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ailelie · 1 year

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written while waiting for a meeting to start

And a bit more when the meeting was re-scheduled and I wanted to finish my thought.

Nora was not nice. That did not mean she was cruel. She simply had her people and was content with that. She had Father, her brother, Gabriel, her best friend, Ambrose, her maid, Phoebe, and her uncle's family. Her mother and older sister existed, of course, but her mother had decided long ago not to care about Nora and Nora had decided that it was mutual. As for Coralie, if she were perhaps less incompetent and thus demanded less of Father's time, Nora might have been convinced to love her. Father was a busy man with limited attention and Coralie simply stole too much of it.

Nora did not need more. She saw little reason to curry favor with people who simply did not rate.

Then, of course, Phoebe died and Gabriel blamed Nora. It had been Nora's dress Phoebe was fetching in the rain when her horse spooked. Nora argued she had not called down the lightning that spooked the horse, but Gabriel countered that she had set the errand.

But she still had Ambrose, her uncle's family, and Father. Though Father's attention grew increasingly scant. But it was all right. She understood he was busy. At least she had Ambrose and her uncle's family.

Then, of course, Ivy happened. Ivy was lovely, tall as Ambrose, and exceedingly kind. Ambrose fell fast for her and chose over and over to spend time chasing after Ivy than with Nora. So Nora tried to make Ivy leave. She decided to be cruel.

Rumors, stolen possessions, destroyed possessions, lies--Nora did it all. She never crossed the line into physically harming Ivy, but that did not stop her from scaring her a few times. When Ambrose found out he was...not pleased. They'd been friends since diapers, but he chose Ivy.

But it was all right. She still had her uncle's family and she clung to them as her life unraveled. Father died. Gabriel left the country. Coralie floundered like an idiot until Uncle Julian stepped in and took over the duchy. Aunt Rosalind quietly pointed out the kingdoms many deficiencies and Nora began joining her at pro-Empire tea parties. Guilds released a long paper calling for the entire Eroquin family to remove themselves from the monarchy. Farmers burned the tax portion of their crops. Merchants hung signs supporting the Empire.

The king fought back. His investigators searched for the instigators and found a scholar, long-ensconced within a ducal family. Nora's family. Her mother's favorite scholar was an agitator for the empire. They'd sent Academy students to him, the nobles declaimed. And Coralie was involved with an Imperial privateer. And Nora, of course, attended and eventually hosted all those Imperial tea parties.

Treason, was the word.

Every life, every bit of unrest, every social ill was pinned on them. Even Father's apparent sins were dragged out for all to examine and castigate. Nora cried out she was innocent, but no one listened. Even Ambrose blamed her.

Mother, Coralie, and she were all imprisoned, tried, and sentenced to death. In her last moments, Nora found Ambrose in the crowd and told him he was making a mistake. He turned away.

And so the blade fell.

But, of course, that was when the impossible happened.

Nora blinked through suddenly blurry vision and found herself in her old bedroom while Phoebe tutted at her hair and asked if she was ready for her birthday.

Her 16th birthday. The one that had happened five years ago.

Nora did not know how time had rewound, but she did know she could not let her past repeat. Even if that meant expanding her group of people. Even if that meant being nice without reason.

#eleanora's return #this isn't part of the story #but it tells her backstory in a nutshell

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powerbottomblake · 5 months

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dungeon meshi is soooo fucking great especially when it hits its stride and all characters have come into play bc it's just like

laios: I want to eat all the fucking monsters i want the monsters carnally

marcille: EATING MOSNTERS???? UNHOLY. UNCOUTH. DISGUSTING. anyway here's all the dark magic and necromancy i've got on the backburner to bring back my dragon-digested gf and also i plan to find a way for everyone to live forever at the cost of my very soul if need be

