"No doubt thou didst melt the seal open on the steam vents to read the business of thy betters, planned how thou wouldst ingratiate thyself with the Archduke— oh yes, we know thy tricks…” Not the steam vents, thinks Csevet. It would wet the paper. The hot pipes, yes— but not the vents. He would only use a steam vent if he wanted to bleed the ink onto the external sheet and claim inclement weather, and that almost never can be gotten away with inside the court. Captain Orthema is saying Lord Chavar, leave Mer Aisava, but Csevet knows Chavar will not move for love or money now, not until he has said his piece. -- Two attempts on the throne; and Csevet Aisava, in the shadows.
In all the excitement Jim hasn’t actually stopped to think about what he's going to say. So as far as he knows the first words ever spoken by a human to an alien species are: “Uh. Hello?”
There’s a moment of dead air over the radio, and then a proud, inflectionless voice says, “Hello. This is Commander S’chn T’gai Spock, of the Vulcan Federation. To whom am I speaking?”What it says on the tin.
Or: that one where Luo Binghe has been transmigrated into a fantasy isekai adventure by a God who’s seen his browser history.Someone had dared to cosplay Great Master Liu Qingge wrong on the Internet.
Someone must be ground under Peerless Cucumber's canonically accurate boot.
--
Shen Yuan discovers cosplay. Then, a magical tamagotchi makes him discover -- firsthand -- the world of PIDW. He's just going to look, honest, he's not going to change anything...Neil Josten is one of the world's biggest popstars, with a reputation as clean and crushing as plated glass.
Andrew Minyard is his favorite artist. He is also so unapologetically himself that Neil cannot help but be besotted.Instead of landing against sharp, merciless rock and snaggling roots, he finds himself cushioned in a lean, firm set of arms.
Shen Yuan automatically wraps his own arms around the person’s neck to steady himself. He takes a breath, rests his cheek against a softly-clothed shoulder, before he opens his eyes.
A handsome face stares back at him, eyebrows drawn together. A lovely cool voice, like water sliding over rocks, asks, “are you alright, shimei?”
//
Shen Yuan transmigrates into the body of Qin Wanyue days before the Immortal Alliance Conference. He is desperate to wiggle his way out of the arcs he is predisposed to fufill, but Luo Binghe, and fate, has other plans.Bruce is missing - as Bruce Wayne - and somewhere in Metropolis. Tim knows Bruce said to tell Clark Kent in case something like this happens, but why would you go to Clark Kent for help when Lois Lane is right there?![settle down with some old story - nex_et_nox - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.postimg.cc%2F3wfkvtpc%2FBing-Bang-Image-1.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
Shen Qingqiu has a bare moment of dismayed comprehension before Luo Binghe is moving again, releasing his hold on Xiu Ya only so that he can swirl around Shen Qingqiu in a blindingly fast movement, getting behind Shen Qingqiu and using his now-free right arm to pin Shen Qingqiu against him, Shen Qingqiu’s back to his chest.
“Caught you, Shizun,” Luo Binghe says in Shen Qingqiu’s ear, and then he tips them backward through the portal.
Two years after the Immortal Alliance Conference, Luo Binghe reappears in the Human Realm—directly on Qing Jing Peak, in order to kidnap Shen Qingqiu to the Demon Realm. Little does Shen Qingqiu know, this isn’t the right Luo Binghe.
The Original Luo Binghe has finally, after years of searching, found a kind Shizun of his own to kidnap and keep in his own universe—and this time, no one is going to take Shizun from him.![If You're Going to War, Fight With Bows, Spears and Swords - Mikkeneko - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsVfuI9g.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
Aaron desperately needs to prove to his employees that he isn’t homophobic—and that he can survive an entire night of shameless flirting with another man. Just to be safe, though, he sends Andrew in his place.
Neil agrees to go on the date and put on his best performance to expose some asshole as a homophobe—if it means getting the Lana Del Rey concert tickets Allison is holding hostage.
