#Gentle Winds

[geniequestria]

It has been a few days since Cloudsdale had been conquered by Luna, Tempest, and Gleaming. Thanks in part to the newly genified Spearhead (Who now goes by Bayonet) and Lightning Dust. The latter of which took down the hard resistance from the most elite members of the Wonderbolts.

The course of action now was for all the genies there to inform Cloudsdale was now ‘safe’ to return to. And to lessen such suspicion, they didn’t genify the many returning citizens immediately. Maybe some genies planned to bottle some of them while they were home, but some realized there may be others that will someday be genies that may want particular ponies here to genify for themselves.

That included ponies like Fluttershy’s family. Her mother and father, named Posey Shy and Gentle Breeze respectively. As well as Fluttershy’s lazy brother who uses the aftermath of the whole ordeal to tell his parents he’s been left traumatized and needs a few months to recuperate at home before he’s ready to try anything major… though really he’s giving himself a buffer to think of the next excuse to avoid responsibilities and take advantage of his parents’ meekness.

Zephyr right now is enjoying some time on his own, sunbathing on a cloud outside. Though it’s not long before some chirps near him draw his attention. He opens his eyes, and right next to him is a small yellow bird with a pink pattern. “Oh hello, little birdie! Did you come up here to enjoy some sunbathing with… The Breeze!” He beams a smug grin. The bird simply chirps some more. Zephyr shakes his head. “I’m sorry… little birdie… but I’m not my sister. I wish I could understand you like she does. But anytime she tries to teach me how, it never works...���

Shortly after what Zephyr just said, the bird oddly seemed to smile almost like it was waiting for something like what Zephyr just said. The bird stretches its wings and they begin to glow, soon Zephyr’s head is enveloped with magic. The tall stallion puts his hooves on the side of his head as he feels something overwhelm his head as if something was moving in his brain. It wasn’t a painful sensation, but it felt weird all the same. Like a brain freeze from eating too much dessert at once, but not quite as cold. Soon the feeling fades away, and Zephyr starting to feel a little more normal again.

“What in Celestia was that… did you do that?” He looks incredulous at the bird. He knew of many weird magical creatures, many of which he just heard about what Fluttershy’s seen. But he himself almost never gets out of Cloudsdale long enough to see any of them personally, perhaps this bird was one of them. But what exactly did it do to him, he wondered. He hoped it wasn't something that harms him in anyway.

The bird then starts chirping again, but soon the chirping starts fading… or rather changing to actual speech. “Z-z-z-ze-Zephyr!”

Zephyr falls over on his back as he’s taken by surprise by the bird saying his name. “GAAAH! WHAT?! Did you just talk?! AND YOU KNOW MY NAME?!”

The bird then just giggles, and even delves in a bit of sarcasm that goes over the stallion’s head. “Why of course we know you! Even the animal kingdom is well aware of such a refined stallion as yourself”. The appeal to his ego works fast, as he is completely flattered. Though he coughs before saying “Well thank you, I suppose I shouldn’t have doubted the effect I have on others!”

Though as Zephyr showers in the pseudo-praise he got, he realizes something about the bird’s…. voice. It was soft, and very familiar… almost just like… “Wait a moment… your voice… and your colors… SIS?! IS THAT YOU?!” The bird then smiles again before a big puff of smoke pops up where it stood. And right in front of him, was his sister with a smug grin on her face, and an attire that Zephyr’s never seen her wear before.

“Hello Zephyr! I take it you, Mom, and Dad had safe travels back home?” Fluttershy asked politely.

Zephyr’s still a little stunned, but he answers his sister. “Yeah… our trip back was perfect. Granted, it was a little odd that every one of those escorting us home were female guards… wearing some pretty abnormal attire… which come to think of it matches what you’re wearing right now… but those guards were pretty cute too… if my heart wasn’t yearning for a certain wonderbolt-to-be I’d have almost asked one on a date, heh heh.”

Fluttershy just rolls her eyes.

Once Zephyr stops laughing from his own somewhat half-joke, but also the hint that it was something he probably actually contemplated at the time. He then actually gets to asking Fluttershy about what he had just seen her do. “So… uh… sis…. Since when could you turn into a bird? I know we ponies are magical and all. But I didn’t think we could unlock the powers of a changeling…” As he thinks about Changelings after mentioning them, a sudden thought comes to mind: “Wait… Are you even my sister in the first place?!”

Fluttershy sighs and  shakes her head. “Yes, I am really me, Zephyr…”

“How can I be sure you are you though?” He raises a skeptical eyebrow

“Well, how about you ask me something that only I would know but a changeling couldn’t?”” Fluttershy offered up to him

Zephyr takes some time to think about it, but then he raises an eyebrow and smirks. He’s got an idea. “Very generous offer, sis… assuming you are her… can I really ask you anything?”

Fluttershy nods her head, Zephyr smirks once more before outright saying “Tell me something about Rainbow Dash that you know, but a changeling wouldn’t know as easily”

Fluttershy immediately expresses a disgruntled sigh and facehoofs. OF COURSE he’d try to use this as a way to try to boost his chances with Rainbow Dash. She does think about what to say, before coming down onto something she knows will work… even if it will upset him.

“Fine, you want a fact about Rainbow Dash that only her closest friends currently know?! Heck, why not spice it up and I’ll tell you TWO things. The first being that Rainbow Dash is not currently looking for a relationship, and the other… even if she was… she’s. only. interested. in. MARES!”

