#I wish she gets to be in more fanworks

[exist101]

Anna Gram Angst Headcanon Time!

The three (3) endings to the island directly affect Anna Gram. In the everything bland ending, she's stuck bland forever. In the everything goofy ending, she's stuck goofy forever. But in the halfway ending, she is stuck the way she was before, with a twist. Think TGS Jekyll and Hyde, where they share a mind and talk to each other and argue about who gets the body for the night, and how they're no longer two halves they're two wholes in one body. Their full name is Annabelle Gramstone, the bland side Anna Gram and the goofy side Bella Stone (previously Dr. Blandstone). Both sides can never really get along or be their normal self again. Neither know much about who they were when they were just one individual, and Anna likes to interview people who they used to know. Bella doesn't really care about those people though and would rather start getting to know new people instead of clinging to the past.

[goldenheart-week]

Goldenheart Week 2024 Prompts

Each day has four prompt options to choose from: a "Goldenheart" prompt, a "Blackloin" prompt, an AU, and a quote from the movie or comic. There are also five alternative prompts if you are not inspired by any of the options for a given day.

All kinds of fanworks are welcome: digital art, traditional art, 100 word drabbles, ficlets, longer fics, poems, embroidery, cosplay, music, gif sets, vids, etc.

Day 1/June 27: Firsts (meeting, kiss, "I love you," etc) | Memory | Commoner Ballister AU (Ballister doesn't become a knight)

“You always remember things as better than they were.” / “And YOU always remember them as WORSE.”

Day 2/June 28: Forgiveness | Apologies | Prince Ballister AU (Queen Valerin makes Ballister her heir instead of a knight)

“Ballister, wait — if I don't make it out, I need to tell you—" / "We can't do this now. Just...just promise me you won't get yourself killed."

Day 3/June 29: Pride | Weakness | Magical Creature AU (Mermaids, Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifters, etc)

“They’re going to love you. Like I do."

Day 4/June 30: Friends | Jealousy | Gay Dads AU

“She’s not just a creature. She’s my friend. Someone I love is going to try and kill her. And she’s going to kill him."

Day 5/July 1: Disability | Regret | Modern AU

“I wish — we could just go back. I wish things could be how they were."

Day 6/July 2: Trust | Scars | Everything is Fine/Science Mom AU

“Then you never knew me at all."

Day 7/July 3: Healing | Pain | Role Swap AU

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" / "Because I love you!"

Alt Prompts: Beyond the Wall | “I love you” | Family | AU

“Arm-chopping is not a love language!”

So that we can find your posts and reblog them during Goldenheart Week, please tag Tumblr posts with: #goldenheart week 2024, #day [x] or #alt prompt, #prompt name, #goldenheart, #nimona. Additional tags for fanwork type are also welcome (#nimona fanfic, #nimona cosplay, #nimona fanart, etc.). Please also be sure to tag for content triggers (#suicide, #suicidal ideation, #self harm, etc.).

Check out the FAQ for more details and feel free to send asks if you have any questions!

[adarlingmess]

So, let's discuss that scene in Raphael's Boudoir.

Before anything else, I want to thank the studio for giving us that treat after us devil simps kept asking for him, and apologize for the unholy fanwork it might inspire.

Right, now that it's out of my system...

At first, I found it hilarious that Raphael only ever sleeps with a copy of himself. On brand, for a narcissistic devil. But after some thought, I just realized how that might've been a half-truth, and how utterly self-indulgent, controlling and depraved Raphael actually is.

Haarlep himself told you that the person he copies his appearance from will know that they're having sex in that form. By sleeping with himself, he's experiencing twice the pleasure he gets. It's basically masturbation with a few extra steps. That would also mean Raphael felt everything and is perfectly aware that his incubus fucked you if you do it.

If you steal the hammer or rip up your contract, Raphael will confront you. You can try to get Korrilla on your side, she will say that the only reason why we're here is because Raphael allowed the player to be there. So, he is actually allowing you to use his "toy".

This is where it gets more screwed up: Haarlep is Raphael's personal incubus. It doesn't help that failing to resist them leads them to saying that the player's body will be "left alive as a loving doll to obey the wishes of me and my master"

In conclusion: Raphael orchestrated everything. He didn't sleep with the player himself and let Haarlep do it so that he will have access to your form at any given moment and do whatever depraved thing he wants with it. I guess that explains why he was eyeing the player from head to toe when he claims to just be protecting his assets when you meet him outside of the Thorm Mausoleum in Act 2, too. It lends a whole new sinister meaning to him saying that he's grown fond of you in his own way.

The rational part of my brain says this is so fucked up, but the other half is in morbid awe. The writers managed to make what seems to be a minor fanservice moment into a further glimpse into a character's psyche. By that point in the story, it's glaringly obvious that Raphael is a control freak- and dominating you by making you feel it whenever Haarlep uses your body is another way for him to exert control.

Such a bastard. I love to hate him and hate to love him.

[pinkomcranger]

my thoughts on Saga Anderson and the lack of spotlight on her in fanworks

Hmmm…this has been bothering me since I waded into the fandom after AW2 dropped. WHY DOES 99.9% OF THE FANDOM SLEEP ON SAGA WHILE IT'S HALF HER GAME???

I DON'T understand the fixation on Casey (even though I adore him and he's the other half of my OTP), or Zane to the point that when Saga is in ensemble art, she's relegated to being the "bro". And for what purpose? She has just as much build up and storyline as Alan himself. She certainly has more screen time than FBI Casey. I see posts going "oh, I love Saga so much, she was so badass" and then almost nothing when it comes to fan work.

Do y'all understand, how, as a black woman, this frustrates me to NO end? I go to her tag on AO3, see new fics, get excited...just to see she's the bro or footnote to CaseyWake. I've literally been brought to TEARS over this. Saga was written with SO much love and care, and it's so obvious. She was not the stereotypical sassy, angry, loud black woman that we tend to get when we're even thought of at all.

And it's genuinely PAINFUL to see all of the love, all of that care, ALL OF THAT RESPECT, IGNORED by fandom because you want to focus on the white men. Because why? I get it, het is so icky for most of you, fine. But to not even give her fanart/fics just on her and her daughter? It's terribly egregious.

Saga Anderson is genuinely a role model. She's smart, warm, funny, dedicated, sympathetic and passionate. She will change REALITY just to save the ones she loves. She's NEVER had to deal with anything like the Bright Falls situation and she came through it with such GRACE. She saved the fucking day. She did what Alan couldn't do in THIRTEEN YEARS. And she gets no recognizance in fanworks?

And I know the majority of this fandom happens to be made up of women, at least for fanworks. You truly mean to tell me you can't, at all, even a little bit, relate to this woman? You can't make her the focus, instead of a background character? The white men are easier to understand and draw/write for?

I can't tell anyone who to like, or who to ship, nor would I ever try to, because on the internet, it seems like het is icky despite how amazing the woman is. But I've seen comments towards andercase fanart going "Saga, no, you're married!" But shipping CaseyWake in the same breath, despite Alan being married and getting back to his wife being the main motivation for Alan to do anything at all.

It comes off as hypocritical, it comes off a wee bit "I don't know what to do with this black woman...hmm, let's just make her root for CaseyWake" I'm left feeling that Sam and the team love Saga more than the fans ever do or will. And that fucking sucks. Because to put so much thought into a character and love the character, just to be ignored?

That hurts, really really badly. I genuinely enjoyed feeling like I was represented. I loved having a character I could relate to, one I could understand. But it feels like I'm in the minority. When she tells Alan he's not alone in this, this is THEIR story...well, that was the truth for me, and I wish others felt the same way.

I genuinely adore the works Saga has gotten that focus on her, and I see so much love and care put into them. It just somehow feels like fandom made this game into CaseyWake 24/7 and it's icky.

[dykedvonte]

i think you and also me see a lot of "what if anya kills jimmy" au fanworks

for you do you wish that concept get explored more like how they deal with jimmy's corpse and the critical understaffing and curly has to do both job of being the captain and autopilot or just fine and simple as it is?

I am gonna actually deal with it in the fic because my only gripe with these sort of aus is that they only seem viable after the crash?

Like I understand wanting justice for Anya or wanting Jimmy to be stopped early but it’s just not in anyone’s character at that point. Like she would protect herself but she’s not going to hunt him. As much as we like to joke that the others would condone it they wouldn’t, not that early. It’s part of their inaction and the commentary. As for the dislike I think they should put him in the cryo-pod. It would be poignant that he’s preserved, the only one who had to use the pods and it’s job is null and void. Him freezing and already being dead is so parallel to Curly burning and somehow living.

In cases I do think about it I feel like it would such an interesting turn of events. Like imagine the game but set from the events of Anya having to be in forced lock up. She’s confined to medical and Curly regularly visits her. She killed Jimmy and it opens making you believe she dangerous. It slowly shows how the crew treat her kindly and with understanding. Talk about her as a good nurse even tho Curly is feeling guilt that Jimmy has died. Most of his hallucinations are of Jimmy, flash backs to the same scenes but longer, perspectives we don’t see. It stops before the crash, Anya in medical telling Jimmy and the shot. Curly has to decide if he turns in Anya or creates a cover story. The Captain in him says he must follow procedure but the person he is feels the guilt he let it come to this. Not doing more to stop it. Stop him. I think he’s sits on the feelings he’s not upset with Anya in the slightest.

