to continue the legacy of the Rengoku bloodline (mostly because he knows he won't be having a long life as a slayer and doesn't want this ending being a burden that Senjuro will have to carry neither by training or marriage). He at least has some control over it and was able to choose someone by himself, a daughter of one of his parent's friend. At least is someone he knew about before starting the engagement.

He convinces himself he actually wants it, that he should actually put the effort into knowing and loving his future wife, that it's meant to be, only natural that he, a man of wealth and with a prestigious name (even if it's only in the demon slaying business) marries a young lady and continue the legacy. [Kyojuro is in the closet cause of heteronormativity]

Then in his fight with Akaza he notices he is making no effort in going back home or to his betrothed, that he doesn't want to go back.... [Also Akaza running around being a bisexual icon, time to force blonde queer out the closet! >:D]

No yeah cuz like, see, my personal little headcanon for Kyojuro is that he is 100% a gay man. Also think he can admit to himself that he likes men, there's not really any questions about that, however, he is desperately trying to delude himself into thinking he also likes women due to the expectation of him to get married. Not just in a societal sense due to the time period, but like you mentioned. The Rengokus are an old, prestigious family. Of course among the Corps, but I'd reckon they're well known by the general population around where they live, just due to their money alone, let alone their family history as swordsman. And as the eldest son, Kyojuro is one hundred percent expected to marry a well bred young lady, just as his father did, and his father, so on and so forth. It's just something he's always known. So.... of course he likes women. He has to like women. He has to. He doesn't have a choice. He likes them. He does!

So the idea of him ending up engaged with a woman that he doesn't know well seems very realistic to me, and adds a fun little facet of his character. Especially when you approach it from this angle where he feels like he should care for her or at least put a genuine effort into trying but he just... can't seem to do it. Why not? His parents were engaged in a similar way, and obviously they loved each other deeply! What the hell is wrong with him? Why can't he do it?

It also add an extremely fun and angsty angle to him ending up being infatuated with Akaza. Not only do you have the taboo nature of their relationship due to them being a demon and a slayer, but Kyojuro feels as if he's betraying his future wife by even being attracted to Akaza.

And on Akaza's side of things.... I think at first it would even make him feel guilty for reasons he doesn't quite understand, pursuing Kyojuro when he's mentioned having a fiance. After all, pursuing someone who is engaged who wants nothing to do with him..... Hm..... pushing some familiar buttons he's not even aware that he has. Ultimately though, after spending time around Kyojuro, I think it would become obvious to Akaza that he doesn't actually love this girl and is only going through with a marriage out of obligation. At that point, he would most definitely get very into the idea of convincing Kyojuro to break it off, for his own sake

So yeah! I think it would add a really interesting spin to their dynamic, and would make sense given the time period and societal expectations for a man like Kyojuro

(Also semi-reminds me of my personal kinda crack headcanon of Kyojuro and Shinobu coming to an arrangement and deciding to get engaged to essentially be each other beards and literally everyone who knows them is like "oh hold on a fucking second what the fuck is going on you cannot convince me you have feelings for each other." I just think it's very funny, and well.... Kyojuro needs a wife. Shinobu might not come from a well known family or anything, but she's obviously well known amongst the Corps.... She's a good option. And Shinobu agrees because well.... She just kind of intended to never get married but hey, a legal husband does get a bit of suspicion off her and again, given the time period, much easier for a woman to get by with a husband than without, assuming she survives the end of the series and the Corps dissolves and she has to be involved with normal society at large again. It's a good deal for her too. Tangent, but I think it's a funny scenario lmao)

[horizon-verizon]

Isn't it like wrong to call Viserys a rapist? He groomed Aemma and Alicent but he didn't rape them in a sense he didn't go like Aegon with Dyana. There are many types of rape of course but like it seems wrong

*EDITED POST* (4/13/24)

Ask comes in response to this reblog/post. This is about the show, yes?

No this isn't like anything with Aegon raping Dyana, taking her surprise and her yelling at him to stop. BUT I'd say that seeing that your wife doesn't want you to touch her means she hasn't given consent. Alicent was very obvious in her lack of desire to have sex with Viserys.

We have no scenes of show!Viserys marrying and living life with Aemma before episode 1, right? So we have to assume that in HotD, he also married Aemma at the ages in the original story/the bks. Age is definitely a matter we can look at here to determine grooming or no grooming, but since this is a world where:

most noble marriages are arranged and those marrying often do not actually get to choose their legal partners

where the marrying AND consummating persons can be under our (American, idk abt other nations) legal age of 18

we need to see who pursued who before the betrothal (not the marriage, the betrothal) AND why they did so? Because there is a difference b/t:

someone trying to preemptively make their future spouse more comfortable with them so the eventual consummation isn't awkward or a "failure" or stressful or something else I add below about the anxiety to perform one's duty

--AND--

them claiming they are doing such only to get the target to fuck them/be more vulnerable to their influence.

There's no strong proof of him wanting a sick sense of control or influence over Aemma before they married or betrothed. There's no proof of Viserys asking or pushing for a marriage with her for the express purpose of fucking with a child, because he wanted to have that type of control over her or any child. And they were arranged to be wed. He was around 16 to Aemma's 11 when they married and they consummated their marriage when she was 13.

Under this context, the 2 years of waiting might have been seen as "too long", as much as it shouldn't have been, but for whoever were willing to marry Aemma off at her 11 yrs of age are probably those who also applied some pressure to said couple to consummate, EVEN IF the couple actually liked each other, too.

Even without some external entity actively or purposefully making that sort of pressure--either maliciously or impatiently, like ordering a consummation versus constantly asking about it--the couple themselves could have both felt anxious to perform their "duties" to & for their parents/authority figures/families. But we simply don't know for sure and it wouldn't be mutually exclusive.

The couple lived & grew up in a world with little concept of a strong "legal" age, or a boundary for girls that was also enforced by laws. A world where doing your duty to your families, to your "God", to the authority figures around, to oaths you take you were often held as higher ethical standards than doing what some of us moderns would think is an ethical duty to "humanity".

Adult!Viserys expressly chose Alicent, though. And with Alicent being very obvious, I don't see how he couldn't have seen Alicent's reluctance or hesitance in all the times they had sex (at least 4 for each child)? From what little we see, they don't seem to be a couple where they (really Viserys) at least watch for each other's cues or signs of desire in bed. AllegedlyLola on TikTok says it best of HotD!Viserys (but much can the same shoudl be said for his book version): he says he loved Aemma, that he will always love her, etc. and pedestalizes Aemma to the degree that Rhaenrya could never be Baelon, her siblings can never be her, and all to never really give us a real picture of who Aemma was so he does not have to divulge how some of his actions have ruined Aemma's life. Helaena not having kids or at least stop having them before Rhaenrya becomes Queen/he dies would have even helped Rhaenyra...smh. He doesn't ever think to not let his daughter Helaena marry at 13 & have TWINS not long after (as Aemma died in part bc she started having children WAY too early after they consummated their marriage); he forces his daughter to marry Laenor to fix a problem he created instead of actually thinking about what would be better for her claim and position--which is not to marry a gay man!, esp when everyone knows he is gay; I mention Alicent already...this is the same guy who marries a 15 year old but gets angry with Daemon for seducing his 19 year old daughter and saying she is just a "girl"...bro...Add on the fact he allowed a faction against his heir and be lead by his second obviously hostile Hand & wife exist in court instead of properly intervening and diminishing Otto and Alicent's influence over Rhaenrya so she wouldn't have to escape to Dragonstone...no self reflection, just constant deflection, ignoring, placating the wrong people, putting his foot down at the wrong moments, not pursuing certain avenues or voids of information like in the Vhagar claim incident AND allowed the same thing that happens to his first wife happen to his next wife and his two daughters...ugh.

Getting back to Alicent, remember, consent is not a one-size-fits-all. You need to constantly ask for it and confirm it.

Keep in mind that this is an HotD Watsonian reading/analysis. The writers chose to make show!Alicent so vulnerable and defenseless to introduce something that modern viewers would easier think of her with their no-under 18s (and in certain age gaps, really under 25s) rule without making them really think about what these people themselves were going through. It's easier to assess a medieval setting or circumstance with the rules of conduct that we follow and know and then apply to them as if they would 100% understand how we think INSTEAD OF us FIRST trying to understand how they would think & react to what they have had to live with or learned so that we may expose how/where the double standards are.

I'm not saying that we should go back to marrying 15 year olds, I'm saying take a breather and assess how these people will think & act and assign the "fault" of such to the world instead of just them. Where it's appropriate. I am also not saying that you shouldn't feel uncomfortable, either. I'm saying do the activity fiction requires of us and see through the characters' eyes to understand them instead of trying to enforce you own views right away and all the time to find the nuance.

