#i narrowed down the fandom list to ones i really want to interact with

[halohalona]

FANDOM LIST

Hellooo, so I'm just gonna pin a post listing a lot of the Fandoms I'm. If ya'll ever wanna send in asks or requests about certain fandoms, and below is my writing masterlist.

Currently Active in:

Deadpool & Wolverine

Hugh Jackman

Occasionally Active in:

Valorant

In hybernation until further notice:

The Witcher

Resident Evil

DC Comics

Batman/Batfamily

Dungeons and Dragons

Baldur's Gate 3

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S

Disney Descendants

this will be updated occasionally

Writing Masterlist!!

figured since I'm gonna find myself writing more soon might as well make a masterlist

[somewhereincairparavel]

okay. So I've finished book 1 of keeper of the lost cities for the first time. And I'm loving this keefe dude already?? Like I never thought I'd like a fictional character so quickly. All it took was like one page for me to fall for him, I am aware that keefe is one of the most loved characters in the fandom, and I can see why (correct me if I'm wrong).

Also the book is a solid 9.5/10, the only thing I was frustrated about was probably the slight info dumping about the whole blackswan thing towards the end? because it took me like 3 reads to understand the whole situation, of course, we could just narrow it down to me being slow too, lol. But I'm VERY excited to continue reading the rest. So while we're at it, I'll put in my first impressions of the characters, so I can look back on it after I've read all the books, to see how much my perception has changed of them.

Sophie- i like her, she's really mature for her age, I keep forgetting that she's like 12 lmao. But she's well written, her emotions seem very raw and natural. Of course, she may seem overpowered but, I think that's the whole point of the story, she is supposed to be overpowered, so I don't mind and i wouldn't call her a Mary sue. Overall great protagonist, my girlie deserves a break tho, she got dumped in the hospital atleast 6 times lol.

Fitz- i actually think he's cool. I liked him better in the beginning of the story tho, I feel like afterwards, the dude kinda just disappeared a little? Keefe and Sophie seemed to have more private interaction than those two, and keefe literally only came by in the middle. But yeah, I feel like he had more of a personality in the start. Keefe and Dex, in my opinion had more personality in 5 minutes than fitz did the whole book, but I wouldn't judge so quickly, it's only the first book after all, Hopefully he'd have more page time in the later books. I still like him tho, just not as much as keefe.

Dex- Yeah he is such a typical best friend, I love him. His beef w the vackers is so funny lol I was relieved when Sophie stuck with him even after she became popular tho, also, he seems to have a crush on sophie right? It's kinda obvious, but overall friendship goals 10/10. I vocally "AWW-ed" after he said "are you kidding, i can't wait to tell everyone that you're my first friend" like I need a guy bestie like him :(

Alden- honestly, my heart warmed so much with his father-like dynamic with sophie tbh. He seemed to genuinely care about her well being, but I don't want to get too attached to him tho, just in case becomes a traitor or some shit later on, you can literally never tell with the adults lol. I've read enough books to back that up. But yeah, i really like him and della, the amount of reassuring hugs he gives sophie really heals me :(, They're like sophies 2nd (well, in her case, 3rd) parents. The amount of effort and lengths Alden put to get her out of trouble is actually sweet.

Elwin- This guy is such a W. He is like an adult keefe tbh. He is probably my favorite adult so far lol.

Cassius- I'm sorry, but Mr jerk face over here reminds me SO much of Lucius Malfoy??? Like ?? I feel so bad for Keefe, like poor baby leave him alone smh. I really wanna deck his royal highness in the face tbh.

Biana- absolutely loathed her in the beginning, she gave off such bad snob vibes lol but I love her now. I like the trope of two people forced to be friends w eachother by someone actually end up becoming friends. It's rather uncommon as far as I've read, atleast.

Grady and Edaline- is it bad that i thought they were going to be evil? Yeah I have so much trust issues, it's concerning. But yeah, they're both big W's, their backstory, their temporary contemplation to reject sophies adoption, everything aligned well with their backstory. Greatly written characters.

And last but not least, the king himself, Keefe- okay, he's like added to my list of fictional crushes now lol (along with Percy Jackson, Jason grace, Steve Harrington, chat noir, Eugene fitzherbert, edmund pevensie and Ravi singh ofc). How does sophie not have a fat crush on him, like- ma'am if you don't want him, I'll take him. But jokes aside, he feels like the most authentic character out of them all, tbh. Epitome of great writing. He was inserted to the story as this random dude that sophie runs into, and becomes an og in like 5 minutes. He is like a mix of Eugene from tangled, Kristoff from Frozen and chat noir from mlb all at the same time?? I cannot wait to see more of him and his backstory, especially with his parents. I know alot of people dislike the humorous guy with depression trope since it's overused, but I like how it played out on keefe, he uses school as an escape, which is very relatable.

Also, bonus, i LOVE the world building, the light leaping and all, very creative. I cannot wait to get my hands on book 2

[pinkkop]

Day 51 - 15 Days BL Challenge (part 4)

Day 51 - Top 3 BLs that you'd never want to explain to your parents

I'd like to send a letter of complaint to whoever decided that this prompt was a top 3 (past me) because I'm really struggling with narrowing it down

Pit Babe

I already used ABO in my description for this prompt so why not keep it going with this show, because as much as the creators of the show wanted us to believe it wasn't ABO, this is drenched in omegaverse.

This show had such a crazy plot line and I do not want to explain the dynamics of this universe to my parents or really anyone outside of the fandom space. The show itself however committed to the bit and that made it easy to buy into the world of Pit Babe, the plot and the characters, which makes this a really good watch.

Utsukushii Kare (My Beautiful Man)

I find this show hard to explain and also if I do manage to explain the plot to someone, it's probably also going to sound weird to an outsider, so I'd rather not.

It is however one of my favourite Japanese shows and I'd highly recommend it to anyone within the fandom. It's not a dynamic for everyone but Japan does it soooo well in this show.

I'd highly recommend watching at least the full season 1 because a lot of context is given at the end of season 1, so don't give in to any knee-jerk un-comfortableness. Also the final confession is sooooooooo good!

You can find season 1 and 2 fansubbed here or on Viki. The full series with both seasons and a final movie definitely has my stamp of approval!

Look I made more GIFs! Based on the subbed version by lollipopsub linked above.

Don't Say No

No denying that Mame likes to write about trauma and sexual assault and she usually leans into D/s dynamics. Don't Say No is no exception to this which makes it a hard one to explain to outsiders without getting into that.

Love In the Air is my favourite MeMindY show (which could also fit on this list) but Don't Say No is not far behind.

Most of the plot points during this show are wild, like two occasions of blackmail, an abusive mother and a lot trauma, but I really like the basis for this show: childhood best friends who get together after a long struggle, but then they have to figure out how to be boyfriends with all their baggage and assumptions, both of their own but also of the people around them.

It's a battle between what they want, what they think the other person wants and what they think they should want.

Part of that is them finding their roles in the D/s relationship they both want but are struggling to communicate which I find super interesting to watch.

Also I freaking love a Uke that's more sexually experienced than the Seme. No Blushing Maiden Ukes in this show!!

Honerable mentions

If you were wondering how I'd get around the 3 show limit I set for myself, this is it! Neither are full BL shows so I think I'm good

Innocent

This is Taiwanese mini-series about a relationship between a man who's main personality is 5 years old and the man who saved him from an assault.

The show revolves around how his two personalities interact with his partner and how they find themselves in a loving secure relationship

As with most shows out of Taiwan this topic is treated seriously and not used as comedic relief. Even if this is a realistic relationship and the series doesn't revolve around an outlandish plot, I'd still think twice before trying to explain this show to just any stranger.

Sweet Curse

Finally Sweet Curse is a Strongberry short that I have such a soft spot for. It's a horror comedy romance with high heat and a wild plot.

Let's just say: A friend of Ha Jun is jealous of him and decides to summon a demon(?) to haunt Ha Jun, but something is a little wrong (or right?) with Ha Jun so he isn't scared so easily.

The short is 30 min and it's on Gagaoolala (though not all locations but a VPN can fix that easily)

The original challenge is here, part two here, part three here, and four here.

[bambi-kinos]

This is just speculation, and your own speculation is very interesting too, but I definitely think Paul McCartney is autistic. I come from a family with a lot of different presentations of autism, and he reminds me of my brother like crazy.

To me, a lot of his more successful social skills come from just being very extroverted and a people pleaser, i.e. he got really good at figuring out how to get positive responses from people in most normal social interactions. To me, the biggest tell is how he handles situations where his wants directly conflict with someone else's: He just completely shuts down and acts like he didn't hear them. That's like. 100% in line with the more socially savvy autistic people in my life (including me to some extent lol). I also don't think he's as good at reading people as you seem to think (this is just a difference in interpretation, not trying to say you're wrong!) I just think he knows what generally makes people happy, and sticks with that mostly, often to the detriment of nuance when it comes to people like, say, George.

