#not to mention it was before i learned the importance of weaving in ends so every new strand is a knot w no tails

[yourfavoritewerewolf]

unraveled my first ever sweater cus it was bad to remake it Better bc i like the yarn and i was hit with so many moments of 'how tf did i even make this' bc it wasnt coming apart the way a sweater should

[vgilantee]

dorm room antics {ethan landry}

ethan landry x fem!reader

requested: n/a

words: 2k

a/n: surprise! turns out when my brain decides to work, i can write a 2k word fic in three hours. which means you guys get a march fic! this fic is part of what i like to call “char’s ethan fic universe” in which i haven’t written any other fics, but it’s all apart of the long ask i sent julie (this one here) so i will mention a couple things here that reference it. Also on referencing things, i was tempted make a star wars reference in here, but julie doesn’t need more reasons to point and laugh at me and call me a star wars nerd (julie would never point and laugh at me, i love her). This is not a smut but things get a little steamy. There may be an alternate version that starts the same but is nsfw (oh my god finding a gif for this fic was too hard and this isn't even the one i wanted, but tumblr hates me)

warnings: steamy!, if you were reading fanfics in the 2000s/early 2010s this would count as an orange

pronouns: none used

You had everyone’s timetables memorised, all of you did. It was one of the first things the four of you did at the start of each semester; you sat down and learned each timetable so you always knew where each other was throughout the day. It was how you knew that Chad would be out of his dorm. 

You knocked on the door, bouncing on the balls of your feet. Ethan didn’t know you were coming over, you wanted to surprise him with your company on his day free of classes. After your first and only class of the day, you would usually be with Mindy in the library or Tara in one of her lectures. But Mindy had ditched you to spend time with Anika, and Tara was in bed with the flu. Not that you needed the excuses to spend time with Ethan, but Mindy didn’t entirely trust him, so the excuses were required to satiate her. 

The sounds of moving around came through the door, and you heard Ethan muttering that he was coming. 

“Oh, hey.” Ethan’s curls bounced a little as his head tilted in surprise. He gave you a dopey smile and stepped to the side, letting you move past him and into the room. You had been in the dorm a few times, but you still couldn’t help turning in a slow circle to look around. On his bed was a textbook and notebook, as well as various pens scattered on the sheets. 

“Sorry, did I interrupt your studying?” You turned back to face him, lazily pointing at the study supplies on his navy sheets. Ethan blinked, almost as if he forgot the stationery was even there, before shaking his head. As he did, you noticed just how long his curls have gotten, falling into his eyes more than usual.

“No. I mean yeah but-” He bit his lower lip gently. “You’re always welcome to interrupt my study.” Ethan’s mouth quirked in a shy smile, trying to hide how he cringed at what he said. 

You took a step toward him and reached your hands up to his shoulders, lazily looping them around the back of his neck. Almost immediately, Ethan’s hands moved around your waist and pulled you flush against him. 

“Are you sure? I can leave you to your…” you glanced over at his bed to try and decipher what subject he was studying, “I have no idea what that is but I’m sure it’s important.” You felt the breath of Ethan’s laugh against your hair. 

“It’s programming and yeah, I’m sure.” You turned back to him, making quick glances down at his mouth that was so close. “Don’t leave.” Ethan’s voice was barely a whisper, embarrassed but pleading, and you stopped fighting the voice in your head and leaned up to finally kiss him. 

It quickly deepened, one of your hands moving to his face and the other weaving into his hair. Ethan’s fingers dug into your waist, pulling you even closer to him, so close that one of his feet ended up between yours.

When you pulled back to take a breath, you kept your eyes closed, foreheads rested together. 

“Bed?” You felt his hands tighten slightly as your breath hit his mouth. You and Ethan had slept together before, but only a handful of times, and every time Ethan started out quietly excited, and shy. 

Ethan let out a single hum before dropping his hands to the backs of your thighs, encouraging you to jump lightly and wrap your legs around his waist. As soon as he was sure you’re safely held up, he took the five steps from the door to his bed. You expected him to place you on the bed, but instead he turned and sat down, sitting you on his lap. As soon as you’re comfortable (which took a fraction of a second) you pulled him forward by the back of his neck, reigniting the kiss more desperately. You left one hand weaved into his curls, but the other dropped to grip his bicep. 

His hands slide up from your thighs, pausing briefly on your ass to give the muscles a gentle squeeze. You rolled your hips gently forward in response to the squeeze, and you felt the light vibration of his hum against your mouth. Ethan moved his hands up a little further, encouraging your movement, and you gently bit his bottom lip. Ethan opened his mouth and the kiss quickly became messier, tongues rolling against each other and teeth occasionally bumping. 

As you moved to pull away, you pulled Ethan’s tongue into your mouth and sucked on it gently pulling a moan from deep in his throat. You opened your eyes, seeing him with his cheeks flushed red and his eyes still closed, his mouth opened slightly. 

You could never get over how pretty he was, especially when so flushed. And you always felt a swell of pride because you were the one able to get him like that and the only one who got to see the sight underneath you. 

Ethan slowly opened his eyes, pupils blown. He slowly raised a hand, pushing some of the hair that had fallen out of its place in your ponytail behind your ear before quickly leaning down and gently bit and kissed at your neck. Your head rolled to the side, desperately exposing more skin for him to give attention to. His tongue rolling over his teeth marks elicited gasps from you, your fingers lightly tugging at his hair in a silent plead for more. 

A soft moan broke from your throat as Ethan bit down, slightly harder, and sucked, determined to leave a deep mark. You pulled harder at his curls in retaliation and rolled your hips against him. Ethan dragged his tongue across the mark, continuing to move it up your neck and along your jaw until his mouth meets yours again for a short kiss. 

“You sure?” Regardless of how many times you made it clear to Ethan that you wanted him, he always asked, checked to make sure that you hadn’t changed your mind. You rolled your hips again in a silent reply.

“Completely.” Ethan let out a whimper before pulling your hips down, letting you feel his need for you under your core. You let out a choked sound before pulling Ethan into a rough kiss that left him gasping. 

For every roll of your hips, Ethan responded with a sound against your mouth, though it didn’t take long for him to begin retaliating instead with soft thrusts upward. Your head fell back with a breathy moan, and Ethan quickly began pressing open mouthed kisses to your throat, humming every time he felt you make sounds. 

“Ethan.” You whispered out his name and his hips twitched forward, further into you than his teasing rolls. Using the hand in his hair, you pulled his face back to you, and your other hand slid down his chest before slipping under the hem of his shirt. Your fingertips grazed across his abs, and you smiled against his mouth as stomach flinched from your touch. Your hand continued to move up to his chest, dragging his shirt with him, until you pulled away, silently begging for him to take off his shirt.

Ethan dragged his hands from your waist, across your thighs, prolonging taking his hands away from you, but finally he did, following your quiet ask and took off his shirt. You raked your fingernails down his chest to his stomach pulling a whimper from Ethan, before your hands quickly moved to loop around the back of his neck, moving to kiss him as his warm hands met your skin again, one hand snaking under your shirt to rest on the bare small of your back, and the other resting softly on your cheek.

You gently let out a moan as Ethan bit down on your bottom lip, your nails digging softly into the skin on the nape of his neck.

“Oh, fuck!” Chad’s sudden voice caused you to jolt. You hadn’t even heard the door open, you were so engrossed in the feeling of Ethan. Ethan quickly pulled away from you, and you tried not to follow after his suddenly-missing mouth. “Ew, that is so not what I wanted to see in my dorm.” You rolled your eyes, flipping Chad off over your shoulder. 

You tried to fight the soft smile as Ethan pressed his face into the side of your neck, wanting so desperately to hide from his roommate. His soft curls brushed against your skin, raising goosebumps. 

Turning to follow the movement of your arm, you glared at Chad, who had a hand over his eyes while dramatically using the other to feel around for his side of the room. 

“Oh fuck off, Chad.” You said with a slightly amused laugh. Ethan sighed into your neck and the sudden breath made you realise that you were gently stroking his hair. Your fond smile won against your fighting as Ethan hid. 

“This is my room!” Chad threw his hand up, keeping the one already over his eyes pressed firmly in place. “Now, are you done dry humping each other so I can grab my shit?” You reached for the bed beside where Ethan was sitting and grabbed one of his pens, throwing it at Chad but missing. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Slowly, ever the drama queen, Chad peels his hand from his eyes, letting out an exaggerated sound of relief.

“I can’t believe you almost defiled my poor, virgin eyes.” He pressed a hand to his heart while walking toward his desk to grab his forgotten textbook. “Corrupting my innocent soul with your filth.” You threw another pen at him, this one hitting him square in the head. 

