#Lucrezia once again being The Guy

[pinespittinink]

trying to figure out the order of these vignettes in this pov piece because everything after them is pretty straightforward and sketched out. I just need to wiggle around these two

[borgialucrezia]

The tragic disconnection between Lucrezia Borgia and Juan Borgia::

What I find sad and compelling about Juan and Lucrezia's relationship is that every time he genuinely makes a gesture to make her happy, it inevitably ends up being misguided, resulting in her getting hurt in some way. Like the debauched play he had prepared for her as a surprise at her wedding to make her smile, not realizing that it would anger her husband and cause him to hate her and her family even more. The Paolo situation is where their dynamic changed forever. Juan, as someone who was assigned as the protector of the family by his father and is already feeling inadequate and incompetent in his position, already saw Paolo as a threat. A guy who could expose his sister, calling himself the father of her child, making demands to see her? Had Juan known what Sforza did to her, the hell she was living, and how she found solace in Paolo, most probably, he would've let Paolo live. He legitimately believed getting rid of him (and he was motivated by jealousy as he has incestuous feelings for Lucrezia)—was the right thing to do—and expected applause for his misguided notions of protecting his family's honor. He didn't realize how much he hurt Lucrezia and tried to make her understand that he did it to protect her honor and didn't mean to hurt her. When he realized that she tried to avenge Paolo and kill him, he made a speech about how their family triumphed because they weren't dysfunctional when they came to Rome, that they should always stick together, and that he's motivated by wanting safety for all of them. After he came back from Spain a changed man, he gifted his sister something that positively represented her—a stunning rare panther in a gilded cage—a genuine gesture to reconcile with her and earn her respect. However, it bites her, and they're unable to make peace. And after Cesare betrayed him at Forli, he spiraled once again, and he realized that no matter what he did, he would never earn his siblings' respect, specifically Lucrezia's. This realization hurt him and made him act on his impulsive as by lashing out at her and dangling her baby from the balcony, which also gave Cesare the motivation to do what he always wanted and justify his jealousy by murdering him.

"I had an amazing personal journey to go on with that character and hopefully I presented it with a sense and reality and hopefully you will feel a bit sorry for the guy. I don’t think he’s useless. Everyone says he’s a useless coward. He’s just placed in some shit situations. He’s not afraid of dying in that sense, he’s afraid of not being liked or loved and being left by his family. Whether they know it or not, they have been ganging up on him from the very beginning of the first season. What’s the problem with him? I think he’s lovely. I think he’s really kind and compassionate and cuddly." — DAVID OAKES

[hello-nichya-here]

Do you like any of Lucrezia and Cesare's other love interests or do you only ship them with each other?

As usual, I gotta turn what could be a simple answer into an unnecessarily long rant.

All of Lucrezia's boring love interests and why I don't truly ship her with any of them

Okay, so despite the title, I don't think ALL of her love interests are boring... to the same degree. All of them made me roll my eyes and wish for their scenes to be over faster at some point, but some far less than others, and most of them actually had an impact on Lucrezia's growth as a character.

Djem

He was her first (non-incestuous) love. He is a painfully naive guy, and each time he and Lucrezia were being flirty it felt more like two children playing house - yes, even when he's talking about men being allowed to have as many women as they want, and the different rules for beating a wife VS beating a concubine.

He's trapped in a fantasy of having a peaceful, good life when he gets to Rome - no political intrigues, no one being murdered horribly, no one being two-faced. He's basically Lucrezia's prince charming. A handsome young man from a mysterious, foreign land, being all kind and sweet and obviously into her - with intentions so pure they never even kiss.

But his role in the story is literally to die by the hands of the people he now trusted wanted to be his family, so the Borgias could have more money. He's more of a means to an end than he is a character.

His death represents the first major confirmation that Lucrezia's life (and romances) will be filled with sorrow, and that will kill whatever innocence she once had, and while that's fine foreshadowing, it doesn't really make me wish he had lived longer and actually had a relationship with Lucrezia. And more importantly, it sets up the prescedent for Lucrezia to only go for men that are SUPER docile - to the point that's pretty much their only personality trait.

Paolo

While Lucrezia is being abused by her husband, Paolo is there for comfort her, give her a reason to survive, help her injure her husband greatly so he's confined to a bed and unable to harm her, and, yes, he is the one to first show her what a proper romance and consensual sex is like.

Lucrezia likes him because he's sweet and innocent, much like she once was, and she wants to experience that again through him - and those traits are what make her feel he's not a threat to her like her husband. And again, while that's fine as a theme in the narrative, it makes him just a slight variation of Djem's character - or rather of Lucrezia's need for her love interest not to have a spine, so she doesn't have to wonder if she'll one day be abused again. I pity them, but I don't want them together.

To make matters worse, because Paolo is a nobody in the grand scheme of things, he and Lucrezia could never be together - and not only is she aware of it, she made her peace with it, even if she wishes things were different. That's why she tells him never to return to Rome, meaning he'd never see her or their son again, for the sake of his survival - and then he is murdered anyway because Lucrezia's whole tragedy as a character is "Innocence inevitably dies" and since she only ever chooses generic innocent men as lovers, she's basically setting herself up for failure in each new romance.

Raffaello (And Calvino)

If Djem was the representation of Lucrezia's innocence while it still existed in her, and Paolo was her grieving it, Raffaello is the representation that she is a Borgia and will do as she pleases - and that her bad taste in men reached a new low that I don't think could ever be out-matched.

The guy is just boring, to the point that I didn't even remember his name. He's the generic artistic man that Lucrezia is actively lying to just to get in his pants - and the only reason she even wants to have an affair with him in the first place is because she's both deliberately trying to sabotage her father's plan to marry her off again. That's why she wants the unimportant brother instead of the relevant one, Calvino, who is there just so she has an excuse to be close to the one she's into AND because she liked her mom's idea of just having both brothers for herself just to prove she can - and then cast them aside once she's had her fun and thrill is gone.

These "relationships" are just so Lucrezia can experience being spoiled and demanding something she knows she can't have, and doesn't even truly want or need, solely because she was told "No, you can't have this."

It really is no wonder she doesn't really care when both brothers leave. The engagement and affair were never truly about them, but about Lucrezia saying "Screw you, dad, you're not selling me out to the first gross man you find!"

Alfonso

I'd say Alfonso was the one that was the closest to actually working as romantic pair for Lucrezia. He's personality is almost identical to the the copy-paste of all her love interests and he can be one hell of a pushover, but there's a playfulness to their early interactions, they have genuinely good chemistry on scene in which they nearly consumate their marriage, and he's HIGHLY amusing when he gets sick of being controled (and cucked) and just becomes a mess of a person ruining Cesare's day - it was stupid and got him killed, but he earned lots of extra points just by being the only one of Lucrezia's love interests who looked the Borgias in the face and told them to just man up and get rid of him already instead of hiding behind political schemes and manipulation.

But now matter how much he genuinely cared for Lucrezia and how sweet he could be, and how she clearly trusted him, his devotion would just never hold a candle to Cesare's, and simply lacked that Borgia ambition and ferocity that Lucrezia needed to truly be satisfied in a relationship.

That's why in season 2 she agrees when Cesare says she finally has a good man, yet in season three she reminds him that she could be married a thousand times and it'd always be the wrong husband, because she doesn't just want good - she wants her brother, because only a Borgia can truly love a Borgia.

Okay, now that we're done with Lucrezia's boy-toys, lets talk about Cesare's side-chicks.

The woman that exists solely to be stalked by Cesare

Ursula, Ursula... I never liked her. At all.

She didn't really do anything that made me see her as a bad or unlikeable person - but the whole point of her is that, from Cesare's point of view, she's not really a person, she's the object of his "affection" (unhinged obsession).

In his head, he's the brave, bold hero that killed the monster that tormented her, and was then rewarded with her undying love and, of course, sex - what he desperately wishes he could have done when Lucrezia was forced to get married to a man that would end up abusing her, and will be far away, where Cesare cannot protect her. It's no surprise that Ursula was introduced during said wedding.

From her point of view though, she's a woman who was trapped in a bad marriage to an awful man, thought she had found an honrable savior that was risking his own life out of love for her, only to then realize that he was actually a manipulative, violent, frightening monster that told her pretty lies and half-truths to seduce her and then murdered her (admitedly not innocent) husband to make sure nothing would stand on his way.

When she ends the relationship and literally becomes a nun to attone for her sin of adultery/being the reason her husband died, Cesare refuses to accept it. He corners, harasses, and even manhandles her. He never full on forces himself onto her, but there's nothing about her behavior that could suggest his attempts of courtship/reconciliation are in anyway wanted. She's terrified of him, ashamed of their affair, and wants him to leave her alone. She says as much, repeatedly - sometimes with tears in her face, cowering before him like she's bracing herself for a violent beating, full on sexual assault, or even for Cesare to just slit her throat.

Then, she dies horribly when an army attacks the nunnery she's at, raping and killing her. Cesare avenges her... and that's it. He never thinks of her again, and we never find out anything about her other than "She was constantly being victimized by bad men."

