#like i'm not mad at the PEOPLE who don't know about the witcher i'm mad about how it's been TREATED

[hanzajesthanza]

also i realize i'm saying all these noble and beautiful things about the channel from the purest depths of my heart. but actually i'm also just doing this because i fucking love the witcher books and it pisses me off that people don't know about them that much in english and i can only go for so long (seven years) with people not knowing that there are books. or that the witcher is from the 90s. or polish.

[thebibliosphere]

Did you have any thoughts on the prophecy in the last few minutes of blood origin? The editing seemed to imply that Jaskier had something to do with it which has caused some grumbling from people who want more book accuracy.

The people who want more book accuracy have been grumbling about things deviating from the books since the games came out :p

Honestly, everyone would be a lot happier if they just realized we're traversing down parallel timelines that look similar but have their own stories to tell. We're essentially watching Wither fanfic with a Netflix budget. Would that more fandoms have such coinage.

Anyway, yeah, I do have some thoughts about it.

Spoilers under the cut!

So just to recap the last few lines of the prophecy, "the Lark's seed shall carry forth the first note of a song that ends all times, and one of her blood shall sing the last."

You get the general gist that Lark/Eile's bloodline is being referenced, and Jaskier gets to break the fourth wall a bit by quite obliviously going, "wait, what, who?"

The elven woman then commands him to "sing the song of the seven, Sandpiper, so the oppressed may find hope and strength and make ready for the great change to come," ensuring that Jaskier's voice is tied to how things end no matter what.

But let's jump back a bit and break things down some more.

Focusing on "the first note that ends all times," I believe that's meant to be a reference to Ciri's power. We've seen what happens when she screams; imagine what some training and time with Yennefer will achieve. Girl is going to end the universe as we know it. Again.

But wait, who is the "and one of her blood shall sing the last?"

Why, it's our dear bard, of course!

This implies that Jaskier is related to Ciri in some way, which I don't find all that implausible, no matter how much some people are grumbling about it. He's a Viscount, after all. And royal and noble bloodlines are so thickly interwoven in this universe that all their family trees look like wreaths if you squint. Sometimes you don't even need to squint. (and that is book accurate.) It's entirely plausible that Jaskier and Ciri are thirteenth cousins twice removed on their divorced great aunt's side. Or somebody had an affair. That's just as likely.

If anyone is still skeptical about this theory, Jaskier's nickname, Sandpiper, is also a type of bird, tying him back to Lark again. Lark is the bird that sang at the start of the world as we know it; the Sandpiper will sing as it ends.

It's quite heavy-handed, and I'll be surprised if the show doesn't run full tilt with it. It'd also let them handwave away why they forgot to age up Jaskier in season one. Surprise, elf blood!

Now, I know why people are mad about it because the person in the book who is telling the end of the story is meant to be Ciri.

But this is not the book series. This is the Witcher Netflix series, and they're giving the narrative burden to Jaskier, which IMO makes more sense given his tendency to break the fourth wall and that it's his voice we hear at the end of every season finale, singing through the end credits.

He is quite literally going to be the last song we hear as the series ends. It makes narrative sense to pass the burden of retelling the story on to him.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my Witcher TedTalk.

I'm going to be so mad if the showrunners don't do any of this and pull some complete batshit fuckery out of their arses as a twist.

[thewanderingace]

Okay. I'm frustrated and need to vent some frustrations here.

I just watched The Witcher 3x06 and god I'm sorry but I get so annoyed when Yen, Geralt, and Ciri and well everyone! just forget about Jaskier. I know they have a lot going on and Ciri's safety is the priority but come on! They asked Jaskier for help and he does everything he can to help keep Ciri safe even though he's just a regular bard and they just....forget about him. They trusted him to protect her for the night and he did. But then the shit at Aretuza happens and they just fuck off and don't even think about him. Ciri runs away without telling him or taking him with her and runs to Yen. Yen and Geralt don't even ask where he is. I hate that. Not one thought for Jaskier. And then!!! Rience shows up and Geralt just kills him so easily with no fanfare or anything!! Does he ever fucking tell Jaskier?! Jaskier who was tortured by this dude and is terrified of this guy! Do they think about him even once!? Wonder where he is since they left Ciri with him? Not one thought of "oh shit is Jaskier even alive? Ciri is here without him!" NOPE! I hate it.

I'm obviously a Jaskier girly and I know the show isn't about him but just one line of "where's Jaskier" would have been nice! But nope. Just leave him behind. It's fine. Whatever. I'm mad. They never ask after him or what he's been up too. Like the whole Sandpiper thing and the part in Blood Origin where he was held captive by the Temerian Army and all of that that happened is never discussed and IT ANNOYS ME SO MUCH

At this point I just want a Jaskier spin off show so he can get his storylines the proper attention they deserve. I want one person to ask how he is doing and worry about him.

Edit: oh my god wait I just started 3x07 and Jaskier went to Aretuza looking for them all!! HE WENT LOOKING FOR THEM ALL AND THEY JUST FUCKED OFF WITHOUT EVEN A THOUGHT FOR HIM! "I HAVE TO FIND MY FAMILY" JASKIER YOU'RE RIPPING MY HEART OUT!! YOU DESERVE THE WORLD!!

Ooooh fuck. Okay wait at least Yennefer is happy to see him! "Witch" "Bard" (affectionate) and a hug?! Okay that made my heart full. Thank you.

I need to go back to fanfiction land cause at least there, people care about Jaskier. Oh and I really need to read the books cause I hear the Geralt/Jaskier relationship is a lot better there.

[troublemakingrebel]

Fanfic Tag Game

Ayyy, @krankittoeleven, thanks for tagging! Love these little lists!

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

34! (I used to write in two languages, but for this game i count only the English ones)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

295,814... (~1.5 times more words than "Fellowship of the Ring" by JRR Tolkien *sweating*)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Totally obsessed with Assassin's Creed (Valhalla in particular), but also have some WIPs for Cyberpunk 2077.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Right Behind You (Witcher 3), a piece about epic friendship & love between Geralt of Rivia and the absolute husband material Emiel Regis

10 years apart, no more (AC Valhalla), a fix-it for the fLicKEriNg flame nonsense (if you know you know...)

Shall We? (AC Syndicate), another fix-it that makes Maxwell Roth survive the fire as there's no fire at all

The Truth (The Wolf Among Us), about shaky relationship between the Big Bad Wolf and the Woodsman (i'm so surprised it made it to the top-5!!)

In the Belly of the Beast (AC Valhalla), about Ivarr Ragnarsson eating the forbidden Saxon fruit while no one is watching hehe

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course! Can't leave them hanging there in silence!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Usually, I don't do sad endings, but the most bitter-sweet one is Pebble (Dragon Age: Inquisition) about a kossith who cuts his massive horns off to look more like a human so he could follow his lover to the city where kossith race isn't welcome :c Although I don't think his lover would let him go there anyway......

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Haha every other one :D But Sun, Rum and Gunpowder (AC Black Flag) has the happiest and the most carefree vibes whatsoever!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on the fics, but the ships! I just delete those because why is it an author's problem suddenly that some people don't know how filters work??

