#polycule/love triangle from hell

[loop-lover-central]

At least one(1) person asked for it. SO-

We'll start with some stuff from the isat spoiler Q&A

Let's get started!

-There is only one canonical straight shot timeline that technically erases the prologue from existence. When looping back the previous timeline is completely overwritten, like saving over your save file in a game! It's all gone! Despite this, when you start a new game you're making an entirely new Siffrin to torment. So at least you're not making the same Siffrin go through hell again and again! *sweeps Loop under rug* Don't look at that. Don't worry about them. They're fine.

-While wish craft and other craft types are described to have a smell, time craft does not! I mean, what would time craft even smell like anyway? Clocks???

-Mirabelle's time freeze immunity will wear off eventually!

-Loop could actually be still comfortable with He/They. While the time loops did put them through it, the They/Them was mostly for anonymity. But there WAS some sort of identity shift. So you can and should have fun with Loop pronouns. Do it! Do it!!!

-Despite the island being forgotten, it's still physically there the entire game and before that! So it being lost is purely anti-memetic fuckery. It is just censored out by the universe.

-Loop and Siffrin sitting quietly together was originally a bug where ID5 accidentally softlocked Siffrin and trapped him at the tree. They thought it was a sweet moment of respite and implemented it.

Let's Switch it up! Reddit AMA

-There was originally a love triangle between proto Mira, Isa, and Sif before Mirabelle was made aroace. It probably would have ended in an OT3/polycule situation. So QPR MiraIsaSif truthers out there, enjoy this one.

-The idea of Loop being Siffrin came about during saap's developement. Originally the guide for isat was going to be one of ID5's ocs.

-Change God knows everything about meta because they are a God. Loop only gets a smidgen of meta knowledge, however.

-Loop's ability to see what Siffrin is up to works the same way their calls work! The farther Siffrin is, the harder it is. So Loop calls stop working past snack break 3, and Loop can barely see past the King.

-Isabeau wouldn't play video games. He touches grass.

-Siffrin was subconsciously inspired by Snufkin, from The Moomins. So we wouldn't have Siffrin as he is if everyone wasn't rabid over Moomins a few years back.

-Sadnesses ARE are a constant in the world of isat. They only become more common and poweful during times of great duress, like war or Insane False Monarchs with timey wimey powers

-The doppleganger wish in the selfcest book happened "a long time ago" and is only a child's tale now.

-Odile's name is her given name. Kinda. (No elaboration on what the fuck THAT means.)

-Siffrin only got memory issues after leaving home. They were not a forgetful child.

-At one point before they had names, Isabeau was just called "dude".

-While only called scrawny in game, Adrienne calls Siffrin "deathly thin". Metabolism monarch out here. (Probably all the casual wish craft.)

-The reason the party stops reacting to Sif's poking is just because it's tragic and makes things worse for him. That's it. The universe just hates him.

-Everyone but Odile would like rollercoasters.

-Just... this. This is so funny. Also Loop being the final boss while Siffrin is the secret final boss... Also Loop confirmed deity looking!!!

-"comic!siffrin is a whole different siffrin than game!siffrins sadly. rip to them. still stuck in time" WAY TO FUCK ME UP ON A MONDAY? Comicfrin is still stuck in time.

-The characters have official voice claims but not a single one is serious except for the King's. Mira sounds like Animal crossing isabelle(isa.belle. hm.). Bonnie sound like a inkling from splatoon (ID5 specifically used the female inkling as example). Odile sounds old. Isabeau quantum mechanically sounds flamboyantly gay or like All Might from MHA. Loop sounds like stock glitter sound fx. No Siffrin voice claim. Siffrin has video game protagonist voices which means they sound like whatever you want.

-Loop's glow is comparable to a lamp. Not enough to hurt the eyes.

Siffrin and Friends Q&A time!!(Beware these are SEMI-CANON)

-Siffrin isn't really a trap master. They're just fast enough to activate and dodge the traps.

-Odile doesn't like fennel.

-Fave flowers! Bonnie=Sunflowers, Odile=Orchids, Mira=Lavender, Isa=Roses, Siffrin=None, dubiously answered with dandelions however.

-Sif is a night owl, Bon and Mira are early birds, and Odile and Isa are average.

-Siffrin and Odile have probably eaten crabs and would tempt Bonnie with their sinful ways of consuming crustaceans.

-Odile has been traveling for about 2 years.

-Odile knows how to play a shamisen. It's one of her favorite instruments as well.

-When prompted with competition Loop and Siffrin stare each other down like "kids about to throw hands".

-Loop would like to eat a pastry if they could. GIVE THEM YOUR BAKED GOODS NOW!

-Kill the King day is a Tuesday.

And finally random trivia I found while sniffing through the wiki!

-Salty broths actual cure 6 cooldown, instead of 2 like the dialogue implies.

-Chateau means castle. The cursing of castle castle...

-The Change God face with six eyes and a cat-like mouth is inspired by ID5's oc Eye Gal

-The only time tears can freeze Siffrin with no warning is in saap. By using the second Star Crest to clear one of the rows of Tears, you can just walk into the second row and freeze.

-The dev's older notes mention specific shades being used for hair dyes but they're never mentioned in-game because of the an unadded event.

-In ACT 2, there's a small chance Siffrin says "Heheh… Bonk." when activating the switch for the rock trap

-Saap Bonnie thinks nuts are gross according to some unused dialogue, but enjoys raisins.

-During early development in saap tears were originally intended to be spike traps. A left over sprite of Siffrin being impaled does exist, including minor blood spurt. This was probably changed because it was a little too gruesome, ID5 definitely tried to reel in the darker concepts and has stated they went too dark sometimes.

-Loop turning back into Siffrin was considered long enough for them to get an entire animated walking sprite.

[bimbroad]

long-winded ramble about melvik and the arcane fandom

I really do believe the boom in the melvik ship has nothing to do with the show (obviously since they barely interacted) and more with black fans and fans of mel ( a black female character that they, by proxy, would have to be exposed to misogynoir when trying to engage with her content) separating themselves from the anti-black fandom into more niche places where outsiders are less likely to scrutinize. especially when you consider that the ship really started gaining more traction months after the show’s end (as opposed to right after or during, which is usually the case) and I think that correlates to the online harassment of mel (and meljay) fans ramping up. if someone is looking for non-art fan content of a character, most of it is revolved around shipping since solo, non-romantic fan fiction is unpopular and un-incentivized.

anybody who’s been a fan of mel since s1 (or has scrolled more than 3 times in her tags on social media) knows that meljay, despite being one of the few actually canon ships on the show, was disparaged, minimized and scrutinized basically since its inception, with most of the onus being on Mel. as her most popular ship arguably until now, that meant if you were somebody that enjoyed mel (or meljay) you were basically getting flashbanged by vitriol to the point a lot of her content was a) people trashing her character or ship b) people fighting back against that undue backlash and coming in dead last c) actual content for the ship in question. This got significantly worse after the arcane writers took 3 percs each during the s2 writing period and validated fanon malice against her character within the show, further emboldening them. if you were a fan of mel or her most popular ship (and once again, canon relationship), you were signing up to be bombarded by bad takes (im being generous) every time you wanted to engage.

