#spartacus fanfic

[acourtofladydeath]

Thank you for the tags @kale-theteaqueen, @fieldofdaisiies, @chunkypossum!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 40 works!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 298,908

3. What fandoms do you write for? ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, The Song of Achilles and Greek Mythology currently, but I've also written for Dr. Who, Torchwood, and Spartacus.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? This list always surprises me, and I don't think it reflects my best or my favorite works at all. I always have to remind myself that kudos are just a number, and there's so many other ways to judge fics! But here's the list:

3 Jewels in the Hewn City

One Bed, One Bond, and a Pair of Wings

Enter: Uncle Autumn

All I Want for Solstice is You

Stairway Snoops

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes!!! I love interacting with everyone who reads my fics. My DM's and ask box are always open!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Definitely "All Things End."

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably "In Due Time," a fic I wrote for Nessian week 2023. Saying why gives away spoilers.

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? YUP. All sorts. I love writing all kinds of smut, but it has to have a point. My favorite kinds of smut to write are the kinds that make you really evaluate yourself, or that push boundaries in some way. I especially love smut with really deep, immersive plot. You can see this in my "To Become A Vanserra" series.

9. Do you write crossovers? I wrote a "The Song of Achilles" crossover with Hades & Persephone from Greek mythology; does that count? It's titled "A Place Eternal."

10. Have you ever had a fic translated? No.

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I used to roleplay with a friend from school, and I did ongoing worlds roleplays for a bit years ago, but that's the closest I've come to co-writing anything.

12. What is your all-time favorite ship? I'm not picking just one: Nessian, Nessriel, Azris, and Spirk.

13. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Lovers Live & Die Fortissimo. It's such a long fic, and there's so much to it; I'm not sure I could do the religious aspects of it justice. I really want to write it, but there are other brain worms that are calling to me first. Also shout out to my Nagron fic "That Days We thought We'd Never See," which got dropped like a hot potato when college hit the fan and I'd need to rewatch the whole show and possibly rewrite the whole thing if I were to ever attempt to finish it.

14. What are your writing strengths? I feel like I can write the dichotomy of beauty and pain really well. There's such a balance between the two, and being able to capture the small beautiful or peaceful pieces of something horrific is something I pride myself on.

15. What are your writing weaknesses?  Definitely the technical side of writing. There are some things that I feel like I don't understand yet grammar wise that I'm still trying to get a grasp on. This is a constant learning process, but I try and get better each time I post! I also sometimes struggle with follow through, but I chalk that up to life being hectic and this being a passion not a job.

16. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I think it's such an amazing idea, and I would love to do it if I ever had a language I felt I knew well enough I could properly engage with it. I never want to write something that is inaccurate out of respect, so I haven't written in another language yet. I also have never had a fic call for it yet. Maybe LL&DF would call for it thought, possibly some Yiddish or Arabic.

17. First fandom you wrote for? Spartacus, the Starz TV series.

18. Favorite fic you’ve written? Again, I refuse to pick just one. I love "All Things End" for everything it represents: the bittersweet nature of life and death, the relationships, the exploration of how music can influence reading fic and vice versa.

I love "Finding His Shadow: An Azris Peter Pan AU" because it was the first AU's I wrote, and it digs so deep into both source materials. I was giddy finding ways to merge the two worlds together.

And I love "Take These Broken Wings" because it combines fanfic with social impact and social awareness, using a world we know and love to explore important topics that exist both within canon and our society.

Tagging no one and everyone! If you'd like to play, join in and tag me! No pressure at all.

[adsagsona]

Still writing along on this one. Also working on another modern one in the mean time :)

[kallisto-k]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Spartacus Series (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Agron/Nasir Characters: Agron (Spartacus), Nasir (Spartacus) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Nasir and Agron have their goat farm, slight angst, Agron isn't over what happened to his hands, He's still a bit resentful of it but they make it work Summary:

Agron tries to recreate a moment from their early days East of the Rhine.

