#exiling her for her mother's faults

[icanbeyourgenie]

The price of your greed is your son and your daughter

What you gon' do when there's blood in the water?

[yngai]

sad to report i've gotten to that scene in succession & thus have to induct it into the larger ada wong cinematic canon

[taz-writes]

more D&D fic nonsense. this one's been a WIP for a while... jube and marigold return to their hometown with jube's family to reclaim their old home, which has been abandoned since jube's fam was forcibly exiled around 14 years prior in the wake of the girls running away. this is from marigold's POV, she calls jube 'posy' bc it's a childhood nickname.

She stumbles on something underfoot, and realizes she’s nearly tripped on part of Sage’s old toy car collection. She pauses to pick up the little metal ambulance, weighs it in her hand. It’s cold. 

She hands it to him without a word. Presses it into his hand, and he goes rigid, and his eyes go wide. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. 

He doesn’t respond. He stops in his tracks and stares at the car like it’s from another planet. Rolls it back and forth in his hand. The wheels are jammed with dust and rust. 

“Oh,” is all he can say. His voice cracks. 

“...Can I…?” she reaches towards it. She’s walking a line that she can’t see, it’s been so long, but she has to try. Sage looks at her sharply, startled, and clutches the toy to his chest. “...I can clean it,” Marigold says softly. “I, um, I have a spell.” 

“...Oh.” He nods. Hands it to her gingerly, and she swirls the dust away, watches Prestidigitation spin it off into nothingness. And then he takes it back, and tucks it into his breast pocket, and neither of them can quite look at each other anymore. 

She barely knew him, before they left. He was… something like eight years old when she and Posy ran away. 

She’s starting to get why Posy runs away from things.

[perlelune]

no body, no crime | Coriolanus Snow | xi.

Your childhood friend returns from his exile in district 12, but he's not the sweet, quiet boy you once knew anymore.

Warnings: NON-CON, Plinth!Reader, Gaslighting, Drugging, Murder, Forced Marriage, Forced Pregnancy, Loss of Virginity, Somnophilia

This is a dark story. Heed warnings before reading under the cut.

𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

Hugging your frame, you retreat.

“I think you should leave Coriolanus.”

Your parents frown. He shakes his head.

“I’m not gonna let you deal with this on your own, princess.”

As he reaches for you, you shy away from him. 

“I’d rather be alone forever than be anywhere near you.”

His sky gaze clouds over with anger, the hand falling at his side slowly clenching into a fist.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do, actually.”

Coriolanus gasps. A look of hurt spreads across his features as he gapes at you like you stabbed him in the chest. This is an expression you’ve never seen him wear. You grow uneasy. He turns to your parents and sighs.

“I told you she’d react this way,” he says, sounding dejected. “Between the hormones and…everything else I told you about. I knew she’d be in denial.”

Strabo squeezes his shoulder.

“It’s alright, son. It’s not your fault,” you father says, giving a forlorn smile.

Your mother’s eyes shimmer with concern as she looks at you.

“Sweetie, everyone cares about you here. If we just sat down and-”

A wave of irate heat surges through you. It begins in the pit of your stomach, swelling as you watch Coriolanus’ interactions with your parents. The way they comfort him, hug him. Like he’s more their child than you are. The prodigal son they always wanted.

After all, you are the throwaway child, you’re viciously reminded. The District 2 orphan they graciously took in who never quite met their expectations. Tragically lacking at every turn. A disappointment.

Your palms tingle as your blood starts to boil.

You rush down the stairs.

“No! Ma, Dad…” You seize your mother’s hand. “He lied to me, did things to me. He kept me in his house. He-”

Coriolanus’ brows thread, his eyes misting over with unshed tears.

“If you need to make me the villain in your story to make this okay, princess. Go ahead.” A mirthless chuckle floats from his lips. Once more, he looks at you like you’re the one causing him great hurt, not the opposite. His shoulders slump. “I’ll be the villain if that’s what you need.” He rubs his eyes, sadness twisting his features as he talks to your parents. “I’m sorry. I never realized it’d be this…difficult for her to accept what happened between us.”

“Nothing happened between us!” you shout, tears of frustration pressing behind your eyes.

He scoffs, blue gaze flicking over your belly. “Nothing?”

Your mother cups your face, her expression puzzled. “So Coriolanus isn’t…the father? You two never-” She glances at him then you. “Is William the father of your child then, sweetie?” She caresses your cheek. “We’re not judging you. We just want answers.”

You chew on your lip. Your attention darts from him to your mother, your insides clutching. A lie sizzles your tongue, nearly spilling in desperation, but you quell it. What would be the point? Your mother’s always known you wanted to wait. That was the plan, initially. And William isn’t the one you spent every day with for the last few weeks. Your parents are also aware of that fact.

There’s no doubt who the father is. They know it. You know it. And from the smug way he’s standing by your parents’ side, he also knows it.

“No, it…it can’t be William. It’s Coriolanus,” you admit begrudgingly. The words alone ache as they skip off your tongue. A single tear rolls down your cheek. “But he lied to me, Ma. So much.”

She tilts her head.

“Lied about what?”

Your eyes flood with tears.

“The night of the party, Sejanus-”

Your father’s thunderous voice interrupts your tearful confession.

“Enough!” he curtly rumbles. “You dare bring your brother into this? When Coriolanus was the only real friend he made all these years?”

A shocked exhale leaves your throat. You shake your head, hastily wiping your tears.

“Dad, you don’t understand-”

 “You’re not a child anymore!” he bellows.

His razor-sharp tone has you leap back in fright.

Your voice comes out small.

“Dad?”

He heaves out a deep sigh, pulling out his breast pocket square to dab the fat beads of sweat that have formed on his forehead.

“However this happened, it did.” He takes a deep breath. “Whatever mistakes were made, a child is involved now. A small, innocent child. My grandchild. I will not hear anymore about this senseless teenage drama.” You deflate, your eyes growing wide. The finality in your father’s words pulverizes the last shred of hope within you. “And I will not let my own daughter drag our house into further ruin after losing my only son.” Your father winces, his hand clawing his chest. His knees buckle and he starts sinking onto the floor. Your mother and Coriolanus rush to his side. Your jaw drops. All the color drains from his face. Your mother starts weeping. You go to your father, helping him sit in the living room with your mother and Coriolanus as he takes large gulps of air. It lasts a while, long, horrifying minutes, his wheezing breaths causing your own pulse to race. You begin to wonder if you'll lose a father on top of a brother.

“Breathe, Dad, please…” you whimper, holding his hand.

After some time, it thankfully stops. Your father’s exhales slow down and he regains some color. Relief fills you. You genuinely thought you were about to see your father die right before you.

“Take it easy, Mr. Plinth.”

“Honey, your heart…”

Strabo waves off his wife and Coriolanus as they fuss over him.

“I’m fine,” he assures, his frown returning. His disapproving stare cuts into you. You shrink. “You’re an adult now and you need to start acting like it.”

Your mouth opens then clamps shut. You don’t want to upset him again, not when the argument from before sent him in such a state.

You lower your head. “Y-Yes, dad.”

“Sit down,” he instructs.

“O-Okay.”

You take a dour seat on the opposite couch. 

“Coriolanus, you sit down too,” he adds.

Your stomach sinks. The blond’s eyes find yours across the room. Your father is still recovering, hand on his chest, and your mother is too busy caring for your father. None of them see what you do. The winning glint dancing in his blue orbs and the almost imperceptible smirk as he sits next to you on the couch.

“Of course, Mr. Plinth.”

Once your father is better, he and Coriolanus start discussing the logistics of your new…situation. The entire conversation is a vivid nightmare, making you question your own sanity. You are there, but might as well not be, with the matter-of-fact way your future is being discussed as if everything is already set in stone. 

Your heart skips a beat when Coriolanus promises your parents to marry you before the fall. He says he wants to do it quickly to avoid any gossip, before you start showing, but also provide enough time to make it grand and memorable. It’s a stark contrast to what you and William had in mind. A small, intimate gathering of only your parents and a few of William’s closest friends. You both decided you only really needed the other in the end.