I am hesitant to commit to Paul being possibly autistic because I am personally allistic. If I tried to essay about that then I would at best say something stupid and at worst say something bigoted. I am dating an autistic NB but that made me aware of how much I don't know about being autistic and being trans so I tend to back off from those topics. I feel relatively confident about Paul because I've had so many friends who autistic in nerd spaces like this one. Paul doesn't remind me of them. I tend to gravitate to autistic people anyway because autistic people don't mind me being blunt so I have more experience than the average person. But ultimately I just can't bring myself to commit to Paul having full blown autism because I'm not qualified to make a judgment like that. I have to commit to what I know. I trample on a lot of people just in my day to day, I don't want to add autistic fans to that list because they go through enough shit irl, I don't want to add to it on this platform. I am not able to make posts saying "autism Paul thinks this way" or "he does this because autism does that." I don't want to make hurtful pronouncements like that.

My interpretation stems from the idea that Paul is heavily self interested. I don't see much of a people pleasing element to him at all or else George wouldn't have made the "pleasantly insincere" comment about him. I think Paul is much more about camouflage and smoothing things over so he, John, and The Beatles (in that order) can have an easier go of things. The newspaper maneuver always reads as a "I'm pointedly ignoring you to make you feel bad about speaking that way to me" to me.

Otoh I'd really love more interpretations of Paul as autistic provided it was autistic fans making them. (I want authenticity not other allistic fans meaning well and getting it wrong like with the Rosie books.) Part of the mismatch here is that the gulf between allistic and autistic people is narrow but deep and communicating across it is hard.

Like in Ghostbusters fandom the character Egon Spengler has been retroactively recognized as autistic because Dan Akyrod got his autism diagnosis as an adult which then influenced the creation of the character Phoebe who is heavily autism coded. That's cool but what's happened in Ghostbusters fandom is that Egon is infantilized quite a bit which runs against his actual character in the original movie. And I have to think that it is because of the gap between allistic and autistic fans that this happens.

Tl;dr anyone can and should believe in autism Paul, my only thing is that it needs to come from an autistic fan because I don't believe in an allistic fan's ability to understand and portray it well, including myself.

[twig-tea]

2023 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post

I thought for posterity I'd post a reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2023. For me, that means anything that started in 2022 but the last episode was in 2023 is on this list, but anything that will still be airing after 31 December 2023 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2023.

A few stats:

110 discrete pieces of content (series/films)

clocking in at est. 600 hours of NEW BL/GL content only

from 9 different countries (Cambodia [1], Philippines [3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [18], Korea [19], Myanmar [1], Taiwan [6], Thailand [56], Vietnam [7])

~50% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand

~85% of my content was on YouTube [40%], GaGaOoLaLa [23%] and iQIYI [21%].

[Note that this year a lot of older GMMTV shows moved off of YouTube and onto Viki so if you're looking at these stats to decide what to pay for, this won't account for that.]

This doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows [e.g. I re-watched Love Sick, My Ride the Series, Semantic Error, ITSAY/IPYTM, Our Dating Sim at least 3 times lol, and anything with a s2 I re-watched s1 to prep, among others, watched Fujoshi Ukkari Gei no Kokuru (2019) for the first time] or non-QL [e.g. Heartstopper s2, Our Flag Means Death s2, Taskmaster s. 15 & 16, Uncanny Counter s2, One Piece s1, etc.] but does include films as well as shows, though I don't count special episodes separately (so Wedding Plan counts once, though I watched both the show and the special).

I hope you all appreciate that with this much content, and with my general brand of being unable to make decisions, I really struggled to narrow down a top 10 list. What follows is the best I could do lol

Top 20 Shows I'd Recommend From This Year:

Moonlight Chicken

Our Dating Sim

Bed Friend

The Eighth Sense

La Pluie

Sing My Crush

Tokyo in April Is...

Wedding Plan

Laws of Attraction

I Cannot Reach You

I Feel You Linger in the Air

What Did You Eat Yesterday S2

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

If It's With You

Love in Translation

Our Dining Table

My Personal Weatherman

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My School President

Be My Favorite

+10 I liked but I would only recommend with caveats:

Love Class 2

The New Employee [for the Rainbow Rice Cakes]

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

Never Let Me Go

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Unintentional Love Story

The Day I Loved You

End of the World with You

A Breeze of Love

Jack O'Frost

Bonus: Not a BL but worth calling out:

One Room Angel

Midnight Museum

Grand Guignol

The Warp Effect

Sadly, of the GLs that aired this year, I wouldn't recommend any of them. The best one was Show Me Love, which was not actually good but had very gorgeous women and a LOT of flirting.

The other huge thing that happened this year was that I stopped lurking! Thanks specifically to @lurkingshan and @bengiyo demanding everyone start talking about La Pluie, because they got me to post my first meta post. And because I started actually talking to people, I started making actual friends, and participated in organizing things like the Be My Favorite clown checkpoint for ep 11. I also disappeared a month because of life, and am still catching up on everything I intended to write this year. But it's been really rewarding finding this corner of tumblr with likeminded people who like good shows, like to think about these shows, and who are interested in talking about them in a way that's insightful and respectful.

It's been a long time since I felt comfortable enough participating actively in a fandom, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with this year: Thank you!

Full list under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it aired but may be slightly off].

Love Bill

Director Who Buys Me Dinner, The

Star Always Follow You, The

Cutie Pie 2 You

Between Us the Series (Hemp Rope)

Reason Why He Fell in Love with Me Special & S2 [international release]

New Employee, The

I Will Hit You/I Will Knock You

Individual Circumstances

609 Bedtime Story

GAPYuri / GAP the series

My School President

HitBiteLove the Series

Never Let Me Go

Moonlight Chicken

History 5: Love in the Future

Oh My God (ToDo) the Series

Warp Effect, The

End of the World, With You

My Blessing the Series

Our Winter (miniseries)

All the Liquors

Once in Memory: Let Me Be Yours

Shoulder to Cry On, A

Jack O'Frost

Our Dating Sim

Midnight Museum

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend

My Colleague at BL Shop might be My Meant-to-Be

Unintentional Love Story

Chains of Heart

Bed Friend the series

Bad Brother the Series

Stormy Honeymoon

Eighth Sense, the

Bad Brother the Series

Future Series

Tin Tam Jai the series

Crush on You

House of Stars the Series

Happy Merry Ending

Boss and a Babe, A

Pastsenger the Series

Love Mate

Love Syndrome the Series

Promise the Series, The

Day I Loved You, The

Our Dining Table (Bokura no Shokutaku)

Our Skyy 2

My Story the Series

Starstruck

Love Tractor

Naked Dining

Luminous Solution, The

Omai Series / Is My Roommate A Foreigner

Stupid Genius

Step By Step

La Pluie the series

Tie the Not

Sing My Crush / Follow the Wind

Tokyo in April Is .../ Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Senior Love Me?

Be My Favorite

Show Me Love

Dinosaur Love

Low Frequency

Stay Still

Stay By My Side

Jun & Jun

Wedding Plan the Series

Laws of Attraction, the

Love Class s2

Minato's Laundromat S2

Hidden Agenda

Bon Appetit

Why RU the Series [Korean adaptation]

Be Mine Superstar

Star, The Season 2

Love In Translation

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My Personal Weatherman

Bump Up Business

Naughty Babe Series

Only Friends

Grand Guignol

Dangerous Romance

If It's With You / Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite Mo

Y Journey: Stay Like a Local

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Venus in the Sky

Kiseki: Dear to Me

I Cannot Reach You

You Are Mine

Breeze of Love / Weather Forecast of Love

Mr. Cinderella 2

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

One Room Angel

Marry My Dead Body

Lucky My Love the Series

Pure Vanilla: Recipe for Romance

Absolute Zero

Memories, The

My Dear Gangster Oppa

Shadow

What Did You Eat Yesterday? S2

Middleman Love

Beyond the Star

Bake Me Please

You and My Stars

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

[distant-screaming]

😊 ✅ 🤔 ⛔️

hello hello hi archer! thank you for the ask :3 I yapped a lot but it's about writing it's fine shhh

😊 say something nice about your writing

I think I'm good at writing emotions! I've received a lot of feedback saying so, and when I read my own work I do feel that :)

✅ list one or two favorite lines you've written and explain why they're your favorite

my children? you want me to pick favorite children??? no. say it isn't so. how could you. I caaaan't. I'll narrow it down, at least - I'll pick two of my faves from my last ten posted fics!

'His insides are made of rust and long forgotten corners of the forest and the blazing sun, and he has nothing to offer except fragile wishes and cold midnight wind and callused hands and a hunger for any scrap of affection he is offered.'

- from my thatsorn fic! I love this one because I kind of went off with the imagery 👀!! I'm pretty proud of it, and I also think it fits That's character.