In my dreams, everything was burning. A voice was calling out for me.Summoned forth as the intended sacrifice of a mysterious ritual, a young man finds himself in a new world with the face of his attempted killer, Acacius Duval, as well as a looming death curse if he doesn’t carry out Acacius’ last will. However, while Acacius has left many looming problems, he didn’t leave behind the most important piece: his memories.
That would have been too convenient for navigating a world stitched together from apocalypses.
Fortunately, after only a few life and death trials, Acacius’ unintentional replacement is sent away to the prestigious Nithemoore Academy, where he can learn everything he needs to know about the world and gain the power to grasp his freedom…
At least, if the tracks of history don’t doom him first.
“I am only going to ask you this once, so listen carefully,” says Jean in French the following Monday at nine o’clock in the morning. He drops his bag in front of Neil and points at him. “At the housewarming. What were you and Andrew Minyard doing in my room?”
Next to him, Kevin promptly breaks into a coughing fit.
Neil and the trials and tribulations of being a college student, having Kevin and Jean as his friends, and his roommate Andrew leading him up to the rooftop every night.Uchiha Itachi is instructed to slay his entire clan, root and stem. He begs for his brother to be spared and is given that boon. So, he slays his entire clan cleanly, root and stem, and spares his brother.
He can’t be held responsible for one of the others getting back up.
Uchiha Masuyo wakes up in the wrong body, in the wrong world, and bleeding out. So much for a good start.
(self-insert into the body of an uchiha mid-massacre. danzo doesn’t deserve a clean win.)![The Bai Zhan War Cucumber - Boomchick - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.postimg.cc%2FPJqL7BLh%2FKei-Finished-SVBB-Art.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
When Shen Yuan transmigrates into Liu Qingge in the Lingxi caves, he's immediately confronted with a wild-eyed Shen Qingqiu trying desperately to save him.
That's weird and everything, but it doesn't mean Shen Yuan is just going to stand around and let the scum villain abuse his favorite protagonist!
Kidnapping disciples, making new friends, and changing the plot doesn't seem like too much trouble for one little Shen Yuan, but that doesn't mean he's prepared for Liu Mingyan...
Illustrated by the amazing Meri and Mothssoup!![says the shadow - tciddaemina - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2F64.media.tumblr.com%2F566aec18dc2c31c25e38c486d899661f%2Fc7a9749d9f51726b-40%2Fs2048x3072%2Fbbd39fb83785e3a3849063799606339de83e2c7d.jpg?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
Luo Binghe wakes up to the heavy, suffocating feeling that something is wrong.
His back aches, sleeping on the floor of the woodshed has left him stiff and sore, and yet all the pain and agony of his latest caning fades into inconsequentiality, washed away in the face of the sheer, suffocating, heavy dread pressing down on his shoulders. It steals the oxygen from the air, swelling to fill every inch of the room, the pressure crushing.
His eyes open too quickly, and he scrambles up, heart pounding in his throat, head snapping towards the door of the shed. There's a knot in his throat, thick, and he struggles to swallow around it, throat suddenly dry.
The woodshed looks as it always has. Nothing has changed.
Everything has changed.
-
Luo Binghe's shizun has a qi deviation and the thing left afterwards isn't Shen Qingqiu.When Shen Yuan transmigrates into Fei Qing, a throwaway wife character in Luo Bing-ge's harem, he thinks he will be living the high life. How wrong he was. Now he is being forced to share a brain with a sarcastic system, and literally starts dying if he leaves a remote mountain that he is supposed to protect, and a thousand mysteries surround his new life. What terrible luck!!
He had been part of his father’s government since he was sixteen. He had seen more relegations than he had seen Winternight Balls. He just had not realised that his siblings did not understand it. “But he wouldn’t,” said Ciris numbly. “Not— not us.” “Yes, he would,” Nemolis said. “Ciris. He would.”
She had let go of everything else; hope of a retrieval, hope of an apology, hope of seeing her sisters or her son again. It would be enough to know. She did not have to do anything with the knowledge. Ulis would understand. Surely he would. "To the best of your knowledge, Othala— is the Archduke Maia alive and safe?” Thara Celehar stared at her for a very long moment, his grip on her trembling fingers very firm. Then he said; “Sister— he is.” --- In a Thu-Tetar nunnery, the Dach'othalo asks a Sister of Ulis: Did you enter this place as Chenelo Drazharan?
