#This is all several years post-canon and after all the character development Hollow goes through in our main series.

[littlebittyhollowbugs]

Idk if you're still doing the "give me two characters and I'll discuss their dynamic" thing But I cannot forget this post you made about Bretta doing her whole "crush obsession" thing to Hollow and I want to hear about their dynamic. If they have one. Because I have my own thoughts on this but I'd like to hear yours!

Okay so Bretta and Hollow!

In our post canon series, Bretta develops a crush on Hollow pretty quick,

Hollow is a powerful, mysterious figure and she is instantly impressed and wants to know more (while also wanting to preserve the mystery and fantasize about the possibilities, as she does)

Because both of them are fairly shy, especially in the beginning, she doesn't really get to know Hollow on a personal level, and so the attraction isn't a lot more than surface level until she eventually gathers the courage to truly present herself.

Throughout our series Bretta goes on a character journey inspired by her last journal entry. (After you defeat Grey prince Zote)

"Her life's companion would not appear, for they could not appear to a maiden sat idle. She must instead seek them out, must find her love, and free them of their solitude. And thus her own journey began, out into dangerous lands, shielded by her love awaiting, guided by her love to be. With every step, the maiden could feel it, their fated meeting, coming ever closer."

She is still guided by her desire for a great fairytale romance, but now wants to take a more active role in her love life (and life in general) and works on becoming more confident and courageous.

This isn't an easy thing, but impressing Hollow becomes a big motivator for her.

On Hollow's end though, it doesn't harbor any romantic feelings for Bretta in turn. Hollow cares for her, as it does all citizens of Hallownest, and especially friends of its family, but there are no deeper feelings there.

As it gets to know her better, it does become impressed with her, especially for her creativity and determination.

And Hollow is a naturally selfless and kind bug, who also possesses a natural charm that makes it especially easy for Bretta to interpret its actions toward her as romantic when there isn't really any romantic intention there.

Hollow does eventually realize her feelings, and this doesn't change the way it interacts with her. It is formal but compassionate toward all. (unless given specific reason to act otherwise)

It doesn't alter the way that it thinks of her too much, either. It might find the attraction confusing except that it has experienced being the object of romantic attraction before.

Aside from the mysterious aspect of its character that many are drawn to, Hollow has always been physically impressive. (Its large horns, for example, are especially appealing to the ladies.) so it isn't entirely unused to the situation.

It has obviously never considered returning the romantic interest or pursuing a relationship itself. (Something that doesn't change for many years post-being freed from the black egg.)

So yes! The ship is cute, though I interpret it to be entirely one-sided, myself.

There are a few more details on their dynamic that will be shared when I post my series outline, but that's the gist of it for now!

[castielcommunism]

the confession IS bad and the emotional whiplash is so severe. like. I had been absent from destiel fandom for Many Years and then I find out it's canon and my brain is like 🚨🚨🚨 and then I watch a clip and it's. so ugly (maybe contender for top five ugliest scenes in all of spn?????) and the text is actually so bad. I then warm up to it because brain worms and it Is after all a big victory for 15 year old me. I rewatch the show to catch up and it turns out cas said all that one episode after dean committed some of his most dislikable actions ever (against cas' CHILD nonetheless) and it's just... Why and How and Why again

It’s often really frustrating talking about the confession on here because you need to pre-empt the discussion with a bunch of caveats. Because like yes it is actually pretty monumental that we have explicit textual confirmation that Cas is gay after all these years, and that retroactively re-informs how you read a lot of his scenes with Dean leading up to it. It’s not just representation at the point of introduction, it also re-contextualises prior canon. Which is cool! That’s a lot better than “Cas was gay all along but it wasn’t relevant to Harry’s journey” style of rep. I’m a post-Nov 5th casualty, so I wasn’t around for a lot of the homophobic fandom stuff. It’s obviously been a hostile environment for lgbt rep for a long time and having that finally be validated on screen is, in a vacuum, a win (although I think you should be deeply suspicious of anyone who claims that spn’s central flaw was homophobia). It has also led to some of the best posting I’ve seen in years, so for that reason alone I’m glad it happened.