Example, this Youtube commentator perfectly describes Alicent's mindset within the lens & contextual vocabulary of what the feudal world asks of its people, acknowledging her victimhood but still holding Alicent accountable/showing/implying how wrong she isr:

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have you read books with the heroine being the one pursuing the hero?

Oh def! When a Girl Loves an Earl by Elisa Braden is always my major one, as she's actively pursuing him while he's resistant lol.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley has the heroine very intently purpose her boss, who's a good bit older than her. It's very "don't stand so close to me".

Olivia and The Masked Duke by Grace Callaway is another one where the heroine is a good bit younger than the hero (10-12 years) and he's her dad's friend who's known her since she was about 12? Which I know sounds bad but it was totally above board I swear. Anyway, she never saw him a truly sexual light until she spied on him spanking another woman. And then. THEEEEN she begins chasing him HARD while he's like "ma'am, I CANNOT".

Her Husband's Harlot, also by Grace, has a heroine who's married to a man who refuses to touch her due to his own damage, and she's so determined to have him that she disguises herself as a sex worker and it does indeed work. The Duke in Question also has a heroine who I would say is kinda pushing the agenda along, as it were. Glory and The Master of Shadows also has this vibe because Glory is pursuing Wei hard and Wei is like "she's basically my student, this cannot be!!!"

Oooh, another dad's friend one--My Dirty Duke by Joanna Shupe. The heroine is 18-20, the hero is her dad's 43-year-old close friend. He resists while she chases. For a minute.

The Arrow by Monica McCarty is a guardian/ward romance where he's sooo convinced that she's too young for him (she's sincerely not lol) but she DOGGEDLY chases him.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at The Time by Kylie Scott--contemporary dad's friend romance, the heroine chased when she was younger. She had a crush on him, he was 15 years her senior and decidedly uninterested, but when she turned 18 she basically jumped into his lap and took her top off and her dad happened to walk in at that moment and it almost ruined the friendship. So she comes back after seven years of being away, and the tension is Real. She's not really pursuing in the present day, but the backgrounded reminded me of this.

Deep by Kylie Scott is another one where I'd say the background context helps. The heroine is a college coed, around 20-22, the hero is late twenties/early thirties and is the bass player for a rock band. Her sister (an earlier heroine) married the drummer, who's taken the heroine on as a little sister type. However, the heroine has been pursuing the bass player guy, who's like... kinda resistant because Bro Code, but not really. You see the background in this book with flashbacks in the beginning, where they're building a friendship, she's flirting a lot, he's like "I shouldn't"... and then they do. And it's a one night thing. And she ends up knocked the fuck up lol.

The Ivy Leavold trilogy by Sierra Simone is this for sure lol. It's an erotic romance with kink, general BDSM, and group sex, so be warned. It's also basically like a kinky Jane Eyre, but with a hornier heroine while the hero is like "Ivy, I am a BEAST AND A BASTARD". Very funny, very hot.

I'd say Praise by Sara Cate has this in the beginning--the heroine is the recent ex of the hero's semi-estranged son, so he's very "we should NOT" but... he folds pretty quickly.

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks has a heroine who pursues the heroine more, but a lot of that is because she's deaf and due to medieval mores he thinks she's intellectually delayed and therefore not someone he should sleep with, despite them being in an arranged marriage. He's trying to be ethical, basically, and he doesn't get that she WANTS IT.

Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint by Alexandra Vasti--the heroine is the shyer Halifax sister, and she's drawn erotic sketches of the hero that someone lifts and publishes. So he's PISSED, but also so into her because it's clear that she (like he) is kinky. She starts being like "teach me" basically, and pushing towards him.

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid has a heroine pursuing her scandalous friend who's very sure that she wouldn't be able to handle the fallout of being married to him. But she just neeeds seduction lessons, you see. For some other guy!

[thyandrawrites]

I just read your Fuyumi character analysis and it made me see her in a totally different light. I was one of the people that thought she was easily forgiving her father and forcing her siblings to do the same but after reading your analysis I realized that was wrong. I see now that she isn’t selfish as I first thought. I can see that her actions are more of defense and self preservation than forgiveness and it made me feel some sort of appreciation for her struggles and her love for her siblings.

So I wanted to ask if you had a Rei character analysis because I would love to read it. Your analysis are awesome.

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to read my Fuyumi post. I’m pleased to hear you found it an interesting read, and I can only be glad if it gave you some food for thought on a character I love so much :’) 

To answer your question, I haven’t written anything extensive on Rei yet, and certainly not anything solely focused on her. Because of how little screen time she gets, I find it much harder to get a cohesive read of her goals and motivations. Her lack of backstory and internal narration leave a lot of unanswered questions. But I wanted to thank you for asking about her anyway, because your ask gave me a push to try and get something together. It won’t be as thorough as my other todofam meta, and it will contain a lot of guessing, but I’m putting it out there anyway. Maybe I’ll add more to it later on, if we ever get some more info on her. 

On Rei, and the double-edged sword of Choices

As the title prefaces, Rei puts a lot of importance on making your own choices. Despite the fact that she’s often depicted as having little agency, a core belief of hers seems to be that even when your options are limited, you can make the most of them and find happiness by confidently choosing your path forward, and sticking to it through the end. 

[more under the cut]

It’s because of this mindset that she’s able to see marrying Enji as her own informed choice. From her perspective, she didn’t agree to it because of external pressure from her family, but rather because Rei wanted this for the Himuras’ sake. Now, whether this is entirely true or not, and she was “sold off” for money and prestige like Touya says, we don’t know for sure. But for the purpose of this speculation, it's not really important to determine whose choice the arranged marriage really was; what matters is that Rei thinks she walked into it by her free will. 

What she says to Shouto here (read right to left) gives us a little more insight. This is her response to Shouto's fear that his circumstances (=being trained by a cruel person) will dictate the outcome of his actions. 

Essentially, Shouto's scared of going along with Enji's will, because he doesn't want Enji to make him into the type of hero who hurts others. And Rei steps in and tells him, "it's okay, you wouldn't end up like that, because being a hero is something you want for yourself, not just to crown Enji's aspirations. You wouldn’t be a puppet in his hands that does what he wants, but your own person pursuing your own goals. Keep your eyes firmly set on the man you want to become, and you will get there." 

Envisioning the future you want to achieve is the crucial part here. When the proposal of an arranged marriage was on the table, Rei tells us she didn't have many options in front of her. In that sense, she too was limited by her circumstances and by her blood. But she agreed to it, and I quote, "hoping, if nothing else, that [she] would keep smiling." In other words, Rei might not have wanted to marry Enji, per se, but maybe she wasn't as opposed to the idea of making a family of her own. A part of her thought she'd still find happiness (maybe even fulfillment) as a wife and a mother. 

And at least at the beginning, I think she might've been, too. Happy, that is. At the very least, she loved her children. Back then, Enji was still an… okay father. He planned to live vicariously through his children, and that's not the ideal mindset behind having a child, but he had yet to act on it; the family dynamics weren't as tense and toxic as they become the longer he went without achieving his ambitions. Fuyumi's birth wasn't planned as a replacement like her younger siblings, a demand from a man obsessed with his goals. It was Rei’s idea to conceive her, to give little Touya a sibling close in age so that they could support each other. 

What this tells us is that even if Rei knew she was expected to bear Enji’s children, up to that point, she still had a vision of a future where her kids were healthy and fulfilled, and Rei too, with them. Thus, she actively took the initiative to make the family a happy nest despite the not so happy circumstances behind the union itself. 

Then Enji starts growing more and more obsessed with an heir, and Rei starts properly fearing her husband.

This is where things get complicated, and also when Rei betrays her beliefs. As I went over, she puts a lot of weight into making your own choices, but when Enji’s temper gets worse and worse and he stops asking, Rei begins surrendering to his will. This, despite knowing how Touya will see right through the intent behind Natsuo’s conception, and realize they are finally replacing him. 

To her credit, Rei does attempt to protest, to stand her ground. She’s not unkind, and she doesn’t want to cause unjust suffering to her kid. She's aware that being replaced will crush him, and that knowing so and persisting anyway is cruel of them. But for someone who values choices so much, she chooses to stay. She could’ve walked away with the kids and gotten out of dodge. That wouldn’t have stopped Enji, of course, he could’ve gotten married again, but she wouldn’t have been an accomplice. 

I want to make clear that this is not me condemning her for being too scared to oppose Enji in any substantial way. It’s the story itself that draws attention to this. Touya spells out her complicity, and it’s something we are asked to take notice of. Despite trying her best, Rei is depicted as a flawed mother who made mistakes as well, particularly in raising Touya. 

It’s subtle, but it’s there, and this line here is particularly telling. We know that Touya pushes back against the idea that Rei had the option to say no to marrying Enji. Since she was poor, and her family needed it, Touya states that she only had the illusion of a choice. Agreeing to it was an inevitability. Like training until he can be stronger than All Might was inevitable for him, too. 

