#i need to reread this stupid series but this is my take from the first read-through. your mileage may vary

[quatregats]

Thinking about transfem Hornblower and like...I do absolutely think that there are things that read as dysphoria, but that's not the stuff that really makes me headcanon Hornblower as trans. I think the way in which the narrative is set up, in which we have a main character who is obsessed with performing a particular brand of masculinity despite the fact that he is terrible at it and it consistently makes him miserable is actually what does it for me. Like there's a point in the books where Hornblower's internal narrative becomes so unbelievably dishonest and unreliable about him being so! happy! that you can almost see that there's some central disjuncture in who he is that he refuses to address, and that's what really sells me. I do think you can read it multiple ways (the only readings of it that I personally actively disagree with are any that imply that he's legitimately happy in that situation because he's clearly not) but when you put the dysphoria-adjacent comments in with the larger context of insane cognitive dissonance of older Hornblower I think it makes a transfem reading really compelling and honestly explains the later books better than a direct reading could.

[sanji-piss-hell]

ZOSAN FIC REC

Here is some of my fave zosan fics. Some of these I read years ago and so I don't fully remember what theyre about but they we're good enough that I still have strong emotional attachments when I see the name. Most of them are things I've read recently. Literally all I do all day is homework and have an app tts fanfics to me like an audio book so there's quite a few of recs here. I am not the best at summeries but just trust me bro these are GOOD SHIT. I only provide the best. What I consider a good fic: - Takes place in the one piece world (I don't like modern aus) - Characters stay in character or if they do have changes from their canon portrayal there is a justifiable reason from within the story. - Solid story telling and arcs (even the shorter fics) - The Zosan dynamic is kept mostly how it is in canon they fight and bicker. (I know some like when they're soft with eachother like a loving married couple. You won't find much of that here) - Some of these have pervy sanji, que nose bleeds and ogling. With that out of the way here's the list!! Now to my fave zosan fic of all time and ironically enough the only fic taking place in a modern setting: Life is fine series. TW: Drug abuse, heavy angst, depression I have reread this twice and forced a friend to read it too. It is so amazing not just for the zosan but for the genuinely good story telling. You follow zoro reeling from his sudden loss of relationship with Sanji and falling down a...Well uh, path. It's fucked it's dark it's depressing and its fucking riviting. Alot of the time reading this you're just like WHY DID SANJI LEAVE HIM WHAT IS GOING ON??? Honestly I need to reread this again. Onto softer fics to heal your heart after that one: Honor in limits, his strengths in weakness By Hawksbrood

“Fucking hell cook, what happened to you?” Zoro demanded, voice low so as not to disturb the others sleeping nearby.

Sanji rolled his eyes. “What do you think? I told you we got in a fight earlier.”

“Not that, your fucking feet!”

The cook snarled at that, crushing his cigarette in his teeth. “What the fuck do you mean, my feet? They’re just feet!”

Zoro’s eyes widened, looking at the bruised flesh before him. This wasn’t that.

This was just so good and cute. I appreciate watching zoro appreciate sanji. They take care of eachother but in a way where theyre both still them yeah know? I appreciate how sanji is written letting himself be vulnerable but understanding that he's always gonna be crass cause it's just a part of who he is.

come on, come on (turn a little faster) by donutsandcoffee

The one where everyone thinks they’re dating, Sanji is oblivious, and Zoro takes everything in stride.

Sometimes a love story can go in reverse.

I reread this one recently and it's just soft and sweet. I like watching sanji flounder around. The gay panic is great.

a complete guide to falling in love by ThousandSunny Sanji was trained in the Bridal Arts; this does not go unnoticed by the rest of his crew. I read this like 3 years ago and I dont remember much but I do remember loving it!

Part Timer By 8ball Sanji really, really doesn't want to give Zoro a job at his restaurant. Zoro doesn't really even want to work there in the first place, but, well, there’s this thing with Sanji, and this thing with feelings and the whole thing is pretty damn stupid all together. Zeff just wants grandkids. He’s too old for this bullshit anyways. I am sure everyone knows 8ball very well they're like zosan famous but still just in case this one is really fucking good. Also read this 3 years ago so I don't remember much but I consider this a zosan classic. Onto the rated R Grand Buffet by asyndese Drunk fic!! If there was one thing Zoro knew, it was that you could always trust Sanji's inclinations to do a beautiful 180 as soon as he was drunk. Luckily, Zoro was more than equipped to handle it. I spent. 30 minutes. Trying to find this fic again because that's how much I loved it. It altered my brain chemistry. Sanji getting a nose job during sex is just. aaaaaaaaa. Read it. Cannot suggest enough. Horrors not yet known by Trixree

Sanji doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it before, is the thing. Of all the times he has seen Zoro shirtless (in battle, mostly) he just… never noticed. The problem is, once he has noticed, Sanji can’t seem to stop noticing. And neither can anyone else.

In which Zoro has a nipple piercing and Sanji has a Problem.

I recently reread this and the first time I read it I didn't really get the whole gender sanji shit. Now though???? Yeah another fic that rewired my brain chemistry. This fic opened doors for me it exposed me to a new world. Also sanji gay panic is in here and I live for that. It can be pretty raunchy (love that too) Three rounds with a tiger by KobochaKitsune Another drunk Fic!! also in modern times damn maybe I lied sdklfj

Liquid courage, drunken decisions, terrible euphemisms, and texts from last night, or: how to think entirely with the booze (and your dick) for once.

Or: By the time Sanji got to the party, everyone was already drunk.

I read this 3 years ago (theres a trend going on can you tell??) It also rewired my brain chemistry (from this point on just assume all of these nsfw fics rewired my brain chemistry each of these opened doors for me. This one opened the doors to bottom zoro.) Fucking 20k words of just pwp. I dont even know how the author did that bro like damn. Nature of things by stark_black Tw: Sex work and prostitutes When the Sunny docks, Sanji and Zoro sometimes seek out relief in some not so savory places. After crossing paths in town on more than one occasion, the two find they have a lot more in common than they would like to admit. I hunted this down for like fucking hours a couple of weeks ago because it was that good. Stark_Black has a fucking library worth of zosan fics this one is a classic to me. But if you want more content check out his other fics I think they have like over 100 zosan its kinda insane. Coregasm by Yakarmi

Sanji discovers that sometimes, Zoro has orgasms while he lifts.

-----

“You…” Sanji trailed off, gaze turning down as he licked his lips. Pink tongue darting out nervously. “You orgasm when you exercise?”

Zoro clenched his jaw. Shrugged. Trying to act nonchalant.

“Sometimes.”

Sanji’s eye went wide, and like his mouth had suddenly been liberated from his brain, blurted out, “that’s so fucking hot,” before clamping his hands over his mouth. His cigarette fell from his mouth, bouncing soundlessly on the ground.

Bro bestie, the way this put me on nose bleed Sanji. Perv sanji. I need that gif thats like mmm cause man this is good. Ending this fic rec with a BANG we have

Contingencies and Congruencies by PeaceSignDisasterBi

Somewhere between finishing the bottles of alcohol and mugs of beer, the crew comes together to create a contingency plan for something that may-or-may-not-happen during their time on the Grand Line and beyond. Usopp thinks it's more likely than bumping into zombies, Zoro wants to stay out of this, Sanji is just going with the flow, and Nami may or may not keep things legally binding and above board with consistent consensual acquiescence. Robin finds it all amusing.

The damn chart stays in the locked drawer in her desk, split into three neat categories: Devil Fruit Powers, Science, and Magic. Each represents whatever they're hit with but also categorizes the amount of self-control the person has during.

AKA: 5 times Zoro and Sanji had to help each other as Consensual Helpers of Dubious Consent + 1 Time There Was Nothing Dubious At All

Ok this is 152k long its pretty insane. It regoes over the arcs so throughly so carefully that I literally had to question my memory because I havent experienced alot of these arcs in a while (it's one of the reasons im rewatching one piece). I will say despite how amazing and well written this is I had a hard time comprehending sometimes. now I was sick at the time of reading this so that might be why but sometimes the way things were phrased felt like yoda talking. I think it's just me though. I'm not used to big words :( And thats a wrap!! These arent even all the ones I wanted to include I have at least 20 more off the top of my head but I'll save that for another day. I hope you find joy in these fics Like i did I'll def do another one of these as cause I didnt even touch my sanji centric fics or germa 66 or just in general the best sanji fanfic writers. (Mentioned some of them like 8ball, thousand sunny and donuts and coffee.) Best of luck to yall and let me know what you think!

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

my long ass avery rant that might not make sense but i love her and needed to make this.

a huge rant about my love for avery (i swear im not hating on anyone (except for avery haters... sort of. i respect your opinion but...)) i think the end of my rant makes more sense than the beginning...