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh, I sure do ;> It's not extremely explicit (no holes in sight, but dicks and balls can be spotted) and is mostly focused on emotions and dialogues.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, but I write AUs sometimes to spice things up! Modern days AUs are the bane of my existence, and still... somehow... I keep making them...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but I noticed my lines and phrases in the stories of fellow writers. I appreciate it!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah!! Out of all possible fics, it was The Remnants of a Ruined Past, a Mad Max (the game!) story translated into Polish. Love it lots!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Never as i am incapable to work in groups haha. I did some challenges though, such as picking a theme and writing something small with a fren to compare the results later. It's very fun and helps to keep your brain gears spinning!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Like, the one and only ship that I could bring along if I was stuck on a desert island? Or the one I don't even write for anymore but carry in my heart daily? The former would be Hawke x Varric (Dragon Age 2) because they're a comfort ship with many possibilities for plots. The latter is Ezio x Leonardo (AC II + Brotherhood + Revelations) and Arthur x Eames (Inception) because they started it all hehe.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

It's a compilation of drabbles written for a very niche CGI Resident Evil movie (Damnation) & very rare pair that i was planning to continue for as long as the planet keeps spinning, but got overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I had in mind :c

16. What are your writing strengths?

Humor and dialogues!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything el– 🥲 Deep character studies, believable politics and fights.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

A big yes from me, it ads depth and character when used correctly. Also, it's very interesting to keep an evening reading about the language you're planning to use, even it's for a few simple words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It was an attempt to mimic Marie Corelli and write a ficlet for her novel "The Sorrows of Satan". And then Assassin's Creed took my soul and I've never seen it since! Kinda ironic, huh...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm gonna cheat bc I'm quite proud about Beautiful Decline, a series of four fics written for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's an enormous project that was never meant to break out from its confinements and produce three more stories lmao.

Tagging @firefly-partyn and @krankittoeleven if you wanna join!

[hickeygender]

Sorry, maybe this is obvious and I'm just clueless but what separates a good portrayal of Cat Witchers vs not? I'm kinda confused

Even though ableism against mentally ill people is baked into the lore, I don't think it's too obvious bc of how pervasive ableism is in our culture, so don't worry, you aren't alone in your confusion! As a mentally ill man, I didn't even realize what struck me as wrong about the whole Cat School madness thing until I read some fics that featured it heavily, so you're far from the only person not to notice it. That said, just because the lore is ableist doesn't excuse people doubling down in ableist ways in their fanworks. We shouldn't give ourselves or other people a free pass simply because the source material has bad implications, instead we should take accountability and tread carefully whenever engaging with Cat Witcher lore. Now, this is going to be Long and written for the dual and often overlapping audiences of fanwork creators and consumers, so apologies that the rest will be under a cut!

I've already written up a couple posts about ableism in regards to the Cat School, primarily focusing on fandom, but I wouldn't recommend those bc I not only focused a bit narrowly on mostly psychosis, but I also mistakenly identified dissociation as a form of psychosis in one of the posts bc that's what I'd been told by an actual mental health professional. F's in chat for me I guess, thanks Susan! Anyways I'll summarize and expand upon the contents of those posts here. Also, I don't know if I ever say in that post that the lore itself is straight up ableist, and I'll explain why in a moment. Now, it isn't inherently ableist to depict someone with severe mental illness, just like it isn't inherently ableist to depict anyone with any severe disability, but the way in which it's excecuted is what makes it bad or not. Basically, the whole "Cats are CRAAAAAZY!!1!" is ableist in excecution because it puts a value judgement on said madness, implying that they are both more violent and morally bankrupt because of their madness, whether or not it's linked with the mutagens (I think there's some wiggle room here canonically as to whether or not the mental illness is from mutagens or whether it's due to or greatly exacerbated by picking candidates who are prone to mental illness, but while that's fascinating, this post is gonna be long enough so I'll perhaps cover that in another one). Portraying Cats as more violent or morally bankrupt simply because they are mentally ill is bad, end of story. If you want specific examples of this, literally just go to the wiki, this post doesn't need a plethora of citations to pad it out even more.

Now that I've established the lore itself as being ableist, let's discuss theoretical specifics of their illnesses, and what that means for how we portray them faithfully! The Cats aren't easily identifiable as having any one mental illness. They're said to be "psychopathic", an outdated, pejorative term for people with antisocial personality disorder. Gaetan reports symptoms that could be identified with intermittent explosive disorder. The wiki says Cat Witchers have volatile emotions, which could be bipolar coding. The fandom also enjoys writing Cats as having psychotic episodes and dissociative episodes, both of which I suffer from and which are incredibly annoying to see done wrong. These disorders and symptoms can all have overlap, but they can all be boiled down into the terms of "mental illness" or "madness" which I will use interchangeably throughout this post, though it's worth noting that the latter is a divisive term and one I'm using to both engage with the canon and fanon on its level and to reclaim.

So, how do you portray Cat Witchers as mad without being ableist and also remain true to canon? I've come up with three guidelines for judging whether or not something is ableist or not. If you follow these as well as maybe do a bit of research into ableism against mentally ill people, and also excercise some common sense and empathy, I think you'll be fine.

1.) Considering the world of the Witcher, I'm not expecting anyone to use our modern terminology for their characters mental illnesses, but I recommend at a minimum researching mental illnesses and picking one to at least loosely base your Cat Witcher's symptoms on. I'd do this because that way you can have a reference for believable behavior and symptoms for your character. If you're depicting a Cat Witcher as having antisocial personality disorder, they would NOT have explosive outbursts like they would if they had intermittent explosive disorder (unless it was co-morbid, of course). If your character is bipolar, they would NOT be hearing voices (again, unless you write them as being co-morbid with a schizospec disorder, though I'd advise against this because it could easily come off as conflating two different disorders). If you aren't writing characters and are instead just engaging in fan content, some good questions to ask yourself while reading would be "Do I recognize this mental illness?","How was this handled?", and "Is this falling into any harmful stereotypes?".

2.) A topic I think is important to consider when portraying or engaging with portrayals of Cat Witchers is this: how is the ableism they face treated by the narrative? I'm not so naive as to think that you will be able to believably write a mentally ill Cat in the world of the Witcher who doesn't face some kind of ableism, but I'm concerned with the impression it leaves the audience with, not its mere existence as a narrative element. Does it come off as gratuitous? Is it legitimized by the narrator, plot, or narrative? By legitimized, I mean excused. I have read Cat Witcher fics where actual eugenics against the mentally ill were justified by the narrative, and the way it was handled was abhorrent. I don't want to get into specifics bc I don't want anyone to get harassed, but it left me with a horrible taste in my mouth. Please, at the minimum, don't treat eugenics or "purges" or whatever you want to call them lightly, and if you do cover such a dark topic I beg that you ask yourself if you're making it clear narratively that eugenics is bad actually, or if you're instead feeding into actively harmful rhetoric that is dangerous for an already marginalized group to face.

3.) The last thing I can think of that I would advise against that I've seen in other fandoms but thankfully not this one (yet) is that True Love™ doesn't cure madness. It just... doesn't. Mental illness doesn't just go away because you're seeing someone. It doesn't go away at all unless it's acute, and that has zero bearing on whether or not the character is in love. Instead, I'd recommend writing the couple as having coping strategies for when the party in question is experiencing symptoms of their mental illness. Doing so is a great way to strengthen their relationship in your writing! If you're reading rather than writing fic, I recommend asking yourself about how mad characters are treated in the fics you read, whether or not they're magically "cured" bc of the love of another or any other means.

That's all I can think of at the moment, and I encourage you to do your own research about ableism against mentally ill folk as well if you want to improve your understanding! Also do keep in mind us mad folk aren't a monololith and I can't speak for all of us, but I hope my personal opinions on this have helped you out!!

[exitthedoughnut]

Particle Accelerator // Marvel

About Me and My Writing

Hi, you can call me Malibu (or w/e floats thine boat). I'm in my late twenties, my pronouns are she/her. I am both queer myself and obviously queer friendly. I'm not always consistently around due to both some environmental circumstances and personal struggles (it's the mental illness).

My writing style is third person present tense. I do have the ability to write in past tense if present tense bothers you. I can write anywhere from 200 words to about 3,000 (I don't measure in paragraphs as I play a little fast and loose with the definition of "paragraph" aksjdfhg).

While I don't expect you to mirror/length-match me, I am asking for someone who is comfortable writing detailed, literate posts. Not every post has to be 800w, I often dip low in my word count during dialogue heavy scenes. And I'm not asking for perfect spelling every time, lord knows I have a myriad of typos and I don't re-read my posts when I get excited. But I'm asking for the basics.

