#A week for all the rarepairs 🥰

[shima-draws]

Is there a One Piece rarepair ships week. Is that a thing. It should be a thing I think

[bossboudicca]

in this essay i will-

my rambles on johnmanny and why i love this rarepair and you should too

first off, that wink. me and mine didn't even notice it at first, and i've seen TP about a million times and the minute i spotted it i think i actually screamed out loud. like yeah right in front of my parents and family let me observe your fond little smirk and then wink at you, like these mfers were playing footsie under the damn table i tell ya.

manny kicking jp by accident, jp like "can i fuckin help you??"

but for real jp is to johnmanny as harry welsh is to winnix. at least to me.

next we have:

manny noticing john the second he walks into a room full of a bunch of other dudes in the exact same clothes with basically the exact same haircut and very similar builds. like his ass was WAITING and WATCHING that doorway for his little boyfriend.

"oH WeLL iF tHeY'Re sO cLoSe WhY DiD'nT hE uSe HiS FiRsT nAmE?"

because half the guys in that room are probably named John, NEXT.

these fond ass looks. also hilarious that they both completely turn their backs on the doorway and do not even notice jp until he's right there lmao. manny was not waiting for his buddies, he was waiting for john specifically.

size difference goes crazy here. manny is so fuckin WIDE jesus

jp like "i am married here is my wife" (i told you he's harry welsh) while john and manny are like hhaha yeah marriage definitely we're totally straight 🙃

manny: "my mom couldn't understand how i could get through high school without that wedding date set"

jp: "i could!"

could understand what jp??? HMMM??? yeah okay bud

bonus: john looking right at manny after jp's comment and manny refusing to make eye contact. read into that what you will

this one is kind of a personal mind palace thing, but i like to think that manny observed this super sweet moment between john and his dad, and really took it upon himself to look out for john when they were deployed. more on this later. *brb crying*

this next one you're just getting a screen recording because a.) i dont wanna gif the whole thing b.) i feel like hearing manny's vocal inflections and stuff is important

manny's obviously gonna be rattled after their first bit of enemy contact, and john is not the only guy with blood on him but manny still immediately did a double take when he saw the blood on john's face.

the way he asks "hey...are you hit?" he dips his head and really looks at john, like yes looking for injuries john may not have noticed but to me it's like he's trying to get john to make eye contact, so he can see if he's mentally okay as well. idk, this seems important to me as manny literally does not even glance at the guy who's actually fuckin shot until john looks over at him.

then manny's little exhale and swallow after john says he's gucci 🥺

and when john stops and stares at the deceased man, manny does too but immediately looks back to john, gauging his reaction. i feel like most of these guys are like "you're physically okay? yeah moving on as i, another marine in this hellscape jungle, have my own issues" but maybe thats just me being ignorant.

and then manny doesn't take his eyes off john for the rest of the scene. also john's tiny little nod at manny, like he knows manny is always overly concerned about him; a little wordless gesture just for him. more on The Nod later. alsdkfjalsdjlsfj

also directly after this:

john: jp go set up on that hill 🙄 manny you dig in next to me 🥰🥰

more touching and staring

quick sidebar: manny and his slutty ass open shirt like sir-

and then john with his big gorgeous brown eyes he is literally a 6 week old puppy why is he in war

next we have Manuel "I Need To Shove Past Everyone So I Can Walk Next To My Boyfriend" Rodriguez

This Look is my all time favorite. ugh i am sick about these two.

and that little hint of sadness in john's eyes like he doesn't wanna let manny go but he's gotta because duty comes first 🥲

so he cracks a little joke and lets manny go and manny looks so crushed and forces himself to smile anyway and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh his face absolutely sends me into a spiral right here

next up, personal space- dude did you really need to get RIGHT up in john's bubble like that?? (yes, yes he did)

i swear it must be in the hbo war actor manual that you have to look at your male companion's mouth X amount of times

watching chesty on the phone like "yeah but is john okay"

#bigbrowncoweyesquad

sorry this gif looks weird as hell, i cut it up and brightened it because its hard to see through all my tears

so yeah! this is the last time they see each other alive! i am okay!

it was something i didn't notice at first, but it looks like manny intentionally pushes john down and out of harms way, whereas i originally thought they just ran into each other and it was a lucky accident.

more prolonged eye contact and then the little tiny nod is back from earlier 😭 i am unwell about those two fucking nods and what they imply

circling back to earlier and how i mentioned maybe manny seeing that interaction between john and his father and taking it upon himself to be john's protector....yeah...yeah

continuing on-

no "hi jp are you okay, i noticed you almost got shot in the fuckin head last night", just straight into "where's my husband??"

also, to me it looks like the sun is close to being directly overhead when john starts asking about manny-

-by the time he finds him the sun is setting, so john literally spent HOURS looking for manny. im sure he was doing some other stuff but the show seems to suggest that's pretty much all he was doing.

how long do we think john sat with manny's body before going to get jp omg im gonna throw up

the way they carried him, john would have been looking at his face but he's looking away the whole time and im in pain about it

john doesn't look at his face at all.

and then of course we've got john's musings after the fact. in the short time we see him in combat/around combat he doesn't really seem to ruminate on things like this, he kinda takes everything in quietly and moves on. but here, he really sits with manny's death and i don't think he ever really got over it even though he shut down this conversation with jp after a few seconds. you know, because of the golf scene and his flashbacks to manny 🥲

anyway that's all i have for now because tumblr won't let me add any more gifs and screenshots and i'm sure those of you who stuck around to read this whole thing have had enough already lol

tldr: john and manny are tragic husbands and i think about them a lot

also shoutout to my new friend @tahnawanda for encouraging me to actually finish this post. rarepair solidarity ✊

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hello all! Hope your Wednesday has been well so far. This week we have fourteen fics featuring various different polyamorous ships! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

gilded mischief by annie_blackbird (20,437 words, Explicit) Pairing: Yussa Errenis/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidoyussa) Warnings: Consensual Somnophilia, Safeword Use, Mentions of Slavery

Caleb and Essek spend a night with Yussa, with Caleb under the effect of a sleeping potion. After some discussion, the night progresses with Essek as Yussa's very good boy.

Reccer Says: *grabs you by the shoulder* you need to read this fic. Even if you're not already aboard the Shadowidoyussa ship. It will convert you. It is so soft. It is so hot. Like, the perfect balance of tooth-rotting fluff and scorchingly hot smut. Yussa is Exandria's softest dom and I adore him. Essek is a sweetheart doing his very best and I'm holding him in my hands. Caleb is asleep but the ways he's still a present influence on the story through Essek's POV is absolutely wonderful. Please read it, you will not regret it.

can't you see yourself by my side? by ryseling (7,519 words, Explicit) Pairing: Fjord/Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast (Widofjorester) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Under-negotiated Relationship

Fjord and Jester are together, and Caleb - hopelessly in love with them as he is - agrees to a threesome. Porn with feelings, Caleb POV.

