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uraniumnm333 · 2 years ago

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bouta hit you w the polysho fantasy AU that i will try to turn into a fic.

okay so first of all, i would like to let everyone know that i have been listening to classical, or in some way medieval/classical coded songs including Cendrillon, Servant of Evil, and Karakuri Peirrot (clowns) so this shit gonna go hard as fuck and ALSO TSUKASA TENMA

anyways. btw tsukasa's story is kind of based off servant of evil so

tsukasa and saki live together in the castle and are used as a sort of puppet for a shadow gov't. tsukasa believes that he and saki aren't related but saki knows. so the plot is to use saki as a sort of scapegoat to collect more resources from the people and eventually dispose of her when they don't need her by posing a rebellion. tsukasa overhears them plotting this the night before and tries to evacuate saki. he does this (yippee !!!) but the advisors (which are the people coming up w the plot) catch on. they present him as the one who was actually raising all the taxes, clearing saki's name but dirtying his in the process. also he learns they were siblings. in some sort of pirates of the caribean fashion, he escapes the day of his execution. i'm talkin bro JUST avoids that axe and sword fights some people.

so tsukasa gets the hell out of york. and bro has some major trauma at this point yknow. he's trying to hide out and figure out what the hell he's supposed to do next, because he's by all accounts supposed to be dead, and WHERE THE FUCK IS SAKI ??? and. bro accidentally summons mystical being Hatsune Miku. i have this in my mind as he's hiding out in the bushes, and bro is just. so done. he's camping out for the night and he's at like the breaking point. and he goes through the couple of things he still has (which is really not much) and breaks out a little heart shaped locket he has. and it's a picture of him and saki and he's looking at it and it HURTS because he misses her !!! and as soon as he learns that they're siblings ans that's his fucking sister she gets !!! taken away from him !!! and tsukasa just breaks down. just sobs man. and he's curled up and sad and he feels this tap on his shoulder and it's just "this is the end. someone found me i'm going to die." and he's about ready to because everything he lived for has been taken away from him !! and he looks over hsi shoulder and it's not a guard it's Hatsune fucking Miku, who is a god because why wouldn't she be.

n miku like. leaves him w wxs miku like "here's your guardian angel or shit ykyk. anyways gotta blast your god's favorite BYE !!!" and now he sees that along w his little heart locket of saki he now has a star shaped locket and when he opens it he can summon wxs miku. like she's a jojo stand. so he's still traveling and trying to stay undercover and bro kind of looks like shit. but he also knows he needs food because HOO BOY he's hungry. so he does the normal thing and starts going through people's trash bins. and he gets to The House That Probably Gives Out Full Sized Candy Bars (or the fantasy equivalent of that) and starts going through the trash and who walks out to see him but emu ! and she drags him inside and the ootori household is like "why the hell is this dirty stinky man who looks like he just crawled out of hell sitting at our dinner table ???" but they listen to him and he tells them that he's an experienced adventurer [lie] and he's out adventuring [lie]. and so they let him get cleaned up, he realizes his hair has grown out a bit, and they send emu along w him when he leaves. like. he's about to walk out of the door and say his thank yous before emu just starts dragging him along in the silliest way possible.

so emu and tsukasa hit the road !! yippee !! tsukasa's like spending the whole time a lil scared like "WHAT IF SOMEONE FINDS ME" and emu is just havin a good time. it turns out emu is a quirked up wizard girl and sends little letters to her family. and eventually she asks tsukasa about the locket n he shows her miku. yippee !! they also make money by running errands for other people. so they're runnin around the world and tsukasa is still trying to find saki AND stay as far away from people as possible. i'm talkin bro barely talks to the people he's workin w emu does all that shit.

so THEN they find this old ass tower and emu's like "let's sleep here tsukasa :D :D :D" and tsukasa's like "i would rather FUCKING DIE but okay. whatever." so they go in and spring like five different traps at once because those two are talented in being silly. and YOULL NEVER GUESS WHO rui comes out to investigate the two clowns he caught. and he's like "who the hell are you." as any normal person would question.

but of course he cannot resist the sillies and he's like "okay you can stay." and he shows them around and i'm taklin bro has the kookiest room imaginable got that clock hallway gears everywhere n shit you know how it is. and he tells them that he's an alchemist + cool mechanic guy. and emu is just falling in LOVE with his little robots. honestly who wouldn't i think they would be cute

and of course rui, magic man extraordinaire, senses the power of Hatsune Miku comin from the locket and he's like "lemme see that locket" and BAZOINGA !!! HATSUNE MIKU !!!

and while emu didn't know miku bc she was kind of like. a local thing. rui recognizes her IMMEDIATELY it's like if you were idk atheist or smth and Allah just appeared from your friend's neat rock he found. idk man i'm trying to draw a comparison. but the thing is while emu knows that there's some prince who's supposed to be dead from the country over, rui doesn't know that because he's a shut in. so they're both kind of missing information n neither of them can come to the conclusion that tsukasa is wanted for misuse of power tax fraud and tyranny. so rui's trying to figure out miku and emu's just happy she has friends and tsukasa is just havin a good time. they have a little sleepover thing in rui's room because normal.

rui being the first person either of them have really connected with in a while, they all hang out for a while longer have some fun you know. and then nene comes back !!! basically nene is a shapeshifter who usually shapeshifts into shadows because yeah. neato. and she also will go out for a while to make some money by selling rui's stuff. and she hears stuff and at this point word has really gotten around that people are looking for tsukasa !! there's a bounty on bro's head !!!

so she comes inside n only sees rui and he's about to tell her about tsukasa and emu but then she tells him first that theres a dangerous guy running around who is wanted !! and not in the good way !! and rui connects the dots and goes into Thinking Mode. and as soon as nene finishes this who comes into the room but Mr. FUCKING WAR CRIME HIMSELF !!!

so so rui emu and nene are all validly concerned about this and tsukasa's like "okay. listen to this. miku get over her" and tells them all about saki and evil shadow gov and almost dying and how he needs to keep looking for her. and miku clearly knows this but she does it in the silliest way bc tsukasa's over here sobbing his eyes out about his possibly dead sister and she's like "yeah !!! and THEN he almost died !!! isn't that wild !?!?!"

and yknow eventually they come around n clear his name or whatever and do some crazy theatre production. idk man ive been writing this forever eeby deeby yaba daba doo

#project sekai #au #wonderlands x showtime #ran thoughts :thumbs up:#tsukasa tenma #emu otori #rui kamishiro #nene kusanagi #i am. so done writing this.#like where was i going with this

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babybat98 · 1 year ago

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I wish you would write a fic where... Thranduil and your Legolas sibling characters all come to Minas Tirith for Aragorn and Arwen's wedding, and Legolas and the whole Fellowship now have to deal with the whole Mirkwood family being there. Especially poor Gimli.

I just love everything you've told me about these elves, and I want to see them Causing Shenanigans.

Refering to this post

Oh but there'd be so much shenanigans though!

Like just Thranduil alone would be enough to turn everyone's hair grey. Or at least he will be after he stops clinging to Legolas like a particularly stuborn koala. Gondor comes very close to loosing their favourite wizard becasue the moment Thranduil hears the word 'balrog' he's off after Gandalf, sword in hand. And then he goes after Elrond. And probably Aragorn to, once he learns of the Path of the Dead... In the end Legolas just straight up hides his dads sword and puts a bottle of wine there instead.

Ok to be fair Gandalf and Elrond are gonna have the entire damn forest after them when they learn of the balrog and sending their baby prince to Mordor business, so instead of mentioning that for every character just imagine Gandalf and Elrond doing a very nervous powerwalk away from an angry forest mob.

Now for my OCs we got Thondaer(he/him), the oldest of Thranduil's kids. For being a wood elf from Mirkwood, he is strangely chill. For being the child of Thranduil and Lannien(Thranduil's wife) he is alarmingly chill. He got his dad's regal aura but not as much of his temper. He's probably also more subdued than usual due to being injured in the war up northtotaly don't have a fic about that coming up oups. And that pissed Legolas off because why is he not being babied when he was the one who had an actual near death experience curtecy of a poisoned arrow???

Thranduil: Oh don't worry, you are both grounded the second we get back home<3

But at the end of the day Thondaer is still a Tranduilion, and his siblings tend to bring out the worst in him, so it's not long until he and Legolas pick up their long standing competition of 'The Most Stupid Trick Archery You Ever Did See'. At one point an arrow flies in through a window to catch a single leaf of Thranduil's crown, who just sips his wine and goes 'boys will be boys' as the nobility of Gondor freaks out.

Yes it was Legolas showing of his new shiny bow, what else did you expect?

Second child Lagoreth(she/her) on the other hand... She cares a lot less about being proper than her older brother. She would actualy punch Gandalf and Elrond for sending her brother of into danger like that. But her anger is both explosive and short lived, and once she thinks there's been enough broken noses(and Legolas talks her down a bit) she mostly stops being angry. She'd probably get along pretty well with Elladan and Elrohir tbh. She's more into swordfighting than archery, and I can see them exchanging tecniques. Those 3 becoming friends is the forst time anyone's ever seen Thranduil truly nervous.

Ok so I know you technically only said Thranduil and the siblings, but you also did that 'the whole Mirkwood family' and that was your mistake. Because there's just a few more pointy-eared nusiances running around and I'm dying to go off about them. This is gonna get long so enjoy the read more lol.

First we got Doro(they/them). They're Thondaer's spouce, and I'm a bit on the fence on if they'd come along or stay back home to keep doing their job as a healer, but I'm gonna say they're coming this time just for fun. They'd probably not cause to much mischief, but there's a little surprice in store for Thondaer for sure. How do you think he'll take being a father?

That leaves Legolas's closest friends, the young elves of Mirkwood, and part of the last generation to be born as the shadow fell over their home. Forget turning all the humans hair grey, then these guys will have everyone, human dwarf and elf, go white as Gandalf before the end of the week.

Tinnu(he/they) is a sarcastic little shit<3 If you thought Legolas was bad with his off to find the sun then you have not heard the snark on this elf. I think growing up so close to Thranduil gave them a weird view on authority and how you treat nobility. But because he's part of Legolas's friends, and Thranduil pretty much sees the gang as his own children, he can get away with waaaayyyy more than he should. He's also visualy impared and uses a cane to navigate, and is not above exploiting the fact that Men tend to underestimate him for that. Like, if they forget that his ears still work just as good as any other elf? Then that's on them. Also their puppy dog eyes are dangerous.

Dûrwen(she/they) is kinda what happens when you take the impulse control of a Took, puts it in an elf, and teaches them to fight. They're loud, obnoxious, and the fastest way to get her to do something is to begin with 'I dare you to-'. She's the one who says "hey, let's get every single bird in a 3 mile radious to congregate in the royal meeting room" or "let's see who can break into the kings bedchamber and steal the most shoe laces". But she is also loyal to a fault, and is the first to get along with Gimli. Even if he did wonder a lot about the giant toad in his boot.

Nagor(he/him) is in general the most layed back of them, but also curious and stuborn. He'll drive everyone, but most of all Gandalf and Elrond, completely bonkers with questions. Like you know when a child gets started on the 'why' train? That, but dialed up to 11 and them compresed into a tiny ass elf. At the end of their stay Gandalf insists he'd rather just have gotten punched again. Nagor would make friends with Merry and Pippin so fast and the kitchens are never safe again. And for a change of pace Legolas will for sure be clinging to him, because Thondaer was not the only one injured in the war up north.

Thilion(they/them) is the mom friend, and probably the only reason Minas Tirith is still standing. I mean they're not opposed to hiding under the meeting table and tieing everyones shoelaces together, but they are the one who manages to figure out a plan so they don't get caught doing it. Can't have your friends end up in trouble now can you, so best make sure no one can ever prove it was them :) Probably gets along realy well with Aragorn.

Crithril(she/her) and this barbieelf has ADHD. She has a habit of stiming by braiding peoples hair, and there's a big missunderstanding between her and Gimli for a while before Legolas and Thilion manages to sort things out. Eventualy Gimli manages to either aquire or make some dwarven stimtoys that successfully divert her from his hair and beard without hurting any feelings. Crithril also has a favourite position to be in, which happends to be upside-down, and many a Gondor noble has been shocked by her just casually hanging from the cieling like it's completely normalit is. But no one dares say anything, because there's 5 other elves there and they all have knives and oh hello Thranduil your highness, no I was just... admiring your peoples acrobatic skill and deffinintely not judgeing your sons friend haha please don't kill me.

I think that's it for now, phew :D

#lotr #ocs #ask game

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thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 1 year ago

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I finally managed to watch The Sword of The Wizard King, so, spoilers for the movie:

I’m not entirely sure about what I expected, since I’ve heard debate as to if the movie would be counted towards canon or not, and the best I’ve heard, is Tabs debating whether to put it into the manga or not. Which is why I’d personally count it as extension of canon (but I do prefer the character representation far better than the filler episodes of the anime, where eg we got the Egg trick a la Fuegoleon and the Captain fight). That being said, I wasn’t too fond of the tempo of the story.

The plot itself was very straightforward and felt rushed, which is more of an issue with current day movies in general, than The Sword of The Wizard King. So, the pacing would have been far better as a series/anime, which would also have allowed one to immerse into the feelings of approaching doom better. Plus, we got telling flashbacks of only two of the former WKs, well maybe three depending on where you want to put the line, since while we got none for Jester, and what we could determine from Princia is that she was lonely (aside of being war/battle hungry in a different way from Mereoleona, because Mereo isn’t slaughtering her own people, but I’ll get back to Mereo in a bit.) But Conrad and Edward both lost wives/lovers to the injustice of the country, which is why they are so desperate for a world where everyone can live peacefully. And that is an interesting talking point of the movie.

All the WKs, as far at least, seem to have shared an ideology in one point, in some form. Which is the wish for a unified, harmonius world. And we’re even seeing it “going bad” with JuLu, which creates an interesting similarity between Conrad and Julius, though for Julius the “madness” doesn’t stem from trauma, at least not a similar one as far as we can see, but from an entirely different setting. This is also demonstrated by Edward, so they’ve lost something, which drove them into desperation.