IVE MADE A POST ABOUT THIS BUT ILL SAY IT AGAIN. STOP OVERLOOKING AVERY'S TRAUMA. SHE IS SO UNDERRATED AND SUCH A COMPLEX CHARACTER AND I CAN'T STAND PEOPLE IGNORING HER. PEOPLE IN THIS FANDOM BARELY POST ABOUT HER AND IT'S UNBEARABLE (LIKE NO HATE CAUSE I LOVE ALL THE LYRA POSTS BUT HOW ARE PEOPLE POSTING MORE ABOUT A CHARACTER NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT AND NOT AVERY??? LIKE I SAID NOT HATE, I EAT THE LYRA POSTS UP).

she's literally the best character in the series. the brothers don't even come close to her. people who are mad at her for not picking grayson can actually just shove it up their ass bc gray and avery would've never worked out in the long run. avery is a queen and i see people hating on her for so many stupid reasons. not picking gray? giving away the money? being an emily 2.0????????????????????????????? don't even dare compare my queen, my love, my everything to that wretched beast who is now rotting in a coffin underground. some people making reviews on goodreads seriously need to get a life and touch some grass.

as im rereading the main trilogy, i'm writing down quotes from avery so i can make an in depth analysis of her character. it might suck and it will definitely be multiple parts but if no one is gonna acknowledge her trauma, i will. i'm sick and tired of people constantly ranting about grayson and other characters when avery is literally the main character. none of this series would exist if it weren't for avery. the fact that some people are willing to defend their favorite characters when they hurt avery is so so sad to me. like, i love jameson with my entire heart, but treating avery like a puzzle and messing with her self esteem was not cool of him. same goes for grayson and him treating avery like a shitty gold digger who 'hasn't struggled like he has'

i've made posts about this before but i feel the need to make another one. i've seen people defend grayson for treating avery like shit in the first book (some people do it as a joke which is fine but some people are actually serious and it confuses me??). i get that grayson was mad and disappointed that his grand father disinherited him after a lifetime of being told he was going to inherit. his feelings were 100% valid. did he have the right to take it out on avery though? no. not at all. this girl is even more confused that he is and has been nothing but kind to him. him invalidating her feelings and treating her like crap is just so shitty of him. don't get me wrong. he has redeemed himself and i do love him, but seeing people defending him (in a serious way) just gets on my nerves. would you like to be treated the way avery was in tig? i think not.

i'm not as mad about jameson bc 1. he apologized on 'screen' and 2. i don't see people defending him as much as grayson (i don't think i've ever seen a post defending him which is good). i love him too, and what he did was also horrible. i better not ever see a post defending him. his actions are explainable but that doesn't justify them. he really messed with avery's self-esteem, so much as to make her doubt his feelings towards her. the only reason i'm not as mad as with the grayson situation is bc i don't see people defending him as passionately (if at all).

i see this happen in so many fandoms. people gush over the male love interest or the male main character and completely ignore the fmc. the only fandom i don't see this happening in is the folk of the air fandom. jude is getting the attention she deserves which makes me so happy. people willingly ignore what the fmc goes through at the hands of their favorite male character just bc they love them and that is just so absurd to me.

anyways, avery has been through so much fucking trauma it would take me hours to go through it all. she grew up with almost no one by her side, learning how to take care of/protect herself, lost her mother at 15, her best friend moved away a few years before her mom died, her father treated her like dog shit and completely ignore her for her entire life until she inherited the money, she lived in her car, worked her ass off at school and at work to simply keep herself alive, had to deal with drake (although she wasn't his girlfriend, he clearly affected her if she was willing to move into her car bc of him), was almost killed by drake (and, indirectly, skye), sheffield, and eve (and kidnapped by sheffield), it was mentioned in tfg (i believe) that there were other attempts on her life in between thl and tfg, dealt with people constantly belittling her trauma (and her) and saying horrible things about her, she deals with horrible panic attacks after everything she's been through, also deals with crappy self esteem (that was made worse by some of the hawthornes), her privacy was constantly invaded, and, this one is more subtle, but there are instances where she thinks (or does) self harm (like the scene in thl where she's purposefully trying to hurt herself by punching the brick wall blocking off toby's wing. both oren and jameson had to step in to help her). all of these things clearly affected her but barely anyone talks about it? i'm probably missing some things but i just wish she got more attention. she is one of the most forgiving (literally too forgiving. she's willing to forgive people so easily bc she wants to be wanted (but doesn't want to want to be wanted) and have friends)

this girl is much stronger than anyone gives her credit for (the hawthornes would never survive in the 'asylum where they raised her' (whos afraid of little old me by taylor is definitely her song)). this rant is probably all over the place and is really long (but definitely won't be the last). thank you for attending my ted talk.

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

Before I begin, I wanna say that I already sent an ask that was an unfinished version of this. I had to painstakingly go into Google Docs and copy/paste all my writing/theorizing on here because for some reason when I write a slightly long ask my tumblr just has a meltdown. I meant to delete that first ask and send this one instead, but I couldn’t see anything because of said meltdown and accidentally sent it. Hope you see this finished version instead! Would be really embarrassing if you didn’t…

So yeah. Everything after this is copy-pasted and then continued from the unfinished version. Thanks for your patience!

———

Yes yes, I’m back! I disappeared again for a while but I have returned once more to offer my theories and thoughts! And oh boy do I have thoughts…

Okay so first off I wanna disregard what I said last time about Sonic asking for Shadow to come inside earlier because uhh… Idk what I was thinking. Wow. Hot take from me lol. Guess I was losing the hype from rereading the page a buncha times in a row or something, because I don’t know what I was implying with that. So uh yeah sorry about that I guess.

Anywhizzle with that thankfully out of the way, I can continue on to the meat of these new pages! Sonic himself.

Bro needs himself a snickers-

I’m kidding, (No I’m not) but with jokes aside, this page just gave us something huge! Not only can Sonic transform in the daytime now with limited shade, but he can also transform if he feels just the slightest bit of negativity/anger, and he also doesn’t even turn into a Werehog anymore! He’s gone full Gaia mode now! He honestly looks like a coyote mixed with a wolf if you squint. Pretty cool! But this honestly just opens up so many more doors for so many more questions! What does this mean for Dark Gaia? Will it affect Chip? Can Sonic turn back into his hedgehog self? If so, is it based on a time limit, his emotions, or can he turn back whenever he wants to? Does he even know that he’s transformed yet? Does he know it’s him? AAAAAUUUUGHHGHHH SO MANY QUESTIONSSSSSSS!!!!! 😫

I do also wanna say that Sonic is so definitely right. I don’t really remember what Shadow said, but I do know it wasn’t this. Instead of Sonic ignoring his problems, now it’s Shadow, and that’s the exact opposite of what this whole entire comic has been about. Throughout this series, Shadow has always been the more level-headed of the three, (Sonic Chip and Shadow) and he was always the one to help Sonic get through the night when he transformed into the Werehog. I think he even wanted to spill the beans to someone once or twice, but refrained because he just couldn’t do that to Sonic. Pretty sure I’m remembering things wrong on that front though so. But you get the idea. Shadow ignoring his behavior and ignoring Sonic after everything they went through together… It isn’t like him. Yes, he’s a loner. Yes, he’s pretty edgy. Yes, he’s an idiot. But he isn’t stupid. He isn’t ignorant. Shadow is not like this.

Now Shadow trying to explain away his anger and behavior towards Sonic and his distance by saying “Oh, well, I just got really pissed and I lost control.” But then Sonic hits him with the Uno Reverse and transforms into his new Gaia form right in front of his face, snarling at him and getting all angry in front of the ebony hedgehog, hardly saying anything but a few clipped words. Sonic sees the hypocrisy in Shadow’s words and is not about to let him live it down. He sees the guilt, sees the negativity, and knows.

Which is why, when he turns into probably the scariest version of himself so far for the first time ever, he doesn’t scream or howl in pain or act irrational about it. Sonic, despite everything that’s been going on, remains in control of himself and his actions. He stares down at Shadow and says “And…?” As if he’s making a point. Like he’s calling someone out for their crimes or whatever. And he is. To Sonic, Shadow’s ignorance is like a slight on himself, a quick jab at Sonic’s character. And after everything they’ve been through and after what just happened in the cave, the blue blur ain’t gonna take such an insult very well. But again, despite his anger and despite himself and despite his brand new transformation, Sonic doesn’t really lash out at Shadow, instead showing him that “Losing control” is not a good excuse. Shadow may have lost control of his body, but to Sonic, that’s just an everynight thing now. He doesn’t care about that, doesn’t care about what Shadow looked like or how he felt, and instead cared about his actions.

I’ve been going on and on for a long while now with my “Sonic still is going to hide his emotions and feels like crap and still feels bad about himself” mantra, but this scene in particular is making me reconsider that. I feel like before all this happened, Sonic wouldn’t do what he just did now. I don’t think he would be so blunt/careless. I mean he isn’t being careless, there just isn’t really a better way to explain it. Beforehand, Sonic would’ve believed such an excuse and would’ve been like “Oh yeah I guess that makes sense.” But now he seems a lot more controlled, a lot more in his element. He seems more like himself. 

Despite everything, it’s still him.

So maybe Sonic is learning. Maybe Sonic is growing. Maybe he’s finally understanding that he’s still himself and that he doesn’t have to hide. Or maybe I’m being too hopeful and sleep-deprived to really get the true message. I don’t know. 🤷‍♀️ 

All in all, this took me half an hour to get through due to technical difficulties and because I had to put my sleep-deprived brain to work for this one so I am gonna leave it here and brush my teeth. Thank you so much for reading this hunk of junk, means a lot to me! Have a great day/night!

(I’m also so excited for the next page lol)

by chaos, despite everything, it’s still him.

[the-way-astray]

HEY so I skim read your new Keefe hate post and I have some thoughts I'd like to share (all good ones!!)

As someone who also wrote a very long essay about [a] fictional character(s) while citing the page number and book word by word, you freaking ACED it. I'm always gonna be impressed when people take the time to cite your source and give a in depth explanation about it

You're lowkey not too wrong about Keefe infantilizing Sophie. For something silly and stupid, like "Iggy ate my mallowmelt!! >:( Now im mad!!" yeah I bet Sophie would seem cute lol. But for when she's genuinely angry and pissed?? Maybe lay off a little bit dude 😭 Like cmon she can murder you with her mind- There are moments where he does talk about how powerful she is though, throughout the series, but tbh as much as he does that he probably inhantilize her too *shrug* I need to reread the series, but you are making some sense.

I need Keefe getting mad and someone asking him if he's on his period LMAOOOO

Anyways as someone who loves Keefe you're making valid points. He has his flaws, and sometimes he isn't the best person. In summary

Never post that on pinterest. Those crazy Keefe loving, Fitz hating, Sokeefe shipping 11 year olds will MURDER YOU. I will respect your opinion, but they sure don't.

