#mourning rights and death mentioned but IDK how to tag exactly

[thesummerstorms]

You know that conversation you can have with Emmrich where he asks what your plans are for your body when you die?

I think Arsinoë accidentally horrified him. Not by clinging to non-Nevarran ideals about cremation, but by telling him she never thought anyone would care that much one way or the other.

She would be dead, so she wouldn't care. And honestly, a majority of compradi die as Fledglings without graduating; she thinks their bodies were probably burned (since you have to do something with bodies) but they certainly don't have funerals, so it certainly wasn't worth worrying about then.

Emmrich interjects, trying to wrangle his own shock long enough to point out that she's not a Fledgling now, so surely...?

Well if she dies now, Arsinoë all but shrugs, it would depend on the circumstances, wouldn't it? She isn't someone important like a Talon or the scion of an established Crow family. She certainly isn't Caterina Dellamorte, who warrants something verging on a State Funeral.

If she died, there is still a non-zero chance it would be at another Crow's hands, in which case it's anyone's guess what happens after.

If she dies honorably fulfilling a contract, then Viago might feel obligated to do something if he isn't pissed off at her failure and she's isn't still in Exile. He's her mentor, so probably he would manage at least a small pyre. Maybe even a flower or two for the flames if he's letting himself feel sentimental. Teia would probably be there because Viago was.

But just as often, when a contract goes wrong, there's no time to go back for the body. The mark get ahold of it, or whoever's left on the contract has to focus on survival rather than the dignity of a corpse that can't feel any of it.

But really, none of that would matter to Arsinoë, would it? She'd be off wherever dead souls end up going, or maybe in oblivion, who knows. She doesn't have any family to be horrified by her corpse unless you count Viago, who is Fifth Talon, has bigger things to worry about, and will get over it.

But anyway, why do you ask, Emmrich?

Emmrich is too aghast to answer clearly at that point because every single point of Arsinoë's answer goes so deeply against everything that is ingrained in him as part of the Mourn Watch, from the belief that a corpse just doesn't matter to her sincere belief that no one would care enough about her for any particular mourning rights.

And the thing is Emmrich does care. It's his professional duty to care, but he's also become fond of his young friend and he cannot handle imagining that she could die on this mission or the next and potentially receive no rites at all.

Cue Emmrich starting to plan how he's going to have Rook interred in the Grand Necropolis when the time comes. It may involve some string pulling, especially if (hopefully) she dies not on this mission but in the distant future, and even more so if he precedes her and has to leave the job in one of his colleague's hands. But Maker help him, there will be a plan and her death will be respected.

When it comes to light, Neve is uncertain and a little weirded out, but also a little offended by all this. She's fallen in love with Rook, but even before that, the respect between them would have warranted a pyre and Arsinoë's name on the Wall of Light if there was no one else to arrange things. Is this why she's never asked about what happened after Varric-

Lucanis is horrified by the idea of Arsinoë as one of the spirit-possessed skeletons in the Necropolis or one of the jewel-eyed skulls in its many niches; he snaps at Emmrich about Nevarran obsession and respecting Rook as Antivan.

Emmrich refuses to budge. She expected the Crows to do nothing for her. She deserves better, deserves to be remembered, even if she isn't Nevarran.

Lucanis seems fully stunned by the idea that Rook believed this in the first place, given Viago's attachment. Given Lucanis's own growing feelings. Emmrich does soften a little bit when he sees that Lucanis truly didn't realize, but he also doesn't fully divert his plans.

Gathering a grave-dowry is normally left to a lover or family member if the deceased was themselves unable, and Emmrich is neither. But needs must, and though his friend now seems attached to Neve and Lucanis, hearts can be fickle. A plan is better. So he puts away small things here or there, eyes which of Rook's enchanted rings and amulets she seems to favor just in case.

It almost helps him live with the knowledge that Arsinoë believed she would die unmourned. Almost.

[triflesandparsnips]

Lot of takes going around the internets about certain "deaths" in the ofmd season finale, so, uh-- guess it's time for me to try and lose some followers on tumblr dot com with

Some Thoughts on Why I Am Not Particularly Bothered or Concerned about Izzy's Apparent "Death"

Laying the groundwork first...

1. Narratively speaking, Izzy's been a dead man walking since the start of the season. Babe shot himself and got a rebirth-- but he still definitely intended to die. Every minute he was still around was borrowed time.

Did he have to die? Maybe not. I know I could've written a version of the show where he didn't. But then that would be my show-- not theirs. I can't know exactly what themes, bugbears, bête noires, catharsis, or artistic Vibes are driving that writers' room, and until the credits run on the finale of the third season, none of the rest of us can either.

2. Izzy spent the season being in a liminal state-- and there's nothing in the story saying that he can't continue doing that. Izzy spent the season having one foot in one space, one hoof in the other, and himself halfway through the door, a chimera of mirrored things right up to his "death": pirate and ship, hard and soft, old ways and new, etc etc. But "the gravy basket" is a weird little liminal space between life and death, a place that both Ed and Buttons have found (and returned from) before. We don't know where Izzy "is" right now-- he could be there.

(tbh, I wonder how much poor feeling we'd be having about all this if we'd gotten a final tag of a blue-washed Izzy staring down at a bowl of soup while helplessly saying "but this isn't gravy, what the fu--")

3. I think there is an unfortunate belief that "it's not real unless you see the body" is a universal -- or perhaps inarguable -- "fact" of storytelling. But it's not. It's just a bit of narrative shorthand that got popular, and now we're too ready to fall into the trap of believing the inverse is true too-- that if there is a body, then there must therefore have been a "real" death.

This season has spent quite a lot of narrative time and effort telling us that its story is using a different model, with different shorthands; specifically, that magic is real, that there is at least some kind of existence after death, and that the dead can be resurrected.

