#idk it has a unique title so its easy to find it

[glamorousdame]

i want to worship the sun

[squeiky]

METAL SONIC X CHAOS ZERO!!!

IN ALL THE CHARTS I COULD FIND!!

Some of the charts got repetitive, so i cropped it.

NOTES: there may be someee minor inconsitences as sometimes id change mind my across one chart to another.

If you want an expliantion for ANY of my choices here, please ask! I am starving for conversation about this relationship- so please please please ask my questions- or just tell me your own ideas! Idk! Communicate! Your words and thoughts are not dumb!! They are very important to me and must be shared!!!

Also, some more of my thoughts + notes after the cut:

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I think my favorite charts are the first two, since the first one was pretty thourghough and easy to get whilst also including intresting and unique questions to the relatio ship dynamic. the second one i added a bit of character interaction so its really cute, and thats practically why i like.

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I particularly like the touch chart, as i really had to consider wthe physicality of these two, and the custom model was fun to make (look they're even holding hands haha). It was a bit tricky considering i had to figure out what touches where welcomed and what weren't based on previous canonical interactions, and my own theories/speculations.

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Oh, to explian the "lends clothes" and "borrows/steals clothes", i always found the neat detail of Neo Metal Sonic's wardrobe possesing a kind of.. arm warmer/bell sleeve? As well as its pants(?) Being a bell bottom.

Without the belt/butt cape, it does make metal sonics limbs somehwhat resemble the sillouette of Chaos' body, so obviously- i just figured that Chaos, if he were to wear any clothing, would probably be stolen by Metal Sonic since it already seems to be fond of that particular look that Chaos naturally has.

--

Oh, and Metal and Chaos being somewhat organized is due to thier jobs and enviornment they grew up in. Eggman, being the opposite of Sonics carefree, chaotic attitude, would likely prefer more cleaner, organized or "controlled" enviornments. Thus, i feel that Metal Sonic may have picked up a few tidying or cleaning habits that were a cause of eggman simply teaching or implimenting features in his bots to prefer the "clean up" of "dirty" or "messy" areas.

For chaos, i do recall reading something (perhaps on the chao wiki) of him purifying the Altars water and keeping it relatively clean from debries and such. Furthermore, having to be sole guardian of little children chao, the altar and the master emerald, requires a lot of responsibility and- if anyone has worked with children before- it can get very messy very quickly. So its mere speculation, but i do think Chaos would have picked up many cleaning habits as well, as well as cooking/harvesting skills due to him having to take care of large batches of critters.

Surprisingly, for a creature named "Chaos", the name only truely applies to the singular instance in which he is "Final Chaos" (as thats likely what the echidnas called him during and after that time.) Turns out, Chaos is way more controlled and responsible than chaotic and carefree.

So to segway, out of the two, Metal Sonic would be way more chaotic considering its nack for stirring up trouble (CD, Sonic Heroes, Chaotix.. ect) for the heroes, as well as it not really having major responsibilites outside of its purpose to "destroy sonic" and occasionally obey whatever task eggman requires of it.

Thus, is why in the driving promps, i title it "a speeder".

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To explain the "Cognito Egro Sum" (aka. I think therefore i am) and the "infinty symbol" for the ages, er.. Metal sonic is a robot, and Chaos is an immortal being. If your being technical with it, you can say they're both relatively young, considering Chaos chao can't age and are often stuck in the form they were hatched in- despite the fact that chao do infact change as they age-

One can consider the idea that Chaos, for all intensive purposes, looks and probably is pretty young- if we apply chao logic to him.

Though one will argue "but Chaos is ancient" which is true, but his case is similar to Shadow's as he was trapped in that Master emerald for... millions of years............. so, similarly to how shadow was stuck for 50 years yet remains a teenager both inside and out, Chaos- for whatever age he was before he got trapped, probably still thinks and acts like that, as well as Tikal. Except now they probably need a LOT of therapy.

^hence why i put chaos's sleeping habits as "sleeps poorly" and "sleeps to little". In hindsight, being trapped in a emerald for thousands of years, with your freind of who's father killed your entire* family and burned your house (altar) down and tried to steal your most precious item (master emerald) and being the girl whos stuck with your freind(?) who killed your entire bloodline and basically genocided your entire community- stuck with him for THOUSANDS OF YEARS- is.....is going to require a lot of therapy.

So y'know, bad sleeping problems. Also probably why i depict Chaos hugging a lot + being affectionate, since being deprived your community that is entirely reliant on the concept of "caring, loving, and nurturing one another" (cause.. the opposite of that means chao will basically die upon reincarnation), for thousands of years is... a good recipe for touch starvation and a need for attention.

^hence why chaos is also on the attention side of some charts.

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^ just conintuing off of that previous statement, i did move Chaos closer towards "extrovert" in the "extrovert or introvert" prompts, as since Chaos, unlike Metal Sonic, deals closely with many chao, and often is surrounded by a crowd of them, i do believe that Chaos would have to atleast gain some energy from social interaction in order to surivive that every day, without burning out.

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The whole "who talks more" thing is kind of funny because, technically, its metal sonic (see Sonic Heroes + Sonic Free riders) who has more lines than.. Chaos's total of zero!

Meaning that, if anything, the "he said no pickles" meme would probably mean that Metal Sonic would be at the counter whilst Chaos is sitting in the back.

Though, compared to MANY other characters, these two are practically dead-silent, and would most likely rely on non-verbal ways of affection than verbal.

---

Oh and the "ethical v. Immoral thing" where i emphasized that chaos was "neutral" was because by compsring him to "chaos chao", theres a dark side, good guy side, and then neutral. Considering Chaos's history of amazingly goodwilled to horrendously incidous, one can conclude that he practically in the middle in terms of ethics or morality.

Metal sonic is definetly on the more immoral side, though i wouldnt put it all the way, as i do have considering enviornmental aspects to its behavior (such as well.. being a badnik, and being constantly exposed to eggman's immoral behaviors). So, other than like, unnesecarily abusing animal freinds in CD, and throwing a ship probably full of people at sonic (Sonic heroes) there aren't many instances in which Metal Sonic does something completely immoral and unjust- without any context regarding eggman ordering it too, or simply it just doing its job as a badnik.

However those actions are prettt bad on its own- though compared to... killing out an entire species... drowning thousands of people in a city and attempting to kill eggman with a giant laserbeam... and to whatever hyjinks eggman gets up too...

Its actions seem.. relatively small (though not obsolete.)

So like, theres not going to be many issues regarding "metal sonics gotta be a good guy"/ "i can fix him🥺" mentalities, since its kind of hard to do that, when you have a kill count of a 100+ whilst Metal Sonic is still on the "i'm needlessly harming animals, and threw a boat"...

Then again, i like to think the leiniency allows for them to work on themselves together, rather than tear eachother down or hate eachothers guts.

---

Transgender - both for my headcannnon, but also a refrence to it literally going "i transformed myself with my own hands" and well, i cant resist a pun/play on words now can i?

Agender- chaos dont have.. genders.

However, i thought this would change when introduced to concept of feminine and masculine models of the ancients in frontiers, but looking at Chaos, he doesnt resemble either one very much (tbh, in Sonic Forces, his model actually looks more akin to the fem version, than the pointy and sharp masc ones) and looks more akin to that of the children, if anything.

Plus, being masculine or feminine isnt really and indicator of gender anyways.. so like..???

So what? Does Chaos, gender? NOPE! Chaos isn't an ancient (thats his ancestor) and is a mutated chao. Chaos are genderless, or atleast out of that particular binary.

If Tikal showed up one day and started calling Chaos a "he/him", its likely that Chaos could've just.. adopted that. Assigned pronouns by random. Amazing.

So agender, as i can't think of anything else.

---

Sexuality -idk. Look, i dont consider whomth one likes. The knowledge of my characters, or other characters sexualites comes upon me in the way preists suddenly hear the words of their gods.

I dunno, until suddenly i know. Thats just how it is.

---

Ending it here cause im hungrt and cant think of anything else to chat on.

[fancyfade]

Ah thank you for answering my questions actually I am the same anon of a blended family that pointed out the reason why Damian consider Bruce “only” son because a lot of people at dc views the batkids as Bruce’s students or soldiers. Iirc there was a deleted thread of a editor that confirms that.

Not saying there isn’t official lore of the robins acknowledged each other as brothers. Isn’t just me or is their dynamics mainly just

1. The boring Batfamily events Dc love to do. Seriously anyone excited for them anymore

2. Or around Bruce

Not to say they deep bonds, is it just me off dc often make the Batfamily…idk extremely antagonistic to each other to the point their characters are better fleshed out away from the family vs together?

Maybe because how Bruce is written recently but man it’s rough.

I definitely do think that writers flip flop a lot on how they consider Bruce's kids, or they want to treat them as mostly soldiers for the angsty Bruce thing and to explain why they don't have to show Bruce being a dad on panel. Or more of different writers have different opinions, rather than flip-flopping.

WRT bonds... I think that they have some that are well-developed on page, and some that are just not. Most of the characters' dynamic with Bruce has gotten panel time, though inconsistently, so we know pretty much what it should be. We also have seen Dick with Tim and Dick with Damian. There are characters who are not antagonistic, but just don't have a ton of panel time devoted to them (Dick and Cass pre-the dark cass era). And Damian and Tim are no longer antagonistic to each other for the most part but also just. don't have any panel time showing them actually becoming close.

rather than being antagonistic to each other being the reason main batfam events are boring, I think it's b/c they honestly all fill pretty similar niches.

like think about No Man's Land. That was a pretty big batfam event, but we almost never have all of them on panel at once. When we see them in big groups, its often just when in Oracle's clock tower between missions, like saying hi to Cass when she just became Batgirl.

But like. We see Dick go off and do a mission alone in the jail. Some Babs and Dick defending base stuff. Dick and Tim work together in the tunnels for ratcatcher. Cass and Tim when Tim has to be evacuated out of Gotham. Cass and Jean Paul infiltrating that one manipulative guy's camp. In general the missions are pretty small in terms of actually number of people actively on them.

Ok so going back to:

trying to have every single batfam member in a mission just makes them boringer. You have "so and so is the smart one" "so and so is the angry one" "so and so is the nice one" etc... but like. They're all smart. They can all be angry. They can all be nice. they all fill the niche of "generally competent fighter with stealth skills and usually above-average computer and detective skills". IDK its like having a party of 6 rogues.

So in general what you have is you have to diminish characters in one way to make the other stand out more. Like Gates of Gotham, which has stuff I really do like, also had stuff I really don't like like Tim being the only one having ideas. Because Tim had to be "the smart one". And this isn't unique to Batfam! It happens in many team stuff. 1960s Teen Titans diminished everyone's brains to make Dick stand out more, JLA does the same for Bruce. Writing complex dynamics is hard so it's easy to just find 1 or 2 character traits and exaggerate those.

I think that's why Batfam members are better fleshed out in their solo titles - they get to be full characters. I think they may also get to be better fleshed out in team comics, but normally because they get the narrative focus instead of other characters and are treated as the "batman" of the team. Like I love NTT, but Dick is clearly Marv's writer's pet and he gets so much narrative focus.

... I am not sure if I actually answered your question, but those are my thoughts in general.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Suddenly just trying to think what the like, most high profile Sonic fan projects are that aren't fan games. Cause those are easy to find, but it seems like only really a couple of fan projects from other formats really stand out to people. Nazo Unleashed comes to mind, fuckin foundational piece of my childhood honestly; we'll have to see how it ages but that Project Shadow fan film really is something special as well; Sonic the Comic Online is a surprisingly big deal for being a fan continuation of the already more niche Fleetway comics; the Summer of Sonic conventions started by fans and did so well as to become officially recognised by SEGA, likewise SAGE is a pretty massive thing directly responsible for the creation of tons of Sonic fan games and even some original indie titles; don't really know if it has the same legacy as any of those but I think Sonic & Tails R is pretty commendable for its unique format and managing to bring in so much of the original voice cast? And past that I'm kinda just blanking really. There are absolutely other extremely impressive Sonic fan projects but I can't think of anything else with quite the widescale public reaction as any of those. Idk. If anyone's got anything feel free to share because this is something I'm legitimately interested in.

[greetings-inferiors]

I thought I finished all of Ricky’s story but apparently I didn’t

All of Riku’s Disney worlds are C-tier

Twilight town, destiny islands and castle oblivion also A-tier.

Anyway, ONTO DAYS

Days uses a mission format, so I’m mainly ranking them on how much I enjoyed going to that world for any given mission. If a world has my favourite mission in the game but the rest of the missions are awful, it won’t rate as high as a world with consistently just alright missions.

Twilight town (days): A-tier. These missions are the ones I look forward to. Twilight town is just a treat to explore and navigate, and the missions themselves are never irritating. Also the best story happens here, easy A-tier.

Agrabah (days): B-tier. A good world, the cave of wonders segments can be fun and exploring (most) of kh1 Agrabah is fun enough. The story with genie is actually pretty cool!

Beast’s castle (days): A-tier. The castle is a treat to explore, seeing Xaldin have a massive crush on beast is hysterical, it’s the best Disney world in the game by a long shot.

Neverland (days): C-tier. Idk man I really want to like this one but it just doesn’t do it for me. The heartless are really annoying to fight, the flying mechanics are awful (why is the jump button down?????), and the missions where hook is shooting cannons at you from afar are contenders for the worst missions in the game.

Wonderland (days): B-tier. The mazes are pretty cool and the rest is just kh1 map design so it’s pretty alright. You’d think the boss would be annoying but it was actually a pretty fun fight.

Halloween town (days): B-tier. The heartless being hidden is an interes ing gimmick, but it really sucked when I had to do the side quest to find all hidden heartless on one mission, it took forever and I had to use a guide. Also yeah the boss kinda sucks. Not infuriating, I did it on the easiest difficulty so it wasn’t exactly difficult as much as it was annoying. The scarecrow from kh2 Halloween town being based off of Roxas is a cool detail.

Olympus coliseum (days): can this world be bad? Well in CoM yeah, but here it’s pretty cool. A-tier. The barrel destroying minigame was frustrating at gutsy but once I got the hang of it it was actually really fun. And the GAAAAMES was really fun too, the xigbar fight was cool, just a fun cool world with nothing wrong with it really.

The world that never was (days): D-tier. This world is somehow a minigame world. I’m not including the cutscenes, grey room, or endgame non-mission stuff, which honestly on their own are S-tier, but the missions in the world that never was are so bad. Just surviving nobodies or testing your luck. Bad missions. But the cutscenes, grey room, and endgame stuff are incredible. Y’know what overall it’s an A-tier, but with the criteria of “how happy am I to receive a mission in this world” it’s an easy D-tier.

And that’s the days rankings! I know how excited you all were for them! It’s honestly a really good game that, unlike CoM, actually does something unique with its Disney worlds instead of “just kh1 again”, and it being a transitional period between kh1&2 makes the worlds so interesting to explore. But none of them are S-tier, they aren’t really fully explorable, there’s nothing to do but collect chests, they’re only accessible through missions, and they are on the ds, which does impact everything in days. For what they are they’re great, but nowhere near even the weakest S-tiers in the numbered titles like… idk actually they are S-tier for a reason I can’t call any of them weak 😂

I’n thoroughly enjoying kh2 and am just starting the revisits, so expect kh2 rankings soon! It won’t be all at once like days but as I complete the revisits like with kh1. Ciao!

I should start doing a tier list of kingdom hearts worlds across the series

So far:

S-tier: Traverse town (KH1) (one of my favourite worlds in the whole series, it feels like home)

A-tier: Destiny islands (KH1) (I love destiny islands but they aren’t really an actual world… more the tutorial. Very good tutorial! But still), wonderland (very good world!!)

B-tier: agrabah (KH1) (would be A-tier but half of its bosses are awful (genie jafar and pot scorpion are two of my least favourite bosses in the whole game) and the others are just alright)

C-tier: deep jungle (not a bad world, but not a good world either. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t enjoy my time there)

I haven’t beaten Olympus (KH1) but it’s either A or S tier. Mainly just deciding whether to include the cups or not. The world alone? A-tier. With cups? S-tier. I also haven’t beaten 100 acre wood (KH1) yet but it’s easy S-tier, maybe even S+? Idk I’ll think about it.

Projected rankings for kingdom hearts 1:

Halloween town: S

Monstro: B

Atlantica: A

Neverland: A

Hollow bastion: S

End of the world: A or S. leaning towards S.

[shu-ramyeonz]

so are we getting the titles thing

replying to this anon, sorry for anyone uncfomortable with being tagged KGVHJFUGHB i will bow down and teleport to ur house to worship you in return - btw ty for this question , it seems super interesting 😭😭 ive never done anything like this before idrk how this will work side note: these are only ppl ik, i obviously havent talked to EVERYONE on enhablr so im so sorry, also ill be making my moots list soon so expect to be tagged once more IM SORRY JASOFJJDID

@heeseongism - enhablr’s it girl: i have explain this before but the unnecessary hate for being funny AND pretty just proves that shes a celebrity atp

@jaylaxies - enhablr’s leader: yk the 4th gen leader things, i rlly dont think ur on enhablr if u dont know aria, shes honestly the ariana grande of this app ( OH SHIT I JUST REALIZED THERES ARIA IN ARIANA, praise my play on words pls ) anyways she literally is our president KEOSIDUSJ and shes so humble despite being one of the biggest blogs give this woman an award

@hee-pster - enhablr’s first love: not just cuz she was one of my first friends but she just gives off those vibes , plus her smuts are unforgettable like ur first love, also she cant be replaced ( no matter how many rebounds u try to find THERE IS ONLY ONE JAN ) shes so unique and also so mature too UGH CMON everyones ideal type srsly

@svnoohe4rts - enhablr’s sunshine: shes honestly so cute and KOSJDONS idk i love her sm , shes just super silly and easy going i feel like if she walked past me id melt into the floor, she just makes everyones day

@aminatalks - enhablr’s baby: idk dont ask me, this is a genereliazed statement but everyone honestly just loves amina cmon now, shes so precious everyone here TREASURES this woman and im ready to defend her 24/7

@end-hyphen - enhablr’s older sister: i was gonna go for enhablr’s best friend, i think that fits too - but little sister fits better because she’s always there to listen and she’s superrrrrr supportive, the no.1 hype girl honestly, she’s just super funny and chill and someone ppl feel safe w

@donghoonie-3 - enhablr’s icon: she just inspires so many people, and makes everyone day honestly, everything she says makes me laugh but also dont be distracted bcuz she has the most sexy asf hard thoughts?? then somehow shes the sweetest funniest person after?? duality indeed

@forjongseong - enhablr’s girlboss: she has NOOOOOO misses on any of her posts/comments/interactions, super interesting to talk too and also she’s so mature while also being so friendly? she’s just the type of girl id envy if i saw her cuz she has such an amazing personality and she is the sweetest person on this app, HER AND ONLY HER END OF CONVO

@thots4hee - enhablr’s angel: once again dont be fooled bcuz when she gets horny she gets WHOREEEEEENYYYYY, but aside from that she’s so funny and sweet and she talks in the most precious way i need to put her in my pocket fr

@hyunjinsr - enhablr’s happy virus : honestly she just has an adorable smile and she’s so wholesome to talk to, i feel like knowing/seeing her happy just makes me happy too and she adds sm positivity to the dashboard its INSANE how a person can make my day

@criceofpain - enhablr’s happy pill: this one is different bcuz she’s so funny to me, specially when she talks in filo and she just swears like 100x million times, she also writes smuts that make me wanna drown myself bcuz its THAT GOOD,

@vivvys - enhablr’s sassy/duality queen: i dont think ppl understand, viv is so so insanely funny, shes up there when it comes to people who have made me laugh, LIKE A LAUGH NOT JUST A “hehe thats funni” a real “BWGAHSHSKASHA” ykwim? but then i see her defend herself and her friends and speak out on what she believes in and it’s like okay she will not take y’alls disrespect, she’s also the coolest person ever, like i idolize her honestly

@jojayke - enhablr’s little brother: WE HAVENT TALKED ONCE LMFAO, but i do follow his blog and support on the sidelines thru anons, but anyway i feel like ely is just such an amazinggggggggg writer that its like seeing ur little brother grow up to be such a talented and creative person? how honestly pls step up to the mic and teach us how 🎤🎤

[yue-muffin]

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War Review

It took months for me to complete, but at least I can finally say that I have played this game. Of all the older Fire Emblem games (pre-3DS era), this is the one that I have wanted to play the most and whose story intrigued me the most. It is, probably, now my favorite game in the franchise, and this review is the really, really long why.