One of the things that I really loved about this movie, was how they showed that Mereoleona DOES care about the people around her. That the Lions and her brothers are close to her heart. Which... also creates a different kind of a sting to the events of the manga, but Mereoleona is a good person. She is strong, relentless, but she is also a caring person. (Also loved seeing Fue again. Him and Nozel were really being dependable MK Captains to the best of their ability and were ready to die for the sake of the Kingdom. Martyr -like heroes, which isn’t a favourite trope of mine, but works towards the character development I talked about, and plays well with my book too.)

Another thing I enjoyed is seeing Noelle continuing on her character development, as well as standing up for Nozel, which means that she does care for her siblings. But also that she got recognition from Edward for being “one of the few good nobles”. So, there is a talking point about her character.

The whole “not giving up is my magic” being a mantra of both Conrad and Asta was interesting, but it felt ... forced? As in, I didn’t understand why it was such a thing for Conrad. But maybe it was just to simply develop the Asta-Conrad fight scene.

Jester I didn’t really care for, but he really does, externally look a bit too much like Finral to my taste (and Edward looked a little too much like Father Orsi), but aside of that, I don’t have much to say about him.

Overall it was a bit of a let down, felt most like fanservice (because it pretty much only “cool fight scenes”, which watered all of them down, because if it’s all “glorious” then nothing will really look “glorious”.) Actually I ended up pausing the movie a couple of times to get up and make food, go to sauna, and so on because I wasn’t... hanging on to the edge of my seat. Some of the forgotten characters got more prime time, which is good for the show and character development overall, but I didn’t think there was that much material in there. Ley lines and research unit, along with the idea of Clover having symbolic weapons, were maybe the biggest things to take from here.

Also, they pretty much revealed that Asta will be a WK. Which... I didn’t think as all too surprising, but.. y’know.

5,5/10.

#black clover #black clover movie #sword of the wizard king #black clover movie spoilers

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friendly-books · 1 year ago

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Dresden files Summer Knight live blog

Summer Knight

Billy!

Let your friends help you Harry

“Ghoul,” I told him. “Probably one of the LaChaise clan. They’re working with the Red Court, and they don’t much like me” pg. 19 Is this where Harry’s hate of ghouls come from?

Aw Harry :( you need to live life and not become a hermit shut in

I love it when Harry is being a detective and putting clues together

Mab’s introduction was interesting

“You will accept this case, wizard. It is what you are. It is your nature.” pg. 55 Everyone seems to knows about Harry’s chronic hero syndrome

Hoss?

SIR?!? Harry calls someone sir?

“You burned down my barn, Hoss” pg. 60 Harry’s burning buildings streak goes back years I see

I like Ebenezar

“You know how I get when I’m talking about Council politics” pg. 67 I see where Harry got some of his dislike of the White Council came from other than the willingness to kill kids and Harry himself

“How’s your Latin coming, Hoss? You need me to translate?” pg. 76 How bad is Harry’s Latin?

Morgan back on his knight Templar attitude and get it through your skull that Harry isn’t evil incarnate

“I’m not the suicidal type” pg. 78 Are you sure you’re not Harry? Or at least have no self preservation

Oh no Harry’s bad at Latin. Who let him take a correspondent course?

Could the White Council have a traitor in their mix? With them attacking Archangel and getting behind the defenses. How many know about the defenses?

“The situation was clearly a manipulation, a scheme to force Dresden to those actions in hopes of killing him” pg. 101 that’s what I thought

“Then he should have been smarter” pg. 101 That’s a bit of a victim blaming LaFortier. Not a fan of LaFortier.

Harry and Elaine were siblings and romantic together?!? Weird, a little soap opera

Harry mentions that Justin sent a demon after him. I assume that he means He Who Walks Behind but if He Who Walks Behind is a demon he doesn't have the same naming convention as Chaunzaggorath.

Elaine’s alive! Why show up after all this time? Harry’s I’m the phone book why now stop by for a visit?

“God Harry, You just can’t see it, can you? The Council doesn’t care about you. They don’t want to protect you. They will only put up as long as you toe the line and don’t become an inconvenience” pg. 150 Preach

Morgan go away. Why do you think Harry is a traitor? I thought we settled this. Why are you being so mean to Harry. Why did you break into his house. Dude chill. Harry put the sword down. That’s some entrapment if I’ve ever seen it. Merlin why?

Mister to the rescue yay!

“Believe it or not my first instinct isn’t always to set things on fire” pg. 182 I don’t believe it

Toot-toot!

“Dumped the cold water directly down my pants” Ha

Harry is making all the enemies. It’s like he’s trying to collect them all!

“A child could do better” pg. 249 I find it amusing that Harry complains(?) about people doing magic badly.

“I’m with Winter for now. But it’s a one shot. Think of me as a free agent” pg. 264 :( I don’t like that foreshadowing for Harry

“Mab usually likes her agents…colder, I think. Hungrier. More cruel.” pg. 272 More bad foreshadowing for Harry

“Except for Larry Fowler, who probably wants you on the show again” pg. 338 What. Did I miss something? When was Harry on the Larry Fowler show?

Is it bad that I want a fae godmother?

“I need my hand, Godmother. Both of them.” pg. 350 Ha

Boo Morgan go away. Why do you hate Harry Morgan? What’s he done to you? Why don’t you just let Harry talk to Ebenezar?

Harry doesn’t have another way to contact Ebenezar?

“Child. Should you survive this conflict, do not let Mab bring you here. Never” pg. 357 Well that’s not foreboding

The Mothers are cool

“Spooky he said. He doesn’t look all that smart.” pg. 407 Ha

“Bite me, faerie fruitcake” pg. 409 Ha

Everyone keeps calling Harry “Wizard”

Ha Harry’s up a tree

I like Gatekeeper

“That’s the last time I let Maeve hire the help. I indulge her too much.” pg. 453 Ha

“I don’t believe in faeries” pg. 462 Ha

Go Fix!

“Meep, Meep!” and ran like hell. “Damn thee, wizard!” pg. 475 Ha

“It was Meryl. She’d Chosen” pg. 483 MERYL!

Poor Aurora

“Go away, Mab” pg. 486 Ha

“Accept that power and all debts between us are canceled”

“I’m sure we can find some way to amuse ourselves with this one until time enough has passed to offer again.” pg. 487 So this is when Mab first offers Harry a job.

Poor Meryl :(

“Complemented his smile” pg. 490 Bi Harry 10

“Lord, what fools these mortals be” pg. 495 Ha

Final thoughts

Sadly no Marcone. He better be in the next book. Only one Bi Harry moment that I could find. But we did reach double digits on the counter. I liked all the lore we got with the fae. I’m sad for Maryl and Aurora. My dislike of Morgan, LaFortiner, and the White Council grows. Not a fan of Harry/Elaine. I like Ebenezar and Gatekeeper. Not a fan of the foreshadowing for Harry about the Winter Knight. I liked the book. Onto the next book!

#dresden files #harry dresden is bi #summer knight

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adhdo5 · 2 months ago

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OK fine

So you follow adhdo5 and now have to deal with sword wizards (MDZS spoilers if you care)

This isn't gonna be a comprehensive list but is enough to get one up to speed on wtf I'm talking abt

MDZS/CQL - Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), the novel and donghua adaptation, and Chen Qing Ling, AKA The Untamed, the live action TV show adaptation. Arguably these versions of events are three canons and I'm SCP-ing it

Cultivators - They cultivate their qi for various superhuman abilities. This is a learned ability that technically anyone can acquire, but for it to really work one has to start studying extensively at a young age, so this is very much a class thing (at least in the context of this story; this is not original to MDZS)

Jianghu - Cultivation society. In MDZS, vaguely feudal, controlled by sects with hereditary clan leadership and individual martial traditions. The real villain of the story

Mo Xuanyu (AKA MXY) - Looks like Wei Wuxian usually but with their face powdered and made up badly. Bastard child of the Jins, demonic cultivator, kicked out of Jin Guangyao's black ops detail on harassment charges probably trumped up for being crazy and visibly queer and returned to their mother's abusive family whereupon they eventually snapped and killed themself to summon Wei Wuxian into their body, thereby kicking off the modern day plot

Wei Wuxian (AKA WWX, AKA Yiling Laozu/Patriarch, AKA YLLZ) - Guy in black and red, often with a red hair ribbon. Plays the flute. ADHD. Necromancer. People in canon and in general talk abt her like a man bc they don't know her like I do. War criminal. Jack Bright demeanor and sibling drama level with JC and JYL, Dr Kondraki coded down to being transfem and being able to do Duke 'Til Dawn

Lan Wangji (AKA LWJ, AKA Hanguang-jun, AKA the Second Jade of Lan) - Stoic expression guy in white/light blue with forehead ribbon. Plays the guqin. Autistic and mean. Down hopeless gay style for WWX and experiences 30 years of internalized homophobia pining about it. Stands with his cancelled wife. Younger noble brother to Lan Xichen. He and Arron should stand in a room together and not talk and maybe they'll finally know peace

Lan Xichen (AKA LXC, AKA a-Huan when I'm being annoying, AKA Zewu-jun, AKA the First Jade of Lan) - Normal expression/smiling guy in white/light blue with forehead ribbon. Plays the xiao (flute but vertical). If you're unsure which Lan it is know that if he's smiling, has a flute, or is with Jin Guangyao it's LXC. He knows life isn't fair but believes that one day it might be. Loves ignoring. Terrible throuple situationship. Should've been at the club. He could be an O5 but he'd hate it but he'll do it anyway

Jin Guangyao (AKA Meng Yao, AKA JGY, AKA MY, AKA a-Yao, AKA Lianfang-zun) - Guy with dimples, either in nondescript gray robes and braids or in fancy gold robes, a funny hat, and a red dot on his forehead. Shorter than the rest of the cast. Transmasc to me sometimes. Desperately wants to believe in class mobility, but will always be the son of a prostitute and thrown down the stairs. Momma's boy. War criminal. Terrible throuple situationship. Entire plot in the modern day consists of taking the gun away from him. He doesn't have to apologize for anything. O5 CODED!!!!!!

Nie Mingjue (AKA NMJ, AKA Chifeng-zun) - Guy in usually green, sometimes gray, usually braids; either tall as hell, has a mustache, or both. Usually has his huge cursed saber. Hereditary magic anger issues. Not strictly a war criminal. Extremely morally uncompromising man. Terrible throuple situationship. Killed and dismembered as a result of the previous. Not O5 coded but he could do it for a little

Nie Huaisang (AKA NHS) - Guy in usually green, sometimes gray, usually braids, always with a fan. World's premier slacker, layabout, dilettante dandy, know-nothing, 10 year revenge plot schemer, birdwatcher, and Wei Wuxian sidekick in summer camp. Fucked up little rich boy. As part of his plan, throws himself into JGY's arms weeping about how he's going to kill himself over this week's responsibilities. Bad aroallo rep. Containing the hereditary cursed sabers falls to him when his brother NMJ dies. Runs the entire plot. Site director coded primarily but he can have greater ambitions.

Jiang Yanli (AKA JYL) - Guy in pink and/or purple, usually with fancy hair and jewelry including two braided buns. Lotus imagery common. Older sister to WWX and JC, betrothed to a guy not appearing here, conciliatory to a fault; this is where her characterization ends in the novel. I am deeply interested in discussing her as a character who reacts to the expectations placed on her whole her whole ass life nobody gaf what she wanted. No SCP character comparisons to make really

Jiang Cheng (AKA JC) - Angry looking guy, usually strong jawline, usually in purple, has a lightning whip. Baby brother to WWX and JYL. Lashes out due to the terror and anguish of being unimaginably ineffectual to protect the people he loves. Nobody respects him. Mother's son (the whip was hers). War criminal. Kind of like Mikell Bright if he was a youngest sibling and significantly angrier and only slightly less doomed

Wen Ning (AKA WN, AKA the Ghost General) - Really really pale guy with his hair down and scraggly, usually in tattered all black, usually with chains, black veins/cracks on his neck. Victim of the war. Resurrected by Wei Wuxian as a super special mostly-sentient fierce corpse; not always volitional but fiercely loyal to Wei Wuxian of his own free will whenever he has it. Baby brother to Wen Qing. Vague social disorder even before dying. This is actually not dissimilar to what goes on with Tamlin and Nazarene in my canon but I don't think that's actually informative

Wen Qing (AKA WQ) (NOT to be confused with a-Qing) (I know) - Guy in red robes, sometimes black and red, sometimes white and red, usually makeup, often with Wen Ning. Wen Ning's very protective older sister. Short temper but can match wits with Wei Wuxian. Doctor, and while she definitely has a priority order wrt who she protects and understands she can't save everyone, is still dedicated to her practice, moreso than important and respectable pursuits like "war" and "revenge". Could probably work at the Foundation. Could work anywhere though

a-Qing - Small teenage girl with all-white eyes who disability fakes (being (fully) blind) to scam people on the streets for a living. An icon. Matches wits with Xue Yang. Unapologetically mean. No SCP comparisons to make but she is important; I don't actually post abt her much but needed to differentiate her from WQ

Xue Yang (AKA XY, AKA (Xue) Chengmei) - Guy in all black, vaguely WWX-esque but with less red and more evil, and usually not portrayed with the people she is. Da Joker baby. Wei Wuxian's dark 4chan fanboy; loves necromancy for multiple reasons but they are mostly at best extremely evil. Jin Guangyao's black ops detail. Serial killer. Motivated by sweets. Genuinely bonds with a-Qing until she catches him serial killing and he kills her too about it. Also has a situationship with Xiao Xingchen/XXC, a guy not appearing in this post

Lan Sizhui (AKA Lan/Wen Yuan, AKA a-Yuan, AKA LSZ) - The only surviving member of the family that headed the losing side of the war, a cousin to Wen Ning rescued by Lan Wangji and raised in the Lan sect as a favor to Wei Wuxian. The world's nicest and politest teenage boy. Takes after Lan Xichen. Very sweet and open-minded. Also no SCP comparisons I can think of

Jin Ling (AKA JL) - Little guy in gold robes with a red dot on his forehead. Usually grumpy expression, often with his dog and either Lan Sizhui or one of the other kids. Born to Jiang Yanli and her betrothed and made the most famous orphan in the cultivation world before he was a year old. Nephew to over half of the preceding characters. Breaking the cycle. One last time no SCP comparisons

Should I make an MDZS/Untamed character cheat sheet for SCP mutuals who have to deal with this now

#anti Vwoop forcefield

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dentedsky · 2 years ago

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Review of The Untamed

This is one of the only tv shows i have ever marathoned and then immediately watched all over again. I started watching this show on Netflix knowing absolutely nothing about it; i didn't even know it was a gay love story... likewut. I had previously over saturated myself with American sitcoms and so looked for something completely different. Little did I realise I would smack myself in the face with my own love for the characters, themes, costumes, and downright beauty of the thing. I was immediately hooked in when in the first scene the lead character is murdered by his brother, cos I am a real sucker for stories that start out with, "Once upon a time, I DIED!!!" That to me is pure chef's kiss.