sometimes what happens in huge fandoms amongst marginalized fans, I’ve seen people exhausted of dealing with the vitriol branch off into an unlikely, unpopular ship and make that the new “safe space” and I definitely think that’s what happened here.

with that being said, there’s something very funny (/positive) about melvik now compared to its earliest iterations. a lot of early fan-content had a mean-spirited slant to their interactions that you can tell was adopted from the larger, jayvik fanon that they despised each other. there were also a fair amount of consolation prize polycule fan fiction that felt like the writers weren’t confident in mel and viktor’s relationship on its own and the only thing that glued the love triangle together was wanting to appease jayce which is…lol. now it has its own fanon (e.i. pre-canon bitter exes) and better recognizes the merit of these characters outside of a polyamorous relationship. I’ve also noticed that there seems to be an uptick in fan content (art and fan fiction) that centers mel, or just outright de-centers jayce even if there is polyamorous relationship which wasn’t as common before. i wonder how much that has to do with mel fans using the ship as an escape from the hatred in her other tags.

i think now, despite the parallels the writers either unintentionally created or failed to capitalize on, one of the biggest appeals to the ship (and fandom) is that it just embraces absurdism as a crack-ship that could’ve actually had some merit in the show if arcane wasn’t written like that™️. meljay is always diminished and those two character’s love for each other gets debated every day ending in y, but with melvik there’s no real need to prove itself. it’s a “why the hell not” ship and now that the arcane fandom at large is starting to catch onto the fact it exists, it’s very funny seeing people argue about how a relationship like that could never happen in canon, as if fandom has ever upheld the original content as something non-transformative and above individual interpretation LMAO….

anyway. all of this to say that im a #nooticer and i #nootice things

[mistynatruther]

challengers is NOT a love triangle !!!!! challengers is a fucked up polycule from hell !! release them from the grips of weirdos pls! stop leaving tashi out. start embracing the fact that they’re toxic and all in love with each other. thank you!

[prideprejudce]

Also kind of related to the last alicent ask-- how objectively funny is it that the targaryens pulled alicent kicking and screaming into their weird blood purity incest tangle. For them, having uncle fathers and brother husbands and just generally blurring all the lines between family and romantic interest is sooooo normal. Yes its done massive damage to their psyches as we've seen with daemon in particular- but its passé to them at this point. For Alicent its breaking her BRAIN.

Like, Alicent who's deeply religious in a very westerosi faith and has classic nuclear family adjacent issues in contrast- overbearingly strict father, dead pedestalized mother to emulate, estranged sibling- is just SHOVED into the targaryen familial polycule and told to figure it out.

She keeps trying to bind herself to westerosi gender roles for comfort and safety, but bc of the targs she's now married an father/uncle figure, the girl who was supposed to be her sister growing up is now her daughter AND shes in love with her, her children are basically her siblings, and ALSO she's two of their mother in law(s?). Throw in the desperate parentification of aemond bc its not like viserys is helping her raise these kids-and its fucking her up!!! how is she supposed to have any sense of self when every role she would define herself by in a patriarchal westerosi culture has been fractured into twisted branches!!

It spiders into her other rationships too!! Her father otto has been treating her like both a daughter AND a pseudo wife, criston her lover keeps trying to assert himself over her choices in a very fatherly condescending way, and her brother gwayne is out in oldtown fathering her third son.

I sent an ask a while ago about how the tragedy of the alicent/rhaenyra/aegon triangle is that its an allegory for how targs just cant acclimate to westeros at all and end up breaking their dynasty AND the country by trying to force their culture to fit anyways, and i think you were so right in ur response that its not just rhaenyra/aegon/alicent who are the allegory but its ALL the targs in relation to alicent thats the allegory- they just cannot work with Alicent/westeros while she/its trapped in the current westerosi culture.

its hilarious bc it really is like having ONE catholic nun in an insane echo chamber hedonism cult and then being like 'why are you going insane bc of the incest and sex we're so over it it hasn't effected us whatsoever maybe if you try the kool aid you'll chill out' while she's desperately pretending none of this is happening and she's Not Involved.

this is a great point, and if you also go back to her as a child saying "you targaryens do have very queer customs" with noticeable disgust on face, and flash forward a decade later where she's marrying two of her children together in typical targaryen incest practices. I wish they had explored this more in the show and looked into how she feels about this currently, but I can't imagine she feels too great about it, and it's probably the reason why she went ULTRA religious with a five pound star medallion almost hanging from her neck. she wants at least some repentance for playing along in targaryen incest rituals, which goes against everything she was raised to believe

and like you mentioned, if you look close enough, almost EVERY relationship that alicent has is majorly twisted by either targaryen customs or her own stunted growth from being a child bride. she's now a grown woman who still has the mind of a 15 year old and is trying to navigate a civil war that she helped ignite in her rage and jealousy over her own private hell for last decade. she also swings from a protective parent role to having an almost eldest sibling like relationship with her kids who desperately crave more motherly affection from her that she is just not able to give (because she cant completely seal off her deep down resentment of them)

and to top it off, the purest relationship in her life (rhaenyra) with genuine love was also twisted into a familial one through an arranged marriage. if you also headcanon her possible romantic feelings for rhaenyra, you can times three that trauma on your score card as well

alicent literally was forced into the targaryen world of the snake eating its own tail (reduced to a bargaining chip for otto) with decades of inbreeding and family infighting for power and control and was told to play nice with them. no wonder she's out in the woods wandering around and dissociating lmao

[v1nnyh3r3]

Ferryman, Gabriel and V1 love triangle that ends in a polycule

Where V1 fell in love with Ferryman because they're the only one apart from terminals to take them in and show kindness.

Ferryman is in love with Gabriel for saving them so long ago and giving them hope (like in cannon without the love part maybe)

And Gabriel falling in love with V1 for getting his shit rocked by them. Plus discovering he's got a masochism kink.

V1 decides to take a break from their decent trough Hell, and visit their beloved Ferryman who they don't remember what exactly happened with after they fought the Leviathan in Wrath.

Then find the Ferryman in one of the messed up houses praying to an altar to Gabriel, the ship is gone, since the incident with the Leviathan. And then approach the Ferryman with the same kindness that they were given.

They find some way how to communicate, sign language, writing, or whatever else, and strike a deal that V1 will guard and help the Ferryman while the ship is rebuilt, and they will in turn get a permanent residence in the new ship. (V1 didn't want to have a permanent spot, the Ferryman was just insistent)

Gabriel visits because he's been looking for the machine everywhere because they haven't been going down Hell like usual and wanted to ask Ferryman about them. And just finds V1 in Wrath helping the Ferryman rebuild their boat and retrieve anything from the bottom of the ocean.

