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acourtofmishapandmistakes · 15 days

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A Court of Ice and Shadows: Chapter 3

OC Character x Azriel

Summary: Set after "A Court of Silver Flames" (ACOSF), this story follows original character Lene, an elite warrior of the Hesker Clan from the Winter Court. Tasked with diplomatic duty in the Night Court, Lene's mission is to help retrain the Valkyries and help squash potential uprising in the Illyrian camps. As she navigates centuries-old animosities and discovers herself beyond the icy confines of her homeland, Lene must confront her past and decide who she wants to become.

Click here for other parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Characters: Featuring original characters alongside core characters from the ACOTAR series.

Disclaimers: All characters and settings pertaining to the core ACOTAR series belong to Sarah J. Maas, with additional material created for the purpose of this fanfiction

Content Warnings: None.

Note: Some words used in this story are of Norwegian or Scandinavian origin. I do not speak either language, but adapted the researched words to fit the narrative. For notes regarding any of these words, see the end of the chapter.

Chapter 3

The ancient forests enveloping Hellingdom Manor teemed with towering pine trees, their branches perennially adorned with a thick mantle of snow, save for the fleeting thaw of summer. Lene knew every whisper of the wind through these trees, every hidden path beneath the snow. During the stark, dark days of late winter, when the sun seldom pierced the cloud cover, she would delve deep into the woods. Here, amidst the silent sentinels of nature, snow owls soared silently and snow foxes darted, their playful kits trailing behind, weaving through the dense underbrush. These woods, steeped in centuries of secrets, held a sacred place in the hearts of the fae females of Hellingdom, echoing with the whispers of their foremothers.

Hellingdom itself was originally founded as a bastion for the Hekser clan, a venerable lineage of female warriors dedicated to serving the High Lord of the Winter Court. These warriors, led by Lene’s forebears for millennia, not only fought bravely but were also immortalized in grand tapestries that depicted their fierce battles and noble sacrifices.

Long before the seven courts were established and the land was scourged by the Daglan terror, the fae of this region sought sanctuary in the craggy mountains. There, they honed ancient abilities to manipulate snow and ice—mystic skills now lost to the ages. The clans prospered, sustaining themselves through trade and a unified front, traditionally under male leadership.

The saga of the Hekser began with Freydis and Lova, two mated fae females who boldly defied their clans' leaders by refusing to sever their bond. In an era when such a union was scorned as witchcraft, Freydis and Lova remained steadfast. They secretly met at the base of Vindvokterfjell Mountain during the winter solstice—a time when darkness reigned for two solid weeks. There, hidden from prying eyes, they affirmed their commitment and lived in seclusion near the mountain for nearly fifty years.

Their quiet existence was forever changed when they stumbled upon Silje, a newborn girl, frail and abandoned in the woods. They named her and raised her as their own, and as the years passed, other children—lost or left—found their way to Freydis and Lova's door. The couple's family swelled to include over fourteen fae children, each one cherished and nurtured.

Decades later, a fae woman, ousted by her husband under accusations of witchcraft, sought sanctuary with them. She had heard of the "Vindvokterkind"—children rumored to have been left at the mountain as offerings, only to thrive under the guardianship of the mountain. These children, observed by nearby villagers as they frolicked through the forest, were testament to the sanctuary's legend. After recovering under Freydis and Lova's care, the woman returned to her clan, spreading the tale of the compassionate duo who defied societal norms to create a haven of love and safety.

As time marched on and Freydis and Lova aged, they passed their legacy to their daughters, who continued the tradition of compassion and resistance. When High King Fionn rose to unite the fae against the Daglan, he enlisted the aid of Freydis and Lova's descendants. Trained by his side, they rose as formidable warriors, particularly the women, who later named themselves the Hekser Clan, or "The Witches."

After triumphing over the Daglan, the Heksers gained fame as trainers of warriors and staunch allies of the Winter Court's High Lord, fiercely defending the honor of female fae. Although the original cabin succumbed to flames during Fionn’s downfall, taking Freydis and Lova with it, their daughters resurrected it as Hellingdom Manor, a beacon of refuge for all seeking solace.

Lene, a descendant of one of these resilient daughters, was now charged with perpetuating this legacy of sanctuary and empowerment. Although the Hekser and the Valkyries of the Night Court had fought side by side, a fateful decision during a war six hundred years prior had confined the Hekser to their court, leading to the Valkyries' tragic fall. Lene’s mother often shared these stories, her voice heavy with regret, wishing she could have joined their sisters in that fateful battle.

Lene cherished the rides through the dense, snow-laden forests with her mother, Solveig, who would share the storied legacy of the Hekser clans. Solveig's voice carried a deep pride as she recounted their ancestry, instilling in Lene a profound respect for their heritage. Together, they would explore the carvings left by the children of Freydis and Lova in the mountain walls—vivid depictions that chronicled the epic tales of their foremothers.