I am not caught up on the MCU. I just watched Multiverse of Madness last week, which is about where I'm at. I'll have a more comprehensive list of what I do and don't know a little later in the post.

The Rules

Since I'm in my late-late twenties, I'm looking for someone who is at least 23 themselves, but it'd be even better if you were 25+

In this house we double. If you don't know what doubling means, it means that I write both my character and who you want me to write for you, and you write your character and who I want you to write for me. It's a fairness thing derived from the old days of "canon x oc is SO selfish and unfair" which is why old farts like me say it's for "balancing" or "tit for tat" or whatever, since I've seen a lot of confused people lately. If I'm asking for canon x oc, it's only right I offer the same (or whatever it is you want) in return. Something I am completely capable of, I don't know why people make such a big deal out of lying on their fainting couch and claiming they can't do two sets of characters at once. Especially when they're totally okay with writing out background characters at the same time??

I will even triple for you, if you're in the market for a love triangle or a polyam OT3. You do not in any way have to triple in return, in fact I'd prefer if you didn't.

I also am completely comfortable writing as much space filling NPCs and canons as we need. I never let a scene go empty, and I'm happy to write surrounding characters. In fact I do it automatically. Sometimes people are surprised by this. I used to admin group roleplays.

At this time I am not looking for any NSFW content in my roleplays. I fade to black, and I won't be bullied into doing otherwise. (Dick jokes and talking about the fact adults do fuck is fine though, fading to black doesn't mean instant prude status)

I am however alright with like, a bit of violence. About Witcher 3's level is as far as I'm comfortable going: Fights can get messy as a treat if we want, we just don't need to go body horror with the organs, right?

Limits: Are very important, do not forget them. I do not want drugs, alcohol, smoking, vaping, or substance abuse to feature in or out of character. I don't want to see memes about it, I don't want to write about it. Nothing. I should not have to justify this, but my hobby and the dms of people I hope to be friends with is literally the only place I can ask to be a safe space. Because it is everywhere. I'm not judging people, I don't care what you do. I just don't want to hear about it, because I can't escape it anywhere else. I also am not wild about sexual assault, or the community's standard limits list of: pedophilia, incest, bestiality, etc. Leave all of that at the door, thank you. Rule number one of the salon is don't be nasty and you know that!

The mediums I use are: Discord and Email (I'm not keen on writing here on tumblr, but I'd be happy to idk, make a private Proboard or something?)

New rule: Please do not show me AI art of your character. Don't use an AI generator about it if you plan to write with me. Find a picrew or a dress up doll or some random picture on Pinterest. Hell just give me a paragraph description if you have to.

When you message me, do not just ask for my Discord or my Email. Do not just ask if I'm still looking, don't just say hey. The first message is a first impression, make it a good one. Tell me about yourself, tell me who you want me to write for you, what you're thinking, if you're picking up what I am putting down. Put some personality into it: This isn't a job, it's a hobby, it should sound like it when you talk to me. In this same vein, I'd prefer said first impressions are conducted over email, but messaging me on tumblr is fine too I suppose

Characters and "Plots"

First of all, in regards to sexuality / gender / canon / oc identities, everything is peachy keen! M/F, F//, M//, Trans, NB, Canon/OC, Canon//, OC// are all fine by me ♡

My side will be M/F Canon/OC, but you are welcome to request anything you would like. This is Build-A-Bitch and you can, in fact, have it your way.

My side is also M/F in a distinctly queer way. My OC is under the ace umbrella, as well as someone who doesn’t entirely conform to gender, so take that as you will ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I will make you an OC, I will play multiple Canons for you, you can write as any gender identity or sexuality as you please. Just rub the lamp and make your wish! I will write almost any Canon for you, barring noted exceptions.

That out of the way, here's what I'm looking for!

I am looking for you to write: Tony Stark against my OC. I would particularly love to write for you: Steve, Bucky, Quill, Peter (Parker, MCU or Insomniac), Rocket (I will not make him a human), Drax, Stephen, Sam, Yuri (Watanabe, Insomniac), May (MCU), Mantis, Quentin Beck (Insomniac), Yelena, Natasha, Agatha, damn near anyone your gay heart desires Who I'm not particularly keen to write: Thanos, Quentin Beck (MCU), Tony Stark (duh)

And here's some plot jumping off points I've got rattling around in here, my favorites I'll mark w a heart scale out of five:

Iron Man 2008 ♥♥♥♥♥

My OC x Pre-established, Pre-Afghanistan Tony and working through the films? His life? An AU? W/e, but starting in 2008 Iron Man

Now I know a lot of people tend to cringe at pre-established or in general think it’s boring. But I don’t mean they were already like super together and had had a full character arc and everything prior to the roleplay ever starting. What I mean by this is I want to play with a plot where my OC and Tony were acquainted (preferably as friends with benefits) prior to his abduction in by the Ten Rings. During his time away my OC will realize oops! She accidentally fell in love with the emotionally unavailable playboy she was supposed to be having a not serious relationship with! And now he’s probably dead. Cue emotional turmoil! I like to pick the plot up at and start the roleplay when he comes home from Afghanistan, and work through the no doubt complicated feelings going on, building their relationship throughout the timeline. I’m not asking for insta-love. I’m just asking for two people who know each other and now have a whole lot of baggage to haul out of the basement thanks to someone’s near death experience.  I’m also not looking for this idea some people have that a roleplay ends with a couple getting together. I don’t want to artificially postpone them getting together, but again I’m not asking for insta-love. Just for something to evolve naturally. I’m sure that’s all obvious but I have had people try to withhold them from dating for esoteric reasons, and I just want to cover my bases since this is the most frequently misunderstood plot I want to do. Now obviously, this is very self indulgent. I would never dream of asking for this for my side without being willing to absolutely reciprocate. If you have a Marvel bae you want to work through the films with or some other self indulgent ask you never get to use, ask away. I am happy to do whatever you want for your side in exchange. I also recognize this is disgustingly self indulgent, but what is roleplay if not the wish fulfillment hobby? Naturally, in return, I am happy to write whatever self indulgent AU you are after!

Guardians of the Galaxy (1, 2, Game, whatever!) ♥♥♥♥♥

General space shenanigans. Tony + his found family the Guardians is extremely important to me.

I absolutely adore throwing Tony and my OC up into the cold, unforgiving expanse of space to be picked up by the Guardians. Them acting as a found family for Tony just means a lot to me, especially with how the writers for the MCU just. Refused to make the Avengers friends? If they won’t let the Avengers be friends, then I’ll give Tony friends by way of the Guardians god damn it. (Yes, him being Friends with Rocket and Nebula in Endgame was very important to me, thank you for asking) I am perfectly happy with your side being either from Earth or from space! Although this idea revolves around the Guardians, please don’t feel like your love interest has to be from the space scape, as I am ready and willing to find a way to drop kick everyone into space regardless of where your love interest comes from. If curious! My most commonly utilized plot involves the Collector hiring someone, be it the Guardians or another faction, to scoop up Tony. Frequently the reasoning is either A) Tony’s suit and reactor is unique, and he’s interested, or B) he’s interested in getting him as a gladiator present for his brother, the Grandmaster's, birthday. We don’t have to use this idea, I am happy to come up with others, brainstorm something together if you like But I know people often wonder how I plan to get them up there, and that one’s a pretty sure bet.

Potential Firefly influence?

Either instead or or in addition to the thoughts above, we could add some Firefly spice into this? Firefly is cowboys in space, let’s be real, and Quill gives a lot of pretending at being a space cowboy energy. I think kind of slapping him with some Mal energy could be really fun if you want him as a love interest.  Not required! Just something I’ve talked about with some people before and I am pretty fond of.