But stepping away from that history of general hostility towards fans, the confession sucks ass lmfao. Even setting aside how ugly the blocking and lighting and make-up and editing and camera work is, the substance of the confession is poor. I made the point badly in this post, but real “rep” is not a singular pronouncement of queerness that has no lead up or follow through. What does the story gain by having Cas be in love with Dean? What are the consequences? How does this develop the characters? It happened in the third-to-last episode of the series finale, had 0 textual build-up (subtext that can be read as textually gay in light of the confession is a poor replacement for intentional build-up), and then it was never brought up again. The substance of Cas’ representation can be condensed into a single tweet, which is not so much a win for the homo community but rather a marketing strategy that, again, was baffling in its execution because it had no follow through. It is a hollow victory that serves as little else but a rhetorical tool to own anti-destiel people online (“never give an impassioned reply when a ‘Castiel supernatural has gay sex’ will suffice” as the saying goes). Which as a terminally online person that isn’t nothing, but aside from discourse and some great posts, what have we substantially gained in the realm of character development or representation?

Now the lack of build-up is a narrative staple of spn, so it’s not a sin that is unique to the confession. There’s also a lot of external factors that made it a lot worse than it likely would have been otherwise (COVID, writers room bullshit, actor drama, etc), so I don’t want to imply that the confession is bad on purpose or whatever. But like *speaking as a casgirl voice* speaking as a casgirl it does legitimately suck that the bulk of Cas’ confession was essentially an ode to Dean before he was killed off for mainpain AND THEN NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN. like that is insane lmao.

And again I know obviously if you’re confessing your secret love to a guy after years of hiding it, the topic of conversation is going to be about that guy. My issue is that it feeds into a broader problem, which is that all roads lead to Dean Winchester in the show. I want Cas to express his love on his own terms, from his own perspective, with his own complex mix of feelings on the subject. I’ve said this before but you don’t secretly love a man from afar for 12 years and not go a little bit insane. Resentment and bitterness and hopelessness and anger are normal, human responses to suppressing that amount of intense emotion for that length of time. Being in love with someone you’re convinced doesn’t love you back is a horrific position to be in. And instead of playing on the beautiful human tragedy of that, we get “ur the perfect most special guy ever I love you bye.” It’s not even that I want the confession to be Cas angrily yelling at Dean about how hard it’s been for him, but can we PLEASE get some of the energy we had in the alleyway scene where Cas shoves Dean around and screams about the sacrifices he’s made for him.

My other issue is that by s15, the narrative rot is so entrenched that I can’t really take it seriously, so even the narrative lead-up to the confession (such as it exists) is one that I’m not really interested in entertaining. the Jack stuff, Dean being the angriest most intolerable guy ever, the Chuck plot, the fact that Sam had been a non-entity in the show for so many seasons, everyone is miserable all the time, the racist shit they pulled with Billie at the last minute, etc. The confession exists in a sea of other stupid and ridiculous storytelling decisions.

I always feel like I’m making my point badly when I talk about this, and if you disagree with what I’ve said I don’t mind reframing what I’m talking about because we probably actually agree, I’m just expressing my point poorly. Like I feel like a lot of the discussion about “is the confession good” is a bunch of people who agree with each other yelling across the room at one another (or that’s been my experience, anyway). The crux of the argument I’m trying to make is that Cas is essentially treated like an accessory to Dean in his confession, much the same way that female love interests are in stock standard manly movies about manly men. The scene is about Dean more than it’s about Cas, especially in light of the fact that Cas is never seen on screen again and it is, AGAIN, never addressed by any of the characters. That sucks, I don’t like that, I don’t think it’s good representation no matter how much it’s a win for the hellers or whatever, and I don’t like it very much.

I have to concede that “the one thing I want is something I know I can’t have” is a certified banger though. If the confession had been that and some alleyway action I’d be a lot happier.

[pateldevs]

Hello! I am a little new to your tumblr and love all the stuff you post particularly the wolfstar. I'm a pretty-solid-sorta-background-reader-but-sometimes-talker in the hp ao3 fanfic crew and have read a LOT of dramione and a variety of rare pairs BUT I have been wanting to read wolfstar for like a year and have just never gotten around to finding my jumping off point in that. Do you have an recs? Thanks in advance <3

hey!! first of all welcome and thank you so much for your kind words! (i’m also super honored that you’re looking for my opinion on wolfstar fics!!) tbh i tend to read like the same 5 fics over and over ~for comfort~ but here are some of my faves, putting them below the cut bc i did also include my thoughts and opinions:

if you like marauders-gen fic...

