#the older two definitely have special interests of some sort but i think they're much more casual with it

[happyk44]

Zeus: infodumps about birds, order and structure and law, the "why and because" of it all, and why the clouds change

Hera: infodumps about marriage customs throughout the world, pregnancy and that whole process from conception to birth, and different types of organization

Poseidon: infodumps about fish and other marine animals, with a very specific focus on sharks

Demeter: infodumps about agriculture and trees

Hestia and Hades: listen patiently every single time, even when it's something they've already been told

[esmes]

don't mind me - just some rainy day musings bc sweeney todd 2023 has rotted my brain

someone's tags on a gifset got me thinking about 2023 revival lovett and todd and the special something their dynamic has. there's something about this particular iteration of these characters and their relationship, especially as we see it evolve throughout the show (even as we've seen it evolve throughout the show's run), that just makes mrs lovett's betrayal and her death at his hands hit hard. i know, i know - she deserves it. she lies! she's a lying liar. her deceit is no small thing. any one of us would be incensed to have been misled the way she misleads sweeney. even if a small part of her may have done it, as she says, to spare him having to see what became of his lucy, the larger part was certainly to serve her own interests.

but there's something about how close mrs lovett gets to bringing sweeney around to her this time that just gets me carried away. they're not just business partners - they're lovers, they're co-conspirators, and they're sort of each other's only friend in the world. at this point, he indulges her flights of fancy. they know each other intimately. they joke with each other! he's likely had to listen to countless hours of her prattling on about her thoughts, hopes, and wishes. this is a man who, at this point in the show, is slitting people's throats without remorse. and yet he spends the evening on the sofa cleaning his pipe while he patiently listens to his girlfriend rave about a seaside wedding. when she takes his hand, he doesn't wrench himself from her grasp like he used to. he doesn't get up and walk out, which he could do. he accepts her - her presence, her company, her warmth. he may struggle to admit it to himself, but he does. he can concede that he loves her - just a little bit, though he can't quite bring himself to say the words. sweeney is fiercely loyal to lucy's memory, so much so that he clearly couldn't ever wholly give his heart to someone else, but, in that moment after "by the sea", you can see that he's softened toward lovett. they were both alone a long time before this, after all.

it's not the stuff of great love songs, but it's something. it's almost enough.

this is what ultimately makes the final living moments between them all the more heartbreaking. mrs lovett has always been a sympathetic character to me - a villain, sure, but not without her reasons. she's a woman alone in a brutal world. whether the character is an older or a younger iteration, she's been alone for a desperately long time. when sweeney returns to her after all this time, she sees her moment and she takes it. she's not letting her second chance at life get away from her without a few claw marks.

when sweeney kills her, he sheds no tears over it - but the grudging fondness we'd seen him beginning to feel toward her only serves to emphasize how monstrous of a deception it is. his "you LIED to me" comes out in an anguished roar. when he throws her in that oven, all the light goes out from the world. it takes my breath away every time. though it should, it doesn’t quite feel like justice.

i know not everyone loves annaleigh's interpretation, but i have maintained from the first time i saw this revival that the warmth she brings, the honeyed, deluded, comical sweetness that lures sweeney into believing life with her could be tolerable, if not ideal, was a brilliant choice.

that's why the leap into hell together works for me. some productions have had sweeneys that barely tolerate their lovetts, so a cold diverging of paths makes sense. these two definitely fall into a different category. it makes sense to me for this sweeney and lovett's ultimate fate to be each other. who else would it be? lucy did nothing wrong - she's not going where he's going. having made lovett pay for her lies, they can head on down (hand in unlovable hand!!!!!!!) to live out the almost-enough life they created with each other. and sure, her chirping his ear off for eternity would certainly make an appropriate punishment for his crimes.

[mayisgoingnuts]

Hi can I infodump about Roy and my interpretation w/ him when it comes to coping mechanism regards sexual abuse to you?

Click here to allow me 👇 (long text)

.

To be honest I don't think he'll leave the more ""stereotypical"" type of victim bubble since 1- He's not a big focus in the show and 2- It's quite complicated and I don't know if Sr Pelo and the team would go that deep, but I like to overanalyze things. With that being said:

It feels off for me when he's shown as easily affected whenever his uncle is mentioned. I personally don't see it as HIM.

It's vague and anyone can see it whatever they like, it's 100% fine, but Roy is just... stubborn and ignorant. Those are two of his biggest traits and it's impossible for it not to affect how he deals with that trauma; he already has to deal with arrogant parents (mostly mother), not being himself even if he wants to (what pretty much hurts his natural ego), so being aware that even ANOTHER member of your family took advantage of you in even worst ways is basically a shot straight to the head. He's fighting something already and he'll definitely be in denial with a second one, not to mention that if people actually began to act all "soft" after finding that out IT'D MAKE THINGS WORSE.

It's literally the same as going to someone who wants to be seen as superior and mock him by treating them like a baby. It'll just make him try harder and harder to be taken seriously, including trying to ignore the trauma more and more.

And to be honest, even if he told his parents he'd stay in denial. Carmen and Richard are questionable parents but they're not monsters like some people think they are, they'd offer help and ask him what they want and need to know, but it changes nothing on how they treated him before nor his personality will suddenly change. I also have a lot to talk about his relationship with his parents, but that's for another one if I feel like it.

Now coming back to the beginning, when I mention that he doesn't get triggered when his uncle is the topic, I see it like that because his mind couldn't properly see the uncle as an enemy. He knows that what happened is wrong and that he's an asshole, but I'm talking about something more personal. A poor example for the sensation itself: You eat in a restaurant, and weeks later you find out that the waiter spit in your food. Will you come back? No. Are you also full MAD at him? Also no. You got angry in the first moments, sometimes still do, but you didn't even saw anything wrong with your food back then. You recognized it, but your brain didn't.

Now, when it's the sexual abuse itself, it affects him way more mostly because it makes him feel stupid, paranoid and dare I say disgusted maybe. I admit, that part is mostly me projecting, but it still makes sense in a way. It's more of a internal change instead of an external one (are those the right words?), since the consequences isn't as obvious and explicit if you did recognized the scene as a trauma at the time. You may not be against physical touch, but you may struggle interacting nicely afraid that you'll mess up again. I hope I didn't messed up on that part, or any at all--

ALRIGHT, briefly, Roy don't want sympathy, but he needs empathy, just like his friends are doing. They know what Roy goes through and still won't let him do whatever he wants, don't try babysitting him nor desperately tries to search for help right away like that. He's focused on his parents and can't handle even more trauma right now, and if he does start to try helping himself it'll be when he's older and don't have as much ego as he does now.

Ty for reading and I am SO SO sorry if I said anything shitty, sexual abuse is a topic that I always had some sort of interest on (studying and talking about), so I tend to think about it a lot specially when a hyperfixation is included.