kabru, normally, in a normal tone he's rehearsed 42000 times in front of a mirror: I'M NORMAL. I'M SOOOO FUCKING NORMAL. I'M THE MOST NORMAL GUY AROUND AND I'M NOT CONSTANTLY PLOTTING ASSASSINATIONS FOR THE GREATER GOOD

senshi: I have all this trauma abt being the sole survivor of the fantasy equivalent of the franklin expedition but that's not important what really matters here is eat yer goddamn veggies or so help me

and the best part is that none of them are straight

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #I guess?? for anime only watchers??#I love kabru so much. ND masking at its finest #also there's such idk. casual queerness to the whole story that really makes it very dnd-esque #'but it isn't confirmed!' i need y'all to exorcise the part of your brains that needs a kiss for a storyline to be actually queer #this story slaps of casual queercoding AND textual homosexuality like. namari isn't getting hit on on the reg by the one twin textually for #y'all to act up #the way marcille's most significant relationship is farlyn and whaetever kabru and mithrun have going on #liberate yourself from the shackles of Canon Kiss and start approaching the text based on the storytelling of it i beg you

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lucdoodle · 29 days

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A lil comic based on the amazing fic "Up is Down, Sane is Insane"

#god i love this fic SO MUCH guys #that feeling where liking and leaving a 1k comment isn't enough to express how much you love and enjoy a story #that you just have to make a fanart for it to properly convey how grateful you are to be able to read such a cool story #well... a fancomic in this case i suppose #did i choose to draw that part of the story only because i thought the image of angel doing ✌️ as pentious prayed for him was funny? yes #yes i did #ooooh my wrist hurt tho #hazbin hotel #sir pentious #pentious #hazbin hotel sir pentious #hazbin hotel angel dust #angel dust #comic #myart #tw: blood

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melusiiine · 3 months

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i got my grubby little mitts on a commission slot by the magnificent @kabukiaku , the omega3 angst is perfection

#the band ghost #yes i commissioned some fanart for a long-form fic i'm working on #and really isn't that what the renaissance was about anyway #commissioning cool artists for art of one's silly little stories is part of the human condition at this point #a page from the library #the band ghost art

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rustedhills · 5 months

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Disney, releasing Wish: "so it's all about legacy--the new generation surpassing the old, overcoming the evils perpetuated by them, relinquishing singular power... and there's an old man in a tower, uh... animal sidekick, i guess..., ah... magic...?

Miyazaki, just out of frame, sledgehammer raised:

#the boy and the heron #not tagging wish 'cause i'm being a little acidic #this isn't to be negative in the slightest--I really respect both films--but it's interesting to see how visceral boy+H gets with its story #what evils have to be rejected and what they represent--and how characters and the world suffer from those evils--as well as how the whole #'rejecting' part goes. in terms of animation powerhouses discussing their legacies - disney and miyazaki both - I find it interesting that #one makes a pretty safe and nostalgic movie about imagination and dreams; the other is a long trudge through the land of the dead.#b+h is a hard watch - and a look at the legacy of a man questioning his whole purpose in the world - after his cultural touchstones #have long passed by. Mahito needs to understand his grief to keep living--but if he drowns in it he'll just continue the cannibalistic and #violent world of his granduncle. how the hell do you make art when the trauma of your entire life has colored it forever? How can anyone?#maybe after a while... it's time to detonate that damn tower and keep living.#this is to say #if you have enough money to make whatever you want #Make It Fucking Count

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novelconcepts · 1 month

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I really think we as a society don't give enough credit to performers who thrive in an ensemble situation. It's always obvious when an actor is excellent front and center, and we're constantly rewarding that skill set with awards, but god, there's something to be said for the power of a true ensemble piece. People who are so good at reading one another and playing off what they're given, tossing the ball and knowing when to turn it into a grenade. As much fun as it is to watch a solid monologue or a solo show, I always find it so much more thrilling--and so much more authentically lived-in--when there's an ensemble just feeding one another in every single scene. Who do I look at? What is everyone else learning and deciding even from the background? This is what life looks like, and actors who really shine in that environment have really become my favorite to follow.