I think it’s so interesting that Anya is both in the place of Jimmy and Curly post crash but inverted in this scenario. Confined but slaps free, guilty but she is not haunted by it, quite the opposite. I think her thoughts would very introspective and reflective. She’s still concerned about the baby but a lot of that dread was also factoring in Jimmy’s danger.

[cilil]

Something neat about... Varda

Varda is a queen not just in title, but everything else as well, arguably the true powerhouse on Taniquetil, the boss aspiring boss babes out there wish they could be. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want and she will let people know.

What is often forgotten while talking about Varda rejecting Melkor is that she did so at a point where he was vastly more powerful than any other Vala individually and even all the other Valar combined, able to daunt his own brother with his gaze, so... it was, simply put, extra scary for her to do so (and I know us afab people in particular can probably feel that primal terror of trying to say no to a man we know can hurt us right now, if we imagine ourselves in her shoes).

((And please know that I do not blame you if you were too scared to say no in a similar situation, we aren't archangels immune to death after all. You are loved and Varda would fight these men for you.))

What enables Varda to spot shady characters early and call them out is her, shall we say, bullshit radar and foresight. Yes, she doesn't know everything in advance either, that's also not the point, but she knows when you're up to no good and she'll tell you off. Seriously, what would Manwë do without her (probably get scammed. A lot).

 ˚ ੈ✧̣̇·˖ 　˚ .　　　✶ ˚　　✦　. 　 ˚　.　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔　.  ˚　

“Something Neat About” (SNA) is a mini series on my blog where I say something I like/find cool/interesting/neat about various Tolkien (right now mostly Silmarillion) characters. 

Please feel free to add your own thoughts/ideas/headcanons about the character in the comments/tags, link fanworks you or others made, show pictures of your pet you named after them, whatever you want to share; my only request is to keep it positive.

More of SNA for your perusal here. You’re also welcome to message me/send asks about characters you’d like to hear about :)

[raycatzdraws]

I'm gonna put this here and then probably make it private but I want to say

There's discussion happening in the LU fandom so if you don't care for that scroll on:

But, I love creating with the LU fandom. I don't create in a void. My work is a conversation. I hope that it inspires you to create, to think, to chat with friends! Thank you to everyone who's shared their art and let me be a part of it, and to everyone who's played a part in mine!

to copy paste something I've said on my main:

isn’t it interesting that there’s Jojo’s LinkedUniverse and then also the LinkedUniverse fandom’s LinkedUniverse? That LU became a conduit through which to examine and compare and contrast Zelda games with this cast of characters as a base? That was their original intention and the fans went “heck yeah!” and ran with it? The LinkedUniverse fandom’s LinkedUniverse is a monster of the week story where everyone contributes, it has hundreds of authors and storytellers all working together and trading tales. It’s a scenario in which Jojo’s LinkedUniverse is both the source material and also just one instance in the larger weave. And the LinkedUniverse fandom’s LinkedUniverse lore deviates from (and is much deeper than imo) that of the original comic mainly because of that 1 person building a thing vs hundreds of people building a thing. And isn’t that so cool? But then also with the decline of the fandom I dunno I feel like the LinkedUniverse fandom’s LinkedUniverse has been dying. Updates would spawn a burst of creativity and multitudes of branching ideas and what-if scenarios explored through art and fic and discussion, building on it, adding it in to pre-existing stories. I feel that activity around updates has been ticking more towards exploring the comic within the context of the comic itself (or just reposting clips), and less within the fandom’s takes on it (not taking that step forward of “yes, and,” and “yes-anding” fanworks as well.) Or not updates in particular, but the state of the fandom is deviating from taking this base and running and sharing to something more controlled and wary? Isolated? The LinkedUniverse fandom is a phenomenon to me. And it’s not something I think should be replicated in regards to other LinkVerse comics but it’s also something beautiful and creative? Like, Jojo to a certain extent has or had lost control of the fandom’s versions of these characters. She made them and we respect her wishes for them but they no longer belong to her? The LU fandom’s LU is a collectively written LinkVerse and exploration of the loz games, using these characters and relationships as a base (which is why I think people mistag by accident so much.) Sure, you could use the characters directly from the games or make your own LinkVerse to explore the relationships between the loz games. However, within the context of the LU fandom, you get the advantage of the template already being there for the character’s personalities, meeting, secrets, and an open ended goal, and these things are understood by a large number of invested people, leading to this huge collaborative project. This is what’s so special about the LinkedUniverse fandom to me. Watching this thing be built and getting to be a contributing piece of it. Maybe it shouldn’t have happened. Like, if something like that were to happen to anything I’ve made I think that’d be really scary. But it’s also something incredible? It’s why I have a hard time accepting it when people say they hate the LU fandom. How could you hate the creativity? The shared stories? What’s been made? Isn’t it incredible? It’s another LinkVerse, in a way, one that belongs to many. I'm frustrated by the instances where people have tried to police the way the characters are written, both within the fandom and towards Jojo’s comic, and the issues in communication, and callout posts asjhfksdf Problems in reconciling the LU fandom’s LU, Jojo’s LU, other LinkVerses, and gen loz. But the phenomenon of the fandom itself, the shared collaborative LU fandom’s LinkedUniverse? I think it’s such a cool thing. I think it’s such a cool way to explore and examine the loz games and craft stories with so many other people. I really enjoy all the LinkVerses that are around now. I don’t think the fandom for LU is something that can be replicated. (or should?) (it’s both something odd and a loss of control for Jojo but also a conduit for an incredible amount of creativity and community.) It’s really interesting to me. It’s really interesting to witness. Or to have witnessed?

and now tired rambling, but,, aaa

What I love about the fandom is seeing ideas and headcanons and art and fic be shared and then built upon. The community projects! The LU Zine. The valentine's day cards! The artist and writer appreciation projects! The weekly polls and prompts from the main LU server! The master door post! Long haired Sky! Tick-tac-toe on Legend's forehead! Crop top Roolie! Cheer up buttercup! Seeing small headcanons being adopted into fanon lore and being able to watch that progression. Seeing these tropes develop and being a contributing part of it! It's something we're building together and watching that happen in real time is so special! Again, it's that 1 person building a thing vs hundreds of people building a thing that is so alluring to me.

The creators, and analysis folks, and people who leave comments and nice tags: I see you as my peers! I want to create with you! I'd love to participate in collabs and trades! I haven't been able to be involved as much as I want because of a lack of spoons. But, I admire so many of the people here. Thank you all so much for sharing what you've made! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it! Thank you for supporting me and my silly ideas for these characters! My art is a conversation and I approach what the LU fandom's made in the same way. It's not content to be consumed. It's an open hand. I'm so grateful to those who have taken it. You've inspired me to create. It's the greatest honor if I'm able to do the same for you. I want to keep making things with you guys.

(To anyone who's made fanart for fic and vice-versa, to anyone's who's seen a headcanon and let the poster know that it's changed how you view the characters, to anyone who's contributed game information to analysis, to those answering asks and doing requests? ya'll are the best keep it up!)

[hms-no-fun]

i just want you to know that i read... i think Most of godfeels and had to stop because i was not enjoying it. but i think its really good and i really respect what you do. i think it's all too easy for people to mix up "this is not my cup of tea" with "this is bad and/or problematic". they dont take the time to see the artistry in it, why it is what it is, what it might be saying beyond their surface level read and the kneejerk reaction to it.

i also wanted to note that ive always been kind of scared of sharing fanworks for fear of writing "out of character" - and ive also even been afraid of it in original works. character isn't real and concrete, so anyone can decide something's out of character. so your exploration of that concept gives me more confidence as a writer. i really appreciate that and everything else you do. :)

thank you so much for this message! i'm glad you tapped out rather than force your way through something you weren't enjoying, that's a very mature response and something i wish more folks would recognize as a perfectly valid option. in fact i think pushing through and reading long after you've given up on the material, so to speak, is a great way to wind up angry at a writer for having "forced" you to endure such a trying experience. as i've said before, an author can't force you to do anything. you can close the book any time you like.

as far as the tension of "in character/out of character" goes, i think a lot of people in fandom struggle with the fact that "character" is very much in the eye of the beholder. sub-groups form within fandoms based on identities, politics, sexual predilections, etc, and typically gather around the fire that is their particular interpretation of a character. but from within that sub-group, it's rarely considered "an interpretation" so much as the obvious intended truth of the text. it's that intoxicating mood of finding people who share a perspective you rarely see elsewhere, like oh my god, you GET it, finally someone GETS it!

