So many people are so mean to Kingsley and say they hate him simply because he's not Molly and I am fighting them off with a sword. None of you fuckers are true Tealeaf enjoyers. Love my boy or die by my blade; what did he ever do to any of you 😭
Hello! The thing is--I do understand why Kingsley can be upsetting to people, I really do. Especially when we've had Molly for such little time :( And it does make me sad that Kingsley doesn't seem to get the same treatment as the rest of the Nein, or that he's not as loved, so I understand both perspectives.
But honestly to me, a part of the appeal of Kingsley is that...although he's grown and changed, a part of him is still Molly; it's the thought that this shard of a soul was loved enough that it managed to endure, to grow and find its way home.
I love the ending of Lucien's novel, because the thought that Molly felt for Lucien enough to want to reach out to him in the very end, the way they both make peace with each other and decide to be reborn together--it's so heartwarming and cathartic, and it really feels like the final piece to me that King's introduction was missing.
I think, terrifying as the thought is, Kingsley himself is also aware that he's grown from Molly's soul shard (and Lucien).
Kingsley: “Not now, but in the future, I'd like to hear about your friend. Later, once I--once I know me better.”
Yasha: “I would love that.”
Kingsley: “Thank you.”
Yasha: “It's nice to have you back.”
Kingsley: “It's nice to be here.”
Yasha: “You know what I mean.”
Kingsley: “I do.”
The fact that he calls out to Yasha and knows her as Love, remembers the tarot card names he gave to everyone. The moment when Jester casts Greater Restoration, and King is lost in his pretty dream of the circus--"I was having the nicest dream."
And more than that, he keeps asking for Lestera specifically. "There was a--oh. There was a circus. And a...a beautiful woman, in a red coat. She was telling me secrets, showing me how to keep secrets. Show secrets--I...Where's the woman? No, not her...where's the woman--" Molly's heart, the part of him that loved Lestera and Yasha and the rest of the Mighty Nein? It's still there, still feels for all of them. "I get...feelings from you. All of you..." And that to me is such a comfort.
Lastly, I'm still very much struck by the fact that Molly always intended for Mollymauk to be more of a temporary name, one he kept until he was ready to choose another for himself--it feels kind of like Molly was his birth name, and Kingsley is more of a tiefling virtue name. I love the way that King changing his name when he's reborn mirrors Molly's worship of the Moonweaver--and how he incorporated his religion into his tarot cards. There's something nice about how King is still following those tenets of the Mooweaver, even if he doesn't quite realize it. For everything that's changed, there are many intrinsic aspects of Tealeaf that still ring the same.
"Each deck of Moon Oracle cards are different, as each deck evolves with the owner. When a card is weathered or simply no longer speaks to you, replace it with a new card of your own design. Something personal and true. Trust yourself; what is true for you will ring true for others. Some choose to change a card each Lunar cycle. Some decks magically destroy a card when it is replaced with a new one--such decadence!"
One more thing, but--I think that, because we've gotten so little time with King (and haven't really gotten the chance to hear Taliesin really talk about him ;; CR please give us a Kingsley Tealeaf Q and A one day I am begging--) there's so much about him that's open to interpretation or that's left intentionally vague. And the same could be true about Molly's initial soul shard too. "If souls could grow from but a piece..." Even Molly's own goddess is surprised when he's reborn as Kingsley. There's no precedence for this. He's an anomaly, an impossibility...a miracle.
All that just to say, that. I don't think one interpretation of King is inherently better than another, and I'm sure a lot of people aren't happy about my interpretation either. But I understand why King is as decisive a character as he is. He'll always be important to me though--and I'll always see him as being a part of Molly, a shard of a soul that was full of so much love and joy, he got another chance to live again and be reborn. And I'm happy if this little tiefling king is able to bring others the same kind of joy and comfort he brought me.