[paulagrint95]

Sleep, Agron

Agron had always thought he could withstand physical pain well. He was a strong man, a beast from the east of the Rhine. And yet here he was, frightened like a small boy even though he did not want to admit it to himself. Two Romans held him tightly and stretched his arms out on a wooden plank. Caesar, with a triumphant smile, waited with nails and hammer. They were going to crucify him. His heart was beating fast. He gulped. But he would not let the fucking Romans see him like this, so he spent what little energy he had left on glaring at them all. Caesar's traitor bent down and drove a nail into Agron's palm. After a heavy hammering came the pain. And there was still more to come. The gladiator could not help but let out screams of agony to the delight of his captors, who enjoyed the suffering of others (and more so in someone from Spartacus' inner circle). For an instant, the Germanic thought crossed his mind to say everything he knew, to betray Spartacus so that the nail would no longer pierce his flesh and bones. But no, he had to make an effort and restrain himself. Besides, it was too late to speak, his sentence on the cross had been signed. He soon cursed himself that such a dastardly thought had crossed his mind. His screams continued to flood the camp, making him the centre of all eyes, both from comrades and enemies. The pain in his hands spread through his arms and the dead weight of his battered body as he was lifted did nothing to improve his situation. For that is how he lay, dying, a step between this world and the next. One by one, the Romans left. The last was Caesar, who gazed at him under the cross.

'The great Agron and Crixus, the Undefeated Gaul, have fallen like flies. If Spartacus surrounds himself with useless men like yourselves, we shall soon see the end of him.' And he walked away with an air of superiority. While he knew his words were not entirely true, for he knew the group of rebels well, and he knew their leader was cunning and hard to kill, he was in a good mood, and provoking the German was a good mood to raise his spirits.

So Crixus was dead… The fucking Gaul with whom he had had so many disagreements had fallen in battle at the gates of Rome, of glory. Agron sighed, which made his whole body ache even more. They had come so close. At least he hoped that his efforts and those of the thousands who had followed Crixus were worth it and that Spartacus and the free slaves could make it safely across the Alps, for they were several days ahead of Crassus' troops. The German looked around. Hundreds of bodies badly wounded in battle and with clear signs of torture were piled up along the camp wall, waiting for their hour to come, an end very different from that of the gladiator himself. For a moment Agron felt envious of them for not being nailed to wooden posts awaiting an utterly dishonourable death. He should have gone down on the battlefield, fighting, taking all those sons of bitches with him, and above all, in a dignified and swift manner. Why deny it to himself: even though he thought he could handle it all, he didn't want to suffer the slow and painful ordeal he had been condemned to. And all because of his position at Spartacus' side. If the Thracian had not held him in such high regard, he would have followed him in the background, doing his duty and serving the cause with the same determination.

What had Spartacus seen in him to give him such an opportunity - could he be compared to the Rainmaker, the Undefeated Gaul or Gannicus, the God of the Arena? Had it been he who proposed to attack Rome, no one would have followed him. And yet his lust for revenge and bloodlust made him follow the Gaul to certain death without thought for the consequences. While he was free to make his own decisions, he had to recognise that it had been a mistake to leave the side of Spartacus, whom he had trusted and admired so much. He had left behind a large group of slaves who, helpless in the absence of warriors who had joined Crixus' campaign, would not survive a surprise attack. He had abandoned Nasir. Nasir…

The sun was high in the sky and Agron could feel beads of sweat running down his forehead and neck. He could barely feel his arms anymore. The wound on his torso stung. Sooner or later he would leave this world, so why resist? So, weakened, he dropped his head to his chest and his mind wandered to madness and exhaustion. Leaving Nasir out of the war, forcing him to stay at Spartacus' side despite his refusal had been the best thing he had done, even if it broke his heart to think of it. He would not have allowed himself to drag the man he loved into a risky venture and certain death. Now he, thanks to her sacrifice, would be safe. He would live. He would be free and escape the clutches of Rome across the mountains. And, why deny it, he would be happy next to the cursed sackcloth. When their paths parted, Agron knew he was leaving the Syrian in good hands, for whether he liked it or not, it was clear that Castus would take good care of him. And that Nasir would allow himself to be cared for. Their relationship had been stable for more than a year, with its good times and bad, its quarrels and its reconciliations. They had sworn to each other that nothing and no one would keep them apart. They gave each other chaste kisses in public and let themselves be swept away by the most absolute passion that led them to fuck like gods in private.

