#every thistle fic i write is like 'what the Fuck do i do with the demon'

[roomba-mangga]

rubber ducking my way through these revisions... i'm at the point where the thing is complete but not polished and the polishing phase never stops driving me nuts

[britcision]

Tbh the older I get the more annoying I find it when people writing fic pick a random character (usually other potential love interests that aren’t the main ship) to butcher their actual character and turn into The Bad Guy

Because y’know, if no one’s twirling their moustache and being clownishly evil, how will we possibly have any drama? 🙄

But I have this feeling I’m gonna be full zero tolerance about it in Dungeon Meshi, because… well, how do you miss the point of the story that badly??

It’s a 14 volume series, gonna be a 48 episode (ish) anime, with no bad guy

It’s explicitly stated, in series

Spoilers below

Thistle is not the bad guy

The winged lion is not the bad guy

The last 4 chapters of the manga are dedicated to driving that home, more than once. Even Kabru isn’t the bad guy, and that breaks my heart because his villain vibes are immaculate and his villain arc would clear my skin and water my crops

Even with a big Final Fight and pivotal showdown, Ryoko Kui still made sure to state that no one in the series is a villain

They’re all just people, with different motivations and different understandings of what’s going on, and that drives them to conflict even when everyone is trying to do the right thing

Even when everyone works with the best of intentions, just plain being different people creates plenty of drama and tension and conflict

So before you get lazy and pick a character from the hat to be your Obvious Bad Guy, maybe just. Try. And live up to the series examples? Let them at least have a personality beyond “Must Prevent Ship Getting Together”

And if you try and make it Lycion I’ll kick your ass in your dreams and give you writer’s block, he cured his dysphoria by becoming a literal werewolf and hasn’t given a fuck about anything since, and nor should he

Cithis is literally Right There let her be the evil scheming manipulative bitch she is in canon for no better reason than she fucking wants to she is a gift from Kui to the fandom she literally put Mithrun in a maid outfit Because She Could

She’s perfect fanfic villainess and she doesn’t need a motive beyond “looks like fun” because she’s deadass just Like That and I’m obsessed with her about it

(Although tbh any Kabru ship fic but Kabru is the Obvious Bad Guy just completely self sabotaging at every possible step and being his own worst enemy would kinda fuck)

[chispas-and-broken-bindings]

🥺🤯🤡*eagle emoji because I can’t find it I’m so sad*

Hello hello hello!

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Oh, any time two characters are having an emotionally charged conversation, but they can't match their energies or understand what the other is actually trying to say. I get really in my feels when two characters are desperately trying to communicate but still end up talking past each other or misunderstanding.

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

All of the genres, but I'm going to go with erotica (or smut, in fic terms). I really love reading good smut, and I think its one of fanfic's greatest strengths. I spend probably way too much time thinking about the dearth of actual eroticism in media, especially media intended for straight audiences, and I think fic is one of the few places where I can consistently find writers who know how to actually turn me on.

That being said, I struggle with smut. I don't attempt writing it very often, and when I do, I can feel every inadequacy just hit me in the face. I'm pretty particular in what works for me (a lot of things can take me out of the moment) and I have so much respect for writers who nail it.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

I wrote Shock You Like You Won't Believe specifically to make myself laugh, and I still get the giggles during the entire scene in Chapter 2, where Sansa wakes up and realizes she's tangled up in bed with a stranger. Everything between "she'll just slide down the wall like a demented inch-worm until she gets to the foot of the bed" to "He also thinks he molested her…and he's probably going to tell Robb, because he seems like a pretty fucking stand-up guy like that…and if that happens, she's definitely going to have to transfer to Ohio State, and that would be a real shame, because she also hates the Buckeyes" makes me laugh.

*eagle emoji* (I was too lazy to look) Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants

Both. But I only ever actually write the fics where I'm flying by the seat of my pants. It's really annoying actually, because I'm just frustrated all the time. I have three fics that are basically outlined from start to finish, with like actual character arcs and plotlines, and for whatever reason they feel more daunting to work on than all my dumb wips where I have nothing to go on but a feeling, and then I get really invested in something that I don't actually have a plan for.

What about you? I really want to know if you outline or not, @thistle-and-thorn! Teach me your ways! Thanks for the ask, and I hope you are having a lovely summer!

[wistfulrat]

a 4-part rec list of my fave drarry fics - the thrillers, dramas, soft bois, and wankbanks getting me through 2020′s shitstorm

[the soft boi list is here and truly i’m not surprised this rec is going to be the longest bc if there’s one thing a bitch is going to do, it’s yearn.

as always! if you love a fic, follow the authors, leave kudos & comments, send them nice msgs bc free art is still labor xoxo]

part 3: soft bois

mood: for when I need respite, a balm to the all-consuming shittiness of life

includes: fluff, comfort, low-stakes, slow-burn fics. a wistful look, a rainy morning, an unexpected grace, a stupidly disarming joke. i could live inside these fics. the smallness of human lives removed from the site of that which hurts & irreparably changes. the story-equivalent of a deep breath after a long day. pregnant silences & pensive mundanity & shy smiles. banter with bite but without the cruelty. the color lavender. weirdly whimsical. soft fics are not necessarily conflict-averse (no drarry fic rly can be, considering the context) but, they offer the reader a generous distance from the initial harm. they’re the quiet cleaning up after a storm. sometimes healing is an exacting surgical knife and other times it’s a slow scabbing. you read these fics to be reassured that the way forward is not always ruthless. and honestly?? they deserve a semblance of peace godDAMmit.

The Way Down by @letteredlettered - 65k - T “and I thought that if someone talked to you as though you were a human being you might—maybe you could act like one” --the way i think about this line daily. the characterization of draco in this fic is one my favorites bc he’s earnest and neurotic and tired of harry’s shit. which is to say, he cares so so much. and harry doesn’t know what to do with that bc he’s got a monster in his chest and lives as a recluse. but they both humanize each other in ways no one else can. “you’re just a person” has to be some kind of drarry ethics of belonging and it makes me CRY. -

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them by @greaseonmymouth and dustmouth - 96k - T “Maybe it’s not about deserving it? Maybe you just get to have it anyway. . .I’m allowing myself to want something and to let myself have it and to fight for it.” --harry runs a daycare and also works at a library. draco spends a lot of time in said library. they bond over sci-fi books and therapy anecdotes and quiet philosophical conversations held over cafeteria soup. and harry’s struggling to understand his asexuality. draco’s learning how to live with anxiety and depression. they both want to be deserving of love. incredible fic with beautiful art by dustmouth. - 

Open for Repairs by @drarrytrash - 35k - T “A few leaves rustle in the gutter and the muggle world pays no mind to them, to two lost boys holding on for dear life.” --all of their fics feel exactly like this. like you’ve been allowed to look at something private, tender, unexpected. draco, known abba fan, is a repairman in the muggle world & harry can’t stop breaking thrifted things in order to see him? say less, i'm thERE. also “I think I have a crush on you” goddddd  - other faves by them: Counting Down By Ten - 2k - T: draco’s stepped outside of the party for a smoke. harry follows him bc of course he does. i could read this 100 times and not get tired of it. - Clouds That Veil the Midnight Moon - 36k - E: FUCKING HILARIOUS I CACKLED THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. draco’s wolfy problem and harry helping him and harry being flustered by how much he likes draco and draco’s hot heroic moment. shutup it’s perfect. “He almost asks if Draco ever gets tired of being a miserable complaining shit all the time, but he knows that he, personally, never ever gets tired of being a miserable complaining shit.” and “It’s the traumas,” Harry says gravely” --lines that live rent free in my head -