Now, Touya thinks of it that way because has a sharply different mindset than her. From his perspective, both him and his mother have no other options than to perform the role they’re thrown into. While Rei thinks she’s responsible for her decisions, Touya reckons there was only ever one path in front of her (and him), aka that of bearing the burden of one's legacy. By being born into an impoverished family that used to have prestige and power, Rei’s destiny was already written for her. Just like how, by being born as Endvr’s son, Touya’s fate was already decided as well. This fits into his idea of predestination, of the straight or warped tracks he mentions to Shouto. 

So Touya frames Rei as someone lacking agency, someone who cannot change the tracks of her life. He does it to make a point about himself, to state that doesn’t have any alternatives, either. But his word choice happens to be… brutally ironic. 

When he says “you had no choice” in the panel above, in Japanese he’s echoing his dad. 

Specifically, he’s echoing Enji when he said he “had no choice but” to have more children. Nominally, to make Touya stop training in secret. In truth, to have a more suitable heir who could beat All Might. 

I'm not sure if Touya's wording itself is intended as a callback, but the fact that he accuses Rei of "being guilty too" in that same scene makes me think we're supposed to think of it anyway. 

We know that somewhere after Touya snapped at Rei here, she had just as much of a hard time facing him as her husband did. The given reason is that she sees Enji in her children, and her fear paralyzes her and makes her slip away a little more every day, until her eventual breaking point. But I think that there was another component at play here: guilt. 

If we assume that in that moment Rei was thinking of Enji's stubbornness—as it's hinted at by her equating their narrowed, angry eyes—then Touya's words might've hit a nerve there. 

Mind you, this is very much unconfirmed, so I could be completely wrong about it. But notice how it's only after Enji mentions All Might that she drops all protests. Before, the topic was Touya's wellbeing, and the morality of inflicting this onto an innocent child who just wanted his father's attention. But the second Rei is abruptly reminded of the reason behind this contract between her and Enji, the goal of producing a fitting heir who will beat his rival, we see her expression shift. She's no longer frantic, she's stricken. A bead of sweat rolls down her face, like she's digesting this. Realizing what it means, what will happen. 

Of course, we could attribute this to fear; she could be seeing Enji's true colors for the first time, or realizing that nothing she can say will ever stop him. That has been my interpretation so far. But what if there was more? 

What if she felt pressured, similarly to how she might've felt pressured by the Himuras' circumstances, and ended up folding and defaulting to do what was expected of her as a result? And then calling it her decision, despite how it’s clearly not what she wanted? 

Psychologically, it would make sense. It's not too hard to make the jump from "I walked into this myself. It was my choice" to "I chose this life. It is on me. I can't pretend I didn't know what my role in it would be, and I have to play it."

If Rei fell for that kind of reasoning, maybe even subconsciously, it could help make sense of why, despite witnessing the worsening of the abuse and of her own mental state, she clings to her hope of eventual happiness for years. Or why, despite having been complicit in punishing Touya with two more replacements, she still doubles down on her belief about the importance of choices, enough so that she passes it down to Shouto. Like allowing Touya to be hurt like that wasn't also a deliberate act; she took part in it knowing the harm that would follow, so ethically speaking, she can't hide behind a lack of better alternatives. She can't deny ownership of her actions by claiming she was blinded by foolishness, like Enji later does. That, too, was a choice, but since Rei cannot bear this weight, I think she coped with it by telling herself it was part of her duty, of her role, and thus accepted it as an inevitability, too. Something that she surrendered to because her "options were limited" to quote her rationalizing of things. It would be a defense mechanism of sorts.  

If a part of her justifies what they did as part of her marital contract, then she can frame it as something she had to endure for the sake of her family, too. In the process, she can avoid the guilt attached. 

But when Touya calls this out, she cracks, face stricken in fear, and she cannot say anything to defend herself. He sees through her, and she cowers from it. His self-awareness makes it impossible for her to soothe him with easy words like she later does with Shouto. She has no legs to stand on. Her words ring empty, and she knows it. A lie to keep up the pretense of being in control.

Though Rei had entered this situation hoping she would find happiness somehow, the truth is that she hasn't been happy in years. She's exhausted, jaded, wrung out. The family she had pictured doesn't match the broken one she can't keep together despite her best efforts. So, what use was walking into this of her own accord, with her own agenda (however simple), if she couldn't make the most of it, and instead ended up succumbing under the impossible weight of her role? 

By then, Enji had given up on even pretending to be involved in Touya's life. He was similarly neglectful to his other children as well. And by giving in to his demands for more kids, Rei co-signed the destruction of whatever normalcy they could've ever hoped to achieve, because Touya knew exactly what they'd done and why, and it made him restless. By the time a fitting replacement came around, the family was as good as gone, and with it, Rei's aspirations. 

But acknowledging this means acknowledging her agency in it. And she can't. She can't look Touya in the eyes and insist again about how many other paths are available to him aside from becoming a hero. Not when Touya pointed out that she had paths, too, and still walked the one written in the tracks of her life. 

In this light, her avoidance of Touya from then on mirrors Enji’s. She's running away from facing things about herself she doesn't want to confront, things that Touya brings to the forefront of her mind by being their unfortunate victim and byproduct. 

Interestingly, though, Rei later shows a bit more of a willingness to face the past. 

Shouto's influence helps her in that sense. When he finds the courage to reconnect with her, despite how he should've hated her, she gets a taste of what actually sticking with your choices means. And it spurs her onto action herself. 

As a child, Shouto told her that he didn't want to become the kind of person who would hurt her. He already believed in kindness, and aspired to be a hero who rescued others, like All Might was shown doing in that TV interview Shouto was watching with Rei. But then Rei was hospitalized, and she spent ten-ish years away from Shouto, thinking the entire time that he resented her for having burnt him. 

In truth, Shouto was simply afraid of meeting her. Since he saw himself as the cause of her mental break, he feared that his visit would be unwelcome, or maybe that she would get worse because of him. But in the end, he pushed through those fears and went to the hospital, and then kept coming back and writing letters with the purpose of reconnecting. Shouto could've easily kept things as they were, but he decided to confront her, to seek a conversation, to seek healing. He didn't want to leave those loose ends unaddressed, or to hide behind his insecurities, his anxieties. Shouto was obviously afraid of rejection, of facing her and finding out she still saw his father in him. He was trembling when he arrived at the hospital that first time. But that didn't deter him. Like his mother told him to do all those years ago, he firmly set his eyes on the man he wanted to become, and that man was someone who had a relationship with his mother again. 

When Rei witnesses that unshaking resolve, that determination to stay true to himself and his choices, she becomes stronger as a result. 

She finally faces Enji, despite admitting to still being afraid of him not too long before. 

And when the topic of Shouto's scar comes up, she owns up to it. Her expression is serious, unflinching. She's not feeling sorry for herself the way she looked away from Touya, eyes downcast and expression laced with visible guilt. 

That's a step towards healing for her. Burning Shouto wasn't a conscious action on her part (it was a fight or flight response to fear), but the fact that she is willing to look head on at the past instead of avoiding it is a nod in the right direction. 

Before, she let that vision of a happy future slip away from her. She let herself be swept by her circumstances, and lost sight of herself in the process. 

Losing sight of yourself because of said circumstances is an idea that gets explored through Shouto as well, by the way. To further underline it. Shouto, too, temporarily let his family situation cloud his vision and push him off his original path. For a handful of years, he was too angry, too bitter and resentful to remember that the things that had motivated him to become a hero was kindness and compassion. He almost nearly becomes cruel like Enji. But remembering himself, setting his eyes on the kind of man he originally wanted to become, puts him back on track. Thanks to that, he's able to successfully rescue Iida from Stain. 

Similarly, Rei's misstep is letting her fear get the best of her, and letting herself forget that happiness was still within her reach. Because of that, her challenge is to fix that and face Touya again. In that sense, she can prove she has a choice. She isn't there just to provide the ice genes to make the perfect kid. She still has the power to create a family that isn't dysfunctional, if she commits to the idea that choices were never about making the most of limited options and adverse fate, but rather sticking to your guns and making your future happen despite those adverse circumstances. 

Her challenge, then, is to make a family that will be happy for real. With Touya as an integral part of it, this time. 

[phoenix-flamed]

hi i always love your interpretation of elwin, is it okay to ask if you think canon elwin would be selfish enough to pursue an affair whether emotionally or physically (can be with anyone such as rodney or hanna or both)? or do you think he just really puts the loveless/arranged marriage and tries to make do with anabella?

OKAY, SO. First off, thank you so much, both for the compliment and for the question! I'll try to answer as best I can. (And it is absolutely 100% okay to ask things like this, so never be shy!)