And that brings me to the meat of why I'm not particularly bothered or concerned about what, at this stage of the story, could still very well be just a minor setback--

4. This whole show, and particularly this season, is a fairy tale. It's a story that works with fairy tale logic and tropes, and it's in conversation with other fairy tales too, ones that the OFMD audience is likely to know well enough to spot their narrative beats in action. So "Pinocchio" gets mentioned a lot? Cool-- the audience applies what is commonly known of that story to this one ("a real boy", the mirror-opposite being a puppet with no nose, etc), and finds some Cool Shit. Then they're primed to keep looking for fairy tales, even unnamed ones, in case there's another little nugget of reward-dopamine for finding a connection.

So the fact that we saw a mermaid? Suddenly, I personally am noticing "Little Mermaid" motifs all over the place. That Ed was in a "sleep like death" -- after fucking around with a spinning wheel -- until his prince came to wake him? Well fuck, man, that's Blackbeard playing "Sleeping Beauty" for us all.

And bringing it all back to a "dead" Izzy Hands... when I add up a "dead" body surrounded by a bunch of laborers mourning the person who nominally kept their living space nice AND who was wanted dead by an authority figure for the crime of being the "better" version of what that figure wanted to be...

...well fuck, idk about the rest of you, but to me that all adds up to Izzy's story being Snow fucking White. Waiting for someone to come pull the bullet poisoned apple from his body so he can live again.

5. This is a second season. Of three. And Izzy Hands is the writer's favorite chewtoy, so there is lots of time, space, and incentive to bring him back. If there's a third season, we have a pile of ways he could be brought back over the course of hours of literal viewing time and possibly months of in-narrative time. That's ages.

And the solutions don't have to be difficult! For instance, we still have canonical hallucinations from Stede-- that's one route. Or fuck it, we could have Izzy's (very solid-looking) ghost be the embodiment of their being haunted by the Sea, that would work too.

And even barring all that-- his grave is right there with our heroes. The ship is out there hunting down his murderer. Even if you're happy he's dead... bad news, friend. He's all over the third season landscape. (uh oh, it's GNU Izzy Hands)

But those are just a few options that leave his body rotting but his character still alive. I happen to think we could all dream a little bigger, darlings. For instance:

A. You cannot tell me that these writers, on this show, with these actors, would not absolutely go all in on a zombie-esque hand thrusting out of the dirt mere hours after burial. Look me in the eyes and tell me Con O'Neill wouldn't pull off an entire digging-out scene only to end with himself panting beside the hole, looking around, hearing Ed and Stede being weird in their haunted hut, and wearily say, "Are you fucking kidding me."

B. Don't like zombies? Want to stay closer to the Snow White vibe AND introduce a love interest for him? One hyphenated word: body-snatcher. Gotta dig those bodies up fresh for the Definitely Historically Accurate anatomists of the time! But oh, says this New Guy, this corpse is-- wow, it's weird that they buried him with a rose and really amazing makeup and a truly extraordinary number of whittled whales, plus what's with that horsey leg grave marker, this guy must've been fucking fascinating, man, I wish I could've met him-- --at which point Izzy's hand shoots out and chokes the guy half to death and the lads come tumbling out of the house and ta da, mission accomplished, Izzy resurrected in 5 minutes or less with his horsey leg conveniently beside him and an entire season for himself and everyone else to Deal With It, amazing, fantastic, no notes from me.

C. Come to think of it, there is genuinely a non-zero chance that the crew just. Fucked up the burial. I mean... even though I was just arguing why we shouldn't see it as Law, we didn't actually see the body. We saw a grave. What did they bury him in? Was it a box? Was it some canvas? Did they definitely pick up the right one when it was time to bury him? Or did they maybe carefully make him an ahistorical safety coffin just in case a cat demon came to bother him and his corpse wanted to make a fuss about it, y'know, very common, could happen to anyone, and Frenchie just so happens to have Blackbeard's old collar bell right here--

6. Here's the bottom line, imo: The only thing that would keep Izzy really actually dead and completely removed from the story is a lack of narrative time and space-- and we have plenty of both. Stories are like Lego. If you've got enough time and you're willing to play with pieces from a whole lotta different sets, it's not hard to put the same elements together in different ways to get new, exciting configurations. It's why I'm actually rubbish at predicting exact details of stuff-- there are a lot of ways something could go, there are infinite doors out of problems the narrative seems to throw at us, and no two people will come up with the same thing because we're all different.

That, to me, is one of the big ways I personally enjoy and engage with stories. And it's why I genuinely can't be fussed about Izzy's death, not when we're only two-thirds through the story as a whole; observing someone setup and then try and execute a complicated narrative trick is my jam.

But my way of engaging with all this is by no means the best or only way. How we all interact with art, and what speaks to us, is extremely personal. If how this season and Izzy's death went just didn't work for you, that's okay. I'm sorry it wasn't the story you wanted it to be. That blows.

I just know I can't say yet that it didn't work for me. I won't know until I can take in the entire picture, just as I can't judge a finished Lego set by the one piece I step on midway through construction. I can see different ways Izzy's death/rebirth could absolutely work, but will the writer manage it? I dunno.

But I'm willing to wait and see if the stupid puppet can pull it off.

[piximiplays]

Take Us Back “Review” ig

Wow that episode was just... wow 😭 That was actually a really good ending (at least the one I got, I'm not sure about any other endings there might be) to an amazing series 😭😭

Also, if you haven’t blocked the twdg spoilers tag, I’ll put a break here but if you haven’t played the episode and/or don’t want major spoilers for Take Us Back, don’t read the rest of this long ass post. You have been warned. (That sounded super serious sksksksks 😂)

Ok so I’m just gonna start off with the beginning when AJ voiced the “last time on The Walking Dead” like damn that entire sequence put my anxiety (which was already super high because I was literally freaking out about possibly getting Clem or anyone else killed) through the roof. He was listing all the things I’ve taught him in the past and that shit honestly gave me ten different types of anxiety.