the lost generation — this is it folks. this is the holy grail of fics for me. it’s well-written, it expands way beyond canon, it has lots of regulus content, it develops all the marauders era characters so perfectly. mostly set during marauders era at hogwarts, canon-compliant, with lots of jily as well. it’s super long (it was started in 2013!!) and is still in progress so there is plenty to get through although i did fully get totally up to date (then 130 chapters) in like 2 days when i read it lol. really i can’t recommend this fic enough, i’ve read it like 6 or 7 times in its entirety and it gets me every time.

it never goes out — completed and canon-compliant, another amazing marauders-gen fic set during hogwarts years. if you like reading cultural backstory (e.g. remus being welsh and seeing him interacting with his home & culture during the holidays) then would highly highly recommend since this has a lot of personality & character beyond just “boarding school” kind of vibes. lots of jily, lots of dorlene, much more contemporary in language compared to TLG above (like imo you can tell it’s american influenced but i don’t mind at all), and very in-tune with the 70s time period. cw for themes of abuse, addiction, and self-harm but relevant chapters are always marked. again i’ve reread this like 3 or 4 times and it was also one of the first wolfstar fics i ever read so <3 the author is also super nice!!

holy things — pretty young fic (as in they haven’t gotten together yet) but again it’s canon-compliant, set during the marauders’ years at hogwarts. if you like thoroughly developed metas and hcs about the harry potter universe this is for you! cw for themes of abuse and violence but relevant chapters are marked. background jily and dorlene and bonus content with cho chang’s parents lol. 

sanctuary — ok i always leave and come back to this fic because it’s quite slow-moving and the author is VERY specific about everything. whenever i come back to it i’m just floored by the level of detail. slight au where remus thinks his lycanthropy can be passed through touch but still very much canon-compliant.

brave faces, everyone — THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO IT NEVER GOES OUT and it is fantastic, again same exact vibes as its prequel in terms of historical context/late 70s vibes and a lot of cultural backstory to everyone. LOTS of domestic wolfstar and jily, plenty of background dorlene. again, canon-compliant. cw for themes of addiction, but again the author is super sweet and always marks all the chapters concerned

if you like aus...

the last great american dynasty — ok i don’t read wolfstar aus much BUT i love this one because it’s politics and i love that vibe. also it’s set in the states. slightly young adult (post college), kind of rwrb vibes if you like that! still very young but chapters are super substantial <3

if you want some angst...

the last farewell — ok this is the king of angst fics, it’s set before book 7 where remus tries to grapple with his guilt over marrying tonks so if you like stuff that respects canon/fits with the canon universe/timeline and you don’t mind remadora but still want wolfstar, this is for you. cw for grief obvs

several ways to apologize — a post-whomping willow prank fic, personally i like this one a lot because it’s a refreshing change from the usual “remus is angry everyone is picking sides” kind of fic

it’s alright — this is more hurt/comfort than angst but if you love nightmare hurt/comfort fics this is for you!! i regularly return to this one because i like to ✨project✨ but it’s just such a lovely wholesome fic with a happy ending :’)

to perish by the power of fire — very long one-shot set during hogwarts years with a particular emphasis on remus’ pov and his relationship with his lycanthropy and sirius, plenty of angst but with a happy ending

if you like dadfoot and domestic wolfstar fics (where sirius and remus raise harry)...

hold on to this lullaby — canon-compliant, where sirius manages to get to godric’s hollow and the order shows up right after voldemort finds james and lily :( fast-paced writing but it’s sirius & remus raising harry!! which is super sweet and cute all the time :)

a store of happiness — ok this is another one of my comfort fics, canon-divergent/fix-it starting at the end of book 3 where sirius is exonerated and he and remus take care of harry :) i come back to it probably once a week, it’s so cute <3

[willag42]

Yuri!!! On Ice Fanfic Recs with Reviews  ["A” Authors]

Note: Doing some major reformating of the YOI fanfic rec pages. The pages that include my reviews are now having the posts separated alphabetically by author (see below). I am also creating separate page(s) that allow filtering the fanfics by category. It's a work in progress, but I'm having fun with it.

This page includes my YOI fanfic recs (with reviews) for authors whose names begin with "A".

Note: For any authors whom I don't know the gender, I refer to them with they/them. If any authors wish to correct me, please do so.

AUTHORS REC PAGES: #0-9 -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z

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Refer to this masterlist for all of my YOI fanfic recs.

