#i love efnisien

[not-poignant]

Hi, Pia. I'm just really grateful and I want to eat that no literally work has ever impacted me like FFS, and I have never read a character like Efnisien before and probably never will. I really appreciate you for the topics that you write about and the poise in which you do so. I know I've never met you but you've changed my life so much. Thank you!

Thank you, anon!

FFS was one of those stories that was really special to write, and it was so...incredible and unexpected that it turned out that some other people needed this story too (for whatever reasons they did). I never thought I'd get to write a character like Efnisien, let alone spend like...9 novels' worth with him? And I'm so glad folks like you let me get to indulge that and still indulge stories like that today. <333

Thank you for reading!

[utb-art-dump]

Had some free time and did a quick 15 minute efnisien sketch

Efnisien at some point near the beggining of utb probably

Pale, scruffy, feral boy

[charzea]

Underline the black by not_poignant will forever live rent free in my mind. i love it so much

[mythoughtfulwindow]

Suuuper quick doodle of a scene from @not-poignant’s original story “Spoils of the Spoiled”!

[not-poignant]

AHHHHHHHH I love everything about this

Inspired by  @not-poignant’s wonderful story Underline the Black ❤️. 

[gingersnaptaff]

Most chill to least - Welsh mythology and Arthurian edition. Inspired by a convo @gwalch-mei and I had last night. Seriously I was severely sleep deprived so yeah.

0. Culhwch. He just exists in his own story like I can't say much else. Sorry, mate.

1. Manawydan / Brân (they're brothers but like Manawydan is legit usurped by a guy who kills his nephew and just completely fucks off to Dyfed to live in peace with his horse goddess wife and her rash son. Brân, before he gets his head cut off, is super chill but also nearly gets the whole of the Britons wiped out. (Long story)

2. Rhiannon. Unproblematic. Never done anything wrong in her LIFE.

3. Palomides. (I know he has beef with Tristan but like SAME.)

4. Honestly, Gwalchmai is super chill.

5. Aranrhod. Wants to be left alone by her stupid idiotic brothers. Or smash Gwydion's head in. Either really.

6. Branwen. Chill, yes, but I do also headcanon that she wanted to kill her half-brother as well as her husband and raze Ireland to the ground for all she endured.

7. Peredur / Percival. More Peredur because he is the most chillest and unfazed lad ever but still.

8. Galahad. Just... the vibe gives is super chill war criminal in a way I cannot explain.

9. Arthur. Except for the time in Welsh myth where he just casually kills a dude for necking one of his mistresses. Or y'know the May Day massacre.

10. Gwenhwyfar. (Guinevere is also chill but she would hunt those who wronged her down for sport if necessary. Gwenhwyfar, in contrast, would maim if needed. Seems largely content with the fact her husband is in love with his boat. Also just... yeah.)

11. Bedwyr. Puts up with Arthur's crap so it necessitates he would Have To Be Chill.

12 / 13. Lancelot and Gawain. They're together because their shenanigans are unmatched.

14/15. Lludd and Llefelys. They near killed each other because of some magical imps they have NO CHILL. Tbf they also immediately made up but like ugyftci

16. Dylan Ail Don, my beloved. He is the god of the waves. (Also, Llŷr too because as god of the sea, he would go off if he was not imprisoned somewhere.)

17. Kay. A lil more hot-headed in certain interpretations. Would, I think, also smack the shit out of Arthur if pressed. (Kay is also here for me because he is a cantankerous bastard but, like, wouldn't u be if u had to deal with half the shit he did.)

18. Fuckin Mordred man endjsjdjx CHILL MY DUDE PLS.

19. Arawn and Pwyll. Just the entirety of branch one of the Mabinogionmakes me think they just are both chill and terribly not.

20/21 Gaheris and Gareth are also a package deal. I know gawain and lance are quite high up the list whereas the rest of the Orkney aren't but like it's a big fat lie. They're just better at hiding it.

22/23. Gwydion and Gilfaethwy

24/25 Blodeuwedd and Lleu. They need couples therapy and QUICKLY

26/27. Owain and Morfudd (they are grandkids of arawn so u THINK THEY CHILL?))

28. Gwyn ap Nudd (no chill. Cut out a man's heart and then made the man's son eat it. Get some therapy, Gwyn, plîs.)

29. Bors and Hector ngl

27. Tor and Lamorak. Just. I mean.

28. Efnisien. oh God oh fuck oh boi

29. Pryderi, in all honesty. Like for having a mum who is legit super chill (apart from when she chews Pwyll and Manawydan out) he is remarkably rash.