Reccer Says: Very well written in terms of style. Everyone also feels very in character.

Hearts Full of Light by kaeda (5,032 words, Mature) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Fjord/Eadwulf Grieve/Jester Lavorre Warnings: None

The nein & friends are restoring the blooming grove after Trent's attack in 141. Mostly lighthearted as Jester meddles & matchmakes. POV alternating between Fjord and Jester.

Reccer Says: Jester/Astrid/Fjord/Eadwulf is such an underrated rarepair.

all glittering things by quinn_of_aebradore (32,418 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Minor Canon Character Death

"Essek Thelyss, prodigious dunamancer and crown Prince of Rosohna. Caleb Widogast, illustrious court mage for the Lord Eadwulf Grieve of Blumenthal. Mollymauk Tealeaf, Opal of Nicodranas, fourth child of the Tealeaf Estate. What happens when affection escapes the bounds of propriety and courting? What comes once a kiss has been bestowed? A romance draped with light and honey, of course."

Reccer Says: I just love this entire AU so much so I'm cheating and reccing the whole thing lol... it's so well done and thoughtfully constructed, and they're sooo lovey dovey and pining and flirty ugghggh - bonus: the lucien vs essek part makes me especially feral 🤣💜

Kisses by the Road by Clare_Hope (6,351 words, Teen) Pairing: Dorian Storm/Fearne Calloway/Dariax Zaveon/Opal Warnings: Alcohol

Fearne wins the drinking contest in Byroden and requests kisses as her prize. Polyamory and shenanigans ensue.

Reccer Says: I enjoyed it!

I dream of you amid the flowers by glittergarbage (66,967 words, Explicit) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Dirty Talk, Smut, AFAB NB Molly, Threesome

"In which Mollymauk comes back to his body, minus a few memories, at the Blooming Grove. Essek is intrigued. Caleb is glad."

Reccer Says: I LOVE THIS FIC SM.... it's such a perfect post-canon depiction of the slow, realistic, exciting, curious unfolding of their relationship, and I love their characterizations and dynamics 🥰🥰🥰 it's a SWM classic to me

First Light by the_deep_magic (5,673 words, Explicit) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Orym/Dorian Storm (Dashrym) Warnings: None

Ashton wakes up while Orym is doing his morning exercises, which they find Very Sexy. Dorian, already awake, agrees and the two of them pretend to be asleep until Orym is done and they can have sex about it.

Reccer Says: Domestic Dashrym, hot smut, and a very well-written Ashton POV 💕

locked in here with us by wanderingbasilisk (3,002 words, General) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: None

"a dragon, a damsel in a tower, a knight in shining armor you can guess how this goes ;)"

Reccer Says: Love a fairytale AU! It's just so sweet and fun and adorable and there's a little sprinkle of angst in there which is sooo good 💜🧡💜 delightful and heartwarming

in the light of long-dead things by Anonymous (3,426 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Blumenshadow) Warnings: PTSD, Panic Attacks

While spending the night in Caleb’s tower, Astrid gets thrown into the past.

Reccer Says: God, the way this one has Stuck with me since I first read it. The visual of Astrid squeezing herself under the nook by the stairs is burned into my brain. Her panic, Wulf coaxing her back to herself and the present, her reactions to Caleb and Essek, it’s all so heartaching and wonderful, I love it so much.

to be in someone else's coat by jaskofalltrades (1,369 words, General) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: None

Widomauk/Pre-Shadowidomauk where Molly and Caleb were the ones to walk Essek home from dinner at the Xhorhaus

Reccer Says: Listen SWM canon molly lives AU is a wonderful and rare creature and this is one such example that gave me the warm cozies... also I LOVE WHEN THEY FLIRT AAAA 💜💕

Where I am going you can't save me by thesweetpianowritingdownmylife (20,461 words, Teen) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett/Yasha Nydoorin (Beauyashter) Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Vomiting, Blood

Yasha starts coughing up petals, white and blue. There is no doubt to whom they belong. Aka Beaujasha Hanahaki AU. Set after episode 89.

Reccer Says: I enjoyed it!

keep following the heartlines on your hands by floralprintshark (8,014 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast (Widofjolly) Warnings: None

Five times Molly tries to set up Fjord and Caleb with each other and one time Molly gets set up with them.

Reccer Says: I enjoyed it!

We also have two reccs for: the stranger who was your self by Demenior (60,045 words, Mature) Pairing: Fjord/Eadwulf Grieve/Jester Lavorre Warnings: Power Dynamics

Eadwulf joins Fjord & Jester's crew as they sail the Lucidian. POV alternating between the three leads. Fjord and Jester are about to embark on a high-seas adventure...and Eadwulf shows up and insists on joining their crew. They don't know what he's plotting (or what he's running away from,) but that won't stop them from flirting with him until they find out.

Reccer 1 Says: I enjoyed it! Reccer 2 Says: Adorable Fjorester flirting. All the sexual tension of that one sword fight between Fjord and Eadwulf. Unstoppable force (Jester Lavorre) meets immovable object (the world's most miserable, wretched wet dog of a scourger.)

And we have three reccs for: amongst the things left unforgiven by nonwal (63,958 words, Mature) Pairings: Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss, Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Blumenshadow) Warnings: Panic Attacks, Discussions of Suicidality/Euthenasia, Temporary Character Death, Suicidal Ideation

Astrid and Eodwulf start visiting Essek in Rosonah to keep an eye on him, then Essek starts visiting them at Caleb's tower in Rexxentrum to keep an eye on them. They dance around eachother in conversation out of mutual distrust (and flirting) long enough to save Essek from himself and fall in love about it. Astrid and Eadwulf take it upon themselves to save Essek from himself. Two scourgers show up at Essek's home to interrogate him about the Mighty Nein. Then he discovers that both of them are also uselessly pining over Caleb. Then, he gets closer than advisable.

Reccer 1 Says: the character dynamics and banter are absolutely top notch. the author really nails the character voices. Reccer 2 Says: I enjoyed it! Reccer 3 Says: An alternate ending to C2 with a great balance of intrigue, angst, slow-burn romance, and fluff (if you can count three wizards lying to each other for fun as fluff.)

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Enemies to Lovers. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Miscommunication and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Works in Progress and Angst! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

😊🥰👽

👽 a fic that isn’t prose (poetry, text fic, etc.)

woahg what a cool question 0:

rhymesswith‘s WOH modern setting Cat!ZZS AU comic strips

rhymesswith's WOH Ladyhawke AU specifically this part of it! (masterpost with context in chronogical order)

you already know this but annannjay's iwtw WOH republican era shanghai AU that still has me be wildly insane

bardorable's WOH canon compliant introspective wen kexing poem Entropic Notions

megafaunatic's modern TYK setting comic of zzs throwing a birthday party!