Harry Potter and the Future He Doesn't Really Want, Thanks by seefin - 70k - E “That was the only logical thing to do here, wasn’t it? It was the next step, it was the end of hurting each other and the beginning of the exact opposite.” --harry lives with luna and neville and also he dreams about the future sometimes? and he keeps running into draco. draco thinks this is sus as hell, until he doesn’t. feat. taxi rides, museums, cinemas, rooftop conversations beneath a lunar eclipse, mid-sex innocuous banter, draco and harry discussing nicki minaj. this fic charmed my ass off. seefin writes the most effortlessly hilarious dialogues. i smiled at my phone like an idiot at least 7 times. -  other faves by them: Wild - 93k - E: “he liked feeling needed, for the things that he was needed for back at the house in Ireland. For cooking and gardening and driving. Easy things.” --this shit makes me cry it’s so good. harry lives in Ireland with these three brilliant, hilarious, wandless witches and draco’s a potions student who's come to study under one of the housemates and the boys have so much shit to work through but their love becomes so tender and honest. draco yells at harry a lot and harry lets him and they both keep each other grounded in something real and fuCK.  - Divination for Dickheads - 7k - G: “I’m terrible at having crushes. I’ve never played anything cool a day in my life.” -- oh harry, we knOW. a bus ride, a fortune teller, an aquarium birthday party. god i love this fic. -

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic​ - 61k - E “But we’ve worked so hard at this, haven’t we? Yeah, I know it’s a horror to have to talk about it, but fuck it. We’re friends now, but it took so long to get here. Have you ever had to work so hard at something before?" --the steady blossoming of their friendship in this fic is so goddamn beautiful i want to yell. it’s draco and harry learning to trust each other and the whole thing unfolds so slowly, in this whimsical mix of london streets, wizarding politics, church halls feat. a Hot vicar, and a magical antique shop owner who’s married to literal poseidon?? goD the environment of this fic. immaculate. [also there’s a tender shower scene that makes me cry every single fucking time so if you read this fic pls dm me so we can be embarrassing about it together tbh] -

Nice Things by aideomai - 22k - M “He kept waiting for the weird shock of touch to not knock him clean out of his head, leave him quiet and warm and happy.” --8th year. harry forms an unlikely friendship with draco that begins with smoking weed on a windowsill. harry is touch-starved and draco touches him like he touches all his close friends - like it’s easy. the quiet affection in this fic, the way harry burrows himself into touch bc he’s been without it for his entire life. reading this is like being held. -

Running On Air by @tinyhistory​ - 74k - T “do you remember when we were eleven?” --alexa play coldplay’s the scientist it’s sad girl hours and we’re about to fucking yearn. you’ve seen this fic rec on every drarry list under the sun and i'm here to be redundant. the hype is so goddamn real. this story is a lyrical masterpiece held together by lines that act as refrains that will rattle around your brain until you die, probably. draco’s been missing for 3yrs. harry goes to find him. it’s their odyssey of homecoming. -

Title of Their Sex Tape by @cibeewastaken - 12k - T “But Draco, Draco was everything but boring. Draco made sitting in the rain watching an empty house fun.” --auror partners pining and draco being eccentric and harry being very earnestly gay about draco’s eccentricities!! god this fic is so genuinely fun skskd feat. undercover missions, murderous faeries, a book heist, a stunning navy dress, harry’s eyelashes. -

How We Throw Our Shadows Down by @thistle-verse - 14k - T “Draco is about to say something else— to thank Potter for what he’d done, however poorly— but Harry is smiling at him again, and it’s so soft and perfect that Draco holds in any inadequate words, lest he spoil it.” --draco collects tea cozies and of course harry has the one he wants. the sad and tender gays are at it again feat. conversations in the rain at a train station, melancholy Blaise, muggle photos, wizarding e-bay, the Dursleys.  -

Helix by Saras_Girl - 92k - E “Draco sighs in his sleep and Harry clings on to consciousness, needing to hold on, to give this tiny, insignificant moment the attention it deserves” --I think maybe you can describe every soft Saras_Girl story as giving tiny, insignificant moments the attention they deserve. like, this is an 8th year fic about snails and it’s full of whimsy, grief, compassion, and easy humor. an absolute must-read author in this genre if you want languorous, episodic fics full of distinct OCs and affectionate creatures. - other faves by them: Light up the Night Sky - 98k - M “Draco, sometimes you make my head feel like soup” --the one where harry is a fireworks artist and has a pet chameleon named ken. draco is on the wizarding arts council. they both pine like hell. - Headlights in the Snow - 71k - M “they stare at each other in silence, Harry’s heart beating so loud in his chest that he thinks the biddies must be able to hear it over the sound of their card game.” --the one where draco drives the knight bus and carts around the biddy club, a group of rambunctious old ladies who knit and drink tea and gossip. harry can’t help but fall in love with the everything about this. -

Follow the Water by @xanthippe74 - 38k - T “Harry’s heavy thoughts lift at the sight, like dark clouds blown away from the sun by the wind. The tent doesn’t feel so cramped and stifling now. It feels cozy. And safe. It’s the same feeling that Harry gets when he’s at the Burrow for Sunday roasts, when a group of people who care for each other deeply are crammed into too-small a space.” --harry wanders to the lovegood house on a sunday afternoon. he’s baffled to see that luna’s taken pansy, greg, and draco under her wing. what follows is a summer of forest walks, scavenger hunts, gardening, water fights, odd cakes, faerie rings, and picnics. so many picnics. i love the pace of this fic, the innocent return to childhood things, the way luna brings out the best in all her friends. reluctantly soft slytherins are just *chefs kiss*!! -

Going Postal (A 125pg comic) by dustmouth - T what. a. beautiful. ass. comic. the wizarding fashion, the textures, the character design!! harry travels a lot for his job as a resourcer. draco works in the regulations dept. they pine like a bunch of lovesick idiots via field report notes. god i love dustmouth’s art. -

All the Earnest Young Men by @tepre​ - 29k - E “Draco is twenty-seven layers of personality wrapped up in drama and humour, and a wit so sharp it still stings when he doesn’t see it coming. But there is something below that, too. Something that makes Harry ache just looking at him.” --the way i would lay down my little life for tepre’s characterization of draco, whom invented the word earnest. he’s a magical art theory expert and portraits are disappearing all over London and harry’s the auror assigned to this case. and well. they’re both so very avoidant about how gay they are for each other and it’s like!! shutup and kiss!! which they do in fact, shutup and kiss.  -

Trenches by sara_holmes - 3k - M “Somewhere in the distant part of his mind that hasn't frozen solid, he thinks that maybe he and Draco are about to become more than auror partners, smoking buddies, wine-mates and co-inhabitants of a snow filled trench somewhere in western Scotland.” --the plot line here is literally “it’s cold and i need a fucking cigarette” but let me tell you how I never tire of the shared loaded-silences of two emotionally repressed gays. -

The Years Before Love by lomonaaeren - 13k - M “That’s one of the meanings of peace, he thinks, as Hermione hugs him...That he can do things slowly, softly, without worrying that they won’t be there tomorrow.” --andromeda taking harry under her wing and harry finding solace in teddy. narcissa and draco showing up and the tentative relationships that slowly develop in the quiet calm of andromeda’s house. found families and kisses in the snow and special xmas gifts ugh what’s not to love -

The Moon Looks Lovely Tonight by Omi_Ohmy - 35k - M “I want this to be a house where people are welcome, where they don’t have to be any one way or another” --in which harry collects lost things--owls, best friends, inept bakers, potions experimenters--and turns the mausoleum that is grimmauld place into a home. feat. your fave drarry tropes like shared-beds and reluctant waltzing partners. -

[part 1: thrillers | part 2: dramas | part 3: soft bois | part 4: wankbanks]