'“Y-” Chie tries, but it gets tangled between a sob and an unspoken rage and anger and guilt and sadness so sharp it feels like she might choke, and Yukiko’s eyes don’t look quite human anymore, pupils dilating into something that looks like stars, and it’s not enough, there’s not enough time and there’s too much and Chie doesn’t know what to do so she squeezes her eyes shut again and just sobs and tries to swallow and Yukiko’s hand is - warm, suddenly, and -'

'Yukiko’s hand is cold, but the absence of it makes Chie’s hand feel numb.'

- from my yukichie fic! okay I cheated and put two - I really really like the first one but it's kind of similar to the thatsorn one so a bonus quote! the former I like because it shows Chie's panic really nicely? there's this sense of impending doom in that section of the fic and I really like how it turned out! the second quote, I love because I'm a SUCKER for metaphors and yukichie are fire/ice but I kind of invert it for this fic and I just think it's a banger line, mostly. woe my writing be upon ye 🎀

🤔 why do you write fic?

that's. a really interesting question actually. I... don't really have an answer! maybe when I started out it was because I wanted to interact with, contribute to fandom and this was the way I thought would be the best fit for me? now though, I write simply because I love it! I adore writing about my blorbos and getting to share my interpretation of them means the world to me. and, like, the feedback I get every time is so overwhelmingly supportive it has literally single handedly removed my imposter syndrome when writing. so yeah, the answer is because I like writing, I like blorbos and I like peoples' reactions to my work!

⛔ what's something you try to avoid in your work?

writing that feels like a step by step instruction manual rather than a story! my biggest goal with my fics is always to make my readers Feel something, so if there's a section that's like 'he got up. he walked over there. he sat down. he drank coffee' it would be like, the whole opposite vibe of what I'm trying to go for skfkdjfj. some people might have noticed, but maybe because of this some of my fics tend to be sparse on like, physical descriptions!

[uriekukistan]

hello hello!! Here with some asks for you ^^ !!

What is your favorite thing about Megumi? Like a trait or maybe a certain thing he does :)

Who were you rooting for while Watching Death Note? :D I see a lot of people that say they were rooting for both L and Light so I'm curious!

What is your favorite thing about writing?

What are some musical artists you listen to! :D ( list as many as you want!)

Did you know that you're a great fic writer? Cuz you are!! >:3 ( I feel like I tell you this almost every time I interact with you but you actually are like my favorite itafushi writer) (I'M SO HYPED FOR SUMMER LOVIN' CHAPTER 3, WHENEVER YOU RELEASE IT!!)

What is the fandom you're most active in besides JJK? :)

How do you describe your fashion sense? :3

I'll probably ask more another time!! If you don't want to answer some of these you don't have to! Answer the ones you want :)

Don't forget to take care of yourself!! <3 Take breaks and just breathe ^^

<3!

hiii thank u sm for the asks :3 hope youre doing well !!

1 - hmmm this was hard to narrow down so i'll talk abt a specific scene that's been on my mind. okay ig honestly the detention center is Always on my mind because it's the first time we get a really good look at megumi's character and what he values. but mostly i was thinking abt the part where megumi takes the name tag from the guy he was so adamant about not saving for his mom. i don't think he changed his mind, but to me, it just shows how much he cares about his friends. like i think when he originally took it, it was so he could give it to yuuji so he could give it to the guy's mom, but then when he thought yuuji was dead, he delivered it as a way to pay respect dkfgjhd idk current top megumi moment

2 - nowadays when i rewatch it im team near & mello actually🤞 and pretty anti-light, but i think the first time i watched it, i was so wrapped up in the back & forth between light & l that i probably did root for both this was like 10 years ago tho so i dont remember fs 😭

3 - ooh i think like. in terms of writing fanfic its like when i was a kid & played w dolls like it gives me the same type of feeling, but also i've always been the type to use imagination as escapism, so being able to bring the things in my head "to life" is really satisfying as well

4 - kfgdjdkg theres so many im like always listening to something different. recently i started listening to this artist called juliet ivy, her songs are all super relatable and have a rlly whimsical sound too. another artist i'll always promote is dream, ivory, i've been a fan for a while. i've also been into deftones recently. generally im more the type to listen to random songs rather than specific artists

5 - THANK UUU im always a bit hard on myself so its nice to hear that (new summer lovin' chap july 10! i think)

6 - tokyo ghoul probably? i used to be suuuuper active but im more passive w it rn...i need to do a reread of the manga soon (<- been saying this since my jjk era started sorry to my tokyo ghoul oomfs i love u all)

7 - wait this is so hard...ig like misa amane if she was on tumblr in 2016?

thank you againn for the asks <3

[icannotreadcursive]

I want you all to know that the way I find fic to read is absolutely bonkers.

I’ve seen a few posts recently (including a poll or two) about fic searching strategies and habits on Ao3) so I’m thinking about this, and I just feel like sharing.

So, I used to just scroll through fandom tags, search by character or ship like a halfway sane person.

But then, for the sake of some personal research I went on a kick of searching by additional tags--things like Hanahaki, Possession, Mermaid AU--to see distributions of what kind of fics and fandoms different tropes and kinds of stories were common in.  It was very interesting.  I have done absolutely nothing with this research other than internalize it into my understanding of How Fandom Interacts With Stuff.  It wasn’t even research related to the Metatext Guide.  I’m just Like This.

This is a pretty long explanation, so buckle up and continue under the readmore if you want a glimpse into how weirdly my brain works.

Anyway, I have discovered that searching by tag both does a better job of providing fics that scratch an itch for a certain vibe (which is more often what I’m hunting for than anything about particular characters) and usually provides results that, by filtering, I can narrow down to a much shorter list to actually hunt through.  (I find it frustrating and overwhelming to have like 20+ pages of results to go through for a given ship or something.  It’s partly choice paralysis but mostly frustration that so many of those results will be things I’m not interested in and the need to comb through them by hand when I can’t readily narrow the filters further and the chances of missing something I really would like in between all the chaff, or from later pages of results because I’ve just given up.)

So what I do is pick a tag, search it, then click on it in the tagblock of whatever fic shows up in my initial search.  This takes me to a results page of all the fics tagged with that tag, its variations, and any tags that stack under it.

This is usually a lot of results, but that’s okay.  Now we filter like we’re goddamn sea sponges.

Most of the filtering I do at this point is Excluding.  I will set the language (usually to English because that is my first language), set a length range depending on how I’m feeling, set a recent date rage if this is a tag I’ve looked at before and I don’t wanna reread, etc.  But mostly it’s going down the Exclude section of filters, checking the boxes for fandoms I’m not interested in, ships I don’t like, the “Major Character Death” warning because I’m rarely here for that, “Reader” and “You” under Character because I personally cannot stand reader-insert fic, tags I’m not into, etc--then hit apply filters to reload the refined results, and repeat this process until the top 10 tags shown for every section in the filters is something I’m fine with.

At this point, I copy the URL from my search page and open another copy of it in another tab, Include something--usually a category (like all the m/f fics) or an additional tag (all the Hurt/Comfort)--and then do the whole Exclusion process again with that subset of results.  Doing that, i can almost always whittle down to less than two pages of results to actually comb through--opening fics that look promising as I go.  Once I’ve done that, I close the second search tab, Exclude the secondary search’s Included tag from my main search, then do all that again with a different Included tag’s subset of results.

Yes, the multiple rounds of filtering takes forever.  Yes, I am aware this is a bizarre way to hunt for fics--the fact that it’s such a pain to do is a constant reminder that no one expected anybody to use the search and filter system like this.

I’m dyslexic, though.  The round after round of filtering isn’t as draining on me as sitting there, reading through page after page of summaries and tagblocks--especially because I find the tagblocks difficult to parse, even with a dyslexia friendly siteskin on that does help.  I don’t necessarily trust myself to catch a tag I don’t like; it’s more reliable for me to filter the living daylights out of things.  (This is also part of why I simply do not read fics without summaries.)

If I’m in, say, a Mistaken Identity or Mutual Pining kinda mood, it usually doesn’t matter to me if that takes the form of Deep Space 9 or Sailor Moon--or, hell, with some tags, especially less common ones, I’ll happily read fics for fandoms I’m not even in, which can be a cool way to expand my horizons.

And, developing this method of hunting  fic has given me a way to narrow down and section out overwhelming numbers of results when I do want to search by fandom, ship, or character.  Like when I recently dove into Trigun fic for the first time.

So yeah, that’s how I search Ao3, in case anyone was wondering.

