#I really am fascinated with her. Talk about a background character but she has something interesting going on

[bonefall]

Does Midnight ever adopt children? I feel like she would be a very good parental figure. I need Midnight to teach me how to do geometry.

Problem is that she lives in the middle of nowhere, no humans nearby, no place for cats to live permanently. It was once a shrine that used to be visited but its isolation was the point.

I think she would have issues as a parent, she's kind but very, very lonely. Kids need to grow up and find themselves, but Midnight doesn't want to be alone. She would dread her little kitten getting older and needing more independence and not properly prepare them to live their own life as a result.

She wouldn't teach how to hunt, or how to properly regulate their emotions, or how to interact with other cats.

But BOY could they do math lmao

[heartless-tate]

Hi! If I may be so self indulgent and request something... 👉🏻👈🏻

Reader being a (for lack of better words) boring person. They're good at blending in within social circles but never standing out or having a circle or friend of their own. Good laughing at jokes but can't come up with good ones or even if they did, they don't have the courage to tell them outright. They're very much a chicken when it comes to expressing themselves as an individual because they're never comfortable enough around anyone. They are a chicken in general, to be honest. This essentially (and sadly) leaves them as an NPC in their own life. And they've accepted it, trying to come to terms with a life of extreme mediocrity. They're actively trying to push down any need of wanting more from life 99% of days.

However, when you're good at listening, you observe things much better and you learn things faster. And subconsciously, reader has been observing a lot of things about Velaris (including the IC). I'm not sure where this would lead but this is probably the only real skill they have; being a good observer and learner.

I leave the rest to you. I was thinking pairing them with Azriel (since he would probably understand her better) but I'm open to any modifications.

Also, just an afterthought, I've always wondered what job I would love to have in a fantasy world (and I don't know if this counts as an actual job) but something like observing the sky/stars to look for any forthcoming events sounds really cool. So I guess reader could do that since major events happen don't happen once in a hundred years or something which ultimately makes their job very boring. However, they love it because who wouldn't love spending their whole night star-gazing (potential date idea?? YESS).

Sorry this became way longer than I intended. I wouldn't judge if you chose not to write on it. Thanks & have a great day :)

Am I boring? | Azriel X boring F reader

A/N: Hiii! Tysm for your ask. I hope I captured what you were imagining right. 💖

summary: You’re a star mapper. And you’re boring with no hope of love. Or at least you believed that until Azriel came along.

1.2k words

warnings: no use of y/n, she/her pronouns, cussing??, romance?? That’s it?? I think?

The stars shined brighter tonight. Since you were a little girl, you had always been fascinated by them. How they sparkled. They were interesting, and beautiful- unlike you. Maybe that’s why you clung onto them.

You pulled a piece of parchment from your bag, and started mapping the stars. Rhysand, the highlord of the night court, had invited you to his court to observe and map stars from this  part of the world. You accepted, wanting some change. Even if you knew it wouldn’t be much of a difference to you. The inner circle was more than nice to you, and you appreciated it.

Laughter bubbled from behind you. You currently sat with your telescope on the balcony of the House of Wind. This was your third week here. Rhysand had offered you a permanent place here in the night court, but you were yet to accept. You didn’t fit in. You were a background character. A random star mapper, a job would probably never be much of use to anyone. Except weird star fanatics. Aka you. You were sure he only offered you a place here because of pity.

The inner circle seemed to really like you, and whether that was because of your quiet and shy nature, or the fact you always listened and gave great advice, or the fact you always laughed to try and fit in even if you didn’t quite understand the joke, you didn’t know. The only one who seemed to see past your mask of people pleasing was the Shadowsinger.

Anytime you ‘laughed’ at Cassian’s jokes, he was always there, smirking with a known look at you. As if he knew you. As if he had known you your whole life. Azriel had seemed curious about you. It was uncomfortable. Nobody had ever been curious about you. Everyone always enjoyed someone that they could talk to about themselves for hours. But he was the one always interrupting the other members of the inner circle to question you, on you. And your own life. And sadly you didn’t have many answers other than, “oh I don’t know.”

It made you feel weird at how interested he seemed in you. It made you feel awkward. But you knew he would lose interest once he really discovered there wasn’t actually much to you. You were a bore.

“Those stars are named Arktos, Carynth, and Oristes. They shine above that mountain for a week once a year during the blood rite.” A voice said beside you. You flinched as you noticed Azriel sitting directly by you, his shadows swirling around you both. He was always appearing out of nowhere. He handed you a plate of cake.

“Courtesy of Elain. She baked dessert tonight.” Azriel said, lifting a bite of his cake to his mouth and chewing on it.

“Oh.” You responded, setting the plate down beside you. You quickly labeled the stars on your parchment. They were beautiful.

“Do you like cake?” He questioned.

You paused and stared blank at him.

“I’m not sure?” You responded, fiddling with your hands. “It’s okay, I guess.”

Azriel smiled at you knowingly. Loud laughter boomed from the room behind you two. He looked right at you with piercing amber eyes that seemed annoyed. As if he had noticed you flinching from the loud sounds.

“Come with me? Just trust me.” He whispered, grasping your hand gently with caution. It was sudden. And you weren’t sure. You didn’t know him much. How could you trust him? But something in your body and soul screamed yes. Why not? It was risky- but life was boring.

“Okay.” You responded, gasping as he pulled you close, his wings wrapping you close to him, and his shadows swarming around you both before all of a sudden you were now standing on a cliff. Oh gods. His hands were on your hips gently, his wings spread wide, letting you see the view.

You both stood on a cliff that overlooked a waterfall and river. The moon reflected in the water and the stars did too, creating a mirror effect. It was probably the most gorgeous sight you had ever seen.

“Its- it’s…” Your words fumbled, mouth open in shock. “Beautiful..” you whispered. His breath was hot against your ear.

“Very.” He whispered back. When you looked at him he wasn’t even looking at the view. His eyes were glued on you. And he was looking at you as if you were a goddess. Azriel’s eyes softened, with adoration. It scared you. Nobody had ever looked at you like that. With a blush you realized he was holding you like a lover. He smirked at you as if knowing you just realized it.

Azriel slowly let go and used his wing to guide you to turn around. Blankets and pillows were on the ground. Like a picnic but a nest. His shadows swirled excitedly around the set up. He guided you gently to the set up, helping you sit down before sitting beside you.

“Do you want your mapping materials? My shadows can retrieve them for you. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to just relax and enjoy this night or continue star mapping.” He murmured.

You thought for a second. This was odd. Was this a date? Or did he do this with all of his friends? Did you want to map or did you want to enjoy this night with him?

“No it’s okay.” You replied, eyes glued to the stars above. They were much clearer from this view then from the House of Wind. You guess the city lights blurred them out. But here? They were in their full glory.

“Why did you bring me here?” He seemed to pause before responding. 

“My shadows told me you might be leaving soon. This is my attempt at convincing you to stay here. In the night court. With your mate.” Azriel confessed.

He watched your eyebrows furrow.

“Mate? I don’t have a mate-“ you panicked.

His wings cocooned you and his arm enveloped you. It was like he could sense your panic. He rocked you back and forth like a child. And it was comforting.

“I’m your mate. I’ve known since I’ve met you. I thought I would have more time to get to know you and the bond would snap for you, but then my shadows informed me of your soon departure.”

You swallowed, throat bobbing. You blinked a few times. “There isn’t anything about me to get to know.” You replied harshly. Azriel’s eyebrows furrowed with concern. Shadows swirled around you both, some tendrils caressing you.

“Don’t say that. I know it isn’t true. Everyday I learn something new about you. I don’t care what you say, you are the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” He said, words much louder and firmer now. He thinks you’re interesting?

“Stay. Stay with me. Let me get to know you. I don’t expect you to accept the bond anytime soon. But give me- give us a chance.” Azriel said, wings tightening around you both. His eyes bore into you, with a fierce and loving look in them. You couldn’t help but soften in his hold.

You realized then, you deserved love. And for once a belonging feeling overwhelmed your senses.

“I’ll stay.”

Hope you guys enjoyed 💗

[aihoshiino]

Hey! I’ve been hearing a debate pretty recently about Kana’s character, especially after 151. Some are saying that Aka is weakening her character…ignoring her past development..reducing her to a love interest…etc, stuff along those lines, by making her dream be just being Aqua’s idol. What’s your take on this?

Saying this with the full awareness that i am Asking For It by phrasing it like this but. this honestly just feels like a bad faith read by people who already don't like aqukana/kana in particular LOL. Like... idk, I can get being frustrated by the sudden swing over to all the romcom stuff again when we have A Potential Serial Killer just kind of vibing in the background, but Kana -> Aqua is something that's been part of the series for over a hundred and thirty chapters. It was going to need resolving before the series ended regardless of whether they actually hook up or not and it's baffling to me that people are throwing this accusation at Kana's arc when like... sorry, but Ruby is right there, lol

Like, if we're going to talk about 'ignoring past development' and 'reducing her to a love interest' whose dreams revolve around a romance with Aqua... is that not just describing Ruby since 123? Everything to do with Sarina's trauma of abandonment and emotional abuse at Marina's hands and the way it continues to affect Ruby, Ruby being triggered and retraumatized by having to engage with material depicting Ai's abuse at Ayumi's hands, the way she mistreated and took Kana & Mem for granted while she was clout chasing and how that caused fan backlash against those two while they did their best to keep B-Komachi afloat for her - all that shit goes out the window at mach speed once she finds out Aqua is Gorou and she spends the majority of her screentime after that gushing over her oniichansensei and having her narrative recentered around her obsession with Gorou. Never mind how bizarrely she'd flanderized and dumbed down she is in relation to it all.