[gffa]

Every single time–literally, every single time–I try to do a set of recs for STAR WARS, I wind up with something like thirty fics I just couldn’t write recs in time for when I wanted to post or I just had to post now because the list was getting to be a monster. And every single time–every single time!–I also have about 200 more fics still on my reader that I’m eager to dig into when I have the time for it. What I’m getting at is that, jeez, fandom, you’ve continued to absolutely be on fire over the last month! And I’m so glad for it, because the real world has really been fucking with a lot of people and the fic authors who’ve been putting out stellar and amazing pieces have really helped with that, so, here, have a bunch of fics that I really loved and have made my day a little bit brigther with each of them. I hope that this can help someone else’s day be a little brighter, too, if they need it. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Play It Again, Anakin by DontCallMeShirley, obi-wan & anakin & yoda & yaddle & luminara & quinlan & bant & cast, time travel, 1.1k wip    Upon his death, the Force sends Darth Vader/Anakin back in time to the Jedi Temple, where he will have the honor of serving as Creche Master for Obi-Wan and some friends. PREQUELS RECS: ✦ pillars of salt by outruntheavalanche, ahsoka & maul & cast, 3.4k wip    AU. Instead of using Maul as a distraction, Ahsoka offers him a chance at freedom and Maul takes it. But does he have ulterior motives? ✦ Nothing But Our Choices by Ibelin, anakin & mace & cast, 7.5k    Mace Windu strode to meet Skywalker, knowing he was in for an explosion. With Skywalker, everything was an explosion of some kind — both the good and the bad, and often literally. This, he thought, was going to be a big one. ✦ Can’t Fall into the Light by feybarn, luminara & barriss & obi-wan & quinlan & cast, 3.3k    Republic prisons, if you asked Luminara, left a great deal to be desired. It was, unfortunately, not an unfamiliar thought given she visited this place every week. ✦ Compassion by writegowrite, obi-wan & mace, ~1k    A senior padawan strode as quickly as he could down one of the many halls crisscrossing the vast, ancient complex of the Coruscanti Jedi Temple. Some days he liked to lounge in this particular hall, arms folded on one of the window sills to watch the endless parade of ships drift by outside. Today was not one of those days. ✦ four in the morning, we find ourselves here by curseofmen, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, 2.7k    (or: Ahsoka can’t sleep and finds herself at peace when Anakin and Obi-Wan are close) ✦ the wave returns to the ocean by kenobilovebot, obi-wan & anakin, 1.6k    Anakin learns to both hold on and let go. ✦ Jedi Parables by Peppermint_Shamrock, jedi, 5.8k    Values are often passed down generation to generation through stories, parables, and fables. What stories might the Jedi teach their children? ✦ I’m Counting On You by Rivulet027, mace & chirrut & plo & yoda & dooku & cast, 2.1k    Not all initiates become Jedi, Mace helps Chirrut find his place. ✦ where you plant a rose (a thistle cannot grow) by Icarus_is_flying, obi-wan & anakin & luke & leia & cast, 13.7k wip    Leia knows exactly who she is–princess, Organa, rebel in training. But when she stumbles onto a strange boy in a hidden garden, their instant connection draws her into a house full of secrets. Secrets Luke is reluctant to share. ✦ the river and the rock by nightdotlight, anakin & luminara, 1.8k    Lightsabers clash, and Luminara Unduli holds her ground. She doesn’t move, doesn’t lock her muscles, just makes herself an immovable object and lets her opponent strain against the lock. ✦ Answers Yet to Come by Independence1776, kanan & cal, 1k    A month after the war ends, Cal runs into Caleb on one of the not-quite-forbidden lower levels of the Jedi Temple. ✦ Warmth by Pandora151, obi-wan & ahsoka, 1.4k    After Anakin leaves on a mission, Ahsoka is left alone. Obi-Wan decides to check on his Grandpadawan, to make sure she is doing alright by herself. ✦ on the surface by katierosefun, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, 3.6k    Obi-Wan is terribly ill. Anakin and Ahsoka catch on fast. ✦ A Mess, but a Perfect One by kj_feybarn, obi-wan & luminara & quinlan & cast, 2.7k    There’s a message waiting for her when she picks up her data pad. ‘Aayla’s on her first solo mission. Quinlan’s being Quinlan. Drinks tonight?’ An easy moment between three friends. ✦ The Bet by Icse, obi-wan & anakin & mace & yoda & quinlan & kit & luminara & aayla & ahsoka & cast, ~1k    Everytime Anakin leaves the Temple there’s a bet that happens. ✦ Living Among Things by pipionem, obi-wan & ahsoka & luke (& anakin), 4.6k    After escaping from Malachor, Ahsoka finds herself on Tatooine. There, she meets an old friend, and they discuss why things fall, and how they might rise up again. ✦ This War Will Break Us Apart by elizabeth66, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 4.5k    As the Clone Wars rage around them, Anakin and Obi-Wan are just trying their best. When Obi-Wan lets Anakin sleep for once instead of waking him up to work, Anakin is his usual overdramatic self and blows it out of proportion, which gives both of the Jedi headaches. ✦ Stillness by SingManyFaces, obi-wan & anakin (& qui-gon), ~1k    A moment set during the episode Blue Shadow Virus; Obi-Wan remembers the last time he was in Theed’s power generator. ✦ the space between stars by nightdotlight, shaak & tup, 1.9k    Tup sits on the floor, legs crossed in front of him, and tries desperately to reach the Force. Repeats the mantra under his breath, over and over again, but he can’t find it, the sense of sunlight and lightly falling rain just out of reach, and he’s so frustrated he could nearly cry. ✦ leaves bleeding from yellow to green by nightdotlight, mace & ezra, 1.3k    At Mace’s feet, the grass ripples in a nonexistent breeze. It’s yellowing and slightly stiff: this planet has seen a drought over the last few months, but when they arrived, yesterday, it was raining. Mace and Ezra climbed the mountain’s north face this morning, to see for themselves that the rivers have begun once more to swell and rush. ✦ The Sheltering Storm by SingManyFaces, anakin & ahsoka, 1k    A thunderstorm allows Anakin and Ahsoka to learn a little more about each other, and deepen their bond. ✦ we who are left (behind) by dendral, obi-wan & luminara & cast, 1.3k    Barriss has been jailed. Ahsoka has left the Order. In the aftermath of all of this, where is Luminara? ✦ Laugh in Color by kj_feybarn, obi-wan & luminara & quinlan & mace & depa & cast, 2.6k    The three padawans looked up at him, and Mace was only human, the looks of adoration and near hero-worship were very hard to resist when directed at him with such genuineness. ✦ Roots by KCKenobi, obi-wan & anakin & ocs, 7.7k    On a mission to his home-planet, Obi-Wan grapples with memories from his past. But when he and Anakin go searching for his birth parents, they never expect what they’ll find. ✦ Simulacrum by TheStageManager, obi-wan & ponds & cody & rex & anakin & ahsoka & mace & cast, 11.2k wip    “Still, they are too old for the Creche,” Mace said, and Obi-Wan merely smiled. “Then, I will take them as my Padawan Learners,” ✦ Rest For The Weary by anemoia, obi-wan & anakin & cody & cast, ~1k    Obi-Wan overexerts himself. Cody and Anakin team up to get him to take a break. ✦ Hug(e) Monster by mielipieli, cody & ponds & cast, 1.4k    Every trooper has a favorite fighting style. Ponds’ is made up entirely of holds. Cody would joke that it’s just because Ponds gets to cuddle more that way except it wouldn’t be a very good joke because he’s 99% sure that’s the actual reason. ✦ untitled by atelier-dayz, obi-wan & cast, 1.2k    Scenes in Under the Desert Sky where Obi-wan gets his new crystal and builds his lightsaber. ✦ what wise men fear by chameleonchanging, plo/wolffe & cast, 3.1k    There are goings-on far above Wolffe’s head that he doesn’t have time to care about, since he’s not going to be able to change any of it anyway. But Plo gets some news he doesn’t like, and then a call from an Admiral shoves him right over the edge. Wolffe begins to understand why Jedi are the way they are. ✦ A Price to Be Paid by Peach_Bitters (Starf), qui-gon & dooku & cast, 3.1k    Young Qui-Gon learns there’s a price to be paid for his curiosity. ✦ and death by epsiloneridani, ahsoka & rex, 1k    Surviving was a victory, but the air tastes like death. Rex and Ahsoka. The aftermath on the moon. ✦ My Gift is My Song by thetorontokid, obi-wan & anakin & luke & rex & cast, 1.9k    Obi-Wan’s gift to Anakin is a Mandalorian lullaby. ✦ In Meditation and Memory by LazarusII, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, 2.9k    One month into her apprenticeship, Ahsoka has her first group meditation with her Masters. And it’s simple, she’s terrified. How could she not be? It’s only the ‘Hero Without Fear’ and the ‘Negotiator.’ OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ Satine by princeobiwan, obi-wan/anakin & cast, historical au, 38.7k wip    In the spring of 1937, working as a wealthy man’s companion and his future looking bleak, Anakin meets a handsome widower Obi-Wan Kenobi on a trip to Monte Carlo. ✦ Conceal Me What I Am by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin & padme & ahsoka & palpatine & cast, NSFW, omegaverse, senator!obi-wan, 53.6k wip    Separatist Propaganda is turning the Republic against the Jedi Order and the Senate sees no choice but to join in a political alliance to fight dissent on a unified front.An alliance is proposed through an arranged marriage,between a Jedi Knight and Republican Senator. ✦ Needing/Getting by chapstickaddict, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & luke & leia, 42.4k wip    Anakin is a paranoid, over-protective hot mess doing his best to raise his weird pack the way Padmé would have wanted. How the hell is he supposed to do that when his kids and not-apprentice make him haul a half-dead Jedi Master home like a lost pet? ✦ Prompted - Chapter 6 by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, human au, the mummy au, 4.5k    exsoldier!Anakin / librarian!Obi-Wan (the Mummy AU) ✦ Prompted - Chapter 7: Safe as Houses by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, buffy au, 5k    slayer!Anakin / watcher!Obi-Wan (Buffy AU) ✦ Prompted - Chapter 8: the Outlander by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, 3k    rebellious!Padawan!Anakin and jealous!Sith!Obi-Wan (Obi-Wan fell on Naboo AU) ✦ Lifeblood by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin & ocs, NSFW, ritual public sex, 8.3k    The ancient people of the Zeffo contact the Jedi in a cry for help,they need force users who can connect to the living force,who can save something dear to them. But the price of life is itself something dear,and one Obi-Wan is not sure they can pay. ✦ Gold Collar by JSwander, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 13.8k wip    The Clone Wars have ended, Palpatine is no more. High General Obi-Wan Kenobi meets a remarkable slave of the Hutts during a diplomatic mission to Tattooine. ✦ magic to make the sanest man go mad by jenmishe, obi-wan/anakin/padme, NSFW, 36.5k    Anakin reconsiders his relationships with many things and people, Obi Wan has truly a terrible taste and not a great time, and Padmé singlehandedly saves the Galaxy. Oh, and several love confessions are made. ✦ politikos by luckee, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, senator!obi-wan, senator!anakin, 3.6k    During a long Senate hearing, the senator from Tatooine makes it his mission to become the bane of Obi-Wan’s existence. ✦ You Think Love Is Only For the Lucky and the Strong by lazilywayward, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, omegaverse, 3.5k    Anakin forgot to take his suppressants before going on his latest mission with his master. ✦ Carrier by JSwander, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild kink (read the tags!), 3.3k    Anakin Skywalker gets pulled from active duty by the Jedi Council as a punishment for reckless behavior on his most recent mission. In the resulting fight with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi decides to take drastic measures through his Stewjonian biology to help Anakin find peace away from the battlefield. ✦ Mine to Keep by lazilywayward, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, 25.7k wip    Obi-Wan does not leave Anakin to burn on Mustafar. Instead, he secretly brings him to Tatooine. His possessive love for Anakin and hatred for Palpatine leads him to the Dark side. ✦ Lost Kitten by septemberist, obi-wan/anakin, catboy!anakin, 2.2k    Obi-Wan’s apprentice is always making trouble. Hiding in strange places, attacking the other Padawans with his claws, knocking over Obi-Wan’s things with his tail… it’s enough to make a Jedi Master go prematurely grey. Now, where in the Force has Nyanakin Skywalker run off to? ✦ Parrots, Parkour, Pirates, Punk, and Perfect Strangers by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan/anakin & padme & ahsoka & rex & cody & quinlan & cast, modern au, 12.4k    In which Anakin is having a rough day, Obi Wan just wanted to help out the cute stranger and also maybe impress him, someone films their encounter and it goes viral on Twitter. Now the entire internet wants these two to get married. ✦ All You Gotta Do (Is Say Yes) by Daiako (Achrya), obi-wan/anakin, nsfw, modern au, bdsm, d/s, 5.9k    The man Anakin meets, known as the negotiator, is not what he imagines in a Dom, the setting is far from the dark whip and chain laden dungeon he pictured, and yet… ✦ first class by luckee, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 3k    Anakin gets very distracted by Obi-Wan’s lap during a Council meeting. ✦ In the eye of the beholder by milkywaybandit (Akumzae), obi-wan/anakin/padme, 4k    At first, she watches Obi-wan and Anakin because she wants to learn. To learn how Obi-wan manages to her husband’s wild anger with nothing more than the accented curl of his name. But to learn one secret is to discover many others, forcing Padmé to address her own insecurities about her marriage and the crush her husband doesn’t realise he has on his ex-master. ✦ When the Pain Fades by JSwander, obi-wan/anakin & cast, soulmate au, 3.7k    He understood why it was done, of course. All Jedi permanently concealed their soulmarks once they became padawan learners. It was a representation of their sacrifice of personal attachments to achieve a higher level of connection with the unifying force. He understood. It still hurt. ✦ Realize by DontCallMeShirley, obi-wan/anakin & padme & ahsoka & rex & cast, NSFW, ~1k wip    Different people realize Obi-Wan and Anakin have feelings for each other. ✦ leave a light on by luckee, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 4.1k    Anakin didn’t expect to get anything out of robbing the brownstone on Irving Street beyond a few hundred dollars from whatever he managed to pawn. He certainly didn’t expect to get caught by the whisky-drinking, soft sweater-wearing ethics professor who lived there. ✦ Better Living Through Lack of Chemistry by avarand, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, omegaverse, 5.5k    Anakin has hidden his Omega status his whole life. Thanks to suppressants, he passes as a hot-headed Beta Jedi Knight. On a small-scale mission with Obi-Wan days away from the nearest city, he learns his suppressants have been compromised. He’s sharing a room with his long-time object of lust and desire, and about to go into heat. ✦ leather straps and tulle by Demi_Fae, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild bondage, mild d/s, sith!obi-wan, 3.1k    Anakin made his way barefoot through the crowd, tulle skirt brushing the ground behind him. He could feel the other patrons’ stares lingering on the various straps criss crossing his body as he passed by them. More than a few reached out to touch him and he welcomed it. ✦ But Lovers Do by shatou, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.8k    All they have is each other. Together, though, they have a little something more. ✦ Reading Into Things by GrievousCollection, obi-wan/anakin/padme & ahsoka & palpatine & cast, 19.4k    When Ahsoka first meets the Supreme Chancellor, she gets a sense of his less than wholesome interest in her Master. Her intuition will go a long way. ✦ Breath Like The Clouds by des_nuages_de_paris, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 4.1k    Obi-wan was simply trying to have a relaxing evening meditating. Then Anakin decided to bother him. ✦ like glitter (and gold) by anakinno, obi-wan/anakin, nsfw, sith!obi-wan, fem!anakin, 28.8k wip    After months of chasing her former-Jedi-Master-turned-Sith through the Outer Rim, Anakin Skywalker is forced to come to terms with what Obi-Wan Kenobi’s betrayal means for the Jedi, the Republic, and, most importantly, her own messed-up feelings. ✦ Obi-Wan’s Secret Weapon by cattycas, obi-wan/anakin & padme & asajj & cast, 7.4k    It’s his charms. And his beard. Starring Obi-Wan being an insufferable flirt, Anakin getting pissed off about it, Asajj Ventress’ creepy smiles and gratuitous use of chains. ✦ of loth cats and love confessions by luckee, obi-wan/anakin & padme & qui-gon & cast, 9.6k    In which Obi-Wan Kenobi is an eleven-year-old youngling when Anakin Skywalker arrives at the Jedi Temple. Things go differently from there. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[saccharine-suffering]