If you haven't watched it yet, let me forewarn you: the first two episodes are a clusterfuck of situations and lines and characters you don't give a shit about and have no context for. But push past these into episode 3 and beyond, and trust me, you will.

So here is my review of The Untamed. I'll try to be as spoiler-less as possible.

General premise

Five major clans control majority wealth, power and magic. Teenager Wei Wuxian is from one of these clans, and attends Ancient Chinese Hogwarts with BFFs/siblings Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng. But it's not all fun and hormones; soon after the semester ends they are thrown into war. Despite knowing magic and sword art, they are woefully under-prepared for the carnage and political shitshow that follows. Alliances fray, hearts are broken... and Wei Wuxian dies.

Sixteen years later he is resurrected by a necromancer who wants revenge on his shitty family. Wuxian's crush from magical high school, Lan Wangji, is now a 30-something hottie and a top-tier wizard, and is investigating a sword spirit that's gone apeshit. Since the revenge plot and the sword spirit issue are related, they team up buddy-cop style to solve the mystery.

The Pros

Costume and set design

It's beautiful. Someone in the costume department was having a ball with this one bc every outfit is gorgeous and unique. The long shots of the ancient Chinese sets are eye candy too. I found myself drinking in every little detail of their clothes and swords.

Themes and metaphors

I've seen a couple of Australian movies that talk about asylum-seekers, but I've never watched a show that has brought in the subject quite like this one. No doubt the episodes dedicated to our untamed hero Wei Wuxian saving war prisoners are a metaphor for China's incarceration of its minorities, but for me I was seething, constantly remembering that cunts like John Howard chose to use their power to treat people fleeing oppression like they were nothing but inconvenient garbage. Why governments choose to infeasibly sweep refugees under the rug rather than help them I still don't understand. In The Untamed, it's highlighted that the reasons are all about power - who has power must do all they can to keep it, even if it means torturing people they have never met, and slandering those who don't fall in line.

Cancel culture and mob mentality is a constant theme in the show, shown throughout several episodes from start to finish. Although set thousands of years before the invention of the internet, The Untamed highlights one important truth: internet trolls have always existed in some form or other and they will never change. They don't attack the reputation of others because they honestly believe that person deserves it - they do it because it fucking makes them feel good. If you can't take their shit any more and you kill yourself, it only solidifies in their mind that they were right all along. It's uncomfortable, and is almost impossible to endure. Like Lan Wangji, I wanted to take sweet Wei Wuxian into my arms and whisk him away.

The love story

Hooo boy, da love story. I ofc realise this is the main reason fans love this show. Between them, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji portray all the emotions that have ever existed, and then some. I found myself melting at Wuxian's every smile, looking closely at Wangji's infinitesimal widening of his eyes or curl of his lips. Wuxian is a guy who talks a lot with his mouth and his body but never says the right things, and Wangji is a bloke who says very little but his thoughts are written all over his supremely gorgeous face. And when they're together... woof. Gurrl. Idek. The chemistry is just... something. There is some over-acting on Wuxian's actor's part in some scenes Wangji's actor isn't in, but when these two are in a scene together, they're kind of amazing. The actors put full effort in, and it shows.

The Cons

CGI and make-up

Although the same genre, don't expect the production value of Game of Thrones, or The Witcher. This one runs more along the CGI lines of Merlin and Doctor Who. If you can use some imagination and stomach those two shows, then you can watch this. Similarly, the zombies are not scary, like, at all. But maybe that is less to do with make-up and more to do with wangxian being so overpowered that if this was a jrpg video game, wangxian would be lv 99 by age 17.

Plot holes and side characters

This show is well written and paced. However, there's one episode in the second half that you could quite frankly chuck in the bin and nothing of value would be lost. The side story involves a third-rate villain and three side characters who the villain emotionally and physically tortures for shits and giggles. If you liked these characters, that's great, but the whole thing to me stank of torture porn and added nothing to the main plot or central characters or relationships. The Untamed is not the only show to suffer this; Altered Carbon comes to mind. There was literally a whole ep in that show dedicated to torturing the lead and I'm still flummoxed as to why some stories choose to do this when literally there is no point?? I get that this villain is central to The Untamed plot and that he is a dark reflection of Wuxian's future if he didn't have Wangji as an anchor, but those things could've been shown in other ways without dragging three characters idgaf abt into some flashback that bored me to tears.

Summary and general thoughts

Omg, dis my fandom now. I'm already reading fics and God, look, writing fucking essays. I'm so naughty - I got my bff into it just so I could have someone to talk to. Luckily, her 1st language is Mandarin, and after watching the show, she read the web novel in 4 days, then translated the porn for me. Of what she tells me though - unpopular opinion - I think I prefer this drama. I prefer the idea that Wuxian fell for Wangji love at first sight, and also, I'm not a huge fan of sex while drunk - it's actually kinda triggering for me. That's just personal things tho. Wangxian have some beautiful moments that I like to rewatch and keep cupped in my hands.

6/5 stars.

#the untamed #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei ying #jiang yanli #jiang chen #mdzs #mo dao su zhi #wang yibo #sean zhan #the untamed review #i made a thing #stuff #my review #netflix #text

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aquaticrunner · 4 years ago

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Don’t I Know You?

Slytherin!Edmund Pevensie x Slytherin!Reader | Request: hi, could u do an Edmund x reader in which they meet in Narnia but they recognize each other bc they're both Slytherins? ty < 3 | Word count: 1.7K

I smiled and tucked my wand away. Finally I found it. Narnia. I had been hearing stories about this magical land since I was a little kid and I finally found a spell that could take me there. As far as I knew, it had never been done before. I would be the first witch to ever find it. I walked along a sandy beach letting the water wash over my feet. I took a deep breath, feeling the most relaxed I’d ever been. The water was so blue and the trees felt as if they were almost alive. It was beautiful and I couldn’t wait to explore every part of it.

I wandered further along the shore, loving the feeling of the sand between my toes. As I walked further down, I saw a group of kids. I squinted my eyes, trying to make them out clearly with the sun shining down. As I got even closer, I realized they were shouting. I cautiously got closer, trying to see what all the commotion was.

They seemed to be arguing about something and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to interrupt. I slowly turned around to leave when I heard someone address me. “Hey! What are you doing?” I cringed, knowing that I’d been caught, and turned back around. I finally took in the appearance of each person in front of me. I saw two young girls and two young boys. They seemed familiar as I looked at them, but I didn’t realize until I looked at the last boy to my right. His hair had gotten longer and he looked more carefree than I had ever seen him, but it was undoubtedly Edmund Pevensie. They had gone to Hogwarts together and were both in Slytherin.

“Don’t I know you?” He asked me. I narrowed my eyes at him. He doesn’t even remember me?

“What are you doing here?” I asked in return. He looked surprised and then recognition crossed his features. “I do know you! You’re Y/N. You were a Slytherin at Hogwarts. How did you get here?”

“Stop asking me questions! You never answered mine.” I crossed my arms in a show of defiance. The older looking boy stepped forward. “Enough. Seems to me we’re all wizards. We got here because Aslan called us. Now how did you get here?”

Y/N sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to get here since I was little. I finally figured out the right spell to find this magical land. I didn’t know anyone else had ever found Narnia before. Who’s Aslan?”

“You have a lot to learn.” Said the younger girl. They led me to an old castle where they had been staying. There, they explained everything about Aslan and the White Witch. I found out the rest of their names were Peter, Lucy, and Susan. After they had explained everything, I sat in silence for a minute before speaking up.

“Wow, you guys went through all that as kids?” I asked. They nodded and I bit my lip. “So what are you doing back here now?”

“Well, we’re here to help defeat the Telmarines. They’ve taken over Narnia and we have to stop them.” I smiled at them, “How can I help?”

I walked alongside Edmund in silence as we followed Peter and Trumpkin to where we heard an army was being built. I cleared my throat and Edmund rolled his eyes at me. I looked at him in annoyance, “Do you have a problem with me?”

“No.” His short response only annoyed me more. “Really?” I asked, “Because it seems to me that you’re not particularly happy that I’m here.”

“Why would I be?” He walked ahead of me and I stood behind for a moment. I couldn’t figure out why he was so upset with me. We barely had any interactions when we went to Hogwarts together aside from running into each other in the common room or having some friends in common. I sighed and kept walking. I didn’t want to get left behind. “So why are we walking all this way instead of just using magic?” I asked no one in particular.

Susan glanced back at me while she walked. “Magic doesn’t work the same here in Narnia. And with the Telmarines suppressing that magic for years, it’s become weaker.”

It became silent once more and I nodded in understanding. The silence persisted until we heard shouts coming from the trees. Soldiers in army came out of the trees, swords pointed at us. I immediately pulled out my wand and tried to cast a protective spell but nothing happened. Susan was right, magic worked differently here. The Pevensies and Trumpkin immediately started fighting, using practiced skill. I looked down at my now useless wand. Well, what do I do now?

One of the soldiers noticed me and walked menacingly towards me. “Wait, I’m not from here so don’t-” He lunged at me and I jumped back, nearly dropping my wand. I looked around for anything to defend myself with- a large stick or a rock- but I found nothing. He got closer until suddenly Edmund jumped in front of me pushing the soldier back with a sword. He cut him in the side and the man dropped in pain. Edmund hit him over the head, effectively knocking him out.

“Thanks,” I said and he turned back around to face me. “Here’s a knife, try not to get killed.” I took the knife hesitantly but Edmund didn’t wait to see what I would do next. He jumped right back into the fight and I watched as him and his siblings quickly beat the soldiers.

The soldiers that didn’t get knocked out ran off and the others, Peter tied to a nearby tree. We ransacked their supplies and left, hoping no one would follow us. I found myself walking Edmund once again. “Thanks again for helping me.”

Edmund sighed. “It wasn’t a big deal.” I shrugged. “Well, it was to me.” I glanced at him and spoke up once more. “So, I have to know why you don’t like me.”

Edmund groaned. “Do you ever stop talking?” I laughed. “Nope. So you might as well just answer me.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Fine. It’s not that I don’t like you, I just don’t trust you.” “What? Why not, we were in the same house!” “Exactly.”

I stopped talking for a moment, taking in Edmund’s words. He spoke again and my head whipped in his direction. “I heard you in the common room talking about Narnia. You were obsessed. And now that you’re here, what are you going to tell people when we get back? Everyone will want to come here and it’ll be ruined. That’s what people do with good things.”

For once, I had nothing else to say. It was starting to get dark and Peter stopped walking. “We can sleep here for the night. Ed, go get some firewood.”

Edmund nodded and I made a quick decision to follow him. “Are you ever going to leave me alone?” “Not until I’m satisfied.” “And how can I possibly do that?” “Sit down and talk to me for a moment,” I said. Edmund considered it, and then seemed to realize that I wasn’t letting this go. “Fine.” Edmund sat on a tree stump and I sat down next to him.

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. I have been looking for Narnia for a long time. But not because I want to exploit it.” Edmund looked at me curiously and I continued. “I’ve been dreaming of this place since I was a kid. The magic and the adventure. I always thought it sounded so much better than where I was, at least until I got to Hogwarts. Even then I just wanted to see it at least once.”

Edmund looked at me. “So you won’t tell anyone?”

I smiled at him. “I won’t tell anyone. I’m just happy with the satisfaction of being the first witch to ever find it. Well, except you but I came up with the spell on my own.”

He laughed for the first time and I was shocked at how nice it was. For the first time that day, I took the time to really look at him. He was undeniably attractive. His hair had a light curl to it from the humidity in the air and the early night stars seemed to be reflecting in his eyes.

He looked down at his hands and then back at me. “I may have misjudged you.” I smiled at him. “You did, but that’s okay. You can make it up to me.”

His eyes twinkled mischievously. “And how can I do that?” I leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

I leaned back, but before I could turn, Edmund placed his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my forward. Our lips met and I instinctively pulled him closer as we kissed, craving the heat that was coming from his embrace. We kissed until we were out of breath and I pulled away slowly, not wanting the moment to end. I leaned my forehead against his and whispered as if this were something fragile. “What was that for?” He smiled. “Just making it up to you.” I laughed as he repeated my words back to me. “Well, keep kissing me like that and I’ll forgive you in no time.”

Edmund smiled. “Well, it’ll have to be later. We need to get the firewood, remember?” I groaned. “This would be so much easier if my wand was working.”

“Don’t worry, you get used to it. Narnian magic is something different, but it’s just as wonderful. I promise.” I looked at Edmund as he said that with such sincerity. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

We spent the next few minutes gathering up firewood and then went back to the others. The rest of the night, I talked and laughed with the Pevensies and their friend just having fun. I shared small smiles with Edmund throughout the night every time we made eye contact or our hands brushed. I never would’ve thought that when I finally found Narnia I would also find Edmund Pevensie, a Slytherin boy who I barely knew. I couldn’t wait to get to know him now and explore Narnia with him.

#edmund pevensie x reader #narnia #narnia x reader #harry potter #harry potter narnia #harry potter x narnia #slytherin #slytherin edmund pevensie #narnia imagine #edmund pevensie imagine #x reader #request #peter pevensie #susan pevensie #lucy pevensie

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autistic-caleb-widogast · 3 years ago

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hi!! 🔥🌸? if you'd like to

Oh dear, would I ever! Favourite Caleb Moment. You want me, tumblr user autistic-caleb-widogast, to choose my favorite moment of my favorite character out of truly more than 500 hours? You get how this is an impossible task? Lol I will try though!