Zephyr’s eyes go wide as his face goes into a frown. “Wait what?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!” He drops to his knees in utter dismay. “You… you could have told me sooner, sis! Maybe... maybe I should have tried asking out one of those guards from before then…”

“Sorry, Zephyr. I just didn’t have the heart to tell you before. But it’s something you needed to hear, and I'm finally confident enough to tell it to you straight.” Fluttershy pats her brother on the shoulder.

He drops his head and sighs. “I… well… I can’t be too upset at you… you were thinking of my feelings the whole time and I appreciate that… but dang it! Now I kinda wish I was a mare now… Even a 1% chance would keep me going rather than absolutely none…”

Fluttershy’s ears perk up with what Zephyr just said. (“Did he really just say what I think he did… already? Maybe I should have expected this, but wow was that easy…”)

Fluttershy lightly giggles. “Zephyr, I may actually have something that could help you with that”

Zephyr raises an eyebrow “You’re not suggesting I go through surgery to actually become a mare… that takes too much time… and effort…”

Fluttershy shakes her head. “Nah, you won’t need all that. All you’ll need is… this!” She raises a hoof up and poofs up a shampoo bottle with Zephyr’s colors. Which only makes her brother even more confused.

“...Is that supposed to make me smell like a mare? Unless Rainbow Dash has been blind the whole time I don’t see how that’s supposed t- WAAAAAA-MMMPPPhhhhhh!” As Zephyr was talking, Fluttershy had opened the bottle and put it near his face and before he could even realize it, his face and his whole head was absorbed into the bottle. He flails his hooves and flaps his wings, but Fluttershy just smirks and then lifts both the bottle and Zephyr into the air with Zephyr now vertically above the bottle. Zephyr’s entire body waves, stretches, and funnels into the bottle. Fluttershy grinning as the last parts of her brother gets bottled up. 

She smirks with the satisfaction of bottling up her brother. She could have only turned Zephyr into a mare first before making it simultaneous with Zephyr’s genification. But she felt she wanted to do this a little more quickly.

She sets the bottle down on the cloud floor they were standing on before opening it up. The shampoo bottle convulsing until…

FWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSH

Aquamarine smoke rises above the bottle, blond colored sparks popping and swirling with it. After it rises with some height, a silhouette of a pony appears but not of the slender, and tall stallion that Zephyr was. But a more normal sized mare, and a clearly longer mane. Not quite as long as Fluttershy’s own, but significantly more than what Zephyr had before. As the color fades in, the color of her veil and leggings were the same purple-ish color as her eyes.

Zephyr felt relaxed, though still rather confused since she didn’t even get an explanation. “Sis… what… is this? And… why does it feel so good? Wait, this is the same attire those guards had earlier… does that mean…”

Fluttershy nods her head thinking Zephyr may have got it already

“...I’m a Royal Guard now?!”

Fluttershy facehoofs, even now a genie. Zephyr isn’t all that bright yet.

“Zephyr, you realize that something’s happened both times you said the words 'I wish', plus you saw me shapeshift from a bird back to my normal self. I’ve already proven to you that I’m not a changeling. But to make sure you get what has happened, I am a genie now Zephyr… and so are you now”

Zephyr gasps “Wait… a genie? So… I have MAGIC now?!”

Fluttershy nods and smiles.

“Oh. My. Celestia! THIS IS SWEET! I can do anything... And I can say I did it all on my own!” Zephyr quickly poofs up a mirror to look at himself. He gasps again, seeing her new mare appearance. “Whoooooooa… I actually look great! I’d date myself if I could!~”

Fluttershy reacted with a bit of disgust. But to get the subject off that image, she asks Zephyr about a possible name change.

“Now that you’re a mare, us genies are actually offering to give new names to those who are genified and used to be stallions. I don’t suppose you have a name in mind, do you?” Fluttershy asked.

Zephyr tries to think of something, but this is a bit hard for her. “I’ve… never been the best with names. How about you think of something for me, and I’ll see if I like it.”

Fluttershy takes some time to think of something for her brother-now-sister. Before settling on a name. “My brother-turned-sister, would you mind going by the name… Aura Winds?”

The newly genified stallion-turned-mare thinks over with the name, and it quickly begins to warm up to her. “Aura… Aura… Aura. Winds… I think I could live with that!” The mare that was once Zephyr accepted her new name.

“Good! Now… how about we head inside, and give this gift to Mom and Dad?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Wait, is there like something going on where everypony is turning others into genies?” Aura wondered

“Pretty much, yea. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“Naaaah, it sounds pretty interesting actually. Wouldn’t mind seeing Rainbow in such garbs like this~” She about daydreams of seeing Rainbow Dash as a genie.

Fluttershy again shakes her head “I must warn you though, we’re not allowed to genify her yet. The pony who started this thing is saving that moment for later. Oh, and while you are a mare now. You still don’t even have a 1% chance of getting Rainbow to love you, it’s more like 0.1%. Our magic can’t make somepony fall in love with ponies they didn’t already have feelings for”

Aura looks disappointed, but she soon shrugs. “I’ll still take 0.1% over 0%. At least there IS a chance now!~”

Fluttershy rolls her eyes, but also kinda giggles. “Alright Aura, I’ll tell you real quick how to gain your hindlegs and tail real quick. And we’ll walk on inside”

As Aura is instructed about getting to walk on 4 hooves again. She surprisingly gets it pretty quickly, when before even the simplest things she would struggle with. Fluttershy would clap for her sister, and they head inside for a special visit to their parents.