I feel sorry for her, but I don't really connect with her character because she didn't have any, and I REALLY don't like how Cesare acted towards her. All the selfishness, entitlement and downright cruelty that he would rather die than inflict upon Lucrezia he unleashed upon Ursula without a second thought - and like I said, she was not into it in the slightest, so this couldn't even be turned into a "dark, unhealthy, dysfunctional, terrying romance", at least for me.

There's simply nothing to like here.

Cesare's wife and how she was almost interesting

Charlotte had potential to be a cool character. She's clever and just looking out for herself, but she's not cruel or all that ambitious. She and Cesare clearly liked each other and enjoyed sleeping together, and she appreciates that he is making an effort - but like Cesare said, love is not an issue between them because they both know it won't happen and neither of them expects or even wants it from the other.

She's Cesare's wife due to convenience. It's a mutually benefitial agreement, not a marriage in the romantic sense. It's an interesting dynamic that can be functional, but doesn't really make me root for them because it deliberately lacks the main part of romance.

And unfortunately, she shows up in one episode, gets a passing mention some time later, and that's it. She exists to give Cesare the political claim he wanted, nothing more. He can enjoy her company when she's around, but when they're apart from each other he seems to completely forget she existed - and even though I remembered the character, I did not remember the name, because she's simply not that important.

Catherina Sforza and why she's the only one I actually like

Catherina Sforza is VERY different from all the other temporary love interests above for the simple fact that she is a fully actualized character that has a role in the story besides being just another temporarely delay to the incest couple everyone is rooting for.

She's cunning, proud, manipulative and ambitious - much like the Borgias. She and Cesare have a gruding respect/admiration for each other, and her seduction of him is both a ceasefire and her distracting him from his goals, trapping him in her little game for her own amusement, getting the upper hand on him... and then also submiting to him in bed. They're all about that power-play/struggle.

It's entertraining and it's HOT, and in some alternate universe where Lucrezia didn't exist, I could see Cesare and Catherina's short-lived fling becoming a proper affair that would last months or even years - before it'd inevitably end with one of them poisoning the other that is.

So yeah, I really like this ship, even if it can never have the literal soulmate kind of love Cesare and Lucrezia had.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

what is your second most favorite otp from any series?

AAAAAAHHHHH, DON'T DO THIS TO ME! There are some many pairings I love in so many books, movies, series, soap-operas, etc.

*sighs* Okay, gun to my head, there's three, in no particular order that I absolutely ADORE, have made me cry, and that I legitimately don't understand how anyone could watch these shows and not ship them (spoilers for Friends, How I Met Your Mother and The Borgias, respectively)

Monica and Chandler

Because I was just 4-years-old when Friends final season was aired, I already knew these two were going to be endgame when I watched the show - and it didn't take long for me to see the appeal, even when they were still supposed to be just friends.

They're just so affectionate with each other right from the start, cuddling on the couch, helping each other out - and Chandler just casually says stuff like "If neither of us is married when we're fourty, I'm totally willing to marry and have a kid with you just so you get the family you want" and actively tries PROVE to her he is boyfriend material and they make a game out of it??????? Genius. Perfect. Amazing.

And then it happens, they hook up and right away they're couple goals. Can't keep their hands off each other, are super clingy, all of their friends find them ridiculously adorable, Chandler matures A LOT and Monica is very patient with him because she knows he's used to hiding any emotional turmoil behind a sarcastic joke, and they can joke about and tease each other without either of them being too mean or too sensitive.

Also their conflicts never last more than one or two episodes and they never break up after first getting together, and it was a breath of fresh air coming from the same show that gave us Ross and Rachel.

Barney and Robin

They have INSANE chemistry, Robin was the only woman Barney was truly willing to change for, and Barney was the one guy Robin was with that ever truly liked her for who she was.

They. Deserved. So. Much. Better.

Seriously, I can't get over how unfair their ending was. There's a reason I tell Zutarians to give this show a watch before they complain about how their ship, that was never even canon, was "robbed of it's happy ending."

We see Barney and Robin being teased as potentially having at least a fling someday as early as season 1, they finally hook up in season 3, season 4 is all about him struggling with being in love with her, seasons 5-7 are all about them dating then breaking up while still being very much in love yet never properly reconciliating because life gets in the way, season 8 is them getting engaged and being adorably happy together, the 9th and final season is THE WEEKEND OF THEIR WEDDING and them working through every last issue they still have to make sure they will a long, happy life together as a married couple...

Then the finale goes and says "Actually, they divorced off-screen because their hotel room had no wi-fi. Sorry." WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT? It's really no wonder the network cancelled the planned spin-off right after the finale aired.

Cesare and Lucrezia

Ah yes, a Nichya list of great ships includes a pair of siblings, specifically Older Brother X Young Sister, who would have thought? This time a kind of, sort of historical one! (Seriously, The Borgias is the kind of over-dramatic, historically inaccurate period piece I love wasting my time with, and the aesthetic is incredible).

Even as someone who is very into that kind of dynamic and that knew the show was gonna go there, I was still SHOCKED at how unsubtle is right from the start - especially once I found out the writer didn't want to play up the sexual tension originally.

Somehow, the first time we see these two on screen, Lucrezia is spying on her brother as he has sex and once he notices he playfully chases her around the garden, berating her for spying on him AGAIN, and then when they're on the ground together he just casually admits to loving her more than he loves God????????????????????????????? NORMAL SIBLING BEHAVIOR, EVERYBODY! NOTHING WEIRD GOING ON HERE!

I adore how protective (and possessive) Cesare is of her, ready to commit murder at the very thought of a man mistreating her - yet he is still willing to step aside when he thinks she found a good man, because nothing matters to him more than Lucrezia's happiness, not even his own. It just so happens that he always has to step in again because nobody loves her quite to insane degree he does, and thus she only feels truly safe, happy and loved with him, hence her saying "Only a Borgia can truly love a Borgia."

And they, legitimately, are insepareble. They're always close to each other, holding hands, hugging, cuddling, KISSING - all long before they're ready to admit, even to themselves that they're in love.

They are so clueless about what level of physical affection is normal between relatives that they made out in front of her husband and were surprised he found out about their incestuous affair.

And more importantly, thanks to the show being cancelled after season 3 instead of getting the planned fourth season, they never broke up! The show literally ends with them in each other's arms, accepting their love. I couldn't have asked for literally anything else.

[unovan-gardener]

Doin a Protest!!

Hello all Nimbasa College Students and Staff Members!

You may know me as the Honors College RA, or as the President of the Gardening Club. Or maybe just as that guy who spends a lot of time laying in the field outside Natural Sciences a lot.

But today, you should know me as the guy who is particularly upset about the new Castelia City Mayor, Lucrezia Minskt.

The protest will be happening Tomorrow Morning, and we will be meeting up at the Natural Sciences building. As always while protesting, remember to wear an air filter mask and goggles in case of tear gas, as well as obscuring your identity. This is meant to be a peaceful protest, but I have no doubt in my mind that Minskt will attempt to escalate the protest so that she can take legal action, and arrest peaceful protesters.

I have so many notes on the things that Minskt has done, but because they are so long, they will be under the cut to avoid this post being absurdly long.

Minskt is spraying chemical aerosol around the area of Lostlorn Forest, a known habitat for primary bug and grass type pokemon, as well as zoroark. She claims that the aerosol is "patented by my own personal private research company, Minskt R&D, which is proven to repel wild Bug Type Pokémon with minor irritation and no permanent harm*. *excluding Joltik and Galvantula species, which are known to experience semi-extreme illness and major disruption of senses, however are not currently listed as an encroaching pest species and should not be at risk of encountering the aerosol systems". Minskt is also planning to do cutback of Lostlorn's "overgrowth".

Many people in Castelia have already come out and stated that the aerosol is already beginning to come into the city, likely due to airflow, and is harming many of the native wild pokemon there. Atley Deo, the head of Deo Horticulture, has also noted that "In harming the native bug pokemon of Castelia and Lostlorn, so too does Minskt harm the environment itself. Many plants and grass type pokemon rely on bug types for pollination to spread and grow, and to take bug types out of the equation is to throw the entire ecosystem out of wack." There have also been reports that those with asthma have needed to be hospitalized due to the aerosol. Which brings into question how a "panel of ethicists has absolved the Castelia City government, the Minskt Corporation, and any workers therein of any responsibility in the rare and unforeseen possibility of adverse ecological effects", considering there has already been a great number of adverse ecological effects.

There is also the fact that Minskt is now been "authorised by my decree as mayor to mobilize their own private security forces to bolster numbers in police departments around the city!" due to an "increase in vigilantes and individuals acting outside the law to perform unlicensed and citizen endangering personal justice, as well as a responding rise in violent crime" Which. I had one of my honors Law students look at it and not there has not been.

These squadrons also contain: "5-8 highly trained private military personnel, armed with new and unreleased Minskt Security armaments, including high-tech contained plasma cannons, hard light nets, automated targeting drones and experimental hovercraft for inner city manoeuvring!" The important part of this is "New and unreleased". Once again, had my honors Law students look at it, and that definitely sounds like these "armaments" (which is just a fancy word for military weapons and equipment) are not registered under Unovan law (a process that would take months), and are therefore illegal, especially in use against civilians.