“Innocent, my ass.” Chad let out an indignant gasp. “Don’t you,” you mocked the sound he made, “me, fucker. I’ve walked in on you doing worse.” He gasped again. 

“I would never!” His voice was weighed down with sarcasm and he pressed his textbook to his chest. Chad tsked at you before walked back to the door. “Don’t get cum stains on my bed, assholes.” Ethan let out an embarrassed groan against you skin, and you flipped Chad off again.

“I’m going to move to your bed just to spite you.” Chad scrunched his nose in disgust and Ethan pulled back from your neck to stare at you in shock, praying you weren’t serious.

“You’re fucking disgusting.” Chad, ever the dramatic, pulled the door shut, ensuring that he got the final word. When you looked back to Ethan, he was still looking at you, eyes wide in horror. You winked at him with a smile. 

“You wouldn’t..?” You snorted out a laugh and your head fell back, shaking your head. 

“Fuck no.” You ran the backs of your fingers across his cheek softly, revelling in the embarrassed flush on his cheeks. Ethan sighed, leaning into your fingers. “He would be so lucky.” His mouth dropped open again and you leaned forward to kiss him on the tip of his nose. Ethan let out a contented hum, and the soft sound caused your hips to grind against him on their own. Once again, Ethan’s fingertips dig into the soft flesh of your waist.

“Did he ruin the mood?” Your voice was shy, unsure whether his bruising fingers was a warning to stop, or him trying to hold back. 

“No. Not for me.” Ethan leaned forward as he spoke, saying the words against your shoulder before pressing a light kiss to your skin, rolling his hips up lightly against you to pull a sigh from you while your head rolled back. “Not when you look like that on my lap.” Neither you nor Ethan knew where his confidence came from, but you quickly pushed your questioning aside as he pulled your core down against the tightness in his trousers and bit down on your shoulder softly. 

moot tagging: @websterss

[baejax-the-great]

Absolutely reeling.

So I knew that the origin of "Hector was a great man, moral, noble, better than all of the Greeks" began as Roman propaganda that somehow has made it to now, the year 2023, and is still taught to high school students.

What I did not know was why scholars shit on Achilles as vehemently as they did (and still do).

My copy of Fagles' translation of the Iliad has a preface by a different scholar who I'm not going to bother to name because he's an idiot (and idk probably dead at this point). I read the entire thing, absolutely baffled, because he would cite a part of the text (that I admittedly had not read yet! at all!), quote it, and then come to the most batshit interpretation based on that quote I had ever seen in my life. His general take was that Achilles was a sociopath who had no feelings for anyone other than himself and his own pride, and every action he took (until welcoming Priam into his hut) was done in service of that pride. To support this, he decided that Achilles did not see Patroclus as a person, but rather as an extension of himself, and thus someone injuring Patroclus was them injuring Achilles, and so he did not care about Patroclus, he only cared about his wounded pride.

Yeah.

That sounded wrong before reading the book, and while reading the book all i could think was, "Did we read the same fucking thing???" Put in context, those quotations still did not support his conclusions whatsoever.

But i cracked open Caroline Alexander's "The War That Killed Achilles" last night, and she solves this mystery of "Hector good, Achilles bad" for me right out the gate (which is good because so far I've only read the preface).

Western Europeans by and large learned about the Trojan war from Roman stories, which became fairly popular, and not the Iliad, which was not translated into French or English until centuries later. As mentioned, these were propaganda that cast the Trojans in a much better light than the Greeks because the Romans believed they were descended from Trojan refugees. This starts a trend that is still going on in scholarly circles as casting the Iliad as a war between "barbaric Greeks living in a shitty, lawless camp" vs "civilized, educated, weaving, real-wife-having Trojans," making the Iliad a tragedy in which Homer for some reason skewers his own people and their warlike culture as barbaric while propping up a dead, foreign city-state. This interpretation is still extant and was the postscript to another copy of the Iliad I have.

According to Alexander, scholars closer to Homer's time saw the entire war as a tragedy--both the destruction of Troy AND the destruction of the Greek army. While this is not covered in the Iliad, very few Greeks actually made it home after Troy. Some that did were then outcast (Teucer for example), some were murdered (bye, Agamemnon), some went on to create new kingdoms in other places (Diomedes), but by and large, there was no going home from that war. There was no great victory with all their loot. The entire thing was a disaster for both sides, spurred on by fickle gods.

Back to the more recent European interpretations of this story, one reason Hector ended up cast in such a "good" light, despite being a dumbass who wants to dishonor dead people just as badly as Achilles ever did, was in order to make Achilles look worse. Why was it important that Achilles becomes a villain in this story in which he is very much not a villain? Because Europeans were involved in so much war with each other and the rest of the world that a young, insubordinate man who criticizes his idiot of a commander, decides his life isn't worth throwing away for this war, and refuses to fight to sack a city was an affront to their values. Young men were to be obedient, follow their commanding officers, and colonize the world for queen and country. Achilles suggesting losing his life is not worth it to prop up Agamemnon's war is a dangerous precedent for all the good little soldiers needed to make their nations wealthy.

It's almost funny that these analyses propping up Troy as a beacon of civilization were made by people living in countries so bent on colonizing the world. They identified with the city being sacked and not the greedy sackers of said city, who they were much closer to. And Achilles, educated, morally rigid, emotional Achilles, is recast as a sociopathic asshole who doesn't care about anyone other than himself, unlike all of those other beacons of selflessness among the Greek leadership.

The tragedy of the Iliad is that Achilles is right, the war is pointless, Agamemnon did dishonor the shit out of him, and it doesn't matter because he's going to die in it anyway.

Frankly, given how badly his character has been interpreted for so long, I think the muses owe him an apology.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

How to knit a Six of Crows blanket!

Hi my darlings, after posting quite a bit about my Grishaverse knitting projects I’ve had a few people ask if I have any kind of pattern or instructions for the Six of Crows blanket I made. I completely drew it myself and (as someone who has never designed a real pattern) figured it out as I went but I thought I’d do my best to put together a step-by-step guide of what I did for my one so you can try it if you’d like to! If you do this and share it anywhere then if you could please credit me for the design that would awesome <3

My finished blanket is approximately 117x120 cm, or 46x47 inches, and it looks like this:

Yarn I used: so sorry I can’t remember and I don’t have the information right now but if anyone wants me to I can update this when I find it; I know that it was bulky weight though

Needle size I used: 9mm

Stitches you need to know how to do: Knit and Purl

Other techniques you’ll need to know: the fair isle method for colourwork, and possibly how to back a blanket but I will explain that in more detail because I had to learn how to do it for this project

Tags: @marielaure @spike-is-not-a-dogs-name @scenemime @worth-this-and-more @wisegirl29 @atac-agent @uttermywish @feralipadkid @fairytalesofforever

Guide below the cut!!

Step 1: the first thing you need is a chart, because this is knit in fair isle. I’m sure there are proper softwares for designing fair isle charts but I uploaded a photo of the six of crows book cover onto a free drawing app called Ibis Paint X, went over it in flat colours to create a more 2D design, superimposed a grid over the top, and then went round every individual square of that grid and edited the image so that there was one colour in each square (ie, pixelated it). The fun thing about doing it like this is that you can easily change it to be whatever size you want by changing the size of your grid (each square represents one stitch). As I mentioned before, if you use the same yarn as I did and the exact same chart as I did it comes out to be around 117x120 cm or 46x47 inches; it’s pretty square and smaller than your average blanket, which is perfect for what I wanted but might not be perfect for what you want so you might want to adapt that if you’d rather a different size. This is what my chart looked like:

Step 2: casting on and knitting! This is the most fun bit, in my opinion. My grid is 103 stitches wide so and I wanted to have a border all around the edges so the first thing I did was cast on a full row in the cream yarn that I wanted to make that border from, with two more stitches

1) Cast on 105 of cream yarn. This should be the number of stitches across the x-axis of your pattern plus 2, to create a border either side. This cast on row will then create a one row border at the bottom of your work.

