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the-greatest-magic-of-all · 2 months ago

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Because I THOROUGHLY enjoy sending things to you, have this :3

Loyal Knight AU - Riz plans or milking this idiots wallet dry

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This office sucked but it was all he could afford at the moment. Freezing cold in the winter, boiling hot in the summer and with barely any soundproofing meaning he could hear whispered conversations from three doors down with his sensitive hearing. At least it was better than working out of his tiny apartment, mostly because it looked professional and he could actually meet with clients here without it seeming weird.

Riz had managed to get a bit of a reputation over the last year or so, solving some pretty complicated cases in between his more regular fair of spouses trying to catch their partners cheating. It wasn’t a huge amount of money but it was enough to help his mom pay the rent and put food on the table more often than not. Of course he had to pretend to be older than what he actually was, no one would take a seventeen year old seriously as a PI but he was good at his job despite his age.

Being self-employed at his age was strange but barely anyone would hire a goblin and especially not one so young for as much as he was making now. Riz was a very good rogue though, with a preternatural talent for this kind of work that gelled well with his knack for adventuring. It was mostly solo adventuring though since he hadn’t found a party, involving plenty of stealth since he was particularly weak as one of the smaller species. Relations between goblins and the humanoid races were getting better but they still weren’t fantastic.

Riz had been tearing down and packing away a clue board from his most recent case, successfully closed and handed off to his client for a decent sum of cash, when his door was flung open with quite an amount of force. The goblin jumping in surprise and biting back the urge to hiss at the elf?...no, half-elf… standing silhouetted in the light from the hallway outside. The well-dressed young man squinting around in confusion before his single eye, the other one clearly only recently lost if the fresh wound across his cheek and brow only half hidden by an eyepatch were any indication, settled on Riz and he broke into a grin.

“Ah! Excellent, I thought you were closed since the light was off.” He let the door swing shut behind him, reaching for the light switch on the wall and flicking it on to illuminate the room properly. The bright, audibly buzzing overhead light making Riz wince and pin his ears back when he had to adjust to the sudden light. He’d had the damn thing off for a reason, mostly because he didn’t need it with his darkvision but also he’d been awake for nearly four days straight by this point and his head was killing him.

“I was recommended this place, they said there’s an excellent detective here and I require their services. When can I expect them to be in, or should I make an appointment through you?”

Riz resisted the urge to sigh, stepping down off the stool he’d been using to reach the top corner of his clue board and dusting his hands off on his pants. “I’m the detective. How can I help?”

“You? But you’re-“ The half elf frowned, the unspoken ‘a goblin’ left lingering in the air as Riz stared up at him. He was all tailored clothes and expensive jewellery layered over refined elven features that just screamed massive disposable income. That and the fresh injury meant that he was probably on a quest for revenge and those clients always came with the best payouts so Riz grit his teeth so he wouldn’t say anything rude and scare off a big payday.

“Yes, me.” The goblin flicked the tip of his tail, the sharp movement the only thing betraying his annoyance as he tried to keep his face locked in a pleasant ‘customer service’ mask. Tall-men like this never noticed the subtle body language and this one was apparently no exception, making a small ‘huh’ noise before he moved to sit in the chair on the clients side of his large desk.

“Fair enough, as long as you can get the job done that’s all that matters. I need you to help me find someone.”

The rogue made a noise that indicated he was listening, stepping around the boxes he’d been using to file away his clue board and settling into his chair across from the half-elf.

“Someone tried to kill me with an enchanted blade, the healers say it can’t be repaired with magic.” They gestured to the ragged wound on their face, Riz glancing at him as he pulled a drawer open to search for his pre-made contracts. “They also tried to kill my Mama, and mortally wounded my Papa. I want to find them and repay the favour, is this something you can assist me with?”

“Yes. Terms of the contract are standard and will include an allowance for the duration, but working out how much to charge in the end might be a bit tricky since I don’t know how difficult the job will be, or how long it will take.”

“Payment is not an issue. You can decide what payment you want later once we find out who the bastard is.”

“If that’s what you want.” Okay, definitely a rich asshole with more money than sense on a revenge quest. He could easily charge double, or even triple his usual going rate and they wouldn’t even notice. Plus, it’s not like they’d be able to get out of paying, his family may have left the fae wilds a couple generations back but contract magic still ran strong and it would be magically binding in a way that was nigh impossible to remove.

Riz scanned through the contract, filling in what details he’d been given before sliding it across to his client with the pen for him to add anything else that was relevant. The goblin flicking an ear when he noticed that the man wasn’t really reading the contract so much as just… looking at the page. His eye was darting around too much and he looked like he was having issues, though once he got to the back page he seemed to focus properly. Squinting at the ‘Payment to be decided by detective on completion’ Riz had written on the portion where a monetary amount would usually go before he signed his name at the bottom.

“Excellent. Is that all then?”

“Oh no. I’m going to need a few more details than that, maybe a good look at where you were attacked for starters.” Riz took the contract back, signing his own name on the bottom and feeling a shiver run down his spine as his own magic took hold.

“That won’t be a problem. What shall I call you then… Detective?”

“Riz is fine.” The rogue squinted at the fancy, looping handwriting of the half-elf at the bottom of the contract before folding it and putting it away in a locked drawer. Reaching across the table and offering his hand to shake which the man took happily. “It’s going to be nice working with you Mister Seacaster.”

YES!! I love it!!

Fabian had felt the slight burst of arcane energy when the Dectective signed his name on the contract but paid it no mind. His Mama's scroll club friend had assured him that this guy was a legit professional. The Goblin had discovered her family's missing heirloom (and her husband's affair) in no time, with no tricks or extra fees.

So, whatever was in that contract with the small print that gave Fabian a headache just thinking about reading it was probably nothing serious. He didn't even look like a full spellcaster anyway! Though, Fabian hadn't exactly clocked him as a detective either.

Almost putting his foot in his mouth thanks to the cliche of The Hard-Boiled Detective usually having an attractive and capable secretary. Sue him! The man had amber eyes and high cheekbones with freckles all over them! Even the slight bags under his eyes and loosened tie gave him a certain tired handsomeness that, you know, Fabian should have clocked as Detective-esque. That's on him.

Either way, when Fabian left with the Detective from his dingy, little office to Seacaster Manor to let him have a look around, he was confident he'd get his revenge within the month. How hard could it be to track down one guy?

#fabian seacaster #riz gukgak #fabriz #Brave and Loyal Knight AU #cut to a decade later when Riz *finally* catches the bastard!

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racefortheironthrone · 2 years ago

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I understand that knights normally followed a fairly set career path: start as a page, get taken on as a squire, and then if they merit it and have resources, knighthood. How did it work for other classes of soldier? How would one go about becoming say, a man at arms, or a specialist like a long bowman or a crossbowman or a pikeman for example?

Ah, excellent question!

One preliminary thing, you do have to be mindful of the distinction between actual training and social organization. Let's take your "career path" for knights, for example - at its heart, the whole page/squire thing was essentially a two-stage apprenticeship, but there was both a mix of actual martial training (I'll get into the curriculum in a bit) and what we would think of as socialization into the noble class - things like music, dancing, literacy, manners, and so forth aren't really directly related to the job of an armored heavy cavalryman, after all.

Importantly, when it comes to the distinction between various ranks, we have to keep in mind the importance of both material resources and sociocultural status. As you note, the difference between a squire and a knight was really about whether the squire could afford the full complement of arms, armor, and a horse, and there were more than a few grown men who were squires their whole lives (this is the inspiration for characters like Squire Dalbridge) because they just didn't have the money to advance to knighthood.

At the same time, the difference between a knight and a man-at-arms came down to social class - in order to be a man-at-arms, you had to have the same training as a knight and own the same equipment (arms, armor, and horse), which is why a lot of the written sources simply call all such men men-at-arms whether they were knights or not - although some sources took more pains to distinguish between the milites gregarii (the plain man-at-arms) and the milites nobiles (which, as you probably have guessed, refers to actual knights).

The former tended to be from the gentry rather than the nobility, and as a result of their lower status, they were usually paid half the wage rate of knights despite doing the same work and taking on the significant risk of providing their own equipment. (The fact that they were cheaper also explains why the proportion of actual knights on the campaign rolls dropped rather rapidly between the 13th and 14th centuries - knights were more expensive, so hiring men-at-arms instead meant you could stretch the budget for heavy cavalry.)

The Knightly Curriculum

As I suggested above, the training for knights was essentially an apprentice system where the page and then the squire provided service to their master in exchange for education. When it comes to the actual content of this training, the curriculum was actually pretty ecletic:

As you might expect, training in arms was an important part of the program. However, this training included a lot more than just swordsmanship. While the sword was very culturally important, when it came to the actual military function of a heavy cavalryman, the lance was arguably of greater importance. Training also tended to include other sidearms - axes, maces, and the like. In later periods, as armor got a lot better and mounted frontal charges tended to be de-emphasized in favor of having men-at-arms fight as dismounted heavy infantry, the curriculum expanded to include new weapons like the poleaxe and other polearms that Gary Gygax was obsessed with.

Training in horsesmanship was also a core part of the curriculum. GRRM is not wrong when he says that "jousting was three-quarters horesemanship," and this is why pages and squires were not only taught formal equestrian lessons, but were also taught how to hawk and hunt as part of their training. Hawking and hunting were the past-times of the nobility in no small part because they involved riding horses very fast through difficult terrain while simultaneously handling either a dangerous animal or weaponry, and were thus were considered good training for future cavalrymen. As Hillary Mantel puts it, "la chasse...we usually say, we gentlemen, that the chase prepares us for war."

Training in armor tends to get downplayed or overlooked, but it was considered so important that a major portion of what pages and squires did was deal with armor - carrying it, maintaining it (scrubbing with abrasives to prevent rust, oiling the straps to keep the leather straps supple, polishing - it was really endless labor), repairing it, putting it on their master and taking it off, and so on and so forth - so that they would understand every step of the process and be able to fend for themselves later on if they didn't have attendants of their own. The famous French knight, Jean "Boucicaut" le Maingre, was held up as an example to pages and squires for constantly wearing full armor while undertaking exercise:

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What About the Man-at-Arms?

As you may have noticed, I've been mostly talking about how knights trained rather than men-at-arms. So how did your gentry-born homme d'armes train? Essentially the same as a knight, but with less of the aristocratic bells and whistles of ritualized service and socialization to the nobility. So a son of the gentry would probably be training under the tutelage of their father or other male relative - and given that we're talking about a society in which the overwhelming majority of people did the same jobs as their parents, often being legally bound to do so, this was a very common phenomenon all the way from peasants upwards - or perhaps from a professional tutor who would most likely be a veteran in working retirement.

Towards the later Middle Ages, as literacy rates increased and book production expanded to match supply to demand, your more traditional systems of apprenticeship and one-on-one tutoring became supplemented with written manuals of arms. While this genre of military literature goes all the way back to classical antiquity - and indeed, Roman manuals like De re militari were very popular in the Middle Ages, as were translations of Byzantine manuals - these lavishly illustrated manuscripts were both practical teaching tools and status objects for the families who owned them.

Specialists: Longbowmen, Crossbowmen, and Pikemen

Ok, enough about the upper classes, what about the commoners who served as specialist infantry in Medieval and Renaissance armies?

Well, I've already written a bit about longbow training, but the gist of it is that what started out as a (Welsh) hunting tool was recognized by the English royal government as a vital aspect of military readiness, so laws were promulgated that required essentially all but the poorest to own a longbow and that "that every man in the same country, if he be able-bodied, shall, upon holidays, make use, in his games, of bows and arrows… and so learn and practise archery." This training started at a fairly early age and lasted at least a decade, because it involved both the acquisition of technique and the development of the body (not just the arms, but also crucially the back muscles, as the "special sauce" of the English longbowman was his ability to "lay my body in my bow" rather than relying solely on the arms) - such that archeologists can identify longbowmen from the over-development of the shoulder and arm bones.

