#Plotty's animation

[leibholz-moved]

I belive the character you ship with Jack is a self insert yeah? Do you have like a post that details ur self insert? Like anything that fits it into the Canon or the world or is it just you redesigned to fit it?

heyo! and yeah this is my shrekverse (heh) self-insert (somewhat of an oc variety),, and i’ve been stalling making an introduction post about them for ummm almost two months now. that doesn’t reflect well on my lore-dumping ability and organisation skills. my bad. ANYWAY some basic info about them since you’ve asked hehe!

— their name is Helmine Héloïse, greve von Winther, prince of Schwanenteich and Nebelswald or (for those who don’t have time for all that nonsense) just Néné. they’ve got hereditary Evil Step-sibling Syndrome, no less than one (1) magical talking animal up their family tree, an arrogant and sliiiightly jealous disposition, A Curse On; and an inherent weakness for one (1) loud pink-haired pie-selling kingpin :3

(néné is based on ‘One for Sorrow’ nursery rhyme, which shows through their curse - there’s an unidentifiable black bird always following them as a mark of their perpetual misfortune and misery, while everyone else in their close proximity is granted hundredfold good fortune (this magical ability is what initially had drawn Jack to them obviously. who wouldn’t want a potent good luck charm in their collection (even one as haughty and tempestuous as Néné was (at first at least. they’ve mellowed out considerably)

anyway thank you for asking! have a great day :)

[wiliowisp]

The Act of Recovery ❦

Word Count ➻ 2.1k

Pairings ➻ Ominis Gaunt x gn!MC

Warnings ➻ injury, mention of childhood abuse, mention of death

Tags ➻ third person POV, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, tending to wounds, animagus!Ominis, a lil smoochin

A/N ➻ funnily enough this idea came from a dream i had where i smooched ominis. my subconcious got my back fr. it ended up being more plotty and angsty than i intended but im physically incapable of writing something without angst so here we are.

୧ send me prompts! i may write them! ୨

Summary:

Ominis attends his late father's wake, finding his family abhorrent—as usual. He escapes in his animagus form, before running into poachers. Gravely wounded, he finds himself in the cottage of an old friend, and their familiarly gentle hands.

The morning was still, the chirping of various birds creating a sweet symphony beyond their window. The sky was daffodil-yellow and power-blue, the last vestiges of sunrise folding themselves behind the horizon. Beyond their kitchen window, a blue jay cried its song from their tree.

It was a quiet life. ‘The new fifth year,’ as they had been addressed for so long, managed to carve out a peaceful, safe home for themselves post-graduation. Death had found them at every corner when they were only fifteen, with that realization of its imminence, the want for simplicity became their only desire. They had been a hero, now they wanted to rest.

Of course, they could not avoid trouble forever. Sebastian had his way of bringing it to them, but never to the capacity which he did in his fifth year. He had been spared Azkaban, so he repented, spending tireless days in St. Mungos, soothing those struck by the same curses he used to wield. As in everything, he excelled as a healer and devoted his life to furthering research in that field. This did not stop him from causing trouble from time to time, reading things he shouldn’t, but he had learned to stop himself. He had grown.

At their table, they cradled the tea that was steaming away in their mug. The curls of water vapour caressed their matured face.

Ominis would be seeing his father off today. It was the wake, as he had explained in his owls, and despite loathing to see his family, he would attend to pay whatever respects he could muster within him. They fretted about him, alone in the nest of snakes.

However, the morning was still, the blue jay sang its stilted song. Everything would be okay.

Until it wasn’t.

Their front door smashed open, splinters careening across the floor as a pale shape hurtled through it. The animal dashed across the entirety of their cottage, slamming against the back wall in distress, before sliding across the floor into the kitchen, where its energy left it.

They immediately recognised the beast. Alabaster white fur, thick strong paws; an albino puma with milky, unseeing eyes.

“Ominis,” they gasped.

The puma hissed at them, baring its gleaming fangs. They then took in Ominis properly, across his white body, several gashes had torn into his fur, along his legs, face, and back. They stained his pristine coat a sickly red.

“Ominis, it's me—you’re okay,” they cooed. Ominis was still backed into their kitchen hissing and rearing as though he might strike.

They pressed forward, hands out in a soothing gesture, urging him to return to his senses. Slowly, Ominis became less hostile, clearly weak from the blood loss. His head thumped to the ground. They crouched, gently placing their fingers against his soft fur, soothing him with tentative strokes.

Ominis’ eyes closed, and a great breath left him. Gradually, his form shifted. The fur melted away to reveal pale skin. His great paws shrunk back into delicate fingers. Then, he was a man once more.

Ominis was unconscious and naked on their floor. The blue jay had gone quiet.

...

Ominis returned to consciousness in stages. He first felt gentle hands and soft brushes on his skin. Then, his nose deciphered the metallic tint of blood in the air. Next, he heard a velvety voice, chanting soothing mantras. He opened his eyes and—familiarly—saw nothing.

“You’re awake,” they said.

Ominis had slept for the remainder of the day. Now, dusk fell upon them and the steady crackle of the hearth could be heard.

Ominis tried to sit up, but his spine protested, as did the gashes along his body.

“Relax, you’re safe,” they breathed, “we’re in my cottage.”

Ominis returned to the pillows, exhaling. He brought a hand to his hair and tried to pull it through the knots. He didn’t want to burden them, he hadn’t even meant to come here, he was just hurt and scared.

“Did Marvolo—?”

“No, no, he didn’t,” Ominis finally spoke. “My family are a vile bunch but they are mostly bark and no bite. These were poachers.”

Ominis heard them sigh, but could discern nothing beyond that.

“My wand—”

“Yes, I have it here,” they found Ominis’ fingers and placed his wand in them. The room immediately became clear, the contours and shapes, the body of his friend beside him. “You were conscious enough to transfigure with your wand but must have forgotten your clothes,” they commented.

“Oh Merlin.” Ominis considered curling up and dying right there. “I’m sorry.”

They chuckled. “Your modesty is quite safe with me, Ominis,” he could sense their smile, “I put a blanket over you, I didn’t see anything.”

Ominis sat up properly then, his back protesting with the effort—there was sure to be an ugly bruise there. It was clear now that they had moved him to the sofa, where he was wrapped in said blanket.

Something cold pressed into his hand.

“Drink,” they said.

So he did.

“How was it?”

Ominis knew they weren’t asking about the water. The wake. A room filled with all the Gaunts—or what was left of them—and other families like leeches, offering empty condolences.

“My father was a horrible man,” he said.

There was a heavy silence.

“Yes, I know,” they replied.

“He was a horrible man,” Ominis said again, hoping it would turn his father in his grave, “he was.”

A warm hand came to his bare shoulder, rubbed circles into it. “I know.”

Ominis was crying, he realized absently. Hot tears slid from his eyes and down his sharp jaw. They ran over the cuts in his face and reignited the wound.

“But I couldn’t bear it,” he gasped, “I couldn’t be in that room with my brothers and sister—hear them talk about him like he was good. It was all lies and we knew it.”

A sob left him.

“We were re-writing him. Making up a story. I wanted to scream at them, shake them and tell them the truth. He was an abusive, disgusting man. He hated me. He wished I wasn’t born and yet—” the words fought against his throat, “and yet it didn’t make it any easier.”

Their friend pulled him into a hug, letting his head rest against their shoulder, letting him cry into it.

“You get one consolation. That one day he will be gone and you will be done with it. I should be relieved,” Ominis gritted.

“He was still your father,” they said.

Despite it all, he was. He raised Ominis, regardless of what that looked like. He raised his brothers, his sister. He brought them into the world, was all that remained after his mother passed. Ominis owed everything he had to him, the ugly, the good. Now he was dead. And it still hurt.

Ominis clutched them back, buried his head into the crook of their neck. He let himself cry as he hadn’t in so long, until it was all drained out of him. All the while, they rubbed soothing patterns into his bare skin, around the cuts that still stung.