They soon find both their mother, Posey Shy and their father, Gentle Breeze by the small room outside their home where Gentle keeps his collected clouds. He is inside, though their mom is just outside. She’s the first to see them walking by.

“Oh! Hello dear! It’s nice to see you visit u- A-WUHHHH?! Zephyr?! Is that you '' Posey takes off her glasses and wipes it off in case this was some weird trick of the eye. But when she puts them on again, there Zephyr was... still clearly a mare, and she could tell this wasn’t just a different pony. The color scheme was just too similar, and if there was any more doubt, she still recognized Zephyr’s cutie mark even if it was a tiny bit different.

Aura just nodded her head “Yep, it is indeed me, Mom!”

“My Celestia… hold on a second, your father needs to see this too!” Posey quickly goes in to fetch her husband to see not just Fluttershy is visiting, but a pretty drastic change done to Zephyr.

“Fluttershy? Zephyr? What brings you he- WHHOOOOOA!” Gentle Breeze could see the vast change that Zephyr has undertaken too pretty quickly. “Wha… what in Equestria happened here?”

“Hehe, I think my sis can explain. Heck, I don’t think she’s given me the full story yet either…” Aura turns toward Fluttershy

She nods, and takes some time to explain everything that’s gone on. Including more context of what her family had already heard in terms of the Storm King’s suddenly abrupt defeat. And of course everything about herself and many others becoming genies, including Zephyr, and introducing her new name to them. 

“Well… this sure is alot to take in… but as long as you two are happy with it. We’ll support it!” Posey graciously said.

“And Zeph… I mean… Aura, I must say that Fluttershy’s magic really worked in making you look great as a mare. Though I do have to wonder if you even wanted that in the first place?” Their father asked

Aura just shook her head “Nah, it’s no biggie. Like I told my sis already, if it means I even have a little chance at Rainbow Dash. Then I’ll take it!

And even aside from that… All this magic in me makes me feel I can actually do everything I’ve ever wanted to do on my own just as Fluttershy’s magic has instantly improved her confidence!

I… may even think of finally going out on my own soon… just as my sis once did…”

Both of them gasp, although they could never have the heart to tell him. They’ve long waited for the day that Zephyr would try to live on his own. But know all too well that with both his attitude towards giving up on anything that’s hard, that leaving him out would only eventually lead him to be stuck on the streets alone.

“My my… this really has helped you so much, and I could definitely tell at many points how much Fluttershy’s confidence has gained just telling us everything that’s happened…” Gentle Breeze smiles, feeling proud of both of his… daughters now.

“Now I kinda wish that I could receive the same confidence boost you two got! Both of us could need a boost like that lately…” Posey happily stated, not realizing what those words just binded her and her husband to.

Fluttershy then turns toward Aura, they smirk at eachother as they’re both thinking the exact same thing: It was time.

“Mom and Dad, we’d be more than happy to help you with that~” Fluttershy and Aura then lift a hoof and levitate two of the empty jars meant for collected clouds. Fluttershy points the lid toward their mother, while Aura does the same but for their father.

The two parents are confused at what their daughters are about to do to them. Though it becomes somewhat more apparent as Gentle Breeze’s head, neck, and forehooves start stretching toward the glass that Aura was holding. Posey reacts in shock and shrieks in horror seeing her husband get shaped so abnormally.

She tries to fly out, but her own ponytail and her hindlegs begin to follow suit. 

By the time she’s close to the door, she feels a force preventing her from moving any farther, and when she looks back… she sees everything below her hips is nothing but a smoky, curvy tail heading towards the glass that Fluttershy was holding. Not to mention, her husband was already about halfway inside.

“S…st…stop! What are you doing to us?!” Posey says to both Fluttershy and Aura in her panicked state. Both of them giggling a little before responding one after another.

“The same thing Starlight did to me…” 

“And what Fluttershy did to me, too!”

“You’re going to become genies like us!”

“And you’ll gain the same increased confidence in the process!”

Posey still wasn’t so sure. “B… But that’s not what we wished for?! C..can…can’t you just grant us confidence… without making us genies?!”

“We could… but… we feel that this way, you not only get what you wished for. But so much more than that. Just relax, mother… you’ll soon feel what we’ve been talking about… and you’ll see why it changed both of our lives for the better~” Fluttershy winks.

Gentle Breeze only had the bottom of his hooves and some of his tail left, if looked closely, his eyes could be seen from within the bottle, half-lidded with a blush amongst the mixture of his colors

Posey just about wimpers, what can she even say at this point? They can’t do anything against these new powers… but Fluttershy nor Aura would hurt them… right? She’s still scared, but her mind wanders onto some curiosity on what she would gain from this.

And then what were her hooves entered the spout.

“AaaAAAAaaa!” Posey immediately overwhelmed with a rush, her face blushing bright pink. She relaxes now, unfolding her wings and her eyes go half-lidded.

Fluttershy smiles “There you go, mother! Our apologies for scaring you, it’s just not easy to calm ponies down about being sucked into vessels smaller than themselves. I’m sure most ponies instinctively think of how impossible this should be, or even if they could believe it… they may think they will be incredibly cramped and in a more claustrophobic situation.

But don’t worry yourself… once inside you’ll find what is more so an endless void that you’re able to decide for yourself what is inside later. Though we will be freeing you and father out shortly. From then on, you two will be able to enter and exit at will!”