Also, bafflingly, she appears to be racist against 'eeby deebies' (although she's referring to them as elevated, which is weird because she seems to dislike them), as she is claiming they require "supervision from a registered pokemon trainer to shop in non-specialty stores". and appears to be attempting to extend these laws to hyrbids. AND to campaign to extend to their "sister city" Nimbasa.

That's all I've got so far, if you have more feel free to DM me and I'll add it to this post. She needs to be stopped though, she's been given and inch, and she's been taking miles.

[sippinggossip]

You ask, info anon delivers :)

About Giorgia and Damiano...honestly that story is very messy.

I know they met in 2014 through a platform called Ask.fm that at least in Italy was very popular at the time in their age group. Giorgia was "famous" in that platform mainly because of her saucy content. She wasn't posting nudes there but she'd reply to questions about sex, giving advice on sex and relationships and in general she was very brazen which I assume Damiano liked.

They met at some point that year when she was in Rome (she lived in Milan but she had dropped out of school by that point and was already trying to make it as a model) and that's when that photo of them as teenagers that Giorgia posted once was taken.

I've no idea if they stayed in contact in the following years, probably yes to some extent, but they both had other partners and Giorgia was even engaged to the guy she dated before Damiano. She was still dating that guy in 2017 and he was with lucrezia.

For September- early December 2017 Damiano was in the Xfactor house without any contact with the outside world but when he made his relationship public with Giorgia in May 2021 he said that they'd been together for "almost 4 years" so I assume they reconnected at some point in summer 2017.

Fans first noticed her in 2018, some fans had seen her coming out of a hotel with Damiano during their first tour and took photos and posted them on Twitter but Damiano dmed the official fan club asking them to get that fan to take down the photos. It may seem unbelievable now but they managed to do that, the fandom was very small so after a few hours the photos were gone.

Anyway, if I'm being honest no one thought their relationship was very important because during the same period Belen had appeared at some gigs and Damiano was very obsessed with her, he had even mentioned her on interviews. And in general there were many rumors about Damiano sleeping around back then, not with any one famous besides belen, but he didn't exactly act as a guy in a serious relationship.

Early 2019, around March April, they broke up. They unfollowed each other and Vic and Thomas (who had followed her back in 2018) unfollowed her too. I don't know the reason ofc but, also having read her book which was mostly written during those years, I think Giorgia wanted the relationship to get more serious and Damiano wasn't down for that. I distinctly remember that on his birthday in 2019 he had a small party with all his friends etc and Giorgia was posting sad stories from Milan, it gave me the impression he was attracted to her but - as bad as it sounds - didn't want to include her in his social life because he didn't see her as girlfriend material.

Why he didn't see her as girlfriend material...I'm not saying this judgmentally but Giorgia's career at the time wasn't exactly easily palatable. She was doing erotica photoshoots and Damiano was 20 years old and trying to build a career. Sincerely, and I'm not saying this to shade her in any way, but the photos she was doing at the time would qualify as Only Fans content today. And how many artists you can think of that are dating OF girls? I think as cynical as it sounds, Damiano knew she wouldn't be good for his image.

The breakup didn't last long though, 2-3 months later they were back together but still she was pretty separate from his friends and family, like he'd taken a vacation with her alone and then he'd gone with the band and friends and even though janis was there, he wouldn't bring Giorgia. Or then he'd gone to Puglia to his family (his mom's family is there) and again Jacopo would be there with his girlfriend but Giorgia was nowhere to be found.

In September 2019 maneskin went to live in London until February 2020, Giorgia went to visit once.

Then lockdown happened and she came to Rome to spend it with Damiano. They got the cats during lockdown. When it ended in May, she decided to move to Rome permanently from Milan but she got her own apartment, she didn't move in with Damiano.

To answer to the other anon, that's when she reinvented herself. She stopped modelling as a career and started building a brand around feminism as an influencer. She also started dressing differently, acting differently, posting different things. Later that year she also got her vulvodynia diagnosis and after that activism around those illnesses became her main focus.

She was pretty unknown until March 2021 when maneskin won Sanremo and paparazzi pictures of her with Damiano there came out. And then after they won Eurovision her fame skyrocketed because her video reaction to their victory went viral.

I don't know what more to tell you, for what it counts I do believe too that the image of their relationship in 2022 - 2023 was manufactured to an extent. What I can tell you is that in the old fandom pre esc she was heavily disliked because there were a lot of rumors about her being very jealous of every woman around Damiano, even fans, also a lot of rumors of her disliking Victoria. But I can't know if that stuff was true.

Fans tend to either love her or hate her, I'm more neutral towards her. I think she has her flaws but I do believe she loved Damiano and I also believe he wasn't the greatest boyfriend at many points. Their relationship always seemed rocky though and I wasn't surprised it ended in such a messy way.

.

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette watches Medici, part 20 (Innocents)

-Hey, look! Another (mostly) good episode! The Medici truly are at their best when they are more morally ambiguous. I did have some problems with this episode, once again because of Lorenzo, whose corruption arch wasn't very well handled, but much like Alicent in Hot D, many moments of that arch are good, even if the arch itself doesn't come together in a coherent manner, like at all.

-RIP LUCREZIA T, YOU WERE THE BEST FEMALE CHARACTER IN THIS FRANCHISE AND PROBABLY THE BEST CHARACTER PERIOD, YES EVEN BETTER THAN MY KING FERRANTE, FUCK YOU, FIGHT ME.

-Beyond my endless love for Lucrezia T, her final episode too was nothing to scoff at, like some moments were cliche (especially the Incurable Cough Of Death), but overall she got a great sendoff that cemented her as my absolute favourite. Her engaging in some light embezzlement because Lorenzo is just that bad with money? Fun, interesting character beat. Mentoring Clarice into becoming her successor? It's a bit surprising she didn't even try sooner, but still, pretty cool! Her being reminded of Giuliano when Giulio gets into fights? Amazing, no notes. Like that minisubplot was indeed very cheesy, but surprisingly emotionally effective. Hell, they did the "dying person deliriously running after someone and collapsing" AND "dying person sees a tragically fallen loved one as a some sort of psychopomp" - and I didn't roll my eyes once!

-Speaking of: I wish Giulio was just plain better developed, because there are interesting kernels of characterization here that I'd adore to see explored. Like for a show that loves to just plain spell shit out, Giulio's sword was such a great storytelling device - I mean, teenage Giulio gets so little screen time, but when he decides he maybe wants to become a priest? You absolutely get it. There are also some hints of him growing closer over the years to Giovanni at least, if not Piero, but again, not enough to really see it clearly.

-Lol, I recognized another child actor in this! First Adam from Good Omens as baby Lorenzo, now Tewkesbury from Enola Holmes as teenage Piero... I have no point to make here, I just think it's funny.

-Riario continues his uninterrupted streak of being a pathetic little thug that is only ever a threat because his uncle is the pope and he's... Let's be real here, only about as brutal as any IRL condotierro, but that's just enough capacity of violence to be a genuine menace. I also love his relationship with Caterina, like he knows what he has in her and clearly wants to be a wife guy so badly, but he's too much of thuggish manbaby to ever show affection towards anyone, even her. Like the same way Rüstem can never not be creepy, even when he means well, Riario can never not be an absolute douche.

-Speaking of pathetic little bitches - Lorenzo and pope competed for the title of Italy's Biggest Primadonna, and Lorenzo scored an unquestioned victory with his "I'd rather have innocent people slaughtered than apologize to you". Like, fuck dude, I know you technically didn't do anything wrong, but there are lives at stake! Swallow your pride, goddamnit! The worst part is, he then apologizes anyway - so that the head honchos at the conference pay attention to him, because he's afraid the pope might be getting a win with the whole conference taking place outside of Florence thing! BTW I am still not sure how Lorenzo being a center of attention for a hot minute erases pope's contributions to the conference, or really what those contributions are considering it doesn't even take place on his territory... Is he some kind of chairman here? I am so confused. The whole conference doesn't make any sense anyway, like is it supposed to have ended some particular war or whatever? Would it be that hard to throw in a few words about how, say, France and Venice were at war and now they and their allies are negotiating the peace terms?!

-Oh, I see Lorenzo didn't restore signoria after the peace as he promised! VERY interesting. Or it would be if I had any idea why the fuck is he doing something so blatantly terrible and against everything he professed to stand for even a couple of episodes ago. Is he afraid of what might happen to him and his family if he loses absolute power for even a second? Well, that would be interesting, if the show so much as hinted at it, but it doesn't, rendering the whole corruption arch a fucking joke.

-I do think that in a vacuum, Lorenzo letting all those people be massacred by Riario was pretty interesting both as a political move and a character beat. Like, even the characters were like "damn dude that's COLD". I don't love Bernardi once again being Lorenzo's shoulder devil, but at least the dude's characterization is consistent... And now the showrunners are teasing us with his backstory. Well, ladies and gentlemen, consider that bait swallowed! I truly can't wait for what they are going to do with it.

-Oh, look, a decent Lorenzo x Clarice scene! You know, once in a while these two remind me that they can be a good couple, and then go back to their old ways of being boring and devoid of chemistry. Honestly, making them join a polycule with Lucrezia D can only improve things.