Eventually, he wore himself out. His face was red and puffy, no doubt completely undignified, and he felt weak and tired. They pulled away from him, wiping his wet face with a handkerchief.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” they asserted, “but I need to treat your wounds Ominis.”

Ominis had almost forgotten. His gashes just seemed to reflect his stinging, beating heart, as though they were one of the same.

His friend raised their wand.

“They’re cursed—”

“I know, I already tried every healing spell Sebastian taught me before I realized. We’ll have to do this the muggle way.”

Their wand simply summoned over a first aid kit from the shelf, and Ominis stiffened slightly.

“This will hurt, won’t it.”

“A little, but it’s better than an infection.”

They retrieved a small phenol solution from the kit, with a spray cap—to disinfect. Some bandages were also brought out.

They began their work on his back, crouched on the floor while Ominis gritted his teeth each time they sprayed a cut with disinfectant. Gentle fingers wound bandaged around his midsection, their fingertips stroking lines around his body. The process was painful and slow, but entirely tender. No wound was left unattended, each treated with merciful care.

“Now, your face,” they said.

Ominis heard them rise, dragging a chair to face opposite him. Cool fingertips graced his hot skin.

As the minutes passed, his usually restrained affection for his friend only swelled. A sticky, saccharine feeling in his chest. Like his heart had grown twice its size and was trying to escape out of the gaps in his ribcage.

He had scarcely known such benevolence. The Gaunt household had no space for it, amongst the cruelty and mania they fostered. Only once he had left, wandered the labyrinthine halls of Hogwarts, had his child body been held. Sebastian was the first, but Sebastian was fire and molten heat, warm to the touch but known to burn just as quickly.

The ‘new fifth year’ as he had so ungraciously titled them, was entirely different. They were sunshine on a spring day, the soft breeze that would steal the sweat from your skin before warming it again in the next breath. They were coral pools and clear water, stick your hand in and see the light dance on your skin. When they touched him he didn’t burn. Nor freeze like the touch of his family. He was just the same, he was Ominis, being held. That was all they ever wanted him to be.

Now, dabbing antiseptic into the cuts on his face, he felt more himself than ever. The version of him entirely unencumbered by fear, by sight, by magic.

Their warm breath kissed his cheek and their fingers held his jaw in place.

He cupped their face, running his own fingers across the planes of their cheeks, mapping the expression, committing the texture to memory.

“Ominis—”

He kissed them.

Undemanding, chaste, not a capturing of lips so much as holding them. Pressing into them like a question, will you be yourself with me? You have only ever made me feel worthy.

He pulled away slowly, face inches from theirs.

They dived back in. Yes, yes I will. They were unafraid to capture his mouth, answer earnestly. Move their lips against his. Soft, always so tender. But hungry, parched, the savouring of a good meal.

Ominis met their fervour, letting his tongue slide along their bottom lip, feeling it open greedily for him. Their hand was placed on his waist, above the wound they had lovingly tended. Ominis wrapped his into their hair, feeling their scalp, pulling them closer—please, closer.

Minutes burned, time inconsequential as they found each other in the wet heat of their tongues. They pulled away from Ominis, and latched their mouth to his neck, tasting salt on the skin. Ominis tilted his head, allowing them to create more bruises on his skin. Bruises he wanted to never heal.

Then they stopped.

“You’re injured Omi,” they breathed.

Ominis’ brows pinched.

“We must stop,” they said, “you need to rest.”

“I don’t want to rest,” Ominis protested.

“I don’t want you to either, but you must—to heal.”

Ominis heard the squeak of the floorboards, then the opening of a door. They left the room.

He began to panic. Was it too much? He had concealed his affection for them for so long that perhaps—perhaps they did not want it. Perhaps he was wrong.

They re-entered the room.

“I didn’t do this on a whim, you know,” he pleaded.

“I know.”

“Then why—"

“Today was your father’s wake. Not only that, you were gravely hurt. I know this wasn't an impulse, but regardless, you need to heal, you need to process today.”

“This wasn’t because of my father.”

A beat.

“I know,” they stated, “prove it to me. Stay the night tonight. In a week’s time, come back, and share dinner with me. Then we can try again.”

Soft clothes were pressed into his hands.

“I’ll wait for you," they whispered, "in the bedroom.”

Then they left.

Ominis sighed in relief. He ran his fingers over the nightclothes given to him, the silky fabric.

When he entered their bedroom, slipped into the sheets, and entangled their limbs. Wrapped his arm around their middle. He felt grateful to be Ominis Gaunt and no one else. Ominis Gaunt was the boy who met them, who fell in love, who has now tasted their sweet lips. He is not perfect, that he will never deny, but cocooned next to them, there is no scar he could bear that would not be lovingly tended to and kissed. There is no ugliness that would not be embraced.

He slept deeply and comfortably with this knowledge. Come daybreak, a blue jay sang its screeching song, not beautiful, not sonorous like its neighbours, but to the two inhabitants of that cottage, there was no better sound.

[ofmdee]

(google doc here)

hiya all, i thought it was finally time to make an Official collab post on tumblr, lol, i have one floating around somewhere but it's not very detailed, so! lets create something together?

fic examples 💕

Must be 18+!!!!

Must be okay with me sharing the finished gifs/stills on twitter/tumblr at some point (with a link to your fic, of course)

You can either: tell me what you’d be interested in writing and I will do my best to create gifs/stills to match that, or, if you don’t have any specific ideas, I will make some random gifs and send them your way, to see if you vibe with them

If you do have specifics, lmk!  I will try to accommodate as best I can.  Examples include: position/act, who tops/bottoms, clothes (or lack thereof), facial hair/accessories etc

This is mostly for smutty oneshot type things, anything too plotty gets too complicated

I reserve the right to not do stuff that I simply don’t vibe with, lol, or stuff that just isn’t easily accomplished/is outside my skill level

In general, will not do: Ed and Stede with anyone but each other, animations for fics that are already written (because I do not make the animations myself, and I only can use what is available for download, so I don’t like having to find something super specific unless I’m working on my own longfic), and like, anything that squicks me out or makes me uncomfortable

Can do other pairings, but my other character sims are way less detailed than Ed n Stede

Can do lesbian Ed n Stede 

My sims are cis, but that can also be changed with a few clicks if you’d like!

I’ll send you an album of all the gifs I make, and you are free to use as few/many as you like, in whatever order you like.  Whatever inspires you!!!

You’re obv free to post your finished work on ao3 or whatever site you want, just pls link back to my twitter or tumblr in some way.  (Or add me as co creator, but that is totally optional!)

(If you need help posting gifs to ao3, click the google doc link at the top of this post!!!)

I’d prefer if gifs weren’t uploaded to any twitter/tumblr but my own, with the exception of a title gif that I will send you, so you can make your own tweet/post, if you’d like! and ofc go nuts on ao3!

(To censor a gif on twitter, you have to be on desktop and click add description, and the flag option will be in there. post spicy stuff on tumblr at ur own risk 😂)

Finished fics are all compiled on @m3rmaided, feel free to browse them ;)

Any questions, hmu!

Seriously, though, feel free to DM me at any time if you’re interested in creating something together, I am pretty much always open to it.  And it is NOT just a mutuals only deal!!!