Coriolanus however sounds like he wants the entire Capitol to watch him slip a ring on your finger. 

Your insides curl in horror.

The moment living arrangements are brought up, your heart races.

“I can’t move in with the Snows,” you interject, shocked by what your father just suggested. Though, it shouldn’t surprise you. Your father’s a traditionalist. Of course, he’d agree with Coriolanus that you should move out of their home and swiftly into his.

“You will have no choice. We’re selling the house.” 

You bolt to your feet, your brows grazing your hairline.

“What?”

“The paperwork is already signed.” Your father crosses his arms. “We are moving on the floor below theirs. I had the entire place renovated. It’s quite spectacular, you’ll see.”

A humorless laugh escapes from your throat.

“You can’t be serious.”

“It’ll be good, sweetheart. A fresh start,” your mother assures, rising to clutch your hands in hers. Her hopeful smile sends a wave of queasiness through you.

Your father’s gaze narrows.

“Coriolanus has graciously agreed to salvage your virtue by taking your hand in marriage…or whatever’s left of it, I suppose. You should be grateful he’s allowing you to save face. Many men would shirk the responsibility. You are lucky it was him.”

Your mind races, a million thoughts crowding it at once. 

“When is this move supposed to occur?”

“The entire house will be empty by the end of the week.”

Your breath catches. You give a slow, acrid nod.

“So it’s all been decided. I don’t get a say.” You snicker, backing away from your mom, backing away from all of them. This is a madhouse. Your brother died and they all lost their minds.

…Except for him.

He looks far too content with himself not to understand what he’s done to you, what he’s still doing to you. How could you be stupid enough to trust Coriolanus Snow?

You still remember the way he was at the Academy. Always observing, gauging, weighing in every situation to figure out what to do or say to get himself ahead. Always looking out for himself. You saw things in him that were never there. And now you’re paying the consequences.

“I don’t even know why you asked me to be here. Clearly, as always, you know best, Dad.”

“Sweetie…”

You slap away your mother’s tentative hand. Her mouth falls as heartbreak fills her eyes.

“May I be excused, Father?” you snap.

“You may,” he replies with a similar tone.

Turning your back to everyone in the room, you make a beeline for your room. 

The faint knock on your door is ignored as you bury your head further in your pillow. You don’t want to talk to anyone right now. No one in this house anyway. You have been betrayed. Sold out. Abandoned. By your own parents, no less. If Janus were here, this wouldn’t have happened, you’re sure of it. He always stood for what’s right. He never let anyone hurt you. He’d have never doubted a word coming out of your mouth. Your brother’s death left you prey to a monster.

“You shouldn’t have left the way you did. I knew you weren’t ready.”

Your head whips up. Adrenaline pours in your blood as you find Coriolanus leaning against your bedroom door. He locks it shut and you sit up immediately.

“All of this could have been avoided.”

“Leave me alone,” you hiss, shrinking in a corner of your bed.

Coriolanus frees a long, weary breath. He takes sluggish steps across your room. You tense when he sits on your bed. His deceptively soft voice propels ice in your veins.

“Like I said before, it doesn’t have to be like this. You’re making this harder than it has to be, princess.” He strokes your ankle. Bile rises in your throat. “I’ll be a good husband, a good father. I’ll take care of you, just like I promised.”

“How can you even be sure I’m pregnant?” you chance, hoping to erode that frustrating certitude laced in his tone. “It was just two or t-three times. It could be a mistake…”

A lopsided slant tugs his lips skywards.

“A mistake? After all the time I spent making sure it takes?” Befuddlement knits your brows. A chilling expression settles over the blond’s features. He chuckles. “Oh princess, god you are so sweetly naive. It wasn’t just three times.” A sinking feeling spreads through you. Coriolanus inches close to you, a small smile creeping on his face. “You know me, I’m a lot more thorough than that.”

You tremble, disarmed by his statement.

“What do you mean? It was. I remember…”

He arches his brow. “Do you?” Coriolanus cocks his head, fondling the side of your face. “You know, you look so pretty when you sleep. Vulnerable, defenseless. You also make such lovely noises. I mean, how could one resist…” You shudder, your eyes growing wide as saucers. “I’m glad the tea helped you find rest. You seemed so at peace. Like that sleeping princess in the fairytale. You never stirred, never woke up, never screamed. Not even once. You just kept making those sweet little noises…” His smile broadens, crooked and taunting. “Like you couldn’t get enough of it.”

You gasp and leap from your bed. The implication behind his words makes your head throb, queasiness engulfing your entire being.

All those times you awoke feeling strange, your body tired in a way that didn’t make sense. 

Now it makes all the ghastly sense.

A sinkhole opens beneath you, the blood seeming to drain from your body all at once.

You stagger backwards until your back collides with the wall, the only thing keeping you on your feet as your knees threaten to give out.

You let out a shaky breath.

“Get out of my room.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he announces matter-of-factly as he gets to his feet. He sighs. “Hopefully you’ll have calmed down so we can have the rest of your things moved to the penthouse.”

As your quivering frame clings to the wall, Coriolanus snorts.

“Cheer up, princess. You have a bright future ahead of you. I can already see us. Me as President and you as my beautiful First Lady. They will love you, I know it. Especially in the districts.”

“You’re…”

“Crazy?” he finishes. He approaches you. You’re paralyzed as he frames your jaw and articulates, “Not crazy. Focused.” His thumb skims over your bottom lip. “Which means when I want something, I usually get it.” His eyes twinkle. “Snow lands on top.”

He drops a quick kiss on your cheek.

“See you tomorrow, princess,” he chimes. You remain still until he unlocks the door and disappears through it. When he’s gone, you let yourself crash onto the floor, unable to hold yourself up anymore.  

You listen for the car outside, the sign of Coriolanus’ departure. Once the revving of the vehicle stops, only silence remaining, you make a mental checklist. You set aside the turmoil inside you, bottling every emotion tight. A warm coat. The sturdiest boots in your closet. Perhaps a dress or two. Sensible pants. Just in case. That stash of money Dad hides beneath a drawer in his study in case of emergencies. What else do you need? 

The more you mull it over, the more determined you become.

In a few hours, Coriolanus will return to take you away. He will not find you.

You will make sure of it.

As you rush through the cold streets of the Capitol, you keep pulling on the hood of your coat. Your panicked gaze darts across the night, your heart jumping every time so much as an alley cat crosses your path. Paranoia creeps in, making your nerves flare and your heart drum. 

What if Coriolanus had you followed? What if he was just waiting around a corner to drag you back to his house? Nothing is impossible nowadays. It might be silly but even as you snuck outside your childhood home, eyes seemed to trail your every step. Still, even as you peer around you, you find nothing but darkness crowding your sight. 

Your feet bounce as you linger on the doorstep. You hesitate before knocking, your fear and insecurities colliding inside you. You tremble as the chilly wind seeps through your coat. This could go so horribly wrong. You were so stupid. 

It would make all the sense in the world if he turned his back on you now. You wouldn’t even blame him. It’s what you deserve.

But before you can brace yourself to knock again, the door opens in front of you.

Overwhelmed with emotions, you toss your arms around him.

“William!”

He doesn’t move at first, frightfully still as you latch onto him. Your chest wrenches. Did you lose him as you feared? 

However, to your utter surprise, his warm, familiar hand sweeps over your back.

He lifts your chin.

“What’s going on…Are you okay?”

Whatever resentment he may have held onto, there is nothing but fondness and worry glistening in his forest gaze now. As if you never ripped his heart from his chest. As if you never left his loving embrace.

You grip the lapels of his shirt.

“William, I know what I said. I know you probably hate me…but I need to leave this place. Tonight.” Your voice warps with tears. “And I don’t want to do it alone.”

His brows draw together, confusion painted on his boyish features. He steps back to check you over. “Wait, slow down. Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

“I’m pregnant.”

William stares at you for a long time. Shock, hurt and a million other emotions fleet across his face. Guilt flickers through you. You should have had this conversation with him a while ago.

He bites on his thumb and chuckles but it’s bereft of any amusement. He paces across the room for a while, looking at everything but you. Your heart shatters as you watch him. You didn’t want to put him through this.