😊 a fic that made you smile on a bad day

this wouldve been much harder to answer but fOrtUnaTely [at the time of writing this] im having a bad mental health month .. phase ,, time! (laughcrysob) [it's been a few i'm fine now!]

i‘d always been rigid before you by thehoundisdead. The Untamed modern au, wangxian, gender changes, wlw, identity shenanigans, texting, food as a gateway for love, university, light angst, misunderstandings, G. wei ying flirts with the driver who delivers her food orders via text, not knowing who they are, and it has no connection at all to lan zhan, her classmate! i love this little fic. its fun and silly and sweet and makes me go all warm inside, its exactly what i need when im down. i remember that u dont prefer school fics but maybe u like this??? there is not much serious school stuff happening there aside from the opportunity for wei ying to flirt with lan zhan since theyre classmates

no one understands the chemistry we have by livinginaworldofnoise. WOH, wenzhou, modern au, story told in posts, G. wen kexing tries to woe the most handsome man in the world. zhou zishu needs advice to get rid of a weird creep. these things are not at all related, why would u think that! its been a few weeks but i read this when i was having an extremely bad night and it lifted my spirits!!!!!! livinginaworldofnoise is one of my fav fandom authors, theyre so good at balancing rawness with humour. and i like how this fic transplants wkx from canon to a modern setting and shifts into an outsider‘s pov (the reddit community, this is told in posts), which automatically removes any context that would explain his Behaviour and Attitudes. i mean, wkx is actually disturbing! if u dont know why he is the way he is agdgdgdg

🥰 a fic that gives you warm fuzzy feelings!!

hey girl (you are what i've been looking for) by detectorist. The Untamed, MDZS, modern au, wangxian, background niehuan. gender changes (EVERYONE is a lesbian except for jiang cheng, who is the token gay man), wlw, house parties, drunk kissing, chaotic friend groups, casual queerness, T. wei ying and lan zhan meet on a house party the jins are hosting. sparks fly. highly recommend to read this together with its sequel!

the only place you wanna be by aiyexayen. WOH canon divergence/fix-it, gu xiang/wen kexing/zhou zishu, background wenzhou, four seasons manor arc, multiple pov, gu xiang-centric, introspection, non-sexual intimacy, hurt/comfort, angst, found family, rarepairings, polyships, M. zhou zishu has a problem, and its just as annoying and confusing as wen kexing. gu xiang realizes that the lao bing gui her zhuren keeps following around might be a little bit good-looking. wen kexing rearranges his perspective of what it means to him to care for his silly little girl. while they all live at four seasons manor, things develop. this fic single-handledly changed my brain chemistry! and the dynamics are so warm and so gah!!!! also aiyex shared a little of the bts process of working on it here!!!!!

ask me for a fic rec meme <3

[prettyboybuckley]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @saybiwithme @bi-buckrights @zainclaw

How many works do you have on ao3?

160

What's your total ao3 word count?

1,070,239

What fandoms do you write for?

I've mostly written for 9-1-1, though I started off with Shameless (6 fics) and I have written some for Teen Wolf (5 fics). There's one 9-1-1 crossover with Schitt's Creek.

Top five fics by kudos:

parents always yelling (telling us to get our acts together)

i just want something to hold on to (and a little of that human touch)

I will come to you (even in my sleep)

open up again (i believe in second chances)

exes and the oh's

Do you respond to comments?

Always, even if it takes me months. I actually just caught up again (there's still a bunch to go, but right now the oldest is 17 days ago instead of 250 days...). It's just a rule I have for myself, and even with the backlog I've kept it up so far, so I'm not going to stop doing it now.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not a big fan of angsty endings, I generally try to at least make it a hopeful ending or, in the case of the college au, use an epilogue to fix things.

But I guess sunny skies & summer highs qualifies as an angsty ending simply because of the cliffhanger (and yes, there is still going to be a continuation, I'm working on it 🙈).

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Choosing one out of 160 is really hard, but I think tell me, will you stay or will you run away is definitely one that deserves a mention here, because it already has a happy ending and then the epilogue just makes it even better 🥰

Do you get hate on fics?

Not commented on the fic itself, no. I've had some people talk shit about my fics on twitter, though, and not even vaguely but calling me by (user)name.

Do you write smut?

Is grass green? Yeah, I write smut 🤭 Thanks to two times kinktober, I have 95 explicit fics, by far the most used rating for my fics.

Craziest crossover:

let's have some fun tonight is my 9-1-1/Schitt's Creek crossover fic for 9-1-1 Rarepair Week, and my only crossover fic

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

My head over feet Buddie valentine's two-parter got posted as one chapter in Wattpad work with over 30 fics once. Filed a DMCA and Wattpad took it down within two hours.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Two of my fics have been translated into Russian afaik, one on ao3 and one on Ficbook

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope. It may be a nice challenge for the future? Not sure who I'd do it with.

All time favourite ship?

Gotta go for Buddie on that one, lol. Especially if you look at my writing history. But I often tend to hyperfixate on one ship at a time (current reading obsession is McDanno)

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Buck's POV of if love is art then you might be my masterpiece. I really want to, but at this point it's been two years since the original so I don't know if it'd be worth it either. (I know not everyone was happy about how I ended it, but I doubt any of them are still waiting for more). Writing a different POV of the same fic takes an amount of planning that my brain just really struggles with. And I could pick up where the last chapter (before the epilogue) picks up, but I think that way there would be some crucial information about Buck missing.

What are your writing strengths?

I've been told quite a lot of times that I am good at keeping characters, well, in character, even when putting them in partial or complete AU's. Of course, what is in character or not is subjective, but I do always challenge myself to work as much of the canon backstory and personality into who they are in the AU as possible.

And I like to think I'm pretty good at writing smut.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm terrible at pacing, which multiple of my long fics prove. It'll be drawn out first and then suddenly rushing. And being ESL I do struggle with things like sentence structure and grammar pretty regularly still.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

As long as there is some kind of translation provided somewhere I like it, but I'm not so quick to use it myself. Not beyond a few Spanish words here and there (generally pet names between Eddie and his family we've seen on the show or the occasional curse word when I feel it fits better than an English one, but I usually need to employ help from Spanish-speaking friends for those).

First fandom you wrote in?

Shameless! I binged that right before I started 9-1-1 and combined with the creative writing minor I was doing, it was actually what got me back into writing in general and what made me write my first ever fic.

Favorite fic you've written?

My in your arms i feel safe-series (which I always lovingly refer to as the ace kink fic) is definitely one of my favorites simply because of how personal it is to me and for the reason behind me writing it in the first place.