in homestuck fandom, for instance, quite a lot of people hate vriska and think she sucks, with a vocal sub-group of that sub-group still actively beating the drum that everything about her arc after [S] Game Over is the worst part of homestuck. but i love vriska, and my corner of the fandom very much organized around a full-throated defense of her. some folks think homestuck did tavros and gamzee dirty and that this is a fatal flaw in the text; when i countenance these people, i am convinced we read two very different comics. who's right and who's wrong? there are degrees. i can pull out any number of quotes from andrew hussie about the importance of vriska and the weenieness of tavros, but then, authors love to say things, and there's plenty of stories i love in ways that directly oppose to the authors' stated intent. the debate can never end because we are only ever talking about the version of a character or story that exists in our heads, based on the things that stuck with us when we read the thing (however long ago that was-- which is important because i find a LOT of people adamantly defending their headcanons haven't read the source text in a number of years. as time passes, your perception of the media you've experienced in the past morphs and distorts. someone who was right five years ago can be wrong today and not even notice the difference).

something i've realized in the last year is how much godfeels emerged from a very specific milieu, not just in terms of how we interpreted certain characters but in our approach to analyzing and talking about the text altogether. i believe most of the important stuff in godfeels is "in character" in most of the ways that matter, but it's built on a very specific meta that centered vrisrezi and transness and radical leftist politics and experimental hypertext. really, it's a post-Epilogues fanwork even despite the fact that godfeels 1 predates their release by a few weeks. and i think to this day a lot of homestuck fans haven't read the epilogues but have read fandom posts about how terrible they are (quite a lot of which will have either been written by teens, by people who already didn't like homestuck very much, or by one of the regressive stalkery weirdos prominent in the homestuck reddit/discord), and that misapprehension keeps them in the dark about just how many amazing tools the epilogues introduce to the homestuck formula that exponentially expand the expressive possibilities of attentive fanworks. and it of course elides the fact that the homestuck epilogues are a story about being in your 30s. i think we'll be getting a big re-appraisal of the epilogues in 5-10 years. it'll be the "twin peaks: fire walk with me" of homestuck, just you wait.

so these readers see my version of dirk being an unhinged murderous dick to a newly-out trans woman and go "he would never do that." then if i point at the epilogues, they'll say "i didn't read them/they're not even canon/that wasn't in character either." at which point there's nothing really to say, because we have two completely different perceptions of the text. who's right and who's wrong is almost always infinitely subjective, a circumstance that humans are notable for being very good at handling in a mature and politely discursive manner.

so i've got an "author's introduction" to godfeels baking in my docs to provide some context about the meta this story is built on, the milieu it came out of, that sort of thing. it won't make much of a difference in practical terms, but it'll at least be something i can point to.

in any event, thanks for this message. all i ever want is for people to give it an honest shot. i hope you can continue harvesting confidence from wherever it can be found. it takes a lot of audacity and backbone to be an artist, especially when you have something worthwhile to say. remember that you're not writing for the haters, you're writing for the kind of person, like you, who wants to see more stories like the thing you're writing. they're the ones who'll get it, they're the ones who'll stick around long after the haters have lost interest.

[conarcoin]

Actually, no, I wanted to make one more post on this topic that I feel is important and that is that I don't think a lot of the current MCYT fandom understands the history and context behind the concept of "CC boundaries", and I feel like it's important to clarify this.

Prior to 2019, "CC boundaries" weren't really a thing in MCYT fandom spaces as far as I've been able to find. And it wasn't because people didn't care about CCs' wishes, but rather because fandom tended to be contained to fandom spaces and was self-regulated. CCs only really tended to see shipping content and the like when they intentionally seeked it out.

As far as I'm aware, the concept of "CC boundaries" came into MCYT fandom spaces in 2019 following CallMeCarson's serious stream and the creation of the Tumblr blog smp-boundaries. I'll get to smp-boundaries later, but I first want to give some more context on the serious stream and the SMPLive fandom in 2019 in general.

The serious stream mainly focused on stan Twitter culture, which is what most of the early "CC boundaries" applied to, but it also singled out a fanwork made by a young creator, a popular fanfiction called SMPRonpa. The issue with SMPRonpa however, was that Carson was the only CC who ever seemed to actually take an issue with it.

In the stream he talked on behalf of all of his friends, but really, these friends had been reading, joking about and praising the fic on Twitter, or seemed disinterested in it at all when it was mentioned to others. Even in hindsight up to just last year creators who were in it would say on stream that they had no real issue with it or thought it was cool.

The serious stream led directly to the creation of smp-boundaries, the first real documentation of "CC boundaries". This blog is still cited as the primary resource for CC boundaries to this day... Despite the fact that it hasn't been updated in over a year, and many of the lists contain outdated information, uncited claims, out of context clips and dead links.

The primary source people point to for "CC boundaries" is a relic that hasn't been touched in over a year, and we now have a fandom where separating the person from who they play in Minecraft is the norm. This wasn't the norm in 2019.

Additionally in 2019, a creator, ZombieCleo, was harrassed off of Tumblr for saying she couldn't control shipping and telling people to just block fancontent they don't like.

Many of the users who chased Cleo off are the same users you'll see on Twitter today pushing boundaries. Many of them are also ex-SMPblr users.

So uh, yeah. This is the context behind "CC boundaries" as a concept and is why you so often see people harassing others over "boundaries" that they straight up made up on a CC's behalf. Because that's where the concept originated.

[hyperfixated-fan]

Here is some of those wonderfully nostalgic girly-girl shows in vague order in which I watched/discovered them that no one asked for but I’m giving to you anyways.

1. First up, we’ve got the Horseland

Back in the day, I was a major horse girl (a part of me still is), but this show was so awesome and adorable. It’s just a bunch of gals riding their horses and hanging out at the barn. And their horses and other animals talk amongst themselves. It is all an animal lover like me could want. It’s just so cute and gives sweet life lessons. And occasionally, I found it interesting that they do touch upon some serious topics such as eating disorders and loss. The episode “Mosey” always makes me cry. All the episodes are on YouTube.

Overall, I have to say my favorite character is Alma Rodriguez.

2. LEGO Friends

The first generation of LEGO Friends is nostalgic, but I also seriously love the LEGO Friends: Girls on a Mission. It’s just a bunch of teenage girls getting up to shenanigans and being besties (Oddly, though they are high school age, we barely see them in school XD). I particularly enjoy Girls on a Mission (the episodes are on YouTube) because the episodes were so well put together and it fleshes out each girl a bit more uniquely. It’s a genuinely fun show though I generally am partial to LEGO shows. I am personally not a fan of latest generation of LEGO Friends. I’ve watched a few episodes and it’s just blegh. It might be the nostalgia talking but I just can’t get into it.

My fave character has always been Emma (she’s so adorable) and my fave ship is Emma x Ethan in the Girls on a Mission iteration.

3. Barbie Movies

Not sure if all the movies are pictured above, but there’s a good portion of them. I admit, I haven’t seen all of the Barbie movies (especially the good old classics mainly due to animation that did not age well so sorry) and did not really become a fan until later than most little girls. However, I still find the movies to be very enjoyable and cute. I think a lot of my affinity comes from many familiar Canadian voice actors being in most of the movies and I find it fun trying to pick out familiar voices.

A few of my personal favorite movies are “Princess Charm School” (it’s the first Barbie movie I ever watched with one of my best friends), “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” (so many voices and characters to listen to and try and remember), and “Mariposa” (I am rather partial to the voice of Chiara Zanni and loved her playing Barbie).

4. Ever After High

It is so sad that Ever After High ended after Epic Winter. I really wish we got to see more. I loved the imaginative twist on fairytale characters and the whole “facing your destiny” storyline. The princesses, knights, dragons, and wonderland were all great components as a lover of fantasy. Disney Descendants ain’t got nothing on Ever After. It was a very creative show and it was interesting to see all the characters that would pop up.

A few of my favorite characters are Rosabella Beauty, Ginger Breadhouse, and Lizzie Hearts. Call me basic but I really do like the ship Darabella (obviously the execution of it could’ve been better but I still like it.)

5. Miraculous Ladybug

Simply put, this show is a mess. Miraculous Ladybug barely made the list only because I have fond memories of it. I’m not caught up on any recent events and admittedly quit watching it after season 3 or 4 (I don’t exactly remember). The show had potential and many amazing fanworks, but after a while, the episodes just get repetitive. I still like the earlier seasons before things got too messy. As a lover of side characters, I also wish they fleshed out the side characters a bit more instead of keeping on creating more and more side characters. I still occasionally pop in to see what is going on and apparently Nathalie is dead?! Idk what’s going on and I love looking at spoilers with no context because it makes the show all the more funny.

My fave character list includes Alya Césaire, Nathalie Sancoeur, and Juleka Couffaine and I’m partial to the ship DJWifi.

6. Monster High

Since I was a fan of Ever After High, it was only inevitable that I would eventually become a fan of Monster High. It took a while but I eventually did fall in love with the show. And I fell hard. All the characters are so unique and while I absolutely love all the generation 1 content, I do not completely hate the g3 series. I loved the message of standing out yet belonging at Monster High, freaky flaws and all. The animation is very dated yet endearingly nostalgic at the same time. I love all the different twists on various monster creatures.

My favorite characters list gets pretty extensive, as I love g1 and g3 Abbey Bominable (I always love an ice queen), along with g1/g3 Cleo De Nile (bc she’s your typical mean girl/diva but truly cares for her friends), Robecca Steam (her steampunk aesthetic and little accent are adorable), Deuce Gorgon (a kind yet popular jockish character is rare), Jinafire Long (Chinese dragon is always a win), and Rochelle Goyle (she’s just neat).