So, I got James killed in the last episode so I have no idea what he says in this episode or anything like that, but I’ve heard that it’s not great sksksksk

Anyway, the fact that we literally saw James as a walker broke me so much I was literally crying at that point.

And then when AJ said he wanted to be a firefighter damn that shit was lowkey kinda cute. At that point I was a little more relaxed because we were somewhat safe in the cave.

But then shit went so south when we left the cave and after we met up with Violet.

Of course I had to mention the tree house and omg I almost cried again just thinking back to season 1 when we met Clementine in her tree house 😭 (Even though I’m pretty sure she said she hated her tree house in season 2 abgsfhj)

And of course I had to rename Ericsons to Castle Violet who do you think I am

But the bridge OOF

Fuckign Minerva akajsfkjh I’m wondering if there was a way where she could have lived I highly doubt it but damn I wasn’t expecting her just die like that wow I was lowkey kinda hoping maybe she would get some kind of redemption but wow that whole dragged out death was so gruesome but not necessarily in a bad way, at least not for this series sksksksks

And damn Minnie just had to fucking slice Clem’s leg that shit looked like it hurt askdjashdg

AND THEN TENN FUCKIGN DIED WHAT THE FUCK

I think if I hadn’t told AJ to make the tough calls then he wouldn’t have shot Tenn, and Violet probably would have died instead (or Louis if you saved him at the end of episode 2) Fucking hell

And when we split up and Vi went back to the school goddamnit that scared me because I had a feeling something was gonna go wrong  AND I WAS FUCKING RIGHT WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK

At this point I was fucking crying my goddamn eyes out because CLEM GOT FUCKING BIT WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT JFHJKSGHJGF

I was such a mess at this point there was honestly no saving me

The entire time I was shouting at Clem to just chop her leg off at that point because there was no way that Clem was gonna die in such a stupid way like damn. wait fuck that's how Lee died AKSFJKG IM SORRY LEE I DIDNT MEAN TO DISRESPECT YOU LIKE THAT FUCK

Anyway

And then when I got that fucking achievement after that at that point like, first of all fuck you game, second of all fuck you. But seriously, I was genuinely wondering if there was any way to avoid her getting bitten but idk at this point it’s almost 1am I have school in the morning and I am way too tired to replay the entire episode even though it was a lot shorter than I thought it was gonna be tbh probably because I didn’t look around for collectibles as much and because I probably didn’t pause the episode as much as I usually do while making hard decisions sksksks

And then when we made it to the barn and we fucking started playing as AJ I was freaking out at this point

But when Clem was literally dying I was sobbing the entire time and just fuck, the parallels between that and season 1 when Lee died goddamn that shit hurted

I literally had to pause the game at this point because AJ was crying right in my ears and I couldn’t focus because I was also crying and only one of us can cry at a time buddy

Originally in episode 3 I told AJ to leave Clem if she ever got bit but fuck I didn’t think it was actually gonna happen so I changed my mind and told AJ to kill her because god damn I’m not gonna let her turn into a walker fuck that (even though that’s exactly what I did with Lee fuck) (Also I just looked and I’ve literally used the word fuck in this post like 23 times so far sksksksksks 😂)

And when it cut to black after that, literally all that was left was the sound of my sobs goddamn. And the achievement “final lesson” that shit just made me cry even harder

And the fucking ranch flashback right after goddamnit I was still mourning Clem you can’t just have me play as her again like that, shit. Also damn poor AJ 😭😭

And then when AJ was fishing and Rosie showed up damn she actually put a smile on my face somehow. I didn’t think that was possible at that point

Clem’s hatttt 😭 I was so scared I wouldn’t get it because I kept missing the quick time events but then Rosie got it thank god

And omg when we got back to the school and Take Us Back started playing I was even more of a mess I thought the episode was gonna end there but boy am I glad it didn’t

Also omg Ruby and Aasim holding hands damn that shit was adorable

When the music faded out and shit, I was like ok I think there’s still a little more to the episode but then FUCKING CLEM STARTED TALKING AND AT FIRST I WAS LIKE WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING IS AJ IMAGINING THIS BUT NO CLEM WAS ALIVE AND OH MY GOD I LITERALLY STARTED CRYING AGAIN BUT THIS TIME THEY WERE HAPPY TEARS AJHAFSGF

I was so fucking glad that Clementine was alive I didn’t even care about the fact that she was missing a leg I was just so glad to see her oh my god I really thought she was dead

And they all lived happily ever after

Jk except for Tenn GODDAMNIT HE DESERVED BETTER

But seriously, I was so glad Clem wasn’t dead and that mostly everyone was alive I seriously thought I was gonna get a shitty ending (But I’m also a little confused on how Clem survived the bite. I know she obviously cut her leg off and she did say something to AJ about she was glad he didn’t listen to her in the barn which I’m assuming was referring to when she told him to kill her, but if that was where Clem had her leg chopped off, I feel like the bite would already have spread to the rest of her system at that point? Idk I’m not gonna question it I’m just extremely glad she’s not dead)

And the very ending where we walked through the hallway and it showed all the names from the Still Not Bitten Team damn I loved that so much

And omg when we went into the room and were able to look at Disco Broccoli and his friends, I noticed that the option to look at Disco Broccoli kept popping up so I kept selecting it and ALKHASDFJKG I FELT LIKE I ENTERED ANOTHER DIMENSION WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT I don’t wanna spoil it but y’all need to see that if you haven’t already skskskkssk whether you replay the episode and see yourself or if someone makes a video of it on YouTube (which I feel like someone will eventually)