Canonically, the problem with Anabella and Elwin's relationship is that we have very little information to go off of as to how they felt towards one-another. We know they were arranged to marry, and now with the Ultimania book, we know what age they each were at that time. We know Clive was born around two years after they were wed. We know these random trivia facts that, as far as their emotional relationship goes, tell us absolutely nothing. Did they hate each-other? Were they neutral? Did they like one-another? Did they start out on amicable terms, and things went south between them? We just don't know.

All of that being said, I'll base my reply primarily on what we saw of them in the demo portion of the game, as well as Anabella's final confrontation with Clive way later on.

The only time we actually see Anabella and Elwin interacting -- as far as I can remember, at least -- is when they're in their bedroom, the night before Elwin and co. leave for Phoenix Gate. Anabella is trying to dissuade him from taking Joshua, because Joshua is still just a kid, on top of the poor little guy being so sickly. The biggest thing that sticks out to me about their exchange is that neither of them seems hostile towards the other. Elwin seems exasperated at first, and Anabella seems desperate to convince him to rethink his plan, but neither of them raise their voice or resort to insults. They're actually pretty chill, overall, at least until Anabella starts shittalking Clive.

But even at that point, though they disagree with each-other, they don't, again, get overly hostile. They don't yell, they don't insult. When Elwin tries to reassure her that Joshua will be protected by Clive, Anabella gives him a very skeptical look, to which he continues attempting to reassure her that Clive is skilled enough to handle it and that everything will be fine.

And when it comes to Elwin pointing out to her that just like Clive, he too is just an ordinary guy rather than a Dominant, Anabella is quick and gentle with reassuring him that that doesn't matter, he's the Archduke, he was his dad's firstborn, he belongs on the throne. Everything is in its right place. Unlike Clive, Elwin has done nothing to disgrace the Rosfield family in her eyes.

Yes, Elwin gets defensive of Clive, and he gets defensive of the rest of the ducal army as well, bluntly reminding her that if it weren't for these lowly folks who protect Rosaria as soldiers, she(and the rest of the aristocracy) would be dead. But again, he sounds annoyed and exasperated, not hostile. And don't even get me started on the fact that Anabella tried to get in his pants -- which I'm guessing he denied her because he was annoyed from their conversation.

Based on his personality overall, the way he regards his family, and that singular time we see him with Anabella, I don't personally think he was unhappy with her, per se. I don't personally think it was a case of him just tolerating her, and while I can't say that I think he necessarily loved her, I think he at the very least respected and liked her in the sense that they, arranged or not, were husband and wife. Not just that, but they were husband and wife for a very specific reason -- because they stood the best chance of together conceiving the next Dominant of Phoenix. Even if they are bound by this shared duty, he seems the sort to take his duties very seriously, and I believe that same courtesy would extend to his wife as well. Meaning that tl;dr, I do personally think that canonically Elwin wouldn't have an affair, but instead would take his marriage to Anabella quite seriously, no matter their personal feelings towards each-other.

Now, for Anabella's part, we find out later that she was not happy in her relationship with Elwin. She disliked him, she disliked everything he stood for, disliked how he chose to run Rosaria and his plans for Rosaria's future, disliked his views on the people(especially the commoners and Bearers). She hated the fact that the other nobles kept stirring shit with rumors that Clive was a bastard child of Elwin's, and that's why he was rejected by the Phoenix.

I think the fact that she not only used her husband's insistence of Clive's capabilities as a soldier as a means of spitting on his corpse when ordering Clive to be Branded and forced into the Imperial army, but also later went on to specifically call her personal army in Rosaria the Black Shields as another "fuck you" to Elwin and the duchy, is also pretty clear indication of how much she disliked the guy. Not to mention she went out of her way to have her Black Shields kill anyone who might be loyal to Elwin and the duchy still, and even went so far as to use the slaughter of innocent people as a way to send a message to those who were still loyal to him.

But there's nothing to really suggest that these things were because of how they treated the other in their personal relationship, if that makes sense? And when it comes to the bastard child rumors, something else that I feel is worth noting is the fact that the aristocracy hated Elwin because of his siding with the lower class citizens, and because of his ambitions for equality for the Bearers and easing of the nation's reliance upon magic. With this context, why wouldn't they try and sabotage his marriage? Why wouldn't they theoretically try and turn Anabella even more against him by striking at a potential weak spot in their relationship -- not on his side, but on hers? He was a threat to their rule, to their power; of course they'd take issue with him, and he himself acknowledges in the Where There's A Will sidequest that he had enemies in the court.

(But that's speculation based on various hints in the game, not actual proven fact, so take it with a grain of salt.)

But the fact that he never implied in any way, shape, or form that he suspected Anabella to be among those enemies is very telling to me. It tells me, personally, that he trusted her, despite their differing opinions on so many things -- and he wouldn't trust her if he disliked her or was unhappy with her, or if he knew that she was unhappy with him.

I uh, don't even know if I actually answered your question, but. There you go! I have ... way too many thoughts about this stuff.

[yanlei-a]

i said the other day idc what canon says about yevnai but honestly i was discussing the comic and the whole situation with yevnai and shen, and i don't think zed was really in love with her at any point

when the arrangement is brought up here, it doesn't look like he minds it at all (he suggests it's good, because shen is happy about it, or so he assumes, and he jokes before saying she likes shen too and shen should tell her). especially so early on (he's still govos) i doubt he'd be able to act so casual about it if he had any sort of interest in her too. even momentarily, i do think he'd have faltered if it was fake (especially when young he was obviously emotional)

later on, when he meets yevnai in present day, it's said that's the first time they've spoken at all in years — because zed apparently ghosted her after he left the kinkou (when he originally left, not when he took the temple and kusho faked his death). right before jhin is caught (the first time when they're still young), jhin talks about his 'affair' with his friend's betrothed, and suggests kusho knew and had forbidden him of pursuing her — but in the conversation with yevnai, she says when they met the night before zed left the kinkou, he kissed her (which seems to imply that's the most that happened between them other than possibly sneaking out to hang out in secret, holding hands maybe, scandalous really skdjaksfn). she also refuses his apology for 'letting his emotions get the best of him', suggesting she resents that he only did it because he was looking for a reason to leave

honestly, with the fact he didn't seek her out at all after that until he needed to find shen, i think what she is saying is right. because, sure, he wouldn't have wanted to really get in the way of the betrothal (all throughout the comic his sense of honor is something that stands out, even if it's his own code he follows; hurting his best friend?? this man?? the king of self-inflicted pain for other people's sake and for shen specifically???), but he could have sought her out at least to apologize, if he really cared for her.

it's why one of the lines in the narration when he's leaving her house feels really jarring to me. he says 'but i think perhaps yevnai will always be safe. jhin must know it brings me more pain, knowing that she is alive and cares nothing for me.' and honestly, why would he be hurt about that? he didn't care to reach out at all for years (even when it'd have been safer, right after he left the kinkou). he didn't bother apologizing at all until he needed her help because of shen

what i'm saying is this comic wants me to believe he loved (still loves?) this woman but even the way they portray things suggests at most he cared for her as a friend before messing things up with the potential romance and not knowing how to deal with that he just disappeared (and other things took priority, like the war).

personally (and relevant for my take on him i suppose), i don't think zed initially had feelings for her, or that he sincerely was in love with her at any point, but i do think? he might have mistaken his feelings for that at a point. shen suggests yevnai would've been upset at an arranged marriage; i think it's plausible she really was, and maybe because of that, ended up more interested in the one of them she couldn't have. on his part, i think zed would simply have been infatuated with the notion of being wanted. because he wasn't really, before that, not even just in a romantic sort of way. his father left and he stuck around the kinkou for two years without no one showing any interest in him before kusho took him as an apprentice (and only because shen purposefully gave him an opening). he was a boy and he wanted to be loved.

he was 'a peasant and a nobody', as he himself says in the comic. for yevnai to have a marriage arranged to shen, she was obviously nobility (her family must have had some importance, for her to be meant to marry the son of the eye of twilight), and she was pretty and they were friends. he'd never have expected a girl like her to look at him like that, but she did, and i think that's what got to him, really. he wasn't in love with her, but he'd definitely have felt elated she was interested in him. but then, when he leaves the kinkou (the only family he really had at that point), this doesn't matter as much. with the war, it's not on his mind at all. with all that comes later, even less. and we all know the one loss that continues to hurt him to this day wasn't not having yevnai in his life anymore.

[aoshilove]

Hi Guys!

I really need to share this information about Aoshi's and Misao's relationship, because I think a lot of you don't know everything.

Mainly because you don't have access to all official Rurouni Kenshin goods/books, or because some of you can't read Japanese language.

This Rurouni Kenshin guide book was published in 2007.

It has a lot of details, descriptions about the original manga, story, characters etc.

It also mentions some details of the character's futures. What they did after the original manga series. (Before Hokkaido Arc).