Will update this post periodically if I think of anything else!

so, yeah!!! u can DM me or reply here and i'll get in contact w/ you, whatever you prefer! 💕 this is meant to be fun and stress free, so no time restraints or anything like that, just! creativity!!! yeah 💕

[yoi-olympics]

okay in ACTUALLY Yuri!!! On Ice related-summer-olympics things, please accept this fic recommendation!!! it's one of the first ones I read back when I started reading a ton of YOI fic in like.... 2020? and I think about it SO CONSTANTLY. gymnast!Yuuri and skater!Viktor and falling in love across seasons and timezones and worlds <3

From the summary and author's note by thehandsingsweapon:

The gymnastics edition, in which Viktor is still a skater because he's too pretty on ice and I couldn't take it away from him. A story about how sometimes love comes slow and soft, and how hearts get bigger when they break. ... I also wanted to do a gymnastics story because there's more competition elements to play with; e.g. each character can have their time to shine on Vault, or Floor, or Rings *and* there's a team component, which means that over time characters like Georgi and Kenjirou also have a role to play that's important. For the purposes of the story, I’ve taken some liberties with ages, timelines, and the host cities of various events, including the Olympics themselves. Where these changes exist they are always for plotty-type purposes (or, if you prefer, because I like breaking things before I fix them, gosh). When the story starts, we're at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which are hosted in Tokyo. I've also made up SNS handles when I can't find them on the wiki because I am a lazy internet hag. Phichit and Yuuri are now the same age, and they are roommates at University of Michigan, where Cialdini is Head Coach. Leo, who is from Los Angeles, is one year younger, and an expected Michigan commit, because Cialdini’s one of his coaches via the Team USA system. The University of Oklahoma winds up playing a bit of a villainous role later on. Apologies to anyone who has strong feelings about either school or who has conflicting college loyalties; I attended neither and it's just for story purposes. Ahead of each chapter, I’ll be posting a timeline so you can see what's been happening for each character within the little YOF! world that I'm creating here.

it's SO SO GOOD y'all. literally cannot recommend this enough

[hinamie]

Hellooooo, I've been loving the jjk x atla au, it's been living in my brain rent free!

Do you have any songs you associate with this au?

Also, please share any lore tidbits you have on Megumi! I know he's a very central character so I don't want to ask for plotty/spoiler-y details, but I'm so curious on him based on all the artwork you've dropped! I've been theorizing like crazy!

Thank you for all the amazing art! I see your work and I get very motivated to draw and/or write :)

hello!! that's so sweet of u to say i'm thrilled u like it so much!! can't believe it's been one month of straight brainrot already gHJGFJGJ

for music--YES we have a whole playlist actually but here r some of my favourite songs from it

House of Wax - Point Blank Society: VERY lmhs megu coded lyrics if u know u know smile :) ,, "Time stands still / I don't deserve you"..,,,yeah thats him thats my gay little emo boy

A Tear in Space (Airlock) - Glass Animals: *the* LMHS song of all time i wrote a brief thesis on how it simultaneously fits itfs and stsg and the nuances on how it applies to each ship respectively,,, the way sam and i lost our minds when this dropped was concerning . oughhhh if i could animate the animatic i would drop for this song.,,,,,, anyway.

Goliath - Former Vandal: ik i said house of wax was megu coded but this is THE lmhs megumi song i don't care what anyone says. yes it's fv bc i have a problem but this is MY (co-owned) SANDBOX AND I PICK THE CHARACTER SONGS. "I've forgotten how to swim / From pretending that I don't know how" im clawing my eyes out actually

onto megu lore !! you're correct he's a Very central character hjdsgf I can't believe main character megu /still/ managed to happen in this avatar yuuji fic . that being said here r some of the most non-spoilery yet interesting lore bits sam and I could scrounge up!

despite being a waterbender born in the northern water tribes, he has been living on the streets in the earth kingdom since he was 10

he frequents fighting rings (sanctioned and not) in order to earn enough money to scrape by . pit fighter lmhs megu ladies and gays

he had two sled dogs as a kid that sadly did not come with him to the earth kingdom . side note we could not in good conscience take the easy road and name them shiro/kuro so i came up with names all of 10 minutes ago white = yukiya (lit: "snow arrow") black = shimo (lit: "frost")

megumi's favourite colour is red :)

please direct any atla!au/lmhs questions to @lmhsfic!

[coldgoldlazarus]

Heyy so i've been enjoying a lot of the yuri things you post about a lot, are there any good shows that you recommend watching? Ive seen and enjoyed bocchi and witch from mercury a ton and i have a lot of time these next few days to burn :)

Oh, I'm glad to hear that!

Hmm, what are some good Yuri shows aside from Gwitch and Bocchi?

---

Admittedly, this is hard to answer as thoroughly as I'd like, since I generally have a hard time starting new shows and keeping up with them, so there are a fair few that I haven't actually gotten around to watching yet that I've really wanted to. Still, I'll mention a few of those since they do come highly recommended and I've had my eye on for a while, and then get into the ones I actually have seen.

-Kase-San and Morning Glory: Haven't seen, but did read the manga it's based on a while back; as I recall it's a very simple but very sweet slice-of-life sort of thing about a girly girl, a tomboy, and their shared love of gardening. Rather than a full series, I think it was adapted as a longer OVA or two? So I don't know how much of the story it covers, but it's also the kind of thing where, outside of the developing relationship of the leads, there's not too much in the way of like, a hard-hitting narrative to adapt. It's just super cute.

-Lycoris Recoil: In contrast to the last one, LycoReco is a recent anime-only sort of thing, and much more plotty from my understanding. It's basically the next thing I plan to properly sit down with in the near future, but until then I'll admit I don't know a whole lot about it; the main vibe I've gotten is that it is like, this action-drama about secret agents(?) first, yuri romance second, but it still does go out of its way to make the romance unambiguous and compelling, rather than trying to hide it behind subtext like older shows would have done. So at least based on what I've heard, it sounds worth your while, just I guess tread with caution since it may also get into some darker territory?

-The Executioner And Her Way Of Life: Another recent one that I haven't gotten to yet, but have read some of the manga for and so at least have some idea of what to expect. It's similar to Lycoris Recoil in being an action show first, but still very very clearly gay, so yanno, factor that in on whether you want to see it or not.

The premise is a sort of parody-taken-seriously of standard isekai stuff, taking place in a fantasy world that's constantly suffering from people reincarnating there from earth, growing overpowered and selfish, and causing radical, harmful upheaval. In response, an elite assassin's guild was formed to hunt down and eliminate these isekai "heroes" before they can get too powerful. The protagonist is one of these assassins, and the plot (and romance) starts when she's sent to kill a recently-isekai'd girl... who's special power is that she's seemingly unkillable, and immediately develops a crush on the assassin. Very much a slow burn enemies-to-lovers sort of vibe, but what little I read seemed promising.

-Wandering Witch: Another one I don't know a whole lot about, just that it's come highly recommended by some people whose good taste I generally trust. As the name implies, it seems to be a fairly slice-of-life-ish piece about a pair of witches? But beyond that, I don't really know much, so prolly worth looking into more yourself.

-Otherside Picnic: As I understand it, it's basically like the movie Annihilation, but gay? A pair of girls traveling through this uncanny sectioned-off region where all sorts of creepy supernatural happenings are going down, and it gets very existential. I've admittedly kinda dragged my feet on this one, since I have a complicated and inconsistent relationship with horror stuff, but it does sound very intriguing. Though I will say, from my understanding the yuri is very clear in the LN and manga, while the anime downplays that stuff into subtext? So it's probably more worth reading than watching.

---

With those out of the way, time to talk about the ones I do know! A couple of these I'll pair up because their vibes are similar, but I'll still try and discuss each with due depth.

-Urara Meirochou & Konohana Kitan: These two are cut from a pretty similar cloth, that I guess I'll just call "Historic supernatural cuteness"? Both are set in fantasy versions of olden japan, but the overall vibe is similar to modern-day Cute Girls Doing Cute Things shows. I considered leaving them off the list since they're also much more reliant on subtext than most of the others here, but I have too much of a soft spot for Urara Meirochou to be able to ignore it ^^; (I have half-unfinished fanfic for it, which given the scarcity of my writings these days has to count for something!)