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ADreamingSongbird (@adreamingsongbird)

If you’re in the mood for some adorable, wholesome ship fics (friendship or romantic), then look no further than ADreamingSongbird’s fics. The character interactions are sure to leave you with a few extra cavities. I am particularly attached to the close friendship she paints between Yuuri and Phichit. But don’t be fooled, because she is equally crafty at twisting your heart into an agonizing, unrecognizable mess.

#bffs4lyfe

Rating: Gen Words: 10.6k Status: Complete Relationship: Platonic Phichit+Yuuri; (side) Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: BFFs; Detroit pre-canon; post-canon Yuuri/Victor wedding ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Detroit holds a special place in Phichit Chulanont's heart, mostly because that's where he met the boy who would become his lifelong best friend. Wait, no, scratch that - Detroit doesn't hold a special place in Phichit's heart. Yuuri Katsuki does. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: Did I mention how much I love how she writes the friendship between Yuuri and Phichit? Because I really do.

The Rules for Lovers

Rating: Mature Words: 323.3k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Fantasy AU; Historical fantasy; Magic; War; Survivor's guilt; PTSD; Falling in love ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Prince Yuuri Katsuki has a duty to his country, above all else (his desires, his dreams, and his happiness included), and he knows this alliance will help to ensure the safety of his people. That’s the only reason he accepts Prince Nikiforov’s hand in marriage. The pleasant surprise, of course, is the part where they fall in love along the way. The unpleasant one, well... That’s a long story. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: This is perhaps my favorite urban fantasy YOI fanfic, using modern technology but mixing in magic and monarchies. There's a lot of political intrigue, attempted assassinations, and murderous plots, which leads to a lot of dark, heavy angst, but the core of the story is LOVE. Warm, heartbreaking, self-sacrificing, but always present. And before all the angst started kicking in double-time, the sappy fluff was at tooth-rotting levels. Yuuri and Viktor are super soft in this story, building a fluffy, innocent relationship. The maturity rating is earned by the dark themes and twisted, manipulative plots by the antagonists rather than anything by the main protagonists. The series also contains a collection of side stories, mosaic, if you're wanting more from this universe. One of the best royalty AUs in the fandom.

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Adrianna99 (@iwritebetterthanispeak)

Prodigy

Rating: Teen Words: 122.1k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Alternate universe; Alternate profession; Music; Violist Yuuri; Violinist Viktor; Fluff; Angst; Minor injuries ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Viktor Nikiforov is the most talented young violinist in the world, so he's understandably devastated when an injury prevents him from playing professionally for at least a year. But when his mentor suggests he take on a student to keep from getting rusty, Viktor finds new inspiration in a place he never thought he would: a violist. Viktor Nikiforov wasn't at all what Yuuri expected, and when he accepts the older man's offer to help him win the most prestigious musical competition in the world, Yuuri gets a lot more than he bargained for. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: Another fanfic that adapts the series into an alternate profession but makes several unique changes and improves upon the ending of the original series (if you've read any of my other reviews, you can probably guess exactly how it improves upon the original series' ending). That's obviously not the only reason to love this fanfic. The characters are a softer than their original counterparts, including Yuri, who I really sympathized with in the beginning when Viktor decides to take over as Yuuri's mentor. The fic places emphasis on pathos and developing the relationships between the characters. One wonderful aspect is how much presence Phichit has, since he and Yuuri continue living in an apartment together with Viktor in a separate apartment. As such, we get to see a growing friendship between Viktor and Phichit. The romance between Yuuri and Viktor blooms sooner in the story as well. Adrianna99 has written additional short side stories for this series that are also worth a look: Prodigy: Mirror Image, which approaches chapter 2 from Viktor's POV; and Prodigy: Phone Home, which is an extra from chapter 3 where Yuuri contacts his family. If you want to read a story that takes cues from the original anime, but goes its own path, definitely check this story out!

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AlexWSpark (@alexwspark)

Alex has an interesting, softer (but not too soft) interpretation of the characters that I really appreciate. The original anime is a comedy, so it amplifies certain character quirks “4 teh lulz,” but Alex takes care to not over-exaggerate, which can make some characters more likeable (*cough*Yurio*cough*). But don’t worry, Victor and Yuuri are still big pining messes. Alex also takes great care to develop healthy bonds between the characters in their stories, which is always A+++!

