#but I appreciate that it isn't baby centric

[triviareads]

What I appreciate about Liana De la Rosa's newest book and Adriana Herrera's upcoming book is that they decolonizes the Happily Ever After. A lot of HEAs in historical romances hinge on white upper-class acceptance— this can look like the ton actively socializing with them, and possibly even celebrating them. Even from a setting standpoint, where the characters end up by the epilogue feels indicative to me of what the author envisions as their happily-ever-after— a lot of them end in country estates (for the full domesticity effect), and some in big Western cities, often London.

A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera completely rejects the premise of white acceptance being necessary, which is great considering the hero begins the story seeking that because he's a biracial Black duke who basically fought for his title and legitimacy. I honestly think the story could have gone either way despite the heroine also being a social outcast, regardless of her wealth and connections (the non-spoilery difference is that she's a doctor which was far more than an occupation back then for a Black woman; it was a political statement, and Aurora is also dedicated to helping women access treatments they're often barred from by the law), but it felt liberating to see that acceptance is no longer the priority, and that they travel the world to do good with, in part, the tainted inheritance he received from his white colonizer father.

I think Liana took it a step further with Isabel and the Rogue because not only did the narrative reject the premise of white acceptance being necessary for an HEA, but on a feminist level, the white hero leaves behind his homeland to be with the heroine, who is Mexican and of Indigenous ancestry. In most historicals I've read, it's the heroine who ultimately gets swept up into the hero's world, regardless of whether he's of a lower or higher class than she is (ex: a recent ARC I read has a sex worker heroine who tearfully bids goodbye to a fellow sex worker because they both know she'll likely never socialize with the other woman after marrying an aristocrat). It was genuinely moving to read the hero give up almost everything for the heroine as a part of their HEA.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

May 22nd

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1. Wanting to find a modern AU. The one scene I recall was in a parking lot, I think: the Jiangs are confronting WY, who had been at a party with LZ, possibly in order to see JYL. JC finds out about the sacrifice WY made for him. It was something to do with college tuition money this time around. Possibly YZY and WY both let the others think WY left of his own accord? @linderel

FOUND! 🧡 Where’s Your Emergency? by trippednfell (M, 64k, WangXian, 911 Dispatcher WWX, Single dad LWJ, Kid fic, Modern AU, D&D Games, Angst with a happy ending) could be near the end

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2. hello i am looking for a fic where wex was adopted into the wen sect. the scene i remember most is when wwx used a talisman to flatten himself so he can get through a door. id appreciate all the help thank you so much ♥️

FOUND! Communal Child-Rearing and Other Diplomatic Necessities by Elpie (Horribibble) (T, 4k, WangXian, LQR/WRH, Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Accidental Baby Acquisition)

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3. for the next fic finder, can someone help me with a oneshot sickfic i have been finding for too long ;; i think the main premise was ljy pushing wwx into a pond bc he was upset, and so wwx got unwell (and didnt tell anyone?) thank you for the hard work!

FOUND? Some Days. by jollytortoise (Not Rated, 8k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Shock, Horror)

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4. Hello! I'm looking for a fic where Wei Wuxian returns back from the dead in Mo xuanyu's body but he lost all his memories. He doesn't remember his name or any of the events of the past. He is saved by Lan zhan and the juniors as soon as he wakes up and they take him to Gusu where he lives and falls in love with Lan zhan. Lan zhan also falls in love with him but he is conflicted beacuse he feels like he's betraying wei wuxian. In the end, he remembers and they get together.

FOUND? Love Song In Reverse by timetoboldlygo (T, 237k, WangXian, Amnesia, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Falling In Love, Slow Burn, agressively mixing and matching novel and cql canon, No Homophobia, Mentions of Starvation, Parental WWX)

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5. hi!! for the next fic finder — im looking for a wlw wangxian one where lwj was a cultivator(?) who sailed the ocean looking for resentful energy(??) (i dont remember) and one day she picks up mermaid wwx. i dont remember much other than wwx getting dry and turning into human, staying on her boat, and being curious about her own human anatomy which leads to lwj fucking her in every surface available. it Has plot. please help ��🥺🥺🫶🫶🫶

FOUND! 💖 splash;; by defractum (nyargles) (E, 11k, wangxian, F/F, modern cultivation, Gender Changes, Merpeople, Humanfucking, the opposite of monsterfucking, Rule 63)

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6. FF request! This is a modern au. I think wwx, lwj, lxc, nmj, nhs and maybe also jc, jyl, jzx, wq and wn, go on some sort of vacation under the excuse of night hunting. They finish a night hunt really quickly and then nmj (as the oldest and only sect leader?) is basically like, I don't care what you guys do, this is my vacation. They're all staying in the same house and divide into rooms by couple. Any ideas are much appreciated! Thank you!

FOUND? 🔒 Night Hunts and Getaways by Netrixie (T, 7k, LXC/NMJ, WangXian, JYL/JZX, JC/NHS, WWX & LXC, NHS could be a criminal mastermind, if he really wanted to, but he uses his powers for good, the plot exists merely for LXC to get some dick, so don't think too hard about it, Modern Cultivation, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, LXC centric, treating canon with gleeful irreverence, ships other than nielan are background, Attempt at Humor) It's part of a series.

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7. Hi! This is for Fic Finder. ☺️

I'm trying to find two fics. I don't remember much, unfortunately.

A) It's a time travel in which WWX comes back in time and go to visit WQ to convince her that he is from future and both make a long term plan to eliminate all the "bad guys".

B) It's also a time travel, but this time WWX is found by the Wens and is raised with the heirs of WR. The scene I remember quite well is one in witch LWJ is fighting with one of the Wen heirs (don't remember who, not WQ or WN) and when the Wen is going to attack LWJ, he sees the red ribbon that WWX gifted to LWJ. This means that LWJ is WWX's love (and fiance maybe?) so the Wen decided not to attack LWJ and it's killed.

I hope you can help me, thanks for everything!

🥰💕 @wangxiansgirl

7A)

FOUND? Here With Me ‘verse Series by iamwish (T/G, 80k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, wwx turns this into a no war!au, Canon-Typical Violence, Period-Typical Homophobia, Bad Parent YZY, POV WWX, POV LWJ, POV JC, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, WWX Has PTSD, and also depression sometimes, Unreliable Narrator, Character Death, Blood and Gore, BAMF WWX, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, there’s some elements of, Grief/Mourning, Character Study, POV JYL, Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death)

FOUND? We'll Build A Dynasty (one the heavens can't shake) by One_eyed_God (T, 66k, WangXian, canon typical Jiang family dynamics, BAMF WWX, Canon JC Characteristics, POV Outsider, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, WWX is a Wen, Sect Leader WWX, Genius WWX, The Casual Intimacy of Hand-Holding, Minor ChenLi, Not JC Friendly, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It)

7B)

FOUND? When Flowers Spring from Killing Things by windsweptice (B0redaf) (Not rated, 100k, wangxian, Wen WWX, Demonic Cultivation, WWX Has No Golden Core, he's got a resentful one instead, Yīn Iron, WRH pov, LWJ pov, WWX pov, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiāngs, Sentient Burial Mounds, XY Is A Little Shit, WQ pov, Protective WWX, Protective WQ, Cinnamon Roll WN, Protective WN, LXC pov, BAMF WWX, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Fall of Lotus Pier, Cultivation Discussion Conferences, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WN, BAMF WQ, Good Person WX, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Weddings) the scene with the ribbon being spotted is in Chapter 18

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8. Hi so I'm trying to find a podfic that I listen to few years ago I don't remember a lot about it but I do remember that wei ing wen ing and wen qing went to his nephew's naming ceremony or birthday I forget and Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian we're alive and there for their grandson's naming ceremony or birthday and I remember that madam yu come up to wei ing and took his wrist and like looked if he had a golden core she was like I don't know how she reacted but she respected him because he gave his golden cord to his little brother and like I don't know much I can't remember much but I do remember there was a scuffle and all that I'm just trying to find this podfic if you can find it please tell me if you can't well at least you tried @constancebloodstone

FOUND? seldom all they seem by Fahye (E, 25k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, or rather Arranged Betrothal, followed by Weapons-Grade Thirst)

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9. Hello! For fic finder: I am looking for a fic where Wei Wuxian was cursed to lie / say the opposite of what he truly thought. But everyone thought he was cursed to tell the truth, so when he says all kinds of horrible things to people they believe him thinking that he has been compelled to say what he really thinks of them. The curse is only broken after people realize he is lying (not truthing). Wei Wuxian then has a series of conversations with the various characters as he reassures them that he was lying and that he didn’t mean whatever he said. He also has some angst about how people so easily thought the worst of him / believed his lies. This plot is so clear in my head but I just can’t find it in my ao3 history! Please, can anyone find this? Thank you in advance <3 <3

FOUND? A Kiss of True Love to break a Curse by Wangxian101 (T, 5k, WangXian, Teenage Wangxian, Not Canon Compliant, kiss of true love, curse of lies, truth curse, Angst, Fluff, When the only way to break the curse is to kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Teen Angst, They are in love your honour, Oblivious WWX, Oblivious LWJ, there is only one brain cell in this group and it belongs to JC, LXC is the biggest wangxian shipper, jc is a good bro, Love Confessions, Getting Together, Gremlin WWX, Happily Every After, LXC will gut anyone who hurts his precious little brother, True Love's Kiss, JC is an awkward bean, LWJ POV, WWX POV, WWX is a closet romantic, WWX loves his romance novels, Protective JC, JC loves his gremlin brother, Unrequited Love, Requited Unrequited Love, it all works out in the end)

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10. Hi 👋🏼 can you please find me this fic . It was WIP when I came across it. idk if it has been updated or not . The story went like meng yao , xue yang, and Wei Ying all end up in Burial Mounds as kids, and they are adopted by the ghost ? Of a queen of a fallen kingdom. I think the wens had something to do with the destruction of the kingdom.

FOUND? The Kids Are Okay (I Think) by GossamerGlint (Not Rated, 80k, JGY & WWX, WWX & XY, WWX & JGY & XY, WangXian, WIP, give wwx jgy and xy a mom agenda, but not just any mom, powerful ghost empress mom with a revenge plot :), Royalty AU, Prince WWX, Prince JGY, Prince XY, Burial Mounds, Yílíng Wèi Sect, more like yiling xue sect, its... complicated, illustrated when the mood strikes)

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11. HEYYYYY!! there was this pretty woman fusion of wangxian, can you please find it?????

FOUND? A Sure Thing by ElDiablito_SF (E, 40k, WangXian, Modern, Pretty Woman Fusion, Prostitution, Unsafe Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, Attempted Sexual Assault, You'd think this would be wild and kinky, but actually they're soft and gross, past Zhancheng and they're still friends, Prostitute WWX, rich asshole LWJ, fashion bitch LWJ, Shoe Porn, background attempted Xiyao, Drinking to Cope, physical assault, Villain JGY, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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12. For fic finder: It was a canon-divergent or post-canon fic where someone reminds Wei Wuxian that the juniors grew up in a time of peace and so they don’t have war-instincts (like startle reflexes or ptsd from battle, and in general they are too trusting). I think the juniors too were warned that the older generation is more jumpy because of what they had been through when they were teens, and so they shouldn’t sneak up on Wei Wuxian. Unfortunately I don’t remember any of the actual plot, just this bit about the differences between the generations.

FOUND? tell some storm by qurbat (G, 31k, wangxian, JC & WWX, LSZ & WWX, NHS & WWX, Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, liberal amounts of outsider POV, the legend of wangxian, how to create a romance epic for dummies) since wwx has a conversation with lsz in chapter 2 about wwxs generation being one of war

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13. hello dear, I was looking for a ff where wei wuxian left with a-yuan after wen remnants are dead. NHS secretly send them materials anonymously. After NMJ died, NHS come to wei wuxian to find his brother's body.