Urara is about a group of girls seeking to become apprentice fortune-tellers in this mazelike city dedicated to the craft, though all coming at it from very different walks of life. It's pretty simple and episodic, but the main thing that made it for me was the dynamic between the main protagonist, a literally feral girl who's having difficulty adapting back to human life after being literally Raised By Wolves, and a prim and proper noble daughter who's completely befuddled but also enamored by her antics.

Konohana Kitan, meanwhile, I never got around to finishing just because Life Happened™ at the time, but it featured a bunch of Kitsune running a bathhouse; very Spirited Away in some ways, but a lot more relaxed in tone.

-Izetta, The Last Witch & Princess Principal: Another pair that came out around the same time, but that are tonally kind of the opposite of the last two. Both take place in kinda steampunky/dieselpunky parallel history versions of early 1900s europe, and feature spies and intrigue and action primarily, while, due to when they came out, the yuri elements legitimately straddle the line between subtext and just text.

Izetta is almost a precursor to Witch From Mercury in some ways? Just again, different settings. It takes place during a parallel of World War I and II, with the Germany analogue attacking a tiny border country as part of its overall war plans. The princess of that smaller country, though, winds up calling on help from (and falling in love with) the last witch in the world to help repel the invasion with magic. Izetta very much feels like a prototype of Suletta, and rides an anti-tank-rifle instead of a broom, which is awesome.

Princess Principal, meanwhile, is more focused on class divides and zeroes in on the spy theme more clearly. Basically, in an alternate version of London that's split down the middle Berlin-style, a group of teenage academy students who are actually plants by the opposing side, team up with a traitorous lower princess to sabotage the royal family... though one of the spies has a pre-existing history with her that makes everything even more complicated. It's a really interesting one, told in non-chronological order, that understands the less glamorous side of intelligence operations while still having a fair amount of dramatic action and twists, and alternates between feeling like a CGDCT show and an intense political thriller. And yanno, the gay. I also actually haven't finished this one because Life Happened™ and it's been a while since, but one of these days I want to rewatch and properly finish it. What I did see, was very very strong, though.

-Black Rock Shooter (2010 OVA & 2012 Series): This is another one I wasn't sure I should include, but eh, here we go. Basically, a sort of supernatural psychological slice of life? It alternates between a fairly straightforward school drama, and mysterious glimpses into this almost eldritch other world where monstrous humanoid entities are locked in endless, often rather brutal, combat. As things go on, the two seemingly disconnected stories wind up coming together in interesting ways. Being an older series, the yuri is very much subtexual, but still kind of a core element of the story anyway? It's difficult to explain. The OVA and the Series are basically different takes on the same premise; I favor the OVA as the more subtly-told version, but despite the series getting weirdly melodramatic in places, manages to expand on the concept in some cool ways, so I'd say both are worth watching if it sounds interesting.

(Sidenote, though: Don't confuse BRS 2012 with the more recent series, Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall. Dawn Fall is part of the same franchise, but other than some shared characters it's almost completely unrelated, with a wildly different core premise and tone. And while I did like a couple things it did, on the whole I just can't recommend it, especially in comparison to the original but also just kind of in general on its own merits. I'd steer clear of that one unless you're morbidly curious and able to stomache some frankly unnecessarily disturbing content.)

---

-Citrus: Something of a dishonorable mention before we move on to the big ones. Citrus is one I kind of have a lot of mixed feelings on personally, but I still feel like it's worth consideration, at the very least for the historical significance. TLDR; a boisterous gyaru moves to a new school and immediately winds up clashing with the school's repressed killjoy Student Council President, only for it to turn out that thanks to their parents remarrying, the two are now stepsisters. Cue lots of weird sexual tension and a revolving door of side character rival love interests.

A lot of people list the psuedo-incest nature of the two leads' relationship to be the big point against it, but to be perfectly honest, that aspect of it doesn't really bother me; I just didn't care for it because of basically the rest of the writing. There's a lot of what's basically sexual harassment in the manga, that the anime further escalates in adaptation to be as 'steamy' and 'torrid' as possible, and between that and the aforementioned side characters who (almost, there is one big exception and she's another reason I wasn't a fan) all have a more compelling (and respectful) dynamic with one or both of the leads, it failed to really sell me on the central pairing. I hear it does develop in a better direction later on, but that's after I lost patience to keep reading, and the anime basically only covers right up to the point where their interactions stop feeling so... uncomfortable.

At the same time, though, I will admit that Citrus does have its merits. There are a lot of people who do love it, so I'm not really speaking for a crowd here, and while I strongly dislike the student council president stepsister, the gyaru protagonist is a genuinely fun cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong and made what I did read/watch enjoyable despite my complaints. And like I said, I have heard it gets better, if you can get further in the manga.

And if nothing else, we do honestly owe Citrus, because the manga did help make yuri more popular and well-known, and the anime marked the shift from subtext being the only way to imply a relationship between girls, to more recent series being able to show it in full and not downplay the romantic or even sexual elements of a lesbian relationship. So, I guess despite what it took to get there, we probably wouldn't have it nearly as good as we do now without Citrus, so on that merit it is probably worth checking out.

---

And finally, there's my top three recommendations:

-Magirevo (or; The Magical Revolution Of The Reincarnated Princess And The Genius Young Lady): Another recent one, but that I actually was able to sit down and watch through entirely, huzzah! Genre-wise it's kind of a weird one, being technically an Isekai but only barely; the protagonist has vague and fuzzy memories of a past life on earth that do inform her decisions and drive to an extent, but she refreshingly still feels mostly a part of this world she was born and raised in. It also takes a lot of cues in terms of the setting and typical tropes from the traditionally (tragically) more het-oriented Otome/Villainess genre, so without as much familiarity with that, some of the metatextual twists to those formulas that I really enjoyed, may not land the same? But it's still pretty solid even aside from that.

The basic concept there is that the protagonist, a princess in a magically-strong royal family who herself lacks any magical capability, becomes something of a mad scientist in her efforts to find a way to use magic through other means, and abdictates succession to her younger brother. However, over time he begins acting more erratic, until a breaking point is hit when he publically disavows his betrothed fiance. And the princess, who's also a massive lesbian who's long held a crush on said fiance, takes advantage of this to swoop in and drag her into assisting with her experiments.

It's admittedly kind of an uneven series, veering wildly between slice-of-life hijinks and surprisingly in-depth amounts of intrigue, and so the overall tone is a bit messy. The big issue is that its commentary on the flaws of monarchism and royal politics winds up feeling a bit undercut/incomplete, by virtue of being an incomplete adaptation that the LNs and Manga continue past, but I'm still willing to forgive all that, because the romantic development is very strong. While I understand some of the other series above that I have yet to watch or complete also don't have to hide behind subtext like older shows did, this one feels like it really takes advantage of that freedom. Despite the main plot distracting from it at times, on the whole the girls' relationship feels wonderfully central and gets a really good payoff. If you're here for gay with a little extra something on top, this is my recommendation.

-Symphogear: This is a case where I simultaneously really recommend this, while not entirely being sure if it should be on the list. While most of the others I've listed are single-cour and thus pretty quick to blast through, (even if sometimes to their own detriment, more on that later) Symphogear has five seasons' worth of content, with possibly more on the way, (there was a recent announcement of something new coming in a few years, but whether it's a new season, a spinoff, or just some unduly hyped merch or something, is yet unclear.) so is more of an undertaking. It's also a bit more rough around the edges in some spots, so my recommendation does come with disclaimers.

Premise-wise, it's kind of a weird mashup of genres; Magical girls, super robot mecha anime, and idols being the big ones. In a near-future world that's regularly afflicted by incursions from deadly entities called Noise, there are a group of girls wielding Symphogears, music-powered magitech devices that allow them to transform and fight back. However, there's a whole lot more going on beneath the surface, as the mystery of where the Noise are coming from is tied to a web of conspiracy involving alchemists, monsters, enemy symphogear wielders, and ancient sumerian myth.