In her younger days, Solveig and Brynjar had roamed the deep ravines and towering peaks, uncovering secrets long before Lene's time. Now, with Brynjar aged at an impressive 800 years, his days of swift galloping were behind him. Normally, Lene might coax him into a brisker pace, but today, with hours to spare before her meeting with High Lord Kallias, she allowed Brynjar to set a leisurely pace. The soft crunch of his hooves breaking through the pristine snow created a rhythmic serenade, punctuated only by the occasional yips from Lumi, who was eagerly exploring every nook she came across.

It would take just an hour's ride to reach Lysdal, the vibrant city where Kallias’ castle stood imposingly against the mountainside. The city that High Lady Viviane had worked so hard to protect when Amarantha had risen to power. This hour of tranquility in the woods was a double-edged sword for Lene; it provided a peaceful respite yet also too much time to dwell on the uncertain reasons behind Kallias’ summons. With each step Brynjar took, Lene’s mind raced through myriad possibilities, none of which did anything to ease the growing knot of anxiety about the impending, mysterious discussion with Kallias.

Lene had often ventured into Lysdal alongside her kin and companions. The city served as the nearest hub, a pulsing heart of commerce where they sourced the necessities that the manor couldn't provide through its sporadic specialized deliveries. For the grand occasion of a seventieth birthday—a milestone marked with particular revelry among their kind—the women of the clan would descend upon the city. They would indulge in nights of unbridled celebration, their laughter spilling into the streets as they danced and drank under the stars. As dawn approached, packs of giggling, inebriated fae females would weave their way back through the forest, their steps light and unburdened by fear. For they were not merely merrymakers; they were warriors, sharp and unmatched, and the woods held no terror for them.

Lene's own seventieth had seen her twirling on the cobbled streets of Lysdal, her laughter mingling with that of audacious fae males, who were quite taken by her vivacious spirit. In a moment of boldness, she had playfully suggested they continue their festivities back at the manor. However, her plans were swiftly curtailed by a friend's prudent intervention, who steered her away with a knowing smile. Lene was well-acquainted with the company of men, versed in the secluded nooks of the forest that offered refuge from the watchful eyes of the world.

Yet, the whispers of past liaisons, hidden behind fallen pines or within the sequestered embrace of snow-shrouded caves, were far from Lene's mind as Brynjar crested the final hill. Below them, Lysdal stirred into the crisp morning, nestled in the formidable shadow of mighty Skogtind Mountain. The city itself seemed to dwell in a perpetual twilight, cast by the mountain's vast presence, imbuing every stone and street with a sense of eternal dusk.

The quaint cottages dotting the city’s outskirts were home to esteemed reindeer breeders and hardy farmers whose lives rhythmically pulsed with the land. The heart of Lysdal, however, was a marvel of architecture—buildings masterfully sculpted from the ancient ice and stone of Skogtind. These structures mirrored the intricate frost patterns that adorned every available surface, weaving a tapestry of frozen lace that caught the light with every turn.

Encircling Lysdal stood the Ice Wall, a colossal structure both awe-inspiring and chilling, erected centuries ago and imbued with ancient wards. Carved deep into its icy facade were the sagas of the Winter Court, each story a frozen testament to its rich history. More than just a barrier, the wall was a spectacle in itself; however, its true power lay in the palpable cold it radiated. This frigid aura permeated the air, sinking into the bones of any who dared approach, a stark reminder of the city’s fortified, mystic strength.

Brynjar halted at the crest of the hill, and Lene's gaze swept over the landscape before her, finally settling on Kallias’ castle, Iskronen. Carved into the side of Skogtind, it jutted out like a formidable iceberg, its walls of solid ice infused with magic to prevent melting. The structure rose as though it were composed of icicles set upside down, with a central spire that scattered shafts of blue and purple light across the town square whenever sunlight filtered through. Lene had always found the castle’s grandeur slightly ostentatious—why did one family need such an edifice if not as a mere symbol of their stature?

"Pa," Lene called softly to Brynjar, coaxing him forward. He had just taken a step when Lumi burst from beneath him, scampering down the steep, icy hillside with joyful abandon. Her paws flailed against the slick surface, failing to find purchase. Both Lene and Brynjar watched as the hapless fox collided with a pine tree at the hill’s base. Lene shook her head, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, while Brynjar simply snorted and continued down the hill with far more caution than Lumi, who shook off the snow from her unintended stop and bounded ahead through the frost-laden fields.

As they neared the city, Brynjar guided Lene through the farms to the imposing ice wall. Two Winter Guards, recognizing her by the subtle gray fabric and white lining of her parka, embroidered with the Hekser insignia—a frosted yew tree at the base of Vindvokterfjell—nodded and waved her through. Each guard bore a Winter Court broadsword at their hip, quite a sight, had Lene not been able to bring them to their knees with just a simple swipe of a sword or knife.

Upon reaching the city’s gate, Lene commanded, "Buga," and Brynjar obediently knelt to allow her to dismount gracefully. She held the reins loosely in one hand, knowing well that Brynjar would either remain steadfastly beside her or follow faithfully without needing guidance.