He stops in front of you eventually, his mouth tight and his gaze sharp.

“Tell me everything. For once, I want the truth.”

“William, we don’t have time. In a few hours-”

He cuts you off sternly. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you talk to me.”

Your shoulders sag.

“Right, that’s fair.” You gnaw on your lip. “I-I just don’t know where to start.”

He closes the door behind you. You let him take your hand and escort you to the living room. He points for you to sit across from him. William studies you, his hands joined in front of his face. His intense stares bears a hole into you. You fidget, wondering what he’s thinking. His face is hard to read. 

William releases a deep breath before running a hand through his tousled curls.

“How about you start at the beginning?” he says, his eyes diving into yours.

[nebulaafterdark]

Exile (Part 3)

Summary: Y/N Undersee thought the games were over after becoming a victor. Unfortunately, life outside the arena has become just as dangerous. Prequel to Moves & Countermoves

Trigger warning: forced prostitution, explicit sexual content, alcohol abuse and other mentions of trauma. 18+ ONLY

Part 2

Days turn into weeks and they fall into a routine. Y/N and Haymitch lead different lives for the most part. He likes to stay in, she needs to go out. To see people. To prove to herself that the world didn’t actually change, only she did.

“My father wants you to come over for dinner.” Y/N tells her husband, upon her return from town.

“He wants me?” Haymitch frowns.

“Well, it’s a family dinner,” Y/N shrugs. “You haven’t really met my family.”

“I know your family.”

“I didn’t mean…” Maysilee.

“You said your mother struggles,” Haymitch remembers their conversations. Every word she’s ever said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to see me.” The boy who won, the year her little sister died.

“My dad wouldn’t have asked if he thought it would be too much for her. He’s very protective of my mother.” Sometimes at the expense of his own daughters. “It would mean a lot to me.”

“Fine.” Haymitch takes a long swig from his glass. “We can play happy family, why not?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to put on a show. Just be yourself.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d almost think you like me.” Haymitch smirks.

“Good thing you know better.” Y/N grins, turning away from him.

————————————————————————

“Well, Haymitch, it’s good to see you again.” Mayor Undersee claps the other man on the back as he steps over the threshold into Y/N’s childhood home.

“Nice to see you too.” Haymitch forces a smile.

“Please, come in and make yourself comfortable at the table. Dinner will be served momentarily.”

Y/N gives Haymitch’s hand a squeeze, kissing her father’s cheek, in greeting, before leading him deeper into the house. If Haymitch could even call it a house. More like a mansion, similar to the ones they occupy in victor’s village.

Madge and Mrs. Undersee are waiting for them at the dinner table. The girl glares up at him from her seat. She’s younger than Maysilee was, when Haymitch met her in the arena, but it’s still like seeing a ghost. It hurts to look at her.

“Madge pie, this is Haymitch.” Y/N smiles at her little sister.

“I know who he is.” Madge bites out. Y/N never had many nice things about him, until a few weeks ago when she up and married him.

“Y/N talks about you all the time.” Haymitch tells Madge. “All good things.”

Madge scowls, and says nothing.

“I understand that this is confusing for you. I know he and I don’t have the best track record.” Y/N sighs. “But what I need you to know is that Haymitch is good to me; he’s so good to me and he’s…important to me.”

Haymitch stares at Y/N, snapping his mouth shut as Madge huffs, but agrees to drop the subject.

He was important to her? Haymitch stews on it, through dinner. He couldn’t be important to her, he isn’t good enough. It’s his fault they’re in this mess to begin with.

But Y/N seems…happy. Happy with him and her family all together. Happy to make him part of her family.

Perhaps things have changed for her too.

The Undersees are nice enough, but they make Haymitch long for his own family. To have people he could bring her home to meet. His mother would’ve loved her. His little brother. His father was a man of few words, even still, Haymitch is sure Y/N could’ve pulled a smile from him.

When they are stuffed from their meal, the table disbands. Waving Y/N and Haymitch goodbye, from the doorway.

The victors set off, back to their village. Their foot steps falling in tandem atop the melting snow.

“I think they like you.” Y/N says, after a moment of silence.

“Your kid sister wants to string me up.” Haymitch chuckles.

“Madge will come around. She just needs time.”

Haymitch nods. “Well, they invited me for an encore next week. So at least there’s that.”

“You can tell them no, you know?” Y/N reminds him.

He shrugs, “happy wife, happy life.” You’re important to me too.

They manage to make it home, to the new couch in the foyer, before they’re a mess of lips, tongues and wandered hands.

“I want you.” Y/N breathes, staring up at him above her.

“You have me.” Haymitch assures her.

“Please?” She is prepared to beg. Because surely that wasn’t allowed.

They haven’t…not since their wedding night. Never just for them. Never just because they wanted to. Mostly, they exchanged a few words and then did this; kisses and heavy petting.

“Angel,” he sighs. She couldn’t possibly want that, she must want comfort and to be close to him. “This is enough, I’ll stay right here.” With her legs wrapped around him like a vice. “We don’t have to do anything else.” He nuzzles her nose.

“I want to. Just for us. Unless you don’t-”

“Oh believe me, I want.” His cock is hard and pulsing between them. “But only if you’re sure.”

Y/N nods. “I’m sure.”

Haymitch kisses her then, letting her set the pace. Their clothing hits the floor and Y/N keens as he slips a hand between them. She’s so wet.

“Please.”

“Anything you want, anything you need.” Haymitch murmurs, lining himself up with her entrance and easing inside.

“Fuck,” Y/N says. He angles her hips upward, hitting that spot with each pass.

“Is that all you want, angel?” He hums, cupping her breast in his hand. “I’ll keep you full of me and make you cum until you can’t think straight. Is that what you want?”

Y/N nods.

“Oh, sweet girl,” he all but growls. Leaning back on his heels, driving into her faster. “I want that too.”

He can’t avoid her like this, or feign a shred of indifference. All he can do is love her and love her and love her. Fuck, how he loves her. Even though he isn’t supposed to, even if he’ll only admit it to himself when he’s balls deep. Haymitch is in love. In sinking, festering, all consuming, inconvenient, love.

Y/N kisses him reverently, because Haymitch makes her feel things. He’s one of the few people who can, after the games. Like parts of her went numb in the arena. She feels nothing at all. But he sets her ablaze. Sometimes with rage, other times with passion, but she’s never felt this way about anyone before.

It is real, so very real.

The coil in her belly goes hot, impossibly tight. What is he doing to her? “I-” she begins to protest. “Uh!”

“You’re ok.” Haymitch assures her, pressing his hand to her lower belly, adding to the sensation.

“Oh god,” Y/N gasps. It’s unlike anything she’s ever felt before. Building and building… “Haymitch!” She claws at his forearms, in warning.

A rush of wetness greets him. Her cheeks heat up, but Haymitch won’t allow her to be embarrassed. “I want you all over me- make you cum on every piece of furniture in this damn house.”

Y/N whines, lost in him. His words, his touch, his eyes, boring into her soul as he ruins her. Until there is nothing left but him. All of him and all of her, splayed out for the other to see.

————————————————————————

Things are different after that. Haymitch becomes very…attentive. Bringing Y/N little gifts. Anything from books he found at the hob, to flowers he’d found growing around the back of their house.

Because it has become theirs now, not just his. Little pieces of her are everywhere, twining themselves into his DNA.

Y/N takes an interest in fixing his favorite meals, watching his face light up.

“Went down to the hob today.” Haymitch tells her, lying his latest offering on the dinner table.

Y/N turns away from her pot on the stove, flipping the burner off. “Oh?”

“Funny enough, they asked about you.”

“Haymitch-”

“Whatever you’re doing down there,” supplying them with things to sell, bringing money back into the district, “is grounds for execution. Even for a victor.” Haymitch reminds her. “So you’re gonna stop doing it.”

“I can’t stop, Haymitch. Those people, our people, they need that money. They’re starving!”

“I’m taking over. You supply the goods, I’ll pitch in some things of my own. But you stay away from the hob. Peacekeepers can’t see you there, nobody can see you there.” Haymitch continues.