2) K1 in cream, knit first row of pattern, K1 in cream

3) P1 in cream, purl second row of pattern, P1 in cream

4) repeat steps 2) and 3) until the pattern is complete

5) complete an entire row in cream yarn

6) cast off - this is always so exciting!!! This is when you get the first real sense of accomplishment, in my opinion

I don’t have loads of progress photos, I’m afraid, but this is what mine looked like when I first cast off:

(The edges are curled here so you can’t see the border on the sides, but it is there, also the lighting is rubbish sorry)

Step 3: Weave in all the ends. Gonna be super honest this step is deeply boring but incredibly important; there are a lot of ends to deal with here. Sorry I don’t have a photo of the wrong side of my work but if you imagine at least one loose end for every section of colour change you can gather that it’s a lot haha

Step 4: Backing!! Now there can be different methods of backing depending on what kind of fabric you choose, I can’t actually tell you what kind of fabric I used other than that the colour was called ‘luna grey’ because the label didn’t actually say what it was so I just decided to go for it. I could only buy it in metres or half metres so I had to get 150cm and then trim the excess. Remember to cut your backing fabric larger than your knitting!! - you need lenience to sew it in. I chose a soft fabric that wasn’t very stretchy. If you get a stretchier fabric you might want to use something to band the knitting first so that you avoid pulling it out of shape.

Lay the right sides of your two pieces (fabric & knitting) together and securely pin three sides.

Once your right sides are pinned together you can go all around your three pinned edges and sew together. Sewing is not my forte so if it isn’t yours either don’t worry, what’s good about this is that your stitches won’t actually be seen once the project’s done so don’t worry too much if they aren’t super neat. I used a running stitch and caught the underside of the knitting without going all the way through so that I knew my stitches wouldn’t be visible. If you want to add extra security, you can go round this sewing section twice. I personally hand sewed this, I think you could use a machine if you wanted to but be careful that the knitting doesn’t catch.

This is an exciting bit because you can really start to see the finished project

Once you’ve sewn your first three sides what you essentially have is a giant inside out pocket, and you can turn it right side out so it looks something like this:

Sorry it’s not a great photo.

After this I trimmed off the excess fabric and just sat and stretched everything out to make sure it was sitting properly and I was happy with it. If you’re also trimming off excess fabric, remember to leave the same amount of lenience (I did about five centimetres/two inches) as you did for the original edges!!

Then fold your lenience fabric inside the pocket and pin it nice and securely. I used a YouTube video to learn an invisible stitch to close this edge and it worked really well once I’d gotten the trick of it, I was really pleased. I practiced it on the excess fabric is cut off first and I definitely recommend that, it was really helpful

And then that’s it!!!

Here is my finished project again:

I am so overjoyed with how this came out!

I hope that this guide was somewhat helpful, though I realise it’s clear that I don’t write patterns and am probably not very good at describing what I did so I’m sorry if anything was unclear. If you try this let me know, and if you share it anywhere please credit me! 🖤🖤

[azems-familiar]

Mimodi

did this for Seika, since they start in Ul'dah and Lelesu doesn't, haha. ~1k words, most of it under the cut for length!

The Quicksand’s evening bustle is like a heartbeat, steady and rhythmic and pulsing with Ul’dah’s lifeblood. Momodi watches it all from her place behind the bar, listening to the scattered conversations she can hear - at one table an adventuring party discusses the next job they want to pick up, at the end of the bar a lalafell thamauturge flirts with the burly roegadyn woman next to her, in the corner of the room a pair of Brass Blades are making their way through their fourth round of the night; earlier she’d overheard them mentioning Lolorito’s coin, and had filed that away for later. Whatever he’s planning, she’ll keep an eye and an ear out, and relay anything of import to Papashan - it’s always in her best interest to keep the Sultansworn apprised of whatever the Monetarists are up to, and let them decide if they want to intervene or not. Affairs of state are only her business when she picks up gossip on them.

But they’ve got a missing crown, and the Syndicate once again pushing for more power, so if Lolorito’s bribing some of the Blades…well. 

The thaumaturge seems to be making some progress in her flirting - she waves Momodi over and asks for a round for the two of them on her tab, which Momodi fills with a wink - there’s some line about learning the secrets of the craft that’s terribly cheesy but makes the mercenary eye her with undisguised interest. Momodi chuckles to herself, leaning on the bar and noting the drinks down in her book, and as she glances up again she catches the sound of the front door opening over the voices.

The woman who steps in is one Momodi has never before seen in Ul’dah - she would remember an au ra adventurer, as rare a sight as that is in Eorzea. This one’s got pearlescent tan scales all across her face, arms, neck, and chest, peeking out from her sturdy brown traveling attire, and even from across the room the pale purple limbal rings in her eyes catch the lamplight and glow with it. Dark reddish-brown hair that fades to pale green frames her face and is pulled back from her head in two long tails, and she carries a sword of solid steel on her hip and a round shield on her back, walking like someone familiar with the weight of them. An adventurer, there’s no doubt about it…but there’s some indefinable quality about her that draws attention, beyond the strangeness of her horns and scales. She almost seems to glow with a light from within, something neither heard nor seen but felt.

Fairy tales and fantasy, Momodi wants to scoff, but that don’t explain the hole in her memory when she thinks of those heroes who fell at Carteneau, does it?

Conversation dies down for a moment as the newcomer weaves her way carefully between the tables, walking with a light step, then picks back up again in a flurry of furious whispering. The adventurer ignores all of it with a practiced ease, stopping in front of the bar, then hesitates a moment.

“Welcome to the Quicksand,” Momodi greets with her customary cheer, and shoos away another customer she knows is only here to gawp. “What can I get ya?”

“Wymond sent me to you,” the adventurer answers, and ah, of course he had. “I’m new to Ul’dah, and…looking for work. He said you could aid me with both of those things.”

Her voice is soft, and lilted in a way that takes Momodi a moment to place as Ishgardian, which raises a whole lot of questions she’s not so sure she needs or wants the answers to. Since the Calamity, Ishgardians don’t make their way into Eorzea unless they’ve got any other choice - some fled the snows, or poor fortune, but the majority are either disgraced, runaways, or so-called heretics…or a mix of all three. And a dragon-blooded girl raised up in that city? Poor thing.

“Well, he was right,” Momodi says, nodding with emphasis and gesturing for the girl to sit. She does, after a moment, and Momodi rummages around under the counter to bring out her Guild records, humming to herself. “I don’t just run the Quicksand - I’m in charge of the Adventurers’ Guild here in Ul’dah, and if you’re willin’ to answer some questions about what sort of work you’re lookin’ for, and your skills, I can get you on record and start makin’ connections between you and any patrons what might have a use for you. I’ll need a name for that, though, Miss…?”

She startles slightly, as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to her. Up this close, Momodi can see that her eyes are a dark indigo - lovely color, really, she’s a striking young woman. “...Seika,” she says. “Seika Valeriant - I’m an Ishgardian-trained paladin with a grasp on the fundamentals of spellwork, and an attunement to Light-aspected magic.”

Light magic? Well, isn’t that just rare…and Momodi thinks of her initial impression of Seika and wonders, even as she notes the adventurer’s name and skills down on an empty page of her log. The little customary interview and lecture on the basics of Ul’dah and adventuring go by quickly enough, and Seika pays for dinner and a drink and tucks herself onto a stool at the opposite end of the bar from the thaumaturge (who, halfway through, comes over to settle her tab with a pleased expression on her face, the mercenary standing as well and waiting for her). Momodi serves her up and settles back in for the rest of the evening, and keeps wondering all the while.

She’s been in this business for a long time, after all, and she’s got instincts aplenty from it - and looking at Seika, all she can think of is that this one is going to bring change wherever she walks. Whatever reasons have brought her to their desert rose of a city, whatever she’s running from, whatever it is about her that puts Momodi in mind of the long-lost Warriors of Light…something is coming, following along in this adventurer’s wake.

She just has to hope Ul’dah is ready for it.

[himluv]

DA Review Series: Blue Wraith

<<< Previous Review: Deception

I've been away for a hot minute while my spouse and I survived the flu. But, I've been reading some and watching Absolution on repeat, so I should have a few reviews out in rapid succession.

(Please do keep in mind I wrote some of these reviews whilst ill, so I apologize for any strangeness/errors lolol)

Title: Blue Wraith Author/Illustrator: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir/ Fernando Heinz Furukawa Year Published: 2020 In-World Year: ~9:40-9:44 Dragon Verdict: While the narrative format isn't my favorite in this one (lots of jumping between groups AND time), there is A LOT that matters to the state of Thedas here. Plus, I mean... It's Fenris!

Blue Wraith picks up right after Deception, with all of our comic book friends finally together. Marius and Tessa have reconnected with Ser Aaron and Vaea, and they now have Calix Pryde, Francesca Invidus, and the Mabari, Autumn, in tow. (We also see flashes of what Fenris has been up to in the past few years, roaming Tevinter to kill blood mages/Venatori.)