-Oh, hey, Caterina is doing some cool shit this episode! Nice.

-...okay, I'll admit, that was one hell of a cliffhanger right at the end.

[dafukdidiwatch]

Part 22 Ends

Ok so that takes cares of that. I think I am going to stop here. Unfortunately I didn’t get to the end of Volume 10 like I hoped. I think I’m at least halfway tho.

Everyone is together. The Big Three are healed. So now we can work on science without worrying about fucking up and dying later. And they are in tip top shape for their future brawl. Huzzah.

Lucrezia is terrifying, but it is good to know that alone she really can’t do much damage if people know who she is. So it will be very easy for Zeetha to just punch her out if she becomes loose again.

Moloch is as straight forward as you can get. While everyone tries to come with complex answers, he goes directly to the root of the problem. He doesn’t need to be a genius to know what’s up.

Othar has a sister Sanaa. That...was unexpected. And she wanted to go adventuring with her ��cool” older brother, it honestly reminds me of my relationship with my older cousin so, I get it? Othar is still an idiot and it probably seems like I hate him more than I actually do, but he’s still an annoying idiot. I just have to wait for him to meet up with everyone and the world will be right once again.

And the final star is Higgs, the stoic man of mystery. He and Othar are similar in the way of “I don’t want to know anymore about these two” but for different reasons. Othar it’s because seeing him as the blundering hero with zero situational awareness than what he thinks makes it easier to know that he’s an idiot. If there is backstory it humanizes him and makes me conflicted in being annoyed with him. While Higgs, I like seeing him as just A Guy. A well capable guy who does his Goddam Job and does it well. Hints about him being strong? Effective? Having the Castle recognize him? Knowing other Heterodyne ancestors? Don’t know, don’t want to know. Let that shit be a mystery. Keep that away with a 30ft pole. I don’t need the backstory for him. If he has more skills to keep revealing, awesome. Just don’t show me why he has these skills. It helps with his vibe.

[thecloserkin]

fic rec: runs in the family by liketheroad

fandom: The Borgias

pairing: Cesare Borgia/Lucrezia Borgia

word count: 6k

Is it canon: yes

Is it explicit: no

Is it endgame: maybe

Is it shippable: yes

Bottom line: the revisionist rehabilitation of Juan Borgia that absolutely nobody asked for; read it and thank me later

Hello everyone it’s me, the girl whose entire brand is stanning fictional characters for himbo rights reasons! I am here to tell you why Juan Borgia is not in fact useless, and why you—yes, you—should ship him with our fave murder angels Cesare and Lucrezia! Are you ready?

I love the idea that Cesare and Lucrezia’s love is fated, and that Juan is a mere mortal whose heart grew entangled in God’s plans. This is a series of two short fics: we tend to bruise easily which is more Juan-centric and bad in the blood which is more shippy (if you’re just here for Cesare/Lucrezia) but you should read both.

Here’s what happened: Cesare needed someone to practice on, see, whilst he was waiting for Lucrezia to grow up. And since “only a Borgia can love a Borgia,” and Cesare’s one-night stands obviously weren’t hitting the spot….well. The thing I love about this family is that you literally cannot disconnect the murder from the sex!!!! Because they scratch the same itch. Cesare is the one who teaches Juan how to fuck and how to fight:

And so he taught his brother to be a fighter, and then a lover, but had never anticipated the two lessons becoming one.

Only problem is, Juan catches feelings. And Juan has too much pride to be satisfied with coming second in anyone’s heart:

But Cesare is a soldier, and he can recognize the difference between a parry and feint as well as any true prince of state. It does not seem that Juan wishes for him to stop—but rather, that he has finally decided to make Cesare work for it, every inch of skin, every brush of lips.

“There was a time when you loved me, was there not?” “I love you still.” “But not as much as you love her.” “No. Not as much as I love her.”

NOT AS MUCH AS I LOVE HER adfkdfjdkfjd. So, to be clear, the reason Juan hates Cesare is because Cesare loves Lucrezia more than Cesare loves Juan.

Lucrezia is like the sun, she has an infinite amount of love to give, and she urges charity and reconciliation between her brothers. To Juan she says:

“If I love Cesare, then it is in my benefit to see him happy. And while I can perhaps make him happier than anyone else, I cannot do that alone.”

To Cesare she says:

”I would rather share you with our brother than with a common whore.”

As you guys know, I subscribe to the triangulation theory of incest—that it’s more interesting when there’s a third sibling whose relationship serves as a foil to the main pair (not that there’s anything wrong with orphaned twins, I love my Maximoffs and Fryes). But I see no reason that third sibling needs to stand in an antagonistic relation to the other two. Juan doesn’t have to be a boogeyman, or the butt of Cesare and Lucrezia’s jokes; he could just as easily be their ally. This is Cesare and Lucrezia again:

“He has never been as sweet as you, has never sought out my affections the way you do. Only my ... instruction.” “Then perhaps that is because he believed that was all that was available to him.” “And now?” “I dare say he fears that there will be even less of you that he might call his own, perhaps none at all, once you decide I am of a suitable age.” “Suitable?” “Forgivable, perhaps.” “Oh, my love,” Cesare whispers, suddenly pressed close against her, his lips almost brushing her cheek, “there will be no forgiveness, not for me. But I intend to make my stay in hell worth it, I promise you that.”

This is Cesare to Juan:

“You are correct in thinking that you are not my heart’s only, or truest, love. But you are mistaken if you believe that makes you any less mine."

I love that this fic is staunchly pro-Juan and anti-Rodrigo, which is the reverse of the show. Like, Rodrigo set it up so Cesare and Juan would forever be vying for Rodrigo’s affections, and that’s fucked up. Cesare has just come to accept that Juan’s love will forever be mixed with hate and envy, and that is sad.

This is Juan:

“My god, Cesare. You can’t even abide other men looking at her portrait without drawing your sword, how on earth are you going to share her with a husband?”

See? This, THIS RIGHT HERE is why Juan is better when he’s in cahoots with his siblings rather than undermining them. I snorted.

It is not Djem’s death that she hates him for, but the dowry his death purchased. But even this she can forgive, because there is little any of them do by choosing, not anymore, and she must forgive Juan his part in the destiny their father has carved out for them just as she must forgive Cesare, forgive herself. Besides, Juan excels at accepting hate along with love.

And this was what I meant when I said Cesare & Lucrezia’s love was fated. It’s all part of the divine plan guys. Tbh the most relatable moment was when Lucrezia and Juan bond over what a pain in the ass Cesare can be and then she begs him for the kissing lessons Cesare has refused her:

“You were far gentler than I expected,” she says once he has released her. “It was your first kiss, sister. I thought it best to proceed with care.” “How does Cesare kiss?” “Like he is drowning and he means not to die alone.”

Cut to Cesare and Juan checking up on the newly married Lucrezia. Juan suggests, instead of skulking around the bushes maybe next time we could pay her calls in daylight, and maybe also take turns visiting her to avoid fanning the incest rumors. Cesare is visibly taken aback that Juan even knows the meaning of discretion. But if there is anyone he trusts to look after the light of his life, Lucrezia—well there isn’t anyone, but Juan comes closest. This is Cesare and Lucrezia consummating their relationship:

He kisses her neck, her finger tips, hands feather light against her naked skin. He holds her close, foreheads pressed together, whispering words of love and devotion, and once he is inside her she thinks she would rather die than feel anything else ever again.

This is Lucrezia talking to Cesare about Juan:

”He reminds me of you. You are both killers. Not just because you have to be, but because it is part of who you are—who you both are.” “And you find this quality appealing?” “Because you love me, yes. Because you will use what you both are to keep me safe.”

Friends, in all seriousness, have you ever in your life seen a more Slytherin family?? Honest to god. Slytherin in the sense of being laser-focused on protecting the people within their circle of concern, however that circle is defined.

Ok finally here is Lucrezia to Juan:

Being loved by Cesare comes at great cost, that I’m sure you already know. But how he loves me... it makes him hide from me. He thinks I deserve something better than what he is, and so he hides his darkness from me, hides himself. At least you are not denied the courtesy of knowing him. Or the dangers he faces.”

But Cesare has NEVER hidden his darkness from Juan!!!! Cesare and Lucrezia need Juan, he completes them, it’s not an equilateral triangle but it’s definitely some sort of triangle.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Girl Genius Liveblog #207

UPDATE 207: Image Gallery

Last time Agatha and her merry band finally arrived to Paris! Where it turns out she’s some kind of celebrity, with a ton of merchandise to her name. That was to be expected of a Heterodyne, really. So how shall this go? Let’s see.

But before that, last update ended with Wulfenbach getting notified two of his agents have gotten injured, and was now going to collect information. Let’s see...a town has been completely wasped, meaning they’re under Lucrezia’s control. What town will it be, I wonder...and could any of the agents sent to check the place have gotten wasped? It’s not unlikely, this guy who got injured may be a liability if he’s under the Other’s control.