With a couple of hours to spare before her meeting with Kallias, Lene decided to explore the bustling open market, where merchants were just beginning to display their wares. As she meandered from stall to stall, Brynjar, an imposing presence, trailed behind her. Fae children craned their necks to gaze up at the giant elk, their fingers pointing excitedly.

Spotting a small fae girl whispering to her mother about how soft Brynjar might feel, Lene lifted her up to his neck. The child’s fingers delved into his thick, wiry coat, and Brynjar turned his head to regard Lene, his expression one of mild resignation. "How the mighty have fallen," Lene mused silently, a wry smile touching her lips as she considered the warrior mount now content to be adored by children.

Lene's fingers trailed delicately over the soft fabrics and blankets displayed by local vendors, appreciating their craftsmanship even though it paled in comparison to the wonders woven within Hellingdom Manor. After her great-grandmother assumed the role of matron, she had decreed that residency at the Manor didn't necessitate a warrior's life. This freedom had cultivated some of the Winter Court's most skilled craftsmen, chefs, and artists. In Hesker, excellence wasn’t just encouraged; it was expected, cultivated in every task undertaken.

Allowing herself a small indulgence, Lene purchased a floral tea blend for her grandmother, touted by the merchant as a direct import from the Spring Court, famed for its sleep-enhancing qualities.

Eventually, Lene made her way toward Iskronen. While Lysdal’s beauty was undeniable, few knew of the intricate ice caverns and frozen tunnels that burrowed deep into Skogtind Mountain, winding beneath the city. She stabled Brynjar at the mountain's base before descending the icy steps into the labyrinthine tunnels. Guided by the ethereal glow of fae lights, she ascended the ice-carved steps and passed through the castle's formidable walls.

Emerging inside Iskronen, Lene was momentarily blinded by the kaleidoscope of light refracting through the ice, casting rainbows that danced across the floors. Despite the chill implied by its icy construction, the castle's halls were surprisingly warm—a marvel of magical engineering designed to counteract the perpetual frost. Shedding her hood, she was approached by two Winter Guards.

"Good morning, I’m here to meet with the High Lord; he summoned me last night," Lene announced, extracting the summoning letter and its glass tube from her parka to hand to the guard.

"High Lord Kallias is currently with other guests; I will inform him of your arrival," one guard declared before turning sharply and striding away. The formality always seemed stark to Lene, no matter how familiar she was with court customs.

Her musings were abruptly interrupted by the sound of giggling. A pale, white-haired boy rounded the corner, his laughter echoing through the hall as he playfully sent a gust of frost in his pursuer's direction. Close behind was a child Lene hadn't expected to see—a young fae with darker skin and midnight black hair, his striking violet eyes almost hidden under his curls. But what struck Lene the most was the small wings protruding from the boys sweater. Illyrian wings.

"Good morning, Bo!" Lene greeted as the white-haired boy, Kallias and Viviane's son and the celebrated young pride of the Winter Court, rushed to her. He embraced her warmly.

"Good morning, Lene," Bo replied, his voice muffled against her neck. Meanwhile, the little Illyrian retreated, only the tips of his wings visible from around the corner.

"Who’s your friend?" Lene asked, setting Bo down.

"That’s Nyx," Bo pointed.

Nyx, Lene realized, recognizing the name as belonging to the heir of the Night Court, son of the famed Feyre and Rhysand. Likely, this was who occupied Kallias' attention.

"Nyx," Bo called out in mild frustration, "We aren't playing hide and seek anymore."

With a dramatic sigh, Bo trudged over, grasping Nyx by the arm and pulling him into view. Nyx shuffled his feet, his curls falling over his face shyly.

"This is Nyx, he’s my friend and he’s also a kid," Bo explained earnestly.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nyx," Lene said, extending her hand with a gentle smile.

Nyx glanced between her hand and her face before hesitantly reaching out. He quickly withdrew his hand after touching her icy fingertips. Lene chuckled, “I’m sorry for the chill, it’s in our blood.”

Nyx’s quiet smile peeked out beneath his unruly curls as he listened silently. Bo, ever the spokesman of the duo, announced, “Mama and papa are with Nyx’s mama and papa.”

“I see,” Lene replied, her gaze lingering on the shy Night Court heir. “Have they been in there a long time or just a little while?”

“They’ve been in there forever,” Bo exaggerated, stretching the word to emphasize their boredom.

Nyx shuffled his feet, his attention fixed on his shoes.

"Nyx doesn’t really like to talk to strangers much, and he doesn’t like talking to grown-ups much either,” Bo confided to Lene, who offered a gentle smile in return.

“Well, that’s alright. I’m a new friend, but I’m certainly not a grown-up,” Lene joked lightly, her youthful spirit belied by her centuries of life—a trait she felt she inherited from a mother who herself refused to age.

Bo’s attention swiftly shifted as he eagerly grasped Lene’s hand. “I have a new sword, and it’s a metal one!”

Lene feigned shock, “That must mean your papa thinks you’re ready to learn how to fight,” she teased.