It's definitely an action show first and foremost, but part of what both makes it interesting (and somewhat difficult to explain conceisely) is the way it evolves over the course of its run. The original season just started out as like, one of the wave of edgy grimdark "being magical girl is suffering" Madoka-clones that came out after Madoka, (so yanno, if you watch it, go in prepared for it to go some dark places) but it fairly quickly found its own identity and direction in being deeply, unapologetically maximalist about everything it does. Maximum edgy darkness! Maximum awesome hype! (And resultingly, maximum weaponized mood whiplash!) Maximum music! Maximum conspiracy! Maximum violence! Maximum comedy! (For better or worse, maximum fanservice!) Maximum gay! Maximum gay drama!

So like, it's just... A Lot,™ for both good and bad, and best taken at a measured pace rather than binged all at once. Also, while it's technically just subtext in its yuri until the last season, as with everything else about the show, it's so blaringly, gleefully unsubtle about that stuff that it may as well be text anyway.

So yanno, I personally like it, I think it's a great show that more people should watch, but I'll also readily admit that while it probably has at least something for everyone, it also probably has something that might turn people away, with either the plentiful fanservice, or the more oppressive grimdarkness of most of the first season being the two biggest concerns. It uh, goes some places. But, all that being said, it's still a pretty great ride on the whole? So if you think you could deal with those aspects, I do think it's worth taking a look, and the payoff is very much worth it.

And finally...

-Bloom Into You: In terms of just pure yuri, this is one of my favorites, and a pretty popular one for good reason. It hits a really nice balance between the chillaxed gentleness of most slice-of-life stuff, and the angst and drama of some other series; I feel like the best word to describe its tone is thoughtful. It's very well-written, and very sweet while still giving more to chew on. (Also helped me realize I was demiromantic, so that's also a point in its favor.)

A girl entering high school has always dreamed of and idealized romance, but after actually getting confessed to and feeling nothing about it, winds up kinda reconsidering and uncertain of what she actually wants. She meets an upperclassman who seems completely disinterested in romance and tries to connect with her over that, only for the upperclassman to fall for her instead; while aknowledging it's unrequited, she regardless asks her to enter a sort of one-way semi-romantic, semi-platonic relationship. As it goes on, and more context comes to light, she starts to realize there's a lot more emotionally complicated stuff going on, that I'll let you find for yourself.

Very very good series, but with one major flaw, that being that the anime only covers the first half of the manga and cuts off before everything can really properly resolve. They did tweak things a bit so the last episode does serve as at least something of a conclusion, but it's still just not quite there. Unless they do a second season to cover the rest, (which at present seems unfortunately unlikely) my recommendation would honestly just be to read the manga on dynasty scans, or watch the show and then read the rest. It is at least a very faithful adaptation, so I don't think you'd be missing too much if you choose the latter route. But yeah, either way, if you only do one thing off this list, this one is what I'd suggest.

---

I hope this helped! Went bit overboard here, whoops ^^;

[fitzrove]

Shamelessly stolen from seeing it on someone else's blog... Create a fanfic tropes tier list

Here's mine:

Some thoughts under the cut xD

All of these come with the caveat that it has to be well-written, basically. The older I get the less patience I have for stuff that's low-effort or just not to my taste hshhd. However, I see the tiers as something where I can pretty easily be convinced to read fic with tier S tropes, whereas getting me to enjoy a tier D fic would be difficult... Anyway, comments on individual tropes:

pwp - The best kind is where it's unapologetic kinky sex but a somewhat plausible scenario that's deeply in-character (or at least tries to be) >:))

a/b/o - This is a very very mixed bag for me... Contrary to what many people say, I don't actually enjoy plotty longfics (or the idea of reading longfics) talking about the societal aspects/worldbuilding implications of it. Also, the more focus there is on um... animal traits.... the less into it I am HFDHFHHJ. BUT I've sometimes liked the work of mandarin language todolf oneshot fanfic writers on ao3... I have no idea what the fuck is going on half of the time because google translate is imperfect, but those sure are some Fics with Stuff Happening in them xDD my favourite ones are rudolf x stephanie ones though because they're pretty much the only rudolf x stephanie femdom fics out there.........

soulmate au - I know this is super controversial for how it portrays relationships, but I actually find it okay :D When I read them I always interpret it as taking place in a much more deterministic world than our own... and I actually think that pure angst fics about the premise are rather interesting too. But I do think it has to be done quite well to work!

Royalty au - I'm such a whore about historical research so this has the potential to really irritate me xDD And for my current main fandom activities it's redundant... But idk, it's fine I think.

Fluff - This is one I've changed my mind on quite a bit over the years, namely in terms of actually kind of disliking pure fluff nowadays. I really prefer hurt/comfort and other fics where there are some stakes at play, or fics where the "fluff" is actually straight up emotional abuse HSDHDSHDHFSH (it's ok you can say todolf<33). It's just a lot more exciting to have setup + payoff vs pure fluff. I don't really experience the urge to read fluff fic as a response to the original media being emotionally charged/sad, I want fix-it fics to start from the standpoint of that negative emotion and have ups and downs before getting to the happy ending!

Crossover - hate crossovers where characters from multiple unrelated media interact, do sometimes enjoy crossovers where characters from y are in the universe of x (or experience a phenomenon from x). I mean, I've written a tdv au ahshshsh so I can't complain too much xD

Pregnancy fic, baby fic - no. This is a very hard if not impossible sell for me. I've written a longfic where the main characters have kids during it, but I never focused on the pregnancy and baby parts per se. I just don't like it haha

High school au, fairytale au, college au, coffee shop au, amnesia fic - I do NOT understand the appeal of any of these lmao

Humor, crack fic - Has to be done really well to work and most of the time it just doesn't for me ajdjjsjd. Humor is so personal and individual, and a conscious attempt to be funny as the main point of a fic falls flat so easily...... I like witty writing, but crack fic per se doesn't work for me unless it's crack treaten extremely seriously (implausible tropes and scenarios can be fun!! Buuut I do have pretty high standards for suspension of disbelief hshsdjdj. So it needs a lot of work put into it basically)

[starsweepers]

( current ) WANTED CONNECTIONS

dawn

childhood besties!

friends in princess au... princes.... princesses... people of her kingdom...

people she helps in her angel au

friends for her older verse who help her stand up to bullies and not be a pushover all the time

more crushes and soft romance in older verse

i need drama with dawn i can't think of anything off the top of my head though?

omg her with heroes especially baby dawn let her just win over hearts

laila

romance - main, lady-in-waiting, princess, unicorn, especially boys with attitude or spark, bad lads bad lads-

i crave using her unicorn au

her assassin au... forbidden romance

her with like villain or bad boys oh my gOSH like any verse did i mENTION BAD BOYS

people she mentors in fashion and the like

fashion friends

girls she can design all the things for and just support and raise up because girls support girls!

fans

her with fellow princesses being besties and gossip

pokemon au and just magic aus did i mention unicorn?

pipp

romance, give her some boys to babble with, pony or human

fans

singer friends

bad boys or overly dweeby/soft boys

small town friends showing her small town life

her as a non-mlp pegasus with people she trusts

misty

her as a unicorn with kids or people she trusts

just friends in general dear pony needs them

red

adult figures

friends

yeah simplistic ones here red kind of just needs more

grayson

mentors

girls who can step on him

lads to hang with

fellow actors/actresses, fellow surfer friends

fans

brent

also girls who can step on him lol

fellow witches and wizards

magical creatures to befriend or care for

let him nerd/geek out

he'll adopt kid muses

people he can become protective over

faith

besties !!!! cheerleading or school friends!

let her show out of towners her small town

fellow bakers to have healthy competition with!

give her lost souls in her forest spirit or forest goddess aus

other magical beings in her werewolf au or even just humans who love nature i love this au

princess friends!

