#it literally doesn't fit in one tag if I include spaces

[aster-ish]

"Ahhhh this must be the one who's been skipping school due to the horrible shock of losing his father to the mysterious explosion of a space station!" -some kid

This one quote from Megaman Star Force has a chokehold on me, idk what it is about it. I can't stop replaying it.

[suzukiblu]

Do you read much fic yourself? and if u do, do u have any recs?

I kinda read fic in fits and starts, to be honest? Like it ebbs and it flows, pretty much, hah. So sometimes I read a TON of it and sometimes I pretty much don't read any at all. So like, currently not really, but previously enough that I def DO have recs, haha.

Not an exhaustive list of my faves, just some random Good Ones I can think of off the top of my head ( all some variant of DC or DPxDC ).

( also def read the tags on these, there's def some tags on a few of them that at least some people would wanna know about before reading. )

Catching Icarus by Fantasyfire ( YJA!Conner gets Super-adopted, interdimensionally-speaking. Fully the inspo for that "the last son of Krypton meets Hypertime Kon" WIP of mine, for the record. )

I Want It That Way by WynterSky ( Tim/Kon but make it 90's and also an emotional rollercoaster. )

Stress Relief by daemoninwhite [ nsfw ] ( Kon goes to a sex club in space for some free-use/stuck-in-wall-style stress relief and gets exactly what he wants. )

Jasmine Luthor by Die_Erlkonigin6083 ( Jazz finds out her biodad is Lex Luthor and literally does not care until she finds out CONNER Luthor exists. )

The Unnecessarily Dramatic Death of One Jasmine Fenton by Rowan_the_Escapist ( Jazz and Jason meet at a party and it all goes to shit pretty quick. fyi I will chew on this worldbuilding and also this version of Jazz/Jason until I ALSO die. )

Lazy Sunday by Faeriekit [ nsfw ] ( . . . I did not think I'd be so into Jason/Tucker but uhhhhh turns out I'm real into Jason/Tucker and especially into Jason getting consensually hypnotized into a househusband while absolutely desperate for his boyfriend Dom to fuck him, go fig!! )

The French Mistake by Vamillepudding ( The wrong Bruce is in this reality but he's a much better dad than the right one, so is that really a problem?? )

Buy One, Get One by iselsis ( Incubus!Jason gets rescued/surprise-adopted by Batman and then tries to figure out if it's safe to ask Bruce to save his succubus!mom from his shitty dad. )

Catherine/Bruce Medieval AU by iselsis and PotatoLady ( I am not emotionally well about this whole entire concept, hahaha. Omegaverse medieval AU where Bruce beats Willis in a fight and therefore wins whatever belongs to him. Which in this scenario includes Catherine and Jason. )

bystander by greeneyedfirework ( Batfam omegaverse where alpha!Jason finds a messed-up Robin!Dick in heat and it is a Problem(tm). One of the specific genre of omegaverse-Robins-in-distress that was inspo for the "Robin gets nested" WIP. )

Eyes Like Kryptonite by dragonez ( Lena Luthor gets a strange Kryptonian on her balcony who doesn't know if he's from an alternate reality or time-travelling and wants specifically HER help. Kara/Lena. )

your ghost i will gladly bear by merils ( Interdimensional Timkon featuring two Robins on a rooftop while they're both dead. THIS CONCEPT, I LOVE IT. )

This isn't how things are supposed to go. But we've always been unorthodox. by RenkonNairu ( Please and thank you for this slightly niche and highly interesting omegaverse take including omega!Kon, bless. Also Tim/Kon and Bruce/Clark, accidental and deliberate and deliberately-AVOIDED bonding, and the shitty version of Lex/Clark. )

Fairy Godbrother by envysparkler ( Batbrothers accidentally-on-purpose decide to meddle in another reality's version of themselves in quick succession, or over the course of several years, depending on how you timestream it. )

. . . . . . like, just go check out thebodydies and Briarwitched, I cannot effectively narrow down the options there, haha, just gooooo.

[mcytrecursive]

How DO I sign up for this?

We have had to squeeze the sign-up form until it screams to make this work, so buckle in. Here is an example of how to sign up on Ao3 for the recursive exchange, step by step.

I have an idea for a side story for Etho and Iskall in This Is About A Stuffed Bird, by bee_4. So, to start with— that's a hermitcraft fic.

So I select Hermitcraft on the Fandoms part of the sign-up. Note that as we add more fandoms to the list, potentially this will become a drop-down menu instead of checklists. You still select the fandom you want in the same way.

Next is Gift Style. We're using the "characters" tab for that one.

I'm good with my gift being an art, a fic, or a web weave, so I can select all three of these! If I only wanted a fic, or an art, I would only select one.

Next is the Relationship tab, which we're using for characters (told you that we were having to squeeze the signup form until it screamed).

This is a drop-down menu, and I select the characters I want— in this case, Iskall and Ethoslab. Note that possibly I will only match on one character, as we couldn't do relationship matching this time, so I try to keep that in mind when it comes to my requests!

Next is Additional Tags, which is where I select the fic that I'm actually asking for a gift about! In the future, as more fics are added, this will be a dropdown menu, but right now it's tickboxes.

Next is categories. This is our shipping on-off switch.

I've decided that I am good with shipping or not with this one, so I've selected BOTH Gen and M/M. But now that I'm on the page I'm like "I wouldn't mind it if they were lesbians either" so I have selected F/F as well.

Next is rating, which is the NSFW on-off switch. I'm good with smut or no smut, so I've selected both options.

If I wanted no smut whatsoever I could do just Gen (which could also lead to a Mature or Teen work, but excludes E-rated work), and if I definitely wanted there to be dicks out I could select only Explicit.

Then we get to the major archive warnings. This is where you opt-in to archive warnings— it doesn't mean I will necessarily get them, but I'm okay with them! The matching says you might get any one of the things you select here.

Given the source material, I'm opting into Violence and Death as options, and I'm also selecting no warnings apply to show that I'm also good with no major archive warnings!

Now on to the actual request!

There's a space where I could link a letter if I wanted to go into detail with my request, but I think I can fit it in the text box today! I had to put my DNW on the Ao3, and because I said I was open to smut I included a NSFW DNW.

Okay, on to request two.

As you can see, for request two I'm doing a DSMP fic this time, and I specifically want art or web weaves! I selected emerald duo, and the fic I want. And I just want this one to be no shipping, so I only selected Gen for the type of relationship.

I opted out of explicit for this one, and I did say graphic violence was okay OR no archive warnings apply.

On to request three!

This is much like request two, except I only want fic for this one! But it's Dream SMP, Fic requested, the characters I want (techbur twins), the fic I want (catbag), I want it to be Gen and no shipping, no NSFW, I'm okay with graphic depictions of violence, and my prompt!

Now on to my offers.

I'm gonna start with Stuffed Bird again.

So it's a Hermitcraft fic, I am only able to make fic for it, but you know what, I'll write literally anybody in this world. Hit me. I selected any relationship (which in this case means any CHARACTER). And I selected any TYPE of relationship too— yes I'll write any type of shipping or non-shipping. I can't write smut though, so I only selected General for the rating, and I will absolutely do violence but I am not good with MCD or noncon, so I didn't select those.

For my second request, I opened up catbag.

That's a Dream SMP fic, but this time I only wanted to do specific characters. I set it up so that I'd write any combination of SBI, Beeduo, and Quackity. No shipping for me with this one, and no smut, but yes I'll do graphic violence.

And then on to odaigahara's fic!

That's a Dream SMP fic, and I think I could make a web weave for that one, so I selected both fic and web weave. I only want to write Emerald Duo for it, so I just selected them. No shipping, only Gen for this one, and no smut, only gen as well. I don't feel like doing graphic depictions of violence for thisone, so I just selected no archive warnings apply!

For my final one, I really want to make sure that I'm matchable on femslash, so I did a bit of a basket offer.

I selected both Hermitcraft and 3rd life, and selected that I would be making fic. I selected all the ladies (+iskall, for stresskall), and when it came time to select an additional tag, which is what fic I'm saying I'll match on, I selected any. With that and the F/F tag selected, it means that I'll be matchable to any Hermit-Traffic femslash request, no matter which story or art it's attached to. Cause I figure I can read the source material and make something in the creation time period!

So that is 3 requests and 4 offers done, and I have a full sign-up! I'm ready to go! That is how you sign up! Over the course of the sign-up period I might keep an eye on other people's sign-ups (available at the Ao3 automagic app) and tweak my sign-ups so that I'm matchable with someone (or several someones), but for right now, I'm good to go!