Other strong contenders are i would've loved you forever (it's never enough but i wanted it to be) and i'm begging you, come home to me (Teen Wolf, Thiam)

tagging @monsterrae1 @rogerzsteven @loserdiaz @watchyourbuck

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

annual writing self-evaluation 📝

Many thanks and muchas smooches to @justhere4thevibez for tagging me! 🥰

1. List of works published this year (in no particular order):

chapters 56-84 of With a Little Help From My Friends (completed 5/15/23)

Next Time I Fall (24 chapters, completed 12/19/23)

Lost and Found and Turned Around (7 chapters, completed 11/16/23)

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

I’m incredibly proud of all my works, but I think probably I’m most proud of Next Time I Fall. I created a brand new rarepair, shaped a beautiful fluffy love story for them, and persevered through extreme personal difficulty to finish the fic despite the temptation to abandon it.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

There are a couple of chapters in Little Help that I feel aren’t as strong as they could’ve been. 64, 73, and 81 in particular. I don’t know what I should’ve done to make them better; I just know they needed more.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

I’ll pick one little snippet from each fic…

Little Help:

Wayne waited until she’d finished her tiny blueberry slice and was debating over which to try next. “Actually, sugar,” he said quietly to Max, “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“About what?” she asked, puzzled. “About gaining weight? That was a joke.”

“No.” He watched Eddie let Lucy lick a tiny smear of pie filling from his finger, despite Chrissy’s protest that sugar wasn’t good for cats. “About staying with us.”

A chill ran through her. “It’s still okay, right?” she said hesitantly. “My mom’s getting out of the rehab next week, but Claudia said I could stay longer if I needed to. But if that’s changed…” She trailed off, swallowing hard.

Wayne patted her shoulder. “Naw, sugar, that ain’t changed. You can stay long as you like. Fact is”— he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly bashful— “fact is, what we really want is to keep you for good.”

~~~

Next Time I Fall:

Gareth couldn’t imagine having to grow up without his mom and dad. He thought of the way Janie held so tightly to his mom every time they hugged, and a lump formed in his throat.

“They never found your parents?” he whispered. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

Honestly, he hadn’t even thought before speaking, he’d just blurted that out. But somehow it had been the right thing to say; Eddie and Chrissy’s tense expressions melted into something that looked like relief, and Janie’s crushing grip on his hand finally relaxed a little. Gareth laced his fingers through hers, giving her hand a little squeeze, before gently turning it to examine the small number tattooed on the inside of her wrist.

“Is that where this came from?” He lifted her hand to his lips, softly kissing the tiny 011. “Did they do that to you in the Lab?”

She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “It was my name,” she murmured. “That is why everyone calls me El. El is short for Eleven.”

Fucking hell. Gareth felt tears running down his cheeks, too.

~~~

Lost and Found:

“Jane, you need to wake up!” Kali tried unsuccessfully not to shout. “You really are naive! They can always take you if they really want you. You need to face facts. Your policeman cannot protect you, you have to be able to protect yourself. Are your friends helping you with that? Is your boyfriend? No, they just want you to be ‘normal’. They want you to suppress your gifts instead of using them, and they want you to forget who you are and where you came from. And if I stay here they’ll do the same to me. Putting on their hypocritical smiles as long as I convert to their idea of normal. I don’t want to hide who I am, and neither should you, Jane. You can’t heal by hiding. The only way to heal is to face up to the truth, confront and conquer your past.”

“Stop calling me naive,” Jane snapped, “just because I am trying to accept my past instead of confronting it. I confronted Papa face to face, and then I let him die, and it did not change anything. All your revenge has not changed you either.” Just as quickly as her anger flared up, it dissipated again. Her voice softened, her entire demeanor settling into something more gentle. “You talk a lot about healing, but you are still so mad, Kali. I think I am more healed than you are. Maybe if you stayed here, as part of my family, maybe that can heal you like it did for me.”

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

I love every single comment I get, truly I do. But I think the ones that made me smile the most this year were the few on Next Time I Fall that basically said ‘I never would’ve considered El and Gareth together but your fic made me ship them’. Is there any greater compliment? 😄

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Basically the last eight weeks have been awful. I got covid, and had barely recovered from that when a family emergency happened and I was thrown into the role of caregiver, and since then just more and more stuff keeps going wrong. I’m exhausted and honestly in a pretty dark place, mentally and emotionally, right now.

And yet. In spite of that I finished both Next Time and Lost and Found. Neither of them seem to have made any great impact— I barely even got any comments on either finale— but it was a goal of mine to finish them both and I’m still proud I managed to achieve that.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Kali, in Lost and Found, was so much fun to explore! I rewatched “The Lost Sister” before I started writing this fic, and I realized that I still hated her obnoxious friends but Kali herself was a super interesting character with a lot of potential. I had a lot of fun digging into what might possibly make her want to reconnect with El, and what would make her feel drawn to Steve. Also it surprised me how much I ship Stali now!

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I learned that my stories come out better when I write them the way I want them, instead of “taking requests” and pushing the characters in directions I wouldn’t have chosen if left to my own devices. I feel like certain parts of Little Help suffered because of this, so I resolved I’d stick to my own plans for Next Time and later Lost and Found, and I think those two fics came out better for it.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

Next year, if I write any more, I want to somehow learn not to be so obsessed with stats. Stop comparing my kudos/comments count to other fics and feeling sad and inadequate. I have no idea how to accomplish this, but it’s where I need to be if I’m going to keep writing.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Oh it’s 1000% @pearlypairings — she’s been all of the above for me and so much more! Lost and Found would never have happened without her, and Next Time would likely have been abandoned unfinished.

11. Anything in your real life show up in your writing this year:

Lots of things, yeah, I don’t think I can help adding little bits and pieces of myself to my stories. I write the kind of world I’d like to see, and populate it with characters I either want to be like or wish I’d had in my own life.

A very silly specific example, though, is that I made Eddie adopt a kitten because I lost my cat last year and I missed her so much.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Um. Not really? I don’t think I’m good enough yet to be passing on wisdom to others!!!

13. Any new projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I have a couple fun ideas jotted down in my Plot Bunnies folder, but no definite plans to start anything new right now. I gotta get out of this awful headspace before I can even think about new projects.

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read:

@sokkas-first-fangirl @bratanimus @slowandsteddie

[frogiwi]

3, 6, 27 for ao3 wrapped !!!!!! blease 🥰

HI HIDEY OKAY YAYYY

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

i'm actually gonna go back to a tokyo revengers fic for this, partially because my bouba fics are all still a litle fresh for me and i think that makes it a little harder to be wholly proud of them and not have little issues i'm hung up on, but i also do genuinely think this tokrev fic was an absolute banger and love how it turned out.

how did it end up like this?, written for my tokrev rarepair week this past july! a pseudo hate-sex fic (it just didn't up as hate-y as i thought it would kdsjghs) where chifuyu, having realized both of the people he's in love with are dating each other and he truly can't have them, is drinking his sorrows away when he encounters hanma, who he can't FUCKING stand but who has also realized the object of his affections doesn't love him back.