![Shen Yuan: Plant Life, Plant Wife - Claribelle - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.postimg.cc%2FR00JKppF%2Fbingyuan-2.png?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
“Seven dozen people lost their lives in that explosion,” says Jimin grimly. “The elementals called rank and refused to disclose details for weeks. We still don’t know much about it, but we do know that the perpetrator was Jeon Jungkook. It was a—scandal doesn’t really encompass it. He’s the son of a fire elemental and a water elemental, both of whom are in the Elemental Assembly, but he kept out of the public eye until last year. When he caused the deadliest magical explosion in Korea in seventy years. And then disappeared.”
Seokjin makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat. “Only to turn up in a seal shop in the middle of Seoul?”
[Jeon Jungkook's been on the run for a year now, fleeing charges of murder and arson, but Park Jimin—and Jimin's clan—are about to bring that to an abrupt halt.
Or: in a world full of magic, BTS, as always, find a way to pave a new path of music, dance, and love.]Modern day chef Wèi Wúxiàn finds himself thrust back in time and trapped in the body of an empress on the eve of her impending marriage to a useless puppet emperor. Stuck in a time not his own, he will face political intrigue, the woes of no electricity, burgeoning gender discoveries, and the mortifying ordeal of falling in love with his own husband.
Alternatively, Wèi Wúxiàn Dies and Wakes Up as Mò Xuányǔ 2: Electric BoogalooMadam Yu decides that the best way to reinstate the severed engagement between her daughter and her best friend’s son would be to publicly punish and humiliate Wei Wuxian in front of the other sects, particularly the Jin. Since he was the one who caused it to be broken, it was the least Wei Wuxian deserved, to remind him of his place. And if it also got back at her husband for allowing the engagement to be broken in the first place, she viewed that as an excellent side benefit.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t considered that other sects might actually snap up the talented disciple that she had planned to only temporarily toss aside. The consequences of that mistake are much farther-reaching than she could have ever imagined.
Canon divergent after Wei Wuxian gets sent home from the Cloud Recesses lectures after punching Jin Zixuan. Novel canon universe and characterizations.So in Fourth Wing, I actually liked Xaden's character for the most part (minus the sex scenes and the last chapter, which I'm just not gonna talk about. I've never seen an author manage to erase character depth by giving them a chapter in their POV before). What I didn't enjoy was Xaden and Violet's relationship-- how so much of the focus was on establishing the drama and physical attraction between them that it forgot to make it fun.
Like, I could care less about Xaden being the dark, handsome, mysterious, broody guy. Let him be that way with everyone else. Violet and Xaden, I want them to shed their masks around each other and not even notice doing it. I want them to make each other feel safe enough to act like the children they never got to be.
"This is unbecoming behavior of you, Riorson. Please release me." Despite her words, Violet's tone was as professional as ever. The only sign of her annoyance was the miniscule twitch of her left eyebrow-- that, as well as the fact that she'd resorted to using his last name. Again.
"You found her?" Imogen grinned.
"It wasn't difficult." Xaden's tone was unbearably smug. Violet had a sudden, inexplicable urge to lean down and bite his hand where it was still holding onto her wrist in an unshakable grip.
She blinked, startled by the impulse. That was unlike her. She wondered if being bonded to two dragons had a bigger impact on her than she'd thought.
Don't blame this on us, Tairn grumbled in her head. Believe me, this is all you, Silver One.
"Found her slacking off in the Archives," Xaden continued. "She was so absorbed in her book, she didn't even notice me approaching."
(In the privacy of her own mind, Violet could perhaps admit to herself that this one was on her. She'd chosen too obvious a hiding place. Still, she wasn't about to say that to him.)