(Note in advance: shout out to this thread by KizzityKaito on Twitter that I stumbled on while I was chewing on this ask that helped me to articulate some of the stuff re: Kana that I was kind of struggling to put to words - I don't agree w/the whole thread but I think the Kana analysis here & 'reincarnation as child acting' is fascinating and really in line with what OnK seems to be going for.)

By contrast with Kana... this feels consistent to me! This feels like additive characterization building on top of and not contradicting what came before. I've seen people frothing and screaming about her talk vis-a-vis being an actress not being her 'dream' but like... that just kind of checked out to me?? Kana is an actress. If that's her 'dream', she's already achieved it, as she says. Everything else has been her fighting and clawing to hold onto it. That's what she means when she says she didn't have any dreams; for Kana, becoming a nationally recognize actress again isn't a dream because it's just a return to the status quo.

Not only that, but like... being an actress wasn't even necessarily Kana's dream in the first place! She herself outright says it - it was enforced onto her by her abusive mom so she could live vicariously through her.

That's not to say Kana hasn't found her own spark for acting and that she isn't deeply passionate about it in her own way. But again, this is something Kana already has. A 'dream' is something you want to achieve - it's something you, well, dream about. And if you read between the lines, Kana's dream has never really been about acting.

It's about love. It's about Kana feeling secure in her relationships with the people she loves.

I think a lot of people are taking Kana's words in 151 entirely at face value and just... totally failing to read the subtext because they've been ignoring her all this time and now her arc is actually coming to a climax they don't know what the conclusion is building off of lol. Kana's 'dream' right now is something pitifully simple - to have the boy she loves not even return her feelings necessarily, but just to say that in his eyes, she shines brighter than anyone else.

[cefonteyn]

European History and Sensibilities in 1899 season 1

Please forgive the length of this post -- I know I'm rambling, but I am so taken by the depth and brilliance of this show. For context, I'm an Indian immigrant to the United States, who studied American and European history and literature in the U.S. As you might imagine, I have many, many thoughts about 19th century European history and ideologies evident in 1899.

One of the really fascinating things to me about 1899 is how European it is -- obviously in terms of the nationalities of the actors and the characters, but also in terms of one of the show's leitmotifs: you cannot run from your station in life.

There were populist revolutions across Europe in 1848. They broadly failed, and the monarchs won. So in 1899, Europe was still a land of kaisers and czars (both words that come from Caesar, immediately locating 19th century Europe within a two-thousand year history of inherited status).

This is in direct opposition to the American myth, right? The idea that you can come from nothing and become the king of the world. That's a story Americans love to tell and hear, and when we Americans talk about European immigration in the 19th century, that's the way we tell the story. "All men are created equal," we say. This is where you're supposed to come if you're the "poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free." New York, specifically, is where Lady Liberty holds her lamp beside the golden door. (Lady Liberty is European, of course -- but she is French. France had a successful republican revolution in 1791, relapsed with a series of emperors, but by 1899 was a republic again.)

That's why the Kerberos is bound for New York, and not Buenos Aires or Sydney or Bombay. The American myth calls to all our friends on the Kerberos. The show begins with an American poet's words. Olek repeatedly looks at an image of the Statue of Liberty. Virginia explicitly says, "Everyone is running from something." They all hope to escape their pasts and begin anew in America, specifically, because of America's foundational mythos. Maura hopes to become a woman doctor. Tove hopes to lead a normal life with her baby and siblings. Iben hopes to establish a church rather than toiling in the fields.

But they never make it to New York. They've tried "dozens of times," Daniel tells Maura, but the ship never reaches its destination. Because New York isn't real. These European have no hope, ever, of successfully becoming the masks they wear. Angel says exactly this to Ramiro: "You cannot change the nature of things." Later on, it seems that he has had a change of heart, but his realization comes too late, and he's never able to act on his epiphany and become a better person.

Consider the stories of Ling Yi, Lucien, and Franz.

In the British colony of Hong Kong, Ling Yi tries to steal her way into a better life. The results are disastrous: she loses her best friend. Later, she loses her mother. Even though she acknowledges to her mother that she's not entitled to have dreams, she begins a dreamy relationship with Olek -- and then loses the boy she loves. By the end, she's lost everyone she cares about. There is nothing left of the better life she tried to steal from Mei Mei. The ship isn't real. The ocean isn't real. Even her beautiful stolen kimono is gone. The only familiar presence left in her life, the only person with whom she can communicate, is her pimp.

Like Ling Yi, Lucien tried to steal an identity. He returned to Paris from French Algeria trying to live out a dead man's life, and learned that the universe would not allow it. He accepts his death as soon as Eyk announces that he's heading for the Prometheus, and later tells Clemence, "I didn't get what I wanted. I got what I deserved." He understands his fate as almost a karmic balance. He stole a dead man's life, and now he has to die, too.

And then there's Franz. He's the "American" on board, in the sense that he does what a prototypical American would appreciate. He's clearly of a lower-class background and builds solidarity with the working class. He attempts to democratize the ship by empowering the underclass -- giving them arms. And when he feels that the ship's leader is not doing a good job, he seizes power to redirect the ship to its original course. It could almost be in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, which starts by justifying the American Revolution. His actions are so very American that he could almost be heroic.

Of course, the name Franz is related to France. France gave critical support to America in its revolution. Then, as I said above, it had its own bloody revolution and deposed its king. By 1899, France was a republic. So maybe it's more accurate to say that Franz is the French revolutionary, not the American.

But either way, in 1899, he's not a hero. His coup fails. Nobody shows him any respect at all, from haughty first mate Sebastian, to dignified first-class passenger Maura, right down to humble stoker Olek. The crew that was initially on his side turns against him (before he's deactivated, Wilhelm admits that Eyk had been right all along). Even the third-class passengers Franz empowered lose respect for him by the end, when he can't explain the mysterious Calling.

So, in the second half of the show, Franz returns to his proper place: under Eyk's command. (Just like France returned to imperial rule under Napoleon, even after its revolution.) Eyk is above deck, seeking philosophical enlightenment, exploring the nature of the mystery with Maura. And Franz is lower than ever, in the lowest part of the ship, performing manual labor: shoveling coal. When the storm hits, he doesn't even know until someone comes down to tell him.

In contrast, consider Olek. He never, ever subverts his station in life. Even when he's frustrated by Eyk, he does everything the captain requests. He treats everyone with deference, not even meeting their eyes, because he understands that he's lowest ranked. Even the relationships he forges -- the friendship with stowaway Jerome and relationship with prostitute Ling Yi -- are with people in his own class/rank.

Notably, Olek is Polish. In 1899, Poland hadn't existed for over 100 years; it had been divided between the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarians, and Prussia (later the German Empire). Olek is literally nobody, from no land.

And for knowing his place in life, he is rewarded by the universe: he ends up acting in stead of the captain, steering the ship. (Brilliantly, Olek's name comes from Alexander, as in Alexander the Great. It may not be immediately apparent to people who dismiss him as a "Polack," but Olek has rich history and leadership in his name.)

And finally, there's Eyk himself. His old-fashioned name also means "ruler," from the word for oak trees under which village heads issued their rulings. And he is the definite ruler of the ship. He is imperious and stern to start, and Maura immediately recognizes from the way that he carries himself that he is the ship's captain. He knows Morse code, and how to read naval maps, and the depth of the sea. He also knows how to read his crew and order them around.

Eyk exhibits a magnetic charisma, which works on everyone. Jerome and Ramiro, who would rather have kept their heads down and stayed out of the spotlight, end up risking their lives for him. Sebastian apologizes to him before deactivating him. Even Daniel -- for whom Eyk is a romantic rival -- helps Eyk, agrees with him publicly, and eventually just moves him elsewhere rather than deactivating him.

But as events get stranger, Eyk's behavior becomes erratic. He drinks heavily on the job. He treats officers, crew, and passengers poorly. He makes an imperious decision against the wishes of every single person on board. George III lost America for the same thing. Julius Caesar died for that, and so did Louis XVI.

But the mutiny against Eyk fails. Tove, who points a rifle at Eyk and informs him that they're turning the ship around, is also the first person to defect from the mutineers. She says to him, "Du bist der Kapitan." After the Calling, everyone again acknowledges Eyk as the captain. When the crisis of the storm begins, it's Eyk they seek first, before turning to Sebastian and Franz.

The show presents this as the correct order of things. Eyk is sympathetic, intelligent, and noble, in every sense of the word. We, the audience, love him for it. Even when we sympathize with Franz, we never agree with him and turn against Eyk.

So, the first season reifies the 1899 European idea that one ought to act in accordance with one's class status. Escaping one's station in life is impossible, and attempting to do so always leads to disaster.

(Here I would be remiss not to mention the relationship to Hinduism and Buddhism. The idea that everyone's life circumstances are a reflection of their actions in their past lives, and therefore should not be avoided or changed? That's Hinduism. The idea that the universe is an illusion? It's called maya, and it's in Hinduism and Buddhism. The idea that attachment to the illusory things of maya necessarily brings suffering, that suffering distracts you from your true self as part of atman and your goal of achieving moksha -- of being blown out of existence like a candle (nirvana) -- of achieving liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth: all of this is in Hinduism and Buddhism. It's exactly what Daniel tries to tell Maura.