god, this one was just SO FUCKING FUN. chifuyu and hanma are two characters who like.... i hate 100% of chifuyu's fanon and dislike all of his popular ships. and hanma, i only shipped with kisaki. so i don't think of chifuyu in a shippy way p much ever and i basically monoship hanma. but their dynamic is so hilarious because chifuyu (rightfully) hates hanma's guts, but hanma's just kind of like vibing. like he really doesn't care. it's just fun for him to mess with people. so i've seen this sort of instigating dynamic between hanfuyu before but i'm not into a romance aspect with them at all. fwb though? fuck yeah.

chifuyu is a fun and pathetic kind of guy and the best usage of him to me is making him miserable! so i had a lot of fun torturing him in this one by making him want to fuck a guy he can't stand.

ok i'm off topic again but in terms of why i'm proud of this work, i think it just ended up being very much exactly what i wanted it to be. it was the longest fic i'd written in a WHILE (but now has been surpassed 3 times somehow 😭 help me), but it doesn't feel long winded or overly drawn out. i hadn't intended for it to be the length it is, but i think it ended up really helping with slowly raising the tension between the characters, bc these two need a LOT of banter (and some drinks) to get comfortable together (mostly chifuyu).

i think after i started shooing them out of the bar and increasing the physical touch between them and getting them to hanma's house, there were a lot of parts in there that i am actually still floored by when i reread it and think "how the FUCK is that so sexy". ugh actually there are a couple parts from this fic i could've put for #29 too.

Hanma stops a few steps down the sidewalk, pausing under a streetlamp to pull a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and shake one out. He lights it with a hand cupped around the flame, the warm glow illuminating his focused eyes. The cherry at the end of the stick smolders a deep red. When Hanma exhales, smoke blows out of his mouth in a slow stream.

Hanma lets go of his arm and Chifuyu stares down at the slight redness left behind from the strength of his grip. When he looks back up, Hanma has his cigarette between his lips, running his hand through his ungelled hair in annoyance, his profile sharp in the moonlight. Shit. Why did that do something to him?

mmmm when i wrote the first one i was like. fuck that's a sexy description. for both of these, the image is just really clear in my head and i feel that way for the entire rest of the fic after this too. this was the first time in a while i had written something this intimate and sexual and remains, so far, the only explicit work posted on my main account LOL. i didn't decide to show them going all the way but i did write them doing foreplay and stuff y'know and i was like. really really pleased with how it came out. i mostly had been avoiding writing nsfw before this because it never felt like it was coming out right or i would get stuck. but now i kind of wonder if i have this fic to thank for my growing comfort with it and how much more frequently i've been writing things like this since then. thank you hanfuyu!

6. Favorite title you used?

OK THIS ANSWER CAN BE SHORT. YAY. ugh actually i have a few contenders for this..... i think i'm gonna go with "pretend it's the same". this is from the song how i learned to love the bomb by glass animals, and it's a song that's basically about loving someone who has a dark side, who scares you and hurts you, but who you're drawn to and love anyway. that's not what the fic is about, and the lyric, which is about pretending things are the same after an altercation or something like that, is also used in a different meaning for my title. i'm using it to encapsulate the idea of chihaya pretending the person he's cheating with gives him the same feeling of love and comfort that his actual boyfriend does. but even though the overall meaning is different, in the end, both the song and the fic are about hurting someone you love. while the song is from the perspective of the victim, the fic is from the perspective of the perpetrator. despite the difference in meaning, the song makes me think about chihaya a lot anyway. so basically, i've thought about this song and fic title a lot, and i like it a lot, so yeah.

my next fave title is "the remains of my wasted youth" which is from coffee shop soundtrack by all time low, and i just think its another fitting title/song for the fic. and lastly "eyes on the prize" which isn't a song lyric title, but just an extremely funny one to me bc i feel like it feels like a sports phrase but the fic is about like. one guy looking at the other guy a lot. KSJDHGKJS

27. What do you listen to while writing?

A LOT OF STUFF! AND IT DEPENDS! i think for most of this year, it's been stuff by unlike pluto! i like pretty much all of his music, but i think for like half of the fics i wrote this year, i was listening to the albums "ghost gardens" and "pluto tapes: volume 4" on loop. i like these for fics that are a bit more on the angsty or sexy side LOL as well as the album "nowhere" by friday pilots club which joined this rotation a few months ago. for fluffier fics it kind of depends 🤔 lately it's been a lot of the japanese music that chihaya listens to, by the groups awesome city club and alexandros. the ones i have saved have like a nice light rock vibe to em which works well for the lighter hearted and simpler fics i work on. if i'm trying to channel some chaos, i usually use my japanese music playlist which has a Lot of vocaloid on it ksdjgh. i think for a bit a while ago though i was watching no commentary animal crossing new horizons videos in the background while i was writing bc actual music was distracting me LOL but i stopped doing that already. rn i've been listening to the music i saved from last week's discovery weekly on spotify bc all of the songs on it fucked hard. so yeah idk it depends kjhgkjsdg

THANK U HIDEY <3

ao3 wrapped asks

[kenobster]

Nine (or however many) people you'd like to get to know better

Tagged by @smoosey, @willameena, @underacalicosky, and probably others from a while ago longer, but I can't remember 😅Thank you!!! ❤️

Last Song: Set Fire to the Rain by Adele played on the radio this morning, which was great for me because I 100% consider it a Palpakin song 🥰

Favorite Color: Red, the same shade as Thor's cape from the MCU

Currently Watching: Been watching Criminal Minds but kinda lost interest for a while. Now I'm just watching The Bad Batch season 3 and rewatching random Higher Ground episodes

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet yah, savory is okay, spicy is noooo. 😖

Relationship Status: i've never enjoyed this question, and i just realized that I don't have to answer it lmao, so there.

Current Obsession: I'm between obsessions right now, and it is agony. 😩 Feels like my biggest obsessions right now are sleep.... my DBT therapy workbook and worksheets (I know that sounds weird but I often get obsessed with homework type things).... and the stench of distressed!omega Anakin in bittodeath's noncon/post-noncon fics for @anakin-rarepairs-week (link to fic one... link to fic two...). Judge me all you want; I am a simple woman with simple tastes and needs.

Last Thing You Googled: "weary emoji" because I'm typing this on my work computer and had to copy paste each emoji. 😅

Tag a few friends, new and old: Bruh I have no clue who has done this already. I've been in a fugue state for about 20 million hours over the course of one and a half business days. The only people I can think of who might not have been tagged are @ooboowoonkoonooboo and @gothicastles (if either of you would like to do it ^_^). Otherwise, consider this an open invitation to any single one of my followers. :)

[bnha-more-like-bnh-gay]

Could I trouble you for some thoughts/headcanons on KiriDeku? KiriDeku is my #1 fave Izuku rarepair, and there is just not enough content out there for them!

Like, those two sunshine boys together would be EVERYTHING! The way they both love to build others up...they would be such a power couple! Plus, Kirishima is very physically affectionate, so he would just SMOTHER Izuku in loving touches. Meanwhile Izuku has an entire doctoral thesis on all the ways Kirishima is an amazing person and an incredible hero on standby, ready to present and defend at any time.