Some Whump Based On My Real Life Experiences

My favorite type of whump both to read and to write is where I can relate to the whumpee. I read sickfics when I fall ill, bone whumps when I fracture or sprain, ect.

Now, I am horrifically unlucky, and I, first hand, have experienced some very underrated pain. To add to my copious amount of injuries, I also live in the middle of a desert. So these are going to be in two categories: location-based & nonlocation-based.

Feel fee to use these for your whumpee. Take it from me, they H U R T. I can look back on them now and be like "Wow. Sucks for my poor whumpees because you best believe I will be writing this."

Location Based:

Cacti. I have a lot about cacti.

I live in one of the few places with natural growing cacti, which, I mean, cool, but they are everywhere. I have fallen into more than my fair share of cacti over the years.

I have two giant cane cholla growing in my front yard. When I was, I think about eight (8) years old, my sister and I were playing in the yard when I tripped and fell straight into one of them. I ended up breaking off a branch from the cactus and hit a tendon. I could barely move without getting spined over and over.

Under the tree in my yard, there is one powderpuff thistle, blending in perfectly with the grass. Long story short, sitting under the tree to get some fresh air and shade is not a thing at my house unless you want a thigh full of thistle.

One time I fell into a teddy-bear cholla at school. The bell rang and the nurse doesn't allow walk-ins without a note. We also weren't allowed to leave class 10 minutes before or after the bell rang. So I just had to suffer in silence.

I got bit by a bull snake. They aren't venomous, but that doesn't change the fact that there is still a scar on my Achilles to this day.

Flash Floods. These are more physcological than anything, but even so, as a young child, it was terrifying.

I've never been stung by a bee, but I have accidentally stepped on a tarantula halk wasp, which has the second most painful sting in the insect kingdom. You bet when I kept walking the thing was pissed and long story short, that was my first (but unfortunately not only) experience with paralysis.

Contaminated water. The tap water in my town is a dusty shade of gray, and I have gotten sick from drinking it. (Before anyone asks it tastes like , paper, and rocks)

Sunstroke aka the worst time to be alive as a human being. It's like having the flu, only maybe 13x worse, and it's not contagious, and you hallucinate.

Nonlocation-Based:

I have a fucked up mouth.

So, people often overlook jusst how painful a cavity is, because, you know, they get a cavity, their tooth hurts, they get it filled, they forget about it. WELL--

For a while my family did not have healthcare that covered dental work, so when I got a cavity, I just had to suffer.

I wasn't a big deal at first, but then as time progressed I began to experience the single most painful ache possible in a human being; what I like to call "The Triple Threat Sinus Ache"

Debilitating toothache mixed with a congested nose mixed with a pounding earache that leads directly to the skull equals laying in bad biting down on gauze and not being able to do anything else.

I couldn't eat, drinking was painful, sleep was only possible when I passed out, it was awful.

BUT it would make a KILLER hurt/comfort fic.

Another tooth thing: one of my baby teeth never fell out, and instead just got pusbed backwards into the roof of my mouth. Very painful on it's own, but thas not even where I was going with that story.

I had to get it removed. Surgically. So, they gave me laughing gas to numb the shot that was ment to put me under, but my body had other plans.

Anesthesia Awareness. I hadn't even realized it at the time because, laughing gas. Numbed the pain. I still felt every bit of pressure, so I thought that this was just supposed to happen. I couldn't move at all, but I assumed it was a side effect of the shot or something. No, turns out, I was ment to be fully unconscious.

Seriously, go research Anesthesia Awareness. ESPECIALLY if you like medical whump. I got lucky I was given laughing gas beforehand. Your whumpee might not be so lucky.

Cryotherapy. Basically, liquid nitrogen, q-tip, directly on my hands because of a skin malformation. Completely debilitating. Could not use my hands for days afterwards.

Dry ice burn. Pretty self explanatory. I was pretty young so I don't really remember this happening but I still have a scar on my wrist.

Panic Attacks, I've had several. The worst ones are always in public, so much so that I've blacked out before. Once again, would recommend for hurt/COMFORT.

[mintyvan]

Pacifier - Benji Spinoff

filling the requests “OMG I would sell my soul for that Benji spin off" + “are u sure u write all the lids cause... where’s benji” + you and benji are dating but you’re trying hard to keep it under wraps + straightening benji’s hair for @vanfictionforall 

author’s note Originally I had written the first third of this for a song preference, and someone mentioned a spinoff, and I was like... finally, I can do the Benji fic. A big soz to @vanfictionforall for having the Benji request in my inbox for literally a year - girl, I don’t even know if you have a blog anymore, but if you do, hope you see this! I finally got around to it. 

_______________________ 

She said “I’m feeling like it’s putting on When you say you don’t need me And you want nothing of me.”

“Come on, Y/N,” Larry laughed around a mouthful of chips. “You’ve got to like him. You know you do.”

“Nope.”

“The way you look at Benji is the way I look at Lou. And we all know how I feel about Lou,” Bondy said, blowing smoke out of his mouth as he precariously leaned back in his chair. The rest of the Catfish crew laughed.

“Oh! There he is! The man of the night!” your cousin Van said as Benji re-entered the room. All night, ever since you’d hinted to Van about your crush on Benji, the news had spread like wildfire in the group. Every time Benji would get up to leave, the conversation would recommence.

“And why am I the man of the night?”

“Hopefully later you’ll see,” Bondy winked, and Benji rolled his eyes. He was used to supposedly mindless banter.

“Hey everyone, why don’t we play an old favorite of mine, a game of spin the bottle? There’s enough of us here!” Van said, winking. The winks from everyone were getting annoying and you regretted telling them anything about your crush on Benji at all.

“I don’t mind kissing Van,” Larry piped up, and settled himself in front of Van. You laughed, and still didn’t understand what Larry saw in your cousin.

“Actually, could I just speak to Benji for a second?” you asked. They definitely weren’t expecting that.

“Sure, Y/N,” Benji said, to the happiness, and dramatic irony, of the group.

You led Benji outside onto Van’s back patio, and from inside, the boys could see you discussing with him about something, your smile slowly growing wider and wider as you spoke frantically, and then as Benji spoke. At last, through the window, the guys saw you both stick a middle finger in the air, and your lips met for the first time of many.

“Guess we don’t need to play anymore, then?” Bondy snickered, shaking so hard that he fell over in his chair.