Europeans in the 19th century were familiar with these concepts. Knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism was quite fashionable not only in Britain, but across the continent, and it remained so into the 20th century. See, e.g., Hermann Hesse's 1927 German novel Siddhartha about the Buddha, or this Polish translation of the Sanskrit Ramayana from 1937.)

Of course, European history didn't end in 1899. Major shifts were on the horizon; a century of war was about to begin, reshaping Europe's map several times. European nations bit into one another, sometimes spitting each other out, sometimes swallowing each other whole.

The British empire continued to lose its global power. World War I ended Eyk's German Empire and established the Weimar Republic, setting the stage for the Third Reich. The 1917 Revolution ended Imperial Russia and established the Soviet Union. The Treaty of Paris reestablished Olek's Poland. Civil war raged in Angel's Spain. World War II began in 1937 on the Sino-Japanese front, and Ling Yi's Hong Kong was occupied by Japan. Olek's Poland was occupied by Germany, as was Clemence, Lucien, and Jerome's France.

And then the Cold War raged. Europe was split in two. America became a superpower and spread its sensibilities across war-ravaged Western Europe, while the Soviet Union did the same in the East. Eyk's Germany was itself split.

Until, finally, came the mostly peaceful Revolutions of 1989 (the same numerals as 1899!), fulfilling the populist promise of the 1848 revolutions. Round Table Talks -- beginning in Olek's Poland -- spread capitalist democracy across Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall came down later the same year in Eyk's Germany.

(Jantje and Bo are German, too, of course. Their age and vantage point in Central Europe means they have a wonderful perspective on late 20th century European history.)

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, leaving America as the sole world power. Obviously, Europe is not America. To this day, America is a very libertarian country, ruled by a worship of individualism and the belief that riches and success are only a reinvention away. European countries are not ruled by this same fundamental ideology.

But in the 20th century, we Americans exported (read: forced) some of ourselves across the world, including in Europe, very often in evil ways. A lot of it was horrible and self-interested. We ruined lives. We ruined generations. We ruined entire nations.

But not all of it was bad. (Black Americans invented jazz and rock and roll, after all, and it's the latter genre that plays at the end of every episode.) And one of the things we exported was our foundational myth -- our belief -- now widely accepted in many parts of the world, including modern Europe: that it is inherently right and correct that people should chart their own destinies rather than being forced into roles determined at birth.

(Not to suggest that self-determination is uniquely American. Other cultures have this belief indigenously, of course! I only mean that we exported our own version.)

At the end of the first season, we see the same people that we've gotten to know, but in a new historical context. They no longer believe that they are in 1899; now it seems they're in 2099. They're not exactly in America, but they are in the territory that America claimed to have won spiritually in 1969, in its space race with the Soviet Union. (Of course, we now acknowledge space as a place for all humans, not for any race or nationality. That kind of unity is reflected in post-WWII organizations like the United Nations...and the European Union.)

And so I wonder if the same leitmotif will play in the next step of these characters' journey, or if the next season will reflect Europe's 20th century: changing social roles. Democratization. Mass murder and genocide. Waning empires and anti-immigration sentiments. Homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and gender equality and increased LGBTQ+ rights. Socialism and austerity.

I really hope the next season embraces the next chapter in Europe's history. If so, it promises to be a very interesting season, marked with sharp internal and external conflicts and contradictions. Because, to borrow a phrase from the American poet Walt Whitman, Europe is large, it contains multitudes.

[tobiasdrake]

Nearing the end of the first game. Let's see. Who haven't I talked about?

I guess now's a good time to talk about Mukuro Ikusaba.

Mukuro Ikusaba. The 16th student, lying hidden somewhere in this school. The one they call the Ultimate Despair. Watch out for her.

Despite how little time we got with her, Mukuro was my favorite character in Danganronpa 1. She's the character I was actually vibing with when I thought I was vibing with Junko. And I still adore Junko in that "She's great and awesome and hilarious, I hope they beat her to death with bricks," sort of way. Very good villain, top marks.

But I also still adore Mukuro too. Mukuro has a wealth of personality and conflict and story tied up in that itsy-bitsy span of time we actually get to spend with her. Every character has some kind of hidden depths that come out as you talk to them, and Mukuro's blew me away.

When I think of Mukuro, I think of this:

"Dreams are meant to change as you grow up, right? Depending on where you're at—kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school... But I've had the same dream since I was a little kid, and I've been rushing toward it ever since. So I've never really had to think all that hard about my dreams.

But if it doesn't change, your possibilities can't grow, right? That's how new opportunities are born. And up until now, I never did that. I never let my dreams grow. All I saw was that one dream. I put everything I had into that one narrow little world. I feel like there's so much more I could be doing that I'm not, and I don't like that feeling. So I think I'm going to start looking for it.

Is it childish of me to think like that? Am I just being a baby?"

This, I'm tapping my finger, THIS is Mukuro Ikusaba. The 16th student lying hidden-- This is who she is in her heart of hearts, laid bare and exposed. She's talking in vagueries to avoid revealing herself, but she's very clearly talking about Ultimate Despair and expressing her feelings on the plan that she and her sister are carrying out.

She's standing here in Junko guise, in the middle of the Killing Game, wondering aloud if this is all kinda stupid and maybe she could be doing something better with her life. She and Junko planned this for years and now that it's here, she feels unsatisfied. Stagnant.

This turmoil boiling inside of Mukuro is the most fascinating piece of background information we ever get about any character through Free-Time Events. It's a genuine tragedy that Junko gets her before she can fully process it, strangling what could have been the most complex and interesting character dynamic in its crib.

And it's a further tragedy what future entries into the Danganronpa series did to this character, ripping out every last interesting thing about her and reducing her Junko's weird twincest pet. Gross.

Except you, Danganronpa IF. You're pretty cool.

[aetherceuse]

Let's talk about Lusamine's affinity for parasitic life forms.

My biggest gripe with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was the butchering of Lusamine's character; they removed so many story beats that were crucial to her, that it really dulled her down as an antagonist. I always felt that the Necrozma plot was awkwardly shoved into the game, and Lusamine's character assassination was the result.

HOWEVER.

I have been looking at it through a difference lens since Pokémon Masters EX released Lusamine's sync pair with Dusk Mane Necrozma.

The fact that Lusamine has bonded with not one, but TWO parasitic entities, is really interesting to me, because it is full of so much symbolism.

The plot with Nihilego, of course, has had many different interpretations; the "motherly love" interpretation is one that I stray away from in my blog canon. Lusamine's fixation on Nihilego, and her bond with it, is a result of fascination turning into delusion and madness. Her obsession with it's lack of emotion and efficient existence through a hive mind system led her to want to emulate that behavior. Of course, we all know what eventually happens, regardless of whether it is a canon or headcanon based interpretation: Lusamine is accepted by Nihilego, consumed, and becomes a host to it. And because she was a host, she lost autonomy and was driven insane by the neurotoxin.

That's a great story and all, and one that I am constantly trying to work out and restructure in the background for my own canon-- but now I am also looking at the Dusk Mane Necrozma implications.

Lusamine and Necrozma have a lot of shared themes and symbolism: being a source of light while simultaneously burning those around them, hungering for more power, living in a world that they were not born in, and being fractured. I do believe that Lusamine seeking to quell Necrozma in USUM had something to do with her being aware of these similarities, and deluding herself into believing that she was the only one capable of quelling this quasi-deity.

Only, she was NOT deluding herself, she was CORRECT.

Lusamine was capable of syncing with Necrozma and commanding it, but ONLY while it was ALREADY in possession of a host; Dusk Mane Necrozma is simply piloting the body of a Solgaleo, meaning, it is easier to be contained while it is feeding. And I think Lusamine knew what she was doing. She knew that she was compatible with this monster, but knew that it was parasitic in nature. THAT is the major difference between her dynamic with Nihilego, and the one with Necrozma: she is destroyed by UB-01 because it was a host-parasite relationship, instead of a balanced partnership like syncing. She did not allow Necrozma to control her.

That being said, there's still a lot of sad implications here: Lusamine syncing with a Pokémon that is using Solgaleo, a monster that her daughter was bonded to, is full of so much upsetting symbolism. She herself is a parasite, smothering Lillie's joy and other connections. There's no better representation of Lusamine and Lillie's toxic mother and daughter relationship than Dusk Mane Necrozma-- a form that gained its name because it represents the death of the sun before being overtaken by the night sky.

ALSO, the fact that Lusamine's dialogue lines in PokeMas suggesting that she views herself as a "guiding light," despite being paired up with the consumer of light, is another indication that she TRULY believes that she is some sort of superior entity and "savior," while channeling Necrozma's desire to "be full of light" and whole again. They really are parallels of each other. She is more in line with Necrozma's themes, than Nihilego's. That is why she stands at the side of Necrozma, and is doomed to be a servant of Nihilego.

All of them are parasites and all of them are connected, and it's not great.

What I'm currently thinking, is that the Nihilego plot AND the Necrozma plot can both exist at once-- Lusamine would not have the knowledge to sync with Dusk Mane Necrozma WITHOUT realizing that physically fusing with Nihilego did not work out.

We'll see how this develops in future plotting.

[decretum565]

Gundam Witch Season 1: Thoughts Upon Rewatching

So I have just completed my rewatch of the first season of The Witch From Mercury. It’s a show of many talents, certainly, for better or worse, but I am still overall enjoying myself on the second time through. Without further ado, here are what I liked and what I didn’t!