[tiggymalvern]

Tag Game: Fandom Edition

tagged by @kronette. Thanks for thinking of me :-) Current Hyperfixation: Burn Notice Previous Hyperfixation: Hannibal Top 5 Ships of All Time: Ouch, that's hard to narrow down. Sam Axe/Michael Westen +/- Fiona Glenanne, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Vash the Stampede/Nicholas D Wolfwood (Trigun), Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio (Due South), El Mariachi/Sheldon Jeffrey Sands (Once Upon a Time in Mexico). Top 5 Ships at the Moment: The first three from the above list. I'm also reading some Aziraphale/Crowley and Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling, because a lot of my friends are writing them. Top 5 Fandoms of All Time: Hannibal, Trigun, Burn Notice (too hard to be objective about that one right now), Blake's 7, Star Trek (esp DS9 but others too). Favorite Female Character of All Time: Aeryn Sun (Farscape), Sarah Connor (Terminator), Fiona Glenanne (Burn Notice). There's no way to choose, but it's obvious what they all have in common. Favorite Minor Character of All Time: Elim Garak or Q (DS9 and TNG). It's also obvious what they both have in common :-) A Rarepair that you love: Dorian Red Gloria/Klaus von dem Eberbach (From Eroica with Love). There is no more extreme example of a sunny, OTT extrovert and a grump pairing! An OT3+ that you love: Sam Axe/Fiona Glenanne/Michael Westen (Burn Notice) Favorite Movie: People can choose? How? Favorite TV Series: The hyper-fixation of the moment, whatever that may be. Favorite Book: Historically over too many decades, Lord of the Rings, but it's a long time now since I reread it. As an adult, based on how often I go back to it and rec it to other people, World War Z by Max Brooks. First Site you Ever Read Fanfiction on: The yahoo groups Blake's 7 mailing list and its archive. Where You Find Most of your Fanfiction Today: All. Not Most. A03. Favorite Social Media Site for Fandom: Tumblr's the only place I go for active fandom. There's really no fandom left on Dreamwidth, it's where I interact more directly with people I've known for years. Tagging @dreamerinsilico @zigzag-wanderer and @marielle-heller if you have spoons and want to play.

[thunder-the-ranger-wolf]

📓 For whichever fandom you like.

hey pal! I'll go with warcats just cos. If there's something else on my blog that caught your eye, let me know and I'll find something for it.

Answering asks from this prompt

Here's a full list of my warcats WIPs that I will hopefully update as I write more.

Clouded Hearts - aka Fireheart Raises Cloudtail solo (for the most part) v1

“What, did someone say something," Cinderpaw asked sharply, dragging Fireheart from his anxious thoughts.

“Nothing I’ve heard. But they look at him weirdly. Like he’s a mouse in their paws or a scrap of moss stuck to their fur. Like he’s not just a kitten like any other.”

“Does Cloudkit notice these looks?”

“Not that I know of," Fireheart offered with a shake of his head.

Granted, he’s been too busy trying to act like everything is normal and reminding other cats to do the same to bother with the dirty looks that Darkstripe gave him. Even if Longtail’s less certain ones were thought-provoking. Fireheart wasn’t sure what was up with that cat, but he didn’t have time for it. Too many cats wanted to talk to him about his training and Ravenpaw. Like they’d cared at all before Fireheart shoved their noses in it.

“So let the queens handle it," Cinderpaw reasoned, jerking her mentor back to awareness. “They know what to look for and will claw any cat out to hurt their kittens, just you watch.”

“They’re teaching me how to be like them, so I might have more to worry about soon.”

“Fair enough," Cinderpaw snickered.

“I just don’t want him to feel like I did when I first joined the Clan. He’s literally a newborn kitten, he doesn’t deserve that.”

“Did you," Cinderpaw wondered, eyes narrowed.

“What?” “

Did you deserve what everyone said about you? How they all treat you, even now? What happened to Ravenpaw almost happened to you, if we heard right the other day.”

Fireheart was speechless. This was what Frostfur and Goldenflower said, nearly the exact same words.

“Why wouldn’t I," the ginger tom asked his apprentice.

“Sure, Tigerclaw treated us like dirt on his paws, but that’s how Clan cats are. I came in well aware of my status as an outsider and that the Clans don’t interact with them lightly.

"I made myself fit where I otherwise wouldn’t have a space. I chose to be here and face all that. Cloud doesn’t get a choice. My sister needed him somewhere safe and easily reached. He hasn’t done anything to earn their ire and scorn.”

“But did you?!" Cinderpaw burst out, frustrated. “What did you do to the cats we live with that they’re so determined to hate you for living your life?”

“Cinder," Fireheart chuckled sadly. “I wasn’t raised here. I didn’t grow up in the ThunderClan nursery like you did. The queens have only known me for the past moon at least.

"Clan cats think they’re better than cats who aren’t like them. Most look down on cats who live with humans, seeing them as soft because they don’t have to hunt for their food or fight for their territory. Same with cats passing through the forest and the town.

"Anyone who’s not a Clan cat gets treated just like I do. And ThunderClan will never let me, or Cloud, forget that we weren’t born here.”

“But that’s absurd," someone snarled from behind them both.

Fireheart shot to his paws and lunged forward, crouching between Cinderpaw and the newcomer.

Yellowfang stood with Brackenpaw and Swiftpaw on either side of her. She carried a drowsy Snowpaw on her back and a squirming Cloudkit in her mouth. Brackenpaw had been the one to object.

Yellowfang placed the kit at her paws and spoke.

“Feel any better about those exercises, kit?" she rasped.

“Yes, actually," Cinderpaw meowed, surprised. “Having to show them to Fireheart really helped, and so did talking.”

“Some heavy chatter you two engage in," Swiftpaw mewed nervously.

“Fireheart has a heavy life," Cinderpaw grumbled. “Maybe talk to your mentor about lightening his load?”

“They don’t have to-.”

“No, she’s right," Swiftpaw said. “When it’s all laid out like that, it doesn’t make sense for you or Cloud to be treated like you are. You were both kittens when you came here.

"I know as we get older we learn some crouches and stories from the elders, but not every kit gets that.

"It’s not fair that Longtail and Darkstripe got that and talked badly about you just because you didn’t.”

“Your mother’ll be proud of you, kit," Yellowfang chuckled. “Smart and cautious.”

“Thank you," Swiftpaw chirped, surprised yet pleased.

“I… I’ll think on what you all have said," Fireheart mumbled, desperate to change the subject.

[raisans-art]

Hiii what's your favorite au you've worked on? In any fandom?

yOU

YOU WHO SIT WITH ME IN VC WITH ME CURRENTLY

FUCK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PITS OF HELL AND BEYOND.

i love you but why

why would you do this.

Fuckin. Read under the cut if you want the absolute nightmare of a post this is.

So to the rest of you who did not get the displeasure of having to sit in call with me for an hour as I agonized o-so painfully over having to choose between children, I will explain that THIS WAS SO HARD.

THIS.

H U R T.

This is gonna be a long post.

So I narrowed my AUs down to 7, which I will list now:

I Was Looking for Someone, One Mountain of a Molehill, Test Tube Zedaph AU, The Human Illusion AU, Softwreck Series, Veernumbra AU, and Excavated God AU.

I was able to narrow further to AUs that I adore with my entire being and I will tell you WHY I love these AUs with my entire being. In no particular order because I physically cannot pick favourites.

I Was Looking For Someone: I love this au. I love this fic. I love it so much it is my child. I will finish it one day. I swear to god. I love writing the language barrier and having Ghost learn who and what he is and where his place is and just loving Someone so much that he remembers them post-mortem and searches so hard to find them. The consequences of being a zombie. The truth that no matter how you've changed and how the world has changed and what you've had to do to survive you will always find your home again and home will always find you under the callouses you've developed. I want to finish that. I love that. I love I Was Looking for Someone. And from how many comments and kudos and hits it has, you all do too.

Test Tube Zedaph AU: Yeah, it got really stressful. Especially at the end. The scheduling I did caused interest to dip significantly in between weeks and that was also discouraging. But I got stressed because I loved working on it and I loved the interaction. It was, for as much as I liked working on Fairly Odd Phil, so much better than it because I just had an all-around better experience crafting TTZAU and seeing people get happy and excited over it. I loved watching in real time as I make a post and people instantly come into the ask box asking follow-up questions. I love my funky little science experiment and his two dads. I love the issues and trauma that arise from that living condition and getting out and learning to be okay and being happy outside of those conditions. The wonders of learning about the world for the first time. The wonder of holding dirt in your hands as you stare at a sunset.

The Human Illusion AU: While you are my newborn, the youngest of the family I still love you all the same. I love the story I have planned. I love all the ways I'm telling that story. It's the first story that I'm posting publicly that I actually have a concept of shot comp and leading the eye and all these filming and animation-making techniques that I'm applying to these comics to make them easier to read and follow. I love the practice. And I love the story. You don't know the story and I love that too. I love showing you this story. I love posting chapter by interlude by chapter. I love my silly little train men. I love my bear cub story. I love making the hisuian language and adding language barriers after language barriers to put you guys in Ingo and Emmet's shoes so you just understand what they understand which is nothing. And I love trying to teach you all hisuian, one word a day.