#i feel this way about yellowjackets. i feel it about flanagan's whole lil theater troupe.#yeah it's great to have 1-3 stars shining like crazy #but isn't the sky so much brighter when it's filled with constellations?#that's part of why i love broadway so much too. in a really solid show (i'm talking your hadestown vibes) the whole stage comes alive #anywhere you look there's a human being SO HUMAN #even if they're like. a cat. or an alien. or whatever.#it's so cool #and as a writer i'm always trying to find ways of making my stories feel as lived-in as possible #to envelope the audience and make them feel a part of the narrative fabric #ensemble stuff--done well--is built for that

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fictionadventurer · 6 months

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Yes, President Snow tried to make the people of Panem focus on Katniss and Peeta's love story to keep them from focusing on the rebellion. But that doesn't mean the love story doesn't matter. The irony at the heart of the Hunger Games trilogy is that the Capitol thought the love story was pointless, but it was actually the entire point all along.

President Snow tried to frame Katniss and Peeta's act of love--trying to die for each other--as something irrational. No sensible person would do anything so stupid and rebellious! They only did it because love puts you out of your right mind! Emotions make you irrational and unpredictable, a danger to yourself and others! Falling in love turns you into a fool--only following the rational ideas of the Capitol will keep you and your families safe from the irrational effects of love.

Unfortunately for him, the audience begins to see that the foolishness of love is wiser than the Capitol's wisdom. A society where emotions can flourish, where people can act selflessly, where children are cared for, enemies are honored (or at least treated as people), and other people are worth dying for, might require more trust, might require you to risk yourself, but it makes for a much more beautiful world than the rational oppression of life under the Capitol's rule.

Snow thought that a love story would prove to the people how important their society was. He thought it could distract from revolution, because he couldn't see the deeper truth.

In a society built upon the principle of kill-or-be-killed, love is the revolution.

#the hunger games #suzanne collins #another post making a slightly different variation of the same point that's been made a thousand times #but i've just seen a few dozen too many takes like #'the capitol tried to distract people with the love story'#'and now people focus on thg's love story instead of the revolution part so we're just like the capitol!'#i get that they're criticizing shallow surface reads of the story #that care about the aesthetic and emotions above any deeper message #it doesn't mean that their phrasing isn't annoying and wrong

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lovesickeros · 5 months

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☆ decadence divine [ act I ]

{☆} characters arlecchino, neuvillette, furina {☆} notes yandere, drabble, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings yandere content, stalking (implied), kidnapping (implied) {☆} word count 2.3k

ARLECCHINO

Arlecchino was wont to leave social gatherings to her subordinates– the private meetings were where she thrived. It was so much easier to lure your prey into a trap when you didn't have prying eyes and ears waiting for the barest hint of blackmail.

She clicked her tongue in distaste, her eyes narrowing beneath the mask of the fox as she set down her cup sharply. It was difficult as it was to draw them from the safety of their bubble– at the slightest hint of danger, her quarry would run. A chase would be fun, but she couldn't risk getting caught here. The political nightmare it would cause..it already gave her a headache. She had to be discreet.

They weren't making it easy, however.

Which is why she never liked crowds. But this chance didn't come by every day. She wasn't going to simply let it pass by because of a little danger. She'd have them eventually, it was just a matter of how. There were already numerous of her own lingering in the crowds, hidden beneath the masks that every patron bore. It was difficult to stand out amongst the flurry of masked patrons constantly shifting around the room, moving from one conversation to another, gliding from one dance partner to another.

Her heeled boots clicked sharply against the tile as she stalked through the crowds, keeping a wide berth yet always lingering nearby– she was sure they could feel the vague sense of being watched, but with the huge crowds..her lips quirked into a grin with the barest flash of teeth. There were a great many ways to break them in– she'd spent a great amount of time and mora to get anything she could for blackmail, if she so wished. She had the backing of the Fatui as well if she played her cards right– it wouldn't be difficult to convince them that they were a valuable target, and none of them would dare to question just what she did with them afterwards.