All that was left of Gentle Breeze outside the vessel was the end of his hooves which are quickly slurped up by the glass. Aura then closes it. The newly mare-ified genie beams a smile, having enjoyed giving her father what is surely to be the same gift of both genification and a gender change as well, she wonders what he’ll look like as a mare once they open the vessel back up. The container begins to lose its opaqueness as it becomes themed on Gentle Breeze’s colors.

Posey was just cooing and moaning as she was carefully pulled into her own matching vessel. She hardly says a word, still not even knowing what to say. Fluttershy whispering to her to help her out.

“Mother… just feel the magic flow through you… let it pleasure your very mind and soul… and let yourself speak out what you want to say… I’m sure you have many thoughts overflowing your brain… this is how it changed us… don’t be afraid, you and father will feel so much better once this is complete. And the best thing is… it will be built to last. We can show the world what we’ve been too meek to share until now.”

Posey let the soft whispers of her daughter lift her spirits, the tingly feelings getting more intense as the pegasus mother was shaped more to fit in the vessel with her forehooves binded voluntarily to her sides. She switches between heavy breaths and moans as the magic welling up in her helps her find the courage to say what she wants to say.

“I… I…. Iiiiii OooooOOooooo! I… l-l-l-LOVE THIS! F-f-Fluttershy… A-a-Aura!”

She was now only down to her neck and her head, The intense feelings really overwhelming her.

“AAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAA! YES! YES! Let’s show the world who we really waaaannteeeeeed to beeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmppppphhhhhh!”

Both parents were now contained in the glass containers. The colors shifted to Posey’s colors just as it did for Gentle Breeze. Fluttershy with her own satisfied smirk for another genification, she had previously genified Meadowbrook. But something felt more personally satisfying at having her family join her in geniehood. Aura was feeling likewise, the power in her hooves to not fail at every given task and share this power with others left her fulfilled like never before.

“Fluttershy, can I say you’re the absolute best sister ever? Because you really are!” She gives a tight hug towards Fluttershy, who gladly returns the favor.

“Thank you, Aura! Though I’m just doing what I think is best for everypony here, it worked out for me. And I know it’s worked for you, and will do so again for our parents. Speaking of which, let’s release them now! So we can be one happy, and more confident family together!”

Aura nods, and they both lift the stoppers off at the same time. The two glasses were shivering before…

FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH

Light green and pale yellow smoke swirl above the glasses, with light pink and raspberry sparks respectively pop around as the two emerge.

The parents fade in, Posey looking how she was but with a green veil and leggings that matched her glasses. Though Gentle Breeze certainly was far more drastically changed, the swirl mane no longer like whipped cream on top (Although the curl on top stayed), but now covering half the former stallion’s face in a style more similar to, though much shorter then Fluttershy’s mane.

The parents breathe a long, relaxed sigh. They each open their eyes, and Posey looks on over to her husband. And she just about squee’s seeing this new version of Gentle Breeze.

She quickly flies on over to her husband-now-wife’s side and hugs her. Gentle eeps in surprise, but soon smiles for Posey’s warm embrace before gently hugging back.

Fluttershy and Aura’s hearts both go aflutter watching the two.

When their embrace ends, the both of them look down towards their daughters. “T-t-thank you… so much Fluttershy and Aura… this… feels so… l-l-liberating” Gentle hugs herself.

“You’re very welcome! Though… now that you’re a mother too. I need to offer you the same deal I gave to Aura after she changed from being Zephyr. Do you want to change your name in any way?” Fluttershy offered

Gentle thought for a moment, maybe even a little longer than most when deciding their new name. “Hm.. I… don’t know if I want to change from Gentle… but I might be willing to change my last name to Winds, just as Aura has. I can go from Gentle Breeze… to Gentle Winds” The mare that was still Gentle, but more windy than breezy softly smiles.

Both Fluttershy and Aura nod in agreement. “That’s an excellent slight name change! After all… ‘Gen’tle is pretty ‘gen’der neutral, he he'' Fluttershy giggles at her pun.

Fluttershy and Aura then fly up to their parents to give them each a hug of their own. A group hug ensues between the much more confident family. And they celebrate the promise of being a family together for all eternity…

[wickedzeevyln]

Flicker

In candlelight,shape-shifting memories of what wasand what has been. The firmament in silence stirs above,breathing chance into glass bones and gossamer spirits, shattered and torn in the winds of desolation. Sold per pound,sold for parts,a work of haute couture,yet through the thickness,we burst into sparks to awaken the coldest night. We carve the world anew,breath of flame, a tremoring…

[officialmiintee]

“this is it. I want to stay here forever”

[benevolenterrancy]

redraw of that ds9 scene

LBH doesn't understand what's going on but wants to impress shizun; MBJ understands it even less but is optimistic about any sport involving a solid wooden bludgeon at least

[mentalmeles]

It's soon to be over 17,520 hours and I'm still not over them.

A redraw of this old drawing. Reblogs > Likes.

[that-one-p00k1e]

Is that a fucking smile I see

Chat he's fucking smiling

I'm gonna kiss him then squeeze him to death mark my words

[revasserium]

hurricane

sakura haruka; 1,189 words; fluffy fluff fluff, first love, sakura learns the meaning of friendship, no "y/n", lapslock, mindless fluff tbh

summary: after all, the rain is still just... the rain.

a/n: inspired by clementine von radics poem mouthful of forevers, and also wow sakura is adorable

when he tells you that anger is a language that he’s never needed to learn to know, that loneliness and rejection are dialects as near to him as his hometown used to be, you do not run away.

maybe it’s this place ��� maybe the blue of the sky from the rooftop garden. maybe, he thinks, there’s something in the water here that makes people kinder, makes them so damn comfortable with splitting open their skins to show him their insides, while asking for nothing in return.

