#Gentle Winds

[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”

[kabukiaku]

finally, here are my takes on pebble and aeon/air ghoul!

[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

[marciaillust]

meadow, summer, gentle breeze

[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.

[heartkade]

happy anniversary sweet despair <3

[grapenamjams]

A New Fascination

Word count: 2,4K

Characters: Merman! Togame Jo x fem.reader

Summery: reader saves Togame from a net and both beings learn about each other.

Or a merman obsessed with human thighs

Contains: SFW (well there’s a part where he smells your scent but nothing happens because our boy is a gentleman) mentions of cuts and scraps (reader gets slightly injured), Togame and reader don’t speak the same language, body exploration, I imagine reader with a sundress and a bathing suit underneath

💚🐢psst…start here💚🐢

Togame Jo didn’t mind the mundane. Actually, he preferred it. Knowing what the day was going to consist of meant he could take it easy in the ocean realm.

Unexpected boundary skirmishes were usually dealt with quickly by Togame. But They were the extent of disturbances he would like in his day. Today, unfortunately had more than one disturbance to his seemingly perfectly mundane day.

First, getting accidentally trapped in a fisherman’s net against a rock close to the shore. Second, getting saved by a human women from said net.

Everything happened so fast, Togame dived into the water swimming below the surface with his heart hammering as he tried to regroup his thoughts of what transpired.

The third disturbance to his day was the feeling that overcame him when he saw the human women sit down on the rock where he had been trapped and inspected her lower half of her body- where she a mermaid is where her tail would’ve been.

Ah-they were called legs remembering the term suddenly.

Togame was on the other side of the shore, only the top of his head above the water. lazy green eyes taking in what was occurring infront of him shining with rare interest. He knew he should’ve swam away-far away from the shore. Humans were not to be trusted. they were a foe he never had to fight before. Therefore not knowing their capabilities. and from the stories he’s heard going around all his life he thought of it to much of a hassle anyway to find out.

But yet he remained floating in place. His powerful green tail swaying under the water. The human seemed to be upset and he swears he saw her wince. His eyes lower to where she was checking herself. Small red streaks were displayed on her skin a bigger sized one on the top where she was able to bend.

Wounded Togame realizes his eyes widing slightly.

Had she been wounded during her helping him? The merman feels guilt swirl within him. He didn’t even consider to make sure she was okay before he swam away so suddenly. He didn’t even thank her and now she’s there alone trying to tend to wounds That he was partky the reason for.

Togame blows air through his mouth and gills on his neck in a huff. He was annoyed at himself for being so inconsiderate. Even if she was a human, she had meant him no harm.

He remembers her eyes, how they looked at him with wonder when she first aprouched him then filling with concern as she planned on what to do- the least he could do was make sure she was okay, right?

Togame submerged his head and started to swim towards the other side where she was. Underwater he heard a disturbance entering the water. her wounded leg enters the water. Immediately he was hit with the smell of her blood.

What was she doing? Did she not fear attracting potential shellbrained predators while she was alone? Who could easily overcome her small frame without much of a a fight? Togame swam faster, wanting to stop her from stupidly exposing herself like this.

Still, In his urgency he considered how he might aprouch her. He didn’t want to startle her after all. He opted to emerge a little ways before her. Hearing small breathy gasp falling from her mouth. Togame regarded her once more her physique on the rock she looked…intresting to him, is what he decided on.

He flicked his tail twice gliding across the water till he was right infront of her. Looking up at her from the water gauging her reaction to his proximity. When he deems that she wasn’t going to attack or run his eyes go to her wounded leg. Worriedly Seeing the scraps and cuts.

“Seriously ya shouldn’t let cuts bleed, out in the open like this. atleast without having a way to protectin ya self ” he chides.

When He dosent hear a response from her he looks up curiously. the womens confused face lets him know she has no clue what he’s saying.

“We don’t speak the same language? That’s Great.” He mutters.

Going back to her leg, Togame gently wraps his webbed hands around her shin and calf. Taking a closer look at her wounds. The swirl of guilt still present in him. He takes note that she also bleeds red. His fingers hover over the bigger scrap, focusing his gaze, something felt off about the cut.