Perhaps a bit of play, first. Test the waters. She was familiar with playing the polite gentleman, despite her status as a Fatui Harbinger. Stage something for her to intervene, perhaps, to look the hero. The look of shock when she revealed the wolf beneath the wool..she could see it already. That wide, doe-eyed look as they realized the monster they've followed blindly like a lost lamb..she was beginning to see the appeal.

All it took was a few hushed words and subtle signals before the tiles started to fall in place, her hand gliding along their lower back as she leaned over their shoulder with a thin, predatory smile. She'd have to organize for the agent to be released later, her eyes following as the Gardes dragged him out of the room in a flurry of curses, but for now..she tilted her head to peer down at them, polite and almost apologetic.

"You aren't too startled, are you? Now now, there's no need to look so..scared, poor thing. I won't let another lay a hand on you," She cooed in a sickly sweet tone, the husky rasp of her voice whispered in their ear like dripping honey. "You have my word. Now, why don't we get you some fresh air? Come. Allow me to escort you."

Her lips pulled into a jagged grin at the relief in their eyes– the blind lamb following the shepherd as it led them into it's maw. Just a little longer, and she could finally have her own caged bird– a pretty thing to admire, to protect, to possess.

Something no one else would ever touch again. Something hers.

NEUVILLETTE

Neuvillette was not one for parties. The intricacies and delicate handling of public relations he oft left in the capable hands of Furina, rather then himself. It was only at her behest he even attended at all, but he still felt rather..out of place amongst the bodies constantly shifting through the ballroom like a constant rush of water from one end to the other, no rhyme nor reason to the flow. The only thing that kept him afloat among the tides was the mask of the deer obscuring his face– even if it was exceedingly difficult to truly hide himself among the crowds, most passed over him without second thought.

Though he had to be honest with himself, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit it to Furina despite her insistence that his attendance was mandatory. He had his own reasons for coming– selfishness that left a sour taste in his mouth. It was purely by chance he'd seen the briefest glimpse of them prior, and he..was intrigued, that was all.

He refused to let his thoughts linger on the sleepless nights he spent prying every piece of information he could from loose tongues and obscure documents, every moment he managed to squeeze in between trials spent lingering in their most favored locations– cafes, stores, restaurants, the like.

Now a masquerade.

He tried not to let the guilt gnaw at his conscious, but it lingered like an age old scar that still ached.

So he relegated himself to simply residing in the further corner, nursing a goblet of water like a fine wine, trying not to let his eyes stray to the brief glimpses of them through the ever moving bodies filling the center of the room, dancing like puppets in music boxes.

Still, his hand twitched in an instinctual desire– a need to clasp his hand in their own, to touch his lips upon their knuckles, to indulge in a moment of reprieve and unshackle himself from the mantle that bears heavy upon his shoulders. He seeks reverence, worship, but not of himself– but towards the one who had drawn the eye of the dragon amongst the waves of humans he'd seen come and go for a great many years.

No one could compare, he is certain. None have left him as breathless, as hopelessly infatuated, as the one who made him wish only to kneel at their feet in senseless reverence until he could no longer speak. A hopeless man, indeed, if he has never even truly met them.

Instead he's spent his time prying into their life from the shadows. Caution, or simple cowardice?

He dares not ponder.

Yet in his ceaseless pondering he'd blocked out the world without, failing to notice the figure stepping up beside him until their hand brushed against his elbow– just the briefest touch, but it had his pupils narrowing and his entire body tensing like a coiled spring. That touch..bliss. It left him breathless and lightheaded as he tilted his head to regard them, his lips parting in a shaky sigh. They are as beautiful as he remembers– even with their face obscured beneath the mask, he would never forget them.