“the summers are hot here,” you say, pressing a cool, dripping bottle of water to his cheek, laughing as he jumps and jerks back, holding it out as he looks from you to the bottle and back again, “make sure to hydrate.”

“why do you care?” he asks, because sometimes, it’s the only way he remembers how to say thank you.

“here, take it,” you say, offering him your handkerchief when he comes back from yet another fight, blood still trickling down the corner of his forehead, “it even matches your hair.”

“don’t need it,” he says, glancing down at the black and white checked piece of cloth, but he doesn’t push you away when you reach out to dab at the drying blood, your hands soft and careful. he never knew hands could be such things, but he supposes there’s always time to learn.

“isn’t that what schools are for?” you say, giggling when he plucks up the courage to tell you one day, when the nights slowly grow longer and the days are clipping own tails, tucking in earlier and earlier. the wind is just on the other side of biting and he’d stared down at his own hands for a solid half minute before reaching out to offer you his scarf — a present from the old lady from the musubi store for putting up her brand new awning.

“y-yeah. guess so,” he says, pulling back to admire his handiwork, the thick knit of the scarf now wrapped snuggly around your shoulders. his blush is more than enough to keep him warm the rest of the way home.

when he lashes out — because its the only way his body remembers how to react to the act of kindness — he sees the hurt flicker like fireflies behind your eyes. but still, you don’t turn away. instead, you sit back, you sigh, and you tell him you’ll wait.

“why?” he asks, because it’s the one question that keeps on echoing through him, like the tolling of a hundred thousand bells, reverberating through him till it’s all he can hear — why?

“because,” you tell him, “sometimes people just need time — and lucky for you, we’ve got a lot of that here. so…” you shrug, sitting back with a sweet, knowing smile, “take your time. that’s what friends do for each other — sometimes, we’re there, but sometimes… we give each other space and we give each other… time.”

time, he thinks, turning the words over his head. how long has it been since he’d had to sleep with one eye open, to always look over his shoulder, to wake up knowing that he’s gotta hit the ground running. how long? what was it that he was running away from?

and sure, he still doesn’t quite have a setting between off and a hundred, but he thinks… maybe with enough time, he can learn. and you teach him.

slowly, he learns the weight of laughter, pure and sweet and joyous, the power that tenderness can bring, the way that sometimes a smile is more potent in a fistfight than as well-aimed punch, that somehow, your hits always land harder when you have a thing worth fighting for. and it should’ve been obvious, but maybe it’s not — that love is a thing of viciousness and vengeance, but also a thing of delicacy and light.

when he holds your hand for the first time, he thinks his entire body might burst at the seams, shattering into a million and one pieces if ever you tried to pull away, but still, there comes a time for letting go.

“i’ll see you tomorrow?” you say, the pair of your teetering on the front steps of your house. behind you, the warm glow of your living room lights paints your outlines in gold. sakura swallows, your fingers still laced in his. he reaches for a reason — any reason — not to let go.

“unless… you wanna come in for dinner?”

he whips around so fast he almost cricks his neck, but he nods before he can psyche himself out, and the next second, you’re tugging him into the house behind you. it’s not the first time he’s met your family, but it is the first time you introduce him as your boyfriend. the word has a strange ring to it, a one-two punch that knocks the breath from his lungs every time you say it.

and it’s only really been a week.

later, in the dim halo of your bedroom lamp, your legs dangling over his as the pair of you read manga on the floor of your room, he reaches out to pull you into his arms.

“i — i’m not a — hm,” he clears his throat and tries again, fighting the urge to bury his face in your shoulder from behind, “i’m not good at… this kind of stuff…” he admits, though your tinkling laughter tells him that yes, you know. still, he forces himself to go on —

“so… uh — if i like… blow up over something random just… like slap me or… or something.”

for a second, you’re quiet, your steady breathing and his much less steady ones the only sounds in the room.

then, you twist slightly to face him, peering up at the profile of his face in the burgeoning dark.

“do you remember that one day — when it rained this summer? and it was so, so nice because it was so freaking hot that whole week?”

“uh… yeah?”

“and then… like three weeks later, there was a hurricane warning, and everyone had to stay home?”

“sure. umemiya made everyone run to put away his stupid planter boxes —”

“but… if you think about it, the rain is still just… rain, right?”

sakura frowns, pausing, “i… guess so.”

“yeah. so… it’s kind of like that with you, i think.” you smile, settling with your back against his chest, his arms around your middle, “the rain is still the rain, whether is light or it’s heavy. and… i’ve always loved the rain.”

sakura makes a soft noise, letting his head fall back against your bedframe.

“it doesn’t matter to me… cause, i think i’d still feel the same about you either way,” you say, turning around once more to fix him with a smile —

“i’d love you if you were summer rain… i’d love you, still, if you were a hurricane.”

[mydream-synopsis]

one thing i really adore about togame is his word choice and how unexpectedly soft his way of phrasing sentences are. it's almost impossible to translate into english because there's no equivalent verb ending, but you can kind of tell the difference in his tone use. when you listen to sakura talk, for example, the ends of his sentences sound a little harsh and abrupt since he uses a typically informal tone; whereas togame's a lot softer (even if we account for his slower speed), and he uses a verb ending that's rather unusually rounded and unexpected of someone with a physical appearance like him. the elongated ends of his sentences exaggerate this, especially during his pre-bofurin fight when he uses that tone as a way to annoy his opponents.