pokemon life and magic things

piper

girl crushes

adult/guardian figures

older brother or sister figures

extroverted friends who just love her anyways

someone who would totally beat up her family or who takes her in if they're lost and just helps her navigate freedom from her parents poor care

nari

magical creature/beings friends

children to be playful with

other wizards and witches

any of the arcadia crew

cleo

monsters/humans to befriend or maybe catch her eye if she's not with deuce

human au friends and relationships

descendants figured out events

i want drama and sadness. dealing with her family, new guardian like figures who actually help her promote a positive lifestyle

fellow characters who have died and come back

princesses

toralei

girls

people who will put up with her

i need to give her more attention rip

lady, mittens, georgette

au ownership

friends of animal and human variety are always loved

any canon interactions tbh

lady and georgette can be romantically shippable but mittens will unlikely be so

fei fei, ruffnut, marinette, chang'e, faline, olaf, lottie, sasha

pickier with romantically shipping any of these characters so friends preferred if you wanna ship come plotty

canon interactions ( minus sasha since she's not canon lol )

fei fei with super sciency people and mentors

chang'e with fellow beings of power

faline with other forest animals, maybe rescued by a human like her brother was if the forest is in trouble

lottie with all the other dibney friends!

marinette just in general lol

ruffnut being rESPECTED

[freudenstein]

Anime studios will have any show start with a rock intro, like literally any genre, idk whats up with that....you start a plotty cerebral shojo anime set in ancient china and the singer is channeling fucking Shakira

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group E Round 1: #E8 vs #E1

#E8: Lesbian vampire & human go on road trip to escape the horrors

In a bleak world where music is banned and Vampires have emerged at the top of the food chain, a girl named Momo breaks past the barrier and connects with Fine, queen of the Vampires, and the two journey to find a safe haven where their races can co-exist.

#E1: Modern people transmigrate* to ancient Chinese fantasy world (BL)

People from the modern world transmigrating into the ancient fantasy world has become a common and everyday occurrence that the royal court in the latter has decided to moderate them. If you’re a transmigrator, you must report your existence to Lou Zhu, the master of Best Tower. Once you pass his test and prove that you are indeed a modern person, you can then be assigned to work in different areas of the government and be given a high salary.

Because of this promised benefit, many impostors have showed up before Lou Zhu. And one day, Zuo Yunqi shows up for this test. Is he an impostor, or is he an actual modern person?

But some transmigrators also choose to hide their existence out of distrust in the government. Where are they? And with their knowledge of science and technology, what are they planning in the dark?

*Transmigration = similar to isekai, but the world where the characters get isekai’d to is not always a western fantasy type.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#E8: Vampire in the Garden

Propaganda:

This anime came out a year ago, but I literally never heard of it until earlier this summer because Netflix had it. You guys are SLEEPING on such a good series—it’s 6 episodes so it’s short, but it feels like a whole single film. The voice acting is so fun, the music slaps, the animation goes HARD during fight scenes, and it’s just so so good. The art style is pretty, and the scenery makes me lose my mind, it’s SO pretty. I need to write an essay one day about how VitG uses music to carry the story because wow that is 🛐🛐🛐 Also there’s a goofy looking dog named Connie that continuously appears and serves no purpose in the plot. Love that

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Racism, Self-Harm.

Child abuse & emotional abuse for Momo’s complicated relationship with her mother. Also emotional abuse for Fine’s past traumas and current strained relationship with other vampires.

This is a vampire anime, so there’s a lot of blood and fighting. There’s also a drug introduced in ep1 that mutates a vampire horribly.

Racism is human-versus-vampire shenanigans.

Self-harm for a scene where a human attempts to feed a vampire and for drug usage as mentioned above.

#E1: Are You Ok (You Yao)

[Admin: I could not find a single trailer of season 1 w/ English subs, and its OP seems to have been taken down on YouTube since Iqiyi, its producer (?), started their own channel. As such, I’ve cut a small portion of S1E01 instead, featuring the test the transmigrators have to take.]

Propaganda:

This donghua (Chinese anime) is based on a comedy novel with the same title, and the adaptation is just stellar. Instead of showing each character’s story separately like in the novel, the donghua combined everything. Because of this, there’s more focus on the plotty and political mystery aspect—but without losing the heart of the original. The entire show is still just as hilarious.

And for an adaptation with several original characters, for once I actually don’t mind it. I usually find such additions annoying, but in this show they really serve a purpose and also add to the enjoyment.

I also like the choice of animating it in 3D, like the one in video games. It fits the “transmigrate into a fantasy world” setting well. The donghua also plays around a lot. In one episode, they had one character sing and dance like in a musical, with the beginning of the song sounding like “Do you wanna build a snowman?” from Frozen 😂

Moreover, this is a Boys Love story, and with more than one couple, too! The secondary couple (Zhou Rongqi and Li Ke) even gets a very gay ending song that’s all about them. But since this show is from China, where censorship rules are strict, don’t expect anything explicit. Just think of it as another shounen with homoerotic undertones, except the homo is actually canon.

All in all, it’s a very fun show that doesn’t lack in depth. If you’re in the mood for something light but don’t want to miss out on plot, you should definitely watch this. And if you’ve never watched a donghua before, then you’ll definitely find this fresh and intriguing.

Trigger Warnings: None.

If you’re reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

[voxofthevoid]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by my one and only Jesus @eusuntgratie

I recently cleared out all the ask/tag games in my drafts because I realized I'd reached the pile-up stage of putting things in there and not doing shit. Thanks to everyone who's tagged me in those the last couple of months and sorry I didn't get to any!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

148

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

2,005,606 (crossed the 2 million milestone recently and am still buzzing about it)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I'm only writing for Jujutsu Kaisen, but I'm posting for Jujutsu Kaisen, Bleach, and MCU.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I was so sure it was going to be all MCU, but nope, it's a mix of MCU and Hannibal. God, that was my first Ao3 fandom, and my Hannibal fics are from 2014. It's surreal people are still reading/enjoying them.

if you're looking for jesus (then get on your knees)—MCU

i'm a ghost, you're an angel (one and the same)—MCU

A darkness seen and shared—Hannibal

Ways and Means—Hannibal

the hand you want to hold is a weapon (and you're nothing but skin)—MCU

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I enjoy the interactions and discussions. Plus, since I'm not a Discord (or group spaces) person, it's how I find fellow fans to chat with, especially during my initial foray into a particular fandom. I do have a huge backlog of some 1.1k comments from 2020 to mid-2021 because I didn't have much time for fandom in that period. I'm chipping away at it slowly, but I'm pretty prompt about replying to everything on my post-2021 fics.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, this Hannibal fic, I'd say: Till the bitter end

Let's just say I predicted the series finale in some weird way.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of mine end happily—a few are ambiguous, while others are dark.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Oh yeah. It's only happened with MCU and Jujutsu Kaisen, and they're mostly cases of overgrown children unhappy that I didn't write the ships or dynamics they want.

9. Do you write smut?

It's my specialty now 😎

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nah. I've done fusion-style AUs, but full-on crossovers aren't something I'd like to write. I'll read them, but I'm picky.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Multiple times (MCU and YoI, iirc), both within Ao3 and offsite.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Multiple times, for multiple fandoms! It's always a delight.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did write one(1) fic that way, but it got yeeted into the void when my co-author deleted her entire Ao3 account. I have a copy, I think.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I'm the kind of person who's most devoted to whatever is eating my brain at the time, so right now, it's Yuuji/Gojou from Jujutsu Kaisen.

15. What’s a wip you want to finish but probably won’t?

My writing superpower is that if I lose interest in a WIP, I also lose all desire to finish it and any guilt about it. And these days, I tend to start a fic and work on just that till it's done. So the answer is—none.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I write some smokin' hot porn, and I'm pretty good at threading character study through it. The porn is the plot, in most cases. I also enjoy doing background worldbuilding that serves to give the narrative a sense of depth despite the focus being on characters and relationships.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes, ensemble casts, and sustained plotty plots.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Ah, I can feel my Hannibal-era Google-translate Lithuanian judging me.