"Something we're going to have go work on," Xaden added, flicking her on the forehead. "Can't have you getting distracted every time you come across a shiny new volume you haven't read before. Why, imagine the disaster if our enemies discovered all they had to do was throw some rare first-edition volume in the air and they'd have a fifty-fifty chance of you diving off your dragon to catch it," he teased.
This time, she wasn't able to catch her impulse in time to stop it. Before she could analyze the potential consequences, she'd already kicked Xaden in the shin as hard as she could.
He let out a satisfying hiss of pain, releasing her from his grip.
"Now who's the unbecoming one?" Xaden asked, eyes bright with amusement. "Assaulting a superior officer? I could have you reported for that."
"'Take advantage of the opportunities your enemy gives you'," Violet recited. "General Katz, Rules of Combat."
"Are we enemies now?" Xaden wondered, placing a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "And here I was trying so hard to keep you alive."
"Anyone who disrupts my scholarly time that I spend analyzing and learning battle strategies to better prepare for the war effort is my enemy," Violet retorted.
"Please," Xaden scoffed. "The last person who needs any help training their intelligence is you. You're scary enough as it is, Violence."
This time, Violet managed to restrain the automatic urge to elbow him, if only because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of proving him right.
"Don't call me that," she snapped instead. It wasn't even a proper pun, she thought to herself indignantly. If he was going to bastardize her name, he could at least have the decency of using some clever wordplay. This, on the other hand, was just lazy.
"What? Violence?" Xaden blinked, in a manner that would appear innocent, had it not been for the way the corner of his lips kept twitching. "But it suits you so well--"
Violet lunged at him.
It was, objectively speaking, an absolutely horrible attack. It was wild, impulsive, uncalculated, with zero chance of actually working.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.
Violet had just enough time to catch the way Xaden's smirk morphed into a full-fledged grin before he caught her mid-tackle and twisted her until he had her in a fireman's carry.
"Let me go!" She threatened-- or attempted to. The barely suppressed laughter in her voice rather took all the menace out of it.
"Not a chance," Xaden scoffed, humor softening his features until they seemed younger, boyish almost. His body felt very warm against hers. "Let me remind you, you're the one who leapt into my arms, Violet. You can hardly ask me to let you go now."
(Everyone else in the training studio: determinedly avoiding eye contact
Rhiannon: How is it that they engage in the worst PDA of the Wing without actually engaging in any PDA. And how is it that neither of them seems to realize it.)
Per my last post, I mentioned how hyperintuition might be an interesting signet power to explore, combined with Violet's intelligence. Here's an experiment in how that might play out:
"Why?" Violet asked, sounding genuinely curious. Xaden blinked. Out of all the responses he'd expected, that hadn't been one of them.
"Why shouldn't we be friends?" Violet repeated, after Xaden didn't respond.
"The history between our families isn't enough for you?" Xaden scoffed, injecting as much scorn as possible into his voice.
"We agreed a long time ago not to let what happened between our parents influence our relationship," Violet said calmly, looking at him with those too-perceptive eyes of hers. "Try again."
"Look, let's not make this more awkward than it has to be. We're already tied together through our dragons which is difficult enough as it is. Adding emotions into the mix--" Longing, fondness, admiration so intense it made this chest hurt. "--is only going to complicate things."
"If anything, that only provides more reason for us to become friends," Violet argued. "You're right, it's not an ideal situation, but the fact of the matter is, we're bound together because our dragons are mated to each other. Your life is tied to mine, we're never going to be able to be apart from each other for any significant amount of time. If that's the case, why not make the best of it? If we're going to be stuck together, isn't it better if things are amicable between us? Otherwise we're just both going to be miserable all the time."
It all seemed very logical to Violet. She didn't understand why Xaden was being so stubborn about this whole thing.
"Have you ever considered that maybe I just don't want to be friends with you?" He asked bitingly. "That I don't care for you and I don't particularly want to try?"
Hurt bubbled up like a river of acid in Violet's throat and she swallowed, feeling the corners of her eyes prickle. She ignored it, shoving it back down and expertly wiping her face clean of any emotion-- say what you want about Liilith Sorrengail but she had taught her daughter some things, one of which was putting up emotional walls-- and focused instead on the feeling of wrongness sitting like a weight in her chest.