By literally putting a hook and cord on V1, while the Ferryman stays at the top and fishes them out every time there's three light tugs at the cord. With Ferryman almost dropping the fishing rod once they saw Gabriel and the angel helping them fish out V1 who clung to the Ferryman with a somehow still intact artifact or statue, or book, but freeze as they see Gabriel.

They would have shot Gabriel square in the face if it wasn't for the Ferryman stopping them.

So basically, Ferryman is the only thing keeping V1 and Gabriel breaking out from another fight.

And all 3 decide to just rebuild the Ferryman's boat and remain civil.

Shenanigans undoubtedly ensure. Where they all learn they love things about eachother.

V1 loves how the Ferryman would let them climb over them and would teach them sculpting. Skeletal hands over metal ones ensuring the right amount of force was put on whatever little statue they were making as a bonding experience. And also loves seeing Gabriel just itch and seethe for a fight or to swing his swords again.

The Ferryman dare I say it, likes the attention and company the two provide while they fix their ship. And they're almost thankful that they lost the entire library full of hand written fanfics by themselves of them and Gabriel. That's one thing they're thankful for.

Gabriel loves how humble the Ferryman is about it all. "It was just a boat, nothing too serious." Taking time off from the ship building to make something for the two while V1 feeds off of Gabriel, since the Ferryman can't provide all much blood. And V1 as well for being so much more caring and careful with the Ferryman specifically. A close person to him. He's not jealous surprisingly, he's actually glad that they're treating the Ferryman so caringly.

I'll probably add to this post whenever I have the brain worms to work out more headcannons.

[fallenrocket]

Some Random Galinda/Elphaba/Fiyero Thoughts

Note: This is mostly based on the musical, looking at the movie in particular--while I love the book, Fiyero is so different between the two versions that he needs to be viewed as two separate characters. Also, my shipping thoughts go hand in hand with my neurodivergent headcanons. For the purposes of this post, we have Elphaba (autistic,) Galinda (high-masking autistic/ADHD,) and Fiyero (ADHD.)

For as long as there have been love triangles and shipper wars, there have been fans who've pointed out the obvious solution of "So-and-So has two hands!" I've certainly seen the appeal of various OT3 ships in the past, but after watching Wicked: Part 1, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a love triangle as much in need of an OT3 resolution as Galinda/Elphaba/Fiyero.

Any way you look at it, it's clear that Elphaba is the apex of this triangle/polycule, so let's start there. The Elphaba/Galinda and Elphaba/Fiyero ships are both rock solid. Both have certain similarities, the popular hottie paired with the gorgeous outcast whose beauty can only be seen by them. But the road to how they get there in each case is a little different, so we'll take them one at a time.

Elphaba/Galinda

We have to talk about them first, obviously. That's why we're all here, right? The relationship so iconic, you can build a whole marketing campaign purely off the colors green and pink. These two have a classic love/hate setup, the old I Hate My Roommate, Oh No I Love Them! routine. But with both characters, it goes so deep. Being seen as a good person is crucial to Galinda's sense of self, and from the moment she meets Elphaba, who sees through her self-aggrandizing vow to use her not-yet-developed sorcery skills to "help" her, that sense of self is challenged. The image Galinda presents to the world is so carefully controlled and precise--her popularity is thanks in part to the fact that she's constantly performing "personhood" for those around her. But Elphaba immediately sees through her performance, calling her out in front of everybody.

That, I think, is at the heart of their early conflicts. It's not just that Galinda is pretty and popular and Elphaba is green and weird. It's that Elphaba has no issue pointing out that Galinda isn't what she pretends to be, and that rattles her. At the same time, it probably burns her up that Elphaba refuses to give in to what other people think about her, at least giving the impression that she doesn't care about their opinions. That isn't true, of course, as Galinda rightly recognizes at the Ozdust Ballroom.

When Galinda steps forward to dance with Elphaba, it's a revolutionary moment for her character. It's an unspoken acknowledgment that she had been cruel in giving Elphaba the hat, willingly admitting that she's not as "good" as she likes to think she is. But at the same time, this dance is the first truly kind thing Galinda does in the story. Like Elphaba, she hasn't stopped caring what people think about her, but for the first time, doing something right means more to her than just giving the appearance of it. So she stands with Elphaba among the stares and whispers, following her lead and doing her dance regardless of how it looks.

"Popular" is more than just a recompense, a genuine way to try and help Elphaba after tricking her earlier with the hat. Even as Galinda tries to make Elphaba more like her--ultimately giving up when she realizes how lovely Elphaba already is as herself--this is Galinda at her most unmasked, which actually makes her a little more like Elphaba. She is extra as hell throughout this whole song, delightfully goofy and hyper and excited. It's in stark contrast with Elphaba, who doesn't know what to think here, but this is who Galinda is when she's not performing for everyone around her. Elphaba is always 100% herself and never lets anyone take that away from her, and in "Popular," Galinda lets Elphaba see her.

When the break happens between them in "Defying Gravity," it has nothing to do with how they feel about each other. Their angry/frustrated accusations of "I hope you're happy" give way to their sad/wistful farewells of "I hope you're happy." Their essential breakdown is about, not who they are but how they are. Elphaba doesn't know how to go along to get along, even for the sake of playing a long game, so she immediately blows everything up with the Wizard and Madame Morrible because she knows how wrong this all is. She shows her hand without a second thought and is instantly prepared to throw everything else away for her ideals. Galinda, meanwhile, has spent her life being who other people expect her to be, and she doesn't really know how to give all that up--including her dreams of becoming a sorcerer and her chance for real power and influence--to take what feels like a shortsighted stand. Elphaba has no plan beyond "I won't do this" and "We have to get out," and as much as Galinda loves her, she's not ready or able to take that leap. They're both caught on diverging paths, reaching out for each other even as they're being pulled apart. Gaaaaah!!!

Elphaba/Fiyero

Even though Elphaba/Fiyero plays with similar archetypes and some similar themes as Elphaba/Galinda, their interactions and relationship are different, which is valuable. This isn't just a case where the canon M/F ship gets to "go there" while copying the F/F ship Because Compulsive Heterosexuality. I will say, the movie in particular gives me lots of Fiyero feels that I don't necessarily have with the stage show, so my thoughts on both Elphaba/Fiyero and Galinda/Fiyero rely heavily on Jonathan Bailey's interpretation of the character. In this version of the story, Fiyero does feel important to me, not just a shoehorned-in love interest for the sake of it.

Like Galinda, Fiyero is a character who masks/performs a lot. A key difference between them, I think, is that Fiyero has much more self-awareness about his. He knows what he's doing when he plays the role of the shallow party prince, essentially "giving the people what they want." But as hard as Galinda works to maintain the image she projects, I'm not sure if she entirely realizes that it isn't the real her. Both characters are trapped behind the masks they've made, but Fiyero definitely knows it, and I'm not sure if Galinda does.