(your opinion is valid and you have facts *clap and approving nod* you have my respect.)

the post in question

okay, first of all, i need this essay immediately. i literally do not care what it's about but words! lots of words! about kotlc! need.

ooh, thank you so much! i mentioned this in the post itself, but this is a rework. the quotes were originally in one post (copy-pasted from another post) and the explanation was in a reblog, which was hella annoying, so i condensed them. i suppose it does make much more sense now. and my explanation is based in the fact that i don't think people were understanding why this isn't a good thing to be saying, period, when i posted it for the first time. even without context.

yeah, keefe displays a consistent attitude of "sophie is so adorable and small and cute and ditzy and soft". seriously, if you don't believe me, read his perspective in unlocked (or don't, because i'm going to do it for you in my part two keefe rant). it's why i don't buy his accepting sophie as a leader in stellarlune (done in a very, very tell-not-show way, may i add), unless he went through some serious development in unraveled. i may have to dedicate a whole post to that topic . . . anyway, yeah, him calling her powerful and talented feels very, very, very tell-not-show, and when you look at his internal thoughts in unlocked, it portrays her very differently. i'm not a fact of the way he sees her, truly. it feels very dumbed down and uwu-ified. no quotes from unlocked have been put into the post, so i'll have to update it later, but if i included unlocked quotes, this post would be like sixteen times its length. but yeah, you should reread the series before you come to a serious opinion. i'm obviously incredibly biased.

GOODBYE I WAS CITING THAT POST BECAUSE IT GAVE OFF THE EXACT ENERGY I FEEL KEEFE GIVES OFF . . . I DON'T EVEN THINK ELVES HAVE PERIODS (please nobody bring back that cursed discussion again, please, i beg) BUT YOU'RE SO CORRECT. SOMEONE WRITE A HUMAN AU WHERE THIS HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY

yay, a level-headed keefe lover, i love you guys. lol . . . i don't plan to go on pinterest anytime soon, or ever (and i also don't even think pinterest's format even allows for a long post like this . . . ). honestly the thought would have never even crossed my mind, because keepblr is my one true love and i'd never cheat on her. but now that you mention it, it might be funny . . .

[luvly-writer]

"But Oh..Cara mia"

Ch. 15 Repercussions are always messy

————————————

Dick Grayson x Latina! Reader

Warning: None

Author's note: I finally found some time and inspiration to write! YAY! You wouldn't believe how crazy the last few weeks have been. First, university has been absolutely insane causing my health to decrease a little, then, it's the birthday months in my family meaning that almost every weekend we had something, and finally, I got a new phone. I had my old phone ever since 2020 and it had been malfunctioning ever since January. Unfortunately, many of my notes were lost due to me forgetting to backup them, and within those notes, I had the sketch for this ENTIRE story. So cue all the time I spent crying cause I lost SO MANY of my notes, from my TBR to my fic drafts. But worry not! I am time to reread the story so that I can get inspiration and remember how it was going to be carried out. LOTS OF LOVE.

Taglist: @lorosette @nanas-teatime @prettyacademia00 @mxtokko @sarahkaliii @w31rdg1rl @eurydicegrimes @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @alecmores @dakotali @sadraven1992

Series Masterlist:

—————————————

You ran and ran and ran. Up the stairs, taking the elevator would give you way too much time to stress over the situation. You ran with Babs hand in yours, pulling her with you. You could hear her complaining because of her running in heels and that you were going too fast but those were being unheard of. You needed to get to your room before you'd burst. Finally, after it felt like forever you got to your room. You pulled Babs in and closed the door, locking it. You both inhaled and exhaled softly, a little out of breath. "Yn, I love you. You know I do, but fuck you for making me run all the way to here." Babara panted out successfully snapping you of the trance you were in. You had been staring holes at the door. She walked up towards you and pulls you back, "Hey hey, the door won't harm you, stop looking at it as if it will" she said softly and pulls you so that you are both sitting on your bed. You breathe softly and finally look at Barbara who is looking at you with so much intrigue. "Barbara.." you start slowly and Babs nods, eager to know what you'll say, "You will not believe what the fuck happened on that dance floor" you finish and Barbara squeals and laughs making you laugh as well.

--<3---

On the other side of the manor, Dick was desperately looking for Kory. He had run away from the ballroom straight to the gardens. "KORY!" He shouted as he searched for the girl around the gardens. Just as he was about to shout for her again, he finds her sitting in a bench in front of one of the Wayne manor ponds, staring at the fish in the water.

"Kor-"

"So," she says without looking at him, "finally done eye fucking Yn are you?" she finishes. Dick flinches slightly, not used to receiving such harshness from her. He slowly walks up to her, "I wasn-" he begins but is once interrupted by her, "Of course, you were, Richard!" She bites back standing up to look at him dead in the eye. Frankly, he is currently terrified of the girl in front of him. "Honestly, when are you going to stop lying to me! I am not stupid and I am quite sick of you believing I am." Kory crosses her arms and Dick finally answers, "It is a publicity stunt, Kory" and she huffs. "Oh yes, I am sure! That's what you always say but it's a fucking lie". Dick can feel his anger rising, "I am not lying Kory, you know that Bruce pulls this shit every time something goes wrong in a gala whenever Yn and I are there. The socialites-"

"The socialites can go fuck themselves, Richard! I may not be from Earth but I have been here long enough to know that for something to be a publicity stunt, it doesn't need the amount of intimacy you were both exhibiting! When will you come to terms with the fact that she loves you and that you-" screams Kory yet chokes up in the end, not wanting to finish her sentence. Finishing it would confirm the very same thing she has been trying to avoid, say delay, all this time. "That I might what Kory? Love her? You know that's a lie. I love you" Dick says and Kory rolls her eyes in frustration. "But you are noT IN LOVE WITH ME RICHARD!" She lets out. "You haven't been in a long time" and Dick just looks at her.

"Kory, what non-"

"But it isn't nonsense! It's true! She knows you better than anyone else, better than me! You both share this strange fucking sense of intimacy-"

"No we don't"

"Yes, you do Richard. I don't know anything about you any more than she does. For fuck's sake, I had to call you under the premise of training the Titans in order to actually hear from you. Something happens to you and you go running to her. Your face lights up whenever you see her and you search for her in every room! I tried to get in the way and make you see only me, Richard, I really did, but she shines so bright that you can't see anyone but her whenever she is present. What is the point of fighting it anymore?" Kory says defeatedly. Dick reaches out for her but she steps back, "Kore, don't...don't say that" he says as his eyes begin to tear up.

"Richard, but I have to. You haven't been mine for a long while now and I thought coming to Gotham with you might've changed that but it didn't. It just made it ten times clear who you belong with and surprise! It isn't me! I have tried everything! From sex to calls and excessive PDA, to trying to limit your contact with her and trying to make you leave, and even trying to make you cut ties with her, and wanna know something? NOTHING WORKED! It isn't healthy anymore! I am desperately trying to keep something that isn't mine and never will be! I am trying to save something that's already ruined!" Kory yells and both can feel the tears run down their cheeks. Dick walks up to her and holds eye contact, "I love you, Kory, you know this, you must, you have to..." he whispers and Kory smiles bitterly at him, "I know, Robin, and I love you but you don't love me in the way I want to be loved" she answers and Dick looks down in shame. "I am sorry," he tells the girl and she smiles at him, "I am sorry. I am so so sorry, Kory" he keeps on whispering and she pulls him for a hug. No matter what anyone else says, Richard Grayson has the biggest heart of all and even in the moments where she is breaking a big part of his heart, he still doesn't have it in him to hate her and shove harsh words her way. "I know, Dick, I know. Part of loving you is letting you go so that you can truly be happy," She pulls him back to look him in the eyes, "We are over, Richard. Our time has finally come to an end" she says softly and Dick nods.

"We had a good run, Richard, we really did." She says as both laugh, still teary-eyed.

"We are no longer two dumb teenagers in love" he says and she nods laughing, "Please, Kory, know that my intention was never to hurt you, you kno-" Dick starts but Kory cuts him off with a laugh.

"Oh I know, Dick, I know, I think one of the last people to know that you're in love is you," Dick goes to open up his mouth in denial but Kory shushes him with a glare, "Richard Grayson you better not try to deny it! Do yourself a favor and accept it" Kory says and Dick has the decency to look bashful.

"It's not that, Kory, it's just, I mean, me and her, I mean she and well, we aren't exactly on good terms or have ever been exactly on the best but no well yeah but-" he is cut off by Kory's laughter.

"My, is this real? Is the suave Richard Grayson finally made a mess by a girl? What a sight!" she says and Dick glares at her. "It's complicated!" he huffs rolling his eyes and she just laughs out, "Isn't it always?"

They both decide to sit down on the grass and stair at the water. They stay in silence for a while. It is broken by Kory who looks at him curiously, "Since when?" she asks and Dick looks at her confused.

"Since when have you known that you know, you love her?" she asks and he just shrugs.

"I don't know actually, one day the hate turned into something else and I was too much of a coward to acknowledge it." He says picking on the grass.

"So you ran back to familiar?" she says and he nods a little distracted, she hums in understanding. "You are an idiot, Dick" she says making the boy nod and laugh with her. "Don't get me wrong, that wasn't the entire reason, I do love you, Kory" he says and she nods once again. She needed to clear the air before finally leaving.

"You know, it kinda makes me feel a little better that you were a little conscious of your feelings for her but pushed them down because of how much you love me" she says and he gives her a tight smile.

"What now?" he asks, scared of what the answer might be.

"Well, I am going back to the Titans tower and probably taking a well-deserved nap. You should probably go find her" she answers and Dick laughs, "No, what about us now?" he asks once again and Kory looks at him, understanding his questing. "OH! Well, you can always come to help co-lead the Titans, they are a handful as they are, so help is always appreciated. As for us us? I think we can be friends" she offers and Dick smiles and nods, "Yeah, I'd like that" making Kory smile, "But not now, I need some time, plus, I think you have a certain someone that requires your full attention" she insists and Dick lays back and looks up, "Oh her....I am fucked" he says making Kory laugh. "Why?!" she says and Dick looks at her incredulously, "Have you met her?!?! This is the one person that has never allowed me to charm my way out and is the first to call me on my bullshit. I may be absolutely earth-shattering in love with her but she will rain a shitstorm on my ass!" he exclaims making Kory wheeze, "You said it! You love her!" she yells and Dick still looks desperate to get his point across. "Yeah, but she will kick my ass" which creates another round of laughter from Kory. "Why? She got you?" she asks, genuinely confused.