“I’ve been doing this for years.” Since before the games. “I haven’t been caught.”

“You got lucky.” He reasons, “or maybe you didn’t.”

“What?”

“What are the odds that the mayor’s daughter gets her name called at the reaping? You didn’t have to take tesserae, so your name was in there once? That’s some incredibly bad luck on your part. Or maybe somebody did know that you were trying to help the people in the seam.” Haymitch lifts a shoulder.

“My aunt’s name was in there once. Just one time. It can happen and it does.” Y/N crosses both arms over her chest.

“Look, I don’t want to fight. I know this is important to you, but I can’t have you there. It’s too much of a risk. I’ll be the middle man.”

“Fine,” Y/N sighs. Reaching down for his glass and taking a swig. The liquid is foul, burning her nostrils and throat, causing her to sputter and gag. “Is that fucking rubbing alcohol?”

“That’s the hard stuff, angel.” Haymitch claps his hand against her back as she continues her coughing fit. “Should’ve started off with wine or champagne.” Something sweet for his sweet girl.

“It tastes different when…” Y/N’s eyes dart to his lips. “When it’s on you.”

“Interesting,” Haymitch muses. Suddenly he’s having her for dinner.

Part 4

Taglist: @spideysimpossiblegirl @ancientbeing10 @1-800-styles @l3xi3luv @lam-ila

[vaguely-concerned]

listen I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore but on this playthrough of DA2 I found myself once more entranced and heartbroken to see hawke reenact their relationship with their mother with the entire cursed city of kirkwall. you can never do enough for leandra, and you can never do enough for kirkwall. leandra is proud of you, and kirkwall uplifts its champion, but no matter how hard you try for them you can't fix everything there that's broken, no one could, and even the fact that anyone would feel the burning responsibility to take that task on is a huge warning sign on its own. leandra will easily allow you to sacrifice yourself on the altar of the family's continued well-being again and again, even when she'll beg you to spare the twins from the same thing. it's such a sad, painfully realistic thing because I truly don't think leandra meant to fuck up her kids, and yet she primed her oldest for an abusive toxic codependent relationship with an entire ongoing dumpster fire of a city state better than she ever could have if she had meant to.

I think what leandra actually, deep down wants from you is something you can never ever give her and that is cruel to ask of anyone, but especially your kid -- to bring her back to a time when she was happy. to reclaim when you were all happy, when nothing was broken that couldn't be fixed, before malcolm died, before you had to leave behind bethany or carver's broken body on the ground. to get her childhood back from where she left it and found it all gone and in ruins when she returned. 'this is all your fault'. this is the tragedy of parenthood sometimes I think, that capacity to define a life: she said that once, in a moment of profound pain, and she probably wouldn't have said it under other circumstances and she apologizes later, but now hawke has to live with that forever. leandra can't bear her own emotions without letting them spill over onto someone else so she won't have to hold the discomfort of them anymore, and hawke is left to shoulder that burden and responsibility again and again, handed the impossible task of making it all okay again, somehow -- of stopping anything bad from ever happening again in the Nr 1 Bad Things Constantly Happening capital of thedas.

and then at the same time there's the mirror of how varric's whole family wants orzammar back (and to him orzammar is just a ghost he's seen in their eyes -- there's something in his voice when he says 'That stupid plate was the whole city of Orzammar to him' that gets me every time, how much he understands that he doesn't understand and how lonely that makes him among them, and on top of it all he's frustrated and ashamed and sad that he just doesn't get it and can't meet them on it -- like it's a betrayal that he actually belongs up here, when varric wants so badly to be loyal), just as the hawkes want happiness back. (I don't think it's Lothering in itself that longing is for, it's for being together. Lothering was just the place they stayed the longest.) they're all in exile, even as they try to make a new home out of that exile.

(varric and hawke's real 🤝 quality across all personalities, affinities and choices is 'parentified child' lmao. so much of varric's character makes perfect sense once you know he grew up supporting a mother who was an emotionally volatile alcoholic, honestly. between varric, the hawkes, isabela, seb if you have him and merrill's whole Situation with marethari I feel like DA2 covertly is to mommy issues what ME2 is to daddy issues fjsdjfa)

basically I think I'm trying to pick apart exactly why the fact that leandra is clearly proud of hawke and tells them so several times doesn't feel like it helps at all, almost feels more like a cage even though it's clearly meant well? and what I'm getting is that it's because my sense of what hawke actually needs, in general but especially from a parent, isn't admiration or approval but to be loved and supported and understood. I don't believe leandra ever quite understands them, and it scares her because it makes her think she maybe never even understood malcolm. (that's the subtext of a lot of what leandra will say about him in legacy, at least. he's slipping away from her as the years pass after his death and she fears she never really had him in the first place, if he had secrets like these.) she consistently treats her oldest more like a partner or peer than as her child, which considering hawke is always described as being very similar to their father… I mean I totally see how that could be easy to slip into for her after he died especially, but it doesn't make it any less fucked up or unfair.

the real leandra in legacy is. she is SO absurdly self-centered, if you really pay attention. I don't want to keep dunking on her because I don't think she's like this on purpose, but it boggles my mind. if you do the quest in act 1 she gets so upset and overwhelmed that the kids just sort of sit there like :( at the end, which adds to the trend that through the game you constantly see hawke comforting leandra, and you pretty much never see leandra comforting hawke, beyond some light vaguely encouraging comments in passing. if you do legacy in act 2 while she's still alive hawke comes to her, tentatively asking if malcolm ever spoke to her about any of it -- clearly requesting some sort of emotional support or help to make sense of it. she then expresses her side of it, but never once does she say anything to the effect of 'hey that was a lot to go through, are you okay after all that?'.

instead she essentially hands them the responsibility of having a good life, to repay what malcolm did for all of them. and in theory that's not the worst takeaway I suppose, malcolm probably would want them all to be happy, but in the moment it only feels like more expectation heaped upon you somehow? especially since you don't really get to express anything about how it made you feel before she goes to the 'ah no use complaining' zone (after SHE got to express her grief at feeling like she's losing more and more of that old life, and hawke barely got to say anything fhsfalkjfs). in general she really doesn't do much like. parenting, does she haha. there is so much love there in that relationship, and yet so little comfort. Oh, those days. All of us, in that simple place. Well, that's neither here nor there, is it. This life, we have to make the best of it. And thanks to you, and him, I will. Oh well, mum, I'm uh. I'm glad you feel better after that, at least. Nice to be of service.

it's varric's ghost-leandra who actually acknowledges what a burden hawke has taken on, that shows an understanding of why they're doing it, acknowledges the loss they've been through and also reassures them in their sense of belonging that still can't be taken from them, despite it all -- The best of him is still with you. The best of all of us. It's what makes you try so hard. You'll always have that. We'll always be family. (you can't take 'loved' away, huh.) you get a bit more of a reconciliation/reconnection between hawke and their dad's memory by being reminded he got like this too, you know (implicitly you're not alone). varric through leandra is the one who tells them what they probably would have wanted and needed to hear from a parent right then -- It's going to be alright. that's what Hawke, The Champion means to everyone else, and for once they get to be the one to hear it. except only in a kind dream that never really happened. I. it. hmmmmmm. crushing. that is crushing. but also so incredibly tender from varric's side, and so moving to me that he's seen all this stuff and so desperately wants to give them that comfort. anyway DA2 is about love in some of the realest and thus messiest and most human ways I've ever seen and it makes my brain go wild it's my favorite game of all time goodnight

[mikaila-orchard]

Anduin still gets more respect and dignity than Sylvanas ever did and I'm still mad about it.

Aight, the new WoW trailer stirred up some old animosity that I have to get out lest it fester.

The problem I've had with Anduin for the past few years is something that isn't even strictly his fault, and is just symptomatic of how shitty the writing staff is. In theory, Anduin is an interesting bit of flavor for the Alliance. Someone who was raised in a very turbulent time in the Alliance's history, gone through some shit when he was too early to handle it and is plagued with self doubt because of it. All of this complimented by Velen's vision of Anduin's future going down two very different roads.