The conversation was suddenly punctuated by the familiar clip of heels against the hard floor. “No, he does not!” Viviane’s voice rang out before she appeared around the corner. The epitome of poise and grace, Viviane was draped in an emerald velvet dress that matched her jewel-adorned neck, her hair elegantly braided up.

Bo groaned at his mother's intervention. “Bo has strict orders that that sword is for looking at, not playing with,” Viviane clarified, approaching to envelop Lene in a warm hug, the scent of raspberry and frost emanating from her, with a hint of something more potent.

Lene’s eyes widened as she noticed Viviane’s slightly swollen stomach. Viviane, hand resting protectively over it, simply acknowledged, “Oh, that.”

“Yes, that!” Lene exclaimed, gesturing to the obvious pregnancy.

Viviane chuckled, caressing her belly. “Number two, on the way.”

“How long have you known?” Lene asked, pulling Viviane into another hug.

“The healer thinks no more than three months,” Viviane replied, her laughter light.

“Well, congratulations! I must not be paying enough attention to the news up at the manor,” Lene remarked.

Viviane took Lene’s hands gently. “No, we haven’t shared it with the city yet. Given how quickly this came after Bo, the healer cautioned us about potential risks. But so far, the little one seems very content.”

“I’m astounded,” Lene admitted, genuinely surprised. Bo was barely ten, and the prospect of another heir so soon was almost unheard of.

Viviane laughed softly, “You and me both. Believe me, if I had known I’d fall pregnant this quickly after Bo, and knowing how challenging his birth was, I would’ve resumed the tonic.”

Lene smiled, feeling a stark contrast between their lives—Viviane with her growing family and Lene, still under her grandmother's watchful eye.

“You’ll have to excuse my mate,” Viviane said as they approached the heavy oak doors of the meeting room, breaking the brief silence. “He’s never been one for punctuality.”

“It’s no problem. I’m early,” Lene assured her.

With a reassuring smile, Viviane led Lene towards the doors. “Don’t be silly. It’s 10:08, and if I don’t keep him on schedule, who will?” With a gentle push, Viviane opened the doors to reveal Kallias and the figures Lene assumed were Feyre and Rhysand, all turning at their entrance. A flutter of nervousness gripped Lene’s stomach as she stepped into the light.

Notes:

Buga: “Bow” in Swedish

#acotar #acowar #acomaf #acofas #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #a court of wings and ruin #a court of mist and fury #a court of frost and starlight #a court of silver flames #acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #oc #a court of ice and shadows

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diariodeunrincondemi · 2 months

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So I just finished reading the first book of Acotar (A court of thorns and roses) and, to be honest, it was awful, sorry. I know this saga has a lot of fans and I am the first person that have read terrible, bad-written stories (I mean, one of my fav sagas as a teen was Eragon). But this book…Is the worst book I’ve read in years (and the last one was Hush Hush in 2018, but at least I had good laughs reading it).

The thing is (personal opinion): there’s nothing original in this book. The characters don’t have any development nor their relationships and dynamics. The romance doesn’t romance and the spicy doesn’ spicy, like, I mean it is the most anti-romantic and anti-¿erotic? story that I’ve read while it is supposed to have romance and eroticism. I didn’t feel anything except for cringe and boredom.

There were some parts that were, at best, ok, like the first chapters until Feyre is ¿kidnaped? and when she comes back with her family till Amrantha’s riddle. Just that, only 110 pages out of 456 (the spanish edition) were ok.

And the characters…only Rhysand made me feel interest. Tamlin was there just existing and I think that’s sad, because he would be perfect to be a classic hero full of kindness and with a really pure heart (when I say that he was there just existing is that I find him pretty passive and this feeling is probably due to his lack of development). I would have loved that during the time Tamlin and Feyre spent in the Spring Court them as characters and also their relationship had more developement, something similar to Jude and Cardan but with less hate and being more lovely, more romantic, with more (and better) romantic and sexual tension.

And I don’t know if it is just me, but I found this book pretty mysoginistic, heteronormative and classist. Prythian doesn’t offer a different alternative from the real world and being fantasy (and sci-fi) a genre that have always had the power to makes us dream with better options, better futures and alternatives…I don’t know, just look how Ursula K. used to write, the Ekumen and Earthsea were so interesting and different and yet they did have the most classic elements of western sci-fi and fantasy…

I didn’t have any expectation with this book, but since it is so popular I thought that maybe, at least, it could be interesting, and still I was so dissapointed…

PS: it is possible that I still keep reading the saga just because my friends told me that it improves in the second and third book.

PS2: I forgot to talk about the map…the Iberian Peninsula mixed with France? Seriously? An unified Ireland being the oppressors and bad guys and colonialists against Great Britain? Like seriously?

#media analysis #character analysis #reading #readers #fantasy #romance #romantasy #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #feyre acotar #tamlin #rhysand #literature #ursula k. le guin #earthsea

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aconflagrationofmyown · 8 months

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Are any of Sarge and Elaine’s kids as beloved in the nation as Elvis was during his time? Do any of them particularly want to be in the spotlight, now we know Marie is a famous photographer and Daisy is an entertainer. I just think that the nationwide love Elvis brought out should be replicated in one (or more) of his kids because his impact is truly amazing.