Gameplay/Story Integration

Before I even mention the story, it’s important to address the mechanics that both make this game a wonderful experience of gameplay/story integration...and make it rather annoying, depending on your perspective. This game’s greatest flaws are also its greatest strengths, which makes me glad that it was produced so long ago. I still love modern games, and most have come a long way in making the player experience much less painstaking to an annoying degree, but there is also a lot of charm in older games like Genealogy, where the player is definitely made to suffer a little.

Like all Fire Emblem games, Genealogy is about a war involving dragons, invading nations, and legendary weapons. Unlike most Fire Emblem games, this one went out of its way to make the player feel like they are embarking on a campaign across a continent, spanning multiple years of nonstop fighting and traveling. Most FE games choose to focus on one battle per chapter, with the story segments in between explaining how we progressed from point A to point B. Genealogy chooses instead to make you move your entire frontline across a HUGE map, from castle to castle, crossing distances that span countries.

It’s a unique feature of this game, and I loved it, no matter how annoying it got to lug the army from the south to the north and back down again to defend a previous position from attack. It made you feel actively engaged in the progression of the conflict, made it easy to track your journey back to the beginning and see just how far you traveled. The tedium makes it feel, in the best way a mere video game can, more realistic.

By far one of the weirder and more annoying aspects of the game is the inability for units to trade money and goods between each other. In most games, there is a single pool of money and anyone in the party who purchases an item draws from that fund. In Genealogy, each unit has his/her own money, which cannot be shared with another unless that person is a spouse or the resident thief. This does make some sense because your army is basically a volunteer army built from people of multiple nationalities and affiliations. Many make it clear they’re here to lend a hand, not join you forever, so it makes sense that they don’t all fork over their money for the army to use. Still makes this part of the game annoying if you are micromanaging the army.

It was fairly difficult getting used to this game’s mechanics, which are way, WAY different from any other in the franchise. But I value the attempts made to integrate story with gameplay (another example is the ability to fix/repair broken or damaged weapons for a price, instead of them disappearing into the ether) far more over the frustration it caused me along the way.  

Story

Finally, the actual story! **Spoilers onward**

The story of this game is initially no different from any other Fire Emblem game, and it’s similar to many fantasy stories. A main character’s homeland is invaded by the bad guys, main character fights back and eventually leads a resistance force against the masterminds behind the conflict.

Genealogy turns that story progression on its head in the first half, then plays it straight in the second half. The second half is undoubtedly the weaker of the two, but it’s not bad - just not quite as interesting compared to the absolute curveball the first half throws at you.

I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that had the guts to do what this game does. The closest example is Aerith from FFVII, but at least that was one character, not the entire playable cast. This game would be devastating if it had more room to develop its characters. Honestly, it does a really good job with the limited “screentime” its characters get. Most of them are given reasons for joining that are sensible enough. The game makes sure to lay out the stakes and consequences of the choices the characters make (at least in the first half).

I think one of the reasons I like it so much is that it makes sure you feel the heavy costs of a conflict like the one unfolding in the game. It makes you feel the loss, and not only through the permadeath mechanic. Let’s be real, many players reset if they lose a unit. But even if you reset, or just are good at the game and don’t get anyone killed, the game still makes sure you see the consequences of war.

Actually, it makes you see the consequences of a simple, well-intentioned action. If makes you see how a conflict can quickly snowball out of one man’s control.

The second half of the game is, admittedly, way more typical and less impactful. The world is suffering because of the failure of the first cast to resolve the conflict, so now it’s up to the main cast’s children to finish it.

There are interesting tidbits revealed randomly and at the very end that give the story more life, so I wish they would’ve utilized these parts a little more.

Characters

A lot of people find Sigurd, part 1′s main character, kind of boring. And that’s fair. He’s a typical noble knight, very loyal and an all around good person. And he falls in love at first sight. His ultimate flaw is...well, that he is a bit too trusting or just lacks foresight.

Which is all true of our main character. But he’s also a good example of a tragic hero. His greatest strengths are his nobility and sense of justice. He starts the story only aiming to rescue a childhood friend from the invaders who have kidnapped her. But those are the same things that lead him far from home, on a campaign that snowballs out of his control and soon comes to look very much like a man working on conquering the continent, putting him in conflict with the major power on said continent who doesn’t like what he sees is happening.

He also falls into a love that will lead to disaster, so. Very tragic hero-y of him.

But I lowkey love Sigurd. I love that moment he looks back and realizes oh shit, he’s way in over his head but he literally can’t turn back anymore. The only way out is forward.

I think Seliph, Sigurd’s son, is largely forgettable. The revelation at the end, and implication that he hasn’t truly chosen his own path this whole time but was led down it was a plot point I wish was expanded on, as well as his own feelings about it all. But it kind of fits that he...doesn’t have much substance to him. In the end, he really feels like a pawn, which makes that lofty title he later gains feel all the stranger in retrospect.

This game is good at making its characters feel small in the larger setting of its world. I appreciate that. 

It has a large and largely forgettable cast of named enemies and npcs. I think it helps make the world feel lived in, rather than an empty place run by like 20 people. idk, I’d rather the world feel more realistic than every named character standing out like a sore thumb. 

The game gives you a lot of units, some more memorable than others. This is where a remake could really help flesh out these characters, but I felt that in most cases their motivations and personalities were realistic and believable. The downside, on the gameplay side, is that mounted units really do dominate this game. The few units on foot that stand out are the ones with outstanding performance in one aspect or another, while the rest just fall by the wayside since it can be so difficult to get them to join the action.

However, I am a boring person who loves mounted units, so. I was very happy.

Overall

As you can tell, I loved this game. It can be a bit janky in some aspects, but it’s definitely one of the more adventurous of FE games (seeing as it came out before the series really settled on a “style”). It’s not a game for beginners, I would say, given its somewhat odd mechanics that aren’t explained very well from the outset. The pacing can be feel rather long and arduous, which is on purpose, but also keeping in mind that you can save at the start of every turn - it wasn’t designed for you to bang out a chapter in a single sitting but come back to chip away at your progress.

[quillyfied]

Mega Good Omens Fic Rec Post 1

OH BOY Y’ALL IT’S HERE

This is the first string of fics I would wholeheartedly recommend from my bookmarks (probably first of three, we’ll see). There are 65 fics sorted into 9 categories: Jaunts Through History/Canon; South Downs; Post-Apocalypse; Bus Ride/Night Before/Heaven and Hell; AU/UA (UA is Universe Alternate, where everything is the same, just...a bit to the left. I feel like that term has more nuance, idk); Soft; Touch-Starved/Body Worship/Wings; Bonus; H/C /Whump/BAMF. These will be the same categories for every fic rec post in this vein. I try to include warnings for sex and gore, if applicable, but please check the tags of each fic before you read, just in case.

Mega GOmens Fic Rec Post MASTER

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I BROKE A LINK OR MISATTRIBUTED SOMETHING.

I don’t read explicit works and I’m not a big fan of Human!AUs so there’s not any of those, but there’s a bit of just about everything else. Please enjoy! Hope the ReadMore works, sorry for folks on mobile if it doesn’t!

JAUNTS THROUGH HISTORY/CANON

1. Bright With His Splendour – Daegaer (T, specifically book-verse. This is an exquisite look at the developments in Crowley himself, especially as it relates to his war-related traumas in the War in Heaven and later WWI. The Arrangement is Aziraphale’s idea here, which is awesome. Highly emotional and visceral.)

2. Whatever Road We Choose – @ri-writing (T, the one where Aziraphale gets jumped by some demons and Crowley nurses him back to health, and Aziraphale has to confront his worldview when he realizes Heaven never responded to his call for help. Quiet and powerful as Aziraphale starts to realize Crowley isn’t everything he thought he was and maybe Heaven isn’t, either.)

3. Linked – @chekhov (T, the one where Crowley shows up in Bukhara and Aziraphale has to pretend to capture him so his angel intern doesn’t destroy Crowley entirely. Has a lot of fun moments and emotional growth in play. And yearning. Lots and lots of yearning.)

4. The Demon Favourite – @kanna-ophelia (T, the one where Crowley is posing as a nobleman and manages to build himself a little ramshackle family, and Aziraphale takes care of them when Crowley gets himself discorporated. Extremely tender, lots of Crowley cooing over babies.)

5. Akashic Records – @penig (Generally G, one T, the series where Crowley is head-over-heels from the start and broadcasts it loudly, and Aziraphale is in Panic Protective Mode. The series is gorgeous and vibrant, the characterizations are so spot-on and yet fresh, the dialogue is perfect, the character growth is delicious. I can’t gush enough about this one.)

6. But The Old Love Was Not So – BuggreAlleThis (G, the one written in the style of Le Morte d’Arthur about Aziraphale’s final few days in the court of King Arthur. Hilarious with the promise of emotional pain to come in the second half.)

7. flightless bird (dumb, wild, and free) – JennaCupcakes (@veganthranduil) (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale make out for half of history while Aziraphale has an ongoing existential crisis about being a broken angel. Poignant, sensual, culminates in a deliciously fraught confrontation where Aziraphale has to finally sort himself out and Crowley says some hard but true things. I once spent three hours trying to find this fic again without remembering the title so now it’s kinda ingrained.)

8. Nanny Knows Best – @patricianandclerk (M, rest of series is T, the one where Crowley endures some truly horrible experiences while serving as Warlock’s nanny. Adorable relationship between Warlock and Crowley, and it’s only getting better. The dynamic with Aziraphale is nuanced and beautiful. Rating for sexual harassment and groping, and it’s a bit of a difficult read at times during those moments, so be careful.)

9. The Holy Essence of Experience – Dragonsquill (T, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley have loved each other almost since the beginning, but have been very careful to not put a name to it. The yearning is real and so gorgeous. The scene just before they come up with their plan to avert Armageddon haunts me.)

10. The Arrangement – @writeonclara (T, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley try to get a handle on this sex thing. Non-explicit, hilarious, and unique! I can only assume the rating will probably be going up, which makes me sad because it’s hard to find nonexplicit fics that still deal with what sex brings to a relationship, but what’s written for now is well worth it.)

11. And After – @randomacts13 (T, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale work through their self-worth and have lots of flashbacks. The first one involves Crowley taking care of a seed that keeps dying and leaving another seed behind, which is not at all feeding into his self-hatred; the second has Crowley and Warlock gluing coins to the sidewalk; the third is about Aziraphale on a one-way flight to Complete Mental Breakdown if he doesn’t get some help for his anxiety and repressed emotions soon.)

12. The road to rapture has a lot of pit stops – emmagrant01 (E but only for the sixth chapter, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley have shared five kisses throughout history and one where they meant it. People like me who don’t like explicit material can skip Chapter 6 (or just read until they smooch) and go straight to the epilogue. The rest of it is amazing; every kiss is believable in context and has such good lead-up. Very romantic, very good.)

13. Round and Round the Garden – SanSanFanFan (G, the one where Brother Francis and Nanny Ashtoreth get up to some hanky-panky beneath a willow tree while Warlock sleeps in his pram. Just sweet and silly fluff.)

14. Flecks of Light and Dark – volunteerfd (T, the one where Aziraphale learns to deal with his emotions. Has a really beautiful recurring thing of Crowley and Aziraphale making up stories of who they’d be if they were human, and Aziraphale doing his best to do good and help even when Heaven ties his hands.)

15. Before the Water Rises – VitreousHumor (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale become friends while helping a village make rafts to escape the Flood. Has a lot of really cute moments and some pretty exquisite romantic tension.)

16. Beneath the Stars – @brooklynbabybucky (G, the one where Crowley asks Aziraphale to cut his hair. Just has some really lovely imagery and a sweet bonding moment.)

17. lit in the darkness – @toedenandbackagain (M, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale share a bed sometimes throughout history. Warnings for some sexual content in chapters 7 and 14, but each chapter has its own warnings in the description. Presents some beautiful bonding moments and the absolute finest pining known to man.)

 SOUTH DOWNS

18. The Play’s the Thing – volunteerfd (G, the one where Aziraphale is cast in the local production of Hamlet and Crowley is trying his best to be supportive of his truly awful actor husband. Hilarious and light and absolutely a classic.)

19. Parsley, Thyme, Sage, Daffodils – @mostweakhamlets (NR, the one where Aziraphale has a cooking YouTube channel and Crowley is camera-shy. Tackles PTSD in a really thoughtful way and is Peak Soft Cottage Husbands aesthetic, it really packs in the most warm fuzzies in a small package.)

20. to carthage then i came – @lvslie (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale move to the South Downs and learn to work through their issues around being together and being their own people after cutting ties with Heaven and Hell. Poetic, poignant, the last chapter is a thing of absolute beauty. Very heavily symbolic, that one.)

21. A Better Place for Us to Be – @befuddledmackem (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale tour a particular cottage. Deeply emotional, the Absolute Best Real Estate Pr0n if you also secretly watch HGTV and weep, has completely ruined any future house-buying opportunity I might have because nothing will be this sweet and perfect.)

22. Something We Were Withholding Made Us Weak – trieduntrue (M, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale move to the South Downs and very carefully orbit into something more like a relationship. Exquisite tension, beautifully-done pining and slow-burn, really fun bits of world building. M is for a sex scene at the very end but it’s easy to skip over, it’s small.)

23. reasons wretched and divine – @stammiviktor (T, the one where Crowley storms out after a fight and finds himself in an actual conversation with God. Highly emotional and a great look into Crowley’s head, both in how he feels about God and how he feels about Aziraphale.)

24. The Sprawl of Life – @dietraumerei (T and G, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale settle into village life quite well. Has sex-positive asexual characters, which is fun (brief note about that: it’s not explicit, but the places it happens, there is clear leadup and it can get a bit intense, so take care of yourselves). Has touches of angst that balance beautifully with the fluff, lots of BAMF Aziraphale for the soul.)

25. Seashells and Fingerpainting – Vagabond (@waffleironbiddingwar) (T, and I recommend this one specifically from the series, can be read independently: the one where Gabriel is sent to the South Downs for a time out. This is quite possibly the best Gabriel character study I have ever seen; it’s tender and heartbreaking and somehow you find yourself rooting for Gabriel to figure out why he’s being punished despite yourself. All the warm fuzzies. All of them. Read the whole series, it’s great!)

 POST-APOCALYPSE

26. Laugh When It Sinks In – @tenoko1 (G, the one where Crowley helps Aziraphale build a home in the bookshop flat. Another one that feeds right into my interior decorating itch. So sweet and uplifting, will absolutely make you feel proud of Aziraphale.)

27. Chosen and Unchosen – Bookwormgal (T, the one where the kids have to go save Aziraphale and Crowley from Heaven and Hell. Has some EXCELLENT Warlock characterization and some really good tension between him and Adam, and the angst is properly upsetting. A right good adventure romp that’s really starting to ramp up.)

28. Resonance – Macx (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale become something Else. Good world building, beautiful romance, and Gabriel getting told off. Love how Crowley and Aziraphale growing into their new roles is handled, and how Adam unexpectedly ties in at the end.)

29. Falling Heavenward – @kanna-ophelia (T, the one where Crowley unexpectedly has to win his angel back because of a really twisty deal with Heaven. This one is a pretty wild ride, but I would say the centerpiece is Fallen Gabriel, who becomes Asmodeus. It becomes a battle for Aziraphale’s heart, though Asmodeus isn’t in it for the feels so much as the revenge, obviously. Really interesting premise and something to read if rooting for Crowley is a way you like to spend your time.)

30. A Leisurely Stroll Down – Saturniidae (@Saturniiddae) (M, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale have to fight for their relationship. Has some sexual content that isn’t explicit, and gore that really sort of is. I have thrown things and cried a little at this one, but that was the price for reading while it was still updating. Absolutely gorgeous in every way. Also has God speaking through a household object and it’s hilarious.)

31. From God’s Perspective – Unfortunately (T, the one where God comes down personally to interfere in Her children’s business. The absolute best portrayal of God in any fic ever, really humanizes her in the best ways. I love how she interacts with her angel and demon children. It’s almost more of a character study of God than anything. And yes, the Sound of Music is sung.)

 BUS RIDE/NIGHT BEFORE/HEAVEN AND HELL

32. Worth Knowing – summersage (T, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley discuss the Fall and manage Miltonian angel sex despite it. Has a take on how the Fall works that I was thinking about but couldn’t find words for until this fic, and it’s absolutely fantastic. The Miltonian angel sex is esoteric and weird and not at all erotic, but it is beautiful. The mortifying ordeal of being KNOWN indeed.)

33. Legendary Lovers; Your Hand in Mine – @tenoko1 (G, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale regroup in a hotel instead of his flat and have a bit of a knock-down-drag-out. Crowley is angry and scared and so in love he can’t stand it, and Aziraphale is practically going at light speed in confronting and knocking down his own barriers, and it’s highly emotionally charged and wonderful.)

 AU/UA

34. Love of My Life – @ellewrites4 (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale get together very early and make it work all throughout history. Gorgeous romance, and the fallout from the Holy Water caper and the bandstand breakup are EXQUISITE. Peak emotional turmoil, sweet boundary negotiation, forgiveness and love and anxiety and fear—just delicious.)

35. True Love and High Adventure – @grifalinas (T, the one that’s a Princess Bride au. Absolutely on-point casting, wonderful writing style, the perfect escape fic for a little while. Incomplete but still worth the read.)

36. Inverse Omens – @amuseoffyre (T, the one where Aziraphale is a demon with a p0_rn shop and Crowley is an angel running a community center from a bombed-out church. Y’all recommended this to me on my demon!Aziraphale rating post, and it’s AMAZING. Perfect characterization and a wonderful retelling. Warning for Chapters 11 and 12, Aziraphale’s Nanny Ashtoreth messes with the Dowling parents in far more direct ways and there’s scenes of Mr. Dowling jerking it, so take care, friendos. Also Aziraphale makes the filthiest double entendres and it’s delightful. Also also Crowley needs all the hugs.)

37. A Blaze of Light – @wingedspirit (T, the one where Crowley is Raphael and he and Aziraphale make a Pact instead of an Arrangement. This one is a wild adventure, friends, and a riveting one. The Pact puts an interesting spin on their developing relationship, and by the time it gets to TV canon, it’s already off the rails in the best ways. Also Crowley has some pretty heavy depression that manifests in his former Archangel-level powers blowing up a bit, which is cool. Should be wrapping up soon and I’m pumped for it!)

