#i loved it i loved all of the characters complicated relationships and i love the concept

[whetstonefires]

Thinking about the parallels set up between Wei Wuxian and Mo Xuanyu, and how actually most of them are oddly specious.

The sketch of the backstory lines up, but on close examination they're mirror images.

Wei Wuxian wasn't kicked out of his sect, he left it. Wei Wuxian didn't hate the house he grew up in, he loved it, and getting the people there killed was the absolute last purpose for which his dark powers were ever intended.

Jiang Cheng was no Mo Ziyuan--his jealousy was a complicated thing all twisted up with love, and while he would lash out at Wei Wuxian both as a casual means of shit communication and more damagingly in moments of high tension, he had neither the desire nor the ability to bully him, and in general respected his boundaries almost too well.

When Wei Wuxian destroyed himself about Jiang Cheng, it was to give him cultivation, and protect his life and happiness. He would never have killed him.

Madam Yu was a domineering aunt-like figure, who hated Wei Wuxian for reasons of reputation, and because she had resented his dead mother, but she crucially did not have the power to actually disrupt his lifestyle to any significant extent.

Mo Xuanyu was shut up in a small room to rot; Wei Wuxian didn't even attend classes unless he wanted to. Mo Xuanyu was weak and disliked; Wei Wuxian was brilliant and popular.

Mo Xuanyu's uncle is a cipher of a figure, without character or agency, a nonentity who is resented to death apparently mostly for what he didn't do; in theory he is the master of the house, but he certainly never protected his wife and son's punching bag from them.

And this is what got me thinking along this track: because people keep interpreting Jiang Fengmian as this, as exactly like Mo Xuanyu's nameless uncle, a nonentity who lets his wife make all the decisions, and is contemptible therefore.

He shows up in fic characterized this way all the time, handled narratively as a gap rather than a person, an absence where there should have been a parent, and it's...totally inaccurate? The man only has a few scenes but the things that are most firmly established about him are:

he regularly goes out of his way to protect Wei Wuxian

he's extremely fond of Wei Wuxian

he cares a lot about ethical behavior

he's conflict-avoidant and gentle

he can and will overrule Yu Ziyuan when he's made up his mind, and there's nothing she can do about it

his communication skills are mediocre at best

he doesn't understand jiang cheng

he has a dumb sense of humor

Now almost none of this made it into cql besides point 4 and maybe 6, 5 is technically there but buried by the cinematic framing, so I totally get why the fandom on the whole struggles to characterize him well, and it's easier to write him off.

But it keeps bugging me to see him and Yu Ziyuan squashed into the mold of the Mo, because not only is that boring and reductive and kind-of-missing-the-point, it's like. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's characterization suffers a lot when you alter the environment and take away the influence exerted by their shared father figure.

Jiang Fengmian was Wei Wuxian's primary adult role model and it shows.

Jiang Cheng's relationship to his own sense of ethics is fraught because 'teaching him good ethics' was his dad's number one parenting goal, but they misunderstood each other so badly (partly because Yu Ziyuan kept loudly misinterpreting them to each other, which is so realistic I can't get over it, that's exactly how it works good lord) that Jiang Cheng has a direct association between the concept of 'doing the right thing even when it's hard' and a feeling of personal inadequacy.

The fact that Wei Wuxian got their dad-person's approval for being exactly himself and Jiang Cheng not only couldn't do that, he couldn't even get that same level of approval when he really pushed himself to rise to expectations, because Jiang Fengmian did not intend that warmth as a 'reward,' and so never realized he was withholding it, and therefore misunderstood Jiang Cheng's visible jealousy as a dangerous sense of personal entitlement that had to be carefully restrained, which reinforced his distrust of Jiang-Cheng-the-person and fed into a shitty loop where they were less and less able to relate to one another--that's fantastic. That's so human! I love it so much.

Both their failures are their own but at the same time it would never have gotten so bad if Yu Ziyuan hadn't been interjecting herself in there, in the middle of their relationship, fucking it up. That's family, baby.

I would ofc like if there was more fic engaging with the subtleties of all this because it's so good, mxtx did such elegant work here and it is not sufficiently appreciated. But it's the kind of thing that's hard to write good fic about; I am struggling with it myself.

So mostly I wish there was just more fic that didn't impose Mo Xuanyu's cliche angst backstory on Wei Wuxian, who has a whole different thing going on.

[tulliok]

we stopped watching around the later seasons and barely remember what happened in them so we're encouraging you to talk about what you dislike or want to criticize

Got asked, so here’s my abridged season 8-9 thoughts.

As someone who grew up watching the show from the beginning, I have a lot of gripes with how “friendship” is defined as a power-up or a material resource. However, it really wasn’t that big of a deal because I understand that MLP is a show targeted towards young girls that enjoy playing with toys, and the show was able to still portray realistic and educational lessons. 

The introduction of a friendship school in season 8 was a poor decision for so many reasons. Narratively, it locks our main characters into a single location, and we go from having a cast with unique occupations and storylines… to one where all six share the same responsibilities as an instructor and tackle the same lessons. Especially when some of them don’t seem like the type to enjoy teaching at all.

But the biggest issue I have is that the school validates the show’s idea that friendship is a unique resource that has to be taught, and that comes with a load of problematic implications. To get to the worst one right away, the school came packaged with a storyline about xenophobia and Equestria’s prejudice against their foreign neighbors. The coding of non-pony species in the show has always had weird racial implications (yaks and dragons being depicted as loud, unintelligent barbarians, the buffalo and Zecora representing members of real marginalized groups), but it is made even worse in this season by depicting them as people that are uneducated and need to be taught basic social skills and lessons in a foreign land. The Friendship School is literally a project designed by Twilight to spread Equestria’s idea of friendship to other countries! On top of that, they introduce what is essentially a conservative, white supremacist pony as a villain, and to beat him Twilight needs to prove that the exchange students are worthy of being taught. I really don’t think I need to explain why this is extremely weird and shouldn’t even be in the show in the first place.

I love the show because of episodes like Amending Fences, Leap of Faith, and No Second Prances—episodes that teach children that relationships aren’t big battles of morality and power but are complicated experiences that everyone has a unique response to. These experiences cannot be taught in a school with sewing lessons and apple picking and taking exams. They are also not unique to any particular community or race—that is a fact of life that most children should immediately understand. It’s extremely disheartening watching the show regress to the point where Rarity is telling a young girl that her cultural costume isn’t pretty enough and she’s dolling her up in wigs to cover her braids and giving her etiquette lessons to “fit right in." I don’t care that the moral was that she was wrong; what’s wrong is that the show even bothered making episodes like this at all. 