FOUND? Innocence by snowberryrose (G, 8k, WangXian, Introspection, Family, Canon Divergence)

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14. I wanted you to find a fic I read and lost among the saved ones I have. it was where the lans protected wwx and the time wwx saw them protecting him. I think it was 4 parts and 1. I just remember that. thank you if you find it and sorry for disturbing

FOUND? one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, 5+1 Things)

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15. Hi! I'm looking for a fic where wangxian were already married ig but don't love each other just yet and one day wy faints due to lack of scenting so they start as ordered by lqr. At the end or something wy leaves lwj for a bit because he's angry that lwj told him to stand up for himself when jiangs insult him, but he comes back after lwj apologises to wn for slapping him. Also I think its jiang corp and lan corp kinda stuff and wy is stuck in btw. Thank you sm I know this is confusing so sorry @tinkalb

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16. I'm looking for some fics where Wei Ying achieves some sort of mastership(?) in cultivation. I think there were two of them that I read which had this idea... but I'm not sure now. I vaguely recall that he had to travel quite a bit to get to an instituion of some sort and there was a series of tests that he had to pass. I think there might also be something about him having to save up the money for it. Thanks!

FOUND? 🧡🔒Truth Will Out (when caught on video) - End_OTW_Racism! by KizuKatana (E, 179k, wangxian, WN & WWX & WQ, graphic depictions of violence, modern cultivation, canon divergence, YZY abuses WWX , caught on camera, partial core removal, WWX kicked out of Jiang sect, livestreamer WWX, meet ugly, dual cultivation, smut, no war) For #16 of the recent Fic Finder with WWX getting mastership in a cultivation field, there’s a chance it might be Truth Will Out by KizuKatana. The only thing is, WWX doesn’t actually achieve mastership, but he goes to Gus’s LAN to apply for a teaching job for talismans, and LWJ won’t consider him for multiple reasons including that WWX doesn’t have a master’s license (something like that)

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17. Hi, love your blog. Thanks for sharing such great content always! I would like to please request your assistance with finding a fic, it's driving me crazy because I thought I saved it. It's a modern au and lwj and wwx are coworkers and lwj is really shocked because wwx just came back from the dead 13 years later and he's acting normal in the office. Wwx has no idea he was dead the whole time. Please let me know if you know of it, thank you! @qilin-world

FOUND? A Ghost Story by Anonymous (E, 51k, WangXian, WIP, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Modern with Magic, Mentions of Major Character Death, Resurrection, (the character death is not permanent), grave desecration, Grief/Mourning, Panic Attacks, Dreams and Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, LWJ Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Self-Harm, (the gore/body horror/self-harm all take place in dreams but they are still graphic), Compulsory Heterosexuality, internalized kinkshaming, Consensual Non-Consent, Masturbation, Bondage, WWX is a Manic Pixie Dead Boy) this fic has everything but WWX was only dead for three years, not thirteen

FOUND? Exactly what he wanted by Rookseeksraven (E, 32k, WangXian, Modern, Sex Cam Worker LWJ, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Housing Insecurity, Inaccurate sex cam work, Inaccurate sex, weirdo4weirdo, Masturbation, Vibrators, Creampie, WangXian Have a Breeding Kink, Unsafe Sex, they're really horny, Switch WangXian, Bathroom Sex, Office Sex, Consensual Somnophilia, Cock Ring, Gags, Light Bondage, Nipple Piercings, Internalized Homophobia, not Jiang friendly, Slight LQR bashing, Getting Together, Secret Identity)

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18. Thnks for your work! I'm looking for a modern au fic. Teens WWX and LWJ were chess players who knew each during junior competitions. WWX struggled to befriend LWJ until he got LWJ to invite him to his house. They meet again at a chess competition and they kiss. Everything is ruined when SMS (¿?) accuses WWX of cheating and nobody believes in his innocence. WWX abandons the competition and don't contact LWJ. 13 years pass and LWJ faces WWX again in another competition but he is disguised as MXY

FOUND? Trebuchet by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 61k, WangXian, Modern AU, they’re chess players in this, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, rocky reunions, Good Uncle LQR, best boy wn, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Unprotected Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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19. Hello, for fic finder, can u help me find a fic with wangxian fake dating? I remember a particular scenario where, during the wen doctrine WWX asks LWJ to marry him expecting rejection but LWJ agrees. And our sweet sweet WWX proposes to fake a relationship and not bcoz he was head over heels in love with LWJ. I don't remember anything else from the fic. Sorry. Can you help me? @grrumpywoof

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20. greetings! i'm trying to find a fic where jyl is the one who time travels. her younger counterpart is still present, so she takes street kid wwx and lives in wen territory. she falls in love with wen qing & ning's (mother? father?) and discovers cooking cultivation. she assassinates wrh with it, allowing wwx to meet lwj as he gets older.

FOUND! 後悔莫及 (Too Late for Regrets) by liverbiver9 (T, 20k, JYL/OC, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, JYL-centric, POV JYL, Genderqueer WWX, Trans Male Character, Kid Fic, Child WWX, Fluff and Angst, Family Feels, Found Family, WWX is a Wen, technically, Assassination Attempt(s), WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, Minor MianQing, No Sunshot Campaign, No Golden Core Transfer, Everybody Lives, mentioned minor character death, Gender Non-Conforming WWX, Trans WWX)

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[r6shippingdelivery]

Im back again 😓…. I hope I was missed…

but if you would like, could I have some Kapkan / glaz or anything fuze related fics? Like some of your favorites? I just want stuff to read tbh 😔 thank you!

Welcome back, nonnie!

OKay, so, you asked for some of my Glaz/Kapkan favorites, so here they are. Mind you, that doesn't mean these people don't have more glazkan fics, or that you can't find more good stuff searching on the AO3 tag, just that these are some of my all time faves. Also, I didn't rec any of mine cause I cannot chose, I love all of mine since they were written especifically about what I enjoy, lmao.

Okay, enough yapping, here are the recs:

Written by @todragonsart

The sacrifice of a completely good Sunday

The touch of care

Russian roulette

Written by @grain-crain-drain

The big picture

Shed some anchor

Written by @avalonandpals

Maybe the hospital isn't so bad with you

Should have checked for cameras

Written by @bloodysyren

Caught in the act

Your kiss is a gunshot baby, and I'm bleeding love

Which one do I call monster

Various authors

Pretty eyes (and an even prettier mouth) - by AshenSerpent

While I have you - by FlamentBae

I hate you (SMILE) - by EllieWan

Home - by kabetsu_lettuce

Mistakes like these - by sinfulsheep

Wrong place, wrong time - by magpiedeployed

Stay still and keep quiet - by narperist

Still waters - by @raiderpunk

If you read any of these, please leave some love to the authors! A kudo or a comment go a long way to show people you appreciate their work, and most of these are criminally underrated

As for the Fuze centric stories, first I'd like to know if you want gen only fics (which I'm not sure exist, but I'd look), or if you're okay with shippy fics, which Fuze ships do you like/read.

[fishyingrn]

Swap AU Aleheather post!!

I love love LOVED (agh I can't say it enough sorry!!) @swinginspaceagebachelorette 's au of TDWT (≧∇≦) ʃ♡ƪ !! It's specifically a swap au between Alejandro and Sierra, and the way she writes Alejandro is just so endearing to read! He's like a golden retriever that has random knowledge! The fact she lowered the psycho-stalker quality is what helped endear his swap personality especially!! I think I already pestered her in her comment section about his personality and appreciating the heck out of her writing there 😹 I doodled a bunch since I just loved her au sm!!!

But before I start dumping doodles I made from the fic, the link to her fic is here ! Make sure you have an AO3 account before you read of course though!!😸

NOW FOR THE DOODLES MAUHAHAHAHHAHA

This is a scene from the fic ♪(^∇^*)! It's from one of the most recent chapters (chapter 29)

Zoom out of the scene lol

I still find it funny and shocking that Heather is able to support the weight of a man over 6 ft on her head 🙀Her head's gotta be made of STEEL! Super scary just how strong it is! Steel is my only conclusion for her head strength.. (Yes I'm not going to acknowledge the shocked Gwen, her issue of the day! she partook in cheating like a gross person and in great irony considering her s1 ordeal with Heather & Trent (* ￣︿￣))

ANYWAYS ONTO THE HC SECTION!!

These hcs are Aleheather centric like the one above since they're cutie patooties in the fic AND it's an Aleheather fic what do u want from me..(～o￣3￣)～

I think it'd be a nice off screen past time that Alejandro info dumps to Heather and she's at least partially listening! The dynamic kind of reminds me of Phineas and Ferb's parents in a sense where the dad infodumps to the mom and she just listens + enjoys it(❁´◡`❁) I LOVE that dynamic btw! It's such an endearing dynamic that to find it in my fav tdi ship is so sweet (to me at least!)

Onto my next hc!

Since Alejandro is taking the place of Sierra in this au, I thought it'd be sweet that he also adopted her hobby of glitter glue crafts. You know who also has a hobby of glitter glue crafts?! HEATHER💥

I'd think in one of Alejandro's off screen infodumps, he talks about his hobby of glitter glue crafts, the techniques and brands related to the aforementioned to Heather! She'd slip out some of her knowledge and love for it, OR she immediately starts rambling back about glitter glue crafts!!

THAT'S RIGHT BABY ( •̀ ω •́ ) !

Swap!Aleheather bonding over GLITTER GLUE CRAFTS 💥💥Ugh just how much more cute can you get with that headcanon?!

Another hc incoming!!

Since Heather always has her hair up in a ponytail in the main series, I thought a nice way to show her trust is with her hair! In general her hair has always been something special to her, that's why she fought for a wig in season 2. Since an AMAZING amount of value is placed on her hair, her showing her trust to Alejandro through her hair would be a nice way to visually show she trusts him! Alejandro basically the only genuine bond she's shown to make in the series, canon and in the fic, so I think the swap hcs make it just all the more sweet (/▽＼) !! In a way, since to Swap-ejandro Heather is just a celebrity crush, this sort of interaction deepens their relationship and his feelings beyond just a celeb crush (❁´◡`❁)

NOW FOR THE LAST HC!

This one isn't an Aleheather hc, but moreso a hc focused on Swap-ejandro's appearance! I think that as a trade off, he's not as physically built as canon Alejandro but instead taller compared to him (which is scary considering canonically Alejandro is 6 ft..) Since he's in the place of Sierra in this AU, he probably has enough strength to fight off baboons, he probably just has a hidden build! In general, Sierra and Alejandro in this AU had their skills and personalities swapped, so as a result their backstories technically were too with some small tweaks! I think this AU has been fun to make a bunch of hcs in, congrats if u got to the end of me convulsively info dumping about my hcs on the awesome au (lll￢ω￢) !

Full credits to the author man! She's mega talented! Please support @swinginspaceagebachelorette's work and any future works from her! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

Signing off, hope this reaches the right audience!

[nouearth]

Hi! I don't mean to be rude but how come you do not write for female readers? I feel like alot of Tumblr blogs that focus on female writers do their best to write for males or gender neutral as well so I don't understand why you can't write for females too?

hello!

you're not being rude, but i feel like this type of question is asked for every male reader centric blog, so it feels extremely redundant at this point, tbh.

i started this account specifically for m!readers because i simply wanted to imagine myself in the stories.

while f!reader blogs do their best to include us in the form of the gn!reader tag; there's been way too many times where the reader has been called "baby girl," "princess," and other pet names. it works for some people, but for me personally, it takes me out of the story, especially in a smut fic (but i will always appreciate the writers who warn me ahead!).

and while we're on the topic of smut, i feel like we're always being written in that genre and nothing else? maybe i'm bad at searching, and don't get me wrong, i love smut as much as the next person, but in my personal observation, we're boxed into a certain genre by non m!reader blogs. we can have some fluff and angst too, guys!

so that's another reason to making this blog: to diversify the content of stories m!readers are being written in.

and currently, a big issue of mine is seeing a bunch of f!writers tagging their fics with m!reader tags to get more publicity, making it even more difficult to find stories for us.

there is an abundance of stories written for f!readers, blogs dedicated to them, especially for the fandoms i write for, and there will never be a shortage of them. it really isn't that difficult to find a fic dedicated to you all.

if you're annoyed with the amount of male readers popping up now, filter the tags out. i never tried it, but it should be a relatively easy feature to use.