From the top of my head, there are the accent bits. Eldritsch Bläääst. Of course. But now for (probably wayyy too many) top hits in roughly chronological order:

I truly love the hand flapping and happy excitement at Notts first message! Iconic!

His absolutely flat monotone delivery of "I'm gonna tell you the story of how I murdered my mother and father", and Notts little "oh" ... OUCH!

The "We all have extreme syphilis"... Iconic.

Winning the drinking contest and being a silly drunk!

The HDYWDT against their first big bad, Lorenzo! At a live show! With a cantrip!!!! I-con-ic!...

"I'm tired. We're all tired. Buuuuuut... I'll get to work if I have to" Iconic.

The nat 20 for deciphering Avantikas coded book! Iconic!

WALL OF FIREEEEE!!!!!! COUNTERSPELL!!! need I say more! What's sexier than wizards! Nothing!

Getting shaved by Yasha with her anti-magic-user sword!

"Light them up, pretty"... Setting his party on blast while mind controlled and almost dying during the fight... Blood effects on max... (I actually tracked his health during that fight and wowie I almost passed out right along with him it was so stressful. Definitely my favorite fight of the m9.)...

HANDING OVER THE BEACON!!!! CLUTCH!!! WHAT A MOVE OH MY GOD!!!

"making vulnerability look easy" when Beau needs to rest but does not want to say so and he pretends he needs to...

The scourger interrogation "Some of us get tired of macabre fairy tales. So enjoy your mouthful of lies before they choke it out of you"... Getting slashed and allowing Essek to crush the scourger...

Initiating the entire party piling all their magical objects on depowered Fjord...

"I wanna roleplay Fish and chips!"

Getting 3 spells from essek on a 13 persuasion... Sexy.

HDYWDT on the laughing hand by Widogasts Web of Fire!!

Seeming shenanigans with Fjord and a robe.

"I'm the transmutation wizard, but you're the one who changes people"!

Making the spell for the ReVethification with Essek and Nott!

The Essek confrontation... "You were not born with venom in your veins" "Maybe you and I are both damned, but we can choose to do something and leave it better than it was before" STANDING OVATION! (I watched that one live and it was extremely good. 97 is probably my favorite C2 episode.)

Putting on a show for Traveler Con!

Blasting his friends into snow drifts!

This nine sided Tower can fit so much love for Caleb's friends in it!

Der Katzenprinz!

Gravity Sinkhole! At the Sanatory. Such a nice quiet inconspicuous spell.

Generally, Caleb going feral during that fight lol. (loved that ep.) Nat 20 counterspell against Trent!!!

The fact that he didn't die until the final fight! Like... Try keeping a wizard alive that long lol, it's hard!

Overall I love his growth! In his relationships with the m9, especially Beau! Being practically unable to talk a few words with her without a heavy misunderstanding, sharing awkward apology hugs, to sharing whole conversations and building each other up... being the empire siblings... Going from being alone and unattached and privately afraid and hiding from Ikithon, to begrudgingly accepting he has real friends now, who he can't save from his backstory, and who are ready to fight for and with him... And saying he is back on his feet... Dare I say poetic cinema.

As for Caduceus,

his divine interventions PLURAL,

him dropping absolutely raw lines on Trent Ikithon,

him being cute with Luc,

and his journey with Fjord, mentoring him and converting him to becoming a Paladin of Melora.

Sorry there's not a thousand moments like I did for Caleb, I love Cad too, but I'm a Caleb Stan first and foremost.

If you don't wanna read all this I understand lol, but hey. You ask a Caleb Stan account about their favorite moments, this is what you get lol

#cr spoilers #alex watches critical role #critical role #asked and answered #Caleb widogast

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gingersnapwolves · 4 years ago

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The Untamed, a brief summary [Part 1/6]

Okay my friends, I have heard your calls. Here’s my play-by-play version of The Untamed.

Note the first: I’m dividing it up into sections because it is, after all, a 50 episode series and I doubt anyone will want to wade through it all in one go.

Note the second: I am going to try to be as unbiased as possible. There are different ways to interpret some of the characters’ actions, especially later in the show when things get morally complex. You can find oceans of meta on this stuff, so I will try not to pick a side when at all possible.

Note the third: I’m going to keep the tone pretty light and humorous. This show gets *dark* in the middle but y’all are reading a summary and I don’t want it to get too dry or too depressing. Please pardon me if I am flippant from time to time.

Part One: Sword Wizard School

I thought about doing a character guide but decided it would be easier to introduce you to characters as we meet them, because there are a LOT of characters. However, I am going to give you a brief primer on the important families/places.

Actually, let me back up a little further. The Untamed is a xianxia drama, so it’s about people trying to become immortal celestial beings. They fight monsters and do a lot of magic, and they live in clans/sects. A clan is a family. A sect is a cultivation style/school. The terms are often used interchangeably (even I’m guilty) but they are not exactly the same. Members of a clan will belong to that sect, but the sect will also take in outsiders to train, who are sect members but not clan members.

There are five Great Sects:

Province: Yunmeng; sect: Jiang, home: Lotus Pier

Province: Gusu, sect: Lan, home: Cloud Recesses

Province: Lanling, sect: Jin, home: Koi/Carp Tower

Province: Qinghe, sect: Nie, home: The Unclean Realm (this is not to say it is dirty, it’s from Buddhism and might also translate to ‘The Worldly Realm’)

Province: Qishan, sect: Wen, home: Nightless City/Nevernight (depending on translation)

Here’s a map I made for my fic reference which shows roughly where these provinces are in relation to each other. I may have pretended they were cities in America so I could calculate mileage. Yes I am the world’s biggest nerd, thanks.

H’okay! The show is not in chronological order but I am going in chronological order because the point is to make this simple for you. I’ll admit that I may not get everything 100% correct because it’s been a while since I watched parts of it but I’ll try.

Setting: Caiyi Town, [Gusu]

ENTER A GREMLIN.

Meet Wei Wuxian. He is a 16 year old chaos gremlin with ADHD. He does not look 16 but actors in American dramas pretending to be teenagers also do not look 16 so we’ll let that go. He is with his adopted brother (also 16ish, but younger than Wei Wuxian) Jiang Cheng, and his adopted older sister, Jiang Yanli (probably about 6 years older).

Oh, right. Names. Most characters have two names, a birth name and a ‘courtesy’ name which is a fancy name they get when they’re old enough to get their swords and stuff. They also have titles. For the sake of not driving y’all crazy, I will choose the most commonly used name for the character and stick with it, and then give you a chart at the end so you’ll understand fanfiction.

Wei Wuxian and his siblings are headed to Sword Wizard School in Gusu, hosted by the Lan sect. Wei Wuxian is clearly planning to Be Himself during these lectures, and Jiang Cheng does Not Approve. Jiang Cheng is obviously very serious and concerned with appearances, which makes sense because he is the sect heir. As an adopted son, Wei Wuxian can goof off; Jiang Cheng does not have that luxury. (Wei Wuxian is the son of two of Jiang Cheng’s father’s friends, who died when he was young. More on this later.) Jiang Cheng reminds Wei Wuxian and the other disciples that are with them that they are representing the Jiang sect and they should make a good impression.

They don’t think they can get to Cloud Recesses before dark so they get rooms at an inn.

ENTER A SNOB.

Jin Zixuan is the next fun character you’ll meet. He’s also 16 or thereabouts despite looking 24 at minimum. He is a sect heir to the Lanling Jin and he does not like being near or interacting with strangers. He pays the innkeeper to rent the whole inn and throw any other guests out. Is this a dick move? I’m trying to be unbiased here, so yes. Yes it is.

Wei Wuxian tries to flirt with a couple of Jin Zixuan’s retainers to get them to allow the Yunmeng siblings to stay, but Jin Zixuan decides to be a big jerk about it. Fun fact! Jin Zixuan is betrothed to Jiang Yanli! He is literally throwing his betrothed out of an inn so he doesn’t have to share a building with people. Wei Wuxian gets pissy and picks a fight with him but Jiang Yanli convinces him that he’s not worth it (although she is much nicer about it than any of us would be in her shoes), and they decide to head up to Cloud Recesses despite the time.

But alas! In their haste, they leave their invitation behind.

ENTER AN ICE PRINCE

As the Yunmeng trio try to talk their way past the gate, Lan Wangji arrives. Also 16, he is your classic stoic, repressed gay, and is the younger brother of the Lan Sect leader. With him are a bunch of Lan cultivators and a guy on a stretcher who is clearly in rough shape. The Lan cultivators carry him inside.

Wei Wuxian, pure of heart and dumb of ass, decides that this is a great time to try to talk his way through the gate, figuring that Lan Wangji, being an important person, can let them in. Lan Wangji reacts about how you would expect a stoic repressed gay would to a cute boy flirting with him for the first time: uses a silencing spell on him, tells him he’s absolutely not admitted without their invitation, and locks them out.

Jiang Cheng, who has spent the last 3 minutes desperately trying to get his brother to shut up before he gets them all in trouble, sends him back to town to find the invitation.

Int. Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

ENTER A SOFT MAN AND HIS EXTREMELY STARCHED UNCLE

Lan Xichen, the head of the Lan sect and Lan Wangji’s older brother, is studying the guy they brought in, with his uncle. Lan Xichen is young for a sect leader (he’s only 19 in the book but probably 24-25ish in the show) and his uncle advises him a lot of the time. The guy they brought is kind of dead but also kind of not. They say a bunch of stuff you won’t understand if you have not seen xianxia dramas before. It’s not really important.

Ext. Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

RE-ENTER THE GREMLIN

Wei Wuxian has come back with the invitation to find the rest of his sect no longer waiting outside and all of Cloud Recesses sealed by wards. “Wards are made to be broken,” he says, demonstrating a clear lack of understanding of their purpose. It’s a good thing he’s here for school.

He breaks in, carrying a couple jars of liquor, only to find Lan Wangji standing guard. Lan Wangji reprimands him for breaking important Lan sect rules like a) not breaking and entering, b) not coming in after dark, and c) bringing alcohol, which is forbidden. Wei Wuxian offers him one of the jars because he is 16 and stupid and for some reason thought a bribe was what this situation needed. Lan Wangji pulls a sword on him, which is definitely a reasonable response and not because he has his first boner and he’s angry about it.

They have a sword fight, basically to a draw. Lan Wangji drags him in to see Lan Xichen, who clearly thinks this is hilarious. Wei Wuxian blames everything on Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. He also says intelligent things about the not-a-corpse they’re examining, because the writers wanted us to know that he’s not a whole dumbass. Lan Xichen basically slaps him on the wrist, tells him to behave himself and sends him off to the guest house his siblings were given, and then teases Lan Wangji about Baby’s First Crush.

Ext, Nightless City [Qishan]

ENTER AN OVER THE TOP VILLAIN AND HIS HENCHMEN

Nightless City isn’t actually nightless. It’s just never dark there because it’s on top of a volcano, because that’s where all the cool villains live.

This is the home of the Qishan Wen, who are Obviously Evil from the Black Outfits, Volcano Lair, and Shuffling Zombies. Their leader is Wen Ruohan. His personality is that he is evil. He’s saying a bunch of stuff you won’t understand yet and then sends his Obnoxious Son Wen Chao off to look for something. He also sends Wen Qing, who is related to him somehow, presumably. She asks if she can bring her brother, Wen Ning, and Wen Ruohan says sure because all he cares about is Being Evil in his Zombie Volcano Lair.

Int, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

ENTER A SLACKER and his friend, EVERY RETAIL EMPLOYEE DEALING WITH A KAREN YOU’VE EVER MET.

They’re all at the first lecture, and there’s a ceremony where each visiting sect presents a gift to Lan Qiren (the uncle/teacher). I think we might see what the Jin give him but I don’t care. Right now we’re talking about Nie Huaisang, the younger brother of the sect leader of the Nie sect. He is baby. He has brought a bird to class for no reason other than that he caught it and thinks it’s cool. Presenting to the dour and stern Lan Qiren makes him nervous.

With him is Meng Yao. Unlike everyone else you’ve met so far, Meng Yao is not a member of the gentry. He is the son of the Jin sect leader and a prostitute. (Yes, this makes him Jin ‘I can’t breathe the same air as commoners’ Zixuan’s younger brother.) When he was old enough to do Sword Magic he went to the Jin sect and asked for admittance, and his father had him thrown down a set of 200 steps because his father is an Enormous Douche. (That’s not biased. Hating this dude is one of the few things everyone agrees on.) Then he went to the Nie sect, and they said, “Sure, you can come in, but you’re not really a disciple, mmkay?” and he said sure. But he has worked his way up to being the assistant to the sect leader which is a pretty important position for someone with his background.

Naturally, because Meng Yao is Not Like the Others, a few people take this opportunity to gossip and talk smack about him. Meng Yao is upset but tries not to look it. Lan Xichen takes a moment to reassure him, saying that the Nie sect leader had written to him about what a helpful and awesome assistant he had now, and that Meng Yao obviously lived up to it. Meng Yao immediately develops the world’s Most Obvious Crush Don’t @ Me You Would Too.

ENTER MR. OBNOXIOUS, AN IRON MAIDEN, and A PUPPY. Fortunately these are the last characters you’ll meet for a while.

The Wen sect shows up at the gates of Cloud Recesses like ‘what up, I got a big attitude and fuck you’. The gate dude tells them they can’t come in without an invitation, and Wen Chao attacks him because he was raised in a volcano and they go in anyway. With Wen Chao are Wen Qing and her brother, Wen Ning. They are actually pretty awesome, you just don’t know it yet.

Wen Chao busts in on the Saluting Ceremony just as Jiang Cheng is trying to present their gift, and immediately begins insulting everyone there. You should count yourself fortunate that you’re only reading this because Wen Chao is literally the most obnoxious character in this show. Anyway, Wei Wuxian decides to pick a fight with him even though this is *obviously* a stupid thing to do. (I love Wei Wuxian with my whole heart but he is so stupid at 16 lmao.) He calls Wen Chao out on interrupting Jiang Cheng. Wen Chao reacts completely rationally and calmly BAHAHA who am I kidding, he pulls his sword out. Everyone else pulls their swords out. Wen Qing looks like she has the world’s worst migraine.