Season 9 concludes with a happy ending where all is well, but it isn't because the young child villain, the one character that needed friendship lessons and the grace to grow up, was turned into a garden accessory without a second thought. All while surrounded by the redeemed villains that the series arbitrarily decided were more worthy of our sympathy.

I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with my opinions and I want to be as fair as possible about what made me so uncomfortable with the show’s conclusion. I am a longtime fan, but I also care a lot about children’s media being responsible with their messaging, especially when they tackle subjects that require a great level of care, such as race and relationships. MLP (whether older fans like it or not) is ultimately a show about teaching children valuable social skills and providing moral lessons with every adventure.

I doubt this mixed messaging was intentional on the writer’s part. Rather, the last seasons were recklessly handled. To a viewer’s eyes, there isn’t a difference between these two.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: September 20/24

Happy Friday everyone!! It's a super special one today, as it marks the END OF YEAR FIVE OF WEEKLY FIVE FICS FRIDAY POSTS!!!

That's TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY LISTS FOR BOOSTED FICS!!!

I can't believe I've done this for five years weekly, and I hope you've enjoyed them all that time! I'll post up the masterlist tomorrow for Year Five, so in the interim, make sure to give this week's fics some love! Enjoy!

SIGNAL BOOSTING

Debris by Monkeysock (M, 15,094 w., 14 Ch. || First Person POV Alternating, Case Fic, Sherlock Whump, Flashbacks, Guilt, Waiting, Hospital, Angst) –Sherlock becomes trapped under a load of debris when a building collapses on top of him. He waits for rescue. Everyone is different, they only know what they know. In the aftermath, everybody has a story to tell.

RECENT MFLs

Little Slices of Death by Enterthetadpole (E, 994 w., 1 Ch. || Friends To Lovers, Horror, Humour, Happy Ending, Case Fic, Romance) – Sherlock Holmes gets involved in a case where the victims and crimes that are eerily similar to the works of a certain horror author stories. Will he solve the case before the people around him die around him?

I Meet You There, and We Go by irisbleufic (E, 6,370 w., 4 Ch. || Alternate Universe || Aftermath of TGG Pool Scene, Grief/Mourning, Supernatural Elements, Established Relationship, PTSD, Neurodiversity, Disability, Character Death) – "I dream of what it's like," [Sherlock] says with difficulty, and the words taste right in spite of the fact that everything else tastes wrong, "when we leave this place." John is quiet for an unbearably long while (too quiet: no humming, no breath) before he lets his forehead drop to rest against Sherlock's, smudge of ash and grit and sweat mixed with something far too heavy to be tears. He presses one hand over Sherlock's heart, and there's warmth again. The promise dazzles him. It stings. "What's it like?" asks John, finally, his voice thick with the promise of rest.

The Scientific Method by NovaWasTaken1 (T, 11,883 w., 1 Ch. || THoB Divergence, Doctor John, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Headaches / Migraines, Sick Sherlock) – Dosing former drug addict Sherlock Holmes turns out to be just a little more complicated than an aerosol spray. An AU of Hounds of the Baskervilles, in which Sherlock's reaction to being drugged winds up being a little more than an anxiety attack.

Secondary Exposure by thesardine (T, 18,841 w., 7 Ch. || Whump, Tags to Be Added) – After twenty years, the killer who abducted John as a child has resurfaced. Now John and Sherlock must track him down before he claims another victim, and at the same time navigate the shifting nature of their relationship.

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Neil Fak- The simple, innocent man Carmy once was.

Since Carmy is back home, he's outgrowing his naviety

What caught my attention is that Carmy and Fak are interested in flowers. However, Carmy loses hope and gets rid of the flowers in season 3. We can associate flowers with joy, innocence, love, and sentiments, which are all absent in Carmy's life in season 3. But he desires that innocence again something Fak carries. But there's both pros and cons to this way of life.

Fak is who Carmy would have become if he had stayed in Chicago and continued to be around Richie and Mikey. He would have immersed himself in the ballbreaker game, trying to win and ultimately losing his potential.

Did you notice that Fak isn't introduced to the story until Sydney is introduced? When season 1 begins, life is now too complicated for Carmy to understand, and a mind like Fak's can only narrate it simply.

In some way Fak is a version of Carmy. The innocent version.

Fak and Carmy - we're told they're best friends or butt buddies as Richie puts it.

Fak's adolescent mind - naivety thinks everyone is his best friend.

Since Carmy has gotten older, he realizes he carries more scars and wonders what a best friend is. He even questions if Mikey is his best friend.

As the series progresses, Carmy is coming to terms with the fact that relationships are complicated and not as simple as he initially thought. It's easy for him to resort to anger and violence like the Ballbreaker game when things become too complicated to understand. However, Carmy needs to mature in order to be the person his family needs. Being naive about relationships, people, and emotions won't help him.

I want to acknowledge @outmakingmoonshine for this outstanding, detailed meta on whether or not Syd and Carmy were planned. I re-read the script where Fak is introduced. In so many words, Carmy is saying that a sappy love story won't save the characters this time. Fak is raising the stakes, making winning at life a more significant risk. He gives Claire Carmy's number, adding more risk to the love story between Sydney and Carmy.

This subtext is a prediction- Sydney and Carmy's relationship is heading towards difficult feelings, and it becomes even more complex as they grow. Calling in Fak can hopefully help Carmy navigate, allowing him to somehow narrate an easier story than what's about to be told.

From Fak's innocent perspective, the game "Ball Breaker," known for its violence, is just too difficult because there's more to it. From Fak's perspective, the game or story (life) is too confusing to beat. Fak is the one who's raising plays to a dollar. A higher risk for a story about manhood and ball busting. Love.

Ballbreaker Game is gone. Now Fak is left to play Cupid.

Season 2 Ball breaker is over, and we're left with the game of who's in love with you—who could be dating who—with both Richie and Fak playing the game of cupid.

Fak sees it simply. Marcus and Sydney should hook up because they like each other. And carmy is in love with claire. Why shouldn't they get together?

He's not paying attention to syd and carmy's part. It's too difficult of a part of the game or story to navigate.

We need to take Fak's input on love with a grain of salt because he insists that Carmy is his best friend, just like everyone else.