38. it’s high time that you love me, cause you do it so well – mygalfriday (T, the one where Crowley can’t physically say the word “love” but can diddly dang well show it if he wants. Already super sweet but the confession scene at the end is just incredible.)

39. Hold the Line – sum_nemo (T, the one that’s a Pacific Rim AU. I adore PacRim, you guys, and this one is just *chef’s kiss*. Puts Crowley as Raleigh (lost his twin sister copilot) and Aziraphale as Mako and includes a pretty painful shared past between them, which is already simmering and delicious. Can’t wait to see where this one goes.)

40. The Truth Remains – @wanderingalicewrites (NR, the one where Crowley was Raphael, had a good relationship with his siblings, was in love with Aziraphale, and knew he was destined to Fall. Aziraphale is still in mourning for Raphael and Crowley is still working out the point of his existence, so there’s some very good pining and existential dread up in the mix. A highly interesting take on the situation and very, very good at punching you in the feels with the flashbacks to Heaven and how different things are now, especially with the other Archangels. LOL it just updated while I was writing this and I am UNDONE, I am in PAIN, the bandstand scene always hurts but NOT LIKE THIS. ALSO MORE ARCHANGEL FEELS, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN)

41. Everything Dark and Unseen – @enjambament (M, the one that’s a Psyche and Eros retelling. After the Fall but before Eden, Heaven and Hell need a truce, so they marry Crowley and Aziraphale to keep the peace in a symbolic sort of binding. A beautiful romance, an excellent action sequence, the cutest OC creatures, the best OC angels, and I wish there was a continuation of how canon progressed with this monumental change in their history bc I am THIRSTY for more. Rated M for a kinda-sorta sexy scene but there’s not really Efforts sooo…it’s more sensual than sexual? I guess? Either way, highly recommended.)

42. The Name of the Star is Wormwood – LusBeatha (T, the one where Crowley was Raphael and the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fly agaric mushroom. It is exactly as eccentric as it sounds, but presented in such a way that it actually makes sense. It jumps around in time, but the storyline taking place in the present is looking like Armageddon 2.0. Beautifully written, great take on canon.)

43. Sticks and Stones – @justkeeptrekkin (T, the one where Crowley takes on the guise of Casanova while trying to get over Aziraphale and Aziraphale shows up, whoops. GORGEOUS imagery, the most scrumptious pining, and if y’all appreciated the 2005 Pride and Prejudice dance scene, the one in here will about blow that one out of the water, if you can believe it. Knocked the breath right out of me.)

44. Yearning to Hold You Close – @guanin (T, the one where Aziraphale has a relationship with King Richard and asks Crowley to help save him, and there is a big sticky mess of feelings when they realize Richard and Crowley look almost exactly alike. In part inspired by David Tennant playing Richard II. A delicious, delicious emotional quandary where Crowley and Richard both wonder if Aziraphale only loves them because they look like each other, and Aziraphale doesn’t know how to say what he feels. Very sweet, very emotionally fraught.)

 SOFT

45. Just This Once – @julia-writes-fanfic (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale kiss in the 90s and it’s amazing. The drunk 90s kiss is already good, but them revisiting it sober in 2010 makes both even better.)

46. A Sky Full of Stars – @kedreeva (G, the one where Aziraphale takes Crowley someplace where they can see the cosmos. The first GOmens fic I ever bookmarked, so I felt like including it, because it’s unbelievably sweet and has amazing visuals.)

47. The Serpent and the Seagull – @ineffably-good (G and T, the series where Aziraphale misses Crowley so he gets a little pet snake. Frederick the snake is among the best of the GOmens OCs, hilarious and foul-mouthed and once Crowley starts being able to understand him, it only gets better. Frederick likes helping his pets work their problems out so they’ll leave him alone to sleep. It’s extremely cute.)

48. The Discerning Black Swan – @lwtis (T, the one where Crowley is definitely not projecting on a black swan desperately trying to court a white mute swan in St James’ Park. I love how Crowley interfaces with his emotional problems through the swan, and the visual of the two swans is gorgeous.)

49. What A Demon Dreams – @whatawriterwields (G, the one where Crowley has some weird dreams, dude. I love the symbolism and the imagery in this one, it’s really vivid. It’s hard to pull off a concept like this so I respect how the author is able to do it and make it work.)

 TOUCH STARVED/WINGS/BODY WORSHIP

50. Sunlight – crorvid (M, the one where Aziraphale is a touch-starved angel. Doesn’t deserve the M rating, in my opinion, but Aziraphale does feel the touching during their makeouts very intensely and it’s incredibly satisfying.)

51. The Curious Attractiveness of Others – @giddygeek (T, the one where Crowley finally gets to groom Aziraphale’s wings and Aziraphale gets to show Crowley how tender that can be. Another one with some great world building tucked into the corners, and emotionally satisfying grooming.)

52. Broken Wings – werebear (@werebeary) (T and M, the series where wing grooming is incredibly intimate and I got the vapors from the tenderness. Also the first time I saw anything about preen glands. The second one is rated M because the preening gets a bit…intense. Not sexual, exactly, but it’s close. Very passionate.)

53. Birthmark – Linebreaker (G, the one where Crowley has a scar on his lower back and a sad story to go with it. This one needs a bit of a harder rating, imo, and there’s one line that’s a bit Much, but otherwise it’s a sad and beautiful look at a potential reason why Crowley hates the fourteenth century so much. Lots of Crowley body worship packed into few words, very satisfying.)

54. They Are A Pale Picture of You – @ineffablefool (T, the one where they go for a walk during winter and things are just Soft. Ineffablefool has a wealth of body-positive asexual GOmens fics, but I think I like this one best, it’s sweet and adorable and some jerk who insults Aziraphale’s weight rightly gets the worst day of his life. Also Crowley compares Aziraphale in his winter wear to a plump little bird and it’s cute imagery.)

 BONUS

55. Ineffable Bureaucracy Drabbles – Shift7 (T, the series of short fics where Gabriel and Beelzebub are kinda-sorta falling into friendship and being very judicious about it. Lots of paperwork, very orderly.)

56. Ineffable Bureaucracy – @eshnoazot (T and G, a series of longer fics where Gabriel and Beelzebub are navigating a careful arrangement of their own. Still lots of paperwork, of course, but there’s also emotional friction and conflict resolution. Excellent characterizations. Wednesday night Thai and Friendship night is a+++++. Gabriel deffo called a board meeting to talk about his feelings.)

57. A Bentley Sang in Berkeley Square – CastielHamilton (G, the one where the Bentley is sentient and a good, good girl. She is doing her best and I love her. Basically the series from her point of view.)

58. Fairest and Fallen – VitreousHumor (T, the series where Beelzebub and Gabriel encounter each other a few times and Gabriel tries his best to remember their shared pre-Fall history. Poignant, sad, and beautiful.)

59. Observer Effect – SquarePudding (T, the series where the Grigori in charge of recording Aziraphale’s Earthly movements starts to ship him and Crowley and records their romance. The Grigori, Rezathaniel, is a precious baby who needs to develop a better palate outside of “greasy literal garbage” and has 0 chill when it comes to their ship. They’re kind of like a celebrity blogger at this point but watching their character growth in the first story is very sweet.)

60. Soul of Vellum, Heart of Chrome – @29-pieces (G, the one where the Bentley and the Bookshop are sentient and very protective of their owners. This one is going to KILL ME with the plot I wasn’t expecting—Heaven and Hell are hunting Aziraphale and Crowley down again, so the Bentley and the Bookshop do their best to help. They’re doing so good and I’m so proud of them, it’s not their fault things went a bit south. Precious beans. Good, good things.)

61. Real Fire and Brimstone Stuff – @jessikast (G, the one where college-age Warlock helps accidentally summon his Nanny and a lot of things start to make sense. A very sweet story about Warlock getting closure and getting back in touch with Crowley and Aziraphale through the weirdest means possible.)

 H/C /WHUMP/BAMF

62. Broken Hallelujah – @atlantis-is-burning (T, the one where Hastur comes to kill Aziraphale and Crowley and it’s ugly, folks. It is kinda gory and it is injury-ridden and painful, very touch-and-go for a bit. It ends well, though, and Hastur gets his, which is the Best. Tore me up one side and down the other in all the best ways.)

63. Fall Here – @marbledwings (T, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley are easing into a relationship in fits and starts, and then Crowley gets snatched. This one was AGONIZING to wait for it to update, so be glad it’s complete, because it gets pretty dark for a while. Be warned of torture, though it’s mostly implied and it’s the aftermath that’s dealt with most. It absolutely sticks the landing at the end, and has a great characterization of Michael.)

64. how deep the sand – Handful_of_Silence (G, the series where Aziraphale is trapped in a glass bubble in a wizard’s basement for fifty years and the ensuing aftermath. Feels mostly book-verse, but there are some cues from the show. Intense and realistic and emotional and heavy, drags you through the darkness and you appreciate the light all the more for it. A beautiful story.)

65. you taught me how to love, (it’s me who taught you how to stop) – @clankclunk (G, or the one where Aziraphale comes to find out that you can’t just rush into a relationship after six thousand years of repression. This one is absolutely murdering me. The angst is real. The hurt is real. I’m hoping the fluff and comfort promised in the tags is coming soon because WOW. Has a fantastically haunting view of what happens to angels, who are highly emotive beings, when they fall into depression. And Crowley’s adverse reactions to praise and love are so realistic and painful. Ouch.)

[eiirisworkshop]

InuYasha Fic (working title “Sesshomaru The Babydaddy)

For Good Intentions WIP Fest, details of which can be found @goodintentionswipfest

Years ago I had an idea for a fic about Sesshomaru having a half-demon kid; like I think I might have been in middle school when I first started this.  I’ve poked at it a few times over the years, but now that the InuYasha sequel is out and brushing close to my idea in some key ways I doubt I’m ever gonna find the motivation to finish it, just feels redundant since it’s been so thoroughly jossed.  And I also don’t want to watch the sequel, because it’s too close and I know I’ll like my idea better, because it’s my idea.

***

He ran his fingers through her long, raven hair and she ran hers through his white.  No one in the world could see them—no one needed to. Only the sliver of moon bore witness as it shown through cloud and canopy, bleaching the earth in pools of silver.  She was soft, fragile, unafraid.  She very nearly frightened him, and she knew it.  He liked it.

In the dark it was easy to forget—or, at the very least, ignore—that they were from opposing worlds.  In any case, they didn't have to forget for long.

She woke to the warmth of morning sun filtering through the boughs of the wild cherry tree beneath with she lay on a white kimono that was not hers.  She knew without opening her eyes that she was alone.

Inuyasha yawned and stretched as he walked.

[The gang talks, Kagome is on break from school.  They get to a little, remote villiage.]

Sango glanced around, eyes narrowed.  “You know how people tend to stare at InuYasha like they're worried he's gonna eat them?”

“Yeah...?” Shippo said.

“The people here are hardly noticing him.”

[IY says something about prefering this situation to being attacked/chased]

“Sure, but it's strange.”  Sango frowned.  “It makes me nervous.”

[Miroku drags IY over to question an old lady at a well.]

Miroku: “Hello, ma'am.  My friend here is a half-demon, did you know that?”

The woman set her now-full bucket on the ground.  “Mhm, figured so, him looking like that.”

“Hm.” Miroku released his grip on the squirming honyou.  “And that's not....interesting or alarming or anything?”

The old woman shrugged.  “Sort of used to it.”

InuYasha stopped himself a hair's bredth from throttling the monk.  “What d'you mean you're used to it?”

“Inn keeper's daughter's the same way.  Pretty little thing, real sweet long as you don't make her mad.”  The woman laughed, grabbed her bucket and started down the street.  “Folks 'round here can't agree if that girl's fire comes from her mama or whatever dark thing begot her!”

[The gang decides to go to the inn]

#

InuYasha kicked the inn door open with a bang.  The only person in the dimly lit room didn't even jump.  She just looked up with a smile from wiping down a table and bowed politely.  “Good afternoon, welcome. Do you need a table, a room, or both?”

The girl was slim, young—no older than thirteen—but tall for her age, with a thick white braid hanging down to the small of her back.  She was dressed in pale blue umanori over an orange kimono with tied up sleeves, a bright spot of color in the mostly drab room.  Small, canine ears poked out from the bandana tied around her head, and she looked through her too long bangs with large tawny eyes.

InuYasha stalked up to her, invading her personal space, and started sniffing. She leaned away from him, eyeing him like he was crazy.  “Uh, I'll get my mother.”

She darted to the stairs and out of sight.

“You didn't have to scare her like that,” Kagome chided.

“It smells like my brother.”  InuYasha crossed his arms and made a face of disgust.

[The girl (Hoshi)'s mother comes down, introduces herself as Akiko, mention's Hoshi's name too]

“Why the hell does your kid smell like my brother?”

“No idea.”  Akiko crossed her arms.  “Why does your brother smell like a twelve year old girl?”  She shifted her focus to the rest of the group.  “You here for supper or for the night?  Or are you just here for your friend to make trouble?”

[So much stuff and things happen.  Not sure how long passes.  The gang leaves town.  They're not far out of town when they happen to run into Sesshomaru]

“You!” InuYasha stabbed a finger at his brother.  “You hypocritical son of a bitch!”

Sesshomaru leveled a look of disdain at his father's younger son.  “What are you talking about?”

“You've got a half-human kid!”

[Sesshi has a “pics or it didn't happen” reaction so they all head back into town.]

Akiko looked up from were she was keeping book at one of the dining tables. “I thought you were heading out of town.”  She spotted Sesshomaru.  “Oh.”  She stood gracefully.  “You.”

Sango tilted her head toward the demon.  “Told you.”

“It means nothing that this woman recognizes me,” he said coolly.

“You're full of shit.”  Akiko rolled her eyes.  “What the hell happened to you arm?”  After too long a beat with no answer forthcoming, she shrugged.  “Well, I guess you only need one....”

InuYasha cringed, catching the [sexual] side of her meaning.  “Do you have to say things like that?”

“Can you get over it that I slept with your brother?” she shot back quickly then crossed her arms and turned to the full demon.  “

[Stuff and things.  Hoshi comes in.]

“I'm done with inventory—”  Hoshi stopped talking abruptly and went very still.  One of her ears twitched.

Beside Kagome, Sesshomaru stiffened, eyes widening.  For a long moment, no one breathed.  Then, in a single flash of motion almost too fast to follow, Hoshi had crossed the room, stepped up onto a chair to augment her height, smacked her sire across the face, and fled upstairs.  Instantly, Sesshomaru bristled and snarled; a drop of blood oozed from one of the three long welts on his cheek where Hoshi's nails had caught him.

“Hey!” Akiko shouted and banged a hand on the table.  “Calm down.  You break anything in this building, so much as gouge a table, and I'll take your other arm off.  You put a single scratch on my daughter and I will end your life.  You hear me?”

He clenched his fist but otherwise feigned composure.  “I hear you.”

“Good.” Akiko headed for the stairs.

[much stuff and things, IDK]

[Sesshi gets drunk at some point]

“Can we talk?” Akiko asked softly.

“Cruel, giving me the illusion of choice.”

“Oh, you have a choice.”  She crossed her arms.  “You can say no and walk away.  I wouldn't suggest it, though.”

He inclined his head slightly.

She nodded.  “Walk with me?”

“Very well.”  He offered her his arm.  She took it and they set out along the path.

[Akiko explains that Hoshi does have valid reasons to resent Sesshomaru for]

“I don't blame you for not being here, even if I sometimes wish you had been.  I never expected you to stay.  I knew when I lay with you that you wouldn't.”

“Then why did you?”

She smiled.  “It was exciting.”

They stopped on the path in the shadow of a large conifer.  He disengaged their arms and touched her face.  She met his gaze unwaveringly.

“Why aren't you frightened of me?”

She shrugged.  “My mother used to say that you don't avoid the river just because you can drown.”  She smoothed one of her sleeves. “One need not fear something just because it's dangerous so long as you respect its power.”

“Mm.” He studied her a moment before leaning to kiss her.

She pulled away.  “Don't do that unless you mean it.”  He started to respond but she cut him off.  “I mean, unless you care.”

He took a small step back.

“Things are different than they were.  I'm different.  I'm a mother, a business owner.  I have obligations and responsibilities.  Before, I was girl with next to no prospects and no expectations.  All I wanted from you was whatever you were willing to readily give.

“For now, you're just passing through.  But if you kiss me, or anything else, you make yourself a part of things here.  You do that, and you'll be making a promise you had better not make unless you've every intention of keeping it.”

The corner of Sesshomaru's mouth twitched.  “I want you.”

“Too bad.”

He grabbed her shoulder roughly.  She smacked him across the face and took several steps back, away from him.

“Don't you dare!”  Akiko shouted.  She lowered her voice to a snarl.  “Do not manhandle me.  You've no right.  You get to touch me only if I let you and only how I say.”  She straightened her clothes, drew herself up regally, and started back toward the inn.

InuYasha hopped up over a bolder, and there was Sesshomaru, sitting on the ground, eyes closed, back against a cherry tree.  A soft breeze blew through the clearing, stirring both their hair.  Without opening his eyes, the elder brother said, “What are you doing here?”

“Heh.” InuYasha crossed his arms.  “I was sent to go make sure you're not killing anything important.”

“I'm not killing anything at all.”

“Good. So, tell me to fuck off and I'll go back and say you told me to fuck off and I'll leave you alone and you can leave or whatever.”

Sesshomaru opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.  “Humans are soft.”

“Uh.” InuYasha blinked at the non sequitur. “Yeah, they're squishy and fragile and weak—all the shit you give me hell for being when I'm not. So what?”

“I didn't mean to frighten her.”

“So tell her that.”  He snorted.  “I don't care.”

“I could kill you.”

“Sure you could.”  Akiko put away the freshly scoured cups.  “So could your brother or any of his friends or my brother.  The ability to kill is not unique, Sesshomaru.”

“I would enjoy killing you.”

She rolled her eyes and reached for more dishes.  “Are you trying to make some kind of point?”

“I could kill you.  I know I would enjoy doing so.  But I don't want to.”

“Mhm?”

“I would prefer you remain alive.”

She snorted, halfway to a laugh.  “If you're trying to be affectionate, I appreciate the attempt, but you're really bad at it.”

“I've little practice.”  He stood, crossed the room, took a bowl from her hands, set it down, and touched her face.  He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“Watch the claws.”

“I know.”  He tilted her chin up gently.

“You've done much for me,” he said softly.  “Borne and raised my child, when you need not have kept her....”

“If I'd given her up, who would have taken her?  Most childless bakers aren't looking for hanyou babes.”

“That's not what I mean by 'kept.'”

“What do you mean then?”

He fingered the ruff at his shoulder and glanced at her sideways.  “I know women have methods for...handling situations.”

Akiko looked to the floor.  “Yes.... But they're unreliable and dangerous and, I decided, not worth it.”