What about crossbowmen? Well, as I've already written a bit about, one of the major advantages of the crossbow over the longbow is that you could train someone to be a crossbowman in as little as four months, compared to the decade at minimum for a longbowman, because most of what you were teaching them was accuracy in shooting (hence why the recruitment process often involved eye exams) and the procedures for loading and cocking the crossbow - which required a certain amount of physical strength to pull back the string to the nut that would hold it in place, or to work the winch or the lever or the gaffe or the windlass if you were using a heavier crossbow, but nothing like the physical conditioning required for a longbow.

One of the reasons why the term "Genoese" is so often associated with the crossbow is that the Republic of Genoa established a corps of crossbowmen to serve both in the army and as marines in the navy and these experienced soldiers in turn provided a ready supply of labor for mercenary companies. While the captains who recruited on behalf of the great companies might have to put in the up-front investment of equipment (the crossbow and its accessories, pavise shields, armor,and sidearms), they were able to essentially outsource the training costs to the Republic.

When it comes to training, pikemen were somewhere in the middle between the longbowman and the crossbowman. Because pikemen have to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with lots of other pikemen without stabbing one another accidentally or getting their polearms tangled up, coordinating movement and action was vitally important. Hence, pikemen learned a series of quite complicated drills to teach them how to move in formation in different directions, how to change formations from line to square and back, how to switch from pike to sidearm and back, how to work with missile infantry, and so forth.

As I've talked about before, a big part of the reason why Swiss pikemen were so feared on the battlefield is that, because they were very well-drilled and disciplined due to the policies of universal military service adopted by the Swiss cantons, they could execute these drills very quickly, which meant that the Swiss pikemen could turn on a dime from an impenetrable defensive pike square to a shockingly fast and aggressive deep column which beat the ever-loving shit out of the Burgundians, the Hapsburgs, the Italians, the French, and pretty much everyone - until the Swiss ran up against a nasty combination of the German Landsknecht and the Spanish tercio.

#history #military history #knights #men-at-arms #medieval warfare #mercenaries #longbow #crossbow #pike #medieval history #swiss pikemen

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bells-of-black-sunday · 3 months ago

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Mods are asleep I can post about t4t Vittorio and Tarhos-

I think it's just because I used to write another cringe fail divorce-arc ship for years that I really enjoy them two. Something about how Tarhos was treated like a rabid dog his entire life, forced into tight quarters with others never given the basic respect of being considered a person. His life could be bartered and sold on a whim, there was nothing he could even do about it, so he became bitter. Not angry at the world, but he developed his own world views to cope with it. His body is bathed in the blood of countless innocent lives caught between noble-mens egos, he had to cope one way or another.

Even in the mercenary camp it was highly competitive, people climbing over others to try to find a way to buy their own freedom even if they barely saw a cent of the bloody work they did. He lost friends as quickly as he'd gained them. Tarhos's entire life has been nothing, but violence from the time he was born to the time he was pulled into the fog. Of course he's going to believe the world works that way, why wouldn't he?

Then you have Vittorio who was born into money, his entire future was set for him. He never had to work a day in his life and yet he refused to entertain violence even for the sport of it. He is a pacifist who will never compromise his own morals and of course that got him sent to live with his uncle who was probably the black sheep of the family for being more into books and studies than anything else. He studied for years and probably didn't have many friends or really much connection with most other people, he's a shut in, but he believes there's good in the world. He wants to find paradise to help humanity not keep it for himself.

And then his uncle dies and the weight of everything is put on his shoulders. He's a young lord forced into the spotlight walking the tightrope that is local politics and negotiating. Maybe that's why he finally pulls the trigger to go on a wild goose chase looking for artifacts to free the watchers.

Tarhos takes it, because it's an easy job. Escort a stuck up prick for a few months, it's not like it's back breaking work and he needs the money. At first he utterly despises him. He hates his cowardice, he hates the way he justifies his existence, but most of all he hates the way he's treated as a person by him. It feels unnatural, scary even that only when he's given a title of nobility that he's finally a person, but he bites his tongue. Staying by him for as long as he'd need to. But... the annoyance fades and he slowly starts to enjoy that feeling of being wanted. Long nights alone turn into long nights listening to this lord speak about history and stories for hours.

How friendly banter turns into flirting and flirting turns into more until they're tangled in eachother. And for once Tarhos can start to believe there's good in the world, if God exists it's that feeling. Then... those moments fade while on the road. They have tiny arguments more, spats over differences in world view as the entity sinks her claws deeper into Vittorio's most trusted knights mind unknowingly dragging him closer to her. He seems more irritatable, more spacey. Tarhos sinks further into his own morals the longer he's around others, he hates the way people justify their violence like as if it needs to have greater meaning or purpose.

But he once again bites his tongue and keeps moving. It's one more job. He just needs to do this last job and then he can have his most trusted back and he'll be set for the rest of his life. He can put up with it. Except... at the last location Vittorio has the audacity to ask him to find another way. Are fucking kidding him? Find another way so he can sleep at night? As if his entire fortune wasn't born out of blood? The entity's claws sink deeper, exploiting his anger and hatred. No he will not find another way, he is finishing the job he was hired to do and if Vittorio can't appreciate the life he has he will take everything of his.

He will show Vittorio the ugly cruelty of the world he constantly hides behind his walls from. And he does. Bitter resentment fuels his crusade, he takes everything like the rabid dog he was always treated as. A beast that has no restraint in who it attacks and what blood it spills. And the worst part is Vittorio can't even bring himself to resent him in the same way Tarhos does him. He would rather believe Tarhos went mad from whatever he was searching for, a victim to the cruelty and violence of life rather than an animal driven by instinct. He hates him, but... there's part of him that knows it's not him. He has to believe that. He listens to him speak, the way he laments and talks about things that have happened to him like they happened to other people.

He listens and he understands the madness. He doesn't have to agree with it, but he understands. Maybe that's why the anger and hatred slowly faded away in the fog now that he knows what he was truly seeking out. Part of him blames himself for leading Tarhos in like a lamb to the slaughter, another victim for a God's twisted game. He still doesn't trust him, but... he can't really keep himself away.

#ooc #idk what to tag this as other than muse tags; because uhhh #it's just me rambling about a ship I still really enjoy and used to write more *way* back during Tar's ptb #I'm also like half asleep in bed- so u know DJDBDBD #like idk man divorce-eras hit different; they're so much fun #like idk give me toxic old man yaoi with their divorce era where they have a complicated almost 1 sided love-hate relationship #𝘍𝘰𝘨 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳 - [ 𝘝𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰 ]#𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 - [ 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘴 ]

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justacynicalromantic · 2 years ago

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"Enemies comes here saying they want to "free" us, but they only steal our land for themselves"

The song, amazingly (actually, no, not surprising at all), is more than ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

"Through steppes" - Ukrainian folk song written during its war for Independence from the Russian Yoke, after the Russian Tsardom Empire fell in the early 20th century.

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Hey! Through steppes, through dark ravines,

Iron regiments are marching forth.

Let all the brave men join us!

We will become knights, oh young ones!

We don't want to fight for another's cause,

We don't want to fight as hired soldiers -

We all live only for our Ukraine,

Only for her, we would give our necks.

Enemies comes here saying they want to "free" us,

But they only steal our land for themselves.

Well, they will have land - where their graves are going to be,

Upon them, our freedom will be blossoming!

Fly, our song! Fly far under the blue skies!

Sing to the hearts of all Ukrainians!

Let our freedom always be with us!

Let the end come to all the enemy plans!

That war would turn out a failure.

Much like Ichkeria 80 years later would, Ukraine, fighting alone, lost and was occupied by Russian army, instilling a loyal puppet government and occupying Ukraine for another 80 years - until the Soviet Union, an economic and military failure by then, collapsed in on itself, which let Ukraine - and other states Russia had captured - to declare its independence again in 1991.

It is important to understand that it was never a design of the Russian elites - it was never what they wanted, they simply had no choice and no power at that time to stop the other nations from freeing themselves.

But as soon as they were able, they went on to "collecting" the lands they lost.

First, Ichkeria - a weaker state a still weak after the Soviet collapse Russia could handle back then. Russians burned and bombed its capital to the ground, mass killing many civilians and completely occupying the territory now known as Chechnya.

Then, a try at Moldova (part of Moldova's lands are now occupied by Russian mercenary army).

Then, a try at Georgia (part of Georgia lands are now occupied by Russian mercenary army).

In 2014 a try at Ukraine (part of our territory - my home region actually - had been and is now occupied by Russian mercenary army, but after the full invasion of 2022, Russian regular army is also stationed there now🙄).

Now, in 2022 a full invasion of Ukraine.

What you knew of Russia is a lie.

A propaganda they fed you.

Russia always was and is a colonialistic empire.

It has subjugated and erased nations for centuries.

Have you never wondered HOW EXACTLY IT HAS GOTTEN THIS BIG A TERRITORY?????

The total number of nationalities and ethnicities in Russia is probably bigger than the number of minorities in the US.

THOSE ARE ALL THEIR LANDS.

Moreover, they all mostly still live on them (i.e. it's not like a united country where all nationalities mingle completely).

Yes, there are also white people there in those lands - many of them ethnical Ukrainians actually who already forgot their ancestry. And you know why? BECAUSE THEY WERE DISPLACED THERE!!!!

Russians, after occupying a territory, did this thing to hold power there - they forcibly took those who resisted and forcibly SENT THEM TO LABOR CAMPS they instilled in a far off land of Asian ethnicities (like, half of the world far off lands) - which they captured earlier. On the other hand, they encouraged their own white Russian settlers to come to this European beautiful warm country Ukraine and settle in the homes of displaced Ukrainians🤷🏻

They did send Russians also to those cold northern Asian and Middle-East lands - convicts, prisoners, dissidents, etc. - all those who the regime deemed as unsavory and broken - that the only their worth, as the regime thought, was to serve in a labor camp to "bring culture and language" to "uneducated savages" who lived there (those be the Asian many ethnicities whose lands they captured) - direct quote there. I still see and hear MODERN Russians calling people of those ethnicities "ungrateful" if they say anything bad about Russia - because apparently "Russia brought them up from the dirt - gave them culture, education, taught them to read and write"🙄🙄🙄🤦🤦🤦 (this is so funny actually - because many of those lands are descendants of the Mongol Empire - which was prosperous and powerful when Moscow didn't even exist yet🤣 And when Moscow did exist - it existed as a small, weak, rural 'dutchy' which paid tributes to the great Mongol Empire. It's like saying that Saxons (no offense to Saxons but still, Saxons were awesome but Roman Empire was awesome-r) brought culture and language and education to Italians, because many Italians can speak English now)

All in all, Russia had many "funny" ways of managing the population.

#ukraine #music #ukrainian music #folk #revolution #history #Youtube

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earth90214 · 2 years ago

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Hi! Just followed your blog and I love your art. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for getting into Black Cat comics? I’ve mostly only seen her in Silk and wanted to get into reading her storyline more but don’t know where to start. Do you have any recommendations?

Ahh omg tysm!!! I definitely have recs for Felicia!! 😸 I’m not going to include every appearance she’s ever had but my rec list is gonna be pretty heavy bc she’s my fav 🫶🫶 I’m also gonna include some non-canon comics, miscellaneous media, and fanfics I enjoy because i have so many recs LMAO

Earth-616

I’m gonna try to keep these in order but no promises!! This begins with Fel’s first appearance and ends with her latest appearance.

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #22 (This is just a little background on Felicia’s creation and design, but to save you a little time you can read about it here.)