"Like I said, she will absolutely call me on my bullshit and scold me for hurting you. She's a girl's girl according to Barbara and Stephanie so putting you in between will definitely be on her list of reasons why Dick Grayson is an asshole and no one can convince me otherwise," he says mocking her voice and making Kory laugh again before he continues, "Plus, she will wholeheartedly fight me on how horrible I've been with her, aside from calling me a coward for denying it for so long, Kory I have more chances entering a cage fight with a tiger and a grizzly bear and winning than the hell she will put me through, which I deserve cause she deserves so much better than me, because of all these years. She will look at me and say 'i hAvE sTanDarS' which good for her, but not really good for me cause I will have to bust my ass to become the man she deserves" Dick finishes his rant and Kory stops laughing to look at him.

"You really are in love," she observes and Dick flushes, making Kory smile. "I think this will be good for you, Richard," she says as she stands up. He gapes at her and she shakes her head with a smile, "She has always pushed you to grow and be better. And now it seems she will do so once again" she tells him, making Dick stand up. She kisses his cheek and starts to leave, waving back at him. Dick waves back as he thinks over her last few words. Yn has always been the force to challenge him, make him push past his limits, and become better. Although the majority of the time, it had been through fights and constant clashing, she always helped him get better. As he starts to walk back to the manor, he feels a gush of wind in his side. He looks and lo and behold, Wally West is looking at him with a big smile. "Sooooo, I take it that went well" he grins at Dick throwing his arm around him.

As he explains what happened with Kory, Wally nods. "Wow, this is the first time I have ever EVER seen you handle things like an adult" he quips making Dick shove his arm off as he laughs.

"Hey!" Dick exclaims to which Wally answers, "You know its true!"

They both walk back to the ballroom., "So what now with Yn?" Wally asks carefully before they enter. Remembering how cozy the two were before the dance, Dick pulls Wally by the ear and slightly threatens, "Seeing as now I have to bust my ass to win her over, do NOT make it harder by flirting with her. Keep your hands and words away from Yn, I will break your legs" To which Wally snickers like a little shit. "Hey, it did the job of getting you to do something so fuck off," he says as he pulls his ear from Dick's grasp. The two enter the ballroom and laugh falling back into the boyish banter they were always used to. Dick can feel the questioning gazes of his family and decides to avoid them because in all seriousness, he had no clue how he can even begin explaining this.

--<3--

"SHUT UP!" screams Barbara as Yn finally finishes her story, nodding excitedly. Barbara's mouth is wide open as she processes what just happened, making Yn laugh. "I know! I don't even know how I am breathing! It was so intense and genuinely, a little hot too and it felt sooooooo right but soooo wrong at the same time you know!?" YN exclaims as Barbara nods, "Yeah cause Kory was there and oh my, they are definitely breaking up! Shit, Yn! This is messy!" she says and Yn nods with wide eyes. "I know! And honestly, I feel so conflicted! Because A) I don't like that a thrid party got hurt-"

"Even if she was a huge bitch to you?"

"Even if she was a huge bitch to me. And B) Barbara it felt so good, like I wanna scream into my pillow all night kind of good!" Yn finishes and Barbara laughs at her expression, "Bitch I sure hope it feels good, it isn't every day that someone tells you that they are afraid of who they will become if you are gone AND tells you to ask anything and it is yours, you know, especially FROM DICK GRAYSON" says Barbara, "The same Dick Grayson, whose middle name is casanova with commitment issues" she finished making Yn burst out laughing. Finally, they calm down and stay silent as they process everything. They were still in their outfits, with the exception of their heels as they both lay on the floor of YN's bedroom.

"You know, don't feel so bad about the Dick and Kory thing. I think everyone has been seeing that they were going to fall out at any given moment in the last few years. So I don't really think it was ALL your fault. You being included was more of a last straw kinda thing" says Barbara trying to reassure Yn, who in return looks at her and asks, "You think so?" Barbara nods and Yn stays silent for a moment. "But if they broke up, I am NOT being a rebound. Dick has to prove that this time it is legit! Cause I am not going back to the same hot and cold as always. I can't, Barbara, I cannot! I deserve better and I don't want a few months of love and then for him to turn back into the asshole that he is always with me. I am not going to be the second choice cause his first left. If Dick wants me, he has to earn me" she says confidently and Barbara beams at her. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you." She says and they both laugh. They begin to put on their shoes after finally feeling like they should go back to the ball. They fixed themselves up and walked back. Barbara kept teasing Yn over her situation with Dick and Yn, although she was heavily blushing, she laughed with her friend. As they entered, YN went directly towards Diana with a huge smile, they agreed that Yn would spend the next weekend in New York with her so that she could tell her all about what happened in more privacy.

As she walked back to where Barbara, Cass, and Stephanie were, Yn made brief eye contact with Dick. She felt her heart skip a beat. Dick smiled at her and waved. Yn nodded in acknowledgment and waved back. The night carried on without any other mishaps. Even though, everyone was dying to know what happened between them, they would have to wait until their next Diyn (ship name) meeting to know what happened so they let it slide for tonight and just enjoyed the gala.

That night, as Yn was heading for bed her phone dings. She opens it only to find:

Mi Picaflor <3:

The offer still stands. Ask for anything and it is yours. Goodnight, gorgeous.

--<3--

"Right now, I'm shameless

Screaming my lungs out for ya, not afraid to face it

I need you more than I want to, need you more than I want to"

[threewaywithdelusion]

I wrote a really negative rant post about All For the Game fanfic, so I want to write a positive one. I really do love this fandom, and it’s fanfics, and I want to share the love as well.

By category, here are some fics I love.

Time Travel

Once More by AkemiAsh I just call this The All For The Game Time Travel Fic in my head. It has a really interesting take on Neil and Andrew going back in time all the way to high school. It will probably never be finished, but I still love rereading it.

One More Time (With Feeling) by elesary All of elesary's fics are wonderful and there are several on this list. Many are unfinished, and though the author tends to update a new chapter every week, they rotate between fics. So if you don't like unfinished fics, this is not the one for you. However, if you want a time travel fic with Neil and Andrew going back to their first year at Palmetto, with really interesting characterization and relationship dynamics, this is the fic for you.

Amnesia

Back To The Start by fuzzballsheltiepants There's a lot of fuzzballsheltiepants on this list because they're an absolutely brilliant writer. You can't go wrong with any of their fics. Please note that they are locked though, so you will need an AO3 account to view them.

Muscle Memory by elesary Andrew wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the past few years. It's incredibly in-character and wonderful.

Presque Vue by elesary Neil wakes up in the hospital with no memory of anything since Andrew drugged him at Eden's. Really interesting start! Unfinished so far.

Raven!Neil

Black As the Raven Is, He’ll Get a Partner by nekojita I think this counts as a fandom classic, but it's my favorite Raven!Neil fic so I had to mention it anyway. The Ravens find Neil after he turns down the Foxes' offer to play at Palmetto and he is a Raven from the beginning of his college career. Featuring Neil & Jean friendship and really, really slow-burn Andreil. Mind the warnings for graphic violence and rape (I think it's slightly worse than canon)

Ever More Raven Neil (series) by ynnon this is a recent series where Neil goes to Evermore for Christmas and never leaves. It has two complete installments thus far but the series is technically unfinished. It is one of the most original takes on Raven!Neil I have ever seen and the writing is spectacular. I can't recommend it enough.

Neil’s Asexuality

Swinging Along the Z Axis by SpangleBangle Neil and Andrew discuss what attraction is like for Neil.

Sliding Doors by Moth2Flame Neil and Andrew never kiss during their time at Palmetto. Neil and Robin figure out their asexuality together, and Neil and Andrew get together years later.

The Test & All The Little Lights by fuzzballsheltiepants The first fic really focuses on Andrew, the second on Neil. I call this the "Willing vs. Want To" fic in my head and think it's a really interesting exploration of asexuality (particularly in the second installment).

Random Andreil

Not Nothing by TheRainbowElectric Possibly the most brilliant AFTG fic in existence. I cannot hype it up enough. Seriously, just go read it.

Except When It’s No by TheRainbowElectric The one where they try handcuffs and it goes badly. Based off Nora’s extra content.

Out of the Ashes by puddlejumper99 Neil and Andrew meet pre-canon when, after his mother’s death, Neil starts attending high school in Columbia instead of Millport.

A Mewment Like This by fuzzballsheltiepants I'm usually not the biggest fan of AUs, but this one is wonderful. Andrew and Neil meet at the vet because they both have cats with stupid names. It might sound fluffy, and it is clever and funny, but it also explores some of the darker themes and character development that happen in the books.

if every time we touch, you get this kind of rush by Talls This fic has Andrew and Matt kissing (still with Andreil and Matt/Dan as the main ships) and it sounds absolutely insane but just trust me, you have to read it. This is also possibly the best-written makeout scene I have ever read in my life.

[sneezemonster15]

I'd give you an analysis, but frankly from what I've seen from your own "analysis" you're not very good at reading

also if you'd be so kind to tag this as mha spoilers, or screenshot this ask and put it under a read more so i dont spoil anyone who's interested in reading mha. it'd be greatly appreciated

(also thanks for getting rid of anon, this time i will include pics !)

anyway, this is the "straight dude who is having a typical cutesy high school het romance with a girl in a taken for granted het world." you're talking about;

also i wont lie, calling mha a het world when these are real dialogue is highkey stupid:

and i know the topic at hand is s/n/s and bk/dk but lets pivot to tg/chk bc theyre more relevant to what im saying

theres a lot to say but honestly, the manga speaks for itself :)

oh and also, you're right, bk/dk has no romantic subtext - it has romantic text. no subtlety needed! :) that is, if you have read the manga - my favourite example is this:

and then shgrk then proceeds to kill bkg, who "dies" (sort of) thinking about izuku in his final moments:

and then izk loses control when he sees bkg "dead" on the ground

and these are from recent chapters! imagine the rest of the series, ey

well! that got long. i'd tackle your crappy assessment of deku's character, but then I'd be here all day!

anyways, if i were you, I'd reread mha and really really understand the text you're reading. you might end up seeing something you missed at first!