Now I translated it.

And this part about Misao's future is really interesting. (red square)

It says:

巻町操

蒼紫や仲間たちと葵屋で暮らす操は、“花嫁修業中”。三つ網を解いて女らしくなったのかと思いきや、まだまだ？その明るさで葵屋の人々を活気づけている模様。

And it translates to:

Makimachi Misao

Misao, who lives with Aoshi and her friends at her Aoi shop, is “training as a bride”. You might think she had become more feminine by losing her braids, but note really. Her brightness is the source of energy for the people of Aoiya.

It strongly suggests that Misao and Aoshi is engaged. ❤️

Btw: This was suggested by Kenshin in the 1996 anime episode 89 (as a possible future for them).

Also the author Mr. Nobuhiro Watsuki suggested this in an interview.

I also have to mention that Rurouni Kenshin takes place in the beginning of Meiji period (1868–1912), when arranged marriages and getting married at a young age was pretty common. (In Europe and America too).

And yes. Aoshi and Misao have a 10 year age gap. Which was also acceptable at that time. (Me and my hubby have 14 year age gap, and it doesn't matter. Age really doesn't matter, if you love each-other.)

And NO! Misao was not groomed. It is probably the opposite? 😅🤣

It is Misao who fells in love with Aoshi first, and goes after him, and tries everything to earn Aoshi's love.

So, just wanted to put together all the information about this couple. Because in this official guide book, it clearly says, ENGAGED❣️

You are welcome. ✌️😊

P.S.:

Aoshi part (squre) translates to this:

Shinomori Aoshi

Aoshi has becomes the owner of Aoiya, a restaurant in Kyoto. As depicted in “Cherry Blossoms in Spring”,' behind the scenes he seems to be pursuing his own path, doing some research. Lately, he seems to like wearing Western clothes.

[omgkalyppso]

!! (for the ask game thing)

I know you only sent one set of double-exclamations but I'm going to drop a whole family in here. dfghdfg

Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius in fe3h is described as having a younger brother. My OC for him is Armand Cormac Fraldarius.

Picrew.

Born 1142, he's five years younger than Rodrigue. He doubts more often than he believes in the deities (Fodlan's Goddess and Faerghus' older pantheon(s)), but he believes in the faith and the ritual of the Church of Seiros, and would have joined the Church in another life.

Rodrigue's marriage to my OC Eugénie is terse after Glenn's death. Eugénie moves out afterwards, and doesn't return to the Fraldarius estate permanently until sometime post-canon, though she acts as Duchess while Rodrigue is away. This to share that:

Armand checks in on Eugénie during White Clouds, especially as Rodrigue travels south for the Miklan situation. Armand would still think of her as family, and would extend to her his friendship even if she and Rodrigue ultimately divorced / separated.

Armand's offer of continued family would surprise Eugénie. To him, she has been like an elder sister, around as much Rodrigue has been since the onset of their relationship. But to her Armand seemed an occasional, amicable acquaintance; Rodrigue's brother and not someone she associated directly through herself. Not someone she would have confided in.

His offer would change this for them, and further endear him to her, as well as help her feel less isolated, and relieve her of some of the guilt of leaving the Fraldarius estate.

In their youth, Armand was fascinated with Glenn (he was 16 when Glenn was born). He loved him, dearly, and grew a new kind of respect for Rodrigue as Glenn learned to speak (far quicker than Armand would have expected), and walk, and carry himself. Armand encouraged Glenn's humor and bravado, and enjoyed training / instructing him when the time came, when time allowed.

Glenn cemented for Armand that he wanted children.

.

In few3h AG you briefly meet Viscount Yvette Belinus who is answering Baron Dominic's summons to defend Brennius territory against the Empire (and she is quickly slain in this timeline).

Yvette is the elder sister to Armand's wife, Violaine. Born 1138, married to Armand 1163. She is indifferent to the belief of deities, but does believe in the institution of the Church of Seiros.

Picrew.

She's trans, and so she and Armand arrange surrogates in order to pursue the family they desire.

Jocelyn and Fabrice are born in 1164 and 1167 respectively.

Picrew.

As a reminder, Felix is born 1162, and in my headcanons Glenn is born 1158.

Jocelyn is a nonbeliever who has a positive impression of the Church of Seiros. Fabrice is a believer with a positive impression of the Church of Seiros.

Jocelyn and Fabrice, at 15 and 13 respectively, worrying about their Auntie 'Vette (pronounced the same as Aunt Yvette) at the outset of Adrestian troops in 1180. Armand is busy preparing for war, and Violaine is left having to impress upon them that the best thing they can do at their age is pray and help the church package supplies / rations / care packages. "And yes, we all know how old Felix was during the western uprising." -- Reminder that Felix was around 14 when he went to these battles (in the role of a squire, iirc).

I think that's all I've got for them really. Thank you if you read all this!

OH! I have some ffxiv screenshots of Armand!

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

A Widofjord prompt! Caleb and Fjord are heirs from different kingdoms, who must marry for political reasons. They both hate this fact. Until, of course, they see each other for the first time. (Bonus points if Fjord realizes Caleb is in a really bad situation at home, if you are feeling the Angst.)

Love a royalty AU. Always so fun.

Enjoy!

"There you are." The smooth voice drew his attention away from the endless ocean stretching out for miles to the prince moving to lean casually against the railing next to him. "Apologies if I'm interrupting your time alone. I was hoping you wouldn't mind a conversation."

"It would be rude of me to decline."

"I believe I was the rude one for interrupting you. You have a choice here. I'll leave if you don't wish to talk to me."

While there was nothing short of true sincerity in Fjord's eyes, a larger part of him was still waiting for the shoe to finally drop. "It seems only fair that I agree to a conversation. You did find me."

"To be fair, I did grow up here. I'm familiar with the best places to get away from people."

"That does give you a bit of an advantage."

"It does." Instead of immediately jumping into conversation, Fjord took a moment to stare out at the ocean with a soft smile on his face. "When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to be a sailor. What could be better than spending your days out there? It's beautiful."

"And, from what I've heard, dangerous."

"Most beautiful things are to some degree. I think that's part of the appeal."

"It is unfortunate you will be stuck with me instead of chasing your dreams out there."

"I'll admit that I was not pleased when I first learned I would be expected to marry a complete stranger, but meeting you has wildly exceeded all of my expectations of what this would be. You are brilliant and kind and by far the most interesting person that I've ever met. It has been nothing but a pleasure to get to know you."

"That is very kind of you to say. I was also weary of this arrangement. It does not seem as intimidating a prospect now. Things could be far worse."

Gentle hands took his as Fjord turned to face him and waited for him to do the same before he spoke once again. "There is an offer I would like to make you. By no means are you obligated to say yes, but I want you to know that the offer is on the table."

"What offer would that be?"

"Am I correct in my assessment that your life at home is... less than desirable?"

"That..." The lack of judgement in Fjord's eyes put him on ease rather than immediately on edge. "is putting it lightly."

"I don't intend to pry. If you wish to talk about it, I am more than willing to listen. What I offer to you doesn't require you to tell me anything, and as I said before, you are not obligated to say yes."

"What is this offer?"

"The specifics of our marriage have not been finalized. I know my father would be open and willing to fight for a stipulation that you remain here once we are wed. You have made it clear that you love your people and we would not force you to stay here when you do not wish to, but maybe it can give you the time you need to find a way to make things better."

"You would allow me to stay here?"

"As soon as we marry, this will be your home as well. You would always be welcome here, regardless of any stipulations."

"I... I need time to think, but thank you. This is-it's too kind of you."

A hand released his hand in favor of cupping the side of his face in a soft cradle. "Even if that is not an option you wish to pursue, anything we can do. All you need to do is ask."

"That means more than you can imagine."

"I just hope it is enough, or at least the start of something better."

"I hope so, too."