Alas, the problem is in execution. Because what we are left with in practice is a character who goes through comparatively less than other legacy characters (Thrall being raised as a slave, Jaina losing her home and loved ones regularly and Sylvanas with fucking everything) but who, by the time Shadowlands rolls around, insists that he is the one suffering the most and everyone else needs to get over themselves. And that wouldn't be so bad (hell, in Shadows Rising, it's kinda treated as a genuine character flaw) but that's not the case because WoW treats Anduin like the moral barometer of the franchise for many years now.

There are multiple examples of this throughout, but the biggest culprit is all across BFA and Shadowlands, where Anduin is made to understand the hardships that Sylvanas and the Forsaken have suffered, most of it by the Alliance's hands, and just shuts it down with "Everyone suffers, stop hiding behind your trauma and rise above it," and because BFA is framing him as the hero and Sylvanas as the villain he gets away with it. In the fucking Sylvanas book, he has the gall to say Sylvanas had a better life than him because she knew her mother and calls her selfish for committing suicide. And of course the book frames Anduin as being in the right about all of this because they decided Sylvanas holding him captive was the time they would even allow to let her reach out to someone and hope they understand her. The deck was always stacked against Sylvanas and in Anduin's favor in terms of audience sympathy.

But then, what happens in Shadowlands? He gets dominated by Zovaal, stabs the Archon (doesn't even kill her), maybe kills a bunch of unnamed npcs off screen, and fights his friends. Not a single tally to add to his body count while he was a puppet. And when he is freed from Zovaal's control, he doesn't lose his support system, he doesn't lose the respect of his loved ones or his people, and he's not put under pressure to just be okay again.

AND YET!

He still goes on this self imposed exile of his, and has been on it for over half a decade at this point, because he is just too haunted by everything he's 'seen and done'. Things that we as the audience don't really see. So in practice, the justification for all this on screen angst is so painfully weak. And yes, there's no wrong way to respond to trauma and there never will be, and Anduin's trauma responses are far from unrealistic.

But compared to Sylvanas, Anduin is giving a great deal more respect and dignity by the narrative for, comparatively, much less. Sylvanas was enslaved and forced to murder her countrymen (onscreen too, we MADE HER DO THAT in warcraft 3) and when she was finally freed, she had no support system besides her rangers and Nathanos, she was feared by her former homeland who only accepted her help out of desperation and was hated and distrusted by enemies and allies alike way before she might have done anything to deserve it. The game even leans into the idea that the Sylvanas who suffered all this trauma isn't the real Sylvanas and we just needed to restore her soul to have the pure pious ranger general back (barf). And she still has to toil away in superhell because the writers were too chickenshit to fully backpedal on the deliberate character assassination the sexual predator on staff forced upon her.

"Oh, but M'Kay! That's the writers fault, not Anduin's! You can't blame him for all that."

Maybe not but a lot of the issue here comes from the fact that so long as the people who enabled this inequity of care remains on staff (IE fucking GOLDEN) this won't stop. So what choice do I have but to loathe the byproduct of this fuckery when it's being shoved in my face like this? What other way could I possibly interpret this disparity other than as misogyny?

[ystrike1]

I Hold The Tyrant's Heart - By Nobena (8.5/10)

Exile. Freaky mass memory loss. In this one a clingy prince grows into an even clingier Emperor. It's interesting because the way the plot unfolds makes you sad. Our protagonist is plagued by memories of her past life, and the man who loves her can't get through to her. No matter how hard he tries. His mental health suffers as a result.

Eucenielle Haldrant is unintentionally cruel. She was born into a loving family. She's half elf so she's strong and healthy forever. Her parents are a famous love story, and her adorable little sister admires her. She's got lots of friends.

She's pretty.

She's great with a sword.

Her family has been living in exile for 14 long years, because of her, and they don't resent her. They know the Prince's obsession was never her fault. When Eucenielle was 6 the Crown Prince started clinging to her excessively. He constantly wailed about wanting to marry her. It got so bad that he started using his authority to push her friends away.

This is a great yandere story, because the adults have brains. They saw and noticed his aberrant behavior.

Eucenielle didn't think much of it. Tes was a crybaby and she indulged him while she researched magic.

Eucenielle does love her family. She cares for Tes too, but she wants to go to her real home. Eucenielle is in deep denial. She knows she was stabbed. She died in a Korean hospital, next to her crying mother. That mother loved her too. That mother isn't a perfect elf. She was a single mom. She needs her daughter, and she was a wonderful mother too. Eucenielle wants to return to her side, but it's hopeless. It's clear that her other body is already dead and buried. Eucenielle doesn't even notice how crazy Tes is, because she has nightmares about her screaming mother every day.

Tes is really pathetic. He's jealous of everyone around Eucenielle. He starts to abuse his authority from a very young age. He follows Eucenielle around too much. He ignores his princely duties and parties to do it, and when he is forced to attend prince things he just screams for Eucenielle.

He is a scary child, but he was also kind and open with her. She didn’t mind his company. Only the adults knew how bad his attitude actually was.

The former Emperor was forced to send Eucenielle into exile. Eucenielle was innocent, but Tes was starting to get worse.

Eucenielle kind of wants to hate Tes, because his attitude inconvenienced her family. Her innocent parents and sister did not deserve exile.

It's such a mess. By the way the former king and his Empress had a loving relationship. He was devoted to her and they ran the country harmoniously. The only problem was their crazy first child. The Empress eventually had another son to replace him, because he was a lost cause. The Empress wanted to bring in a bride from her extended family, but Tes refused his mother. He caused discord in the royal court. He was with Eucenielle so much it make the Empress look weak.

He refused to do his duty.

Tes ends the exile after 14 years of blood and more madness. He has more magic than his father. He started erasing memories. Nobody questions him now. He has prepared the perfect palace for Eucenielle, but he doesn't even know she wants to leave.

By the way the fiance the Emperor and Empress chose for him is still around.

Tes immediately throws the poor girl into the dungeon when Eucenielle returns.

He's too affectionate. He's too much. Eucenielle rejects his proposal again. She asks for mercy. She doesn't think Lady Lily Shyen she die. She'd feel insecure too, if her fiance was so clearly uninterested.

Tes holds Lily hostage to get attention from Eucenielle multiple times. He really is crazy. This is not a light yandere story.

He has too much magic, and he can see people's souls. Eucenielle looks human to him, possibly because her soul is from Korea, so he will never let her go.

Lily's brother, Noss, is interested in Eucenielle. Eucenielle officially rejects Tes like 8 times, so he asks her to be his partner. She says yes, because she needs a guide after 14 years up north.

Tragically, Noss is killed by Tes.

Nobody understands the Emperor. Not even Eucenielle. She has some feelings for him, but she hasn't given up on her original mother. He can't reach her. He has usurped his family. He has become a tyrant. He permanently changed his hair and eyes to her favorite color, but he still doesn’t have her heart.

Eucenielle seems like a reasonable person. I really don't know if she'll forgive Tes for executing an innocent man who dared to have a crush on her.

I don't know how this will end. Eucenielle will have to give up on returning, because it's clear that her other life is long gone.

[mysticmemos]

I love Thomasin’s journey to freedom in The VVitch. From the start she was blamed for things that weren’t her fault and you can see how ingrained the hypocrisy of christianity is into their lives. When her brother noticed things about her it was her fault, when her father sold their silver cup it was her fault, when the twins never did their chores it was her fault. Her father succumbed to pride, her mother to envy, her brother to lust and the twins to sloth. She was the purest member of her family, yet they blamed her for their own sins. Thomasin had likely been dealing with this long before the witches preyed on her family, yet when they did she was blamed for that as well and accused of being a witch. Some people believe Thomasin didn’t have a choice to sign Black Philip’s book because she was manipulated by outside forces for so long. That she traded one master for another, but I don’t see it that way. Her family, who had already succumbed to cardinal sins, were exiled from their village and moved out into the middle of no where. The witches likely would have preyed on her family anyway but they saw Thomasin as an opportunity so they gave her an in. Thomasin signed Black Philip’s book and for the first time she tasted freedom from the hypocrisy of christianity. When a master offers freedom, freedom from subservience, freedom from hypocrisy, freedom from from blame, is he really then a master? No. When a master offers freedom, he is not a master, he is a liberator.