Aiyyo someone got triggered! Hehehe. Ah it was inevitable that the moment I talked about MHA and rejected shippy head canons from the show, some delusional hardcore shipper would get all up in arms. Sigh.

You think what you wrote is analysis? Hehehe.

So just some random panels and chapter covers from the manga prove Bakugou or Deku is gay? Lol. I have seen fans like you in Naruto fandom as well. But you are right, I am not as invested in MHA, because it just doesn't have the versatility and genius of Naruto and Shippuden, it is actually quite a straightforward story and I don't need to burn a lot of my braincells to 'get it'. Lol. I am not saying it's bad, but as compared to its contemporary mangas, it just isn't at par for my tastes. It's good for entertainment but it doesn't affect me like other mangas that it takes inspiration from. Some silly shipper telling me I can't read, I would tell you my credentials but nah, too much work for disproving silly ass headcanons.

Fans make comparisons between Naruto and BNHA because Horikoshi is inspired by Kishimoto, definitely some similarities are there, but it misses on the most crucial point. Naruto and Shippuden are love stories. BNHA is simply your typical shounen manga. Naruto and Shippuden use the narrative tool of subversion to tell a love story in the restrictive genre of shounen. It has multiple layers and you need presence of mind to see them. Naruto is gay and you see comphet in his character, his interest in Sakura looks superficial from the beginning and then in kage arc, it is concluded as a mere cover to run from confronting his dilemma, and closetedness. His character is consistently shown as having an internal fight, a dilemma. Sasuke is just on your face, he is clearly shown as having no interest in women, but with Naruto he is especially intimate on his own accord. Ya know, using random panels ain't gonna help, you need to establish it in the narrative. Headcanons are all nice to entertain when that's all you watch media for, shipping. But please to be showing more maturity and media comprehension when sending me an ask, I am not very sympathetic to gaslighters whose heads are filled with shippy shit and cheap self gratification. When I talk Naruto, I make comparisons with other clearly gay media, and point out the common tropes, it's a result of expansive research. Not just random panels that prove nothing. Little one, you need more than that to prove your theories. I have watched a wide range of media, including gay media, your ask is just representative of your ignorance and lack of knowledge about how storytelling and character building works. Heh. Or do you think BNHA has its own concept of homosexuality, its own private language that cannot be compared with how other media establishes homosexuality in a given universe? Yeah, solipsistic ideas like that cannot be taken seriously.

Conformity is one of the pillars Japanese society is built upon, so it's not surprising that Japanese media talks upon how anything that doesn't conform to the norms is rejected. Their media is representative of their society. Mha also touches upon that and there's no surprises there, but again, you need more than that to prove it in the course of plot building and narrative. Some random out of context panel about some character saying something about conformity proves your point? You need to SHOW it and not just tell. But where other mangas, great mangas, popular and critically well acclaimed mangas have explored this idea in detail, MHA is just touch and go. It doesn't entertain a balanced proper discourse on it. It is truly shounen in that sense. Again, I am not saying it is bad, it is just more age appropriate. Which is totally fine. Do you know how heteronormativity is established in the narrative? Like this. Show me where this happens in MHA. Lol. Sweetheart, if the writer had made any attempt to write this world as heteronormative, where gay characters face challenges, I would have seen it. But mha is just not that deep. Sorry to burst your bubble. But that's just a fact.

Seriously, you are going to give me the example of Toga? I haven't gone through the recent chapters yet. I have only watched the anime. But it is clear that, that girl is medically insane. Her idea of liking someone is to kill that person and drink their blood, for her own pleasure. She ain't a homosexual, more like hemosexual. Hahaha. Again, you gotta show me the trajectory of her character, start with the base and show me how it escalates, how does she learn better about herself, her own feelings, the world from her perspective. No character is isolated, any writer who is talented enough to write multimillion franchise knows that. Don't project your assumptions on the story and the characters, work with what you have and draw the meaning from what's given, not the other way round.

There is no doubt Izuku and Bakugou have a strong relationship, even if it is mostly rivalry. But one can see that Bakugou cares about Deku and vice versa. Before telling me how to read, perhaps you should have done it yourself. Lol, I see this type of behaviour a lot from typical silly shippy shippers. "What, did you just say my ship makes no sense? 🤬"

Read.

Do you even know what subtext or text is? Hahah. This is text and subtext. So just because Bakugou and Deku talk about their rivalry in their vulnerable moments, that the audience knows as congruent since we have already seen they have a hot and cold relationship but that they are friends nonetheless, that proves they love each other romantically? You obviously don't know how romance tropes work. The dynamic between two men who respect and admire each other is always shown with a lot of empathy in Japanese media. It is one of the founding pillars of shounen, a genre meant for teenaged boys. They are certainly closer to each other than they are with women they are interested in, but a lot of fans such as yourself misinterpret it as romantic, because headcanon goggles. No, you gotta have more than that. Where Naruto and Shippuden have it in truckloads, none of that in BNHA. Deku is heterosexual af. If he is so interested in Bakugou, how come he reacts the way he reacts to Uraraka? Where is his conflict? Where is his dilemma? His affection and romantic interest in Uraraka is genuine and sincere, not a cover to hide his more private feelings. Unlike in Naruto's case. Kishi uses clever narrative tricks and tools to tell his love story in shounen and he does it skillfully. His motives and intentions are clear as water. He uses inventive smokescreens and red herrings to escape from being too controversial and colour inside the borders of shounen, nothing like that in BNHA. To begin with, Horikoshi doesn't even delve into the sexualities of his characters, because his story is not about that. There's no context, no set up, nothing. His worldbuilding is simply conventional, by which I mean heteronormative, there's no talk about sexual orientation of characters. You see the usual shounen perviness by Mineta and Kaminari and typical straight girls going kawaai over good looking boys like Todoroki, what impression does that give? If Horikoshi wanted to establish his characters being gay, he would have set up the context mindfully and carefully, like Kishi did. Gay relationships and characters can't be shown so explicitly in shounen as that would jeopardize its distribution in the west. Reason? Censorship. That's why Kishi had to be so careful, his target audience might not get it, but the adults do. Well, unbiased adults do, at the very least. So the boys in bnha are gay just because? Because you want them to be? Storytelling and character building doesn't work like that.

Seriously everything you think works as 'analysis' isn't even valid. I honestly didn't even want to respond to this ask, given it's so surface level and ridiculously simple minded. Perhaps you are a tween or teen who thinks every time two boys or girls smile at each other or rescue each other, they are gay and in love. Lol, watch gay media. Like actually watch it and see where your arguments stand in the scheme of things. I will tell you, nowhere. Juvenile kiddy stuff. I won't entertain anymore asks like these, they are a waste of my time.

[wutheringmights]

So I finally finished rereading "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, and-- actually, hold on. I need to start from the beginning.

The first time I read "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, it was early COVID. Quarantine was in full swing, and my university had gone fully remote. I was taking a seminar class entitled "Ethno-Futurism," which focused on analyzing the ways in which sci-fi novels and short stories have discussed and commented on contemporaneous racial issues through the lens of sci-fi. Alongside other works like Octavia Butler's "Kindred," we were assigned "The Fifth Season."

I was actually pretty good about getting my readings done. But by the time Jemisin rolled around, it was the end of the quarter, and I was exhausted. I decided to strategically skip reading the book to focus on other end of the quarter projects.

Except, one of those projects was for an informational sciences class I was taking for my degree specialization. I had spent the entire quarter creating an info graphic about the diversity of Hugo Award Winners for best novel and short story. Jemisin is not only the first Black American to win the Best Novel award, but she went on to win it three times in a row for the Broken Earth Trilogy. You know, the trilogy that begins with "The Fifth Season."

Day before the reading is due, the sheer stupidity of what I was doing hit me. Why the fuck was I going to skip out on reading the book I had been researching the controversy behind for the past how many weeks? Am I that stupid?

So, yeah. I buckled down and read all 400+ pages in 24 hours.

Reading for academics is different from reading for pleasure. While I understood the plot and the characters, I was focusing more on stuff that was related to the seminar (primarily, racial castes). Which isn't to say that I didn't derive any pleasure from the book. On the contrary, I was blow away by the way Jemisin not only built this rich, complex world, but how she also deftly handled unique play at shifting narrative perspectives.

I knew at the time that if I was going to finish reading the series, I would have to start over and reread "The Fifth Season," just so that I could pay more attention to the characters and world building.

Cut to now. I had bought the last two books at a bookstore a few months ago. Now felt like the time to finally go back to the first book and actually read it for pleasure.

So... what did I think about it?

I like this book. I like it a lot. But it might not be made for me.

I'm not big into complex world building. Surprise, surprise: I prefer character drama. That's not to say that the book doesn't have fantastic characters (it has incredible characters, each one more fascinating from the last). But the world building is so intricate, there is always exposition that has to be given, to the point where I felt like I didn't get to see as much of the characters as I wanted.

To me, Essun and Damaya had the most interesting story lines. Essun's story moved really slowly, so much so that I felt like nothing much happened. In fact, nothing really happens with her by the end of it. We also see very little of Damaya. I think she has four chapters to her name. Maybe five?

Syenite has the most to do, and it feels like we linger on her the most. But as much as I like her and Alabaster, I never really got into her story line. Again, I felt like there was so many character moments I wanted them to have that kept being set aside in favor of the world building.

The story all together moves really slowly. In the end, not much as really happened. But at the same time, Jemisin is really obviously running a marathon. I have to give it time, even if it takes all three books.

For me, the most interesting part of the book is the way the prose plays with narrative perspectives. It's great. But I wonder how effective it is when the story feels so out of balance. Does the structure make sense when the novel reveals it's proverbial hand? Sure. I feel like I understand [redacted character name] really well, and they're definitely going to go on to be an icon character in the sci-fi /fantasy canon.

But... I don't know. Something feels missing. Maybe it's just lost some of its shine, now that I know the twist?