It had all started as an investigation regarding some stolen technology from Mechanisburg, and it led to that town, where they found the old-style zombie revenants that were mentioned in the Heterodyne stories. If I’m understanding this correctly, the purpose of those ones was to infect the town, and once everyone was infected with wasps that turned them into revenants that aren’t zombies, the zombies left. So...the two varieties of wasps are being used. I wonder if that fits the Other’s modus operandi, if she in the past also sent hordes of zombies into towns to infect everyone. If not, maybe it’s not her, it could be someone who got their hands on her technology. Possibly this Queen of the Dawn figure, since she has people eating from the palm of her hand, but yeah, that’s only if it turns out the Other’s not the one to blame for that town’s situation.

Good thing a wasp nest was brought here! Gil should make them study it to find out more.

Ah, so the wasps have been improved, they’re now smaller and therefore it’s easier for them to infect someone. No more shoving a wasp the size of someone’s hand into somebody’s mouth. That’s pretty alarming, some of those small slaver wasps may have escaped. Personally I’m worried.

This makes Gil wonder, though. If the Other is back, why hasn’t she improved her technology? I’d have thought making them smaller and more effective counted, but apparently not. Then I’m embarrassed when it’s revealed that wasn’t Lucrezia’s work, someone else did it. I suppose neither Anevka nor Zola have much time for improving the wasps, and I’m not even sure the latter would be interested in that, since I don’t think she’s a spark, she just has the Other’s knowledge and mind under her control.

The possibility Gil raises is that the Other may be directing others and telling them what to do, unable to do it herself. Hm...that’s a possibility, indeed. I remember how, like seven million years ago, the Other in Agatha’s body was showing Tarvek some of her tech and teaching him a few things. Maybe it’s like that.

Also, the Queen of the Dawn was mentioned again. Maybe she’ll turn out to be a major player, alright.

What Gil’s worried about is that Lucrezia managed to set something in motion pretty quickly while she was controlling Agatha. That’s exactly what happened, yup, just that it was sooner than Gil expected.

Okay, with that dramatic line there’s a scene change into absolutely nothingness in terms of main plot, because it’s time for an interlude!

Their words, not mine. Still, nice art is good, so let’s take a look and see what we get.

Jagers playing poker. That’s kind of a small poker table, the six of them barely fit. This is meant to be a wallpaper for the desktop. I’d download it, but something went wrong during a Windows update and my wallpaper is gone, and I have been too lazy and/or busy to check how to fix the wallpaper function, welp. Let me just bookmark this heeeere...

Agatha seriously needs to get her hands on some sweet royalties for the use of her image. Do lawyers exist in the Girl Genius world? Somehow I don’t think they do, so she’ll have to handle it herself. Death rays are kind of good negotiation tactics in this world, I bet.

So, what’s going on is that Ms. Kaja Foglio got pretty injured, and there’ll also be some conventions, and Mr. Phil Foglio is taking the chance to do some poster designs. These designs would also be sold at conventions as prints. I won’t lie, this tea poster and the chocolate one are pretty good poster designs. Are they in the store? I sure hope they are, and if so, I’ll greatly consider acquiring some to hang around.

I’m pretty sure that’s unsafe in a few ways. I consider myself lucky I have never been close to molten iron, but getting burned by that has to be pretty awful. Agatha, stop posing sexily and step away, for the love of MAD SCIENCE. The railing barely reaches your calves, you’re gonna trip.

I love the design in the inside of the cape. So, there’s this cryogenic chamber, it seems. Nice. That could come useful, maybe. What’s on Agatha’s head, is that required for the cryogenic chamber? Either way, the design of the poster itself is fine. What I’m not sure about is the color scheme. It’s mostly personal taste, I admit, it’s a tad too pale for my tastes. Would blend on my stark white apartment walls.

Now this one would look much better. Great! Awesome. That aside, I notice it says ‘autumn’. That means the other two were supposed to have seasons on the top area? I checked back and they don’t have any. Disgrace! That aside, this is a good print and I’d acquire it, I’ll say.

This one too. Now that I think about it, it’d be a bit of a shame not to have the entire set, all placed side to side. Ah...the thing is, without the first two having the season on top, the unity is broken. That’s the only issue I have. I wonder how large the prints would be, anyway?

There also was a deck of cards with the Jagers, I see. A boardgame, too.

Hah! Phil Foglio truly looks like a professor, neat. He also draws on bananas.

The Foglios seem like a fun pair, heh. Either way, back to the story.

The cake break is interrupted when a spark in a clank bursts into the shop, telling Agatha to come along quietly. Needless to say that’s not going to happen, no? The guy laughs at Agatha because she supposedly only has a large cake, and I wouldn’t underestimate it because, well, Agatha is clever and I bet she’d be able to use a cake to her advantage. She doesn’t get to do anything because some guy named Hoffman leaps forward to hit the clank with a hammer.

It’s not just a hammer, it saves kinetic energy and releases it when he wants to! And so he does. He gets ready to release it, and the results are explosive.

But it must have worked, no? The guy can’t have survived this. Agatha should be safe.

I’ll stop for now.

[phoenixyfriend]

11 for Agatha/Tarvek/Lars

soulmate au prompts.

11. the one where soulmates share extreme physical sensation — if one gets hurt, the other gets hurt, and etc.

Agatha grows up with two soulmates. She knows this because the pain feels different.

One has normal pains. Soft pains. A broken bone, once, but mostly just callouses and skinned knees, splinters and chapped lips. The distant feel of it is feather-light to her.

The other does not. The other is knife-sharp wounds and body-wide burning, freezing and heat heat heat and there are so many nights she spends crying because she’s hurting, hurting, hurting and can’t make it stop. She can’t help.

Lars is a normal kid in a normal town with a normal apprenticeship and not-so-normal soulmates. Then he’s a circus kid, and nobody bats an eye when he talks about his soulmates.

One grows up in what Lars thinks is probably the closest thing to hell on earth.

The other is plagued with migraines, searingly intense and intermittent and awful. He can’t handle them very well himself.

He tries to keep himself clear of injuries.

There’s no need to make it all worse.

(And if he goes around and has a little fun, finds was to feel things that are good and strong in ways that spread to his soulmates, enjoys himself with local girls and lets his soulmates ease their pain a little by relying on his experiences... well, it’s not like anybody needs to know that’s part of his reason why.)

Tarvek can feel the headaches. He can feel the callouses and late night trysts. He can imagine the easier lives his soulmates have, hopefully, and hates himself for the fact that the Smoke Knight training puts them through all this pain with none of the benefits. They don’t have any poison resistance, they have none of his combat skills, and they definitely don’t have the escape skills he honed in Paris as he fled from DuPree.

They feel all of his pain and get nothing out of it.

He has a lot of things to hate himself for. This is one of them.

Lars and Agatha figure out they’re soulmates because of the Skifander Warrior training. Everyone’s a little excited, after that. There’s lots of kissing.

They both confirm which part of the trio they are. They both confirm that they have a connection to the third. They both worry.

There is no explanation.

When Agatha is placed in the machine and has her mother burned into every cell of her mind, tattooed into the corners of her very self by the endless arcs of electricity that come down from above and crawl their way into her being, both of her boys scream.

Lars falls away in a dead faint, and the jagers and Zeetha panic.

Tarvek falls to his knees, throat raw, and wonders did I just doom my soulmate?

Was this how it felt for Anevka?

Lucrezia had a soulmate. She married him. It ended poorly.

Agatha has two soulmates, and one of them is very cute, looks just like dear Aaronev had, and Lucrezia has high hopes for the other.

Her hopes run away screaming when she shoots Tarvek in the back and falls to the ground herself, choking on the pain.

She hasn’t felt this in ages but her world used to be nothing but endless suffering, why does she have to deal with this now, why does it hurt so much more, why can’t she ignore it and just move–

The Vespiary squad catches her. They tie her up. They gag her.

They take her to the Baron, Tarvek in tow.

He spills everything.

Lars takes one look at Tarvek and knows.

It’s not hard to guess. The wounds that Tarvek is displaying are absolutely nasty and match the pain Lars is currently experiencing almost perfectly.

Agatha is tied up and furious and crying a little. He can’t feel her being angry, though. She just feels… fuzzy. Like everything is behind a wall, under a blanket, wrapped tied and hidden where he can’t find it.

There’s something about a locket, and the Baron does something and Agatha’s a little in pain again but the blockage is gone. She reaches for her throat and Zeetha stops her, and then Lars finally manages to break away from the jagers and throw himself to his knees in front of Agatha. He rambles, he knows he does, and kisses her as he helps her untie herself, and then she throws herself into his arms and stays there for a bit.

And then she pulls him to his feet and drags him over to the guy that’s being given medical treatment in the middle of the camp because the amount of blood here is just really concerning.

The Baron lets them go. He’s apparently still concerned by Zeetha. There’s a lot of yelling going on there. Zeetha’s waving around her swords.

“This is Tarvek,” Agatha tells Lars, pointing down at him. “I’m pretty sure he’s our soulmate.”

Well, Lars decides. He’s never really tried boys before, but he’s willing to, er, experiment.

“Hey,” Lars says, and then pats Tarvek on his uninjured shoulder. The redhead in question gives him a glassy stare and mumbles something. Lars squeezes, just a little. “We’re gonna take care of you.”

Tarvek passes out.

When he wakes up, though, and after everything with the Baron is sorted, they get to talk.