[soobberries]

Dilf!Seonghwa

Edit: this is a repost from my old blog including the little description below and I decided to not change anything about it. The blog I tagged below doesn't seem to exist anymore. :( also lmao I already started working on a part 2 xD yay!

Guys ahsdgajha. Lmao please I need to provide background for this post. I read @atiny-thingz Dilf!Ateez post and lemme tell you, I screamed. It brought back the memory of this running joke my friends and I used to have in 11th grade about this really hot dad that everyone crushed on. So in honour of the post that inspired me and my real life experience, I decided I would write this.

It is only a headcanon/au thing, but let me know if I should perhaps do a part 2?

Edit: here's part 2

This is the first time I’m writing kinda suggestive content and I’m pretty new to it so go easy on me, but I would love some feedback. It’s only suggestive at the end though lol.

Warning: Despite this technically being based on a legal reader, since there is a somewhat large age-gap - thought I would clarify:

Please be aware that I do not condone any type of relationships between minors and adults, nor do I encourage the idea of being a homewrecker. This is all just fiction! So without further ado, let’s get started!

Genre: Doesn’t exactly have one but has elements of crack and is suggestive.

Age: This is written for a somewhat mature audience so please, no under 16s. Stay safe younglings <3

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Ah yes, another day, another random school fundraiser.

Your mom got you to look after one of her colleague’s daughter, Nila, for the week while they went on a business trip.

It was the middle of the week and, while this kid was adorable, you’d literally do anything else then go to this weird fundraiser on such a beautiful afternoon.

Oh well, duties are duties.

So as this cutie kid drags you along throughout the whole school, showing you all the stalls and requesting that you buy her some food before she has her ‘shift’, you can’t help but notice that there are only parents here. No other students, siblings - nothing.

A deep exasperated sigh left your mouth because you were here for a good three hours, and quite frankly, despite this little fundraiser having some talks you could attend, you really had no idea how you would busy yourself since the talks offered were a bit boring and you had to pay a large chunk to get a space. Bummer.

Anyway after sharing some mouth-watering cookies with the little girl she asks you to come with her to her stall where she and her peers would be selling cold drinks, and of course you couldn’t say no because this kid was actually a sweetheart and you had it nowhere in your heart to do such.

So obviously you proceed to accompany her there.

It’s a cute stall, and you smile at the youthful, yet ignorant excitement shining in the little girl’s eyes as she exchanges the ‘duty cap’ that one of her classmates had on just prior.

Oh if only they knew what a real job was like.

It wasn’t until after the other girls left, that you realised she was alone, causing you to enquire about her job, wondering if she’s working the shift by herself.

“No, don't worry! Yerim is also doing the job with me. I’m sure she’ll come soon. See? That’s why there’s two hats.” She said, gesturing towards the other cap on the counter.

You nodded quaintly and silently decided to wait with her until her friend came.

“Daddy! Look! Nila is working with me!” A shout came from behind you and a little girl came running to bear hug Nila, causing the both of them to burst into a fit of giggles.

You smiled at the pair and watched mindlessly as Nila got Yerim her hat.

“Oh? Are you looking after Nila?” A voice called out.

‘Oh boy, here we go. Time to get out the speaking to parents voice’

Those were your thoughts as you dreaded having to act somewhat proper so the snobby parents around you wouldn’t undermine you. You took a quick millisecond to gather yourself before turning to face th-

Holy shit.

A blessing.You’ve been blessed. You can die happily now.

This man’s smile-

It’s shining. Blinding you and you do not care, he can have your eyesight.

Cue the slo-mo scene in the movies where everything looks ethereal and suddenly you picture him taking your hand, giving you flowers, and asking the same thing he just did in a softer more seductive tone.

AHaha but it’s not a movie so get yourself together you thirsty piece of flesh.

“Uh yeah, I am, her mom is away on business.” You said smiling, dying inside at the realisation that today was the day you decided to wear such a boring outfit.

Oof pain.

“Oh? I don’t recall Shannon saying she was going away,” He said furrowing his eyebrows, before staring at you,

YO SHIT IS HE CHECKING YOU OUT? HE’S CHECKING YOU OUT FOR SURE.

“nor that she would be leaving such a cute babysitter in her place.” He chuckles nonchalantly.

How is he so calm after saying that like it’s nothing??? Tf???

Fine, two can play this game sir.

“Well she didn’t tell me she was acquainted with such an attractive man either.”

That wasn’t the strongest comeback but like you're nervous okay?

He smiled at the remark, seemingly about to say something, only to be interrupted by his darling daughter.

“Daddy you have to buy something ya know!”

He let out a chuckle that you could only describe as handsome.

“Mhhmm! You too y/n” Nila said toward you with such bright eyes you couldn’t bother saying no. [as mentioned earlier, this cute kid has you weak.]

“Hmm okay you two, since you're all grown up, tell us the prices of your drinks.” You say egging the two girls on, to the man beside you’s amusement.

As the two little girls hurriedly tried to find the price list and decide who’s speaking first, Mr. handsome man turned to you.

“I like that name, Y/n,” He reached out his hand in front of him, “I’m Seonghwa. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Hehehehehehehe play it cool.

Daintely placing your hand in his and gently giving him a small squeeze as you do so, you let out:

“The pleasure is all mine.”

The two of you end up buying water bottles, him insisting that he pays for you so the girls have less to work out in terms of prices (apparently)

You greeted the girls, leaving them to attend to their shift, and discovered that Seonghwa was going to be here a while as well, in which the two of you concluded it would be a good idea to talk off the hours rather than wandering around alone.

You both wander around (a little awkwardly in silence mind you) until you find a table made to look like a wine barrel for a rustic vibe with two high chairs beside it. It matched the theme of this area which was made to be like an expensive barnhouse.

Now lemme tell you, water ain’t as classy as wine but that didn’t stop Seonghwa from calling over one of the workers serving cocktails, and asking for two empty wine glasses.

He then elegantly poured the water into both wine glasses.

“I suppose it’s too early to be drinking but never too early to stay hydrated in a classy way.” He said.

LMAO this guy has dad humour or very dry, dead humour.

You let out a genuine giggle since that was such a dorky thing to say.

“My peers would probably disagree with you as most of them pop out a beer by 9:05.”

“Yes of course, around your age, you don’t quite have the same responsibilities as I do.”

“Oh? Such as working and taking care of a kid? Because it would appear that I have to worry about that too” You replied cheekily even though you probably know he’s living a bit more of a tiring life by the way he spoke.

He let out a heavy sigh which you didn’t expect after your poor attempt of making the convo entertaining.

“Well yes that may be true, but at least you aren’t dealing with a toxic relationship - Only staying and sucking it up for the sake of your child.”

Oh. well that’s quite the share.

“I’m sorry to hear you're dealing with some hardships.” You utter out, genuinely sympathetic.

“But in my opinion, regardless of the child, you should make a decision that makes you happy. You can raise Yerim with no issue even when separated. Rather that, than letting her grow up in an unhappy home, no..? Then again what do I know?” You say while spinning the water in your glass as if it really was wine.

He paused while circling his pointer finger around the rim of his glass. His head resting on his other hand, seemingly in deep thought.

He looked towards you with an intense gaze. One that made you feel small and had your body urging you to run away. But it also captivated you, so you fought your body and held your breath instead to calm down the intimidation you were feeling.

His whole aura changed for some reason...

“You’re not wrong in what you're saying,” he leaned over the barrel, a little closer to you, “But what if the decision that makes me happy is looked down upon?” He said lowly, looking you up and down once again.

This shouldn’t make you nervous. In fact nothing could be considered remotely inappropriate and yet your breath was hitching and your stomach was churning.

Why? Why is this random man making you feel, for lack of better words, so weird.

Bad brain! Bad!

You must be looking too much into his words to think he could be insinuating something...right?

You wanted to back up a little, and lean away from him, feeling as though you needed to gather yourself, but as you leaned back the wine glass full of water was knocked over, splaying it’s contents over you.

The glass was saved, thankfully landing on some grass, protecting your wallet from a potential bill from the school or whoever owned this damned glass.

Your clothes and dignity however?

Can’t really say the same thing…

You stand up immediately picking up the glass and placing it on the table.

Only then do you tense up at the sudden coldness against your skin.

“Oh dear, are you alright, should I get you some paper towels or maybe a napkin?” Seonghwa stood up immediately at your side.

Even though this was painfully embarrassing and the looks you were getting from others didn’t help, you wanted to play it cool.

“No, no, don’t worry. I should’ve been more careful.”

You decided to look inside the little bag you had brought with you, trying to see if you have any sort of tissues with you.