In general, I avoid it, but when I write for anime set in Japan, I tend to work in honorifics. My mother tongue has those too, so I know from experience that there are no English equivalents that capture the same vibe.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hunter x Hunter, I think. That account no longer exists. On Ao3, it's Hannibal.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I tend to be biased toward my newer works, so this keeps changing. At the moment, it's (let me be clear) every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered (JJK, goyuu).

Tagging (no pressure) 20 people because why the hell not: @possibleplatypus, @actualalligator, @joeys-piano, @cursedvibes, @backwardshirt, @m34gs, @naamah-beherit, @dragongirlg-fics, @crossroadswrite, @spacebuck, @jenroses, @calamitouskings, @knivash, @lo-55, @bookwyrmling, @sorrythatwasamistake, @ddelline, @lilyfarseer, @roughkiss and @deunan306

[gali-la]

Hi! I've allowed myself to sneak into your inbox to ask about the Wip Title Tag Game 😊 it sounds so fun! Could you tell us a little more about Crocorosi Cross Guild Canon divergence AU, please? Thank you 💖

You can tag me back if you'd like!

Omg hello!! Thank you for the ask, I’m so excited about this one <3

So this was originally a pitch for a zine! I'm actually glad it didn't get picked, in the end, because I can make it long and plotty now.

my pitch was this: cora washes up wherever the cross guild is operating because stupid things like that happen. its one piece. and croc's the one who finds him (he has memory loss) and tries to find out who the hell he is and what he's doing there. problem is he's also croc's type (a less annoying doflamingo) and he's very. innocent and a little dumb and croc cant find it in himself to hate this dumbass that is awed by every dumb trick of buggy's and mihawk's big sword EXCEPT he gets jealous... a lot of tension and emotion suppression and possible angst... 👀

I haven't gotten too far writing it either but here is a little peek into it so far:

“...What is that?” Crocodile ignored the idiot’s question, but not because he wasn’t quite sure about what the thing before them was either. Obviously. The thing in question seemed to be a soggy mass of some sort of glossy black material. Shapeless, unmoving and way too big to be the washed-up carcass of any animal. It had appeared earlier that morning, on the south side of the island, and of course, all of the idiot clown’s little weakling parasites had come running to tell them all about it. As if Crocodile cared, or, even, had a moment to spare to go investigate whatever it was. Still, somehow, Crocodile found himself down at the south side of the beach, staring at what was probably just some washed-up jetsam. It was certainly ugly enough—who in good conscience would own such a horrendous thing? To his right, Mihawk peered down at the black mess with an eerie, creepy gaze, not unlike a bird. Maybe the weirdest bird known to man, but the way he tilted his head as he studied it was definitely bird-like. He didn’t look like he was going to do anything about it, though, and the blue-haired moron peeking cowardishly over their shoulders certainly wasn’t, either, so Crocodile took the initiative and nudged it with the tip of an expensive leather shoe.

[twilightarc-gm]

This River Runs Beyond Heaven and Earth [江流天地外]

by twilightarc

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Multi

Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Yunmeng Jiang Disciples, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Original Character(s) , Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Original Character(s)

Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Original Characters, Yunmeng Jiang Disciples (Modao Zushi), Modao Zushi Ensemble

Additional Tags:

Post-Canon, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin-centric, Slice of Life, Plotty, Cultivation Sect Politics (Módào Zǔshī), Cultivation Mechanics, Location: Lotus Pier (Modao Zushi), Not A Fix-It, Golden Core Shenanigans My Beloved, Secret Identities, Past Relationship(s), Worldbuilding, Flashbacks, Missing Scenes, Light Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin Loves Dogs, Animal Lover Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Demisexual Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Canon Compatible, Present Tense, POV Third Person Limited, Work In Progress

Summary:

Jiāng Chéng discovers the consequences of Wèi Wúxiàn's return and also the real reason he was brought back in the first place. He just wants to run his sect in peace and manage his inner demons, just move on with his life as he was challenged. Yet forces beyond Liánhuā Wù have different designs for him. It would be nice if it ended there but his luck was never that good, and the cultivation world falls under the threat of evil once again. It's not all bad, Jiāng Chéng will find new people to cherish and some he had lost will return to him. ​

Words: 27,520 | Chapters: 3/? | Language: English | Published: 2024-03-23

[mlbigbang]

2022 Rare Pair Fic Rec List

It's the end of the year which means it's finally time for the ML Big Bang's yearly fic rec lists! We're really excited to bring you our contributors' favourite fics started this year to supply you with plenty of reading material while you're waiting for the Big Bang fics' publication in January.

Alya/Nino

Strangely Familiar by @sunfoxfic 79,676 words, Teen, 30/30 chapters

Alya Césaire’s life is perfect. Indeed, between the success of the Ladyblog, how well she’s doing in school, and the fact that she’s a superhero who has never bore the weight of a crisis of epic proportions, her life almost couldn’t be better. Almost. But Alya has always been a go-getter, and so she’ll chase after that perfect life if it kills her. Which is how she ends up rushing to move out of her father’s apartment and in with Marinette, Adrien, and a complete stranger: Nino Lahiffe. And in fact, her life does seem perfect — she and Nino are fast friends. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other really well. But in the end, fortunate situations will bear unfortunate truths, and she learns things about herself that aren’t quite comfortable. Like I said, though: Alya has always been a go-getter, and she won’t let new feelings deter her from chasing after her perfect life.

"DJWifi centric with great Core 4 dynamics as well, really interesting Nino & Alya characterisation and interactions and identity shenanigans and aaaahhhhh"

Trust your instincts by @ultrakart 2,380 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Alya has the instincts of a fox. Nino finds it hilarious.

"Funny animal instincts DJWifi fic. Perfect :D"

Laughing at her Laughter by @sunfoxfic 634 words, General, 2/2 chapters

Now that Nino knows Alya has the Fox Miraculous permanently, they're able to try something they always wanted to do: Switch Miraculous. For one of them, at least.

"A very sweet kwami-swap! AND it has beautiful bonus art!"

Pigs and Purposes by @azuriteartist 863 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Nino and Alya discuss responsibility and sacrifice.

"We stan kwami swaps so much and this conveys so much with so little."

Adrien/Nino

in which Adrien braids his boyfriends hair by @ck2k18 986 words, General, 1/1 chapter

"I could do your hair for you,” Adrien offered. “I-if you wanted.” Nino turned to look at him. “You want to cut my hair?” Adrien shook his head. “Not exactly. I mean, I could try but I don’t think you want me to, unless you want to end up bald,” he joked. “I was thinking I could braid it.”

"Adrinino is so good and it's so sweet!!! I love a good ole hair doing fic!!! (especially when there's talk of future kids!)"

Marinette/Alya

Is it chill that you're in my head? by @bring-the-storm 8,217 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Alya stared at the picture plastered across the homepage of every single tabloid and news site, whispering every curse she could think of under her breath. SHOCKING SECRET ROMANCE BETWEEN LADYBLOGGER AND PARISIAN SUPERVILLAIN REVEALED!!! the headline announced, casually shouting the words she had been dreading for all of Paris to read. --- Alya had always assumed that someday Paris would discover that she had secretly been kissing their most wanted vigilante, but she had never thought it would happen so soon. As the domino effects of her relationship with Ladybug go spiraling through her life, Alya turns her sights towards the one responsible: the elusive superhero Hawkmoth. AKA Someone outs Alya and her girlfriend so she retaliates by deciding to take down Hawkmoth 

"A very enjoyable read! As the tags say, it's basically an episode of a show; it's a bit funny, a bit plotty, a bit shippy. A very clever story!"