This blissful union doesn't last long however. In the group's hunt for yet another insidious magical artifact, Francesca learns that her father may be in great danger from an infamous assassin — The Blue Wraith. So, Autumn and Vaea set off with her to see if they can rescue her father and just maybe recruit the assassin to their side.

Meanwhile, Ser Aaron tries to cheer up Calix, to no avail. The boy is increasingly aware that he's not built for the thrill of battle, as he freezes during a conflict with the Qunari. But, they survive the battle and find the caravan they were chasing. And there's a familiar foe traveling with it — the Orlesian Marquette that Vaea bested in Knight Errant.

Francesca and Vaea meet with Fenris, aka the Blue Wraith, on the road and things aren't quite friendly. Vaea has to lean on her association with Varric to get Fenris to team up with them, on the condition that he can't kill Francesca's father. Which... Doesn't go well.

Turns out her dad is a member of the Venatori and staunchly believes she is an embarrassment. That she should have died in Ventus, instead of her brother. And while Fenris upholds his end of the bargain, Magister Invidus cannot be made to see reason. Francesca ends up killing him to protect her friends, but not before he mentions the "sarcophagus".

This leads our two teams back together, because the Orlesian thief and the artifact our friends have been hunting is the restored sarcophagus that burned lyrium into Fenris's skin. We're shown that only elves can survive the sarcophagus's torture, and its head has a now very familiar crescent shape...

(This is the part where I wildly theorize that the sarcophagus was made by Ghilan'nain as one of her experiments.)

The artifact escapes, heading for Tenebris. Calix leaves the group, but offers to be a source of information in the future. He just can't handle the violence, which is fair. And then our remaining heroes set off to chase down this artifact and the Venatori.

While I'm always happy to spend time in Thedas (and see Fenris!) this volume of the comic series did suffer from trying to weave a few too many threads in too little space. The pacing felt off, and the jumps in time and focus were often jarring. Still, if you're reading the comics and prepping for Veilguard, this one's probably important.

[taiyaki-translations]

Murmurs of Flourishing Blossoms - 4

Season: Winter Characters: Kaoru, Mika, Tatsumi, Midori, Shu Translator: taiyaki-translations

<That night, in Shu's atelier>

Mika: Mmph…

Shu: Kagehira! How many times have I told you to take the ribbon out of your mouth before speaking?

Mika: Ehehe~ There were so many things that I wanted t’bring them over all at once so it ended up like that.

Oshi-san, come ‘n take a look at the flower accessories Anzu-chan ‘n I made ♪

Shu: Hm, it seems like the little girl is expecting to be praised. Well, since you came all the way to Paris… I think these accessories are serviceable. From what I see, you two haven’t wasted your time.

Mika: I will keep workin’ harder so Oshi-san will praise me more! 

I also brought the fabric that Oshi-san wanted. What’s next?

Shu: The clothing designs were revised to take into consideration the disposition of each model and the change in exhibition location. After I check them again, we can continue working. Since we have to make outfits for the four of you, we need more of the accessories that you made earlier. 

Mika: Ngah, I remember this shoot’s inspiration is the image of flowers swayin’ in the breeze, as if they're murmurin’. We need t’ capture that kinda natural softness, right? 

The costume design is simple, but the flower accessories were added here ‘n there so that it can blend into the site of the shoot naturally while preservin’ that concept? 

So that means me ‘n Anzu-chan have important work t’ do. I won’t disappoint ya, Oshi-san!

Mika: ♪~♪~♪~

(It’s been a while since I’ve had a meal together with Oshi-san, so I’m lookin’ forward to it~♪)

Oshi-san~ Dinner’s almost ready, so it’s time t’ come ‘n eat!

Shu: Non! I don’t have time for that right now. And if I eat too much, it interferes with my thinking and it will only slow me down. Drinking coffee is enough.

Mika: B…But…

Shu: Now, don’t just stand there. You and the little girl should go eat first. I’ll take care of everything here.

Mika: (It’s gettin’ real late, but Oshi-san continues t’ make costumes without eatin’ or restin’...)

(In the past, when I wasn’t eatin’ or sleepin’ well, Oshi-san scolded me a lot, but Oshi-san is doin’ the same thing now! How did this happen!)

Nnah, I’m gonna scold Oshi-san too!

Shu: Didn’t I tell you to eat by yourself and rest? You’re interrupting my train of thought… 

Mika: Oshi-san, ya can’t use double standards like this~! I also want Oshi-san to take good care of himself, isn’t an artist’s body important?

Shu: ……

Listen carefully, Kagehira. Being able to stick to one’s own ideas is an important step to becoming an independent artist. Of course, the same goes for judging whether other people’s opinions are acceptable. So, I’ll accept your opinion and take a break.

<The next morning, Shu's apartment>

Shu: (Hmm? This scent is familiar…)

What have you been up to this morning? What’s going on?

Kaoru: Good morning, Itsuki-kun. Isn’t it obvious? We bought flowers and breakfast as thanks for your hard work~

We heard you stayed up all night working on the costumes, so we couldn’t just sit by and watch. 

I heard from Kagehira-kun that you mention these croissants a lot. He said they were hard to get, so we went as soon as the store opened to get in line. They’re freshly baked ♪

Tatsumi: Midori-san and I are members of “Gardenia”, and we’ve chosen some flowers that are appropriate for displaying indoors. Midori-san also bought some high quality vegetables from the early morning market and made this salad himself.

Midori: Um, senpai… Thank you for your hard work…

Shu: I just slept a few hours later, honestly, you lot are making too much of a fuss—

Mika: Hehe, but Oshi-san, yer definitely happy too ♪

Shu: Kagehira, don’t get carried away… Wait, what’s that ring on your hand?

Mika: Nnah, Hakaze-senpai taught me how t’weave this. Oshi-san, look, Anzu-chan has one too!

Kaoru: I learned how to weave flower rings on a variety show before, but I didn’t expect that to be used here. How is it, is it okay?

After seeing you make so many flower accessories, my hands were itching to make something too~

Shu: It’s not that elaborate— But the flowers themselves are already natural works of art, so it’s not like it’s without its merits…

Mika: Ngah, I got it! This is the “vigorously growin’ vitality” that Oshi-san was talkin’ about yesterday! 

Mm… If we’re gonna have flower rings, we gotta embellish with fresh flowers…

Shu: Oh? It seems that you’ve already got an idea for the concept that I asked you to devise yesterday. If you want to add a natural touch to your outfit, flowers are definitely a good approach. 

I was anxious to finish the first outfit yesterday because I have to go check the layout of the exhibition hall today, but since you seem to have come up with a good idea, I’ll leave the final decorations to you, Kagehira.

Mika: Mm! On top of the costumes, Oshi-san’s gotta decorate the exhibition hall, so leave the rest of the costume makin’ to me!

Huh? Anzu-chan, you wanna join too ‘cause it’s yer job to support idols?

Shu: You two, I haven’t given my answer yet? My criteria for costume making is very strict.

Mika: Eh, Oshi-san, so yer sayin’ it's okay? Me n’ Anzu-chan, we’ll both do our best~♪

Kaoru: Ahaha, anyway, no matter how busy you are, make sure you eat and rest well—

Previous | Directory | Next

[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Parallels 35: Lighthouses

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

"We are to be lighthouses to each other."

"Technically you’re supposed to avoid lighthouses, so you don’t crack up on the rocks."

"We need to be a lighthouse!"

When the lighthouse is first introduced, it's a symbol of being trapped. Stede and Mary are pressured into an arranged marriage, and it's going to define their lives "for eternity." They'll never be free, they'll die like this (as the headstones remind them).

Mary tries to make the most of this, to turn the lighthouse into something beautiful. It's the first piece of her art we see--but far from the last, because Mary, like Stede, is going to learn the truth about lighthouses. And they're both going to become lighthouses for each other, when they decide that the best way for them to be free is to live apart. A lighthouse thus becomes a symbol of something that must be avoided, a life that shouldn't be led.

Stede figures out the real meaning of a lighthouse before he even realizes it when he leaves Mary behind, reasoning that he can't ever be happy in a life with her. Yet, he blames himself for doing this. He fears that it was all a mistake, a shallow and childish reaction to failing to be an adult, failing to be "a lighthouse for his family."

And then Ed transforms the meaning of a lighthouse again, and the episode plot hinges on the idea that "we need to be a lighthouse." Ed and Stede literally become a lighthouse, working together to create the illusion of a lighthouse at sea in order to avoid being attacked by the Spanish navy.