2nd question, during the divorce Elaine gets pregnant? What’s the public backlash for that? Can’t even imagine them being kind to her.

Ooooh, how fun is this ask?! 😍Especially as the answer is two in one, just like the question. First off, meet Mr. Danny Presley:

Yes, yes I went and made it a little odd yet sweet by using darling John John Kennedy’s face, BUT HEAR ME OUT

1. I adore that man and he needs a fix it fic himself and in this universe we can start from scratch a bit, 2. I just always envisioned their last son being a distinguished darling of the nation in a political capacity, 3. he’s just terribly handsome and well…distinguished, I’ll use that again and has the down to earth goodness along with the charismatic gravitas that suits my vision for Danny.

Which leads us to those questions.

Oh the backlash is nasty. It’s awful as expected but for the first time in her life, Elaine Presley, though divorced and perhaps unforgivable for it by her husband, actually has Elvis’ full support under the media glare. This is thanks, in part, to Colonel Parker and his damned tabloid machine -which was always her nemesis and the bane of her dignity- being out of service due to the Colonel himself being neck deep in an immigration lawsuit. He can’t quite issue spoon fed statements about his investment’s behavior from a holding cell, not when the investment himself is rethinking his place as the head of his family while curled up in his ex-wife’s hospital bed talking to her barely protruding belly.

And Danny, oh sweet, their lovely Danny Boy. Made in the middle of such tragedy, you’d never know it from his easy presence and boyish charm, the way from the minute he can interact during Elvis’ later international tours he treats his Daddy’s fans like his own. He’s the one in the late 80’s and 90’s still passing out smooches to admirers, young and old, who still flock around the gate. He’s the one who gets invested in Memphian politics and continuing on what America got robbed of somewhere along the way. He marries Shiloh’s best friend Bee and he wins the senatorship, he’s straight and honest as they come… unless you wanna press an inquiry about some of those badges he gets his daddy. But no harm in those.

He coulda been known as the kid made when the two crazy Presley’s couldn’t stop hate-fucking. Instead he’s a recalled as a unifying legacy to everyone who ever dreamed about love enduring and good people making efforts to live for something bigger than themselves.

If it’s true you attract the love you give, then Danny’s his daddy’s replica to a T, and maybe it helps that they share a birthday. 😉

…the whole saga of him being made and the divorce and the reasoning and the reconciliation will be coming soon, I swear

As for the others, you have Daisy who is a significant performer in her own right and certainly a bit of a fame enjoyer, there’s Jesse who is similarly acclaimed but not as lead, and you’ve got Marie who as a photographer and filmmaker might be more of a artsy success but as far and household name and universal admiration and fondness as was felt for Elvis -I see that being Danny. Your Grandpa and your lil sister both think he’s pretty fly.

#sarge asks #danny presley #elvis presley #elvis fanfiction #Danny Asks

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polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup · 5 months

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i want to know in excruciating detail how gojo babytrapped nanami the first time (with tsumiki and megumi) and what the siblings think of him. Like with shoko, shes def their wine aunt, but what about nanami? Another dad? A mom? He-who-they-respect-more-than-gojo? Did their relationship affect nanami's decision to leave jujutsu?? All in all i want to hear your thoughts on nanami.

I have this ENTIRE saga of the Teen Parenting Trio back then that I would give anything to have the time to write. I should have been an heiress. I would just buy little beverages and write my silly little tales all day long.

The Teen Parenting Trio’s backstory with them first trying to take care of Megumi and Tsumiki is very near and dear to my heart because the dynamic they had back then was extremely painful and messy. They were all grieving. They were all being taken advantage of in different ways. They were all lashing out at each other. They all just very desperate wanted to save Megumi and Tsumiki and make a better world for them and in a lot of ways they failed.

The thing to be understood is that Nanami had one foot out the door when Gojo showed up with Tsumiki and Megumi in tow.

He was never the same after Haibara. He isolated himself and didn’t even pretend that he wasn’t doing it. Haibara and Geto had been the real unifying forces of their group, is the thing, and once they were gone, the group fell apart. Nanami saw no reason to go out for food or to the arcade with Gojo and Shoko and pretend like they were all friends.

Haibara had been the one to pull Nanami out of his shell, initially. He was the one who first made sure Nanami was at group hangouts. And when Haibara died, it was too painful for Nanami to go and see the empty spaces Haibara had left behind, so he just told himself that he, Gojo, and Shoko hadn’t really been friends, that they were just hanging out with each other because they had mutual friends, and shut himself off from everyone. It was extraordinarily clear to all of them that when graduation rolled around, they’d probably never speak to Nanami again. If he stayed in the jujutsu world, he wasn’t exactly going to call them up for drinks.

And it wasn’t that they actually weren’t friends. If Nanami was being honest with himself, he’d admit that they had been his friends. It just hurt too bad to be there when Haibara wasn’t.

