Alchemy Of Souls Be Like, Second Lead Syndrome Is Not Enough, We Will Introduce The Third Lead Syndrome...

introducing: "baby" jungkook and "baby protector" taehyung agenda

Spoiler-ish for TWOTQ

How it started

How it's going

Art by elizianna.the.one and svanhaart

meirl

Honest to Nyktos.

Kieran is like "why does Poppy ask so many questions" my brother in Nyktos you keep answering them.

I have never seen a love triangle (square??) being done so well in visual media before like it's so.....grown-up and mature?? Idk what the right word is but none of the guys are insecure, none of them are jealous of each other, there are no weird mind games. They are childish in other contexts but they are all so grown-up about this one thing it's just so refreshing to watch. They just saw one stubborn murderous gremlin of a woman sauntering about and went.... Ah yes, I'm gonna be a love interest that is so healthy-

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thoughts on TWOTQ and why I don't get the anger. SPOILERS.

I was expecting a relationship to form between the three of them, more than just the joining. I feel like it was heavily foreshadowed the last two books? It explains how strong the bond between a bonded pair is. They talked about how much Kieran and Cas loved each other after being bonded their whole lives, and that their relationship and love goes beyond the magical bond. Kieran felt Cas falling in love with her through the bond, and then that intense bond literally shifted onto her.

He's always been the only one Cas trusted with Poppy. He's always been more involved and worried about Poppy than any of their other friends. When the Gyrms attacked for the first time he tried to keep her from fighting, because he was scared she was going to get hurt. They watched each other on the beach, and Cas teased her about it. Kieran and Poppy tease and taunt each other, Kieran always knows what she's thinking. He held Poppy while Cas fed and it got physical, and while she fed from Cas and it got more than a little physical. He was the one who helped Cas ascend her, just as desperate and scared of losing her, and bathed and watched over them while they slept. None of the other friends, it's always been Kieran.

And this is from when they made Kieran their advisor: Valyn’s gaze flicked to Kieran. “He is a good choice.” He squeezed Casteel’s shoulder, and I was relieved to see the gesture. “For both of you.” There was a pause as he looked at his son, clearing his throat.

And when Cas got captured they needed each other. They both love Cas so much, and they needed each other to survive the pain. Casteel repeatedly says he knows Poppy is going to be okay, because she has Kieran. How happy he was that they had each other to get through this. And when they rescued him? He was happy Kieran is the one who fed her. He held Kieran close. Both Poppy and Cas think about how while they're heartmates, their relationship with Kieran was something different but more than friendship. And he notices Kieran's softness and their evolved relationship/casual touches, and isn't angry or concerned at all. He even jokes that Kieran is thinking about taking Poppy in the armor as well.

I think a lot of the anger comes from some people reading the relationship as friendship the entire time, because they never considered a poly relationship. So this came out of nowhere to them. Which I understand if it's not something you read about often! But if you look back on the books and interactions, in my opinion, the relationship was progressing from the moment they took Poppy.

Park Jin: What have you been hiding?

Mu-deok and Wook: Our love for each other.

ICONIC! And apt because it’s the truth on so many different levels.

what do you mean i didn't reach out i literally thought about you the whole time

twotq thought dump

it's not as if the bond between poppy and keiran came out of nowhere. they bonded over someone they have a deep connection with being taken from them.

i can't really say i understand the feelings around the joining because i think it was handled extremely well. i think that saying it's suddenly a poly ship is just factually untrue. let's remember they even said that if keiran found someone he wanted to live forever with them they would do the joining again.

i think that people upset with the post joining way they are are people who may not be able to get passed the monogamy-centric ideals of western culture to see that sex and love are a complicated beast.

it was a well done exploration of how sex and love come in all forms and i adored it.

i totally called poppy being a primal btw.

i love her powers so much, and it was so fun to see reaver and nektas again.

thank god isbeth is dead. fuck that bitch.

To all the creators who compile Spotify playlists, mood boards and fan art for fics that honestly add an extra oomph to the whole fucking experience, from the bottom of my heart:

THANK YOU.