Fave ships = Cleuce (CleoxDeuce) and AbbeyxHeath. I just love them okay!

7. Lolirock

I believe I discovered this show coming off of Storm Hawks and Steven Universe so the crystal motif and everything was already an intriguing concept for me (plus familiar Canadian voice actors drew me in). I just love the trio of girls trying to “secretly” protect earth with sparkles and spells while putting up the front of being a girl band (the songs are very catchy by the way if you can get past an ungodly amount of auto tune). The episodes gave me vibes similar to Miraculous Ladybug but somewhat better with less convoluted characters. Overall, it’s a very bright energetic show and I wish they would’ve delved into the backstories of the other princesses a bit more instead of focusing on Iris all the time. Here’s to hoping they eventually do come out with season 3. All the current episodes are on YouTube.

My favorite characters are the sisters Izira and Talia. They have so much power and the show needs to actually do them justice.

8. Mysticons

This one is definitely lesser known than most on this list. I found it shortly after LoliRock since it has similar features and characters. It’s a very simple show with simple characters but I am fond of it still (and I’m pretty sure it made me cry at one point. I don’t remember when but I remember something about it made me emotional). The fantasy magic of the world was definitely a big win for me. I think the creators did a decent job at world building. It’s your typical prophesied heroes must save the world from certain destruction but I found the show overall enjoyable and cute with a nice dose of found family thrown in.

My top favorite characters are Zarya Moonwolf and Emerald Goldenbraid.

9. DC Super Hero Girls

I started out as a G1 fan when it was still coming out and became a fan of the reboot as well. It was interesting to all these wonderful kickbutt superheroes placed in a high school -esque setting. The original series was very average with their shorts but it was such fun to see what characters would pop up to help (I even will tolerate and enjoy the LEGO specials). The reboot had better design and animation. I am sad it didn’t get a chance to run longer. My only qualm was that some characters had such a drastic change from their backstory and original character development that it moved from being whimsical and imaginative to simply keeping the name and having an entirely different character. *cough* Jessica *cough* They don’t get that she was such a powerful Green Lantern because she was bold but because most of the time she was scared out of mind due to her past trauma but still acted and pushed through the fear to save people.

Rant aside, my fave character is Jessica Cruz despite the reboot overhauling her character and erasing her backstory.

10. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Not necessarily my favorite glittery girly series I’ve watched but definitely an enjoyable series. True to my usual form, I unfortunately did not end up caring for most of the main plot and characters. However, the idea of this show was fun nonetheless and it had its nice moments, so I’m glad it got a decent number of seasons. The magic, weaponry, and elemental powers drew me to this show. I wish they delved a bit deeper into the true effects and trauma that fighting a war would have on all of the characters as they are leaders of their respective kingdoms.

My favorite characters include Entrapta (little nerdy characters are almost always a win for me), Mermista (Vella Lovell was perfect for voicing her and her character design is nice), Netossa (another awesome blue character; if anyone’s seen Six: The Musical, does she vaguely remind you of Catherine Parr?)

Bonus: Rainbow High

An interesting premise though it ultimately falls flat for me because I am not a fashion-oriented person in the slightest. However, I still like the show and all the drama that comes with it. I just overall find it hilarious to watch the squabbles that happen because everyone is just so high strung. (Why do all the guy characters literally look the exact same with that same stupid little hairstyle?) XD

Fave characters are Ainsley Slater and Jade Hunter.

Bonus: God’s School

Greek mythology! Need I say more? This is such an imaginative show. It is even more amazing considering one guy does all the animation. The webisodes that are out are great and I definitely recommend watching them on YouTube. Zeus looks like Disney Hercules and I find that hilarious. All the character designs for the gods are so awesome and I love the details that help indicate who they are. Ignore the fact that over half of them are related in some form or another and everything is fine.

Fave definitely has to be Athena! (…bad*** in the arena. Unmatched witty and queen of the best strategies we’ve seen.)

Bonus: Tinkerbell

These are just cute adventures. I wish the series could’ve continued so we could’ve gotten movies highlighting each of the fairies.

My fave is Silvermist.

Bonus: Steven Universe

I personally enjoyed this show and know it had a large fan base so I don’t get why so many people are going back and hating on it so fervently. It’s a flawed show like any but it still has it fine points and I have a soft spot for it. I heavily debated on whether this qualified for a magical girl show but I think it does. It’s nice seeing Steven grow alongside the gems and it’s a good show to put on in the background.

My favorites have to be Garnet and Sapphire.

Honorable mentions that I never fully watched but seem nice:

My Little Pony - I’m disappointed in myself for never getting into this show because it has all the right points for me to like it, including great Canadian voice actors and magic and ponies. I have watched some episodes and enjoyed them but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sit through and binge the entire show.

LEGO Elves - watched some but I never got truly immersed.

Totally Spies! - never really gave it a go but it seems okay.

Winx Club - I tried to like it but the characters just didn’t hit for me.

W.I.T.C.H. - watched the first few episodes but nothing made me want to continue.

[lottieleeweekend]

Hello Lottielee Nation!

By popular (in some circles) demand, LOTTIELEE WEEKEND 2 will be held THIS SEPTEMBER, FRIDAY THE 13TH THROUGH MONDAY THE 16TH, coinciding with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

As a reminder, Lottielee Weekend is a fandom event to celebrate, analyze, and generally come together over the relationship between Lottie Matthews and Laura Lee from the TV show Yellowjackets. While Lottielee Weekend will focus on the idea of a romantic connection between Lottie and Laura Lee, any and all fanworks—fic, art, edits, vids, meta, playlists—focusing on any facet of their relationship are welcome.

Each day will have an optional theme to spark your creativity, plus alternative prompts taken from St. Bonaventure's assessment of the Creation in Sententiarum Lib. II Dist. II Part. I Art. II Quaest. III.:

Day 1: Missing/Extended Scene

Lottie and Laura Lee get, in some chronologies of Yellowjackets canon, three days as each other's People between Lottie's baptism and Laura Lee's death. Give them more! Pre-crash, within that all-too-brief canon timeframe, after Laura Lee's death with apparitions or hallucinations, whatever you wish. Bonus points for making this one canon-compliant and expanding on things implicitly present in the show, but no pressure.

Alternative prompt: The angelic substance

Day 2: 5+1

Remember this format? It's a lot of fun, and used to be very popular. Five times Lottie and Laura Lee didn't kiss and one time they did; five times Lottie remembers Laura Lee and one time she doesn't; that sort of thing.

Alternative prompt: The fiery heavens

Day 3: Mourning/Grief

Here's your chance to cut loose and make it good and whumpy (not that canon needs much help with that). Really dig into Lottie's feelings, or maybe even into Laura Lee's feelings in a role-reversal AU.

Alternative prompt: Matter

Day 4: Free Choice

Lottie and Laura Lee don't get a ton of agency over their all-too-limited time together in Yellowjackets canon, but you do. If you've felt bound to the prompts on previous days and want to cut loose, here's where to do it.

More-optional-than-usual alternative prompt: Time

Some ground rules: Lottielee Weekend is for everyone. Clearly warn for explicit sexual content or for any gore or brutality that goes beyond what we see in Yellowjackets canon. Do not bash other ships, although criticizing or problematizing them (or even criticizing or problematizing Lottielee! We love them, but they're not without fault) is fine. Above all else, have fun, or what passes for fun with a ship as tragic as our poor doomed prophet and saint.

We will be tracking #lottieleeweekend and sharing submissions on this blog once the event begins. Feel free to use the hashtag on other platforms as well!

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic recs for 2023: 2K - 5K Words

So I’ve been going through and adding particularly good fics I’ve read throughout the year. Only Complete fics, of course. Enjoy!

An uncaffeinated Marinette makes for an easily misunderstood Marinette.

Luka’s a ghost. Naturally, he does some haunting. He didn’t expect to fall in love along the way.

Nathaniel keeps trying to confess his feelings to Ivan. Marc keeps trying to sabotage those attempts in order to confess his own feelings. Why does it seem like things never go right?

Cat Walker’s under orders to fight Ladybug. That doesn’t stop Adrien from helping his girlfriend.

Zoe and Kagami discuss the intricacies of relationships while being mildly inconvenienced by zombies.

Kagami awakens to find herself in a house with a zombie. This is less of a problem than you might think.

Sabine keeps having nightmares about Ladybug and Chat Noir killing Marinette. She has some basis to worry.

All this and more below the break!

---

They fill you with the faults they had. And add some extra, just for you by @unecoccinellenoire 

The thing is, Adrien Agreste isn’t a sentimonster. That’s the problem.

It’s left ambiguous exactly what’s happening, but... instead of the characters who’re canonically sentis being controlled, it looks like another method’s been used to keep them under their parents thumb. Basically, that what we thought were the kids amoks’ were actually used to brainwash more generally. Which leads to some complicated ethical questions for Adrien, since he now holds the rings. Especially since he can now use the rings on others the way they were used on him. 

---

what if we got married in the park by my house in the middle of the school year by @wooawi

Marinette comes up with an ingenious plan to take Adrien away from Gabriel's garbage parenting.