[justanothermaniac]

random thots on the demon birbs because i'm post booster shot, have slept through the fever all day and after so many hours of neglect the brainworms are trying to wiggle free.

personally i can't see stolas' and stella's marriage as anything but arranged.

even the way stolas tried to explain himself to via back in loo loo land:

"she's always been -! i haven't been...ha-"

(wanting to say happy)

"we weren't in-"

(love. they've never been in love.)

i know this is just me interpreting what he wanted to say but i do think it makes the most sense.

like, whatever floats your boat but from what we've seen until now, it seems to me that the reason stella resents stolas for cheating isn't the fact that he cheated at all but that he cheated with an IMP. she seems to take pride in their status and duties, as opposed to stolas who's very passionate about his hobbies, like gardening, astronomy, spending time with via and yes, spending time with blitzo. from stella's point of view (which i am forcing on her right now because we don't know for sure) having her husband sleeping with one of the lowest ranking demons in all of hell puts the family, puts her in a horrible light.

granted, we haven't seen much from stella yet but from what we have seen, it doesn't seem like she pursues hobbies much. probably because she doesn't get the chance. stolas seems to be basically dumping all of their royal responsibilities on her and i feel like that's part of why she resents him as much as she does. he's out there having fun and leaving her to keep up the facade of the picture perfect goetia family, while he's seemingly doing everything he can to sabotage that (he's obviously not, he just doesn't think about the consequences his actions have). i love stolas with all of my heart but no matter how you look at it, even aside from cheating he seems like a shitty husband. tho as i said, i don't think he realizes - we've seen how self-aware the ditzy owl boy is. i don't think he's ever wanted to hurt stella. he's just very impulsive and driven by his emotions and doesn't think shit through.

overall i don't think stella was ever too fond of stolas. sure, could be there was some sort of mutual understanding at one point, maybe even a friendship but honestly, i doubt it. and i really look forward to seeing more of stella, she's such an interesting character and i'd love to see her point of view on the whole thing. also her relationship with via cuz right now, it seems like the two of them aren't as close as stolas and via are and if that's the case, that could be another thing for stella to resent stolas for.

also i feel like i need to clarify, i absolutely fucking LOVE stolas but lbr pretty boy fucked up big time lmao he and blitzo got a lot of shit to figure out.

also love via. and stella. want more of themmmm.

EDIT: i realized i haven't even mentioned stella literally hiring a fucking assassin on stolas' ass lmao that's a whole other situation we're all gonna have to deal with

[thebmatt]

Hi there! Mind telling me about your favorite muse and a fun fact about them? *rest chin on hands and waits for story time*

Ph....Phoebe, why do you want me dead.

Do you see my pinned post.

I have FOUR Warriors of Light that I like to write about.

If you make me pick which one is my favorite, the other three are going to END MY EXISTENCE. And I like existing. Well, mostly

So instead, you're gonna get a few fun facts about all FOUR of them (and also I'll try to make it one that I haven't shared on here before)

Let's start with team leader, Rheika Aliapoh

Rheika was the sole member of my team to experience the whole of the 5.0 MSQ thanks to two circumstances working against her. The first was that she decided to aid Tataru and the Ironworks team in searching the base of the Crystal Tower by herself, not expecting to find anything that would drag her to the First. The other was that the Exarch tailored his summoning spell to work for her, specifically. He didn't want to summon ALL of them over and leave the Source with no defenders, but he "missed" and got the souls of the other Scions in his first few attempts. Had he continued without sending the beacon over, he'd have absolutely ripped the souls of the other Warriors of Light as well.

Also he was completely in love with Rheika, a sentiment she absolutely does not return due to being aromantic. She liked him well enough, but it seems those years in the tower and then setting his plan in motion to send the tower both to the First and back in time distorted his memories of her enough that he'd hoped for some grand romantic reunion when they were reunited.

Instead he got a VERY angry Miqo'te yelling at him when she arrived on the First for isolating her from the other Warriors and later (and in private) an even ANGRIER but quieter response to his romantic delusions.

The two of them have talked since, and he has apologized profusely. He's still working on moving on (that was a LOT of years under those delusions) but the pair have repaired their friendship.

Let's move on to Fearless Willow

Fearless is a Sea Wolf, and they typically have names in the Old Roegadyn tongue. She's no exception. Her birth name is Syhrwyda Ahldblaetwyn (Fearless Willow, daughter of Old Blood), but upon fleeing her emotionally abusive parents, she swapped to using her translated name both to make herself less easy to find by the sellswords her parents would doubtless send after her and because she no longer desires to have her father involved in any aspects of her life, including her own name.

Her parents, for their part, absolutely have sent mercenaries after her to bring her home, because they arranged a marriage for her and they insist that she will go through with it. Fearless and the other Warriors of Light have had to resort to physical violence to turn three groups away, but she has no idea how many others there may be. At least two, one based in Limsa Lominsa and another in Ala Mhigo have refused to pursue the bounty upon realizing their quarry was a Warrior of LIght

And now for my Au Ra, Dahkar Darkspear!

You might know that Dahkar didn't grow up on the Steppe. You might even know that Dahkar doesn't know his tribe's name. It might not surprise you to learn that when the Warriors of Light went to the Azim Steppe, it was him that claimed the oovo and became the new Khan of the Steppe.

What it might surprise you to learn is that he has a vision to bring change to the Steppe without necessarily compromising each tribe's identity.

One of Dahkar's biggest concerns as of late has been the Xaela's place in the newly formed Othard Alliance. Come the next Naadam, the Mol's gods may decree that they not participate, and then the Throne will go to one of the other tribes, likely the Oronir or the Dotharl. He has no love for the Oronir, but the Dotharl have potential. He's been in talks (and fights, okay mostly fights) with Sadu about reforming the Dotharl. No more preying on other tribes for the sake of fights, now the Dotharl will be the Xaela's protectors. Monsters threatening non-combatant tribes? The Dotharl end them. Another tribe preys on a weaker tribe? The Dotharl are putting a stop to it. Not only does this end their bad reputation (and may incentivize others to join them freely, ending their numbers problems Sadu speaks of during the game itself), but it also weakens the Oronir's claim to be the protectors of the Steppe and ensures a strong people to defend the whole of Othard.

He thinks the talks are going well. Sadu, at least, seems receptive to the idea. Or maybe she's just pretending to be to get more fights out of him. Time will tell if the Dotharl are willing to change.

Finally there's the Old Man, Aleister Franks.

He's carrying immense survivor's guilt. Sometimes he spirals thinking about everyone he left behind in his original universe. The friends who helped him find a purpose (at least before it was taken away from all of them). His beloved wife, lost to the chaos of their original death, whom he has never really been able to let go of. All of the people caught up in a neverending war that he could have done something to help, despite never really giving much thought to them while he did dwell here.

Sometimes he thinks about finding the gateway that brought him to Hydaelyn, going back through it, and trying to help again. Maybe just going long enough to learn the fate of his wife.

But then he thinks about how he'd be forced back into that body of decay and rot, his mind having lost the song of mathematics and engineering, filled instead with the madness of demons and felfire, and he can't do it.

At least, not yet. (@phoebe-of-ivalice thank you for the ask! I hope you, and everyone else, enjoyed reading!)

[juliandev0rak]

Defining Moment 🧳✨

Eleven: Defining Moment — what was their coming-of-age moment? A point where everything changed?

echoes of the past event

@arcana-echoes​

Beatrice Viano, she/ her

The South End, Vesuvia

12 years before the events of The Arcana, Beatrice is 14

Words: 2266

Warnings: mentions of parental emotional abuse, no specific details are given but just in case- this does deal with a child leaving an emotionally abusive household so please feel free to skip this post if you’d like

It’s now or never.

The last two years have been hard for Beatrice. With her sister gone, all of her mother’s attention has been focused on her, which has been far from a good thing. Her mother had devoted herself to Beatrice’s education whenever possible, running her tailoring business on the side. Sewing and washing the fine clothing of wealthy women had always made her mother envious for a better life, and she views her daughters as the way to do that.

Beatrice, and her sister before her, had been educated to catch the eye of an upper class, wealthy gentleman. Her mother had tried to arrange a marriage for Freya, which had fallen through, but she has high hopes for Beatrice. Her education mostly consists of training Beatrice to be a proper lady, practicing etiquette and the piano, learning to walk with poise and grace, and most of all learning how to speak correctly. “Good girls are seen and not heard” had been drilled into her since birth. Beatrice is good, she does what she’s told, but it’s still never enough.

Her mother’s corrections are swift and harsh, she is never good enough, or quiet enough, but she is smart enough- too smart actually. Her mother tells her that it's unbecoming for a lady to know so much, how will she get a husband if she runs her mouth like that? Beatrice doesn’t want a husband, she wants a friend. Since her sister left she’s been all alone in the house, not even allowed to go out to the market without her mother. 

Freya had run away from home, and her mother spends every moment making sure Beatrice doesn't follow suit. The house has always been a prison of sorts, but now the warden has become even harsher. Her mother hates magic most of all, so Beatrice has to hide her abilities. It’s impossible to live here knowing that just across town her Aunt Cora has a magic shop and could teach her, if she could only get out.

Part of her feels obligated to stay with her mother, she’ll be all alone if Beatrice leaves and despite her flaws, she’s still her mother. But, deep down, she knows that the only future she has to look forward to if she stays is being married off to the highest bidder. So she bides her time.

She spends her days pretending that nothing is wrong. She practices piano, she does her etiquette lessons and works on her needlepoint samplers, but in her head she’s plotting. Her mother takes her with her whenever she leaves, and it would be difficult to slip out unnoticed any other time.