At any rate, that's what we're working with when Fiyero meets Elphaba. In this instance, he clocks her before she clocks him--Fiyero easily defies her expectations when she rattles through her standard "no, I'm not seasick" list, and he immediately treats her like a person, something that not many people in her life do.

Elphaba quite can't see that at first, though. I don't know if she initially buys the performance Fiyero sells everyone else, but she's pointedly unimpressed by it. While everybody else is tripping over themselves falling for his charms in "Dancing Through Life," Elphaba huffs and rolls her eyes, even when Fiyero specifically meets her gaze in the middle of the number and gives her a little "hey, I know you!" wave.

So even though we get a bit of a love/hate trajectory again, it's not mutual this time. Fiyero is intrigued by Elphaba from the start, though not particularly because of her greenness--rather, he finds it interesting that she's immune to his charm. He likes that she speaks her mind and causes "commotion," and post-"Popular," he tells her she doesn't need to change herself. The unspoken implication? He likes who she already is. Elphaba is the one who holds back here.

It's not clear exactly where and how the change happens for her. Obviously, the rescue of the Lion cub marks the moment where Elphaba realizes her feelings for Fiyero, voiced in "I'm Not that Girl." But her opinion--and understanding--of him had already shifted. As he points out, some part of her chooses not to knock him out with the poppy spell, recognizing him as a potential ally to help the Lion. And it's in that scene where she acknowledges that he just pretends to be shallow and self-absorbed, adding that he's unhappy within that performance. So she's already made those observations about him. But when did it happen? For me, that's the part I'm not seeing on the screen, and it's an interesting question to wonder what causes Elphaba to reevaluate Fiyero in the first place.

With both Galinda and Fiyero, I think it's important to note that loving Elphaba doesn't change who they fundamentally are. This isn't character growth via The Love of a Good Woman. Both of them already are the people Elphaba comes to know and love, but the parts of them that she values are the parts that they tend to hide. Loving Elphaba makes them want to let themselves be seen, at least by her. By the end of the movie, Fiyero's feelings about how he wants to show himself are already changing, while Galinda is torn, breaking her own heart as she's dragged back into other people's expectations.

Galinda/Fiyero

Mileage on this one varies, I know. Plenty of fans will argue that this "triangle" really only has two sides, that it's Elphaba/Galinda and Elphaba/Fiyero. That Galinda/Fiyero is purely fake performative comphet. If that's your interpretation, that's cool.

For me, though, I do think there are real feelings there, on both sides. Galinda lamenting, "I don't even think he's perfect anymore, and I still want him!" feels major for her character, and I see Fiyero's care in how gently he responds when Galinda is knocked out by the poppies. And it's just more interesting to me if they both care about each other. I'm not saying their feelings for each other are the same as what they feel for Elphaba, or as intense. But in a hypothetical OT3 resolution for this story, I think their relationship would add up to more than just passing each other coming and going from Elphaba's bedroom.

I find Galinda/Fiyero very interesting because, even though they're the only "official" couple within the triangle by the end of the movie, there's far more potential in what their relationship could be than what it actually is at this point. In an OT3 scenario, I feel like their dynamic requires the most speculation or imagination. It's very clear what Elphaba/Galinda or Elphaba/Fiyero would be like romantically. But what would Galinda/Fiyero be to each other?

The way I see it, their canon relationship is hampered by two chief points: masking and outside expectations of monogamy.

Because both of them are performing most of the time, that extends to their relationship. Fiyero and Galinda start dating because each is very much The Sort of Person I'm Supposed to Date. When they flirt with each other, it feels like you're watching a play, two master performers "yes and-ing" their way through a relationship that's far more about the image they want to present than what they themselves really want.

Again, they're both drawn to Elphaba in part because she sees them for who they are and makes them want to be who they are. Fiyero's mask makes him actively unhappy, and at minimum, Galinda's puts her under a lot of pressure to maintain it and forces her into heartwrenching choices. So as they date one another--largely because other people expect it of them, because they're "perfect together"--their relationship is tied up in this thing that brings them misery and stress.

Furthermore, they're not really dating one another, they're dating one another's masks. We know that the real Galinda and the real Fiyero are both great--Elphaba wouldn't like them if they weren't! But in in their relationship, they don't really get to see the parts of each other that Elphaba loves.

That brings me to their other main hindrance. If Galinda and Fiyero are artificially forced into monogamy, then of course it's not gonna happen for them. They're just not it. Neither of them would choose the other over Elphaba, and if only one of them can be with her, than one person's happily-ever-after is the other one's loss.

In that way, I think a real Galinda/Fiyero relationship could only be possible inside an OT3. If both of them were free to date Elphaba, free to love and be loved by her, that could give them space to love each other, in whatever form that would take. Maybe it'd be romantic, maybe not (Lesbian!Galinda truthers, I see you!)--maybe they'd both have a romantic/sexual relationship with Elphaba and be platonic partners for each other. I'm not sure. But I do think they genuinely care about each other, and I think they'd be able to figure out what that looks like for them if they were both comfortable and secure in their relationship with Elphaba. If they didn't 1) feel forced to compete for her or 2) feel that, not being with her, they were one another's "consolation prize." And since I also think being with Elphaba would help them both feel more comfortable in dropping their masks and being their authentic selves, they'd have a much better opportunities to actually get to know one another.

[starrycloak]

Last night I saw a lighthearted post (sorry, I was doomscrolling and half-asleep so I missed it before I could think about it again. if you see this and you're the OP, please let me know!) that wondered how wild the reaction to the hypothetical scenario of willelmike becoming endgame as a poly relationship (unicorn polycule or angle??) would be like from both m11s and bylers, and that sent me back to think about people's reactions towards these ships (and fanon throuple) throughout the years. While I cannot 100% attest to this, (mostly bc I don't have the figures at hand, only anecdotal information from back when I ignored how twisted a-oh-3 is as an organization), it's quite telling how, from the very beginning, most fans kind of realized a polycule-to-solve-the-love-triangle for once wasn't really in the cards for these three characters in canon.

let's take a look at some of the st fandom's shipping preferences across the years ->

s1: "look at these sweet kids, surving the horrors and just being innocent. I hope mike and el reunite and one day they can date for realsies" <- that was the GA and most of the first wave of fans back in 2016. Not denying that some of the earliest fans did feel a bit concerned about the aforementioned traumatized kids (especially the little girl raised 'alone' in a lab) jumping into crushes and kisses in less than a week, but hey, it was the first season, why not wait and see where this is going? So yeah, that was the 'm11 majority era', as far as fan content and viewer investment is concerned.