But omg the very ending with the “thank you for playing” that shit hurted 😭 I literally started crying again but not nearly as much as I thought I would tbh I thought I would be bawling my eyes out for hours but at this point I just feel kinda numb 😂 Like it hasn’t really set in that The Walking Dead just ended. Maybe because I can immortalize it forever in my Steam library and replay it however many times I want (and by reading fanfiction sksksksksks) 

(Also this post is gonna be put into my queue until more people play the episode so it probably won’t be posted until later tomorrow. So just know that this post was made at 1 in the morning a few hours after the release of episode 4 and I have to go to school tomorrow morning. Wish me luck)

Long story short, that entire episode was amazing (even if it did fuck with my head a little and was a little emotionally scarring sksksks) and I am so glad I was basically able to grow up with Clementine and this entire series

Also here are some screenshots because why not 😂

sksksksk AJ’s face 😭😂

This shit hurted 😭 (But it’s also a really pretty picture and I highkey want this framed on my wall or at least as my wallpaper on my phone or some shit)

What the fuck when did I ever say it was okay to try and kill someone if they try to steal from you alskhjags (Update: I just realized that this was referring to when I attacked Abel aksjdhkhg AJ THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED YOU TO TAKE AWAY FROM THAT)

This was actually really cool and even though it made me feel a little guilty because some of these choices I made weren’t the best, oh well

And here are my choices because why not 😂

And lastly, I want to thank Skybound from the bottom of my heart for saving this incredible game. If it wasn’t for this company these last two episodes wouldn’t have ever come out and Clementine and AJ’s story wouldn’t have gotten a proper ending. So thank you so much Telltale for starting and creating this amazing game and thank you to Skybound for giving it a proper sendoff.

[arofili]

gen freeform exchange letter!

See my signup for likes/DNWs/etc.

This is not the most detailed letter, just kind of a collection of my scattered thoughts about how the tags I chose apply to the characters I chose. these are of course completely optional, you can follow my prompts or pick something completely different, whatever you’d like. thanks for writing for me!!

~~~

Request 1: Kidnap Dads Fluff

this is the Kidnap Dads Fluff request! some of these are pretty Maedhros-centric, bc he is my favorite character; you don’t have to include all of them but I’d love it if you included Mae.

I like my Kidnap Dads either extremely fluffy OR extremely complicated and handled with care. This request is for the fluffy stuff. Please don’t make anyone a bad parent - definitely not M&M, but also not Elwing & Eärendil either, and if you’re writing about M&M’s childhood at all I need Fëanor to be a good dad. Things can be Complicated™ but I need there to be love at the root of parent-child relationships.

For the relationships outside of the various combinations of Elrond & Elros & Maedhros & Maglor:

I would love to see Elrond & Gil-galad viewing each other as brothers because Russingon-baby!Gil shares a dad with Elrond!! or Gil somehow visiting Mae while he and Mags are taking care of E&E? idk. just, Mae as Gil’s dad and also Elrond’s dad, that’s good content. (though Jaz, if you get assigned me feel free to write your Gil and Elrond platonic marriage idea, haha)

for Eluréd & Elurín & Maedhros: an AU where Mae saves them? maybe they get to take care of their nephews! or maybe Sirion goes differently, oooh

accidental parent acquisition: M&M didn’t INTEND to care about E&E but they do, E&E realize that they’re closer to M&M than they were to their bio parents

"We're Family Now and There's Nothing You Can Do about It": E&E claim M&M as their parents despite M&M’s protests that No We’re Evil You Don’t Want Us As Parents

Adult Siblings acting like Children: this could work for either set of siblings; I’m imagining E&E goofing off while Elrond is visiting Tar-Minyatur in Númenor and Elros’ nobles are sweating like “wtf is happening”; OR it’s M&M who have a moment of levity and sibling shenanigans that they don’t normally indulge in and E&E see and are astonished and start to trust them more

Awkward Conversations with People You Tried to Kill: M&M comforting E&E immediately post Kinslaying

Bedtime Stories: M&M telling E&E about their shared dead relatives? M&M telling E&E about Aman? E&E telling M&M about the petty squabbles they witnessed between the various nobles in Sirion?

Building A New Life: none of them really expected to survive Sirion, and they certainly didn’t expect this family situation, so they have to figure out where to go from here

Casual use of powers in a setting where the character should really be more careful: Maglor using Song magic when he doesn’t need to? Maedhros getting all Spirit Of Fire-y while protecting the twins from orcs? eldritch E&E abusing their Maia powers for petty childhood pranks? any one of those, but in front of an audience of outsiders?

Character A and B work together to take care of hurt/ill mutual loved one: E&E and Maglor caring for Maedhros who’s having a bad pain day

Characters Hanging Out In The Kitchen Because They Can't Sleep: accidental family gathering in the kitchen, every character sneaks out individually and is surprised to find the others in the kitchen too

Characters Teaching Each Other New Skills: i LIVE for this stuff with kidnap dads!! Mags teaching music? Mae teaching swordfighting? History? Politics? Magic? whatever!

competent parenting: this is almost a Requirement tbh, but idk, show a moment where E&E expect M&M to be too harsh or to be pushovers but M&M establish firm boundaries and do the Right Parenting Thing

Family Fluff: that’s this entire request tbh

Disabled Character Kicks Ass: Maedhros!!!!! protecting the twins!!! :D

Fluff and Angst: yesss, angst with a happy ending is my JAM

Food as a Metaphor for Love: Maedhros who bakes :D

Gruff intimidating character gets soft around kids: I nominated this tag specifically with Maedhros & E&E in mind :)))) Maglor being surprised Mae gets along with the kids so well, and then remembering “right he used to be older bro Maitimo”? E&E expecting Mae to be the strict one but no it’s actually Maglor, Mae’s a big softie? an outsider watching Mae switch abruptly from “intimidating warlord who can and will kill you” to “doting father”?

The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair: ELVES AND HAIR PLS. maybe M&M having Noldor Hair Culture Norms that make hair a Big Deal, and E&E having Sindar norms that are like “whatever, it’s just hair”? things that are really meaningful to M&M but E&E don’t get the depth of it?

Hope vs. Despair: E&E giving Maedhros hope when he’d almost fallen permanently into despair

Identical Twins Swap Places to Mess with People: just. E&E shenanigans. bonus points if M&M are the only ones who can still tell them apart.

Oaths & Vows: literally anything to do with E&E reacting to/discovering/understanding the Oath of Fëanor

Platonic Soulbonds: adoption bonds!! my hc is that (for elves) blood family have a soul connection to one another innately, but when you adopt someone you have to initiate that bond yourself (kind of like a marriage bond but not). anything to do with M&M adopting E&E - or, E&E adopting M&M!

Post-Canon: AU where Mae lives pls??

Protectiveness: M&M protecting E&E from an outside threat OR E&E protecting M&M’s reputation after they’re separated

Raising a Child or Children Together, platonic co-parenting: M&M brotherly bonding :’) they feel like Real Family for the first time since their little brothers were little

Ruined Castles and Fortresses: Amon Ereb as a makeshift fortress long after it should’ve fallen? E&E visiting Tol Himling post-canon?

Sibling Rivalry: M&M competing over E&E liking them the most? E&E competing over M&M spoiling them the most?

Telepathy: ósanwë!!

Trans Character: make some characters trans! have M&M be supportive of E and/or E transitioning! have M and/or M be trans and explaining that to the twins! or whatever! I love trans stuff!