This was just fun. Of course Marinette’s immediate plan to get Adrien away from his garbage family is to make him part of her own. It’s hilarious and adorable and Adrien rocks the wedding dress!

---

Slip of the Tongue (And Not Enough Caffiene) by That_WildChild

Marinette is tired. Marinette is also uncaffeinated. This is not a good combination.

A sleepy Marinette accidentally suggests that she shares her bed with Ladybug. At least she's protecting her identity?

Pure Crack.

Ah, sweet, sweet crack! I giggled during the story. Marinette is “fucking Ladybug” indeed. At least her classmates are supportive! 

---

See This Chance by @19thsentry-blog

Luka died in 2016. Yep. Crushed by the Arc de Triumph when Mayura’s Robustus slammed into it. It was kind of a big deal, but once you’re dead, you’re dead—especially when there’s no Lucky Charm to bring you back.

Luka’s been dealing with it in the typical ways.

Written for FeLuka week 2023.

Yes, this is FeLuka. Not one of the typical ships I read, but I ain’t opposed to it, and this is a nice foray into the pairing. I love ghost AUs! Luka’s just fumbling around, unsure what to do with his incorporeal existence, until he starts haunting Felix. It’s an intriguing plot and I gotta admit, I wish it was longer so it could be fleshed out more, but what’s here is good.

---

Confession Plans of Questionable Sanity by yellow14

Nathanael Kurtzberg has a confession to make. He's in love with his big classmate Ivan. With the help of Marc, Marinette, Adrien and Nino, he's going to confess, using increasingly complicated schemes.

Marc meanwhile, is busy coming up with even more complicated schemes to sabotage those schemes so he can confess HIS feelings for his redheaded friend.

Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong with this, right?

Written for the March 2023 gift exchange on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord forum for CassieTheweirdWolf.

This fic’s just really funny. These kids love to make things waaaaay harder than they need to be. But hey, everything ends up working out in the end, even if it’s not the way they planned!

---

at our wedding by @anna-scribbles

“Chloé,” Adrien said slowly, “At our wedding, are we gonna have to…”

“No!” Chloé shook her head firmly. “We don’t have to kiss. We can do whatever we want. It’s our wedding.”

“Oh, good,” Adrien sighed.

“You have to kiss at a wedding,” Félix argued.

“I don’t have to do anything and you’re not the boss of me!” Chloé shouted.

“Yeah!” Adrien grinned. He grabbed Chloé’s hand again. “Yeah, it’s our wedding.”

//

Adrien and Chloé, wedding planning through the years.

Despite what the summary sounds like, this is NOT a Chloe/Adrien fic - this concentrates on their platonic relationship (and a bit with Felix, he shows up a few times) throughout the years. I especially liked seeing Chloe’s reaction to Adrien coming to school and making friends besides her, being jealous and feeling abandoned, and how she finally had a breakdown over Adrien somehow staying nice despite everything, while she... hasn’t. It’s a great character study!

---

Showing Love by @generalluxun

After the fiasco of Queen Wasp is over, Marinette knows what she had to do. If she just brings Chloé and her mother together, all will be fixed. A mother's love is just the thing to turn Chloé around, and it all must really just be a misunderstanding right?

Nothing else makes sense.

Marinette's mistake was forgetting that life never has to make sense, but she's Ladybug, and when one path closes she finds another.

I love Marinette really comprehending how little Audrey cares about Chloe here, and taking Chloe home with her to show her what a family should be like, reaching out to her even after everything. It’s just really nice.

---

the legend of the firefly by @agnes-writes

“She’s… beautiful.

If he were to describe her, he’d say that they bottled summer in her eyes, and painted the night sky in her hair. Her lips are curved into a wistful smile, eyes trailing the thicket of trees where Adrien stands.

Her gaze sets his heart stuttering in his chest as it softens, and Adrien almost believes that look is meant for him.”

OR: A pair of lovers create a romance that transcends time, and leaves a mark like no other.

This is an incredibly well-written folk tale, one that I highly recommend anyone who loves mythological, folktale, fantasy, etc AUs for Adrienette to read! It’s on the shorter side, but woven so perfectly that it packs an outsized punch, and feels like it belongs in one of those collections of folk tales and myths I read as a kid! 

Adrien’s a god, gifting prosperity to those under his protection, but never interacting with them... until a farm girl catches his eye.

---

The Cat’s Out of the Purse by The_Rabbit42

Adrien just took the ring off to be safe.

Plagg just got bored and wanted to annoy Tikki.

Rose just opened her purse and SURPRISE!

Ladybug just wants to get the ring back to her partner.

This was a fun fic, never seen Rose and Plagg interact like this before! It’s a treat getting more Rose and Plagg focus in general of course, but I really like their relationship here. Plagg’s really good with his wielders in general, and I love how he emphasizes that while he needs to get back to Chat Noir, while Rose is transformed with him, she’s as much her own wielder as he is. It reminds me of how he acted with Zoe, Plagg’s just a treasure XD

---

home is where the fight is by @rosie-b

Nadja Chamack’s voice greeted Adrien as he sat up straight, wiping his clammy hands on his pants and ignoring the black kwami floating by his shoulder.

“—shocked to see our heroine fall in battle today, taking a direct hit from the akuma just as she detransformed. Parisians are torn between blaming Hawk Moth and Cat Walker for their roles in this tragedy, which ultimately revealed the civilian identity of Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien turned off the TV and lowered his head as his vision blurred.

Written for Ladrien June Day 7: Injured

I adore this fic! Which shouldn’t be a a surprise, it’s no secret that I love Sentiadrien Enemies AU. Adrien’s so worried about Marinette getting hurt, and wishes that he could help keep her safer, could tell her what’s really going on or get rid of the ring or something, but he can’t. Still, he IS able to find clever ways around some of his father’s more problematic orders. Loopholes for the win!

---

Attack of the Crystal Zombies by @trainsinanime

Kagami had spent more and more time hanging out with Zoé, talking about things like families, expectations and crushes on Marinette. It was only natural, probably, that she would help Zoé practice flirting. That was definitely a great idea.

Granted, the deadly Akuma battle around them was a bit of an issue…

Quality Zoegami fic here! I loved how Kagami kept thinking she was bad at flirting, but it was sure working on Zoe XD. The akuma attack going on around them, interweaving with their conversation, added a bit of spice to the whole affair!

---

Closure by @bisexually-finger-guns

After the events of “Trust”, Alya tries to find closure.

I love this. A lot of the time, only the effects of Lila’s lies and manipulation on Marinette is explored, with the feelings of the people she tried to trick and use, with the Miracuclass and Alya in particular, ignored, downplayed, or even used to just rail at the kids for being gullible.

Not so here. Alya gets to go to a school counselor and talk about her feelings about Lila manipulating her, using her. Ladybug even gives her the Fox Miraculous to try a Burn-letter therapy technique on, telling an illusion of Lila everything she wants to say to her in order to get some closure. 

---

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite! by 55Anon

In which Hawkmoth is defeated by a strike.

So basically, Parisians get pissed at Hawkmoth and decide that hey, maybe they can’t stop him themselves, and they can’t just stay entirely positive at all times, but they sure as hell can direct every bit of their hatred and anger at him so that if he akumatizes one of them, they make a beeline for his lair. Hawkmoth didn’t stand a chance against the contempt of Paris!

---

All Of Them? Every Single One? by @liiinerle

It turns out that Marinette loves a lot more people than she'd initially thought.

This is hilarious and adorable. Tikki lays out how Marinette has a crush on basically every girl she’s met - and even girls she doesn’t know are girls yet XD. 

---

Anchor by @liiinerle

“Marinette. Please take that sabre out of your neck.”

“Right. Thanks. I forgot it was there.” She grabbed hold of the guard and pulled; the blade slid out like it had only been run through butter. After dropping it on the floor, she picked up one of the teacups and picked up a biscuit from a tin she’d brought in; she placed the biscuit on the saucer plate and handed the whole thing to Kagami, who could only really resign herself to accepting it.

-----

Marinette has raised Kagami from the dead, and also happens to be dead herself. It turns out some bad choices were made in the past. But that doesn't mean they'll lead to bad outcomes for them now.

I love this, Marinette’s incredibly blase about being a zombie - which makes sense, given how long she’s had to get used to the idea. And she’s waited so long, tried so hard to bring Kagami back as well, though if she didn’t WANT to be back, she’d accede to that request. Luckily, Kagami doesn’t seem to mind as long as she’s with Marinette XD.

---

safe and sound by Lady_Bryght

A crazed fan is stalking Adrien with violent intentions, and Ladybug is determined to protect him. When the school goes on lockdown and Marinette can't transform, she does her best to keep him safe without the use of a miraculous.

So this is a bit of a suspenseful thriller with a twist ending - well, sort of an ending, it’s a oneshot so far with an ambiguous ending that reveals what’s going on, but not how things actually resolve. It’s the sort of story where, after you see the ending, you look back through the story for foreshadowing. Can’t really go much more in detail, without spoiling the twist.

---

Worth Your Time by @pearl484-blog

After the events of the Season 4 finale, Adrien leaves a series of voicemails for Felix after learning he is missing. Just because Felix is out of sight, doesn't mean he's out of mind for his cousin.