It's just too difficult

Think of the upcoming sydcarmy scenes. 2x09 Carmy grows up a bit realizes that he has to be the guy his family expects him to be- the man where everyone can rely on him. This moment of growth has carmy wanting to fix the table or relationship with Sydney without faks help or naivety coming to mend it. The same as 3x04 when Sydney is ready to talk to Carmy about his consistent miscommunication Fak is pushed away.

Because this is a story about manhood, Carmy's growth involves shedding naivety, embracing complex emotions, and becoming the man his family needs.

But he is still wondering how he can find the balance to embrace his innocence and where he can stop and smell the roses while still growing up.

Tagging: @currymanganese @moodyeucalyptus @vacationship @whenmemorydies @brokenwinebox @fresaton

[octavinelle-oyster]

HII platonic request but what if reader was azul's (younger) sister? i have a few ideas myself but i'd love to see your take on this!

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto, (Jade and Floyd Leech mentioned)

Type: Platonic Headcanons

Info: Fem!Reader, Reader is approx. 2 years younger than Azul, Reader is not Ramshackle Prefect and is from twst originally, Azul doesn't know how to communicate

“Because I am the big brother. I’m sorry I wasn't better at it until now.”

Azul Ashengrotto

Growing up with Azul, you’ve seen his ugly side, and for a long time…

He resented that.

He was weak in his eyes.

Why would you ever look up to someone so disappointing?

The two of you were probably attached by the hip until then bullying started.

That's when Azul began pushing you away.

One, he didn't want you possibly getting hurt trying to defend him or something.

And two, he didn't want you to see that.

Even if you persisted, getting the twins involved, or attempted to try and connect again he would just push you back out.

As much as he wanted to be your sibling and grow up with you together, he had to be better first.

I fear the two of you would have a very distant relationship.

He wouldn't start actively reaching out until after his overblot.

After realizing that, if he had died due to his blot, he would never have had a chance to prepare his bond with you.

It started out simple.

Since he couldn't visit home without the complications of his transformation potion schedule, (that's his excuse.) he sends messages back home.

The first thing he ever sent back home to you was a souvenir he had picked up during his first year at some festival.

So when a small multicolored stained glass depicting a goldfish with a small laminated note attached to it with your brother’s name written in fancy cursive was suddenly in your possession, it felt like an obligation to write something back.

But without any paper in the Coral Sea, you settled on engraving a small message on the inside of an old clam shell.

This was eventually how a small bridge was built between the two of you.

But if you ever came on land? Ever attempted to visit Azul during a school event where outsiders were invited on campus? Or even just getting permission from the headmaster and a transformation potion?

Best believe he will have no idea on how to approach you.

He’s known you for all his life but at the same time, with the little communication the two of you shared, he has no clue how to even start a conversation with you.

(The twins will never let him EVER live this down)

I didn't really know how to approach this request but I hope it is to your liking!

[stanshikabutromy]

every time i get a comment on my edits saying rogue didn’t deserve remy i actually lose my shit. did we watch the same show?

i have a lot of thoughts about rogue and remy in x-men ‘97 and none of them speak ill about them. first of all, it’s never even confirmed if rogue cheated on remy or not. they’re intentionally vague about it and the only time they’re deliberate about it is AFTER rogue and remy break things up (also on that note they were never official—remy says it himself). also do you really think rogue would get pissed at magneto for asking her to be his queen if they had been cheating the whole time? they just did all that to create tension for the viewers and to obviously add to rogue’s dilemma.

rogue is a complicated character people!!! her character does not revolve around remy—she is her own person!!! we keep forgetting that rogue hasn’t properly touched anyone since she put cody in a coma at the ripe age of 13 (i think idk). it makes sense for rogue to crave touch—a lot of her character revolves around her being jealous of the freedom that other couples have to touch. so when magneto comes along, he’s offering her this answer to her problem. he’s allowing her skin on skin contact and a relationship that wouldn’t avoid normal couple things.

now even with remy’s insistence that he doesn’t mind how things are, rogue is obviously going to doubt. she’s always been insecure about her mutation but she’s definitely ten times more insecure about it when it comes to relationships. remy is a known flirt, he’s know for the countless one night stands he’s had. he’s give all that up to be with rogue. so this leads to rogue feeling like she’s not giving enough in the relationship which leads her to believe she should leave and give him a proper chance at a real relationship. (she has a very singleminded view on relationships due to her seeing her fellow x-men’s relationships.) no matter how many times remy can say that he doesn’t care, rogue can’t help but feel like she’s cheating him out of giving him a real—or normal—relationship/family. which is why she turns to magneto in the end. she wants remy to find someone real/normal and she’s willing to compromise for him. she makes the decision for him as she inevitably believes that remy will do it one day eventually or he’ll end up regretting his decision to stay with her. her choice to choose magneto wasn’t out of her love for magneto but rather her love for remy. there’s a reason why the second after she kisses magneto she almost immediately realizes that she’s better off with remy because she can’t compromise and she’s in love with remy. so fuck all of you in my comments calling rogue a bop or saying rogue didn’t deserve remy. go read the comics or something and then maybe—just maybe—we can have a conversation.

[wanderingblindly]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

oooooooh this is so cruel, how dare you make me consider my fics this way????? reflecting on this made me realize that a lot of my personal favs are actually my less popular ones. that makes sense, in a way; often my favorites are where i'm trying to express a really specific emotion or idea, which might not always resonate with people? anyways, ordered from oldest to newest:

Eighteenth Summer (Do You Wish We'd Fall in Love?)

ambient, pining, sort of sepia toned vignette filtered lestappen. i remember really wanting to capture the ambiguity that comes with being 18 and finishing high school -- a new future looms even when you feel like you haven't finished living what you have now. very much being on a precipice, but with a happy ending :)

You Bring Me Closer To God

i literally fucking love this universe so much. even if the fic wasn't special, writing all the dynamics between the bandmates, between the bar flies, between oscar and lando... it was such a joy. i still think about writing more within Dirty Blondes all the time.

I Know Your Name (But Not Who You Are)

lestappen in grief! the passage of time! the fear that life has somehow stopped moving on but also changed more than you can stomach! wanting things from your childhood but having to accept that you can never go back! but perhaps learning that moving forward is beautiful, too! yet another one where i entered it trying to capture a specific feeling, and i think i managed to like... use the setting in a way that achieved that.

Someone in Seattle

i like this one because i managed to write a fic i'd love to read. i love fics that explore the soft, meandering development of relationships -- the ones where falling in love is a bit of a blurry line, and it happens just by the nature of truly Seeing each other. it's a love letter to my home, and i think of her very fondly.