"That excuse would work better if you hadn't spent the past several months seeking me out," she murmured. "There's a reason why you don't want to get close to me. Or rather, why you don't want me to get close to you, isn't there?" There was a bell-like humming in her ears. She was on the right track. "And it's not because you don't care-- if you wanted me to think that, you shouldn't have made me those daggers or commissioned me that saddle, Xaden."
She tilted her head in thought as she considered what she knew about Xaden Riorson. Or rather, what she didn't know.
"The secret meetings you've been having. The trips you've been taking. The thing you've been hiding from me," Violet said, watching Xaden's face carefully. "That wouldn't have anything to do with this, would it?"
She exhaled as the air seemed to shift to the tune of a puzzle piece sliding into place.
"If that's the case, perhaps you don't want me getting closer to you because it increases my chances of figuring out what you're involved in. As for why you're so determined to keep the truth from me...maybe you think I'll report what you're doing? No-- that's not quite it. Or at least, it's not the whole truth," Violet mused as her chest twinged uncomfortably. "Maybe you're afraid it'll change how I view you? I think that's part of it. Or is it that what you're involved in is so dangerous that getting closer to you could potentially endanger me by association?" The thrumming in her ears got louder, even as she watched Xaden stiffen abruptly. "That's got to be it, hasn't it?"
Xaden fought to keep his expression blank as Violet continued talking with the confidence of someone who had Magic itself telling her she was right.
Even before receiving her signet ability, her mind was something formidable. Afterwards? Now it was more than a little terrifying being on the other side of that intelligence.
"Of course, that's only part of the puzzle. Now, as for what you're hiding...well, obviously you're not the only one involved. Garrick and Bodhi are clearly in on it, quite possibly all the Marked ones are. Now, a secret that involves the children of the rebellion leaders and is so damning that you worry I'll turn against you and that even being friends with you would drag me down by association--" Her voice faded into silence as she let the implications sink in.
Xaden's eyes widened with something like panic. "It's not what you think--!"
"No, I don't think you're plotting another revolution, Xaden," Violet said quietly, cutting him off. He relaxed slightly. "The thing is, whatever you know, Sgaeyl knows, and what Sgaeyl knows, Tairn knows."
Isn't that right, Tairn? She asked the dragon who had been uncharacteristically quiet until now.
I chose you for your intelligence. Tairn let out a resigned sigh. It was all the answer she needed.
"And if Tairn chose to keep this from me, then whatever you're doing is not something that will put me or Navarre at risk. But it is something that you would be killed for doing." Violet paused. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think any amount of ignorance or emotional distance between us is going to shield me from getting dragged along with you if you go down. So let me ask you again, Xaden, because I think I have a right to know-- what are you hiding from me?"
A pause. Then Andarna's voice piped up in her head, impressed.
You got all that from 'I don't want to be friends with you'?!
(Violet: I don't like to pry into my friends' secrets. They're entitled to their privacy.
Xaden: We're not friends.
Violet: ...
Violet: Gonna make you regret saying that.)
Okay I realize absolutely no one asked for this but here are some of the changes I would make to Fourth Wing:
Spoilers below and warning, this is gonna be a very long post with more or less coherent rambling
To start with, Violet's mother's motivations for suddenly demanding Violet become a Rider 6 months prior to Conscription never made sense to me and that's something I'd definitely want to flesh out more. She fell in love with and married a Scribe, and was apparently fine with Violet training to become a Scribe up until then-- so what the hell changed, made her suddenly decide to throw her youngest daughter into a death college where she'll start off at a major disadvantage? I think it makes more sense if her decision coincided with the death of Violet's father or something. The pain of losing him, of wanting to avoid all reminders of him, led her to demand Violet become a Rider rather than a Scribe. It's also stated in the book that in the last few months of his life, Violet's father became more withdrawn and was likely looking into venin/wyvern-- she could've forbidden Violet from becoming a Scribe in order to get her away from all that and the possibility of discovering the truth (although granted, sending her away to the same College the Rebellion Kids-- who are very much aware of the truth-- are forced to attend may not be the best way of going about it).