The German had never felt anything like this for anyone before. Why, then, had he not told him? A thousand and one tokens of affection for this exotic, petite young man, yet unable to put his deepest feelings into words. Words that could never be spoken again. Her life was slowly slipping away from her body. Soon he would be reunited with his brother. Hard… Agon thought of his childhood, of how they had been captured as slaves and sold to the house of Batiatus, of how his brother had slowly grown up in the ludus and how he had given his life for him.

His bladder could take no more. Dirty, disgraced, humiliated like a stray dog. That would be the end of him. The sunlight blinded him, and at last the gladiator fell into a state of unconsciousness from which, he was sure, he would not wake up again…

An overly sudden movement that shook his aching body made him startle. Confused, thinking that perhaps he was already travelling to the other side, he opened the eye that was not black. It must have been a vision. Spartacus stood before him, firm and imposing with his cloak in the wind and his hand around the hilt of his sword. Could he be delirious? Agron was laid on the ground and the Romans removed the nails from his useless hands, which made him feel a mixture of sharp pain and relief. It made no fucking sense. Then, between a Roman and someone who clearly wasn't, they managed to pull him up. He was barely standing, and if it hadn't been for Spartacus grabbing him just in time he would have collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

'You are still in this world, brother' said Spartacus in a calm tone, though his eyes revealed an uncontrollable inner happiness. 'How…?' 'Let us not go into details now. Crassus and I came to an agreement and the prisoners have been released. Let us return to our own.' The Thracian slipped Agron's nearly limp arm around his shoulders and his own around his companion's waist. Around them, dozens of rebels did the same for the survivors, and together, with slow, short steps, they walked away from the Roman base. Agron put all his strength into walking, and also into walking as upright as possible, but every now and then he stumbled and all his weight fell on his leader and friend. He needed to rest, sleep for days and regain his strength to be of use again. Spartacus did not complain about anything the whole way. Not only did he walk at the German's pace and carry him when his strength failed him, but he kept checking that everything around him was in order.

Suddenly, Agron was aware that they were returning to camp, "home" if he could call it that. He would see Nasir again, but… would his beloved be waiting for him with open arms, or would his arrival disrupt his new life? Spartacus spoke as if he had read his mind: 'The Romans left Naevia alive and she gave us the sad news of Crixus' fall and yours. We held games in your name. Nasir paced the camp as if he were not of this world, performing his duties but without a hint of life behind his eyes. I know that when the pirate Castus tried to console him he only got a few good punches in response. He still thinks you are dead, brother. Your return will restore peace… To both of us.' Agron nodded and closed his eyes, letting himself drift away.

It was not until the touch of a familiar hand touched his face that Agron opened his eyes. Before him, a divine vision he thought he would never see again. Nasir's gaze met his and a myriad of feelings flooded their hearts as Spartacus carefully laid the German's arm upon the little Syrian's, assisting in this unexpected and blessed reunion. 'The Gods return you to my arms' said Nasir, his eyes brimming with tears. 'I was fool to ever leave them,' Agron replied. Seeing his beloved again had given him the strength to speak. Spartacus felt that Nasir's company would be more welcome than his own and let the lovers wander off into the crowd.

Nasir led Agron to the tent he shared with several women and children he was to protect and watch over. He arranged blankets and gently laid Agron on them. Every movement was followed by a grunt of pain, but the gladiator's heart was fully healed by the dark-eyed, brown-skinned balm. 'I thought… I thought you'd gone from this world' whispered Nasir, who this time allowed tears to stream down his cheeks. Tears he had long held back because, as a Spartacus warrior, he had not allowed himself to shed them. Agron stroked the Syrian's handsome face with a bloody hand to wipe away the streams of salt water. 'Your memory kept me alive.'