So the symbolic meaning of the lighthouse is transformed again, this time into one of safety. Being a lighthouse means making one another safe, means the ship is a "safe space." And it's a lighthouse that doesn't fit into the idea of a lighthouse: it's not a building, it's a ship; it's not bound to land and surrounded by dangerous rocks, it's free to travel wherever it needs to go, just like Stede at the end of Season 1. The reminder of the loss of this symbolic safety, produced by partnership between Ed and Blackbeard and by the community of the crew, is what breaks through Ed's attempt to return to the Blackbeard persona in the last episode of that season.

And then in season 2, the lighthouse returns with the introduction of Ned Lowe. There are 8 million ways that Ned could have been introduced, but we meet him when he's at the top of a lighthouse, torturing a lighthouse keeper to death for fun.

Because a lighthouse, like a relationship, is a safe space--right up until it isn't. A lighthouse can burn its keeper, just like a relationship can go south.

The lighthouse in season 2 becomes a symbol of danger, of the storm that Ed mentions in the following scene. Ned Lowe is chasing Blackbeard because Blackbeard was a more successful pirate than him; like Stede, Ned Lowe has become a pirate in response to inadequacies he experienced within his family, during his life on land.

Ned embodies Ed's and Stede's insecurities: Ed's old fear that he's trapped in an outline of a "generic pirate"; Ed's present fear that his past as a pirate will define him; Stede's old need to run from his family to prove something about being "adequate"; the risks in Stede's future that he might go too hard on traditional piracy and lose something important.

Ed's and Stede's relationship can be a place where these insecurities are heightened (Stede's thinking around the execution of Ned, Ed's fears when Stede becomes "a sea god"), an obstacle to overcoming those insecurities (what Ed thinks when he bails on Stede to become a fisherman)--or it can become a place where those insecurities can be accepted and worked through. From here on out in OFMD, the storm hovers in the background: it is the danger that the encounter with Ned Lowe will lead Ed, Stede, or both to "crack up on the rocks." But the meaning of the lighthouse is fluid, and Ed and Stede are both capable of change.

In fact, at the end of Season 2 Ed and Stede shack up in a house that is what people think a lighthouse is: a guiding light to safe harbor. The inn over the sea as a place that can guide people to safety, a safe space created by hope and imagination.

[lyriumlullaby-ao3]

okay hi friends, i’m home from school and i have just enough brain power to talk about

Mythal and the creation of the Blight ✨

those of you who’ve been reading my meta lately may recall that i said i had theories about this. we’re gonna dive into them now :)

if you’ve never taken Solas to the Temple of Mythal, you need to—it opens up SO much dialogue, including a discussion of the TONS of statues and representations of the Dread Wolf inside the temple. I'm not going to go super in depth about that content here, i'm saving it for another post, but the important thing to note here is that depictions of the Dread Wolf are literally EVERYWHERE in there. i haven't counted, but i'd be willing to bet there's more imagery of him than any other 'god' besides Mythal herself.

and in the game's epilogue scene and Trespasser, we get a taste of Solas'/the Dread Wolf's relationship to Mythal. It's a bit obscured as to the nature of that relationship (again, stuff for a different post!), but they're obviously quite close, with warm (if complex) feelings towards one another.

for those who haven’t read Tevinter Nights (one, you should if you get the chance, it’s fantastic), there’s a short story contained within called "Dread Wolf Take You" written by our very fave, Patrick Weekes. now, i’m not gonna spoil anything there, but there's some important discussion of the red lyrium idol found in the deep roads during DA2. here’s what it looks like, in detail, for those who’ve forgotten:

[source]

In that same short story, this idol is described as "two lovers [embracing], or a god mourning her sacrifice." there is also a point in that piece where it comes out that Solas considers this idol to be “his.” okay... why?

i think it's because it depicts himself and Mythal. not a stretch with the imagery, right? and i'm not inclined to think they were lovers, at least not anymore. they might have been, but if so, it wasn't the core aspect of their relationship in my eyes. i'll explore that in more detail later on in another post as well. so this leads me to the consideration of 'a god mourning her sacrifice.' (and this, only because i'm inclined to follow the breadcrumbs given us by bioware, especially Patrick Weekes. they're good at weaving stories, as has been pointed out by other users talking about their discussion of what a good story twist is. god i CANNOT find the post?? pls if you see it send it my way bc i feel bad for mentioning it but not linking it.)

in the Temple of Mythal, we learn from Abelas that Mythal was killed, "murdered," as he describes it, and this is confirmed by Solas in Trespasser. Solas says the other gods killed her. now, i'm uncertain about whether this is literal or a metaphor, but i don't think it much matters. i'll explore both views as i keep analyzing and you can decide for yourself.

so here's what i think: i've mentioned before that i believe the Blight to be a biological weapon created by the Evanuris during their war with the Titans. it was specifically created to infect Titans and corrupt/destroy them. this is why we end up with lyrium that has the blight, red lyrium. and here's where we get into the part that's still a bit fuzzy to me. i'm going to lay out a few possible scenarios, but there are certainly more, so if you see something i've missed, please do add on!! i'm going to offer these in the order of what i think is least to most likely.

scenario one: the Evanuris (possibly lead by Elgar'nan, although that's not really important,) create a horrible biological weapon that will infect the physical world, but leave the spiritual untouched. there is no Veil yet at this point in time, so this is an aspect of its engineering, not a feature of the world's structure. they need a blood sacrifice to complete its construction, the sacrifice of a living being (or beings) to finish it and send it off to destroy the world. they decide on Mythal, storm her temple, and murder her to complete the weapon. (this would follow with a few of the things Abelas says at the Well of Sorrows: "[Mythal] was slain, if a god truly can be. Betrayed by those who destroyed this temple.") Solas casts the Veil to prevent the Blight's release, sealing the Evanuris away and locking whatever 'warhead' the Blight is contained within in "the Golden City," which i believe was Arlathan, behind the Veil. this warhead then corrupts the city, blackening it, and accounting for what Corypheus describes when he and the other Magisters Sidereal breach the Veil and enter this supposedly "Golden City" only to find it tainted and empty.

scenario two: where everything is the same, except the Evanuris plan to sacrifice many lives, likely those of slaves, and Mythal instead intervenes. there is a legend told of a time when Elgar'nan and Falon'Din were going to war over some argument, and Mythal interceded, suggesting they resolve the conflict with a single champion each, rather than sending their many soldiers to their deaths. They did so, and thus Mythal saved the lives of untold thousands. What if she did the same here? What if she offered to die for the cause instead of sending an untold number of slaves to their deaths? Perhaps there was something about her form, her body, her power, that made her blood more potent and thus other sacrifices were unneeded? i like this one slightly more than the first, because of the way Weekes describes the red lyrium idol as an image of Mythal's sacrifice. But this still leaves us without a way to account for the destruction of her temple, if she went willingly. which leads me to...

scenario three: my personal favorite theory. the Evanuris create this weapon, despite protests from Mythal, and are prepared to kill her to get their way if they must. Elgar'nan is notoriously ruthless in this way, and if he was indeed the ring leader, as i suspect he was, this is very plausible to me. completing the weapon may or may not have required a blood sacrifice all the same--if it didn't, no problem, but if it did, perhaps the sacrifice of many slaves was still the plan. this matters little to this scenario, as you'll see in a moment. Mythal goes to Solas, a trusted friend, a favored companion, however you see their relationship. (i'll get to that in my next meta, i promise, so no spoilers on what i think!!) She knows of a way to stop them, and she knows it requires blood magic, a life sacrificed. She would never ask another to die for something like this, and so she offers herself. Solas is horrified, but knows she is right, and that this is the only way. Mythal kills herself, and Solas uses the power of her blood to cast the Veil, separating the world of spirits from the physical world. the Evanuris breach Mythal's temple in search of her, and, finding it empty, desecrate and destroy it, until they find themselves caught in the wake of the Veil coming down. i like this theory best because it accounts for all the pieces: Weekes' use of the term "sacrifice" for Mythal, Abelas' description of Mythal's death (mostly, if we take the term "murder" metaphorically, in that she was forced into a situation by others where she had to die against her will), and Solas' attitudes towards blood magic. recall that he says it's a tool like any other, and when it's used to gain power, that's wrong, but it need not always be evil. and note that he says he's never bothered to learn it (possibly a lie, he tells many of those) because it makes it harder to access the Fade. now, to the matter of if the blood sacrifice was still needed to release the weapon... maybe it was. and if so, perhaps that's part of how the Magisters Sidereal unintentionally released it upon the world, as they were said to have sacrificed "slaves beyond counting" (Canticle of Silence 2:2) in order to breach the Fade. So either way, it seems the sacrifice requirement was fulfilled.