[dangermousie]

A danmei lover's biased and incomplete het web novel rec list

@mercipourleslivres thanks for inspiring me!

When it comes to Chinese web novels, I mainly read danmei. I tend not to care too much for OP heroine with a hero who dotes on her for no reason as she fights with 14 year olds narratives, nor inner courtyard fights. BUT!!! There are some het web novels I like and so here is my biased and incomplete rec list. Most of these don't have OP heroines, and very little to none courtyard fights.

Before I start, my favorite het web novel authors are: Gong Xinwen, Mo Shu Bai, Peng Lai Ke, and Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. I have yet to read anything bad by them.

Anyway, rec list:

1000 Miles of Bright Moonlight - one of my ultimate favorites, this would make such an epic drama! A smart as hell heroine, a hero who is a monk and a warrior (but also terminally?) ill and such a vivid world and amazing secondary characters (heroine’s brother is possibly my favorite supporting character of all time) and so much angst and happy ending. This has an amazing romance but it’s not romance-centric if it makes sense - ML doesn’t appear for a while. But once he does, it’s worth it!

Accompanying the Phoenix - the one that just got adapted into The Legend of Shen Li, this is high adventure and cottage core and funny and tragic and powerful ML being putty in the hands of capable FL and just EVERYTHING.

Apocalypse Arrival - Gong Xinwen’s novels are made just for me. Her heroines are always powerful as fuck and rescue abused MLs. In this novel, our heroine who lives in the post-apocalyptic world, wakes up right before that apocalypse happens. She forms a survival crew and also rescues ML who has miraculous blood and has been drained of it and is now hunted after the rescue for it. SO GOOD!!!

Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script - so fucked up, so good, with monster hero who learns to love and be human and heroine who learns to love and be human (but from the other side, her tower of perfection.) Much better than the drama which I did enjoy.

The Blue Whisper - the drama was so-so, but the novel is a bona fide angst masterpiece, which really delves into what it feels like to be imprisoned or to love.

Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid - I remember starting this and loving the realistic feel and the heroine and wanting to stab the hero and @mercipourleslivres telling me to be patient. She was right, by the end I was on board with both the hero (who was abused and is rather autistic-coded) and the OTP. Anyway, heroine is a servant who was a concubine in the last life and got killed as part of a rich family’s harem intrigues. In this life, she just wants to keep her head down but her life gets derailed anyway. She gets sold away and eventually made a servant in the household of an exiled prince who takes a fancy to her and she endures it because what choice does she have? All she wanted was to serve out her term and become a small time merchant. This is quite realistic about lack of options for women, especially lower class women or upper class male attitudes (ML is never vicious or mean to FL but it does not initially occur to him to wonder if she fancies him or enjoys being his concubine or w/e.) It is a DELIGHTFUL slow burn tho as they grow to love each other and grow together and become one of the most wholesome cnovel couples out there.

Dandere General and His Lord - hi there, Gong Xinwen! God, I love this one. Heroine transmigrates from modern world into a brutal slave-holding world at war (think something like Warring States era.) Our heroine transmigrates into the body of a noblewoman who just hung herself. When she comes to, she discovers that woman’s twin brother was the ruler of a city poisoned by a rival claimant and the besieging army of said claimant is about to take the city and original occupant of the body and the rest of the family chose suicide as a way to avoid dishonor. Our heroine refuses, schemes with advisors to pass as the brother and rally the troops. Once the invaders are defeated, she keeps on the masquerade and rides off to one of the never-ending wars “she” is summoned to. Our hero couldn’t be farther from this. A slave and a son of a slave, he’s escaped a horrific, starving childhood during which he narrowly avoided being murdered or raped, and ended up in the army. When the story opens, he distinguished himself in battle and as a reward, he and a few of his fellow slave warriors are invited to a banquet, where they are given some alcohol and to be playthings of any nobles who want them. One of them does not survive this but ML is lucky - heroine feels terrible and so “claims” him for herself. Instead she just tends to his wounds and sends him back. She does not fancy him or anything, she is just a human being with a conscience. And the story goes from there.

Demon King's Repayment - another delicious Gong Xinwen tale with a powerful ML dedicated to capable FL. This one is a great fantasy plot (I keep imagining it as an animated series) and a sprawling cast of amazing secondaries (and secondary OTPs - there is, I swear, an OTP that is Dong Hua x Feng Jiu done thru GXW lens) to boot.

Doomed to Be Cannon Fodder - I hesitated to put this one on the list because by the end I was not keen on how misogynistic novel got to original female lead but it was one of my earliest novels and I loved it for 90% and it’s fucking hilarious at times. Heroine transmigrates as bit villainess into a novel, all she wants is not to die, but her new attitude of “pls stay away” catches the attention of her terrifying general husband. Honestly, imo still worth it.

Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir - my n1 novel on this list, smart and fierce and don’t really read this for romance because it does not start until really late, but ice cold heroine x ice cold hero both of equal brains and ruthlessness is everything. I went from loathing the ML to finding him fascinating to adoring him (and yet he softened around the edges only for FL, he never became “nice”) and loved FL throughout; secondaries are epic. If you read only one non-danmei web novel, make it this one.