Then the Syrian grasped that gigantic hand between his own and saw the hole through it from side to side right in the centre of the palm. An intense chill ran down his spine as he realised that Agron had been crucified, but he said nothing. Silently, he looked up to the heavens and thanked the gods that he was still alive. Then he returned to reality. 'I'll wash your wounds' he said as he sat up and picked up a small earthen basin filled with water and some rags. At that moment the door of the tent opened and a slender, black figure appeared through the door. Two pairs of eyes turned to him, and he exchanged his haughtiness for a submissive grimace. 'I know my presence is unwelcome and my company unwelcome' the man said, not daring to venture any further. However, despite our differences, I welcome your return, Agron of the East Rhine. 'Your gesture is gratefully received, Castus, but Agron needs rest' Nasir replied curtly. The Cilician pirate nodded and left. Nasir returned to the bedside and began to wash his beloved's body as if his affection alone was enough to heal the wounds. 'Nasir, I…' Agron stammered. 'If I chose to follow Crixus, it was because…'.

'Shh, do not talk' interrupted the dark-haired man. I don't want or need explanations. You did what you thought was right and you made your decision freely, just as I freely agreed to listen to you and stand by Spartacus, which I deeply regret. But now you are here, back by my side, and that is what matters. With a superhuman effort, Agron sat up in the blankets. Inwardly he seethed with grief, but he kept his tone calm and confident as he spoke. 'My fate is tied to that of Spartacus, as well as the rest of those people out there. One day not too far from now I will wield a sword again against the fucking Romans.' Despite his awareness of the wound in his hands, he was unable to contemplate any other option. He was a warrior, the battlefield was his life. No one could take that away from him. 'And I will be at your side,' Nasir replied quickly. Agron smiled at the little man's haste.

'If the gods are not kind this time and decide to take me with them, there is one thing you should know,' the German continued. I disagreed with Crixus about rescuing Naevia from the mines. I did not understand why someone of his worth would sacrifice his life for the shadow of a slave he once loved. The fucking Gaul could have many others at his side, yet a feeling that escaped my reason bound him to this woman. The same feeling that bound me to you from the first moment I saw you. I would have died a thousand deaths on that cross from which Spartacus freed me just for the gift of seeing your smile one more time. You give meaning to this cause, to the war and to my life. 'Mutual sentiment that makes you the sole owner of my heart' Nasir replied with words that came from his soul. Then he placed a tender kiss on Agron's forehead that finished healing him. 'And now sleep' he whispered as the wounded man closed his eyes. 'Sleep, Agron…'.

[nocturnal-obsessions]

Taking fanfiction requests for specific fandoms

My style of writing: - Self insert (reader/you) - Present or past tense - SFW or tastefully NSFW

Fandoms I write: - Breaking Bad - Better Call Saul - Peaky Blinders - Harry Potter - Game of Thrones - Lord of the Rings - Spartacus - Guardians of the Galaxy - Shogun - The Walking Dead - Divergent - Hunger Games - Detroit Become Human - Dragon Age - Mass Effect - Pirates of the Caribbean

Pairings I write: - Any, but I am best versed in MxF

If you have a request message me directly or leave a comment below.

[misguidedasgardian]

The Dubious Character

Alright, I’m still on the Sebastian Stan fandom… and as such, I know not only that he has been cast but the first pictures of him in character of DONALD TRUMP are circulating and of course… I’ve seen the opinions… jejejeje

I’ve also seen the “I BETTER NOT SEE ONE FIC OF DONALD TRUMP” which I think is hilarious…

And I’m watching Spartacus (FOR THE THIRD TIME) and I fell HARD for a dubious character of my own

Julius Caesar

So let’s make a deal

If I see one fan fiction about Sebastian Stan’s Donald Trump… I’ll top it with a fan fiction of this JC

Deal?

[patientlibrarian]

Ooooohhh!

Hello everyone, everywhere. Yes, it's still damp, wet and windy in the UK. Still feeling rather down, I'm treating myself to a "Spartacus Saturday"!

[moowithmidnight]

It’s baby’s first attempt to write anything even close to smut (oh my lord how do y’all do it- writing dialogue in the Spartacus style is really fun tho)

[lovecrixus]

Crixus Fic Recs

This story was one of the Crixus chapters from a Spartacus kinktober collection by @kallisto-k (DragonsIre in AO3)

*Allow My Marks to Cover Theirs

Pairings: Gannicus x Crixus, Gnaeus x Crixus, Gnaeus x Crixus x Cossutius

Content Warning: Explicit smut (18+ ONLY), Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Wax Play, Rape/Non-Con, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

AO3 story link

If Varus and Gaia hadn't chosen Melitta, and instead sent for a certain Gaul after his showing against Gannicus to see how he measured up in another type of arena.