😊🥰

JDICNWKDNISJF BRO, YOU’RE SO RIGHT😭 KIRIDEKU HAS MY SOUL! NO TROUBLE AT ALL, I LOVE THE WAY YOU THINK💙😭💙😭💙😭

Okay, I personally think that before AU, izuku was majorly touch starved. When kiri realizes this, he make it his mission to smother his adorable, incredible, manly boyfriend in all his affections

Kiri is having some insecurities about his quirk? Izuku completely and wholly understands that! He also has a 400 paged PowerPoint presentation on how incredible kirishima is and why he deserves the world

As you said, they are the TOTAL power couple. They can and will bench press each other. Kiri gets so hyped up, he’s just so proud! Izuku is also proud, but he’s also blushing so hard. Izuku, please breathe. No. No, izuku, deep breath in. Izuku, please, your boyfriend is worried-

Dude, they’re both just so supportive I’m going to cry

Like,,, they’ve both been bullied before and they’re just so. Nejcnwjcnwicjwif. They’re so strong, and they lift each other up

But one day, they run into some of kiri’s old bullies :( he tries to play it cool and izuku gets that, but he will also not let people talk shit about anyone he cares about

They’re both full time simps, but kiri is more blatant about it. Izuku just has such low self esteem :(((( so excuse him if he wants to remind his boyfriend that, holy shit, he’s so strong and cute and smart and kind and heroic and manly as hell

He’s so loud about it. He will profess his love for izuku to anyone who will listen. And most people who won’t listen too, honestly. A villain was being an asshole one time? Now he knows how izuku organizes his research and likes his katsudon.

The villain retired

Izuku’s simping is more quiet but no less chaotic. Again, 400 page PowerPoint that he has on a flash drive carried on him at all times “just in case”

In case of what, izuku? Uraraka wants to know. She’s seen it three times and she’s so tired

Kiri finds izuku’s ao3 account and follows so fast. Izuku is shook because 1. He’s embarrassed. And 2. He doesn’t think he’s that good

Kiri knows that he is indeed, “that good” he’s really good. No, he’s not just saying that because he loves the green demon, but because it’s absolutely 10000% true!

The pining before the two got together was. Horrible. Everyone can attest to this

There were betting pools. So many.

Uraraka, Nezu, Sato, momo, and mic were the only ones who won anything (aside from izuku and kiri, who won a boyfriend)

Trans kiri/nonbinary izuku

Thoughts????

Izuku helps kiri dye his roots every couple of weeks! Mina used to do it, but one day she fell asleep before and kiri felt bad waking her up. Izuku found him kind of panicking, so he offered to help! Now, mina and izuku both help!

Literally though. Mic dubbed them the sunshine boys two days into classes and said that they’d be together by the end of the year.

He was correct.

Kiri let’s izuku ramble on as long as he wants to! He doesn’t always understand some of what izuku is talking about, but his passion and drive are just so manly and his excitement is contagious!

Izuku loves listening to kiri talk about crimson riot too! He shows kiri his crimson riot analysis and dude. If kiri wasn’t smitten before, be sure as hell is now

He was smitten before. But still

Kiri helps patch izuku up whenever he gets injured, which we all know is too fucking often, kiri is a concerned boyfriend to the max. He know izuku is strong and that he can handle himself, but he needs to learn how to actually take care of himself too. I.e. not fucking off on his own to become a vigilante and try to take down the worlds most notorious super villain with little to no help and almost never stop for food, water, or rest when you’re 16 and have had your incredibly powerful and still evolving quirk for just around a year

But Kirishima digresses

No, he doesn’t. He’s going to cuddle izuku for hours after that. Izuku will not move. Izuku, let your boyfriend and all your friends and parents smother you in the affection you deserve

Kiri and izuku are both loyal to a fault. And that often comes back to bite people, but it never does between these two. They are both just so caring. They see each other hurt or upset and immediately go into mom mode

They made playlists for each other 🥺

It happened before they got together actually. Jirou overheard izuku muttering in his room about it for hours one night before she texted him a few song recommendations and that he should go to bed. He was mortified but very grateful

Honestly, I feel like Shouto would pick up on the fact that the two liked each other really quickly. It’d just make sense to him. Like. He’s blunt as shit and also is a little shit, and he makes it his business to be all up in their business.

He becomes great friends with Mina, because he just assumes that they’re together. And once told that they aren’t yet, he’s just confused.

“Why not? You like each other.”

“It’s not that simple, Shouto-kun!”

“…”

“Why not? Does all might not approve? I assumed he would. But yes, having your father’s approval might matter yo kirishima-“

“It’s not that! All might isn’t my dad-“

“Aizawa then? Or yamada?”

Mina says that Kirishima should be scared of all the shovel talks he’s going to get, but honestly? He’s not scared in any way! He would never hurt izuku and he’s really happy that izuku has so many people who care about him like he should be cared about!

Kiri 1000% watches Say Yes To The Dress, and izuku watches it with him sometimes. It’s great, because neither of them know anything about fashion. Kiri started watching it with Mina and now he loves it

Speaking of their fashion? Worst dressed couple on campus /affectionate

Aoyama and Mina insist on helping them get ready for their first several dates

Honestly, everyone knows that it doesn’t matter what they wear because if kiri fell for izuku and his “t-shirt” shirt (which I loved, by the way) and izuku fell for kiri in his crocs (which I don’t love, by the way), the pair could wear almost anything and the other would still swoon. It’s sickening. But also really sweet, you cannot deny no matter how many times Aoyama has tried to spruce up their wardrobes

Izuku one day gives kirishima a jar that’s half full with little scraps of paper and tells him to pick one out when he’s sad. On the pieces of paper, are all different reasons why izuku thinks kiri is amazing and why/how much he loves him. He adds to it every day

Kirishima is #EMOTIONALEHCIJSIXNSKC GUYS, HIS BOYFRIEND IS LITERALLY THE SWEETEST WHAT THE HELL

Aizawa genuinely doesn’t know if it’s cute or absolutely disgusting. He tries not to think about it too hard really

Kiri finds out that izuku is really good at art and helps him get confident enough to offer commissioned works! He also commissions him all the time without telling izuku. One day, izuku finds all the pieces kiri commissioned from him and cries because, guys, HIS BOYFRIEND IS SO SWEET, HE DIDN’T HAVE TO PAY FOR THOSE, HE’D MAKE KIRI ART FOR FREE ANY DAY

BUT IZU, THAT’S WHY HE DID IT SECRETLY, BECAUSE YOUR ART IS SO MANLY AND WORTH MILLIONS OF YEN

They’re absolute menaces and I love them with my entire soul, thank you so much for this 💙😭💙😭💙😭💙😭 but I hope you liked itttt!!!! Kirideku is genuinely such a compatible pairing dude, they deserve more. Just. More. Better.