The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl - my n2 novel on this list. Our heroine is the unlucky laundry maid A’Chou. She is a di daughter of an upperclass family but her family got destroyed in one of the political upheavals of the time and A’Chou, only a small child at the time, was the only survivor and was made an enslaved laundry maid. Due to various events, at the start of the novel she is a laundry maid in a minister’s household and the minister’s beloved daughter is having a fit because she’s supposed to marry the former Crown Prince which may have been great a few years back but Crown Prince had since been deposed, tortured, imprisoned and now is living in the middle of nowhere under conditions that are too meager to be called house arrest. And he’s seriously crippled too. Understandably, the young lady doesn’t want to marry him! She’d rather kill herself and so she does. And so, a desperate plan is hatched - why don’t we pretend the laundry maid is the di daughter of the minister’s household and send her off? And so A’Chu is sent as the bride. She arrives to discover a broke, seriously injured man on the verge of death…and we go from there. This is so gorgeous and tender and slow in just the right way and like AAAAAA! Secondary OTPs (one of which is MM) are also epic.

Futu Tower - the drama (Unchained Love) was a mess but the novel is such a lovely, dark exploration of coming back to life, for the ML from his dark revenge-strewn path and for heroine from not being allowed wishes of her own. She is a tribute bride, he’s a (fake) eunuch, they are both servants who use themselves to achieve goals and find peace and happiness together.

The Grand Princess - a tale where both members of the OTP reincarnate as their younger selves after killing each other in their 50s, and get a new start, this is smart and slow and so good in portraying old souls in young bodies. Their rediscovery of not just each other but themselves and their passion for living is just AAAAAA!

Heroine Saves Gentleman - Gong Xinwen novel so we have a tough martial artist lady saving a very upper class scholar and it goes from there. If elegant gorgeous ML being saved and protected (and lovingly dommed) by awesome FL is your bag, pls come right in.

Husband Be a Gentleman - schemer meet schemer. He’s an idle prince she’s perfect daughter, in reality both are wolves out for blood. Mmmm. Very OTP gets together early and is us against the world.

I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister in Law - one of my all time favorite novels. Heroine is made to marry a disabled nephew of the emperor. He used to be a victorious god of war but went mad and now is basically locked away and kept as a beast. GOD I LOVE THIS NOVEL SO MUCHHHHH! So much hurt/comfort and awesome OTP and after he eventually recovers, all he wants to do is to fight and murder things and dote on wifey. MMM. He’s honestly one of my fave MLs.

I Married a Disabled Tyrant After Transmigrating - if you have a Florence Nightingale complex, this is for you. Heroine wakes up as tribute bride to an almost dead dragon lord and slowly nurses him back to life as his rivals try to murder him. They are both utter adorable babies!

Let the Villain Go - another Gong Xinwen novel, this and Apocalypse Arrivals are AUs of each other. Heroine is surviving in the apocalypse, ML is the “bugbear” of the world but in reality just reacting to all abuse and torture and after she accidentally saves him, devotes himself. Fun fun fun!

Long Wind Crossing - Amazing ML and FL who grow together, clever plot, arranged marriage to love etc etc. Oh, and one point he feeds her his blood to keep her alive, what’s not to love? (Adapted into Chang Feng Du/Destined)

Lost You Forever - this is a short but delicately wistful tale of trauma and loss and love, wrapped in a high fantasy setting but so relatable despite it.

Love In Another Life: My Gentle Tyrant - so so fucked up in the best way! ML cannot live with OR without heroine. It opens on them banging in jail night before her execution (ordered by him) with corpses of men he killed for trying to defile her cooling nearby. If you want healthy relationships with respectful boundaries, gentle and considerate male leads who are modern men in period clothes, OP heroines who have everyone help them and are OP to the max, fluff and wholesomeness, that is about the worst book for you.If you want complexity, dysfunction, darkness, pain and an absolutely lyrical even if fucked up story, come right IN!!!!I am so fucking in love with the melancholy heroine, with ruthless psycho hero and the endless regret and devotion and paaaaain!

The Marquis Is Innocent - our heroine is a beautiful woman married to a warlord who hates her family. (Yes, this was gonna be The Prisoner of Beauty until SZE tax scandal.) Except she's a transmigrator from the future who knows how it ended last time around and has no interest to end up this tragically. This is in my top 5 - FL is smart but believably so (and doesn't have super battle powers) and ML is a believable period warlord. The way their relationship develops so gradually and the way his character changes so gradually as well (and the way they slowly fall in love, her slower than him) is just amazing. It is such a smart, nuanced, gorgeous slow burn. With some gonzo sex scenes :P

Mulberry Song - you like tragic endings? Come right IN! This is short and heartbreaking and wistful and very what-if.

Nightfall (Ever Night) - so long but also so smart and unusual and bloody and tho it’s not primarily a romance, you will never see another ML who loves his FL as much as Ning Que does his Sang Sang. 

Offering Salted Fish to Master - in some ways, this novel is a mess, but I am recommending it because this is a rare example of "nope he's 100% a villain and murderdude and odd, but he does love the heroine" that the author commits to.

Pihanjin - yet another awesome PLK novel, this is once again, like with Marquis, a ruthless man and a beautiful woman getting a second chance on a second go-around. FL is a lot more wounded this time around though. If you LOVE watching ML grovel and slowly, gradually win FL over, this one is for you.

Princess Agents - a dark tale with an incredibly competent and militarily powerful/ruthless heroine and two terrifying men who love her (but neither is as terrifying as she is.) There is an OTP switch halfway through that shockingly makes sense and it's just SO SO GOOOOOOOD

Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage - this is probably the one “typical” novel on this list, heroine is reborn as her youngest self and gets revenge on those who wronged her last time around. It is really really well-written and heroine is competent, hero is doting and powerful etc. It’s not a trope I tend to love but I do when it’s done THIS well.