What an awful day to be wearing a shirt that becomes somewhat transparent when wet…

As you're searching, you fail to realise just how transparent the shirt is, obliviously just trying to find an easy solution.

You may have been oblivious, but Seonghwa was not. He couldn’t help the large gulp he took as he saw the shirt stick to your skin, basically exposing anything underneath for everyone to see.

He had a few intrusive thoughts but he shook them off, instead, taking his jacket and placing it over you.

“What are-”

He takes your arm in his grasp and your bag in his other hand, leading you away from some of the snobby parents who had the audacity to still be looking at you in disgust because of your now ‘revealing’ shirt.

We don’t stan those parents alright?

Anyway he knows this school well and so he leads you towards a much more empty area and opens a door to what you’d assume is to be a guest restroom since it looked pretty fancy compared to the normal trashy bathrooms you see in highschools.

He placed your bag down onto the sink and locked the door behind him.

It wasn’t as small as a cubicle, but it was still a very small space to be in, not leaving much room to move around too much.

“Sorry, I just thought it would be more convenient if you cleaned and tried to dry up here.”

Oh? Well yeah this works you guess…

Then you see the mirror.

Cue heat rising to your cheeks and your breath hitching a little.

Oh that’s why he thought it would be a good idea…

Bro your torso is on display. Like, deadass.

Mental note: don’t wear white shirts and be a clumsy dumbass simultaneously in the future.

As you’re staring in the mirror in a small state of shock and further embarrassment, Seonghwa mindlessly grabs the towel next to the sink in the small cubicle, and tugs up your shirt a little bit so that he can place the towel on top of the wet mark a bit more easily.

Haha what?

It’s only when he notices that you’re extremely still, that he realises he shouldn’t just be wiping down a stranger’s shirt for them…

He immediately comes to a halt, while awkwardly glancing at you with the same slightly panicked expression that you held on your own face.

However, Seonghwa realised that, your face, flushed out a little, is frustratingly endearing to look at.

He almost felt the urge to just cradle your face in his hands right then and there...Maybe pulling you in closer

Mr. Park NO!

He shakes his thoughts away, immediately apologising, slowly retracting his arm.

But you know what your dumbass did?

Held his arm in place.

Yup.

You don’t know why, but it’s like your brain was straight out malfunctioning.

Body, actions, thoughts, rationality - all of it was not communicating with each other and you couldn’t logically explain your actions.

It just felt like maybe you should keep him there and let him take care of you, no matter how strange that may seem. It seemed right…

Either way this is just awkward and now there’s just so, so much tension.

The air is literally weighing on you a bit, especially since Seonghwa went silent after you instinctively grabbed his arm.

It was still, silent, and it felt as though if you moved, reality would break into pieces.

Dramatic way to explain the situation? Maybe. But it really did feel close to that.

“I uh...It’s okay. You can continue.” You let out shakily.

BRO WHAT ARE YOU SAYING OH MY GOSH. HE’S GOING TO THINK YOU’RE CRAZY.

I’m literally getting second hand embarrassment lmao, moving on.

He just adjusted his throat and gave a quaint nod before continuing what he was doing.

The issue was that now he was hyper focused on trying to not make any direct contact with your skin. His touches are so light, that it’s obviously ineffective, and you and him both know that, but no one wants to say anything.

He’s keeping his eyes glued to the wet patch on your shirt and as you look hopelessly at the soggy thing, you can’t help but let your eyes wander to his arms.

Holy shit his arms. You were already flustered, and now you have to sit still knowing his arms look so good? No way. It’s over for you.

His biceps bulged a little since it was bent, and the dress shirt he was wearing tightened around it, only accentuating how firm he was.

If he’s just that firm on his arms...Imagine what he’s like everywhere else…

Great… Now your feeling heat rush to more areas than just your cheeks.

Look away Y/n. Look away. Literally anywhere but there.

Ah yes, look at the ceiling.

You bit at your lip nervously, and in hopes that it would be a gentle reminder to restrain yourself from looking over at him.

“Can you-”

Your eyes meet his, and he darts his eyes elsewhere almost immediately.

He straightens himself up, letting go of your shirt and placing that hand now on the towel.

“Can you not bite your lip like that..?” He steals a glance at you before sighing.

“Ahem...Please.”

His ears are definitely a shade of pink and it doesn’t go unnoticed by you.

Honestly you couldn’t help but feel a bit prideful and more confident knowing that you weren’t the only one being flustered here.

You felt like you could breathe a little now.

Maybe your brain did a 180 a bit too quickly, since now you decided to lean closer to him, ensuring that your head popped up within his eye view, which was predominantly the floor at the moment.

You tilted your head tauntingly.

“Why? Does it make you nervous?” You said with a playful undertone in your voice - the seemingly newfound confidence urging you on in your antics.

He let out a scoff, turning his head to the side in disbelief before turning his head to look at you with his eyebrows raised, ready to challenge you.

He now leaned closer, clearly asserting a dominant aura with a small smirk graced on his face.

“Trust me, if I wanted to see you wet, this situation would be a lot different.”

Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit

That was unexpected.

No you won’t back down. You’ve been flustered too much today and you’re tired.

Game face: on.

There’s no time to let the wet shirt of yours get the best of you. It is now no longer your priority in this moment.

[A/N: let’s go Y/N, show ‘em what you got]

You saunter close to him, pushing your hands on his chest causing him to lean back into the wall.

“Is that so?” You chuckle, reaching for his tie, tugging at it a little, before busying yourself with tightening it and making it look a little neater.

“And in what ways, would that situation be different?” you uttered out in the most seductive voice you could muster.

You held back a smirk as his breath audibly hitched.

He found his hand, crawling to grip your hip. Pulling you a bit closer towards him - bodies just touching.

“Well for starters, you wouldn’t have a shirt that would be able to get wet in the first place.”

You flattened out the tie, coming to a halt, taking time to gaze at him.

“Oh? And why’s that?” You said lowly, acting dumb.

His grip tightened around your hip, finally pulling you into his chest.

The slight dampening of his shirt didn’t bother him as much as his urge to touch you more did.

“Because, Y/n,” He spoke, leaning in so that you could now feel his breath fan your lips,

“In an ideal situation, you and I would both be naked.”

[tyrianludaship]

im just gonna add my own two cents here, in the case of medic and demoman, the idea that either of them would be abusive, is an ableist rhetoric. for demoman, it's because there is already a heavily perpetuated stigma that alcoholics and people with addictions are inherently abusive or violent (it's also racism! you are literally putting the "violent black man" stereotype on him!)

as for medic, while he is definetly not canonically autistic or anything like that, he is definetly coded as neurodivergent or mentally ill so pushing the idea that he's a narcissistic abuser cleverly tricking everyone with his facade is um. bad!

I once wrote something about addicts and how them being stigmatized irl is so normal for many people, that even thinking about a fictional addict makes them hesitant.

(I think about the tags I wrote for him often. i was fucking cooking with this here)

Also absolutely, "the violent black man" stereotype is one of the probable reasons for him being depicted so terribly. Not the only reason I bet, there could be a shit-ton of factors including racism that mix together (ableism over addictions for example). But it doesn't help with how underutilized, oversexualized, domineering, aggressive and abusive he's been written as in some cases; and it fits with instances of how other black characters and POC in general are written in fandom spaces.

I recalled a mutual with antisocial personality disorder suggests that medic resemble some of the symptoms. And it honestly doesn't surprise me for medic to be written as an abuser, since that's the common consensus for how people view others with ASPD in real life. I'm diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so I don't personally feel comfortable explaining ASPD since I'm not diagnosed with it. However I agree that he may not have been written with the word "neurotypical" in mind, so he resembles many types of nuerodivergency. And seeing him in particular get hcs of being abusive and manipulative to his partners...is a choice.

[inchidentally]

(screencapped to stay out of the tags)

I'm going to be bundling my other tricky asks as always in one post under a cut but this one as actually a learning curve for me as someone who doesn't really follow Max stuff.

I genuinely hadn't realized just how much time Lando had spent with Max privately and non-F1 weekend related. I'm not esp a Max fan which would explain me missing a lot but I did know they had a pretty solid friendship that dated more closely to his friendship with George and Alex - but damn that's way more time spent with Max than any other driver this season!

what's funny too is that Max is actually super happy to be physically affectionate in a flirty way with other guys similar to how Lando is. Carlos is only like that with certain guys, namely Charles and guys his own age that he deems as "pretty". but as someone who pulled shippy shit from any car|ando interaction I can honestly say that the "ooh they touched in a sexy way!" stuff was just how Lando is with guys. Carlos firmly has Lando in the little brother/friend space and literally says he thinks Lando is "cute" and that it's weird when people ask them to kiss. and yes, they have dinner sometimes and travel on the same plane sometimes to the next race - but just this season Lando did that with Daniel and Oscar and Max as well.

so surely Max including Lando in all this personal life stuff and spending time together online and in Monaco during the winter break is a HUGE threat to car|ando? I genuinely can't and don't want to try and understand the larry mentality of RPF but if I had to guess then it's something as wild as them considering Max as already part of a major RPF ship (|estappen or maxtie|) that's supposedly ALSO taking place under cover of all these "fake" girlfriends? man I wish I could remove the terms "beard" and "escort" from these people's vocabulary.