[clatoera]

I MEEEAAAAANNNNN technically any career representation is ooc career representation... *shakes fist at the sky* SUZANNE GIVE US THE CAREER DISTRICT SPINOFF WE DESERVE!!! but that's not to say that your characterization isn't one of the best in the fandom... like i have (on deprived occasions) latched onto LIVEJOURNAL of all places a few times to shake out any thg fanfic. i have paid my dues in this fandom and i have seen every characterization of those four characters under the sun and yours is definitely one of my favorites of all time... CHEFS KISS...

AND PLEEEAAASE don't overwork yourself. the day 12 thing was just a joke for dramatic effect!!!! all cards on the table writing fic is SUCH a commitment it's crazy to imagine you doing it over such a busy lifestyle im exhausted thinking about it.

finally, to answer your question. in the flower/tattoo saga, it would be a glim glam/mr worldwide centric fic with background clato and past implied glove??? climmer??? I DO NOT KNOW WE ARE JUST GAY IN THIS HOUSEHOLD. i'll throw in carvel subtext for the upcoming pride month for half off. (in my mind cato brings the wallace from scott pilgrim vs. vibes to the table. he's just here for the drama of it all) also the whole thing definitely stems from glimmer being mad that her aesthetic, her vibe, is being ruined by this dumbass flower shop next to her place and she's definitely the type to be hostile when she wants to (meanwhile marvel is the type to seethe quietly, then go and mow the lawn whenever he gets too worked up about glimmer) (that's their maximum extent of enemies to lovers) (clato jus vibing for REALLL they are immediate soulmates in every universe) (this spinoff now has a spinoff of eeaao!clato) (im in too deep)

Every ask you send me I can now say is the most unhinged ask i've ever read but like..in a good way.

I'll give you the OOC thing this time....I see where you come from now. NGL i sent my friend the ask and literally said should i be offended LMAO.

Bestie I hate to tell you this but my entire life is being overworked. I MISS Childbirth and mamas and babies do you know how badly i miss afterbirth? Enough that I just types that sentence. I miss placenta, there, I said it.

However I enjoy writing fic because I get interactions like THIS out of it!!! How else would I have connected with people who would be willing to write entire AUS in my ask box!! This is gold. I appreciate you. I love you and I don't even know you.

My goal on this website is to become a hub of the careers at this point. I want people to listen to me rant about glim glam after like half a sip of moscato is that too much to dream of maybe so...

Also may i say Climmer sounds SO much move sapphic than glove.

ALso PLEASE THE LAWN!!!! PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SUBURBAN DAD BEHAVIOR!!! I LOVE THAT FOR HIM!! Does he notice her favorite flowers and start putting them as close to HER store as possible I NEED to know.

Immediate soulmates in every universe is the BEST way to describe them. My babies. My loves.

Idk who you are but ily <3

[paperlifted]

Since you are doing a watch through of TMNT. How do ya rank the turtles from fav to least fav? I mean if ya do have a least that Is

Ooh, the classic question. This will, of course, be for the 2k3 kids since that's what I'm rewatching (and also it should always be assumed I'm talking 2k3 unless stated otherwise).

So if I really hold myself to the spirit of the answer, the short version is Donatello > Leonardo > Raphael > Michelangelo - with the caveat that there is very little space between each of those tiers, and I truly enjoy them most as an ensemble! The appeal of TMNT to me lies less in any singular character, and more in the tight-knit family unit they form together.

As for the longer version...

4) Michelangelo

Mikey's biggest drawback isn't entirely his own fault - any time the show wants a quick laugh or a manoeuvrable screw-up, cue Michelangelo with the inappropriate joke, the canned banter, the refusal to take a situation seriously that then jeopardises the plan and forces a fight scene. It can be genuinely funny... but sometimes it's just sucking up airtime. Plus, at the end of the day 'loudmouth bratty baby brother / kid appeal character' has rarely been my favourite archetype, and that's nothing but personal taste.

He's such a crucial part of the quartet, though! All the more so in 2k3, where the mood can get pretty darn grim at times, and he's surrounded by brothers with a tendency to get too deep inside their own heads - Mikey's a vital anchor to normalcy, youthfulness, and fun, keeping the others from aging even faster than they already are. There's a real sweetness to him too: the way he acts with characters like Leatherhead, Zog, and of course Klunk; his admiration for the Justice Force, stemming both from a desire for recognition and a desire to make a positive impact on the world; the way he can sometimes say just the right thing to a brother in need, and rarely holds onto a grudge. And I love the contrast between his goofiness and the natural talent that shines through when he decides to knuckle down.

One thing I've appreciated about some of the following adaptations is the willingness to devote a little more time to Mikey's softer strengths vs his motormouth, leaning into making art and creativity his thing and emphasising his place as the heart of the team. 2k3 absolutely has great moments that establish this as part of his character, but sometimes I could use a just a leeeeetle bit more of them.

Lastly: this is my favourite Mikey-centric AMV. I think it really captures his ability to finding something fun in a situation no matter what life throws at him.

3) Raphael

I honestly think I've come to appreciate Raph more as I've grown older. Back in the day he suffered a little from the same personal taste handicap as Mikey: nothin' wrong with 'tough guy' as a character type, it's just not what tends to grab me.

As tough guys go, though, he'd be one of my favourites for sure. It's not just the loyalty and the protectiveness, though those are undeniable ticks in his box; it's that Raph may not always be very nice or outwardly friendly, but he has a deep and persistent streak of kindness. It's how immediately determined he was to save Casey from himself; how casually willing he is to help people like April or the old blind lady; the particular push-pull understanding he has with Leo. "I don't hurt that easily, sword boy." They are everything.

Which isn't to downplay the appeal of the loyalty and the protectiveness either! It never ever fails: Raph will be the first one trying to shove Mikey under a bus until the second his brother's in real pain or strife, then bam, all that bluster is smoke on the wind. He's at Don's back in a flash any time he falters, and never begrudges him for it for a second. He doesn't seem to define himself by his role in the family the way Leo does, but by the same token he often wears said role more easily - he's vigilant without being eaten up by this self-appointed responsibility because he also knows how to lay the blame where it really belongs, and boy do some of the others need that example set.

His character arc doesn't have the best pacing, but I like what there is of it. I like that of all the turtles he's probably the one who benefits most visibly from their social world expanding - yelling "what's wrong with me?" on a rooftop because 95% of who he knows is his immediate family and none of them struggle the same way, only to get a real good look in the mirror of a kindred spirit and realise there's a way to be okay with himself after all.

2) Leonardo

So I'm an eldest child. Can you tell?

I do like the leader types. I'm a sucker for the shackles of noblesse oblige, for the characters who don't feel like they have a right to their own emotions half the time, the anxious perfectionists, the rule-bound buzzkills whose own buzz is always the first casualty on the chopping block, the ones whose individual identity is subsumed by who they are in relation to other people and the responsibilities they've shouldered. 2k3 Leo has shades of all these things, so it's good times for me.

2k3 Leo in particular really charms me, though, because even though the narrative grinds this weight down hard upon him... he's so goofy underneath it. He isn't theatrical like Mikey is, but by god is he dramatic. He's delighted by Japanese culture. He likes showing off. He likes playing around with his brothers, sparring and joking and bopping along to terrible rap songs in the Battleshell. He's such an idealist! Mikey's starry-eyed over superheroes but, honestly, Leo isn't that much less susceptible himself: he wants to believe so badly that there are Right and Honourable solutions in the world and that these are an achievable thing if you just try hard enough and make the right decisions and Be Good Enough to win the day, and luckily for him he lives in a children's cartoon but unluckily for him it's the edgy one. Both he and Raph struggle so much with sheer frustration as an emotion, honestly, but Raph learns to own it much faster than Leo, who is always clawing for the Better he believes is out there. The Better he believes needs to come first and most from himself.

You put all those traits together and you get the inherent tragedy that is Leonardo, child soldier - not because Splinter wanted to raise child soldiers, but because he couldn't envisage a world in which his children could live without needing to defend their own right to exist, and because there were four of them and only one of him, increasingly elderly, and someone needed to be ready to continue safeguarding the family once he was gone. And it's Leo. And he doesn't ever get to get away from that; even if he does, eventually, find a way to be at relative peace with it.

And if I sometimes sigh and roll my eyes when the writers forget the rest of the family exists, well, god knows he pays his own cost for it.

1) Donatello

Oh, Donnie. He's always going to wield the unbeatable edge of nostalgia - around the same time as we watched the first season on TV, my brother and I got our hands on the video game based off it, and rented it out again and again until we finally took Shredder out. In co-op mode, my turtle was Donatello, because I liked purple and the reach of the bo and thought the TV character was cool. So there's a permanent feedback loop of fondness embedded deep in my psyche when it comes to Don - that's my guy :)

I do just also like the character! He's the most muted of the family in a lot of ways, and certainly the one with the least consistency across adaptations for a reason - "the smart one" is not much of a personality type. Fortunately, 2k3 didn't opt to make Don particularly insufferable about his intelligence; there are a couple "wow Don, speak English" gags but not that many, and the rest of the time he just wanders around being sincerely thrilled by all the weird crap he gets to play with. It's very endearing, and I adore the bond he forms with April over their shared fascinations.

Don's technical skills are undeniably vital to his family, but more than that I enjoy the subtle ways he proves to be a vital piece of social glue. If Mikey anchors his brothers to a world where it's still okay to have fun, Don's everyone's port: he's the one brother who rarely deals out or gets drawn into serious beef with his siblings, and it makes him a steadying influence on their whole dynamic. He's a playful buddy to Mikey, and a milder counterweight to Raph; I know Raph is generally accepted as Leo's 2IC, but man, just count how often Leo looks to Don in any given scrap for guidance. In a family of pretty strong personalities, he shores them all up from a backseat position that he never resents occupying, and in return their indulgence of his antics is almost boundless (grumbles about dinosaur exhibits notwithstanding). He walks into an alternate universe and immediately kicks down several years of family estrangement. Superglue.

He is also, not infrequently, kind of bitchy. Don's kind, easygoing, deeply curious, and he's invested in reaching out with understanding at least as often as with the hard end of his bo - and he's just a little bit bitchy. It's fun. I enjoy it.

Finally, there is also the part where... well, I don't know that the writers necessarily intended to write Don as emotionally repressed to the extent that they did but, they sure did make Don a character who doesn't talk on-screen about some of the truly insane things he goes through while also doing a truly insane amount of overwork at all times, and unfortunately I am really into that. So it goes.

[lemonflowercat]

acceptance and commitment

//feeling so self-sabotage-y//

the past 4 days have been supremely unproductive. we had to deal with a stressful housing situation and my back pain had me wincing while doing anything but lying supine in bed. thankfully, both of these things got sorted out on Wednesday (i am so so grateful it's all settled down, especially our housing sitch). yesterday was supposed to be the day i get back on track but i made the horrible decision to weigh myself in the morning - and that triggered a landslide of self-hate and misery that had me non-functional for the rest of the day.

currently, it's Friday morning - a week has gone by and i've done nothing. i feel disgusted with myself, my body, my inability to compartmentalize and prioritize - the self-judgement is so strong, it's making me want to numb myself with instant gratification. i am not looking forward to my day, i don't want to do anything.

so here's some acceptance:

stress puts me in freeze mode.

guilting myself over things i haven't done, apprehension over my prolonging to-do list make me want to avoid these things even more.

i find it difficult to stay motivated and consistent after working hard for about a week. it gets exhausting to exercise, control my diet, and do chores - all squeezed into my study breaks. i get about an hour in a day to relax and do other things that i enjoy, and i think that might be the reason why i feel so crazy by the end of a productive week.

once a stressor is resolved, i need some mental health time to process things, clear my mind, and get back in the zone. writing, yoga and meditating are my favourite ways to process things.

academic success is the only time my parents expressed their appreciation for me through a childhood where i was unseen and felt unloved/unwanted for the most part.

my hyper-intense focus on how fat i am makes it hard for me to feel confident in my skin.

i eat more when i'm stressed. i eat more when i'm sad. i eat more when i'm happy and want to celebrate. i think about food often - i enjoy meal planning, i enjoy cooking. i love experimenting with new cuisines, trying out new restaurants, and eating at the really good ones. i'm a picky eater in the sense that i want to eat food that's skillfully cooked and tastes really good.

i'm often bored of the food i cook at home, or too tired to put a good tasting meal together for us. and since A can't cook, we end up eating out. my mother in grained in me this dysfunctional system of food scarcity: she labelled foods and heavily restricted the bad ones. these restrictions only applied to us, while she herself would freely eat said "bad" foods from the hidden secret stash. she conditioned us into believing that eating out = stuffing yourself to the fullest (my brother would often throw up by the time we got to dessert at a buffet, and then continue to eat - and this was something my mother would laugh at) and this is a pattern i'm struggling so hard to break out of now - treating a restaurant meal like any other meal: one that is balanced and just enough to keep me energized and make me feel good after.