Impasse of Biting

THIS IS THE ONLY FIC WHERE I FEEL LIKE I GOT EVEN CLOSER TO LIKE. SOMETHING YOU COULD ANALYZE. THERE ARE CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS! THERE'S SPECIFIC WORD CHOICE! THERE'S UNRELIABLE NARRATION AND COMPLICATED EMOTIONAL TIES! idk. it's one that i feel like each reader could come away with something wildly different, and (as someone who doesn't often deal in ambiguity), that makes me proud.

[colduncrustable]

the martin antis working so hard to make waves is so funny. like, you are very much allowed to like/dislike any character you please! but making it your whole personality or acting like you’re cooler for it is a little bit silly. you are not morally or intellectually superior for hating on a fiction character.

not to mention all of the characters in tma are very nuanced and complicated, just like real people (!), and erasing all of that to serve a certain narrative is a complete disservice to the entire body of work. jon and martin’s relationship was never meant to be easy, they first and foremost worked closely together as boss/employee, and in a workplace that was actively putting them in dangerous and horrible situations. the whole point is that they’re both super fucked up but they have each other anyway. they both have flaws, they both have gone through a great deal both with and without each other, but they found love anyway. the idea that the dynamic change in s5 is due to martin just being this villain is so wild? like he’s not a doormat anymore but he also loves jon so fiercely and stands by him over and over again?

jon hated him, jon ignored him, was verbally horrible to him again and again, literally sent him on a dangerous investigation and said if anyone had to die might as well be him, jon accused him of murder, screamed at him, jon was on the run, jon died. martin was his number one defender through everything, even when honestly? he didn’t do a lot to prove he deserved it. but martin was strong in his loyalty and did his best to be a supporter anyway. he picked up extra work, he thought of him kindly when no one else did, he mourned him, and he put himself directly in the line of fire for jon. for everyone, yes, but especially for jon, he says that. because after everything, protecting jon is still his number one priority.

it’s so important to his character that he isn’t s1 martin anymore—that he learns to be a real person who has thoughts and feelings and a backbone. jon wanted that, and does it not say something that they don’t work out until martin learns to have a little bite? there’s a difference between being a real complicated traumatized human person, and just straight up being evil, or an asshole. jon had to learn how to be a lot of softer things but martin had to learn how to square his shoulders and stick out his chin. they had different arcs, and that doesn’t make either of them inherently evil or bad. it makes them real and not perfect and very multilayered, yeah.

martin didn’t handle every choice or action perfectly, he made a lot of mistakes, and he never claims to be the best person ever. but jon also fucked up, a lot. it isn’t a competition or a comparison, that’s really not how that works. but they work because of their flaws. that’s a big part of them fitting together. martin represented the humanity they were saving, with all his good and bad. jon was well beyond that, and while that doesn’t inherently compromise his character, it does mean he’s viewed in a much different light.

(meaning i think jon’s sins are seen very very different to martin’s.) (to be clear i think both deserve to be looked at critically, but hating either of them devoutly seems sort of silly.)

i’m not sure how you can listen to tma and all the ways it dissects and reflects on humanity and turn around and run blogs or make posts in the fandom about how you hate one of the main characters for being all of that.

jon never would’ve made it through without martin, even if martin wasn’t the key to everything, he was the reason to push through and not give up. martin is why jon didn’t go full monster mode, why he held onto who he was and his humanity, even with the whole ‘kill bill’ thing. martin gave him a reason to keep going, to try, to care so deeply. obviously there were other factors but jon says it himself, martin you are my reason.

if you can’t handle the fact that martin isn’t a grade a soft boy by the end of the show that’s a lot more about you than it is about him. he grew and maybe not always for the better but he could be a real person for jon instead of some kind of mirror or blank slate to be reflected on. i genuinely don’t understand how he can be misunderstood so deeply.

they’re both fucked up ! and if they are alive Somewhere Else you bet your ass they’re having long talks and going to therapy and fighting and making up and pacing the floors and figuring it all out together. it isn’t clean or easy or necessarily enjoyable all the time, but humanity isn’t either, love isn’t either. they went through unimaginable trauma, and expecting either of them to be holding it together any better than they already are is wild. context, it’s important. but let’s not turn multi-dimensional characters into flat one word answers.

it’s very human to like and dislike, love and hate based off of bias and experiences and perspective. but also opinion does not make fact. everything is relative, everything is subjective, everything everything everything. it’s an open discussion yada yada idk i’m just screaming into the wall about all the nonsense.

and beyond all of that, discourse is so useless. criticism and constructive conversations are really really important but discourse is pointless! oh you ship these people? well that inherently threatens my ship! oh you like this character that i hate? well that makes me feel invalid for hating them. like what you like, hate what you hate, have your feelings. but if you post shit on the internet you will get people who disagree, sorry, that’s how it is. partaking in little arguments over who is right or wrong when it doesn’t actually have to do with anything harmful or unhealthy makes no sense though. posting on the internet about all the hate you have in your heart when the world is already so full of it doesn’t actually do anything but add more bad to an already very large pile of bad.

things can be discussions not arguments sometimes, i promise. it’s not always tooth and nail, and let’s not forget, most of it is over things that never need to be fought over.

[tiredsunrisesmeta]

Damen's Trauma, Akielos, & Cultural Community

I've been thinking about Damen's trauma & the ways he changes because of it and how it connects to his cultural identity: Damen's trauma & experiences in Vere under Laurent do come to strain & complicate his relationship with his past, his country, & his countrymen. His realization of Akielon violence on the border, his growing horror at slavery, his questioning of his father's rule, his acceptance of Kastor's duplicity, his anger at Jokaste's betrayal & his disagreeing with Nikandros's misguided exasperation & confusion at his choices in Kings Rising are some examples of this.

Another conflict ofc is the famous "a kingdom or this" conflict. His singular, unique love for Laurent clashes with his loyalty to his role as king, his country & its customs as particularly illustrated by Damen's actions at the Kingsmeet. An even earlier example, happens in Prince's Gambit after Damen kills an Akielon soldier to protect Laurent. He asks Laurent: "Don't try to use me against my own people." This conflict between his loyalty to Akielos & his loyalty to Laurent is already present relatively early in Damen & Laurent's association. Thankfully, Damen never truly has to choose because Laurent honors Damen's request. 