[vesselsart]

Trigun Rarepairs Bang Planning!!

To round out this week, I am sharing this picture that I took during the planning stage of the Rarepairs Bang a few months back now! I was so excited about this project so it’s been so difficult to resist the urge to share bits and pieces over the months. It’s been such a huge relief to share my work this week though and I hope you’ve all been enjoying it! I’ve absolutely loved this project, everyone has been so lovely 🥰

[softranswolves]

Fic Writing Review 2023

I was tagged by @domesticated-feral and @scribeoffate (on my main) in this, and I'm finally doing the thing!! Since I only wrote tw fic in 2023 I figured I'd just do it on here 🥰

Words and Fics

Works and words: 46 works and 61,093 words

Fandom represented: 1, Teen Wolf, but I also worked on some planning for a The 100 fic 👀

Most Recent Drop: The Threads That Bind Us, a Chris/Peter/Stiles fic for the Stiles shipping server exchange, where Stiles and Chris end up sharing family heirlooms that shaped them

Longest fic: Pack is Family, my entry for Sterek Secret Santa. It's a 5,330 word movie rewrite

Top Fics by Kudos

Peter/Stiles kinkwhumptober fic, what if Peter had given Stiles the bite in the garage, at 359 kudos

Years Gone By, a cute getting-together Sterek fic, at 218 kudos

So It's You, a cute little-free-library Steter fic, at 172 kudos

Peter/Stiles kinkwhumptober fic, Peter stalks Stiles, at 124 kudos

Of Years Gone By (unintentionally almost reused a fic title months later afjkdlajf), my Steter Secret Santa contribution where Stiles was kidnapped and raised by hunters, at 116 kudos

My fandom fic events in 2023

Sterek Secret Santa

Steter Secret Santa

Kinktober & Whumptober (posted every day!)

I wrote a fic for Kira Yukimura Appreciation Week!

While not an official event, I did participate in a Stiles ship fic exchange many of the months!

Upcoming Events for 2024

@teenwolfrarepairevents is doing a monthly rarepair character event, and I wanna get in on that most if not all months! As a resident rarepair regent, I feel like I must 😏

Steter Secret Santa again, I'm sure (I've been participating for the past 3? years now)

Maaaaybe Sterek Secret Santa again (last year was my first!)

Event-wise I need to see what there even is scheduled for the year so far fjdakl;fjda;

Projects for 2024

Trans!Stydia canon-compliant fic

Jackson/Kira/Stiles fic

Allison Hale 👀

Stiles Hale 👀

More femslash in the fandom 2k24

Given that it's officially a week into the new year, I won't tag anyone since most people have done this by now 😅 but feel free to still do it if you wanna!!

[leesakuweek]

Thank you so much, LeeSaku Week 2023 Participants! 💕

@spellcasterlight

@lotusfartstwice

@drindrak-art

@nightingaleflow

@bizawa-art

(and myself, @valkyriav)

I can’t express my appreciation enough for you all spending time on creating fanworks for this rarepair event! All of your entries were incredible and I loved them very much! Thank you for making my very first hosted fandom event a success. I couldn’t have done it without you guys! 🥰

For anyone stumbling across this post, please check out this blog to see all their wonderful fanworks and please give them some deserved love. Also consider checking out the participant blogs; you will not be disappointed with their other works. ♥️

For the Daily Prompt Challenge Champion role, I will soon create a separate pinned post to display on this blog front and center until the next time I might host a LeeSaku event. Stay tuned for that post.

As a reminder, while the deadline for any Champion roles and thank you announcements have passed, if you wish to still create fanworks, I will still reblog LeeSaku works that relate to this event until the last day of spring, June 20th. The springtime of LeeSaku doesn't end until the last day of spring, after all. 🌸🍃

[kiwiana-writes]

wait it's your bday? - the 23rd?! - i think it's still the 23rd in your neck of the woods - since i know ya love a rarepair i did something i was going to wait until next week to do but - needs must and if i'm gonna write liam/pez smutty drabbles for anyone it might as well be for the person i'm still blaming for them seeping into all my writing and now getting their own drabbles lol - oh wait ignore all my rambling here's the important bits

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

i present to you a liam/pez smutty drabble

Liam is panting, breaths coming fast, orgasm approaching, Pez over him, hand wrapped around his cock. Mouth nipping at his neck, working the spot where the previous mark he had left faded. His orgasm approaches, and before he can warn Pez, he’s coming hot over his hand, splattering their stomachs with come. “You are so lucky I took my clothes off already, or you’d be in so much trouble for ruining them.” Liam’s brain is only barely functioning, so the next words that leave his mouth should not be a surprise, “Me being in trouble is what got us here.”

The 23rd yes!!! And FUCK YEAH to a Liam/Pez drabble, nom nom for me 🥰🥰🥰

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hey friends, happy Wednesday! Today we are highlighting our dearly beloved Voice of the Tempest, Keyleth! We have six fics featuring various rarepairs including her! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

tell me what you need (oh, you look so free) by ladyofrosefire (5,348 words, Explicit) Pairing: Zahra Hydris/Keyleth (Zahraleth) Warnings: CNC scene where the negotiation occurs largely off screen.

Keyleth goes to Zahra with a request—to be taken out of her head, down, and apart. And to not have to say what she wants.

Reccer Says: It has both excellent characterization and understandable choreography where no one suddenly grows a third hand.

Can You Squeeze Us in Somewhere? by Star_Joy (828 words, General) Pairings: Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Vaxlethmore), Queerplatonic Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth Warnings: None

Vax and Keyleth get back to Emon after an adventure and are utterly exhausted. Luckily, they have Gilmore to turn to for rest.

Reccer Says: It’s sooooo cute. Just lovely fluffy goodness. Also very fun to see Gilmore and Keyleth as queerplatonic partners within this ot3!!

Let It Build by wtgw (5,946 words, Explicit) Pairing: Keyleth/Grog Strongjaw (Grogleth) Warnings: Mild Blood, Under-negotiated Kink

Grog helps Keyleth manage her anger issues. Friendly violence and violent sex ensues — it’s not romantic, it’s just helping a friend out!

Reccer Says: It was surprisingly emotional and sweet, and the descriptions of how angry Keyleth was were almost scary! also aromantic4demisexual friend sex!

i'll be there for you by romeoandjulietyouwish (1,357 words, General) Pairings: Queerplatonic Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth, Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Vaxlethmore) Warnings: None

While out one night, someone starts following Keyleth. She takes refuge at Gilmore’s. Cuddling and comfort ensue.

Reccer Says: While it’s not tagged as such, Shaun and Kiki are really the focus here and they’re so sweet. Shaun’s so full of love, I adore him. Also the three of them all together at the end is very cute 🥰

Broken; Unbidden; Unearthed: Love in the Limelight by marleybone (7,036 words, Mature) Pairing: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Vexleth) Warnings: Allusions to a past abusive relationship

Vex is an actress, Keyleth is a model. Vex sees her at a runaway show one night, is infatuated, and things spiral out from there.