Lan Xichen takes out his flute and plays eight seconds of music that makes everyone’s swords go flying into the ceiling. Had I mentioned how awesome Lan Xichen is? Because he is Awesome.

Wen Chao gets even more pissy but Wen Qing shuts him down, saying she and her brother are there for Sword Wizard School and she’s sorry her cousin is such an asshole. Lan Xichen tells them to ‘try to come on time’ tomorrow. Had I mentioned how awesome Lan Xichen is? It bears repeating.

Ext, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Wei Wuxian is making fast friends with Nie Huaisang. They decide to go fishing in one of the streams. He sees Wen Qing sneaking around and asks what she’s doing there. She blows him off.

Meng Yao stops Lan Xichen and says goodbye to him. Lan Xichen asks why he’s leaving so soon, and Meng Yao says that he can’t actually stay for the lectures, since he’s only an assistant to the Nie sect, not a disciple. Lan Xichen tells him that Nie Mingjue (the head of the Nie sect) is just and honorable and will surely reward him for working so hard. They make heart eyes at each other for like a solid thirty seconds before Meng Yao manages to leave. I’m sorry, I’m trying to be unbiased. They gaze at each other longingly – no, shit, that’s still biased. They, uh, regard each other with mutual respect for thirty solid seconds and then Meng Yao leaves.

Meanwhile Jiang Cheng is Fretting about the fact that Wei Wuxian is Making a Bad Impression. He ain’t seen nothing yet. Jiang Yanli calms him down.

Wen Qing talks to her brother Wen Ning and is sad because he’s sick. She promises him that someday they’ll be able to leave Nightless City.

Int, Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

Lan Qiren is lecturing. Wei Wuxian proposes some casual heresy. Lan Qiren gets mad and tells him to copy the Chapter of Conduct a thousand times, and throws him out of class. Jiang Cheng tries to crawl under his desk.

Instead of going to copy lines, Wei Wuxian wanders off and meets A PUPPY, ie Wen Ning. He is practicing his archery. Wei Wuxian proceeds to help him with his stance and Wen Ning looks like he just discovered his bisexuality. Wen Qing sees them together and is clearly not thrilled. Wei Wuxian asks her why she’s always wandering around the back hills of Cloud Recesses and asks if she’s looking for something. She tells him not to be stupid and leaves with her brother.

Lan Wangji drags Wei Wuxian back to the library for his punishment. Wei Wuxian proceeds to spend the next few hours doing Everything That Is Not That, which culminates in him exchanging Lan Wangji’s book for some porn when he’s not looking. Lan Wangji tears the porn up and tells him to piss off.

~romance~

Jiang Cheng: I hope you’re proud of yourself.

Wei Wuxian: I absolutely am.

They go back to their guest house. Wen Qing is there. She’s a doctor! Told you she was awesome. Jiang Yanli wasn’t feeling well and Wen Qing gave her some medicine. They talk about the fact that there aren’t lectures for a few days because Lan Qiren is off doing Official Stuff.

But there’s still fun to be had! There’s a water demon attacking people in the nearby town. Lan Xichen is worried that it’s serious and he’s going to go himself. Lan Wangji goes with him. Wei Wuxian asks if he and Jiang Cheng can go ‘get some practice’ as they fight lots of water demons in Yunmeng. Lan Xichen, remembering his brother’s obvious crush, says sure. Wen Ning wants to go too. So does Wen Qing. Lan Xichen suddenly feels like a chaperone on a field trip but says fine because he’s the cool older brother.

Wei Wuxian takes the opportunity to ask questions about the not-a-corpse from earlier. Lan Xichen politely tells him that’s it handled and not to worry about it. Wei Wuxian thinks there’s something he’s not telling him, and he mentions that to Lan Wangji, who agrees but won’t say so. Wei Wuxian can tell anyway because he’s learning to read Lan Wangji’s microexpressions.

They fight a water demon. Jiang Cheng gets injured and Wen Qing patches him up. He looks at her with puppy eyes. Some dumbass loses his sword in the water. Wen Ning tries to help him despite being uniquely unqualified to do so, and passes out. Wei Wuxian tries to rescue both of them, and Lan Wangji ends up rescuing all three of them despite clearly wanting to let the water demon eat them. Jiang Cheng buys a comb to give to Wen Qing but chickens out and doesn’t give it to her. Wei Wuxian deduces that Wen Ning’s illness is because of a previous bad experience with ghostly spirits or something, and gives Wen Qing a talisman to give to her brother that will help protect him from monsters. He says that no matter what she’s looking for at Cloud Recesses, he hopes the talisman will help Wen Ning.

Then he tries to buy Lan Wangji some fruit as a gift. Lan Wangji refuses to look at him. Lan Xichen starts mentally writing wedding invitations.

Ext. Nightless City [Qishan]

ENTER AN EDGELORD (sorry I forgot about him, in fact I think this happened earlier but the timing isn’t really important)

Meet Xue Yang. You have no idea who he is. Wen Ruohan is demanding he hand over something called yin iron. Xue Yang’s response to this is basically ‘choke me harder, Daddy’ and you’re left feeling vaguely disturbed.

Int. Cloud Recesses [Gusu]

It’s party time! Wei Wuxian smuggled some liquor back with him. He, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang get drunk. They give Jiang Cheng a hard time about his high standards for women.

Lan Wangji comes in like the hall monitor you hated in high school to break it up. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang run away. Wei Wuxian uses a talisman on Lan Wangji to keep him from reporting them and make him take a drink of the alcohol. We all remind ourselves very firmly that he is only 16 and will do stupid shit, despite wanting to slap him. Lan Wangji has never had alcohol before and one drink makes him blackout drunk. Wei Wuxian has to babysit him for the rest of the night. Serves him right.

The next day, they’re all in trouble, even Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian tries to tell Lan Qiren that it’s not Lan Wangji’s fault, but Lan Wangji accepts his punishment anyway. They get hit with a stick a bunch of times.

Lan Wangji goes to recuperate in the cold springs. Lan Xichen, the world’s biggest troll, sends Wei Wuxian to do the same. Lan Wangji nearly has an aneurysm when Wei Wuxian tries to start taking his clothes off.

ENTER THE PLOT

They get pulled underwater and end up in a cave. It’s a magic cave where only members of the Lan clan are allowed to be. To keep the cave from killing him, Lan Wangji wraps his Magic Forehead Ribbon around Wei Wuxian’s wrist. This is the same magic forehead ribbon he told Wei Wuxian ten episode minutes ago that only parents, spouses, and children are allowed to touch. Draw what conclusions you will.

There’s a ghostly lady in the cave who is Lan Wangji’s ancestor. She tells them Evil Is Abroad. A long time ago a dude named Xue Chonghai took a bunch of pieces of metal and filled them full of evil energy. Everyone banded together and killed him, but the metal couldn’t be completely destroyed, so it was split into ‘the cardinal directions’ and then sealed and hidden. Ah ha! This is what Wen Ruohan is looking for! It’s called Evil MacGuffin yin iron.

Wei Wuxian says if it’s so powerful, why don’t they use it to fight back? Ghost lady says she tried that but it’s too evil and it doesn’t work. She gives them the piece that was sealed in the cave and tells them to go fight evil together. Lan Wangji is glad it’s too cold to have a boner.

Except then she throws them out of the cave and onto dry land and Wei Wuxian lands on top of him and he definitely gets one from that. Sorry, Lan Wangji, I don’t make the rules.

They’ve been missing for two days and everyone is really upset, especially Jiang Cheng, who thinks Wei Wuxian was just goofing off.

Lan Xichen takes the piece of yin iron they got in the cave and seals it in a pouch. They discuss the fact that Wen Ruohan is clearly collecting the pieces of yin iron and this is Bad News Bears. The yin iron will respond to other pieces of yin iron so they decide they should use the piece they have to locate the other pieces.

But first, classes are over! Despite the fact that each of these events has led seamlessly into the next and it seems like they’ve been there a week, they’ve actually been there six months. If you dealt with the Teen Wolf ‘timeline’ I assume you can deal with that lmao.

There’s a lantern-lighting ceremony to celebrate. Wei Wuxian paints a rabbit on his lantern because there were a bunch of rabbits in the cave and Lan Wangji clearly likes rabbits. This makes Lan Wangji smile for the first time. They all light their lanterns and make a wish.

Wei Wuxian wishes he can stand with justice and live without regrets. Lan Wangji looks at him like he’s about to propose. Wen Qing wishes she could protect her little brother and that he’ll always be safe. Jiang Cheng looks at her like he’s about to propose. Nie Huaisang wishes he can pass his classes and get the hell out of high school. Truly, the most relatable.

But the moment is ruined because people start teasing Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli, asking why they didn’t light a lantern together and wish for a happy marriage. Jin Zixuan, the paragon of reacting reasonably to things, storms off. He tells his sect members he doesn’t want to hear about the marriage and they should stop bringing it up. Wei Wuxian overhears and they get into a fight. Jiang Yanli manages to get Wei Wuxian to back off.

The next day, Wei Wuxian is being punished for punching a jerk in the face. He is kneeling on the rocks of the courtyard. But he’s already gotten distracted because there’s an anthill and he has ADHD. Lan Wangji calls him ‘unteachable’ and stomps off, clearly mad at his boner like usual.

Because this is kind of important, the two sect leaders have showed up to hash it out. Jiang Yanli’s dad says ‘listen, if your son doesn’t want to marry my daughter, we shouldn’t force him’. Jin Zixuan’s dad says, ‘kids are stupid and they don’t know what they want’. Jiang Yanli’s dad says, ‘well I absolutely agree your son is stupid but he’s being a jerk to my daughter so why don’t we politely call this off before something happens that makes one of us impolitely call it off’, and Jin Zixuan’s dad agrees. Jiang Yanli is upset, although why she actually wanted to marry Jin Zixuan is beyond everyone involved, including the audience. Then again it can’t be easy to hear that some dude who has barely even met you has decided you’re not good enough for him.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian sees Lan Xichen telling Lan Wangji ‘be careful’ and correctly deduces that Lan Wangji is leaving with the yin iron to try to find the other pieces, while Lan Xichen stays behind to protect Cloud Recesses since the Wen sect thinks it’s still there. He leaves a note that says ‘gone monster hunting, meet you back at home!’ Jiang Cheng nearly has an aneurysm, especially when his dad is like ‘lmao that kid is such a dumbass’.

~end Sword Wizard School~

okay, guys, what did you think? was this helpful? could you follow it? was it at least vaguely entertaining? should I keep going?

#the untamed #liveblog #of a sort

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cadaceus · 3 years ago

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C2E141

One last time, y’all. This campaign and these characters have meant so much to me, and this seven hour finale was definitely an emotional rollercoaster. (Yes, I shed actual tears at one point, which rarely happens to me with media. But this is a special occasion.) These liveblogs are nearly as long as the episode itself, so grab a snack! With that being said, here are my very last liveblogs for Campaign 2 of Critical Role. As always, major spoilers below, so beware.

- Veth taking a level in Wizard, god I am really gonna cry ten minutes into this thing... 😭

- We got our first “stay with us” to Essek, I am emo...

- I was fully not expecting to say goodbye to Frumpkin, but now I’m on the verge of tears... farewell dear fey friend (Marisha saying “that wasn’t supposed to be what broke me” me too me too)

- “You’re a good person.” “I could be.” “You are.”

- “I think you’re a good person” I never thought that I’d hear Beau say that about Essek and this genuinely might be what breaks me... she thinks he’s a good person.... redemption is possible.... maybe love is real....

- If I end up crying over wizards, look away

- Jester lifting up Fjord’s arm to snuggle beneath it made me say “awww” out loud 🥺

- VETH GOING FOR A DIP IN THE POND, I AM GENUINELY SO PROUD OF HER

- “Aahhh!! It’s me! Your wife!” I am going to miss Jester’s sending so much

- Okay that accent bit was so funny, I am going to miss all of them so much

- REAL MOLLY IS BACK REAL MOLLY IS BACK REAL MOLLY IS BACK

- Oh but he doesn’t remember them... and Yasha is trying so hard to help him remember, it’s so so sweet

- Something about the way he said “Tealeaf’s nice” made me tear up... I was neutral on Mollymauk early campaign because I went into things knowing that he passed away, but this whole conversation with the Mighty Nein is So Much. Also “Kingsley Tealeaf”

- “Everyone should have a brother” as someone with three of them, I vouch for this 🥺

- a) I love Marion Lavorre (and Jester ofc!) so very much and b) I can’t believe that Jester’s parent trap actually worked??

- “I do not think Exandria is ready for how you’re going to change it” got to me... and it’s also so true. jester has already changed the world just by being kind.

- Good bye Marion... I love and will miss you so much! (And many thanks to Laura and Matt for creating an agoraphic single mother who raised a wonderful child <3)

- Beau and Jester teasing Marion for having a complicated relationship with Babenon reminds me of Caleb saying he has a complicated relationship with Essek...

- LEAVE CALEB ALON E FUOIKJLKGKNL

- THIS IS ....... SO MUCH WORSE THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.

- Caleb’s biggest trauma(s) coming back to haunt him, I am genuinely going to cry I’m not ready for this I’m not okay

- Beau saying to Jester “Thanks, cutie” I love themmmmm

- INITIATIVE AAGJASKHDKJ AAAAAHHHH

- Essek’s Gravity Sinkhole did nothing? uhhhhh Mr Stark...

- EADWULF???? HELLO?????

- Essek using his entire turn to save Caleb last battle 🤝 Caleb using his entire turn to save Essek this battle

- ASTRID???? I TRUSTED YOU??? WE ALL TRUSTED YOU????

- Another Counterspell chain sdfdghjkdl wizards !!!

- “It’s just business” is literally the Neutral Evil line, it always gives me chills when any character says it

- This hurts more after Liam confirming on Twitter that Astrid/Caleb/Eadwulf were all three a romantic item... please stop hurting Caleb, you loved him 😭

- THE FJORD VS EADWULF SWORD FIGHT IS SO CINEMATIC I LOVE IT HERE ACTUALLY

- Essek taking every opportunity to pull Caleb to safety makes me so emotional... 😭

- “You’re not the first student I’ve had to put down” I am burning with my anger for you, old man

- THE DISPEL WORKED LET’S GO CALEB.....