But despite these many conflicts, I believe Damen's trauma & its resulting emotional transformation ultimately brings him closer to Akielos, not farther from it. Because of his experiences in Vere, Damen is at the crossroads of his past & future self as well as at the crossroads of Akielos as he knew it & Akielos as it will become under his rule. Yet, despite this transformation into a new Damen & a new Akielos, Damen's past & the relationships he had, including their good & bad parts, aren't something he ever completely sheds or ever really needs to.

There's a framing of Damen's character arc that could focus on how Damen's trauma has so fundamentally changed him it puts some kind of uncrossable emotional distance between him and his past life including everyone he knew in Akielos. In this framing, his trauma reveals fundamental truths that he can no longer reconcile. Kastor is not a good brother (& never truly loved him), Theomedes is not someone worthy of Damen's hero worship (& never truly loved him), Jokaste chose herself over him (& never truly loved him), Nikandros no longer understands him (& maybe never did). 

There's a truth to all these observations. Though interpretations vary widely, of course. I, for example, disagree that any of those characters never truly loved Damen. I also think Nikandros understood the old Damen and is capable of eventually understanding the new Damen as well. Nevertheless, this framing of Damen's character arc & past relationships, at its harshest and most extreme, essentially isolates Damen from all his significant loved ones that are Akielon, and not literally (by death or literal distance like in canon) but spiritually.

In this framing, Damen's transformation essentially causes him to "outgrow" these past connections & both the personal & cultural significance they once carried for him. But I think the books refute that framing. While there is strain in Damen's relationship to Akielos & Akielons there is never an outright cutting or diminishing of these bonds & this identity. Many parts of Damen have changed but this does not cause an emotional gulf & disconnect that Damen does not at least try to bridge.

Until the very end, Damen desperately wants to forgive Kastor & keep him as his brother. Until the very end, he trusts Kastor when he should not. Damen, despite his very real wounded rage and new self protective hardness when it comes to Jokaste, nevertheless starts to understand Jokaste's motivations. Damen accepts he does not want to rule as his father did, but he still loves his father & cherishes his father's love for him, and he is not punished for this. Laurent comes to symbolize this by being the one to comfort Damen as he finally lets himself mourn his father. Despite all Theomedes did that ultimately caused the death of Auguste & the destruction of Laurent's life as he knew it, Laurent & the narrative do not punish or disapprove of Damen's grief for his father. Even Damen does not punish himself for it. Laurent also embodies this same empathy when he encourages Damen to bury Kastor in the royal crypt, accepting Damen's true personal wishes no matter how they might come across politically.

Now to Nikandros. It is true that Nikandros does not and can not understand so much of what has changed in Damen when they meet again in Kings Rising. Him & Damen clash on many things, including Laurent, plans & strategy, and bed slaves. Part of this is because Nikandros symbolizes Akielos as it was before Damen was taken from it. Akielos, as it would be if Damen had never left it. Like a rock left in a garden & returned to after many years. This symbolic connection between Nikandros & Akielos is illustrated in Nikandros's introduction in KR: "Damen took in Nikandros's familiar, classically Akielon features, his dark hair and brows, his olive face and straight Akielon nose." Nikandros is the quintessential Akielon. In many ways, he symbolizes home to Damen.

But the familiarity of Nikandros's Akielon face & demeanor are contrasted with Damen's thoughts of his own transformation after his traumatic experience in Vere. Damen thinks "The self that he had been striving to return to was gone." 

Nikandros is Akielos as Damen knew it before his father's death & subsequent enslavement & abuse. And Damen can no longer be in perfect harmony with the Akielos he once knew because he is no longer the Damen he once was. Yet this distance is not meant to be seen as insurmountable because Nikandros is not an unchanging rock, despite his relatively rigid ways. He accepts Damen's changes & decisions, befuddled, disapproving sometimes, exasperated, yes, but he accepts them nonetheless. So as Akielos will change under Damen's leadership, so too will Nikandros. Nikandros (the last remaining Akielon loved one still actively in Damen's life) will stay at Damen's (and Laurent's) side helping transform the new kingdom alongside him. 

So yes, Damen's trauma and experiences in these books has deeply changed him. Has made him more empathetic to the lives & struggles of the lowest castes of society, made him less jingoistic, more critical of his country's practices, made him more discerning of duplicity. It has also caused him shame and continued mental distress & suffering. It's caused him to repress his emotions even more than he already did (something Laurent tries to help him work through in the Summer Palace). It's caused him to harden himself in some ways. But his trauma has not made him incapable of deeply connecting to his past. The new Damen is not one made bereft of Akielon community, connection or identity because of his trauma. Nor is he someone who can only be made whole again by Laurent or Laurent's community.

It's not as if this is an interpretation people actually have of course. It's more that I think Damen completely disconnected from his roots is the natural endgame of the framing of Damen's trauma & transformation that I outlined above. Which is why Nikandros & his continuing friendship with Damen is absolutely integral to Damen & to Damen's story & character arc in Captive Prince. Nikandros embodies Akielos in many ways. All that it was, is & could & will be for Damen.

As an aside: I also find it interesting how this maintaining of the softer parts of Damen (despite his trauma), the parts that allow him to make & maintain connections, affects his relationships with the Veretians in his life. Not just Laurent, either. If Damen's trauma did manifest as insurmountable emotional disconnect or irreconcilable rage, what would his relationships with Jord, Paschal, Ancel, & Berenger look like (in canon & post-canon)? These characters either actively participated in his abuse or watched & did nothing to stop it. Yet, Damen's internal monologue affords them empathy, understanding, comradery, & even in some cases his own guilt at not being truthful about his identity with them. It offers them that when it could have offered them complete contempt or fraught disconnection. This is morally neutral. Damen's internal forgiveness is not necessarily an unquestionable good. It's just who Damen is.

There's a few fics that tackle the possible manifestations of Damen's trauma in relation to these characters, but it seems relatively less explored ground. But I think it's interesting to consider the similarities between Damen's reactions to the Veretians & Akielons in his life.

It's fascinating that Damen's capacity to forgive is mostly reserved for people that have hurt him & not others. (Kastor is one exception to this since Kastor has killed their father & killed most of the people in Damen's household. But, Damen's personal forgiveness is tempered with his understanding that Kastor can not go unpunished. Though I'd still argue house arrest in Ios is exceptionally generous and almost laughably lenient). He can be quite morally stringent about anyone who "hits someone who can't hit back" except if the person getting hit is himself 🤔. There's probably so much I could say, if I put my mind to it, about Damen's capacity to ignore and/or forgive violence done against him, starting all the way back to when Kastor stabs him at 13 to Laurent's abuse to Ancel's assault. But that's definitely for another time!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

One in the Chamber

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Titans, Justice League

Summary: AU where Jason dies under different circumstances, changing Bruce's life forever.