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you have been slowly converting me with all your icemav posting, and i recently rewatched top gun and i am s o l d. it has been consuming all of my thoughts! do you have any favorite fics??
omg, am I really?? welcome to the club!!
I’ve thrown myself head first into icemav recently so I can ABSOLUTELY rec some of my favorite fics I've read so far!!
When We Get Around to Talking About It by @compacflt is the pièce de résistance of icemav fiction I think, for me personally. It's masterfully written and nuanced and just so heartbreaking. the characterization feels so true to how these men would really be in real life and how they would deal with coming to terms with their feelings for each other and sexuality while being in the navy. and as if 90,424 words of beautiful prose wasn't enough of a gift, there is also a sequel/other stories called Debriefing (& Other Stories) which includes a more truncated version of the original but from mav's pov which is just 🤌🏻🤌🏻
Dreams of Impact by thecarlysutra is also very good. It involves a little supernatural flavor, which I enjoy, and revolves around how their lives could be different if they'd just made one single different choice.
come the same colors by susiecarter is a fav. It's a classic 'you got hurt and it's made me reckon with how I really feel about you, but I haven't figured out how to express that'. So basically it's amazing. this author also has a great catalogue of icemav, so it's really a jumping point to read all of her great work. A Shared Cup is another personal fav of mine from this author. it involves soul telepathic bonds. soooo good
a binary star by vannral is a really yummy piece of fanfic. the first line of the description is the perfect primer for how great the rest of the fic is: "Ice hasn’t ever given much thought to celestial things up in the sky but he knows that Maverick burns like one." like. c'monnnn
i'll ride in this life with you by sassenach082 is an ice and mav raise bradley after carol passes away fic, and it's full of sooo much lovely hurt/comfort that is so sweet it will rot your teeth. any fic with a plethora of baby bradley is going to be good for me
I saw beauty to the north by sortalively (tiisis) is a delayed injury fic set post TG:M. It has a lot of rooster and ice and mav reconciling in it which I'm a sucker for. and, if you like the exploration of rooster and mav's relationship (I'm a sucker for parental figure fics lets not unpack that) this author has some greaaaaaaaat fics on their page for that!
cloaked in the bruises of our failures by faerie_ground will rip your heart out. It takes the mission from TG:M and moves it to the 80s with our favorite class of '86 being trained to fly it, all while Mav and Ice are a few years post a messy 'break-up'. I should warn you that this one comes with a trigger warned from sexual assault from a person of authority to an employee, so if you aren't interested in that maybe skip this one. It is so beautiful though and treats the subject with the respect it deserves. slithered here from eden (just to sit outside your door) is another by this author that is very good and I am waiting patiently for an update
a higher fidelity by basedchamp is a classic slowburn with ice and mav developing their friendship before they realize their feelings for one another
no brighter diamond by qin_ling is a wonderful 'five times...' fic and it's so good. Everything by this author is fantastic so you should def check out their other stuff. as lions is about time travel. delish.
You're Gonna Be The One That Saves Me by an orphan_account is amazing. It's got mav struggling post hop 31 and Ice being there to offer emotional support and more if you know what I mean
'Til I Understand by Katastrophe (Karrington) is about Mav punching out of dark star and kind of fills in some blanks about what his loved ones went through while he was missing. Katastrophe is another author with a large catalogue to just go crazy in
PurpleArrowzandLeather has 153 tg fics on their page with a huge variety, some icemav, some flyboys of '86 (which I adore, I love fics showing their friendship). you can get lost in their page for a while haha. they also have their bookmarks public! so you can dig around in there, too
Sailor's Delight by saurora_borealis can be read as ice and mav or icemav and I think we both know which one I infer it as. Mal de Mer by them is like that, too
baby, baby, i'd get down on my knees for you by boasamishipper and simplecoffee is 'five times mav proposes and one time ice says yes' fic. It's sweet as candy
Is this arguably too long a response? yes. are all of these worth the read? also yes
I hope you enjoy!!
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