Miscellaneous

I'm also currently in Chapter 7 of the 2021 video game! And I love it a lot so far. I don't know anything about the comics (but want to start reading them soooon especially the arc where Tony is with them 🥺) and we don't at all have to stick to the MCU version of the Guardians (especially since I have my own headcanon version of Quill rattling around in my head that's 100% not Crisp Rat askjdhfg) I just love the Guardians as a concept. I love space families, I love Firefly and Star Trek is one of my favorite childhood series as well, and I love all the space stuff in Steven Universe, etc etc. I just love space settings LOL esp slice of life space settings (ST:TNG my beloved)

Insomniac's Spider-Man ♥♥♥

So I’m like too in love with this game. As someone who never read the comics, and didn’t really get into Tobey’s Spider-Man and catch the bug like my sibling did, I feel like with this game I finally get it, you know? Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes, and I wasn’t like. On the hype train. But now I’m on the hype train.  I’m unfortunately not really sure what I want to do with these games. All I know is that I love them, and I’d trade several organs to be able to write Insomniac’s Peter for you. I want to write him so so bad I just think he’s wonderful. I also love Yuri but not nearly as much as Peter.  We could follow the games, maybe do some pre-game stuff with Peter? Explore some of the 8 years prior to the game of him being Spidey? Maybe expand on some of the lore tidbits we get throughout the game in dialogue and mostly the backpack collectables? We could also do some post-game (any of the three) stuff. We could rewrite some of the game! We could save some characters maybe. I’m not sure! I’d love to explore literally anything with this, so if you have something in mind please let me know!  I’d love to figure out some ways to incorporate other Marvel characters too, just because seeing all the little nods and hints in the games to other villains or heroes or the dialogue tied to certain landmarks, or Otto getting bankrolled by Advanced Idea Mechanics: that shit was thrilling. I’d love to find a way to do more of this, even if it’s just figuring out how we slam dunk Iron Man into the scene. 

Thor: Ragnarok ♥♥♥

Science Bro reunion on the planet of trash is very good, ten outta ten. Love to slam dunk people into Sakaar.

I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this honestly? Other than we can also throw in whatever canon you want that isn’t normally there. Want the Guardians to show up? Carol? Want to slam dunk your bae in the gladiator ring too? Regardless of the movie I’m anchoring a plot to, I will throw anyone and everyone into the ring if you want.

Spoiled Princess gets anything she asks for, details at eleven.

I also have an AU where my OC (still human) was adopted by the Grandmaster as a baby, and is essentially the princess of trash planet, and Sakaar is where she meets Tony. Typically I have her ask her dad to spare Tony by way of insisting that he has a champion in the Hulk, why can’t she ever have a champion? He can’t just melt stick everything she takes an interest in! Other than that not much to say, I feel like Ragnarok is a pretty straight forward setting. Most of the ideas for this one would come about in talking it out with you.

Multiverse Stuff ♥♥♥?

Loosey goosey thoughts

I have a few multiverse ideas, one of which is original but could also be tied to NWH if we wanted. Another one involves TVA/Loki s1 stuff. We could probably swing something DSMOM related! Most of it deals with my OC having been involved with a Tony (be it MCU or some other universe's Tony), and loses him. Then typically she either tries to find a way to fix it (TVA intervenes) or she goes on a grief fueled vigilante spree and gets somehow knocked into a new dimension (original/nwh) where she can stop this universe's Tony from suffering the same fate, blah blah blah. It's all pretty loose and idk how super attached I am to it, but I came up with it because I was sad about IWEG and watching Phase 4 is hard LOL I also have a Spider-AU for my OC (who is normally just a civilian and doesn't have any powers other than This Stick She Found™), because who among us didn't make a Spider AU after seeing Spider-Verse LOL

Alternate Universe ♥♥♥♥

I'm always always always super down for an AU. We could use other media as the AU (Star Trek, Gargoyles, Disney/Fairytales, Indiana Jones, Anime, Jurassic Park, Steven Universe - literally name it, if I know it I can probably get hype about workshopping an AU) For more generic tropes/genres I loooove Fantasy AUs, D&D AUs, I love space and robots and sci-fi, I super love spies!! Like oh my gosh spy AUs are some of my favorites. It's like spies, fantasy, space slice of life, and androids are probably my four favorite genres? I'm super down for anything though. I also looove monster AUs, like vampire Tony?? Hello???? You could probably suggest anything and I'd be happy to babble about it. Magical Girls? Dungeon Meshi? Baldur's Gate? (though that's just Gale. Let's be real with ourselves. alkjhdjkg it's 100% why I am romancing Gale) I'm a slut and a whore for AUs aslkjdhfg and I am also a slut and a whore for tending to have like Six AUs I talk about all at the same time with partners who are tolerant of that behavior slkjdfg

Okay !! That should take care of the plot and characters section, onto the last little bit!

What Media Do I Know?

MCU:

Where I'm At:

Phases 1-3, Wandavision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Loki Season 1 (but not S2 yet!), Shang-Chi, a few episodes of What If, Hawkeye, Eternals, No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness, GOTG Holiday Special

What I'd Prefer Not to Do:

IWEG. At least in the way it was shown to us. I'd prefer to just nuke it from existence entirely through plot points that circumvent it altogether, but I understand the blip is like. important or whatever to most of Phase 4 aslkdhjfg so if you want to do something in P4, we can workshop this.

Other Marvel Entries:

Insomniac's Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and Spider-Man 2

Chapter 7 of Squeenix's Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)

Deadpool, Deadpool 2 (though I didn't care for the second film) I haven't seen the third yet since it's in theaters and since covid I don't go to those, but I'll see it eventually 🤷

Days of Future's Past, X-Men First Class

Into the Spider-Verse, but not Across the Spider-Verse yet

Marvel Rivals! Yeah there's not a lot of content there but I also really like the dialogue writing alskshjdfg (and as an Overwatch fan I'm used to this like No Content But Somehow the Voice Lines Make It Worth It vibe lmao

I own Squeenix's Avengers, TTG's GOTG, and the Iron Man VR game that I all plan to play but haven't yet

Alright, I think that's probably it!

Hope to hear from you guys, but if I don't, good luck on your searches!

And for those who stuck around to the end and are interested in contacting me, here is my email that you can do that at:

beachcityshores (at) gmail (dot) com

(sorry for it not being very copy-pasteable, trying to avoid you know whats just scraping my email and spamming me)

We can totally RP via Discord, but you gotta get my handle by talking to me first. I'm getting tired of handing out my disco only to be hit with "hi i saw your ad :)" great what do you want [insert something I didn't ask for here]

If you're gonna make me pull teeth at least pay me a dentist's salary first <33

Bye!

[thecloudstan]

I’ll be honest, I never got why people got so angry over the ending for remake, and the same thing seems to be getting repeated for rebirth. I personally thought it was interesting for both, but again I thought maybe I only think that because I don’t have the same emotional attachment as the old fans do. To me having the directors go in a different direction from the original is better because it provides a story different from the original so I won’t know everything that happens. Everyone complains about the time shenanigans, but I don’t really get why? It’s a lot more interesting than a frame by frame remaster, and I would’ve thought that even old fans would agree because they would want a fresh take.

Again, I didn’t play the original, but from what I know and have seen of it it wasn’t perfect. It didn’t have as much complexity as the newer one does, I feel. For example, Sephiroth- while he was more mysterious and appeared less- also didn’t feel human. He didn’t feel like a hero. He was just this guy you spent maybe half an hour with who was super strong, then he goes crazy and you don’t feel like you gained much insight into who he was before the insanity. In Rebirth, he felt painfully human. His little smiles, him not liking his picture being taken but still doing it because of Cloud, Tifa, and the villagers, the look of pure hurt and agony when he couldn’t save a nameless trooper… it just made it that much worse when you find him in the library, his voice trembling then eventually breaking off into sobs… then in the reactor when you can see four different emotions cross his face before he reveals Jenova…

I’m by no means an emotional person and don’t tend to get emotional over video games, but that whole thing with Sephiroth nearly made me tear up (the only other instance of that happening was getting the bad ending in Witcher 3 when Ciri dies) and literally every other time Sephiroth showed up I just had to pause and sigh, because the change from the damaged but fundamentally good person he was into this mad man hurt so much worse. Hell I didn’t even feel this attached to him in Reunion/Crisis Core and that’s when his character was supposed to be peak human. I mean I still empathized with him, don’t get me wrong, but not to this degree.