Part of the reason why I wanted to reread "The Fifth Season" now was that I wanted to study how to world build from nothing. That's an area I've always struggled in. I was hoping for some kind of epiphany moment where I would learn the secret to great fantasy/sci-fi. But I don't think I learned anything new. It's the same lesson about pacing out exposition and lore to not overwhelm the reader. I think I'm a bit bitter about that.

All that being said, I respect the hell out of this book. I don't even think that this is a book that needs people to like it. It's so confidently itself that I can feel it telling me that is I'm not the ideal reader why should it try to impress me?

And it's right. I can't be too hard on a book when it's made for people who like the extensive world building stuff. My opinion is pretty worthless here.

Overall, this is a 4.5/5. Almost perfect. Now let's see if I can finally get to those other two books.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hello! Happy Valentines day! I love your blog, and I’m wondering if you have recs for books with really solid friendships for the heroines? I’m rereading the wallflowers rn (my first historical series i ever read!) and I’m just delighted by how much the four of them like each other, and also how they get to do kinda silly stupid stuff together bc friends DO encourage each other to be deranged sometimes lmao

Yes! (And thank you.)

Offbeat rec, but I really love the way Lucia and Regin love each other in IAD--specifically Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Lucia's book) but in general. They're *technically* sisters, as all valkyries are, but they're really best friends and so ride or die for each other. When Lucia is like "I need to go on the run so my werewolf fated mate can't find me" Regin is all "I'm ON IT" and goes with her and helps her like, push Garreth down a ravine and attempt to crush him with cars. It's great.

The Mating Habits of Scoundrels by Vivienne Lorret has great, funny friendships. The girls are really supportive of each other, but they're also like... encouraging one another's worst fears. I think Wallflowers fans would really like this series--my favorites are The Wrong Marquess, How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart, and Never Seduce a Duke.

Oooh The Fifth Avenue Rebels by Joanna Shupe has fabulous friendships. This is definitely a "friends encourage friends to go goblin mode" series, especially on Nellie's part. Nellie is like, always steering Maddy to cheat on her fiancee with Archer (to be fair, Nellie had.... a conflict of interest there, but she was Right) and taking Katherine to French balls to go hook up with masked men and stuff. And in her book especially, I think you really see how much she adores her friends, and how much she feels that "everyone is getting married and growing up and moving on without me" thing, which leads to a lovely friendship moment between all four.

Hell's Belles by Sarah MacLean OBVIOUSLY has an amazing girl gang that encourages women's wrongs.

Grace Callaway's Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series by Grace Callaway has a group of crazy young vigilante girls, led by a much calmer, but secretly insane, Lady Charlotte. I just love how these girls will be like "LET'S KICK FLIP VILLAINS AND KISS BOYS".

Jennifer Ashley's first four Mackenzie books especially have really lovely, supportive friendships between the Mackenzie brides. Beth and Isabella are probably the closest, but they're all really tight and understanding of one another.

Adriana Herrera's Las Leonas series is only two books in thus far, but I've been LOVING the female friendships in that series. The women really GET each other, and I super enjoy the fact that there is like... an acknowledged bonding that goes beyond them being women in the 19th century, and goes into them being woc in a predominantly white European society especially.

And for books that have great friendships between men and women, I looove Frannie's relationships with the Scoundrels of St. James, especially Jack. Like, all these guys are a little in love with her (Jack least for sure because he actually gets that their love is platonic lol), but it's pretty quickly clear that it's like, this trauma bond situation where they actually just really GET each other and where they're coming from. So it's not like, objectifying in any way and she's more like the heart of the group, while also being great at forging things and such as that lmao.

[carmenized-onions]

I’ve been thinking about rereading the series and actually writing in to you for each chapter. Most times when you drop I’m reading it at like 1 am cause I have no impulse control and I’m feeling like I need to get back to it with fresh eyes.

I think I’ve only written in for one, two maybe? I honestly can’t remember, but I love it and you deserve all the praise. I know constructive criticism is important, but I can’t bring myself to find things that I don’t agree with.

Also, not me taking therapy advice from tumblr- like, what?!👀

I’ve been reading Running On Empty (and by reading I mean listening to the audiobook while I’m cooking dinner🙃) and I’m learning a lot. I’m the middle child and only daughter in a very dysfunctional boy family so I have actually found the recommendation helpful and I look forward to reading the others. Thanks, Dr. CO🫡

I don’t think I registered how much your story has creeped into my waking life until I found myself in the deodorant isle at target reaching for the Bearglove. The curiosity took over.😭 I am an Old Spice girl, but I’ve always done Timber w/ sandlewood or Oasis w/ vanilla notes. (If that says smth bad about me, sorry. I feel like I’m failing a personality quiz.) Anyway, you got me there. I think reading it right before bed has caused it to seep into my subconscious. And Wolfthorn- I can totally see it.😂

I know people normally send in memes for the story, but I did see this and think of you lmao

This is how I picture you in your time away.

I’m excitedly waiting for your next chapter and I can’t wait to start the reread.

I know you’ve had some transitions going on. I’m wishing you all the best and I hope you’re taking time to yourself to enjoy it!

- Elli🌿

This is so goddamn sweet. First of all. That's all I gotta say SO SWEET!! Before I get ahead of myself, I must reply to things in order so my brain doesn't nix something.

First of all: I'm not going to pretend I wouldn't love a reread and getting your thoughts-- I love your analysis! love your takes! i love everyones takes but yknow. i love your takes!! I'd also say, honestly-- I think after Chapter 13, re-reading is very fun because there's little bits that with the flashback in mind really make them hit a LOT harder!! hehehehehe

And listen critique is important and I myself have found a bunch of grammar errors/timeline errors that I will have to edit upon the series finishing but FOR NOW! WE WILL SIMPLY JUST ENJOY MY STUPID MEDIA CONTENT.

THE IDEA of someone taking anything from my little fic really means so much. Some of my favourites Qs are what's the rosemary water recipe? curly hair routine? etc etc. I'm happy to add books to the self-help list. CO IS A FUN NICKNAME IT TOOK ME A SECOND! I was like am i... a commanding officer? Yes. Yes I am. no i'm Carmenized Onions.

As the youngest daughter of an all boy family (and I mean. All boy. Cousins. All boys.) getting hit with the Running on Empty + It Didn't Start With You recc from my real doctor? Murdered. (I CAME IN THAT DAY TO ASK FOR MEDICATION ADVICE ON MY MIGRAINES BRO... WHAT!!!) I have also been listening to Running on Empty and yet to start It Didn't Start With You, but I'm sure it'll fucking kill me.

It's the little things,,,, it's the little things of creeping into the lives of strangers via changing their hair routines and giving them book reccs and making them feel like i am haunting them while they pick out deodorant.

TIMBER AND/OR OASIS ARE ALSO GOOD!! The wolfthorn thing comes from my real life of every real lesbian I know using it, however I think it got discontinued in some countries? Fucked up if true. Bearglove I had to do for Carmen because it's fucking Bearglove but the notes did seem like it would smell good. If you got it let me know if it is to your taste I'm curious.

that IS me! that's me on the fuckin subway absolutely dissapearing on my commute in my mind, making edits on the train.

Which speaking of, can I be so fuckin forreal? i'm struggling sm with this next chapter man i'm dying. no one volunteer but this onion might have to accept defeat and look for beta readers i'm fucking IN HELL!!!

it's probably just the massive life transitions talking. Life wise I'm doing great! Finally finished setting up/decorating/unpacking my room. I've got two roommates (my dear friends) and a cat, and this is the first time we've had SO much living space room, so we're slowly figuring all that tf out.

Who knows where to get a good kitchen island that isn't 600 dollars please. girl please. ikea failed me for the first time baby please.

again this was so so so so sweet and I can't wait to see thoughts pour in should they come should you choose to reread!! fuck it, WIP for u:

what the hell are they talking about!!!! LOVE YOU BYE!

[cloud-somersault]

Hello, (pls ignore the ping on discord) I'm stupid. I had no idea you were making a podcast or that you had a youtube channel 😭 I should have checked here first, but wow 🫡 <--- does not know what a podcast is but a salute for all the dedication you've put into this series! 👀 I listened long enough to tell if it was like, a video talking about the fic or a reading of it before needing to rush back and I caught the word "lore" and 👀 absolutely seated for lore because I remember reading your fic before I found your tumblr and I'd love to read it proper because it was just SO GOOD and I got so curious to see what else happened in the story that I went and read pieces of all of it so I didn't have to wait in agony with the little available time, and my brain is telling me that you have some gorgeous star descriptions in one of the chapters and some really complex dialogue that was simply stellar psychologically, so a podcast cutting into the behind the scenes fic process lore sounds really fun to hear :D I'm sorry I keep blabbing to you like this, it's just taking me FOREVER to get to it with all my obligations but you have worked far too hard to deliver such a wonderful fic for free and are far too kind for me to just read this fic and not drop a 10k review eventually 💖 I just don't want you think I'm nabbing french fries from your restaurant and dipping when there's a whole plate of roasted chicken and a fancy dinner talk to be had XD

Oh! No worries. And I get the confusion. A podfic is the word used for when someone's reading a fic aloud. You'll sometimes see an author say their fics are "podfic friendly" which means people are free to record themselves reading the fic! (All of my fics are podfic friendly as well!)

But a podcast is just me rambling about gay monkeys for hours 😂

And that is okay. I know Constellations and the podcasts are a huge time investment. I get that, believe me. Please take your time reading and enjoying! They aren't going anywhere. It's just content for people who are caught up and want MORE (I get it) and podcasts take less time than writing a chapter so! I do not mind.

Aw, no pressure about leaving a long review. As long as you enjoyed something about it and took some word or phrase with you...that's all I care about. There are phrases from fics and stuff I remember to this day from decades ago. I want my writing to do that to people!

But yeah! There's a lot about constellations that I forgot about, so I was thinking of doing a reread and recording my thoughts or whatever, because I never got to talk about the earlier chapters.