EDIT: Just wanted to add that Roy's anger issues are also a nice response to everything I just said (nice in a "it connects" way, not good), someone as low-tempered as himself wouldn't be able to handle with the pressure of "You need to vent" without "exploding", thinking that his abuse consequently made him weaker and less worth of respect; "That shit just makes everything worse, so it's easier if I just ignore it!"

[crushpunky]

post obx4 pt 2 thoughts

!!! SPOILERS BELOW !!!

i don't like to get into all the bts drama and stuff that is going on on set, but it is very apparent that it weaseled its way into the show. i was never a huge jj/kiara shipper, but i did sort of get it in the earlier seasons. after this season, i feel like there was no chemistry between them at all, which is very unfortunate. either way, i know that rudy/jj was going to be leaving the show, but it was really hard for me to feel super bad when this entire season he was just completely off the rails and doing dumb shit. don't get me wrong, i think he's an important character and he's fun, but it was so much to the point that i was genuinely pissed off of him at times and felt almost out of character.

groff was evil like crazy fucking evil. there were so many parallels between groff/jj and ward/rafe, which i really wish they would've explored them, but alas, we know how that ended....

also, whenever they said groff i only thought of my number one man jonathan groff (aka special agent holden ford aka jesse st james aka kristoff aka king george iii) and kept laughing. should've named jj jonathan after his legendary bohemian rhapsody performance.

ok so i actually didn't mind sarah being pregnant, i think it added some stakes to the show and a reason for her and rafe to make amends, which leads me to my next point...

the scene where rafe and sarah sort of "made up" was probably the best scene this entire season. i think it would be interesting to explore their relationship, especially with sarah pregnant.

i felt like rafe was a bit too soft the first half of the season, but once he figured out he got screwed over, i think he really returned to form lmao. i'm still surprised he didn't die, considering after he lost sofia he really didn't have anything going for him and drew is probably gonna pop tf off in the near future, which makes me curious as to how tf they're gonna get him in the next season.

BARRY CAMEO LETS FUCKING GOOO !!!!!

i love pope so much and am a #1 pope defender. if that boy doesn't get to go to fucking medical school and do whatever his little heart desires, i will riot. am i mad at him for getting arrested and running away? yes. has he ever done anything wrong? ofc not that's my boy.

the one-shot of JJ in the courtroom was fucking awesome. im a big daredevil fan, so i love that shit lol. also loved a lot of the older music choices for this season.

overall, i think this season is on the same level or slightly better than season 3. the first half/the half in OBX was definitely stronger (as it was for season 3), but i think the more realistic ending was a bit better. regardless, i don't like that jj died, but i know that there wasn't really any choosing that. i think the final two seasons being like pt 1 and 2 (similar to stranger things) was an interesting call to say the least, but i truly don't know what they're going to do story wise without jj and likely without much rafe.

yeah that was a lot, but that season was a lot-----

still processing....

[girl-named-matty]

Do Poppy next?^^

And I agree 100%, Imelda is very likely to like Sharp, even if she isn't good at his subject. They're both commited to their crafts/hobbies/interests, I think Imelda respects that in people ig and appreciate the effort/passion for something, Quidditch-related or not. Her liking may also be connected to her father's injury, she mentions him being taken his knees out during his school years; for her, Sharp may even be an inspirational figure? Injury doesn't stop him from brewing and furthermore, teaching about potion-making; Imelda's dad may still have passion for Quidditch. Something like, if these men couldn't be stopped by something as unexpcted and brutal as what they'd been through, then why should she ever stop trying to get better at what she genuenly loves and enjoy, the life wouldn't end after an event or two. Idk, I just like that hc very much.

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying my hc's!

Random Poppy Sweeting headcanons by me!

Everyone’s favorite Hufflepuff! 

Now to most people Hufflepuffs sort of fall under this stereotype and as much as Poppy does share similarities, she’s not the Hufflepuff stereotype. 

Having grown up in a poacher family, she was exposed to the darker side of things from a younger age. So needless to say it was a big relief when she was able to go live with her Gran. 

Like most Hufflepuff's she is very loyal. 

But unlike the stereotype she is NOT a pushover. She holds her own in every situation. We all saw how she stood up to that bully in Beast’s class and how she literally took down poachers and so much more. 

She’ll stand up for all of her friends no matter who she’s going up against. 

She’s probably a half-blood 

Her wand core is definitely made of unicorn hair. 

As for her boggart, it’s probably something to do with Gran. Or possibly something with her becoming a poacher since that’s the last thing she would ever want to do. 

I honestly don’t think she’s an only child. I think she’d have at least one older brother who became a poacher alongside their parents. 

Her Gran is the reason why she loves animals so much and she’s made it her life journey to help animals in any situation. 

Definitely could see her becoming a Magizoologist when she’s older after school. 

Her favorite classes without a doubt are Beast’s Class and Herbology. 

And alongside that, her favorite professors are Professor Howin and Professor Garlick. Both of those professors make her feel like she can achieve her goals and excel in the line of work she wants to get into. 

She doesn’t often use attack spells, rather, she’ll use defensive spells and let the plants (Chomping cabbages, venomous tentacula, mandrakes, etc…) do all the real damage work for her. It makes her feel better about the situations since she doesn’t enjoy hurting people. 

After her 5th year she became really good friends with some of the Centaurs in the Forbidden forest. 

MC definitely takes her up to the Room of Requirement every once in a while to show her all the animals and to let her check up on Highwing. 

I have a hard time believing she’d ever reunite with her family after school. After all there is a letter you can find with her parents expressing how glad they were she was finally gone. 

Her resentment for her parents probably carried on into adulthood and it was something she had to work through but she’d never let her feelings and family background get in the way of her dream of helping animals in need. 

At school she spends most of her time outside with the beasts. 

She names every beast she comes across. No matter if it's big or small. She wants to remember them and let them have something special. 

Sometimes it takes her a while to trust people but you have her trust, she’ll tell you anything and you have her complete loyalty. 

As for her relationships with the other students. She’s definitely good friends with Adelaide Oaks as well as a few other Hufflepuff students. 

She talks to Sebastian and Natty often, usually before classes start or maybe right after. But her best friends will always be the beasts. 

She may be small but she has the biggest heart in all of Hogwarts.