[fallingin-like]

an aftg fanfic appreciation post

the other day at work i saw something about fanfiction writer appreciation day and told myself “ah i will make a post when i get home” and immediately Did Not Do That. so i’m doing it now! first, thank you to everyone who writes fanfiction! it’s such an honour to be able to read your writing and i am so grateful to the writers who spend so much time and effort into creating these stories. i do not deserve such amazing content and yet i have it. also thanks to nora for this wonderful series which has changed my life in so many ways. 

these are in no particular order. i really tried to tone down my ‘i love you so much and really want to be friends with you’ vibe but i don’t think it worked. this is a super long post and i still didn’t get to say everything i wanted to.

some  fics/series that need more love (aka they have under 350 kudos)

to the south by Morcai - this is a series (never to be caught and secret, safe, close to the door) that was really cool to read. it has elements of the Iskryne Series which i don’t know anything about, but apparently has to do with bondwolves. basically, neil has a wolfbrother who he can speak to telepathically which is written in a really unique way, through interesting phrases and scent-based nicknames for people. i’ve never read anything like these fics and i adore them

all that we see or seem by rorschachs - an inception au. need i say more? this fic flows well, has good use of flashbacks, and an amazing ending. it’s ~23,000 words but feels like much less due to nice pacing and an interesting take on this au

Travelers by @sunrise-and-death ​ - a series (Placeless Destination and Moving Towards) that’s a soulmate au. soulmates can interact through a pyschic bond that allows it to seem like the other person is there with them. neil and andrew meet when they are young and it’s so interesting seeing them get to know each other at this age. we also get to see some neil/mary angst and all of the terrible things happen to andrew. an intense series that manages to feel light-hearted at the same time. the second fic in this series is incomplete

atlas by @purearcticfire ​ / @pipedream-truths ​ - a magic au that features shapeshifters and a cursed neil, so immediately you know i’ll like it. this fic has some cool uses of italics, caps, spacing, etc. that creates a stylized story that helps build tone and gives the story a clearer voice. unfortunately, i can’t tell too much detail about my favourite parts because it they are *ultra spoilers* so i’ll just say, it gets so intense at the end. just trust me about this. ao3 says it’s incomplete (4/5 chapters) but it seems complete to me. also, at ~72,000 words, it’s a pretty hefty fic

Golden Keys and Gray Lines by @wouldyoulightmycandle ​ - just a feel-good post-canon fic that involves a road trip, an ice cream museum, and a bit of Working Through Rough Times. super cute! this fic is incomplete

some authors i just really love and appreciate (you probably already know them and if you don’t then idk what you’re doing)

all of these writers have serious talent that make it look easy to write fanfiction. it’s not easy. you guys have all of my love. all of it.

@nakasomethingkun ​ /  ephemeralsky - basically i just see their name and automatically click the fic without bothering to fully read the tags or summary. they have never let me down and i adore the way they write. everything they write is an easy read and i always come back to their fics. i was going to mention my favourites and then i realized i was going to list everything they’ve written for aftg and i’m not even kidding. funny, angst, fluff, everything you could want in a fic they have it. so so good i actually don’t know how to describe it. their fics break my heart and then put it back together a little bit different so that even after i am finished reading and continue with the rest of my life, i feel different. they make me hurt in a way i didn’t know that i could like. this quality of fic has me scrolling back to the top to reread it the second i finish. what in the world they’re so good.

@annawrites ​ / moonix - 50 aftg fics. that’s actually crazy. and all of them are so high quality and there is such a variety. flower shop/tattoo parlor au? one of my favourite series ever. high school au? of course it includes 4 fully complete fics. shapeshifter au? amazingly done. scott pilgrim vs the world au? so good that i went out and watched the movie for the first time (i am not even joking). i was looking through all the fics and just started rereading them, i just can’t help myself. they describe everything in a way that makes their stories unique, but doesn’t seem like they’re trying too hard. or at all. their fics flow so well and every sentence is a gem. i read and reread so carefully to make sure i don’t miss a thing, but always find myself catching new jokes and quirks.

@lolainslackss ​ / lolainslackss - i really don’t know where to start. once again, i just really love all of their fics. i started scrolling through their works too see if i had a favourite and could not even choose a top 5. their writing is so beautiful i can’t get enough. they always choose the best things to include. selective mutism and sign language? that’s a sure way into my heart. the suit shop au is adorable and pining andrew really is best andrew. i found exycast surprisingly late in my fanfiction reading and that is a real tragedy because it’s amazing and really cute. the soulmate timer fic is an old favourite and if i’m looking for angst, i know i can pull it up.

@gluupor ​ / gluupor - an absolute legend. with 54 fics for aftg, it’s amazing that all of them are outrageously funny, entertaining, and just really well written. a lot of them are fics adapted as an au for other fandoms (like their super popular brooklyn 99 au that i absolutely adore) and they are all hilarious. it’s so fun to search for familiar quotes or realize how similar characters from different fandoms are to the foxes and the quirks they share. these are fics that will definitely cheer you up. i love their sense of humour, it fits the characters so well and helps to shape the world they’re writing in. it’s always exciting to see them publish a new fic.

@idnis ​ / idnis - they have a really unique writing style, i’ve never seen anything like it in this fandom. every story has so much care and love in it that’s evident through the small details that you only pick up through rereading. their stories are stylized with spaces and formatting that help guide the reader and adds to the tone of their stories. i fell so in love with their cat!neil. they write such interesting stories, have original plots, and their fics read like poetry. before you know it, you’ve finished the fic without realising you should have gone to bed an hour ago. they also have some amazing original work that everyone should go check out!

@badacts ​ / badacts - so recently a lot of their fics were made visible to ao3 users only (a shame in my opinion) so if you haven’t read their fics, go make an account! or log into your account! you really don’t want to miss these fics. they have a kid fic where both andrew and neil are baby versions of themselves so it’s obviously one of the best things ever. they who made you/they made me too is so good even the title is enough to make me feel. there’s introspection and realization and it’s from aaron’s perspective. i love seeing the twinyards bond. and, of course we have to mention the terra firma series because i love injured!neil and this one hits me in a different way. i love the way the abrupt transition into injury for neil and being able to experience the confusion and not knowing what’s happening with him.

iaquilam - they have posted 2 fics for aftg and they are some of my favourites in this fandom. this has amazing characterization, neil and andrew and everyone feel so real and so true and i love them. a mouthy, raven neil is one of the best types of neil. they write from andrew’s perspective and i cannot believe have well they capture him and his thoughts. quotes that have stuck with me “there’s more than one way of getting what you want”, “’he hurts,’ kevin says. ‘it hurts”, “you will be afraid and you will do it anyway”, and “to keep living. until i don’t”. also i think that andrew with synesthesia in where everything is good fits so perfectly. the idea that andrew has something so unique ahh i love. “your voice was the first blue one i ever saw” makes everything around me go quiet.

@jemejem ​ / jemejem - first of all i am really loving the radio show ficlet that’s being posted on tumblr. i’m a sucker for breakup fics, especially cheating fics (because i need angst) so only was the find of the century. it’s a fic where no matter how many times i’ve read it, i still feel gutted and achy reading it. their recent fic, the sound, was really interesting and i loved the later chapters so much but can’t share because of *spoilers*

undertow - okay so they also only have 2 aftg fics but oh my goodness they are so good. tenuous is one of my most reread fics, i love the concept, interactions between all the characters, how i feel like i’m there with them, and their descriptions. one of my favourite lines are “The sink turns on; water smacks against the bottom of its metallic basin. It feels—well. It just feels.” ugh i don’t know why i like it so much i just do. it fits so perfectly. and i can totally imagine kevin and neil being super petty in their love song writing, this fic is such a contrast to the other one and yet still so good.

@broship-addict ​ / broship_addict - kid!au! oh my goodness ice cream au! ahh they’re so good at writing cute fluff that has such good characterization that they’ve adapted perfectly into whatever au they have written. and at the same time impulse hit me in a different kind of way. what a joy to read, i love witnessing the ways that andrew and neil come together in all of their fics. also i really can’t not mention their amazing artwork. so grateful to have them contributing so much to this fandom

@unkingly / vicariously kingly - bless these fics. i don’t know anyone that doesn’t love a good de-aged neil fic and this really does The Most for that trope. also can i just say that callboy!neil was a thing i didn’t know i needed in my life but now i don’t know how i lived without it. also mermaid!neil?? yes please. i adore the way they write andriel. their fics are angsty and never fail to make me feel something, often a little bit raw in a good way. latchkey child wrecked me. i felt like i had been scraped clean and felt a little bit off for the remaining night and day after. Say Golden, Pony Boy was eerie and just the right amount of mysterious. i was left feeling unsettled in my own home. these fics have delightful endings that leave you satisfied and yet wanting more all the same

@spanglebangle / spanglebangle - i really really cannot get over sunshine and moonlight. it’s such a soft version of neil and andrew’s relationship, i love the direction that was taken and how the boys grew and the changes because they found each other. i love the quote “you like the big gestures and ridiculous things i say. i’m in your head, remember, i know it makes you feel wanted” fox!neil is really so adorable and pure, but also feisty and protective and funny. i would love to see more of this fic. also the elementary au is everything to me. there’s a lot of content and it keeps me interested, but i especially love the later chapters with everything surrounding neil and then even later with andrew wrestling with his feelings. so well written.

@hopingforcoordinates ​ / crazy_like_a - if you haven’t read their fics then ?? i really don’t know what to say since they wrote 3 of the top 5 fics with the most kudos in this fandom. and if you have read their work then we both know why they are being mentioned. i have fallen in love with their take on raven!neil. their writing style feels so simple and natural, which is a real talent. if you’re looking for a more explicit post-canon fic, then lessons is great, just make sure nobody is reading over your shoulder hah

@fuzzballsheltiepants ​ / fuzzballsheltiepants - the iconic a mewment like this series is so funny, sweet, and angsty and features The Cats which is always a good sign. in particular, i loved the conversation about mark rothko and all of the art they looked at in the 6th fic. i don’t know what counts as spoilers so i’ll say thank goodness for neil ‘oblivious’ josten, trivia nights, and the good bad jokes that made this series such an enjoyable read. similarly, you can’t go wrong with the angst that’s sure to come with a fic where andrew gets hurt and doesn’t remember who neil is. or at least, this fic definitely went the opposite of wrong. 

and i really cannot make this post without mentioning the mind-blowing collabs of lolainslackss and moonix to create dating & other disasters and of moonix and gluupor to write No Place Like Home (incomplete). i literally don’t even have words for how excited i was for when i heard of these fics. these collabs are too powerful for this world and if you haven’t read them then i guess you don’t want to enjoy yourself.

as well, additional thanks from this little ace baby to everyone who writes ace!neil or demi!neil. you guys have a special place in my heart.

i tried to find everyone’s tumblr but obviously didn’t succeed. please tag them if i missed them or tagged the wrong account. thanks! i also did not take the time to research pronouns/names so i refer to everyone as ‘they/them’. i know some of the right pronouns/names but it felt wrong to have some of them and not the rest. some of my comments might seem incoherent or repetitive. my apologies for all of this.

also if you go to my ao3 and see that it’s a little bare/notice that i never comment just know that it’s because i am *ultra lazy* and most of the time i cannot be bothered to log into my account. probably commented as raelle instead. or just ‘a’ because i really am That Lazy. or i’m planning on writing an essay for your fic but haven’t gotten around to it and i’m just drafting it in my head every time i reread.

[aurltas]

where the light goes

tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, i’m a simple gal with simple needs ok i just wanna see some hair being combed yknow??, Confessions, make that LONG-WINDED confessions, Fluff, l o t s of fluff, no seriously this is some cavity inducing food, when is this set? idk but before the Actual confession. who knows go ham, also some ribbon shenanigans (NOT LIKE THAT) to warm ur wangxian hearts, here for all yalls domestic wangxian needs, (cups hands around my mouth) THEY'RE IN L OV E !!!!, hair doing, there...isnt rly a tag for this but they Do they hair

summary: It hits him that evening, there in some unnamed inn straddling some unnamed road, that it has always been in moonlight that Wei Wuxian has caught his eye.

He can barely believe he is allowed to have this.

notes: all i can say is: surely i can’t be the only one who sees all the mdzs characters’ mile-long, pantene-ad-worthy hair and thinks, Wait!!! What If They Softly And Tenderly Combed Out All That Glorious Hair? ...................yeah. that was essentially the basis for all this madness 

(it escalated, obviously)

title from josh kramer’s where the light goes. please do give it a listen, it features tina guo !!

(also on ao3 if that’s ur thang)

PYLADES: I’ll take care of you.

ORESTES: It’s rotten work.

PYLADES: Not to me. Not if it’s you.

— Orestes, Euripides; trans. Anne Carson

--

PART 1: yue / 月

--

It hits him that evening, there in some unnamed inn straddling some unnamed road, that it has always been in moonlight that Wei Wuxian has caught his eye.

First on the rooftops, brandishing those jars with a smile to match. Then in his room, finishing another day of copying, when he began to memorize his moonlit silhouette. And finally again on Dafan Mountain, playing out loud the sound of his own trembling heart.

Lan Wangji can barely believe he is allowed to have this back. This, the easy silence between them as they sit and do whatever it is they need to do, somehow both separate and together in their occupied quiet. The only intruder is the moonlight, spilling through the window and over Wei Wuxian’s form on the floor where he sits, cleaning and inspecting Chengqing.

He hears himself say, “Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian looks up from his spot on the floor. “I’m guessing it’s time to sleep, since you’ve decided to speak up?”

Lan Wangji hums and watches in silence, aching and aching as the moonlight paints Wei Wuxian’s hair in white gold. If he’s being honest, the night hasn’t quite deepened into hanshi yet; there should be roughly half to a third of an incense time left, but there was little chance he would have gotten any more work done regardless. A wave of want overcomes him again, as drenching and bone-deep as the cold of the Gusu springs — the unspeakable need to run his fingers through that moonlit cascade, to press it to his mouth.

Dimly he recalls the words poets had used — silk, water, even moonlight itself — to describe a lover’s hair, and he wonders how reality would compare.

No. As if— He busies himself by clearing away his writing supplies from the table, carefully folding up the half-finished report. Mentally, Lan Wangji reminds himself to sit facing away from Wei Wuxian next time.

He stands slowly and has barely shrugged out of his outer robe when he hears Wei Wuxian hiss in pain.

He’s at his side in an instant, his mind jumping immediately to reopened wounds and hidden curses. “Wei Ying?!”

Wei Wuxian is sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to the window so that the moonlight outlines his shape in the dark. His expression is sheepish. “Oh, it’s just— I tried to comb out my hair with my fingers and I got stuck in a knot, and it just caught me by surprise. Sorry Lan Zhan, I know I probably gave you a scare...”

Lan Wangji shakes his head firmly. “Don’t apologize.” His eyes drift over to Wei Wuxian’s hair, tracing the wild arcing sweep of it. It takes all his self-restraint to school his expression as a sharp ache suddenly blooms in his chest, overwhelming him with the desire to smooth his fingers over it, to tangle his hands in it and find out just how it would feel against his skin —

No. Stop. How could he ever want —

“Ah... Lan Zhan?”

He blinks, meets Wei Wuxian’s hesitant gaze.

“This is going to sound really weird, but I don’t actually, uh. Have anything to untangle my hair with, and this thing doesn’t seem like I can just fix it with my hands. Do you happen to have anything I can borrow?”

(He can barely believe he is allowed to have this.)

“I have a comb in my qiankun bag.” Lan Wangji goes to his outer robe, dropped onto the floor when he’d rushed to Wei Wuxian’s side, lifts it to find the sleeve into which he’d tucked the bag. He realizes he can’t actually see where the sleeve is without the moonlight, so he goes back towards the bed.

Wei Wuxian grins up at him and flips his hair over his shoulder, shifting sideways so Lan Wangji can sit next to him. “As expected of Hanguang-jun! Do you really not mind me borrowing it?”

Lan Wangji turns the robe in the light, finally locates the correct sleeve and reaches in to fish out the bag. “No.”

He pulls the comb out, glossy jade almost glowing under the moon. As he draws the bag closed, Wei Wuxian glances at the comb and finally seems to register Lan Wangji’s answer, blinking several times. “Ah?? ‘No,’ you don’t mind?”

“Mn.”

Wei Wuxian laughs, folds his elbows on his knees and rests his chin in his hands to regard Lan Wangji. “So generous! How can I repay you for this great favor, Lan Zhan?”

Before he realizes what he’s saying, Lan Wangji replies, “Let me untangle it for you.”

What?

Instantly, Wei Wuxian’s smile drops. They stare at each other for a long moment, caught there in the silver of moonlight. Lan Wangji registers, distantly over the clamor of his own panic, that Wei Wuxian’s widened eyes are— Disgusted? Horrified?

He blinks.

...Hopeful?

“I — I mean,” Wei Wuxian starts, his mouth opening and closing several times, “If you. If you want to? I’m completely okay with it, but if you don’t it’s fine! I get it, really, you don’t have to trouble yourself —”

“No trouble,” Lan Wangji says, more and more lightheaded with every word of this wreck of a conversation. “It isn’t,” he insists, again, when Wei Wuxian reaches for the comb. His hand freezes. “Truly. Wei Ying, I —” he says, then mentally curses himself for starting a sentence he dares not finish. “It isn’t any trouble.” Not to me, not to me. Not if it’s you.

“...Okay then,” Wei Wuxian says, withdrawing his hand. His eyes are still so wide. “All right. If you’re sure.”

Lan Wangji finally takes the comb out, lets the familiar cool weight of it steady him and his rioting heart. “Mn.” Not if it’s you. He lays the robe carefully to the side, folding it as he sets it down.

Slowly, Wei Wuxian shifts so that his back faces Lan Wangji, the moonlight forming a halo around the tangle in question. It’s at the end of his hair, only half illuminated; Lan Wangji lifts it with his empty hand, turning it in the watery light to inspect it.

He registers three things: First, it genuinely is a difficult knot.

Second, that even knotted, Wei Wuxian’s hair has a softness of its own — different from the rabbits’ fur, different from his own, from silk and from water. One uniquely belonging to him alone.

And third, that he wants to comb out more than this knot, and with his fingers instead of cold jade teeth.

Lan Wangji closes his eyes briefly, reins himself in with a careful breath. Not now. Now isn’t —

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian’s voice is another knot, tying him to the present. “Is it — really bad?”

The nervousness in his voice is far too great for him to be only talking about the knot. Lan Wangji hums steadily, firmly grips the hair above the tangle with his other hand to make sure he doesn't hurt Wei Wuxian as he starts to tease the knot apart with one end of the teeth. After a moment he says, “No, Wei Ying, don’t worry. It is manageable.”

“Oh. Okay. Good.”

They sit in silence again, but there is a palpable thing hovering in the air between them this time. Perhaps a string, Lan Wangji finds himself thinking dazedly. Or a bamboo pole, wire-thin, running through the center of his quaking heart. Something unbreakable yet unseen, pulling along his stiffened limbs like a puppet, tying him irrevocably to Wei Wuxian.

Gradually the knot unravels, leaving no hint of prior tangle besides a subtle wave in the affected hair. Lan Wangji sits there, his hands growing certain as he runs the comb through that bit of hair over and over and over. When it smooths out, he lets it fall back in place and starts the comb higher, combing through the hair above it as well.

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian’s voice is subdued, almost sleepy. Lan Wangji blinks at it, then hums in question.

Wei Wuxian shuffles around, half facing him. His expression is calm and open and earnest, relaxed and loose-limbed. “Lan Zhan, would you do me a favor and comb out the rest too? If... if it’s no trouble?”

The moonlight casts Wei Wuxian in such bright shadows.

(He can barely believe he is allowed to have this.)

Lan Wangji tilts his head, his eyes crinkling ever so slightly. “En. No trouble.”

