#i will probably enjoy their dynamic the best

[tseecka]

It's also one of the absolute best ways to find MORE fic that will scratch whatever itch brought you to that author in the first place. Because if you click on an author (using one of my faves to demonstrate),

To go to their page,

You can click on this link here,

To find OTHER WORKS THAT AUTHOR ENJOYED READING.

I'm so fucking serious: this is like a Wikipedia rabbit hole but for fanfiction. Many of my absolute favourite fics or writers are ones I discovered by investigating what my current faves are reading and liking well enough to bookmark.

This isn't foolproof obviously. Not everyone uses bookmarks, many people make their bookmarks privately, but if you're stymied by the absolute glut of fic in your favourite tags and want to find something new to read, it's such an amazing place to start. Consider:

If you're finicky about writing style or quality, odds are your favorite fic writer is bookmarking works that jive with their own sensibilities.

You like how they write particular dynamics or tropes or kinks? They probably have their own favorites in those categories. Same goes for motifs or themes.

You want to know what other fandoms might be inspiring them, where you might find content you enjoy as well? Explore what fandoms they are reading fic for, and maybe discover something new! (Case in point; I first learned about Victoria Goddard's books specifically from exploring what @ariaste was reading, and now I LOVE THEM.)

Some tags for fandoms or pairings have tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of fics. Relying only on kudos or bookmark counts to sort through them all isn't a guaranteed way of finding your next fave fic, but washing through years or even decades of stories isn't necessarily feasible. This can also be a fantastic way to uncover hidden or forgotten gems and show older fics some love. You wanna know how you get authors gushing with excitement about someone commenting on their fic from 2007 that they thought had been entirely subsumed by the influx of reboot fans? You follow the rabbit hole!

It's not creepy. It's not stalking. It's not even weird. Users can make their bookmarks private if they choose to, or just bookmark through other means. Looking through what your faves loved enough to save for later is such a great way to replicate the old Internet communities of webrings and message boards, of making recommendations to one another.

And then, don't forget to make your own bookmarks--because you can also go down these rabbit holes by taking a look at who bookmarked that fic you love so much, and seeing what else THEY'VE liked enough to save; and people can do the same with you.

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[spritesitrus]

Heyo!

What's a headcanon/story about your Koopalings, that no one has asked the right question yet, for you to tell about?

(Like, you have a headcanon about their favourite foods or something, but no one has asked about that yet)

I totally forgot to share their dynamics like long ago so quick chart I made to quickly summarize the more important dynamics (plus some extra ones)

The last one is a little joke that goes with a short fic I was writing of the Koops worrying about Jr and Larry becoming adults since enough bad things have happened to the rest of them because of lore reasons™ (the point in which this fic takes place in my timeline is when everyone's doin' good tho so nothing to worry about)

Anyways I wanted to share some little tidbits of the fic cuz why not

Also as a treat, I will share some dumb trivia for them (I did already share some of Iggy's stuff before but I'll just leave it here since I just took it from these lol ToT) and I've included Jr as well!

Cooking Skills

Ludwig- Cooking hasn't been his strong suit for a long time and prefers to not “Meddle with those affairs”(his words). 

Lemmy- He's able to cook but usually only cooks stuff he knows and never really ventures out to try new things. But he's always happy to try if it's something everyone agrees on wanting to eat. 

Morton- Used to suck but has become the best chef out of all of them. He enjoys cooking for others and always offers to do it. 

Roy- Can cook basic level things but he's not really good at it. He doesn't like waiting so sometimes it gets burnt. 

Iggy- Absolute dogshit at cooking. Do not let him near a stove unless you want something to blow up. 

Wendy- She's good at cooking but it's not something she likes doing regularly all the time. God forbid having to cook with her other siblings too, it'd just be chaos. 

Larry- Only knows how to use the michael wave.

Jr- He waits to be served.

Singing Voice (formatted this on an understanding that this is them having a karaoke night)

Ludwig- He's good at singing but I think it's one of those voices that are just decent in their own way rather than being outstanding. It's probably one of the few things Ludwig is okay about not being perfect. 

Lemmy- He's pretty tone deaf but he tries. Everyone cheers him on for his enthusiasm. 

Morton- He sings quietly but he's not actually half-bad. It's not something he really likes doing so he just lets anyone else sing if they want the mic. 

Roy- Not that great and he falsettos a lot. He probably steals the mic the most. 