Sorry this one was shorter than the others 💕

[ahmedmootaz]

got reminded from the last post that the three ghosts of Ayin's Christmas past, present and future exist so it got me wondering about what happens to them in A.I.M

do they just disappear since Ayin is a kid or do they pop up as lil kids or maybe lil baby ghosties? does X and Ayin keep them as ghost siblings?

do the moms just think the two of them have imaginary friends? or maybe think the two of them are possesed by a ghost abnormality like the Wonderlab drowned twins and need an exorcism? do the moms ever get visited by THE MOTHER OF MONSTERS (Carmen) and get childrearing lessons on how to be moms?

sorry for the many questions

Dear Anonymous,

Good question! It'd definitely add a new dynamic of sorts to young!Ayin's interactions with everyone else, especially if we consider that the De-Ager doesn't erase memories; it merely makes then inaccessible to the younger, childish selves of those de-aged. This makes me think that there are two ways I could take such a concept:

The first way is that we could simply say the A3 don't exist in Ayin's mind as a child; he's innocent, he's pure, and he hasn't seen what his older self will see that scars him for life. In that case, the simple answer would be that the influence comes out in bouts of depression where he wants to be away from everyone except for his mama (Angela), bouts of dismissive neutrality where he loses motivation from time to time without encouragement from his 'mother' and 'siblings', and even bouts of anger and kid-sized violence when he feels he's been particularly scuffed.

The second way is that the A3 still exist in his mind, but they're freaking out and running in circles as they try to realise what's occurring around them. They try contacting young!Ayin in his sleep, but he doesn't recognise them and in fact fears them a little. I think it'd definitely worry the motherly trio as they'd suspect foul play and Abnoramlities being the cause, with Angela keeping young Yinnie close by to make sure these dreams weren't harming him. I think Ayin would recognise they're trying to help him to some degree, and maybe he'd think he's special and thus withhold his dreams with the A3 from the trio of mothers to not worry them, only entrusting X with the dreams he has.

Maybe it's even the A3 who sense Carmen's presence being close, thus averting a Distorted disaster once Yinnie tells the motherly trio about it. I'm not sure Carmen would be too interested in giving child-rearing lessons when she'd be more interested in snatching him because she would definitely adore how cute a younger version of Ayin would be to her, and how malleable he could be and obedient he would be for her purposes. While Carmen would observe the de-aged Librarians with interested, I'm not sure she'd do it benevolently, all things considered...

Ah, but this was a truly fun ask! Thank you so much, Anon! I've had a ton of fun with this ask! Until next time, be well, take care, and see ya'!

[disniq]

OK so I'm bad at watching TV but your Titans!Jason fic has me sort of curious about checking the show out. I'm mostly a comics!Jason fan (I coast on that knowledge to read your stuff) and I did read a wiki summary of his arc and wasn't super interested, but I think a real human with Jason opinions I tend to agree with might be a better indicator. So thoughts on picking up the show?

Hi there! Firstly, thank you very much! It’s always hugely flattering when someone who doesn’t watch Titans likes my Titans fics <3

Secondly, uh. Titans is not by any definition a *good* show.

It has so many issues. The casting is amazing, but the writing is choppy and inconsistent and the pacing is awful. They chose an interesting mix of characters, but their commitment to making everything as dark and edgy as possible back in 2018 makes it so that more often than not they're all deeply unlikable. Many of the concepts they introduce have absolutely fascinating wider implications but then the show fails to examine them in any meaningful way, and it often directly contradicts itself in ways that are incredibly frustrating!

It compels me though dot gif

But somehow, SOMEHOW, despite all that, or maybe because of it, they also managed to make an extremely compelling Jason!

Titans!Jason draws titbits from a whole bunch of different comic runs - he’s older when he meets Bruce ala Rebirth, his parents are the drug addict and the two-face grunt from post-crisis, some of the Scarecrow stuff in season 3 pays homage to the Arkham Knight and Injustice video games - but he’s very much his own character, you know? He’s also canonically ADHD, which I may have mentioned before but it really does define his character, even though the show never actually brings it up in relation to his issues or behaviour.

(It would also be remiss of me not to commend Curran Walters’ performance, because that kid put his whole heart into playing Jason for personal reasons and it shows! Even when the writing/executive choices were extremely questionable - looking at you, season 3 part 2 - he pulls it back enough for it to be watchable for me.)

ANYWAY, back to your actual question xD

Jason isn’t in all that many episodes anyways, so if you’re just interested in him specifically and you're not overly bothered about the plot, I'd recommend looking up season 3 episode 5 ("Lazarus"), which is the background ep for the build up to Red Hood and also the only 100% Jason focused episode. It's coincidentally my favourite episode, and if you watch the "previously on" section it'll cover all his major plot points in a handy dandy 45 minute window!!

And if you’re just here for the condensed angst, this fantastic video on youtube is four minutes long and really sums up the general feels Titans!Jason gives off!

I don't know if any of that is helpful, but thank you for letting me ramble about my special interest :D!

[kooldewd123]

Lots of interesting things about Lucius from today's episode and the new preview!

First off, we finally know the identities of all six Heroes and it's a bit of an... eclectic mix. When we first learned about Lucius, I expected Rayquaza to be the only legendary on the team since it's the special Pokemon the story is built around, but the presence of Moltres and Entei alongside Arboliva, Lapras, and Kleavor ends up giving the whole group a very weird vibe for an anime team. It kinda feels like a kid just picking their favorites lol. I'm guessing we'll see Lapras, Kleavor, and Entei in that order since that's the order Diana listed them.

We also have this image giving us hints of how our future Hero encounters will go down. Lapras seems to be part of a pack, so I'm guessing we'll get something similar to the Arboliva encounter, where the RVTs earn its trust after helping the pack. I think each Hero will probably be found in its native region, so it could be fun if this whole thing takes place around Roy's island (although it might still be a bit too early to revisit it). Then, judging by the blurry Kleavor image, probably some sort of encounter where they hear about a rampaging monster from the locals and go to investigate. The black and white makes me wonder whether it's been hanging around in this area for a while - maybe something that's has its own little folk legend spring up around. Entei's image is too vague to really make any strong guesses about. Rayquaza, on the other hand, is very interesting, as it appears to be in Motostoke again. Are we going to be returning there at some point or is it just a flashback?

The next interesting tidbit is that the Explorers were apparently connected to Lucius at their inception. This becomes much more suspicious, however, when you realize that aside from Hamber and (presumably) Gibeon, the Explorers don't seem to actually know much about Lucius at all. All the underlings know is "capture the pendant." Neither Amethio nor Spinel actually knew that the pendant was a Pokemon, both of them maintained tunnel vision on the pendant even when directly faced with the Heroes, and neither seemed to have any knowledge of a black Rayquaza, despite it being the only Pokemon explicitly named in Lucius's legend. Gibeon and Hamber are clearly withholding information from the rest of the organization and taking advantage of their peons' loyalty in order to accomplish whatever their true goals are. The question now is whether the two of them are somehow connected to the original Explorers or if they're just using their name.