Amazing Spider-Man #194-195, #204-205, #226-227

Spectacular Spider-Man #74-79, #84-91

Amazing Spider-Man #246, #256-258

Spectacular Spider-Man #94-100, #112, #115-117, #119, #123

Amazing Spider-Man #288-289

Spectacular Spider-Man #128-129

Amazing Spider-Man #329-331, #341-343, #346-347

Web of Spider-Man #80

Spider-Man Unlimited #11

Amazing Spider-Man #369-371

Spectacular Spider-Man #204-206

Felicia Hardy: The Black Cat #1-4

Web of Spider-Man #113, #128

Sensational Spider-Man #29-30

Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do

Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1-12

Sensational Spider-Man (2006) #25-27, #33

Amazing Spider-Man #606-607, #612, #621-622

Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws

Heros for Hire #2-4, #6-8, #14

Marvel Divas #1-4

Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #1-4

Amazing Spider-Man #630-633 , #648-651

Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2

Amazing Spider-Man #677

Daredevil (2011) #8 (This is the issue the “my super-villain origin story” panel comes from el oh el)

Superior Spider-Man #20

Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #1-6, #16-18

Patsy Walker a.k.a Hellcat (2015) #7-14

Deadpool: Back in Black #3

Silk #9-10

Spider-Man (2016) #5

Star-Lord: Grounded (2016) #1-6

Power Man and Iron Fist (2016) #10-15

Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2016) #15-21

Venom (2016) #159-160

Defenders (2017) #1-9

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #300

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #9-10, #16-17, #20

Symbiote Spider-Man #1-5

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #77-78

Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man #1

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #87, #89

Women of Marvel #1

Black Cat (2019) #1-10

Black Cat (2019) Annual #1

Black Cat (2020) #1-10

Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1

Iron Cat (2022) #1-5

Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #6 (She also is in #5 & #11 but I actually wouldn’t recommend this run and am only including #6 because it has the Peterfel B-day kiss that I thought that art of was cute 😿)

Mary Jane & Black Cat: Dark Web #1-5 (Only #1 & #2 are out atm but I’m including the next three issues for future reference!)

Non-Canon/Not Earth-616

Spider-Man Noir (2009) #1-4 and Spider-Man Noir: Eyes without a Face #1-4 (Obviously I wouldn’t be a Peterfel main if i didn’t suggest SM Noir. My user is literally Earth-90214 I basically have to.)

Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes (This one’s actually a tie-in with the Insomniac Spider-Man DLC: the Heist!!)

Spider-Gwen #5, #26, #33 (Black!Felicia is a pretty popular hc and one both me and my mutuals use so a canonical black Fel variant is definitely on my rec list.)

Exiles vol 3 #9 (Another WOC Felicia Hardy and probably one of my favorite Felicia variant suits! She’s not a major character but I like her panels so I’m including this on the list.)

What If…? #4 (1989) (Follows Felicia after Peter dies because of bonding with the symbiote suit.)

What If…? #21 (1989) (What if Peter married Felicia)

Misc Media

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, and Insomnic’s Spider-Man: The Heist/ Silver Linings DLC are all games that have Felicia in them!! I believe that the Spider-Man 2 (2004) game and TASM games from 2012 & 2014 also have Fel in them but I haven’t watched those play throughs so I can’t say for certain how much content there is.

There are some cut scenes from TASM 2 that feature Felicity Jones as Felicia working for Harry Osborn! Unfortunately we never get to see her in costume but she still does a great job and I wish we got her as Fel in TASM 3 🥲

Spider-Man: the Animated Series (1994): s1 eps 2-7 & 10, s2 eps 1-2/6-10, s3 eps 4-6/12-13, s4 eps 2-7, s5 eps 1/7/8-12

Spectacular Spider-Man: s1e10, s2e12

Spider-Man (2017) s1ep4, s2ep1 (I actually can’t stand this show, but its the only adaptation that portrays Felicia’s glowing, cat-like eyes seen in her first appearance so for that, it gets a pass.)

Fanfics

Felicia has a pretty small ao3 tag with <1,500 works, but there are some fantastic fics that I definitely suggest reading (and authors you should definitely follow)!!

@the-cat-and-the-birdie has a Post-NWH Peterfel/PeterMjFel fic that I’ve really been enjoying and is currently ongoing!!

@seek--rest !! Seek’s mostly an mcu/spideychelle writer but has some really fantastic Felicia-centric/Felicia appearance fics up that i definitely suggest.

Both of @traincat’s Insomniac Peterfel fics are great reads that are on my (very short) list of fics i regularly re-read.

@justmattycakes’s Insomniac Peterfel series is another series on my re-read list! 10/10

any fic in @splendidnothings’s peterfelweek ao3 collections/works. Going thru the @peterfelweek blog or tag in general is a great place to find fics and art.

Naturally I have to suggest myself as well 🤭 I just started a new Peterfel series that I’m looking forward to updating soon! It’s a comic au without a solid timeline and is mostly just interconnected oneshots that center domestic Peterfel. I’m also working on a Felicia-centric fic based on a really cool headcanon that @peterbwatsonparker sent me about psychic/medium Felicia that I’m hoping to post in the next few weeks!! I also have a decent amount of headcanons posted on my blog that never made it into full fics, but my most popular ones (and my personal favorites) are my Mutant!Felicia headcanons.

Obviously these are just my personal recs, so I’m definitely missing some stuff, but if you’d like a complete list of Fel’s mainstream comic appearances you can find that here!!

#notice how i didnt include the ultimates #ultimates hate page RAGHHHHHGH 🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸#felicia hardy #black cat #rec list #long post #marvel #comics #peterfel #fanfic #movies #tv shows #video games

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reliablenarrators · 9 months ago

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kissing the kiss quotient goodbye

the kiss quotient (2018) by helen hoang. 24.04.2024

the kiss quotient is filled with sex. lots of it. so much that it’s mind boggling that it won the goodreads romance award when really, it’s just smut with a dash of autism representation. the smut is more cringe than hot and there are way more scenes than necessary. like, at one point michael, our martial arts boy of the story, says “you're milking my fingers stella” and well, just no. no, thank you. and sure, maybe it’s sweet, but it’s also a hell of a turn off if someone calls your pussy a sweet potato or a little bird. ladies, try it out on the guys when you’re in the sheets and get back to us on how successful it is. (we have an hypothesis)

but back to the beginning. in the kiss quotient we meet stella, a 30 year old successful woman working as an econometrist in silicon valley (and let’s just here take a moment of silence for how obvious it is that the author is not a mathematician by how stella is portrayed like a stereotypical brainiac). and why oh why is this book called the kiss quotient when there’s no mention of any kiss quotients, i guess coherency is too much to ask for.

the maths part isn’t important, but what’s really important for the plot is that stella is autistic and hasn’t really told anyone outside of her close family - consisting of her mother and father and like every only child (and autistic adult apparently) ever, she doesn’t have any friends. but luckily, she’s uber rich and is capable of buying a tesla for every time michael comes up with a new nickname for her pussy. and have we mentioned that her mother is weirdly obsessed with trying to marry off her strong independent daughter (who really don’t need no man!) so stella and michael meet each other because she hires him as an escort wanting to learn how to fuck. she has experience, but only with jerks (but which men in their twenties are not?!). so is this reverse pretty woman really giving hashtag slaying the day away, or?

and of course, stella’s autism can just be ‘solved’ by some very good shagging by michael. i think we should all try that next time we’re feeling anxious. it’s a curiously problematic take on an autistic character from an author who herself is diagnosed with autism.

the miscommunication trope is on full throttle here, although very badly executed. early on, when michael’s sweet cousin (whose name slips our mind, but he’s cute and probably more of the ideal man we all want) notices it, michael lets stella know that he knows in a very sweet lowkey way to which she acknowledged it. later on, it gets turned into this big reveal and they have a huge fight about it and as a reader you just kinda want to skip through to the end.

the point of view changes throughout the story completely forgetting our main character and the book ends up revolving around michael’s daddy issues instead of stella’s autism because her autistic traits have magically disappeared at michael’s touch. that’s what love will do to ya. so the whole premise of autism representation and stella being a girl boss just falls a bit flat when michael is the knight in shining armour who has so much more wisdom and experience than stella and how all her issues are solved by love and sex (where did the girl boss go?). and then we have phillip, her one dimensional jerk coworker, whose only contribution to the plot is being the villain michael can save her from.

is michael hot? well, not in our top 3 over book boyfriends. very forgettable (which doesn’t say much in bridget’s case). he’s sweet and cute and a good brother who cooks for his whole family which consists of his mum, many sisters and some more we forgot. the banter he has with his family is cute, so adorably written that whatever daddy issues he has gets forgotten by us and the author herself - and when it does finally get revealed it’s really fucking boring. come up with something original for once! we think he should have had it way worse for him to act so sulky.

in the end, the kiss quotient is really just another booktok dark romance book in the sea of tiktok books. that it has been turned into somewhat of a franchise tells you everything about the publishing industry nowadays and nothing about complex female characters. we all like to read cheesy chickflicks, that’s the reason we wrote this, but perhaps we should raise the standards, girlies. if anyone can recommend a good fun, romance that’s not about dorky girls and creepy men and their toxic relationship, please do let us know.

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leighsartworks216 · 2 years ago

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The Viper: Rewritten

Chapter Four

Ch 1 - Ch 2 - Ch 3 - Ch 5 - Ch 6 - Ch 7

Jaskier x gn!Witcher!reader

AO3 - I recommend reading it there

Warnings: swearing, grief, crying

Word Count: 5331

Masterlist

Tag List Form

“The hunt begins at sunrise.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Jaskier gestured anxiously as he spoke, eyes flicking back to Yennefer nervously. He could still remember precisely how his last encounter with the sorceress had gone. “That’s only four teams. You said there’d be five.” The bard looked to Geralt for confirmation, or even just someone to back him up at all, but the Witcher’s golden eyes were stuck on the witch.

“Ah.” Borch Three Jackdaws sat back on his bench. His hands were intertwined and resting on the table, fingers fiddling with the handle of his ale.”They won’t be arriving until tomorrow. So I’ve heard, it’s a knight from Temeria.” His wise gaze turned to the distracted man before him. “They say he has a Witcher with him, too.”

Geralt was brought back to attention instantly.

“Another Witcher?”

Borch nodded, humming.

Jaskier perked up as well, leaning closer as if a secret was being shared. “Do you know what they look like? Or where they’re from, maybe?”

The man shook his head. “No.”

Jaskier turned to Geralt, hand on his shoulder and eyes wide. “Do you think it could be Viper?”

Geralt hm’d noncommittally, but didn’t answer.

“What’s got your goat?”

“Someone’s stolen my pack.” The Dwarf glared past Jaskier at another team, who was already glaring right back. “Probably those FUCKIN’ REAVERS!”

Jaskier jumped at the shouting and decided it may be within his best interests not to be in between the two teams. The Dwarf, Yarpen, walked beside him, his team of Dwarves following him with their bags and packs in tow. “Aye, well… three days’ journey and only one route to the top. Leaves plenty of time for me to PISS IN HIS GRUEL!” Yarpen cackled coarsely back at the Reavers.

“You needn’t shout so much.”

Jaskier nearly pissed himself as he whirled around toward the voice, only to come face to face with a hooded figure. Their focus was not on him, however, but on Yarpen, who frowned in a way only a belligerent drunk with years of practice could.

“An’ who the fuck do ya think you are?”

You removed your hood. Jaskier’s eyes grew wide with recognition. Yarpen stepped back a little once he saw your face, and the piercing yellow eyes that stared back at him.

“I’m the Viper of Nilfgaard,” you replied calmly, “and your yelling is hurting my ears. My advice? Keep your mouth shut. Making enemies on a lone pass with a reward this grand only paints a target on your back.”

Yarpen grit his teeth, lips curling in a snarl, as though he wished to unleash a barrage of curses in all the languages of the Continent. Instead, he cursed under his breath (though still quite loudly) and continued down the trail with his men.

“Wow. Well, you showed him.” You and Jaskier stopped on the path, watching as the Dwarf introduced himself to Geralt. Blinking himself back to reality, he turned to you. “Gods! It’s been months! How’ve you been? Did you catch those deserters?” He looked you up and down. You appeared almost exactly as you had the last time he saw you, albeit now with a small scar along your cheek. He cut you off before you could reply. “Wait, nevermind. Who’re you here with?”

A soft, almost endearing grin played on your lips at Jaskier’s familiar charms. His mind always seemed to be running a mile a minute. “I’ve been hired to guide Hendrick of Temeria through the mountains,” you informed him. You glanced up the hill to your employer, who struggled to gather his bags and swords from his horse. The equipment in his arms clattered to the ground. He tried to play it off by waving at the Reavers. “He has no experience hunting monsters - or of the world, for that matter. It is his belief that with a Witcher at his side, he will be able to pull through by sheer luck.”

The bard snorted. “I don’t think he knows what luck is.”

As if he could feel two pairs of eyes on him, Hendrick waved you over with one hand and cupped the other around his mouth to call, “Viper! I need your assistance!”