THE GOOD

—Starting off, Suletta remains a great protagonist. From the get-go, she’s an anxious delight with a steel spine, and I love that about her. Her story of desperately trying to reconcile those two aspects of herself is deeply compelling, and I also love just how snarky she can be on occasion. Love her!

—Miorine can be a bit harder to appreciate, but I still continued to like her on this rewatch. She’s very flawed, of course, but those flaws are ultimately sourced from the environment she grew up in. She’s great to analyze, and, like Suletta, is quite compelling.

—Their relationship is also really interesting to watch. There’s a lot of rough spots along the way, but it’s genuinely nice to see a canon lesbian relationship that feels authentic in this manner.

—I love Earth House. All of them. They’re so fun to watch, and I’d totally watch a show with only them.

—The production values are really pretty! The CGI does stick out a bit, but I didn’t notice that on my first viewing, so it’s not too egregious. The backgrounds are lush, the lighting is beautiful, and the character designs feel nice and distinct.

—The soundtrack is amazing. Both the orchestral score, and the OP and ED are fantastic. They really fit the show. The voice acting is also excellent.

—The stakes of the season finale are really well-handled, and the atmosphere the writers went for complemented that perfectly.

—The show’s super engaging!

—I find Guel’s arc fascinating. The second season fumbles it slightly iirc, but it’s both (initially) satisfying to see him taken down a peg, and horrific considering the amount of trauma the poor guy goes through.

—The Trial Scene is the best thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

—Other good scenes: Prospera calling Miorine out on her privilege, Suletta’s anxious breakdown in the bathroom, the entirety of Episode 8, the Grassley fight, and any Earth House scene.

—I think the fact that the school is meant for Wealthy Business Kids does a good job sliding past some of the more illogical parts of the concept.

—Sophie, Norea, and Secelia (plus Rouji) are also great. Couldn’t find a good place to put them in here, so might as well show my appreciation at the end of the good list, haha.

THE BAD

—The Utena homage doesn’t work for me as well this time. It worked in that show because the environment itself felt largely closed off from adults. Here, it comes off as more strange than anything just how powerful the Dueling Committee is. Am I supposed to believe that the teachers just do NOTHING? The entire time? Come on. Besides, we only see class like three times. If you’re gonna go with a school setting, you might as well do something with it.

—Prospera is . . . I don’t know. I like the way she’s set up in the Prologue, but after that the show feels like it’s spinning its wheels whenever she comes on screen.

—WHAT. IS. THE. TONE. Seriously Okouchi what are you going for here.

—There’s more glaring moments of writing than I remember. Episode 3 has Shaddiq talking to Sarius while researching Prospera, where he points out that the mining accident listed in her ID is likely the reason for her prosthetics. But she had previously explained this in Episode 2’s trial scene, where BOTH Sarius and Shaddiq were in attendance. Did the writers forget or something?

—There’s too many characters. I get that Shaddiq’s not-harem is supposed to be an IBO homage, but this show’s lesser episode count does not do them any favors.

—I don’t like how Suletta and Miorine’s reconciliation involves the latter hitting her. I just don’t.

—I don’t give a shit about Elan Ceres. #4’s literally Bargain-Bin Rei Ayanami, except Rei was actually interesting. The real one is fine, I guess, but he’s also pretty underutilized. And #5’s just plain creepy.

—What was up with that scene in Episode 1 where Vim tried to assassinate Delling? I suppose it was meant to be foreshadowing, but the scene feels so erratic compared to everything else in the pilot.

—Shaddiq is . . . Ugh. His initial interactions with Miorine are okay, but I don’t find him all that compelling. Also, I find it pretty “yikes” that the show decided that a (heavily implied) Middle Eastern character was going to be a prominent terrorist.

—Oh my god the pacing with Lauda is even worse than I remember.

—Episode 7 has some good moments, but the one scene with the Peil House ladies interrogating Suletta is so painful to watch. As is Miorine begging her father to give her money, which is in the same episode that Prospera calls out her financial privilege.

—Some of the direction feels off. It kept being framed in Episode 11 that Sophie and Norea were in the opposite Gundam. There was another moment that felt off to me but I can’t even remember it at this point.

—Just hearing the name “Quiet Zero” makes me tense up. I am not ready for Season 2’s pacing problems.

And . . . That’s about it! All in all, I’m enjoying the show, but watching Iron-Blooded Orphans has really highlighted the problems that Gundam Witch runs into. I might do a write up for Season 2 as well, but tbh that would depend on me actually knowing what was going on in the last two episodes. I do want to write a rant about how much Lauda sucks tho so who knows at this point.

[trainerlynda]

Intro

Hello, I guess I should tell you about myself?

I'm Lynda! I'm 35 years old and bigender, going by she/her he/him.

Born the 31st of January.

I research legendary pokemon in my off time, chasing legends and rumors about new ones. I find them very fascinating!

//Current Arc: none at the moment!

//Finished Arc: Fool's Faller

My main team is

Espeon (He/Him).

Raichu (She/Her).

Charizard (pretty sure he's a clone 'zard...) (He/Him).

Sceptile (He/Him).

Greninja (He/They. Demi boy).

Hydreigon (She/Her)!

As for my champ team? You'll need to challenge me to find out~

I also have a Giratina named Oblivion (He/They/It).

I like calling him Blivie. I don't really use him in battle or keep him in his ball, but I can call on him when I need to. He has his own account! @oblivionthegiratina.

I'm married to @silveredfeathers, so no funny business, got it? Really not into flirty banter unless you're him... or @timetravelerpyrite, recently a boyfriend.

I guess I should put this here now since its out now...

The link above will tell you what I am.

Sometimes members of my team will steal my phone so-

⚡: Sparky (She also likes using Yellow for her text.)

🐱: Espie (He likes using Purple for his text (He doesn't like pink))

🦎: Riptor (He likes using Green for his text.

//Mini events that have happened/are happening.

//Shadow Creatures (A mini takeover event)

//Extra info under the cut.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

//Ooc. This is a sideblog! Unreality. Mod is an adult and goes by the same pronouns. All art I use is my own! I follow from @theshadowqueenofthedistortion ... Here's some of my other accounts as well!

//Link to her trainer card!

//Semi-Serious blog, I will participate in active silliness and also write serious stuff. Will sometimes touch on death, abuse and a few other things, I will tag the serious stuff with their appropriate tw/cw tags.

//No magic anons, Lyn has been through enough and I personally don't like them.

//I will not ship with anyone who isn't my BF (and myself, but that's a note for later), just for my comfort. Lyn's universe is a mix of pokemon and abunch of other things, if she goes to hang out with someone he'll likely go there with a portal.

//I am very open to crossover stuff! My character in herself is rather crossovery and his universe has dimensional travel, her world is separate from others and Giratina like screwing around with that (Palkia? Whos that? /j)

//Pokemon in his universe have human levels of sentience, however she is aware of places that have Pokemon that aren't sentient, so he won't find that odd.

//Real life animals exist along side Pokemon in her universe, like divergent evolution (not the pokemon thing, the science thing)

//I don't bite! (But my character might-)

//What the tags mean.

//Shadow Mod Speaks: Mod speaking.

Random Lynda Rambles: Lynda just saying random things, non serious tag, silliness encouraged.

//It is now Lyn Chats.

Lore Crumbs: Me sprinkling little tasty crumbs as a treat (Lynda info).

//Not used much anymore

//Mod Reference: Me and/or Zorana making references for Lyn and/or Silver.

//Shadow Art: Art by me that isn't a ref/finished.

Shifting Explorer: Closed and/or serious RP. I will also use this tag when responding seriously to something.

Espie the Espeon: For ease of finding Espie's posts.

Sparky the Dancing Rai: For ease of finding Sparky's posts.

Riptor the Great Gecko: For ease of finding Riptor's posts.

Oblivion the Distorted: For ease of finding Oblivion's posts.

Icy Apathy (Daniel): Daniel posts

Whirlpool Emotions (Jade): Jade Posts

Shocking Chaos (Crackle): Crackle Posts

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

//To do: Make a important pokemon list, make a general info background thing for Lyn (like those wiki pages for celebrities), make a public ref sheet for Lyn and her Pokemon (4/7 done), write out a public history thing for Lynda and @silveredfeathers (With help from Zorana (Silver's mod), again like those dumb wikis), get the courage to talk to other people (ongoing) /lh

[theshenanijiang]

ZZS really just said: I'll confess first, since it's so hard. And then gently punch tapped WKX said: You, the one that I know. And then walked off like it was no big deal. Good job keeping it casual!

Gu Xiang does not know what to do with this boy (Cao Weining). He makes her like him. He is considerate and sweet and a bit silly. What is that saying that WKX told Chengling? Oh yeah, "Tough women like clingy men." BAHAHAHAHA

My guy Rong Xuan really said: Lets all learn each other's secrets and then proceeded to steal a bunch of the sect secrets. Fascinating.

Awww. ZZS is so proud of his little dumpling. ZZS just put it out there he thinks life is the most important thing and WKX looked startled. That is some good advice right there. Let them scramble for the thing. We don't have to be involved. I like you and you aren't greedy and I am going to teach you, so you listen to my advice.

Meanwhile WKX in the background: Why do I get the feeling ZZS is saying this to me... can I let go? Can I be done with this? Should I listen to his advice?