"Greetings, Monsieur– I hope I didn't frighten you too much." Their laugh made him feel rather faint, just the sound of their voice making his hand tighten around his cane. "..Not at all. I was simply lost in thought." He admitted apologetically, trying to reign in the urge to cup their face between his palms. A dangerous thought. He didn't want to scare them off when they'd provided him a priceless opportunity.

"My apologies, you must have needed something. It was rude of me to have been so absorbed in my thoughts to have ignored you." He continued, gently turning to set his goblet down– offer them his full attention, be a gentleman. The words rang in his skull like a ceaseless alarm, blaring and rattling his thoughts as he gently took their hand in his own. It was a split second decision– an indulgence, but he could simply not help himself. Even with his gloves between them, he felt like he was going to lose his composure just from such a brief touch..

He truly was a hopeless man before an altar, praying for a salvation he intends to bury deep beneath the waves– to keep it hidden in the darkness of the depths that only he can reach. A selfish man, he must be, to even think of it, but it is an itch that he cannot scratch. A need that must be satisfied. He cannot allow any hands but his own to tend to them, to know what it feels to touch them, to hear their voice and see their eyes as he prays– prays like a man starved, devotion born of desperation.

"I hope I did not make you wait too long." He smiles, soft and affectionate, like the bloom of spring beneath the winters chill– yet just as deadly, only masked by the sweet fragrance of flowers.

He had waited too long.

No longer.

FURINA

Furina was right at home amongst the crowds– where the masks obscured the identities of most, it was impossible to not recognize the charming banter of the Hydro Archon beneath the mask of the lamb as she graced the masquerade with her presence, speaking with a silver tongue to any who would listen. A truly enthralled audience fitting for the grandest of performers in Fontaine.

But her eyes lingered not on the people who's praise dripped from their lips like honey– yet so very bitter upon her tongue. Even the mask obscuring her expression did little to hide the longing that had her visibly deflating like a popped balloon. She hated all the eyes on her, really– it was suffocating. She was only putting on a show in the foolish hope that they'd finally pay attention to her. Just her luck, she supposes, that instead she's had to throw herself straight into the role of Archon without a pay off..

They hadn't even spared her a glance! It would be infuriating if not for the fact she couldn't even keep her composure just seeing them across the room. They didn't even have to look at her and she could feel the heat rush to her ears as she forced another smile at the crowd gathered around her. It was unfair how easily they could fluster her without even knowing it– her heart was thumping so hard against her ribcage she felt like it might burst.

Her only solace was the fact none of the patrons seemed to realize she'd clocked out of the conversation, her thoughts and eyes lingering on the distant figure– what a lovestruck fool she makes..it was a chance encounter she'd seen them during one of her outings. That was all it took to enthrall her, evidentially, try as she might to have ignore it for months.

They never left her mind for longer then a day, in the end, and she had to face the fact they had managed to enrapture her so deeply she felt like a newborn lamb learning to walk whenever she so much as thought of them. What an embarrassment! She..she was the Archon, she had a reputation to maintain, she couldn't be seen fawning over a human.

But oh, she still longed for it, beneath the veneer of a God. She'd watched them more times then she'd admit even to herself, wishing to find herself in place of those who'd hands were cradled so casually in their own– to hear their voice, their laughter, as often as she pleased..like a fine delicacy she so badly wished to taste, yet so far from her reach.

Would they think her pathetic for her infatuation? She pursed her lips at the thought, trying to bury the sour mood beneath her faux image of the Archon. Yet it lingered, and with only the quietest of excuses, she slipped into the crowd like a ghost– she needed to leave before she did something..stupid. Neuvillette would surely have a few choice words with her if she did, and she was inclined to avoid such a fate.

She..she just needed a moment to collect herself was all. That was it. She could go back to playing Archon for a little longer, she just needed a moment to herself. At the very least, the balcony had been regarded as off limits so late into the party– which gave her an opportunity to slip out of the public view for the briefest of moments. A welcome reprieve– she was starting to feel suffocated amongst the crowds.