Veernumbra AU: So, Veernumbra AU in this is special, as some might have a concept of. Veernumbra isn't one specific au, it's a personalized stock au. The rest of the world has its "Florest and Tattoo Artist" and "Coffee Shop" and "Royalty" aus. I have Veernumbra. Nearly every fandom I've been in since its conception has had a Veernumbra AU. I've had Veernumbra AU for what has to have been over 5 years. It'll be 6 years old this year. I have developed this world and concept so much over the years. It means so much to me. It's entirely my own. Which like kinda makes it hard to introduce as an au to a new audience because there's no basis for anyone to go off of. But I also kinda don't care. I love it. It's my baby. It's my oldest, my wisest, my sweetheart to the ends of the earth. I will never not love the time and care I've put into Veernumbra.

Excavated God AU: Dude I loved this story so much I made it an original story that I'm making a youtube series for.

[angelasscribbles]

Secrets Chapter 4: Threats

Series: Secrets

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake, Leo x Madeline

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: mature themes

Word Count: 1,383

A/N: I really think this one will be wrapped up with chapter 6, which is already half written. (Chapter 5 is done pending proofing and will be up later today or tomorrow).

My other stuff: Master List.

Another interminable ball. He used to hate them. Now, he looked forward to watching her. He didn’t care where he was, as long as she was there.

He’d spent the entirety of this one trying to discern who her lover was. Watching her was his job, no one batted an eye at where his attention was focused. Not that anyone paid any attention to what he did or even acknowledged the existence of any of the guards scattered around the room. They were invisible. He didn’t mind. It made it easier to do his job. He didn’t want to interact with most of the people in the room anyway.

Leo was an exception. Liam was an exception. They were practically family. There were a few other members of the aristocracy that he found tolerable, barely.

He had mixed feelings about Leo now. Leo was married to Riley, but not because he wanted to be. Riley would have never even come into his life if it hadn’t been for the arranged marriage, so he couldn’t resent Leo for it. He was fairly certain they hadn’t even slept together, at least not in a long while. She had her own room, she never went to his, he never came to hers, and he certainly wasn’t who she was sneaking out to meet on a regular basis.

But who was?

He watched her interactions with every man she came into contact with, hoping for clues.

He watched as Liam spun her around the room. She’d already danced with Leo, Constantine, Maxwell, Rashad, Tariq and few members of the French delegation this ball was in honor of. Nothing in her demeanor had betrayed anything beyond polite, sometimes bored, interest in any of them. He didn’t know how her feet didn’t hurt. Maybe she’d want him to rub them later, they must hurt, that was a lot of dancing. In heels. Strappy, shimmery, heels. Heels that encased her perfectly pedicured toes, heels that showcased her toned and tanned legs. Legs that flashed and peeked from the slit in her floor length gown as she twirled.

And that dress. That dress hugged every curve perfectly, accentuating her round, firm ass, and left her back bare. His fingers twitched as his eyes tracked up her back; he could practically feel the perfect buttery softness of her skin under his hands.

He was pulled out of his fantasies as another entitled noble approached her.

“Mind if I cut in?”

“Actually, I do.” Liam said, his annoyance barely concealed, “Surely you can wait for the next waltz.”

The man stiffened but smiled, a fake, insincere smile, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

Liam pulled her back into his arms as the man walked away, his hand sliding down her lower back and stopping a fraction of an inch on this side of propriety.

Drake’s eyes narrowed as he watched them.

Liam whispered something in her ear. Her laugh was real. The smile the spread across Liam’s face at her laughter was real too.

Liam was a funny guy, polite, respectful. It might mean nothing. Everyone liked him. He was likable. How likable?

The dance ended and the other man was back to claim her before she had a chance to leave the floor. She was definitely going to need a foot rub after this. She gave Liam a regretful smile as she let herself be led back onto the floor.

“Neville Vancouer, pleased to make your acquaintance.” He introduced himself.

“Riley Rys.”

“I know who you are,” He told her as he guided her around the dance floor, “everyone knows who you are.”

He made pointless small talk as her eyes roamed the ballroom. She caught Drake’s eye, and a genuine smile curved her lips up.

Drake’s insides warmed.

He watched as her smile was replaced with a frown. He moved closer, trying to discern what the problem was.

“It’s not a secret that your husband is otherwise…entertained tonight. Perhaps I could offer you similar diversions?” Neville offered.

“I’m not sure what you’re insinuating but I’m faithful to my husband.” Riley lied.

“You don’t know what you’re missing.” He said as he pulled her body tight against his. Too tight.

She put her hands on his chest as she tried to push away, “Let go!”

Liam appeared at her side, “I believe the lady asked you to let go.”

Neville released his grip and took a step back, hands up, “I promise, I meant no-“

Neville suddenly disappeared as he was jerked backwards away from her. She jumped, startled. Liam’s arm went around her, “Are you ok?”

She nodded as her eyes tracked Neville being drug unceremoniously from the ballroom by Drake.

Out in the hallway, Neville found himself pressed up against a wall, Drake’s forearm digging into his chest, pinning him to it.

“Let…go….of…..me!” Neville gaped as he tried to twist out of the bigger man’s grasp.

“Not until we get one thing clear.” Drake’s voice held a steely edge Neville had never heard before.

“What?”

“No means no, dickweed. And that woman is going to be your queen, have some fucking respect!”

“I….meant….no disrespect! I just…”

Drake leaned in, pressing Neville harder into the wall, making it harder for him to breath, “I don’t care what you meant. You don’t touch her again. Do you understand? In fact, you don’t so much as talk to her again, or I will make sure they never find your body! Do you understand?”

Neville nodded and Drake stepped away, releasing him to slide down the wall, gasping for air.

Drake turned on his heel, leaving the nobleman on the ground, and returned to the ballroom. His eyes found Riley quickly. She was seated at a table chatting with several ladies of the court as she twirled a champagne flute between her fingers. He caught her eye, and she gave him a brief smile and nod.

His eyes scanned the room for Liam and found him dancing with the wife of the French ambassador. Because he danced with everyone at these events. It was the whole point.

He settled back against the wall of the ballroom, keeping watch from a distance.

Two hours later, Drake handed responsibility for the princess over to the next shift. He was technically off duty, but he had no desire to leave the ballroom until she did. He ordered a whiskey at the bar and took a seat next to Liam, “Tired of dancing?”

“Yes!” He laughed, “You’re lucky you never have to do it.”

“Hm.” Drake sipped his drink thinking about just how much he’d like to wrap his arms around one particular dance partner.

Liam’s thoughts were centered on the same woman. If he could dance with her all night, he’d do it, but protocol demanded he mingle and network, and propriety dictated that he never seem too interested in his brother’s wife. Out loud he said, “So, where have you been lately? We missed you at the poker game.”

“Just been a little busier than usual. Dealing with some…stuff. Nothing to worry about. I’ll take your money next week.” He didn’t mention that the stuff he was dealing with was his own obsession with his charge.

Drake paused, drink halfway to his lips as he spotted something over the rim of his glass that made his blood boil. Riley, on the other side of the ballroom, being manhandled by Neville, again. Leo was nowhere to be found. Fucking useless as always.  

Liam’s eyes followed Drake’s. Both men were on their feet, but her current guard had it handled.

“Fucker.” Drake muttered under his breath.

“I’ll make sure he’s not on the guest list for any more palace events.” Liam’s jaw ticked.

“That’s good.” But it wasn’t just palace events that were at issue, was it? Neville Vancouer was everywhere in Cordonian society. Liam couldn’t ban him from everything.

Liam’s body shifted as he changed the subject, not wanting to seem too interested in his sister in law, “You hungry? Want to go raid the kitchens with me?”

“No thanks. I have something I need to take care of. Another time?” He threw the rest of his drink back and slammed the glass down on the bar.

“Sure.” Liam responded as he watched Drake follow Neville out of the ballroom.

[fizzyxcustard]

Betrayal (6)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Masterlist of fan fiction

Fandom: Crossover of Spooks and Pilgrimage (Modern AU)

Pairings: Lucas North x OC/Raymond de Merville x OC

Warnings: Love triangle. Angst. Language. Sexual references/language. Cheating.

Summary: Amy Holland is Lucas North’s girlfriend of six months. Amy is aware of his job as an MI-5 agent and supports him. However, Lucas’ cousin, Raymond de Merville, has always loved Amy and uses their one night stand together as leverage for something more.

Comments/Notes: If you wish to be tagged in any of my tag lists for fics or characters, please let me know, and stipulate what you want to be tagged in. I’m gradually removing people from my tag lists who do not interact.

I don’t normally write about cheating as it’s just not something I particularly feel comfortable with, but I really wanted to write something with these two in this situation, so I hope that this came out well.

The character of Amy Holland is from all of my Spooks fics with Lucas.

It was a grief. A loss. The death of relationships. And now picking up the pieces and moving on. Lucas couldn't move as he looked up at the ceiling in his kitchen, downing another lager. How had it come to this point? How could he have let things slide knowing that there was something between Raymond and Amy?

Lucas thought on the times that he'd walk into a room and their whispering would stop. He thought on the gaze that he would catch from the corner of his eye, Raymond's gaze, focused on Amy. Of all the women in the world that Raymond could have, and he had to have her.