~~~

Request 2: Kidnap Dads Angst

Okay, here’s the Kidnap Dads But Angst request :)))) A lot of the same prompts....but make them angsty......I would like a happy ending (or at least a hopeful ending), though, so hurt/comfort would be great, or someone thinking things are worse than they turn out to be, that sort of thing. If there’s a specific prompt that would work better with an unhappy ending I’ll mention that, but unless I request it please don’t do it.

Non-Kidnap Fam relationships:

Elrond & Gil-galad, Mae & Gil: again, was thinking Russingon Baby Gil here, but this time Gil has angst about Mae being his dad. Elrond reassuring him that Mae is a good dad? Or maybe they’re both remembering Mae after he dies :(((

Eluréd & Elurín & Maedhros: a canon take on this where Mae keeps comparing the first E&E twins to the second set.... or maybe Eluréd and Elurín are haunting Mae?

"We're Family Now and There's Nothing You Can Do about It": M&M adopting E&E before E&E trust them fully, they need to make sure E&E are cared for but the twins are still afraid of them. OR E&E adopting M&M, but lean into the angst of M&M not feeling like they’ll be good enough parents

A and B mourn death of person they both loved: Maglor & Elrond & Elros mourning Mae? Maglor & Elrond mourning Elros?

Angst - Characters know exactly how to hurt each other: SO much angst potential here... maybe Mags needling Mae right where it hurts in an attempt to get him to take a more active role in their lives? Using Fingon against him? :)))

Angst with a Happy Ending: my bread and butter, this is kind of the ideal story I want for this request

A assumes that B will abandon them; B reaffirms their loyalty to A in A's time of need: Maglor and Maedhros right before the theft of the Silmarils? M&M assuming E&E will abandon them as soon as they get the chance?

Awkward Conversations with People You Tried to Kill: immediately post-Sirion, dial up the angst factor

Building A New Life: post-WoW, everyone going their own ways

Character A and B work together to take care of hurt/ill mutual loved one: E&E and Maglor care for Mae on a bad pain day or with an injury from battle BUT instead of cute sickfic everyone’s terrified Mae is going to die, Mae kind of wants to die, Elrond is worried he’s not a good enough healer for this, Maglor blaming himself for Mae getting into this situation, basically everyone’s on edge and not having a good time

Character discovering own self-worth: E&E teaching Mae to love himself again!!!

Character draws negative attention onto themself to protect another: OKAY so my angsty headcanon for this is that Maedhros intentionally draws the twins’ ire to him when things get tense between the Fëanorians & their hostages, so they associate negative encounters with Maedhros and positive ones with Maglor. Basically he wants to spare Maglor the brunt of their anger by taking it onto himself, sabotaging his own relationship with the twins. bonus points for E&E figuring this out and fucking up his plan by loving Mae too.

Character expected to die but didn't and now has no idea how to live anymore: MAEDHROS LIVES AU FT. ALL THE ANGST

Child A comforts Child B after B has nightmare about their dead parents: E&E in the first few years of captivity :))

Characters with complicated pasts struggling with guilt and grief and forgiveness: is this not just the Fëanorians???

complicated family dynamics: just make it fucked up and difficult, E&E shouldn’t love M&M but they do anyway, they still love their bio parents too but have mixed feelings overall

Depending On Each Other To Survive: Beleriand is literally falling apart around them, they have to rely on each other or they WILL die

Difficult Decisions In War Time: M&M sending E&E to Gil-galad? M&M choosing to go after the Silmaril, E&E reacting to that?

It's the end of the world as we know it and Character(s) feel(s) fine: E&E have literally only ever known wartime, this is normal to them. OR Mae feeling better when things are horrific than he does during peaceful-ish times.

Oaths & Vows: E&E try and swear the Oath of Fëanor in order to get M&M’s approval, M&M are horrified

Platonic Soulbonds: M&M doing the adoption-soulbond thing with E&E because without a parental soulbond baby elfs can DIE..........

Post-Canon: early second age angst :)))

Redemption: M&M redeeming themselves through being good parents to E&E...but does that really redeem them?