The Katsuki/Nikiforov Collector's Edition + DLC (Series, 4 works)

On Online and Offline Love Rating: Mature -- Words: 32.8k -- Status: Complete -- Summary: Gaming/Streaming AU: In which Yuuri and Victor are gamers, head over heels for each other, and hoping to one day come face-to-face. Of course, when two whipped, adorable fluff-balls are involved, shenanigans ensue...

On Bedhead, Bullets, and Bargains Rating: Mature -- Words: 18.2k -- Status: WIP -- Summary: Yuuri (GamerLevelEros) and Victor (GAria_VNikiforov): Gamers, streamers, friends, lovers. Families will unite, love will be spread and, of course, games will be played. But, as their relationship progresses, Yuuri will discover that their time apart carries much more weight that he could've ever imagined.

Our Aim is True Rating: Mature -- Words: 6.2k -- Status: Complete -- Summary: Yuuri (GamerLevelEros) and Victor (GAria_VNikiforov) are THE streaming power couple and as they approach their one-year anniversary, Yuuri decides that it's time to add another life-changing plot twist to his collection.

Katsuki/Nikiforov DLC - A Collection of Tumblr Drabbles Rating: Mature -- Words: 13.3k -- Status: WIP -- Summary: Tumblr drabbles based on HCs/prompts from both myself and followers. ❤❤❤❤❤  Words: 70.4k Status: Work In Progress Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Gaming/Streaming AU; Video games; Mutual pining; Fluff; Dorks in love ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: An amazing gaming AU series with a wonderful light-hearted story where Yuuri and Victor are Ye Ol’ Gaming Gods on Twitch who fanboy one another and live, breathe, and think in game metaphors. Like, seriously, I am deeply impressed with all the corny yet fantastic gaming analogies. It’s like living in a gaming otaku’s head. Gaming fans will understand more of the references, but this is a wonderful series of fics that can be loved and enjoyed by all. If you are seriously a fan of Victor and Yuuri being pining dorks, then you should definitely check this one out!

Unexpected

Rating: Explicit Words: 65.5k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Canon divergence; Victor knows that Yuuri does not remember the banquet ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: Banquet AU: In which one impulsive midnight decision leads Victor Nikiforov to Yuuri Katsuki and, of course, everything changes, a.k.a Drunk!Yuuri has no chill, a.k.a Victor experiences #allthefeels. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: One of the better canon divergence fics I’ve read. This only takes place up through the first regional competition, but it’s able to keep the characters and situation fresh by changing the order of event and have the characters be more mature and likeable. Yuuri’s anxiety still causes trouble, but he is more open to Victor’s presence and they form a friendly bond quicker; Victor is aware that Yuuri doesn’t remember the banquet and reacts with care; and Yurio is way less of an asshole. I love this spin on the story.

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Anonymous

Across the Universe

Rating: Teen Words: 30.7k Status: Complete Relationship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov Tags: Multiverse AU; Dimension travel; Soulmates AU ❤❤❤❤❤  Summary: In an alternative universe, Yuuri has just won the GPF at Sochi — and he’s miserable. He lost everything that mattered to him several years ago when a tsunami hit Hasetsu, and after throwing himself into his skating, he’s achieved gold, but the win is hollow without others there to share it. Things change when he’s transported to another universe, where GPF champion Victor Nikiforov is about to drown himself in the Black Sea. According to legend, only those with a deep connection can draw someone from across the universe. But Yuuri and Victor have never met before in their respective worlds; perhaps someone out there knew how much they needed each other. ❤❤❤❤❤  Review: I love both the premise and the execution of this fic. In Yuuri's universe, Victor and all of his family and friends from Hasetsu are dead. He's achieved a gold medal in Sochi but his life feels hollow. In Victor's universe, Yuuri was the one who died in the tsunami (though everyone else survive), and Victor is feeling hopeless. In their moment of need, Yuuri is transported across dimensions to Victor's universe, a common occurrence within that universe such that systems are already in place to help such people adapt and create a new life there if they wish or to be sent back. Victor's universe is fascinating in that it's more technologically advanced at that point, despite the year being the same, but competitive skating is trailing with quads still not being a thing. I like the take on how both Yuuri and Victor agree that this is actually a good thing since quads damage skaters' bodies and wear the joints down even more quickly. Yuuri puts on his performances that won him the GPF a few times, but decides to stick to the universe's rules so that he can focus on the performance more. There are a lot of struggles with adapting to the new world, but overall, it ends up healing everyone. As soulmates, Victor and Yuuri eventually find life and love with one another and soothe each other's broken souls.