It ain’t healing.

The humans wound should be halfway closed by now-if she were his kind. With a start, he notices that even the smallest of scratches are also still red. Puzzled he lifts her leg up to his face. Ignoring her noises of protest. Togame becomes even more concerned and confused about her injuries, thinking of what he can do to help quicken the process.

Are all humans really this frigail?

In his questioning another thought bubbles up in his mind. His hands glide across her skin. It was soft and smooth, a texture he hadn’t felt before! Immediately His thoughts cut away from his worries about injuries and transform into fascination for the feel of her under his hands.

He hears her make more noises above him. But since he can’t understand her, he ignores her. His touch goes above the knee. fingers adorned with black nails grazing under the fabric of her clothing. when she suddenly pulls her leg away from him with a loud one syllable word.

The sudden action surprising him making him jump. He looks up and sees her cheeks are flushed along with her mouth moving with more noised words. Togame tilts his head slightly trying to understand what just happened to make her react so suddenly. She’s holding her legs to her chest now looking at him, upset.

Did he hurt her accidentally with his touching? Does she perhaps have another wound he didnt see?

Knowing now that humans wounds don’t heal as quickly as merpeople. worry spikes through him at the thought of her having a larger opened injury under her fabric requiring attention.

Without another thought Togame grabs her ankle pulling her leg from her grasp. He feels bad for being rough with her like this. But he has to know. she could be in a lot of pain.

He grips his hold when he feels her trying to pull away. His other hand lifts up the fabric of her clothing tossing it back to expose her full leg to him. His green eyes take in the new revealed part of her and search for any wounds that might have caused such a reaction.

The women squirming was not helping his search and could lead to her hurting herself more. With an annoyed huff and flick of his ear fins he places a hand on her thigh to keep her still.

only that when he did, his thoughts where cut through by the feeling of her. this new part of her was diffrent, it was plump and squishy with the additional smoothness of her skin. For some reason Togame stomach flipped excitedly and he felt himself get warm.

He couldn’t help it. His hand rubbed her flesh and squeezed it gently, his ear fins flicking in amusement at seeing her plush thigh indent around his webbed hands. The texture of her was incredible. He wondered if she had other soft parts like this on her body or if the smoothness of her skin was the same throughout.

He thought about pursing that idea but the fabric of her dressings looked like too much of a hassle to figure out in the moment. So he made himself content with what was available to him although he believed this would be his favorite.

Togame moved his face closer to her thigh. Settling closer between her legs. Wanting to provide comfort and demonstrate his appreciation. he nuzzles his cheek against the flesh. Closing his eyes, Relishing at the plushness of it. He hears her breath catch and noises as if she’s stammering.

Maybe ya lot ain’t all that bad.

That’s when he catches a peculiar scent. Opening his eyes, he is in direct view of what lays between a female human’s thighs. Curious he moves his face lower towards it, the scent growing. Just when he realizes what it is- his face blooming with a pink hue- he feels her push his shoulders back forcefulky with that same one worded syllable that causes him to freeze. Her voice sounded harsh with that word and he hated it.

The human once again retracts her legs away from him and into her chest but this time covers them with the fabric she’s wearing. Hiding the plump flesh that had enchanted him. Continuing to let out noises he had no clue about.

His mind was swirling between the new found fascination of the feel of her soft flesh and the fact that he had smelled her female scent from the source. It was different than mermaids. It was sweet and…inviting. Once more his face blooms pink and his body thrums with new found energy that he knows as desire. He looks away from her as he scolds himself internally. Putting his face in his hand before threading it through his long dark hair.

Stop, she’s injured and a human,you can’t think like that Togame!

Letting out a breath he focuses back on reality. He knows that he upset her but dosnt fully know why? She had no wounds that he saw that could have caused her pain as he touched her.

Or maybe the human women was truly frighted of him? It wouldn’t be the first time he had scared others. Togame was longer than the average merman. His green tail bigger than average; powerful to the point that others didnt try to meddle with him. But an odd feeling he hasn’t felt in awhile spread in his chest. He didn’t want her to be scared of him.