Iggy- He's alright at singing but can’t reach high notes well and is quite flat. 

Wendy- The best singer out of them all. She has a powerful voice and is a showoff about it. 

Larry- His singing is quite nice but prefers rapping more. He's the type of mf who beatboxes at crazy speeds. 

Jr- He's actually pretty good at singing too but it embarrasses him the most since everyone is so enthusiastic for him when he does. 

Dance Skills

Ludwig- Only knows how to waltz because of course he does. Outside of that, he dances exactly like a dad. He makes sure to avoid Bowser during parties so the others can't compare them. 

Lemmy- A total dancing machine. He mostly likes to do break dancing and disco but can quickly pick up on other dances as well. 

Morton- Doesn't seem like someone who dances, but he will get down if the situation calls for it. 

Roy- A great dancer who always likes to show off whenever he's partying. He can breakdance, pop and lock, moonwalk, you name it, he can do it. He's also a really good teacher and teaches a dance class in his spare time. The only time he ever wanted to give up on a student was when he was teaching Iggy. 

Iggy- Can't dance for shit, like he literally has no rhythm. The only move he knows is the floss and it took the gang forever to teach him how in the first place. 

Wendy- A very graceful dancer and knows ballet. Though she's always ready to be on the dance floor too. How could she not when she and Roy are literally besties?

Larry- A pretty good dancer. He can pick up moves easily and knows how to groove. 

Jr- He tries to act too cool and cross his arms all like “Heh, I don't dance” but in reality, it's because he's embarrassed that he's a clumsy dancer. 

[basil--and--sage]

Since some of you enjoyed my Uncle Thorin headcanons, I thought I'd share some for Dwalin.

Dwalin headcanons nobody can dissuade me from, part 1:

he's a big old softie

Thorin might be his king, but he is also his best friend, and so Dwalin sees it as his duty to mock him relentlessly on a regular basis

they bicker like an old married couple

Fíli and Kíli might not normally call him uncle, but he is their uncle in every way

the main reason for his hair loss is probably the fact that Kíli more or less spent his childhood sitting on Dwalin's shoulders and holding onto his mohawk

to this day whenever Fíli looks at him with big blue eyes and calls him Uncle Dwalin, while Kíli stands next to him with a wobbly chin, he has a hard time saying no

he snores even worse than Thorin. Sometimes he startles himself awake by it

he's a crier

he might appear to be all taciturn and grumpy, but he is actually a great conversationalist and very good at giving advice

he acts like he dislikes gossip, but his ears are wide open and mentally he clutches his pearls

whenever he is worried, he goes to his big brother to talk about it

instead of singing, he shouts

during the quest he is scared of accidentally stepping on Bilbo

he likes to stare menacingly at people he doesn't like

unfortunately he also stares menacingly at people he does like. That's why he is still single

he lost part of his ear in a freak sex accident

he polishes his bald head every morning

every winter he wears a woollen hat with earflaps and a bobble Balin made for him. Nobody dares to laugh at him

he's a cuddler

he gives great hugs

he and Balin live together

whenever they have a mouse in their home, Balin has to shoo it out, while Dwalin stands on a chair armed with one of his axes

Balin pinches his cheek and tweaks his nose on a regular basis and calls him baby brother. Dwalin acts like he hates it, but he doesn't

he sighs a lot, especially when Thorin (or Kíli) pulls another one of his stupid stunts

he's a sore loser

he might have a weird crush on Nori

he might also have a weird crush on Bofur

he is very confused about it himself and continues to stare menacingly and stay single

(tbc)

[bukatra]

Because there's a difference between what I think is actually going on in canon and what I would like to happen or what could have happened.

Heres a nonshipping example. In canon, Castile and Charlie barely spent any time together. Canonically I think at best they were friendly acquaintances who both cared for Dean. That's my opinion on canon

But I like to believe that if Charlie had lived longer and spent more time around Cas, they would totally spend hours binging nerdy shows or talking about sci-fi. I wish they could have done huge movie nights with Dean and Cas and Charlie and Garth and Kevin and Sam because their vibes would all gel so well into this really heartwarming memories. I think IF Cas and Charlie both watched Star Trek, Castiel would talk about how much he identified with Data and Spock. He would say that Dean was too much like Kirk or Bones and Charlie would tease him and Dean by sending them Spirk fanfiction.

That's all things I wish happened or might have happened if things went differently.