@ that person from twitter who posted about miwi/byler fifteen days after s1 was released + earliest wheelclairs and miwis: all the love in the world <33

the post-s2 fandom landscape, however, largely transformed with the direction the text took with yk, pretty much everything related to how the writers handled m11 and placed much more focus on miwi going through hell together and how deeply their bond ran, recontextualizing the weight of the events and reactions during s1 even more. Externally, I'd argue a few adjacent 2017 pop culture moments, particularly the release of Muschietti's IT Chapter One, with finn playing a queer-coded boy from the 80s in a supernatural/horror setting, also played a part into the fandom looking at (or pondering about) one mike wheeler in a new light. A ST x IT crossover from back then that didn't feature the reddie + miwi combo was, for the most part, a rarity, especially when it came to that one staple moment (/aff) where the 'tozier-wheeler cousins' roasted each other about who was more whipped for their respective brunette besties. So yeah, while miwi couldn't have ever been considered a crackship (not even in the s1 era, also considering will's own 'ambiguous' -at the time- queercoding being an elephant in the room), its new popularity made it so it was less and less common to see an exclusive m11 majority in the fandom.

thus, from 2017 on, many multishippers (big fans and casuals alike) entertained the possibility that at least there could be something there hanging between mike and will, still unbeknownst to both of them. However, that lightheartedness probably came more from trying not to expect anything more than that in the show down the road, given that m11 seemed to have smooth sailing after the s2 finale and, possibly, the average viewer probably giving them the benefit of the doubt one more time (i.e "well, we haven't really seen el and mike interact in peacetime in a while, but we know they love care about each other surely -hopefully they'll be a cute power couple!")

a 2018 intermission is very interesting, considering it's the year that saw the most poly!willelmike works in a*0*3 (around a hundred in total in the tag by the time of posting) -majority with a "mike loves them both and they work it out ft. stoncy mentors" (and even some ocassional polyam-bi!will in a unicorn polycule -i.e. where all three of them date each other), but most of these take place in non-canon compliant aus. This period is also worth mentioning because, after the release of s3 in 2019 canonized -okay, "heavily implied"- gay!will and how m11's canon relationship is indeed meant to be written like that for a bigger narrative purpose (el's independence and autonomy and mike's journey towards honesty and embracing his own rules about growing up), a similar level of engagagement (and hype for that particular dynamic) hasn't been reached again in six years.

flashforward to 2022 and pretty much where we still are today: m11 as a failed (romantic) relationship being detrimental to both parties involved -one arm of the angle down-, will's feelings for mike and his gay identity (almost) confirmed (so his sexuality would be incompatible with el as a femme character anyway even if she weren't pretty much his adoptive sis now), and, besides him clearly not being in love with El in s4 -or ever? shall we also mark this arm of the angle as down now??-, mike's true feelings still up in the air (as far as official confirmation goes, that is -schodinger!mike being a well-written character or not depending on whether or not he's grappling with being true to himself and the one he loves.) The big waves of former-m11s-turned-bylers post s4, the level of vitriol and defensiveness hardcore m11 stans have adopted to protect their ship against 'slander' and 'delusion' in the last few years (and some particularly homophobic folks popping in from time to time), and the attitude of some casual fans towards byler, claiming it would be 'forced' if it turns out to be the endgame ship, all across this period are also noteworthy. So, taking all of this into consideration, imagining a last-minute ménage à trois being presented the final, rewarding, comforting resolution to this story so nobody ends the show "alone and sad, though"? That's gotta be, yep, impossible to sell narratively, in-universe AND for the audiences in a way that even makes sense.

So yeah, highly unlikely outcome: pretty much everyone would be getting clowned on that way, and not only because of their shipping preferences.

On a much more lighthearted note, I actually love how this little attempt at historical recollection reinforces how mike really has long and largely been percieved as the one who cannot stop seeking will and feelings a certain way about him, and yet he's "the straightest character in any media ever" lmao

[save-me-im-feeling]

"nightmare love triangle/polycule from hell" old, drab, boring. I'm gonna make it a rhombus

[rotting-ink]

prompt, if you're up to it: you've answered abt how the RO's react when they're jealous of an unknown third party, but what if they get jealous... of eachother? can be the poly pairings before they become poly, at that awkward phase when it's almost a love triangle instead! and ofc L and E

this made me wiggle and kick my feet :> sorry for taking so long, this took AGES for me to write out.

So, as mentioned before, you can select to enter a polycule at any of the times you are prompted, for example. either when first meeting quincy after getitng a relationship with V, or when in a relationship with Quincy and meeting up with V, or having romanced neither and selecting to enter one at the same time. This will also be the same for the love triangles.

V De Winters and Quincy Beaumont:

It's... Not great at all.

In a relationship with V first: Just before Quincy enters the poly group with you two, it's... Not looking good. Hell, you MEET Quincy through V, after a date to the theater. V does give you a heads up that they and Quincy had a fling before they made it huge in Kaer Llundain. But Quincy hadn't been made aware, evidentially, that V was seeing someone new. Quincy, at first, does hang over V, but after extended time with Quincy, they start doing the same to you. They fawn over you like a little pet, happily smothering both of you in attention.

V does get antsy. Very overly focused on you. You can tell that they would want to get back to a warm relationship with Quincy, but they hold you so much more dear that they've instead become cold. They know how good it feels to be the object of their ex lover's adoration and are worried about it. Spends more time with you, shirking duties, and seems in need of confirmation that you wouldn't leave them for Quincy.

Quincy Beaumont, on the other hand, went from having a tinge of jealousy from seeing V with someone new, the one person who had their back and helped pay for their first trip into the Capital. They knew they parted with agreements that they'd now just be friends, but they always held a small candle for V, hoping that they would be able to take them from South Hollow and with them on tour. So seeing you? Jealousy. Spite. But it ebbs away upon spending more time with you. They go from seeing why V had made you into their pet, into actually liking you so much, even if you are cold to them. It becomes quite unbearable, wanting two people so much, but seeing them together without them. They WANT to be cold and spiteful, and they are, when seeing you two together, but individually, is soft and loving.

In a relationship with Quincy first: Now, this is a bit more interesting. Maybe you didn't see much appeal in V first, preferring them as a friend, or maybe not wanting to take the plunge with a married person, even if you do learn about V's history. But Quincy draws your attention, even in their dressing room, still being incredibly warm to V. You notice their attention, their yearning drift away from V, as they learn more about you. Private invites to their flat, their dressing room, maybe even rehearsal. Becomes openly adoring of you, and while they're still very soft with V, it's obvious you have taken their attention wholeheartedly. So much so they don't notice V's jealousy at first.

V, however, does slowly start giving you both the cold shoulder, spending more time at home and not out and about as they used to be. You don't understand why V has started to bail on your hang outs, but then again, Quincy is there to take the thing, even as they're sad that V has reneged on their promise to catch up. V, despite their cool facade, struggles with seeing two people they hold very dear not return the similar feelings and be with each other. This patch would lead more likely to some sort of bad argument or blow up between V and you and Quincy, when the trust comes out.

Same time with V and Quincy: You.. Aren't sure what happened. You had become aware of your feelings for them around the same time, maybe seeing a new side of V with an old lover, or seeing easily what drew them to Quincy to begin with. But it's messy. They themselves are getting reacquainted at the same time that they're dealing with developing feelings for the Witch, and it may be the most awkward stand off within group hangs outs for a hot moment.