And- getting back on track (sorry I have too many feelings about this poor man)- Shinra and all the people in it also feel so much more fleshed out and complex. President Shinra’s cruelty and ruthlessness is highlighted better in remake, Hojo is peak crazy but now you can fully appreciate his insanity, Rufus- well, I think we’ve talked enough about him, but he is infinitely more interesting and complex for a multitude of reasons- and even down to the normal people in the company. The troopers were adorable and showed the everyday folk are who work for Shinra, and how they’re also just people. That whole thing where you have to collect all the troops for the parade and you see their relationships with each other then later have to protect your own squad when you’re fighting to get to the ship, and even the Turks and what they’re doing when they’re not on duty (Rude in the bald club, Elena practically crying into her drink at the bar feeling like a disappointment, etc.) Everything just felt so real. So it kind of annoys me when people start picking the game apart and constantly repeating the mantra that the original was better. It really feels like some of them let nostalgia cloud their perception.

I understand but can't go far enough to criticize the original for these things. It's easy to talk shit about it in the year 2024, and I don't mean you specifically, I mean this generally.

This is a nearly 30 year old game on a console capable of a fraction what the PS5 is. Even with the truncated narratives, it achieved what it did across a sprawling three discs. The devs have said that a lot had to remain on the cutting room floor for time and budget reasons, for system limitations, and I'm sure they would've told these stories more exhaustively had they the ability. FF7 original is a Playstation one game. It's a singular gaming experience. The Remake series is going to take about a decade from start to finish. I don't like to compare them because...it's quite frankly unfair. I adored the original and think it's perfect how it is-a product of its time. I am okay with that. I never wanted a one-to-one remake because FF7 was visionary for its time and remake should at least ATTEMPT to have the same impact. And even speaking on what you pointed out as flaws, they may seem thin by comparison, but those little polygons gave rise to everything we see in Remake/Rebirth. They've informed these fully fleshed out versions of these characters that we get to enjoy now. Not only Sephiroth being able to be more humanized. It's really the glint in his eyes, the realness of his (and others') facial expressions that's different. Or rather, that's ADDED. They didn't even accomplish this as well in Advent Children or Crisis Core (TOTALLY agree with you on that, 100%). But his manner of speaking, his moments of laughter, his teasing...that's all lifted directly from the original. If the Remake series failed to build on what was in the original, THAT is when I'd have many angry notes. The benefit of hindsight shouldn't be wasted. They also added Myrna in Barret's trial, background on how Red came to be in Hojo's possession in the first place, and LITERALLY ALL OF THE GONGAGA INCIDENT. None of these things were in the original game, but it's not a notch against the original game, in my opinion. The game's popularity gave rise to sequels and a desire by fans to know infinitely more about the characters and their world.

I am having a blast with the Remake content and have no real tangible complaints. Nothing really worth waxing poetic about, at least. I just wish everyone on both sides would learn to relax...old fans are kinda cut from one of two cloths. They've been the ones gunning for a remake but also the ones complaining a lot about it. This is a game that literally could not please everyone. I've been defending FF7 for almost 30 years. If people are mad, they can stay that way. I'm exhausted of the conversation and just trying to have fun. Every complaint anyone could ever have about FF7 I've already heard. I've heard it forever and ever ad nauseum for god knows how long. I cannot be shocked. I just kinda shrug and am like...girl go play something else then 😂 leave us alone!

[dadralt]

the fact that 90% of the witcher tag rn is the bard i will never escape this man :/

you need to know i've only slept like 3 hours and my brain hurts rn but GOD i feel you

truly that man is a plague, and i will never understand why people like him. it just makes no sense to me, sorry.

but yeah this fandom being like this is why i want to leave it. i'm just so tired, and done.

my advice? block annoying people, find good ones to follow who don't talk about that man, curate your space, don't go in the tags etc etc

and after today tbh i ain't even that mad. we fucking won. i witnessed a yenralt feast, i am LIVING. loving life. laughing.

much love to you anon <3

[fablewoven]

For anyone actually wondering, my portrayal of Yennefer includes the following from her sources to make her who I write her as.

The Books:

Her mother was the half elf and her father was so upset about the elven blood making their child deformed that he took it out on her verbally and physically, and then after he finally left, Yennefer's mother started abusing her until Tissaia took her off her hands.

Tried to kill herself in Aretuza.

Tissaia ordered her transformation and was the one that took away her ability to have kids and didn't tell her about it--Yennefer did not ask for that stuff on her own, but she was more than okay being beautiful and feared after the life she had with her parents. Also, honestly, she wanted to be better than the bullies she had, like Sabrina.

Hates politics, but deals with it when she has to.

Quit Aretuza over failing to save a child, and she will protect all children at all costs, especially female ones. Kids are her weak spot.

Lets Ciri crawl into bed with her when she has nightmares.

Will go feral over Ciri and Geralt on any ocassion.

Is a bit possessive of Geralt, but prolly not entirely to the extent of the books where he leaves over it a couple times, but I attribute some of that to the fact that I do believe Andre doesn't always know how to write women and keep them in character when he just wants drama for drama in the novels.

Has no issues doing necromancy, even though it's a dark art, but she mostly only does it to try and find Ciri.

Ciri is her child and she refers to her as such.

Has a pet Kestrel.

Witcher 3 Game:

Portals people and things off waterfalls when she's mad.

Has a unique bond with ravens.

I feel like this list is short, but the Games were so good at incorporating more of her Book attitude already, so Witcher 3 is just part of her because I liked it. Not a perfect adaptation, of course, but I enjoyed Yennefer, so...

Netflix:

Anya is her face claim.

She's older than 13 when she becomes a sorceress (that's how old she was in the books when Tissaia sterilizied her), but prolly admittedly not as old as Netflix has her doing everything.

Yen and Jaskier bonding/friendship.

Netflix has its own verse and it is only in the Netflix version of stuff that I will accept the Deathless Mother as she is Netflix only created. I will also only RP that fallout with the modifications I made over it, which is in a different post.

My Own Flushed Out Headcanons For Her:

Will hold Triss accountable for r*ping Geralt, and does not forgive her just because they're 'sisters' and 'good friends'.

Because of this, Yennefer tries really hard not to manipulate Geralt in any way. She already did after they started a relationship try to only read his mind occasionally, but after the Triss stuff she has a much harder time doing stuff. She's self aware, okay?

Does on some level blame Tissaia for what she has lost, but sees her as a mother and does feel indebted to her for everything she gained from becoming a sorceress.

Is still the 'horseman of war', and I feel like I'll flush that out more later because she's not the actual horseman, but it's a book thing.

She's a bitch sometimes, but she's a soft Mom to the people that she loves, even if sometimes she's loving in a tough love approach.

If you ever have any other questions, feel free to ask, and not be a dick about it, like the anon in my inbox right now. I have said multiple times that my Yennefer in her main state is a MIX of all of her sources. She is mine, and I am feral about her, and I get to portray her however the fuck I want to. I'm sorry I'm one of maybe 5 active Yen's, but you don't get to tell me how to write my muses.

I'm also sure I'll update this occasionally, but yeah.

[jasmines-library]

Prompts List

I'm bored and want to write some more, so i've decided to make a list of prompts to jog some ideas. Please send in as many as you like (i need the inspo)

Fandoms I currently write for: Supernatural Star Wars The Lost Boys (1987) The Last Of Us The Witcher Game of Thrones DC if you want something else, feel free to ask and I'll give it a go.

Masterlist

(these are just rough category suggestions, you can use them for anything you like)

ANGSTY

1. "You said you'd never leave! You promised!"