30. Fuckin GERAINT

31. Agravaine. Man is just... he just... well, y'know.

32. Cerridwen. She chased Taliesin down and I bet she was fuming the entire time. Literally ate him and gave birth to him.

33. Enid. She is not chill and honestly I know she seems like she is but I bet she wanted to kill geraint cuz I would. Let her fly off the handle holy shit.

34. Morgan. I think she is allowed to be as unchill as she can and wishes to be.

35. Iseult / Esyllt. Nothing more than vibes honestly but still.

36. Olwen. Again nothing but vibes but she is a giant's daughter and like cyvyvuvh

[livingmeat]

Dr Gary & Efnisien having fun time

Feel free to color it yourself, I would love to see how it turns out

[not-poignant]

what what what what AHHHHHHHHHHHH

the first time I draw gary and he's trapped in chibi form smh

characters by @not-poignant

[splinter-cat]

Do you ready books often? (And do you have any book reccomendation?)

Unfortunately I don’t read often, I’ve struggled with reading for like 15 years now due to my ADHD. I often miss it because I used to be one of those “reads a book in one night” kids. My "to read" list gets longer and longer each year because I add to it more than I actually read off of it, haha.

That said, I have managed to read a few things over the years that I’ve loved! Long post so it's under a cut:

Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong

Goodreads link here!

Obviously I have to start with the series I've done the most fanfic for, haha. Bitten is about Elena Michaels, the world's only known female werewolf. It follows her as she navigates accepting having become a werewolf and her place in her pack and with her mate.

The series itself follows Elena for the first two books before switching to another narrator, the witch Paige Winterbourne. A few more narrators crop up during the series, each with different powers and romances. Occasionally the series returns to earlier characters, like how books six and ten return to Elena. There are also a ton of short stories and novellas taking place before, during, and after the series, and if you like the werewolves there are plenty of stories following them.

The series still has some of my favorite werewolves I've read about, which is why I like writing in the world so much. It's pretty much what kick started my werewolf obsession, haha. Unfortunately the series is extremely hetero- and cisnormative, so even when queer characters are (rarely) introduced, the writing isn't the best (hence so much of my fanfic being queer lol). But the main characters are still a lot of fun to read about and the plots are full of suspense, mystery, and magic.

So, if you like werewolves and witches and vampires, I recommend this series! Just go in knowing it's a strictly het romance series.

Fae Tales series by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant

Found on AO3 here.

Okay, so really I would rec anything by Pia, but I wanted to start with this one.

The first part of the series is Deeper into the Woods, which follows the Seelie King, Gwyn ap Nudd, as he seeks healing from an Unseelie waterhorse, Augus Each Uisge. It's a shorter introduction to the characters and Augus' healing-through-BDSM methods.

The next part is Game Theory, which follows Gwyn after he has defeated the former Unseelie King, Augus, and imprisoned him. It's an amazing enemies-to-lovers story with a captor/captive dynamic where it's not always clear who really holds the power.

After that the series goes for another million+ words of political intrigue, epic fantasy quests, and another amazing enemies-to-lovers dynamic with Mosk Manytrees and Eran Iliakambar. If you like long, character focused stories of trauma recovery, found family, and BDSM, it is absolutely worth checking out!

(To give you an idea of just how much I love this series, I've styled multiple ball-jointed dolls as some of the characters from it!)

Falling Falling Stars by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant

Found on AO3 here.

Technically, this is a sequel to The Spoils of the Spoiled, which I also recommend (it adds context to a lot of FFS, too). But this one in particular has one of my favorite MCs of all time, Efnisien.

Falling Falling Stars follows Efnisien ap Wledig through a long path of trauma recovery, finding himself outside of what others wanted him to be, and learning to live with the ways he badly hurt people in his past.

If there were ever a manual on how to write a good redemption arc, this would be the absolute best example to use. It is such a thoughtful, soft, and comforting story, even though it touches on some very dark themes. To me, it's hot chocolate and marshmallows in story form.

Chronicles of City M by Lissa Kasey

Goodreads link here.

Hidden Gem follows Misaki Itou, a psi who works at a brothel in a post-apocalyptic city, and his shifter love interest, Shane McNaughton, as they try to solve a series of murders in the city. The subsequent books also follow their friends with various abilities and the relationships they form while still returning to Aki and Shane.