Entry for Adrien AUGreste prompt: Rings

I’d honestly forgotten about Adrien being told by Amelie that Felix was missing, and how that might have affected him. He doesn’t know that Felix is okay - he just knows that Felix disappeared after giving the Miraculous to Monarch, and that not even his mom (supposedly) knows where he is. So naturally, he fears the worst, and after awhile of leaving voicemails and not getting replies, he almost starts using the voicemails as a diary of sorts about the various events of season 5 - up until Emotion that is, for obvious reasons.

---

the less I seek my source for some definitive by katrinette

When the akuma manages to smash a hole in the hull of the colony ship that's supposed to be unbreakable, Ladybug has to take drastic action to keep everyone safe.

This is an interesting sci-fi AU! Ladybug and Chat Noir pilot the last few fighter ships of their colony ship, the only defense against the akumas that keep on appearing and attacking the ship. But when one of the akumas smashes a hole in the ship, well Ladybug is willing to go to extreme measures to make sure everyone doesn’t die from the depressurization - measures that do not include any regard for her own safety, much to Chat’s displeasure.

---

Guilty by Association by @rosie-b

Marinette respected Adrien’s strength and courage more and more every day. No matter how many times people threw nasty words or literal tomatoes at him; no matter how many companies refused to work with him anymore; no matter how clear it was becoming that he would never be forgiven for his father’s crimes, he chose to greet new people with a smile and hope that this time, someone would recognize the kind heart hidden behind his hated name.

She wished she’d had the chance to meet him before she’d accidentally ruined his life.

Written for the Ml Writers Guild September event 'back to school'

I love how Marinette keeps reaching out to Adrien, trying to protect him, even if it doesn’t always work. To let him know that she’s in his corner at least. Hawk Moth had to be taken down, but the consequences for Adrien... she never wanted anyone to get hurt in the process. 

---

The Supreme Movers by PearlO_O

Continuation of Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir.

Adrien and Marinette battle with the emotional aftermath of meeting their alternate selves.

This was an excellent follow-up to the Paris Special! To be clear, the Adrien and Marinette here are Claw Noir and Shady Bug, not the ones from the show we’ve been following all this time. I really liked Adrien and Marinette reflecting and recontextualizing how their parents have been acting in more positive ways, and getting more positive responses in turn, along with them reassessing how they’ve been acting and reaching out to Alya and Nino. There’s this theme of “it doesn’t matter who we were or what mistakes we made, but who we want to be and that we keep moving forward”.

---

Keep Me Safe Inside by RoFair

Adrien Agreste, formally known as Claw Noir attempts to get to know the girl he admires behind the mask of the reformed Shadybug. He has a plan, but it is derailed by a blonde bully.

I love how smitten Adrien is with Marinette! He might have a lot of bravado as Claw Noir, but he’s kinda shy as a civilian. Of course, that all goes out the window when Marinette needs help - like when she’s being bullied and is nearing a breakdown.

---

delicate in every way but one by katrinette

When Marinette finds a wanted ad that provokes just enough questions in her mind that she can't help answering it, the reward is sweeter than she could have imagined.

I love the little bit of worldbuilding we get here about vampire society, and Adrien’s usual awkward adorableness in asking Marinette for a certain necessary favor. It’s always neat to see such familiar characterization in a supernatural setting like this.

---

Lost Feather by @a-flaming-idiot

Sabine has always liked and respected Ladybug and Chat Noir. They've always been wonderful heroes and inspirations to all of Paris and she wouldn't trade them for the world. But that isn't to say she didn't begin to get worried when the heroes of Paris made it their mission to destroy all sentimonsters in their path. Though she knew they never would, it was hard to not worry for the safety of her daughter.

I liked this glimpse of what might happen if Marinette was a sentimonster as well! Poor Sabine, of course she’d have nightmares about the Heroes of Paris killing her daughter. While she likes and respects the Heroes and understands why they’ve been killing sentimonsters, given that the ones Shadow Moth spawns often don’t even seem sentient and are wreaking havoc, she’s still afraid for Marinette, that Ladybug might purify her Amok without ever considering that Marinette might be an actual person.

---

Partners in [Chaos] by @aidanchaser

Griffe Noire's needs no excuse to crash a fashion show competition, but when he sees the baker from his favorite bakery is involved, he decides to shift from spreading destruction to a different sort of chaos. He's not ready for her to see through him better than he knows himself.

Remixed from Partners in Clown by MiaBrown

I love Adrien’s portrayal here, how he lies to himself about how bad the cracks are getting, while also relishing them in a way, feeling like he’s living because of the self-harm he’s inflicting every time he unleashes a Cataclysm, it fits with his portrayal in the special. I like Marinette here too, you can see a bit of her vulnerabilities in this piece, though it’s not in her POV so she’s out of focus.

---

Perfect by @deinde_prandium

It’s Adrien and Marinette’s wedding day! On site to ensure the event goes perfectly is their friend and famed wedding planner Kagami Tsuguri, and so far all has been going according to plan. There's just one problem: no one ever told her about Adrien, Marinette, and their struggles with automatic doors. Add to this the fact that Marinette’s determination to play matchmaker between her and a certain wedding singer…

Needless to say, Kagami is not pleased.

This is mostly a Kagami-centric fic, with a touch of Lukagami at the end. I loved the callback to Adrienette’s automatic door troubles, and Kagami and Luka being sneaky XD. 

---

Patrolling with a friend for Christmas by @seas-of-silver

Adrien just wanted to gift his Lady some time off and hang out more with Marinette during the festive season - it didn't exactly go to plan, but somehow ended up... better?

This was adorable! Chat Noir tries to give Ladybug a break by recruiting Multimouse to replace her on patrols for a bit, and Ladybug returns the favor by recruiting Aspik to replace Chat. Yep, it’s Snekmouse!

---

Far-Fetched Plans by @cravingcraze

“While that’s true, and I was going to bring that up, I wanted to talk about… when Wishmaker hit you,” he sat up and looked at Felix with… concern? Why was he concerned for him?

“You only care about my secret identity,” Felix deflected. No, there was no way fucking Viperion, Luka Couffaine of all people was worried about him.

(It was hard to imagine anyone working with Ladybug worried about him.)

So this is an intriguing prospect. Gabriel’s forcing Felix to work with him to try and get Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s Miraculous, something Felix isn’t thrilled about. But Luka finds out Felix’s secret identity, and decides to try and help him to break free.

---

Life with a Stolen Slime by RustyAce

Sharp, dagger-like stabs from his stomach made the small creature whimper as they curled into himself. Hunger. A frequent state he should be used to by now, but a painful one nonetheless. His gelatinous form was nearly a ball as he tried to self soothe himself, with just portions of slime forming ears and a tail that stuck out of his main body. Usually this worked, but the slime made a distressed moan as they pressed their forehead against his glass prison.

Oh, how he wished he could escape this jar he was in. The humans never came often enough to give him enough food, or even to let him out to stretch his legs. No, instead they carefully opened the jar’s lid just enough to slip some disgusting trash into it with some forceps. They, it seemed, did not appreciate his surprisingly sharp bites or scratches when they first brought him here. A shame.

The slime let out a small sigh, their eyes closing in an attempt to fall asleep to ignore his hunger. Perhaps if he fell asleep, he would wake up to them bringing him food.

So this fic is based off the Reverse world presented in the Paris special. Claw Noir’s a small cat-slime that’s being held captive in a jar, until Marinette eventually rescues him and puts him in a bigger container and feeds him better food at least. It’s cute, and it makes me curious about the setting of this story (like where he came from and why humans were keeping him captive, along with how Marinette stumbled across him), and where the story might go from here (this is a oneshot, but I’d love to see this explored more, if you can’t tell).

---

Changeling by @unecoccinellenoire

Gabriel makes the Wish believing that he regretted everything with Adrien. The results suggest that he in fact regrets Adrien

So this is interesting. It’s giving a glimpse into a universe where Gabriel and Emilie never found the Peacock Miraculous, and they (along with Amelie and Colt) just adopted. Which unfortunately meant that Adrien and Felix as we know them never existed, and Gabriel finds that he misses his original son, which is especially acute when interacting with his new adopted son and knowing how much he’s NOT Adrien.

---

Here for now, but I can see the better days by @nirby-wirby

Now, laying on his bed with only the soft light of a bedside lamp illuminating the room, he felt guilt eating at him from inside his chest. His miraculous burned on his finger, a reminder of what he’d given up. Of what had somehow led to his father helping Ladybug and dying in the process. The guilt was suffocating, building more and more until he felt like all that was left of him was guilt.

———— Or: Adrien deals with the grief and guilt of losing his father with some help. Set post-s5 finale and written for the ML Secret Santa Exchange of 2023

I love the support Adrien gets here, both from Nathalie in a more motherly role, and from his friends. He even tells Nathalie his secret identity, which gets her thinking about how badly Adrien got screwed over. Especially with him feeling guilty over Gabriel’s fate, when she knows he has no reason to.

---

Under the Umbrella by @fruitdragon1a

Almost everyone has a soulmate. What are Adrien and Marinette supposed to do when they meet theirs?

ML Secret Santa gift for Mei! Merry Christmas!