in all of these scenarios, it's worth pointing out that the Evanuris, if they're smart (which, don't they have to be at least a little, to get to where they are?), must have some way to separate their spiritual selves from their physical forms in order to avoid the Blight when it is unleashed. I have more to say about this, but it's better left to my next post. :) so for now, just stay tuned on that, but the point here is, if they have done so in preparation for the release of the weapon, wouldn't that make it awfully easy and convenient to seal them away from the physical world entirely?

so, with all that said, stuff that still needs exploring in future meta:

Solas' nature. A spirit? A demon? A god? Just some fucking guy trying to do the right thing? I'll talk about this next time. :)

Solas' and Mythal's relationship! Also something that will go in my next meta post.

writing this also gave me ideas about the Evanuris and the Old Gods that i'm going to talk more about. i'm pretty sure i made a post especially about this already? and if so perhaps i'll rewrite it, but it may have been an addition on someone else's post, in which case i'm going to make my own!

plus a few other assorted things featuring Cullen, Cole, and dwarves! (not all at once. sorry lol)

in summary, the Blight's a biological weapon, and that's why Mythal died/was murdered and Solas cast the Veil and sundered the world. <3

[fourth-dimensional-thinker]

hello! i just finished reading "time is a flat circle" and oh my god it was soooo good. i read the whole thing in what was basically one sitting i just had to keep going. i've never enjoyed suddenly realizing how terribly fucked a character was by the narrative as much as i did reading that last chapter holy shit. amazed at your skill of weaving in all that sweet foreshadowing while the wholesome stuff was playing out. i will be thinking about this fic maybe forever

in an earlier post of yours you mentioned plans for a sequel! absolutely no pressure at all but i was wondering if that was still in the works? the entire situation from the end intrigues me. i gotta know of the horrors that await him

Oh, wow, hi! This ask made my whole day. I think I’ll print this out and frame it.

I’m very happy you enjoyed my fic so much. Writing Doc and Marty’s new dynamic and planning out all those little bits of foreshadowing were the highlights of creating the story for me. I’m a big fan of relationships that have genuine love between the characters, yet also have this twisted, underlying danger to them. There was no BTTF fic with that concept, so I had to make it for myself—and was excited to learn other people were into it, too!

I did say that I might write a sequel, and the status on that is…complicated. When I was writing TIAFC, I wasn’t planning to write a second part for it. That’s why the fic stops where it does, with the final chapter pulling the rug out from under Marty and ending on a sort-of cliffhanger. At the time, I didn’t know where else to go from there, so it just ended where it did. But after I got so many positive comments on the ending, I got motivated to try to do some work on a sequel. 

Even though I knew I was going to leave it open-ended, I still had a few ideas about Marty’s fate before I wrote the final chapter. I did a lot of brain-storming with a friend and wrote a few short sequel fics, one from Doc’s POV and another from The Pinheads' POV a few days after the ending wondering where Marty is (though, I don’t think I’ll publish those anytime soon). I liked parts of them, but I didn’t feel confident in continuing them. It felt too “dark” for it to be BTTF fic without also feeling out of character. 

Eventually, instead of trying to write a sequel, I turned towards writing original fiction. I still wanted to write a twisted-wholesome relationship, but this time with new characters. I’m currently working on a story that has evolved from this fic, and has grown into its own enough that you can’t distinguish any part of it that originates from BTTF—other than the 80s setting. That story is also not ready for the world either. 

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I haven’t stopped thinking about the core of TIAFC, but haven’t actually published anything for it in a long time. I don’t want to say that a sequel is definitely not going to happen or still could possibly happen. My motivation and available time for projects fluctuates wildly, so I’m not going to make any promises or guarantees. I’m very happy to talk about it, but I’m a bit iffy about writing for it at the moment. 

Now, if you would like to know more about Marty’s fate, I can share some things that have been consistent throughout all the various drafts and I thoughts I had:

Since this follows directly after the ending of TIAFC, Marty still has strong fear of Doc’s flux capacitors. Despite Doc’s mastery of his time travel skills, Marty is very nervous about the “disintegration” power he has, and is scared of physical contact from him.

Related to the point above, even though he wouldn’t hurt him, Doc wears gloves around Marty to help him feel safer during physical contact (which Doc likes to make a lot of). Doc wearing gloves also serves as an important cue for whether or not there’s going to be any time traveling or “energy-eating” about to happen. 

Marty isn’t going to outlive Doc. Interpret that how you will. I can’t imagine Doc dedicating his life towards his friendship with Marty, only to not be around for the rest of Marty’s life. 

Marty’s not actually being imprisoned in Doc’s estate. He is ~technically~ allowed to leave, but if anything goes wrong, Doc is not going to be happy that something bad happened to his best friend. 

Most ideas for this are about exploring the internal conflict Marty has. If he leaves and gets into something as little as a minor argument with someone, that person is going to suffer and Marty feel feel immensely guilty about it. There’s always potential danger to Hill Valley anytime he goes out. But on the other hand, if he remains inside, he’s going to be with Doc all the time. And Marty is so conflicted, because he’s terrified of Doc, but also knows he used to be friends with him in the past. 

There’s a lot that focuses on Marty’s mental state as time goes on. I haven’t been able to pick a direction on where to take it, but it’s not a fun time for him. 

Thanks for the ask! It was nice to re-visit my notes for this fic. 

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review: The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White (🇷🇴  Romania)

[image 1: book trilogy covers: And I Darken, Now I Rise, Bright We Burn. On each cover a spear slashes through an object: a flower, a necklace, a pomegranate; image 2: map showing modern Romania; image 3: the view from Poenari castle in Romania - the walls of a stone fortress drop away to a steep mountainous landscape covered in green; source: wikimedia]

And I Darken; Now I Rise; Bright We Burn

Author: Kiersten White

YA World Challenge for 🇷🇴 Romania

I've seen some criticism of this series by Romanian reviewers, one of which is Lada's name (which I agree is odd), and others that are to be expected when you take a national hero (Vlad the Impaler), gender-flip him, and write him in love with the leader of an empire that oppressed your nation for centuries. So it's important to acknowledge this series as pure fiction. It did have me flipping through Wikipedias of the the real historical characters mentioned, many of whom I had never learned about before.

While much of the series (1 and 2 especially) take place in the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey), the series follows the point of view of two siblings from Wallachia, a historical region of the modern state of Romania.

Review

Lada and her brother Radu are left as hostages of the Ottoman Empire as children to keep their father "loyal" as a vassal. I loved Lada's character from the beginning: strong-willed, possessive, brutal even as a child, and "ugly". The character-building was expert and the way the author weaves relationships and motivations in a complex tapestry, against a backdrop of a rich world.

And I Darken builds the siblings' relationship with the future sultan Mehmed, setting up that messy love triangle, and a scheme to get Mehmed on the throne. While Radu falls for Islam, Lada is never not wholly dedicated to Wallachia.

With Now I Rise, oh lord, the gay angst!... dear Radu. With Lada gone off to find support for her kingdom, Radu is left with his angst. We see the battle of Constantinople, and interconnected politics around Eastern Europe as Lada raises her army and searches for allies.

Bright We Burn, and Lada is ready to go full-on Impaler. The action was great, until... the entire climax and ending. I felt the finale really cheated Lada and did not serve her character. I didn't feel that book 3 lived up to its title. (And god, what a cringe epilogue!)

I have such mixed feelings about this series because it is incredibly well-written and engaging throughout, with an epic world and depth of character. But I dislike the ending the more I think about it. Without spoilers, I can just say that I think the whole feminist theme built up through the book fell apart in the end.

Books 1-2 I would have rated 4.5 stars, but Book 3 ultimately pulled the rating down.

Other reps: #muslim #gay #m/f #lesbian side characters #orthodox christian

Genres: #alternate history #drama #romance #adventure #war

★  ★  ★    3 stars

SPOILER rant under the cut:

In Book 2, the gunpowder lady said something to Radu - that Lada would be the type to go out with fire. With a title called Bright We Burn, I fully expected to see Lada going down as brightly and destructively as a meteorite, taking herself out with everything. What a disappointment.

The ending and Lada's forced 'submission' to Radu, by him taking away every last thing she had, under the guise of *compassion*, quite rankled me. It took away all the independence of her character that the series had built up from the beginning, and replaced it with nothing.

And. The. Kid. That epilogue. No, just no. I hate that such a promising series had to end with the cisheteronormative notion that "you must bear progeny to have a legacy". Fuck that. It completely threw away everything that Lada was just to have this "oh cute she acts like her mother" moment. 🤮 That and Radu vandalizing the church floor with his weak, misogynist scratchings.