And finally, we have what appears to be an actual photograph of Lucius, which threw me for a loop. I compared it to the glimpse of him we saw after the Moltres capture, and it definitely seems like same person. I thought he lived several centuries ago, but I went back to Alex's telling of the legend and it's only about a hundred??? That seems way too recent considering how he's been treated in the story but whatever. Anyway, the prior episode already established the high likelihood that Liko's family is somehow associated with Lucius, what with Diana finding the pendant and journal in her attic. Now that we have a full-body shot of Lucius, the design similarities between him and Liko/Diana are very apparent. I've been skeptical of the theories he was related to them before this point, but I can't deny that the evidence is growing rapidly. The curious implication about it is that with the stated hundred-year timeframe (assuming it's not a mistranslation or a misdirect), he's probably no more than two generations removed from Diana herself. I'm not quite sure whether I like the idea of him being her father since she would easily recognize him if she had this picture all along, but a grandfather or older uncle could work. Or maybe this isn't a picture of Lucius after all and everything I just said will crumble to dust in an episode or two. Who knows!

[elliepassmore]

Heartless Hunter review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, witchy books, dual POV, enemies to lovers, cat and mouse chase

Big thanks to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The book opens in a kingdom that has recently undergone a revolution to rid the country of witches. This included not just the witch queens, but every witch, rich or poor, young or old, in the entire country. All practice of magic, even mundane, is forbidden, and the Blood Guard hunts down any witches who escaped the initial purges or who had been too young to have powers at the time. It's an interesting setup and I liked that we got a peek into multiple layers of a society that's clearly still in transition and that, especially toward the end of the book, feels like it might be about to change again.

Rune lives and moves in the upper echelons of this society and we get to see how the aristocracy views witches and the easy way with which they change allegiances as needed. Rune is also a witch, and so we also get to see the terror and fear that witches are living under after the revolution. Gideon is the son of a tailor and lives on the 'other side of the tracks,' so to speak, and we get to see how not a lot has really changed for that group either. He is also a captain of the Blood Guard, and we get insight into how he and people he loved were personally terrorized by witches prior to the revolution, hence why he and others are so determined to stamp them out. I liked the two different viewpoints and do wish that circumstances hadn't prevented Rune and Gideon from talking about it more, because I think there could've been some very interesting conversations from both sides rather than just Gideon talking to Rune about his experiences and Rune talking to other people about hers. I definitely think this'll come up again in book 2, and I look forward to the dialogue they'll open on the topic then.

The witches themselves only have a few categories of spells, but lots of spells within those categories. In order to utilize any of the spells though, witches need blood. Fresh blood, either from themselves or someone else, is best and allows for more powerful and potent spells, but fresh blood drawn for magic results in silver scars. Pre-revolution, a lot of witches would have special artists draw their blood so they could have specially patterned scars--Rune's grandmother had nautical-themed scars. Older blood can also be used, though it tends to only be for weaker and more mild spells, but post-revolution is often the best option. Rune herself uses blood she and Verity collect from their periods. The most powerful category of spell, Arcana, requires blood taken unwillingly and was theoretically forbidden prior to the revolution, but a couple characters have stories that contradict this, hinting at a darker underside of the witch queen's regime.

Something I think has room for interesting development in book 2 is views on witches. At the time of the book, and during the revolution, witches and witch sympathizers are arrested and executed. However, the best way to tell if someone is a witch is if they have silver scars. As mentioned above, however, witches can, willingly or unwillingly, use other people's blood, which gives that person silver scars. Gideon and others are aware of this, but there's no indication that they make an effort to sort through whether someone with silver scars is a witch, sympathizer, or victim, meaning it's likely they're punishing victims just as much as perpetrators (or "perpetrators"). I think this, along with witches who don't harm others, are going to come up as a point of contention in book 2, and I look forward to seeing how it's solved.

As for characters, Rune is living two different lives. One is as a vapid socialite without a thought in her head. During the revolution she denounced her witch grandmother, sending her to the gallows. Her other life, however, involves cunning strategy and Rune works to locate and smuggle other witches out of the country to save them from persecution. She's obviously haunted by what happened with her grandmother, and is determined to do everything she can to both absolve herself of it and to prevent anything like it from happening again. Beyond her double life, we also get to see Rune with her friends, Verity and Alex, the latter of whom is Gideon's younger brother. I liked seeing Rune with her friends, either all together or 1:1, because it was a moment when she could let her guard down and we got to see a little more of her true self.

Gideon is a dedicated member of the Blood Guard who helped lead the revolution. He's pretty much the opposite of Rune in every way, except in that they both think they're doing the right thing for their people. He's very gruff and abrasive, and I wasn't sure I'd be a fan of him at the beginning, but he has hidden depths. A lot of his motivation stems from what happened to his family prior to the revolution and a still-current desire to keep his younger brother, Alex safe. Gideon has a bad past with witches, which definitely makes him and his motivations more sympathetic.

It's clear that both Gideon and Rune catch feelings despite their best efforts. Both have reasons to be wary of the other, but over the course of the book begin dropping their defenses and letting each other in. We get a deeper look at their backgrounds over the course of this and, as mentioned above, I can definitely see the potential for them finding a middle ground. Their romance is fairly sweet, and I liked that Gideon made her things and that Rune clearly appreciated and treasured those things.

Alex is complicated. He's clearly loyal to Rune, he knows she's a witch and has been helping her Crimson Moth schemes. However, he's also loyal to Gideon and basically refuses to spill Gideon's secrets (the Blood Guard's, sure, but not Gideon's). This does create tension at times with Rune. It's also clear from the get-go that Alex is in love with Rune, and while he's sweet and seems to want the best for everyone, a part of me feels like he's also a character that doesn't totally understand Rune. Sure, he's been at her side helping her Crimson Moth activities all this time, but he also wants them to move to the continent when he takes back up his musical studies, which is pretty antithetical to what Rune is trying to do.

Verity is a non-witch who lost two her two older sisters to the witch purges during the revolution, making her sympathetic to Rune and witches in general. Along with Alex, she helps Rune plan and enact the Crimson Moth's activities. Verity knows a lot more about magic than Rune since Rune's grandmother hadn't started teaching her when she died, but Verity's sisters allowed her to sit with them while they practiced. She's able to help guide Rune and encourage her in different spells.

Harrow is a somewhat mysterious character that I would like to know more about. She's Gideon's informant, but I don't think she's on the Blood Guard. I don't totally trust her motivations though and it feels like she's not really on anyone's side. Not the witches, not the non-witches, just her own. I'm interested in seeing how things play out with her in book 2.

Laia is another socialite who runs in Rune's circle but is a Blood Guard. Like Gideon, she has a story of her/someone she care about being abused by witches prior to the revolution. Her dad was a leader in the revolution and remains an influential person under the new government (which they don't actually talk about too much. I'm unclear if it's a military regime now or a council or democracy or what).