Refusing to believe a loved one is dead: E&E refusing to accept that Maedhros is dead :))))))))

Regret: M&M post-Sirion

Separated for an Extended Period of Time and the Slow Road Back to Normal: AU where Mae survives but is separated from everyone for a long time? Canon Mags does his emo wandering thing but finally Elrond drags him to Rivendell? post-rebirth Mae and Mags and Elrond??

Take me instead: Mae sacrificing himself for the sake of the twins ;-; OR the twins trying to sacrifice themself for M&M??

two people really want Found Family but are too emotionally stunted to admit it: Maedhros desperately wanting to be included in Mags & E&E’s new little family but not able to admit it on his own

Us Against The World Mentality That Might Not Be Healthy But The Characters Find It Comforting: is this not just the Fëanorians at the end of the Silm....

World-weary broken people find comfort and understanding in each other: MAE AND MAGS....

competent parenting, Disabled Character Kicks Ass, Fluff and Angst, Gruff intimidating character gets soft around kids, The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair, Hope vs. Despair, Raising a Child or Children Together, platonic co-parenting, Telepathy, Trans Character, Protectiveness, Ruined Castles and Fortresses: see previous request!

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Request 3: Maedhros and/or Fingon and/or Finrod with a Kid!

Please note my Russingon preferences for this request, it’s in my DNW section.

Okay I have two basic concepts for this request - though I like all of the relationships I requested so if you have a completely different take that would be great too - but here’s the idea: Maedhros and/or Fingon and/or Finrod end up semi-accidentally adopting a child! The kid is either Gil-galad or Maeglin, probably :)

Some possible scenarios:

Maeglin!

Aredhel and Maeglin go to Fingon instead of Turgon when they escape. Something happens to Aredhel, maybe Eöl follows her and she dies like in canon? Or maybe she’s still around, she deserves to live. But Fingon gets custody of Maeglin, and then ropes Maedhros and/or Finrod into helping him out.

A young Maeglin goes on a journey outside of Gondolin, against Turgon’s wishes, and gets captured by orcs...but much earlier than he does in canon. And this time he gets rescued by Maedhros! Now Maedhros is stuck with a kid who has a lot of the same trust issues he had post-Angband and he calls Fingon and/or Finrod in for help. Probably Fingon considering Maeglin is his nephew.

Aredhel and Maeglin go to Himlad instead of Gondolin. When Celegorm and Curufin go to Nargothrond, they go with. Again, maybe something happens to Aredhel? Or not? Whatever you’d prefer. But Finrod gets involved in Maeglin’s upbringing.

In any of these scenarios: Turgon gets worried enough about his missing sister and/or nephew to go looking for them, finds them in the care of someone else, is frustrated he “wasn’t good enough” to take care of them. Probably Finrod knocks some sense into him.

Tags that work for these situations: "We're Family Now and There's Nothing You Can Do about It", Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, AU where disaster character has good role models in their youth, Building A New Life, Character thinks no one is coming to save them; MULTIPLE people team up for the rescue, competent parenting, Gruff intimidating character gets soft around kids (MAE!!), Hair Braiding/Care, The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair, Helping Friend to Recover from Trauma, Nightmares, Overcoming Trauma, Raising a Child or Children Together, Unlikely Team-Ups, platonic co-parenting, Long Lost/Secret Relatives

Gil-galad!

For this request, Gil-galad is probably adopted. (Though, if you want to make him a trans!Russingon bio kid, be my guest.) He could either be a random baby that needs caring for OR the son of Lalwen (and Círdan?) that they can’t take care of for Political Reasons OR whatever other Gil-galad theory you prefer. (Just don’t make him Fingon’s bio kid unless he’s also Mae’s bio kid.)

I love the idea of Fingon adopting Gil-galad and writing Maedhros to say “we have a kid now!” Mae panics because WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE A KID?? (Doesn’t have to be romo Russingon, could just be that Fingon assumes his BFF is going to be involved in raising his son because of course??)

Fingon or Finrod adopt a baby Gil, but he gets passed around between them + Maedhros for Reasons. Gil has SO many dads.

Tags that work for this situation: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies (pls just give me some shenanigans with a happy ending), competent parenting, Gruff intimidating character gets soft around kids (MAE!!), Hair Braiding/Care, The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair, Immature note passing during otherwise adult meeting, Raising a Child or Children Together, Unlikely Team-Ups, platonic co-parenting, Long Lost/Secret Relatives

I also threw some tags in here that would be fun for scenarios that don’t necessarily include Gil or Maeglin.

Mae, Finno, & Ingo: Bonding over being the oldest sibling, court intrigue, Immature note passing during otherwise adult meeting, Character Finds Support In Queer Community, bonding over both being gay Give me some Valinor shenanigans, or war leaders in Beleriand goofing off, or them all being The Gay Cousin :)

Mae and Finno: A assumes that B will abandon them; B reaffirms their loyalty to A in A's time of need, Character Adjusts To Newly Acquired Disability, Fealty Dynamic, Helping Friend to Recover from Trauma, Hope vs. Despair, I trust you to remove me from the equation if I become a danger to others, Loyalty - King/Queen and Lionheart dynamics, Person Used to Being Treated Like a Weapon Gets Rescued & Treated Like a Person Again, Stoic Character Breaks Down And Admits They Need Help, Sworn Loyalty basically these two being Ride Or Die for each other <3 <3 lots of post-Angband trauma that Finno helps Mae unlearn! If you go with this part of the request, please please please keep my Russingon preferences in mind; since this is a gen exchange I’m not expecting romantic Russingon but I do need them to care for each other very deeply, and I don’t want them shipped with other people. a platonic marriage situation would be EXCELLENT.

And a few more things I just love in general: Platonic Cuddling, platonic declarations of love, Platonic Soulbonds, Telepathy, Holding Hands For soulbonds: please do it in the canon style of choosing to soulbond with a person. For telepathy: ósanwë shenanigans.