Starling Knight and Z Chambers:

It's mostly sad.

In a relationship with Starling first: Z doesn't want to be having these feelings about their friends. They hate that instead of being happy for two of their favourite people, they're feeling left out. Left out. They're dead. There's nothing for them to miss out on, their life has ended, why are they thinking this. Lots of sad quiet moments for themselves, soft sad down turned eyes looking at you two, and maybe some time apart from you and Starling.

In a relationship with Z first: Starling feels odd about it. They could just be secretly enjoying time with their friends, hiding that enjoyment behind a frown, but then would feel a pang in their stomach whenever Z took time to sneak you a kiss. But, they're mature. They can bear it. It does become awkward because Z is very aware of feelings and can be downright scary about picking up on the feelings of other's. Z is constantly worried about the fact you've decided to be in a relationship with a reaper and when they realize that Starling has feelings for you, their judgment clouds their happiness again. However, they do not understand that Starling is also into them, so it ends up very emotionally messy and sad. Until a sit down is had and Z realises they have two hands and you have two hands and Starling has two hands.

Same time as Starling and Z: It's actually quite heart warming at first. You and your two other friends, loving each other's company, and growing closer in your odd hours, whenever you three are free at the same time. Yes, there is worries on both sides, Z in their undead state and Starling, feeling too old for both of you and the Witch always being in trouble anyway.

A Lancaster and D Woolf:

Ah, nothing like a Witch Killer falling for a Witch and an accomplice of theirs.

A and D maintain a more friend based relationship through their route, but...

In a relationship with A first: D, at first, is overwhelmingly happy that their friend has found love, with someone that they do genuinely like so much. They're ecstatic! It's just.. Now most of your time is spent with A, at least what you can get away with when A is apart of the hunters. They're just... Lonely. They're used to it, or at least they should be, after all these years. But now they're pining for more time with the two of you. Hates feeling like a third wheel. Becomes isolated and more obsessive with their work. A would notice quite early on

In a relationship with D first: A doesn't really think much of it at first? Just a bit surprised D actually got someone for themselves. May still be wary of you, depends on your relationship. Might try to warn D from you but after a while starts to enjoy your company. To an alarming extent. Feels angry mostly. D has finally found someone for themselves, and he wants to ruin it? Feels worse if he feels more tender towards D.

Same time as A and D: They're friends, they talk to each other. D would be more likely to share their new feelings and A would be taken aback. Would later tell D that they share those feelings. Hey, communication. They'd try not to be awkward with each other, but when you're around, then they're both awkward and might snip at each other.

That took ages so quickly, Love Triangles:

E and L Rawlins' relationship slowly deteriorates over all of the books, so entering the love triangle has them downright at each other's throats, with E as the aggressor and L being defensive and cold.

Saleos and Seir can just about stand each other, being two demons wanting to be near the same human, so when it gets romantic, they become so much worse. Saleos shows off how much you allow them near you while Seir wants to repeatedly claim ownership over you.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Here's MY thoughts on the love island the game's seasons, for no reason other than I want to:

Also because the majority of the people following me are here for OM! & I want to drag more people down into the litg hell with me :)

Season 1: why is everyone so bitchy for no reason????? Talia & Jake are okay but other than that it's meh... don't really like the art style either

Season 2: Immaculate. Chef's kiss. They hit a high they never reached again. Somehow managed to balance the drama & the found family aspect and created a dynamic where you can actually believe everyone is friends and having fun even if sometimes they try to kill each other. Characters are flawed but generally decent people who are allowed to grow throughout the season. You get the option to make MC a bi gym-bro who can devour an entire cake in one sitting and bench press her partner. There's a reason this got two sequels.

Season 3: It's fine ig. Short and kind of boring. Nothing much happens. AJ is so cute though she almost makes up for it.

Season 4: Honestly a close 2nd favourite. We get a lot of character backstory and like s2 it touches on some serious issues. The season with some of the funniest moments/lines of dialogue - multiple moments where I just laughed out loud. I'm still only half way through it but the "villain" is just straight up mean for no reason and doesn't get any character development like the characters in S2 but makes up for it by having some of the funniest interactions with other characters and I was so sad to see her go. Also the season where I desperately wish MC was allowed to be in an open relationship till the very end and finish off the season in a polycule with every other islander who was in the love "triangle"s of the the season because this was the hardest season to pick a LI - Najuma is just all around amazing, Bruno is sweet & funny, Tom is so pathetic* MC & Thabi's friendship is also the best thing? It's great seeing a platonic relationship that is as loving (if not more so) than the romantic relationships. It's literally:

Season 5: Psychological horror. The producers said 'hey wouldn't it be funny if we torture this woman on national tv' and then committed to the bit. My memories are hazy because even though I only played it earlier this year it upset me so much I did my best to block most of it out but also I'm 100% sure there was actual galighting happening. Don't know why MC stuck around till the end because all she's gonna be able to use the money for is to pay for her therapy. Anyway I think MC should have been allowed to brutally murder everyone, she deserved it <3

Season 6: I liked the concept but I think they should have utilised it more. I'm still right at the very beginning (around ep 9) and I KNOW the general consensus from everyone who has reached the last eps seems to be that Amelia sucks MAJOR ass. But look, this is the first time a game has given me a MC with a canon family member who is also part of the game so in my opinion Amelia could commit war crimes and she's still be the most precious little uwu ever because I'm activating MC's insanely overprotective oblivious to all faults ""big"" sister mode

Edit:

*I just played more of S4 and holy shit someone needs to get this man away from his parents and also maybe get him some therapy jfc

Edit 2:

** youcef, mc & valentina helping tom figure out he likes flowers and pink and tie-dye clothes and makeup and being complimented and called pretty and getting hugs is getting to me okay his parents better watch the show and see their adult son finally discovering himself and what he likes instead of what they think he should like and finally being able to let loose and have fun without worrying about what others think of him and finally being happy and they better get some sense knocked into them OR he should go to therapy and realise that no matter how much he loves his parents their love and regard being so conditional to the point that he's hidden his entire personality and is now so extremely self-conscious of it whenever it does manage to peak out, that he nearly cries on national tv after a practical stranger compliments those hidden bits is not good. Also the man has some of the most insane repressed queer vibes???? What do you mean he sees a canon nonbinary person wearing a floppy hat and is reminded of the floppy hat he loved as a child that his father threw away and replaced with a baseball cap and then when he "lost" the baseball cap his father bought him the exact same one again

Edit 3:

*** i was 100% sure i was going to get mc to stick with najuma (dorky mischevious goth who is so so bad at flirting hello!!!?) but i got caught by "sad & shy with serious self-worth issues hidden badly behind an overconfident exterior (who blushes & gets flustered easily because he so rarely receives genuine praise/compliments) experiences postive regard for the first time and loses his shit" for the third fucking time

Edit 4:

Okay but why does Dylan get (rightfully) called out by everyone in S4 for all the bullshit he does to MC from blatantly lying to her to not listening when she says "No" But in S5 when Suresh (admittedly, more subtly) pulls off the same shit no one says anything, even MC's "friends" don't believe her.