No, that wasn’t it. If the human woman was scared of him, she would have not helped him escape the net or ran off when he first approached her. He looks back at her his eyes roaming her body once more.

maybe she was simply uncomfortable with his sudden proximity, his ear fins, droop with embarrassment. At not thinking of this before. Of course, he wouldn’t like stranger suddenly getting close to him, either. The weight in his chest blooms to appreciation. The human woman did let him get close and touch her. It’s only right that he should reassure her by doing the same.

He gives her what hopes to be a kind tilt of the lips as he slowly moves beside her, turning with his back to the rock before hoisting himself and sitting beside her exposing his full upper half. Water droplets making him glimmer in the setting sun. he hears the human woman once again gasp, but makes no action of running away still. Once settled he looks at her seeing the intrigue in her eyes. makes him fill up with a flustered sensation, He never felt before. But he likes her gaze on him so he puffs out his chest a bit so she can take him in.

Togame hears more noises come from her mouth, sounding like wonder. He blushes once more at what she might be saying about him.

gently taking her wrist in his hand, he feels her tense slightly but just as quickly lets him guide her hand to his toned adomen the muscles flexing lightly at her touch. He looks at her face to see if she understands that hes reciprocating what she let him do to her.

But the sight of pink on her own face makes him wonder why she is becoming flustered if she is simply touching him? Is she still unsure?

Togame tries again with a nod and pushing her hand further down, lifting up his tail to float on the waters surface so she can feel him. Togame tries to ignore the shiver that courses through him at her hesitate touch over his scales. He dosnt want to admit how good it feels, his tail unconsciously laingualy moving side to side on top of the water.

The women eyes widen sensing the muscles in his tail and looks up to his face with wide eyes filled with amazement. Her reaction to him is endearing. Making him happy.

He lets her continue to feel him, letting go of her wrist to once more place it on her thigh. Amazed all over again at the feeling as he squeezes it. He donst know how he could find anything to compare!

Then he hears it, a sound from the women he now didn’t ignore. So warm and Light like the sunlight filtering through the surface. His eyes flick up to her face, seeing her smile and her shoulders shake.

The sound coming from her fills him with wonder at how such a precious sound can exist. His hand goes to her lips, cold fingertips lightly pressing against them. Out of all the noises she’s made so far, he liked this one the best and he wanted to hear it again.

Togame leans in close, nudging his chin forward gesturing for her to do it again. But furrows his brows when she doesn’t. He reaches his hand once more to her thigh. Keeping focus on her mouth.

Huh, it should’ve worked?

He leans closer trying to figure out how he could make her make that noise again. His face full in concentration, not knowing that it was his pondering face that makes the human break into a smile an again.

Lazy eyes shining in amusement. She lets out the same sparkling noise. Bringing his hand to her cheek.

His tail flicks and his heart beat races.the sound a melody he never wants to stop hearing. Shes warmed by the sun against his sea cold hand.

A smile spreads onto his face, both looking at the other. Taking in their differences and similarities. The merman on the shore rocks with a human who saved him.

As far as disturbances go to his mundane days he wouldn’t mind a repeat of this one.

[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

[wingedblooms]

I love that gardening tote and how it mirrors this sweet headcanon about Elain creating a garden at the House of Wind from @ladylochan / @sleepylivart. It may not be canon, but it’s such an Elain thing to do that it’s not hard to imagine: Elain appearing at the House of Wind, creating a beautiful space full of life and joy for her sister and her friends. I can’t imagine a more healing housewarming gift. It’s giving outdoor sanctuary vibes—like maybe, just maybe, Elain might help others heal through connecting with the earth in her book. And maybe those small, joyful interactions at the House of Wind are the spark of an idea, a small seed to be planted in the future. So when she finally visits Rosehall and sees how tenderly the earth has cared for and healed Azriel’s mother, that idea—a seed waiting for the right time and place to grow—blossoms into a grand garden that rivals the beauty of Spring. One that, with her help, can once again offer rest and bring joy to anyone who is willing to make the journey.

[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.

[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.”

[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.

[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.

[birdybomb]

Wind Breaker episode 6

Hiragi and Sako are my favorite guys :)

[tsuchinokoroyale]

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