Rebirth of the Tyrant’s Pet: Regent Prince is Too Fierce: Borgias cnovel style! Our heroine was empress in last life and put her husband on the throne tho he did not love her. However, he had her executed and had his half-brother carry out the orders and heroine died horrifically. She opens her eyes and she’s a little girl again. The OTP this time around is heroine and half-brother executioner. Why do I love it? Heroine is smart and tough but also this is a rare rebirth novel where heroine does NOT decide to seek revenge for past life wrongs because they haven’t happened yet! In fact, she sees ML abused and stands up for him because he’s a kid and no kid should be mistreated and this go around he hasn’t done anything wrong. She also gets and likes her former life husband. Anyway, this is fakecest galore because she’s supposed to be their half-sister and while she knows (from past life) she is not, they do not and fall for her anyway. ML is especially gonzo, at one point carving chunks of his flesh to save her. He’s feral and unhinged and she’s the one person he worships because she protected him and like - it’s all awesome. (I love secondary ML too.)

Reborn to Love Lord Qiansui - yes, this is a eunuch novel! If you like gender tropes reversals, this one is for you. Heroine is a tough martial artist, hero is a smart as hell and powerful eunuch. A real eunuch. Heroine finds out she owes him her life and decides to protect him. This is a total delight and an awesome love story between two really scarred people. And yes, there is sex - heroine literally reads manuals on pegging :P

Return of the Swallow - so freaking long! But really good. Heroine is neither transmigrator nor reincarnator, just a smart period woman. She is a lost family daughter taken back in. Her father is a minister in a dying empire (father-daughter relationship is one of the best things in this novel), her OTP is enemy general, and the smartness and the awesomeness of this all knows no bounds.

Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes - probably the wackiest JLFX novel I read, this is quite different from Love You Seven Times drama that was adapted from it. Our deity protagonists go through a bunch of lives figuring out they fancy each other. It's light like a souffle but just as delicious.

To Be a Virtuous Wife - some people prefer 8 treasures trousseau but I never warmed up to that one. This one is so good, with smart people (who actually enjoy sex, a ratity) and a perfect mix of plot and romance.

Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - my very first web novel. A lot lighter than a lot of the ones on this list but a total delight. Heroine transmigrates into a novel as the heroine; she has no interest in drama or chasing true love, she just wants to live a nice life with her nice husband. Too bad for her, her husband has reincarnated into his younger self and remembers how she betrayed him, so is not interested. This one is funny and light and romance doesn’t start till late on but a total delight!

Wishing You Eternal Happiness - this is tied with Dreamer as my favorite het web novel ever though it couldn’t be more different from Dreamer, with its hard-edged and hard-souled protagonists ruthlessly cleaving their way to the world and, eventually, each other, its smart cynical air. Except in one thing - the world of Wishing is just as bloody and dark. Its two protagonists are gentle, deeply wounded souls who may find salvation in each other but even something as basic as safety almost seems out of reach.

Jliafu, our heroine, is neither a modern-day transmigrator, nor some exotic princess or demoness. She is very much a period woman of her time, from a weathy merchant clan, whose beauty is her curse. You can tell the novel’s tone from that utterly bleak opening chapter where she, a favorite concubine of a capricious dying emperor, is ordered to be buried alive with him and is not even given the “grace” of white silk but slowly suffocates in the coffin, scrabbling at the lid. There is no grand threats of vengeance on her part, not dramatic opera events. Just despair and death. The whole introductory chapter is haunted by emotional ghosts - the empress’ unrequited love for the monster on the imperial bed (turning into desire for Jiafu’s suffering after he dies), the emperor slowly dying in his prime after waging too many wars, and his fear of being haunted by Pei Youan, a brilliant if sickly minister who died of illness long ago on one of imperial campaigns. There is no triumph for anyone, only loss.

When she wakes up as still a young woman, all she wants is to escape the same fate. There are no plans for power or revenge, only a desire for survival. And so she latches on asking for help from Pei Youan, the only man in her past go-around who showed any consideration and desire and ability to protect her, though he barely knew her. Pei Youan is probably my favorite het web novel ML. Despite his brains and ability, he drifts through life. In modern terms, he clearly has depression. One of the biggest, best joys of the novel is watching these two very good, very quiet, very wounded people discover happiness and love with each other. I sort of want to cry just thinking about it, tbh.

The Yandere Came During the Night - a bit of fluff that’s oddly delightful. Heroine is reborn as a (fake) sister of ML, she hurts her legs saving him and the “siblings” form a bond that ends up in fakecest delight. They are both smart and efficient and he becomes a sexy marquis etc.

[gd-dollopole]

If my future, magical boyfriend won’t make up an important and unforgettable piece of legend that will live long in the minds of men, just because I’m having a bad day and low self esteem over whatever I’m fit to be the Once and Future King and rule over my own kingdom, then I don’t want him.

[sycamorality]

the sunset is always so pretty in rain world

[tsuchinokoroyale]

I am once again complaining about my choice to attend a rave that has left my body in shambles

[stanford-photography]

Contemplating in Nature By Jeff Stanford, 2024

Buy prints at: https://jeff-stanford.pixels.com/

[oddverse]

I can't see no reason to put up a fight…!

[souenkun]

Pokémon Masters EX spoilers ahead!

Kabu likes to play TAG with his pokemon... and he's shown to have a much softer side beneath his strictness in pokemas too... he's so grandpa-shaped to me 😭💖

[ms0milk]

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