It became pretty clear around the 25% mark that a specific character was going to die before the end of the book. I figured it would be around or after the 75% mark, but still wasn't sure how it was going to come about. Along with the cat-and-mouse with Gideon and Rune, there's a secondary mystery about who is killing Blood Guard members, which then escalates to attacks on raids and even a party Rune is attending. I had some suspicions at the beginning, but ended up switching who I thought it was about 50% of the way through, after another key piece of information was provided, and ended up being right. The mystery was still interesting even after I figured out the who because I couldn't quite figure out the how. There were some hints earlier on about this character, but it wasn't until later that I realized the severity of the deception, I just thought it was a minor one, lol.

I'm conflicted about where Rune is at the end of the book. On the one hand, I feel like her hand was kind of forced and there wasn't really anything else for her to do. On the other hand, I don't love where she ended up and feel like she's going to be stuck in that situation for a bit until she can either find a way out of it cleanly or something major happens to upset the way things are working and she's able to slip away (or she'll get arrested, but I don't really see that happening). I am definitely looking forward to seeing her and Gideon having an in-depth discussion about....everything.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was action packed and had a good amount of romance. Gideon and Rune are coming at things from opposite directions, and I found them both to be sympathetic. I'm eager to see what comes next for them and the other characters!

[desiderii-fic]

For the writer asks (there were so many good ones! I had to limit myself!!): 💫 🌈 💕 🕯️

I don't...interact much because I am very shy, but :points at eyes, points at you:. You are a delight and I need you to know that I appreciate you immensely. Whenever I see your name pop up around this tumblr, it always encourages me. :)

The questions tho!

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Honestly, I'm delighted by every kind of comment so I have...less of 'favorites' and more of 'kinds that stick out in my memory'? And those kinds are 1) 'reread' comments that state or imply that they're leaving this on their second+ time back (!!!), 2) the 'I am commenting on every chapter because I am very enthusiastic' comments that I am always so shy about replying to, and the 3) rambles. I REALLY adore rambles, because sometimes they're not very coherent, which I find just...really delightful and charming. They're just full of stuff that someone liked and give me a little glimpse into the person who left it.

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

Oh, yes! The entire fic of Our Corners Start To Curving 'Til We Shine. It's set in the John Wick universe, but after the second movie and before the third, so it's a little older and I'm sure no longer canon compliant. It's all OCs since it was for a worldbuilding challenge and it's one of my shortest fics, too, so you wouldn't think it would be anything special, but it was a deliberate exercise in writing something short, sharp, and concise that was also a complete and finished story. At the time, those traits made the writing style an active departure from my regular style (...in 2018, wow. It feels like much longer ago.). I was stepping out of my comfort zone on purpose, and I'm deeply pleased about how it came out. Finishing it and polishing it up affected my writing style in a lot of ways, tbh, and made me a better writer in general. My fics before it are in some ways denser and more sprawling and my fics after it are planned tighter and with an eye toward using a limited page more effectively.

💞what’s the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I think this is the double heart one that you mean! The most important bit, for me, is the interactions between characters. So a little bit of character, a little bit of plot, a little bit of dialogue, but most specifically all of it revolving around how characters respond and react to one another, because that's where I find the most crunch to explore when I write. There's a...it's sort of a vibrating tension between the lines/characters when I get it right, and that's something that I specifically chase whenever I'm setting words down on the page. When the note is hit just right, I can feel it like a shiver somewhere in the vicinity of my emotions, and I'm always hoping that it comes through even just a little to a reader.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you’re not a social person/experience social anxiety?

(ETA: oh shit there are two candles? If you were thinking the other one, ping me and I'll answer that instead? Ahha.) Oh! This is such an interesting question (if a bit leading, lol, I hadn't noticed that before trying to answer it). I'm bad at interaction and engagement because I'm definitely in the 'shy' and 'tired' categories, but it's... I think interaction is a big part of what makes fic and fanart and other fandom stuff into play. I share things I'm enthusiastic about. I take them apart and put them together and tell stories about them and then save the results for later. I CAN do it on my own, and I honestly write more because I can't get ideas out of my head than I do because I need interaction about them, but it's a deliberate choice for me to make the Stuff I'm Getting Out Of My Head into something for the community. Because I want to participate in the sandbox everyone else is playing in, because that's where the people are, and I like people. Plus, half the fun is yes-anding, or finding someone with a wildly different interpretation that you think you could make something out of, or getting a new angle off of something you would never have thought of otherwise because of your particular lived experience vs their particular lived experience. Without interacting, you get YOU out of it, but you don't get anyone else, and I find a great deal of joy in the fact that other people are producing NEW stuff about a thing I love. So. The thing with me is that I'm super reserved, and the 'shy and tired' means I'm more likely to go 'ah, I simply cannot just now' and make a mental note to respond at some later date (andthenIdidn't_johnmulaney.gif). So I don't...honestly interact much as a creator. I interact way, way more as an audience member. Which, from the PoV of a creator, I think is pretty dang valuable, yanno? But I do what I can in a more...hrm. So, I reblog things I like, I comment when I have the bandwidth, and I don't stress about how I as an individual am somehow be responsible for aggregate trends in not commenting or something. All this is play: I join the game when I can and don't sweat when I can't. (I also have a vague tangent about how the ability to be seen and found by literally the whole world instead of a small niche subcommunity has made everything just...so much different, but I think that's for another time. :))

Thank you so much for the ask, @opalynne!

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

tw: mentions of sexual topic, mentions of sexual fantasies (not mine), boundaries being ignored, implied stalking (??? just in school/not serious?), discussion of crushes, animals

looking for: support, answer/input, validation

I was wondering if you'd have the answer to what a certain situation I found myself in years ago was? When I was in grade 7 (or grade 8?) there was someone a year or two older that ended up having a crush on me. I'd recently moved to a new school and wasn't really making any friends and because they were part of the extra-support group (also gifted) they had access to some rooms in the school most people didn't.

We ended up becoming friends and I didn't fully know about their crush on me until we were having a sleep over and they decided to tell me about their.. stories (fanfiction?) they liked to write and fantasize about where.. where the largest of animal crossing characters would have sex with me.. without me reciprocating, to put it one way. The person went into detail about the size of the animal's parts and even when I told them to stop they kept talking about it. I ended up curling up in the bottom of my sleeping bag and covering my ears to ignore them, but they kept talking about it in way way too much detail (because I think they found me being uncomfortable cute??). They did it other times too, but that was the first time and it was very unforgettable (unfortunately).

It still makes me super uncomfortable now just thinking about it, and I really really don't know why they did that. They sometimes pressured me into doing things too (never as far as kissing though) and would often randomly "find" me in school (even when we changed schools AT DIFFERENT YEARS because they're older than me). They were also able to play the gifted/special needs/tutoring card and get us alone in empty classrooms during work times because the teachers liked them and didn't like me (long story. they thought I was selectively mute and I had to do sleeve checks because I give off traumatized vibes without any adults actually doing anything).