In S2 when Luke/Henrik gets a little too forceful after MC says no, he gets called out by MC's partner and immediately apologises

In S4 when Dylan does the whole "stop pretending you don't want me" routine after MC rejects him multiple times, the rest of the islanders band together and basically chase him off the island

In S5 when Suresh pulls literally the same thing from the very first episode itself but none of the other islanders believe MC, and Suresh keeps getting to do this until almost the very end while also managing to constantly play hot & cold with MC and chase away all of MCs other romantic interests

[shinycozytwistedglam]

Onyx Storm RECAP ch5-ch8

Who are Avalynn, Baylor, & Lynx? First-year riders with no signets. Were they even mentioned in IF? I have no idea. They are either in a love triangle or a dysfunctional polycule depending on which day of the week it is.

Who is Halden? Is this your first time here? He's first in line to the throne of Navarre, Aaric's older brother, twin brother of the prince Xaden killed during his Threshing.

What the hell is with Violet & Tecarus? Violet wants access to Tecarus's library of books about venin, so she can try to find information to save Xaden. She's promised Tecarus that she'll get the wards at Basgiath fixed to make it safe for the fliers, in return for access to his books.

Violet's about to do some shady shit in the name of the greater good. We should probably get used to this.

WTF is happening in ch5-ch6? 

Iron Squad is waiting as negotiations continue, wondering if they'll be court martialed for defecting to Aretia. Violet is muttering about the venin with silver hair.

A challenge breaks out in the courtyard. Aura Beinhaven wants to challenge a first year flier. This whole thing is a clusterfuck between Navarre riders, Aretia riders, and griffin fliers. Dain tries to de-escalate by citing the Codex. Violet sees the whole scenario as a danger to the alliance negotiations. It becomes a stand-off between Aura & Dain until Violet steps up and threatens Aura with lightning. (Welcome to Violet's character development Into A Leader.) Oh look, all the Aretia professors are back and watching this little show play out.

First mention of lightning signet + shadow signet at the same time being Important. Oh hey, Halden is fucking up negotiations. They're gonna send him along on Violet's mission.

Mira argued something to the Senarium but they shot her down citing "the safety of Navarre's borders." The Navarre + Poromiel negotiations fall apart. Violet is planning something sneaky (treason). But the Aretia riot is staying in Basgiath, because they made Xaden Duke of Tyrrendor. Also Xaden wants Violet to kill him if he gets too dangerous.

WTF is happening in ch7-ch8? 

Ridoc is calling the mission to find Andarna's kind "quest squad" and he wants to go along.

Iron Squad has grabbed Maren and they're doing sneaky shit at night. Xaden's not part of this mission. With help from Mira & Brennan, they use Sawyer's metallurgy signet to alter the runes on the wardstone so that the fliers can wield inside the wards. Bold! Luckily it works. Vi has grief feelings seeing the wardstone again.

The next morning the agreement is signed to allow the Aretia riders back to Navarre and confirm Xaden as Duke of Tyrrendor (and member of the Senarium). Tecarus knows that the fliers can wield at Basgiath thanks to Cat, so negotiations are back on with Poromiel.

Colonol Aetos busts into Battle Brief and he's ready to fry Violet for treason due to what she did to the wards. Violet left her patch at the scene deliberately so she'd be blamed. Violet confronts the Senarium, takes full credit for fixing the wards and getting Poromiel back to the negotiating table, flirts with Xaden thru the mental bond.

Oh shit, that agreement signed this morning pardons all the Aretia riders for their crimes, and the crime happened last night. Violet got away with it! And Queen Maraya (Poromiel) seems very happy about it. She's gonna give Violet books from her library too.

Colonel Aetos is big mad. (Srsly I've forgotten why this guy hates Violet so much and I'm too bored to go back and figure it out.) Oh, and Aetos is the new commanding General of Basgiath. He got Lilith's job so...that's gonna suck. He sends Iron Squad to Samara just to fuck with them, because the book needs another bad guy closer to home.

[andromedaexists]

Infinity Alchemist || Kacen Callender

★★★★★

TW: ABUSE (FAMILIAL, ON PAGE), DEATH (MURDER), GUILT, GRIEF, MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS (FADE TO BLACK), VIOLENCE

I always feel like I don't know where to start with these. 9 times outta 10 I'm writing reviews right off the end of the book and this one... I have tears in my eyes. This is a 6 star book for me. Firmly. My heart hurts

I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review. Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for the ARC.

Infinity Alchemist releases in just a few weeks on Feb. 6th I believe, and I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Once again calling back to any book that makes me physically feel something get an automatic five star, but this book did more than that. This book wrapped my heart in tendrils of alchemical magic and refuses to let go.

Let's start with the characters: Ash, Ramsay, Callum, and Marlowe. Ash is our POV character and in a trans POC man. He is an asshole who has a rough life, growing up in the slums with a mother who passed away not too long ago. He wants to prove himself worthy of his absent father, and will stop at nothing to do so.

Ramsay is a prodigy, the genderfluid child of known and executed terrorists hell-bent on atoning for their sins. She uses he/she pronouns, though leans more towards she/her throughout the book. She is also such an uptight prick... until she's not. I genuinely love how prickly and rude she is and how much that shows to me as an autistic mask. I just love her so much.

Callum is a black man and the youngest son of the Kendrick house, more or less the police state in book. He is kind and caring despite the heavy hand of his father and all he wants to do is heal. He wants to heal and help others, like the good man he is.

These three, oh these three. They hold my heart.

Marlowe is my obligatory redhead (listen I have to point them out when they are given to me!). She is an orphan of House Lune and becomes so integral to the story in ways I never thought possible.

Without given away too many spoilers, I want to tell yous: there is so much diversity in this cast. So much! It's beautiful!! And, AND, we get not one, but two (2) separate Rivals-to-Lovers ARCs that don't end in a love triangle, but a polycule! We also get best friends to lovers to bitter exes to lovers once again!!

As far as the worldbuilding goes, I have to say that Kacen is a master at weaving these mystical and fantastical realms together in a way that not only make sense, but feel real. I felt like I was in the higher realms with the characters, like I knew exactly what each house was and why they were there.

I have aphantasia, which means that I cannot imagine what anything ever looks like. And yet, the beautiful world descriptions put me there. They called back to things that I do know and do have experience with and built off of it. I very genuinely could see myself in the world, and that is saying a lot.

I don't think I can talk too much more about this book without bringing myself to tears again, so let's pivot to some of my favorite quotes to make y'all understand the gravity of this book:

The world became a white blur. The snow turned red. It fell to the ground, drops spreading like blots of ink. The blood dripped from Amelia's cheeks. Her smile faded as the screams began.

That's what privileged assholes like you always say.