Wei Wuxian exhales in a quiet laugh, the lines of his face so, so clear, and Lan Wangji aches. That open calmness pulls his empty hand upwards: he carefully brushes a stray wisp of hair behind Wei Wuxian’s ear, lets the sides of his fingers skim along his jawline when he pulls his hand back. He swallows, belatedly realizing his own actions, but then Wei Wuxian’s eyelashes flutter and their gazes meet, and he realizes there is no disgust, no horror, not even shock in his eyes — only hope, as before.

“Lan Zhan,” he breathes, turning more to fully face him, and Lan Wangji’s pulse skips ahead of itself. “Why are you...”

In response he lifts his hand to Wei Wuxian’s hair again, slowly, gently draws his fingertips through it. Still Wei Wuxian holds his gaze with his wide hopeful eyes, and Lan Wangji aches.

“Is this — all right?” he asks, searching Wei Wuxian’s face.

“Yeah, it's all right! ...I, I mean— If it’s all right for you,” Wei Wuxian replies instantly. Lan Wangji hums in the affirmative, pleased and startled and endeared by the enthusiastic immediacy of his response. Carefully, carefully he moves his hand to his shoulder, turning him so he faces away again. He knows if he continues any further, he would just end up staring at his beautiful moonlit face for the rest of the night.

Gently he sets the comb at the crown of Wei Wuxian’s head, draws it all the way down through one long section of his hair in a straight, steady motion that is completely at odds with his racing pulse. After a few strokes he notices how Wei Wuxian has to strain ever so slightly against the pull of the comb, so he sets a hand at the top of the section to hold his head in place. Wei Wuxian hums quietly and leans back, relaxing into his hand. Lan Wangji has to fight back against a surprised noise in his throat. He draws the comb through again, just to be sure, and allows himself the luxury of gently raking his fingers through the combed hair before moving on to the next segment.

Over and over and over, he combs out that hair as though it is his own, his heart a stallion pounding along the treacherous cliffs of his trembling veins; at any moment the sea below threatens to surge up and drown him, this tsunami of his own yearning. Over and over and over, he drowns himself in the glow of moonlight reflecting off the inky cascade in front of him, another sea to take him in.

Over and over and over, he relearns this: that Wei Wuxian’s hair softens and gives under his hands, and it only makes him want to know if the rest of him will do that too.

(And he thinks to himself the poets are wrong; that silk and water pale in comparison to this, that no words can adequately describe the cool gentle reassurance of it in his fingers.)

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian mumbles when he’s almost done. “Is it troublesome for you? To stay with me like this? Isn’t it so much easier to just, I don’t know... go off and do what you normally do by yourself? Be where the chaos is?”

Lan Wangji huffs wordlessly, draws the comb through the last bit and sets it aside. Wei Wuxian turns back around, watching him, and he sighs.

“Not troublesome for me,” he whispers, and shifts closer to slide his fingers into Wei Wuxian’s hair, cradling the side of his head. He doesn’t miss the way it makes his breath catch, the way he tilts his head ever so slightly to lean into his touch, eyes closing slightly. “Never trouble.”

(He can barely, barely believe —)

“Wei Ying,” he says, and has to fight to keep his breathing even when Wei Wuxian’s hands loop around his waist in response. “Wei Ying, it would never be. Not if — not if it’s you.”

Wei Wuxian shivers a laugh, presses closer. “Really?”

“Mn. Really.”

But then something in his eyes dims. “But this body isn’t even mine.” Lan Wangji blinks, stunned; Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem to notice and plows on, his face darkening as he drops his arms from around Lan Wangji’s waist. “Lan Zhan — I’m not really me. That’s the problem, isn’t it? In the end, after everything, I’m just, I’m —”

“No!”

The outburst surprises both of them. Wei Wuxian is shocked into silence, mouth snapping shut. Lan Wangji shudders a breath in, reminds himself of his decades of training and cultivation — restraint, control, yazheng. Righteousness. “No,” he says, calmer. “No, that isn’t it. Wei Ying. Listen to me.”

Slowly, his hand shaking, Lan Wangji draws the hand he has at his head through his hair. When he gets to the end of it, he lifts it gently and presses it to his lips, leaves it there; watches enraptured as Wei Wuxian’s eyes widen once he registers what is happening.

“Still you,” he says firmly into his hair. Wei Wuxian stares. “The body is irrelevant when the soul is still you.”

“Lan Zhan,” is the only warning he gets before Wei Wuxian launches himself into his arms, clinging to his shoulders, his face tucked into his throat. Lan Wangji lets go of his hair to reach down and hold him back, his hands earnest and hesitant and hopeful, hopeful, hopeful. He aches, all over, and it takes everything in him not to drop his mouth to the crown of his head and tell him, Your soul is who I love, that is the only thing that matters, it’s you it’s you it’s you.

For a moment they breathe, and Lan Wangji tries to force his traitorous heartbeat down to a normal speed.

Wei Wuxian sighs loudly into his skin. “I... I don’t know what to say anymore, I’m so, you’re so...” He lets out a muffled yell against Lan Wangji’s collarbone. “You’ve done it, Hanguang-jun. You’ve rendered me, Wei Wuxian, the infamous and indestructible Yiling Patriarch, utterly speechless!”

Lan Wangji is surprised into a laugh before he can stop himself. Instantly Wei Wuxian raises his head, leaving his arms still clasped around his shoulders, and stares at him in astonishment. “Lan Zhan ah!” he cries delightedly. “Was that— Was that what I thought it was?? Did you laugh?!”

His scandalized tone draws another smile from Lan Wangji, and this time he doesn’t bother trying to hide it. Wei Wuxian lets out a faint strangled sound and lifts a hand, tracing the shape of his upturned mouth with his fingertips. Lan Wangji stares: at him, his hand, his eyes so focused entirely on him.

He can feel his pulse in his lips.

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian whispers. His fingers still.

(The moonlight, the moonlight. Lan Wangji cannot look away.)

He tries to say something, but his voice catches and he can only return a pathetic garbled Mm? against his fingertips.

Wei Wuxian smiles, a small quiet thing so at odds with his usual loud self that somehow Lan Wangji knows this is him, how he is when he is truly, fully himself.

“Is it okay if I comb your hair out too?” he asks.

Lan Wangji stills.

Of all things he was bracing himself for, it was not this.

Lan Wangji blinks, trying to formulate a response in his mind that is not overly lovestruck or overly intimidating or both. Something delicate is being strung between them, and his only fear is snapping it.

He’s been silent too long; Wei Wuxian deflates, withdraws his hand, starts to lean away. Instantly Lan Wangji is struck by how cold he feels without Wei Wuxian’s touch, but he manages to say, “Wei Ying. I would... I would like that.”

Wei Wuxian brightens. “Really?” he asks eagerly. Lan Wangji nods, places the comb by his hand on the bed and carefully turns so that his back is to Wei Wuxian.

But as his eyes trace the frost of the moonlight on the opposite wall, he realizes two things:

One, his hair is still in its usual bun, and Wei Wuxian likely has no idea how to undo it.

Two, he is, naturally, still wearing his forehead ribbon.

Wei Wuxian seems to come to these realizations at the same moment he does, because he hesitates audibly and says, “Oh. Ah. Lan Zhan...?”

Lan Wangji reaches up and undoes his hair, setting the pin and crown onto the little table by the bedside. His mind races along the tracks of his fevered panic as he tries to figure out what on earth to do about his ribbon, because heaven knows he wants to say something with it, but does Wei Ying even know? Would he— How would he feel, if he does know?

Slowly he reaches up to where his ribbon is knotted at the back of his head, deciding it’s better for both of them if he takes it off himself. But when he does, he feels —

Skin. Fingers; a hand.

...A hand?

Wei Ying’s hand — ?!

He turns around immediately, wide eyes fixed on Wei Wuxian.

“Wei Ying?” he breathes.

For his part, Wei Wuxian looks as stunned as he feels, lips parted slightly and eyes just as wide, hands frozen in midair where they’d been at his ribbon. “I... Ah...”

Lan Wangji can hear his swallow, the thud as he drops his hands, every sound amplified in the silence of night. He coughs. “Lan Zhan, sorry, I should’ve asked. That was— That was rude of me, I mean, I of all people should know how important the Lan ribbon is by now.”

Dazed, Lan Wangji wonders, Do you? His bemusement must show on his face somehow, because Wei Wuxian laughs, but it’s forced and self-reprimanding. Lan Wangji’s heart aches at the sound of it, so he shakes his head slightly and takes both of Wei Wuxian’s hands in his, and after a moment of trepidation lifts them to his lips and presses a soft kiss to those knuckles.

“You can...” Lan Wangji breathes in, but it’s closer to a stitched gasp. “You can take it off.”

Wei Wuxian’s fingers twitch in his, as though that wasn't the answer he was expecting. “You — you would want me to? ...Not someone else?” he asks carefully, caught in this rare moment of honesty.

The moonlight leaves no place to hide; Lan Wangji can see how pink has stolen over his cheeks.

“Only you,” Lan Wangji says into his knuckles. “No one else.”

“Really?” Wei Wuxian huffs in disbelief, eyes wide. Lan Wangji nods. His hands are so warm.

For a moment Lan Wangji wars with himself. Then: “Wei Ying, do you know the ribbon’s...?”

His voice trails off, swallowed by the sudden yawning doubt in his stomach, a chasm ridged and carved with years of fear.

Wei Wuxian stares.

Lan Wangji’s heart is whittling away at his ribs.

He can’t stop thinking about the meaning, the meaning, the meaning. Words — he curses himself silently, this old frustration with his own inability to translate between the languages of thought and speech. His mind has always been so full of noise.

(But: Wei Wuxian has always seemed to understand him regardless.)

“The ribbon’s meaning?” Wei Wuxian repeats after a moment, and Lan Wangji nods dumbly. “I do know. I mean, I didn’t know before, obviously, but now...” He swallows and carefully extracts one of his hands from Lan Wangji’s hold, reaches for his own hair ribbon, long cast aside for the task of untangling his hair. He looks up and meets Lan Wangji’s eyes, then presses it to their joined hands, wraps both their fingers around it.

Lan Wangji is not breathing.

“I’m not— This isn’t the Lan ribbon, but I guess... Maybe, in the future, it could be? Or it could be my ribbon still, but — it would mean the same? If that makes sense? I’d really like that.” He’s biting his lip, and Lan Wangji hazily wonders how it would feel if it were his teeth instead. “That is... If — If you’re willing, of course. Just, since you trust me with yours, I want you to know that I. I trust you to take mine, too.”

The moonlight leaves no place to hide; Lan Wangji knows Wei Wuxian can see, can feel how hard his hands are trembling.

“Lan Zhan ah,” Wei Wuxian whines. He’s been silent for too long again. “Don’t just leave me hanging!!”

He’s watching Lan Wangji closely, eyes wide and open and hopeful, hopeful, hopeful. “Lan Zhan?”

“Wei Ying,” is all he can manage before he drops his hands and reaches for his face instead, finally, finally brings their mouths together. Wei Wuxian lets out a surprised strangled noise, as though he has any right to be surprised after saying everything he’s said; the sound makes Lan Wangji’s chest ache, and he presses closer, swallowing Wei Wuxian’s sigh, burning at the feel of Wei Wuxian’s blind hands at his neck, his collarbone, his unbound hair, pulling him in.

(He can barely, barely believe —)

A quiet sound escapes from the back of his throat before he can stop himself. Wei Wuxian grins against his mouth, tangles his fingers into his hair to deepen the kiss. Lan Wangji almost reciprocates when he remembers how much effort he’s put into combing out Wei Wuxian’s hair, so he settles instead for running his hands through it over and over, letting it slide through his fingers, letting himself drown in the surging warmth that is Wei Wuxian.

“Lan Zhan, wait,” Wei Wuxian gasps into his mouth. Lan Wangji pauses and draws back, but doesn’t stop combing his fingers through. Wei Wuxian reaches up and tugs on one of his hands; after a moment he laces their fingers together.

“...Are you worried about ruining your handiwork or something?” he asks, tilting his head.

When he says it aloud like that, Lan Wangji can’t hide the puff of laughter that escapes his lips. “En. Something like that.”

Wei Wuxian grins in delight and buries his face in Lan Wangji’s shoulder, his arms circling his waist once more. “I can’t believe you,” he says, but it’s fond and astonished and just this side of lovestruck. Lan Wangji holds him and lets himself press his mouth to the top of his head, closes his eyes.

Quiet returns. Lan Wangji strokes his hair over and over and over, and eventually Wei Wuxian leans back to hold his gaze. Lan Wangji takes in the sight of him, flushed and bright-eyed, a new kind of mischief alight in his face.

“You still haven't answered my question,” he says. Lan Wangji blinks. “Earlier? My whole ribbon spiel? ...Oh my god, Lan Zhan, please don’t make me say it again, I think I’ll faint if I have to repeat that —”

Ribbon? Lan Wangji thinks in a daze. It rushes back to him then, the way Wei Wuxian had untied his own hair ribbon and presses it to their joined hands, the halting stutter of if you’re willing, so hesitant and unlike his usual unwavering front.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says, and it is moonlight pounding through his fingertips. “I have been trying for years to say I am willing.”

Wei Wuxian stares at him. His mouth is hanging open. “Years??” he asks incredulously.

Lan Wangji decides it is time for some concrete evidence. “I... was not very good at saying it,” he admits. “Do you remember the hunt on the mountain? The one where you wore a blindfold?”

Wei Wuxian stares blankly at him, confusion furrowing his brows. “The one where you punched a tree?”

Lan Wangji hates this more than words can ever hope to express.

“What happened. Before that.”

“What happened... I was...” Wei Wuxian hesitates, a step away from the truth. His eyes widen, and he lifts them to stare at Lan Wangji full-on.

“Oh, my god,” he breathes. “You were the one who stole my first — ?!” And then he slaps his hand over his mouth, eyes even bigger than before.

First?

It is Lan Wangji’s turn to stare.

“That was... your first kiss?” he says hoarsely.

Wei Wuxian bursts out laughing, wiping clumsily at his eyes. “Lan Zhan, I wouldn't be freaking out if it wasn’t!” he says, a little hysterically. “I can’t believe this, I —” Then he halts, turns his gaze back to Lan Wangji. All the mirth is gone from his expression.

“You’re not joking? That many years ago??” he asks.

Lan Wangji nods mutely.

Wei Wuxian laughs again, short and amazed. “Wow,” he says quietly. “Wow.” He reaches out and, after a moment’s hesitation, gently slips Lan Wangji’s forehead ribbon off, holds it to his lips.

“This is okay, I’m assuming?” he murmurs, looking up at him.

Lan Wangji is not breathing.

(He can barely believe —)

For a few beats it is all he can do to stare. Then he exhales carefully and tugs him close again, briefly kisses the corner of his mouth behind the silk. Wei Wuxian grins shakily before setting it down on the bedside table. His hand drifts up to trace Lan Wangji’s jaw, an echo of what Lan Wangji had done to him earlier.

They watch each other, silent. Looking, breathing. Lan Wangji knows he could stay like this for days on end: Wei Wuxian’s skin on his, his gaze a softer bolder kind of light tracing the planes of his face.

“Lan Zhan, you know that I’m in love with you too, right?” Wei Wuxian says suddenly.

Lan Wangji smiles slightly, blinks hard to fight back the tears that suddenly sting his eyes. “En,” he replies.

(Even now, he can barely, barely —)

Wei Wuxian laughs, brings his other arm up to sling it onto his shoulder. “You know, Lan Zhan,” he says, still smiling, “that kiss on the mountain was really something! I could barely stand afterwards, did you know?”

Lan Wangji did not know. His breath catches in his throat, as affected by this knowledge as Wei Wuxian had evidently been affected by him. Wei Wuxian, of course, does not miss this; his grin widens and he leans in close.

“Did that surprise you?” he whispers, his lips a breath away from Lan Wangji’s own. “Lan — er — ge — ge?” His tone is smug, drawing out the syllables. Lan Wangji is fighting to keep his breathing steady, every inhale slow and measured and controlled. It's a worthless cause in the end: his eyes are huge and black, his pupils completely blown, and his heart is a trembling storm thundering against his ears. Wei Wuxian doesn’t miss anything, because of course he doesn’t, and a blush creeps across his face again.

“Lan Zhan,” he murmurs, his eyes half lidded, “can I kiss you?”

Lan Wangji breathes. The moonlight glints in Wei Wuxian’s irises, all allure and brightness.

“Yes,” he whispers.

Wei Wuxian’s hand is still holding his jaw, and he exhales softly before pulling him close. Lan Wangji feels the warmth of his mouth shudder down his bones — spilling like the moonlight through the cracks of his body, filling every gap and crevice. He is the sun, the moon, the stars; he is the land below, the waters beneath, where the brightness of it all goes. Light. He shivers and arches closer, opens his mouth around a gasp at the press of Wei Wuxian’s tongue on his lips. Wei Wuxian moans his name, clutches his jaw, eyelashes fluttering against his cheek.

“Wei Ying,” he groans, and Wei Wuxian hums, pleased, but it’s broken and ragged, all his playful teasing stripped away for the bare honesty of this instead. They’re both beyond words by now, and so Lan Wangji lets himself drown.

When he leans back at last, it is with trembling fingers — barely, barely, still — that Lan Wangji brushes back the hair that’s fallen into Wei Wuxian’s face, desperately trying to slow his shallow pants. Gently he tucks the strays away, captivated by the way Wei Wuxian’s hair and face are awash in molten silver, the way Wei Wuxian’s mouth stays slightly parted as he gasps for air, the way Wei Wuxian’s dark eyes are fixed on his, outlined and sparkling in the moonlight.

(Of all things he was bracing himself for, it was not this.)

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, oh my god I just realized,” Wei Wuxian says breathlessly, “I didn't even end up combing your hair out, I messed it up even more!” Lan Wangji nods intently, mock upset, and Wei Wuxian’s face breaks into a grin. When Lan Wangji can’t help but mirror it, Wei Wuxian laughs delightedly.

“Lan Zhan, I can’t take this, this is so unfair,” he teases. “You look even prettier when you’re smiling!”

Lan Wangji is absolutely drowning in the way he says even prettier. He draws his fingertips through Wei Wuxian’s hair and hums instead, watches as his eyes drift closed. “Feels good,” he mumbles. He tips his body into Lan Wangji’s, burying his face in his collar. “Lan Zhan ah, Lan Zhan ah. How are you just good at everything?”

Lan Wangji has nothing to say at that, simply continues stroking his hair and leans down to press his lips to his forehead. Wei Wuxian lets out a quiet noise, tightening his arms around Lan Wangji’s shoulders so that they stay pressed against each other.

Time passes. At some point Wei Wuxian tilts his head up wordlessly to kiss him again, sated and soft-mouthed, and at some point the moonlight on the wall becomes moonlight on the floor. It is deep into hanshi by the time Lan Wangji finally brings himself to pull away slightly from Wei Wuxian’s embrace, still remaining close enough that his hands stay at his waist. “We should sleep,” he murmurs, head dipped low next to Wei Wuxian’s ear. It does something to his heart, that he can have this: these casual invasions of each other’s space, now something warm and welcome.

“You’re right,” Wei Wuxian sighs. “Sorry Lan Zhan, I’ll do your hair tomorrow, I’m really too tired.” Lan Wangji hums, thrilled in his contentment, and presses a kiss to his temple. Wei Wuxian lifts his head to eye him blearily, already half asleep as he tips over sideways onto the bed. His hand doesn't leave Lan Wangji’s waist, and he pulls groggily at the cloth there.

“Lan Zhaaaan,” he says. “Come sleep with me?”