Gu Xiang I hope you don't have to fight your way out of this mess. Are you sure that Xioalian didn't throw you under the bus on purpose? Was it ignorance or spite?

Oooooohhhhhhhhhhh Cao Weining.

WKX is like: I get a HUG?!

Chengling really be healing these two grown ass men by being son shaped.

"You're like a mother who sent her son away." ZZS is daddy, WKX is mommy?

That Yueyang disciple" CWN you sly dog!" ROFLMAO

That is one of the most beautiful things I have heard a character say as reassurance. "A bad guy can be forgiven if he puts down the sword, so why should a good guy be sent to hell for doing something bad once."

WKX's heirarchy of needs:

Chengling is so brave!

WKX and ZZS talking about their childhoods and then "Lets go make a big mess of the Scorpion King's nest, like the troublemakers we are!" 🤣

Xiaolian, what are you doing? I'm with you on this one Gu Xiang. Also, that is the correct reaction to the news that Chengling has been accepted as ZZS' disciple. Gu Xiang cannot handle boys being nice to her. LOL I dunno Gu Xiang, why did you think of Cao Weining?

ZZS watching Gu Xiang and WKX interact and then Cao Weining come in: Aahhhh so that is why she doesn't want to leave. Ah, young love.

ZZS really went: WKX there is no reason to be jealous, I just wanna hang out with you, boo. Buut our girl should settle down with the guy she seems to like...

Cao Weining is so excited that they might think he is trustworthy!

[dirtyoldmanhole]

guilty pleasure ramble about how i'd slot my self insert + zihark into fates since it feels inevitable after tellius/fe13(<where it got started)/feh

ironically mostly tellius & fates magic nerding, no worries. worldbuilding!

this is going to be incomprehensible without context lol, so: long story short i've spent the past uh. 20 years plopping those two in various FE worlds.

while tellius was naturally where it started, the story really solidified with fe13's spotpass characters and me trying to retcon (a) how tf they're viewed to the other living characters (shades, ghosts?) and how they got there, and (b) the avatar-tactician being all but a necromancer nosferatsu tank raising ghosts from her past and how the hell chrom + co would actually find that creepy.

(i need to name her at least for talking publicly. let's uh - bright eyes was ironically a name that a lot of dark mages started calling her way later on once she started hunting them down in tellius proper (the OG world) and she kind of likes that power trip. so let's go with that.)

anyway - bright eyes' (tellius) backstory is that she almost died as a kid from a sickness while growing up in begnion and unintentionally became a spirit charmer when making a pact out of sheer desperation of 'i don't want to die'. (-so be it, said the spirit).

so she gets regeneration and stunted aging at the cost of health.

a lot of the resulting tension of the story comes from playing with the dark sides of regeneration - not being able to die but still feeling pain, how can it be twisted into an advantage, etc. (if you've read the manga ajin, i loved how it really knuckled into the body horror and psychological horror of simple regeneration alone and how creatively it can be taken. are you yourself after being decapitated? if those two "parts" stay separate who *is* your true self? is the only way to stop somebody who can infinitely regenerate to cut them up in pieces and bury them alive? etc .... it gets dark yea)

anyway as time goes on, empress sanaki notices bright eyes during the mad king's war (being a simple mage that tags along with ike's army), and has her on retainer much like tormod investigating daein. (you can probably figure how things go when radiant dawn kicks off, and who she runs into again).

but while tormod's more there to investigate whether begnion's occupation is legit, bright eyes is there keeping tabs on dark mages and taking them out since she's gotten vastly better at combat.

since here's the thing - especially in tellius dark mages are much rarer/either begnion-sanctioned/branded/spirit charmers. there's a lot of fascinating social power dynamics i think are hinted in who gets sanctioned mage education and which kind of accepted mage training ... holy priests vs like, underground hedgewitches.

with the begnion empire and worship of ashera as monocultural? universal? as it is, i get the feeling that dark mages are seen as the "other evil" much like yune ("dark god" and all) - likewise, i am so fascinated by that one dark mage boss you get to see in p3 of radiant dawn. who'd he get trained by.

"dang bright eyes is a cop???" lol. yes, but rest assured that too is played with - when does it hit about hunting down kin, more similar than those who are your handlers? i love this kind of messy shit. consider it the ex-fundamentalist background of the author.

anyway, which! brings me to fates-verse.

nyx' whole eternal-youth-but-what-cost-curse-backstory instantly stood out to me as something similar (writing YRMR solidified my thoughts on how incredibly powerful and prestigious mages are in nohr compared to tellius; almost like minor nobles in their own regard) - but i also don't want to take that and copy it wholesale. that said bright eyes being nohrian feels patently obvious with the vampire background that nation has, lol; she'd always be the monster of the two.

zihark on the other hand feels easy; dead ringer for a hoshido mercenary - sort of like shura in he's willing to take on dirty jobs and crosses the borders into nohr unusually often for a hoshidan. almost frequently enough that a few folks mistake him for a nohrian at first (kind of like how no one in ike's army knew he was daein despite sothe himself also being daein).

but going back -

i kind of like the idea of bright eyes actually starting off in iago's mage guild; i want to explore how deeply fucked up nohrian's magic power dynamics are with the most emphasized bits of magic are mind wipes, faceless, sapping willpower, assassination via illusions ... simply controlling fire/ice feels positively tame in comparison.

anyway bright eyes basically trading health for regeneration as a way to survive in the mage's guild training feels remarkably on script there. all the baby mages trying to figure out how to "cheat" survival and the backstabbing until they graduate....

and well. can't kill a monster that just keeps coming back.

[pepperf]

3., 5., 7., 23. I just skimmed them or I would have asked all of them XD (I haven‘t checked yet which ones you sent me, so apologies if their the same XD)

3: What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Food! Cooking food, eating food, just generally thinking about it – I am a total foodie myself, so it's one of the things I always think about, when it comes to the characters. Do they enjoy food or is it fuel to them? Do they like fancy stuff or simple? Do they cook anything? What is their relationship to the food of their culture?

Also sleeping, I have a tendency to end chapters or fics with sleep, because…it's easy, honestly. XD So basically, comfort.

I also think I often tend to include something about home – if they have a home, if they don't, what it's like or what they would like it to be, if it's a place or a person or something else…like, what is their safe place, the place they go to retreat – and if they don't have one, how that feels. I mean, not quite as often as food, but that's also kind of a theme. I'm fascinated by people's relationships with the fundamental part of Maslow's hierarchy of needs – food/water, warmth, rest.

5: What do you wish someone would ask you about Meet Me In The Morning? Answer it now!

About the beginning of the last chapter, and Lila's dream, what it meant when she dreamed that someone over her shoulder (not Diego, and not Rincón) told her, "You've got it all wrong".

And lol, now I'm trying to remember what I meant by that, because it DID have a meaning…hang on…

Oh yes! So, the voice she hears is one of her parents, I'm actually not particular which one. It's reader's choice about whether it's actually a ghost, or if Lila is projecting what they would want to tell her because deep down she knows the answer. When she talked to Diego about visiting them, she remembered that they could in fact be ghosts following her around, and she worried that they would be judging her for all the terrible things she's done.

But she has that all wrong: if they were with her the whole time, they wouldn't just have seen the bad stuff, they would also have seen how she got there, what she endured. They would have seen her suffering—seen her taken away by the Handler at age 4, how she was raised, how she learned to survive, and how she fought her way out, and is trying to be a good person now—and they would have understood, because she was their little girl and they loved her.

So it's not a bad wrong, and it's supposed to be reassuring—but Lila being Lila, she's interpreting it as a criticism or a warning! But she'll get there, in time.

7: Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

I am really proud of the stuff I did for the little two-part series, We're Definitely Not Alone Now (Comin' Home Baby / Happy Together). I did a lot of thinking about how, if you scattered seeds randomly across the globe, where they might end up, and then I thought about the whole White Saviour trope and how I really, really didn't want Diego and Lila (who aren't white, but are from a privileged background) riding in to save a bunch of kids who are going to be a majority POC. And then I thought about the tradition of 'you have to do minimal damage to the timeline!' in scifi, and how, in fact, the Umbrellas tend to ignore that wholesale, and how Diego in particular is sentimental about his mom…and it just all fitted together into a neat little whole of 'hey they inherited this huge empty mansion and several billions, they could easily take the kids plus any family who wanted to come', because they don't want to be like Reggie! And they don't have to! They have the resources, and they don't give a flying fuck about the timeline, lol.

23: What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

Oh, so many! I would love to do a darkest timeline version of Diego and Lila (he's already got the goatee), or a silent movie era AU (they would both look AMAZING!), or a proper swashbuckling pirate AU… to name but a few.

Thank you!

questions here

[asexualbookbird]

okay I've chewed on it a bit! So here's a messy Not Review of An Unspoken Name!

I did not hate it! the end no okay some things i didnt like

-it felt disjointed

i was most jarred by the beginning of part two, when we meet new people and it takes a bit for anyone we know to how up. like i just started caring about Csorwe and Sethannai, and now? it's over? we get new people????

-related: the timeline felt Off

or maybe the pacing? I was thinking about it and one of my complaints about A Memory Called Empire was the timeline was pretty short! Manit gets a new job, has the worst week of her life, and goes home. Wild. Here it's more spread out and supposedly that should work better for me since I generally complain about short timelines but i dont know! Something felt off to me! Most notable was the first torture scene. I'm not going to sit here and say give me 50 pages of in depth torture because I'm not about that, but afterwards Csorwe mentioned injuries and im like where'd they come from?? from the general?? and yeah i figured it out but maybe a bit more detail on the torture?

also in that scene, beforehand shes in the tunnels and the next shes in the generals room and it felt like it was immediately after but i guess some time passed? maybe transitions is what im complaining about here.