2. "Where were you when I lost everything? You. Weren't. There."

3. "I don't want to hurt you."

4. "Did you really think you could undo what you've put me through?"

5. "Don't you dare let go!"

6. "I don't want to hurt you."

7. "I trusted you."

8. "You don't understand."

9. "I spent all of this time worrying about you and you didn't even think about me once!"

10. "I wish I had never trusted you"/"I wish you had never trusted me"

11. "Don't abandon me like everyone else."

12. "You said you'd never leave! You promised!"

13. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

14. "forgive me for what i'm about to do."

15. "you're not the same person I met all that time ago."

16. "I'm sorry. None of this should have happened. This is all my fault."

17. "You were dead... I watched you die."

18. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

19. "why do you do this to yourself?"

20. "It's been days. We have to consider the possibility that they're not coming back."

21. "Stop yelling at me!" "This is your fault."/"It's not my fault."

22. "I don't want to shoot you but I will if you don't move. Step aside."

23. "Over my dead body." "I can arrange that."

24. "I can't do this anymore." “You don't have a choice."

25. "Please don't make me choose."

26. "I'm sorry, I tried, I really did."

27. "Can't i come with you?" "You know you can't"

28. "I'm sorry. I did what I had to."

29. " Don't. Stop this ____. You're better than this."

30. "I trusted you. With Everything."

31. "I did it because I had to. Not because I wanted to."

32. "I told you not to get too close to me."

HURT/COMFORT/WHUMP

33. "Who did this to you?"

34. "No more. Please."

35. "Hey, Hey look at me! you're gonna be okay."

36. "Don't you dare close your eyes."

37. "Stay with me"

38. "I've got you."

39. "Just hold on a little longer."

40. "Just please...please stay with me."

41. "You're safe. They can't hurt you here."

42. "Let me go."

43. "Don't leave me now. Please. I still need you."

44. "Don't touch them!"

45. "Hurt me instead "

46. "I'm sorry, I tried, I really did."

47. "Don't let them win."

48. "I hurt people. It's all I'm good at."

49. "I did something terrible"

50. comforting them after a nightmare

51. "You were crying, weren't you?"

52. "Touch her, and you're dead."

FLUFF

53. "I love you" "I know"

54. "I can't stop thinking about you."

55. "I'll never let you go."

56. "What took you so long? I missed you."

57. "I'm asking because I've seen the way you look at me"

58. "You know you love me."

59. "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

60. "You're perfect."

61. "I'm the luckiest person in the world."

62. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

63. "I'm so proud of you."

64. "Shut up and kiss me."

65. "I love you. Never forget that okay?"

66. "You grow more and more beautiful each day."

67. "Dance with me."

68. "I don't care that you're sick."

69. "I wouldn't change a thing about you"

70. "When this is all over, I don't want us to go separate ways."

71. "You're so cute when you're mad."

72. falling asleep together

73. facing a fear

74. Taking care of sick s/o

75. hugs from behind

76. placing a kiss on their forehead.

77. seeing each other again after a long time apart.

[thisonesatellite]

i was tagged by the lovely and wonderful @booksandabeer . Thank you, darling. (Transatlantic is now officially on my watch list.)

last song: People of the Sun - Rage Against The Machine

Rage slaps harder than coffee and sometimes i need that in the morning.

last show: Shadow & Bone S2

Yes. i know i'm so behind. But last year work was such that i fell behind on everything and i've spent this whole year so far catching up. i have managed to binge Stranger Things S3 AND S4 (do you see how far behind i was?), Obi Wan, Book of Boba Fett, Mandalorian S3, and The Last of Us, as well as make a small dent in the back catalogue in the shape of Leverage, Leverage Redemption, Dopesick, and The Librarians. All since December. So do not come at me with my tardiness. i'm doing my best. 😘

last movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

i have gone to see every single MCU movie since Iron Man on opening night and despite the MCU's descent into madness and disappointment i can't stop now, you feel me. Having said that i think that Guardians was a good movie, not least because it was refreshingly self contained. i loved the fact that for a change the entire Fate Of The Universe And Everyone In It did not hang in the balance. As Angela says in Bones, "Sometimes you don't save the world. Sometimes you just make your friend happy." EXACTLY.

Also, James Gunn listened to the exact same albums as a teenager as i did, i will die on that hill. Obscure 80s British post punk anyone? Late 70s Springsteen? Parliament, Cheap Trick, Spacehog, Faith No More, Three Dog Night, fucking X? The fact that Gunn plastered a The The song across one of the emotional turning points of this movie - i almost stood up and clapped. IN THE MOVIE THEATER. (i would never. i am the person who will ask you to stop talking if you sit next to me and don't shut up. And i will be firm about it.)

If Star-Lord ever returns to the tunes of New Model Army or Mother Love Bone, i will die.

currently watching: Justified and The Umbrella Academy S3.

Still trying to make a dent in the current and back-catalogue watchlist. Do not say the word Witcher in my presence. 😂 Or Ted Lasso, which i will binge the moment the last ep drops, no matter what series i'm in the middle of. Also, now i had to put @booksandabeer's rec Transatlantic on the list WHAT HAVE YOU DONE.

currently reading: DOES IT LOOK LIKE i HAVE TIME TO READ RIGHT NOW? i BARELY HAVE TIME TO WRITE. 😂 But actually, if audiobooks count, i'm listening to An Economic History of The World since 1400 (from The Great Courses), because macroeconomics are fucking fascinating, ok? i think macroeconomic trends, constraints, and ambitions are the only reason human beings as a whole have ever done anything, ever, (and by macroeconomics i don't mean money).

All this while a stack of books collects dust on my night stand.

current obsession: the aforementioned macroeconomics, stucky (there's the historical event AND a cold war east germany spy fic to write, i'm looking at you @bittersweet-in-boston). There is also an epic dramione idea i had last year which is starting to seriously snap at my heels. i might have to visit that sandbox again. (Forgive me @mysteriouscatstellation)

Also, how do i get rid of the need to sleep? Those are hours i could use, people. Anyone have tips?

Damn, this got so long. That was way more answer than any of you were looking for, wasn't it.

Absolutely zero-pressure-tags: @cable-knit-sweater, @crisis-froggo, @mwritesff, @voylitscope, @controlofwhatido, @ace-in-reserve

[notyourastarion]

Tag Nine People You'd Like to Get to Know Better!

I was tagged by @illustrious-beauty - thank you! I also added a games section!

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑(𝐒): Blue, Teal, Purple,

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑(𝐒): Sweet & salty (sweet & salted popcorn, honeybutter, etc.), chocolate orange, pizza lol

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: Paramore, Hozier, OSTs from musicals (Lately it's been Beetlejuice on Broadway, Hamilton) and just a whole lot of random music, it's hard to categorise!

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: Rose Coloured Boy - Paramore

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄(𝐒): Coraline, Howl's Moving Castle, Beetlejuice, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, LotR, The Grand Budapest Hotel

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄: Willy's Wonderland

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: I don't really have one? There are a lot I love but none above the others. A fair bit of old tv Lovejoy (a relic of the 80's) to Hornblower (a relic of the 90's), but also any Dr Who where David Tennant is involved, the new Castlevania series [haven't seen Nocturne yet though!]

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: pffff I have no idea, things have been a blur with the kids. Probably Bluey if I'm honest and I'm not even mad about it.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: Stargate SG1, aew wrestling lol, Mythbusters, a lot of Game Grumps tbh

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: The Last Goodbye by Tim Weaver

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍: my drafts, an Astarion cosplay, my larp costume (my last character was pre-transition!), remaking my Witcher ttrpg character sheet after I lost my last one (I put so much effort into it *sobs*)

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒: BG3, Witcher 3, RDR2, Little Nightmares, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Control, Divinity: Original Sin, Hades, Minecraft, Valheim

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄: BG3 & Stardew Valley

Tagging (only do this if you'd like to + whoever sees this on my blog and wants to do it): @reining-disaster @thebirdwhodoesart @infernalmechanic @eternityembodied

[noxspost]

AFTERMATH

Percy was waiting with Estelle at the door with his stepfather Paul and Poseidon they were waiting for any news that Sally would get home safely sure she was a Witcher but she would to come home she did contracts in her own time it also helped that she had her own job besides monster and beast hunting. They were patiently waiting but that's when they heard a bell bearing the Warning of something gone wrong.

they heard the sounds of horse sized wolves pulling something and the bell gone louder something was very very wrong.