I've also got an ask that apparently charlos causes rage for both |estappen and car|ando bc they have an agenda that Charles and Carlos hate each other but then keep getting infuriated when Charles mounts Carlos or Carlos won't stop touching Charles' thighs or they try to kiss for the millionth time. akgfsakfgaf how exhausting must it be keeping these theories going I caaaan't

but returning to your ask yea fact is that Lando is way closer and more of a friend outside F1 with Max than Carlos. they meet up probably the same amount during the drivers parades as car|ando and sometimes even get handsy. but I guess somehow that's different ?? even when Lando has teased that RB would be his only temptation away from McLaren and Christian Horner wants to en plein air fuck Lando ???

from what I can tell, Daniel was never considered a threat to car|ando which continues to be bizarre bc purely objectively again, I would say he's more of a friend outside F1 to Lando than Carlos. not by a whole lot but Daniel and Lando share road trips and private flights and Lando fits into Daniel's friend group really well. I guess maybe since Daniel's just widely loved in fandom in general there was less motive to try and tear down his relationship with Lando?

that's true, I also seem to recall starting to see this anti-landoscar BS starting around Japan/Oscar's contract extension. I suppose if I were trying to look at it through their angle then the Japan and Qatar double McLaren podiums coming right after Singapore - including Oscar's extension - would be seen as some kind of "insult" ? I guess Oscar went from being cute and non-threatening to suddenly cockblocking the Carlos back to McLaren pipe dream (that Carlos would literally only do as a fifth or sixth option and only if Ferrari gave him the boot lol). especially since Lando insisted on being crazy happy about the double podiums instead of I guess wistfully thinking of how much he wishes he could play second fiddle to Carlos getting the only non-RB win of the season instead of trying to idk help his team and himself in the standings.

then there was the crazy mood swing when Lando and Carlos went to dinner after Mexico and flew to Brazil together (with Rebecca) - to the rage when it turned out that Lando hanging out in Brazil for a day or two after the race wasn't car|ando bc Lando went to Cali almost immediately for sponsors meetings while Carlos and Rebecca both posted pics and video of their private holiday together that went right up until the day before the Vegas race. I definitely saw the uptick in car|ando agit prop after that whole shebang bc then Carlos wanted Rebecca at the "car|ando cup" and kept checking in on her. the hatred towards her truly took on a whole ugly and dark turn after that.

it is still so damn weird that Oscar/landoscar is the target that it is for them though. I have another ask where in some F1 group Christmas art the artist depicts Lando interacting with Carlos and not Oscar and ??? it's a drawing??? and I'm assuming they don't rate Lily's existence as security for car|ando since apparently any woman can be conveniently written off as a fake gf. but Oscar doesn't play gay with Lando and he didn't push for a bromance and generally keeps himself to himself unless Lando wants him around! he's a Lando fanboy but he's not even hardcore pushing content of him and Lando on his sm! the poor guy is literally just standing there catching strays bc of a mainstream bromance that has nothing to do with him

I'm sorry anon this went so wide of what you were saying but genuinely I used to spend so much of my time on car|ando accounts and it's slowly turning into a larry "they are looking to each other" edit type fandom ;__;

but fr why does Oscar get put in the "we hate the real life girlfriends" category ?????? I genuinely laugh bc it's so insane why isn't he like Max or Daniel why is he That Fake Bitch Standing In Our Ship's Way and they aren't is it bc he's prettier and serves natural cunt afglajfgalgfslafg

[chevvy-yates]

[NC_RES]_2717311327 mercs_o-r-c-a_01.file ///core:_the_boyz.file\\\

—

Vijay belongs to me. Arki bekongs to @nervouswizardcycle. Ryder, Thyjs & Jaysen belong to me as well.

⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

This set only exists because when I went to test shoot the gorgeous new netrunning suits made by @gloryride and searched for a nice location I randomly teleported up to the orbital space station and shot Thyjs there — accidentally switching to a saved outfit with one of the awesome standalone netrunner coats done by Corpoghost and I liked it, so yeah!

So, everything else went that way, too. About two weeks ago I also decided to create Vijay's twin brother Jaysen, so I quickly took shots of him as well. And of course I also had to include my beloved Arki in this set because he is part of the team. Can't miss that opportunity (I know he'd have loved more shiny gold but the red black fits so good on him too with that golden coat).

It literally makes no sense that Ry'n'Thy (heh) wear runner suits at all since they do not make use of netrunning — but this is just for the the looks :P. And I damn like the suits on them, ugh. I can still imagine them wearing these suits on missions too, I'll just pretend they are some modified suits not made for netrunning.

—

Whats with the O-R-C-A btw?

To 95% I think this is going to be the team name. I don't exactly think mercs actually have team names in the Cyberpunk world but I might chose this as 'team presentation' here from now on and also tag it with that so it can be found when searched for.

More info if you're curious:

Orca — yes the killer whale. Vijay is the 'inofficial team leader' so it's named after a his favorite oceanic animal and it does make sense: Orcas are the apex predators of the ocean (they can kill great white sharks and humpack whales), they hunt in packs and are almost always successful. No one can reach them — one orca alone on the contrary is to be left stranded literally (Vijay would be too).

But it goes further:

'Orca' is the only species in the genus 'Orcinus', which means "of the kingdom of the dead' or 'belonging to Orcus" – 'Orcus' was a god of the underworld — a punisher of broken oaths in Etruscan and Roman mythology.

The name 'Orcus' seems to have been given to the malicious and punishing side of the ruler of the underworld, as the god who tormented evildoers in their afterlife. Like the name Hades, 'Orcus' could refer both to the underworld itself, as well as its ruling deity. In the charitable interpretation for such a place, it was believed to be an abode for purification of the souls of the deceased.

So I was thinking some parts of Night City literally depict some kind of underworld as well: down in the streets (dark alleys and red neon lights, steam coming from sewers and vents, vomitting out all evil settling in there) and Mercs hunt the bad ones — doesn't matter if amongst them or up high in the sky on a seat playing god. And the team is going to hunt them down for what they've done to Night City.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Anyway, here's the spin the bottle CrozBrady on its own and NOT an unintentional paste of two ficlets.

[Althouh, the fact they were both CrozBrady is pretty funny]

Harry isn't sure how it happens, but it's very late, and he's just drinking directly from a pitcher of martinis at this point, and there's a big circle of them playing spin the bottle. 

He's leaning against Bubbles, who's drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey. On Harry's other side is Ken, who's got a full six pack of beer scattered in his coverall pockets. He could fit more, but the rest of the space is holding Cokes for Rosie. Who isn't sober, for once, and sipping from Ken's flask when he's not sipping his soda. Bucky and Buck are next to them. Buck sober as a judge as always, Bucky definitely into his cups but not wild about it. He's watching the bottle in the middle of the circle with rapt attention. It's his spin. 

It lands on Brady, and there's a holler as everyone drinks. It's one of the rules, though Harry doesn't know where it came from: Bucky and Brady will not be kissing, thank you, but everyone drinks if one of them lands on the other.

"It's your face," Hambone says to Brady. "It doesn't have character like mine. You're too pretty to kiss."

"No he's not," Harry says. No one hears him because Brady's currently threatening to give Hambone more gold teeth, and Douglass is threatening to stick him in the bomb drop if he tries. And now Blakely is speaking up from Brady's other side, promising he'll kick Douglass out of his fort without a chute if he tries. And everyone else is laughing, even Jack. Which tells Harry how hammered they all are, really. That Jack would join in at all. 

"You okay, Harry?" Bubbles murmurs as Brady takes the bottle and sends it spinning. He's the only one who knows about Harry's crush. Well, the only one Harry's told. He's seen some looks from Hambone and Bucky that tell him they're suspicious, but no one's made him confess.

"No one heard me, right?" Harry asks, just to be sure. He knows they're all good and drunk–well, not Buck, but he never brings up the fact that he remembers literally every stupid thing they've done, bless him–but it takes more than drinking straight from the pitcher to quiet his brain. 