And there is this: the way he says it, without hesitation and in full trust, that makes Lan Wangji’s heart stutter.

Silently he does as he’s told, and they tuck into one another, Wei Wuxian’s arm slung around his waist, his head fitted into the hollow of Lan Wangji’s throat. Lan Wangji finds that, inexplicably, he is fighting back the urge to both cry and laugh at the same time. He traces with his eyes the silver of moonlight on the slopes of Wei Wuxian’s body and marvels at it all, because even now he can barely, barely believe this closeness is something he is allowed to have.

Silently he presses his mouth to Wei Wuxian’s hair, combs his fingertips through it one more time. “Goodnight, Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile brushes against the skin of his neck, and he shivers before he can stop himself. “Mm, goodnight Lan Zhan.”

The moon slowly sets.

--

part two incoming wooooooo

here're the notes for part one!

as per my jaslief piece, this started as a “ah let me just,, write a short 1k drabbly bby” and became “Oh God How Did It Get So Big??” (thank u otps for always destroying my plans and forcing me to write like 7x more than planned) (it’s starting to get concerning tho i'm still a premed student pls,, calm,,,)

moonlight is a huge personal wangxian symbol for me, even though i know it’s Technically more songxiao......... idk, i think that wangxian first meeting scene up on the rooftops under that bright moon rly imprinted itself on my brain ugh 真是太美了 :,)

dunno why this happens but i automatically revert to ocean metaphors every time i write fluff ???? thx pynch ig

a Lot of this was written while i was in china (just like my jaslief fic, weirdly enough... hm) and lemme tell you. i was losing my marbles bc of the heat-relatives-mosquitos combo but wangxian kept me strong!!! shoutout to wangxian ilyyyy <333

basically my hot take here is that lwj is the only person who can make wwx flustered AND ALSO!! that wwx is the only person who can make lwj flustered

like.....it’s a symbiotic relationship........theyreinlove uwu

that concludes part 1!! feel free to throw me a meme or a fun fact about something that happened while u were reading the fic or WHATEVER honestly!! gnight yall

[wickymicky]

2020 Comeback Ranking: March Update

march sucked lmao but here’s this

here’s a link to my last update: (x)

Dreamcatcher - Scream: obviously haha. when a song comes out that’s better than scream, i’ll let you know.

Cignature - Nun Nu Nan Na: i’ve felt like it should be this high the entire time but only now am i bold enough to say it

Izone - Fiesta: another bold stance but idk, is this one as hot a take as cignature? like, fiesta’s a bop right? we’re all agreed? maybe we arent lmao but i think its a bop anyway

Loona - So What: im so proud of them!!! they got their first win this month!!! yeah idk, this song is always gonna be controversial and polarizing, but i like it a lot more than i dislike it, for sure. the choreo’s not as exciting, and the stages were empty without haseul and orbits, but the song in and of itself is good, it’s gonna remain stuck in my head all year. 

Dreamcatcher - Endless Night: this song is cheesy as hell but whatever lmao. breaking every endless niiiiiiight

Cherry Bullet - Hands Up: in my last update i said “fairly simple lol this is just a weird bop” and i stand by that

NCT 127 - Kick It: at the beginning of the month i would have put this at number 2, but i havent listened to it as much lately. part of that is me finding more comfort during this quarantine nonsense by listening to girl groups and watching girl group vlogs and other content and stuff, but also part of that is just sort of the novelty wearing off a little bit, and some minor nitpicks i had becoming more prominent and hard to ignore now. tbh i still think this is in my top 3 nct 127 songs though, easily

Weki Meki - Dazzle Dazzle: it’s really hard for me to tell where i should place this. i love weki meki to death so i want it to be high, but i don’t like it as much as some other weki meki songs. i think it’s catchy, it’s weird, it’s veeeery bubblegummy (literally lol it has popping sound effects throughout it), but it’s good. it’s just a solid weki meki track, i guess. this is the song i’ve listened to the second most this year so far, apparently, but i’m not sure it’ll stay that way.

GFriend - Crossroads: i cant believe i had this at number 3 last time lol. everything i said about it still stands but i just dont think that stuff warrants number 3 anymore. i think it is an emotionally affecting song that got better every time i listened to it, and i think the stages for it were always pretty good, but you know... maybe this drop just reflects my need for more fast paced hype-up songs this past month cause those lend themselves better to escaping from the outside world haha

Itzy - Wannabe: it’s itzy and they own this 4th gen “teen crush” concept (i hate that term even though weki meki coined it and own it even more than itzy does lol), so of course it was gonna be good, but i think it’s still up for debate exactly how good it is. i dont think it’s as classic as dalla dalla or icy will go on to be. i dont even think wannabe is the best song from their mini album, lol. it’z me might be the best mini album of the year so far, tbh. i mean dont get me wrong, this song is good, and of course ive had its chorus and weird noisy production stuck in my head all month

honorable mentions (basically 11-15 except i didnt feel like writing things for these lol): Pentagon - Dr Bebe, Sunmi - Gotta Go, 3YE - Queen, Elris - Jackpot, Sejeong - Plant

and here’s a thing i’m doing for the first time this month... here’s my top 5 bsides of the year so far! its hard to compare these with title tracks since generally i listen to title tracks so much more, because theyre just like... a bigger deal, you know? i give title tracks more thought and criticism too. i’m trying to be better about listening to bsides this year though, but even still, i dont always listen to the bsides for a comeback, so this list is gonna be even more biased than my title track list. i dont care though cause like... so what? of course it’s biased lmao it’s my opinion, of course it’s subjective. anyway here it is

Dreamcatcher - Red Sun: the stages made me love this song even more and understand its aesthetic so much better, but even without that it was still one of the best bsides i’d ever heard from a group. part of me wants a Red Sun special clip, but part of me wants them to wait till Handong is back. it’ll probably never happen, but we can dream. anyway this song kills me with how good it is

Elris - This Is Me: this song slaps so fucking hard lmao. i’m not that into the dance break in the song, it kills the momentum a little bit, but damn this shit is such an adrenaline rush, i love it

Dreamcatcher - Sahara: we all joked about this song already, but seriously that special clip made it totally impossible to take this song seriously... which vastly improved it, in my opinion. this song becoming just something you headbang to and giggle about the “ra ra ra”s and the antics in the special clip made this song 10x better, and i already loved it to begin with lol. this song is such a fuckin anthem haha, a silly, powerful, just-good-dumb-fun anthem 

Itzy - That’s A No No: this song has some of the most unique production i’ve heard in a kpop song. it’s downright nightmarish, this thing sounds like a fever dream

Izone - Open Your Eyes: idk what to say about this song other than that it’s an easy song to get lost in actually there’s a tie for this spot... this song is tied with Loona - Number One: idk what to say about this song other than that it’s an easy song to get lost in

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 1 Chapter 8

• So…umm…I LOVE this chapter! More in hindsight than when I was actually playing it because back then it just sounded like a jealous woman trying to sabotage the MC and failing. But now having played through this chapter and even written a fic about it…I have to say there’s a lot going on in this one.

• I’ve often found the 8th chapter in the series pretty interesting. This was the first chapter in the series to feature diamond scenes from all three of the original LIs in a single chapter. This would happen again in Book 2, but by Book 2 the imbalance was a lot more tangible. I will speak more about this later…but suffice to say that back when we had just two books in the series, I would call the 8th chapter The Magical Number Eight.

• A common misconception that seems to stem from this chapter (and others, often by Kiara-haters) is that Kiara “agrees to be our friend” this chapter, and then jumps ship to Madeleine in Book 2. That’s bullshit. Kiara never mentions the word friend. She says ally. And she delivers.

• THIS is also where you get the first little inkling that Maxwell could be romanced, though we would only know for sure by the middle of Book 2. This chapter is also where you also get the first of many Drake’s plot related scenes. Which meant that sometimes, even if a fan did not like him, they would end up buying his scenes anyway for some crumb of information on their LI. Drake was already getting popular, but dropping hints of plot into his scenes gave him an added edge and often encouraged fans of other LIs who didn’t like him, to buy his scenes.

• Anyway, since the buildup took an entire chapter, the book pushes us straight into the dressing room for this one!

• Title: A Waltz to Remember.

Alternative Title: Lizzy Turns This QT into a Kiara Gush-fest And Does Not Regret It (Even If It Gave Her Hand-Cramps).

I love how over the course of three books, this particular dance form of Cordonia has gained the importance it has. And it’s lovely how - even though we’re not meant to like Olivia at this point - our first glimpse of Cordonian culture through this dance, is in her estate.

• Hana’s silver dress makes its debut here! Honestly, I kinda would’ve liked this one a LOT better as a gown than as the bodycon it eventually became. That pleated bodice really needed a long, flowy skirt to work. I’m always going to be a little sore they made it a short bodycon instead 😑

• Okay I love both our options for the ball, okay. They’re both big, and glamorous, and make a real statement. Which is necessary, because the plan is to show Olivia up at her own home.

Winter Goddess is gorgeous - it has that vintage Hollywood feel to me, and the caption for it sounds pretty romantic (“will capture the winter moonlight”). Snowflake Sweetheart is very on-point for the whole snow/ice theme Lythikos itself has going on. I’m very fond of the crystals and the illusion sleeves on the second one….but I have to say that silk-satin one with the fur stole is the winner for me 😅

Me Back Then (on one of my million replays): If I really have to take a diamond option, I’m taking the second one. I’m cheap.

Me Now: Still cheap. I’m not spending 25 whole diamonds on another gown when there’s already a cute one free in my closet.

• Maxwell is trying hard to channel Bertrand 2.0, and is badgered enough by 1.0 over the phone to almost succeed.

• One of the formal phrases he uses is “a diamond of the first water”, a phrase you’d see very commonly in the Regency era…which kind of solidifies my belief that Regency England was one of their world building inspirations even back then.

• We don’t fully understand the kind of power the hostess can wield in her homeplace, until this sequence. On principle, Olivia is not exactly answerable to anyone, not even the royals visiting her in Lythikos - she can decide on seat arrangements, she can give instructions to the staff on who gets the best portions of the meals and who gets the worst, she can monopolize on the Prince’s time with her if she wants. And she takes full advantage of that.

• However, her being the hostess doesn’t always leave her completely free to do what she wants, without consequences. Lythikos is not just a turning point for us - it’s one for her as well. And not exactly in a good way.

• Here’s what Olivia does to sabotage us at the ball:

- seats us away from our sponsor, and away from the head table. In fact this is something she does to all the suitors - Maxwell tells us that not a single one has a place at the head table.

- seats us way back, next to a commoner who is also constantly given the same treatment - which Hana points out is meant to be viewed in the court as an insult. To an MC who is still learning the ways of the nobility, this move is pretty much a miss…but it does give us a very clear idea of how hypocritical the nobility and royalty can be. Hana is not immune to the prejudice either (seen as she does not censor the statement when she says it in front of Drake, a commoner), but she eventually grows to fiercely guard him and defend him from those kind of attitudes later on… and you can see a lot of that growth in TRH’s Walker Ranch chapters.

- has her servers give us ice-cold lobster bisque on purpose, thirty minutes after serving has begun. With no lobster in it. Remember, we’re in a wintry region where you require piping hot, creamy, fattening foods to stay warm. This isn’t just ruining a meal: Olivia is sending a clear message about how unwelcome they are, by giving them cold food devoid of the main protein, in the freezing cold of Lythikos.

- given the timing of her kiss on Liam during the waltz, she probably did that to send a message to us as well. It happens shortly after our dance with him, and from her reaction (angry, immediately establishing claim on him) to Liam’s dance with the MC, we can tell she’s more affected than she’d like to admit, and that’s what informs her actions during her second dance with him.

• Me Back Then: There is a nice option and a rude option. It’s Drake, but he’s Liam’s bff and I want to be nice.

(+ romance point)

Me Back Then:

Me Now: Romance points in Lythikos fall from Drake the way pee falls from someone with weak kegels. One tiny laugh and pssssshhhh.

• From the rude option you find out that Drake plays chess and often wins in his matches with Liam, so that’s a nice touch.

• The MC can acquire the fresh bisque for herself and her friends if she dramatically faints in front of a server. I quite like this (optional) moment because it shows her thinking on her feet and quickly ensuring she gets her way. The other options are pretty hilarious too, though, the obnoxious “do you know who I am” option comes with a Game of Thrones reference 😂

•

Me Back Then: …someone should leave Drake hungry at a party till the wee hours of the morning with access to only whiskey bottles. Whiskey for entrèe, whiskey for main, maybe we’ll be kind and give him brandy for dessert. Let’s see how far his love for whiskey goes then 😈

Me Now: Holy shit, Me Back Then, you just predicted the best scene in Book 3 🤣.

• One of my favourite TRR Tumblr posts ever, was the one where someone took a screenshot of Drake saying “I’m not one to complain about food” from this chapter, and placed a gif of Nicholas Fraser’s “Why You Always Lying” lyrics just beneath it 😄 If that isn’t the truth idk what is.

• Most of the chapter after this will focus on the Cordonian Waltz, Olivia’s little stunt and getting allies, so the buildup to Drake’s scene will happen now (and Hana’s just before we meet Drake). Hana will be dancing with Tariq, and then other partners in the meantime, so no opportunities to dance with her there.

I loved this dialogue option when I first saw it, but now that I know how much in love with dancing Maxwell is, this scene is ten times more fun! 😃

• On first playthrough…this didn’t seem like that big a problem. Maxwell was fun, and seemed to genuinely like us, and was berated a great deal by Bertrand - so it was easier then to perhaps forgive his gaffes and want to comfort him instead. But when you approach his character as someone who brought a complete foreigner to his country and then didn’t make much of an effort to educate her with what little time they both had…I wind up finding his character a lot less endearing. I’m honestly more irritated by his carelessness. There was a lot he could have done even if he forgot or didn’t know what to do. He could have asked around! Hana was right in front of him! He could have found out what to prepare for if he didn’t know or if Bertrand didn’t handhold him (which Bertrand himself isn’t exactly doing a good job of in the first place). The other LIs shouldn’t have to constantly step in and do his job as sponsor and guide!

• It’s only when we’re dancing that Maxwell realizes he’s not taught us the dance. Of course, if you bought Hana’s waltz scene, she whispers her advice just before you dance with him, and you give her credit for teaching you. If not, you go into it knowing very little (but because the options are easy to choose from, so you can still manage). Maxwell does explain its uniqueness in terms of the flirting potential and the fact that it’s a courtship dance…but the true beauty of that description only comes with Hana.

• Istg, if Hana weren’t around to repeatedly save our ungrateful asses…

• So THIS is the first opportunity you get to ‘romance’ Maxwell. He looks sad and tells you that you should only be here for the Prince, but it’s also that vague kind of sadness that you can interpret differently and write detailed fanfics about! I think a huge part of Maxwell’s appeal (besides the overall sparkling personality, and the fact that he was so different from both Liam and Drake) was the “will-he-won’t-he” nature of the LI question itself.

• We now move on to Liam, who is fighting a losing battle with his desire to favour the MC exclusively, but wants her to know that she is special to him. Notably he does say this in the “courtship” part of the dance.

• How do you know that the Cordonian Waltz was a strategic choice? Because Olivia chose to dance with Liam twice! And because she’s the hostess, it’s harder for Liam to refuse.

I remember being pretty uncomfortable with this scene the first time I saw it, I still am, and often I wonder if I’m the only one who feels that way. Whenever I see this scene being referenced, it’s often referenced in the most flippant ways. And it baffles me.

• Honestly, Olivia was clearly overstepping her boundaries here and didn’t even bother to ask Liam before doing it (Liam himself mentions he was “caught by surprise” and calls it an “unexpected advance”). Was Olivia doing it out of complex, understandable reasons? Like jealousy or frustration or showing the MC up? Well, sure I guess. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that her doing so was nonconsensual and downright wrong.

The funny thing is often this incident is either downplayed or erased completely, especially in contexts where people try to argue that Olivia “deserves better” than Liam, or sympathize with her for loving a man who “does not care about her”.

Does Olivia deserve to be loved back by a person she loves? Absolutely.

Is Liam a lesser person for not loving her back? No, and he shouldn’t have to be penalized or judged by a fandom for not doing so.

Is the fact that most people who uphold this “penalizing/blaming Liam for not returning Olivia’s feelings” argument, also tend to forget/downplay this particular incident…particularly disturbing? Well, yeah, definitely.

• Even the narrative fails with regard to this, actually. It is written in a comical style, with a couple of out-there dialogue options (like screaming loud enough of break poor Maxwell’s eardrums) and the MC is given a chance to lash out at Liam for not reacting fast enough or throwing Olivia off of him. And guess what his reaction is. Sad, contrite, trying to explain his position. It’s almost like it’s okay for him to feel guilty about something that was done TO him, that he was never asked permission for.

Olivia does suffer consequences, but more for her “power play” than for anything else. Her move isn’t viewed as negative for what it may do to Liam, it is negative because it is seen as a direct “fuck you” she is delivering to her competitors. The scene itself is written for laughs…which I’m surprised more people don’t find even a little uncomfortable.

• The reactions from the other suitors is pretty on point for their character types at this point. Madeleine is smug and condescending, confident that she will never be “unrefined or insecure” enough for such “ostentatious displays” (says the woman who will bully her entire court, run around Italy roaring drunk and name a drink after herself in Book 2). Penelope doesn’t exactly have a personality at this point, she merely comments that the kiss was a bold play. It is Kiara who points out the power dynamics involved and views it as the last straw in her waning support for Olivia.

Remember - the ladies of the court weren’t treated half as badly as we were, but they were probably more aware (than us) that they were being denied a seat at the head table, and had to put up with Olivia monopolizing Prince Liam’s time. While Kiara’s suspicions that Olivia is “mad with power” here probably aren’t too far off the mark (even though her feelings of jealousy and confusion may be involved, we can’t deny that there is a clear sense of “I’m the hostess here, I can do what I want”), it’s not just an assumption that simply stems out of nowhere.

• Maxwell sees and opportunity to gain allies, and encourages us to capitalize on it. The wrong options are pretty interesting: if you mention “slapping the smirk off Olivia’s face”, Maxwell tells you that the political equivalent would be to “attack her alliances”. If you suggest making out with Liam in public, Maxwell exclaims that doing so would lead to people gunning after you. Which is telling, because in Book 1 PDA is mostly shown as being frowned upon in Cordonian society in general. So Olivia’s very public kiss isn’t just brazen and bold to the courtly ladies, but also viewed as inappropriate and a jab at their own lack of power in this situation.

• I love that Maxwell gets the opportunity to encourage us to play politics. Love it. He is the first one to notice the change in Kiara’s attitude towards Olivia, and he recognizes that the time is ripe for us to captialize on it. While Bertrand, or Bertrand-and-Maxwell, are the ones who tell us the importance of gaining support from the press and the royals, getting the court to support us is wholly Maxwell’s idea. This added another layer to the way he was built in the story, and I’m not happy that we didn’t see a lot of that perceptiveness and skill around court later on. By Books 2 and 3, he was mostly relegated to the funny guy, the court jester. Book 1 Maxwell may make a lot of mistakes but you bet he’d be too smart to toss brushettas in the face of dignitaries at the UN. It was like his own writers forgot Maxwell was capable of more.

• OKAY SO THE KIARA SECTION IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE OKAY. And it only wound up being a favourite when I realized there were changes in her dialogue between my Esther playthrough and my Persephone one. I mean if I weren’t already a fan of her…this definitely would have converted me.