[frozenmemories1987]

✨️ Can you tell me about "Spirit of Rome" for the WIP ask game? (also thank you for the tag! I'll try to do mine soon!!)

I most certainly can!

Spirit of Rome aka the bathhouse fic is a modern AU in which Duro visits a bathhouse for the first time and makes some interesting acquaintances. As he hooks up with a stranger (Castus) he can't help but get distracted by a couple (Lugo and Auctus) nearby whose eyes are very intent on him.

I got stuck somewhere in the middle of the action because writing anon sex is kinda difficult when you run out of descriptions but it wouldn't fit the story to just ask for names.

Here's an excerpt:

Duro is biting down on his bottom lip at the pleasure filled groan behind him, fully aware of the intent eyes of the men across the steamy room, staring at him hungrily. Meanwhile the older one has diverted his attention from Duro and his companion in favor of watching his own partner watch them. Duro doesn’t blame him - the sight is beautiful and fucking intense. He can’t stop wondering if those two are more than random acquaintances - there’s something very familiar in the way they interact, and Duro is more than intrigued. 

Thank you for asking 🥰

[hatereadings]

Throne of Glass

So I first found out about this series because these ACoTaR recaps I was reading mentioned that Sarah J Maas had a previous fantasy series that came out, and the protagonist was an assassin who didn't even kill anyone in the first book. You can check out the recaps here, if you're interested in other people's hate-reads.

The author of those recaps was so appalled by ACoTaR that she's probably never going to read another SJM book, which means that the burden of recapping them has sadly fallen to... well, people who enjoyed the recaps in general, but I think I'm the only one actually willing to do this to myself.

So, here goes! I'm going to start with Throne of Glass, because it was published first, but actually mainly because it's the most readily available at my library (If I have to return it, I might switch to The Assassin's Blade for a bit).

The dedication page is

To all my readers from FictionPress--for being with me at the beginning and staying long after the end. Thank you for everything.

This honestly made me curious enough to look things up, and, whaddya know, this book was originally a story on FictionPress! In 2012, peak fandom, so... credit where it's due, clearly some of us who were on FictionPress back then felt catered to.

That reminds me - I know these books are intended for teenage girls, and I'm going to do my best to respect that and view them from that lens. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that audience or what they need or want to be reading at that time in their lives.

That said, even WITH that caveat, there's going to be a lot of shit to talk about, so buckle up.

Chapter 1

RIGHT AWAY, I have issues with the worldbuilding.

After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point. Most of the thousands of slaves in Endovier received similar treatment--though an extra half-dozen guards always walked Celaena to and from the mines.

How on EARTH is this economical?! If someone is genuinely SO DANGEROUS that they need SIX GUARDS to accompany them everywhere -- how does it make ANY sense to put them to work in a mine?!?!?!

I'm going to ignore the fact that a white author is writing about slavery, because... it was 2012; a lot of us are guilty of Spartacus fanfic. We know better now, is the important part.

That was to be expected by Adarlan's most notorious assassin.

Okay. Some people have pointed out in the past that it doesn't make sense for assassins to be famous. I think that's something that's safe to gloss over in this sort of YA, though. I mean, what teenage girl hasn't wanted to be some kind of universally feared physical badass, whether that's an assassin or a mercenary or a serial killer? It's fine.

Still, if she's really so dangerous and such a Big Deal, then... again, why is she in the mines??? Why isn't she in an impenetrable cell somewhere??? You're literally paying SIX EXTRA full-time workers just to stand around watching her when they could be used to do, idk, anything else? Guarding the royal family, guarding the treasury, going to war against your enemies? This is like... Kingsguard level of security. Not something you'd want to spend on a prisoner.

There's a "hooded man in black" walking next to her. Does this sound like an executioner, or is that just me?