[iapislazuli]

nightheart, finchlight, and pre-verbal trauma

(sorry, i ramble a bit here lol)

im surprised i havent seen any discussion or analyses on nightheart / finchlight and pre-verbal trauma, since that's like, exactly what happened to them? (And nipping this in the bud right away no, I'm not saying this is Sparkpelt's fault btw, she was suffering from grief and PPD, and she made the best posible choice by having sorrelstripe foster her kits! for her situation, she was the best parent she could've been). but finch and night were so young, they couldn't understand what was happening. they were newborn kittens who couldnt see or hear, the only thing they knew was their mother's scent, and they got taken away from her, and thrust into a new space wholly unfamiliar to them with no warning. yes, it was for a good reason, and yes in the long run it likely benefitted their health physically. and yes, it was for a comparatively short amount of time, too. but them experiencing that at such a young age, having all they've ever known taken from them when they can't even open their eyes yet is, well, traumatic! young children experience the world so much differently than teenagers and adults. everything happening to them is basically happening for the first time. how did they knew sparkpelt would come back? they didn't! they had no way to understand the idea of PPD and grief. the effects of pre-verbal trauma sticks with you for life even if you can't remember it. this is such a huge misconception about child psychology it makes me crazy. a baby being so young it can't talk doesn't mean it doesnt have feelings!! and this leads to my next point...

which is how the differences in their adolescences led to their abilities to cope with this trauma being different. pre-verbal trauma causes abandonment issues and trouble regulating emotions among other symptoms; something nightheart very obviously struggled with. but what about his sister? finchlight is seemingly way more well-adjusted. this is likely because she chose to follow her mother to exile. wether knowingly or not, she didn't reinforce the abandonment issues caused by her pre-verbal trauma, which led to her being a more well adjusted adult with less glaringly obvious emotional issues. it could have also caused her to become unhealthily clingy to her mother, leading her trauma to manifest in a different way. maybe she also has empathy issues, not understanding why her brother cant just "get over it" like she did (she didn't just get over it tho, lol, she's just coping in a different way). there's lots of room for interpretation with finchlight, i think. while the authors' choice to apply this experience only to nightheart is frustratingly arbitrary and follows warrior cats' very protagnist-centric narratives, i do believe that following an analysis based on the idea of pre-verbal trauma and finchlight's choice to follow her mother into exile, you can explain why these two siblings reacted to the same situation so different. and i think looking to it that way, it's pretty damn interesting!!

[the-great-knight-gay]

Character Analysis: The Seven (Riordanverse)

Each of the seven have issues:

Percy is suicidal as in most of his POVs there is a large lack of regard for his life, multiple times stating he believes people will be better off without him and even stating he wanted to drown in TLF and SoM. On top of that... Physically abused as a kid. C'mon we all remember and hate Gabe. I hate how his entire character was literally forgotten about, despite the fact that an abusive parent should stick with a kid for quite some time.

Here's my headcanon for that. It wasn't forgotten, just not acknowledged. We all remember in the earlier books Percy was pretty much apologizing for doing anything right. That's a trait instilled in people who are used to getting abuse for doing anything. I could just be reading into it too much, and I probably am, but it's the only thing that reassures me that this wasn't forgotten about.

In fact I don't think Rick really understood the implications of what Gabe's actions would have done to Percy as he stated that in the upcoming show Timm Sharp's performance as Gabe had everyone laughing and I think that's the only thing I am slightly apprehensive about in the show.

His lack of self-worth is honestly probably a result of Gabe and I feel so angry that it was never touched.

Annabeth has abandonment issues as nearly everyone she has ever loved has left her at some point. Her mother disowned her after TLH, her father chose her mortal family over her and ignored her as she grew up, Luke betrayed her and Thalia joined the Hunters. There was even that time when Chiron was going to leave for good in SoM. That was why she was so threatened by Rachel. Because she was taking away the one good person left who stood by her.

Yes I just ignored Grover. I realize that.

Jason suffers from image issues as he was put on a pedestal from day one, even as a child just because his daddy was a king. He does NOT get enough credit my man suffered as a kid. This was probably one of the only ones where Rick actually tried to address the problem and eventually he found his calling and grew past that. Then Trials of Apollo came along. *Ugly sobbing intensifies*

Piper suffers from neglect from her father who didn't have enough time to spend with her and from her mother leaving. Even when her mother was there in Charleston, she paid much more attention to Hazel and Annabeth than she did to her own daughter.

Leo... Where to start? The kid was homeless and slept in sewers. That on its own is just sad but even more, he believed he was the reason his mom was dead. He was shunned by his own flesh and blood and was forced to retreat behind the comfort of his machines and even then, Festus was brutally taken away by those lasers. Rick really just pulled out the most brutal, sad backstory for this kid ever.

Frank is one of the less traumatized ones but still, a dead mother and having to watch his home burn down with his grandmother inside? Not good.

Hazel... Pulled out of time into unfamiliar circumstances. Having to deal with the knowledge that her childhood friend moved away, thinking that it was his fault that Hazel left (Sammy and the diamond). Having to deal with the knowledge that she was part of the reason one of the giants had risen. Forcibly exiling herself from Elysium into Asphodel just so her mom wouldn't suffer. And speaking of her mom... Maria Levesque's treatment of Hazel, acting as if she were a curse and not a living child, making her sympathize with the Minotaur of all creature, would leave lasting scars on all of them.

The most consolation I can get for this is that it looks like most of them have managed to move past all of this. Jury is still out on Annabeth and Percy as I have not read CotG yet but I'm hopeful.

Except Jason. They just had to completely overhaul him by ripping away the relationship he had with Piper, which didn't need to happen, right before he died.

My reason for not liking the Jasiper break up is the fact that, the argument that they were forced into the relationship happened at the wrong time. This was after they had done a fresh start of the end of BoO. Anytime before that I can understand, but at that point? There was no reason. Then they just had to kill my boy. RICK I SWEAR TO ALL THE GODS IF THIS HAPPENS TO ANYONE IN THE WRATH OF THE TRIPLE GODDESS AND WHATEVER THE FINAL BOOK OF THIS NEW TRILOGY IS I WILL FIND YOU!

Apologies I get a bit worked up sometimes.

DON'T KILL GROVER

It's a bad habit.

PERCABETH BETTER NOT FACE ANY RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS THEY ARE PERFECT DON'T RUIN IT!

Anyways, Knight out!

Go check out my Ao3 and Wattpad

No Riordanverse fics yet as I am still focusing on my Pokémon OC story but just you wait! It's coming!

[loola-a]

@fe-oc-week day 1 - introductions !

this is my best friend forever, florence von giselle !

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Birthday: 13th December

Fódlan birthday: 13th of the Ethereal Moon; Imperial Year 1161

Age: 18-19

Relatives: Mylan Von Giselle (Father)

Celeste Von Giselle (Mother)

Nationality: Adrestian Empire (Exiled)

Hometown: Dukedom of Giselle, which has since been merged with Hrym territory.

Residence: Garreg Mach Monastery

Factions: Ivory Swans

Occupations: Heir of House Giselle

Personal Ability: Ghostly Seance - Once per game + if unit is at max HP, able to revive any 1 fallen ally. [This only works if the revived unit fell during that specific battle, and the unit will also go back to being dead once the battle ends!]

Early Life:

Florence is the only child and heir to House Giselle. She’s childhood friends with Lindhardt, Bernadetta and Lysithea.

In 1167 during the Insurrection of the Seven, House Giselle along with House Hrym tried to secede from the Empire and join the Leicester Alliance. Working with the neighbouring House Ordelia, Hrym and Giselle raised an insurrection, but the Empire swiftly suppressed it. In retaliation for the uprising, Hrym’s main genetic line was eradicated. Four years later, House Giselle was found to have also colluded with Ordeila and Hyrm and were exiled from the Adrestrian Empire. Her family secretly relocated to Ordelia territory.

House Giselle is not noted as one of the seven involved in the Insurrection of the Seven as, after their exiling, all records of the House were destroyed.