You sighed through your nose, but smiled at Jaskier anyway. “I’ll catch up with you later.” You began your way back up the hill, but turned and walked backward to speak to him once more. “And I will answer all of your questions, I promise.”

Excitement coursed through his veins. The promise of a new story to tell thrilled him to no end, especially with a subject actually willing to give him details. He watched as you began donning Hendrick with bags and equipment, and as you took a moment to press your forehead against the nose of your own horse.

The gruff, aggravated voice of his own Witcher calling him fell on deaf ears.

Hendrick made it quite clear when hiring you of how unused to the Wild he was. He grew up well-off, he never worked a farm, never even went fishing with his father (he mentioned this several times). Unfortunately, that left you to take the brunt of his complaining. Less than an hour in, he was complaining of his feet hurting. (“Is there anything you can do to ease the pain? Perhaps there is an herb I might take?”) Thirty minutes later, he complained of his back aching from the weight of the bags. (“Would you be able to carry one more? I’ve heard tell of a Witcher’s enhanced strength; surely one more bag would not weaken you any.”)

You would have gladly welcomed the pain in your feet or the ache in your back, should it provide a distraction. As it was, you were stuck trying to focus on the birds and flora of the mountain.

“Mighty fine lord you’ll be,” came a sarcastic jibe from in front of you. It was one of the Reavers. He looked like someone you would hunt for a small sum; crooked teeth in an equally crooked smirk, and skin yellowed from months of unwashed grime. His dark eyes, filled with emotions you wished not to know, turned to you. “And you, freak? What’ll you do if this prick slays the dragon?” He cackled as he offered up his own suggestion. “Become his little monster-hunting consort?”

“Why do you wish to know?” you bit back. Your face remained neutral and wholly unfazed. “Looking to fill in an application?”

His grin became a grimace as he spat at your boots. You were grateful he missed - his saliva was probably as acidic as a Basilisk’s poison, and you quite liked these boots. “Fucking mutant.”

As he stomped ahead like a toddler that lost an argument, you distracted yourself once again with a chickadee gathering twigs for its nest.

You couldn’t tear your eyes from the fire. Even as the world quietened and the sky grew dark, the dance of flames held you entranced. The tendrils reached into the air, reaching for the stars gleaming overhead in the thinning mountain air. For a brief moment, you could let yourself imagine a burning hand cupping the sky, gathering all of the stars within its palm, and swirling them around. Constellations churning and sifting, until they all stilled; new and beautiful.

But your mind always wandered. The hand crushed the stars. The sky became completely dark, lit only by a lonely moon. The hand morphed and changed until it caressed stone, tore down archways, consumed flesh. You could not look away. Faces in the fire became the screaming faces of your brothers. Of Ivar Evil-Eye clutching priceless scrolls to his chest as he clawed toward an exit, uncaring of the death of your siblings. Of Oalvir running from the burning grand doors, only to meet his doom at the hands of Nilfgaardian soldiers. Of Stul…

All your childhood, you looked up to him, even more than the mentors. He would sneak you scraps of bread when you were locked away for misbehaving. He’d cradle you to his chest and whisper soothing words into your hair as terror gripped you, body and soul. He was always there for you. And the moment he needed you most, you were prancing around the Cintran palace, acting as a hero.

“You should rest.”

The grumbling voice brought you back to the present. You blinked away the memories, and were met with the dying ashes of the campfire. It went out long ago, it seemed.

You looked up into the eyes of Geralt, sat across from you, yellow a warmed amber in the dim light of nighttime. You cast a glance around - everyone was gone, asleep in their tents - and to the sky. The stars were still there, in the same constellations they always had been.

“I’ll keep watch,” he added.

You shook your head. It took more effort than you would have liked to avoid looking at the embers again. “I’ll be fine. I can’t sleep anyway.”

His gaze burned through you, studying your movements. Foolishly determined to prove you could handle yourself, you grabbed a few sticks and tossed them onto the pile. They would not light on their own. Yet, when you tried lifting your hand to cast Igni, it remained like a solid brick of lead in your lap.

Without saying a word, Geralt raised a hand. A burst of fire erupted from his palm and claimed the sticks like a starved beast. You flinched at its warmth.

“What happened?”

You bit the inside of your cheek and stared into the flames once more. You were not lost in their flickering, but you could not bear to look at the Wolf. He sighed.

“Last we met, you told me to be careful.” He tilted his head, searching for answers. “You seemed lost in another world when you spoke of your brother.”

You visibly swallowed. His question lingered in the air, alongside the distant cries of owls and bats, and the droning melodies of crickets. With a deep breath, you finally met his eyes. Your own burned with unshed tears.

“Gorthur Gvaed… The Viper Keep… It- It was burned down,” you whispered. Your voice would not go any louder. Geralt sat up straighter. “The Usurper commanded it. My brothers-” A trembling gasp broke loose from your lungs, silencing you.

He watched helplessly as you wiped at your eyes, determined not to cry. He remembered the attack on Kaer Morhen. Hiding in the cellar, waiting for the humans to find him and kill him like all the others. The screams, the fire, the blood. He knew too well what it was like to sit by and watch everything dear be ripped from you.

“Stul-” You cursed, frustrated with your emotions. “Stuldweck, my brother, he- he hunted that djinn with me. He gave me Bayard. He helped me, comforted me.” A strained sob forced its way through grit teeth. Your shoulders hunched with grief; you contained so much agony it radiated from you. “He’s gone and I- I couldn’t even do anything to stop it.”

The world fell still as you cried. Fat, ugly tears that clench your chest, prevent you from breathing. Your hands tightened, holding onto the figment of Oalvir’s body. The last time you cried was over his corpse. Too long ago. Months and months of build up, ripping through you like a tsunami. An earthquake. Any number of natural disasters - none were as powerful as your grief.

Geralt could do nothing but sit and watch. There was nothing for it; no remedies, no cures. The only balm for loss, sorrow, despair, was to let it out, lest it consume you forever.

It may have been minutes, or hours - days could have passed and you would be none the wiser - before your cries lessened to hiccuping gasps. The stars watched coldly as you wiped away snot and tears, making room on your cheeks for more.

As your tears ran out and dried on your face, you had nothing left but whimpers. Mere ghosts of the wails that came before. Geralt formed his hand into another sign, casting Aard on the flames to put them out. Even in the dark, he could see the sorrow across your face.

“Get some rest,” he insisted as your body stopped shaking. His usually grumbly voice was now as soft and soothing as he could manage. Despite everything, you were still just a child. “We’ll still be here come morning.”

You sniffled, whimpering at the dry pain at the back of your throat. You would think it a mercy no one awoke, but you knew if they had, they stayed hidden inside their tents, powerless to do anything but listen to your cries.

You took in a trembling breath and stood. You stayed there a moment, before reaching out a hand to Geralt. He grabbed it. His hand held more calluses than yours. It was cold, as were yours - a side effect of the mutations and the slow heart rate that came with it. But it grounded you there, beside the dead campfire, up on the mountain, beneath the stars.

He squeezed your hand with tempered strength, and slipped from between your fingers. You did not have to speak your thanks. With a quiet sigh, drenched in relief, your exhaustion took place where your emotions had been. He listened through the darkness as usually inaudible footsteps scraped and slid across loose dirt, all the way to your own lone tent. His ears did not leave you until soft, even breaths were all he heard.

“Are you alright?” Jaskier was breathless from jogging to catch up to your brutal pace. You were just doing your best to stay ahead of Hendrick so you could avoid his ceaseless complaining. You slowed down to fall into step beside him. “I heard what that Reaver said to you yesterday. Just wanted to, you know, be sure.”

“I’m fine,” you assured. “It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been called.”

He glanced over his shoulder. Geralt was far in the back, walking alongside Borch. The Witcher’s eyes kept drifting to Yennefer, walking alongside her escort, though she seemed to pay Geralt no attention.

“Like ‘The Butcher of Blaviken’?” he asked tentatively.

You nodded. “No matter how hard we try to help, humans will always be against us. To them we’re just mutants, freaks, bloodthirsty killers that snatch children in the night.” He frowned, a deep crease formed between his brows. “It’s just how it is.”

“It shouldn’t have to be.” His voice was determined, disgusted with the treatment you and his adventuring partner faced every day. “I’ll write a thousand ballard if that’s what it takes to-”

“No number of fancy words will change their minds, Jaskier,” you interjected sternly. “At the end of the day, he will still be the Butcher and I will still be the Viper - there is nothing you can do to change that.” His throat dried up, closing at the futility of it all. “We’ve made our peace with it. You should, too.”

You pulled yourself over a large boulder that blocked the path and helped Jaskier up after you. You held a hand down for Yoran who followed close behind, but he just knocked it away, claiming that he and his men could get up by themselves. Jaskier and you stopped a short ways ahead, watching with little interest as the Dwarves and Reavers raced to get up before each other, all the while spitting insults back and forth.

Jaskier cleared his throat. “You, uhm, said you’d answer my questions,” he reminded you. “About the deserters?”

You hummed and turned all your attention to him; he was far more interesting than any Reaver or Dwarf. “I caught them in Novigrad, working together to sneak onto a ship transporting cargo to Kovir. They offered me money to let them go. Naturally, I refused - all they could offer me was 10 crowns and a pamphlet to a brothel in Oxenfurt.”

He chuckled at the thought. He knew better than anyone how the city favored poets, craftsmen, and prostitutes. The bordellos in Oxenfurt were nearly as infamous as the school was famous. “I’m guessing they didn’t come quietly.”

You huffed, remembering the trouble they gave you. “I wish they had,” you said. “They each bolted off in different directions. Pain in the ass to catch them both again.” You stopped yourself short of the gorey details, watching as Geralt helped your useless employer over the rock.

“What then?”

You turned to him with a tight, concerned smile. “Are you sure you wish to know? I am not Geralt - I do not spare lives for the sake of sparing them.”

He opened his mouth to say Yes, of course! but the look in your eye made him think twice.

It was easy to follow Geralt and his heroics when all he tried to do was slay monsters and save towns. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Geralt refused to kill people, and only when they attacked first. The Wolf told him about Vipers when he did not stop prying. He told him about the contracts they take, how they were more assassins-for-hire than beast-killers. Perhaps he didn’t want to know the end of your tale. Perhaps he only wanted to imagine a scenario for himself, where you went through the effort of bringing the deserters back alive, or even let them go free for a mere 10 crowns.

As his silence persisted, you watched the groups pass you both by. The Reavers went first, determined to get to the next campsite and steal all the good spots for themselves. The Dwarves were close behind. Hendrick gave you a carefree grin and an assuring, “Don’t worry - I’ll meet you at the camp!” Yennefer and Sir Eyck came next. Then Borch and his Zerrikanian warriors, with Geralt firmly in last place. When he passed, you nudged Jaskier by the shoulder and fell in step behind the Wolf.

“What about you and Geralt?” you changed the subject. The Witcher in question turned to look at you over his shoulder. Your lips quirked into a soft yet mischievous grin. “Asked me about a djinn last we met, but you never explained why.”

Geralt grunted and walked faster. Jaskier’s eyes seemed to glow with the change in topic, as he launched into the tale of the djinn, their encounter with Yennefer, and a blooming romance between the Witcher and the Witch.

“You should eat something.”

You glared at the carcass roasting over the fire, lips curling in a disgusted scowl. Your cat-like eyes remained set as you watched Eyck cook and eat the innards of the Hirikka, so proud of himself and his proclamation of Knights never waste a kill. It turned your stomach to see the desecration of an innocent creature. The head, resting on a pike behind the great knight, stared into you.

“I’d rather starve.”

Borch, Geralt and Jaskier all looked at you with concern and understanding. Or maybe it was just pity. Your words of rage still echoed at the forefront of their minds, even Yennefer’s, who tried to appear supportive and adoring of Sir Eyck.

“Oh, yes, how brave of the knight to murder a defenseless, starving, endangered Hirikka. You stupid bastard. You’ve worn the moniker of Sir too long - you are nothing more than a coward masquerading behind a sword.”

Despite the fear Jaskier felt when the creature stood to its full height, he knew that Geralt’s call for everyone to sheath their weapons had been the better option. If they had handed over the berries he picked, perhaps even a scrap of bread, it would have left them in peace, unharmed.