Bengali culture is very food centric - i think this is where my snobby palate and passion for food were nurtured, while also being the setting where my dysfunctional eating took root.

i've been a fat girl since i was a baby. all my life, there isn't a single moment when i wasn't fat - i often wonder if being big is natural to me. i am also a big boned 5' 7" girl (tall, by Indian standards).

my mother fat shamed me throughout - and continues to do so. she has also often stated that i'm unattractive - beliefs that have permeated in me. i have also been made to feel unattractive and unwanted by people because of my fat. i have sometimes been the butt of fat girl jokes among my friends.

my childhood was a very dysfunctional one - something that therapy has been helping me come to terms with. in fact, until my therapist confirmed it, i wasn't even sure if it really was dysfunctional or if i was just being a drama queen. amidst the lack of security in my childhood, food became one of my biggest sources of comfort. i have memories from a very young age of stealing food from my mother's "secret stash", especially when i was home alone. as i hit my teenage years, i began obsessively bingeing and purging at the first chance i could get. the guilt i feel over this i overwhelming. food has a huge impact on me emotionally.

i have cycled in and out of restrictive diets in order to lose weight. the longest i've been able to stick to one is for about 15 months.

especially because i study medicine, the health repercussions of being overweight are a huge source of anxiety for me.

i actually truly love working out, curating healthy meals for myself and studying - my ability to do all of this heavily depends on my emotional state and energy levels. especially so because i have major all-or-nothing mentality - i want it all to go perfectly, down to the right time like a (not Indian) train schedule - and a small thing amiss makes me feel like a failure. then i hole up in freeze for the rest of the day.

i accept that i am all of this - and it isn't good or bad. it just is. i spend so much time trying to align with who i want to be, i forget to align with who i already am. i accept that, among all these beliefs, there are many that serve me and many that are ok to let go off. i accept that navigating through this will take time, there is so much to unlearn and learn. i accept that, at the end of this road or any road - there is no assured happiness to find. assured happiness and satisfaction with the self does not exist. no matter what i become, there will never be a future where i'm not striving to change something around me/in myself for the "better". and that's why - all these "goals" that i set for myself needn't feel so heavy and do-or-die. i accept that the burden of the future is one that i can take off my shoulders and set down. that doesn't mean giving up on my future all together - it means sailing, with no pressure, in the general direction of things that add meaning to my life.

with this acceptance, i commit to things that make me happy now:

studying, as much as i can, every day. i love the mental workout of studying and also can we take a moment to really appreciate what a magical science medicine is (': - studying also makes me happy now because it brings me closer to starting my MD, and i am so excited to be back in the hospital, furthering my journey as a doctor + researcher. i know that focusing is hard after 2h - i can work with this and schedule my study hours such that i get a good break after this.

morning yoga and

meditating both of these soothe my soul. they make me slow down and be present in each tiny passing second. they make me more observant and appreciative of the self and the world, more intentional with my choices and actions. they make my life richer, softer, more open and accepting, and deeply calm.

eat what is best for my body i am attempting to do something that feels very scary to me: stop calorie counting *alarm bells go off in my head* hehe :'| i don't think emphasizing on the numbers is serving me. i want my relationship with food to be centered around the nutrients in it, what it does for my body, how it makes me feel, being a conscious consumer, and exploring different cultures through cuisine. this is going to be a learning curve - one where i am aware that i may gain weight - and as scary as that is, it's ok. i'll learn a lot, i'll figure out a system for myself through this, and i'll make sure my body is getting what makes her energetic, healthy and happy - because that really is all that food should be giving me.

workout for the joy it gives me to see my body getting stronger, faster and more flexible. for knowing that i'm taking care of my heart, my joints and muscles. for the ditzy of endorphins. and for the joy in the sheer act of movement.

i commit to my 75 soft, this time with 3 changes:

i don't have to start over if i break a streak. i just celebrate my longest streak.

i don't have to hit every goal every day. they're just a framework of things i'd like to get done each day

and the biggest, scariest of them all: [] 1400 kcal eat nutrient-focused meals mindfully, whenever i'm hungry - until i'm just enough full

[hislittleraincloud]

This came up on my FB feed and I answered said friend...I can't really answer it properly because all I got this year was ✨nothing✨. 😃

Actually, I can't say that...I got people asking me when the fuck Imma publish 7/2.

That's what I literally got after I published the deleted scene 'Bad Milk' on Christmas Day. I mean, I appreciate it very much that people like my work enough that they're impatiently patient, but damn, babies. I'm doing this from the creative brain, at least understand that this stuff isn't coming out of thin air with little effort (I wish it would 😭). This year I had to say goodbye to my BFF (not dead, just kinda dead to me), bye to another close friend who got evicted (who took off in her car with her dog and replied with an informationless 'not really' after days of silence after I texted asking if she was okay since she hadn't messaged), and then I'm still house and cat sitting for the other friend who went back to rehab (huh, seems like I got MORE than baby fangirls for XMas 🫠)...who couldn't even get her ass onto facetime to say Merry Christmas to her own fkn cat on Christmas even though she 'misses him' (and nah, being in rehab is no excuse for that, I caught her on Netflix the other night when I couldn't watch it because too many people were using her account at the same time). All with me caring for two dogs with varied levels of CCD and a young dog in my disabled state. And by disabled I mean 'cannot do regular things that others do', taking several medications that leave me relatively painless but incapable of operating heavy machinery. I haven't gone deeper into my medical issues here. The young dog is actually very low maintenance, which is freaking amazing...she goes against the stereotypes of her breed and is honestly ✨perfect✨, so I can't complain about her.

I don't even know why I deal with any people anymore. It's been nearly 50 years of observing shitty humans do shitty, selfish, self-centered things. I can be self-centric too; I was so exhausted on Christmas that I forgot to tell my friends here Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. But meh. I ttly understand why people unalive themselves during said holidays. I haven't because I've got my babies to care for, but this world, I swear.

I did get a sweet comment laden with lots of emojis from one of my newer fans (and some other mild greetings from others). That was nice. 🎄💖✨

[triviareads]

do you have diverse modern romance recs?

Yep! I've (mostly) organized it by author:

Naima Simone: I'm obsessed with literally everything this woman writes, both Harlequin and not Harlequin. Naima writes a lot of fabulous Black heroines (and she writes great body diversity as well) and a decent amount of POC heroes as well. My favorites include . Black Tie Billionaire (Black heroine, Asian hero), Secrets Of A One Night Stand (Black heroine, Pacific Islander hero), and Trust Fund Fiancé (both the hero and heroine are Black). The best thing about Naima's books is just the uniformity in how she writes every body type as attractive and desirable and the sex is very hot. Would absolutely recommend.

Katrina Jackson: I haven't talked about Katrina enough, when she's out here doing the most for mafia romances and spy romances with diverse characters. I could happily read her novella Beautiful & Dirty over and over, but it's a prequel to the mafia series which ends with my favorite, The Don, which has a Black heroine. Katrina also wrote a spy series (The Spies Who Loved Me!) and the first in that series, Pink Slip, has a Black heroine who's lusting over her married bosses (the wife, Monica, is Latina I believe) and surprise, they're both into her too.

Angelina M. Lopez: Angelina writes excellent Latino rep. Her fictional town Freedom, Kansas, which is the setting in multiple stories, has an amazing Mexican-American community she builds on. I'd recommend After Hours on Milagro Street, which has a Mexican-American heroine, as well as her upcoming Full Moon Over Freedom, which is next in the series. The way she melds culture, magic, and romance is gorgeous. Also! Lush Money, which is set within this universe, has a Latina heroine and is very fun and worth reading.

Tara Pammi: If you want to read about Indians in India or Bollywood-centric romances, Tara is the author. I liked Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella and The Secret She Kept in Bollywood (that man is suuuch a DILF he's great).

Jadesola James: I've talked about her before (see here) but Jadesola has written a couple Harlequin Presents stories set in Africa. I'd recommend The Royal Baby He Must Claim and The Princess He Must Marry, which are about sisters who are Nigerian princesses.

Talia Hibbert: The Brown Sisters books are bangers, sexy and emotionally comforting at the same time. I'd recommend all of them: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. I also love her novella Guarding Temptation, which has both a Black hero and heroine and Wanna Bet? which has a Black heroine and a British-Indian hero (thanks for reminding me @viscountessevie).

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai: The hero and heroine are in-laws (well, her husband, his brother, is dead) so the romance was very emotional and slow-burn, but the pay-off was absolutely worth it. The heroine Sadia is Pakistani-American, and the hero Jackson is of Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry. Alisha also delves pretty deep into South Asian family dynamics which hit a liiiittle too close to home, but I can't deny the accuracy.

Reel by Kennedy Ryan: This a romance between an actress and her director (both are Black) and I particularly appreciate the amount of research Kennedy Ryan put into the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists of that era (she created a fictional artist to base the movie off of), as well as their contributions to the Civil Rights movement which I think isn't discussed enough.

Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey: See here.

From what I recall, Katee Robert did a pretty good job of body diversity without super explicitly mentioning race in her Fairytale Villains Who Fuck Wicked Villains series.

[icharchivist]

I do think Narmaya is a really good character, actually

Yes, she's pretty blatant waifu bait, but her story is actually really cool. She's this very determined and driven swordswoman who strives to become as good as, if not surpass, an Eternal. She spent her entire life training and was so focused on getting better that she ignored everything else and ended up really hurting her former best friend Azusa through this tunnel vision. And it's only due to meeting Danchou that she learned to slow down and chill a bit and enjoy life. She even made up with Azusa

I think that's lovely

It feels like her character aged like wine

It also doesn't hurt that she's a really hard hitter in combat. Sure, she is a huge fanservice character and her boobs have their own hitbox, but Granblue has to make money somehow

oh you'll get no opposition from me on that regard ahah

to be honest i didn't really read her character centric FEs, as i've got them when i started to be burnt out from too much FE to read, but i did read her Earth FE back then, and i genuinely liked her a lot from it.

I agree with your assessment of her and, yeah personally i just find her super interesting and sweet. The more focus she got the more fleshed out she got and it's really nice.

And yeah, she's a hard hitter which makes her easier to appreciate as well, i know i'm super found of her because she carried me when i was a baby and she still is in some of my parties as a result.

when it comes to the granblue fanservice type, i came to the point where i don't let the fanservice machine get in the way of my appreciation of a character. It's, yeah, mostly about money, and sometimes i get a jaded by the type of fanservice that can be degrading or out of character, but, in term of arts it's really easy to ignore the choices artists makes, and in term of writing, i think there's too many characters crushing on MC to really get hang up on specific ones imo. Even when the crush is prominent in the characterization it usually comes with enough balancing with their arc or complementing their arc enough that it doesn't overshadow their actual characterization to me.