Paul went to the window and when he opened up the drapes to see what was behind them to see what was outside his face paled his eyes widened into spheres of grief and pain his chest heaved a bit as a choked gasp roaring out of his throat his mouth a gaped.

Poseidon immediately called "out what's wrong."

Paul looked to the kids and to the two other lovers of Sally his wife. then he explained who was arriving at the door "Mark Clarisse and Jaskeir here they're ringing the bell on their chariot and there's a new body attached to the back."

"please don't let that be sally." spoke Amphitrite who was holding Sally's childhood blanket closer now.

"don't, don't let that be mom." spoke Percy who was holding his sister's hand.

Paul's daughter looked fearful as she was waiting for an answer and Paul exclaimed to Percy "you know that they wouldn't be attaching Sally's dead body to the back of the chariot if she truly died one of them would be holding her dead body!"

"look back look back," said Amphitrite "what do you see what do, do you see her in one of their arms?!" Paul looked back through the window and everyone held their breath no one went for the door not the people outside in the chariot not the ones inside the house.

 Paul squinted his eyes as everyone waited anxious and scared and he sighed a relief "yeah Clarisse is carrying her dead body she looks terrible." then Poseidon about to speak when "who's the new person?!" demanded Percy fear and pain in his voice "well his head is on the spike which probably means he killed her." commented Pual.

When Jaskeir kill someone most of the time he would carry the head not place it on a spike that was usually saved when he really hated the person he killed I'm not really meant someone he hated killed Sally. well they put out the Torches and then they undid the reigns attaching the wolves to the chariot who promptly laid down next to the chariot they got off the chariot carrying the dead body of Percy and Estelle's mother.

whole atmosphere was cold colder than this night it was not a cold night.

Ice was now in replace of all their blood Poseidon was so mad but he did not want to destroy things the cause of one person and considering since that man is dead he can do much his wife on the other hand wanted to strangle that man in the afterlife obviously Persephone would do that for her so would Tisiphone. the fury who Would punish murderers and killers the man would certainly land himself in Tartarus.

Paul just cried no sound came from him the only thing that signaled that heat was sad and deep within his grave was his tears his child his daughter just stood there holding her brother's hand frozen paralyzed with big emotions.

Percy on the other hand tried to stay strong for his sister yet he fell to his knees and silently scraped no words came from his mouth it was just in a terrified scream tears ran down his face like waterfalls or geysers hot wet furious tears as well.

then they heard a knock at the door Poseidon silently mournfully opened up the door and on the other side of that door all three demigods and they're all covered in blood they're all sad and covered in blood dirt and were grimy.

Clarisse gently held Sally in her arms as if she was a glass structure and one wrong move of closest powerful hands could snap her in half even though when she was alive that was never the case as Percy truly saw what really killed his mother.

massive sword lacerations and there was this big dating slit on her neck her face had her eyes closed but they saw the blood dripping from her mouth beside him just looked sad and broken so broken.

his ears started ringing his eyes unfocused he started to space out as if his brain was in goo unable to move his body just on the floor knees and legs underneath him he just kneeled there he was spacing out his ears ringing louder now as if he had been hit straight with a bomb his hands started to shake his breathing quick and his chest started to move up and down and wrap its succession and that's when he felt a pair of strong hands and he looked up and there was mark.

mark looked at him mouth of something.

Percy shook his head unable to understand and then you've got a hug from Mark and they both cried Percy tightened his side of the hug on mark he as if he was a snake and that's when noise finally came out of Percy's mouth.

it was mournful pained whaling he's never cried like this before mark didn't let go nor belittled him for crying or wailing or weeping or warning the loss of his mother no he was there a sturdy is a rock. Clarice turned to Poseidon and his wife and Paul she went to handle the woman's body and Amphitrite held the body as she kneed on the ground. 

Sally was draped Across the woman's knees like a child. Amphitrite cradled the woman's head the woman's blood was getting on to Amphitrite clothing she didn't care she put her head close to Sally's head leaned in and touched their foreheads and noses together.

she reached out for one of Sally's wrists she knew this was a wishful thinking and foolishness but she hastily tried to find a place maybe most of the lacerations were not too close to her heart but they could see her lungs so as Amphitrite hastily waited for a pulse.

because maybe the deities of mercy were showing mercy upon Sally but no. no pulse could be found that hope and wishful thinking stamped out like an elephant to a apple quick and powerful.

"NO please Eloes, Clementia any one please no!"

everyone watched as she cried and held Sally's head closer to hers the Jaskier had long closed the door Paul was standing next to Poseidon who just was fighting back tears

Amphitrite looks at the dead body of her lover and she looked up with melancholy filled eyes and stuttered out "what happened to her I know what chairs sometimes getting really bad fights with each other, but I thought they would have some standards when it came to killing other Witcher schools."

"So Sally was taking care of a contract she was nearly done with it she was going to go collect her payment then Vesemir and Tawny showed up and Tawny had decided to try to take Sally's payment. Vesemir never killed her. he witnessed the murder and helped her when we got to the murder scene. dad killed Tawny beheading him and went after Vesemir we don't know what happened to him here's her dead body we closed our eyes so you wouldn't see her scared expression."

Estelle the asked finally her innocence hanging in the balance "why would someone do that and will we ever get to see mom?" everything shattered Paul sigh walked over and kneeled down on one knee placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Kid listen there are lots of good people out in the world could people that make poor choices that cost people their lives most don't realize that could happen but with this man who is traveling with Vesemir he killed your mother out of greed and distrust for your mother is a cat Witcher not in like the mutated way but still one And these two men wanted to take credit for completing the contract maybe one wanted to do that so the other one but still your mother is dead she cannot come back to the living she can still see us but only during the month of the dead your mother is dead she tried to defend herself. I'm sorry."

things went silent that's Estelle's eyes moved around trying to comprehend what she had been told she said "mom was just trying to do something good and she died because of it?"

mark nodded still holding Percy as Clarisse stood next to her brother Jaskier both silent and uncomfortable they felt as if they were wandering in to an unwanted area but they were welcomed into this family sally that still would be held up true.

Poseidon sighed and hug Jaskier "even now you can still be here as family." then Jaskier broke down. 

[essskel]

okay i said i'll leave your inbox but i'm a very curious person and like to talk a lot BUT THIS THE LAST TIME I SWEAR i just want to specify and ask one thing.

i meant that i don't like when people label roche as a RACIST monster not if people hate him because he's pro-genocide (that's valid i hate him for that too). it's like 'i'll be mad if you ignore my blorbos flaws but i also get mad if you make him something he isn't' kind of thing.

besides if roche was racist he would actually be irredeemable. and if it's not obvious by now but i only like ves and roche for that reason. they're not motivated by racism despite their horrible job and they can you know work on their mistakes but other blue stripes are just...mehh. good that died i guess.

and this is why i'm curious do you think roche is racist? i got the impression that you're not sure.

Dw I enjoy your commentary!! Below the cut again :))

-> I do think that in the second game Roche makes it pretty clear that his hatred is for the Scoiatael, not non-humans, and by the third, his role as an oppressor is essentially dropped completely and written over. But then, of course….the Scoiatael are a group of Elves trying not to be killed and colonized because of their race. They’re standing up against racial oppression, Roche was fighting to keep them there - even though he or the writers don't see it that way. So … I’d personally agree that while he’s not a racist or a bigot in the classical sense, he IS a major aggressor in a racist institution. So, yeah to me that is racism. Idk, is a racist a person who does racist things, or someone who hates another race? …yes?