Soft hands, calloused at the fingertips, lifted your hand from its place on the log. They peeled your fist apart with little effort, and placed something within. “Please,” Jaskier pleaded in a whisper. You did not need to look to know they were the berries he picked earlier.

Jaskier watched, helpless, as you pressed the berries back into his palm and rushed from the campfire. All eyes seemed to follow you as you jerked your tent open and disappeared inside. He wished to run after you; toss the berries into the fire and comfort you as best he knew how, with ballads and poems and tales. But he caught Borch’s gaze, and, at least for now, the thought died.

By the time he was brought back to the conversation, it had shifted to be of politics. At least Sir Eyck had left, hunched over and clutching his stomach.

“The rightful son of Nilfgaard has returned, burning through the south!” cried Yarpen.

Yennefer scoffed. “With Fringilla as his mage.” She laughed. “Nilfgaard’s a joke.”

Yarpen shook his head, voice tense. “I saw it with my own eyes down in Ebbing. Those zealot freaks are inching closer by the day. Won’t be long till they try and take Sodden.” His eyes shifted to Hendricks. “Next it’ll be Temeria. Redania.” Your employer sunk under his gaze, staring forlorn to the ground. “Cintra.”

“No.” Jaskier swallowed. He surprised himself with his sudden outburst. Maybe it was the threat of Nilfgaard, or knowing you hailed from it, but something stirred inside him uncomfortably. “Queen Calanthe would die before letting them take what’s hers.”

Geralt tried meeting his eye, but the bard’s gaze was set to the ground and unfocused.

“Perhaps if Nilfgaard’s religious zeal had been tempered earlier by a stronger hand…”

Jaskier abruptly stood. He floundered out some excuse about needing to polish his lute, yet in his daze, he had to turn back to grab it. The berries fell uselessly to the ground. Nobody pointed out how he stumbled over to your tent; he tried to make it seem casual - looking down to his boots and the ground as though they were more interesting than anything else, kicking pinecones and meandering around. But everyone knew he set up on the opposite side of camp.

Now that he was in front of your door - er, tent flap - he didn’t know what to do. After a moment’s hesitation, he awkwardly knocked on (slapped the back of his hand against) the fabric. “Knock knock?”

It was quiet. Inside, he could hear bottles clinking together. He glanced over his shoulder toward the fire, making sure no one was watching him.

“Who’s there?” called your tentative voice. He found his worries eased by the mere sound of it. He knew, beyond any doubt, that you couldn’t possibly be as ruthless as the Nilfgaardians were.

“It’s Jaskier.” Quiet again. Perhaps he didn’t think this through enough. Should he have just gone to bed and left the issue alone? Maybe you wanted to be left alone for the rest of the night, and he could ask tomorrow. Maybe you didn’t want to see him.

Before he could stumble out an apology or excuse, the flap was pulled aside. You stood at the entrance, sans your usual cloak and weapons, and gestured for him to come in. He nodded his thanks as he slipped by.

Just before you closed the tent again, you caught Borch’s eye. He had a knowing grin on his face, as though he carried more secrets than you could wish to know, and the only ones he shared them with were Téa and Véa, who giggled softly at the cryptic knowledge. You shut the door before you could decipher his wisdom.

“Erm, thought you’d like to know that the Hirikka made Eyck sick.”

“Good,” you hissed. “Bastard deserves it.” You started for your cot, but stopped when you realized Jaskier was stood searching in the dark. With the embarrassing realization that he could not see as well as you in the dim light, you lit a hanging lantern. You tried not to flinch when the small, controlled burst of flame left your palm and caught on the wick.

You went back to your cot, where laid out over ratty sheets were dozens of vials and your twin daggers. Jaskier sat on the corner of your bed, careful not to disturb anything, as he looked around the small tent. It was much like his own - just large enough for one person to stay comfortably, with a single cot and a folding stool. In the corner were your bags, undoubtedly filled with strange herbs and monster bits.

He turned to look at the vials. Some were filled with odd liquids, some were filled with substances just a bit too thick to be called liquids, but not yet thick enough to be deemed solid. He reached out and carefully picked up one of the bottles, turning it over and over to watch the red liquid slosh around. “What’s this do?”

You frowned at the question, looking at the potion in his hands. “Geralt doesn’t tell you about them?” You picked up one of your daggers and a whetstone. The scraping sound of metal against the whetstone filled the tent as you sharpened your weapon.

“No,” he scoffed. “He won’t even tell me what he had for breakfast, let alone about a monster he just slayed or what any of this,” he gestured to the other bottles with the one he already held, “does.”

“Okay, well, the one in your hand is called Swallow.” Jaskier, eager to learn, held the bottle close so he could peer into the container better. None of the ingredients that went into making a concoction like this were decipherable anymore. “It’s named after the bird and the coming of spring. It helps us heal faster for a time, and can even stop bleeding. It’s a Witcher’s best friend.”

He set the bottle back down in its place and picked up one that contained a whitish-yellow almost-liquid. It clung to the glass walls as he turned the container over. His nose scrunched up in disgust. “What about this one?”

You set the silver dagger back on your bed and picked up the steel one. You didn’t expect to need it on a contract like this, when you were only hired to kill monsters, but one could never be too careful with characters like the Reavers around.

“White Honey,” you answered with hardly a glance. “Witcher potions are toxic; they poison our blood. Deadly for humans, but we’re able to withstand the toxicity for longer. If we take too many potions, however, it begins to take a toll on our bodies.

“This,” you gestured to the bottle with the whetstone, “detoxifies our blood.”

Jaskier was utterly fascinated, in awe even, at the info you so easily gave him. Aside from traveling with Geralt and spreading his heroic deeds, all Jaskier ever heard of Witchers was how ruthless, bloodthirsty and savage they were. Nobody ever mentioned anything about their knowledge of alchemy, their wits, or their courage.

Another question slipped into his mind. He never asked before, nor did he really ever think about it, yet it came unbidden, as easy as a farmer slipping inside at nightfall after a hard day’s work. Something about it (all of it, in fact) felt wrong to question, but you had been so generous with your life and knowledge so far…

He set the bottle back down just as you finished sharpening your weapons. He watched, mulling over whether to ask the question, as you sheathed them in their leather casings and slipped one under your pillow. The other was placed lovingly back in your pack.

Before he could stop himself, he asked.

“What’s it like… becoming a Witcher?”

You visibly tensed up. Back becoming rigid and hand tightening where it still held onto your dagger. You would not turn back to face him.

Realizing he fucked up and overstepped probably a hundred boundaries, he dismissed it. “Nevermind. I don’t need to know. Forget it.”

You relaxed slightly into a huff of laughter at how quickly he backpedaled. Jaskier was always curious; he fed on new information like a starved man ate stew. To see him take back a question for your own comfort, rather than press forward as he probably would have with Geralt, was… nice. You couldn’t figure out any other word to call it. Any other person, anyone curious enough to question a Witcher, didn’t let up until they were sure Witchers were the mutated freaks the stories said they were.

You stood and went back to the bed, sorting out potions to figure out what you needed more of. “It’s alright, Jaskier,” you assured him with a quiet voice. He relaxed, knowing he didn’t fuck everything up. “I… I don’t think I can go back to that place just yet.”

“You don’t have to tell me, Viper.”

“One day, I promise, I’ll tell you.” You were determined to tell him. Your eyes gleamed in the firelight, absolutely certain. You did not want to carry this knowledge with you any longer than you already had. But it felt too soon to discuss the Trials, knowing you would never again see the mentors that guided you through them.

Voice as soft as a butterfly’s wingbeat, he said, “Take as long as you need.”

It was silent for a moment. Not a thick, awkward silence, but a warm, easy one. Outside, he could still hear distant conversation from around the fire, mixed with the scattered calls of crickets. A distant wolf howl mixed with the clinking of bottles.

But Jaskier was awful at leaving silences alone. “So, a dragon,” he began. His fingers fiddled with each other, desperate to have something to do with them. “Why did so many people sign up for a quest for something that’s not, you know, real?”

“Dragons are real.”

He gave you an incredulous look. You shot one right back, lining a belt with your current potions. (Two Swallow in the front, a gold one he didn’t know the name of, a greenish one he also didn’t know the name of, and one White Honey.) You didn’t even have to look as you did it; it was purely muscle memory.

“Dragons are real, Jaskier. Treasure hunters and poachers have hunted them to near extinction, but I’m sure many still exist, hiding away until their numbers recover.

“The one we’re after is a green dragon,” you continued, “they’re the most common. Red dragons are rarer; black ones even rarer still. And, finally, gold dragons are the rarest of them all. No one even knows if they’re real. Nobody’s seen one in ages.”

Slack-jawed and starry-eyed with wonder, Jaskier fumbled around the inner pocket of his jacket until he pulled out a love-worn journal. He flipped to a fresh page and hurriedly wrote down what you told him. He would ask about the rest of your potions - their uses, ingredients (you withheld the specifics; it was forbidden for Witchers to divulge how they’re made), discovery. When the topic came up, you told him (and even demonstrated a few) of the spells Witchers could cast. Axii fascinated him the most.

As you busied yourself with grinding herbs, mixing potions, and preparing for tomorrow, the questions trailed off. When the silence returned, it was intermixed with snores. Still sitting upright, pencil in one hand, and journal in the other, Jaskier was fast asleep.

You saved the journal from falling to the floor and tucked the pencil inside. After a moment of consideration, you worked to carefully remove his jacket, laying it with the journal on the stool. All it took was a little shove to get him to lay down. He curled into the flat pillow instantly, cradling it longways under his head and to his chest. You covered him with the thin sheets, blew out the lantern, and sat on the floor beside the bed. Your cloak acted as a blanket, and the dagger from your bag became your new defensive weapon.

You fell asleep to the distant sound of crickets and the bard’s heavy breathing.

---

Tag List:

@writeawaythepain

@sleepyqueerenergy

@adozenforks

@plaguedoctorsnake

@solomonsimp

#fanfic #fanfiction #the witcher #the witcher fanfic #the witcher fanfiction #the witcher fic #jaskier x reader #jaskier #jaskier the bard #witcher jaskier #the witcher jaskier #geralt of rivia #geralt & reader #x reader #gender neutral reader #x gender neutral reader #gn reader #x gn reader #cross posted on ao3

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valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn · 2 years ago

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You've probably heard people online say that MCU Wanda is whitewashed. Do you think that claim holds water?

Yeah, I've read a few things on the matter.

Let me preface this by saying that I know pretty much nothing about the conversations regarding ethnicity, race, etc. I have no qualms in admitting that I'm privileged in that regard considering where I was born and raised, so I'd rather let those who know about these things talk about them instead of me.

With that said, from what I have read I feel like people tend to mix so many different things that have nothing to do with one another. For instance, I completely understand that if Wanda is a Jewish character in the comics there is absolutely no need whatsoever to show a bunch of crosses in her room in CW. None. It serves no purpose, it's not even brought up, they're just there for no reason. I totally get why people are mad about that.

They kinda ignored Marc's Jewish roots in Moon Knight as well, so it wasn't a one-off either.

I also see a lot of people complain that she and Pietro joined a nazi organization (which, being Jewish would be a jerk move) but I don't know how many times I've said this already: they didn't know the ones conducting the experiments were Hydra. The Americans were in Sokovia, do people truly think they were advertising themselves? Of course not. They approached the twins during a civilian protest and told them that they would make them strong enough to fight against the Americans and the Avengers, that's why they joined. They didn't know it was Hydra.

Now, the complaints that they should have hired a Romani actress... dunno, I think actors and actresses can play whoever they want. There should be some positive discrimination in that actors from minorities should be given the parts that had been denied to them so outrageously and so often in the past, but I don't think you need an actor to be the same origin/ethnicity/sexual orientation, etc as the character they're playing, mostly because I fear that would probably lead to the exact opposite of representation. Say, gay characters can only be played by gay men but straights can be played by anyone. How is that not an issue?

So I don't know what to tell you. I think it's a serious and complex matter, I understand some criticism and why some people are mad, and Disney had a really good chance the moment they decided to bring Wanda and Pietro to the screen to depict Roma and Jewish characters but they actively chose to not do that.