****

When you walked in and saw the glances from the other guys, you knew your plan had worked. 

Funny enough, for a week or so you’d been trying to find some way to tell the other members of Catfish that you and Benji had been dating. You had hinted to Van that something was up, but obviously the melodrama of it all had transpired into a much wilder reveal than you’d hoped for.

“So you’re together, then?” Larry inquired. You nodded.

“It’s about time,” Van laughed. “I suspected, but didn’t want to say anything.”

“Oh, and the entire group teasing her about it is your way of not saying anything?” Benji cockily replied.

“Oi!” Larry’s voice screeched from the kitchen. He had gotten up to make himself another drink. “You knew about that?”

“Well, we’ve been trying to tell you losers for a while, but you can’t take a hint,” you shot back at Larry. “We’ve been together for like 2 weeks.”

“Love you’ve been on tour with us for that entire time. How’d you hold back?” Bondy asked, genuinely curious at the lack of PDA you and Benji had shown in that amount of time.

“We didn’t know whether to keep it a secret or not. But you fucks were so annoying that we just went and did that,” Benji laughed, his long arm motioning outside to the patio. 

“At least we don’t have to hide anymore,” you said, giving Benji knowing looks. He caught your gaze, remembering the same moments you’d almost been caught this far.

“Shh! Benji!” you whisper-yell, tugging him down by his belt loops back into the bushes, hoping to quell his whooping laughter. The thistles were scratching at your elbows. There were leaves in his hair.

“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked, dazedly crouching beside you, shirt material being pushed by the branches at his back.

“They can’t come over here, cause they’ll know the girl you were making out with was me!” you yelped, tugging his shoulders further down so his wild leaf-crowned hair wouldn’t poke above the shrubbery.

“We’ve got to do something about this hair,” you chuckled, pulling leaves from his strands once he’d settled down into the mulch.

“Just cut it off,” he slurred, moving to kiss your cheek.

“No! I love it,” you said, caressing the wiry strands. “That lad in your band has amazing curls. Why don’t you take some of his advice?”

“Not into it,” he said, lying back on a bush. You were sure it was poking and scratching his back, but drunk Benji never became aware of such things until the next day.

An idea popped into your head that made you look at him with narrowed eyes and a wry smile. When he realized what you were on about, his eyes widened.

“Hell no, Y/N.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Not a chance!” he half-yelled, and tackled you into the mulch.

****

That “not a chance” had done nothing for him, because a few days later he was sat in your beauty chair at work, surrounded by a few friends.

“Dunno why you’d do something like this for him, Y/N, but we’re all for it,” Van snorted, rifling through the magazines in the salon as you surveyed Benji’s hair situation. Van hadn’t been keen on coming, but wanted to be present for the whole process in order to tell the story later.

“Dunno why he’d agree to do this with her, either, ‘cause he’s vehemently opposed to any of us touching it at all,” Bondy said, spinning lazily in a vacant chair next to Benji. Bondy’s friend Lou was discussing conditioner with your fellow esthetician Maddie, asking about how to get the right “bounce” to his curls. Thankfully, the salon was having a slow day, or every employee in there would have been monumentally irritated.

“I’m all about that new look,” Benji said to you, and you both laughed. You made eye contact with him in the mirror, and your hands absentmindedly caressed his hair. It was a moment until Van decided to interrupt.

“Right so when we gettin’ on with this?” Van asked, antsy. You couldn’t tell if he was ready to go or if he just wanted the results now.

“I’ve plugged in the iron, Van, it’s heating up now. We’ve got to give it a few more minutes so it gets as hot as it can. I only want to run over his strands once, because it could damage them if I have to go over them more than that. I’m going to use a product to prevent frizz and heat damage as well. You’re going to be looking like Cher in no time, babe,” you laughed, turning to Benji.

“I’m so going to regret this.”

“Look on the bright side. People won’t recognize us when we go out.”

“Why would you care about that?” Bondy asked pointedly. Panic bubbled up in your chest.

“Well, uh... he’s in one of the biggest bands in the UK.”

“Right,” Bondy stated. He stopped the slow spinning of his chair, now deep in thought. “Gonna go out for a smoke,” he nodded to you and Benji, and left.

*****

“I look like a show dog!” Benji exclaimed, eyes wide in the mirror. His locks were now twice as long, hanging limply at his shoulders, the curls pressed flat against his head. The rest of the group guffawed behind him. His silky black hair looked like he’d gone back to his middle school scene phase.

“Where’s your Sonny?” Van laughed, pressing his hand against the wall as he hunched to contain his laughter. 

“You’re so dead, Y/N,” he whispered, and immediately pivoted to chase you around the salon. You squealed, dashing between swivel chairs around to the back rooms, Benji hot on your heels. As you reached the supply closet, you realized you were at a dead end.

He grabbed you and turned you to face him, eyes mirthful, sly smile playing on his lips. “Got you,” he whispered.

His lips fell onto yours, pressing softly but soon moving faster as the kiss heated up. His arms wrapped around you tightly as the kiss deepened. 

Close footsteps immediately broke you apart. Your heart beat wildly in your chest.

“What you doin’ in here? We’re trying to leave now,” Lou popped his head into the room. 

“Just showing Benji which shampoo he needs for his new silky locks!” you said, your voice rising a few octaves as you grabbed the nearest bottle of whatever. You hoped it didn’t betray your actions.

“Oh. Alright. Meet you in the car?” Lou asked.

“Mhm!” you and Benji replied simultaneously. Benji smiled sheepishly.

There were more memories of you two sneaking around on tour, but the mention of your name brought you back into the conversation at hand.

“Y/N, you’re a really lucky gal, Benji’s a great guy,” Van said, taking a bite of pizza. “I mean, it’s a bit weird that my cousin is dating someone who I also consider to be my brother, but I guess --”

“Gross, Van,” Benji replied. You smiled at your cousin’s weirdness.

“But I guess there’s no one I’d rather see you with. I can really see this working out.”

[authormagrant]

Flash Fic 7: Ice Cream Explosions

Prompt by @eclair - This one definitely got away from the self-imposed word limit, but these two were way too much fun to write!

“Oh, my God, Round Face, are you seriously going to cry to me about this?” Bakugo groaned as he lifted more weights to return to the rack.

“You are the worst friend,” Ochako said. “Why do I put up with you?”

“Because I own a gym, am willing to train with your sorry ass, and you’re a masochist,” he replied, deadpan.

She made a face at him, but even his delivery did nothing to change her obvious pain. Her nose was pink from how much she’d rubbed it with tissues, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, and every now and then when she stopped actively thinking about it, her lower lip would tremble from an imminent storm of tears.

He was going to fucking kill that asshole. He should have listened when stupid Deku warned him that he was worried Ochako was dating a player. Instead, he’d ignored the advice—which, to be honest, he did with anything that came out of the loser’s mouth—and now he was paying for it.

He sighed, but didn’t kick her off the bench. “Are you at least going to pretend to work out?”

“Katsuki, I just had my heart broken again, and you’re worried about my exercise regime?”

There was no winning. He ran a hand through his hair, and heard her giggle. The sound surprised him enough that he glanced up, only to grimace at the sight facing him in the mirrored wall. The sweat from his workout made his mussed hair stick up in strange points, like he’d survived some cartoon explosion.

“Why can’t that nice new guy you like walk in and see you now?” Ochako said around the hint of a tiny smile. “I’m pretty sure it might finally knock you off that pedestal he put you on.”

“Shut your face,” Bakugo growled. “And I’m pretty fucking sure there’s nothing I could do that would deter Shitty-Hair.”