They get to talk a lot.

[lucrezia-thoughts]

🥵 Lucrezia smiles, following her " Tom seriously, why didn't you choose Santi ?" She squints her eyes " you sound like Benny, and why Santi?" Lucrezia leans to her friends ear, since they got close to the guys " Cause it's easier to fuck someone you don't have feelings for" . She doesn't have time to say anything, Lucrezia rushing to Frankie, giving him his drink. She'll ask her later what she means, Will coming to her, she gives him his beer, and gives the other one to Santi, Tom already have one, meanwhile she's gonna stick to water tonight. She sits by Santi, one of his arm going around her shoulder, kissing her cheek " Hi beauty, finally coming to me mhh?" She smiles, kissing his chin " Yeah, sorry i got one Miller stuck to my ass tonight" Will rolls his eyes, but decides to chat with Tom, Lucrezia and Frankie, letting her and Santi having some peace, understanding he's being too much on her back. She smiles, giving some attention to Santi, talking about stuffs, but looking at Will time to time, his back facing her. After few more minutes, she gets up to her feet, one hand going on Will's back, getting his attention, she gives him a kiss on the cheek and grabs Lucrezia's hand to go for a pee break.She tries to know what Lucrezia meant but her friend doesn't explain why, so she just drop it and they both rush back to the main room hearing the mic announcement for Benny. Like she told him, she cheers for the other guy, which is harder than she excepted to be. Her teasing gone when Benny takes a hit on his cheek, making her sweating words for the other fighter. Benny notices it, and that gives him just what he needs to win his game. They all applause him, Benny leaving the ring, going straight to her, wrapping his sweaty arms and body to her, her feet leaving the floor as he spins her around. She giggles, holding to his neck, not letting go even when she finds the floor again " i knew you'll end up cheering for me" This cocky dumbass " Yeah, yeah, go have a shower you stinky rat" He smiles, letting go of her, getting congratulate by the guys and Lucrezia before leaving. Santi proposes to all go celebrate, going all for a drink. She orders something without alcohol, Benny having just one beer since he got to drive back home tonight. Lucrezia doing the same, Frankie surely won't drive after having three beers in the evening. Everyone is having fun, Benny keeping is teasing, making her a little more annoyed since Tom is here, it's a bit more uncomfortable. She empty her drink quickly, getting up " I'm going home, Will you can come home with your brother" Everyone protest, telling her to stay, she pretend to be tired and insist for Will and Benny to stay here. Once she's gone, Santi slaps the back of Benny's head " Couldn't you stop being so freaking annoying" The younger Miller sighs, looking for his car keys, Will stopping him " leave her alone" He groans, looking at his brother " I'm going home to apologize" Will again stop him, stealing his keys " Give her a break We'll go home after"

Benny, listen to your brother!

[borgialucrezia]

ok so i'm re-reading blood and beauty once again, and i have to say that sarah dunant is the superior borgia fiction writer out there. i absolutely love her delicate and evocative writing as well as how she brilliantly humanizes the characters through compelling narratives. not to mention her attention to detail and meticulous research creates a rich historical backdrop, immersing us in the fascinating world of the borgia family. she also has an exceptional understanding of how hot and terrible cesare can be while still making him nuanced. it's a personal win for me as someone who's pretty much bored of his character being softened up and romanticized in other works. the more he does something awful, the more compelling he becomes to me (although he wasn't romanticized much in showtime's the borgias but his image of an over-ambitious, sadistic, gaslighting, and manipulative guy seems to appear innocent that watchers tend to overlook it, and some of his misdeeds were dumped onto juan, like making him the only one having an affair with sancia of aragon when cesare was involved as well, or having him kill lucrezia's lover, paolo, etc., which is why i wasn't as interested in cesare as i was in juan because juan does nasty acts, but you get an idea of why he did what he did and still find the human in the heinous.) the most phenomenal writing part for me was to not lean into the rumors by not having cesare kill juan because it's closer to historical reality. and as much as cesare's 'from envy to fratricide' pipeline can be groundbreaking like how it worked in showtime's the borgias, dunant proved that juan's murder can still be astounding without the fratricide. because even if cesare did have a tempting motive to kill him, as he wanted his position so badly, cesare's letters to him make me doubt that he ever had any involvement in his murder since the letters show so much fraternal love. i also want to add that rodrigo's deep love for his children, while being self-aware and devastated over the fact that he uses them and forces them into roles they're incompetent for and marriages for political gain, was a standout aspect in the book. in short, the book is emotionally engaging because it delves into the intriguing world of the borgia family's renaissance. imo, it's a must-read for borgia enthusiasts.

[yay855]

But the thing is? Agatha is also this. She went her whole childhood thinking that she was broken inside, that something was genuinely wrong with her, only to find out that her Uncle Barry's final gift to her before he left, her precious locket containing pictures of her mother and father, was poisoning her brain. That it kept her stupid and unable to concentrate even a smidgen, so she'd grow up desperately wanting to prove herself but unable to. And then her locket is stolen, and suddenly she can think- she can sing. All of a sudden the world explodes into color, both metaphorically and visually; everything is bright and fresh and seems amazing. For the first time in her life Agatha feels free in spite of her being a prisoner of the Baron. She meets and falls in love with Gil, who genuinely respects her and her ideas.

And then it all comes crashing down. The Baron is a dangerous man who views her as a tool at best and a test dummy at worst. Gil wants to force their relationship forwards to spite his father, not caring about Agatha's needs or wants. And the few people who genuinely care for her are punished, even killed, just for standing up for her.

But this time, she's all alone save for Krosp, whose only real use is his paranoia. She's stranded in the wilderness; her home is no longer safe, her adoptive parents are dead, and no one is willing to help her simply because she's potentially dangerous, both as a spark and as a fugitive of Wulfenbach.

She gets very lucky to come across Master Payne's Circus, because they teach her a lot of very useful life skills after taking her in- acting, subterfuge, combat, and how the world really works. Agatha's home town was isolated and safe, protected by the Baron, while the rest of the world has to suffer monsters and rogue robots and the would-be conquerors unleashing them. But even so, she can't be honest with them, or else she risks endangering them even worse. The only one who's genuinely there for her is Zeetha, and the two become lifelong friends and companions.

They come to Sturmhalten, and in a whirlwind Agatha is forced away from the circus and brought into a four-way plot between Aaronev, the Geisters, Tarvek, and Anevka, each of them wanting to use her for their own purposes. She learns more of her heritage, that she's not only the child of one of the Heterodyne Boys but of Lucrezia Mongfish, who is in fact the horrific boogeyman she grew up thinking was long gone, but who now is possessing her mind. Once again Agatha's agency is ripped away from her, but this time she's gotten a taste of it, and she's not willing to give it up again. And things go horribly wrong, the Baron is after her and Lucrezia is messing up Agatha's plans, and she barely escapes, the first man she's ever loved sacrificing his life for her while genuinely believing she would never love him because of who he was.

Enough is enough. Agatha needs to get in control of her life, now. And so she finally goes to Mechanicsburg, and she finds her people- people who are there for her, who want her to succeed, who support her without question. And still people are trying to take that from her, some pink bitch trying to steal her legacy and her new home. And in stride Gil and Tarvek, both proclaiming that they're here to help her- Gil genuinely thinks his father isn't that bad, but Tarvek knows better and is trying to latch himself onto Agatha for his own protection. But okay, they're both smart guys who can help, so she puts up with it, and slowly learns that they're not that bad.

Her castle is fixed, and right as she's ready to proclaim herself the new ruler of Mechanicsburg, all hell breaks loose- wave upon wave of people and monsters arrive, each one trying to screw her over in their own way. It's an uphill battle, they're running out of power and weapons, and right as Agatha finally manages to do the impossible and win... in strides Martellus, the first person trying to screw her over politely instead of overtly. And one of Agatha's own betrays her, shipping her through a portal to some unknown location...

Two and a half years passed while she was in the portal, and now Mechanicsburg is frozen in time; Agatha's home base, her people, are stolen away from her, and once more some arrogant jackass is trying to force himself on her so that he can take away everything she has. But Agatha is smart, and competent; Martellus is a pompous windbag, and even if she can't undo what he did to her, she can at least cope with it without him. Krosp and Violetta, an old friend and a new one, come to her rescue, and together they escape only to land in more hot water, this time Gil's roving search parties. But Agatha can't really trust him right now, so she outsmarts him too, and reunites with what's left of her people.

She needs to free Mechanicsburg for her own safety, and to remove her mother's influence from her head. So she heads off, trouble following her wherever she goes. First the Corbetites, then Paris, then England; things just keep going wrong, and Agatha is barely scraping by on her wits and her friends. For everything she manages to get right, two more problems pop up, two more things trying to kill her or enslave her or otherwise stop her from being safe for the first time since she left Beetleburg so long ago.

Every single time Agatha thinks she's got a leg up, every time she thinks she's finally free or at least getting close, something else goes wrong. She's constantly dueling people who want to chain her to them, to steal what's rightfully hers, to take away her agency.

Tarvek: sustained by the idea he’ll one day rule everything Gil: functional only as long as he’s deliberately not thinking about how he’ll one day rule everything

[iztarshi]

Can i get DVD commentary on the jagerpet bath chapter particular agatha almost cutting maxims hair and violating his bodily autonomy.