It could have been so much better.

[softguarnere]

hello! :) i'm working on a bob fanfiction right now, and i wanted to know if you had any tips for aspiring bob fanfic writers (or if you had talked about this before?) i'm especially curious what you have to say about balancing the historical accuracy of the story vs deviations from history, as well as how to weave an oc into the original plot of the show while still keeping the content fresh and (somewhat) original

oh! and also how you go about doing your research (if you do any)

your writing is a huge inspiration to me, so thanks so much!! i hope you have a good day :D

Hi Anon! I answered something similar here if you want to check that out

Aside from just going for it and having fun with it, I do have some thoughts (everybody act shocked), but I'll try to keep it concise 🤗

Balancing historical accuracy with fiction

First and foremost, I feel like it's helpful to point out that Stephen Ambrose made some mistakes in BOB. Not trying to disparage his name or anything, just to be clear! Several of the men (Speirs, Shifty) pointed out mistakes he made about them in the book.

Why am I mentioning this? Because I'm a historian and I'm annoying about it lol Because the historical narrative we're drawing our inspiration for fics from isn't a narrative that everyone agrees on -- then again, good luck finding one that people do, but I digress -- I think it gives some wiggle room for bending the story a bit to make it work for the narrative that we as writers are trying to create

Similarly, I feel like it's important to invoke the disclaimer that many of us put on our fics: these stories about fictional representations from a show (though it is based on real people and events)

In the end, we're all taking liberties with the narrative for the sake of our writing. Most people in the fandom probably won't bite your head off if you use plotlines that are alternate histories because most of us are doing them, too -- and a lot of writers here have some very cool ideas and plots with alternate histories that are really good reads!

At the end of the day, don't feel pressured to stick directly to the historical narrative. After all, we're writers -- having imagination is what we do

Weaving an OC into a well-known narrative

Oh boy. I'm not sure if there's a great way to answer this. Personally, I knew who my OC was, what her background, wants desires, etc. were, and then I just sort of . . . set her free into the story? There are moments directly from the show where I wove her in and made her a part of that scene, and then there are interactions and plotlines that I came up with myself.

Honestly, it probably depends on your plot and your character. No one really wants to read a re-write of BOB -- after all, that's why we're all out here writing fics with our own ideas and stories. However, if you feel that a certain scene would further your plot/advance your character, and that you can weave them into it, then go for it! It's all about how you write and what feels right to you for your story.

Research

Have I abused some of my historian privileges during my time in this fandom? Perhaps 👀 But if you don't have university archival access, never fear! There are still lots of good ways to research

In terms of background, I found that reading the memoirs and biographies of the Easy Company men was really helpful when figuring out how to write them. It was also good for learning stories and experiences that did not make it into BOB. Watching interviews with them on YouTube and watching interviews with the actors was also extremely helpful for things like speech cadence, mannerisms, etc.

Definitely branch out, though! I was lucky in that I had to do some projects about WW2 around the time that I joined the fandom, so researching different aspects of the period was helpful for me when I started writing. Don't feel like you have to rush out and read every WW2 book or watch every documentary, but it can definitely help with learning different perspectives and experiences, as well as providing context.

If you ever want book recommendations, feel free to reach out! Especially if you need book recs about paratroopers in general, because I have a whole shelf space dedicated to those haha

Lastly, thank you so much for the lovely compliment, Anon -- and thank you for trusting me enough to reach out! 🥹 Feel free to reach out if you ever want to chat, and I look forward to reading what you write in the future 💕

(Other BOB writers feel free to add on!)

[highlordofkrypton]

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY: Eia takes Lilith in and gives her purpose.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's my birthday today but I'm celebrating my readers, so please enjoy an extra chapter this week!

TAGS: @achaotichuman @amalhe-kofee @watcherintheweyr @darah-g @sonics-atelier @viktoriaashleyyx @thrumbolt @itsybitsybluesy

READ ON AO3 OR BELOW THE CUT.

In this small, cluttered seamstress’ shop, Illyria blooms once more. The legacy of women that came before her are unspooled like the finest glimmering thread for Lilith to hold. Eid’s teachings are worth more than gold; she is what true leaders are born from—she is a leader herself.

To learn from her is difficult. Eid is a harsh teacher, expecting Lilith’s full attention and full effort from sunrise to sunset. It leaves her beyond exhausted at the end of her shifts in the shop, but she has never felt so fulfilled. While her hands work the fabric of various clients, her tongue recites the old words from the baranguay —from before the time of Kings and High lords. 

“It does not matter if you wield a dagger or a sword. The most important skill you can have is your ability to read.”

“I can already read,” Lilith says automatically, unable to stop the defiance that rolls off her in waves. She has spent too long becoming the prickliest version of herself to survive.

“Are you here to learn or to argue? Your mouth is moving, but your mind is not thinking.”

“Oo, uray.” Lilith concedes, working on a tricky embroidery. Her fingers are red and swollen from working the needle. She shakes her hand, trying to even out the blood flow, but she does not stop. Working in the shop means that she doesn’t have to be out there. 

“You must learn to read people. Understand the way they think. Once you do, your reach will be limitless.”

Lilith snorts, and Eia glares at her. “Oo, uray.”

“Brykos desires you. Do not look at me like that. Everyone knows this well. Were you not disguised, those warriors would have not dared.” Eia’s hands soar across the fabric, moving with a speed that can only be enhanced by magic. “If your head was not so thick, you would have realized that the more you fight, the more he longs for you.”

This time, the young Illyrian stops to give Eia an incredulous look. Lilith isn’t wanted. She is hated. Brykos wants to break her. He finds joy in asserting dominance and clearly, she is the only one left to stand against him. That’s all. There is no real desire in him.

Eia tuts in disapproval. After all the time spent together, they’re starting to learn each other’s language, and most of it does not require words.

“In another time, your defiance would have made you worthy of being binokot. Your courage would not be feared, but revered for what it can instill in others. Datu from all ends of Illyria would have courted you properly. Or kidnapped you, but it would have been with the utmost respect,” Eia laughs. She reminisces of her time as a protected bride herself. Even unmarried, she was treated with more reverence than a queen. 

“What does it matter? The courage and the defiance? Females do not lead the tribes.”

“But you raise the children who will. Life springs from us, and even if you choose not to give birth, the feminine balances out the masculine, unless the goddess has blessed you with the ability to weave seamlessly between natures, and even that is a rare gift. There is more to being than breeding.” Eia huffs, silently cursing the centuries of destruction King Brykos and his alliances have wrought upon the Illyrian people.

Lilith sets the skirt she is working on down. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Eia raises her head, thoughtful. Her hazel gaze grows distant, and the sliver of sunlight filtering through the window over her gray hair. She’s a beautiful and elegant woman, even in her old age. The way she carries herself is with fierce grace; each wrinkle is a badge earned for having seen Illyria’s greatest heights and its current low.

“Who knows. It might serve you, or Illyria one day.”

[mysterious-moonstruck-musings]

Hej,

please…please tag me in the list I nearly overlook you next chapter 23!

I praised you work before and i really freak out about it, because it’s so dam good.

I have a little request!

If you have the time 🙏 Tell me a little bit about the inspiration for the story? You create such an deep and real universe and brings the characters to life.

Both Dieter and Talia… I can’t get over it….think about the backstory/you description about Dieters behavior about relationships and it’s haunt’s me.

How did you start with the story in the first place? Is there some personal experience you weave into the story? And it’s this your first posting a story like this or did you write other story before?

Sorry, I have so much more question’s to you, but these haunting me the most!

And I know the story between these two lovebirds isn’t over…but i personally hope to read much more from you in the future ☺️

Praises, praise, praise… for you talents!

And thanks for tell about the good and bad parts of life! Where there is darkness, there is also light 😍 ah i love Happy Ends!

I move over to chapter 23 now…can’t wait to read his finally!

Best wishes and thank you!!

Thanks for the ask and kind words! 😭💜

More after the cut because it got kind of long…

This is indeed the first fic I have written on Tumblr. I used to write a lot when I was younger. I wrote a lot of poetry. I even did a horror trilogy once in high school for creative writing, which several of my teachers loved and others thought I was off my rocker…but I digress. 🤣

Once I started college and got my big girl job in higher education, I pretty much stopped writing for fun. I just didn’t have the time or the mental energy to do it. I finally gave up on higher education work after 16 years for a job that has a better work/life balance and I’m finally getting back into writing again. It’s been hard to get my mind reprogrammed from writing data driven reports and evidence based research, to this. It’s two very different things that uses very different language and I feel sooo out of practice. I am, however, slowly finding my way back.