Apparently they take an unnecessarily circuitous route, going around and around in circles because the guy in charge... idk, wants to disorient Celaena? Even though she's been living there for a year? I really hope the people guarding her are supposed to be idiots, so she can seem like a badass genius in comparison; if this is the level of intelligence we're working with throughout the book, I don't know what's going to sustain me through this read.

The guy in the hood apparently introduced himself as Chaol Westfall, Captain of the Royal Guard, and she overheard that when she first saw him. Which might've been nice to include when we, the readers, first see him, but whatever. Apparently he's hiding his face from her to try and intimidate her, which has "five-year-old-boy-tries-to-scare-you-by-donning-a-frankenstein-mask" energy.

Celaena doesn't know why he's come to get her. She notices that her clothes are nearly rags and that her skin is dirty, and reflects that she used to be beautiful. Again, this feels more like YA convention than an actual, realistic response someone would have to being forced to mine salt for a year. Like, I can get having that response to suddenly seeing a bunch of non-miners and feeling the contrast between their clean clothes and your filthy rags, but having that just pop up idly while you're walking around your prison? It's a very hamfisted way of trying to stick in a bit of physical description at the beginning. And we get a full physical description later on, so why even bother?

"You're a long way from Rifthold, Captain," she said, clearing her throat. "Did you come with the army I heard thumping around earlier?" She peered into the darkness beneath his hood but saw nothing. Still, she felt his eyes upon her face, judging, weighing, testing. She stared right back. The Captain of the Royal Guard would be an interesting opponent. Maybe even worthy of some effort on her part.

Personally I would have added a line break after that quote, but that might just be a stylistic choice. I don't really have any bones to pick with the writing here; it seems like this is serving the wish fulfillment that a lot of the target audience really wants - a protagonist so deadly that no one is any match for them. Maybe for a more jaded audience, they'd think, "Mary Sue," and toss the book aside, but we embrace earnest enthusiasm here.

Oh, it'd be nice to see his blood spill across the marble.

Please don't tease. I know there isn't going to be any murder in this book. I can't take the false hope.

She'd lost her temper once before--once, when her first overseer chose the wrong day to push her too hard. She still remembered the feeling of embedding the pickax into his gut, and the stickiness of his blood on her hands and face. She could disarm two of these guards in a heartbeat. Would the captain fare better than her late overseer? Contemplating the potential outcomes, she grinned at him again. "Don't you look at me like that," he warned, and his hand drifted back toward his sword.

Wait, what? The killer -- actually kills someone?! Okay, offscreen, but still. This is... not quite the clusterfuck I was warned about!

Still, I'm 2% into this book. It has a lot of room to decay.

They passed a series of wooden doors that she'd seen a few minutes ago. If she wanted to escape, she simply had to turn left at the next hallway and take the stairs down three flights. The only thing all the intended disorientation had accomplished was to familiarize her with the building. Idiots.

Celaena gets annoyed when Chaol won't talk to her, which is... kind of dumb? I mean, did you expect him to? You guys are enemies. Just keep up a one-sided banter like a normal prisoner and stop complaining.

She contemplates escape some more, then decides that it'd be too much trouble, so she'll wait. It's very convenient that all the guards are idiots; they've been walking so long that Celaena has the opportunity to infodump some worldbuilding on us. We learn that the kingdom they're in is called Adarlan, and it sends poor people, criminals, and "latest conquests" into the salt mines of Endovier, which looks something like the jail in Les Mis, with misery and whips cracking and all the stereotypical nonsense. Again, this is from over a decade ago; this shit would not fly today. That's not how you handle a discussion of slavery in this country.

Adarlan has banned magic, and anyone accused of practicing gets sent to Endovier.

Eyllwe is apparently a country that's at war with Adarlan, still resisting its rule, and any captured Eyllwe folks also get sent to Endovier. Okay, so... I know Rome did this too, but this is sounding less like Rome and more like Nazi Germany, with the work camps for prisoners. Maas is apparently of Jewish descent, so I'm not going to weigh in on whether that's a problem.