Before I get into the actual gushing…I’ll just summarize what the MC has to do to gain her approval:

- Language: Kiara is known for her proficiency with languages - it is the skill that defines her in court (to the point that you barely notice her other qualities). Her home language is French, and if you know how to respond to comment ça va she is cheerful and more willing to hear you out (if you choose the fromage answer she’ll a bit surprised but not too hostile, and if you say voulez-vous coucher avec moi, well…of course she’ll be pissed off because you just accidentally asked her to sleep with you). In any case, to gain her approval you need to respond in French.

In fact even Kiara’s goodbyes vary based on whether she becomes your ally or not. If she’s your ally, she says à bientôt before leaving (which is “see you soon”). If she’s not convinced by your arguments, she says adieu, which has more of a sense of finality to it and is often said when you don’t expect to meet again (in fact I’m surprised they had her say it) and is different from au revior (which means “until we see each other again”).

- Olivia’s Actions: Kiara reiterates to you what she’d just told the others - Olivia is on a power trip, and while Kiki is well aware that she’s not a top contender in this competition, she is not going to stand for being treated like she is lesser than the ones who do have power. Interestingly, in both Chapter 7 of Book 2 and this chapter, Kiara’s first visible signs of discontent/frustration come when both Olivia/Madeleine go on massive power trips (“she even named a drink after herself. Quelle narcissique”, Kiara says about Madeleine in the next book).

I feel like Kiara’s frustration may have already been there with Olivia’s treatment of the ladies of the court at the start of the Ball (but perhaps she may have been brushed it aside as a strategy you could expect from a noblewoman in her own estate) but it is Olivia kissing Liam and trying to establish a claim on him that is seen as the tipping point for her.

However, she’s also pretty pragmatic and is lowkey impressed with Olivia if you state that she went too far. She is irritated by the message Olivia is sending, but acknowledges that not many would have dared to do that in her place. A more neutral response works well with Kiara’s train of thought, because to her the important thing is seeing what works in the long run, and the MC has to convince her that she is a good alternative.

- Alliance: Kiara already anticipates this, since she is the one who straight-out asks this question. At this point Kiara is not exactly aiming to be Queen - she knows she is up against more powerful people, people who have more access to the royal family (perhaps her dad Hakim would have had a similar amount of access if Constantine wasn’t such a dick). She is not going to waste her time wishing for what she won’t get, when she can easily network instead. The answer that works best with her is the one where the MC speaks of Olivia’s friendship as being a one-way street where she always gets her way, which is ironic considering how the MC behaves in a likely worse manner towards Kiara in Book 3.

• One of my favourite Kiara lines is from the wrong option (“I’m nicer than Olivia”) for the Alliance segment: “Nice? Nothing about being here is nice. If I wanted nice I’d buy a teacup pig. 😡”

• Back in Books 6’s QT, I mentioned Queen Regina and Duke Bertrand as being the two people in the first book who watch out and keep track on our progress. Bertrand does it because he is our sponsor, Regina does it because after all we are one of the candidates for her stepson’s hand in marriage, and we’re the one he eventually shows the most interest in. But there is one other person who seems to be taking notice of our good performance as well:

On my fail run, where Persy doesn’t gain approval either from the press, or from the royals, those last two lines simply do not appear. She asks us about whether we’re looking for an alliance, and we immediately answer her. She will still join hands with you if you convince her (I did a test run where Persy said all the right things) but those words will not feature anywhere. Because the dialogue is coded such that it will only appear if you’ve done well in your previous two tasks.

That is fascinating to me, because Kiara is the only lady of the court who is written as noticing these things at such an early stage in the competition (the Lythikos Ball is only the third event in the social season, and the maximum approvals come from the Derby, which was the event just preceding it). She is the only person, besides Bertrand and Regina, who keeps track of our progress (even if that is only uptil this point, because if you win her support here, it stays that way until the Coronation). Even Madeleine, who has been part of a social season before and is viewed as having a lot of experience in the court, compared to the other ladies, spends most of her time simply underestimating the MC. It isn’t until Applewood and Ramsford that Madeleine even begins to think there might be more to this person.

Kiara, on the other hand, is observant. She is competitive but she knows when other people have the upper hand, and she will honestly acknowledge that you have an edge if you have proven yourself to the press and the Queen. For someone who would be seen as just a lady of the court….that level of foresight, observation skills and pragmatism is pretty phenomenal to me.

• I’ve said this many times and I will say it again: Kiara has always been upfront about what she’s bringing to the table in an alliance. She isn’t your friend and she won’t pretend to be your friend either. She mentions she will put in a good word and support you in becoming Queen, and she keeps her promise.

She keeps her distance from you otherwise, so you can’t dub her a ‘friend’ even then, but she will do her work as an ally. She doesn’t get involved in smearing your name while supporting you to your face. At the end of the day, she is a woman in the court trying to thrive and carve a space of her own, but she won’t dirty her hands to do that - and I don’t think she gets enough recognition for that.

• Alright I’ll stop gushing about Kiki otherwise this QT will never end 😂

• We now meet Liam, who tells us about the hot tub in his room, and invites us there. The intent is clearly romantic (the MC specifies as such, smiling, and Liam winks at you before he leaves).

• This chapter also marks the second time you see Penelope with Liam, after which you will only see her directly interact with him at his Coronation. Funny how Kiara doesn’t get even one opportunity in the narrative to talk to him.

• It’s the end of our big night in Lythikos, and we’ve got three invitations to spend time with an LI! Liam’s setting up candles near the hot tub, Hana is playing exquisite melodies on the piano, and Drake is drinking whiskey in Olivia’s wine cellar. Maxwell is…doing Maxwell things that we are not privy to yet. Or taking a nap.

• I won’t be going too much into detail esp for Liam and Hana’s scenes - because I have essays written on both! Both will be under the “Liam: Diamond Scenes” and “Hana: Diamond Scenes” sections of my essay masterlist if anyone is interested 😃 They will be titled “Hot Tub at Lythikos” and “Piano at the Parlour”, respectively. (another recommended read is “Exploring Hana in Her Context” where I talk about this scene, and her characterization. It’s a little further down on the masterlist).

•

(Screenshots for Drake from the HIMEME YouTube channel)

Liam: This is undoubtedly meant to be a romantic scene, and is hinted as much in the lead-up to it while still giving the MC the space to not go (since she says “I won’t make any promises”). He puts candles around the tub, and the tub itself is situated in an area where you can get a wonderful view of the mountains.

This scene is divided into two parts: the first where Liam gets to sincerely tell the MC he trusts her (optionally) and where they lightly flirt, and the second where he admits to feeling conflicted between giving in to his feelings and being fair to the other women. At this point he knows his feelings for the MC are stronger, implicitly trusts her (“I thoroughly believe that if you thought I was a pompous ass, you wouldn’t hesitate to tell me. I trust you, MC. Anything you say”), doesn’t want to call it love just yet but is well on his way to doing so. He tells us about his brother Leo, hinting at the events of the RoE series and explaining that seeing how love affected him made Liam think more about it. It’s not one of Liam’s absolute best scenes…but it is a sweet one where Liam tentatively explores his growing love for her - in some ways leading to his “almost-declaration” of love at the Forgotten Falls. In each scene of Liam’s, he takes a step further, and another, and another, to admitting his love for her and growing less guilty about his desire to be with her. He is still torn between his duty and his desire at this point, but you can already see him slowly inching towards the prospect of keeping what he wants first, for once.

Hana: This, in my mind, is Hana’s most powerful scene. As many adjectives as I can use to describe her in this scene would be inadequate, because it’s that good, that layered, that rich with nuance and detail. But I do think I can sum a bit of it up with a quote from a Book 3 Liam scene that instantly took me back to this one:

“Hana’s a tough one. She’s clearly had the kind of lessons I’m giving you now, and then some. Her posture is almost always polite and attentive…but when she feels strongly about something, you can sense her real feelings even before she speaks up. Her eyes grow darker and more serious.”

Compare the scenes from last chapter where she speaks about ice-skating, or even waltzing, to this one. In both those scenes, her expression is mostly neutral (or joyful when she is imparting her knowledge), speaking of it in a way that makes you understand that her heart isn’t truly in doing those things. But in this one, she is lost in her music when she plays it, she is feeling its melody in her bones, she speaks of guarding her most precious skill fiercely against her parents’ control because it’s the one thing she wants for herself. She is fierce and passionate and absolutely beautiful in the way she expresses her love for music.

In an essay I did on exploring Hana’s character in her larger context, I spoke at length about how this scene is important because it highlights that her struggle for her own autonomy began at a very young age - she recognized her art as sacred to her and had the foresight to understand that parading it around the way her parents wanted her to, would make her love it less. This scene is amazing because Young Hana is described as pushing back in the only way she knew how, so she could keep what was hers, on her terms.

The other thing this scene explores is her childhood loneliness and lack of friends, and how music helped her in those difficult times too. At this point we now know how deep that loneliness was, and how damaging to her, but back then this scene gave a wonderful insight to Childhood Hana.

So for her to trust us with her art - with the art she fought to keep her own…that’s a tremendous leap in that relationship - whether the MC is a friend or a potential lover. Romantically, she is at the point where she is slowly…slowly getting comfortable with the MC’s touch, allowing it to linger before she pulls away from her. She’s a bit like a butterfly who doesn’t know yet if she’s ready to leave her cocoon.

Drake: The picture presented to us of Drake here is the diamond-in-the-rough, the underdog, the one who views court and palace differently from everyone around him. He is there to remind us that this is not the charmed place we think it is, that even friends can stick knives in our backs. He speaks of the forced politeness of the nobility, the fact that he’s here only to protect Liam, that the MC is an innocent woman who doesn’t know what she is getting into and needs protection as well.

This scene comes with what was regarded as an important plot point at the time: who almost sold pictures of Liam’s bachelor party to the press? Drake and Bastien managed to get hold of them and prevent them from being published, knowing that having those printed before the social season would cast Liam in a more negative light, and make things harder for him. At this point, Drake is sure that someone he knows and possibly considers a friend is involved (close enough, but not quite there yet), but can’t yet figure out who (because, yknow, Olivia was the brains between the two, she cracked that mystery in under five minutes or something).

If you don’t buy this scene, you only get to know about the pictures in Book 2 Chapter 4. A lot of Drake’s scenes involve important plot points - some of which we won’t even hear the same way - or at all - if we don’t buy the scene (eg. the flashback scenes about Hana’s return and the Italian restaurant scene about Liam’s assassination). I recall buying quite a few of his scenes in the latter half of Book 1 and most of Book 2 just to find out stuff about other LIs.

The scene is pretty sweet - it highlights his now-famous whiskey obsession, has Drake openly show his protectiveness towards her minus the jaded sarcastic veneer, and has him warn her about the nature of this court. It has a line that I quite liked when I first saw the scene, but that fandom has pretty much ruined for me - “the moments in between”. Where he speaks of how the nobility are so busy schmoozing and being superficial that they miss the really important parts. It’s a beautiful thought, but the fact is I’m still paying like 17 diamonds to get it, which makes it a…pretty expensive moment.

But overall…it’s a nice scene. The look and feel of it is different from the other two, and so is the purpose.

• The focus of all these three scenes is clearly trust.

Liam completely trusts her opinion of him and confesses openly his desire to let go of all that is holding him back, even though he is still confused and conflicted about his own feelings.

Hana trusts her so much, that she will share piano pieces that she lovingly composed to the MC, even though she never performs for people. It is a measure of how much Hana values the MC that she will share such a secret part of herself with her.

Drake, who once came this close to calling the MC a crown chaser, now views the same woman as an innocent who doesn’t know what she is getting into. He will later tell her that that aspect of her journey reminds him of Savannah. He trusts the MC enough to give her important information about something he still views as a possible plot targeted at Liam, and tells her their moments mean something to him.

Chapter 8 of the second book took this theme forward for the initial three LIs, by showing us trust in other forms. Liam’s firm belief in his father’s dedication to his nation (which will crumble soon). Drake’s being convinced by the MC to stay on and hear out his sister, to give her a chance to explain what really happened to her, and his emotional reunion with her. Hana’s scene…was more about gaining someone’s trust - particularly Penelope’s. (it is also one of the worst scenes the series has ever given an LI, whoever wrote that one can fall on a cactus).

We are approaching a midpoint in the story, so at this point the narrative is progressing each of these relationships towards the point where they trust this woman, view her as a valuable person in their lives, and inch ever-so-slightly towards that eventual realization that they are in love with her.

•

Another point in the Tariq shoe tally!! I wonder if this ‘ghost’ deals with 'future misdeeds’ as well…

• We spend a few more days in Lythikos before we move back to the Capitol for the Royal Regatta, and both Esther and Persy are like “YOU HAD A FEW DAYS TO ASK IF I KNEW WHAT A FUCKING REGATTA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MAXWELL”.

• So…a lot happens this chapter. The MC begins to rope in (or not) her first allies in the court, she has a strong foothold by now and is beginning to get noticed as more than just a random contender who wouldn’t last, she gains the trust of the people she is growing close to.

But most of all…Lythikos is where Olivia begins to lose the hold she once had on the court, and this is never more apparent than if you are losing supporters rather than gaining them (if you are more popular, it won’t be that apparent, since you will move far ahead of the competition). There will be times when the press may not pay attention to her, there will be ladies who club the MC and Olivia both together as “not a proper fit for becoming a queen”. She is still very much a frontrunner, she may win the Regatta if you fail all the steps to the boat race, but after this it will be harder for her to gain support whether or not the MC succeeds.

Shortly after this point, Olivia also doesn’t antagonize the MC as blatantly as she did in Lythikos, save for a snide remark to the MC (with a life jacket of all things) if you choose to go to her yacht in the next chapter. She will eventually begin to thaw towards you in Applewood.

• Constantine and Regina are conspicuous by their absence this chapter, and Constantine announces that he is stepping down the next. Which probably means he found out sometime between the Masque and this event that he was ill (since we don’t see him at the Derby). I’m headcanoning that they visited Leo around this time (optionally with the RoE MC, since the housewarming party in Newlyweds seems to happen sometime around the social season (it could be earlier or later too…but humour me 😂)

• So…Regatta in Chapter 9! Lots of sun, fun and (Persephone-willing) PLENTY of mess.

• Before I sign of, here is Persy’s Share of Mess this chapter (except for the bloodcurdling scream she gives when Olivia kisses Liam, I forgot to screenshot that 🙈 How on earth did Maxwell’s poor ears survive??):

• Until next week, folks!

–

• Tally Counts:

Number of Times Drake has Called Esther/Persy by Their First Names: 5

Number of Times Tariq Has Mentioned His Shoes: 3

Number of Times Drake Has Taken An Alcoholic Drink that’s Not Whiskey: 1

Number of Times Someone Has Called A Reigning Monarch 'Your Highness’: 2

Number of Times You Can Leave Hana Shook. SHOOK I TELLS YA: 4

Number of Times We See Penelope’s Angryface: 2

–

[lateviews]

Lateview: Absolver

If you've heard the expression, “Biting off more than you can chew”, then you'll understand how I feel about Absolver. Fans of third-person fighter games like “Dark Souls”, “Devil May Cry” and “God of War” know that these types of games require high levels of love and polish to do well. Despite the starved market, there’s a lot of room for mediocrity. Surprisingly, Absolver doesn't pull any punches and goes toe to toe with the best... until it runs out of steam.

Absolver is a third-person fighter game trying to set itself apart from the crowd using two unique mechanics: stances and the combo builder. The “build your own combo” system has been done before, most notably in “Remember Me” and “God Hand” but the way they combine it with the stances really sets it apart. Each move has a speed and damage rating as well as some of the moves having unique properties like breaking guard and interrupting attacks. There are 4 combat stances, visually corresponding to the direction your torso is facing. Changing stances will result in you turning your torso to face to the left or the right of your opponent while others will leave you with your back facing towards the enemy! Each stance can be assigned an escalating number of light attacks and a heavier “alternate attack”. Most attacks transition you from one stance to another; then, since you’re in another stance, you can immediately use that stances attacks. If you build your combos correctly, you can create loops where one attack will lead into one stance before an attack in that stance returns you to the same stance you started in. The end-result is a custom-built train of attacks that you've personally engineered to confuse opponents as you flow from stance to stance. Since you’re changes stances so often, your alternate attack changes over time. Predicting what move your opponent is currently planning on doing is daunting since there is so much they can do. Oh, and did I tell you that you can pull out a sword or gloves and doing so swaps you over to a brand new page of attacks that you need to customise and memorize?

The game has RPG elements to it as well. Gear will drop from mobs as you down them and you'll also find stashes of gear hidden within piles of rocks. Most interestingly though is how you acquire new attacks. You start the game with a reasonable number of attacks but soon you’ll run into people using 'new' attacks against you and if you block that attack, you'll start learning the move. Use your right thumb-stick ability against it and you'll learn it even faster. Story wise, this is a cool concept. Get punched in a particular way a certain number of times and you should be able to know how your opponent punches like that. Unfortunately, in practice, this just results in you actively not killing your opponents. You end up standing around as they are wailing on you while try to block/dodge/parry all their moves; grinding out all the moves before you move along. There is a risk/reward system at play here wherein all the learning you've done during a fight won't be saved until you kill the opponent and exit combat, but there is a lot of moves to learn from random grunts in the world and these don’t really pose a threat once you’ve got a handle on the game. This system gets even worse when you're trying to discover sword specific moves because swords are rare, and by the time you find someone wielding one, they are normally a very strong opponent and you can't afford to grind out these moves because you won’t survive unless you actively damage them.

That's pretty much the entire game. Fight, learn moves, earn gear, equip said moves and gear, repeat. Thankfully that's not as bad as it sounds because hey, it's a fighting game. You came here to fight. So why am I so disappointed in it? Well before I get to the big one, let me just rattle off a few smaller impressions the game left on me: ●       Falling off ledges is far too easy. Admittedly this is a designed mechanic; forcing someone up to a ledge and just pushing them off with attacks is a legitimate way to win a fight but it still felt like it was far too easy to just slip off. Even with nobody attacking you as you’re navigating the environment, one foot off the path might mean falling and most of the time falling is death, because when it's not instant, the insane fall damage will ensure you lose the fight that you just dropped into.

●       The environment is not easy to find your way around. The “map” you're given is essentially 3 circles, and you don't know where you are unless you sit at a bonfire an energy shard thingy or kill a boss as these are the only 2 markers on the map. Many times, vital paths that you NEED to go down are not highlighted or made evident in any way and are sometimes, out-rightly obscured. As a result of this, I completely missed an entire area of the game for a long period of time simply because I couldn’t find the path AND I thought I had already entered that area of the map… There's a time and a place to do-away with the hand holding evident in modern game design but this is too far the other way.