For that matter, I'd stop giving Violet so many opportunities to leave. I know it's supposed to show off her determination or whatever, but it makes her motivations and characterization super inconsistent if she's constantly going on about how her dream in life is to become a scribe and she turns down literally every opportunity for her to go and do that. It's also a more compelling story for me if she literally had no choice but to become a Rider but managed to succeed anyway-- and it mirrors the rebellion kids' story as well.
The hair. There's no logical reason for Violet to have natural balayage, the fuck. It's stated in the book that even if she was to cut her hair, it would just turn silver again at the ends after it reaches a certain length, which...?? And there's zero explanation for this. Like, if you're gonna give the MC special hair, at least provide a good story behind it. For example: after Brennan's death 6 years ago, Violet shut down completely. She couldn't stand being around her mother's rage and her father's devastating grief and Mira's absence, so she just picked a direction and...kept going. It took them 3 days to find her and by that time, she was half-frozen and on the verge of death. Borrowing a trope from Chinese dramas, by the time they found her, her hair had turned completely white from stress. Her brown hair grew back in as she recovered but she keeps the white as a reminder to herself to never let herself get to that point again-- to never let herself shut down the same way again.
(To emphasize-- if she cuts it, it doesn't magically turn white again after growing out, that was just a one-time thing. She's not magically gifted with special hair "just because", that's stupid).
Violet's potential as a Scribe. The book continuously emphasizes how smart Violet is supposed to be, how she would've made the Perfect Scribe, and other than her tendency to conveniently regurgitate facts the author wants us to know about the world, we...don't really see much evidence of that. If anything, the book makes the argument that oh actually, deep down inside Violet had always been more suited to be a Rider rather than a Scribe, yadda yadda yadda. Which is just boring to me-- the most interesting thing about her character is the fact that she was never supposed to be a Rider, was never suited for it, and having her turn out to actually have "the soul of a Rider" all along or some bullshit takes away from that. I would much rather have her start off the book with a scribe's skill and mindset and gradually add the traits of a Rider as well for a merging of the two, rather than have her 'outgrow' being a Scribe.
Continuing on that theme, Violet is clearly a very emotion-driven character, which doesn't quite make sense to me given that she was trained to be the Quintessential Scribe. Scribes, after all, are taught to be logical, rational, to always control/hide their emotions: to fundamentally be a "blank slate", without biases or preconceptions, solely dedicated to the preservation of knowledge (emotions only get in the way of that). If anything, it'd make more sense to me if Violet was a little too good at hiding and compartmentalizing her emotions (especially after the deaths of her father and brother), to the point that she was nearly impossible to read and came across as a bit eerie to her peers. This is not to say that she wouldn't feel as strongly or have that same capacity for kindness-- just that she'd become very good at using intellectualization as a defense mechanism ("I'm not helping them because I care, it's because I'm already at a disadvantage and need all the allies I get. It's only logical." "It's only natural to feel a bit anxious watching them fight...they're giving me lessons and it'd be inconvenient if they died. I'd have to find another person to fill their place, which would be...well, it'd be better if they lived. I'm going to make sure they live.")
(The "woman is the openly emotional one and the man is the openly logical one" is also one of the tropes that annoys me the most, so...goodbye to that).
You also cannot convince me this girl was well-socialized growing up, which would cause her to value her relationship with Dain that much more. If he was her only friend growing up, the only person she was close to outside her family, it provides a huge opportunity for character growth as she struggles to learn how to trust, open up to, and rely on other people. It bothered me a little how in the book, several characters (Ridoc, Sawyer) were just suddenly on Violet's side without any actual scenes between them showing how they became friends.
(Ridoc is the first person to make Violet Sorrengail laugh at Basgiath. It wasn't even anything special, just a sarcastic-- but uncannily accurate-- impression of Professor Devera, and he glanced at her just in time to see her hastily turn away, covering her face. Her shaking shoulders gave her away, however.