However, she gets incredibly lucky when one of her mother’s customers requests a house call. It’s too important of a client for her mother to bring Beatrice along, so she’ll have a few hours in the house alone. She begins to plan her getaway, trying to figure out a way to pack her belongings without raising suspicion. 

When her mother leaves that afternoon with a warning of “Be good, Beatrice.” she rushes into action. It’s now or never, and she can’t risk losing this chance to get away. She’ll never be able to live with herself if she doesn’t try to learn how to use her magic, if she doesn’t try to make her life what she wants it to be. 

Beatrice gathers her things in a hurry, wishing she knew more magic to help her with the process. On a whim she throws on her father’s old green cloak. It’s the only thing she has of his and though she never really knew him, she wants to remember him. He’d left when she was too young to remember, and he’s still out there somewhere. She’s often thought about going in search of him, but as she’s gotten older she’s realized he probably wouldn’t be too happy to see her given the circumstances. 

Bag in hand, she opens the door to leave, trying not to think too much about what she’s about to do. She’s scared, she knows her mother won’t let her return if she leaves and she hasn’t seen her aunt in years so she has no guarantee that her aunt will even take her in. But she has to do it, she has to try.

She has a good sense of direction so she makes it to Center City in no time, but she has to ask for directions from there. Trying to find the magic shop without knowing its name is easier said than done. When she arrives it’s still light out and there’s a sign proclaiming that the store is open so she walks in, unsure of what’s to come.

The store is bustling, a dozen customers peruse the various shelves. She spots her Aunt Cora, who looks a lot like her mother, in the corner of the store talking to a customer. So Beatrice walks over, trying to catch her eye.

“I’ll be right with you in a moment, dear.” Aunt Cora says when she notices her approaching, she turns back to the customer then whirls right back to Beatrice. “Oh, Beatrice! Darling, whatever are you doing here?” 

She excuses herself from the customer and runs over to greet her niece. Aunt Cora pulls her into a hug that Beatrice tries not to recoil from. After she deems it long enough that she won’t be impolite, Beatrice pulls away and tries to explain but she’s cut off by a barrage of questions.

“Is Ada here with you? Does she know you’re here?” Cora asks, speaking of Beatrice’s mother.

“No Ma'am, I left without her knowledge.” Beatrice explains, staring down at her shoes to avoid looking at her Aunt, but the voice of her mother reminds her that making eye contact is polite so she raises her head. “My sincerest apologies for the intrusion, I wanted to, that is, I had hoped-” 

 “My, aren’t you a polite girl.” Cora laughs, cutting off her stuttering explanation, “It’s ok, Beatrice you aren’t intruding at all. How about I close the shop early and we can talk? Just give me a few minutes, you can head up the stairs over there and I’ll be right up.” Cora gestures to the corner of the shop where the entrance to her apartment must be.

“Thank you Ma’am.” Beatrice resists the sudden urge to curtsy and tentatively makes her way to the stairs. 

“Call me Cora!” Cora calls after her, shaking her head sadly as she watches Beatrice politely nod in response.

Beatrice opens the door to the apartment and is delighted to find it cozy and quite charming, though a bit too cluttered for what she’s used to. She sets her bag down and takes a seat on the edge of the couch. Her aunt had seemed happy to see her at least. A minute passes in tense silence until she hears footsteps on the stairs. 

“You know,” Cora says, entering the apartment, “your sister Freya arrived in a very similar fashion not so long ago. Am I to assume your visit is for similar reasons?” 

“She came to see you?” Beatrice asks, removing her bag from the couch so Cora has a spot to sit. 

“Indeed she did, she wanted to leave Vesuvia.” Cora explains, eyeing the way Beatrice’s face tightens at the mention of her sister, “But something tells me you’d rather not talk about your sister. Why don’t you tell me why you’ve come to see me?”

“Can you train me?” She asks, wanting to get it over with. If her aunt rejects her she’d rather know now. “I have magic but I can’t, my mother doesn’t, she-”

“You don’t have to explain, I know my sister’s aversion to magic. I knew you had some ability, but is it really something you’d like to pursue?” Cora smiles as Beatrice nods, “In that case, I’d be happy to train you.”

“Thank you Aunt Cora!” Beatrice says excitedly, but a moment later her expression sobers and she continues, “Only.. it’s not just that, I would need somewhere to stay.” 

“Well of course! I wouldn’t want my new apprentice to stay anywhere else! I’ve got a guest room that’s just perfect for you.” Cora grabs Beatrice’s hand and pulls her up. “Let’s go see it, shall we?” 

The room is small but it’s got a lovely window and looks less cluttered than the rest of the apartment, which is perfect for Beatrice. Once she’s all settled in, her small bag of belongings unpacked neatly, her aunt brews them some tea and they talk about magic. It’s the most fun Beatrice has had in years, being able to talk about her interests freely. It’s getting dark by then and her aunt suggests dinner and an early night so they can get started on magic training in the morning. 

Beatrice offers to fill a cooking pot with water and does it with her magic. “I’ve always been rather good at conjuring water.” She explains, “I can use the moisture in the air.” 

“Really! That’s quite something, I’m sure we’ll be able to develop that skill even more with time.” Cora smiles, just as she reaches for the pot there's a loud pounding on the shop door downstairs. “That’ll be your mother.”

“Aunt Cora, please don’t make me go back there. I want to stay here and learn!” Beatrice pleads, grabbing onto Cora’s arm, “I promise I won’t be a burden, if I go back now she’ll never let me out.” 

“Shh.. it’s ok Beatrice, I have no intention of letting my sister stifle your magic any longer.” Cora soothes. “This is your home now, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll go talk to her.” 

Cora leaves and Beatrice locks the door behind her just in case. Part of her wants to know what her mother has to say, but she doesn’t want to chance her mother seeing her. She can hear raised voices but no words, and it’s a good five minutes before Cora comes back.

“It’s just me!” She calls as she knocks on the door, Beatrice lets her in and she collapses on the couch, looking quite tired. “She never gets easier to deal with.” 

“What did she say?” Beatrice asks nervously, still standing by the door. 

“Her exact words were quite harsh, but to summarize she’s made it clear that if you’re not home by tomorrow morning you’re.. well you’re not welcome back.” Cora frowns, gesturing for Beatrice to join her. She sits next to her aunt and allows herself to be pulled into a hug. She feels like crying, but she won’t do that here. 

“I need to stay here, I have to learn magic.” She says resolutely, hoping her voice won’t break. 

“With that determination you’ll go far Beatrice, and you’re welcome here as long as you like.” Cora smiles encouragingly. “Now, have you met my familiar yet? He lives in the stove.” 

Later that night Beatrice tosses and turns in her new bed. She thinks she’s made the right choice, but it’s hard to know that yet. It’ll get easier, she tells herself, your magic will get better and Aunt Cora said you can read as much as you want here. It all becomes a bit too much and she starts crying despite her efforts not to. In the past she would have had Freya there to wipe away her tears, but it’s been just her for a while now, and it���ll be just her from now on. 

Beatrice startles as she hears a noise in the hall and sits up in bed, pulling the covers around her in the chill of the room. She listens closely as her bedroom door knob rattles and she ducks her head under the covers, trying to hide her sniffing.

“Beatrice, sweetheart, it’s just me.” Aunt Cora says quietly, sitting on the edge of her bed. Beatrice tentatively peeks her head out of the blankets and sees Cora looking at her with sympathy. “I know how hard it was for me to leave home when I was around your age. My mother was very similar to yours in a way, that’s probably where my sister got it from.”  

They sit in silence for a minute, Beatrice not knowing whether she should respond. Silent tears still run down her face and she hopes it’s too dark in the room for her aunt to notice. 

“You don’t have to suffer alone, Beatrice. You aren’t alone here.” Cora puts her hand gently on Beatrice’s head and ruffles her hair. Before she can stop herself Beatrice pulls herself out of the covers and into her aunt’s arms. Her aunt hugs her, saying soothing words under her breath as Beatrice continues to cry quietly. “I’m so proud of you for knowing what you want and going after it, Beatrice. I have no doubt that someday you’re going to be a wonderful magician, but my real hope for you is that you’re happy.” 

“Thank you.” Beatrice murmurs, pulling back from the hug. Her aunt smiles at her and brushes Beatrice’s hair out of her face. 

“Would you like to light a candle to keep in your room? Just in case you decide to read during the night or anything.” Cora suggests, and Beatrice is glad of the topic change.

“Can I use my magic to do it?” She asks, giving her aunt a weak smile.

“But of course!” Cora says, pulling a candle from her robe pocket with a flourish. “Apprentice Beatrice, your training starts... now!”

[colour-outside-the-liness]

Prompt - Dani moves to England and never looks back again. She begins to pursue her career as a chef in England. She starts working for Owen in his restaurant as one of his chefs. Her friendship with Owen starts off pretty well and she really likes his company as he'd takes off the burden from Dani's shoulders by being there for her and also with his stupid puns.She starts enjoying her life in UK so she plans to get a green card as she doesn't have any plans of moving back to America.