A few years after that they told me that "did you know when we knew each other back then I had a crush on you?" and acted like they didn't remember any of it? I cannot play any animal crossing game without remembering the MULTIPLE stories the person told me about many of the animal crossing characters.

There wasn't any official touching so I know it wasn't really sexual harassment, but what sort of situation would this be?? is it toxic at all?? I've had worse things happen but for some reason that one really grosses me out, because whenever I think about anyone having a crush on me I just think of those sorts of situations and I feel very exposed/gross/icky.

I also have had 2 other people with crushes on me stalk me (in school and school events, and on buses too.) and one of them had a crush on me from grade 5 to 11 (idk if it went longer? they pretended they didn't until.. things got very messy.) be very jealous and possessive(?) and try and pressure me into doing things.

And another one in grade 8 that was under the school's watch list (in terms of mental health risks) so they got to hang out in the student success room and empty classrooms during work time and they'd always get me to join them (I didn't like that teacher). I'm admittedly really bad at picking up the social cues of someone being interested in me so I just think I'm getting a new friend, and then things like this happen :(

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry that you went through these things.

That's definitely not okay and a violation of your boundaries. You did not deserve that. It's honestly surprising to me that someone genuinely thought it was okay to continue with something that made you visibly uncomfortable, as if they were unable to interpret body language. Ignoring body language is a dangerous red flag.

Sexual harassment can be purely verbal. For example, catcalling is a kind of sexual harassment. For this person to make you sexually uncomfortable could qualify as sexual harassment if that is a term you feel is fitting. Please know that it is up to you how you define this experience.

It sounds like you've unfortunately had many experiences of people violating your boundaries and space and making inappropriate moves. I'm proud of you for speaking up about these things because it's important. I think that can be a helpful first step in processing these experiences.

You are a valid survivor.

I hope you're doing okay now. Please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[everythingismadeofchaos]

It's funny, I had this conversation with someone a couple of months ago about how the term "trans" represents a kind of linguistic confusion because transitioning refers to changing from one thing into another and really the person has always been what they are. Neither one of us are linguists or anything, we just like language. Also neither one of us is trans, although I'm a high masking autistic (which makes me feel a solidarity with trans people, although I don't know that it's deserved, or that they feel similarly; but it's a similar feeling of not being who you actually are almost all the time, and this is exhausting) and he is a gay man who has been out his entire life and is now old like me.

The conclusion we reached trying to reconcile these two apparently different ideas is that the idea of transition could refer to the outward appearance, the appearance trans people present. That seems pretty obvious. But also we came up with an alternative idea, that is, the way the person experiences the world transitions from their (I don't know the terminology) status before they transition to afterwards. Being honest about who you are changes how you experience other people. A close third, though, was that a lot of people don't realize what they are, deep down, until late in life, either because of denial or some sort of physiological change or whatever it is that happens; so they are transitioning to a sort of more thorough understanding of themselves. I know one or two gay adults who came out as adults, one or two who have been out since they became aware of sexuality in any form, and I guess one person who was a lesbian in high school and went on to marry a man and have more children than anyone else I know. I guess she'd be in her late forties by now and is probably a grandmother based on culture. (I'm guessing there's probably a specific term for this kind of person, just as there is for U-Haul lesbians.) Unfortunately the only trans people I know are on here. I don't meet a lot of people though.

We were trying to think of analogies and metaphors and came up with ideas like becoming artistic later in life after specializing in STEM subjects. I can remember two specific examples we came up with: Richard Feynman learned how to draw and became quite interested in graphic arts as an older man, and also the author of the Bobiverse books, Dennis E. Taylor, who was a software engineer all his life and then quit to write sci-fi. I'm sure there are other examples. But the point is not that these are at all the same as being a trans human being, they're just analogies or metaphors. We're trying to understand better ourselves and help other people understand better if we can. Me and my friend are both strong humanists and weak atheists (and Star Trek fans LOL; the kind who are a little embarrassed by it) and we discuss a lot of current events within that framework.

I really don't know that much about it though so I'm just throwing this out there. Maybe this will help somebody. I definitely don't want to hurt anybody's feelings though so if anybody's offended by this I'll take it down unless you're a trump supporter or something, in which case, buddy, what are you doing with your life? Get it together

[ibrokeeverything]

I have major Encanto brainrot, so here's some headcanons:

Dolores struggles with sensory overload. Especially when she first got her gift, it was often just too much, having to listen to every sound for miles. Pepa would come and sit with her, with a raincloud, to provide some white noise and help drown out the sound.

After a little while Dolores's room changes to become soundproof, giving her a reprieve from the constant barrage of noise.

Sometimes people will go days without seeing Camilo's true form. But they always know he's around whenever they enounter someone acting off, or see two of the same person at the same time.

When the Casita is rebuilt, Bruno's room is no longer at the top of a tower. The stairs were exhausting, which tired him out and discouraged people from coming to see him. It was isolating, so they make sure his new room is much more visitor friendly.

Isabela is gay. That is all. (Just kidding) As she discovers more of herself, no longer confined to being the perfect child, she realizes that she wasn't just not interested in Mariano, but it's because she's attracted to girls. Mirabel and Luisa are literally the most supportive sisters, even if Mirabel likes to tease her about her taste in women.

Mirabel and Bruno make a habit of spending time together, just the two of them. As the former outcasts and misfits of the family, they share a camaraderie that's unique to them. The rest of the family are much more understanding now, but these two still share a special bond. Also they're Aro/Ace solidarity.

Camilo and Bruno are also very close, bonding over a passion for acting. It's silly and fun and gives them both a way to relax and let loose. They definitely have a flair for the dramatic and have been known to startle the rest of the family by suddenly acting out dramas and tragedies. Dolores has run over in a panic, thinking one of them died, at least three or four times.

Even though she's comes around to love and accept Isabela for who she is, Alma gets annoyed at the sheer number of dangerous plants Isabela places around the Casita. Cactuses and carnivorus plants don't exactly make for the safest decor. Isabela compromises by putting them out of reach, up on shelves or dangling from the ceiling.

Julieta was actually a terrible cook when she was younger. She didn't use her gift much as a kid, since cooking isn't exactly a common kid's hobby. But when she started cooking more often, she had to study and learn a lot. Burnt, undercooked, and under or overseasoned food was super common. Now, she's the best cook in the family, but it was a process.

Isabela finds a love for fashion design when remaking her dress. She works with Mirabel, who does all the embroidery, to make new clothes for anyone who wants a fresh look.

Antonio brings home stray animals constantly. To the point where the Casita has to keep expanding his room to make more room. As he gets older, he starts up a rescue of sorts, taking in animals that people can't take care of and adopting them out to anyone looking for a pet.