Granblue mostly writes their characters very well, imo, especially in recent years, and there's usually more than meet the eyes about them. And if it's not the case *yet*, it'll get there someday. Fanservice isn't the reason i'd write off a character for sure.

Naru has been amazing and i definitely understand her popularity.

I also really liked how "..and you" showed her darker side and how she could have easily been on a wrong path, and what strength of character it says about her that she didn't. She's a cool character! no objection from me!

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. In search of another fic! This time I'm looking for a fic where wwx was taken in by lqr and grows up in cloud recesses. I think there's a scene where an adult/older teen wwx requests that lqr formally adopt him, or lqr asks to formally adopt wwx. Either way, many heartwarming feelings! I think lwj might also formally request to speak to lqr about courting wwx in this fic. Thank you!

FOUND? All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Fix It, Not Jiang Family Friendly, not JFM or YZY friendly, Definitely not YZY centric, Time Travel, Butterfly Effect, Madam Lán Lives, No Sunshot Campaign, Unreliable Narrator, not JC friendly, non-yunmeng WWX, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Good Uncle LQR, Happy Ending, WWX gets the love and care that he deserves from the very beginning, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiāngs, verbal and physical (c/o Zidian) abuse from YZY)

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2. Hello. First time doing this so hope I'm doing it right. I'm looking for a fic I read ages ago but I can't remember the name. What I remember is that it's a Modern AU and Wei Ying was sent to boarding school (Gusu) where he was roomed with Lan Zhan. It was just him and he had a hard time adjusting before things slowly got better. He went home for the holidays and found out that he was blood related to Jiang Feingman and did not really handle that well and left home to go back to school. Last thing I remember happening is that he got tricked into picking up a call from JFM when he thought it was Yanli? If you know this fic, is really appreciate some help @cara-tanaka

FOUND? I want to stay with you by Naeme (T, 63k, WangXian, Modern AU, Slow Burn, High School, Age Progression, Family Secrets, Family Drama, Family Feels, Bonding, Mutual Pining)

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3. Hello, I’m looking for a specific WangXian fic, similar to “shoot your shot -hot or knot”. It features dark Lans where Lan Xichen sets up a mating run for his brother and Wei Ying signs up for the money. I remember a scene where all the contestants are asked to line and sign a contract and someone tries to escape. He gets shot and the rest of the contestants are warned not to try to run away. I think Lan Zhan is a feral/dominant Alpha. I believe he killed a few other contestants before making his way to Wei Ying. Hope you’re able to find it! Please and thank you 😊 @confundo

FOUND! Five Fifteen by 3neetee (M, 11k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Alpha LWJ, Alpha WWX, Mating runs, Graphic Description, Violence, Dom/sub Undertones, Light Bondage, Rape/Non-con Elements, Alpha/Alpha, Implied Mpreg, Dark LWJ, Betrayal, Smut, Anal Sex, WWX likes to be called Omega, Dark lans, Twitter threadfic, Unreliable Narrator WWX) locked to archive members only

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4. I’m looking for a Modaozushi Fanfic

I read this fanfic months ago. it is fic where wen qing asks for protection from wei ying, who is either a spirit or an immortal (he is definitely not human),for the wen remnants in exchange for their service for some time.

i think lan zhan (who was a winter lord or something) visits them after some time.

the story had not gone far when i had read it.

please help me find it.

FOUND? A Year and a Day by Admiranda (T, 11k, WIP, Unseelie AU, wwx is a fairy lord, making bargains with the fey, background wangxian, minor OCs, agenda: give wei wuxian some better siblings) the asker looking for the fic where WQ makes a bargain with WWX is likely looking for my Unseelie fic, in which WWX is the autumn Fey lord and LWJ is the winter prince. It is not cancelled, but the next chapter has been absolutely evil and refusing to write itself.

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5. Hii I remember this fic that happened at Phoenix mountain hunt , the blindfolded kiss scene, where wwx knew it was lwj because chenqing or the resentment didn't attack lwj , cause it knew him (recognized him) or something like that. @karinasnowwwx

FOUND? No one else but you by chrisemrys (M, 17k, wangxian, canon divergence, First Kiss, Stolen Kiss, Love Confessions, Fix-It, Everyone Lives au, Semi sentient resentful energy, Golden Core Reveal, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, First Time)

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6. pls help me find this fic

A) i am doing this for the first time, Thank you already for all the efforts. i lost a twitter fic i read ago and forgot to save. Its info that i remember is as- TW // NSFW, MPREG..............it was a omegaverse types fic, lan zhan slept with wei ying, they did stuff. lan zhan ran away at night nd collapsed in the streets due to something related to omega-alpha thing, i dont exactly remember. then he's hospitalised for some time nd his brother lan huan stays with him. wei ying had no idea about lan zhan's conditions and lan huan thinks that lan zhan is in this condition because of wi ying so he starts hating him and tries his best to keep his brother away from wei ying......................they meet in a school programme again, where they play their guqin nd flute, towards the end wei ying is saved by lan zhan from an accident nd they r really close, again, lan zhan faints. lan huan comes, and takes lan zhan away. wei ying is pregnant nd wen wind knows it, she taks care of him. lan huan hides this info from lan zhan, who discovers it only when he overheard wen qing and lan huan talking when wen qing came to fetch lan zhan because wei ying's condition was getting worse without his a/b/o partner (doctor advised it). then, lan zhan goes to wei ying nd comfortshim, he sleeps but when he wakes up, he doesn't accept lan zhan nd technically hates him but they start taking things slowly nd improve. after a while, they r normal, they live in wen qing's apartment, lan zhan often feels distant and stays awake alone at night, wei ying is worried for him. he takes best care of wei ying but not himself. one day wen qing visits wei ying when lan zhan is out and tells him and she cam smell her scent nd not lan zhan's and that might be reason why lan zhan doesn't feel fine, because he is in other person's territory. wei ying calls lan qiren and asks help for a new place. rest, i dont remember, sorry. this is killing my brain

B) tw//nsfw it was a twt soc med au, wy was a singer/idol, got laid in a party(bday mayb), finds lan zhan later, lan zhan is the man. towards the end, he releases a whole song/album regarding his story, from getting laid to falling in love with lan zhan. in the mean time when he was preparing it as a bday gift, he gave less time to lz and he thought he was ignoring him. that's all i remember sorry, its stuck so bad, i cant forget it. there was a cover for the single/album too i dont remember @dee-s085

6A)

FOUND! Twitter Thread by babyofgusu

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7. Hi, I’m so sorry to have to ask this, it’s frankly embarrassing, but here we are. I was reading one of the fics you recommended for an itmf (I think the original request was something with soulbonding) and my app closed. Now you would think finding it again would be easy, but I had scrolled a few months back by the time I found it and now fro the life of me can’t find it. So here’s the premise: CQL post canon, WWX wakes after banishing a spirit at an old manor and finds himself in pain. Turns out he and LWJ got cursed to be close, when they’re touching the pain recedes. I got maybe halfway through where they decided to visit the manor since the library didn’t deliver results. Would you be so kind to direct me to the correct fic/itmf post? You Guys are amazing, have a nice weekend ❤️ @elitharavenclaw

Hi, #7 of the last fic finder, sadly those fics are both not it. Theres not really more detail to tell though, but I will try. WWX is found by two rogue cultivators who treat him fine, he travels back to cloud recess for 2 days with little apple, sizhui and Jingyi help researching, LQR is disapproving of wangxians “unseemlieness” though he knows they’re cursed, they do check the forbidden section of the library but without success. Hope this helps.

NOT FOUND! So Why Not Crack Your Skull When the Mind Swells by greenteafiend (E, 13k, wangxian, Hurt/Comfort, Curses, Case Fic, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Confessions, Drunkenness)

NOT FOUND! All in Good Time by bigboobedcanuck (E, 8k, WangXian, Post-Canon, First Kiss, First Time, POV LWJ, Top LWJ, Pining LWJ, Protective LWJ, Bottom LWJ, Protective WWX, Top WWX, Pining WWX, Idiots in Love, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics, Good Kid LSZ, Branding, Scars, Worry, Protectiveness) thought it was one i read a while ago but-according to my giant note i keep a list of all my fav untamed fics lol- its lwj who is cursed not wwx!

FOUND? You'd Break Your Heart to Make It Bigger by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 32k, WangXian, soulbonding, First Time, Case Fic if You Squint, Fools in Love, soul boning, soft fools in love, Pining while fucking) With the two rogues, this sounds like "You'd Break Your Heart To Make It Bigger"

~*~

8. Hello darlings! I'd like to ask for your help finding a fic that i cannot find anymore... it's a wangxian AU set in 1800 England, kinda. I think wei ying is a fan of this mysterious writer who wrote a fantasy novel and of course the writer is lan zhan (or viceversa?). It's a 5 chapter fic written like it's jane austen's book! And the writer added extract of this book wei ying is a fan of! It's an amazing fic with a fanart of this book. I was sure that the fics name was the monster of yiling, but i cannot find it . Thank you in advance even if it can't be found 🥰 @jaecomments

FOUND! Restraint and Revelation: or, The Necromancer of Yiling by Lirelyn (T, 16k, wangxian, Regency au, Gothic, Story within a Story, Pining, LWJ's horny imagination)

~*~

9. Hi! I'd like help finding this one fic. It's set in the cloud recesses during the lectures, LWJ is cursed by a group of Elders so he acts like the perfect Lan (or something) and WWX is the only one who notices, I remember he tried to bring it up to others (or at least Lan Qiren) but no one believed him, Only LXC does (once he returns - from somewhere, I don't know where). I also remember that a bit form LWJ perspective mentioning that they wanted to curse LXC too, but it would be too obvious. @i-like-snakes-and-spiders

FOUND! The Meaning of Silence by The Silverfish (ZephyrAndTheSilverfish) (T, 14k, wangxian, Mind Manipulation, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Pining)

~*~

10. hello! i wanted to find a fic where wangxian were resident doctors, they were kinda friends but turned into lovers. it was explictly rated as far as i remember! thank you!

FOUND? Anginal Equivalents by fakeplasticlily (E, 23k, wangxian, modern, Medical Residents AU, Childhood Friends, Mutual Pining, Oblivious WWX, Sexual Content, Podfic Available)

FOUND? Year Of Night Call by ailuridae (abigailnicole) (T, 22k, WangXian, XuanLi, Modern AU, What If Cultivators Were All Surgeons AU, surgery AU, Our Boys Are Trauma Fellows Now, The Lan Babies Are Surgery Interns, trauma fellows share a call room, and there was only one bed, hospital au, Medicine AU)

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11. I’m looking for the Fic where Wei Ying goes missing in high school and is homeless. Lan Zhan finds him at a coffee shop and buys him coffee and doesn’t recognize him at first. He gives him a coat. He brings Wei Ying to stay at his place. I believe wangji might be a single parent and have pet bunnies. Huaisang was best friends with Wei Ying & reconnects with him while he’s at wangji’s. Wei Ying goes missing again and xichen watches the bunnies while wangji searches and finds him out in the cold.

FOUND! Where You Fell by Sweet_William (E, 303k, wangxian, 3zun, JC/NHS, JYL/JZX, modern, Angst, Mutual Pining, Homeless, Getting Together, Slow Burn, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, accidental sugar daddy LWJ, Suicidal Thoughts, Self-Esteem Issues, Coffee Shops & Cafés au, Autistic Character, WWX Has ADHD, Panic Attacks, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex Work, Implied/Referenced Substance Abuse, Eventual Happy Ending)

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12. Hi, I’m in need a bit of a help I’m struggling to find a wangxian fic, it’s involved wei wuxian and the wen refugees in the burial mound and some how they find in the burial mound they find the fountain of youth (or something like that) and they make a shop for makeup or something like that and sell it and wei wuxian dresses as a girl and I think other stuff happens but can’t fully remember. I was trying to find this fic but I can’t find it anywhere and I’m unsure if it’s been deleted or something, if you could help me find it or know if it’s been removed, I would really appreciate it, thank you.