It was kind of a relief to say that and feel like it was the truth. Not that he’d admit that, even to Ochako. He hated having his private life become the subject of speculation, but the sight of a genuine smile growing over Ochako’s face made him think that maybe it was worth it.

Until the brilliance vanished and she was back to staring at her hands. “All I want is to wallow in a swimming pool of ice cream.”

“No. Don’t you dare. We’ve been training for this tournament for months and I’ll be damned if you throw all that work away. You’re better than that.”

She gaped at him. “That ... almost sounded like encouragement.”

“It wasn’t.”

“No, no, I’m pretty sure it was.” She tilted her head and watched him stretch out. “Are you sick? Are you dying?”

“I can be encouraging.”

“Your positive statements involve an absurd amount of profanity and death threats.”

“You’re just jealous that I can get results from cock-thistles who have no self-motivation.”

“Right. Of course that’s it. You could start putting up a quote of the week on the walls.” For the first time since she’d walked in and burst into tears, Ochako actually looked happy. “What would it be this week?”

“Start sparring, for fuck’s sake.”

Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. “It’s missing something.”

“What? You expect me to throw it up there with some craptastic picture of a kitten attacking a puppy or something?” He snorted derisively and pointed for her to get up off the bench so they could start their workout in the newly emptied space, but she didn’t move.

Instead, she tilted her head back and laughed. “A picture! Of course! How could I forget that? I can see it now ... The Bakugo Katsuki line of inspirational posters.”

She probably teased him on purpose. She’d always known how to twist his competitive nature. “Hey, I’d inspire the fuck out of those posters,” he snapped.

“Of course you would. Let’s see, the waterfall print would read, If you don’t stop crying, I’ll kill you.”

Clearly, no sparring would commence until she felt better, so he gave up and sprawled on the mats, letting his own mind wander. “A stupid sunset one, too.”

“Yeah! It could say ... Start the damn workout before the fucking sun goes down!”

“Seriously, Round Face, are we doing this today or not?”

She didn’t even hear him, too lost in her own game. “You could have a post-break up line. How about one with a box of truffles and something like, They say chocolate is a cure of heartache, but don’t forget that calories are hard to burn, bitch.”

Bakugo groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. “Okay, get up.”

“I don’t want to spar today. If you hit me once, I’ll start crying and get snot all over you.”

“I know that. We’re not sparring today. I’m taking you to get some goddamn ice cream.” He lifted a hand and pointed at her. “And if you tell Shitty Hair I did something nice for you, I’ll make you regret it.”

Ochako held up her hands, but her smug grin did nothing to convince him that she’d obey. “Fine. I won’t dare to let him know that you can actually be a nice, kind, considerate human being who supports his friend when she’s miserable from a break-up and can’t figure out how to cope. I’d hate for him to learn that you’re quite the catch despite your horrible attitude and that he’d be lucky if you finally acted on your interest in him.”

“Damn right,” he grumbled as he climbed to his feet. Except, when he turned, Shitty Hair was standing there, mouth slightly open and a flush spreading high over his cheeks. Bakugo wanted to rip something apart with his hands. Violently. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and refused to look at Ochako, who was snickering behind him. Fucking traitor. “How long have you been here?”

The guy’s hands tightened around the strap of his gym bag. “Dude, taking a break from a workout to help her deal is super manly!”

“Do you want to come with us?” Ochako asked before Bakugo could open his mouth to respond.

The flush on the other man’s cheeks intensified. “I don’t want to interrupt,” he started to say.

Started to say, because Bakugo gave up. His day had already gone to hell. It’s not like it could get worse. “Oi, Shitty Hair, you’re not interrupting. You like ice cream, right?”

“Yeah. I do.” He tilted his chin up and grinned, a sharp smile that made Bakugo’s heart beat far too fast. “And I’m pretty sure I could be convinced to like you, too.”

“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Ochako whispered. “This is going to be so much fun.”

Bakugo sincerely doubted it.

[toodaysandtoomorrows]

My Favourite Fics Ever — One Direction Fandom Edition

Or: The fic rec nobody has asked for that I made no matter what because everything is better than studying and I am bored.

Here's a list of fics in no significant order of importance that happens to be my favourite in the One Direction Fandom. Mind me, they are not all the good fics I read, they are the ones that I always come back to, or the ones that left me something emotionally speaking, the ones that will probably stay with me for a long time.

Have You Coming Back Again by whoknows (31K, Bottom!L)

It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym.

Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.

Louis jogs across the street and jabs the key into the car door. It opens easily, not that he was expecting anything else. He copied the key for a reason, after all.

He’s got Harry’s schedule memorized, more because the guy keeps following him around than anything, so he doesn’t bother looking around before climbing behind the wheel and setting his bag on the passenger seat. It’s a Monday, which means that Harry doesn’t even get out of bed before noon unless he’s planning on harassing Louis.

It'd probably be easier just to say that everything whoknows ever wrote is gold, I adore everything she has written and I think I read at least two times everything she published on Ao3. BUT. This is the best. To me, this is her masterpiece. Not because of the marvellous slow building plot, not because of her beautiful and very entertaining writing style, not because of the hot (like HOT hot) scenes. Nope. The reason is Louis. This Louis is THE Louis. He's my favourite one. Ever. He's a little oblivious shit and he's amazing.

I Had Rather Hear My Dog Bark At A Crow by sunsetmog (122K, Bottom!Louis)

The first time Louis Tomlinson kisses him, Nick is three sheets to the wind, wearing a pirate hat, and so fucking tired of Louis being a complete and utter knobhead that he's spent the last ten minutes snapping at him.

The kiss takes him rather by surprise, all things considered.

Or: Nick and Louis don't like each other, not even a little bit, not even at all.

I read over three hundred fanfictions in the 1D fandom, and the 98% of those where Harry/Louis. And yet somehow my favourite fic ever in this fandom is a Tomlishaw. When I think of it I feel I bit disconcerted, but honestly, it only makes sense. This fic is so good. I love the plot, the hurt, the smut. Louis. Louis is perfect. He's so tense, so thick, a little shit most of the time, a little baby the other times. I love it. Read it. I don't care if you don't like the pairing. Just read it.

Who Would've Thought by whoknows  (44K, Bottom!L)

The idea doesn’t come to Louis until they’ve been at the bungalow for a couple of days. Harry has no idea that he’s going to pop a knot. He’s been living his life with the expectation that he’s going to be a beta, and Louis isn’t going to tell him otherwise.

Louis is an omega, though, and most omegas want to be filled up with a knot, fucked the way their bodies are made to be fucked, and Louis is no different. In ten years he wants to have an alpha waiting for him at home who will hold him down and fuck him exactly the way Louis wants to be fucked without worrying that they’re going to expect him to stay at home, open a joint bank account, raise a litter of babies, cook and clean and, most importantly, be submissive. For that to happen Louis needs an entirely different kind of alpha.

And so the plan is born.

This is the ABO fic. Still haven't found one as good as this. As always whoknows fics get extra points for the way Louis is characterised. Also, the way the storyline has been structured, it's so smart. (I admit the first time I read it I didn't understand what was going on until I was almost halfway in, but when I did it made so much sense. I also may have re-read it backwards since then because it's easier, but I love how it is nonetheless.) (I won't tell you to read Swim In The Smoke too, another excellent ABO by the same author, otherwise this would turn into a whoknows fic rec. But.)

My English Love Affair by isthatyoularry (19K, Bottom!L)

The thing about sleeping with a member of a famous indie band is that the inevitability of having a song written about you is most likely a hundred percent. The second thing is that in the end, nobody's supposed to find out it's about you.

The one where Harry writes a song about his English love affair and Louis sleeps with someone in White Eskimo and all he gets is a stupid song written about him.