The writing is so convoluted though, that’s why you may sense hesitation from me when it comes to blanket statements. Roche isn’t a real guy, he’s written as a narrative, and I don’t think that it's meant to be one of a violent bigot, it’s that of a soldier who’s consumed and internalized every inch of military propaganda he’s ever been served. Racism is part of that, the concept is inseparable and we lose almost everything when people try to erase it, but the ‘is he racist or not’ debate doesn’t move anything forward a ton, to me. The answer to the question (which is yes to me), doesn't really solve the politics of the factional warfare, or how willing an elf would be to accept help from him - I think this is where motive really does matter (Geralt does trust him for a reason). I also think it somewhat flattens the intersection of poverty that his character has a lot to say about.

EDIT: I took out a paragraph about the scoiateal cause I was using in-universe explanations and that doesn't actually matter very much here. CDPR throwing in crazy war crimes for their oppressed people to be guilty of is not legitimate justification for further oppression, its just bad writing. The well-intentioned extremist trope does not equate grey morality. The internal politics and witcher-world rules matter very little compared to the real life implications of the narrative. Roche isn’t real but violent, racist, unsympathetic soldiers who got where they are through their experience with poverty, propaganda, and privilege are. Therefore the way that I talk about these characters should always be with that context in mind. Narrative themes and the statements being made by writers, that’s what I really care about, not so much whether or not a fictional solider would be classified in a fantasy world as being racist towards elves or not.

tldr maybe: I don’t think Roche’s actions are ever truly written to be motivated by racial bigotry, he wants to defend his country, that’s the core of it. But his character - or maybe just the Blue Stripes as a whole - function as a racist, a racist institution, and they represent real militarized racial conflicts. He's oppressing people, and he never lifts a finger to undo that. I think talking about what that means and where that could go (hopefully somewhere better??) is the best we can do with what we have.

[a-case-of-the-ace]

Thank you so much for the tag @eoinmcgonigal Name: Erin

Pronouns: eeer.... she/her I guess? I was born with that and never bothered to muck around with it. Honestly, I'm not fussed, go ham.

Star sign: Cancer the crab

# of siblings and fun facts about them (if you have any): 1 younger sister, who is too cool for me. does a lot of art and games and stuff.

# of pets & their names: 1 tabby cat named Sophie, with teenie white mittens.

Fandoms: *the list unfurls along the floor and into the street* sooo many. If I had to pick majorly I'd say The Witcher, Hot Fuzz, Galavant, Mafia, Merlin, the list goes on for eternity.

Favourite colour: Green? Blue maybe? Blue-green? Don't have one really. Like if you gave me a specific colour I'd know if I liked it or not. but otherwise, idk.

Favourite song: I've been listening to Lovestruck by Madness a lot lately, so maybe that one? Although I think it's just the absurdity of a man falling in love with a lampost that has me listening so much.

Favourite author (of anything readable - books, fanfics, zines, webtoons, whatever!): Derek Landy, or Holly Black. I am behind on Skulduggery though.

Favourite fic type: oooooh. Something between 5 and 30 grand, heavy on the angst with a dash of comfort. I love to watch a blorbo get the snot kicked out of them.

Favourite Holiday: Erm... not australia day, not xmas, Easter? Something with a public holiday. My fam's pretty casual about holidays. School holidays, since we always go for camp trips?

Do you have a partner (romantic, qpr, anything!)?: Narp.

Hobbies: Crochet, reading, tv. Been following the footy pretty regularly too, for once.

Fun facts about you: erm.... I crochet. Used to knit, badly. And I want to get back into forging stuff. My hair is dyed. I don't know what constitutes a fun fact.

I never know who to tag in these, if you don't wanna that's fine. I just generally put people I follow and think are cool

@iiep-wop @thekeytomypie @kellterntempest @feline-ranger @just-barrow @somethingaboutamagpie @ao3-shenanigans @ctrvpani

[hickeygender]

Don't know why tumblr made me miss your post about the ableism in fandom and the Witcher, but I've finally read it, and thank you so much for taking the time to write it! I have a question relating to that one: if one chooses to not make the Cat Witchers have mental illnesses or personality disorders or any sort of "madness", but instead try to explain their behaviour through the system in which they grew up in, could the Witchers still be called "mad" by others in-universe? I think I worded it weird, so an explanation of what I mean:

With the way I see the Cat School, they combine typical Witcher brutality with elven supremacy. While I know that "elven supremacy" in the context of the Witcher is problematic as fuck considering the oppression of the elves, I mean it to explain some of the values that the Cat School holds as a system. Humans are scum-of-the-earth, brutal savages, horrible people from the day they are born because it is human nature to destroy, to discriminate against others, and to hurt each other. It is very much modern anti-humanist nihilism. Elves, on the other hand, are seen as inherently more kind, more wise, more cooperative, gentle, so on and so forth, despite their own history or the fact that some of the worst elves are just as bad as some of the worst humans. It boils down to "elf and proximity to elfness good, human and proximity to humanity bad".

This ideological framework leads to "inhumanity" being a good thing. Human Witchers, while not outright told to, internalize the idea that they must stand in opposition to humanity. Therefore, enacting violence against humans is okay - you're making up for your humanity, you're making the world better by making the scum go away (a very Lambert perspective on things).

In the case of Gaetan, it would mean that reacting in a disproportionate manner after being cheated out of his coin and attacked with the intent to kill, and killing not just the guilty parties but also the unaffiliated bystanders and children, is fine. After all, they are human, and they associate with the worst humans by living in the same village. They might become just like the alderman and the ones that attacked him if given the chance. He only stopped that reaction when he saw his sister in Millie, which activated a mental block. "My sister isn't like other humans" basically being the reason he spared Millie. And while he does say he fucked up big time when talking to Geralt, he doesn't seem to mean it much. "Sure, shouldn't have killed everyone, but it's not that big of a deal" is the vibe I'm getting.

While I don't think this type of slaughter is encouraged, I don't think that the Cats care enough to have any policies against it. And I think that humans would only be able to comprehend this through the Cat Witchers being "mad". Would that...work? Cause I'm really not sure. I feel like the stigma of mental illness is weaponized against anyone and everyone, even when all parties involved are neurotypical.

[You can answer this publicly or privately, don't really mind either way.]

[I want to again note that the "elf supremacy" thing was just to categorize the ideological framework of the Cats, which I built based on Gezras' voice-lines, and am aware it has problematic implications. However, since there are irl groups within minorities that are just terrible on their own (Zionists) or because they internalized the oppressor's ideologies but switched them around a bit, I feel it's not too unrealistic for the Cats to function this way.]

You're very welcome for writing that post, thank you so much for engaging with it! And this is all super interesting! I agree that this reading of the Cat witchers being neurotypical but still getting referred to as "mad" by outsiders to rationalize their disregard for human life stemming from their views on humanity is a plausible one!

Ableism can be aimed against neurotypical people who ableists deem as not fitting the mold for sure, and in a world such as the Continent where mental illness is greatly stigmatized and misunderstood, I imagine it's even more common there than it is in our world to associate mental illness with morally abhorrent behavior like murder. Irl I often see this as a way for people, usually neurotypical or non-psychotic people, to distance themselves from people and behaviors they categorize as bad (e.g. "They killed that person bc there's something inherently wrong with them. I, on the other hand, being someone who is of right mind, would NEVER stoop to murder! I'm different!" and so on and so forth. If you're intrinsically different from someone, you can't make their mistakes, never mind the fact that you're both human and capable of great good and evil).

So yes, in summary, I completely agree that even if you choose to write your Cat witchers as neurotypical but deeply shaped by elf-centric views on the nature of humanity, they could absolutely still be viewed by the general populace and other witchers as "mad"!