Or I could do that for the epilogue 🤔🤔 OOOO THAT WOULD BE FUN

[flfverse]

Oh gosh, ok first things first, the obligatory (but still very genuine) please take care of yourself— no fanfiction is worth killing yourself over (no matter how much you or we love it.) At the same time, wildly excited that you’re still working on Free Falling regardless of everything happening in your life — I love it so much. Tbh, I’ll take any part of FLFverse in any form.

Since you said you were looking for asks, I have a couple of questions stacked up as I’ve been reading and rereading all your fics — no pressure to answer ofc, and idk if some of these answers contain spoilers or things you want to keep secret at the moment, but here we go.

Ok so history of subs in the hero world: in one of your BakuDeku fics, they watch this All Might series and you mention this female sub who was the first hero sub, but that there was just generally stupidity by society and the hero world that relegated her to sidekick hood (and then I think she left actually doing the heroics to manage her own agency? Forgive my memory. It’s been a minute since I’ve read it and I too am drowning in college.)

At the same time, however, from both Hawks and Deku’s POVs, there seems to be not any subs at all in the hero world when they’re heroes/training to be heroes. And forgive me if I’m wrong, but I sense from some of the BKDK fics, Deku is kinda seen as one of the first out sub heroes? Obviously there’s a huge gap in the middle between where Free Falling is right now and where the BKDK fics pick up that you probably can’t answer, but is it just like, an open secret in the hero world that Hawks is a sub? Is he one of several that can get by as long as they don’t openly admit it? Have there been hero subs before Hawks, or is her the first high profile heros who’s a sub, regardless of who knows? Have there been other high profile sub heros before Hawks and Deku? I don’t even know how much of that you can answer, but I’m just too obsessed with your world building and fictional history to not ask.

Ok so the next thing I have to ask, and I’m also guessing it’s a thing you can’t answer bc as an obsessive writer/reader of fiction, this is what I would center a plot point on (which, no judgement if you aren’t going to, I’m just obsessively theorizing in my free time): what are the legal ramifications of contracts? Hawk’s specifically. I remember that you posted a lot about contract’s legality, and a lot of Hawk’s seems to be in the illegal zone, ie, he signed it when he was underaged. Again, my memory is failing me, so I can’t remember if things like, there’s no dom specified or that there’s no end date specified could nullify the contract either. But then there’s the thing about permanent contracts. Is this like catholic marriage? Like, you can’t get it dissolved ever, unless under incredibly specific circumstances? Or do illegalities trump permanence? Is permanence itself even legal? But if it isn’t, why is everyone so afraid of that? (Personally, Im sensing Legal and Court Drama in the future, and if that’s the case, please know that I will literally lose my mind in anticipation.)

Anyways, those are things I’ve been stewing over. They might be too plot heavy for you to answer, idk, I’ve never done one of these before. But despite my absolute love of this entire world (but especially Free Falling), or rather, because of it, please take your time and prioritize your mental health! I think everyone who reads this series and loves it a lot would prefer it be a thing that’s made the way you want it to be in a way that’s supportive to you, no matter how long it takes or when the updates come :)

🥺 you’re so sweet 💖 and thank you for the ask!

SO, history of submissive heroes. basically that first hero sub (Morioka!) (she still needs a first name and a hero name shh) was doing it illegally/undercover, then once her secret got out she fought and won the right to keep being a hero so woo submissives can be heroes now.

[side note: i imagine that even she technically wasn’t The First, like when quirks were still new and heroes weren’t regulated, who was going to stop them? but it was still very rare bc of the general attitude around subs and it’s all very hush hush no one talks about that bit. it’s not like they were real heroes, after all 🙄]

so anyway, all that went down just ahead of aizawa’s generation, actually. his first year at UA was the first year the school started allowing submissives (not every hero school did right away, those requirements took a few years). as we know, aizawa and yamada are switches. you know who isn’t? oboro :3

i would like to write about that sometime. just. rahhh. that’s part of why aizawa is very pro-sub (the rest is, you know, basic human decency).

oh—i forgot about the fate of morioka up there. she was actually dropped by her agency for the scandal and did her best working with other heroes/on her own for a little while, but ultimately it got to be too much and she retired early to find a different career. unfortunately not the most feel-good story.

as for how many submissive heroes there are now, during Free Falling, i’d say there’s a handful. but like morioka, quite a few burn out or never really climb the ranks that much and fade into obscurity. on the face of it discrimination is Bad and Not Allowed, but toxic workplaces, y’know? i don’t think i’ve said it outright, but i’ve definitely alluded to ryukuu being a sub. she’s the highest ranking one known to the public and gets a ton of shit for it, but from what we see in canon she doesn’t seem to be too big on the spotlight anyway? i don’t see her as being very activism-minded, she’s just trying to do her job, not be the face of a movement, and probably avoids discussing it publicly just for the sake of her own sanity. valid.

hawks is technically going stealth as a switch. he just dodges the question if it’s brought up or says something vague. the fan conspiracy theories are probably wild (oh no, now i’m thinking about FLFverse rpf xreader fic), but among heroes it’s kind of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” thing—at least the ones that aren’t dicks.

hawks’s image is very carefully crafted by the commission and they do not want that part of him to become undeniable fact because it would damage his reputation. especially after everything he’s accomplished. the first hero to make top ten before he’s twenty is a submissive? uh, yeah, right. that would go over well.

beyond that, i think it’s pretty much just deku who’s high-profile. and kaminari and jirou to a lesser extent (and whoever else i’ve decided subs, there’s 20 of them leave me alone). their whole class is really famous for obvious reasons, so it’s kind of a given. i’d like to say that deku being, you know, who he is starts to change some minds, and he probably does, but not so much that it takes all the fun out of playing with the social hierarchy, right? ;D change can’t be that easy.

hm, gotta think about the second question. if there is to be Legal And Courtroom Drama, it would be in part 4, which is a huge amorphous blob in my brain right now. i know some legal stuff has to happen/change, but i’m not sure if i’ll focus on it or not yet. tucking that in my back pocket!

anyway. what i can say about that right now is that hawks’s contract is very illegal, but pretty much solely bc of the underage signing, especially given that it’s permanent. permanent contracts are like marriage licenses. they’re the only ones that have to be registered with the government in order to “count” and they are harder to get out of, but not quite catholic-marriage-level. and yes, illegalities would trump permanence.

the question is….do you trust the hero commission to be honest with either the government or hawks?

there’s also the whole deal that separate from the D/s contract, hawks still has his canon contract where the commission bought him from his mom. what’s up with that? time will tell.

there’s also other legal/ethical/etc issues going on which, of course, you all won’t know about until the end of part two. :) i can do ~intrigue~, i promise

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

tig characters/couples as ts songs - rebecca and tolerate it

not only is this my favorite taylor song ever, but it's also a song rebecca would relate to. i've been wanting to make this post ever since i first read this series because i immediately thought of this song when i first met rebecca in the books. its been a while since i first read the books, but i'm currently rereading them so...

too lazy to proof read (as always)

"i notice everything you do or don't do you"

rebecca spent her entire life looking after emily from the sidelines, watching her, trying to be like her etc. she knows everything there is to know about emily, but emily doesn't know her the way she does her. not only did she never even make an effort to, but she also convinced her that, out of the two of them, she was more worth knowing. rebecca's parents grew up dotting on emily while rebecca was forced to watch them pretend her away. emily is who rebecca wishes she was.

"you're so much older and wiser and i use my best colors for your potraits... and watch you tolerate it"

emily tended to convince rebecca that she knew best, and that her needs were more important that hers. rebecca couldn't date thea because she wanted to please her sister, but what about her? although the older part doesn't apply, the way emily acted around rebecca (based on the interactions rebecca told avery about and stuff) makes me think of the way an older sister/brother might make their younger siblings feel lesser than or like their opinions don't matter. emily wasn't older, but she acted like she was, and made rebecca seem childlike (at least to me) (i can imagine her telling rebecca things like 'are you stupid, listen to me, i know what's best for you, people won't like you if you do this). emily's a master manipulator and it honestly wouldn't surprise me. rebecca clearly felt the need to prove herself to her sister. she made rebecca feel so insignificant and unworthy that not even her hair was hers. rebecca referred to it as 'out hair' when talking to avery because she can't ever have something for herself.

rebecca tended to ignore all the red flags because emily is her sister. thus, using her best colors for her portrait. emily would give her all of this advice and tell her she knew best, making rebecca sort of look up to her in a twisted, sick way. emily was so above rebecca in bec's head. not even emily's manipulations and hurtful comments and actions could change that.

rebecca felt the need to impress emily because of all of this, but emily didn't care. she was number 1, and rebecca always came second to her, no matter what. nothing rebecca did or said ever impressed her.

"i take your indiscretions all in good fun"

like i said, rebecca would ignore all of her bullshit and wrong doings because emily convinced her she was lesser than her. when you love someone so much, you tend to ignore the red flags because you don't want to admit to yourself that this person is actually no good, and you should leave them behind (like how people in abusive relationships sometimes have a hard time leaving their partner). rebecca couldn't imagine a life without emily in it.

everyone around her thought so highly of her, so why shouldn't she? if everyone else could forgive her so easily, why shouldn't she? emily's her sister, and admitting that she doesn't really see you as one and just sees you as an extension of herself is hard to admit to yourself. admitting that means accepting that you never meant anything to your own sister.

"while you were out there building other worlds where was i"

this is sort of the turning point for her. after emily's death, it became easier for her to accept that emily was a horrible person and hurt everyone around her (this is due to her seeing the destruction she caused in gray and jamie). emily got to live whilst she had to stand on the sidelines watching because "emily has a heart disease, she deserves it" or because "emily probably doesn't have long to live, but you do, so this is her time to shine". emily's death and her parents' reaction to it was sort of like a catalyst. her love for emily sort of turned into hatred, making her feel guilty because no one should hate their sister. she realized that she also deserved to live and that not everything emily says, goes. emily ruined her childhood, and her death is what made her realize this.

"i made you my temple, my mural, my sky, now i'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life"

i mentioned this before but rebecca grew up looking up to emily. she thought she was amazing and accomplished and everything someone should thrive to be. emily didn't think of rebecca the same way. she was conceited, stuck up and had this superiority complex. whilst emily meant everything to rebecca, rebecca meant next to nothing to emily.