I wish Dean and Sam had fucked. The two men together are gorgeous and their chemistry, if it evolved into sexual, would be amazing. I enjoy looking at scenes to see how they could be interpreted from a sexual/romantic lense. I think that certain behavior can be seen through that lens. I think there are multiple occasions where their dynamic could have changed.

Most importantly, I think actually having sex would not change their dynamic much. They are already so entangled that having sex wouldn't make that much difference they would still talk to each other the same, still live together the same. Maybe they might be more emotionally available? Or more open about their feelings? Maybe?

But the end result is all of that is not canon. All of that is my headcanons and wishful thinking. Canonically they are probably just brothers who fulfilled husband-coded roles in each others lives and whose trauma filled lives blurred the lines to where brother doesn't have the same connotations as it does for most people

I can say “yeah I don't think they ever fucked” AND say “if they were fucking, I bet Dean would top and there's a 10 page essay on why I think that.” AND say “if you assume they are banging nasty, this line Dean says here takes on a whole new meaning.”

I've watched spn and no I don't think wincest is inherent to the show??? Like maybe u don't have siblings that act the way they do, which is fair- most don't. And ofc they're codependent and toxic or whatever, but it's still very much brotherly love. Or if anything, Dean practically raised Sam. Wouldn't you do anything for the child u raised?

Your entire argument relies on some nonexistent line of familial behaviour that *you* think devolves into an incestuous one. I think you're the one not understanding what you just saw. Maybe read up on family dynamics and reevaluate your thoughts on wincest. I don't want this to become a lengthy discussion on boundaries.

I also do feel the need to point out that most of the people that ship wincest are def talking about a romantic relationship which is just incorrect as per the writers, actors and literally everyone else saying its not romantic. But ppl are allowed to be crazy about fictional characters so I don't really have anything much to say on that.

Personally, heres what I think is happening *IN CANON* i.e, this is what i think is going through their heads and hearts during their actions onscreen:

Dean and Sam are codependant to the point that they dont have a sense of self outside of their relationship and role of the other brother. Most of the emotional support/intimacy/nurturing/trust/etc that adults typically get from romantic or sexual partners is gotten via their brother. They struggle to create bonds with other people that are beyond friend or casual sexual partners. Deans connection to Castiel is a rare exception. They fill very similar roles in their day to day life as husbands or wives do in normal peoples lives. Due to their lifes, privacy is near impossible and its so rare that its almost seen as a breach of trust to keep anything at all a secret(i.e, having interests, posessions, relationships, etc that the brother is unaware of is shoking and both have gotten angry about the other having anything in their lives that they are unaware of)

So basically, a large amount of what constitutes their relationship are things typically attributed to sexual or romantic partners.

This is what is often referred to as the canonical wincest or weirdcest.

Do i think they had sex canonically? Hell no.

Do i think they ever talked about their relationship canonically? Hell no.

Do i think they knew that their relationship skewed way closer to the kind of dynamic usually seen in couples? Yes.

In fact i think that most of the back and forth of their dynamic (pushing the other one away only to yank him back in, one season they think they need to split up. The next season they are saying thwyll never leave each other) is just them becoming aware that they are basically acting emotionally the way most romantic partners do, freaking out, trying to distance themselves only to realize they are all they have. They cant reach this level of intimacy with someone else.

I dont think they ever did more than hug. But emotionally they filulfill the same needs normally found in a commited sexual and romantic relationship.

Perhaps as someone who is asexual and aromantic whose had relationships that were long term committed relationships where we cohabited and raised pets and children together all while being very reliant on each other for emotional support and intimacy and validation without any sex or romance involver, I am able to look at these two brothers and easily see that they are basically in a queer platonic partnership.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Pages from trying to keep a little sketchbook-scrapbook type thing going for two weeks lol. I gave myself specific rules in hopes they might all end up more cohesive/consistent seeming, but alas, scribbly chaos reigns, it seems

[wanderer-clarisse]

cousin bonding time (I like to imagine that Maedhros is the one who tied baby Finrod's hair!)

sorry for being suddenly inactive here lately, Things Happened and I haven't really had the time to sit down and draw until this week ;-; hope this little sketch can make up for it!

[aroaceleovaldez]

i would like to say my ideal PJO adaptation (if i was being physically forced against my will to have to pick a live action adaptation over an animated one for some reason) would be a combo like writing of the musical + casting of the show + visuals of the movies

BUT the show actually does have the playwright for the musical as one of the major writers for like three episodes and that did nothing for it. so...