I first read this series during quarantine in 2020, which seems like an odd time for a post-apocalyptic story to be feel-good, I know, but this series focuses on the city and the people rebuilding after everything that happened in the past. It's a story of trauma recovery (seeing a pattern in the stories I like? haha) and hope, even when it seems like humanity itself might be wiped out.

How to Raise an Honest Rabbit by Amy Lane

Goodreads link here.

Another sequel story, this time to The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters, but this couple was one I really enjoyed.

How to Raise an Honest Rabbit is about a former con man, Jeremy, who finds a place he might be able to stay for good in the form of working for an alpaca farm and fiber mill in a small town. There, he meets Aiden, who is determined to make Jeremy stay even when every instinct tells him to pack up and run at the first sign of trouble.

Rabbit is a much angstier story than the very fluffy Winter Courtship Rituals, but the setting still makes it a very comfy story to me, and I deeply enjoyed the characters. Once I can get around to reading again, I'm looking forward to continuing the series and seeing more from them in Blackbird Knitting in a Bunny's Lair.

That's all for now!

I thought about including fanfiction in this post, too, but it's already quite long, so I might do a separate post later. I also have a very long to read list that I can post some secondhand recs off of if anyone wants it, it'll just be less detailed recs since I haven't finished the books yet haha.

And if anyone wants manga or TV show recs I can also provide those. :D

[not-poignant]

Excerpt from chapter 14 of Constellations:

Gwyn pursed his lips. ‘Why are you forcing yourself to do this now?’ ‘How insane is it, that I can’t eat around you?’ Efnisien burst out. ‘You with like, all the food shit you went through with Crielle, and now you’re a dietitian, and you know all about food, and I can’t even…’ Efnisien paused and looked to the side, mouth open, and he shook his head. ‘It’s so embarrassing. And I know I get better about eating around others once I just start, but… You got really good at food, and I’m still shit at it, and it’s so stupid with what she put you through. She put you through so much. And what, she stabs me like one time, and I can’t eat in front of you anymore?’ Gwyn was pretty sure he was watching a meltdown happen in real time. He thought about how controlling he could be, thought about how distressed Efnisien was, and then made an executive call. Fuck it, Efnisien could hate him later. He stood and picked up his plate. And then he walked around the counter and picked up Efnisien’s plate. And Efnisien watched him take it and then made a noise of protest ‘I can do it!’ Efnisien said. ‘I know you can,’ Gwyn said, putting both plates down near the sink. ‘But you’re super upset, and this isn’t a competition. It doesn’t invalidate me or my problems that you have an eating disorder. You’re pushing yourself too hard.’

[isengrimmr]

efnisien illtyd lavellan

[not-poignant]

YES THIS

Efnisien and Gary being disasters but the best kind fjdjdjdjdjd

I have been thinking the big UtB memes today. @not-poignant

[thermie]

*Yzma voice* Well, it ain’t getting any done-er!

I present an Ef from Falling Falling Stars playlist! Efnisien would hate this, it’s all indie shit! *grins* Falling Falling Stars is a fic by the lovely @not-poignant, and if you want some amazing hurt/comfort with an ace pov-char, you should give it a whirl. It’s my latest fave.

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 17 of Constellations:

‘Sweetheart, maybe he’s just trying to experiment with how it feels to not talk about the past with you every single time,’ Arden said. ‘Like, I’ve had my concerns about how some of the past visits have gone, and it sounds like Mika has too. You said Gwyn was seeing a therapist. Maybe they feel the same way?’ Efnisien turned his head into Arden’s chest, listening to his heartbeat through his skin and muscle and shirt. He took a few deep breaths and felt as worn out as he could after a heavy scene. But no, it was just stress and his gastrointestinal system throwing a fit. ‘I’m not mad at him about the past, or him asking about the past,’ Efnisien said. ‘Isn’t that why he’s seeing me?’ ‘Maybe he realised he just wants to see you.’ ‘But I’m…’ But I’m my past. He sighed.

[not-poignant]

oh I love this so much <333

'I don't know what's wrong with me. Somethings wrong with me.'

Bonus lineart only and close up:

[suis0u]

Efnisien ap Wledig, my little new obsession and character by @not-poignant. 

I never had thought that his story would have such impact on me, but I love it!