"always taking up too much space or time"

this could be seen two ways. taking up too much space in her parents' lives or emily's. her parents were always dotting on emily, and completely ignored rebecca. she couldn't ask for anything without feeling like she didn't deserve the attention. this also applies to emily in the sense that emily had all of these things going on in her life, and she didn't really want to spend time with rebecca. she just liked to get her to do everything she wanted her to (she liked knowing she could manipulate the people around her to do what she wanted them to) rebecca needed her sister in her life, but emily didn't need hers.

"what would you do if i.... took this dagger in me and removed it"

rebecca finally starts to realize that emily is just a sick manipulator who doesn't deserve a second thought. she wants to get her out of her thoughts. she wants to forget about her and rip the dagger (that is emily) out of her mind. even now, after her death, emily is still managing to control her. the thing about being stabbed is that, by removing that dagger, you are basically harming yourself by letting yourself bleed out. that is why doctors recommend you to not remove the dagger when you get stabbed in order for you to not die of blood loss. the same applies to emily. by removing emily from her thoughts, she's removing her from her life. that isn't something you'd want to do to your sister even after her death and destruction. by forcing herself to let go of her sister, she's causing herself more pain because letting her go, even after all of the pain she caused her, is unfathomable to her. she can't live without her no matter how sick that is. rebecca has never really been her own person (she's always been an extension of emily), so, without emily, who is she? removing the dagger (emily) is removing a crucial part of herself. rebecca has always been emily 2.0 and not rebecca. the current rebecca is a creation of emily's.

this one was honestly super fun to make. i loved putting myself in her shoes and writing this. it's also made me hate emily even more.. hope you guys liked this (i'm really proud of this one).

[sxfik]

Omg dud you finally get around to reading witchshadow?? What are your all over thoughts??

omg hello!! and yes i did! i actually ended up rereading the whole series because it's been literally seven years (saying that outloud makes it so much more real wtf). it took me a while bc my god are those books a l o t to get through for me now.

i mean idk if i need to preface this since you were literally there but like... i was one of like the 10 people that was active about this series on here when it started back in the 2016-2017 era. like i love this series, and to this day i've kept the username and all the stuff i wrote for it, so just like idk a disclaimer: im not here to hate or anything, just truly mourning something i really loved.

overall thoughts: witchshadow was so disappointing. like resoundingly disappointing. there was so many things i had issues with, and idk if i even have enough time and words to describe it. i feel like this whole series suffered from having too many complex plot points and too many characters introduced five books into a six book series. not to mention the amount of lore and words that is dropped into the books with little to no explanation of what they mean and what they indicated in this world? like how is it book five and i still don't understand what a domna truly is?

i feel like the complexity balance was really held well up until witchshadow, when it literally just got so confusing that none of the characters felt like themselves? also the weird timeline for this book did not help. like jesus christ this book is complex as it is, how are you making it harder for us??

like a) iseult. i felt like she was overshadowed in her own book, i wanted to know about her nomatsi heritage and literally so much about her like the other books did for the main characters, but this felt so disappointing. where was all the worldbuilding you set up for this moment? why did esme just get downgraded all of a sudden? and also just... she doesn't feel like she made any character improvement/her arc went backwards?

b) safi was just? stupid in this book? how did she have a negative character arc. like i know she's supposed to be reckless and making impulse and stupid plans, but her character felt reduced to just that. like first and second book safi: i knew why she was making these decisions, even if they backfired, but this just feels like a mockery of her character. and i love safi, and i wish she had a way better arc than she did, and got treated with the same book time as isuelt and aeduan.

and also god, the weird emperor/safi bs was so unbareable. she's literally like 18 in this book (i actually thought she was closer to 19/20 but whatever i guess she's 18 here). every scene with them was so werid and uncomfortable. (especially that weird one where she walks in while he has sex what the fuck was going on there) why was she desperate to have sex with what i assume to be like a 60 year old??? i had to force myself to read through these parts and not skip them

and god the hellbards. i loved them at first but im getting sick of them taking over the story. why are they so important that they essentially replace both merik and practically the whole main cast of characters. why are they mentioned at every turn? if they were this important, why didnt you introduce them sooner?

c) why does safi and iseult just not have any interaction. its literally been five books bro the seperation arc is enough (and yes i fully consider them separated) !! why have they had 0 character development together?? they're arguably the center of this series, and what started this whole chase, and yet we've gotten maybe one book and a half of them actually growing together. how is this gonna turn out for the final book when you have maybe 600 pages and 6 characters to get through?

d) where the fuck was merik. hes literally a main character how did he disappear??

e) the whole vivia/stix to vivia/vaness makes me. upset. i dont understand the decision to make them threadsisters when they were vivia was gay panicking about her 24/7 in windwitch. literally 0 buildup for something that feels like it came out of nowhere. why are they like siblings now, it feels so so so weird. i honestly have so much more to say about this and yet im still upset

now this might seem like such a hateful rant, and i promise it's not hate, it's just frustration at what seemed like such an excellent book series. and honestly, up until bloodwitch i was doing fine and then this book was just... so different to the rest of the series. i know susan was forced to combine the books into one, and so maybe that's why, but idk man, this felt so disappointing.

i love foreshadowing and worldbuilding when it's done right, and i think it was doing great until this book. a lot of stuff felt like plot twists out of nowhere, with no rhyme or reasoning to it. it just didn't feel like a witchlands book if you get what i feel. honestly, out of love and time for this series, i think i'll be reading the final book as well in the series, hoping things get fixed and we get to see characters that were beloved back again.

(p.s. how are you? its been so long!!)

[qvnthesia]

hey, hey, hey! hope you're doing good <33 may i present to you, qvnthesia's ao3 wrapped (def better than spotify wrapped!)

How many words have you written this year? — 100,000+ (i thought i wrote less with the writer slump T~T)

How many works have you published this year? — 4; I'm more for a long-fic person lmao

What work are you most proud of? — See You In My Nightmares! *excited*

What work of yours has the most hits? — Definitely See You In My Nightmares (the amount of people that have subscribed to the fic more than YMH is mind-blowing 😂)

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? — It'd have to be Gently Into the Cold, Dark Earth. It was just supposed to be a one-shot, I didn't expect my inbox to blow up + See You In My Nightmares again 😂

Favorite title you used? — bespangled prairies (for my sw fic!)

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? — Mostly Taylor Swift

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? — Klaulena and Elejah are tied 😂

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? — Klaulena (they do things to me, okay? 😭)

What work was the quickest to write? — Time After Time (elejah oneshot that just burst out of me from nowhere)

What work took you the longest to write? — Well, considering I'm writing them right now, See You In My Nightmares and Yours, My Heart collectively take the prize. But, personally speaking, I think Yours, My Heart takes longer because there's a lot of mystery I've got to keep up with and crosscheck with my notes.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? — 36 ahahahaha *dies*

What’s your longest work of the year? — See You In My Nightmares (one of the chapters is 21K+ words 😂)

What’s your shortest work of the year? — Time After Time

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? — My two on-going long-fics! + my sw short-fic

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? — Canon Divergence (I've said it before and I will say it again—I recognize that canon has made a decision, but given that it's a STUPID-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it)

Your favorite character to write this year? — Elena! 😭💖+ Anakin (he's a man tugging my own heart)

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? — Klaus, that man is both hot and insane.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? — Dunno, probably Finnlena, since I have planned a series of one-shots surrounding the Mikaelsons and Elena.

Which work of yours have you reread the most? — See You In My Nightmares (to understand why people like it so much + a reminder that i need to update but i never do)

How many kudos in total did you get this year? — 991 kudos!

Which work has the most comments? — With a comment thread count of 122, See You In My Nightmares 😂

Did you do any collaborative works this year? — Unfortunately, no :(((

Did you write any gifts this year? — I'm actually writing one for @kaizsche!! a bit nervous but excited too!!

Did you receive any gifts this year? — @kaizsche and I are exchanging fics and I'm pretty excited! (nervous but excited, gahh, gotta write good)

What’s your most common category? — f/m

What do you listen to while writing? — First it was indie, then some dark moody songs but now it's a mix of the second one and instrumentals + slowed and reverb songs.

Favorite work you wrote this year? — Time After Time

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? — This one is from Chapter 12 of SYIMN. “My brother and I, we didn’t hate her for turning into a vampire, we despised her because we thought she was kind. We thought she might be like Tatia, we didn’t expect her to turn out so… different. Yes, even though I was going to sacrifice her, Elijah had a backup plan to bring her back to life. I wasn’t supportive of his plan, but my brother wears his heart on his sleeve for the women from your bloodline, no matter how many tailored suits he wears to shroud his true nature from the world. For Tatia, I did the same. For Katherine, I didn’t. At first, yes, even I considered a future with her, but—” he clicks his tongue. “—that strange emotion in her eyes made me reconsider. And after what she did, I was right. I didn’t see it coming, though. I didn’t see how desperate she was to trick us and somehow live. That betrayal stung deeper than my mother’s role in Tatia’s death. Ever since then, we realized it was a mistake to ever come to love a Petrova.”

Biggest surprise while writing this year? — Around the end of February, I got invited to join a server where a bunch of writers that I'd followed on Tumblr and AO3 were there and I was so excited and happy to actually get a chance to interact with them because the way we've interacted, the ideas we've exchanged and all the times we've listened and helped each other, it's happened to me for the first time 😂 + I've never actually improved so much in writing until I started writing on AO3 and this year just took it to new heights. My worldbuilding rates, writing rates, everything's just gone up in a good way and I'm really content with myself about that, and... yeah! 😂

And that's all from me! It's New Year's Eve and I'd like to thank all the characters I've got a chance to meet (except Susdious and the Salvatores), thank you for making me a better writer! And a very huuuge and special thanks to @kaizsche @sevensistersofsussex @katherineholmes @feralcherry @jennifersminds @elena-mikaelson @amandamonroe and @wazman, y'all are godsend <33