●       Maybe why the environment is so convoluted is to try to hammer in this sense of mystery that the game is so stubbornly trying to instil. The game makes a point of telling you NOTHING about where you are, who you are, what you're doing or why. Thankfully it does tell you what to do (fight people and open a door). It just comes across as entitled. There IS an interesting world here but by the end of the game, nothing is explained at all. Who am I? Why did I teleport when I put on this mask? Why do I need to kill these people? Did I travel through time? Who is this chick with a sword? Who were the people who were here before? The game makes a point in referring to the tesseract-looking particle effect that happens as you kill others, get killed yourself or even unsheathing your sword as “folding” which seems really cool! To sum up my feelings on the aesthetics and lore of the game, I have two words. Obnoxiously Mysterious

Finally, the big one. The game ends. It just ends. No big finish, no special reveal, no closure. Nothing. If you remember before, I mentioned the map being 3 circles? That's it. That's the whole game. I have FOUR HOURS in Absolver, and it's finished. The entire story-mode. That's a third of the I spent in DMC and less than a 10th of the time I spent in Sekiro. Now sure, those are AAA titles with massive budgets behind them, but I cannot help but feel starved of content, especially since the story does not wrap itself up. The game starts with you and a bunch of other initiates standing in an arctic wind before you are chosen, you don a mask and teleport to another world. You then traverse through 12 named areas (3 of which contain nothing) fighting 11 different bosses. There are probably below 50 enemies to fight in the entire game. And then you're done. After fighting the somehow important Risryn, you're teleported back to the place you started with, you graduate from being a “prospect” to become an “Absolver”, you get a neat cape and you get told, “Idk, wait around and grind a bit I guess?” before it teleports you back to the “hub”. To put this in perspective, if the game had 3 times as much content as it currently does, I would still probably call the game short. I have no idea why (besides development problems) the game ended when it felt like Act 2 should have begun.

The game tries to justify this by placing a big emphasis on PVP. There is a system to look up other players and have a tussle and the game is always online so you might find people in the world and decide to start smacking one another but if the game is dead (like it was when I got to it) then all the PVP is non-existent. That's not even mentioning the players who don't WANT to fight other people. As far as I can tell the “latest” addition to the game included the “downfall” mode. This mode (only available after you have graduated to be an absolver) is randomly generated rooms of goons to fight endlessly. The lore explanation for this area only adds questions to the already tall pile of unanswered ones. The game allows you to fight bosses again at a harder difficulty, but this is locked behind PVP progress…meaning that if you weren’t able to find a game like myself, then you just can’t

I hate having to be so negative. Other indie games cater themselves to a casual market and can have all the depth of a puddle and still receive high ratings but because the devs took on such a loved genre, all the depth they have added only makes people want more. I mean really, if my biggest complaint about the game is that I wanted more, there's got to be something good about it. In shooting for the stars, the devs came up short, but the time, skill and effort they put into trying to get there far exceeds a lot of other developers. I can say that the game was bug free and (until it ended) felt close to a AAA title and the sad thing is that it starts to get judged by those harsh standards. For a AAA title, this would be an insult; But for a fighting game? This is a worthwhile experiment; for an indie game? This is one heck of an accomplishment and for your time? This is worth it.

Overall, I'd look to pay $15 to $25 for Absolver, despite its $42 default price tag. It depends on how much you love the third person fighter genre; how much you enjoy PVP (and if you're lucky enough to be in a locale with players online) and how much you want to support the studio. If you can make a trio of yourselves, maybe you can get some mileage out of the co-op enabled Downfall mode, but I wouldn't want to pay much more for that.

[sunevial]

A Mermaid’s Deal

Why do I like writing hypothetical scenarios involving my dnd characters? Idk, it’s just fun, I guess.

This hypothetical scene features Megariel Rapidfin, my merfolk rogue, perhaps two or three years into the future from the current campaign.

--- “Hey, is it rude of me to ask where we’re going?” Megariel asked with a slight lift to her voice, straining her ears to hear much of anything through the cloth bag over her head. There was no response, just the continued pounding of boots on stone and the occasional rattling of chains. She sighed internally but kept pace. Not that she had much choice in the matter; the rope secured tightly around her wrists kept her from doing much of anything, and rough hands on both arms made sure she kept moving forward. 

No sight, no real hearing, and restricted movement. 

Not ideal.

But they wanted her alive. That was a start.

A door rattled open, creaking on hinges that even muffled sounded desperately in need of oil. Something cold pressed up against her wrist, snapping the bonds as the bag was unceremoniously yanked over her head. Now blinded by the sudden influx of light, two hands took advantage of her temporary weakness and shoved her into the room. Stumbling over her weary feet, she turned around in time to see a solid oaken door slam shut behind her. A sharp click confirmed she was locked in. 

Megariel pinched her eyebrows together and let out a long sigh. Perfect. Jumped by no less than seven guardsmen when she just wanted something to drink, grabbed with barely even an attempt at a fight, and dragged off to a place where she was pretty sure even The Heart Tree didn’t know. Wonderful start to the evening. Grumbling a little under her breath, she glanced down at her wrists and gingerly started working blood back into her hands.

“My...apologies for the interruption, my dear,” a voice said, low and sweet to the ears. Ever so slowly, Megariel turned to her left, spotting a simple table with two chairs set across from each other. One of the chairs was already occupied by a man, relatively short but well dressed, jacket adorned with golden metals and colorful stripes. He sat proper, shoulders back and head held high, offering a gloved hand to the empty seat. “I do hope my men weren’t too rough with you.”

“Oh no, definitely not, the pins and needles in my hands must be from something else,” she replied, meeting his gaze but remaining where she stood, kneading the sore tendons and muscles at her wrist.

“Please, have a seat. I must insist,” the man said with a charming smile and cold eyes that indicated that this was not a request. 

With cautious but still lively steps, she strode over to the table and plopped down, dusting off her royal blue coat and straightening her hat once she had settled in. Her toes just barely graced the floor, but she sat up as tall as she could in the surprisingly well crafted chair. 

“Ah, that’s better, don’t you think?” the man asked, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly. Despite his proper posture, his movements were with a slowness that comes with the absence of fear. Either a general or the head of intelligence. Probably both. “So, this is the infamous First Mate Meg. I have to say, I’d thought you’d be taller.”

“Everyone says that,” she replied, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair until she was balancing on just two of the legs. 

“An accomplished gem thief turned right hand woman to the most powerful pirate in the seas,” he continued, giving a flippant hand gesture. “Cunning, bold, and slippery as a fish, appropriate given you’re one few merfolk to openly walk on land. Quite the resume you’ve got there.”

She held his gaze, refusing to blink or so much as give a smile to the supposed compliments. “Cut to the chase, what do you want with me?”

“Just as to the point as the rumors say,” the man said with a chuckle, folding his fingers together and planting his elbows on the table. “To business then. Tell me, Miss Meg, have you ever considered using your…rather unique set of skills for more legal endeavors?” 

“I was under the impression that you government types didn’t hire, what was it you guys called me, oh right, ‘low life scum’.”

The man let out a low chuckle. “Well, my dear, things have changed quite a bit since that motley crew of yours has been terrorizing Aeros. Information on anything regarding the S.S Nutmeg is…highly prized, you know. Sure, civilian reports can get us the occasional lead here and there, and magical detection does have its merits…but what better way to know a ship’s secrets than through her crew?”

“So at what point does the floor drop under me and the torture begin?” she replied in deadpan.

Almost amusedly, the man leaned over to rest his chin on his hands. “This is not an interrogation, my dear. This is a job offer,” he said, unfolding his hands and holding one out. “I am General Omaren, the King’s current Head of Intelligence.”

At this, Megariel raised one of her eyebrows. Ever so slowly, she uncrossed her arms and shook the outstretched hand. “You want to hire me as a spy?”

“A double agent, precisely,” he continued, breaking the handshake. With the same deliberate movements, he laced his fingers together and set them on the table. “While your capture would certainly prove…beneficial to our cause, having you amongst the crew would help us more in the long run. 

“A force from the outside unites a people. A force from the inside destroys it beyond repair,” she said in response.

The man nodded in agreement. “So you understand. Your captain has been notorious for sniffing out our agents, so I thought it was time for a…different approach.”

Megariel leaned back a touch further in her chair, mulling her thoughts for a short spell. “What’s in it for me? Cause right now, all I’m hearing is that I wouldn’t be stuck here.”

“You would be compensated, of course, handsomely,” Omaren said, gesturing with a hand. “A full pardon from the king for your service, potentially even a noble title and some land to accompany it.”

She leaned back even further, a slight smirk on her face. “And if I refuse?”

Omaren returned with a smirk of his own, slimey and calculating like that of a venomous water snake. “Unlike other members of your crew, Miss Meg, you have a much longer history of being on the wrong side of the law. There are warrants for your arrest on every island in the archipelago, and coupled with your recent endeavors into piracy…the other option for you is a spot on the gallows,” he replied, his eyes glimmering with an uncaring logic. 

For the first time since she had entered the room, Megariel broke her gaze from the general and let it wander to the dull gray ceiling and walls. Silence stretched between them, only interrupted by the occasional creak of wood or deep breath as the rogue gave thought to the matter at hand. After a rather uncomfortable amount of time, she simply shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”

Omaren simply smiled and rose from his seat, walking around the table with pointed movements before stopping at the door. “You’re a smart one. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision,” he said, swinging the door open and locking it behind him with an audible click. 

As soon as she was alone, Megariel kicked her feet up onto the table, closing her eyes and humming a tune under her breath. She rocked back and forth to the rhythm, listening to the creaks and cracks of the wood under her.

Decisions, decisions… 

---

Shots and alarms rang through the guard tower as Megariel ran, soft shoed feet pounding on the stone below her. It had been comically easy to pick the lock and almost as easy to locate her confiscated weapons. Now bearing her signature rapier in hand, she took stairs two, three at a time as she fled ever further down. Blindly, she raced down hallways and stairwells, only to turn back at the slightest indication of guard movement. She ran in circles, weaving between decorative suits of armor and storage rooms to no real avail. It wasn’t long before she was forced outside and into a large courtyard, surrounded on all sides by men and women holding much larger weapons at the ready.

“I must say, Miss Meg, that was a quite impressive display,” Omaren said, giving a slow clap to her as he approached from one of the wings of the building. “But what about our little deal?”

“Thought it over, and my answer is go fuck yourself,” Megariel replied, eyeing up the various guards to her left and right and front and back. Ten to one, with crossbows pointing down from the rails above. 

Not great odds.

Omaren laughed, the sound scraping against her ears like a bad nightmare. “And what exactly do you plan on doing now? You, the rogue who refuses to kill?”

Megariel thought for a second, glancing up to the darkening sky. She smiled, taking the rapier in hand and placing it back into its scabbard.

“You’re right, I don’t,” she said with a slight nod upwards. “She does.”

With an enraged roar and a blast of frigid winter air, ice rained down from the sky. Screams erupted from the guards who weren’t frozen on the spot, crossbow bolts firing widely against a target they could see but would be lucky to hit. The clash of claws on steel rang through the courtyard as something large and powerful slammed into the ground, knocking those not paying attention off their feet. A massive tail whipped around, slamming into the remaining men and women left standing until it was just the large silver dragon looming above them all.

“GET. AWAY. FROM MY FIRST MATE,” the dragon growled, her voice bellowing around what little remained of the courtyard. Any guards who could still walk scrambled away from the still standing rogue, staring up in abject terror at the massive winged creature before them.

With a large smile on her face, Megariel strode over to the dragon and swiftly climbed onto her back, hands and feet finding long since remembered holds. The second she was settled in between the dragon’s spines, they were airborne. “Thanks for the lift, Captain.”

“Stop on Aeros Major, they said. Restock supplies, they said. It’ll be a short trip with NO ONE CAPTURED, they said,” Nutmeg seethed under her breath, raining down another swath of ice onto the ruined guards station for good measure before flapping her wings and flying off at breakneck speed into the night sky. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Captain. They were more interested in getting me to turn coat than stick me full of holes,” Megariel replied, giving the cold silver scales a reassuring pat.

“That’s, what, the fourth time this year?” the dragon snorted, turning her wings into the wind and towards the north. “What’d they offer you?

“Full pardon, whole heck of a lot of money, a ladyship, and maybe some land,” Megariel said with a shrug, settling back against one of the captain’s spines.

Nutmeg let out a low whistle, an impressive feat for a dragon. “Enough to have you set for life and then some.”

Megariel snorted, giving the dragon another pat. “Oh please, they’d sooner pardon you than honor a promise like that. Not to mention you wouldn’t let me betray you like that.”

“No I wouldn’t,” Nutmeg curtly agreed, slowing her wing flaps as a large ship came into view. There was a long pause as they circled over head and shouts came from the crows nest. The large dragon swung her head around, one large eye looking her over. “Meg…you wouldn’t actually take a deal like that, right?”

Megariel smirked. “Nah. Got everything I could ever want right here, Nutmeg.”

A smile crept across her face. “That’s what I thought.” 

With a quick tuck of her wings, the two of them swooped around the mast until both dragon and rider were level with the ship. Cheers rung out as the other crew members caught eye of them both. As soon as the two of them were close enough to the deck, Megariel jumped from the dragon’s back, landing on the wood with only just the slightest of wobbles. Not long after, she was joined by a woman just a touch taller than her, sporting a spotless white blouse and long brown coat. 

“Seems the imperial court thinks the crew of the S.S Nutmeg Three is up for grabs,” Nutmeg barked, stomping up the steps and to the wheel, coat and hair billowing in the late night wind. “They’re about to learn how wrong they really are. Set course for Aeros Major!”

Megariel smiled and gave a quick salute. “Aye, Captain.”

[thecrazyanimegirl]

Fall Anime ‘18

We ended up watching a little less this season, we had to drop some because we just had no time, but it was a good season ^^ finally the golden kamuy second season and even space battleship tiramisu! 

Since we often have similar opinions about the anime we watch, so we will make our review this time a little bit different, we’ll just put our general opinion on it, something all three mods agree on.

{ Winter ‘17/’18 }  { Spring ‘18 } { Summer ‘18 }

Akanesasu Shoujo 

It got a little better as episodes when on and it was interesting in some ways when you power through all those cliche scenes of getting power by accepting yourself stuff.

Armor Shop For Ladies And Gentleman 

Short and funny, if you can handle the boob jokes xD It would be more entertaining if the story progressed a little bit faster rather than showing how the three coworkers live together. Also had some much too much prolonged meaningless scenes that ate away the already short duration of the 4 minute episodes.

Ass Miss Beelzebub Likes 

Hell as you’ve never seen it before, all cute and fluffy, with fallen angels and demons being normal desk workers and falling in love ^^ A really cute romance story, the characters are adorable and lovable! It was amazing if you like the genre!

Bakumatsu

Not sure why this is getting a second season, I was really tempted to drop it, it just didn’t keep me interested in the story and had too many characters that are just there and idk what they all wanted. (Only neko finished the season, the rest dropped it lol)

Bloom Into You 

A really sweet yuri anime ^^ It really focuses on their relationship, on the deepening of their feelings for each other and their problems and growth as individuals. It’s soft, easygoing and filled with happy feelings, but at the same time tackles some harder themes, like the feeling of inability too love, unrequited love, losing a loved one and learning to live without them, the different “faces” people have etc.

Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu

Our dream has come true! A classical BL manga turned anime with no shame with showing the juicy stuff and centered on the relationship of these two hot guys. The angst is mostly unnecessary, but we’ll take what we can get!  

Double Decker! Doug and Kirill

A detective story with a lot of action, humor and lovable characters! Yes, it’s not plot heavy and isn’t an anime that will swipe you off your feet, but it’s different, completely acceptant of diversity, has great humor and, overall, loved it! It has some charm to it that is undeniable!

Gakuen Basara 

Funny AU adaptation of the original series, Sengoku Basara. For those who are thirsty for more content and want to see their favorite characters in a new art style, this is definitely a must watch.

Goblin Slayer

Amazing! Loved loved it! Although, it has violence and rape, so it isn’t for everyone, but it has depth and it’s really interesting. The action is cool and Goblin Slayer-san is even cooler! Loved the other characters too. Totally looked forward to each episode each week, it was definite that the next episode will be great too ^^

Hey, your cat ears are showing!

A really cute shounen ai story (which I didn’t even know, so I was quite surprised when some feelings started to show up xD) about a guy who finds a stray cat who turns out to be a boy! Pure and short.

I’m glad I could keep running

A four-episode story about a guy who tries to become a voice actor. A great story, it’s well paced and worth the watch! And the actual voice actors are also popular and great too!

Jingai-san no Yome

Changing between creepy and cute, it’s a short anime about teenagers being married off to supernatural creatures. Since it’s only 3 minutes per ep, we finished watching it, and it had its cute and funny moments

Karakuri Circus

It’s a bit different, has a unique art style and story, but it’s really good! Kinda expected more of the circus part and less puppets haha, but nevertheless, the main characters are interesting, there are great battle scenes and the story is intriguing. It sometimes had unnecessary angsty scenes with no actual plot, but other than that, a really underrated anime this season that deserves more attention! ~

Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet

It’s a typical romeo and juliet story. Didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either. 

Merc Storia: Mukiryoku no Shounen to Bin no Naka no Shoujo  

It’s cute and soft and the fact it has many stories makes it less boring, but it’s still a childish anime so you’ll only like it if you are a child like me (in heart).

Radiant

Yes, another overly ecstatic kid who wants to save the world and has mysterious powers, but! It kinda works with this one, it’s actually really good ^^ The characters are cute and funny, it’s easy to watch and if you’re still not on board, there is Dragunov, a really hot guy with amazing hair and cooking skills ;) 

RErideD: Derrida, who leaps through time

The first five episodes are extremely promising, but the rest is not so fulfilling. It’s interesting enough to keep watching, the whole idea is pretty good, but somehow it’s lacking in depth and explanations. Much better binge watched then watched one ep a week.

Run with the Wind

If you ever tried running in your life, you will sympathize with the characters BECAUSE. IT. IS. REALLY. HARD. This anime will warm up your heart seeing how each of the boys try to do fight for their life goals and at the same time, the running helps each of them them in a unique way.

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai 

Even if the title screams ecchi, it really is not. And it’s really good! The plot is interesting, unique and compelling to watch, loved the characters and their interactions. 

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Since this anime depicts how japanese bookstores work, there are quite some interesting things few would think of. It’s comedic way of showing the everyday life of a bookseller and short episodes is perfect if you are interested in knowing more about the japanese culture. 

So Many Colors in the Future What a Wonderful World

A really beautiful, magical and aesthetic anime! The animation is wonderful and the story is sweet and interesting. It’s a warm story about a girl that is unable to see color and is sent back to the past by her grandma. It’s mostly about friendship and bonds that you make with people that will never disappear. 

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Didn’t really expect much from the title, it sounded like there will be a lot of clothes melting and girls screaming haha But it ended up amazing! Love the plot, the characters, the battle scenes and it’s really a sure thing that each episode is going to be great ^^ It’s easygoing yet interesting. An isekai anime done right!

Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu

Love it! The characters have really touched our hearts! It is not as good as novel, but the anime is still beautiful so we can forget that (not forgive though). The novel has a completely different feel to it. (Not saying the anime is bad, it’s actually really good and the characters and plot are still amazing, but it’s just different)

Voice of Fox

I liked the anime, but the ending didn’t really solve anything. It felt like like they were just glossing over the bad stuff with singing? It is mostly angst in the later episodes and after the so promising first couple of eps it’s kinda disappointing, but overall, it still keeps the viewer interested and has a lot of potential if they fill the plot holes.

Zombieland Saga

Miyano Mamoru having a blast being a manager for seven zombie girls who he trains to be idols. Extremely hilarious, good music and actually has some real feels! Loved it! ^^

Hero Mask

Doesn’t really fit in the season time frames, but Netflix released another anime! (and I think that it needs a bigger fandom so I’m putting it here hehe) It is a bit more slow-paced than most anime, but if you like a good crime story, you’ll probably like this ^^ Great animation, loved the fight scenes, the story is also really good and has some powerful girl characters! 

Dropped: Ms. vampire who lives in my neighborhood., Release the Spyce, Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc to Renkin no Kishi