Chapters: 2/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, Barbara Gordon, Grant Emerson, Eddie Bloomberg, Danny Chase

Relationship(s): TBA

Additional Tags: Jason Todd Dies, Bruce Wayne Hallucinates, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson Have a Complicated Relationship, Bruce Wayne's POV

Chapter Two: Kids

I remember Jason fresh out of the hospital when I dream of him. He’s lethargic, slumped to one side in his chair. His head is shaved completely because the doctors left it uneven when they performed the surgery. His eyes are sunken in as he stares into space. He doesn’t speak in these dreams. He groans continuously. It’s a lingering noise that haunts me always. I never dream of him as I want to. I always see him like this. There’s an emptiness in his eyes like all the fight’s left his body. I push him along in his chair, and he waves a hand to stop me. Then, I hear a sound that wakes me out of my sleep. A gun pops, and I don’t have enough time to see what happens next before I wake up sweating and shaking. 

I got up and searched for Jason until Dick grabbed me. “Jason’s not here,” Dick whispered, “Jason’s gone. He—.”

I don’t remember what happened afterward. My mind went back to Jason. Fresh out of the hospital and leaning in his chair. I remember our first dinner together. Dick stopped by to join us. “I’d like to make a toast,” Dick announced, “Here’s to home-cooked meals and housebound brothers.”

Jason half-smiled and raised his glass with his left hand. The attack made him weak on his right side, so he started favoring his left. He tried to speak, but we saw in his face that he was lost. A weak, slurred laugh to save face rolled off his tongue and his eyes drooped. We knew he was tired, but he came to dinner anyway. Finally, the words found him. “Glad to be h-hhhome. Thanks,” Jason stammered. 

Dick smiled, but he had tears in his eyes. He cried a lot when Jason was in the hospital. He held back tears every day Jason was lucid enough to notice. It was little hiccups like that that made Dick hold his breath and tear up. I couldn’t blame him. We almost lost Jason completely. “Did you tell Donna I said hi?” 

In my head, I always commended him when he got through a whole sentence. Maybe he could see it in my eyes because he shut down every time he looked at me. I tried to stop, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. Jason closed his eyes and turned away from me. “I did. She’ll stop by once she’s over and done with her mission,” Dick replied. 

“How’s Roy? Is the baby okay?” Jason asked. 

“He’s good. Lian’s good… He loves being a dad,” Dick smiled.

Jason smiled as he scooped up his macaroni. “You—? You ever thought about it?” Jason questioned. 

Dick set his fork down. “About what?” Dick asked in reply. 

“Kids,” Jason whispered, “Do you ever w—?” Jason stalled as he tried to force the word out. “Want kids?”

Dick rubbed his neck and looked down at his plate with wide eyes. “Well, sure. Why are you asking?” Dick replied. Jason chuckled.

“Dunno… Just thought it’d be nice,” Jason replied, “Little people… Learning to walk... Learning to talk... Learning to eat—.”

“Jason—.”

“I’m just saying. It’d be nice. Maybe I’d have some company while you were on missions. Would you still—?” Jason gestured with the roll of a hand. 

“Well, Jason. I don’t know. I’m not having kids anytime soon. Besides, you’d be back on your feet before any kid of mine would be born,” Dick replied. 

“Why’s the question making you so nervous?” Jason asked. “You’d be good… A good dad. Kids love you… I didn’t mean anything by it.” 

Dick’s jaw tightened. Jason had no malice in him. He was wiped out by a simple conversation and a meal. He had no energy for arguments. “I know… It’s a weird time for me right now. Transitional time for everybody… It must be one of those years. When everything smooths out I’ll let you know,” Dick replied. 

“Wh—? What about you, Bruce? You ever thought about babies? Having—? Having any? Adopting any?” Jason asked. 

“I’m the last person—.”

“It might be good for—. For you. You don’t laugh anymore. I’d like it if you laughed,” Jason whispered. He looked down as he said it, frowning as if it were his fault. 

“Jason… I laugh,” I replied. Jason nodded. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t argue with me. Jason stopped arguing with me after the attack. I swallowed hard and took a sip of wine with my dinner. 

That’s how I remember Jason. He wasn’t that way the night it happened, but if I remember him upright… Walking. Laughing. Talking like he didn’t have a care in the world. I remember him at his most vulnerable because it makes more sense. I can’t remember him that night because he was so alive. Too alive. I can’t handle him that way.

**

Dick’s sobbing woke me out of my sleep. I walked down the hall, disconnected from my body as I opened the door. Which door? Not sure. Don’t know. I opened the door and looked at Dick on his knees, his face pressed into Jason’s olive green tartan throw blanket. I always liked that blanket. “He needs you,” Jason whispered. I could almost feel his hand on my arm. I bit down on my lip hard enough to draw blood. “You are not a son-less father. Don’t leave Dick as a fatherless son.”

“Dick,” I whispered. Dick wouldn’t stop crying. He couldn’t stop crying. So, I grabbed him and pulled him into my arms. It wasn’t in my nature to hold. I wasn’t a soft place to fall. I was stern, cold, and Dick was—. He was warm. He threw his arms around my child, shaking and sobbing like a child. I rubbed his back. 

“He should be in his bed,” Dick wept. I couldn’t think about it. I let the words pass through my ears. I didn’t want to hear him. I didn’t want to think about it. A knock at the door. The doorbell chimed. 

Detective O’Halloran. 

I told Dick to stay put before I headed down the stairs. I made my way down with an urgency, passing by Alfred on the way. “Master—.”

“I’ve got it, Alfred,” I interrupted as I answered the door. “Detective…”

“I understand this is a bad time for you, and your family—.” 

“I just woke up… What—?” I paused, looking down at the sweatshirt and then my hands. I hadn’t showered. I still had Jason’s blood on my hands. “Can we talk out here? I don’t want to upset my other son any more than I already have.”

She nodded and sat on the porch with me. “More than you have?” Detective O’Halloran questioned. 

It came to me in flashes. I tried to suppress it. I tried to push it down. Forget it. Erase it. The craving for vengeance that came with the memory. I couldn’t think of the man’s face under the stocking cap. I couldn’t think about how the gun was pointed at me. Meant for me. That bullet was mine. The blood should’ve been mine. Jason should’ve been the witness to the crime. Not the victim. 