I have mentioned little tidbits about my personal experiences in the Today’s Musings Extras for this fic. I’ve not gone into too many details because I don’t want to inadvertently spoil anything. I am indeed drawing heavily from life experiences for this fic unfortunately.

Everything I have witnessed, I wasn’t always directly involved in. Some of it was just the nature of my job. I did spend three years working in student conduct and behavioral intervention. A lot of the conduct issues really came down to students who were having personal troubles and really just needed help. A lot of it was mental health struggles or problems at home related to mental health struggles of family members. I worked closely with our counseling center during this time. I gained some amazing friends and learned a lot in the process.

With that said, A LOT of this is coming from things I have dealt with directly. There is a lot of me in Talia…the high functioning anxiety, the self doubt, the compartmentalization and rationalization. I work in IT and I’m a big crafting nerd too. So all those parts of her, do come from me. The other parts like the PTSD, history of emotional and psychological abuse, and drinking come from people I’m close to and have witnessed the affects of firsthand.

Dieter is one of my favorite Pedro boys and I felt like he was a great vehicle for exploring these topics. This version of Dieter is inspired by people in my life as well. The experiences he is having are very much pulling from multiple real life situations. They were and still are hard to deal with some days. I feel like it’s important that readers get to see all sides of these types of situations. Especially the side of those who are affected by the mental health struggles of those closest to them. That is something that is often overlooked and those people suffer in silence, just as much as the individuals who are experiencing the mental health crises themselves. That’s all I’ll say for now to avoid spoiling anything. Check back with me after we find out what is going on with Dieter and I might share more about what inspired his journey.

As far a the actual storyline goes, it’s all made up based around the traits I have created for these two and Dieter’s character in The Bubble.

Thank you for the ask and no worries about all the questions! I love that you want to know more about the story!

And lastly, I tried adding you to the tag list, but it won’t let me tag you. Do you possibly have your visibility settings turned off? I’m not sure what else would cause that. ☹️

[carolina-swifthoof]

Earthmother's Blessings

Today was a remarkable day, one that reminded me of the Earthmother’s boundless generosity and the interconnectedness of our lives.

I ventured into the city early this morning with the intention of acquiring some much-needed supplies for our tribal grounds. As I walked through the bustling streets, my attention was drawn to a humble bull seated near a post, meticulously whittling a small totem. Intrigued, I approached him and learned that he was crafting a totem of protection for a friend. This sight stirred a memory within me of a totem that had been a source of strength during my own difficult times.

Feeling a sudden impulse, as if guided by a whisper from the Earthmother herself, I retrieved the totem from my satchel and handed it to the bull. His name, I soon discovered, was Quoko Sun-Forest. He accepted my gift with profound gratitude, and we spent some time in conversation. I shared stories of my tribe and the fellowship we hold dear. To my surprise, Quoko revealed that he was without a tribe.

I didn't want him to make a hasty decision, so I suggested that he walk with us for a while and experience the fellowship of our tribe. It was at this moment that a fellow tribesman and Quoko's Pandaren friend, Barbatos, arrived. Introductions were made all around, and we soon found ourselves immersed in discussions about the joys of the Earthmother and the deep respect we Shu’halo have for her.

Quoko and Barbatos seemed receptive to our ways, though I made sure to caution them against joining us without true understanding and conviction. Chor echoed my sentiments, reinforcing the importance of thoughtful consideration before committing to our tribe.

The conversation flowed easily and warmly, with nary an awkward moment until we neared the end of our time together. Quoko mentioned something about bringing members of the Alliance into our fold. While this did not trouble me personally, I could see that it struck a nerve with Kueya and Chorwador. The scars of past conflicts run deep, but I have made my peace, understanding that the true enemy was the Legion.

As the sun began to set, we parted ways with promises to meet again. I walked back to our tribal grounds with a heart full of gratitude. Today, I witnessed the Earthmother’s hand at work, bringing together strangers and weaving new bonds of friendship and understanding. I feel hopeful for what lies ahead, and I am reminded that in every encounter, there is an opportunity to grow and to heal.

May the Earthmother continue to guide us all.

Carolina Swifthoof

[tickldpnk8]

On Hob and William Caxton

So a stray comment on this meta thread had me adding my thoughts to the end on Hob’s mention of going into printing. But I don’t think my thoughts got seen much because they were fairly off topic. But! The history of printing is a particular pet topic of mine so I wanted to expound on this a bit. Because it’s one of the echoing storylines that Gaiman weaves through the centuries to show how interconnected that time is. And it’s also an echo we see in the larger series about literature, stories and language.

In 1489, we get this panel where Hob mentions that he’s taken up a new trade called…printing. (Not that there’ll ever be real demand for it)

But it’s not until 1589 that we learn the name of this mysterious friend: William Caxton. (Mentioned by Hob as Billy Caxton)

But who was William Caxton?

Caxton was an Englishman in the mid-1400s who started his career as a cloth maker and merchant. By the 1450s, he was living on the continent in Bruges and by 1465, he had turned to politics. With the War of the Roses underway in 1470, he had turned his attention to bringing printed books to the untapped market in England.

Printing was a new industry in the mid-1400s in Europe. (As opposed to the printing traditions of Asia.) Gutenberg had used his jewelry-making expertise to cast individual letters for printing around 1440, and developed a printing press that revolutionized books, publishing and illustration in Western Europe. Caxton likely traveled to Germany and saw a press in action around 20-30 yrs later before buying his own and setting up shop on the continent. Demand for works in English was low on the continent, so he soon moved his shop back to London.

What Caxton did was revolutionary for the time. No one was printing books in English. Even in England, scholars preferred Latin and French, considering them more beautiful and more expressive. Caxton not only brought a whole new trade/industry back to England…he also played an important part in our linguistic history. By translating works into vernacular English—specifically his London dialect—he was saying that English literature traditions were just as worthy as Latin or French for scholars and the masses. His work helped to standardize spellings at a time of great linguistic change. And his dialect that he was using became more widespread through his publishing. Plus, through his poor translation, English adopted a number of loan words.

The first book he printed once back in England? None other than Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. He later published a second edition containing woodcut illustrations. He mostly published works he thought would be profitable with the gentry and then expanded his market by publishing works of popular fiction. His translation of La Morte D’Arthur helped popularize Arthurian legend.

What did a 15th century print shop look like?

I imagine that when Caxton started out, he might have had to wear many hats. In this woodcut from 1568, two men are setting type into forms in the background while one person inks the form on press and the other pulls the print. Not pictured are separate jobs for folks to carve illustrations like the above out of wood (or use other printing making methods like intaglio, etc) and to bind the books.

Pulling a print could be manually hard work. Once the form is inked and the paper put into place behind a frisket, the whole apparatus is rolled under the platen on the right. Pulling the big level attached to the screw above the platen would apply even weight to the inked form, leaving an impression on the paper. Then, the apparatus would be rolled back out, the paper removed and the process started again. Once all the pages were printed, they would have been bound by bookbinders.

By the 1600s, the print shop could have had multiple presses with even more staff as shown in this engraving. Guilds would have been set up with proper channels for learning the craft. Plus, a whole merchant system was in place to sell all those books, pamphlets and prints.

You can see a press like this in action in this video:

How does this tie into Men of Good Fortune?

Men of Good Fortune is as much a history of England overview as it is a history of English literature/language. By spacing his references out, Gaiman is able to allude to its evolution concisely for the purposes of his story and the limited real estate of his panels.

So here are Gaiman’s key references by date:

In 1389, we see Chaucer out for a drink with a friend in the midst of writing The Canterbury Tales.

In 1489, Hob is working with Caxton to set up his publishing business. Who would then go on to print several editions of Chaucer’s works.

In 1589, Hob refers back to Caxton by name, and we meet Shakespeare.

In 1689, no literature references

In 1789, Hob refers back to Shakespeare’s King Lear having a happy ending and asks after the nature of Morpheus’ deal with him.

In 1889, no literature references

In 1989, up to your imagination!

Hob and printing

For Hob specifically, his involvement could have meant many things. He could have become a typesetter and learned his letters. He could have been pure muscle pulling prints. He could have bound the books or carved the illustrations. And he could have branched out into being a merchant by selling said books. Or…all of the above.

As I’ve been writing this over the past week, @teejaystumbles just posted a printer!hob illustration. Was super excited to see it! Anyways, I’m hoping that this context was interesting for folks and I can’t wait to see if anyone writes/draws more printer!hob, because I can’t wait to read/see it!