Two years later, she developed an illness that took the life of her mother and left Florence bedridden for several years. While she eventually regained mobility, her legs remain very weak.

Personality:

Hating battles and loving peace and quiet, Florence does her best to avoid the harsh realities of the world, often idling about in escapist activities such as reading, composing or looking for ghosts. Her interest in seances and the occult stemming from the loss of her mother at a young age, and her desire to talk to her once more.

Despite being the heir to House Giselle, Florence has little love for her House, as it has lost all political and social standing due to their role in the Insurrection of the Seven. She often expresses guilt and remorse for her fathers actions, believing that the exiling of her House was the catalyst for all of her grievances in life. Due to her house being banished from the Empire and forced into hiding, not only was she separated from her home and her friends, but they were also unable to treat the sickness that took her mother’s life and left her bedridden for many years. In fact, in a majority of her endings, she abandons her claim to House Giselle altogether. Good for her!!

Lost Items:

A Planchette: A pointer made for a board used to contact ghosts. It probably belongs to someone who enjoys the occult.

Late Return Notice: A request letter from the library asking for a late book to be returned. It probably,y belongs to someone who frequents the library.

A Piece of Unfinished Music: An unfinished sheet of music. It probably belongs to someone who enjoys composing.

Quotes:

Choir Practice: “Hmm… I wonder if I could incorporate this melody into- Oh. My apologies, Professor.”

Cooking: “I’m quite useless at cooking, my mother always used to say I could burn an empty pan,”

Counsellor:

“Whenever I try to talk to someone about ghosts, they get scared and run away. I don’t mean to scare anyone, I just want to talk about my interests.”

“There’s a restricted section of the library that has all the interesting books locked away. How would I gain access to them without being expelled?”

“It’s my fathers fault that our House fell into ruin. I have no desire to inherit a House so wrought with disappointment and betrayal.” (war phase)

Dining Hall:

Favourite dish: “I haven’t eaten this since I was a child, how lovely.”

Neutral dish: “I usually just bring my food back to the library with me…”

Disliked dish: “I think I left something… somewhere. I should go.”

With Edelgard:

(Before C Support)

Edelgard: How are you liking your food, Florence?

Florence: It’s… fine. I’m sorry, I think I hear someone calling for me.

(After C Support)

Edelgard: Florence, I hear that you like to compose music! You must show me your work some time

Florence: I suppose I could…

With Jeritza:

Jeritza: …

Florence: …

Recruitment:

Requirements not met: “Sorry Professor, I have some books that I have to return to the library urgently. If I’m late again they might ban me.”

Requirements met: “Professor, I have a request…”

Accept: “Wonderful. I have heard your classroom is haunted. Is that true?”

Decline: “Oh. alright then…”

Gift:

Favourite: “For me? Are you sure?”

Neutral: “This is nice”

Disliked: “Oh… alright.”

Lost Item:

Not theirs: “That’s not mine. I’m afraid you’ll have to keep looking.”

Theirs: “Oh, you found it! I wondered where it had gotten to.”

Tea Party:

General: “Next time you should come to one of my seances. You can still bring the tea if you like.”

Favourite Tea: “Ah, this smell reminds me of being a child,”

Favourite Teas: Angelica Tea, Crescent-Moon Tea, Lavender Blend, Mint Leaves

Introducing own topic:

“I once spoke with a ghost who sounded a lot like you, Professor.”

“While I enjoy composing, I’m not a fan of singing or dancing myself. I’ll leave all that to the professionals.”

“You don’t get scared when I talk about ghosts, that’s what makes you different from the others around here.”

“Staying in the library past curfew wouldn’t get me in trouble, would it?”

“The things you might have heard about my House, I would prefer if you forgot all of it. People like to exaggerate…”

“Have you ever seen a ghost, Professor?”

Observe:

*humming* “Hm? Oh, it’s just… a song I’m working on.”

“Please don’t stare at me,”

End: “I had fun, thank you very much. I hope you invite me again soon.”

this ended up ridiculously long so if u made it this far tysm i love you

[bringthekaos]

It's been almost 2 years now, and I can't stop thinking about Jayce's situation in ep 3. Imagine working SO HARD your WHOLE LIFE trying to prove the impossible, to recreate the moment that saved your life, and then BOOM it all gets ripped off in a day. You lose your funding, your friends, disgrace your House, your mentor expells you from the place you worked so hard to get into and are basically declared insane (in front of everyone). You are about to end it all and then out if nowhere the man who arrested you 48 hours before stops you, gives you hope, solves the final piece of the puzzle and risks it all to bring it to fruition for you (and he barely knows you)

Imagine what was like to wake up the next morning

—TW suicide mention—

OHMYGOD same. Like it makes me emotional sometimes, thinking about all that Jayce went through that day just to be hated by the fandom. This poor guy was chasing a dream, something deeply personal. He almost watched his mother die in front of him, and then he was basically gaslit for the rest of his youth by people who doubted that it was magic that saved them, and that he could replicate it through science. But he never gave up, he worked toward it for his entire life, made it his passion, his goal, his meaning. And he was careful, that’s the thing!! He knew what he was doing had the potential to be dangerous, and he took the proper precautions—per Mylo, he locked his balcony! “Who does that?!” He wanted to be as safe as humanly possible as he chased this dream.

And then through no fault of his own, everything came crashing down. Someone with no idea of the volatility of the gemstones ended up handling them, and dropping them. His apartment, his research, and most of his supplies were damaged in the blast, and we’re led to believe that some people on the street below were injured.

He then had his life’s work stripped away, and he was imprisoned for something he didn’t do. Imagine that you had your car safely locked up in your garage and someone broke in and stole it, then used it to hurt people. And they blamed you and arrested you for it, and threatened to derail your entire life. When you did nothing wrong.

And THEN, after all of that, he was put on trial, where he was condescended to and repeatedly called “boy” in front of his peers. And the head of this governing body came to him before the trial and attempted to scare and manipulate him into admitting fault. And he was going to, too, but in a moment of passion he had an outburst, which led to his mother making a desperate bid to save him from exile by standing up and calling her son crazy. You could see how much this hurt Jayce by the way he spun around to look at her—“magic didn’t just save me, it saved you! You’re alive today because of that mage, and now you’re gunna stand here and say I’m not in my right mind?! My own mother, abandoning me in front of God and everyone.” (Personally, I see what she did a little different; she said what she had to in order to save her son, even if she didn’t believe it to be true. She knew it would hurt him, but the alternative was worse. So in the moment, she said the hurtful thing, the thing she thought had the only chance of convincing the council to save him).

But that doesn’t change how badly it hurt him, how it left him feeling truly alone. So alone that he saw no way out. He had no future. He wasn’t prepared to abandon his only dream, his only passion, something he’d literally dedicated every waking breath to from the time he was eight (?) to go work in his father’s factory. And no one else would stand up for him, not his mentor Heimerdinger or his patrons the Kirammans. And he couldn’t even go to his best friend for comfort because they’d been cut off. So he decided to end it.

And then when he was at his lowest, to have such deep trust and confidence shown to him by a complete stranger—a stranger who’s willing to risk his own life and stability to see Jayce’s dream succeed. Who believes in it so wholeheartedly that he’s willing to betray the man Yordle he works for (who also happens to run both the Council AND the University) to get it done. And then in the process, he’s shown another person who’s willing to see what he can do, who believes in him. It’s catching like wildfire, and all it needed was that first spark that Viktor gave it.

I think Jayce must have literally been in shock. What a whiplash of emotions. He probably pinched himself multiple times over those few days, trying to wake himself up. And I imagine Viktor probably caught him once, furrowing his brows down at the reddening mark on the back of Jayce’s hand, the unspoken question in his eyes.

And Jayce probably blushed, looking down at his shoes as he bashfully rubbed the back of his neck and said,

“Oh, uh… just… just making sure I’m not dreaming.”

And that’s probably the first time Viktor felt the butterflies. 🥰

[mariacallous]

Barbie is both toy and mythic object - modern woman and Ur-woman - navelless, motherless, and incarnation of “The One Goddess with a Thousand Names.” In the reservoir of communal memory that psychologist Carl Jung has termed the “collective unconscious,” Barbie is an archetype of something ancient, matriarchal, and profound.