And of course: Aroace Character(s), Nonbinary Character(s), Trans Character all of these are a “YES PLEASE” situation no matter what prompt or character!

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Request 4: Silm Fake Relationships!

Fake dating is my JAM, I love it, and I especially love it when it stays platonic all the way through! Requesting some pretty light-hearted stuff here, I just want shenanigans and fun times, mostly.

Amárië & Finrod: Okay I don’t really ship these two At All in any circumstance, Finrod just feels....so extremely gay to me....so my default headcanon is that they are BFFs who are mutual beards for each other! (Bonus points for minor/background Amárië/Elenwë and/or Finrod/Turgon) Other kinds of fake relationships would be great too. Possible tags: Becoming Friends With Your Ex (like...they DID date, it didn’t work out, they’re better off as friends), Character remains friends with their ex after an amicable breakup (see previous), court intrigue, The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair, Immature note passing during otherwise adult meetings, mutual beards, Platonic arranged marriage POWER COUPLE, Platonic marriage of convenience, Pre-Canon, Shared commiseration over being forced to attend a formal event

Aredhel & Celegorm: They’re both very aro in my mind (Aredhel ESPECIALLY), I can see them pretending to date to get people off their backs about being in a relationship (or a FWB situation but this exchange might not be the best place for that haha), or maybe they’re taking one for the team so the Mae/Fingon relationship coming out is slightly less scandalous after they already revealed their “relationship.” Also, them platonically co-parenting Maeglin in an AU is very good if you’d like to include that. Possible tags: Character enthusiastically agrees to doing something dangerous (they have that vibe), court intrigue, Dumb friendly competitions, Family Fluff, Friends Discussing Treason Over Tea, Immature note passing during otherwise adult meetings, Platonic marriage of convenience, Pre-Canon, Shared commiseration over being forced to attend a formal event

Caranthir & Haleth: Fake marriage for tax purposes. Enough said. (also they’re both aro.) Possible tags: Characters Become Roommates At College (would be a funny modern AU), Former colleagues work together again; surprised by changes (Moryo visits Haleth in Brethil?), The Intimacy of Brushing/Braiding/Washing Another Person's Hair (bonus points for cultural misunderstandings), Immature note passing during otherwise adult meetings, two people really want Found Family but are too emotionally stunted to admit it

Celebrimbor & Finduilas: You know I’d never much considered their relationship but I saw it nominated and it got my brain working! Maybe they’re fake dating to piss off their dads, haha. But I can also see them having a really unlikely friendship in Nargothrond, having each other’s backs, etc...people assume they’re dating and they just don’t bother to correct anyone? Bonus points for Fin-galad! Possible tags: A assumes that B will abandon them; B reaffirms their loyalty to A in A's time of need, court intrigue, Friends Discussing Treason Over Tea, Platonic arranged marriage POWER COUPLE, Shared commiseration over being forced to attend a formal event (first meeting perhaps?), Worldbuilding: Politics & Diplomacy

Lalwen: I love the fanon of her and Círdan being buds. Them in a fake dating for politics situation would be amazing. Or her just being badass on her own! Possible tags: court intrigue, Platonic arranged marriage POWER COUPLE, Worldbuilding: Politics & Diplomacy

Other tags: Aroace Character(s), AroAce Marriage, Aromantic Character: I always want this but ESPECIALLY for this request! Fake/Pretend Relationship Stays Platonic: that’s basically the premise for all these requests, haha Late Night Conversations: could apply to all of these. I just really love like...it’s late, you’ve been hanging out all day, your inhibitions are lowered, you start saying shit you normally wouldn’t and have a heart-to-heart...that’s the good stuff Platonic Bedsharing, platonic declarations of love, Platonic Soulbonds: really close platonic relationships :’) 5 times this happened and 1 time something else happened, Nonbinary Character(s), Character gets a hug, Holding Hands, Trans Character: Just things I love in general that I requested on all my requests

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Request 5: TAZ Amnesty

Please don’t have Minerva and Duck in a romantic relationship. Additionally, if you could not call Duck “Wayne” that would be great.

A & B have an honest and completely frank discussion about difficult subject: Arlo and Mama talking about what happened to Arlo

Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates: I think this would be funniest if it’s Duck & Pigeon? or maybe always-mundane!Duck and extraterrestrial-who-is-really-bad-at-hiding-it!Minerva

Aroace Character(s), Aromantic Character: my headcanon for Duck is that he’s aromantic! so him and Minerva being best friends or QPPs or something would be awesome. really I just thought the ending with them being together romantically came out of nowhere so idk, a fic where Duck realizes he’s aro and doesn’t /have/ to be in a romantic relationship, and Minerva supporting him and them remaining really good friends, that would be amazing.

Begrudgingly Respectful Coworkers to Friends: Arlo and Mama :)

Casual use of powers in a setting where the character should really be more careful: Duck frantically trying to get Minerva to act normal in public

Character Finds Support In Queer Community: Duck realizing he’s aro? maybe Pigeon helping him get involved in Kepler’s queer community? OR Pigeon realizing she’s queer and older queer (trans?) Duck awkwardly trying to be in solidarity with her

Character Forced To Reveal Their Secrets: Arlo & Mama pre-canon?

Finding Bigfoot: this is just too funny to NOT have as an Amnesty tag. Maybe Pigeon goes hunting for Bigfoot and Duck has to stop her from hunting down Barclay!

Thing character has built a large chunk of their life around comes to an end; finding a new path: this could go for most of the characters, but I was especially thinking of Minerva here

Unexpectedly Meeting People From One's Past While With New Companions: Duck introducing Minerva to his friends/colleagues? Mama introducing Arlo to everyone after he gets back to “normal”?

5 times this happened and 1 time something else happened: I just love this format :)

Nonbinary Character(s): Pigeon maybe? but really anyone as nonbinary would be awesome

Character gets a hug: Duck deserves hugs. I feel like Minerva would be good at giving them.