"Nah, no one heard," Bubbles assures him, patting him on the back. He grins when the bottle lands on him. "Can I tag in Harry?" he asks. 

"BUBBLES!" Harry shouts. 

"Sure," Brady says. "Long as it's not Bucky."

"Fuck you, Brady."

"Cleven, control your dog," Brady replies. 

"Hey, Meatball considers that offensive!' Demarco hollers. He's laid out on the runway next to Jack, head resting on Meatball's side. He's supposed to be judge for any spins that land between guys, but he's mostly been dozing.

"Meatball eats sheep shit," Brady says, which makes Bucky shout, "Yeah!" and everyone is laughing again, Harry included. 

When he's done laughing, he realizes Brady as slipped across the circle and is nearly nose-to-nose with him. "You don't gotta–" Harry says. 

Brady grins and presses his mouth to Harry's. He tastes like whiskey and his pipe tobacco, and when he quivers with a laugh, Harry is certain he's made an embarrassing sound. Brady pulls away and takes the pitcher from Harry's hand. He keeps eye contact as he takes a drink. "Not bad," he says. 

"Uh-huh," Harry says dumbly. Did Brady. Was he. Was that a move?

Brady turns and grabs the empty bottle they're using. "Your turn," he says. He doesn't move away. 

Harry feels bold and drunk and silly. Everyone around them is still talking and joking. Harry taps the lip of the bottle against Brady's chest. "You," he says. 

Brady grins and takes the bottle, shoving it at Bubbles, then tumbling Harry flat on his back on the runway and kissing him hard. 

"Finally!" Hambone yells. 

"You owe me five bucks, Egan!" Jack shouts. 

"Aw, fuck, I really thought they'd chicken out again," Bucky says. 

Harry pulls away from Bardy's mouth to stare at Bucky. "All due respect, Sir. Fuck you." 

Bucky laughs and tumbles against Buck, who catches him and noses his temple. "Aww, Buck, look at our little navigator, all grown up and kissing boys." 

"Be nice," Buck says. He throws Harry a wink. "Some fellas aren't as easy as you."

"No one's as easy as Egan," Douglass says. 

"I'm real good at it!" Bucky crows, and there's a round of cheering that Harry doesn't take part in because he and Brady are still kissing. 

*

In the morning, they're all hungover, save Buck. Even Jack looks like shit. Harry flops into a chair and stares at his coffee, willing himself to reach out and drink it. 

Brady sits next to him, and for a moment, Harry is fearful he doesn't remember last night. Or, worse off, that he does but wants to pretend he doesn't. 

"I would love to make out with you in front of Jack to ruin his day," Brady says. Jack flips him the bird from where he's nursing his coffee. "But my mouth tastes like I liked the hardstand."

Harry feels himself smile when Brady lets out a small groan and sags against him. He pats his cheek softly and finally manages to reach for his coffee. "That's okay," he says. "I can wait."

Late in the afternoon, standing by the runway and watching the clouds, Harry turns towards Brady and pulls him close. He kisses him like he thinks a first kiss should be: Soft and gentle and sweet. Brady returns it, then beams and pulls him into the taller grass, tumbles him to the ground like he'd done the night before and kisses him that way again. 

Harry smiles into it and thinks it's even better sober.

[faejilly]

so like five years ago or something, (ugh, time), I started an epistolary fic for @pameluke that I have not updated in, well, several years. (brains! little fuckers are very uncooperative, what can I say?)

It subsequently became the most popular thing I've ever written by several of AO3's potential metrics, which is neat! But... pressure-ish? Regardless, it would be nice to actually, uh. Finish the damn thing someday.

And in the interests of getting the voices in my head to engage with it so I can finish, I am attempting to adapt some public workskins on ao3 into email & texting screens and I will (hopefully) be updating said fic with fun formatting whenever I do actually finish & post the last couple chapters.

BUT!

I have a visual/clarity question re: texts and group chats

Behind the cut for a slew of terrible screenshots! (In various zoom levels, so uh, apologies if you have to click on them to see wtf I'm trying to ask)

perhaps followed by a poll since I apparently have them now?!?

This is roughly what texting looks like currently, (and will still pretty much look if you turn off AO3 workskins and/or download the fic in an ebook format):

Now, the reason it says "Cat" on top, is because that's the contact name in the header of the phone screen, which currently looks like this:

Now, in the original draft Cat didn't say "Magnus" there, because his name was there in the label so I didn't need it. BUT, this is the first phone screen in the fic, so I figured I should include it for clarity.

Contextually, as the fic continues, I assume one will generally be able to tell who is texting whom, but I could, (even tho it would not be as phone-like) put in names so it's clearer:

which is also how I've been managing group-text/chat formats:

But it looks kind of weird when it's just two people talking back and forth. (It's not like my phone puts my name over my own texts, yk?)

Not having all the names might be confusing, but I CANNOT TELL ANYMORE? aesthetic vs clarity? SOMETHINGSOEMTHING?

The only real downside to just putting the names in is that it causes some weird spacing in the download/non-skin version, because the name tags are no longer visible but there is, afaik, no way to fit them in properly without leaving the space for them, if that makes sense:

ALTERNATIVELY, I could change the headers so they're informational rather than a visual part of the phone screen, for example, the first text up there would be something like "Magnus' Phone (texting Cat)" and then the group chats would be, idk, "Alec's Phone, The Hedge" etc. etc.

OR ALTERNATIVELY ALTERNATIVELY... I could do... something else that I haven't thought up yet? I guess? *shrug.emoji*

HELP ME TUMBLR, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE:

*for the options with a star, please do include suggestions as to how to accomplish that nonsense, k? 😅

With like, actual baby-steps, because I do not know what I'm doing. I was literally just trying to copypasta a skin and then I couldn't stop.

Like, sometimes the nametag on the right of the phone screen doesn't work and I haven't figured out why yet. I am having a similar problem with the phone screen headers not resizing on different screens, which is why they're not a contrasting color or bordered or anything at the moment, so you can't tell.

/It's still wrong though, and I know it, even if I can't see it. It's like my phone screen is judging me every time I look at them... 🤣🤣🤣

but regardless. If you've made it to the end of this post, I thank you. And I'm sorry?

Have a cookie: 🍪

[pearwaldorf]

I really need to stop listening to Malevolent in the mornings because it is Too Much to have such intense feelings about sad detective and eldritch hitchhiker before work!! But can I wait until after work? Also no.

This episode had the range, damn. Arthur completely off his rocker consumed with thoughts of revenge, John pleading with him to see reason, remember his humanity. Such a good role reversal.

One of the things I love about this podcast is how good the audio production is. In addition to Arthur's blindness being a clever conceit as a vehicle for (literal) description, And the music is part of this. There's not a lot of variation in what's used: Faroe's song, "You Call It Madness", maybe something else. And when you hear something else, that's like a big screeching siren that you need to pay attention. I don't even know what that discordant sound that plays when Arthur and John are having their argument about whether Arthur's intended actions are justified. Maybe something scraping over piano strings?

The pacing is also impeccable--just enough time for the building dread and concern for this character (who we've spent so much time with and rooted for) to coalesce before it all goes to shit. Arthur dropping the knife. Stabbing the empty bed. And then, a literal repeat of what Arthur and Yellow did to get into Uncle's room. The music box was a nice touch, in a real fucked-up way. I respect that.

I'm also so fucking mad the way "bedrock" is used in this episode. At first I thought it was John not getting the idiom quite correct. But the way it comes up again with Peter, it's also a base. Something with stability that you can use to build on, climb up from. I don't think we've ever gotten any information canonically about what Arthur and Peter's relationship was like until now. And he's absolutely cast in the same position as John: the constant, the one good thing. I have no way of knowing if Arthur included Parker in "Because I can't lose another person!" but I'd like to think so. (And oh, to be so intimate with the being who took somebody that dear and important away from you. There's a story there that I wish somebody would tell.)

(Also, there is something to be said about how all the important people in Arthur's life are ghosts by the time we get to know them.)

The thing about fictional characters(') suffering is that it is, ultimately, selfish. They're not real, so it doesn't matter if they hurt. Which is not to say that it can't be done poorly or gratuitously, but it is for us, the creators and the consumers of said work to tell us things we need to hear. You do not need to walk a hundred miles in the desert on your knees, repenting. A terrible mistake does not mean you are unforgivable. The discovery of your humanity can help you transcend the wrongs you did for eons. You are not a monster. And even if you are, it doesn't matter. Somebody will love you anyways.