“The gun. He pointed the gun at me. The shooter had the gun on me. I didn’t have time to hear what he was saying before Jason—. He jumped in front of me and I heard a bang. Jason turned toward me, and he had his hands—. One hand on his stomach. The blood just sort of—. It gushed out through his fingers,” I swallowed hard and shut my eyes. “He reached for me, and his fingers got caught in my buttons. They popped off and hit the ground on his way down. I caught him like—. I caught him like this.” I pantomimed a hugging motion. “His body was limp and he slipped through as he crumpled to the ground.” Then, my mind drifted. I knew what she wanted to hear, but I told her what happened and how I saw it, how I felt it. “I didn’t let his head hit the ground. I let him lay over my lap as I pressed my hand over his. He said, ‘It’s okay. It’s okay,’ but he couldn’t say it clearly. Blood came out of his mouth. He spit up blood. Threw it up. Choked on it. Someone called the police, and he looked at me with wild eyes. They danced. Back and forth, looking past me at the stars in the sky. And he touched my neck. I think he missed my face. He touched my neck, his thumb grazing my throat as he—.” 

Jason stood behind her, crossing his arms. “That’s not what she wants to know. She needs a description, Bruce. Let her do her job. Let her find him, so you won’t,” Jason replied. 

“Why were you in the alley?” Detective O’Halloran asked. 

“It was his birthday. He wanted to open up a clinic for single mothers. I thought it was a great idea, so we went to scope out the abandoned building near the theater… And he wanted to come down Crime Alley where we met—. Why? Do you think it was my fault?” I asked. “It probably was my fault.” I ran a hand through my hair. 

“Mr. Wayne, it wasn’t your fault. We’re just sifting through the details. Did your assailant say anything or take anything from either of you?” Detective O’Halloran questioned. 

“No. He didn’t—. He didn’t take anything. And I told you I didn’t hear anything. I saw the gun, and I saw Jason jump between us. The gun went off before Jason jumped in front of us. I remember that because I tensed up. My shoulders were up before Jason could step in front of me,” I answered. 

“Old habits die hard. Can’t say I’m sorry for doing it—.” 

I shook my head. “It isn’t how you remember—?”

“It is. I just—. I’m distracted,” I whispered. Jason told me he jumped over Sheila to shield her from the blast. He was too small to cover her completely. She died anyway. I knew he felt guilty about it. He couldn’t protect her in those last few moments. So, he must’ve believed he atoned for that failure by saving me. I didn’t want to be saved. I wanted Jason to live a full life. He lived half a life, and he died holding my hand. His cold little hand going limp in mine will haunt me forever.

[all-pacas]

i think you're deeply in denial about being a chase/cam shipper or you gotta change your definition of shipping or something. because whatever you're doing here absolutely 100% looks like shipping them. to the untrained eye

in reality i have this very multi long paragraph disclaimer that's too convoluted to even explain but here ya go:

they are my two favorite characters

i like seeing them interact because of this fact

i find their deeply complimentary set of flaws fascinating. i love seeing cameron in a Relationship because she's such a fucking unreliable narrator about herself. i like seeing chase in a relationship because the very concept of "putting someone besides yourself first" is so antithetical to him and the opposite of what he has learned his whole life. i want to put them in a room together. i want cameron to talk at glowing length about her soulmate dead husband and how she watched him die and i want chase to talk about watching his mother die and how much he hates and resents her. i don't know where that conversation would go but i Want It. it's like how i want chase and 13 to talk about murder and redemption together. it is a platonic smashing together of fake people, not about making them kiss

i think they were badly written in the sense that like. there's no writing. they're just together. now they're not. now chase has feelings. do we see them? no. now cameron has feelings. do we see them? no. now they date for three years. as someone who likes writing and narrative this drives me insane because it's so lazy.

i think i could do it better, not in a "because i want to write uwu fixit fanfic where they kiss" way but in a "this sort of writing drives me insane" way. like. huddy was badly written too but it very much existed. cameron and chase are just "oh btw chase fell for her at some point for some reason during fwb." why???? we can handwave but there is NOTHING IN CANON. cameron likes him too! why??? WHO KNOWS

however i also find it annoying when people go "solution: they never dated, we pretend it never happened" because that's ALSO lazy and retcons several years of canon including cameron's exit from the show. including the actual character development chase gets, which i actually do like. i think i'm a rare person who almost prefers late series chase. i like short haired chase. and i don't like the idea of erasing all that canon development just because "uwu i don't like it" (or, more petty, because "uwu i think cameron should have kissed x -- usually house -- so i hate this canon relationship that like it or not did exist")

this ties in to my actual fairly complicated feelings about cameron and how a lot of fandom tends to Girlboss her up in obvious and admirable contrast to her years of reddit-ish character bashing. where i admire the Spirit but deeply dislike this Girlboss characterization.

basically i am a deeply contrary person by nature

so whenever i see this ship i go IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, and OUT OF SPITE I WILL DEFEND IT, which is a whole perpetual motion machine of feelings

i honestly could not care less about them kissing. except for the specific episodes where they allude to having a sex life and foreman all but flees the room. i actually care quite a lot about that, i think it's super funny. so in that context (in front of foreman, to troll him) i want them to make out.

i've gone and read old ffn stories from when the show was airing that featured them as a couple. like from true fans and believers of the ship. i disagree with almost all of it and think usually cameron and usually chase are ooc in these stories. but in different ways. this also triggers my spite

so sure. yes. i ship it. probably,

[chloesimaginationthings]

The FNAF Mikes talk about their extended family..

[shakingparadigm]

what is the theory that ivan manipulated the event where till and mizi met the wagyein?

It's not a theory, actually! It's confirmed that Ivan orchestrated the whole event. The true reason as to why however is still unknown. The information provides more context to this scene, though:

During the earlier times of ALNST the most rational explanation for this scene was that Till ran after a flower crown (presumably Mizi's) and Ivan followed him in out of curiosity. Now we know that Ivan was conveniently just standing there because he was waiting.

Side note, I find it heartbreaking (and maybe a little funny, sorry) that Till most likely didn't notice Ivan in this scene. That's just like him, isn't it. Always too busy running after Mizi while Ivan trails behind, an ever-present shadow.