Reccer Says: okay LISTEN, Keyleth hasn’t really technically shown up yet and it’s been a minute since an update but what’s there is So Good regardless. The depth of worldbuilding in the three chapters up is so good and the banter between Vex and the supporting cast is amazing. Also it being a memoir from Vex’s POV, written by Tary, about her and Keyleth’s love story? Genius, I’m obsessed and desperately craving more.

steady your breath, honey, lower your spear by friendly_ficus (6,020 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Grog Strongjaw (Grogleth) Warnings: Grief/Mourning

Keyleth isn't coping well in the aftermath of the fight against Vecna--and losing Vax. She's angry and eager to pick fights wherever she can, regardless of if she gets hurt doing it. When Grog realizes this, he offers to fight with her himself. Neither of them expected any feelings to grow from it, until, of course, they did.

Reccer Says: An exceptionally characterized and written piece, it's stuck with me even years after first reading it. It approaches the Keyleth/Grog relationship with such believability and tenderness, not to mention dealing with Keyleth's grief and the complex process of having feeling for someone after loss. An all around fantastic piece.

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Polyamorous Ships. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Enemies to Lovers and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Miscommunication fics and Works in Progress! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[artsy--shipper]

Okay, I had a really cute idea- Kiritsuyu making jello jigglers together

Tsu loves jello, and this is the perfect opportunity both to have fun making a sweet treat to share with class 1-A, and to spend time with Kiri

They make two big batches, one cherry and one watermelon, because 1. yummy, and 2. red and green like their hair!

Kiri isn’t confident in his cooking skills, and he feels a little silly for not knowing his way around something as simple as jello, but Tsu is patient and guides Kiri through every step like the mom friend she is, and they both end up having a lovely time cooking together

Especially when it’s time to cut the jello into shapes!

They borrow lots of cute cookie cutters from Satou

After cutting out some animal shapes, they get a little silly and start playing with them

They giggle as they make watermelon turtles swim in the air

And then Tsu makes a cherry shark...

“Look, Kirishima-chan, it’s you!”

Without missing a beat, Kiri makes a watermelon frog

“And this is you!”

Then they boop the frog and shark together

That gets a few eyerolls from some of the kids in the common room, but a couple of them softly “aww”

After that, Kiri and Tsu get a little carried away making comparisons of their other friends

Kiri making a watermelon bunny: “Look, it’s Midoriya!”

Tsu making a cherry octopus: ““And Shouji-chan!”

The kitchen is filled with giggles

At some point, Tsu boops Kiri’s nose, and it makes him blush

Tsu teases him by holding up a cherry jiggler and saying “hehe, your face is the color of this jello, kero~”

Kiri hides his eyes under his headband, a dopey grin on his face- Tsu is just too cute for his heart to handle

Tsu touches a finger to her chin and smiles- Kiri is so adorable when he’s shy

She takes it a step further by making a cherry heart and showing it to him

Kiri smiles and responds by making two cherry hearts

Then Tsu makes three, and Kiri make four...

Before they know it, they’ve used up all the cherry jello

When they’re done making shapes, they cut up the leftover jello to make parfaits

They get the class together to enjoy the treats they’ve made, and it’s a big hit with everyone!

Kiri and Tsu sit across from each other to eat their parfaits, and Tsu giggles because Kiri got some whipped cream on his nose

She instinctively reaches out to thumb the cream off his nose, and it’s only after the fact that she realizes how... tenderly she was touching his face

There’s a moment of blushy awkwardness between the two of them, until Kiri breaks the tension with laughter

Kiri: “I have a napkin right here, you know!”

Tsu: “Force of habit, kero... I do that to my brother and sister all the time.”

Kiri doesn’t mind at all, though- in fact, he thinks it’s cute ^u^

All in all, the two of them have had a very pleasant day together <3

[leofrith]

also leofrith/eivor for the ship ask 🥰🥰

YES license to talk about my silly little rarepair from hell that has completely taken over my brain that i haven't shut up about in our dms for the past two months straight. thank you for dealing with me btw. 🥰🥰 this is going to get long.

What made you ship it?

i liked leofrith almost from the moment he was introduced in my first playthrough and just kept spiralling as i discovered more of the little notes and things about him/from him strewn about the map (which are a subplot all on their own, to be honest). and i was dreading the inevitable boss fight and the fact that the game was probably going to force me to kill him because he is so clearly just a really good, loyal guy who gives a shit about protecting the people under his care and who just happened to pledge his sword to a total asshole. so you can imagine my immense relief when i found out i could choose to spare him.

eivor and leofrith are parallels of each other in a lot of ways imo but specifically in that they're two people who are fiercely loyal, sometimes to their own detriments. that was the first thing i noticed about them that made me start to look at them through a potential romantic lens. them being at different points in the same journey, with leofrith having been thrown to the wolves by the king he would have gladly given his life for, and then watching the same sort of thing happen with eivor and her own loyalty to sigurd when he starts acting up and treating her horribly after being freed from fulke. everything about it is just soooooooo. i could talk about them all day long... and i have.

anyway, i had sort of been dancing around them for a long while and thinking their dynamic would be neat to explore until something snapped in me in november (i wanna say the idea of hidden one leofrith? and also just finally coming up with a fic idea for them that i could invest myself in) and now i've been making it everyone else's problem ever since. 😇

What are your favourite things about the ship?

two people who are incredibly loyal and to whom honor is very important, meeting on opposite sides of a conflict that neither of them really necessarily chose to take part in but were drawn into regardless because of their loyalties (eivor to sigurd and her clan and leofrith to burgred). they're classic enemies to friends to lovers, except they barely qualify as enemies because their conflict is never personal and is entirely just them happening to be on opposite sides of the war that week. i think they have a mutual respect for each other as warriors when they first cross blades, despite being on opposing sides, which very quickly blossoms into a kinship once they no longer have to fight because they see a lot of themselves in each other.

leofrith acting as an outside observer in a way that the rest of the raven clan can't, who challenges eivor to not let sigurd walk all over her but who also intimately understands why she feels indebted to him, because he has his own sibling who pulled him out of a dark place, and for whom he would also do anything (because leofrith canonically has a sister and i love her to death even if she only exists as a name on an easily missable note and as an original character in my brain).

they also share a weakness for children, and you cannot convince me that ceolbert's affection for leofrith didn't go both ways. that is their pseudo child and leofrith is a card carrying member of my rapidly growing band of gruff men who become accidental father figures.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

i know that i call this a rarepair and the truth is that it probably doesn't truly qualify as a rarepair, because there's quite a lot of leovor content with boivor from what i've seen. but unfortunately i could not give less of a shit about boivor. sorryyyy. that's havi to me. let bi4bi leofrith and canon eivor into your hearts. ♥️

Send me a ship and I’ll answer three questions based on if I ship it or not.