Celaena mentions that she was "betrayed and captured" one night and sent to this place, and then pivots to thinking about whether she's finally going to be executed. I mean, it would make sense; those 6 guards' paychecks have probably cost the crown a tidy amount over the past year.

At last, they stopped before a set of red-and-gold glass doors so thick that she couldn't see through them.

That is a ridiculously fancy door for a mine. Why.

They try to pull Celaena through, she's convinced they're here to kill her and resists, but they pull her in anyway. Uhhhh... what happened to

She could disarm two of these guards in a heartbeat.

?

I remember the inconsistency in ACoTaR. Wasn't expecting it to show up so early here, though.

A glass chandelier shaped like a grapevine occupied most of the ceiling, spitting seeds of diamond fire onto the windows along the far side of the room.

Okay, that's actually a really pretty description. I'd go as far as to say that 'spitting seeds of diamond fire' is genuinely a good turn of phrase. That said...

WHY IS THIS IN A SALT MINE?!?!?!?!

Compared to the bleakness outside those windows, the opulence felt like a slap to the face. A reminder of how much they profited from her labor.

Ah. For symbolism.

In case you were wondering, no, that's not a good enough reason. It makes no sense with the worldbuilding. Why on earth would ANYONE choose to build something so fancy here. Nobody just spends their time thinking, "I'm feeling very evil today. What exceptionally evil project can I spend a great deal of money on to show off just how evil I am? I know! I'll build an opulent room next to a slave pit!"

Also? Nobody is profiting from your labor, Celaena. I don't know how much salt costs, but every day you work costs your overseers a day's wages for each of SIX GUARDS. I don't think there's much profit being turned here.

The captain shoves her in, there's more guards, and then

On an ornate redwood throne sat a handsome young man. Her heart stopped as everyone bowed.

Ah. The love interest.

She was standing in front of the Crown Prince of Adarlan.

And that's the chapter hook!

Two questions:

How did they get the throne in there? I can't tell if it's more ridiculous if they literally had to build a new fancy room with a throne when they heard the prince was coming, or if the prince's entourage carries a giant throne with him wherever he goes so he can sit in it, OR if every single building in Adarlan has to have a Throne Room of sufficient grandeur just in case the Crown Prince decides to stop by. There's just no good explanation for this. (Although from a different perspective, there are only good explanations for this)

We literally just heard an infodump about how Adarlan is a toxic power. Are they really trying to make it believable that one of the leaders of this country is a decent enough dude to be a love interest?

So far, this feels like even more of a mess than ACoTaR was. I'm curious to know if that gets any better over the course of this book, or if it's somehow all downhill from here.

[illusivesoul]

MUTUAL CATCH UP

Was tagged by @corffiser Thank you :)

I'll tag @quietborderline @nonbinarywardenamell and @elgarabelas Only if you feel like doing this, of course. I'll leave the blanks here and my answers under the cut.

last song :

currently watching :

three ships :

favourite colour :

currently consuming :

first ship :

place of birth :

current location :

relationship status :

last movie :

currently working on :

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last song : "Vincent's Death" from the Collateral movie soundtrack.

currently watching : 3 Body Problem on Netflix

three ships : Leliana x Wynne, Cortez x Maleshep, Barca x Pietros from Spartacus

favourite colour : Black

currently consuming : Dragon Age as usual lol. Also The Last of Us.

first ship : I used to ship Ada and Leon from Resident Evil on my younger years before I even knew what ships were lol.

place of birth : Venezuela

current location : In bed.

relationship status : Single.

last movie : Revolver by Guy Ritchie

currently working on : My dragon age fanfics and making gifs

[adsagsona]

In the mean while also still working on my fanfic for Spartacus. (Agron/Nasir) Go and give it a look if you like. I appreciate it.

[kallisto-k]

For a moment he could have fooled himself into believing it was rage inspired by something other than the idea of a person being enslaved as Agron had been, that Agron was enraged for Nasir, but Nasir was no fool. 

"Then she stands no better than Romans or your god."

A need to defend his friend of centuries tried to break through Nasir's anger, and he warred with himself on how much to tell the human. After all, despite his open ear to their stories, Agron had little experience in the world of nymphs and gods. "She claims they asked for longer life beside her. It was her only way to answer such requests."