Thank you to Now Loading and Rewan Demontay for beta reading this fic!

So this is a version of soulmarks I haven’t seen before. Around age six, soulmates get a soulmark that shows what their soulmate is thinking when they first meet them. Though I guess it doesn’t register while transformed, since it only counts for this one when Adrien and Marinette meet as civilians, and not when they first meet as superheroes.

[felixcloud6288]

Madoka Rebellion Discussion

I realized I never gave more than live reactions and quick thoughts on the movie and never really did an obsessive talk about it.

I still hold to my statement that this is a story written by people who love the magical girl genre. But at the same time, PMMM is a series that is aggressively antithetical to a stereotypical magical girl series.

While reading about the movie on TvTropes, a recurring statement was the movie was made to mock various fanworks that insisted on making the girls alive, together, and happy. Such works kind of miss the point of the series which said that the life of a magical girl is gruesome, unfulfilling, and brief. And in the end, it is still those things, but they can still live a happy life in a glass-half-full sort of way.

Rebellion comes in with the intent to show that it's not possible to make a world where everyone gets to live in the world of fanfiction. The happy life of everyone having fun and fighting together is just fiction, and the world where everyone can live their lives free from burden is a glass-half-empty world.

I feel like the development team trusted the viewer to be able to realize what was going on before the movie explicitly tells them what is happening. The first shot we get is Homura's soul gem with the dark cloudiness of a curse in it.

From there, we have several hints with various levels of subtly to the nature of the witch. One of the most subtle hints was the Nightmares having a ballet theme and Homura's transformation also being ballet themed. I personally realized what was going on when Sayaka said the Witch "wants to keep things as they are."

As Homura recaps what happened previously, bubbles emerge from her soul gem and we see the interior of some of them. Later in the movie, Kyubey tells Homura she's been able to pull victims into her labyrinth by inviting them. I think those bubbles are the invitations and she's inviting us to enjoy the performance she wishes to put on for everyone.

The movie opens with a sign saying "Welcome to Cinema" as a pair of hands puppeteer a Nightmare and silhouettes of ballerinas dance. The movie is welcoming us to enjoy the performance, but it is equally welcoming the magical girls to enjoy as well.

It's subtle, but those hands are puppeting the Nightmare and they show up throughout the movie. Notice that the left, middle finger is covered up. If we could see it and the magical girl marking on the nail, we'd know exactly who is responsible for everything.

So I want to point out some things about the opening. It manages to give an abstract presentation of what this movie is about. It opens to someone turning a barren wasteland into a lush greenland. And the first person we see is Madoka, so we might be mistaken into thinking it's her doing. But it's important to note that the person who did this was bare-handed and wore white bracelets. And the only person we ever see wearing them is Homura.

Furthermore, the land isn't actually transformed. Nothing in the before and after matches up. Instead, the lush green fields are being placed over the actual world.

And we see snapshots of Madoka over several months going from being alone to being friends with everyone else until Homura appears. But when Homura gets to be with Madoka, everything falls apart and time rewinds itself to before. And while everyone else is able to laugh and dance and enjoy themselves, Homura cannot join them because she knows none of this is real.

And the moment she reaches for what she truly wants - she reaches for Madoka's hand - the illusion crumbles apart and she's left in the barren ruins with the cruel reminder that the world she wants has long turned to dust.

So yeah. This story takes place in an illusion of Homura's making. And the illusion is doomed to collapse.

The first ~25 minutes of the movie is just having fun with being a magical girl. It happily indulges in magical girl tropes by having lengthy transformation sequences, everyone being friends who go to school together, and they fight malevolent forces that prey on negative emotions and the way to defeat them is with the power of love, friendship, and song.

It's cheesy, but after what everyone has suffered through, it's nice to see them actually have fun.

But let's think about how this is Homura's ideal world. In her ideal world, she is the same shy, awkward person she was before she became a magical girl. And being a magical girl is fun. Homura is not above indulging in magical girl tropes and she may even love them.

Four quick notes about the transformation sequences. 1) Sayaka's sequence involves her running straight at her Magical Girl form. She ultimately regretted becoming one in the main series, so it's nice seeing her actually be enthusiastic to be one. 2) Homura's shield is on her right arm during her transformation. I'm pretty sure it's always on her left arm in every other instance. 3) The rainbow behind Madoka may be a Bible reference. Revelations 4:3 says a rainbow shines around God's throne. 4) At one point during Homura's transformation, she makes the ballet pose for "death"

Somehow, I missed the shot where we see Mami's finger marking. It's an orange flower with four petals. With this, I think it's safe to say that those markings are supposed to be simplified versions of their soul gems when they transform.

When Homura was strangling Bebe and demanding to know what she was doing, Bebe said something that sounded like "Kyubey."

Halfway through the movie, the witch asks Homura and us if we're enjoying the movie?

Are Homura's witch self and real self different entities? Sayaka can use her witch form like a Stand. And in the main story, Kyubey said she was suffering from a curse when she was on the verge of transforming.

I think maybe the Witch form is just always there in the Soul Gem. It is the chaotic, uncontrolled magical force created from the Magical girl's emotions and she uses her soul to suppress the witch and channel that magic into orderly purposes. But once the soul is too worn down, she can no longer suppress the witch and it bursts out of the soul gem.

Grief Seeds are dropped when Witches are killed and overusing a Grief Seed can spawn a Witch from the Seed. And using the Grief Seed causes some essence to flow out from the Soul Gem. Maybe using magic builds up the Witch's strength as well and using a Grief Seed is a process that strips the magic from the Witch.

Anyway, Homura is in a strange situation where her Soul Gem has been sealed by an external force so her Witch self should be able to burst out but is trapped in her Soul Gem. Under normal circumstances, I think the actual thinking conscious of the Magical Girl dies when she transforms, but pieces of her soul related to her emotions and desires are swallowed into the Witch. But because her Soul Gem is still intact, the part of Homura that can think and understand is trapped in the labyrinth made by her raw emotions.

The Kyouko and Mami drawings look nice but the Sayaka one make her look like an idiot. Homura really does not like Sayaka.

After realizing they're all trapped in a Witch's labyrinth, Homura gets mad that the others choose to live in this blissful existence rather than devoting their lives to fighting the wraiths. To her, not fighting is putting Madoka's sacrifice to waste.

Homura seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding about the reasons behind Madoka's wish. Madoka wished to stop Magical Girls from turning into Witches. The Witches represent the corresponding despair that is formed from the hope of a Magical Girl's wish. Madoka's role is to step in when the burdens become too much for them to handle. She would love if everyone could live without fighting and strife.

And as Homura declares her intent to correct this "wrong" in service to Madoka, her familiars start pelting the Madoka statue with tomatoes while shouting "God is dead" in German. Homura's mind and heart are at odds with each other. She hates Madoka becoming a god and leaving her. She hates how the only way she can feel any sense of closeness to Madoka is through living this life she thinks fully utilizes Madoka's sacrifice.

When Madoka assures Homura how she would never willingly leave her, she began braiding Homura's hair to put it back to how it was before Homura had devoted herself to saving Madoka. It's like Madoka is saying "It's okay. You don't have to carry this burden anymore. You can go back to the happiness you had before all this. You can go back to being your true self. You can leave the rest to me."

I don't think the fault for what happens later is Madoka's. She said she could never bear to leave her friends and family and doesn't have the courage to do it even if it were necessary. And this drives Homura to the brink of despair.

But this is a Madoka who lost all her memories. Before, this would have been true. But at the end of the series, Madoka had grown to be someone who can shoulder that pain and has the courage to do so. Homura has gone through so many cycles trying to save Madoka that she can't really grasp that Madoka has become someone who she doesn't need to protect anymore.

She said it herself: Magical Girls forsake everything for their wish. Homura has lost the purpose behind her wish and refuses to acknowledge that.

When Homura realizes she is the Witch responsible for everything, the clock strikes 12. At first, I thought it was going to be a reference to the witching hour. Wikipedia doesn't give a lot of specifics but it mentions that some cultures assign 12-1 am as the witching hour while others assign 3-4 am.

The next thought I had was Cinderella. Cinderella's Fairy Godmother cast a spell that turned Conderella's clothes into a dress to go to the ball in but at the stroke of midnight, the spell would be broken. And at the stroke of midnight, the spell Homura had cast was broken and the false Mitakihara that everyone had been playing in was destroyed.

The blimps came crashing down on the locations of several previous scenes such as the park from the opening, the school roof, the classroom, the place Homura and Kyouko had lunch, and the alleyway Sayaka talked with Homura.

As Mitakihara is destroyed, Homura's familiars start chanting "Fort! Da!". TvTropes says it is a reference to a story Sigmund Freud told about a boy hiding his toys. I looked into it a bit more and it's actually a story about one of the things his 18 month old grandson Ernst would do when playing. When Ernst grabbed an object, he liked to toss it away so he couldn't see it and he would make a particular noise that his mother thought was supposed to be "fort" which is German for "gone". Then when he found it again, he would delightfully say "da" which means "there". Ernst would also make the "fort" sound whenever he saw his reflection and then hid from the mirror.