Since Camilo only takes the shape of a person he's shifting into, he doesn't get access to the families gifts. Dolores has taken a liking to asking him to use their gifts whenever she knows it's him and watching him scramble to try and cover for himself. Ex. Asking him to pick up obnoxiously heavy things as Louisa or asking what animals are saying when he's Antonio. It's her new favorite pastime.

[incorrect-koh-posts]

Which is your favorite Baldwin ship? Like with an oc Or a male character . My favorite is him and Saladin lol.you know enemies to lovers shit . I didn't even consider this ship at first but after reading a long torturous sorrowful fic, this ship just hit the right spots. Anyways, do tell us about ur thoughts.

To be quite honest, I am capable of shipping just about anything as long as you sell it to me well, lol. But all right, here are my two cents on various Baldwin ships I have or have not encountered in the wild:

Baldwin/Saladin: This is very intriguing, but it's difficult to make into an actual romance in the canon universe simply because they meet so rarely. But I agree, they have great chemistry, and in a canon divergence fic I could absolutely see them have a sort of soft, reasonable enemies-to-lovers arc in a "We met five times in our lives yet always felt a special connection" kind of way. There are some very nice fics for this pairing that really managed to make me ship them a little, so yeah, anon, I feel you.

Baldwin/Balian can also be good, depending on how you sell it, though I'm sometimes not sure if I headcanon Balian as painfully and irrevocably hetero or not. What I'd personally find interesting would be Baldwin/female Balian - I haven't yet seen a gender bend for Balian, but I think that could be fun.

Baldwin/OC really depends - I'll admit my Baldwin headcanons lean a bit more in the direction of him being gay (and possibly asexual?), but a female OC can totally work, too. I suppose I just kind of dislike it when the OC is overly dramatic, since to me Baldwin really seems like a low drama sort of guy and surrounding him with shrieking or perpetually giggling female OCs isn't a thing that works for me personally. But generally speaking, YES, give me all the OCs of every conceivable background or gender (though now I really want to see Baldwin/male OC). They're one of the reasons why I love the KoH fandom so much - in other fandoms OCs are often reviled and looked down upon, while in our little niche they're basically standard procedure.

Baldwin/Tiberias: I love the concept in theory, since the dynamic of young forceful yet gentle king and world-weary yet totally devoted older knight really ticks the right boxes for me (yes, I am weird). I've read some lovely fics that featured subtle variations of this, but anything that is a bit more heavy on the romance and/or the more physical things between them usually isn't my cup of tea because at some point I tend to remember that they're related and I somehow cannot see past that.

Baldwin/Sibylla: Now this is definitely too much incest for my taste, sorry.

What I haven't yet seen is Baldwin/Imad, which could potentially be a good match in terms of personality. They're both calm and collected men, probably share a number of interests, and I just think Imad would fit rather well since he's not as uptight as Balian, nor as unapproachable as Salah ad-Din, nor as creepily related to Baldwin as Tiberias and Sibylla. But yeah, as you see, I only need the thinnest of pretexts to come up with a total crackship. Which brings me to:

+ My personal, oddly specific crossover crackship: Baldwin/Rebecca of York from Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Do yourselves a favour and don't ask.

[l3irdl3rain]

I always love when Wrex crosses my dash!

I've loved the idea of getting an older cat for a while now, that or a cat with some sort of anxiety disorder (my intent being to be their emotional support human while they're my emotional support animal XD), but I also worry about the logistics of that.

As someone who's never had a pet before (except for a few stray cats that I took care of as best I could when I was a child), I don't know how smart it would be to just jump in headfirst with a cat (cats) with special needs or higher care needs. I honestly don't know when I'll get a pet at all, probably sometime after college or whenever I save up enough to comfortably sustain myself and them but that is a while away.

I guess what I'm saying is: I love your old and pathetic animals and am wondering if you've got any advice on how you care for them

I actually think special needs cats are super doable for a first pet, depending on a couple factors. This is gonna be super long winded, so I'll put it under a read more for people who aren't interested.

Cost is a huge factor for special needs animals. Depending on what's wrong with them they're going to need more vet care than a "normal" cat, and things like bloodwork and exams can add up. I'm lucky because I get free vet care from the clinic I work at, but even still their medications and prescription foods can add up. Chloe, for example, is extremely expensive. She eats Science Diet K/D for her kidneys, gets Epakitin and Lysine daily, has two different weekly injections, and Sub Q fluids 5 times weekly. I honestly don't even know how much she costs me a month, I try not to think about it because I just know she's worth it.

Maccready on the other hand is relatively cheap. He also eats K/D but up until a month ago his only other medication was Enalapril for his blood pressure, which only cost me $5 a month. Now he's also on Epakitin for his kidneys, which is a little pricey but not too bad.

I think a cat like Maccready or Wrex would be totally doable for a first time pet owner! Petunia and Chloe on the other hand are definitely more difficult. Chloe is extremely time consuming and a lot of work, whereas Petunia is just difficult if you've never worked with a feral cat before. I've found that the biggest thing with social issues in cats (or any animal) is just being patient and being able to understand their body language.

I think the last thing worth mentioning is the emotional toll it can take on you. A lot of people say they won't rescue a senior or sickly animal because you have less time with them, and I totally get it. It's not for everyone. But, I think it's completely worth it. It's always going to hurt to lose a pet, but for me one of the best feelings in the world is taking in an "unadoptable" animal and giving them a safe, happy home even if I don't get long with them.

[bloededhoine]

world building cause twn doesn't part 9: mages

you probably know a lot about mages on account of them being fucking awesome and super sexy, so let's dive into what exactly makes them that way.

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

series masterpost

what are mages?

put simply, mages are anyone skilled and educated in the use of magic. but, most mages are also incredibly adept in politics, science, and religion

the vast majority of mages serve on royal courts, but others are teachers, researchers, or just kinda hobos

anyone can use basic magic (ie witcher signs), but it takes both natural talent and extensive training to be an actual mage

also important to note that while druids and priests can and do use magic, they aren't usually considered mages since they're not as involved in politics and science

education

mages go to school! a lot! powerful mages tend to track down young potential students and bring them to a school to receive formal training

well, "bring them" is a bit reductive, it's more like kidnapping.

there are quite a few important schools, so let's go!

aretuza is definitely the one you are the most familiar with, mostly because it's just the best. aretuza is an all girls academy located in temeria, a northern kingdom known for its powerful mages

aretuza is led by a rectoress, an incredibly powerful sorceress responsible for training the young adepts. i think there's only been 4 ever, first klara larissa de winter (also the founder), then leticia charbonneau, then tissaia de vries (the milf right there, and rectoress as of twn), and finally margarita laux antille

ban ard is the boys version of aretuza, located in kaedwen. the magicians from ban ard are notably... unskilled? they're just kind of clowns. the rector of ban ard was gerhart of aelle, also known as hen gedymdeith, because there's nothing like a nonsensical pseudonym to up your credibility. gerhart was literally the oldest mage alive until his heart died. after him, dorregary of vole took over as rector

mages in the north are pretty much exclusively trained at either aretuza or ban ard, but nilfgaard has a magical academy too!