I'm not sure how Ivan manipulated the circumstances for both of them to end up there, but it is confirmed that everything was intentional. What strikes me most is how they describe this particular scene:

I can't copy down what they said word-for-word (Patreon info), but they described Ivan watching "creepily" as Till and Mizi are faced with danger. We know that Ivan was familiar with the Cerberus wagyein beforehand, enough to touch its teeth and even to rest himself inside its maw. To Ivan, the wagyein is not dangerous, but to Till and Mizi, it could be. Ivan prepared the wagyein, led them there, and watched "creepily" from afar as Till fell on his knees, seemingly injured.

The closest I can get to making sense of Ivan's "scheme" is that he wanted to see how other children would react in a dangerous situation. Ivan's always been an observer, after all, and he's learned to survive by copying the more "normal" behaviors of his peers. This situation occured when Ivan was still young and had not yet developed his more charming mask, so perhaps he staged this encounter to study a situational response, to learn and mimic the emotion of fear. And what better subjects for the experiment than two of the most expressive and reactive humans of their batch? It helps that he was already fixated on Till beforehand, too. I think Ivan became irreversibly obssessed after this incident, especially since it's framed as a turning point in Ivan's life, comparing Till to the stars.

This is just my attempt at an interpretation, though. It could very well be for another reason. He most likely chose Till and Mizi specifically for personal reasons, not just for reaction. I'm still not sure on the purpose behind the whole thing.

The team wanted to capture Ivan's "dark emotions" through the shot of his stalking, which could relate to his more sinister intentions. His gaze can be read in a few different ways, though. Curiosity, interest, fear, etc. Maybe that's why they decided to redraw the shot in ROUND 6.

I think this better sells the feeling they were trying to convey.

[ganondoodle]

rough beast ganondorf design + sketches + notes design combines the typical boar form (dark beast + cloud form from botw), the oni one (demon king gan) hint at the draconic one to come but keep part of his humanity with his clothing being mostly intact

as the battle with Demon King Ganondorf comes to an end, the sages previously knocked out start to wake up again, he is cornered and hurt and as fear of being imprisoned, tortured and exploited overwhelms him he transforms into the Beast form, breaking the arena you were fighting him in and him going for Zelda as she is the biggest threat (he remembers her destroying dark beast gan and she reminds him of sonia, who is the one you sealed his human body back in the day)

you and zelda flee through the cracks of the earth as more earthquakes happen with a beast at your heels thats now truly only out to kill as fast as possible as he burrows after you (first sketch)

the path takes you both just below the surface and as you are trapped in a dead end zelda shields herself and link with her light shield ability, which protects you both from immediate damage but cant soften the impact from gan charging at you, the impact of which breaks you all three to the surface and the battle takes place in the same spot as botws dark beast fight-

fight is very challenging as gan is smaller than the dark best version, jumping and charging at you while still able to cast spells, now truly throwing everything he can at you in the hopes of ending you both

fight ends with you shooting an arrow at zelda, her deflecting it at the right angle and it shooting off the enigma stone on gans forehead; he falls seemingly defeated and as zelda runs to take the stone away gan through sheer panic lunges for the stone triggering his dragon transformation and making way for the final fight

(summary of the end: in the final fight gan snatches up both link and zelda once he transformed into the black dragon and takes flight toward the sky, zelda falls from between his teeth and knowing that she cant get to link and help him in any way from the ground she, while falling, takes out the enigma stone she has kept in a save container in her backpack all this time and swallows it for her own transformation, in her white dragon form she takes active action and charges at gans head so link is freed, then supports him in the fight itself; at the end link plunges into dragon-gans mouth to reach the stone on the inside where he makes use of the 'medicine' previously made using the moonbloom taked from kogas secret lab, link and the stone are spit out and as gan reverses into a human and falls link is caught by zelda and he uses the second charge of it on her to bring her back as well; as all three fall from the skies as the sages have made their way through the tunnel that beast gan made earlier, they help link and zelda getting to the ground safely while the yiga do the same for gan - final end end isnt determined yet but this is waht i got so far and even if i have written this once before i felt it was fitting to do it again and no you cant tell me this is too much of a wishfulfillment thing bc it literally is just that as i cant actualyl change whats in the game, so even if im trying to make it all fit well together i can still do what i want nhakjdbgshdbhsjka)

(totk rewritten project)

[cookiesandcantarella-art]

Wanted to draw Paige with fancy mourning clothes for her widow persona. That's her dad's jacket btw

Click for better quality! Anyways pls if you have not listened to @thesiltverses literally what are you doing go fix that now

[ID: digital painting of Paige Duplass from the Silt Verses walking against an abstract background. Paige is a thin white woman with dark brown hair and eyes. She wears a long black dress with a brown leather jacket over it. Her hair is covered by a black cowl which she holds in place. She looks towards the viewer sullenly.

She walks through a trail of blood, bare feet covered in it. White crocus flowers sprout up from the ground around her path. End ID]

[littlelightfish]

This half-foot. Dandan.

Looks preety similar to this lady here (I'll put them together so you see):

Half-lidded eyes, black hair&eyes, small eyebrows, curly hair... Dandan's skin is lighter probably because of low sun exposure (dungeon), and he has tons of freckles because he preety.

This two are clearly relatives if not siblings.

Flertom is a mirror image of the lady up there. She got Chil's eyes. She even has almost the same haircut (a bit longer). She's clearly the mother. We've solved Chilchuck's wife mystery.

But this wasn't what I was going to say.

This implies that Wife and Dandan both knew Chilchuck since their childhood. Because there's no way that Chil was just friend of the sister. They're both close to the same age, and I'll say Dandan is a Younger sibiling (she gives big sis vibes, and he gives young bro vibes). So either she introduced him to her brother or he introduced him to his sister and they became best friends as kids.

Could you imagine how their relationship was after Chil's Wife left him?

He knows he has to say something, but he doesn't want to end his relationships. At the end he takes his sister's side. He distances a bit from Chilchuck, calling him an "aquitance" rather than a friend. It isn't that he hates him, is just that it's complicated. And they both know it. They're in good terms tho, they just aren't best friends anymore and they don't talk about it. Their worry is the guild, not their personal stuff.

That's why Dandan introduces Chilchuck to Laios. If they were in bad terms, he would've suggested any other half-foot. They both priorize the guild and general safety of their own race. That's why Dandan suggests Chil instead of a less experienced hafling. He cares about the union and respects Chil's time and experience in dungeons. They're on good terms, at least good enough. Summing up, I get the feeling Dandan doesn't particularly likes Chil after what happened with his sister, but he respects him at least.