Now, whether or not Wanda has been whitewashed I can't really say. I'm not a comic fan so I have no clue what they did there (there were a few retcons, I think? dunno), and I don't know enough about the Roma and Jewish to have an opinion. I think perhaps it would be better to ask them directly instead of me.

#wanda maximoff

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skelezomperman · 1 year ago

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A doorman opens the door for you as you take off your hat and dusts off your coat. "Tough weather, Sir?" he asks politely.

You nod, and step inside. The gentlemen's club is warm, at least. Maybe you can even have a small meal here and go for a second when you get home. You like seeing gas lamps already lit. In 1875, the world is advancing in technology and your buzzing city sees more people moving in, mostly with money. The doorman sees that you take a pause, and he casually waits for you to hand your coat and hat, and probably a five-shilling tip if you feel generous enough this afternoon.

"You must forgive me, I tried my best but these lords are a bit special," the doorman signals for you to come closer. Of course. You forgot that modern-day frontliners like him are observant, and they like a good gossip too sometimes. You smile politely, unsure what to make of it. You come for tea and probably sandwiches, and to be undisturbed reading books. You just got hired as an assistant professor in Oxford. London is expensive, and you like to make the most of your money, including a gentlemen's club membership. This place has a good library and very updated with journals. The Athenaeum, which has a splendid art gallery, is just nearby. "If you could, perhaps you could lend a helping hand..."

You frown. The situation seems chaotic. You just want your books, but perhaps help stilling this place will benefit you too.

You can see Sir Finn and Lord Elliot bickering at the corner. You recognized Sir Finn as the university donor's retainer, and despite his lips sealed tight, you just know his patience is thinning worse than an old man's hair. "I know you're a coward," you hear Lord Elliot say. "You think posing as a good villager like that will land her in your arms? What if I knock you out right here so you have a good sleep to reconsider?" Sir Finn begins to loosen his cravat. Lord Elliot isn't alone.

"One more! One more, for I won't let you be back just yet!" you hear Lord Chalphy yelling. Lord Nordion looks visibly agitated because he glances at his pocket watch for the third time during your one minute span of arrival there, but Lord Chalphy seems to just like arm-wrestling.

"If only you are an inch as good as your wife," Lord Travant sneers, not too quiet to escape your ears. "Too bad she has a bad taste because she married you." It is impossible not to recognize Lord Leonster from afar. You have met him at school, anyway.

"Gentlemen, I would like to read. Should you linger around much longer, I will have to eradicate you." Lord Velthomer and his neatly-combed red hair shine under the lamp. He's surrounded by people, crowded enough for a reading. You can sympathize with him because you have a good feeling your reading today will not be as peaceful.

"Is nobody going to take on me?" you hear Lord Silesse speak, a pack of cards in his hands. "Really. All you people knights and lords of a standing, fear tiny little cards?" it is a tarot deck. For a moment your eyes meet his, and he seems to be hopeful you would want to have your secrets read.

"What do you mean I cannot take my fiancee here?" Sir Glade, visibly upset, speaks louder at the doorman. "It's raining, chap, and what sanctuary of men this place makes if one can't even provide a good shelter for his love?"

"My good sir, might you help with our homework?" two boys pull on your vest. You nearly gasp because that startles you. One has auburn hair, one raven. They look quite eager, but the auburn boy seems a bit nervous. "The messieurs over there are noisy and can't stop fighting." You have never tutored people one on one before, let alone boys, who look like they haven't even hit the age of puberty yet. They shrink at the corner of the room, far from the shelves and cabinets where the books and journals you come here for.

"Say, isn't it too... colorless in this place?" uninvited, Sir Alec casually wraps his arm around your shoulders. "I tell you what, chap -- we abandon this place like a sinking ship and go see the art gallery. I have eyes for beauty..." he winks at you, and hovers closer. "I heard the charming Lady Deirdre is having an open house event as she just moved here last week. I'd like to see the rumored ethereal beauty myself."

"Hey!" before you respond, you see Sir Arden waving at you. "Would any gent give me a helping hand with this one? My lord's phaeton got stuck in the pavement." You watch as he tries to unseat Lord Chalphy's unfortunate carriage from the cleft which caught its wheels. Sir Arden looks tough, but two people may make his job easier.

You shake your head. Perhaps you should get your tea first, but Messieurs Noish and Beowulf stand in front of the kettle and stove, chatting like really good friends, and you wonder if you should interrupt. Chairs are occupied, but the blond man just by your elbow has a spare... and he's asleep. His belongings scatter on the table. You can red 'Chulainn' smudged on his calling card. Seems risky. You don't want people to think you are the one who caused the sight. The doorman doesn't seem to notice, and you aren't sure if you are heartless enough to change it.

"I... it's not here," a young man anxiously flips his briefcase upside-down. He has red hair, and his parchments fall out. You see ink stains on his vest. Perhaps he doesn't notice that. You don't know if it would be polite to point out. "Excuse me," alas, he catches your presence, as though knowing well you have been staring. "Are you good with your hands?" before you respond, he, desperately, whispers to you. "Please help me forging my brother's signature. It's a life and death matter." That unnerves you, but the way he looks at you reminds you of an abandoned puppy, and somehow it's hard not to say yes.

"My wife needs me today for our small son will be left without a guardian," you finally hear Lord Nordion speaking. "I shall hunt you down to your grave should our matches land me in my couch tonight." He sees you too. You aren't sure what he wants -- take his position to be Lord Chalphy's opponent? Ah, but Lord Chalphy seems tough!

"Has something occurred, Sir?" the doorman waves at you. "If you have decided your seat, then I can keep your coat and hat for you!"

You gulp and try to laugh...

"Sir Finn seems like a nice chap...I could probably save him from that other feller and have a nice conversation with him..."

#skele answers your questions

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desperatecheesecubes · 2 years ago

Text

Anyway since June is done and we’re officially halfway through the year let’s do a mid year reading review. This won’t include the single issue comics or the TPBs I’ve read but it will include any graphic novels I’ve read just FYI. It also doesn’t have the manga I read on here because I’m lazy.

There’s supposed to be a readmore cut here but tumblr keeps deleting them from my posts

Blink-Malcom Gladwell: 0.5 stars. What a load of shit. Love to read about someone completely unqualified make random connections between different studies he clearly does not understand. Do not waste your time reading this.

Wolf by Wolf-Ryan Graudin: *Reread* 5 stars. If you haven’t read this series yet and you love/can handle heavy topics in literature do yourself a favor and pick it up.

View With a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems- Wistawa Szymborska: 3 stars I don’t read poetry very often but a few in this collection were phenomenal. There was one about school girls becoming monsters, I believe, and I remember it really struck me.

The Only Woman in the Room-Marie Benedict: 2 stars I don’t know how to describe it really but if you look at the authors picture she writes EXACTLY the way you would think she would. Absolutely no nuance. It’s a compelling narrative but someone else would have written it better.

Untamed-Glennon Doyle: 3 stars I really liked the part where she said ‘I don’t remember things. I write them.’ Because there were multiple times reading this that I went ‘oh fuck off your child did NOT say that’

Blood for Blood-Ryan Graudin: *reread* 5 stars See review for Wolf by Wolf

Courage to soar: A body in motion, a life in balance-Simone Biles: 3 stars Simone should have hired a better ghost writer. Also, holy crap her family is rich. I struggle with Amy ‘underdog’ narrative where literally all troubles are completely resolved before the person is in double digits. Not to knock on Simone’s childhood by any means, but I simply would not call it an underdog story.

Hench-Natalie Zina Walschots: *reread* 5 stars Everything I want from a superhero novel and more. God it’s so good. We love to see a woman succeed. I am SO excited that a sequel was announced you have no idea. One of these days I want to take this, How to Date a Superhero and Not Die Trying and Dr Horrible and write an essay about superhero’s and what they do to people but I will probably never get around to it.

Lost in the Moment and Founs-Seanan McGuire: 5 stars The Wayward Children series is so good man, it’s so good. Grief and loss and moving on and acceptance and living with what has happened to you and surviving and all handled so so brilliantly.

The Nightingale-Kristin Hannah: 5 stars I took my time getting to this one but I’m glad I did. It is as heavy and sad as people say but it is very very good. Much like Wolf by Wolf (and for the same reasons) this book is not for everyone but if you can handle the material I do recommend it.

Crying in H Mart-Michelle Zauner: 4 stars A very honest narrative of grief and loss. If you’ve lost a loved one recently I recommend this for some good ole cathartic crying.

To Kill a Mockinbird-Harper Lee: *reread* 5 stars It’s a classic for a reason, what more can I say? When I read this in high school I hadn’t yet had to live in Missippi though so it was really interesting to revisit it with that knowledge. I also deeply enjoyed the book club Gi, Mike and I formed for this book haha.

The Woman at the Front-Lecia Cornwall: 2.5 stars This was the authors first non romance book and you could tell. Why was it necessary for all the men to fall into love with the protagonist???? On the war front????? Who has time for that!

Me Malcom’s List-Suzanne Allain: 3 stars This was a really funny read. If you want to just kick back and read a Regency romp this is a perfect book for it. Nothing deep, no smut, just a fun time.

Chivalry of a Failed Knight vol 4- Riku Misora: 3 stars Every day I wake up and wish Alice was in a better series. It’s not BAD it’s just very average.

Even Though I Knew the End- C.L. Polk: 4 stars I really would have enjoyed this as a novella series or a full length novel. Who doesn’t love crime solving historical lesbians??

Teen Titans: Robin-Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo- 3 stars The fact that they had Dick and Damian have an age gap of only like 3 years was so jarring to me haha. The pacing in this one wasn’t the best that the series has had either but I’m excited for the next installment, they’re pretty fun for what they are.

Mysteries of Thorn Manor-Margaret Rogerson: 3 stars This was so fun, I love these guys so much and I was DELIGHTED that we’d get more in their world. If it was a little longer I’m sure it would have wheedled 4 stars out of me. Elisabeth stomping around in the full body armor all day had me laughing out loud. I should reread Sorcery of Thorns.

Miss Latimore’s Letter-Suzanne Allain: 3.5 stars This one thought a little bit more about what it wanted to say which lead to a bit of a deeper story but also a slower pace. Still fun but less gut busting than Allain’s first novel.

The Rebel Mages-Laurie Forest: *reread* 5 stars Embarking upon my yearly reread of the Black Witch Chronicles. I need everyone to read these books I am OBSESSED with them. I’ll spare you a paragraph after each entry but just now I am, at all times, screaming about Lukas Gray. I love that boy beyond all reason.

The Black Witch-Laurie Forest: *reread* 5 stars

The Iron Flower-Laurie Forest: *reread* 5 stars

Castle in the Air-Diana Wynne Jones: 4 stars Solidly the second best entry in the Howls Moving Caslte trilogy, the audible narrator for this one was brilliant, I loved listening to it. Abdullah is so fucking funny, why is he like this all the time????

The Poet X-Elizabeth Acevedo: 4 stars The main characters struggle with her relationship with her mother was one I relate to very much. The struggle to exist in the body of a woman and to suddenly be responsible for other people’s reactions to it?? Yeah that hit close to home too.

The Shadow Wand-Laurie Forest: *reread* 4 stars Listen I am Lukas Grays biggest fan but I can also admit that this one struggled with pacing a little bit. Like it’s still phenomenal but I’m also HONEST.

An Enchantment of Ravens- Margaret Rogerson: 3 stars There were significantly less ravens than I expected. Sorcery of Thorns is undeniably the better book.

The Demon Tide-Laurie Forest: *reread* 4 stars It’s at this point in the series where you lament the fact that Forest wasn’t able to publish the side novellas she wanted to. This is somehow a 700 page Valentine’s Day novella and then about 100 pages of extreme action at the end. You might say to yourself, Cheese your not selling this very well. I do not need to. The first book will sell it all for me.

Raybearer-Jordan Ifueko: *reread* 4 stars The world building of this is so brilliant.