-sethannai what are you doing lol

no seriously what. is his goal. the box, yeah, but is it really? maybe it's explored more in the second book but his reasons felt flat to me! i dont hate him as a character (deffo hate him as a person lololol) but id have liked to see more of him? he felt like a background character tbh

i didnt like this but also didnt not like it but

-Plot™️

okay. look. I know and understand and even enjoy that different plot structures exist. I recognise that the plot structure i am most familiar with and have come to expect from novels is a very euro centric structure and that there are more ways to tell a story. i really think this is a synopsis problem and a me problem rather than a book problem. I went in expecting a story About Csorwe, but I don't think she's the main character here! Shuthmili is the main character! And it's wild because we don't meet her until part two! And again, different plot structures different ways to tell stories i get it, and I think had I known that going it my feelings would be different (so a Me problem). The synopsis talks about Csorwe and Sethannai, so I expected it to be All About Them. Twas not.

Things I liked!!

-THE WORLD(S)

i find it so fascinating that this is basically scifi space travel but make it fantasy. I love the different worlds i love that it doesnt feel like scifi with aliens and space and starships. (nothing wrong with that obvi but it's not my preferred reading tbh!) i thought that was done very well and wonder if there are any other books that do that because i want it explored more (which is the only reason im considering book two).

-M A G I C

WHAT A SYSTEM!!!!!!!! Again, interested in Shuthmili and her god(s), in the....Quinqureat? listening to the aduio did me no favor (quincury). I want more of that. I want to know more about all this magic how its used how its cast how it hurts the user. And honestly put this in the Did Not Like section because gotdang give me more detailed fights please. Sword fights were pretty well done (though could have been more)(thats a me problem)(i could always use more sword fights)m but I felt the magic fights were lack luster. I want more of them. This system is so cool, and it was underused!

-The Main Three

Csorwe, Shuthmili, Tal. Awful disasters, I love them so. Tal grew on me, unfortunately. Csorwe needs a hug. Shuthmili needs to frolic. They were done well, they had good arcs (though i do think Shuthmili's mind was changed a little too fast. It takes more than a cute girl to undo a lifetime of brainwashing.)

other notes are I kind of wish there was more time in the manor, simply because the friend Csorwe met was really interesting and I wanted more of her than a line later that said oh yeah and she got all she wanted and lived happily ever after :) Oranna was a good antagonist, though again. Was there really a central antagonist? Different structures yeah I know.

Overall it was Fine! I didn't outright hate anything! I'm not mad I read it! The narrator was very pleasant, did wonderful voices (though I'm more neutral on Shuthmili's voice lol) Don't really care to read the sequel, but not opposed to it.

[dangermousie]

Ep 4

1. Carolina knowing her boyfriend saw her sucking face with someone but not knowing what she wants to do (or who she wants) or what she thinks about it or how to approach it and so instead ignoring his attempts to talk and acting like nothing happened and he’s crazy to bring it up is pretty on brand. She was a genuinely bad girlfriend if heroic and brave and I found it pretty fitting that she ended up with someone who was a bad boyfriend if heroic and brave himself.

And speaking of heroic - I do love that one or more of them keep trying to stop the runaway train of their investigation but something always interrupts that. In the latest attempt it’s Carolina, who insists on looking though even Marcos had enough. If I were a bitchier person (lie, I am plenty bitchy), I’d say that unlike a lot of the rest of them, she doesn’t have real troubles so she’s looking for them, but in addition to being bitchy, that’s not true - I think she’s just impulsive and single-minded AND sheltered so not genuinely getting the can of worms she’s opening, so hence her drive here.

We don’t know that much about Roque and Caye’s background (though Caye dies early on and Roque later brings up he has issues with his height and build and how he’s treated), but Marcos has lost his parents and has to bring up his sister, Victoria is poor and has to keep her scholarship in this snooty school as her one chance at a good future (one of the things I love btw is how Victoria’s lack of $$$ is never an issue for the rest of her friends - she’s in a group with the beautiful daughter of a famous actress and a kid whose dad half-owns the school and neither them nor anyone else bring up the social gulf ever, they are just friends). Ivan has been growing up in Abuse Central (the only way I am willing to buy he has any chance at normalcy after growing up with Noiret is because Noiret dumped him at the boarding schools for most of the year and that was a normal environment) and Julia was groomed and now sees ghosts. Carolina has a loving if scatterbrained mother, money, looks, friends etc. She really is the princess of the group. And like @theseasasleep​ I found it pretty narratively nifty that in the world of El Internado being a princess does not give you plot armor and that is not enough.

Another thing I found an interesting inversion is that Carolina is always self-absorbed on a basic level and bad at reading/caring about emotions of others - look how Vicki has to spell it out for her she is here on a stipend she can’t afford to play around and Caro’s reaction is “ok, whatever, moving on, let’s keep digging, why is she mad, oh who cares” and that’s her friend! She is not a bad person or anything, and that is a realistic level of self-absorption for a teen but it’s unusual the story lets her have it.

2. I watched Elsa complain that Hector always puts her last - after his causes and went OMG he and Marcos are def related!!! Because honestly, both are wonderful people, great siblings, heroic, with spine and ideals. But all of that makes them great causeheads and leaders, and terrible boyfriends.

3. I found the convo Maria and Hector had fascinating - when she said that her happiness is to love someone and look at them and tell them “I love you” and Hector went “but surely you want to be loved back?” her response floored me: “that is less important” and “if you want to receive, you first have to give” - if that doesn’t exemplify Maria’s whole character as a mother and as a person, I don’t know what does. (And now we know from whom Ivan inherited his capacity for loving.)

4. I forgot that the reason their investigation kept going at that point was because Carolina is hot and both Marcos and Ivan want her. Heh, the power of hormones! (Though looking the hair raising stunts she was up to early on makes me wonder how she lasted for seasons!) Also, as an older person (not just older than the characters but older than when I first saw this show), I just want to shake Ivan - if the girl cheated on you and didn’t even apologize - this is not a relationship worth holding on to unless you have five kids and a mortgage together. But of course, he’s got nothing else so there he is to help her with murder investigation and protect her (and I found it so funny that both dudes declared “we are gonna go into the well to do hard manual labor, you just get to stand here and look nice.” Ah, to be a pretty teen girl, heh.)

5. Oooof!!! Marcos shows up, not knowing Ivan is in the well and is all “I forgot nothing of what happened in the well” (i.e., smoochies) and you know what gets me? Carolina knows her boyfriend is in the well and can hear everything and she goes “me neither.” JESUS, I FORGOT WHAT A TRULY TERRIBLE GIRLFRIEND SHE WAS!!!!!

Ivan, stop self-injuring yourself - to inflict physical pain on yourself to distract from emotional pain is not a healthy coping mechanism, but also no matter how milk you guzzle, you are gonna break bones at some point! (A little touch - Marcos hears the noise and Caro tells him Ivan is in the well. Marcos is genuinely taken aback because he realizes that Ivan heard; does any of it bother Caro who knew from the start? Hell no.)

You know, of course Ivan forgives Caro over and over and clings to her (if I remember correctly, the reason this relationship ends is she finally calls it off) - due to his upbringing, not only does he cling to any hint of caring, he is an expert at forgiving the unforgivable. (I think that is why, later, his relationship with Julia is such a steep learning curve - a combo of someone who genuinely cares AND who won’t put up with shit is something utterly new for him.)

6. OK, boys, maybe forget Caro and make out? Too many danmeis have rotted my brain.

7. This scene! When Ivan comes in injured and the way Maria lights up at the chance to take care of him!!! The mother-son stuff in this show always hits me in the softest place in my heart. (Though what kind of a fancy boarding school does not have a nurse’s office? One that is pretty much a portal to hell, apparently.) I do love the way she shines and the way he is so utterly puzzled at why this random cleaning lady is so nice to him. It breaks something in his brain. When he asks her what he should do so she’d hate him, it sounds so lost. (And Maria, being Maria, saying “nothing.”) Also, the little bit where she says his mom would have freaked and his replying his mother is dead - ouch.

And then as he walks off he adds something like “my mother killed herself. That is how much she loved me” and I forgot that part of the backstory! No wonder Ivan’s issues have issues - for him the mom killed herself and left him with the monster dad. But what gets me is (1) even though he throws this piece of information like a weapon, that is something so personal and vulnerable and that kid with mile-wide shields shared this with her because subconsciously he knows it’s safe and (2) Maria’s little uncontrolled flinch - it’s one thing to have your child stolen and sold - that’s bad enough; but to know that he got stolen and sold into hell when all you wanted was to love him is - ooooh, poor Maria!

8. Marcos and Carolina were very pretty together. And I loved that just as with the well earlier, it only looked like Ivan leaving - he instead went to get his arm fixed and to bring the rest of the gang as backup.

9. Yeah, a video of someone murdering orphan children. Likely after experimenting. Just your normal boarding school. RUN BY NAZIS!!!!!

[astoriacolumnstaircase]

This is fascinating. I agree with you that Laudna tries to not be defined by her trauma, and that she tends to go for big swings, either not acknowledging it at all, or considering the risk of giving in entirely. I disagree that we haven’t really seen growth from her until now, because I’d argue that her asking if she should give in at all is a sign of the growth she’s had from her time with the hells.