[whippetcrimes]

Laying on a heated blanket, tucked into another soft blanket, warm sweater, head on her pillow... What a life.

[constantvariations]

A trend in Astarion fics that I find bizarre is the idea that he's never been treated gently during sex. This is difficult to believe for one simple reason: some of Astarion's victims were virgins.

Astarion: You were handsome. Shy. You'd never been kissed. Sebastian: You taught me how. And then you destroyed me.

I get the desire to make his current partner special by having their sex be good and wholesome in comparison to his other trysts, but this is a flawed sentiment. The cutscene of that first night together is incredibly tender from the kiss to laying on the grass - the only outlier being if you offer your neck - and if you sleep with Astarion but keep it at that night, Astarion himself says he will never forget you. Not because the PC was uniquely gentle with him in bed, but because they were the first person he ever slept with of his own free will. It's his choice that makes that night special to him moreso than anything the PC may or may not have done during that time.

[sysig]

He’ll try, anyway (Patreon)

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

obsessed with their different reactions to being called starcrossed lovers

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Republic of Salt

book two in The Mirror Realm Cycle, historical fantasy set in an alternate Inquisition era Spain

in the human world, Toba and Asmel are on the run, pursued by the Courser and demons

Naftaly, Barsilay, Elena, and the old woman are traveling across the Mazik realm until they reach Zayit - which will soon be under siege by the Cacador due to its trade in salt, which poisons Maziks - and must find a way to save the city and stop the conquest of both worlds

[meliohy]

Watching ID:Invaded threw me into a nostalgia of when I was a teenager obsessed with fictional serial killers like Beyond Birthday or Jeff the killer, and the book "I'm not a serial killer". I thought I had grown out of that but apparently the concept is still deeply compeling to me, especially when it's about characters interacting with an imprisoned serial killer. Or when it's about someone who is trying to not be a serial killer despite very much wanting to murder people

Now I want to make extremely self indulgent OCs that fit these kind of tropes

And it reminded me I should really watch Dexter someday

[artheresy]

Just watched Fu Xuan’s trailer and my love for her keeps growing day by day, saving for Kafka’s rerun is the hardest thing I want to pull for Fu Xuan so badly-

Her trailer was a lot of fun, I will say with a lot of dialogue there was less ability to focus on the music and it seemed like that might be intentional because the music certainly didn’t have the same mood setting intensity of say Blade’s, Kafka’s or even Jing Yuan’s imo. However, the music from her trailer was still really good and fitting her character. I liked it a lot

Qingque’s entrance and her involvement in the trailer was such a joy, Qingque is one of my favorite characters and seeing the continued emphasis of her and Fu Xuan and their dynamic given how they contrast each other is such fun.

Fu Xuan’s visuals were beautiful, I’ve been a big fan of how her ultimate looks and the animation of her move sets and just all of the animation within her trailer was spectacular. Going back to Qingque’s entrance, Hoyoverse seriously has been improving so much with their ability to animate such clear, strong, and borderline comical expressions over the course of their games and seeing so much detail like that was a joy.

However, I will say it feels like there’s something lacking, or perhaps I wanted more out of her trailer. There’s a gap in it that I can’t explain or pinpoint. Other trailers have felt like they last for longer for me, but hers felt oddly short. And just, maybe it’s because my standard was set high with the masterpieces that were Blade and Kafka’s, but I wish there had been a bit more especially with how important Fu Xuan is and how amazing her design and ultimate animation is. Like I wish they had set a stronger mood throughout the trailer because those kinds of trailers are what catches me most

That being said, I still loved Fu Xuan’s trailer, I love Fu Xuan herself, her banner is going to be so hard resisting to pull on and I’m gonna need some serious self control. Overall, her trailer is still super solid, super fun, and very visually impressive to me. It’s such a nice thing to see after I was admittedly… rather disappointed with that last trailer before hers.

[honeydots]

Explain your ships as best you can, and as worst you can

okay just for xander and laslow BUT

best: a prince and his retainer who seem drastically apart find closeness and similarity both in their burdens, and how they carry them. in all the love they give to others and how they don't often grant it to themselves. they use their differences to bring out something good in each other, and start figuring themselves out along the way, too.

worst: "im dating my boss and it Gets Worse"

[mooshys]

erm…