- Remember when Matt said that Essek doesn’t openly show concern/emotion? And now he’s saying “I’m scared” in front of his closest friends and his worst enemies.... growth my love.....

- BEAU AND VETH LETS GO CHAOS CREW LETS MF GO BABEYYYY!!!

- FJORD COUNTERSPELLING THE DIMENSION DOOR..... and Matt having him describe it.... is this taking the place of a “HDYWTDT” *eyes emoji*

- CALEB GOING DOWN NO, THANK GOD FOR THAT DEATH WARD

- Veth’s illusion of Caleb’s parents flanking Caleb in the flames.... that got me too, Liam

- “Stay down.” yeah, okay, that was sexy

- ASTRID BEING THE ONE TO ACTIVATE THE COLLAR IS LITERALLY POETIC JUSTICE... Trent being beaten by the student who stuck with him longest I love this so much, she deserved that moment honestly

- Break Time, AKA Emma Makes Her Weekly Mug Brownie Interlude

- Sometimes I feel like “death is too good for you” is a copout, but in this case it fits so well, I want this mf’s reputation destroyed and the entire operation exposed and overthrown let’s goooo

- “I loved you both so much”.... Astrid and Eadwulf walking away.... oh, Blumendrei... I know this is not the end of your story. What’s past is prologue, loves

- The Empire Siblings are gonna burn down the whole system because it’s the system that enables individual corruption... I am so fulfilled by this, god i love them

- “I love you too” OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, FJORESTER ARE THE CUTEST FOR REAL

- Jester and Essek’s friendship still means so much to me btw just in case anyone wanted a check-in

- Veth giving the flask to Kingsley!! Good for her, good for her!

- OH Blumenduo are back already! I truly thought that was going to be their last appearance of the Campaign, why is this taking me more by surprise than Trent’s appearance

- “[Caleb] notes how similar Eadwulf and Fjord are” this is Widofjord adjacent... this episode we have gotten Widomauk-adjacent, Widojest-adjacent, and Widofjord-adjacent (and Blumentrio ofc), now come through Shadowgast and we can get a full Bingo on the “Bisexual Maelstrom” card

- Speaking of relationships, I am lowkey into the Fjord/Jester/Kingsley dynamic LOL no one look at me I’m in hiding

- I’M NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO VETH AND CAD 😭 It makes sense and the fact that they have their families back is beautiful but also consider this: I’m sad and I will miss them

- The goodbyes to Caduceus..... I am going to cry aren’t I?

- “If he’s anything like his mom, you won’t see him until it’s too late” Okay that made me giggle, I love Veth and I love Luc and I love their little family

- IS ESSEK LEAVING TOO? THAT’S GONNA BE WHAT BREAKS ME ISN’T IT

- If Essek leaves and we never see him again, getting a triple whammy of goodbyes I will be so incredibly sad, I cannot do this 😭

- If anyone is interested, no I am not doing well

- I was lowkey ready to get an Essek’s feelings for Caleb confirmation tonight, I guess it makes sense that we didn’t but I hope that this is not the last time we see Essek... I want to write another emo post about him and about how much he means to me but I will refrain

- CALEB BEING A TEACHER IS THE ENDGAME I WANT FOR HIM PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- Wow, I really was not ready to see Caduceus and Essek go for some reason... I really wanted this Campaign to end on the image of the Mighty Nein together as all nine of them... I’m feeling so numb right now having to say goodbye 😭

- Oh, we’re in the epilogue now!

- When Fjord said “[the sea] is my favorite place to be” I genuinely felt that on a spiritual level... the ocean is home, it truly is and always will be for me as well

- “I CAST MODIFY MEMORY” FJORD LMAOOOOOOO

- Okay, that Widobrave ending is what made me shed tears for the first time this episode... not to be Personal but my biological brother graduates High School tomorrow, and for some reason this conversation just reminded me so much of me and him and now I’m emotional

- NOT THE SYPHILIS BANDITS DSYUHDFJKLSFJ;DS OKAY I NEEDED THAT LAUGH

- “I’d like to hear about your friend” Kingsley aww

- Beau giving Kingsley her first diary to help him realize who they all are is actually so perfectly fitting, I love that!

- “The other eight and I, yes” Caleb counting all nine of them again 😭

- CALEB BEING OFFERED AN ASSEMBLY SEAT WTF AAAHHH

- Oh shit, Astrid took the Assembly seat... I’m not sure how I feel about this, I feel so bad for her for having to stay in the system that abused her for so long and I would have loved to see her burn the whole thing down, but I hope that she at least has a sense of contentment with this title

- “I go where you go, baby” Beauyasha.... my darling loves....

- Beau’s dad??? But also Beau being the one with power over her father is so Good, I’m glad that she got justice on that front as well!

- This talk with Artagan... “I didn’t want you to be a god. I wanted you to be my friend.” and in the process my love you created divinity... maybe divinity is the friends we made along the way

- OH SHIT WE ARE GETTING ALL THE VANDRAN LORE TONIGHT I’M READY LET’S GO LET’S GO

- VANDRAN AND AVANTIKA WERE AN ITEM???

- Wait crack theory: Sabian was a half elf right? Could he be the son of Vandren and Avantika? Or is that too much of a stretch?

- Vandran going with them!!! Also I feel like that moment between Fjord and Vandran was lowkey a tease to a post-campain Uk’otoa one shot and I am ready for it already

- THIS BEAUYASHA MOMENT... “i’ve never known anyone as deeply as i know you” & “explore every bit of you in multiple ways ;)” & “your past doesn’t scare me, it only makes you beautiful” .... this is so much they are so much i love them so much

- “I will have you and then some” Beauyasha 😭

- I’m torn between “oh my god there’s still half an hour left?” and “how is there only half an hour left??”

- “You will let this Skyspear live at least?” oh my god so Yasha killed the last Skyspear then? Oof...

- YASHA GIVING ZUALA(’S GRAVE) THE BOOK OF FLOWERS, OH DEAR HEART

- And Beau’s talk to Zuala about being the luckiest woman alive and sacrifice.... 😭

- PLANTING FLOWERS AT ZUALA’S GRAVE... “NO BETTER GRAVE MARKER” THIS IS MAKING ME SO EMOTIONAL, I KNOW I’VE SAID THIS A LOT THIS EPISODE BUT THIS TRULY IS SO BEAUTIFUL

- So... I may or may not be crying again

- Shadowgast with a steel chair??

- Caleb’s plan for saving his parents... it’s clear he has thought of this so much, oh my darling love 😭

- Caleb burning down his chance to change his past is so symbolic and something he really needed to do, it does make me emotional though

- The other book was him writing to his parents?? Oh bby boy 😭

- While I would have loved for Caleb to open his own magic school (especially with Essek, or the Mighty Nein, or someone else as well), I am so pleased that he stays with Veth and that their friendship continues for the rest of their life because again: they mean so so much to me, and in a way they remind me of me and my biological brother (which I never realized before this episode) and yeah. They just make me Emo

- Also. Caleb being a professor was my Number One Endgame Hope for him and the fact that it came true is just so surreal in the best way possible. I’m so used to being robbed of happy endings. The fact that the Mighty Nein all got theirs makes me incredibly happy. A story does not have to be sad to be impactful. Happy stories and happy endings, especially during a time period of tumultuous real life circumstances, have just as much value and meaning and they always will. Caleb is teaching the next generation magic, and he is teaching them to be Good, and he is nurturing them, and that just means so much

- MATT CRYING IS GONNA GET TO ME

- “Let’s do it again” Please, let’s.

- Okay, everyone. I made it all seven hours in one piece with surprisingly minimal tears (though who knows, this might all sink in tomorrow.) I already wrote my thoughts earlier today about how much the Mighty Nein mean to me and how much this show and these characters have kept me holding on during quarantine and today... I’m still not ready to let them go, but I know that I can always revisit to say hello and to say thank you for changing me. Until then though... I love you all more than you could ever know. And for the last time of Campaign 2... is it Thursday yet?

Good night 💗

#cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #c2e141 #critical role #my liveblogs #cr2 #i genuinely can't believe this is the end y'all... what a journey. what a freaking journey 💗#to anyone who has ever interacted with even one of my liveblogs: i love you and i think about you every damn day dfghjkflf #it makes me Emo knowing that i'm not just speaking to the void and that there are ppl out there listening etc #also this liveblog was TWO THOUSAND WORDS LONG i checked it in a google doc sgdhjkdl #so if you made it through all that you may be entitled to financial compensation #but in all seriousness: i love you mighty nein. and thank you for everything.#is it thursday yet?#queue #(i always queue these for the mornings dgfhjk!)#and yes i WILL be liveblogging campaign 3 #also mayhaps this hiatus will be time for me to catch up with vox machina?

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saphirered · 3 years ago

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Fight For Dessert?

And here it finally is, part two to the last Essek x Eldritch Knight reader request.

A walk through the streets of Rosohna did you good but Essek was still refusing to let you go anywhere isolated with him without supervision besides his home or the Xhorhaus after the whole ordeal with the Volstruckers. The presence of the Aurora Watch brought him more comfort than it ever had done. Not for himself but the sense of security that you wouldn’t be alone if trouble found you.

The two of you walk or float perhaps a little bit closer than may be socially acceptable but neither of you seem aware or care enough. A guard of the Aurora Watch rushes over to you a little out of breath and gives a short bow to both you and Essek.

“What is it?” Essek asks in a tone befitting of the Shadowhand, demeanour changing to a more cold and distant one at the approach of the guard.

“A message for you Shadowhand. And one for the Knight.” The guard holds out two delicate envelopes stamped with a deep purple seal, names written in beautiful cursive. You take the one addressed to you with a confused look and can see a hint of annoyance from Essek.

“You may go now.” Essek dismisses the guard who keeps waiting.

“My apologies, Shadowhand. I was instructed to await your answers.” The guard looks to the envelopes. Essek takes his and opens it as well reading it. His expression does not change.

‘You have been graciously invited to attend a formal dinner in your honour at the estate of Den Thelyss tonight.’

“Essek?” You give him a glance allowing him to see the invitation. Essek shows you his invitation too. His has and additional note; ‘bring your friend’. You see Essek lift his chin with a deep sigh giving the guard a bit of a glare.

“Please tell my mother-“ Seeing where this is going you cut him off.

“-that we accept her gracious invitation, isn’t that right, Essek.” You would have stepped on his foot to shut him up if he weren’t floating. Essek gives you a surprised look as the guard nods, excuses himself and hurries off.

“Why would you…” Essek doesn’t finish the question.

“Because even I know you simply do not refuse an invite from nobility let alone a Denmother, your mother no less.” He can’t deny. You have a point.

So there you are, dressed in the fanciest clothes gold could buy in such a short period of time, courtesy of Jester and her impeccable taste. The fine silks in hues of purple, dark blues, black and silver made you stand out in the crowd for sure if it weren’t the design itself, like it was made for you. Many garments were tried on. None but this passed Jester’s approval. Luckily for you the outfit wasn’t so heavy or tight you couldn’t even lift your arms, or would feel like you were carrying both Fjord and Caduceus on your back. You had your full range of motion and a perfect fit.

Essek escorted you to the estate which is every bit as grand and impressive as you expected it to be. You’re a bit on edge and nervous. It’s not every day one gets such an invitation, let alone one by the family your ‘friend’ belongs to.

“You are calmer ahead of battle than you are attending dinner. I do not think I have ever seen you this on edge.” Essek couldn’t keep his observation to himself. It’s quite a funny one in his eyes. You’d be prepared to walk into a moorbounder nest no hesitation and no fear yet a social gathering is enough to nearly throw you off your feet and have you panic.

“Don’t laugh! Not all of us have spent our lives making friends with the leaders of nations.” He stops, you with him and turns to you.

“And yet I doubt that’s what unnerves you so.” He places his hands on your shoulders as you take a deep breath.

“What if she doesn’t like me? Or if she doesn’t approve your blatant admiration of me?” You manage to lighten the mood with your last question.

“If my mother didn’t approve of you she would never have invited both of us to dinner. As for my ‘blatant admiration of you’, as you put it, I think it is more than deserved after everything.” Essek looks around seeing no one but the guards in front of the estate and pulls you into his embrace.

“You’ll do perfectly. My mother will love you just as much as I.” He speaks as you return the hug. Pulling apart he offers his arm and the two of you make your way through the gates.

“You’re biased.” You whisper as the guards open the doors for the two of you.

“I am. So what?” You scoff at the wizard’s answer as you enter Essek’s childhood home.

Worked stone, stained glass windows and geometric designs make up the majority of the structure. It’s quite beautiful and comes close to what you expect a private palace might look like. Though, you didn’t expect any less from one of the most prominent and well respected Dens in the Dynasty. Your eyes wander taking in the beautiful art work displayed within the foyer alone. You can’t begin to imagine what the rest of the building looks like.

Walking down the stairs as the servants take your and Essek’s cloaks, is the Denmother herself in all her glory. You can see the family resemblance and are taken aback by the sheer presence the woman radiates. Sensing you panic as you resist the urge to gulp Essek pats your arm leading you forward.

You take a deep breath. For the first time you feel like the roles are reversed, Essek being your support and saviour when you’re in need instead of the other way around. He keeps you grounded. You squeeze his arm linked through yours in a quick thank you.

It’s no different from a battle. Except your sword has been exchanged for your wit and your words are your weapon and shield. The strategy remains. You can do this. You got this. The words echo in your head only to realise Essek whispered them. You nod. You got this.

Essek and you meet Deirta at the bottom of the stairs. You offer a brief bow in respect, returned with a bow of the head and a smile.

“Welcome. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. My son speaks very highly of you. I am Deirta Thelyss.” Deirta takes the lead, you and Essek following into the dining room.

A large table enough to fit half the court alone, houses only four chairs, one at the head, two on one side and a single one at the other. The table is set for four, plates, cutlery, beautiful glasses and everything. Leaning on one of the chairs is a handsome drow, dressed appropriately for the dinner bearing the vestiges of a Taskhand, or at least so you’ve been told. This drow, while elvish age might be more difficult to pinpoint seems to be a bit younger than Essek and shares similar features. A sibling perhaps? Essek doesn’t really talk about his family much.