She’s spent decades on the run (and now we know for sure that any low level cleric had a decent chance of turning undead on her any time she got comfortable, which really puts a finer point on why her being undead is so unusual in a world that includes like, dragon people and everyone is just fine with that), trying to make herself palatable, so to ask the rest of the group “hey what if I give into these horrific urges to consume people’s souls because it might give us an edge” that takes an enormous amount of trust that they won’t just decide she’s too dangerous to keep in the group and let FCG send her fleeing.

He wouldn’t, btw. There’s a very weird and complex dynamic between the robit and the dead girl where they’re like, dark mirrors of each other, but FCG played a big role in getting Laudna back from the dead and I don’t think they’d ever like, actively antagonize her for anything other than a bit that she’s in on.

But yeah I think you really nailed it with “How do you move on from a trauma that strips you from your future, physically alters you, and your abuser never leaves you?” because I feel like, maybe you never really do move on. It’s something she has to grow around. Like a tree that’s always going to be warped because of the boulder that shattered its trunk, but its roots were too strong to let it die. I think it’s a growth that’s actually kind of hard to see, because it happens so slowly, but that’s the beauty of a show like Critical Role; we get the time to see her evolve. And I don’t know if we’re ever going to get any of those big showy moments that we might have for other characters. But Laudna is my favorite character in the Bells Hells because of the way she always has this background conversation running with grief. And I like seeing it play out.

Now, I wanted to address something you said in your tags. And, please keep in mind that this is just my opinion, so I am hoping that my words won’t be touted as reason why Laudna fans or imodna shippers are the worst part of c3. You said:

And I had a really hard time gathering the gumption to even respond to your very good meta. I love meta, it’s the reason I got back on tumblr; I wanted to read what other people were thinking about these characters that I can’t get out of my head. I don’t write very much of it, because the way I engage with my thoughts about characters is through fanfic and little comics, and meta doesn’t really come naturally to me.

The reason I, a certifiable Laudna stan, haven’t posted about what her giving into Delilah means for her character, is because I have found most of the current meta that talks about her and Delilah also, somehow, involves Orym, even though Laudna is a grown woman with her own damn things going on. And, to be perfectly honest, I feel like a lot of the meta that I see that I’d really like to engage with has tags like this, and it puts me on the back foot. Like I have to dig myself out of the “imodna liker” hole before I can even say anything. Criticism for the things I haven’t said yet makes me worry that I’ll try and engage, and then get called out for another thing that I should have talked about but didn’t.

I like Laudna a whole lot. I am not frustrated with her character in the slightest. But I don’t ardently defend her on tumblr because I find that kind of back and forth to be really exhausting. I don’t want to be a public defender for my blorbo, I want to read really interesting thoughts like the ones that you have brought to me (thank you!) and I want to get excited and tell you my thoughts in turn! Because fandom isn’t my job. It’s what I do for fun.

sorry about the essay. And the weird format (I write in a different program because I can't really handle the one on tumblr)

Laudna, for most of this campaign, has desperately wanted to avoid being defined by her trauma. She doesn't always do that in the healthiest way, but she tries.

So for her to say, "What if I feed it? What if I give in? What if I risk it consuming me?," is a change for her.

Laudna only seems to be able to navigate her trauma in the extremes, either compartmentalizing and avoiding it, or letting it over take her. One could argue that actually feeling her anger and need for control is in fact healthier than avoiding it, but I don't believe Laudna sees it that way. Plus feeling extreme emotions and acting on those emotions in a time of distress (ie. Bor'dor) is very different from choosing to actively "feed Delilah." There's clearly a healthier middle ground here, but she can't see it. If Laudna chooses to go down this path, will she lose herself? Or in losing parts of herself to Delilah, will she finally see the woman that Imogen, Ashton, and the rest of the Bell's Hells see? Will she see that she is also deserving of a future as much as Imogen and her friends are?

As frustrating as Laudna's character growth has been for many of us, I still believe Laudna forces us to examine some difficult questions about trauma. How do you move on from a trauma that strips you from your future, physically alters you, and your abuser never leaves you? What would healing and growth look like for that person? Can you get strength by tapping into that anger and grief at times?

Laudna's self-imposed limitations on her own future can make her feel very stagnant as a character. But the fact that she's discussing this with her friends suggests things are changing for her, for better or worse, and I think it's worth discussing (if it interests you of course). More importantly, it's worth discussing on its own merits outside of the context of what this means for Orym and Orym's choices, or any other member of the Bell's Hells. If folks want to defend Laudna when another PC wonders if Delilah can help, we should be willing to talk about what it might mean for Laudna when she says it herself.

[pottergerms]

Hi, I saw your post about "mourning" the HP series. I feel like lots of fans feel the same way, and I'm very sorry. But I see also a bright side over all the JK Rowling controversy. I'm a trans woman, I'm a writer (somewhat) and HP was one of the books I'd read when young that inspired me to be a writer. Yes, I am angry and hurt by JK and her transphobic ideas, but I don't mourn HP because I don't think HP belongs to Rowling ever since the moment she decided to publish it. Yes, I'm aware of the huge forture she earns and will continue to earn from it, yet I believe that "publishing" means "take to the public/to the people". We are the public.

Karl Marx said something (I won't remember where) that "once an idea is spoken out loud it doesn't belong to the one who said it anymore". Of course he was talking about the political movements that his ideas inspired in Russia, But I think he was right. About any and every idea.

People saying to "leave the fandom", or "read other books", are very simplistic. I went to Malaga and visited the Pablo Picasso Institution fully knowing Pablo Picasso was a sexist pig and a women abuser - and okay, maybe I wouldn't have done if he was alive and profiting from it - but what I mean is: I did not feel conflicted about enjoying his paintings, because for me it was more important to me how ~I~ felt about them, than what they were supposed to mean by the painter. I do the same about HP now.

I ask everyone: don't leave. No, The Harry Potter fandom always been an expert on not giving two shits about JK. Fanfiction has always been an act of freedom and rebellion. Why are people feeling less inclined to write / read fanfics now that JK is openly a bitch? It should be the other way around, no?

Write as many HP characters as possible as trans! Make it be the answer to the bigotry coming from the author mentioned in the disclamer!

When I was young, I always related to Draco Malfoy and I was ashamed to say he was my favourite character. But I couldn't help it. I also did go to a private school, I also felt like I need to be the best to impress my parents, I was a meanie, I was closeted (I always read Draco as a closeted gay kid) and I also came from a somewhat rich background. And my mother also spoke french.

I used to read lots of mpreg Drarry fanfics, mostly the ones with pregnant Draco. I didn't know yet why that concept of a man getting pregnant, the gender-swap and the (sometimes awful) feminization of my favourite character, fascinated me. Years later... Ta-da! I'm trans.

I am still very much in love with this fandom. And now, I have the pleasure to watch it's creator die of hatred for what she has created, because somehow, in a way, it created me.

I am speechless by this. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing all of that 🥺

I don’t have much to add because your experiences are yours 💛 but I want to share that I’ve also related to Draco for this reason… and being out as bisexual really did change my life. I would not have done it without this fandom, and without fanfiction especially.

JKR is the fucking worst, but I agree that we took Harry Potter from her a long time ago, even before her Twitter account. We always knew she wasn’t good enough to own its canon.

[asweetprologue]

Nili’s Benchmark Geraskier Fic Rec List

hey yall! I officially hit 750 followers (a few days ago, I blew past the benchmark without even realizing!), which is... insane. I truly can’t believe that so many people over the last year have enjoyed my presence in this fandom enough to continue to follow my work. you guys are so great and I love you all so much, so I decided to put together a gift for you!

this is a list of my favorite geraskier fics from the fandom, which I have been putting together over the last year or so. a few of these are big in the fandom, but a lot of them are smaller pieces that I feel deserve more attention! I have provided ao3 and tumblr links where I could find them, as well as ratings and summaries. Most of these are canon!verse because I’m not personally a big fan of modern au’s, but there will be a few of those scattered throughout as well. I’ve divided the fics into two sections: oneshots and multichapter. See the list below the cut!

Being in this fandom truly has gotten me through the pandemic in a big way and I have made so many good friends while here. thank you all for validating my weird obsession with these characters and enabling me in these trying times <3

Oneshots

all that was good, all that was fair (all that was me is gone) | M | 7517 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions Of Violence | @xdandelionxbloomx

Somewhere, deep in a forest, a man drags himself from his grave by sheer power of will. He lies gasping on the forest floor and does not know who or what he is. The world is wide and wonderful, though, and there is so much to see.

Or, Jaskier is so stubborn that he literally comes back from the dead.

Another fascinating addition to the mythology of the Witcher. Jaskier’s slow rediscovery of himself is so well done here. One I’ve come back to again and again. 

As Fast As Love Can Go | T | 9628 | @bygodstillam

There are Faeries in the Wood.

That's what everyone said, at least, not that there was any solid proof. Jaskier had tried, more than once, to find some. Just a hint somewhere, of a real story, of real magic. But all anyone seemed to have was stories.

Jaskier was determined to find proof. He wasn't expecting to find a witcher in the process.

Fascinating fic with some really interesting worldbuilding, and a fresh new take on True Love’s Kiss. Also with some great art by @hehearse!

beautiful, he stirs up still things | T | 2575 | @alittlebitmaybe

“You’re not asking me to dance,” says Geralt.