Freud's original idea was the two halves of the game derived pleasure in different ways. "Fort" focused on the pleasure of making something or yourself disappear. Meanwhile "da" focused on the pleasure of finding something thought lost forever.

Homura has been living in a "da" phase. She managed to find Madoka and she knows for sure that it is the real Madoka. But now she is entering the "fort" phase. She's going to make all this and herself disappear.

Part of the isolation field Kyubey created is a seahorse with a human face. I looked up a few myths and meanings related to seahorses but didn't find anything relevant.

Kyubey is a selfish being and it ultimately expects everything else to be just as selfish. I think Kyubey's end goal is to be immortal and driving back the heat death of the universe is the final step in that plan. And it doesn't care about what happens to anything else as long as it can achieve that goal.

Kyubey expected Homura to seek salvation which would allow it to capture Madoka. It never expected Homura to be willing to disappear and be forever separated from Madoka.

We get a countdown and the curtains rise to the final act of this performance. As Homura is escorted to the guillotine, a ghostly pair of hands appear from the bow on her back and they desperately grab at the ground behind her to stop her advance.

Despite us now being in a real battle, I get the feeling this is still a performance by Homura just like the Nightmares from the beginning. She's a surprisingly passive witch and only becomes aggressive when her audience deviates from the script she laid out. The first time she showed any hostility was when Homura and Kyouko tried to leave Mitakihara. And she only attacks the others because they insist on interfering with her execution.

So yeah, I think she just wants everyone to see how self-sacrificing she is for Madoka's sake. Her familiars cry crocodile tears over how such a selfless girl would go to such lengths for another. But the one thing Homura does is desperately try to hold something to slow down her procession for even a second. Deep down, Homura doesn't want to do all this.

Bebe's magical girl transformation is so goofy, especially if you compare it to everyone else's from the beginning. Everyone else's transformation came with a dance performance. But Bebe instead runs around like a hyperactive child and falls into a bowl. She was the dessert witch and her transformation is her making a cake mix and pouring it into a magical girl mold. And she shouts the name of a cheese when she transforms.

The Homura wallowing in despair is the Homura from before she became devoted to saving Madoka. Maybe in that moment, she thought it would have been better if she had never wished to protect Madoka.

In the first timeline, Madoka died fighting the Walpurgis Night. In the second timeline, Madoka became a witch. In the third, Homura had to kill Madoka to stop her from becoming a witch. After many timelines, Madoka ended up becoming a god.

Homura thinks Madoka is suffering because of all this, and none of it would have happened if Homura had just let her stay dead. So she wishes to kill the person she has concluded is the true root of Madoka's suffering.

In the third timeline, Madoka asked Homura to save her from being tricked into becoming a Magical Girl, and Homura promised she would do that. She failed in every timeline and Madoka ended up in a place where Homura could no longer fulfill that promise. So when she had the opportunity to grab Madoka and pull her back into the world, she took it without hesitation.

I don't think the universe was rewritten so much as it has been entirely swallowed up inside a giant labyrinth where Homura can make the rules.

Homura won and she casually mocks the others over her victory. She broke a teacup next to Mami, tricked Kyouko into throwing away an apple, and shows Sayaka how she cannot do anything to stop her.

Sayaka wanted to be a hero who fights for justice when she became a magical girl. She's the only one who we've seen still has her soul gem and had any memories of before Homura rewrote the universe. Homura said she could be Sayaka's enemy after Homura destroys all the wraiths. Perhaps Homura's end goal is to destroy everything that would necessitate the existence of Magical Girls. Then once she's done, she plans to let Sayaka be the one to destroy the evil demon who has imprisoned the world.

And as Homura told Sayaka everything, Homura's familiars threw themselves off buildings and pelted her with tomatoes. They are booing her for constantly engaging in these self-serving theatrics and are telling her to just get to the part where she kills herself already.

When Homura promised she would always wish for Madoka's happiness, she began tying Madoka's hair to put it back to how it was before Madoka had devoted herself to saving everyone. It's like Homura is saying "It's okay. You don't have to carry this burden anymore. You can go back to the happiness you had before all this. You can go back to being your true self. You can leave the rest to me."

I have more I want to say but I hit the image file limit so I guess I'll make a part 2.

back

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Honestly a weird thing about zutara fanworks that I sometimes notice is not only do they take some of Aang’s traits (the ability to have fun, flirt at all, any kind of remote understanding of other cultures and people and spirits) and put them in Zuko but… sometimes Katara even gets this? Like you’ll see something with Katara randomly deciding to save Zuko’s life while they are enemies. No. That’s always been Aang. Katara says nothing to the idea of leaving Zuko to die in the snow. Only Aang protests in both his words and actions. Zutara wishes it had what Zukaang has. Katara isn’t cruel but she doesn’t say anything for or against saving him. Whatever happens, happens. It’s almost indifference.

"Katara isn’t cruel but she doesn’t say anything for or against saving him" I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. On the North Pole, both Katara and Sokka are VERY firmly on team "Let Zuko freeze to death".

Which is why it's so funny to me that they were the members of the Gaang that are shipped with him the most and talked about as if they have such a meaningful connection from the start, when they were fully willing to let him die when they were enemies, and even after they all became friends Zuko was clearly much closer to both Aang and Toph than he ever was to Katara and/or Sokka.

(Suki is also much closer to Zuko in the comics than Katara and/or Sokka, but I pretend the comics don't exist, so I won't use that as exemple).

And yeah, if Aang was a girl Zutarians would have latched onto it SO fast. I don't even ship Zukaang, but it makes a lot more sense than Zutara and Zukka combined - not exactly a difficult task, but still. If the writting had been just slightly different it could have easily been a totally acceptable endgame.

...I'm still holding onto my headcanon of a drunk Azula making a speech during some important feast, or even during Zuko's wedding to Mai, and mentioning the time her brother "slow danced romantically with the Avatar to appease the gay dragons."

[flagellant]

hi, i am Not a troll but i came to ask questions about your stance on the hp thing. delete this ask if you dont wanna answer or explain, and im not a potterhead. i havent seen anything harrypotter for about 7 years and even then didnt get into it much.

i dont understand why its important to not even pirate hp, i know that being fandomy is a bit yikes and not cool, but to me, saying people shouldnt even pirate seems like its giving jkr more power, almost like we're confirming that anything even near hp fandom is giving her power, but it doesnt seem like she could actually benefit in any way from someone pirating something and not posting about it? and it almost feels like by warning people not to interact at all we are making her scarier. i dont know, i could be misunderstanding something here, or missing something obvious. feel free to ignore this ask, u dont have to answer. thanks if you do

If you pirate Harry Potter media and not publicly saying so/not publicly being a part of its fanworks, you:

-are not financially supporting JK Rowling

-are not directly granting social legitimacy to Rowling's works

However, you are:

-deciding that you wish to consume media in which JKR has placed her transmisogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, racism, classism, fatphobia, ableism, xenophobia...etc etc etc

-deciding that you need to prioritize experiencing a new harry potter thing despite knowing Exactly how your friends and loved ones who are directly affected by her bigotry would feel about this

The reasons we are saying to completely no-contact with Rowling's properties are twofold: The first is because she actively uses those properties and the monetary resources/social capital they give her to directly fund and enforce transphobic legislature. The second is because we are deciding it is better to respect and support the victims of her bigotry by refusing to take any part whatsoever in her works, because engaging with those works and its fandom spaces is something which makes the victims of her bigotry feel unsafe and ignored, as though their suffering is something you can justify because you want to talk about and write Marauders fanfiction.

[universallydestinytaco]

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 AW YEAH WE’RE GETTING KICKED OUTTA THE FANDOM WITH THIS OOOONE!!!!

For starters, my biggest gripe with Smiling Friends is how they underutilize so many characters with tons of potential for jokes and storylines, they even brought back Mr. Frog for S2 yet we’ll never see an episode with Charlie’s girlfriend Zoey (she was named that in the Spanish-speaking dub) joining the boys on their hijinks or more time exploring how dysfunctional Pim’s family is because with all the time spent making joke characters like Smormu (Who I REALLY wish was one of the main characters) or Jombo who never show up again. Grim and Gnarly really should have been their recurring rivals cooking up all sorts of different schemes to sabotage the Smiling Friends instead of Frowning Friends being their one appearance only to, spoiler alert, get killed off by the Renaissance Men. Especially frustrating is that the show loves calling back to earlier episodes and even foreshadowing future episodes so with a show with a slight continuity like this at least give us an episode where Pim and Jennifer became friends after he helped her find love and sequel to the Salty’s ep where it shows how the mascots are doing without Simon S. Salty as their boss….then again, with Mr. Frog snd Dj Spitz returning in S2, maybe there is hope we will see other characters again and hopefully with a bigger role.

TW: Implied Abuse

Although I am a Charpim shipper I am not super territorial over the pairing because I don’t mind if the boys are shipped with different characters…as long as it isn’t James. It is rather obvious why I hate James x Charlie and why I get pissed whenever I see it on my dash, and I’m not opposed to seeing fanworks depicting them as exes while highlighting how toxic the relationship is, I do not trust a single soul who ships them unironically or think James’ treatment of Charlie is cute and funny, it’s fucking vile. Go touch some grass.