Perhaps on instinct, she reached for the mask, lifting ever so slightly away..only to let out a startled yelp at the touch of a hand on her shoulder, the mask slipping back into place far too easily. It made her lightheaded, even now, but she dared not to dwell on it.

But when she turned sharply on her heel to chew out the person who'd followed her and had the gall to scare her..oh, she was done for, her ears flush with heat. The brief glimpse of their eyes beneath the mask, the curl of their lips as they smiled– her heart stuttered in her chest, and she was certain it had stopped all together when they clasped her hand.

"Y–you.." She wanted to be angry, to brush them off and leave with her rationality in tact, but the warmth of their hands on her skin rendered her speechless. She was no better then a fish on land, struggling to fill her lungs with air as she drew in a shaky breath. "Ahem, you caught me off guard. That's all. Surely you do not make it a habit to sneak up on people?" She huffed in indignation, trying to mask the fluster that threatened to break through her carefully crafted facade.

Ah, what a cruel twist of fate..she'd slipped away to escape their allure, but here they were, dragging her back into their orbit without even knowing how deep her infatuation ran. They were alone, too..it was a chance she wasn't sure she'd ever get again.

Maybe, just this once, she could do something for herself rather then everyone else.

She buried her guilt, the fear– buried it beneath the need to be seen.

"But if you want to make it up to me.."

#genshin impact #genshin impact yandere #genshin yandere #neuvillette x reader #yandere neuvillette #yandere neuvillette x reader #arlecchino x reader #yandere arlecchino #yandere arlecchino x reader #furina x reader #yandere furina #yandere furina x reader #fic tag #pats neuvillette this noodle dragon can be so pathetic #aiming for pathetic desperate and slightly guilty. it gnaws at him knowing he's keeping you like a bird in a cage #esp if you react extremely negatively hes like a kicked puppy #not outwardly but internally hes a MESS. sobbing crying wailing #furina and neuvi sopping wet kittens u found in a cardboard box in an alley #vs arle thinking abt all the crimes shes going 2 commit in the process w/o an ounce of guilt. blackmail? check. kidnapping? check.#a little murder for flavor. as u can see im coping horribly w being practically snowed in rn i need 2 be put down #its like 4 degrees out rn (fahrenheit) and getting colder ueueueue i am dying..........#only thing keeping me going is my furinameow plushie coming. eventually. staying strong just for her.................#also needs 2 be mentioned all the stories r separate ksjfkhdsf #no not everyone in fontaine is yan and trying 2 kidnap sorry for getting ur hopes up..#yet #anyway u cant convince me arle isn't bribing (or just straight up forcing) her agents into doing stupid shit so she can “save” you #and make you owe her #two silly goofy little creatures vs the personification of gaslight gatekeep girlboss (heavy on the gaslight)#also split this up in 3 parts bc. lol. lmao. im not writing 9 characters at once goodbye #also all the masks do actually have significance i have an entire essay on why i gave each animal to specific characters okay

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loriache · 9 days

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honestly i'm kind of interested in the idea of laios in an arranged marriage. because obviously straight-up inherited monarchies are ...bad, to say the least! but it's what the characters are familiar with (even laios' father's extremely local, extremely minor leadership role is inherited, presumably through the male line). and it isn't just about what they think the best way to run melini is; in terms of ensuring that the other longed-lived nations respect melini's continued sovereignty, having it passed down in a manner that's close enough to their own ways for them to understand it and respect it is important. And it seems like most of the other nations have leadership through inheritance - thought that isn't confirmed for certain except with the elves.

Also, a marriage carries the potential to establish foreign allies - something melini is certainly lacking. A marriage could come with resources they'll badly need, treaties of mutual defence, money, legitimacy and political capital... not that these things can't be worked around, but if laios isn't strongly opposed, there are a lot of advantages! and i don't think he would be, because that's the framework for marriage (conferring practical advantages, building intracommunity relationships and providing a partner to do important work that he can't do) that he had grown up with. he isn't exactly a romantic and I doubt he's holding out for any sort of relationship of that nature.