The Ones We Burn-Rebecca Mix: 3 stars First of all the fact that Mix managed to finish and publish this after a TBI deserves to be commended. HEAVILY inspired by ATLA haha. As for the accusations that this book is a reverse racism fantasy…. 1.) the ‘oppressors’ we’re children who were actively working to change the corrupt system they’d inherited 2.) it is stated multiple times that the ‘oppressed’ were very diverse. Yeah the main character was white but not all of the witches were. But everyone is allowed to come to their own conclusions. All in all I think it had some good things to say but suffered from repetition and first-publication sloppiness. I’d be interested to see what else Mix puts out.

Unbreakable-Mira Grant: 5 stars Seanan McGuire does magical girls? There was never a possibility this wouldn’t get 5 stars from me. Would love more entires in this world. A prequel???? Please???

Slaughter House Five-Kurt Vonnegut: 4 stars It’s a classic. So it goes.

Redemptor-Jordan Ifueko: 3 stars No one was more devastated that this book fell victim to second-published-Book-syndrome than me. I do hope Ifueko continues to write novels but this one was a let down.

& This is How to Stay Alive-Shingai Njeri Kagunda: 4 stars Magical surrealism doesn’t always work for me but I do love me some explorations of grief

House of Many Ways-Diana Wynne Jones: 3 stars Definitely the weakest in the trilogy. I loved seeing Howl and Sophie again and am forever grieved that this is all we’ll ever have of them.

Bitter Medicine-Mia Tsai: 4 stars All in all a brilliant debut. I really enjoyed how mature the characters were, misunderstandings were clarified as soon as they were discovered, they both let the other explain themselves even when they were emotional. This is how you write adult romance YALL. Can’t wait for Tsai’s next publication.

Blade of Secrets-Tricia Levenseller: 3 stars Levenseller books are so easy to read. Just quick and simple light reading. I’ll have to pick up the sequel at some point.

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason-India Holton: 4 stars I don’t remember if the characters are explicitly stated to be autistic or if they’re just canonically neurodivergent with a general hand wavy diagnoses but it was nice to see some representation in romance all the same. This trilogy is so funny, but I think this one is probably the weakest link.

To Have and to Hoax-Martha Waters: 2 stars Take a shot every time James says some variation of ‘he WAS a man after all’ and you’ll die of alcohol poisoning. Why did Violet get pardoned of all guilt while James was treated as having been completely in the wrong the entire time???? There’s one VERY shoehorned conversation amongst the supporting cast that was clearly included just to set up the next book in the series and it was very jarring. That being said the writing itself is good.

The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars: Yes haha we all know I reread this series and lost my mind

Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars

Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-Suzanne Collins: 5 stars I was hesitant to pick this up but it turns out that was foolish because whoops it’s a banger. Big hype for the movie. I don’t care if I’m falling for the capitalization of the anti capitalism series.

The Kiss of Deception- Mary E. Pearson: *reread* 4 stars I think this was the first time I’ve read this trilogy since high school and I wasn’t really expecting it to hold up, but it has aged very well. I love the concept of having a prince and an assassin after the main character with not even the reader knowing who’s who. After the halfway mark it really diverges from your typed YA affair into deeper territory and I appreciate that a lot.

The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars Yes yes I was crazy to reread this series twice in a month I KNOW

Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars

Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins: *reread* 5 stars

The heart of Betrayal-Mary E. Pearson: *reread* 4 stars high school me enjoyed this one the least but honestly it does so much heavy world building and fleshes out the different cultures so we’ll.

The Beauty of Darkness-Mary E. Pearson: *reread* 5 stars I love Rafe he’s such a good love interest. It would be easier to recommend these books if they didn’t have the most unfortunate YA titles ever.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess- Sue Lynn Tan: *reread* 4 stars The writing for this duology is so fascinating to me. It’s very similar to how many Japanese light novels read once translated. Anyway Liwei must be protected at all costs. A very comforting read.

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher- E.M. Anderson: 5 stars Holy shit was an awesome debut!!! I was really surprised by how quickly I fell in love with the found family in this. Just brilliant. Can’t wait for Andersons next work I will definitely be picking it up.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese-Deya Muniz: 3 stars This was very cute. I enjoyed that the author didn’t care about historical accuracy with clothing and decided to really play around with it by including obviously out of place things like refrigerators and Switches. As anyone who knows me knows I am crazy about historical fashion but as long as the material knows it’s not being serious I won’t take it serious either.

Rosemary and Rue-Seanan McGuire: 3 stars At this point I should just admit that I will read pretty much whatever McGuire puts out. Her writing is extremely suited to my tastes.

Strangers In Court-Seanan McGuire: 3 stars Turns out I love Tybalt. Who would have guessed?

Legendborn-Tracy Deonn: *reread* 5 stars Yeah no this series in brilliant and if you haven’t read it you absolutely should. Love me some good Arthurian stories

Bloodmarked-Tracy Deonn: 5 stars Surprising no one I love Sel

#mine #literature #this took forever to write up hahahaha #tumblr stop getting rid of my readmore cuts challenge #guess who got the cut to work again!!!

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leavemealone12345678910 · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 1:The new knight

Kalin hid behind the barrel he was a 16 year old tiefling he was keeping quiet as the villagers and town gurads searched for him "Where's that demon" One of them would yell, the tiefling race was seen as less then human even man seen as a abomination to the holy one monsters ment to be exterminated from the face of the earth the only ways they could survive was to be a slave to a prist and he didn't want to a old man toy to do what he wanted with again.

The Tiefling would wait till it's safe he would pull up his hood hiding his face his horns wouldn't be a problem sense he had his horn cut off ageast his will. Lumine the next in line to the joseline family fortune and the title of duchess she would walk up to the head Collin of the offlokin family "Ah Lumine Good to see you I hope the ride to my beautiful port city was well" she would say looking at him "Well outside of towns folk seemingly trying to find a tiefling it was well" she would say the Lord would nod "Yes we have reports of the same abomination appearing we assure you we're attempting to take care of it" he would say sitting down as the Lord would look at her "Yes but we have more pressing matters Lord Collin on terms of you assisting me take back my rightfully my" she would say looking at him "Oh my dear why would you a young beautiful woman want it go to war to a title that youw don't even need my son has been looking for a wife" he would say ceasing her face his hand getting smacked way "No I won't marry your son" the lord would get angry she dared refuse him he would smile "Then how about a deal a duel of sorts" he would say with a smile.

Kalin sat on top of a roof eating a apple a bag resting next to him he would watch as the humans went though their day as a Black cat sat next to him "So kid you got any food for me" it would ask the teen would open the bag pulling out a fish "You really like to act like a cat dispite being a ghost Nolan" he would say the cat would eat the fish keeping silent "Hey kid you know how you wanted to be a knight" Nolan would ask the tiefling would nod "Why are you bringing it up now" he would ask taking a bite from his apple "Well I got new lady Lumine Ardacos is searching for men to fight for her" they would say "And anyone who'll fight for her gets the title of knight temporary" they would say Kalin eyes would widen smiling as he looked at the cat but would go back when he heard temporary "Probably not then" he would say the Cat would look at him "Please if you do well enough with you're magic" the cat would say smiling "I may get a permanent title of knight" he would say smiling as the cat nodded "Yes but they'll won't let you in looking like that" they would say Kalin would nod knowing he won't get to "I have a idea someone when I was still alive owe me one still I could get them to forge you a suit of armor to both keep your identity hidden and allow you to join" they would say Kalin would smile"Do it please" he would ask the cat would nod jumping from the roof heading towards the blacksmith Kalin would smile as he noticed a horse sitting in a alley dropping down he would look at the horse slowly approaching it he would see their alone either being wild but the saddle on their back says their owns dead soon they would bond the teifing getting a horse after a few hours the cat would be back with armour they must of had the blacksmith take it there.

Lumine sat in a chair one of the her body gurads keeping her and Lord cullin separated Cullin had 6 of his top knights at the ready she only had one but she hired 5 mercenaries one of the four had Kalin in their the mercs had the temporary title of knight. One knight of each side would come onto the field the frist to surrender or to falls round 1 went to Lumine round 2 Lumine round 3 4 and 5 to Cullin the the second to last to second merc came onto the field with the knight soon the two would two fight... round 6 Cullin if they lose this last round Lumine would have to marry someone she never met Kalin would walk onto the field he has the armor but no sword or shield "Let the duel commonest" the two would fight Kalin used his magic to boost his power so he won't get knocked out the Kalin would go and fight he only had his fist but with a shot to the jaw, stomach, and a kick to the legs bringing the knight down two knights would come out "Wait this is a one on one duel you sent two out" Lumine said looking at him "It's simple he's clearly stronger I mean he did take down a knight with simply his fist" he would say Lumine would nod as the fight start Kalin would fight kicking a knight unconscious he would punch the other knight unconscious aswell with the fact their wearing metal helmets with the combination of his metal boots and the attack and strength boosting magic it was fairly easy Lord cullin would look annoyed he was going to lose whispering to his assistant he to bring the best out. "We will need to pause the duel fo now ladies and gentlemen we're having some... problems" he would say walking away without saying anything Lumine would look at lone knight he had no sword or shield nothing he took down 3 of the top knights of city Lumine would walk up to the knight as he bowed to her in the armor he was nearly 6'4 dispite being 5'10 "What do you need your highness" he would say knowing how to react to and act around nobles "Tell me what is you're name mercenary" she would ask looking at him "Kalin of no family name" he would say looking at her the lady his voice being rather deep he would use his magic to make it sound like he was older then 16 and to sound more human due to tieflings have a more ethereal sound to their voice "So you are a commoner" she would say as Kalin nodded "I'm hear to make you an offer if you win the last duel you will become my knight" she would say her silver hair flowing though the wind the knight eyes would widen "I accept this offer your highness" he would say soon walking away the gurad would look at the unknown knight known as Kalin "I would of thought he would remove his helmet" he would say "I do say that is strange qastion the locals see if they know anything about him" she would order

#fantasy #original writing #supernatural not the TV show #ghost #Dnd

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roxannepolice · 9 months ago

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i think the reason this framework would aggravate me so much (though who knows, there's nothing better than a writer doing something you don't want in a way that makes you like it), instead of going for a play with the medium (which might culminate in a television show reveal) is that. Well, frankly, there are few things mass culture needs more right now than reembracing the convention. Like, the stuffing it up in versimilitude (because I would't call that realism) is at the core of everything from the Battle for Dawn being all but invisible bc "well y'know, it's night, it would be dark", through actors not being given scripts so they will be genuinely surprised at the twists, to "uhm, actually, liking Palpatine means you'd vote for Hitler". I've yet to see this hot take, but it boils down to diagnosing every singe theatre character with behaving-like-a-theatre-character personality disorder (hystrionics). THERE ARE WAYS TO TELL THE AUDIENCE THAT A CHARACTER IS HYSTRIONICAL even while everyone else monlogues in rhyme, just as there are ways of conveying introverted, autistic or, damn, full-body-paralysed characters' emotional states instead of audience projecting things on what's basically a blank slate.

Yes, art is supposed to make you emotional and engaged, and mass produced art is not inherently worse than your starving painter eating their paint, but IT IS ART. It's ARTIFICIAL. Characters aren't "literally" anything. Casting non-white non-cis-men as protagonists is important not because IT'S A STATEMENT THAT MAKES YOU REINTERPRET EVERYTHING ABOUT THE WORK, only because non-white non-cis-men actors should be getting the same deal as white cis men in what's essentially an industry. The Doctor being a woman and then a black man wasn't a good idea because yes, it's high time to tell the stories of the downtrodden victimized babies, only because it's ridiculous to act like two-headed humans are likelier to exist than those with vaginas and higer-than-european-standards levels of melanine. Yes, the representation aspect IS important, but on the level of reception, NOT on what it does in-universe. This is the same shit that had people throwing tantrums over Fourteen being referred to as Fourteen, AS IF THE NUMERATION EXISTED IN THE TEXT ITSELF??? Those numbers are there for the audience and pr team to move around, they DO NOT affect the text itself. Calling the current season "season 1" has more to do with marking it on a viewing channel than with an era statement, Does this argument sound a bit inchoerent with my premise of embracing convention? That's because ACKNOWLEDGING convention is not the same thing as FETISHIZING convention. Fetishizing convention is when you think camerawork HAS to have a diagetic reason rather than accepting that it's probably there to focus the audience's attention on a specific aspect of the scene and create a mood. It works TERRIFICALLY in comedies, but that's... precisely because you understand the convention.