[redacted] paused, but only for a moment. He opened the [redacted]. There was an explosion of light.

It was too late. [redacted] was already there.

It wasn't death he'd feared, he realized, but the change—the transformation that forced him to release.

This light held the vibration of energy that the physical body would translate as love.

They all created the same infinite light. They were eternal.

It was an interesting place to be caught, stuck between grief and gladness that they were gone.

Okay, I think that's all I can put without spoilers.

One thing I forgot to mention: this book is genuinely funny. Maybe it's because of the autistic mask I mentioned earlier, but the interactions between Ramsay and Ash at any given point past like 20% of the book are genuinely funny. I love Ramsay's sense of humor.

Anyways, that's all for this book! I am going to curl up in a ball and cry while I purchase a physical copy to annotate and put on my recommendations shelf. This is a story that I will be thinking about years down the line, I just know it. Ash is a part of my soul now, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

[starlattethesqueakwal]

I really wanted nothing more than to take Sir Pentious and Husk and claim them as my own OCs, but IPs and shit. Yayyy. As of now, I am content with writing a rewritten story. The current name was Left Behind (Husk/OC) but since the Leaks I decided to reboot it as Left To Rot it's the similar thing as the OG where, Adam abandoned his wife at Hell because she had a heart (like Vaggie) and didn't kill sinners like he asked. And as punishment left her in Hell.

So basically I am experimenting with Polycule. Husk/OC/Sir Pentious. Since the OC currently is endgame with Husk, Sir Pentious had her as his Guardian Angel (ties in during the remake backstory I set for him.) when he is unfairly sent to Hell he's immediately recognizing her voice like.

"My Angel! My Angel!" and Husk is giving him the side eye -_-

I feel like it's better, and if Viv ever tried a Love Triangle she'll fuck it up. Part of me wants Stolas x Vassago x Blitz, but for Vass to take Stolas' crusty ass away from Blitzo. But judging by Stolas potentially parking his ass as the "sexy sectary" I'm just not pleased.

Best part is, Stolas isn't canonically together with the rewrite of Helluva. Stolas is instead on the same level as Stella, they tolerate each other for the sake of Octavia, other than that. They pretend to love each other. Because forced marriage and shit.

Oh cool! Rewrites are fun! :)

[trashsketch]

thanks for tagging me @sunlightslastglimmer for my top ten books list!!! it's taken me two months sorry HAHA cause I didn't read as much as I would've liked until my vacation started, but I have recommendations and i love introducing them and will never shut up about the things i love :>

The Nameless City trilogy by Faith Erin Hicks (rereading it recently with the other two volumes I snagged at TCAF was amazing!)

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (watching the movie first scared me cause I don't do well with horror, but the horror aspect of this is one that lingers and isn't just all jump scares. It's the existentialism of it all that captivates me much more, happy to say that the book gives more of that)

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (SO GOOD, I CANT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH. Changed my life, made me cry, made me even more gay than before. i want to draw fanart SO BAD)

Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang (it's a compilation of many short stories from Chiang in the early 2000s, and it's hard for me to name favourites cause they are all very strong and they all have wonderful ways of linking different sciences to philosophy concepts)

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (it took me many years to finally finish this book but it's a good journey, Doerr's writing is prose-like and I enjoy the melody of it)

the Captive Prince trilogy by C S Pacat (so gay. truly unparalleled problematic enemies to lovers. I would say to go into this with the mindset that you're going to be upset, but from what little I've seen of game of thrones this book series has content matter that's p much is about the same level of brutal-ness as GOT at times)

the Witch Hat Atelier series by Shirahama Kanome (Shirahama's art style is my ideal, and everything about this series captures the feelings of aspiring artists so well, and successfully weaves it all into a wonderful tale that is just as attention grabbing even on my second reread)

Queer Ducks by Elliot Scrafer (changed my life, made me gayer :) please read it for good gay science)

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (changed my life too, made me love triangle polycules forever. I love that Xiran wrote this book out of spite and wrote the best girl to support women's wrongs)

The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (the Flavia de Luce series has been a longtime favourite of mine, I should really keep up with the newer books that have been coming out, but here's my pitch: if you love young girl detectives who are stubborn as hell and live for danger, this is the book for you. The protag loves poisons and I love that she has an unhinged interest towards mortality and biochemical murder methods)

[liptonrm]

Eleven hours till season two! I'm determined to finish this rewatch. Just two more eps to go!

Now, it's time to journey the Ways through episode seven.

Here comes Shaiel with the steel spear!

For real this sequence is so hardcore. Rand, your mom's a boss.

Tigraine stabbed in the side to mirror Rand's infamous stab? More likely than you'd think.

The tension between Moiraine and Nynaeve is interesting. Moiraine treats Egwene like a well-loved student she's mentoring but Nynaeve she treats like a younger sister. She's harder on Nynaeve because she expects more from her, but she also relies on her. The hierarchy in the group is very much Moiriane-Lan, then Nynaeve, then the rest.

Loial is, of course, respected, but he's treated like a coworker who's the subject matter expert you need on the project, not yet a part of the team.

It's unclear whether the show intends for us to think that Mat chose to stay behind or if Moiraine left him behind because of his "inherent darkness." Love some ambiguity that leaves room for different potential storylines.

Disagree that Mat has an inherent darkness. Dude is just trying to survive and he'll do what he has to do. But he's also loyal as hell and a good guy underneath everything. Don't be a dick just because he's had to make choices you never did.

Lan understands what Nynaeve is worried about without her needing to say a word. Love that for them.

Nynaeve hearing Machin Shin, hearing all of her greatest fears whispered and screamed into her ears, and all it does is make her pissed enough to channel. I love her so much.

Nynaeve can't protect the people she loves? Fuck you, Machin Shin, she'll show you.

Fucking Padan Fain. My one hope for his character is that his story ends less ignominiously than it did in the books.

Moiraine's out here just throwing Mat to the wolves. Guess we'll see who well that goes in just a couple hours.

Aaaah Moiraine. She really is the queen of not-so-vaguely threatening people with a smile on her face.

I really appreciate the changes they made with Min's introduction. In Eye of the World she just blabbers about everything she sees to Moiraine (and Rand), no ethical quandaries whatsoever. Here, at least, she puts up a token protest, at the very least.

Yeeeah, the Perrin-Egwene-Rand love triangle thing is still pretty weird. But it's not as out of left field as I thought it was. There was some subtext in earlier episodes. But I still don't like it.

Not that I hate the idea of an Emonds Field polycule, this scene is just super awkward.

Lol Nynaeve following Lan. She's so obsessed with him.

And then he invites her in to meet the family. I love them so much.

I also love how awkward Nynaeve is with the guy she likes. She knows how to be the Wisdom but she doesn't always know how to be Nynaeve. But she knows what she wants.

So glad the show is, like, 100% less of a prude than the books.

The Dragon Reborn reveal is handled really, really well.

Dead faces in the trees!

Only one more ep to go! See you all at the Eye of the World.