Jaskier turns his palm up on his knee, offering it. “I think you’ll find I am.”

Just them dancing. This is a lovely sort of pre-relationship dynamic. So soft.

Dialogue Prompt | NR | 2932 | @reinvent-and-believe

Dialogue Prompt 48: “You make me want things I can’t have.” Wordless I-love-you 50: buying them a special treat when you go out shopping

Geralt gets Jaskier a gift, which prompts some confessions.

Even a small love | E | 22,272 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con 

“Well,” Jaskier replies distractedly. “Lots of things want to strangle you.”

“You don’t.”

It isn’t a particularly troublesome accusation, or even necessarily an accusation at all.

This is one I read early on in the fandom, and it really stuck with me. The dynamic between Jaskier and Geralt is perfect, and the misunderstandings between them feel so realistic. The non-con is not extreme, but do mind the warnings. 

For the Space of a Heartbeat | T | 2021 | @drowningbydegrees

As it turns out, falling into bed with your very best friend who you are privately very much in love with isn't nearly so nerve wracking as waking up with them the morning after.

Just sweet, morning after discussions. I love to see them talking for once.

Greensleeves | T | 10,414 | @rebrandedbard

When Geralt crosses paths with Jaskier in the spring, the world is dressed in green. Quite literally. Everyone everywhere is wearing green, and it all comes down to a song Jaskier has written that, to his mortification, has become popular throughout the Continent. It's torment, being forced to preform the song over and over again and have his heart broken anew. But who is this Lady Greensleeves the people say Jaskier is so maddeningly, heartbrokenly in love with? At the baron's wedding party, Geralt is determined to find out.

This is one of my personal faves - there’s just something about Jaskier’s feelings being put on blast while Geralt remains totally oblivious that I think is so very them. And the resolution at the end is delightful.

I Don’t Wanna Fall (If It’s Not In Love) | E | 13,902 | @writinglizards

The first time it's out of desperation. Things get rapidly out of hand from there.

OR the building of a relationship through mutual wank sessions.

I love everything Ashley writes, but this one was the first fic I read by her and it still has a warm place in my heart. I also highly recommend It’s Been A While (makes me cry every time) and Tell Me Honestly

Like a Storm, Like a Flood | T | 1065 | @valdomarx

Jaskier is leaving for the winter, and Geralt can't bear the thought of not seeing him for months.

It was soooo hard to pick only one fic by George, but this one is so soft and sweet and yearning I just had to go with it. This is really just about Geralt finally hitting a breaking point and saying enough is enough.

one flesh | E | 10,763 | WARNING: MCD 

“Well, then. I’m a ghost.” Jaskier spread his arms grandly. Geralt held his gaze for a moment, then dropped his head and laughed. Jaskier put his hands on his hips. “Do fill me in on what’s so funny.” It wasn’t funny. It was just so - ridiculous, the things Geralt’s fucked up brain would invent. This had to be the last nail in the sanity coffin, it just had to be.

Or: Jaskier is a ghost, and Geralt is a mess.

Jaskier dies and comes back as a ghost to haunt Geralt into taking care of himself. Geralt does not handle this gracefully. This fic is so sad and heartbreaking, but the ending is so sweet.

to render it transparent | E | 23,901

Geralt wakes up warm, peaceful, and utterly content, which is how he knows that something is severely wrong.

Sigh. This fic. This is a time travel fic - Geralt ends up in the future living with Jaskier on the coast, just after the mountain. It’s slow and beautiful and extremely bittersweet, all about how we choose to love people despite how much it can hurt us.

With All the Continent A Stage | M | 4745 | @greyduckgreygoose

Later, Geralt learned that the play was four hours long. Four hours long. It didn’t feel like it. Most of it passed by in a fever dream of ominous music, dance-fighting and dryads in gossamer leaves, swinging from hoops attached to the ceiling. Yennefer made an appearance, played by Priscilla in a glittering negligee. She sang a song to Geralt about putting him “Under Her Spell”, and they had a sensual dance number which was made a little strange by a sickened Jaskier (played by Jaskier) coughing loudly in the background.

(Jaskier invites Geralt to a musical production inspired by his own life.)

Jaskier basically writes Geralt a love letter in the form of a four hour long play. Geralt is an idiot about it.

Multi-Chapter Fics

A Lover’s Lament | M | 25,364 | @somedrunkpirate

So,” Jaskier begins, as casually as he can, “you are telling me, that in theory, if I were to be in love with someone — anyone — that person could well be in terrible danger?”

Of all terrible and ridiculous things that have threatened Geralt’s safety, Jaskier’d never thought that loving him might be what will get him killed.

I honestly can’t count the number of times I’ve read this fic. The monster is so interesting, and the mythos of it fits seamlessly into the world of the Witcher in my mind. Jaskier being so afraid that his feelings are going to put Geralt at risk, clearly unable to see that Geralt is going through the exact same thing. I think about the scene with them looking at each other almost daily. 

A Pair of Gloves, the Scent of Roses | M | 24,134 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence

In the bustling days before the Midsummer festival, Geralt is sent into the countryside to deal with a monster - with Jaskier once again by his side. But the bard has not forgiven him, and while he's not hiding his contempt for the Witcher, he is recalcitrant about revealing his true motives for joining him. As the hunt turns into a desperate mission to save an innocent man and the monster is not what is seems to be, Geralt learns a few new things about his old friend and decides to finally attempt to mend the rift between them...

This is one of my favorite’s in the fandom - it feels so believable, the world is so rich and the oc’s are convincing and charming. Geralt and Jaskier feel so honest here, stumbling around each other but still drawn together. Beautiful beautiful beautiful

Bearing the will of the flower | NR | 11,449 

The way Jaskier sees it, his hobby of following a witcher around was always pretty likely to get him killed.

The fact that it's happening now because the witcher in question doesn't love him, he thinks as he coughs up crumpled flowers, hardly makes a difference.

My favorite hanahaki fic in the fandom. I’m such a sucker for these, and these two idiots being so incapable of talking about their feelings really makes them prime candidates. 

Food of Love | T | 22,488 | @wallatile-qvibbler

I brought a dead princess back to life through the power of song is the kind of thing that would have got an eyebrow raise even from the stone-faced Geralt of Rivia, so it's a good thing he and Geralt will probably never see each other again.

(or: the one where Jaskier channels magic through his songs, and it almost never goes as expected.)

This is a Jaskier and Renfri centric fic, which wasn’t something I knew I wanted until I read this. Jaskier is a bard which in this AU comes with magical powers, but it feels so well integrated into the universe that I wish it was just... how the Witcher is. Renfri is so good here, and even though Jaskier and Geralt barely even interact you can feel the tension and love between them. Cannot recommend highly enough.

friends and allies of the witcher | T | 10,312 | @theamazingbard

Yennefer crawls over to her newest cellmate. They’re curled up on their side. Breathing, but only just. She’s not sure what she’s hoping for when she turns them over. Still isn’t when she sees that it is indeed Jaskier.

“Shit."

Yennefer and Jaskier each suffer in more ways than one at the hands of Nilfgaard.

Yennefer and Jaskier get capture by Nilfgaard and tossed into a cell together. Exactly what I want out of season 2 honestly. Their interactions are gold.

I’d Be the Choiceless Hope | E | 45,188 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con | @lesdemonium

As a baby, Jaskier was visited by a fae, who gifted Jaskier's mother with Jaskier's obedience. As Jaskier grew older, the "gift" became more of a curse.

You know I’m not gonna make a rec list without listing Zoe’s Ella Enchanted au. Need I say more?

Silver and Copper | M | 56,139 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence | @kaer-cuan

Geralt is just supposed to pass through the quiet Lettenhove area. He's not anticipating being begged by its people to help save their viscount from a curse that keeps him from daylight. Lord Jaskier, they call him, and he's likely dying.

As Geralt struggles to untangle the ugly web of history that has lead to the increasingly complicated curse, he finds himself spending more and more time with the strange young viscount and wondering just what he might have been before the curse, and who he might be after. But things are not always as they seem, and as the curse tightens its grip on Jaskier, Geralt is forced to face the fear of failing yet another person whose choices were stolen from them.

Or-

Jaskier is kept from becoming a bard. Geralt finds him anyway.

This is a fic that haunts me. It’s very scary in parts, and mind the tags - there are some very heavy themes here. But it’s beautiful and touching, and Jaskier feels very true to himself even though his origin is so different.

we could be married (and then we'd be happy) | E | 50,222 | @a-kind-of-merry-war

Jaskier reached into his pocket, fingers grasping around the little box. He pulled it out with what he hoped was a romantic flourish, flipping it open to reveal the simple gold band inside. “Geralt,” he said, confidently, cooly, like this wasn’t terrifying, “Will you marry me?”

Geralt and Jaskier fake marriage proposals to get free deserts and shit but it goes tits up when Vesemir catches them in the act. Not knowing how to fess up, they go along with it for a while, which is hell because they’re both pining like mad. As I said, I don’t love modern au’s, but it’s merry so of course this one had to end up on my list.

~

And that’s it! 20 fics for you, and hopefully you can all find one or two you haven’t read before. There are a lot of people and fics that I didn’t include in this list only because I was trying to not put a million down (which I could). I highly recommend anything by @wherethewordsare, @julek, @contemplativepancakes, @witcher-and-his-bard, and @inber, as well as those linked to fics above, and I’m sure there are others I forgot to mention. Yall have truly made being in this fandom worthwhile <3