[wangmiao]

Shipper Tag Game

thanks so much to @godotismissingx for tagging me again!

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

i'll be honest LOL i was oblivious in stuff like this when i was a teenager. yes, i'd drool over celebrities and characters, but i never knew shipping was a thing.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

i got into the fandom culture very late, so my first ship was joseph chandler x emerson kent from whitechapel

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

i honestly don't remember. i got into fanfic pretty late too. maybe whitechapel as well?

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

nope

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

i don't really do discourse most of the time.

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

i don't know how you define no-otp. like is it just something you don't ship, or you hate? there are ships that i don't like, and i just don't mention them at all on my blog. if you know that i've watched a show or film, but i never mention or reblog a popular ship from the show/film, that's probably my no-otp...

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

LOL i'm predictable, shi qiang x wang miao (shiwang) from three-body. i'm especially into reading fanfic recently. one of the first things i check every morning is if there's new shiwang fic.

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

shiwang has been living in my mind rent free for an entire year now, and i haven't gotten tired of them yet...probably never will...

recently i'm into cheng bing x pan dahai from the lonely warrior and tang chuan x shi hong from the devotion of suspect x.

and just to name a few other otps: guang hongfeng x zhou xun in day and night, lee joongyeop x cha jaehwan from chimera, lee chang x youngshin in kingdom; cheng fengtai x shangxirui from winter begonia, agron x nasir from spartacus, jack x ianto from torchwood, and my first whitechapel ship is always very important to me.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

i'm used to not having ships be 100% canon. what can you do? sigh!

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

can't really think of anything

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

can't think of anything either...

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

i don't really have one...xD...

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

definitely shiwang...i kinda stopped reading fanfic in early 2019 due to the original sin/原生之罪 drama and a family incident...i might have tried some fanfic occasionally, but i generally wasn't in a mood for fanfic until three-body aired in 2023.

another reason is back then, most chinese fanfic writers don't really use ao3, so lots of fanfic for day and night and original sin was on lofter and weibo instead of ao3. and it's a pain in the ass trying to track fic on those sites. but now, most of the shiwang fic would be on ao3. and because shiwang is very loved in cfandom, new fic never stops coming.

i do read western fandom fanfic too, but definitely not as much as the chinese ones ever since i got back into cdramas in 2017.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

give me all of the dilfslove or dld (dilf loves dilf) LOL.

enemies to lover is something i always like. though how you define "enemy" would be very different in different ships. i also tend to ship work partners (detective duos; cop & some kind of consultant; villain duos)

15. What you absolutely hate in a ship?

maybe the lack of chemistry? if i can't feel the chemistry between the actors, no matter how romantic or hot the plot is between them, i probably won't ship them.

tagging @bahoreal @xinxiaojie @yohankang @zhivchik @a-very-fond-farewell @randomingoftherandomness only if you haven't done this and want to do it; also tagging any followers who want to do this.

[alrightbuckaroo]

❤️ and 💛 for the fanfic ask game?? also love the pink of the new layout!!!

Hey there! Hope the week's been treating you well <3

♥️ Red: Do you ever feel anxious or scared while writing? If so, why?

I'm very lucky in the sense that I don't! If anything, I feel unending frustration with the English language not working the way I want it to. Levity and brevity should mean the same thing, they sound the same.

💛 Yellow: Do you ever alter, highlight, or de-emphasize certain canonical traits in a character? If so, why and describe how.

I do! I feel like it's a good way of staying true to characterization, even if they're in, for example, strangers in Paris falling in love or enemies in 1899 fighting in the Old West.

I think my best examples are in summer slipped us underneath her tongue because while there's the more lighthearted references to canon, i.e. finding a lizard and naming him Lou or Nancy and Mateo being in a "will they won't they", there's the sadder aspects too.

Carlos not reacting well to the word "soft", TK losing his mom and becoming despondent.

I don't know, I've always liked bringing a bit of canon into AUs because it makes the writing process a bit more fun! AMC's Interview with the Vampire and Starz's Spartacus are some of my favorite modern AUs to read because I love seeing how people bring the past to the present!

ask me about fic <3