That was meant to be an uncomfortable moment, but I’m still surprised at how hard it hit that mark.

Even though it was... partly inspired maybe... by a rather disturbing tumblr post where a six-year-old who didn’t want her ears pierced was forced into it by her mother. So I did write it with thoughts about children and how easily they can be overridden in mind. It’s even worse for the Jägerpets because they’re seen as animals, but even human children get adults assuming they just don’t understand when it’s convenient.

Purple she’d left until last because his hair was down to his waist, locks of it floating in the bathwater like seaweed. It was a similar black-purple colour to Green’s, but sleeker, and it would have been beautiful if it hadn’t been a mess of matts and tangles. Working shampoo into it was a chore, especially when it was uncomfortable and boring for Purple, leading to him wriggling around and whining.

In the end Agatha gave up and ran downstairs to grab the kitchen scissors.

She’s still thinking of them more as pets at this point. If you found a stray animal with matted fur it would be a kindness to cut, or even shave it.

‘Okay,’ she said, kneeling down by the bath tub again. ‘I’m going to cut your hair. Hold still for me.’

But then she explains what’s about to happen, knowing quite well he’s understand. It’s a confusing situation.

‘No!’ Purple threw himself down into the water and scrambled behind Green. ‘Is mine hair! Mine!’

Maxim’s the most temperamental, and in some ways the most confident. He has a strong sense of his own rights even if he’s never actually had them respected. How? I don’t know, some people just have stronger egos that others, and that’s not always a bad thing.

‘It’s matted,’ Agatha said, taking hold of him by the upper arm and pulling him back towards her. He really would feel better for not having matts attached to him, even if he didn’t understand. ‘And it will grow back.’

Agatha assumes it’s a lack of understanding, though, and she’s also just exhausted. Getting them home, getting them fed and bathed, it’s all been more than she was planning on that evening. She just wants it over with.

Which isn’t an excuse, because I think that’s often the point where adults run roughshod over children. They’ve had enough and they don’t have to negotiate.

‘NOOOOO!’ Purple wailed at the top of his lungs, making her realise how quiet they’d all been until then. ‘I don’t WANNA. I… MINE… don’t WANNA.’ He threw himself down again, dragging on her hand with all his weight, and kicked at her wrist.

Maxim’s controlling himself better than it seems. He’s very strong, he could easily have broken her wrist if he’d really kicked. But he doesn’t want to hurt her, he just wants her to listen.

‘Maxim, don’t,’ Green said, grabbing at his feet.

Agatha let go more in surprise at the name than anything. They’d been talking since she met them, but it hadn’t occurred to her to ask if they knew their own names.

‘Let GO!’ Maxim yelled, smacking his fists against Green’s chest. ‘I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna, let GO!’

Dimo’s pragmatic. Agatha can do what she wants, short of actually hurting them, as long as it keeps them off the streets. I guess, in some ways, he’s also assuming Maxim doesn’t understand the situation, rather than that Maxim has his own priorities.

Agatha dropped the scissors so she could grab Maxim out of the water and hold him with both arms where he couldn’t hit or kick. He could probably still bite, oh god, she hoped he didn’t bite. But all he actually did was go limp in her arms and start sobbing hysterically, little snuffles of ‘no’ and ‘mine’ coming out whenever he got enough breath.

Maxim thinks he’s lost this battle. *pats him*

‘Okay,’ said Agatha, shifting her grip so she could rub his back. ‘Shhhh, it’s okay, I won’t cut it. I promise. It’s okay.’ He pressed his face into her shoulder and gradually the sobbing tailed off. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Good boy. Now. You’re going to have to be very good and patient while I get your hair clean. I’m sorry, but there’s a lot of it. Can you do that?’

‘Yez,’ he said quietly.

‘Good boy.’

But Agatha didn’t mean to upset him like this and once she realises she was wrong she’s willing to back off. Maxim’s very subdued now, he was frightened, but he’s also unexpectedly got his way.

He was good, too. He whimpered a bit when a tangle got pulled or shampoo, despite Agatha’s best efforts, got into his eyes, but if it meant he got to keep his hair apparently he could endure. Tan scooted over to hold one of his hands under the water.

Oggie is the sweetest of sweethearts.

‘So,’ Agatha said, wanting to distract them all a bit. ‘I’m Agatha. I just learnt Maxim’s name. What about you two?’

‘Hy’m Ognian, hyu ken call me Oggie,’ said Tan. ‘Dot’s vot Mizz Lulu called me.’‘Was that your owner?’

Oggie nodded. Agatha wondered whether to ask more, but they’d been abandoned. Asking about owners might just cause more upset.

It totally didn’t occur to me that “Miss Lulu” would cause confusion when Lucrezia’s the villain. Her name was actually Louisa.

‘Hy’m Dimo,’ said Green.

‘Mizz Agatha,’ said Oggie.

‘Yes?’ Agatha asked.

He shook his head with a grin. ‘Hy chust like it.’

Oggie likes having a name to call his caregiver. It makes it seem a lot more likely she’s keeping them.

Afterwards they were sleepy enough that Agatha got them into diapers and three of her oldest shirts (she’d forgotten pyjamas) with minimum fuss. Agatha wound up sitting on the floor of the bathroom with Dimo on one side, Oggie on the other, and Maxim on her lap while she brushed his hair with her widest toothed comb. He was good about this too, and not in the resigned way he’d been about the shampoo, he relaxed into it.

‘Do you like having your hair brushed?’ she asked him.

‘Yez. Feels goot.’ He snuggled against her, face down so she could still reach his hair. ‘Shelley liked brushink me too.’

Maxim hates having his hair washed, but he loves being brushed. Shelley treated him like a doll, so being brushed and pampered was one of the times he was closest to her.

‘It is very nice hair. I’m sorry I was going to cut it without asking you.’

‘Iz hokay. Hyu stopped.’

Agatha not only realises she shouldn’t have violated his autonomy, she realises he can understand, and deserves, an apology. Maxim’s still surprised she stopped.

I think all three of them find that reassuring. That pushing back against Agatha can lead to an apology rather than punishment.

Agatha supposed people usually didn’t stop when they’d made up their mind about something concerning him. Owners always made decisions for their pets. It was just… odd… when the pet could argue. Okay, Krosp could definitely argue with some of her decisions, but he couldn’t negotiate them. She couldn’t tell him, ‘I won’t wrap you in the towel if you’ll sit and let me clip your claws without it’.

My parents’ cat can also argue about having her claws clipped. Or her feet dried. She does not win those arguments.

Once again she’s realising they don’t seem to think like animals, and that treating them like children gets her better results.

Maxim was asleep by the time she’d finished. She carried him and Oggie upstairs, one in each arm, with Dimo following.

Dimo gets less carrying in general, poor guy. He tries very hard to be mature, and sometimes it means less attention. But he will get picked up and hugged by the end of the chapter.

[thisweekingundamwing]

New in the GW Fandom! August 20-26, 2017.

Clara suggested that this be this weeks theme. Heh, so, on that note... here are the amazing things completed this past week in our very NOT dead fandom! ^_^

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction:

@anaranesindanarie

Death Unspeaking (Ch. 3 & 4) http://archiveofourown.org/works/11483196/chapters/26839467

What happens when a Gundam Pilot is mute? What happens when the other Pilots look down at him because of it? Will he overcome the odds or will the odds overcome him?

Eventual 3x2

@chronicwhimsy​

Saudade (Ch. 8) http://archiveofourown.org/works/11352189/chapters/26915238

3X4, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner

@claraxbarton​

It Only Has to Happen Once http://archiveofourown.org/works/11858058

Sort of Sunday Sinning.

A bit smutty.

And 1x2x1 - rare for me!

Ready for You (Ch. 4) http://archiveofourown.org/works/11763066/chapters/26847633

A chance meeting ten years after the war leads Duo and Trowa down an unexpected path.

ExecutiveShrimp

The Princess With The Purple Heart (Ch.18) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12584463/18/The-Princess-With-The-Purple-Heart

AU, 2x1: Don’t ask, don’t tell.

@isolavirtuosa

Unlikely Office Romances http://isolavirtuosa.tumblr.com/post/164631855479/unlikely-office-romances

1x2x1, probably PG-13ish though there are some mildly sexy times and the usual trashmouth

Dr. Heero Yuy, Preventers forensics expert, can’t seem to get over his crush on his former wartime comrade Agent Duo Maxwell.  Agent Duo Maxwell can’t seem to stand the sight of him… and yet…?

I was so excited to be posting this story which I started writing 4 years ago, but then I realized who is even the audience for this ahahahaha

Parts 1-2

Jei/turnippatch

The Faithful and the Brave (Ch. 33) http://turnippatch.livejournal.com/157783.html#/cutid1%C2%A0

Fantasy AU/Adventure

1+2, 3+4

@kangofu-cb

The World At Large http://archiveofourown.org/works/11907273

Duo is lost, drifting, after the events of Endless Waltz, but he starts to find himself again, thanks to a travel blog and an online friendship.