I simply like this one. It's no epic piece of literature, but it has everything I need. I love when they are in love with one another but they don't realize it until it's too late, I love the pining, I love the hurting each other while trying to get better.

Unbelievers by isthatyoularry (136K, Bottom!H)

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

So you may have realized that I tend to prefer mostly Bottom!L. Guilty as charged. You see, I don't have a problem picturing Harry bottoming. My problem is Louis topping. I can't see that, mostly because I like Louis' character with determinate characteristics, which in B!H fics he tends not to have. But this is not the case. I love this fic. I believe it's the one I read the most times, even if Louis tops. And the reason is because Harry and Louis are so beautifully characterised, in a way that goes far beyond sexual roles. It's amazing to see how their relation slowly changes and I love the way they act to one another. Also, I'm a sucker for enemies to lover fics. So.

Let the Words Fall Out by pertunes (6K, no smut)

It’s not a thing, he decides. It’s not going to be a thing, because his ears have been ringing for months and so what if some days he feels like he’s straining to hear what even Niall’s jabbering on about.

Probably the only story under 10K I will (ever?) rec. I don't like short fics, with those you don't have the time to get fond of the characters that the end has already come. Well, unless you don't stick to a very canon or vague context and I prefer a bit more of originality If possible. Though, as always, I've got my exceptions and this is the one. I've read this story more than ones and it hurt every time. Louis centric, touches a delicate matter such as hearing loss, very nice. It has a brief sequel.

A Castle of Twigs and Thistles by flowerheaddress (187K, Kid!Fic, Major Character Death)

In 8-year-old Louis Tomlinson’s world, things were bleak and desolate. Yet, when discovering the boy swaddled to his jumper that had been watching him pass everyday from primary since his arrival to the other side of the thicket, Louis’ life takes a turn in brilliance and beauty that had never graced him until the clouds were brushed from his eyes by the tiny hands and arms littered with the bruises of a conflicted past and a wary future. Swept into imagination, Louis must learn to love and let go when life interrupts the adventures that carry both boys far from the gloom of the tiny village nestled away to the hills just out from London’s crawling city limits. In again falling to his desires of a bustling, full life and the hidden world he’d never known to be reality tangled within the brambles and weeds, Louis must take reigning place to the side of the invisible boy and his kingdom no one had dared to find where nothing is what it seems.

This HURTS. And it's the kind of hurt that gets inside you and stays forever, which, I know it doesn't sound good, but it takes a lot for a work of fiction to create such a strong and long lasting mix of devastating emotions, and in this case I think it's all worth it. I really feel more people should read this fic, not only because I need to share my pain and my amazement for this story, but also because it may be the most well written fic I have ever read in this fandom and it's so so emotionally engaging. I fell in love with its phrasing and its style in a matter of a few paragraphs, it feels like going through poetry. It's beautiful and I think it's one of those story I will never forget. (But if you are easily upset by hard themes avoid this like the plague. The main character death warning is not there just for fun. Just saying.)

[dictacontrion]

Hey there! I always wanted to ask: as a writer, which literary works have influenced you the most? :)

Hi anon!!! This ask is so much fun to think about loads of non-fiction - creative essays, memoir, scholarly stuff, news - and still do. I took a lot of literature classes, so I was reading things from different historical periods, different countries, authors with different types of experiences. I’m pretty omnivorous when it comes to reading, and thinking through what I like most in each type of reading has done a lot to influence what I want my own writing to do.

But of course, there are faves! Or, not necessarily faves, but things that have stuck with me and that I’ve thought more about and been more influenced by. When I was little, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, and thank goodness for Lucy Maud Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott and the people who gave me those books, for making the first stories I read ones where women were complex and had interiority and complexity and ambition and skill and were loved because of it, not in spite of it. There was a pretty formative Vonnegut phase, and I still admire his ability to make complex points with simply told very accessible stories, and the sort of line-blurring he does between sci-fi and not-sci-fi storytelling. David Foster Wallace’s essays and short stories have been big; his voice is very much his own, his writing is smart, his observations are incisive and funny, and his work manages to convey so many emotions simultaneously that I’m often blown away (can’t let you go without recommending “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.”) Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde, in addition to being my heroes, are phenomenal at giving form to unspoken things and pinpointing exactly that thing you felt, and somehow always knew, but didn’t have words for They’ve influenced my life as much as my writing, but their ability to articulate experience honestly and beautifully and unflinchingly is where I admire them most as writers, and I hope I’m influenced by that.

There are so many more. A whole bunch of queer theorists for how they combine the political and the aesthetic. The way Ralph Ellison uses metaphor in Invisible Man, the way Jeannette Winterson uses gender in Written on the Body, Dorothy Allison’s unwavering gaze in everything. Details in specific scenes in so, so many more books. A whole bunch of people who engage magical realism in different ways (interestingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, I think that has made it easier to write about wizards). A whole bunch of books that were influential because I didn’t like them (Jack Kerouac can jump in a fucking lake, pretentious dirtbag). And that’s not even getting into writing for TV and film, which I guarantee you has done just as much, if not more, for my sense of language and narrative.

Also, I know we don’t usually talk about these things in the same breath, but I don’t want to undersell how much other fanfiction writers have influenced me. After a very long spell of reading only nonfiction, it was @femmequixotic’s writing that reminded me that beautiful, evocative writing and the pleasure that comes from richly drawn worlds is a worthwhile end unto itself, and that’s what made me want to write fiction again at all. @firethesound‘s humor gives her stories a lightness and heart that’s made me way more interested in being a funny writer than I’d ever been before, curiouslyfic and abbycadabra makes me want to play with abstraction again, @eidheann reminds me that including my characters’ less noble reactions makes them realer and truer and shouldn’t be shied away from, @vaysh11 males me want to push my descriptive skills, blamebrampton made me want to try setting human stories against politics, @lol-zeitgeistic made me think through my world-building foundations in a whole new way, frayach and kedavranox made me want to explore darker themes, @icmezzo made me want to try writing magic front and center and making it visual and beautiful, so many people made me want to try writing sex and seeing what that could do for a story, which I’d never done before, and really, I could go on and on and on.

Truly, every time I read a great new fic, there’s something I take away. In just the last round of erised, birdsofshore’s Lumos made me want to think more about how magic would feel in the body, @thistle-verse‘s A Ghost in the Garden has me thinking about how to use tropes and how to more richly use canon, @femmequixotic and @noeeon’s Boom Clap (The Sound of My Heart) has me thinking about how to make canon richer and how to give familiar settings and characters new life, @blithelybonny‘s 1,000 Points from Gryffindor has me thinking about story structure and how to build OCs, @ravenclawsquill’s The Full Four Seasons has me thinking about when and how and why characters’ sexual identities matter and how to resolve conflicts around characters doing complicated things, A Ghost in the Garden and @lol-zeitgeistic’s Antediluvia both have me thinking about how to tell stories in fictional worlds that feel relevant to our own and how to do it without making the world seem bleak, and listen, I could go on and on and on some more, and still be talking about that one fest in this one fandom.

I still wouldn’t have have touched how These Inconvenient Fireworks made me rethink genre, or how Pull Me Under made me rethink coming out stories, or how tell me about the big bang made me rethink structure and how we write intimacy.

And I could talk about all of that and still not have touched how much the existence of fanfiction changed my writing - how accessible it makes it, how freeing it is to write in a context that transcends the boundaries that can pigeonhole published works, how it is to write in this kind of community of writers and readers, how much I love the variety, how much it’s shifted my sense of what makes writing worth doing, how much less it’s made me focus on what makes Literature Good and how much more it’s made me focus on what makes stories move people, what makes words reach into your chest and find something there that needs knowing.

So: fanfiction, dear anon. Fanfiction may be the most influential literature of all.