the imperial magic academy is a co-ed school in loc grim, one of nilfgaard's two capitals. the emperors of nilfgaard tend to hire mages directly from this school

types of mages

most mages tend to specialize in a certain area of magic, such as illusions, alchemy, divination, polymorphy, weaponry, or spycraft

this is extra useful when assembling a team. not that anyone in particular is assembling a team, it's just good to know.

the brotherhood of sorcerers

the brotherhood is the main organization of mages in the witcher. they basically set the rules of magic for all the mages in the north, which are that demonology, necromancy, and artifact compression are strictly not allowed. the punishment was exclusion from the brotherhood and being locked in dimeritium (mage kryptonite) for centuries, but practically no one followed the rules or was punished

the brotherhood exists on a hierarchy, with most mages in the north making up the lower level, the council of wizards in the middle, and the chapter of the gift and the art at the top

the council is made up of a small group of mages that hold influence over the brotherhood but still need to answer to the chapter, as of twn the members are yennefer of vengerberg, philippa eilhart, radcliffe, carduin, and fercart. sheala de tancarville was part of it too, but she left

the chapter has the highest influence of magic in the north (and possibly the continent). it was founded by herbert stammelford, aurora henson, ivo richert, agnes of glanville, geoffrey monk, and radmir of tor carnedd. by twn, all of them had died or left, so the chapter was made of tissaia de vries, enid an gleanna, gerhart of aelle, vilgefortz of roggeveen, and artaud terranova. narses de la roche was the grandmaster of the chapter in 1245, but wasn't that involved much after.

politics

after mages graduate, the brotherhood usually places them on the court of a king/queen as an advisor. they're supposed to help strategize, conduct research, and just heighten the magical abilities of a kingdom

do they do this? nope

most mages are meant to clean up their king's messes, but usually get fed up and rule the entire kingdom from behind the scenes to fit their own agendas

can mages have babies?

short answer: yeah! although magic can make it harder to have babies, lots of sorceresses would take extra care to make sure they were as unaffected as possible. the forced sterilization was tissaia de vries' idea, and since she trained the vast majority of sorceresses we meet, most of them can't have babies

and yes, it's irreversible. sorry yen

geralt's mum, visenna, was trained as a druid, so she was still able to have geralt while practicing magic

who are they?

we meet a Lot of mages, so let's get to know a couple, starting with the ladies!

let's start with the lovely lovely yennefer. she was trained at aretuza under tissaia de vries, who became a mother figure to her. yen was also the youngest member of the council, as of twn she's 90. yes, that's very young to have a position of that caliber, especially since yen wasn't even an official advisor to aedirn's king

we all know and love hate triss merigold. she's one of the youngest sorceresses we meet, at the first season of twn she's 40 (book canon, she's made older in the show). triss also studied at aretuza and is currently one of king foltest of temeria's court mages

sabrina glevissig. slutty sabrina (affectionate) was yennefer's classmate at aretuza and became advisor to king henselt of her native kaedwen.

fringilla vigo is supposedly yen and sabrina's classmate from aretuza, but she is actually quite a bit younger than both of them and went to the imperial academy in her home country nilfgaard. fringilla specializes in illusion magic and (in book canon) is really not evil. she's a little slutty and stupid, but so is sabrina and dandelion and about half the people we meet!

we see skelliger sorceress lytta neyd, aka coral, aka astrid lyttneyd ásgeirrfinnbjornsdottir, at the battle of sodden hill where she unfortunately dies. coral was also very fond of breaking the brotherhood's rule against article compression (magically turning a person into a jade figurine, a wholly unpleasant experience)

temerian sorceress keira metz is one of the youngest mages we meet, she's around the same age as triss, whom she serves on foltest's court alongside

i mentioned philippa eilhart as a member of the council, and i'll mention her again as the love of my life. philippa is old. like, over 300. she's also one of the only mages to master polymorphism, and spends a solid portion of her time as an owl. philippa is redanian king vizimir's official advisor, but she, along with trusted?? associate lover sigismund dijkstra, really rules the entire country with vizimir as a puppet

sheala de tancarville is yen and phil's colleague from the council, but she left because it got too realpolitik for her tastes. sheala's from creyden (same place as renfri), but very rarely served her country's interests in favour of researching magic and being a reclusive bookworm. i'm serious. her nickname is literally the recluse of kovir

tissaia de vries. easily one of the most powerful and respected mages on the continent, member of the chapter, current rectoress of aretuza, and general badass. like most scholars, she wasn't involved in politics and doesn't even have a known nationality.

francesca findabair, also known as enid an gleanna, is an elven sorceress and member of the chapter. by twn she's easily 150 and very well established, although a sufferer of chronic backstabber syndrome.

assire var anahid is one of fringilla's nilfgaardian besties, although neither are actually nilfgaardian. assire is our good friend cahir's great-aunt, a military expert, and mom to her cat merlin

onto the gents!

let's start with the worst, istredd! i for incel, s for stupid, t for testicle-less (once i find him), r for racist, e for ew, d for dead (again, once i find him), and d for dipshit. in twn he's in cahoots with equally disgusting sorcerer...

stregobor! *vomits* you remember him as the koviri sorcerer who loves tracking down and murdering young girls, many of which have been exiled from their homes and tortured. he's just a lovely guy.

vilgefortz of roggeveen is sort of a walking spoiler, so i won't go too much in depth about him, but we can know he was raised by druids and, when offered a magical education, refused. he then became a mercenary, then a spy, then a wanted man, and finally trained to become a mage. despite his unusual backstory and late start, vilgefortz was insanely talented and, at less than a century old, became a member of the most powerful group of mages on the continent.

i mentioned gerhart of aelle aka hen gedymdeithe, as the oldest mage alive. he's at least 500. and then some. he's also a member of the chapter, but this position is more of a courtesy than a meaningful addition to the brotherhood.

finishing up the chapter, we have artaud terranova. he's not important yet, but will probably be in season two. all you need to know is he's short and a little mean and trusted by vilgefortz

fercart of cidaris is the third (but only male and non-temerian) member of foltest's royal council, and fairly unimportant member of the council of wizards

carduin of lan exeter was advisor to koviri king esterad thyssen and member of the council. he was also one of radovid's advisors, which didn't go over too well as radovid's other advisor, philippa eilhart, doesn't share too well

last and sort of least, we have radcliffe of oxenfurt. he was advisor to demavend of aedirn, from whom he probably met yennefer.