The last part of the episode is satisfying on a level that some people might call fan service. But that particular term, I think, implies an unearned indulgence. Nothing about what happens is unearned. John pulling Arthur back from the brink with his steadying belief in Arthur's conviction, reflecting that humanity Arthur taught him. John reciting Robert Frost to Arthur!! I was ugly crying on my rowing machine! I have never had any emotional attachment to "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" or "Invictus" but I sure as heck do now!

And the apple! The beautiful crisp sound of it! (Somebody in the tag said it had to be an apple because it's the only fruit that makes a pleasing sound, which is also true. But apples are also the only fruit that could really survive through winter before the advent of modern transportation, and there's some symbolism in that.) wildehack made a comment on my fic about how Arthur is so spare in all the time we've known him: not just thin, but starved, and John fits himself into those spaces. And to see Arthur feel pleasure, enjoyment, expansive with hope? It was earned, and good.

ALSO HE PROMISED DATE NIGHT!

[edit:] I forgot about Faroe's music box! I thought Arthur would take it, but he doesn't need it anymore. And that's not a loss, that's closure, and I am so glad for him.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

it's been a year since i first completed persona 5 royal, and since then i've read quite a bit of akeshu fic. i went through my bookmarks to find my favorites to rec them to you all here in a kind of masterpost. i'll be giving a short summary as well as my thoughts on them. this is going to end up being a very long post, so the rest will be under a readmore.

so, first off we have my favorite oneshots that I've read this year. listed in the order i read them.

you've got me seeing through different eyes by futuresoon

a bad ending p5r fic where maruki gives akira the ability to actualize akechi according to his wants. really fucked up with a lot of psychological horror, and while i don't necessarily think this is what would have happened in canonverse, its a terrifying thought experiment and exactly what i'm looking for in a p5r bad ending akeshu fic.

Fools Rush In by Atalan

akira speedruns his confidant with akechi in a single day and things end up happening a little bit differently. it absolutely nails their dynamic and there is A Moment in this fic that will forever live rent free in my mind.

never a wish better than this by shouldbeworking

2/2 but its groundhog day (which is fitting, since 2/2 literally IS groundhog day). this made me hurt in a very unique way only a fic like this could. god. hhh. pain. just thinking about it. fuck

When it's over, you're the start by thenotwriter

the phantom thieves slowly start to forget everything that happened in the metaverse, including akechi, but akira doesn't want to forget. there's a moment in this fic that made me cry but don't worry it has a happy ending.

why don't we spin the wheel by futuresoon

what if there was a cognitive akechi in sae's palace. this one has some pretty fucked up stuff in it so read the tags but damn is it good holy shit.

With Mournful Tread by Yustiel

ng+ time loop but its a little bit ethereal and you have to read it multiple times to really get it. that ending though. it always gets me. its the kind of thing you have to stare into space for a while after reading it.

Falling Up by KivaEmber

akechi has Angst about killing akira during the third semester. it's short and simple but it hits extremely hard.

fallen angel by cruellae

after killing akira, akechi descends through one last palace. one final mental shutdown to induce in a target whose distortion is dante's inferno--a hell covering all of tokyo. impeccable symbolism and several moments that make me Emotional.

next we have some shorter longfics, aka anything with multiple chapters that's under 50k words. once again laid out in the order i read them.

Lions Share by Turandot

akira and akechi are both hit with a status effect that compels them to snuggle with sumire that sustains even after they leave the metaverse. very royal trio-centric but not necessarily romantic. this was the first p5 fic i read so my memory of it is a bit hazy, but i do think i had a couple minor gripes with akechi's character, but on the whole it is very very good.

Pleasant Boy by ez_cookie

okay. this is my second favorite p5 fic of all time. GO READ IT.

ah shit. i forgot to tell you what it's about. maruki actualizes goro during the third semester and turns him into the detective prince but Genuine. this fic is so so so good and has my favorite moment in any fic ever. i have fully sobbed both times i have read it, and i do not easily cry. (it has a happy ending.) go read it!!!!! now!!!!!

gravitational reset by chashmish

the third semester if maruki accidentally created a bond between akira and akechi that forced them to be near each other at all times. lots of akeshu fluff as they try to deal with this 'problem' with some amazing moments near the end.

Kintsugi by cryptisPrince and Ethereally

this starts out as a velvet room attendant akechi fic and ends with an akechi palace. the beginning is good but the ending is goddamn AMAZING.

killed with kindness by veterization

(this one is technically JUST over 50k words buuut i decided to put it in this category anyway.) the phantom thieves forcibly befriend akechi starting early on in the game. the pt befriending akechi is literally my favorite thing ever and this fic does it very well. its super sweet.

Press To Give Gold by Erina

persona 5 but the characters use reddit. this one is fricking hilarious and mostly lighthearted fun until it suddenly punches you in the gut. and then its lighthearted fun again.

take me to church by cruellae

akira has a palace post-royal. the symbolism/imagery in this one is what really elevates it for me.

Trickster's Maze by TwilightKnight17

another akira has a palace post-royal. its a tad mean to the thieves but the symbolism and catharsis is worth it. joker's shadows (there are several) are literally the best things ever i love them a lot.

Flight through fall by Tayani

a summary would require several trigger warnings, so. post-royal, very sad and dark, but it has a hopeful ending and i found it to be very cathartic. i've already read it twice and i only found it a couple months ago.

Love, Ren by Tayani

akira (okay, its obviously ren in this fic, but i always call him akira bc ren just does not fit him and i will die on this hill) writes a series of letters to akechi over the course of the game. the characterization is wonderful and the ending beautiful.

finally, we have the longer longfics, aka everything over 50k words. its the shortest list but some of my absolute favorites are here.

the first step to find your way is to mark where you have been by futuresoon

akechi palace fic post-royal. akira and akechi make their way through akechi's palace every night so akechi can return to the living world and the metaverse can finally be completely destroyed. there is a ton of amazing character development for akechi and it gets deep into his backstory. this fic also heavily influenced my own akechi palace au, which you'll probably be able to tell once its out. this is one of my absolute favorite akechi-centric fics. there is some darker stuff though so mind the tags.

it takes a village by shouldbeworking

AND HERE WE HAVE MY #1 AKECHI FIC OF ALL TIME. its a ng+ from akechi's perspective and everyone remembers the original timeline except for goro. i read this fic three times in a fucking row despite it being the longest fic on this list it is THAT good. and i am currently (slowly) making my way through it a fourth time and highlighting all the best beautiful passages which is honestly a majority of the fic. the whole thing is just, absolutely gorgeous in every single way and has everything you could ask for in an akechi redemption fic. i cannot rave enough about this one just go read it and pleasant boy and i will die happy. wow. just. wow.

hiraeth by atomjenkins

akechi spends time with each of the phantom thieves one on one during the third semester. (almost) every chapter is beautiful and explores their parallels with akechi. i have a couple minor complaints about how it deals with akechi's feelings about killing people, and one major complaint about makoto's chapter (the author doesn't like makoto and it shows), but other than that. very solid, highly recommend.

Once More, With Feeling by beesandtoes

akira and akechi get stuck in a time loop on the day akechi dies. this starts out great and slowly gets better and better and then the twist hits and it becomes absolutely fucking amazing. definitely somewhere in my top five.

the uprooting of the universe by akc

taking place five years after the end of persona 5 royal, akira and akechi meet by happenstance and reconnect. both akechi and akira have changed a lot in the past 5 years and while akechi's life is now relatively stable, it's still not happy. basically a slow burn of akechi learning how to let himself become happy and finally make some real friends. the akeshu is extremely wholesome and adorable. also this fic made me kin akechi even harder, lets just leave it at that.

and you know what? lets include some bonus ichinose-centric fics i read bc i went through her whole tag on ao3 and these two were the highlights. ichinose deserves so much better. c'mon you guys lets write more about her please i am begging

A God As Lost As You And Blind by Fuchi

multichapter fic where ichinose and maruki have a long conversation in his taxi and do some soul searching together. there were a few (many) moments where i was like 'do people really talk like this?' but then again this is ichinose and maruki we're talking about.

Do AIs Dream of Past Mistakes? by presidenthomemaker

oneshot where ichinose has a touching moment where she reconnects with her emotions while on a road trip with sophia. nitpick that its a little repetitive of their moment together in p5s but i liked this fic a lot regardless.

