#but idk who embodies 'assertive bitchy confident morally dubious' if not... mother courage...

[mercyisms]

what characters do you feel like are as well written as mercymore? It's so hard finding female characters who are assertive, confident, bitchy and morally dubious - let alone ones as well written as Mercymore (and Ianthe for that matter) is.

Deeply enjoying this Freudian slip of wanting Mercymore. Off the top of my head, you may enjoy:

Books: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and okay, honestly, kind of left field and it's been a decade or so since I've read it & it's certainly of its era but maybe The Joy Luck Club, lol.

Plays: Mother Courage and her Children, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Lion in Winter.

TV: Channel 4's Utopia (not the Amazon remake!! a Show of All Time and me flexing a deep cut), AMC's Interview with a Vampire (many a beloved bitchy man, but Claudia, beloved; I think she and Mercy would vibe tbqh), HBO's Succession (Shiv Roy and Gerri Kellman, you will always be famous, etc). Idk, Fleabag? (Look, take it as you will, but I actually really enjoy reading the Fleabag scripts.)

Video Games: I think some of the games Tamsyn has either cited as inspiration, eg. Umineko When They Cry, or confirmed to play, eg. Disco Elysium (like Mercymorn, the female characters are secondary ones, but everyone's very voicey and fun) are probably vibe.

Comics: Queer terrors abound in What Happens Next (webcomic), idk anything Emily Carroll is probably a vibe, although certainly more condensed.