FOUND? Fruit-Bearing Pool by rei_moon (T, 46k, WIP, wangxian, Mpreg, Crack Treated Seriously, Magical Pregnancy, Magical Pool, Out of Character, Inspired by Journey to the West’s Motherhood River, Historical Inaccuracy, WWX became a business mogul to feed his growing family, Minor OCs, Slow Build, Attempt at Humor, Crossdressing, For disguise purposes, Fix-It of Sorts, WWX and JZX being human disasters together, Misunderstandings)

~*~

13. Hi, I was hoping to get some help with finding a fanfiction. The drescription is that Wwx tries to have naughties with Mianmian but can't perform so he goes to Lwj who lives in his mothers old house thinks about how he'd let wwx destroy the house because it was his mothers jail. They then talk and lwj tells wwx to do what he did with mm and he gets hard and they bone on the couch. The only other detail is a food scented candle that wwx got lwj that he lights? Idk sorry that's all I've got lol. @yilingweiclan

FOUND? Oh, 13 I think is sadly the deleted work "So he thinks he straight (a memoir by Lan Zhan)" by Pancho. I know there are people with copies floating around, you'll have to ask

~*~

14. Twitter Wangxian socmed au, they r teleported to modern world, wei ying finds lz through a guqin post on insta with bunny dp. They meett..... xue yang is the villain who harms xiao xichen using suibian so the blame is diverted to wy but lz trusts him and song lan is angry from wy sonwy goes undercover. Lz tried to find him, helps him get the truth to song lan. xue yang acts like a good friend towards song lan but at the end, truth is revealed, xue yang is the villain, jin guangyao too is oresent, the mastermind behind xue yang. Its happy ending. @dee-s085

~*~

15. Hello, I'm looking for a wangxian fic with wlw WX, in a modern AU where the Lans are secretly cultivators, but LWJ is a landscape designer. WWX is using the Baoshan name and is a cultivator that came down the immortal mountain to stop Wens from fucking the world over with Yin Tie by marrying Wen Chao and then killing off all the Wens, ending up wildly wealthy. She then goes after the Jin by being engaged to Meng Yao. LWJ is "investigating" WWX because LXC just wants to make sure A-Yao's fiance really loves him. @xxqiao

FOUND! Widow's Weeds by travelingneuritis (E, 18k, wangxian, modern cultivation, Gardens & Gardening, Wedding Planning, wedding thwarting, rich people are terrible, Light-Hearted, Smut, Gender Changes, Getting Together, offscreen deaths played for laughs, this is meant to be silly don't worry about it, Scheming, Plotting, wwx and jgy are accidentally-on-purpose bearding each other but i keep it PG, wwx running laps around the entire jin sect)

~*~

16. Hey, thanks so much for your service! I'm looking for a fic that's very Lan Xichen focused, from what I remember after wangxian's happy ending he's left coming to terms with the past, in an effort to make a change for the future generations he destroys the Lan punishment implements and strikes away the rules on the stone that don't are not true to the founder's will @glassboner

FOUND? Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics) I don't know if 16 might be Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket but that fic has an scene exactly like the one described. It's not totally Xichen centric and wangxian are not together yet but it might be, idk.

~*~

17. I'm hoping you can help me find this fic. It's a shorter fic from Lan Qiren's pov. It starts with him sitting in an inn next to four teenage boys. He recognizes one as Lan Xichen. There's a flashback to Lan Qiren not stopping a pregnant Madam Lan from escaping with Lan Xichen. It ends with Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen talking. The other boys at the table were Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. Thanks for any help!

NOT FOUND! The Dreams of Youth by sami (E, 86k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Fix-It, Family, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Gore, Not Lan Sect Friendly, Bad Dads, good dads, JFM's A+ parenting, QHJ's F- Existence, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Sort Of, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Mothers Who Live, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Not Everyone Dies au, Canonical Character Death)

FOUND! leave the ruins where they fall by tardigradeschool (G, 4k, WangXian, Found Family, Canon Divergence, Hair Braiding, Slice of Life, LQR apologism, Family Fluff Childhood Friends)

~*~

18. Hey there hope you are doing fine . So I was searching for a wangxian fanfic which is based in modern times and in this wang ji asks for xian's help to look after his pet spirit rabbit, so he invites him in his apartment and xian cause need the job came ( jiang family has already kicked xian out after taking his golden core) while looking after rabbit the pet came to realize that xian is hurt badly and the story goes on like this ... Please help me find it ... @legendarywarrior99

FOUND? the soft animal of your body by sysrae (T, 15k, wangxian, modern cultivation, Golden Core Reveal, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Animal Transformation, Shapeshifting, Getting Together, Confessions)

~*~

19. hello, i was just in the middle of reading a fic and accidentally closed tumblr. It was a link to a03, but it isn’t in my history. Jiang Cheng is raising Wen Yuan as the Jiang Sect heir. When Lan Wangji sees them he moves to Lotus Pier to help raise him along with Jin Ling. At some point Mo Xuanyu alerts Jiang Cheng and Qin Sui about Jin Guangyao’s plots and they decide to raise Wei Wuxian from the dead to help and Lan Wangji is angry they are trying to use WWX again and decides to hunt down Xue Yang. He and Mian Mian run into Song Lan and join up to search and then.. I closed it by mistake. Any clue what the name of this fic is? @julnyes

FOUND! The Sun Sets Like a Whispered Regret by OrdinaryRealities (T, 41k, WangXian, Resurrect Your Gays, LWJ and JC enemies to brothers, Minor Character Death, Kidfic, Sort Of, Happy Ending)

~*~

20. Hello! I am looking for a WangXian fic where Wangji runs away to the countryside and becomes roommates with Ying who I think runs an aesthetic farm-life youtube channel? I remember the fic was really beautifully written in how it described the old houses, countryside, local festivals, etc and you could practically “see” the filmography of the videos. I also remember a scene where Ying takes all the local kids to go hand fishing in the river. Thank you for your help!

FOUND! 🧡 【那夏天的我們】 a stroke of fate by puddingcatbeans (G, 59k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fluff, Slice of Life, Falling In Love, Summer, Barakamon AU, renowned musician lwj escapes to tiny village and falls in love with local farmer boy wwx, good times only, YouTuber WWX, Food)

~*~

[fadebolt]

Personal room ranking:

1 - Outer Expanse: CAVE10 (9/10) 2 - Challenge #62 Artificer (9/10) 3 - Silent Construct: A40 (8/10) 4 - Challenge #23 Gourmand (8/10) 5 - Challenge #32 Artificer (7/10) 6 - Challenge #41 Rivulet (7/10) 7 - Challenge #49 Spearmaster (7/10) 8 - Submerged Superstructure: X02 (6/10) 9 - Pipeyard: A02 (6/10) 10 - Silent Construct: A44 (6/10)

Extra comment: Listen, I get that challenge 62 was slightly annoying, and the room's visuals and colors aren't anything to write home about, but come on, you have admit that putting a challenge like this into that specific arena was such a brilliant idea! There's a never-ending number of possible ways that players could solve this challenge, which is such a rare thing to see for puzzles in video games, especially in non puzzle centric games (like Rain World). This thing really deserves more appreciation.

But granted, the rooms that did actually receive appreciation are ones that also very much deserve it.

A40 has incredible vibes. Seeing one of those long platforms from the vicinity of Five Pebbles' superstructure in a state like this… it's quite something. It also helps that the room has lanterns, and multiple exits, and some platforming based around Saint's grapple. While this room isn't something that makes or breaks Silent Construct, it sure as hell fits in perfectly, while adding something new too.

CAVE10 was my personal choice, mostly cus of the efficiency in its use and design, but also because it probably serves as the easiest way to avoid the WORMPIT room, and actually progress forward… as long as you actually stick to the far left exit, that it. I also like what it's going for visually, where it's excessively cluttered and overdetailed (especially in that eastern part), but in a weirdly pleasant way. I honestly don't know why it works so well, it just does, somehow. The room does have a Jungle Leech or two, which is probably why it's not the number 1 here, but I honestly don't mind the places where those creatures spawn. After all, OE's water sections aren't very big or dangerous, and the region has plenty of Gooieducks and Baby Centipedes, so the food drain is really not the end of the world.

And lastly, we have challenge 49, which is honestly kind of random. Like, don't get me wrong, it's the perfect Arena to use for the Miros Vulture combat, and the darker atmosphere fits the challenge quite well, but the other challenges have just as much (if not more) going for them. Though to be fair, this option didn't particularly sweep, and a random room getting a good chunk of votes off of personal preferences isn't all too uncommon (heck, that's often the basis for my votes too). So yeah, these things do happen sometimes.

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 156

This is not single elimination! Every room with at least 10.0% vote will move on to the next round.

There is a hidden slugcat in one of the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie!

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map, Rain World Wiki and me

Congratulations for day 155 winners!

[lesbianrobin]

I love young strangers but I'm caught up and I've read all your other stuff, do you have any fic recs? I love your fics so much :)

thank you!! if you haven't already read all of her stuff, i recommend everything written by my friend sarah @steveharrington!! her ao3 is birthdaycandles and literally everything she's ever written is an absolute banger. if you like my stuff you will Love her and if you've read all of my fics but not hers i think that is a travesty and you better get on that immediately.

some great under-appreciated fics of hers: run for your children, for your sisters and brothers (steve lucas and robin. that is literally all i have to say it's about STEVE LUCAS AND ROBIN why haven't you clicked yet), strung through the tether (THEE stobin platonic soulmate fic), & seriously slipping out of control (steve and robin beg eddie to give them impulsive trauma tattoos immediately after starcourt).

idk what ships/characters ur most into so i'm just gonna focus on recs that are gen/ship-lite and oneshots bc i feel like that's what most of my fics are? so if you like my fics hopefully you'll like these bc i think they are all wayyy better than my fics but with similar vibes dkvjfjcn.

windowsill is a story focusing on max's recovery after s4. steddie is there, but the story itself is really about max and her healing and finding herself in the wake of trauma, and i think everybody should read it because it's gorgeous.

similarly, no, i'm not afraid to disappear explores erica's trauma in the wake of s4, how it sets her apart from her friends, and how she uses D&D to work through some of that trauma. there is NOT enough erica-centric fic out there and this one really gives her all of the love and complexity and attention she deserves.

you can put it all on me, you can laugh and you can bleed is a classic Steve Harrington Gets The Care And Love He Needs After Getting The Living Shit Kicked Out Of Him fic, and it has multiple perspectives (including officer callahan who is a hoot) that create a rich picture and make it all feel real. it isn't just about steve, it's also about all of the kids, their fears and trauma in the immediate aftermath of s2, and it's so fucking precious. literally the cutest shit ever.

strange (but not a stranger) is a mike-centric fic set after s4 that like. single-handedly saved mike's character for me. like s1-2 mike was my BABY and s3 i was kinda eh about him and in s4 i felt like i barely recognized him but this fic reached right into my heart and said You Will Love Mike Wheeler Again He Is Still Your Baby. mike is so messy and angry and lost in this fic and he feels like a flesh and blood teenager who's been through a lot and i think this fic deserves So much more attention.

don't imagine you're too familiar is a s4 aftermath fic focused on robin, steve, dustin, and eddie. this fic Gets steve and robin they are soooo platonic soulmates coded in this (as they should be) and i love it. also some steddie. as a treat.

unlike the others on here, adventures in babysitting a psionic isn't a oneshot, it's 59k words and SO WORTH READING. it's about steve babysitting el in the space between s2 and s3. it's definitely canon divergent but it's not a huge Plot Deal it's mostly about el and steve building an incredibly sweet friendship, and they both get a lot of complexity, care, and emotional development that i love. their relationships with the other characters are also given attention and it's just like... so cozy and sweet. it's simply precious.

so that's it for now! sorry if the formatting of this was weird i'm on mobile dkcjdjc i hope you haven't already read all of these and thank you again for being so kind ab my fics!!