The woman that, for once, Lucas could actually envision a happy future with. She was detached from his work, so he could come home to her and completely shut off from surveillance and undercover operations. He could be open, be himself, and just love her.

The door knocked.

Lucas dragged himself away from the counter and stumbled to the door, opening it to see his cousin standing there. The cousin who everyone said he resembled. Of course not in personality. Lucas detested Raymond now; the sly, manipulative bastard.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Lucas growled. "Not shagging Amy tonight?"

"Unfortunately not," Raymond replied.

Lucas took a swing at his cousin, his blood boiling despite it being affected by the alcohol in his system.

"Oh, for fuck sake," Raymond sighed, and grabbed Lucas, whom he could see quite plainly was inebriated.

Raymond dragged Lucas inside the flat and kicked the door shut, his hands tight on Lucas' shirt collar. "Look! Both of you blame me completely for all of this; I wasn't forceful with her."

"Get off me, you fucking..."

"No, listen!" Raymond shouted, shaking Lucas. "You and Amy have both put me as the main villain in all this."

Lucas shook his head and smirked. "You are an arsehole, you know that, Ray? I know the kind of man you are. I had something you wanted, and you had to do everything in your power to take that away from me. Amy would never have done this completely by herself. You lured her in."

"Believe me, mate. It didn't take a lot of luring."

"Don't you dare speak bad of her," Lucas hissed.

Raymond gradually let go of Lucas and watched him topple backwards and regain his balance at the counter. "Even when she's done all of this, you still see light shining out of her arse?"

"She did the decent thing, Ray. She didn't even argue or deny what happened when you told me. All you do is try and cover your tracks and make things out to sound worse than they are so you can look good."

Raymond cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Since when in this situation have I denied anything? I was the one who told you what went on between us. But you're seeing this as all me and I'm not standing for that, Lucas."

Lucas choked and began to weep. "Why? Why did you have to do it with her? She's....perfect."

With a sigh, Raymond placed his hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Because I see in her what you do, mate. I can't deny that I love her, too."

Lucas looked up at his cousin with watery eyes, the alcohol still coursing in his system. "I thought blood was supposed to be thicker than water?"

***

Nearly two weeks after Amy had last seen Lucas, she received a text from him. She stared at the message, having to complete a double take at his name 'Lucas North' on her screen.

I've missed you. Can we meet up and talk?

What was there to say now? Despite Amy loving Lucas, she knew that being in a relationship with him after everything that had happened was wrong. She didn't deserve him. That was even if he wanted to talk about their future.

An hour later and Lucas appeared at her door, after she agreed to meet with him. Both of them looked at each other sadly and sighed. Everything lost. A life, a future, a love.

The conversation was stilted at first. Amy asked him if he wanted a drink. Then she asked how work was.

"I spoke with Ray a couple of days ago," Lucas announced.

"Oh?" Amy asked, taking a deep breath in. "What happened?"

"He reminded me that not everything was his fault, and how he's in love with you, too."

Amy looked up at the ceiling and swallowed over a hard lump that was lodged in her throat. "I can't...I just.....why?"

"Why what?" Lucas asked, sitting at her dining room table while she remained stood by the sink.

"Both of you loving me...why? I don't get it. I could never understand you wanting to be with me, but Raymond as well? Does my type attracting you run in your family or something?"

"Then answer me one question. What do you see in him?" Lucas asked. Did he really want to know the answer? A pang of regret hit him as the words fell off his tongue.

Amy kept her arms folded across her chest and stared into the communal garden for a second that she shared with other tenants of her maisonette block. If only she could trade places with the tabby cat that was stalking a sparrow up the path. She was sure that they didn't have relationship problems and could probably make a better go at any kind of relationship with a man than she had.

"I see you," Amy replied. Then she looked at Lucas, and on instinct began to approach him. "You don't see how alike you two are. I see a dark version of you whenever I look at him. He's uninhibited, possessive, and I don't know...that kind of attracted me. But his eyes, his nose, even his voice.....it's all yours."

"That's the version of me you want?" Lucas asked, quite puzzled and taken aback by the response.

"Raymond doesn't hold back. He's raw."

"You want that?"

"I don't know what I want," Amy snapped. "It's like you're the light and he's the dark. If anything, I slept with Raymond because he's so much like you. It was never about your lack or difference to him; it was because I wanted more of you."

Lucas got up from his seat and stepped towards Amy, and without thinking rationally, he wound his arm around her waist.

Amy sighed and nestled to his chest, then began to sob.

***

Follow Forever tag list: @lathalea @i-did-not-mean-to @linasofia @middleearthpixie @knitastically @luna-xial @meganlpie @asgardianhobbit98 @guardianofrivendell @spidergirla5 @sunflwrnsunnieshine (I'm gradually removing people who do not interact so if you see that your name has disappeared, then that is why)

[spectral-honey]

tbh it depends a bit on what kind of thing you want from batman i think? bc batman media varies wildly in characterization and themes so all the batman related media will vary wildly in genre, also if you mean the batman fandom as in bruce wayne-centric, batman & Gotham vigilantes and/or batfam centric, batman rogues-centric, or batman-working-with-other superheros centric that can change where you might want to start as well. hopefully thats not overwhelming, i just think seeing what youre most interested in can help narrow down which media is best to start with. i’ll recommend the stuff ive seen/read tho to give ideas and because my taste is superior (lie)

i unfortunately haven't read many comics because it turns out i actually don't enjoy the way DC does comics most of the time, so the only one i can recommend since i HAVE actually read it is the Red Robin run, which is Tim Drake centric. again i dont prefer DC comics so i have kind of mid feelings about it, but if you want to interact with the batfam fandom i think its where a lot of the fandom draws from for Tim Drake and his relationship to the other bats.

(honestly i consume DC comics mostly through the form of other people posting specific good comic panels to the internet or posts reviewing comics. sometimes also just literally reading character or comic wiki pages. the panda redd on tiktok & youtube does funny skits based on real events/characters from the comics and he actually likes the comics so its way more fun to watch his content where hes actually enthusiastic about it for me)

i also did see someone already recommended the wayne family adventures webcomic which i have read and it is a very fun, if fairly simplistic comic. its vibe is very slice of life and good batfam feels which is a criminally neglected part of batman content so its understandably popular

for movies the robert pattinson batman was genuinely really really good, i think its very good batman characterization and the riddler in the movie is a cool, more deadly spin on him than other iterations. the christian bale movies are also not bad, but they are definitely action movie first batman characterization second. the villains in those movies are also pretty cool but i do think ras al ghul’s characterization sucks as does batman’s. bane, joker, two face and scarecrow are pretty interesting though.

as for other media i REALLY like the batman unburied podcast, which has a really good morally-gray riddler and also has some focus on barbara gordon in addition to a really well characterized batman. posion ivy also appears in it and i really like her backstory in this, and hugo strange gets a fun little moment too. also the casting list for this kind of makes me go insane, they have winston duke (who plated m’baku in black panther) voicing batman and emmy raver-lampman (who played allison in umbrella academy) as poison ivy and just. chefs kiss j’adore imagining their actors in these roles. anyway highly recommend this one possibly-probably my fav batman media

also ive been watching the OG teen titans and it is fun and good for getting a feel for dick grayson’s robin outside of batmans direct influence, and since it isnt centered around him specifically you also get some of the other titans general story too. the under the red hood animated movie is good and gets you a major part of jason todd’s story as its about his turning point into the red hood.

the TV show gotham is VERY much trashy drama TV but if youre into that and want batman-related content it can be fun. i never watched past the second season since it wasnt out when i was into it, but i kind of still love the penguin from that show he was really great. it also features young bruce and catwoman and joker-but-they-didnt-have-the-rights-to-him-so-hes-technically-not-but-also-a-lot-of-people-still-really-like-him-as-an-iteration-of-the-joker. also, young jim gordan failing miserably at fighting corruption just like in general

as for media about batman rogues ive seen joaquin pheonix’s joker, its a good movie and well acted but i think it isnt great for understanding kind of any other joker iteration since it diverts a lot from who he is in like any other batman media. not to discourage watching it if you want to, just it isnt really close to the usual interpretations of joker. the killing joke animated movie also exists and from what i know is one of the more well known joker backstories and some of the info in it can be significant when connected to other characters (like, jason choosing the name red hood because it was technically the first moniker the joker went by? idk just interesting stuff).

harley quinn birds of prey is also a good movie and definitely follows the vibes of where harley quinn characterization has been for a while and also introduces you to a few other gotham vigilantes in the meantime. the harley quinn cartoon is good and pretty funny but also its definitely of the “adult cartoons that use edginess as comedy” so if youre not into other adult cartoons its probably not gonna be as fun. the suicide squad (the SECOND not the first i havent seen the first) is kind of the technical predecessor to birds of prey though not necessary to watch, if you like kind of gory action movies it is also fun but not necessarily harley quinn centric.

also bc its DC some of these are really dark or have just kind of general tw/cw id give about them so like if you have a particular sensitivity to something or just want to know generally what to expect feel free to send an ask or something i can tell you what i at least noticed or have been told about these

,,, sorry this is long but i started typing to just leave a comment under the post and by the time it got too long for a comment it was too late to turn back

I'm probably gonna regret this but how do I get into the batman fandom??? like what comics/movies are good to start with???