Like, I don't think it's impossible that they would go with this path, because it's the most obvious and it carries a lot of advantages and it's what almost all the decision-making characters would consider normal and not objectionable. and it could be so interesting.

I think Laios would have major hangups if expected (i.e., by Marcille) to establish a genuine, romantic interest in a woman. Whether because of his sexual or romantic orientation, or just his own deep-seated trauma about rejection and being inherently disgusting and scary. And I think he'd hate the idea of having kids, too, and be very frightened of being like his father. But I don't think he'd refuse on that basis; he could cope with a marriage contract, with clearly laid-out expectations and responsibilities. And when it came to having a kid, I think he'd be reluctant to express that he doesn't want to do it, because he isn't naive and he understood when he agreed to be king it would carry responsibilities like this. It's clear from his nightmare that he already felt pressure from his parents to have children, probably magnified by the fact his father has got a position, responsibilities and wealth to pass on. Obviously he isn't a perfect martyr, so he might struggle when it comes to actually going through with it - but I don't think he'd actually, outright refuse. I think he might do it even though he doesn't want to, and I think that could be really messy in a way that appeals to me.

I don't know, there's something about negotiating these kinds of complicated situations that's interesting to me. and i love a platonic marriage. If they find a woman who has an interest in education, for example, and can work with marcille on setting up schools and universities. she'd ideally be politically savvy enough to be an able partner to laios: even though kabru can and would continue to do a lot of that, there are different spheres that a queen and a prime minister can work within!

how would their relationship work? maybe she finds laios' perspective on the world, and his frankness, unexpectedly liberating after an extremely controlled, cloistered upbringing. maybe she had a rebellious phase, has magic, or something else which makes her a relatively unpopular candidate for marriage - even as melini grows in power, i doubt that they'd be getting offers for the cream of the crop in terms of perceived value on the marriage market, because laios' relationship is a bit too ambivalent/monstrous for that, and melini too new. maybe she's a widow! an older woman, wouldn't that be cool - though they'd want her young enough that she could definitely still have kids.

certainly i think he'd be happy for her to pursue other relationships, though ideally in a manner that couldn't produce illegitimate kids. with other relationships in play, that's even more interesting. like, both kabru and toshiro have complicated emotions relating to infidelity. i think kabru would actually find it quite cathartic to be in the kind of high-status environment that rejected his mother for perceived infidelity, pursuing an affair that all parties consent to, though he'd likely be incredibly aware of the public image - since "image" is what he was rejected for. toshiro... i just really really love the way he'd feel about being the "other woman" in laios' marriage, considering his feelings about his father and maizuru. especially given how much closer he is to maizuru than his mother, being in her position...! his emotions would be so complex, it's incredibly tasty. i bet he'd make a bunch of assumptions about how laios' wife feels about it and be totally wrong, and that's so interesting. also, i think laios' wife should fuck marcille (she and falin have an open relationship).

#og post #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #dunmeshi #laios touden #inheritance! in the cultural framework these characters are working with #it really matters #this is why in my unwritten postcanon story i have the touden parents have another kid. can you imagine laios' feelings on that! god.#negotiating some kind of freedom within the restrictions responsibilities and expectations of this position #is part of what is so interesting to me abt postcanon dm #and it's extra interesting to me if there are a lot of restrictions and responsibilities laios can't or won't escape and has to work around #and marriage and kids are a big one there... exactly BECAUSE laios is so viscerally uncomf with the expectations of heterosexual masculinit #so easy to read as transfem nonbinary gay etc #i want to see him treating a marriage contract like he does the problem of the demon. if that makes any sense.#putting that brilliant autistic brain to work to see a way to do this that isn't like your father did

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