Essek guides you along to the two chairs next to each other, one of which the other man is leaning on. The man raises to a more proper stature and bows to you.

“My, my, you must be my dear brother’s heroic saviour. Taskhand Verin Thelyss. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Verin pulls out the chair next to the one he was leaning on and offers it to you. You unlink your arm from Essek’s and take a seat thanking the Taskhand. Before Verin can, Essek takes the seat next to you at the right hand of the Denmother. Verin sends him a glare but Essek looks on innocently. Sibling rivalry? You’ll never let him hear the end if this goes on.

“Don’t look so glum, Verin. It doesn’t suit you.” You raise an eyebrow at Essek’s comment as Verin takes the seat opposite of his brother and Deirta takes hers.

“And pomposity suits you perfectly brother.” Verin raises his glass.

“Children. No bickering at my table. We have a guest.” Deirta smiles at you as servants fill your glasses and uncover the plates set out in front of you to reveal a delicious looking meal.

“Thank you for joining us tonight. I’m grateful you were able to accept my invitation on such short notice. When my son speaks about your exploits he tends to leave out the mortal danger of it all and I have to learn from others the details of the risk you put yourself at to keep him safe. You have my eternal gratitude.” Deirta places a hand over her heart.

“You talk about me?” You give Essek a look and can just see the tiniest of blushes creep on his face for just a second as he tries to repress it.

“Gushes on about you really, singing your praises. ‘Such an intelligence, a fast learner, strong and clever’. It never ends.” Essek glares at Verin as you lean into the arm of your chair giving him an ‘oh really’ look waiting for him to come up with some clever comment or witty remark in return to deflect from the fact he’s not been subtile about his affections towards you around his family.

“I only shared my conclusions based on the information and evidence provided to me first hand.”

“I believe that’s what us common folk would call ‘an opinion’, darling.” You laugh amused by the whole situation. You earned a snort from Verin with your comment. Deirta looks between the three of you before turning her attention back to you directly.

“I heard you had gotten rather seriously injured. I hope you’ve recovered well enough?” Deirta asks.

“I have thanks to my rather talented healer friends. Though if it were not for Essek’s quick response getting them, things may have played out very differently.” You praise the wizard next to you trying to put him a bit more at ease and give him something to return fire if he has to against his brother, letting him know you have his side still. Esseks gives you a thankful smile.

“So you’re recovered then?” Verin’s expression turns a bit more mischievous and you can see Deirta giving him a scolding look.

“I am according to my clerics, though I feel they held off on my release from bedrest and confinement to the house for several days. It’s good to be out and about again. I’ve missed it, even though the company has been good I definitely missed being allowed to swing a sword and throw a proper punch.” Verin’s smile grows.

“Since you’re good to fight again, how about you show me what you’re made off? How much of my brother’s opinions prove true?”

“Verin.” Both Essek and Deirta warn each for different reasons.

“Oh come on, I’m merely joking. Unless you’d take me up on the offer of course.” Verin gives you an innocent look you’ve seen so many times on Essek. Plausible deniability apparently runs in the family.

You lean your elbows on the table, clasping your hands together. Essek mutters an ‘oh no’ under his breath and takes a big gulp from his drink as you grin.

“You want a fight? I’ll give you a fight.” You wink.

“Verin need I remind you of your manners. We do not challenge guests to a fight over dinner.” Deirta scolds her son.

“It’s just a bit of fun, mother.” Verin complains and where he not presenting himself as a renowned official and the person he is, it might have sounded like the plea of a child being told no.

“I would not wish to overstep any boundaries and forgo all rules of social engagement. Nor do I wish to ruin a perfectly pleasant evening, Denmother. Perhaps another time, Verin?” You earn the Denmother’s approval as she says something to Verin in Undercommon you do not understand but by the tone of her voice alone and Verin’s response you can tell it’s probably not positive.

Essek sighs deeply next to you pinching the bridge of his nose as Deirta and Verin continue their argument.

“Oh for the love of… Can you two please cease this useless fight. I’d much rather see Verin being put in his place than listen to this endless argument one more second. Thank you.” The two of them slowly quiet down when Essek speaks up. Verin gets up from his chair.

“It’s settled then, we’re all in agreement.”

“We are not all in agreement but to cease this argument, very well. You have my permission.” Deirta concedes despite all better efforts.

“If you wish to take my son up on this fight you have my permission.”

Before you know it you’re outside in what you can assume is Den Thelyss’ private gardens. It’s simple and large enough of an open space to not break anything in the near vicinity should things get ugly. Both of you drop the heavier and unnecessary layers of your outfits. You’re pulled aside by Essek before you walk into the fighting ring.

“Not that I do not have full confidence you’ll win, but please do not get injured or I fear I might find my next cup of tea poisoned or my books desecrated.” Essek worries taking hold of your hands giving them a brief squeeze.

“I’ll do my best to protect your precious books and keep any attempts of poisoning at bay. Now please excuse me while I go kick your brother’s ass.” You pat his cheek as you step back and into the makeshift fighting ring. Verin offers you a sword but you don’t take it.

“I’ve brought my own.” You summon your trusty sword and earn a nod of approval from the drow.

“Nice trick.” The moment you’re ready Verin swings at you but you’ve lived this long thanks to your reflexes and step to the side with ease. You tap the blade of your sword against his to inch it out of your way as you go for a high strike giving Verin enough time to counter block.

This isn’t a fight to the death and you’re not deliberately trying to seriously injure your opponent so you both hold back but you do get a glimpse of the soldier within Verin and see where he gets his reputation from. It’s earned. The ‘dance’ between you and Verin continues until it gets more competitive and the both of you come to a nonverbal understanding to find out who’s going to be the clear winner here.

Verin summons his echo letting it come at you while putting some distance between you and him to give him the advantage. You’re quick to respond with a lightning lure. A satisfying grin visible as you pull Verin back within your range. You deflect a blow from the echo while kicking Verin’s wrist preventing his sword from striking you. Bringing your own sword around you cut the echo in half, turning it to wisps of shadow. You strike back with a hit directed at Verin. He dodges and comes around with a hit you use your blade to parry. Another echo comes in play but you pay it no mind having had enough of this back and forth. You grab the blade of Verin’s sword, not nearly tight enough to pierce your skin but just enough to hold it in place, drop your own sword and reach into your component pouch.

You speak the familiar words and release the gold dust you re-summon your sword back to your hand and point it at Verin’s chest. Verin tries to pull the sword from the air but is unable to move it.

“Do you concede?” Verin holds up his hands in surrender but you notice a glint in his eye. He quickly moves around the other side of the sword frozen in the air kicking at your leg. You toss your sword to the side, punch once to break his defence and another directly to the chest. Verin’s breath hitches and you kick his legs from under him. He groans, the air is knocked out of him as he lands on his back. You put your foot on his chest standing over him. He grabs it purely by instinct but loosens his grip quickly.

“Very well. I concede.” Verin speaks out of breath. You remove your foot and offer him a hand pulling him back to his feet. From the stairs you hear a slow clap. Both of you look over to see Deirta standing next to an amused Essek.

“Impressive. My son’s words have proven true. You have my approval.” The Denmother speaks rather indifferently but offers a smile no less before retreating back inside.

“Perhaps one day we might fight side by side. I look forward to seeing you around more often.” Verin slaps a hand on your shoulder before he wanders off to clean up. Essek joins you, the two of you left alone in the gardens outside the building.

“What just happened?” You ask confused about how you just gained the approval and respect of Verin and Deirta Thelyss.

“They saw exactly why you have my affection.” You bump into Essek’s shoulder in a ‘shut up’ and he offers you a genuine smile.

“I am that great, aren’t I?” You joke as the two of you begin making your way back inside. You’re still processing unsure of how to take and handle all of this. This was unexpected to say the least.

“And I’ve told you many times. I don’t plan to stop doing so either.” You give him a little side hug as you look around the abandoned remains of dinner being cleared off the table by the servants.

“Is this how fancy dinners always go?”

“Certainly not. Though, I can say watching my brother be put in his place certainly has been the highlight of my day, second to you showing off.” You both laugh as you’re ready to head back leaving the Thelyss estate behind you. Perhaps it’ll become a place you’ll visit more often. Though you’ll still always prefer the towers. And feeling some bruises form already, you have some books to protect from the wrath of a doodling tiefling.

#essek x reader #essek thelyss x reader #mighty nein x reader #critical role x reader #critrole x reader

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douxie-casperan · 4 years ago

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There's one thing in particular that always struck me about Wizards and while grabbing various gif sets to eventually unleash on my queue here and that is how close Archie and Douxie's relationship is. It sounds silly almost given we only have ten episodes with the pair of them together yet it reveals so much of their dynamic and I absolutely love it.

You watch them and you don't question at all that these are two beings who have known one another a (Very) long time from the very first episode from how easy they bounce off one another even when things are going pear shaped. Archie rightly berates Douxie for using him as bait when he mis-identifies the mephit but when it starts getting loose? He gently pokes him to notice, never raising his voice and actively lets him try to handle it by himself until he gets pinned finding the right spell needing his intervention to blast it off before he actually gets harmed. The fact present!Douxie and Past!Archie can fall back into step with one another so easily says an awful lot as they've been together a fraction of time they will do showing the strong bond was well established possibly even before Merlin showed up. In Teny's art of a far younger Douxie, we got this little hiss spit cat defending his charge who is still shook up after having swords pointed at him keeping his own true nature hidden for both their sakes.

I honestly suspect Archie is where Douxie gets at least some of his cutting level of sass from as he's absolutely relentless in who he decides to roast, even Merlin is free game which Douxie only tended to when his annoyance at the elder wizard got the better of him and he felt "safe" enough to do it without falling back into old habits. They freely tease and snark one another too, there's a moment very easy to miss after the Slorr milking which Douxie gives Archie a waft of the milk and grins at the (Expected) bad reaction or Archie shoving Douxie off Claire when he got a biiiit too aggressive in checking she was okay. This comes from somebody who you know and trust if you overstep they'll nudge you back in the right direction without making a whole drama about it even if one might end up chewing the other's arm in the process.

There's a moment while talking to Arthur too when trying to get the siblings to reconcile namely:

"You're lucky you've got one, closest I ever got was him."

While it's partially played off for laughs given the hairball there's equally no lie there. His relationship with Merlin (Particularly at this point where he's still being routinely dismissed) is incredibly complicated but Archie? He knows they'll always have each other's back no matter what. Even Past!Douxie seemed to think it was fine that Archie should hang out with his older self and whatever the heck they were up to with this entire time mess while Archie was still keeping an ear out for him. After all, it was HIM that sprang to mind first when the explosions started rocking Camelot, not Merlin, his loyalties are to his own wizard first and foremost. Douxie acts very much the same yanking him away from the Mephits and much later protecting him when he essentially went supernova after Merlin was shanked so he didn't get caught up in the blow back either by magically shielding.

Much like certain Trollhunters, we protect each other.

Then you get the physicality of their relationship. For somebody who professes he is not a cat when Douxie is emotionally wrought he's not above blatantly purring and winding through his legs, being a literal lap cat/dragon, having head scratches or pressing their heads together when they really did nearly lose him. This kid is likely touch starved to heck because of his upbringing (Not to mention the final first hug thing...) but is never short of love or affection whenever he needs it. There's the casualness too in the form of Douxie sweeping up Archie so he can wander onto his shoulder without making anything of it and it generally appearing to be his favourite perch spot. Nothing is said, it just happens because of how in sync they are. Archie tends to get more cuddly himself when he's distressed about his partner to the point of literally mobbing him to make sure he's okay.

Douxie might be the one who more blatantly wears his heart on his sleeve but some of it certainly rubbed off as far as he's concerned.

A smaller thing we don't get to see quite as much is just how well the pair work together when things are serious. Douxie was originally on the streets and that adaptability shows up in how he uses magic and tries to approach situations where the answer is not immediately obvious and that tendency bounces off Archie's shapeshifting to utilise him in street trickery or buying Claire time against the Order. They don't step on one another's toes, quite the opposite in fact, they springboard off one another knowing their strengths to achieve what they set out to. Sure it might spiral out of control! But that just adds excitement to proceedings if anything, when they're both serious they are truly a force to be reckoned with as Morgana found out. Wizards do not make mistakes after all, they make unexpected possibilities.

Whenever I tag these two together it's always Dynamic Duo for a reason, there is not a force on earth that could break the bond they've made and unlike Merlin Douxie constantly has somebody there should he ever start falling into the same detachment to pull him back again.

Meow.

#History in the making - Headcanons #Tales of Arcadia #Wizards #Dynamic duo #ToAWizards #They won't remember me #[It's shorter than my last ramble but it IS still a ramble]#[I apologise for any typos I'm very tired]#[And cold]

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goodmeowningcols · 4 years ago

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could you list your top ten jonrya moments?

Hi Anon and thank you for the question! 🥰 I love the question because Jonrya is chockful of canon content straight from the books, and this isn’t even including George’s 1993 original outline. We have to thank George RR Martin for that. And surely, with Jon’s death, Arya will be thinking of him a lot in TWOW. In the 5 released books, they have so many moments and memories about one another that serves as a firm foundation for both of them to be each other’s favourites and the person they love and miss the most with all their heart. Let’s do a countdown, shall we? Not necessarily in order.

10. At the crypts

Robb took them all the way down to the end, past Grandfather and Brandon and Lyanna, to show them their own tombs. Sansa kept looking at the stubby little candle, anxious that it might go out. Old Nan had told her there were spiders down here, and rats as big as dogs. Robb smiled when she said that. "There are worse things than spiders and rats," he whispered. "This is where the dead walk." That was when they heard the sound, low and deep and shivery. Baby Bran had clutched at Arya's hand.

When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs, and Bran wrapped himself around Robb's leg, sobbing. Arya stood her ground and gave the spirit a punch. It was only Jon, covered with flour. "You stupid," she told him, "you scared the baby," but Jon and Robb just laughed and laughed, and pretty soon Bran and Arya were laughing too.

9. The closest of their siblings and defending each other

...A dozen spectators, man and boy, were calling out encouragement, Robb’s voice the loudest among them. She spotted Theon Greyjoy beside him, his black doublet emblazoned with the golden kraken of his House, a look of wry contempt on his face. Both of the combatants were staggering. Arya judged that they had been at it awhile.