In my head, Haibara died in part to save Nanami, and Nanami has never forgiven himself for that. He always thought it should have been him.

Anyway Gojo was inexplicably lured by the siren call of the magic of teenaged fatherhood and then was less inexplicably confronted with the fact that being a parent of two is fucking hard and then showed up with two fucking kids in tow to be their village babies and no fucking explanation as to where he got them from. Like where did he GET them. gojo get back here and explained this.

He also may or may not have phrased the pitch for communal child rearing the way those failing straight marriages do where he implies that just adding a child will bring them together and fix their problems. and they have a lot of fucking problems, so he's adding two.

Anyway Nanami was only there initially to make sure someone was feeding them. And then he was going to fuck off.

In my mind, there was a period of time before the Zenin got custody, and that time was actually good? It was the first time since Haibara that Nanami remembers being happy. They were all spending time together. Gojo was taking a step back from his missions. Nanami wasn’t hiding in his room anymore. Shoko was achieving her ultimate form as wine aunt.

And they were really trying for the kids, is the thing.

Like, they were all horrendously enchanted by Megumi and Tsumiki. Two billion kids on the planet and they got the best ones. They were the funniest motherfuckers on the planet. Megumi was an absolute prodigy when it came to bitch instincts. They adored both of them.

It wasn’t perfect. They messed a lot of things up. Gojo may have decided on cake for dinner a few too many times. And there’s a lot that all of them said that they lived to regret.

Nanami once told Gojo that he had no fucking interest in replacing Geto Suguru for him. And Gojo told him that it was so goddamn hilarious that Nanami ever thought he could.

Haibara and Getos absence was really felt painfully when they were raising the kids, because they really were the ones out of the group suited for it. Like, Geto was the one with the most caretaking instincts, and Haibara was great with kids. The rest of them were just bitchy depressed teens who couldn't be gentle to save their fucking life. They were just hammering into this thing and trying to make it work, and all they could think was how much better Geto and Haibara would have been at this.

They weren't perfect parents. you could even go so far as to say that they weren't even all that good. but they loved their fucking kids. And they tried for them.

So Shoko used to tease Nanami and call Megumi and Tsumiki "the baby trap" because it was excruciatingly obvious that that was the only reason why he stuck around. The kids really did bring them together.

And then the Zenin got partial custody. And it all fell apart.

See, I'm gonna decline to put in explicit terms how exactly the kids view Nanami, just because I think if we put definitive labels like "dad" or "uncle" on it, it'll be better discussed in the fic. But Nanami was definitely viewed as more of a primary caretaker than Shoko, and that was in part because of the aftermath of the Zenin, and in part because Shoko was dealing with her own issues in their childhood.

Namely, the fact that the school got her addicted to drugs.

I won't go into detail here with it, because that's no the point of this post, but I do really want to emphasize that Shoko was a vulnerable kid who was very purposefully and meticulously addicted to drugs by the adults in her life who should have been protecting her. The higher ups did it on purpose. And shoko was a kid who didn't have strong adult guidance in her life, whose parents weren't involved, and who had just lost most of the presence of her only two friends--Gojo to his workload, and Geto to his cult leader aspirations. She was pressured into it, told that there would be no consequences she couldn't heal, and the higher ups did it to make certain that she wouldn't leave them.

As part of my epic Teen Parenting Adventures Saga, there was a period of time where the three of them just took Megumi and Tsumiki and low key ran. Negotiations about keeping Megumi had gone to shit, the Zenin were escalating to violent conflict, and so they decided to just put Megumi and Tsumiki on a plane with them and go. The only other option was Gojo just killing everyone; they decided to take a potentially permanent family vacation instead. Yaga brokered the deal for partial custody as a way of getting them to come back, and when they did, they all faced consequences for what happened. Shoko's was that the higher ups properly realized that she may leave, and they'd lose access to their only healer. So they got her addicted to drugs as a way of making sure she couldn't easily leave him.

She was in rehab for a while after the incident with the Zenin led them to go no contact and have a universal wake up call. Nanami, meanwhile, had stopped talking to either of them, but had demanded partial custody of Megumi and Tsumiki. So he was doing parent shit like making them dinner and helping them with her homework while Shoko was getting herself clean.

That's a big reason why Nanami and Gojo take the more affirmative parental roles with Tsumiki and Megumi, while Shoko seems to take a bit more of a backseat. She's less of a mom and more of an aunt because she spent a lot of their childhood trying to undo the consequences she faced after they took a stand and tried to run with the kids.

Nanami's relationship with them, while closer than shoko's, is heavily complicated by the shit with the Zenin clan. So many relationships got irreparably changed in the course of that shitshow.

I think Nanami would have liked to be their father. And I think Nanami isn't sure if he has the right to think of himself as such. He loves them as his own, with his whole heart, and he cannot forget how Megumi looked as a small child, beaten and broken and flinching from even him. He doesn't think he'll ever be able to forget how he looked after this most recent incident either.