This is also why I can't undertsand the shitstorms around BUDGET OF ALL THINGS being a reason to dismiss New New Who? Yes, I agree, the shitty effects of Classic and NuWho had a lot of charm. And Monty Python having too low a budget to hire horses is how we got coconut knights. And maybe if Bruce the Prop Shark was more realistic, John Williams wouldn't be so hard pressed to write music that's fear itself. But it's not like damn expensive animatronics ruined Jurassic Park?!

And finishing the rant this is also why I can't agree the titularity names are to show the Doctor is of the same "kind" as the Toymaker or the Maestro. Like, no. Again, this is about choice versus convention. THE TOYMAKER AND THE MAESTRO ARE CONVENTIONS EMBODIED. Covnetions are the ESSENCE of games and the Doctor's the guy who UPTURNS THE CHESSBOARD. That's specifically NOT something someone bound by rules can do, just as making sure your new witch coven picks up the tooth you'll be turned into. Those are the things you do WHEN YOU'RE OUTSIDE THE GAME. And the Maestro as the emodiment of music is also pure convention. Yes, music may be the purest of arts, but it's just as conventional as language (keeping my fingers crossed for The Linguist). There is no REASON two sounds are in tune (yes, there's the whole reverberation across strings that's physics but you get me), they just do because they do in the same way that the ace beats the king and the joker beats the ace. THAT'S WHY THE MAESTRO WOULD FLOURISH MOST IF ALL THAT WAS LEFT WAS "THE PUREST" MUSIC OF AOLIAN SOUNDS, unmarred by sentient lifeforms' expressing anything through it.

The Doctor is the Doctor because THEY CHOOSE to be that. They aren't ONTOLOGICALLY INCAPABLE of "First, doing no harm" in the way that the Toymaker can't cheat.

Like, I undertand wanting all of the reflections on storytelling and music to be statements about the nature of the text. But for me, they are there to celebrate their apparent pointlessness. Apparent pointlessness, and yet without being able to evoke a story out of chaos of events, we would never know what to do, and without music we would have no other way to let go off our emotions than by attacking one another.

Reading all the omg fourth wall is breaking bc the Doctor is a godddd thing and whatever works for you.

But I'm going to sit at my little altar and pray to Ortega y Gasset that the actual story crux specialest story binding character that's going to discover something special about themself is in fact Ruby. Pleaseplwasepleaepleaer PLEASE RTD free my alien from linear journey and let them be the backdrop on which linear stories unfold.

#dw meta #dw spoilers #i'm going to maintain this is not overthinking overthinking is when the text is forced to say what the audience wants it to say #this is just assuming the writers are aware of stuff either because they read the right books or are senstive enough to get it #sigh this is what happens when you're in dw mode listen to faust write a thesis and do a basic data steward job all at once #you go crazy #tw: negativity

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jade-parcels · 4 years ago

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The genshin men: fatherhood edition

With: Childe, Zhongli, Kaeya, Diluc, Xiao, Venti, Albedo and Baizhu

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Childe:

Ajax loves kids and he’ll make that known early on in your relationship

Like...This man wants five or more kids but he’ll settle for four. He dreams of a big family, getting to surround himself with you and your kids every night for family dinners, everyone getting together for big birthday parties or reunions! That’s his dream life! Plus, in Snezhnaya, most families have more than two kids anyways

He will cry so hard when his babies are placed in his arms for the first time, I mean he’s a mess. Nose is running, eyes puffy, lost of sniffling lmao he is so excited to be a dad!! Don’t you dare tell the other Harbingers how much he cried...What do you mean you took a picture when he wasn’t looking??? Hey??!?!

With his obscene amount of mora, he’ll buy a huge house that will accommodate everyone. Anything you want will be purchased that day or within 48 hours, the same goes for the kids

But they’ll all learn to be thankful for what they have. They’ll learn to fight, fish and speak multiple languages. He has high expectations but let’s face it, he’ll be proud of them no matter what

You’re gonna have to be the one to put your foot down though because Ajax doesn’t enjoy being the ‘mean parent’, he has trouble saying no to the kiddos which can create some tension between you and your husband. He has good intentions of course!! He doesn’t wanna say no to those cute, freckled faces!!

Zhongli:

Zhongli is nervous about having kids because he’s immortal. So this will go one of two ways. 1. You have the baby and the baby ends up not being immortal (or you adopt a baby who is not immortal) Then he loses you both. OR 2. You have the baby and it inherits his immortality and becomes an adeptus. Now he and the baby will have to watch you die while they both life forever.

Either way...It hurts him to think about because he loves you!! He wants to have a family with you!! He wants to give you that perfect family life every human desires!! But he’s torn

You two will just have to figure it out.

Zhongli will be a strong, male figure for your kid(s) and he will instill that traditional kindness and respect into their behavior. ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ always, always offer to help someone who needs it, do good deeds and you will feel accomplished, be the best you you can be, alway try your hardest because that’s all that matters

He will be sure that your kid(s) always feel loved ALWAYS. Zhongli will tell them stories, cook for them, take them to school, anything that needs to be done. When you’ve had a rough day, he’ll step in to take over for the night without being asked. He shows interest in everything your kid(s) like and he will do his damn best to display every piece of artwork they make or every pretty rock they find

He...will make a great dad :’)

Kaeya:

Ooooh brother, at first Kaeya says no he doesn’t want kids but...Then he starts thinking about it

He observes the happy families that walk around the cobblestone streets of Mondstadt, how the kiddos smile and laugh with their parents. He’ll patrol in the afternoons, usually rounding the corner just in time to see the city’s kids leave school for the day, watching as they all run down the street to go home to their parents or play in the fountain together...Yeah, that really warms his heart

He’d want one or two kids, preferably two to avoid an only child being lonely. He isn’t on the best terms with Diluc but he can admit that they had a great childhood together, playing at the winery and running around as brothers do

Kaeya would be a very patient, understanding father. He doesn’t have much of a temper so he’d use the kids’ mistakes as learning opportunities instead of getting upset at them

He would be obsessed with the kids when they’re babies though oh man if you thought you had baby fever, he has it times ten! He loves holding the baby, watching with a twinkling eye as his baby grasps his thumb with its tiny hand... adorable

And if your kids inherited his eyes, his star shaped pupils that his ancestors passed down to him...He’s gonna get emotional

Everyone at the knights’ headquarters and the Angel’s Share will get sick of him REALLY fast cause he won’t stop bragging about how cute and smart his kids are lmao

Diluc:

Diluc would be such a soft dad don’t even get me started

He loves you so much of course he wants to have kids with you! Is that even a question?? He won’t be the one to bring it up unless he gets the feeling that you want kids but once you ask, he’ll agree so fast

He’ll be grateful to even have one kid with you :’) and he’ll be fine with however many kids YOU want. You want one kid? Perfect! You want four? No problem, the manor is big enough for ten! You...you want ten...? Time to hire some more maids then lmao

Diluc is a worry wart though, he’ll be afraid to hold the baby, feed it, bathe it, he’s terrified of hurting the baby or the baby suddenly hating him. So just help him out!! Cause when he gets comfortable with the baby, he’ll be in full dad mode

He isn’t embarrassed to walk around the manor, conducting business with a baby strapped to his chest!

Diluc is a very kind, gentle dad who will always offer helpful solutions to the kiddos’ problems. He’ll make sure all of their needs are met while also trying to avoid spoiling them... Too much... There will be a fair amount of spoiling...

His own father wasn’t too affectionate with him so that’s why he’ll be affectionate with his kids! Hugs and kisses when he tucks them in at night, big dad hugs when they get home from school, holding their hands in the busy streets of Mondstadt. His father was a great dad! He just aims to be better.

Xiao:

Like Zhongli, he worries about the mortality thing. Since he’s an Adeptus, his kid will certainly be an Adeptus too if you have kids together.

He also worries that his kid(s) will hate him. His duty is to kill demons which means that rain or shine, holidays, special occasions, day or night he’s gotta be ready to go slaughter demonic beings. So he’ll inevitably miss out on important stages in the kiddos’ lives

And admittedly... He’ll be scared of his kids lmao

They’re screaming, crying, barfing, pooping, laughing, screaming again...He can’t predict their behavior. It’s unsettling. All of that goes away one night when you sit him down and place your sleeping baby in his arms. His eyes go wide...And he just watches. This tiny, little baby...Feels no fear for him. It’s comforted by his presence. He almost cries...ALMOST

He’s still pretty much the same Xiao we all know and love but now he has a kid. “Slaying demons is what I do...Hey, go back inside and finish your dinner. Yes, even your vegetables. I don’t care that you don’t like them-...Fine. Don’t tell your mother, bring them to me. I’ll eat them” cute :)

He’s a protective dad and husband, he’d never let anyone or anything harm his beloved family

Venti:

Venti....does not want kids. He thinks they’re cute! He likes the idea of kids but he knows he wouldn’t enjoy actually having kids

You two already have so much fun together!! You don’t need a kid!! You guys have dogs!! Dogs are like kids! But they’re more independent and they’re cuter!

He’ll feel bad if you want kids and he doesn’t, he really will! But it’ll be nearly impossible to convince him cause he’s made his mind up :/

Venti’ll make it up to you somehow though, he’ll take you out more and show you all of the adventures you guys can have if there aren’t kids around

But for the sake of fatherhood headcanons, let’s pretend he gave in. Venti would be a very caring dad. He would cuddle the hell out of this kiddo and sing to them :’) the only problem is that Venti doesn’t like being tethered to one place for too long so he tends to take off and not come back for a few days... :(

Albedo:

Albedo wants kids mostly just to see what fatherhood would be like. He’s always been curious about what that part of his life would be like so why not have a kid

He’d be good with one kid, two at most cause after practically raising Klee, he knows how some kids can be and...He doesn’t have the mental capacity for more than two kids at a time lmao

He tries his best to show more emotion in his face. We all know he usually sits like this 😐 and goes ‘wow im so happy right now’. If you didn’t know him, you’d think he was bored out of his mind right? So he’s gotta work on that. And when he musters up a smile for the baby and it smiles back at him????? Yeah...He’s gonna try to smile a lot more now

He definitely softens up once he becomes a dad, he shows emotion more than he used to and surprisingly, he takes time off of work. Shocker, I know! He decides that he’s been in the lab long enough and that he wants to be able to be there for these moments with you and his kid(s) :’) :’) He trusts Sucrose and Timaeus to take over for him for a couple hours

He keeps a journal for each kid and writes down the date and time they have their firsts or just interesting things they do ->

- 8/4: Baby sees and plays with a cat for the first time

- 9/5: Baby smacked me in the face and laughed so hard she threw up

-9/12: Baby learns that pulling my hair gets my attention. She now continues to do so

-10/15: Baby stays at Aunt Klee’s house for the first time

Baizhu:

Baizhu really loves kids, he works with them a lot and he considers Qiqi to be his daughter anyway but in terms of you guys having a kid together, with his condition he can probably only handle one kid running around

He will do his absolute best to be a good dad. Even if he feels like death, he’ll help change diapers, feed the baby, care for it when you need a break. He isn’t contagious so when you’re sleeping and he feels gross, he’ll sit back against the pillows with the baby on his chest, the three of you resting together (though he doesn’t fall asleep...that would be dangerous for the baby)

Baizhu already tends to nag at you about your health and lifestyle choices but now?? He’ll be a menace. He’ll be constantly evaluating your baby’s condition, checking to see if a certain food is giving them a rash or making sure their skin isn’t drying out. He’s hyper aware of your baby’s health and will be the one to treat them if they get sick

He’s a busy guy since he runs the pharmacy but he will always do his best to be present for your baby’s big milestones! And when your kid cries cause Baizhu’s medicine tastes like shit, he’ll do his best to not be disappointed in their reaction lmao

When you leave him alone with the baby, he’ll wrap a scarf around himself to tie the baby to his chest while he works and...he looks so cute :) dad baizhu <3 <3 <3 <3

Bonus points for him buying the baby toy medical equipment so he can get your kiddo interested in medicine :)

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