In Barbie’s universe, women are not the second sex. Barbie’s genesis subverts the biblical myth of Genesis, which Camille Paglia has described as “a male declaration of independence from the ancient mother-cults.” Just as the goddess-based religions antedated Judeo-Christian monotheism, Barbie came before Ken. The whole idea of woman as temptress, or woman as subordinate to man, is absent from the Barbie cosmology. Ken is a gnat, a fly, a slave, an accessory of Barbie. Barbie was made perfect: her body has not evolved dramatically with time. Ken, by contrast, was a blunder: first scrawny, now pumped-up, his ever-changing body is neither eternal nor talismanic.

Critics who ignore Barbie’s mythic dimension often find fault with her lifestyle. But it is mythologically imperative that she live the way she does. Of course Barbie inhabits a prelapsarian paradise of consumer goods; she has never been exiled from the garden.

Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll by M.G. Lord

[iamarealkat]

Tristan and Isolde

mads mikkelsen as ‘tristan’ in “king arthur”, 2004

Tristan is a prince whose mother is the sister of the King, Mark. Both of his parents died when he was young, and he was raised by Gorvenal to be a gifted swordsman and musician (Tristan became an accomplished harp-player). Isolde, meanwhile, is a princess, the King of Ireland’s daughter. She is beautiful and fair-haired and admired far and wide.

Cornwall is bound by fealty to Ireland, which demands that Cornwall send 300 youths and 300 maidens to Ireland as tribute.

However, if a Cornish champion could beat the Irish giant Morholt (the King’s brother-in-law) in single combat, the King of Ireland agreed that the tribute would not need to be paid.

Tristan defeats Morholt, but is badly wounded with a poisoned spear. He is left on a ship to die. But the ship finds its way to the shores of Ireland, where Tristan is taken into the royal palace. The sorceress queen cures him with an incantation, and Tristan falls in love with Isolde, to whom he reveals his true identity. When she learns that he has killed Morholt, her uncle, she declares her hatred for him, and Tristan returns to Cornwall.

Mark wants to marry Isolde, so he sends Tristan as his ambassador, to bring Isolde back to Cornwall so they can be wed. In Ireland, the wedding agreed, the sorceress queen bids Isolde farewell, but gives a love potion to the maid-servant named Brangien, with instructions to give it to the married couple on their wedding night.

On the voyage to Cornwall, Tristan and Isolde need a drink and both drink the love potion, not realising that it isn’t wine. They promptly fall in love. After the wedding of Mark and Isolde, Brangien – realising that the error with the love potion is all her fault – takes the place of Isolde in King Mark’s bed on the wedding night, to trick the King into thinking she is Isolde. Meanwhile, the real Isolde is in Tristan’s arms.

Mark doesn’t realise the deception for a while, although the rumours are all around the court. Eventually, his most loyal barons tell him that Isolde is unfaithful. Although Mark banishes Tristan from the palace, Tristan and Isolde continue to meet in secret. When they are discovered together, they are sentenced to death by burning. However, the lovers escape, and go on the run together.

They go and live as a poor couple in the woods, until one day, King Mark discovers them, walking in on them while they’re both fast asleep. But when he sees the sword between them and realises the lengths they have gone to in order to guard their love, he feels sorry for them, and replaces the ring on Isolde’s finger as a sign that he forgives her. He also places his sword between them, in place of Tristan’s, as a token or gift for his former knight.

When the two lovers wake, they are so moved by the King’s mercy and kindness that they return to court. Mark welcomes Isolde back, but he tells Tristan he cannot remain at court. He is exiled from Cornwall and goes to live in Brittany, where he marries another woman named Isolde, oddly enough: Isolde of the White Hands, as she is known.

Tristan remains loyal to Isolde and cannot make love to his new wife (Isolde of the White Hands). He is wounded in battle (as before, with a poisoned lance), but this time there is no cure. As he lies dying, he asks one of his companions, Kaherdin, to go and tell Isolde (as in King Mark’s wife, Tristan’s first love) that he is dying and he wants to see her one last time.

Tristan tells Kaherdin to hoist a white sail to his ship if he is successful in locating Isolde, but a black sail if he fails. (Compare this plot detail with the ancient Greek legend of Theseus, too.) Unfortunately, Tristan’s wife hears of this plan.

Kaherdin finds Isolde and she agrees to come and see her true lover. However, Isolde of the White Hands, Tristan’s wife, lies and tells her husband that she has seen Kaherdin’s ship bearing a black sail. Heartbroken, Tristan dies. Isolde arrives with Kaherdin and learns she has missed Tristan, who has already departed this life. She dies of a broken heart shortly afterwards, her lips locked with Tristan’s in one last kiss.

[almdragonrend]

I have somthing I really need to say, I don't get how FL could be popular, I mean if you think for a moment about it even OG Katarina is morally superior to the Heroine in Maria and all The Capture Targets in the story, I mean nothing against an Evil protagonist or a good antagonist, but than don't portray Katarina as a Villain and Maria as a hero ! That's wrong! Katarina leaves Maria completely alone in both the Nicole and Alan route, meaning she only opposed Maria when she's trying to seduce HER fiancée or mess with her family or do both in the Harem route!

Than the fact that she's accused of bullying those bellow her station is bulls* she only bullied Maria who I just said why she did it and Keith whose arrival at HER HOME turned HER PARENTS against eachother when she was a Child! That doesn't make it right but she couldn't know that this wasn't his fault, and his own original family wanted to kill him! Luigi saved his life and that's how he thanked him ?

than Geordo she gave almost half her life up to that point in complete support and devotion to that mother fu* and he swore an Oath to marry her! I don't think many people get how bad a possible future king breaking an Oath is especially considering Geordo's Grandpa's actions,

further more Katarina actually don't mistreated dose below her status, first her Maid Anne who despite being related to Nobility is herself a Commoner just like Maria and Katarina even in FL verse treats her like a Sister more than a servant!

Next there's Sianna, she's the bottom of the barrel of Nobility and still Katarina cherished her more than anyone else! This makes the claim of her bullying people for their status down right nonsensicaly!

Especially when she's the only one who never partake in bullying everyone's favorite Target Sophia Ascart, since we see in VOD is never once mentioned that she did so when Sophia joined her book club, that would have had to be brought up than ! Meaning is the only Noble Girl who didn't bully Sophia! (Except Marry) and it's even implied she discouraged others from bullying Sophia!

When Bakarina in verge of doom just assumed OG Katarina bullied more people and wanted to apologize during VoD judgment event no one spoke up! And that Is most likely because she never bullied anyone other than the Girl who tried to steal her fiancée and/or shame her family!

Also, it's said that Katarina's bullying was only on the very edge of Criminal, meaning she never really committed a crime, the one attacking Maria with fire was Noelia, who acted on her own accord!

Keith and/or Geordo basically rigged the Trial to get Katarina stripped of her status and exiled which is a way to hard punishment anyway! When she comes back with dark magic she didn't even kill someone for it! She just had it !

And that idiots in the development team must have believe that this made her appear more evil since she's just born with the "bad magic" but instead it just means she didn't kill anybody for it ! Right OG Katarina is not a murderer and the idiots of the FL development believed Katarina being NOT a murderer makes her more evil than people who literally commit murder to get the same magic! what does that say about their Character ?

I heard a lot about people saying something for a Original Katarina redemption arc and I really hope she gets an happy ending, she deserves it but what people need to understand is Original Katarina dosen't need an redemption arc because she has not done anything so bad that she deserved getting to that point anyway, instead she deserved a pretty enormous apology from Geordo, Keith and Maria

To give her a redemption arc basically means recognizing Maria, Geordo and Keith, Cheating, betraying,Oath breaking and manipulate a Chords to commit prejudice as a good thing, Original Katarina shouldn't have to apologize to them! They should have to apologize to her! Even when something like that calls for ways more than an apology! And first of all her entire sentence should be revoked !!!! + there has to be compensation for everything she had to go trough!!!