[emi1y]

the fucking tra/nsandro post from hell is going around again and my activity is full of peoples tags that are some degree of "non transmascs shut up" and i want to be like. at what point is someone transmasc or not. im nonbinary and if we agree that nonbinary is included under the trans umbrella then by that definition i am transgender. i am afab, does that make me transmasc by default or is that reserved for people who identify with masculinity? is it about how we identify or how we are perceived? you could take a butch who identifies as transmasc and a butch who identifies as a gnc woman and they could look identical, how do you draw a line between them that decides one of them can have an opinion on intracommunity topics and one of them can't when they will both be subjected to the same prejudices from a public who doesn't care what your identity is and only sees you as an Other. or what if I decided that I'm not nonbinary because I don't mind when I am perceived and addressed as a woman, so for all intents and purposes that is the correct label for me—but I still intend to take testosterone for the aesthetic effects on my body. where's the line then? obviously in real life gnc people who still identify with their assigned gender share safe spaces with transgender people because a transphobic society isn't going to ask if you're actually trans or just dressing that way for fun before they judge you. we have solidarity because regardless of what we call ourselves we are percieved as one in the same. but then take that logic and try to apply it to the internet and it just doesn't work. people are so intent on saying you can only have an opinion on X if you're Y and people are put in a place where they either need to call themselves an incorrect label because it's easier than getting into the nuance of it for the sake of their voice being respected, or be excluded from community discussions entirely because they don't fall within the binary of who is allowed to talk about what. and to circle back to what brought this post on in the first place. there was literally nothing in my post suggesting that I'm not transmasc. I have the lesbian profile picture but we've already been over the fact that plenty of lesbians fall into the category of transmasc. so earlier when i said "where do you draw the line"—anybody who is intent on drawing a line in the first place will inevitably draw the line between those who agree with them and enable their views and people who disagree with them and bring up any challeges to their beliefs. vent over I don't have a point to this i am just fucking annoyed and i would like to take every person saying shit like "if you're not transmasc–" and have them look me in the eye and just say point blank that they don't think I'm transmasc. none of this "if" bullshit, you wouldn't be bitching in my notes if you didn't already assume that I'm not. Tell me the exact parameters of being transmasc and why I don't fit them. Quickly.

[birb-tangleblog]

What's your issue(s) with 7k? /gen

Okay so, if you scuttle around in my negativity and salt tags, you'll find a few other posts I've made on why I dislike it and my personal issues. I'm always happy to ramble on anyway, but full disclosure there's a good chance I might end up repeating myself a bit. Fair warning for criticism/negativity here too!

My biggest issue is honestly that 7 K bears zero resemblance to the original source material, and feels like it wasn't made with a lot of love for it. Where are the series' locations and lore? Any of the characters? The new cast, their designs, and the setting(s) they come from don't fit the worldbuilding and aesthetic that I love.

Like there are so so many loose ends and plot threads you could choose to expand on in a sequel or spinoff, and 7 K ignores absolutely all of them. Along with being written/conceptualized before S3, it feels incredibly disconnected and dissonant to anything T T S to me.

It seems like the creators wanted to take Var and pair him off w/ an OC they ported from elsewhere- and at that point, just retool him and make the whole thing a standalone/original project? Nothing against canon/OC either... but I wouldn't go and pitch my self-indulgent fanfic as a sequel to the original series to actual Disney execs, either?)

Overexposure and saturation in tags and fandom spaces is the other biggie. It's not quite as prevalent as it was when it came out, but it's still popular and hard to ignore- ex. Hugo is tagged in almost 500 stories (and counting) on Ao3. It’s... a lot. I really like Var himself, he has so much potential- but it’s hard to find content w/ him now that doesn’t somehow include 7 K, and it’s a bummer.

And the dynamic with Hugo... it's really not my cup of tea, and from what I've seen, Var's characterization suffers from it? Lot of him getting pigeonholed as this sassy uwu disaster baby gay/bi with varying degrees of angst/badboy mixed in depending on the take and idk if I think that's true to him.

And I'm just really, really over the white twink ships that are popular in fandom, man

I've heard the 'coming of age' and 'Var finds a group of peers his age' as selling points or a big part of the appeal, which makes sense, but both of these fall flat to me b/c the gang... ISN'T his age. Y/ ong is 6 years younger than him, Nu/ ru is 2- literally the only one his age is his love interest (how convenient)

Re. 7 K as a coming of age story, I feel like much of Var's arc in the show already went in that direction, with him learning from exp, growing up and maturing, making his dad proud, and becoming responsible. He's undergone the development 7K's premise sets him up for, and it makes it feel extraneous or like a step backwards.

Honestly, I think there's a lot of overlap btwn 7 K fans and fans who are extremely critical of the orig, who welcome the 7 K cast b/c they believe Var's friends in the series let him down, didn't care for him, acted unforgivably, etc- and I straight up diagree/don't feel that way, so I don't feel a need for him to have a new or better friend group. It doesn't compel me.

Idt I've mentioned this, but I really dislike the handling of Var's mother in particular. She's revealed to be alive, then turns out to be evil as a 'twist', and is killed off to further Var's char development. It's defrosting her from the dead mom fridge only to stuff her back in it at the end. I also have a problem with her abandoning her husband and young son and the timeline wonk of, 'why didn't she decide to follow her old dream BEFORE settling down'.

I've got more smaller gripes re. the AU itself as well as attitudes and trends in the fandom surrounding it- like, the elemental kingdoms feel generic and video-gamey, momification/supportive ‘shipper on deck’ treatment of the only female main, and children being little clones of their parents with every trait being inherited bugs me (seen in Var’s extended family and his mom being an alchemist like him)- but those are my big issues.

[gothhabiba]

Hey, I saw "women, girls and femmes" used in activism (this is the first time I've come across it cause I'm not American) and I remembered that a while ago you posted something criticizing it? I don't quite rememeber your stance cause I didn't get that ohrase and when it's used. Is "femmes" supposed to be about transfeminine and feminine nb people or what exactly? I don't want to be critical of a phrase used in activism without understandit it.

the post you’re thinking of is probably this one

see also this brief comment on twitter

if you asked the people who use the phrase, I’m not entirely convinced that all of them would be able to tell you what it’s meant to designate--it’s a sort of signalling (of a group of positions that the person who’s using it is likely to hold?) that gets passed around in certain spaces

which there’s nothing automatically wrong with--consider for example what the word “houseless” rather than “homeless” signals about its user’s probable politics--but the criticism of the phrase that’s often brought up is that it equates “womanhood” to “femininity” (if you consider literally any source or genealogy of the word “femme” in English)

ostensibly the point of the phrase “women and femmes” in feminist discussion is to include people who don’t call or consider themselves “women” among the groups of people whom patriarchy harms, & therefore to be “inclusive” to nonbinary people who don’t want to be called “women”... but a couple seconds’ reflection (not to mention seeing the term as it’s actually used) should suffice to make it clear that this conveniently only ever seems to include nb people who were afab (and who look a certain way?) and therefore acceptably fall under the bracket of “perceived as women” (“women, femmes, and people perceived as women” being another version of this phrase that gets passed around).

so in its wording (“femme” from “feminine”), in its actual usage, and in its concept of how patriarchy works (purely based off of presentation or perception), it upholds a conception of “femininity” (of presentation or of, like, the body? which is obviously transmisogynistic) as the target and victim of “masculinity” (which includes anyone who doesn't fit their conception of what “women” look like)

for me this kind of equivocating (as in, not just saying “women”) is not only highly suspect for the reasons outlined above, but is also just sort of unnecessary. any feminist project should be able to theorise and articulate how power works without organising itself completely around individuals’ identities (although how identity operates is of course very relevant to any feminist project, & is in itself something that needs to be theorised). otherwise the insight that, as I said in one of the links above, there is no “perfect” subject whom the term “women” innately designates--an insight that is absolutely vital to being able to politicise womanhood, heterosexuality, &c.--threatens to be lost.