[adiwriting]

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

Oh gosh, this can be a hard one to answer because I have a lot of pieces that I’ve written that I like for different reasons, so picking just one is hard. To narrow down the list, I’ll stick to RNM work since it’s my current fandom.

1. Sanctuary/Out of Ashes/Invisible Strings. I love this fic personally because it gave me a chance to truly think about who Michael and Alex are at their core and helped me to find my characterization of them. It also really solidified my love of writing RNM fic. I haven’t finished Strings because quite frankly I experienced some bad fandom interactions surrounding the fic that makes it hard to come back to, but I have promised myself that I will finish the fic and find the ability to push through my mental block on it, because I don’t want to let other people have the power to continue to steal the joy I once got out of this fic.

2. From Iraq, With Love. This was the first fic I wrote where I actually felt people were reading and engaging with. My favorite part of writing is the community of it. Getting to discuss ideas with others and see what people respond to and create conversation, and this fic gave that to me in far greater amounts than I thought possible. And it helped build up my confidence when people in the fandom had me truly believing there wasn’t a place for my voice here.

3. Falling Like The Stars. In terms of quality of writing, this is a fic that I really feel shows off my style and voice best. I’m incredibly happy with how it turned out and even more happy that it was a WIP that I actually finished, reminding me that finishing fics, seeing them through to their natural conclusion, is a thing I’m capable of.

4. where the spirit meets the bone. This fic is my favorite fic I’ve written simply because it’s the most personal fic. It’s about Michael taking the time and space to find himself, doing so with Alex at his side, and the joy and growth of being given the space to find oneself as an individual but doing so together. I wrote it at a time I was also on my own self discovery journey and I will continue writing it again once I’m able to find the mental bandwidth to be on that journey once more. But the beauty of this fic, I feel, is that each chapter really could be a stand alone fic.

[akaashisupremacy]

Moments of Courage

Summary: Osamu Miya is a difficult ex to have. When your paths cross endlessly, you try to rebuild your relationship. Will there be second chances? Or just more broken hearts?

HQ Masterlist || Multi-fandom Masterlist || Read it on A03

Osamu Miya  x reader  

“Are you leaving this party because of me?”

Osamu calls you out from the tiny hallway of your friend’s get together. After locking eyes with him, you did your best to subtly scamper towards the door.

“You don’t have to go. I can leave if it’s making you uncomfortable.” he assures.

You shake your head, “You can stay. I’m not having that much fun.”

You begin shuffling through the coat rack to look for yours. You’re desperate for anything to cut the time talking to him, talking about him. The only guaranteed way for this to stop is to leave.

“Are you hiding from me?” he asks almost rhetorically. His brows are gently raised.

“Yeah, obviously,” you retort, “I don’t want to be seen by you or with you.”

Osamu Miya is your ex. After over a year of dating, he decided to end things with you in a small cafe far off his onigiri stall.

“I’m too busy,” he claimed, “You deserve someone who could give you more time.”

You reasoned out that you didn’t mind not spending so much time together. His job was time-consuming. You understood that.

But Osamu was unsettled. You didn’t mind cheering him on from the benches waiting for him to finish up work. You liked seeing Osamu do things he was passionate about. And yet he felt unsettled, because he knew this was the type of work you would not engage in.

Osamu pressed on, “I’m sure you’ll find yourself someone more worldly, more sophisticated in the city. I don’t want to prevent you from meeting someone like that.”

Something dropped at the pit of your stomach. Your mouth was ajar. He’s really trying to break up with you. It’s no secret that you preferred the city and Osamu the countryside, but neither of you seemed to mind. You’d both make the time to visit each other. You made it work.

You remember barely touching your drink. Listening to him talk was like having a ton of bricks dropped on your back. The sunlight pouring in from the glass window suddenly felt prickly.

“I just don’t think we’re a good fit.” he swallowed, unable to look you in the eye, “I think someone from the country, someone simpler and more traditional would be better for me.”

You don’t miss the yearning in his voice, the dreaminess for someone who was clearly not you. He’d always tease that you were a true blue big city girl. You liked the tall buildings, the noise and the fancy department stores. You thought it was a point of endearment, but apparently not.

It’s been almost a year since you last saw him. He looks so unaffected it irks you.

“I broke up with you respectfully. Why are you mad?” he scratches his head.

It takes all your self-control to not slap him across the face.

“Because you hurt me! You’ve hurt me so…so…much.” your voice hitches before you can catch it. This is so humiliating. He’s clearly moved on from you.

Tears start pouring down your face. You quickly hide your eyes behind your coat.

“You’d eventually realize that I’m not right for you.” he murmurs, “We’re too different.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me.” you snap, clenching your fists, “So is this is it? To make you feel better you’re going to date a small town girl to solve all your problems.”

“Well, Kita did introduce me to someone lately.” he unironically replies, “She works in her family ryokan (inn) and we work similar hours. I think we’ll understand each other more than we did.”

Your eyes narrow.

“There’s no point staying in a relationship that I can’t make time for. Why can’t you understand that?” he snaps back.

It is one thing to be left for someone else and another for him to dump you just because. Somehow you feel like you lost even if you didn’t even have competition. He simply didn’t want you.

Your face contorts into an angry frown.

You slip on your coat and grab the door. “Man, you are a terrible ex. Do you know how it hurts when you tell me how wrong I was for you?”

When Osamu regains his cool, he tries to reach out to you, “I didn’t mean it that way…I didn’t feel good that I could make time for ‘ya and so I let the relationship go. Because i don’t know…—“

“Well, this is all just theory anyways.” he says, “I haven’t met Kita’s friend yet. We haven’t gone out yet, just the two of us.”

You do a double turn. “What?!?”

“Yeah, we’re working all the time but we haven’t made the time to meet.”

You break into a laugh. He stands stunned and confused.

“You know what? You stay behind. You left the last time. I want to be the one to leave this time.” you sigh, closing the door behind you.

You don’t turn back to see the look on his face.

————————————— Osamu mostly works in the countryside which means that you’d be less likely to run into each other in the city. It’s easier for you to keep your mind off him and focus on your current life.

So when you see him in the corner store in place of a small fried chicken stall you used to frequent, you’re visibly shocked, appalled even.

“What are you doing here?!” you jump back, “What happened to the fried chicken stall that was here?”

Osamu looks left and right, making sure no approaching customers can hear your dialogue.

“I run this stall now. Kawaneshi-san retired. It’s a great location. I’m literally in a crossroad between a shopping district and some schools. The rent isn’t too bad and it’s a very busy location.” he answers in his usual no nonsense tone.

You make a mental list not to pass by here again.

He recognizes the look on your face, “Have I just ruined your usual route for you?”

“I thought you were a country boy.” you avoid answering him.

“Even I need to make a living.” he snorts, carefully arranging umeboshi-flavored onigiri in his display case.

Sure! All of a sudden working in the city becomes important after he breaks up with you!

You roll your eyes and curtly walk away. You got here first. You love this city. You refuse to let some onigiri-making man ruin your everyday route.

The days roll into weeks. You stick to your route and diligently ignore Osamu each time. After a while it stops feeling weird that he’s there. You feel like you’re slowly taking pieces of yourself that he broke.

It feels so good to start to be whole again.

———————————— Your newfound peace with Osamu is interrupted when he calls you out of the blue one evening. He calls to tell you that he’s sick and that he needs help running groceries. The nerve!

“Don’t you have anyone else?” you groan. Hasn’t he made friends with some other shopkeepers?

“I have no one else. There’s only you.” he coughs through his words. He tries to explain that one of his few friends is out on bereavement.

You let it go. He clearly doesn’t have anyone for today.

You find out that Osamu lives in the apartment above his stall. The space is rather small. He shares his home with some of the equipment and supplies from his store.

He must hate it here. Osamu always loved wide open spaces.

You open the fridge to find it totally empty. His sink has a few empty bowls from his earlier rice porridges. You understand his desperation. He had nothing to eat.

Moved by his situation and the little compassion for him that remains in you, you sigh and begin chopping up some vegetables to make a nutritious broth. You add in some mushrooms and root crops. While the soup boils, you prepare rice and some pickles.

The faster he recovers, the less you have to interact with him.

When you bring him a tray of food in his room, he is equal parts surprised and confused.

“You can cook?” he clears his throat.

“No, Osamu.” you roll your eyes, “I eat all my food raw.”

He sits up and sniffs the aroma of your food through his clogged nose. He dips a spoon into the soup to sample his first meal of the day.

“I mean you can cook well, like a proper home cook.” he says, his eyes wide with awe. He quickly takes a few more sips and starts on his rice.

“I’ve never known.” he croaks, turning to you.