[magicpotatoobsession]

GIVEN | Discovering the TRUE intention behind Shizu's actions in Mix_8 completely changed my view on the Shizuragi ship

I've gotta admit at first, I really didn't like Shizu. What he did to Hiiragi in Mix_8/Chapter 38 almost made me lose all respect for him. But upon rereading the manga,

HOLY SHIT I REALISED THAT

SHIZU is actually one of the MOST SELFLESS characters in Given 😭❤️

There is TOTALLY A DEEPER REASON AS TO WHY Shizu did what he did and it made me appreciate

JUST HOW WELL WRITTEN THE SHIZURAGI ARC IS 🤯

[manga spoilers ahead!]

To understand his actions, we have to jump around the manga a bit haha.

So in Chapter 41, we find out through Hiiragi's flashbacks about the Golden origami paper that baby Shizu never actively tries to get what he actually wants. 😞 😞 😞

This is quite odd because normally kids fight over things they want and Shizu kind of gives up before trying.

Foster Kid Struggles

Now jumping back to Chapter 33, the way Shizu behaves with origami paper makes sense if we remind ourselves that he's a foster kid T_T

Being a foster kid made him grow up believing that he doesn't have the right to have nice things, that he is not deserving of what he wants, what he loves, because in the end, he'll be ABANDONED anyway. He probably got passed from foster homes to foster homes, families to families, nothing he wanted stayed permanent.

---

So now let's look at the earlier conversation that he has with Mafuyu in the same chapter. Mafuyu actually goes to Shizu to ask him for advice about whether to commit to Given and music. However, Shizu accidentally goes on a bit of tangent about how even though he is in love with Hiiragi and Hiiragi is basically all he has, he suspects Hiiragi is in love with Yuki because of HOW MUCH HIIRAGI IDOLIZES YUKI. In fact he points out that their childhood squad was actually entirely YUKI-CENTRIC.

Without actually intending to, this is Shizu's abandonment insecurities coming through. Unfortunately, Shizu's whole life affirms to him that he is ALWAYS LEFT OUT in everything he does. HE FEELS LIKE HE HAS TO just endure the pain of living in Yuki's shadow to continue to stay beside Hiiragi. As we see from the origami paper flashback, Shizu has just always lived life without complaints, taking what he gets because that's all he's been able to get growing up as a foster kid. T_T

And when he says

"I totally went off topic huh..."

This line says everything about how much it actually hurts Shizu. Shizu isn't a character who displays a lot of emotions on his face but he loses composure in this very small panel and this is very telling about how this actually really bothers him. He then says,

"That's why I'm okay with it even if it'll be an endless struggle."

This line (above) is so important because the question we gotta ask ourselves as readers is,

IS SHIZU ACTUALLY OK WITH IT THO?

The next page, Shizu tells Mafuyu that if Mafuyu doesn't have the resolve and tenacity to continue with Ue and music, the right thing to do is to LEAVE.

Only for Shizu HIMSELF to realise the contradiction in his own words.

Shizu right after his conversation with Mafuyu starts to realise that he's being a hypocrite and goes on a MASSIVE INNER MONOLOGUE about all the amazing qualities that Hiiragi has. He then says

"I want to defile that."*

*I'll talk about this quote in more detail later

Shizu feels like Hiiragi is becoming even more amazing as of late and he feels the distance between himself (who he views as "embittered, apathetic") and Hiiragi is growing further apart.

And even more importantly, according to Shizu, Hiiragi is now on par with Yuki's level of "dazzling"ness, a league that previously both Shizu and Hiiragi deemed UNTOUCHABLE.

While Hiiragi retrospected in Chapter 39, that he was happy being the spectators of MafuYuki's world, it's clear that Shizu thinks of Hiiragi as being as amazing as Yuki.

✨The Glittering Pebble Symbolism✨

What this tells me is that Shizu, who feels like he is not deserving of having his needs and wants fulfilled, is coming to terms with the fact that

he might be HOLDING HIIRAGI BACK, he is KEEPING HIIRAGI from realising his full potential.

Taking in the context of his conversation with Mafuyu, Shizu realises that

the right thing to do is to let Hiiragi go because he no longer has the resolve or tenacity to keep being Hiiragi's emotional support while also trying to keep up with Hiiragi's level of 'dazzling'ness because ultimately, he believes that he is no longer worthy of Hiiragi.

That's why in that last panel, he thinks to himself

"Shit...I'm a real arsehole huh...."

Shizu feels guilt. He was only trying to treasure Hiiragi like a glittering pebble because he wants to keep Hiiragi all to himself.

BUT TO SHIZU,

Hiiragi has now evolved to match the level of 'dazzling'ness of Yuki, the league of the Sun*

*I'll cover why Hiiragi is compared to the sun in a second. Chapter 33's glittering pebble symbolism marks the beginning of Kizu's setup for a series of celestial body metaphors and astrology metaphors to describe Shizuragi in the later chapters.

---

Which brings me to Chapter 38.

THIS COVER NOW MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.🤯😭

His intention all along was to

PROVOKE HIIRAGI TO LEAVE HIM.

Shizu knows that the moment he speaks his truth, Hiiragi is going to get triggered and defensive because Hiiragi won't be used to Shizu confronting him with a hard truth. But we gotta realise that Shizu is PURPOSELY NOT LISTENING TO HIIRAGI. His actions are purposefully amplified to be extra awful!

THIS IS COMPLETELY IN CHARACTER! Referencing the origami flashback, just like Shizu can't actively pursue what he wants in life, it hurts him too much for him to make the final hard decision so he leaves that up to Hiiragi.

Up until this point, Shizu's been so incredibly kind and caring towards Hiiragi by being a great emotional support. BUT HERE, Shizu is trying to be the worst version of himself on purpose

so that Hiiragi will not view himself as below Yuki, but on par with Yuki in the league of the dazzling Sun.

(Are you crying I'm crying)

The cover of Mix_4/Ch 33, is a direct reference to Mix_8/Ch38! Shizu expects Hiiragi to storm away when he said and did all these confrontational things. Because he finally spoke his truth, Shizu believes that he just killed any chance of them being together (he just ended their world) but that means Hiiragi can be broken from Yuki's shadow for good. But he had to speak the truth because he doesn't have the tenacity and resolve to keep up with Hiiragi like this anymore. As a foster child with abandonment issues, Shizu internalised that he cannot have what he wants, he has to live in suffering to not be abandoned. He wanted to kill any hope within himself of a potential Shizuragi relationship so that the last glimmer of his hopes of dreams will die and he will be able to commit to Hiiragi without anymore pain. Shizu is trying to commit “emotional suicide” for himself and help raise Hiiragi's self-esteem by provoking Hiiragi to hate him.

Shizu/Ugetsu parallels

Just a small observation but something I found interesting, Shizu is a foil to Ugetsu in a way. Ugetsu breaks up with Akihiko but finds it hard to fully let go because Akihiko is all he has. So Ugetsu keeps provoking Akihiko to try and get Akihiko to finally leave him.

(P.S I actually read this really interesting post by @morievna after I finished writing this meta where she also pointed out the parallels between Shizu and Ugetsu where they both accidentally reveal their dark states of mind to Mafuyu. Ugetsu and Mafuyu talk in Chapter 17)

Hiiragi is Shizu's whole world just like how Akihiko is Ugetsu's whole world. However, Ugetsu provokes Akihiko by equating him to dirty trash while Shizu provokes Hiiragi by scaring him that he may have to get down and dirty if he is to stay with Shizu.

Ugetsu puts Akihiko down while Shizu puts himself down.*

*THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING. I will come back to talk about this point as well.

BUT LUCKY FOR SHIZU,

Hiiragi pulls an uno reverse card 😍😍😍

Yes, Hiiragi may have been shaken for a moment in Chapter 38-39,

but he comes back evermore sure that he loves Shizu.

___

💫CELESTIAL BODY METAPHORS💫

While Shizu views Hiiragi like the dazzling SUN 🌞, Hiiragi realises what Shizu is trying to do. He comes to the conclusion that he doesn't need to become the Sun. Instead, Hiiragi returns to Shizu who he now realises is the MOON 🌙 that has always been there for him.

Shizu being the moon 🌙 makes Hiiragi the earth 🌎

Kizu is also absolutely referencing Shizu and Hiiragi's astrological signs. Hiiragi is a TAURUS which is a...you guessed it, EARTH SIGN!

@raine-kai and @edragoon had a discussion a while back about when Shizu says this line in Chapter 33,

*"I want to defile that"

the word "defile" has DIRT, SOIL and GROUNDING symbolism in the original Japanese character. 🤯🤯🤯(KIZU YOU'RE SO FUCKING POETIC WHAT THE HELL)

Shizu is saying that he wishes Hiiragi to be the earth that could just have Shizu and only Shizu tending to him. Now it totally makes sense as to why Shizu has been following Hiiragi his whole life! Shizu has always been ORBITING around Hiiragi 🤯🤯🤯

But Shizu realises this is incredibly selfish because in his eyes, Hiiragi is already like the sun, someone with lots of fans and followers. But Hiiragi himself doesn't believe this because he still thinks of himself as below Yuki. Shizu wants to PROPEL Hiiragi's self-esteem in Chapter 38 by putting himself down so that Hiiragi will not want to stay in his orbit but aim to fly higher.

*What hints us that Shizu sees Hiiragi as the Sun?

In Chapter 39, while for a second Hiiragi gets transfixed by

“the blazing sunset”

he realises Shizu is the one who stops him from literally going OFF the RAILS!!! Shizu may have felt guilt for wanting to cherish Hiiragi for himself only but Hiiragi actually found that emotionally grounding. @nikinramblings does a great meta on the railing metaphor, definitely check it out! In Chapter 41, Hiiragi realises that Shizu was trying to AMPLIFY Hiiragi's need for SELF-IMPORTANCE so that Hiiragi himself can feel like the Sun and dissolve his idolisation of Yuki. We know this because the Hiiragi says,

"you made me your god with a single sheet of golden origami"

the words "god" and "golden" all alludes to the Sun. Hiiragi sees through Shizu's actions and comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't want that. He says,

"I want to belong to him (Shizu)."

Hiiragi realises he doesn't need to be the Sun, a star that burned too bright and too quickly. Through the Yuki-Ueno song demo, it dawns on Hiiragi just how much Shizu's lunar orbits (emotional support) have been saving him. What he envied about MafuYuki, he actually had with Shizu all along, a love that is genuine and simple. Hiiragi finally accepts his role of being the 🌎Earth 🌎 because he's happy with just Shizu by his side.

What's more mindblowing is that the moon orbits the Earth once every 27 days. It also takes approx 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis.

While the moon is held in orbit around the Earth by force of gravity, the moon keeps the same face pointing towards the Earth AT ALL TIMES! 🤯🤯🤯

(Is Kizu an astronomer? Using a moon and earth metaphor to THIS EXTENT to describe how enamoured Shizu is with Hiiragi just sends me straight to heaven holy shit)

Hiiragi metaphorical growth from glittering pebble -> provoked to become the sun -> then realises he is happy being earth is WHY Shizu is ecstatic and can't believe that Hiiragi comes back in Chapter 41. Shizu then wants to test just how committed Hiiragi actually is towards him, just how much Hiiragi is willing to get his hands 🌎"dirty" and "soiled" 🌎for him.

Why does he want to test Hiiragi you ask? Well, Shizu's whole life has been witnessing Hiiragi idolizing Yuki day and night, of course he wants to be sure that Hiiragi is not just spewing empty words! He wants to make sure Hiiragi follows through with his actions!

Chapter 41, let's talk about it

I wanted to clarify some things about Chapter 41 as well. It seems like "Hiiragi is suffering" 😰(dw that's what I thought at first) BUT now with everything in context, that’s not the case at all:

1. Hiiragi has probably been thinking about having sex with Shizu since Chapter 22 thanks to Mafuyu LOLLLLL. (refer to Point 7 of the post I linked) Also it was Hiiragi that came into Shizu's room implying that he's ready to take their relationship to the next level.