1X2, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy

@lbro009

Show War the Door https://lbro009.tumblr.com/post/164442717650/fic-snippet-show-war-the-door-taster

Genre: Humour (I hope), silliness, fandom clichés galore

Throwback fic I started 10/11 years ago… ***

@outofworkshinigami

Special Needs (Ch. 7) http://archiveofourown.org/works/10549412/chapters/26818131

Also warning for those who are a bit squeamish: there's some vomiting towards the end of this chapter. You won't miss anything plot heavy by skipping over it. But the gist of that section (if you had to skip it) is that Une is a badass and still very much a strong woman and I tried to imply she's been there helping with Treize for a while when nobody else was. I hope that came through. Also Zechs is easily grossed out.

@post-settlement

PS: Mars Fic https://post-settlement.tumblr.com/post/164648376289/characterdevelopmentforwriters-has-your-character

Hilde Schbeiker, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner, Dorothy Catalonia

Shinohoshi13

By Demons Be Driven http://archiveofourown.org/works/11889852/chapters/26854797

or years she struggled to live, burdened by a long-forgotten past, an unclear present, and a non-existent future. War consumes her life, forcing her to live as if every day is her last. Fate has seen fit to gift her with unnatural abilities far beyond the normal human capacity. With those abilities, she leads a daily game of tag, putting her life on the line over and over again. Will a chance meeting with a young man give this tired young woman the will to keep fighting? And with the war escalating higher and higher, will she have the time to find out who, and what, she really is?

OCx05; slight implied 01x02, 03x04, 06x13; one-sided Rx01.) (Relena bashing.

Strawberrywaltz

The Forgotten (Ch. 4) http://archiveofourown.org/works/11686344/chapters/26833566

1X4, 4XOCs, past 3X4

The entire universe thinks that Quatre Winner is dead, but when Heero starts having strange black outs he begins to realize the rumors of Quatre's death might not be true.

TheManwell

May Demons Rest: Shinigami Sleeps (2017) (Ch. 17) http://archiveofourown.org/works/10944786/chapters/26759832

2X3, WARNINGS: language, angst

@renmaxwell

The Discovery: Part 1, Duo Meets Black Wolborg http://renmaxwell.tumblr.com/post/164598745471/a-few-hours-after-a-snarky-farewell-to-kai-duo

Duo Maxwell, snark

Fanart:

ArtStarZ95

https://artstarz95.deviantart.com/art/gundam-wings-701040348

Wing Gundam

@belgianbooleancg

http://belgianbooleancg.tumblr.com/post/164365573707/gundam-minimalist

Gundam Minimalist Posters

coddfootwalker

https://coddfootwalker.deviantart.com/art/Wing-Gundam-Proto-Zero-TV-ver-Head-off-outline-700430483

Wing Gundam’s head

@dangerstreet

http://dangerstreet.tumblr.com/post/164403440123/join-me-on-patreon-as-i-make-wing-zero-gundam-and

Mech making.

@downwarddnaspiral

http://downwarddnaspiral.tumblr.com/post/164471350106/i-was-a-little-lazy-with-the-shading-but-i-wanted

Trowa Barton and Relena Darlian/Peacecraft in Victorian dress.

@fictioncoefficient

https://fictioncoefficient.tumblr.com/post/164503732697/were-it-not-for-silly-anime-hair-no-one-would

Trowa Barton

https://fictioncoefficient.tumblr.com/post/164525458442/ew-came-out-twenty-years-ago-you-guys-we-need

Quatre Raberba Winner

@hainekoken

http://hainekoken.tumblr.com/post/164561750286

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell

http://hainekoken.tumblr.com/post/164559655761

Quatre Raberba Winner

@hikaru9art

http://hikaru9art.tumblr.com/post/164567238432/duo-doing-what-he-does-best-being-annoying

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell

@maevemauvaise

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/164298101401/trowa-barton-from-claraxbartons-pas-de-trois

Trowa Barton

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/164226808301/soooo-like-ten-years-of-no-war-and-the-government

Sanc commemorative coin.

http://maevemauvaise.tumblr.com/post/164556055246/they-know-youre-coming-of-course-but-it

Dorothy Catalonia, WuFei Chang

GW, Atomic Blonde, John Wick crossover.

mdtarmimi

https://mdtarmimi.deviantart.com/art/Wing-Gundam-Fenice-Rinascita-700092007

Wing Gundam Fenice Rinascita

@missingart

https://missingart.tumblr.com/post/164473680660/zechs-from-gundam-wing

Zechs Merquise

https://missingart.tumblr.com/post/164356592240/heero-from-gundam-wing

Heero Yuy

miura-n315

https://miura-n315.deviantart.com/art/Noin-699771122

Lucrezia Noin

@outofworkshinigami

http://outofworkshinigami.tumblr.com/post/164654333802/be-good-for-lady-it-had-been-four-years-since

Treize Khushrenada, Mariemaia Khushrenada, Lady Une

Timelapse drawing video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKrSGDikGrc&feature=youtu.be

Simbiothero

https://simbiothero.deviantart.com/art/Giant-Robots-Battle-Royale-2-700863129

Crossover of Mechas

TheBRSteamer95

https://thebrsteamer95.deviantart.com/art/SFM-Two-Childhood-Crossover-700651547

Wing Gundam Crossover

thunder1928

https://thunder1928.deviantart.com/art/Gundam-Wing-Lady-Une-10-701104370

Lady Une

https://thunder1928.deviantart.com/art/Gundam-Wing-Relena-Peacecraft-SP-9-700391938

Relena Darlian/Peacecraft

https://thunder1928.deviantart.com/art/Gundam-Wing-Catherine-Bloom-3-700335110

Catherine Bloom

Cosplay:

@manabingu

http://manabingu.tumblr.com/post/164524249576/hey-superstars-everything-is-more-fun-with

Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Raberba Winner, Heero Yuy, WuFei Chang

Photosets/Screenshots:

@ahsimwithsake

http://ahsimwithsake.tumblr.com/post/164499676598/ive-been-working-on-learning-photoshop-and-i

Trowa (photo manipulation)

@cyberbeastswordwolfe

https://cyberbeastswordwolfe.tumblr.com/post/164522689759/custom-build-1144-epyon-ares

Epyon & Aries

@exavaorgtfo

http://exavaorgtfo.tumblr.com/post/164470386885/ok-so-i-fixed-the-wings-now-prepare-for-the

Gundam

@lbro009

https://lbro009.tumblr.com/post/164569392415/randomness-sallys-changing-hair

Sally Po, Noin, Heero and random puppers.

@vyntic

http://www.vyntic.com/post/164436580868/desolation-after-war-created-by-hank-cheng

Wing Gundam

yefluga

https://yefluga.deviantart.com/art/MG-Wing-Gundam-Zero-EW-700022940

Wing Gundam Zero

Photo Prompts/Prompts:

@claraxbarton​

http://claraxbarton.tumblr.com/post/164444487430/iqfashion-patrick-grant-source-tombunningcom

Old men pilots. ...deathfic?/main character death.

@fantwirls​

http://fantwirls.tumblr.com/post/164487684730/are-you-doing-the-prompts-thing-still-if-so

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell

1+2, comedic fluff

@kangofu-cb​

https://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com/post/164471867417/fic-prompts-10-did-you-catch-the-book-thief

Quatre, WuFei, book thefts

https://kangofu-cb.tumblr.com/post/164487362817/prompts-2x5-4-21-30-or-35-although-someone-had

2X5, Sleepy grouchy WuFei

Head Canons:

@lifeaftermeteor​

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/164614477810

Trowa Barton

No Idea What To Put This Under:

@anaranesindanarie​

https://anaranesindanarie.tumblr.com/post/164525730814/mobile-suit-ability-symmetry

Mech readouts

Calendar Events:

End of Summer Block Party @gwblockparty​

https://gwblockparty.tumblr.com/post/164387388052/gwblockparty-tropes-guidelines-what-a

Tropefest! Get your trope on!

Entries to be posted September 1st - 4th!

Gundam Wing Eve War Event @gw-evewar​

https://gw-evewar.tumblr.com/post/164079261510/an-open-gundam-wing-fandom-community-science

Open Science Fiction Themed Event

(Saturday) December 23, 2017 - (Sunday) December 24, 2017

*** event will be observing Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) ***

Submissions: Fanfiction, Meta essays, Personal Headcanon, Fan Art

Rules: All works must feature a science fiction theme. Alternate Universes, and cross-over fiction are welcome. There are no limits to characters, pairings, audience rating, time frame or universe.

OC October @gwoc-october​

https://gwoc-october.tumblr.com/post/164521028355/update

For the month of October, we can post everything and anything pertaining to fan OCs in Gundam Wing with weekly themes and perhaps a featured OC every other day or so. This includes fic, snippets, art, OC profiles, headcanons, ships, discussions, and anything you have as long as it’s about an OC. Even if this OC of yours is still in the mulling-stages, we want to hear about it! Let’s embrace OCs and celebrate our collective awesomeness.

This Week in Gundam Events @thisweekingundamevents​

https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/164453187095/hello-wonderful-fandom

Our new sideblog for helping to host Gundam Wing fandom events!

Check us out and hit us up!