Marinette/Kagami

We Don't Need Roses by @coffeebanana 5,308 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Kagami’s days at the tattoo shop have gotten a lot more exciting since the flower shop opened up next door, bringing Marinette into her life. But no matter how close the two seem to be growing, Kagami can’t help but notice that something is holding Marinette back.

"Marigami. Mainly fluffy, but there's some angst that really rounds it out. Tattoo parlor/flower shop AU. What I liked most about it was the characters backstories, especially Marinette. Also Kagami is a useless lesbian."

Marinette/Chloé

the memories that you went and tossed away by @sunfoxfic 4,965 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Marinette Dupain-Cheng suffered from an accident that caused amnesia. Now that lycée has started, she's back in school, and Chloé is trying to make sense of her own problems, but Dupain-Cheng keeps getting in the way, and she can't figure out why. It's fine; everything's fine.

"An angsty, one-sided crush story that is satisfying and enjoyable, even without a happy ending. It is very well written!"

Alya/Kagami

darling (the composer has stepped into fire) by @theladyfae 1158 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Kagami likes Alya. She still isn't sure whether Alya likes her or not. This is a problem, when Alya's mere presence flusters her more than it should.

"READ FOR EXQUISITE GAY PINING"

Adrien/Lila

A Little White Lie by generalluxun 1,199 words, General, 1/1 chapter

A nervous Lila Rossi shows Adrien her room, and things take an unexpected turn.

"Wonderfully written and deeply emotional, the way you can expect from his fics. Short, with a twist that hits hard for maximum impact. A must-read for all of us who don't like Lila."

Luka/Chloé

broken guitar (with a little c minor sting) by noirshitsuji 2,175 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

For the White Elephant Exchange at the Miraculous Writer's Guild: Give the LB and CN miraculouses to two characters (who aren't Marinette and Adrien). *** “Has nobody ever warned you about adopting strays, Couffaine?”

"The dynamic of Luka and Chloe in this is tasty and I have grown to be extremely fond of the writer's particular style. They're very good at subtext and insinuation and nuance."

Luka & Marc (QPR)

just wanna stay for the night by @asadweeghostie 246 words, General, 1/1 chapter

He keeps trying to not touch them, like little love notes as he eyes his favourite one. Lyrics about love and friendship written next to his keyed notes.

"There's something about this fic that always feels like home to me. I'm aware that this is a queerplatonic relationship, but the way it's written and how it's talked about brings up the possibility for a future romantic relationship, so I feel that maybe it's more fitting here. This author is one of my favorites; the way they write and express relationships is so endearing."

NSFW works

Félix/Kagami

Blood Will Tell by @sunfoxfic 30,352 words, Mature, 11/11 chapters

Kagami Tsurugi is pregnant. More precisely, Kagami Tsurugi is pregnant and Félix Fathom is the father. After spending months as "friends with benefits," neither knows what to do, and both are panicking in their own emotionally suppressed ways. And as the worst happens — both in their heads and at their hands — they uncover more than they thought they could handle; but the story is not over, and what doesn't kill Kagami only makes her freakishly motivated to be better tomorrow.

"A raw fic that is exploring accidental teenage pregnancy and all that comes with it. It is gently but realistically showing the often-glossed over discussions about abortion, while not straying too dark and being very "readable". The prose is gorgeous as well!! Chlonette: An angsty, one-sided crush story that is satisfying and enjoyable, even without a happy ending. It is very well written!"

Luka/Adrien

I've Got Friends on the Other Side by @inkmousey 6,796 words, Explicit, 1/1 chapter

Father Luka only tries his best to be a devout servent of The Lord. Adrien, a Succubus, wants to see Father Luka on his knees saying his name like a prayer instead.

"I love subverting expectations and this fic does it more than once!!!"

charge de fin de soirée by @leafweaverryn 5,627 words, Explicit, 1/1 chapter

During a late night patrol, Chat Noir finds Luka at a laundromat working on washing everything he's got. The hero takes the opportunity to air out some dirty laundry of his own…

"Such an amazing and thrilling Lukadrien fic!"

[muninnhuginn]

for all that Stranger is a very plotty series I really appreciate how it always makes the time for little character moments. things like han yeo-jin’s drawings, hwang si-mok vs food, kang won-chul’s silly office habits. and then it builds on these to give actual character insight?

han yeo-jin likes her drawings, a load of her doodles are actively anime-style which is fitting considering how much she’s into animanga, she likes to gift them and they mean a lot to her. they’re literally part of how she shows her appreciation for others, from her coworkers to si-mok. so in s2 when she’s suddenly *not* drawing? that shows something is severely wrong even before si-mok points it out. her returning to doodling later on after starting to mend the rift with si-mok therefore pulls some weight in showing that she’s healing, but at the same time, when her co-workers look over she still hides what’s she’s doing. this contrasts with her old work where she literally left post-its of her art as gifts on full display. she may be improved from her lowest state but she’s still not comfortable in her current environment.

si-mok vs food, better people than me have explained, but he’s constantly interrupted from having meals because of cases. it starts mostly as a running gag but it does get built upon. when he’s at odds with another character and they try to have a meal with him it’s inevitably cut short (kang won-chul’s s1 manager intervention, lee yeon-jae meeting the team) or he actively dislikes the food (and this part gets more blatant as he starts to express more emotions in general. initially it’s other characters who have to directly comment on or ask him about not approving of the food whereas by the time he has the meal with woo tae-ha the disgust is visible on his face). the only times he’s able to have a proper meal is when he’s started to let people in, so si-mok accepting the invite to the team meal in s1 (just before everything all falls to pieces) is a big step. it catches everyone off-guard for a reason. beyond that, there are the meetings with han yeo-jin which are some of the few times he’s actually able to have a proper meal with someone.

si-mok vs alcohol is another indicator. much of s1 is spent refusing alcohol and saying he doesn’t drink. in situations where someone else is drinking and it would be socially acceptable for him to mirror them (see eun-soo drinking alone in the pop-up bar) he is notable for how he refuses to do so. it takes most of the season for him to ‘give in’ enough to drink and when he does it shows that he may not be showing it in other ways but he has hit a low point. and that he chooses to share his history with yeo-jin when he’s in that state speaks volumes as to how much more he trusts her now. (I could speculate here about how him avoiding alcohol seems to be rooted in a not wanting to lose control kind of thing which is at odds with his whole emotionless deal in the same way his repeated lying about his pain is but that’s a tangent so I’ll leave it be) and at the end of s1 he drinks socially with yeo-jin and later on in that episode shows a full smile, showing him choosing to ease up re: alcohol is actually a *positive* development for him in some way. so him then reverting back in s2 to not drinking alcohol? it’s either his development being stunted/reverted or he’s not in the position where he’s with someone he trusts enough to drink with.

as for kang won-chul? I don’t think there’s any real *development* as such with his office habits (spinny chair, trying to get the paper into the bin), but it does demonstrate he doesn’t conform as much as he seems to at first glance. he’s a character who at first glance knows the ways this all works and blends in with it, but he doesn’t quite fit.

my point is just, the show didn’t have to bother with any of this. they could have still hit all the plot points and it would have made sense. the characters would have still stood up to scrutiny. but they chose to include all these little indicators that build up a picture of all the characters and where they are in their respective arcs. and I appreciate it so much that the show trusts the audience to complete the puzzle.

[fairymint]

🧸 What's a nice, familiar part of your dash? Blog?

There's usually a joke, conversation, or gimmick going on around the time that I wake up, from the more daytime blogs, along with some compliments~

any time I log in there's usually about 15 notes from the meme blog, maybe 4 from this one

when it winds down, it's easier to see the longer and more plotty posts and interwoven dash commentaries start.

Also, I now that if i want my mood to kick up, all I have to do is make a joke or meme, and I'll see the effects of it across the dash. It gives me happy giddy animal prancing vibes-