Hah, he thought, smug satisfaction curling in his chest. So you can laugh. I knew you had a sense of humor hidden away somewhere deep down.
Deep, deep down.
The next second, Violet had managed to compose herself, face as blank and unreadable as ever, save for perhaps the slightly narrowed gaze she aimed at his direction, as if willing him to forget her momentary lapse in Not Being a Robot. He just winked at her, grin widening for the briefest moment before turning back to Sawyer.
Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.)
Also why is this girl starting her training off making enemies left and right? First off, instead of futilely trying to avoid every rebellion kid out there, it'd be more practical for her to just try and distance herself from her mother as much as possible. That relationship is definitely doing her no favors. And with Xaden/the other rebellion kids-- she, of all people, knows what it's like to be judged for who her parents are. She knows they know what it's like too. It's an angle that she can use to at least try to keep a hundred targets off her back.
("You're Lilith Sorrengail's daughter," Xaden said, studying her through narrowed eyes. It was impossible to pinpoint the emotion in his voice-- but well, she could take a solid guess.
"Yes," Violet replied, just as evenly. "And you're Fen Riorson's son, if we're doing introductions based on our parents now." She gave him a polite nod. "Best of luck on the Parapet today, although from what I've heard about your skills, I don't imagine you'll need it."
When in doubt, there was never any harm in falling back on manners and flattery. That was what Dain had told her, and she tended to trust his advice when it came to dealing with people. He'd always been more likeable than her.
His jaw tightened.
"Your mother killed my father," he said, expression cracking open the slightest bit to reveal something raw and wounded underneath.
And your father killed my brother, she didn't say. It was something they both knew, after all, and she didn't see the point in reciting facts back and forth for no reason.
Violet resisted the urge to sigh. So much for manners and flattery-- it looked like she was going to have to address this now. Directness it was then.
"Yes," she admitted, voice going even more flat. "And I understand you have every reason to hate me for what my mother did. But if you're going to try and kill me, at least have it be for something that I did." She started walking forward-- either he was going to kill her, or he wasn't. Either way, there wasn't much she could do about it. "Everything in my life has been influenced by who my mother is. At the very least, do me the courtesy of allowing my death to occur independently of her."
A pause. She'd caught him off guard.
"So just to be clear, you're not asking me to spare you. Just for some agency in your own death," he said finally. Was that a trace of humor in his voice?
"What I'm asking is for you to stop seeing my mother when you look at me," Violet said, causing Xaden's face to go blank again. "But that's easier said than done. I'm sure you would know, wouldn't you?")
For that matter, I'm also putting Violet on the aro/ace spectrum here (probably demisexual). Not out of any plot-related reason. Just because it was incredibly annoying reading all those descriptions of how inhumanly beautiful Xaden was every 3 pages. 'Lust at first sight' is also one of my least favorite tropes, so. Goodbye to that. (Side note though, I think it would be really funny for Violet 'never-felt-sexual-attraction-to-any-significant-degree' Sorrengail to go fi
![Only You, Shizun - moonwaif - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fia601803.us.archive.org%2F30%2Fitems%2Fimg-8577_202502%2FIMG_8577.png?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
That’s right: the real problem isn't that Luo Binghe turned gay, it's that he became monogamous!After getting hit with amnesia, Shen Qingqiu forgets everything that happened post-transmigration, including the existence of the System. How else is a straight man to cope except by building his gay husband an all-male harem?
![Mortified Mine / 餘年 - Irrelevancy - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù [Archive of Our Own]](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Fi.postimg.cc%2Fx1gTTmD9%2Ffight-scene-rendered.png?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&format=avif&dpr=2)
Exy’s popularity is dwindling, and Ichirou has a bold plan to save it: an Exy-themed dating show featuring a star-studded cast. The lineup includes Kevin Day, the son and face of Exy; Allison Reynolds, the influential Exy socialite; rising star Matt Boyd; and several others, many hailing from the infamous Foxes Court.
For Neil, participation in this spectacle is the last thing he wants—but it’s not like he has a choice.
Dating Show AU with a side of fake dating