“A shade more exhausting than needlework,” Jon observed.

“A shade more fun than needlework,” Arya gave back at him. Jon grinned, reached over, and messed up her hair. Arya flushed. They had always been close. Jon had their father’s face, as she did. They were the only ones. Robb and Sansa and Bran and even little Rickon all took after the Tullys, with easy smiles and fire in their hair. When Arya had been little, she had been afraid that meant that she was a bastard too. It had been Jon she had gone to in her fear, and Jon who had reassured her.

...

Reluctantly, Arya surrendered her sword, wondering if she would ever hold it again. Her father turned it in the light, examining both sides of the blade. He tested the point with his thumb. “A bravo’s blade,” he said. “Yet it seems to me that I know this maker’s mark. This is Mikken’s work.”

Arya could not lie to him. She lowered her eyes.

Lord Eddard Stark sighed. “My nine-year-old daughter is being armed from my own forge, and I know nothing of it. The Hand of the King is expected to rule the Seven Kingdoms, yet it seems I cannot even rule my own household. How is it that you come to own a sword, Arya? Where did you get this?”

Arya chewed her lip and said nothing. She would not betray Jon, not even to their father.

...

"Lumpyhead," corrected Lommy. "He prob'ly stole it."

"I did not!" she shouted. Jon Snow had given her Needle. Maybe she had to let them call her Lumpyhead, but she wasn't going to let them call Jon a thief.

8. The woman is important too!

She watched her little brother whack at Tommen. “I could do just as good as Bran,” she said. “He’s only seven. I’m nine.”

Jon looked her over with all his fourteen-year-old wisdom. “You’re too skinny,” he said. He took her arm to feel her muscle. Then he sighed and shook his head. “I doubt you could even lift a longsword, little sister, never mind swing one.”

Arya snatched back her arm and glared at him. Jon messed up her hair again. They watched Bran and Tommen circle each other.

“You see Prince Joffrey?” Jon asked.

She hadn’t, not at first glance, but when she looked again she found him to the back, under the shade of the high stone wall. He was surrounded by men she did not recognize, young squires in the livery of Lannister and Baratheon, strangers all. There were a few older men among them; knights, she surmised.

“Look at the arms on his surcoat,” Jon suggested.

Arya looked. An ornate shield had been embroidered on the prince’s padded surcoat. No doubt the needlework was exquisite. The arms were divided down the middle; on one side was the crowned stag of the royal House, on the other the lion of Lannister.

“The Lannisters are proud,” Jon observed. “You’d think the royal sigil would be sufficient, but no. He makes his mother’s House equal in honor to the king’s.”

“The woman is important too!” Arya protested.

Jon chuckled. “Perhaps you should do the same thing, little sister. Wed Tully to Stark in your arms.”

“A wolf with a fish in its mouth?” It made her laugh. “That would look silly. Besides, if a girl can’t fight, why should she have a coat of arms?”

Jon shrugged. “Girls get the arms but not the swords. Bastards get the swords but not the arms. I did not make the rules, little sister.”

7. Seeing one another in other people

"NO!" Arya and Gendry both said, at the exact same instant. Hot Pie quailed a little. Arya gave Gendry a sideways look. He said it with me, like Jon used to do, back in Winterfell. She missed Jon Snow the most of all her brothers.

And...

Ygritte watched and said nothing. She was older than he'd thought at first, Jon realized; maybe as old as twenty, but short for her age, bandy-legged, with a round face, small hands, and a pug nose. Her shaggy mop of red hair stuck out in all directions. She looked plump as she crouched there, but most of that was layers of fur and wool and leather. Underneath all that she could be as skinny as Arya.

...

"If you kill a man, and never mean t', he's just as dead," Ygritte said stubbornly. Jon had never met anyone so stubborn, except maybe for his little sister Arya. Is she still my sister? he wondered. Was she ever?

And...

Jon turned to Alys Karstark. “My lady. Are you ready?”

“Yes. Oh, yes.”

“You’re not scared?” The girl smiled in a way that reminded Jon so much of his little sister that it almost broke his heart.

“Let him be scared of me.” The snowflakes were melting on her cheeks, but her hair was wrapped in a swirl of lace that Satin had found somewhere, and the snow had begun to collect there, giving her a frosty crown. Her cheeks were flushed and red, and her eyes sparkled.

“Winter’s lady.” Jon squeezed her hand.

6. Missing each other the most

He missed his true brothers: little Rickon, bright eyes shining as he begged for a sweet; Robb, his rival and best friend and constant companion; Bran, stubborn and curious, always wanting to follow and join in whatever Jon and Robb were doing. He missed the girls too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but "my half brother" since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant. And Arya … he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had … yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him.

...

As he rode, Jon peeled off his glove to air his burned fingers. Ugly things. He remembered suddenly how he used to muss Arya's hair. His little stick of a sister. He wondered how she was faring. It made him a little sad to think that he might never muss her hair again. He began to flex his hand, opening and closing the fingers. If he let his sword hand stiffen and grow clumsy, it well might be the end of him, he knew. A man needed his sword beyond the Wall.

...

No one talked to Arya. She didn't care. She liked it that way. She would have eaten her meals alone in her bedchamber if they let her. Sometimes they did, when Father had to dine with the king or some lord or the envoys from this place or that place. The rest of the time, they ate in his solar, just him and her and Sansa. That was when Arya missed her brothers most. She wanted to tease Bran and play with baby Rickon and have Robb smile at her. She wanted Jon to muss up her hair and call her "little sister" and finish her sentences with her. But all of them were gone. She had no one left but Sansa, and Sansa wouldn't even talk to her unless Father made her.

...

She went back to the window, Needle in hand, and looked down into the courtyard below. If only she could climb like Bran, she thought; she would go out the window and down the tower, run away from this horrible place, away from Sansa and Septa Mordane and Prince Joffrey, from all of them. Steal some food from the kitchens, take Needle and her good boots and a warm cloak. She could find Nymeria in the wild woods below the Trident, and together they’d return to Winterfell, or run to Jon on the Wall. She found herself wishing that Jon was here with her now. Then maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone.

...

"I'm a girl," Arya said, exasperated. If the old man was down from the Wall, he must have come by way of Winterfell. "Do you know my brothers?" she asked excitedly. "Robb and Bran are at Winterfell, and Jon's on the Wall. Jon Snow, he's in the Night's Watch too, you must know him, he has a direwolf, a white one with red eyes. Is Jon a ranger yet? I'm Arya Stark." The old man in his smelly black clothes was looking at her oddly, but Arya could not seem to stop talking. "When you ride back to the Wall, would you bring Jon a letter if I wrote one?" She wished Jon were here right now. He'd believe her about the dungeons and the fat man with the forked beard and the wizard in the steel cap.

...

"My lady?" Ned said at last. "You have a baseborn brother . . . Jon Snow?"

"He's with the Night's Watch on the Wall." Maybe I should go to the Wall instead of Riverrun. Jon wouldn't care who I killed or whether I brushed my hair . . . "Jon looks like me, even though he's bastard-born. He used to muss my hair and call me 'little sister.'" Arya missed Jon most of all. Just saying his name made her sad. "How do you know about Jon?"

"He is my milk brother."

5. Keeping her secret identity as Arya of House Stark in the House of Black and White: Needle was Jon Snow’s smile.

At the water’s edge she stopped, the silver fork in hand. It was real silver, solid through and through. It’s not my fork. It was Salty that he gave it to. She tossed it underhand, heard the soft plop as it sank below the water.

Her floppy hat went next, then the gloves. They were Salty’s too. She emptied her pouch into her palm; five silver stags, nine copper stars, some pennies and halfpennies and groats. She scattered them across the water. Next her boots. They made the loudest splashes. Her dagger followed, the one she’d gotten off the archer who had begged the Hound for mercy. Her swordbelt went into the canal. Her cloak, tunic, breeches, smallclothes, all of it. All but Needle.

She stood on the end of the dock, pale and goosefleshed and shivering in the fog. In her hand, Needle seemed to whisper to her. Stick them with the pointy end, it said, and, don’t tell Sansa! Mikken’s mark was on the blade. It’s just a sword. If she needed a sword, there were a hundred under the temple. Needle was too small to be a proper sword, it was hardly more than a toy. She’d been a stupid little girl when Jon had it made for her. “It’s just a sword,” she said, aloud this time …

… but it wasn’t.

Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell’s grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan’s stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow’s smile. He used to mess my hair and call me “little sister,” she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.

4. After breaking his Night’s Watch vows for her alone, Jon’s dying thought is of Arya: Stick them with the pointy end.

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …

3. I want my bride back... I want my bride back... I want my bride back...

Jon walked to the edge of the Wall and gazed down upon the killing ground where Mance Rayder’s host had died. He wondered where Mance was now. Did he ever find you, little sister? Or were you just a ploy he used so I would set him free?

It had been so long since he had last seen Arya. What would she look like now? Would he even know her? Arya Underfoot. Her face was always dirty. Would she still have that little sword he’d had Mikken forge for her? Stick them with the pointy end, he’d told her. Wisdom for her wedding night if half of what he heard of Ramsay Snow was true. Bring her home, Mance. I saved your son from Melisandre, and now I am about to save four thousand of your free folk. You owe me this one little girl.

...

Jon flexed the fingers of his sword hand. The Night's Watch takes no part. He closed his fist and opened it again. What you propose is nothing less than treason. He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … I want my bride back …

"I think we had best change the plan," Jon Snow said.

2. What do you know of my heart priestess? What do you know of my sister?

“The heart is all that matters. Do not despair, Lord Snow. Despair is a weapon of the enemy, whose name may not be spoken. Your sister is not lost to you.”

“I have no sister.” The words were knives. What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister?

Melisandre seemed amused. “What is her name, this little sister that you do not have?”

“Arya.” His voice was hoarse. “My half-sister, truly…”

1. Needle!

“I have one more farewell to make,” Jon told him.

“Then I haven’t seen you,” Robb replied.

Jon left him standing there in the snow, surrounded by wagons and wolves and horses. It was a short walk to the armory. He picked up his package and took the covered bridge across to the Keep.

Arya was in her room, packing a polished ironwood chest that was bigger than she was. Nymeria was helping. Arya would only have to point, and the wolf would bound across the room, snatch up some wisp of silk in her jaws, and fetch it back. But when she smelled Ghost, she sat down on her haunches and yelped at them.

Arya glanced behind her, saw Jon, and jumped to her feet. She threw her skinny arms tight around his neck. “I was afraid you were gone,” she said, her breath catching in her throat. “They wouldn’t let me out to say good-bye.”

“What did you do now?” Jon was amused. Arya disentangled herself from him and made a face. “Nothing. I was all packed and everything.” She gestured at the huge chest, no more than a third full, and at the clothes that were scattered all over the room. “Septa Mordane says I have to do it all over. My things weren’t properly folded, she says. A proper southron lady doesn’t just throw her clothes inside her chest like old rags, she says.”

“Is that what you did, little sister?”

“Well, they’re going to get all messed up anyway,” she said. “Who cares how they’re folded?”

“Septa Mordane,” Jon told her. “I don’t think she’d like Nymeria helping, either.” The she-wolf regarded him silently with her dark golden eyes. “It’s just as well. I have something for you to take with you, and it has to be packed very carefully.”

Her face lit up. “A present?”

“You could call it that. Close the door.”

Wary but excited, Arya checked the hall. “Nymeria, here. Guard.” She left the wolf out there to warn of intruders and closed the door. By then Jon had pulled off the rags he’d wrapped it in. He held it out to her.

Arya’s eyes went wide. Dark eyes, like his. “A sword,” she said in a small, hushed breath.

The scabbard was soft grey leather, supple as sin. Jon drew out the blade slowly, so she could see the deep blue sheen of the steel. “This is no toy,” he told her. “Be careful you don’t cut yourself. The edges are sharp enough to shave with.”

“Girls don’t shave,” Arya said.

“Maybe they should. Have you ever seen the septa’s legs?”

She giggled at him. “It’s so skinny.”

“So are you,” Jon told her. “I had Mikken make this special. The bravos use swords like this in Pentos and Myr and the other Free Cities. It won’t hack a man’s head off, but it can poke him full of holes if you’re fast enough.”

“I can be fast,” Arya said.

“You’ll have to work at it every day.” He put the sword in her hands, showed her how to hold it, and stepped back. “How does it feel? Do you like the balance?”

“I think so,” Arya said.

“First lesson,” Jon said. “Stick them with the pointy end.”

Arya gave him a whap on the arm with the flat of her blade. The blow stung, but Jon found himself grinning like an idiot. “I know which end to use,” Arya said. A doubtful look crossed her face. “Septa Mordane will take it away from me.”

“Not if she doesn’t know you have it,” Jon said.

“Who will I practice with?”

“You’ll find someone,” Jon promised her. “King’s Landing is a true city, a thousand times the size of Winterfell. Until you find a partner, watch how they fight in the yard. Run, and ride, make yourself strong. And whatever you do …”

Arya knew what was coming next. They said it together. “… don’t … tell … Sansa!”

Jon messed up her hair. “I will miss you, little sister.”

Suddenly she looked like she was going to cry. “I wish you were coming with us.”

“Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle. Who knows?” He was feeling better now. He was not going to let himself be sad. “I better go. I’ll spend my first year on the Wall emptying chamber pots if I keep Uncle Ben waiting any longer.”

Arya ran to him for a last hug. “Put down the sword first,” Jon warned her, laughing.

She set it aside almost shyly and showered him with kisses.

When he turned back at the door, she was holding it again, trying it for balance. “I almost forgot,” he told her. “All the best swords have names.”

“Like Ice,” she said. She looked at the blade in her hand. “Does this have a name? Oh, tell me.”

“Can’t you guess?” Jon teased. “Your very favorite thing.”

Arya seemed puzzled at first. Then it came to her. She was that quick. They said it together:

“Needle!”

The memory of her laughter warmed him on the long ride north.

Bonus: Only her father had ever called her pretty. Him, and Jon Snow, sometimes.

#asoiaf #jon snow #arya stark #jonrya #a song of ice and fire #jonarya #the purest love #thank you grrm #house stark #edited: supple as sin

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