One day, Jamie visits the restaurant, who happens to be Owen's best friend and his neighbour. Dani notices her for the first time and couldn't take her eyes off her. Jamie approaches Dani and asks for Owen. Dani doesn't seem to be listening to her the first time so Jamie clears her throat and Dani jumps and goes back into the kitchen to get Owen. Owen returns from the kitchen and greets Jamie with a hug and tells her that she looks FIT as she was formally dressed with suspenders and asks her if she was alright, since she had been through a break up a year and a half ago and was still recovering from that. Jamie replies that she was feeling pretty well and that she'd be attending a gardening conference in the city ( Which was why she was formally dressed). She was apparently a prolific person as she owned many branches of "The Leafling" in the country. Owen bids goodbye to Jamie and returns to the kitchen, approaches Dani and says "She has that effect on women,love" , winks at her and leaves her to her work. Dani tries to hide her fully flushed face and gets back to work.

After several attempts of trying to get a green card and failing at it, Dani feels hopeless and talks to Owen about it. Owen asks Dani if he could suggest something to which Dani says that she'd do anything and take any suggestions that would help her getting a green card. Owen tells Dani that the easiest way to get a green card was marriage ...... He says that he could arrange for that and also says that she could file for a divorce after receiving the green card. Dani asks Owen to give her some time so that she could think about it. That same night Dani texts Owen that she's ready for it.

Owen asks Jamie if she could do that for his friend and that it would mean everything to him and that he'd own her one. It takes a lot of convincing for Jamie to agree to that because she hardly dated anyone after the breakup but most importantly she was afraid that she'd like this girl, which she wasn't going to let it happen. She agrees but also warns him that she wouldn't be making an effort to know her and she wouldn't be letting Dani spend even one night after receiving the green card.

Owen tells Dani about it and when she asks him who it was, he replies that it was Jamie and Dani's face lits up.

Fast forwarding to the wedding day, they marry each other and head towards Jamie's house. Dani has already got her stuff to Jamie's flat and she was glad that Owen could help her out with that. Many days pass and Jamie makes least effort to get to know Dani or even talk to her properly. Dani was desperate to get to know so one day she tried to start a conversation with Jamie at the dinner table. She starts off by asking Jamie if the steak was good to which Jamie replies monotonously. Dani takes a deep breath, puts her knife and fork down, sits on the chair beside Jamie and has a serious talk about how rude she was being to her and how she was making efforts to make this a less embarrassing situation. Jamie is taken a back with Dani's anger and harshly asks her what she wanted with her deep voice. Dani moves soo close to Jamie that they could feel each other's breaths. Dani's eyes catches Jamie's lips and Jamie goes irresistible. She kisses Dani roughly and Dani kisses back. Jamie pulls away from the kiss and asks if this was what she wanted, Dani nods and starts shifting from her chair onto Jamie's lap. Jamie literally tears Dani's clothes, takes off her panties and fucks her roughly. When Dani comes undone on her hand and when Jamie starts to remove her hand now that Dani was done, Dani holds Jamie's wrist and says "That's all you've got?" Jamie's gets up holding Dani in the same position and kisses her, the couple reach Dani's bedroom and Jamie throws Dani onto the bed, leaves the room and comes back wearing a strap on. Dani's eyes widen looking at Jamie wearing a strap on, arousal starts pooling around again, Jamie approaches her and says "I'll show you what I've got". Jamie fucks her roughly with the strap on in every position she could ever imagine. The strap on was designed in such a way that it would pleasure Jamie too. Jamie fucks Dani's soo hard that if anybody was passing by the street, they could hear Dani's screams and moans.Both of them come undone numerous times. After fucking Dani for 2 hours straight, Dani starts to tear up as she seems to be too sensitive now and whispers "Stop" , Jamie still keeps going because she doesn't really hear Dani because she wasn't in her senses, she was removing the anger she had for her ex in her on Dani by fucking her too rough. This time Dani says a little louder "Jamie, please stop" . Jamie comes back to her senses and realises what she has done. She stops immediately, carefully removes the strap on and Dani moans painfully. Jamie throws the strap on across the room, shifts to sit on the edge of the bed, she scratches her head and puts her head into her palms, regretting what she has done. Dani tries to reach out to Jamie but she couldn't really get up from her position as she was in so much pain. Jamie gets up, gathers her things and says "I'm sorry,forget this ever happened" and leaves the room. Dani starts tearing up even more after Jamie had left the room but thankfully she falls asleep quickly because of all the action. On the other hand, Jamie finds it hard to sleep as she thinks about Dani and how rude she has been to her and how she had hurt her during sex.

The next day, Dani finds hard to wake up and move fast but she manages getting into shower and the hot water soothes her body. She dresses up and goes to the hall to see that Jamie had made her breakfast that day. Jamie approaches Dani, wishes her good morning and asks her to call her if she needed something and leaves for work. Dani was taken by surprise because Jamie had neither wished her nor been there for her previously. Dani eats her breakfast and leaves for work. When she reaches the restaurant and heads towards the kitchen, Owen mischievously asks Dani if she wanted the day off, Dani has this confused look on her face and Owen replies "Everybody needs a day off after a night like that", Dani gasps and stutters with her words as she thinks if she was that loud but finally manages to say that she was fine. Last night's memories flash in Dani's mind and it kind off hurts her because she starts to think that Jamie just used her for her stress relief.

After a while, owen approaches her tells her that he had arranged for a party that night on the occasion of 5 year anniversary of the restaurant and if she liked to attend it. Dani agrees and heads home to get dressed. She finds Jamie on the couch, already dressed in black shirt, black trousers with brown suspenders (Dani loved Jamie with suspenders). Dani asks Jamie if she was going to the party as well, to which Jamie replies saying "Yeah, can't really leave my wife alone in a party with drunk men now, can I? " Dani smiles after listening to that comment and heads towards her room to get dressed. Jamie starts to think that she's falling for this woman and it was a dangerous zone for her and decides to maintain distance again, Which she obviously fails to do after seeing Dani all dressed up.

They reach the party, greet Owen and Jamie takes up a place on the bar stool at the counter while Dani mingles with other people as Owen introduces her to high profile chefs. Jamie orders her drink and watches Dani from a distance, she notices that Dani was really finding it hard to sit down and move around with normal pace. Last night's incident flashes before her and she instantly starts regretting everything again. She could see that Dani was in pain so she approaches Dani, places her hand over her waist and says "Are you alright?" to which Dani replies that says " Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jamie says "I dunno, I've noticed that you're finding it hard to sit and everything,but please be honest tell me, on a scale of 1-10 how bad is the pain" Dani says "ummm... an eight" Jamie sighs and says " come here *hugs her as Dani places her arms on Jamie's shoulder and burys her face in Jamie's neck* Jamie says "I'm sorry, love, I went too far with it" Dani smiles at the comment made by Jamie, calling her love , Dani says "Hey, it's okay. It's not like I didn't enjoy it but yeah you went too far with it at some point" to which Jamie replies saying " I'm sorry for everything, I know I treated you bad, I was rude to you and no excuse would justify my actions, but I'll try to make things better for you however I can so please tell me if you need to see a doctor or something, you don't have to go by yourself, it's my fault. Dani says " Hey, it's okay, I'll be okay, just give it a couple of days" Jamie asks Dani if she was sure and Dani assures her about it. Jamie asks Dani if she wants to go home and rest but Dani says that she could manage it. The entire time during the party, Jamie doesn't leave Dani's side.

After heading home, Jamie offers Dani her room to sleep in as the mattress in her room was softer and comfortable than the one in Dani's room. Dani agrees and starts to settle in Jamie's bed. Jamie asks Dani if she wanted tea, Dani says no and just then Jamie starts to leave the room. Dani asks Jamie where she was going and Jamie says that she would sleep on the couch, to which Dani replies saying "What if I need something during the night and I couldn't get up and there was nobody in the room, you said you'd make things better for me" Jamie sights and says "Fine, move over" and settles into the bed. They sleep with proper distance between each other.

The next morning, Jamie opens her eyes as the sunlight strikes the window. She tried to get up only to find an extra body weight on her. She didn't know when Dani had completely snuggled into her during the night.

That was when Jamie had realised that,

"SHE WAS FUCKED"

From then on the story takes a completely different turn

Okay this is a VERY detailed prompt and I do love that and I love this idea... I feel like there might be some things involved in this fic I am not the best at writing (the rough stuff) but when I get time I can sure as hell give something like this a go, but I am not the best at writing really rough stuff like that so I really don't know if I would be able to it justice for you or not... but I can give it a go when I have wrapped up some of my WIPs and some of my other prompts!! Thank you for sending this my way and for trusting me with an idea like this