That's part of the reason why he's so careful with how he treats Yuuta. he fucked it up the first time, in his mind. He doesn't think he could forgive himself if he did it a second time. He thinks they prioritized the need of the jujutsu world and to make peace when they turned Megumi over to them, and he'll never, ever forgive himself for that fact. His greatest fear when he agreed to take over Yuuta's care was that he would do the same.

Yuuta keeps asking Nanami to discount Yuuta's needs for Megumi's, and a part of nanami wants to. He doesn't want to hurt Yuuta, but it fucking hurts to see Megumi agonizing in a hospital bed when he swore he would never let the Zenin put him in another one. But he's trying not to repeat his old mistakes. He's trying not to let anything come before the vulnerable kid dependent upon him to make decisions in his best interest.

If he said "yeah, go ahead, help megumi all day long," he'd be sacrificing Yuuta's wellbeing for Megumi's. And he just. He can't do that to Yuuta.

He just wishes it didn't mean leaving Megumi in pain.

#Sea glass gardens

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illusion-reality-steve · 6 months

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Small headcanon: In the Unified Galaxy Fam AU, Illusion was made with little freewill. This left his memories linked with Galaxies in a one way tie. He has nightmares about the things Galaxy went through, and as he can shapeshift, turns his hand into a cats paw while hes sleeping and paws/scratches/makes biscuts on his blanket or whatever or whoever hes laying on.

(i just rlly love illusion/p hes so silly)

I assumed Illusion would have all his freewill in this AU, but I like your headcanon!

The cat paws idea struck me in the chest and killed me. This is the most adorable angsty idea I've ever read aaaaaahhhhhh

Thank you for sharing, anon!

#galaxy family 2023 ask a thon #asks #anonymous #steve saga au #unified galaxy family au #illusion steve

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jaythelay · 10 months

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To this day I read any voice from the DBZ cast with the TeamFourStar voices.

It's not for a reason of popularity, nor is it a reason due to growing up with it, it's the Fact these voice actors Are These Roles. The most talented voice acting I've genuinely ever heard comes out of the crew thanks to the same high level experience every other aspect had behind it.

It's really a once in a lifetime artistic event for these creators to have unified under the same umbrella. I've never experienced a show improve every season in a dramatically noticeable fashion. It really was inspiring for me growing up to see just how far people are willing to go for artistic pursuits. You don't do an abridged series because it's easy, it's hell, and they surpassed every obstacle with a vision they brought full force and further.

People say the freeza saga was the best, but I always thought the Cell saga was their best work yet. Writing was incredible, re-watching it, you notice just how many subtle jokes went over your head the first time through, they crafted this script into a goldmine of hilarity and wit. The acting is on-point, the visual edits became corrective of the series while adding their own visuals, the sound design is the best any abridged series has had to date, that even most modern shows fail to achieve.

Man. What a fantastic show. I don't want to say it replaces the actual series for me, but I'd be lying if I said I thought the original series was better than the abridged, the voice acting truly is the biggest reason why for me.

The original had acceptable to great voices, but TFS brought the true voices and inflections of these characters, all of them, that the original simply doesn't grasp as hard.

#team four star #teamfourstar #tfs #dbza #dbz abridged

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the-force-awakens · 7 months

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Yeah, that's a pretty good analysis. I don't see Poe included hardly at all, in fandom or in canon to a degree, and I think it's safe to say he has one of the least number of fans who are specifically fans of him. Like I don't see many blogs/accounts that are specifically Poe centric.

Oh man, I actually got up to answer this on my computer rather than my phone, so we'll see how into it I'll get into this ask, but yes! It's vastly unfortunate that he often gets excluded or overlooked when he's the entire catalyst for the sequel trilogy. He is, archetypically and narratively within the story, the Leia of our generation: if it was not for Poe and BB-8 (who is really like an extension of Poe), then Finn wouldn't have been able to escape the Finalizer, and Rey would have never left Jakku.

While yes, it's true that Poe wasn't initially meant to survive The Force Awakens (and other nine word horror stories for me), Poe is still one part of the primary trio of the trilogy and has been since 2015. He is not only Leia's first protégé, but the eventual leader of the Resistance, and according to the Rise of Skywalker novel, the heir to the legacy of House Organa (cue me loudly proclaiming him a Disney Prince). Yet, somehow, at the same time......no one seems to ever want to include him as part of the saga, and an important one as that?

(@dameronalone points out ever so often how much they love the shot where everyone leaves Exegol for this reason, because we see Poe flying alongside the Falcon, which really hammers in that Poe is an important player in the history of the saga).

More thoughts below the cut, because I have more and this is already lengthy.

The worst thing is that Poe was extremely popular. Lucasfilm and Marvel pretty much immediately greenlit a comic series for him, and while that was definitely to flesh his story out, if my memory serves, it was so popular that I believe the first printing sold out? And it was originally only meant to last 25 issues (which personally I think it should have stayed at, because I don't super vibe with 26-onward and it feels off and tonally disconnected to the rest of the series and also the ending of TLJ, and the characterization for Poe also feels off, but that's!! a different rant!!!) but the title was so popular that Marvel decided to extend it for two more storylines!