& the phrase “women and femmes” itself really doesn’t facilitate any actual theorising of womanhood as personal identity versus class membership, any theorising of nonbinary identity, &c.--it just collapses those distinctions entirely by saying “women and femmes” and yet using that completely interchangeably with how they would use “women” anyway

of course I’m not saying that every single person who uses the phrase consciously believes x misogynistic or transmisogynistic thing. but these are some of the criticisms of it that have been brought up over the past few years

also see my /tagged/women and femmes

[lyssafreyguy]

the situation is also just generally funny to me as someone who has an nsfw sideblog and who makes posts that include a "do not interact" disclaimer every single time and like you can say what you want about people having nsfw blogs on a public blogging platform i honestly couldn't give less of a shit what you think i and the people i follow for that content have our own relationships with wanting our own little circle of sapphic nsfw content and sex positivity and the fact that tumblr is public and the only way you can really privatize your blog is by setting up a password protection that people have to know if they wanna see your content

the difference between me and these other blogs and this fucking weirdo tho is that- at least in my case but i follow a lot of people who also don't do this- the posts we make aren't being tagged with anything easily searchable outside of our own blogs (like i have tags on mine for the post format and an emoji tag that acts as my own 'personal' tag) and just if not most importantly none of us are making posts that have a "minors dni" disclaimer and then paying tumblr a whopping 10 bucks to just make it super visible to literally anyone with no way of customizing the criteria of who does and doesn't get to see it

i play the job of both the poster and the moderator- when i make a post i'm monitoring my notifications and looking out for urls that i do and don't recognize, i'm checking the blogs that i don't remember or haven't seen in my notifs before and checking to see if they're not a man and over the age of 18, if i check a blog that liked a post i made or any post on my blog at all and i see that they fit one a dni criteria i'm working as fast as i can to block them for the sake of both my boundaries and the boundaries of the other wlw that i interact with and who follow me

outside of the one or two posts that i've made that blew up out of my control that i've had to delete just so that i wouldn't have to keep seeing the notifs for the sake of my own mental and emotional well-being and being able to just move on with my life i and many of the other blogs that i follow and that interact with my content run a pretty tightly run ship like do you honestly think that we're gonna take a post that we've made in that kinda of space and then blazed it for random people to see?? are you fucking possessed??? get fucking dunked on my guy

[katedrakeohd]

What Happens in Paris (6a)

[Masterlist]

Author's note / Synopsis : So far this story has all been from Kate's point of view. This sixth installment is going to switch between characters. Each point of view is going to be posted separately so that it doesn't become confusing. We're starting out with Kate and her late arrival to Breakfast.

Word count: 1307

...

Kate

By the time I make it down to the dining car for Breakfast there's no doubt I was late. Instead of sitting down at tables, everyone is standing around talking when I get there. I catch Maxwell's eye first and he hurries over to my side.

"Where's Drake?" He whispers.

I shrug, "I don't know. Probably getting dressed." 

At the sound of my voice, Madeleine turns away from her conversation with Liam and scowls at me. "Well if it isn't Little Miss Casual. It took you this long to come down for Breakfast and that's all you could come up with?"

I glance down at my t-shirt and blue jeans, "Sorry, I didn't know having Breakfast on a train required a certain dress code."

"You're on a Royal Engagement tour, not some college road trip. Do you have no sense of decorum? If you're going to continue travelling around with the Royal Court, I expect a little more effort. Honestly, I don't know what Liam or the Beaumont's see in you. As if the scandal that's following you around wasn't trashy enough."

Her words stung, but before I could come up with a reply, Maxwell was wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me away. "Don't listen to her, Little Blossom, you're beautiful in whatever you're wearing."

Madeleine rolls her eyes and tucks her hand into Liam's elbow, "Come, Sweetheart. I want you to help me choose the best ensemble for Regina's tea party this afternoon. As the Queen to be, I don't want to be upstaged by anyone."

Liam glances my way with a look of sadness, and then turns his attention back to Madeleine, forcing a smile. "Nonsense, I'm sure whatever you choose to wear, you'll be a vision to behold."

Kiara and Penelope follow them out as they leave, whispering amongst themselves and not bothering to acknowledge me. I stare at their backs and feel even more removed from their world. 

Hana's cheerful voice breaks through my feelings of embarrassment, and I relax a little. "Don't worry, Kate. Between Maxwell and I we'll make sure you fit in beautifully at the tea party today."

"Thanks Hana, I appreciate your never ending kindness. You make being at court with Madeleine more tolerable."

"What did I miss?" Drake asks as he joins us in the dining car. 

I turn to him and smirk sarcastically, "Besides my literal dressing down by Madeleine, followed by watching her lead poor Liam out of here like a puppy on a leash?"

Drake looks relieved as he slides into one of the booths and picks up the menu card, "Phew, dodged that bullet this morning. What's for Breakfast?"

Maxwell makes a deliberate motion to prevent me from sitting beside Drake by putting himself into the booth beside him. Drake rolls his eyes, and then turns back to looking at the menu. As I slide into the booth across from Drake, I see Maxwell wince at something Drake has done to him under the table.

I shoot Drake a warning glance, and then he sighs and shifts closer to the window to give Maxwell more space. Hana seems to miss all of this as she sits down next to me. She smiles and addresses Drake across the table.

"Are you coming to the tea party this afternoon Drake?"

He scoffs, "Fancy finger sandwiches, pretty little cakes, and dainty cups of tea? I'll pass."

"The whole Royal Court will be there, including Kate." Maxwell adds.

Drake looks at me from across the table, "Do I have to dress up?"

Maxwell answers, "Not really. It's entirely up to you."

"I guess if Darling has to go, I better go too." He sighs. "It's not like I had anything better to do this afternoon. What time is the party?”

“Three o’clock," Hana answers.

"And what time is it now?"

Maxwell checks his phone, "It's 10:25."

Drake frowns at me and then rolls his eyes and shakes his head. We've missed Breakfast. I give him a little apologetic shrug and he smirks back.

Next to us Hana and Maxwell are chatting away about the venue for today's tea party. He shows her a picture on his phone. "...ooh, what a pretty color scheme. It reminds me of the tea parties I dreamed of having as a child."

Only Hana would have tea party fantasies. But then again I didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a Princess or a Queen someday.

Bending and warping the menu card in his hands impatiently, I see Drake glance over at the table across from us. It hasn't been cleared of its dishes yet. He was obviously hungry, and being trapped on the inside of the booth was making him antsy. I feel bad for holding him up so long this morning and making him miss eating with everyone else.

From where I'm sitting, I see one of the kitchen staff wheeling in a cart with a deep plastic tray on top, and I realize she's coming in to clear the tables. When I see her pick up a basket of pastries I wave at her to get her attention. "Excuse me! Could we have that basket?"

She looks startled at first. "Oh, sure. I didn't realize there was anyone still here." 

When she brings it over, I can see Drake's eyes light up with gratitude. "I don't suppose the galley is still serving coffee?" He asks, as Hana passes the basket my way.

The kitchen girl smiles, "Certainly, sir. I'll bring down a carafe right away."

After she leaves, Drake elbows Max, "Ok, move it buddy. If there are any more baskets of goodies left in the dining car I'm claiming them for me and Darling."

Max stumbles out of the seat just in time as Drake barrels out after him. Hana laughs as she watches the two of them scavenge for any untouched jams and spreads and baskets of bread and then bring them back to the table. 

As Drake and I access the spoils of their table raid, Hana raises her eyebrows. "I thought Maxwell usually woke you up early enough to make it down for Breakfast. How late did the bachelor party go last night? Oh, and did you get the chance to confront Bastien?"

"Well…" I start, glancing at Max and Drake and wait for one of them to jump in. 

"Our time at the party kind of got cut short by Bastien...and Bertrand…" Maxwell says.

"..and Drake losing his temper." I finish, feeling horrible for stirring up his pain all over again.

I notice that Drake's jaw is clenched tightly, and his mouth is set in a grim line as he grumbles, tearing off pieces of bread and throwing them into a basket. "Yeah, well you'd be pissed off too if you'd found out your sister had been knocked up and then tossed aside by a God damn pretentious prick. And the man you've looked up to for half your life has conspired to ruin the reputation of the woman you love."

Max and I share a look of shock, realizing what Drake has just admitted.

"Awww Drake, I wanted to tell Hana." Maxwell says, with disappointment.

"Tell her what?" Drake asks, smearing jam on a piece of croissant. 

I reach across the table and swipe the remainder of his Breakfast pastry with a grin, "About us, honey."

Drake drops his butter knife to the table, and then shoves the sticky morsel into his mouth. "Well, shit. I guess the secret is out then."

Hana gushes with happiness and pulls me into a hug, "Oh my gosh, Kate. I'm so happy for you two. Drake has a reason to smile now."

"Nah, uh." Drake says with a smirk, and then frowns to cover it. "No smiles until I get my coffee."

::.

tagging: @jovialyouthmusic @sirbeepsalot @emceesynonymroll @emichelle @mskaneko @speedyoperarascalparty @dcbbw @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @pedudley @kingliam2019 @kimmiedoo5 @gardeningourmet @drakesensworld @mfackenthal @thequeenchoices @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @wickedgypsymoon @griselda1121 @indiacater @texaskitten30 @nikkis1983 @lynne1993 @bobasheebaby @drakesfiance @ravenpuff02 @moonlightgem7 @princessleac1 @janezillow @jlpplays1 @walker7519 @drakesensworld @furiousherringoperatortoad @samihatuli @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @rainbowsinthestorm @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @jessiembruno @msjpuddleduck @princess-andromeda-nazario @princess-geek