Holding Hands: platonic hand holding is just. so good

Missing Scene: seriously WHAT happened to Pigeon???

Trans Character: trans Duck trans Duck TRANS DUCK (ngl the “Wayne” reveal really disappointed me, I much prefer trans Duck haha)

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Request 6: TAZ Balance

Please don’t have Lucretia in a romantic relationship, or Magnus having had romantic feelings for anyone other than Julia.

Literally any gen relationship in TAZB would be delightful to get a fic about, don’t feel boxed in by the nominated characters. I also cannot BELIEVE I forgot to nominate Kravitz & Barry, that’s one of my very favorite possible friendships.

Angus + THB: would love to see an exploration with Angus’ individual relationships with them :)

Carey & Magnus: this friendship means A LOT to me, especially because I headcanon Magnus as arospec and so Carey’s lasting and important friendship with Magnus despite also having a romantic relationship that’s important to her....ahhh I get very emotional just thinking about it ;-;

Edward & Lydia & Kravitz: I do like the theory that Kravitz=Keats, so exploring that would be neat. OR Kravitz isn’t Keats, but he has to track down and deal with these two rogue liches.....

Edward & Lydia & Taako & Lup: AU rivalry shenanigans? canon enemies-to-friends? these two pairs of twins just have a lot of parallels that are very delightful :)

Johann & Lucretia: idk I just think they should be buds. also I headcanon both of them as aroace, so you could have them bond over that maybe.

Kravitz & Merle: I just think that Merle blaming Magnus and not Kravitz for losing his arm is HILARIOUS, would love Krav feeling awkward about that but Merle not even registering it fdjhskfjdsh

Lucretia & Magnus: these two are so sweet, especially during the Stolen Century? like they’re the only two humans, they’re both pretty young, I think they had a very special bond. (I love queerplatonic Magnus & Lucretia, especially with aroace!Lucretia and demi!Magnus)

Lup & Taako: chaos twin siblings :’)

THB: I mean give me shenanigans with them all day long! during the Stolen Century would be amazing, as foreshadowing for canon, and with the other IPRE members being baffled by their antics

Ren & Taako: I just think they’re cool! Would love to see Ren’s transition from a fangirl to Taako’s no-nonsense assistant :)

Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Characters Become Roommates At College: just. IPRE shenanigans. or Magnus and Carey as roommates!

Aroace Character(s): aroace Lucretia!! aroace Johann!!

Aromantic Character: see above but also, pan+arospec Merle! demiromantic Magnus! (that’s my VERY FAVORITE headcanon, you can’t change my mind)

Begrudgingly Respectful Coworkers to Friends: can’t believe I forgot to nominate Barry & Kravitz here, smh... if you’d like to do that go for it, but otherwise, the IPRE would be amazing here, or Kravitz and Merle if you stretch the idea of “Coworkers,” or some AU or situation where Edward and Lydia have to get along with Taako and Lup despite being bitter rivals. or djhfskjfdhk Merle and Angus!!

Best Friends Have Bad Ideas Together: THB and/or Lup and Taako have a collective one brain cell and it’s gone missing

Canon-typical shenanigans: yeah.

Catching up with an old friend: Carey and Magnus post-S&S!! or THB post-S&S :)

Casual use of powers in a setting where the character should really be more careful: this just screams Taako. Ren telling him to calm down a bit? Lup encouraging him? Angus doing damage control? Edward and Lydia vs. Taako and Lup in a drama contest?

Character enthusiastically agrees to doing something dangerous: MAGNUS RUSHES IN

Character Finds Support In Queer Community: queer BoB!! queer IPRE!! if you write me some arospec Magnus and his friends I will DIE of happiness :)) (bonus points for qp!Magcretia)

Bonding over shared memories of past lives: was really getting IPRE vibes for this one

Character loses everything and can only turn to enemy for help: Edward and Lydia forced to come to Taako and Lup for help :)))

Drinking Games, Drunken Shenanigans, Dumb friendly competitions: THB or IPRE probably. just fun silly things happening for laughs.

Enemies to Friends But In A Situation Where They Must Pretend To Still Be Enemies: Edward & Lydia & Taako & Lup? Kravitz & Merle?

Families of Choice, Family Feels - Us Against The World, Family Fluff: IPRE !!!!

Friends to Enemies to Friends Again: Magnus & Lucretia :( OR again, can’t believe I didn’t nominate Kravitz and Barry, but, those two before Krav realizes Barry is a lich and then after and then post-S&S

Friendship that's more important than Character(s)'s romantic relationship(s): Carey & Magnus!!! obviously Carey/Killian is Excellent, but the fact that Carey prioritizes Magnus in her life as a friend makes me SO emo, just. ahhhh love this so much. also Takko+THB :)

Making the morally right choice sucks: Angus & Taako? Ren & Taako? Edward & Lydia & and their bro Kravitz? orrrr Edward & Lydia & their not-bro mortal-enemy Kravitz??

platonic declarations of love: yes please! Magnus & Lucretia especially :)

Team Living Together and Learning to Deal with Everyones' Bad Habits: IPRE and/or THB. maybe THB being surprised they already seem to know each other’s terrible habits...

Unexpectedly Meeting People From One's Past While With New Companions: this has Weird Voidfish Stuff written all over it

5 times this happened and 1 time something else happened: just a good trope

Nonbinary Character(s): nonbinary Taako? yes please. or anyone else tbh, I just love nonbinary characters.

Character gets a hug: Magnus gives VERY good hugs and there’s very many people who deserve one

Holding Hands: just...so good <3

Missing Scene: so much time in the Stolen Century to explore...or BoB off-work shenanigans...

Trans Character: canon trans Lup! headcanon trans Magnus!! any other character as trans, I love trans stuff!!