The issue was the fandom backlash to TLJ.

You don't have to look too far into my blog to know that I adore Poe in TLJ, and that I like his arc in the movie, and that I avidly defend him for it, but the internet in 2017-2019 was an entirely different universe from that. You could not go anywhere - Tumblr, Twitter, Youtube, fucking hell, even most major media news outlets and clickbait websites - without hearing about how much everyone hated Poe Dameron.

Why? Because they walked away from his arc deciding that he was sexist and the movie's perfect example of toxic masculinity (although, lmfao, the First Order clowns are right there). It went further than that, with headlines about how everyone hated him, how he was personally responsible for everything that happens in the Resistance in the film, and how he was the worst character in Star Wars since Jar Jar Binks (because clearly the Star Wars fandom never learns from its previous toxicity, right?). It was to the point that, to my immense horror and frustration, even as far as into promoting TROS, a reporter described Poe as a "secret villain" in TLJ to Oscar (and man do I hope that man knows Poe is loved, actually).

Fandom wasn't much different. Fanon Poe prior to TLJ was....a lot different. In some ways, a lot of fics hit the nail on the head on who Poe was, but there was a definite unifying idea of who Poe was: a pure cinnamon roll who never, ever swore, and always listened to Leia and never argued with her - let alone disobeyed her orders or put a toe out of line (this is even illustrated in canon, with the first Poe Dameron annual, where the author has Poe declare that Leia is "always right" and instantly caving in an argument).

And TLJ Poe is about....as far removed from that vision of Poe as you can possibly get - although nothing about him in TLJ is ooc. We see the bare bones of it in The Force Awakens, and Before the Awakening and the comics further flesh out Poe in a way that perfectly leads into the Last Jedi. But the cinnamon roll fanon was made so common and leaked so far into fandom consciousness, that there was this strange concept that Poe was never, ever angry even in expanded material, which...he does. He gets pissed off plenty of times in the comics, and with the Defense Fleet while arguing with Deso.

So, canon Poe did the unthinkable and, y'know, didn't fall in line with how fanon saw him, which resulted in a huge backlash over the fact that he was a character with agency and a personality (that is NOT sexist thank you), which resulted in us getting books like Resistance Reborn, by authors who can't stand him or describe him as anything besides "supremely arrogant" and spends three hundred pages emotionally torturing him, claiming he needs to die, physically assaulting him, and you know...having the person who attacked him and the other person who claimed he needed to die flirt with him, because it also spends an ungodly amount of time sexualizing him to an uncomfortable degree, because the one thing fanon could agree on outside of the fact that he had been "ruined" or that he was a jackass or a "fuckboi" (yeah that went around too), was that Oscar Isaac is really goddamned fine in the Last Jedi (he is, I'll give them that, there's something about tlj!Poe, scientists remain baffled).

And on top of all of that, a particular fraction of the fandom developed an interesting habit of taking new pieces of canon and spreading them around online out of context, claiming that the writers were now intentionally writing him as sexist and as a jackass, and ruining his character further. I don't know for certain if this had any effect overall on the fandom's perception of him, but I know that it did almost break my spin in him for a while because I thought people were being very genuine, and it wasn't until 2020 that I got curious and started doing my own research into the panels/paragraphs being shared online, and sure enough, discovered that the angle had been falsified to paint Poe into a worse light (which, if anyone is curious, is why I did my deep dive into everything that he was in, because I didn't want to be fooled again. You can't trick me if I know everything lmfao).

So essentially, his popularity nosedived after the Last Jedi. It seemed to bump up a little bit, or at least there definitely seemed to be more people interested in him/writing for him in 2020 coming off the lockdown, but obviously that has very much dwindled. But I've definitely not seen any blogs dedicated to Poe as a character since 2017, and you don't ordinarily see him in miscellaneous Star Wars gifsets that go around either, let alone solo Poe gifsets (I know because I lose my shit anytime there's a new one that's not by me), and Poe creations that have nothing to do with a ship is.........even less likely to be found.

I definitely think canon is at least trying to keep him in our minds though. He was the second character to lead one of the Lego Specials, and that Rey short story ("Through the Turbulence") was focused on her friendship with him. Whether or not that's because of the possibility of Oscar returning for the Rey movie (which feels fairly tangible, considering he's been kind of shady about it after mentioning he'd come back for a good story, and doing that Halcyon video), or if it's just because of Lucasfilm maybe warming up to him as a character again*, I don't know, but I hope it means we get good-faith content for him again soon.

*Because I'm tired of the story group constantly being a little bitch about him, and the same goes for the Topps Trading Card App. Maybe people wouldn't think he was a villain if you stopped describing him like a terrible person? Just a thought.

#ask box #i-belong-to-the-stars #i am so sorry for this motherfucking ESSAY #sometimes the 'ex article writer' jumps out #this was one of those times

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