"Don't put on airs and give up on the things you want! Don't act so cold and detached!"

This quote shows us that Hiiragi wants Shizu to actively go after what he wants.

2. Shizu actually asks for consent FOUR TIMES.

First time, when Shizu says "It's like you're offering a sip of water to a person wandering in the dessert parched" and Hiiragi says while blushing and taking off his jacket, "Well it's ok if you drink...every drop" (this is actually so freaking adorable and sooo hot now that I finally understand Shizuragi (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ . Also, KIZU's earth/nature symbolism but let me remind you too that Shizu's star sign is SCORPIO, which is a WATER SIGN 💦🤯

Second time, Shizu says "Do you understand what I am about to do? You're gonna bawl for sure" and Hiiragi says, "I WILL NOT" (defensive Princess Hiiragi is so cute)

Third time, Shizu says "I'm gonna put my fingers in here too, are you ok with that?" and Hiiragi says, "Shut your face I know tha-" (Hiiragi is trying to hide how much of a freaking virgin he is LOL)

Fourth time, Shizu says "wanna stop?" and Hiiragi outrightly shouts "SHUT IT! DON'T STOP! STOP ASKING FOR PERMISSION for EVERY LITTLE THING YOU IDIOT" and this is where Hiiragi gives Shizu his full consent.

THIS IS A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR SHIZURAGI. It's no longer Hiiragi leading the relationship here. In the intimacy department, it's Shizu leading.😍👏😍

That's why Shizu is SOOOO OVERJOYED that he does that creepy-ass smile (lol that smile scares me). He probably doesn't even know how to smile because this is probably the SECOND time in his life that he's smiled (awwww T_T)

3. When Hiiragi is wailing "ahhh no way" "what is this" "I'm scared" according to my Japanese friends, NONE of them meant a hard "no" or telling Shizu to "stop". They were more like "omg this is overwhelming, what is happening?!" Which is perfectly normal if this is your FIRST time having sex EVER and with the person you LOVE.

4. Hiiragi crying can also be perceived as cathartic crying because he is finally seeing an emotionally expressive side of Shizu and that's understandably pretty overwhelmingly relieving! Like imagine seeing someone you love smile for the first time in such a long time, someone who never goes after what they want finally going after what they want, I reckon I would also be pretty emotional!

Hiiragi the earth sign TAURUS 🌎, the planet with water, is "emotionally" quenching the thirst of Shizu the water sign SCORPIO 💦, a dry desolate 🌙 moon, with his tears so that Shizu can smile!

(Kizu-sensei, the dual astrology and celestial body symbolism I can't I can't- you're too amazing)

Now up until this point in Shizu's existence,

Shizu's never been given this level of FREEDOM while also being LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY by someone before.

While previously Hiiragi got emotional about anything and anyone else but Shizu while always coming to Shizu for emotional support,

Chapter 41 is Shizu, the moon, finally causing Hiiragi, the earth, to have tidal waves of overwhelming emotions.

Now with everything in context, Shizu's confession isn't dramatic at all, it makes total sense, he really did put it in as simple words as he possibly could. This is everything he could ever want!!! The Shizuragi romance is explosive because it was previously clouded with Yuki trauma and idolisation. The moment the fog started to clear, everything clicked into place.

That's why in Chapter 42, it feels like Shizu has a sudden ~peRsOnaLiTy sWiTcH~ where he went from previously having such low self-esteem to suddenly obnoxiously bragging to Ue. Hiiragi's reciprocation gives him a renewed sense of purpose in life where he is willing to do whatever it takes, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, to stay by Hiiragi's side now knowing that Hiiragi loves him too.

(Bruh. Holy shit. Everything makes sense)

___

So, going back to this question...

*Why did Akigetsu end and Shizuragi work out?

I think this is SOOO interesting to think about. Both couples, all four of them give us the sense that they grew up from broken families where they had NO ONE but each other. As children of abandonment, both couples' love are so intense where they couldn't help but cling onto each other.

(there are a lot more reasons but I'm just going to stick to the ones that compare the two couples)

Akigetsu ended because Ugetsu realised that even though Akihiko understood him on a level that no one else ever would, Akihiko still idolised Ugetsu, and that caused him suffering. But Ugetsu's attempt to break them up is to continue to exacerbate that insecurity, to elongate that distance by putting Akihiko down as lower trash. Akihiko then feels worse and worse causing him to lash out and shut down rather than actually be able to view the situation objectively.

Shizuragi worked out because Shizu idolised Hiiragi and realised that Hiiragi had low self-esteem and idolized Yuki. Shizu's reaction is to put himself down rather than glorify Hiiragi verbally, he elongates that distance by leaving Hiiragi where he is and SCARING him into thinking that he has to stoop down to Shizu's level of lower trash. Therefore, Hiiragi just has to stay where he is and look at everything with clearer eyes. And thankfully, Hiiragi, with the help of the Yuki-Ueno song, does gain a more objective view on the situation and decides to still choose Shizu even after all the provoking.

Shizu and Akihiko are mirrors as well. Akihiko was not good at holding Ugetsu accountable and just endured Ugetsu's self-sabotaging actions (the mug scene is a great example). But Shizu held Hiiragi accountable for emotionally dumping on him in Mix_8. YOU NEED THAT IN A RELATIONSHIP, TO HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE.

Hiiragi and Ugetsu are also mirrors being the ones that are more overtly idolized in their relationship. But Hiiragi did what Ugetsu should have done, Hiiragi encouraged Shizu to go after what he wants, that Shizu is worthy to not give up on his dreams and hopes. So if Ugetsu encouraged Akihiko to practise harder so that they can be together rather than belittle him, Akihiko I reckon would have been able to stay where he was and view the situation more objectively.

(DO YOU SEE HOW WELL THE SHIZURAGI RELATIONSHIP IS CRAFTED?! FURTHERMORE, I LOVE THAT THE ALL GIVEN COUPLES ARE CROSS-MIRRORS OF EACH OTHER IN SOME WAY!!!)

Shizuragi, as children of abandonment, are now bound to each other more than ever. Of course this means there is heightened level of co-dependency (as we can see that Shizu now brags about how he still revolves around Hiiragi hmnnnnn....not healthy) so I hope that Kizu will address this at a later point.

-> I have a theory.... I feel that SYH might disband soon after their debut, not because Shizuragi will break up, but because they might realise they don't need music and the band to stay together. The reason why I think this is because the moment Mafuyu joined, the Seasons rebranded as themselves as Given the band. SYH stayed as SYH even though the vibe and style of the band has changed a lot since Yuki's passing. Isn't that fascinating? As much as I love SYH, I think disbanding is potentially a good thing, I don't think either Shizu or Hiiragi are truly passionate about music as they are just trying to use music as a way to hold onto each other and to hold onto the past (at least in my eyes). They might disband or they might rebrand, that's my feeling.

With Given,

you have to read in between the lines and constantly question the deeper meaning behind the characters' actions and words.

Kizu specifically chose a non-linear way of storytelling because it reflects real life where you don't have all the pieces of the puzzle handed to you at the same time. You have to figure it out, bit by bit, remember the details of people's past, notice how and why people contradict themselves at times, have the patience to listen and be supportive even when things don't immediately make sense. Given is a masterpiece because it shows us that

People are both flawed and beautiful.

Masterlist of my Given Metas

If you like what you've read, all I post is basically Given analysis content! Give my blog a follow to be notified of new posts! #metapotato

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-> IMPORTANT NOTE: I just want to say that as a woman interpreting Given, I do not have any lived experiences of being in a gay relationship so my interpretations may lack certain nuances. But as a gay-ally, I think it is so important to keep listening to those who have lived experiences. So I highly recommend you reading @a-voice-of-my-own's AO3 fanfic GOLDEN. I read this fanfic after I wrote this post and it was a fantastic read! I think it provides some wonderful insight into Shizu's inner monologue during this arc!

[zarvasace]

You disability AU has invaded my brain and I’m very happy about it. I was just thinking about how much I love it, and I love disability representation in general, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next for the AU!!! Also I hope you’re having a good day! <3

I have had a lovely day, thank you! :) Disability rep makes me so happy to see, too. I don't have grand plans for this AU, but maybe I'll come up with something in the future (perhaps once finals are over...) And I always love learning more and talking more! Here's a baby thing that I have not edited.

Relapse

Disability AU, Legend-centric (reminder that he has RRMS here, relapse/remission multiple sclerosis.) They're using the word "episode" here to refer to periods of relapse. About 715 words. Sorry about the long post, I'm on mobile and can't stick a read more in there. AO3 link here.

---

The general shuffling of people awake but not awake enough to talk yet pulled Legend from a dream about being underwater, yet only half able to breathe. He was grateful to end that dream, but less grateful to be woken up. Especially when his vision cleared and he realized why he'd been dreaming something like that. 

Legend groaned, did his best to suck in a deep breath, and pulled his blanket over his head. It felt like something was squeezing his ribs in a tight hug, but wouldn't let up.

"Everything all right, Legend?" Hyrule asked from somewhere outside the blanket, a smile evident in his voice. 

"No," Legend replied, not moving from under the blanket. He consciously expanded his chest to get another deep breath in. 

Hyrule's hand touched Legend's leg, then moved up to his shoulder. "No? What's wrong?" 

It was getting hot under the blanket, so Legend pulled it down around his chin. He shut his eyes tightly against the brightening sky. "Remember what I said, when we met, that my body hates me, and that I hate it?" 

"Vaguely," Hyrule responded, sounding hesitant. 

"Well, the next few days are really going to suck." 

Time spoke up from the other side of the fire. "That's right, Legend, you mentioned episodes, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Legend sighed. "One's gonna hit soon. It'll probably be over by the end of the week, but…" 

Hyrule's hand squeezed his shoulder in sympathy, and Legend patted it to make sure Hyrule knew he appreciated it. 

"What does an episode entail?" Twilight asked, pushing his feet into his boots. "What would you do about it if you were home?" 

Legend raised his hand to cover his eyes. He was a bit upset that this was happening around the others at all, and a bit upset that he had to be camping when this hit, but he'd have to make the most of it. "If I was at home, I'd stay in bed the whole time. Everything's gonna start hurting, much worse than usual. My vision's starting to go already—it'll come back, but it likes to fade out for a bit sometimes."

"So walking will get harder?" Time said. 

"Try 'almost impossible.'"

"Join the club!" Four called from his spot, awake and reading but squished in place by Sky, who hadn't woken up yet and was unlikely to anytime soon. "But it's not because of pain, so you have my sympathy."

Legend wanted to roll his eyes, but they hurt already. "Thanks." 

Twilight poked the fire with a stick and positioned another few dry logs on top of it. "Well, it isn't as if we have anything pressing to do, right now. Wild said yesterday that we're just a day or two out from Tarrey Town, so we can still probably head there, as fast as we can."

A silence stretched, but Time spoke a moment later. "Warriors says that he thinks Twilight's right, we should aim for town if the episode will last all week. It's safer and more comfortable."

"I don't know if I can get there," Legend admitted. Already, he didn't want to move. Shifting around would cause pain. 

"Maybe Wild would be willing to teleport," Hyrule suggested. "Or someone could carry you. You're not that heavy."

"Am I offended?" Legend wondered aloud. 

"We also don't have to go," Twilight said. "We could just stay here, if that's better for you."

Legend waved a hand and regretted it. He put his arms down and tried to settle and to breathe. His right eye was starting to gray out. Hooray. "No. Town is safer, you're right. And as comfy as the dirt is…"

"Then that's what we'll do," Time decided. "Head out as soon as possible, and get to town. Is there anything else we should know? Anything you'd need?" 

It was nice of him to ask. "This is gonna be a bad one, I think. I wouldn't mind some of that knockout tea. Other than that, no, it's just something I have to ride out."

Twilight snorted. "Wars says he's more than willing to make you some of that tea, for several days in a row if you want."

Legend allowed himself a bit of pain for the satisfaction of raising a finger in Warriors's general direction.