“You never asked,” you shrug, “And you like to do the cooking yourself. You probably assumed I can’t cook, because I’m not as passionate about food as you are.”

He quietly eats and looks away to confirm the truth in your statement.

You sigh and take a nearby basin with some towels in it. “I’ll leave after I bring the basin back.”

——————————————- Something changes in your relationship with Osamu after that incident. He starts to greet you when you walk by and sometimes offers you onigiri from his store.

You always insist on paying. He doesn’t always take it.

“You’re here to make a living.” you say as you push money into his hands.

In between these exchanges you start to ask about each other again. How are you doing? Was today busy? Stuff like that.

Slowly and surely, you two were rebuilding your relationship ground up. But it was tough. Neither of you went beyond these interactions. Maybe things are just meant to stay that way.

One late evening, the last customer for the day disappears out of Osamu’s line of sight when he heads into the back to start cleaning up. He’s about to start pulling down the rafters when you suddenly show up at his counter.

His face expresses his surprise.

“If it’s too late, I can just go.” you gesture sheepishly.

He’s always surprised when you come here on your own volition.

“It’s not,” he denies, “I was closing up too early anyways.”

You pick out your usual onigiri flavors and quickly pay up. As soon as you turn your back, Osamu stammers at you.

“I-I’m cooking up some stuff at the back. Do you want to stay and eat? Think of it as a return favor for the other week.” he refers to the episode of his sick day.

You’re caught off guard but you slowly nod your head to agree. You hadn’t had Osamu’s cooking in a while and it was getting quite late. He opens the door for you and you follow him towards the back of his shop.

In a messy plastic table, you see an array of salads and pickles with different kinds of miso soup laid out. You feel almost intrusive, even more than last week.

You set the table. Osamu fetches hot rice.

It feels unnecessary for you to be here especially if he is with someone else. You do your best to keep your mouth shut. This is a friendly return of favor.

Osamu notices how unusually quiet you are. He chats you up about work. He tries his best to be animated and show interest in your latest project. He asks about your coworkers and your work environment. Were you having fun? Do you get to eat on time?

For dessert, he brings out mochi wrapped in leaves.

“It’s made by the girl I was telling you about.” he remarks, while clearing the dishes.

“Oh,” your heart sinks. You get up and leave, feeling humiliated by your naivety. Of course he’s with her. You feel stupid for even hoping.

You’re about to walk out when he comes back in. “Apparently, she’s been secretly in a relationship with another chef in her family inn. They recently got married and are hoping to start a family soon. She sent these down to inform me. I suppose that solves the problem of having to see someone outside of work—”

He sees you standing. Confusion runs through his expression.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Just stretching…” you lie.

You want to shoot yourself in the foot in embarrassment.

When realization dawns on him, Osamu looks crestfallen. Any energy left in his body abandons him. He sighs, resigned.

“It’s ok if you want to go,” he nods, “Or if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

He bites his lip and looks down on his shoes. The room is still and pregnant with silence.

“I really am just stretching. My hip feels wonky from sitting all day.” you insist with some renewed energy. You grab hold of the pot on the table. “Also, can we get some more hot water? Tea would be nice with the mochi and it’s kind of gone cold.”

He offers to make another pot, relief evident on his face.

“I’ll go heat up the water.” he walks to the kettle, “Are you sure you want dessert?”

You sit back down.

“Yeah, I want to stay.” you murmur. For once you don’t go running to the door.

He glances at you, content, a small smile creeping on his face. ——————————————————

Atsumu, Osamu’s twin brother, always finds himself in his brother’s kitchen every time he visits. He doesn’t mind too much though. It gives them something to do when they catch up.

“Samu, you can’t still be moping around your ex!” Atsumu exclaims. He’s washing Osamu’s dishes as his brother prepares for their meal.

“I’m not ready to get back out there.” Osamu waves dismissively.

Atsumu flicks some water his way. “You’re just not open to seeing someone else.”

His words clearly prick Osamu who throws flour into his face. Atsumu dodges right on time and flicks some flour right back.

Some flour grazes Osamu’s sleeve. He sighs and dusts himself.

“It’s tough, because I’m working all the time. This job doesn’t pay too much and it’s not glamorous. Who’d wanna date someone like me?” he murmurs.

“That’s why you gotta date around to find out!” Atsumu emphasizes, “Maybe you’ll even find someone who might help you with your business when you get married.”

Osamu obstinately shakes his head. “It’s not as easy as you think.”

Atsumu dries his hand and carefully observes his brother. He puts his towel down onto the kitchen counter and raises his brow, “Or maybe I should just give you advice on getting back together.’

As if right on cue, Osamu slams his hand down onto the counter, “I hate that we still haven’t gotten back together. This is killing me!”

Atsumu chuckles in satisfaction. He’s hit the nail right on the head.

“Why has nothing happened yet? I’m already in the city!” Osamu continues on, “They can cook too! Did you know that?! I wish we can skip to the part where we can settle down.”

He vigorously gestures in frustration.

“I cannot! I just cannot move on until I know I’ve given everything to make this work and yet every time I see them all I do is offer them food!”

Atsumu places his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “You need to be more strategic about it. Here’s what you need to do…”

———————————————————————————

Osamu takes a deep breath before knocking at your door. He holds a bag of onigiri in one hand and whatever courage he has in another.

One knock, then another. He hasn’t been this nervous in a long while.

When you open the door, his ear picks up on a male voice inside your house. Combined with your expression, he realizes that he’s come at an inconvenient time.

“I brought you something.” he tries to smile despite the sweat pooling, “I made you lunch. I just wanted to make sure you were eating. We don’t have to talk. I just wanted to give this to you.”

He tries to look past your shoulder, attempting to glimpse at your guests.

“Are you seeing someone else by any chance?” he blurts out, “I want to clarify before I make any more free deliveries.”

You frown. “That’s none of your business, Osamu. You should leave.”

Your frankness pierces something within him. He hadn’t expected to be rejected so quickly.

Osamu’s eyes widen and his mouth drops. He quickly gathers himself before he gets disheartened.

“I want you to give me a second chance. You loved me so deeply. Maybe you can find love in me again.” he says quietly.

“I thought I was too much of a city girl for you,” you retort, despite lacking an edge in your voice. You notice his hands tightly clutching the plastic bag.

The noise at the back seems to melt away. It’s like you’re back in that party, standing too close to each other near the coat rack and the door.

“Maybe you’re not.” his shoulders gracefully go up and down.

You shook your head wryly, “Osamu, I haven’t changed. I like my job and the city. I’m not the life and business partner that you’re looking for. I’m just a customer and we should keep it that way.”

“I can stop if you like.” he offers meekly, putting his hands behind his back.

“Yeah, you should. You’ve hurt me so much.” you cover your mouth with your hands while you try not to sob, “There’s nothing to go back to.”

“I’m sorry I ended things the way I did.” he looks away, “Seeing you walk by me every day feels like penitence…“

You close the door before he says anymore.

Osamu gazes longingly at the door. It’s only now that the full weight of losing you sinks in.

—————————————— “How’d it go?” Atsumu calls to check on Osamu.

Osamu sucks in his breath, his palm pressed on his temple. Atsumu braces himself, this doesn’t sound good.

“They had someone else over.” Osamu is seething in frustration and angry tears.

“Calm down. Were they alone? Or was it a friend group?” Atsumu ’s mind races. He sifts through the situation in an attempt to placate his brother.

“Yeah? No? I don’t know.” Osamu snaps, “They told me she didn’t want to talk about it. Your advice sucks!”

Osamu walks most of the way home. When he catches sight of his store, he curses. He had left his damn bike at your apartment complex! The universe is not giving him any breaks today.

He sighs and continues towards his store. He had a friend watch it while he was away. He’ll have to come pick up after he closes the store.

Throughout the rest of the day, he tries to push you out of his mind. By the time he closes the store, he is bursting at the seams with anticipation to make his way back to your apartment.

Before he sets off, he sees your figure wheeling his bike towards him.

“You left your bike.” you breathe out. You fish something out of your pocket and toss him the key to his bike lock, “You left this in your lock too.”

“Every time you see me, I just look dumber and dumber.” he sighs in exasperation.

You can’t help but burst into laughter at his candidness. He perks up a bit. He hasn’t made you laugh in a while. Of course he’d rather have you laugh with him than at him. Still, this was a start right?

"Did Atsumu put you up to this?" you chuckle, handing the bike over.

“Yeah, how did you know?” he asks dumbfounded.

“I just do.” you scoff, “It’s not like you to show up on people’s doors.”

He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, “Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. It was a moment of weakness.”

Your eyes lower, framing the sad expression that sets into your face, “Yeah, it better not. I’ve moved on.”

You turn around to walk away. In a brief moment of courage, he cups his hands around his mouth.

“I’m not ready to move on from you and if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” he calls out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist: @itstheee-ha-chan @kaizumi @holaaaf @glxar​

Comment or message to be added to the taglist! I’m definitely making a part 2!