#lisa is my hero honestly

[danswank]

@lisagaskarth: 🐐🤍🐎

📸: @lupe_

[evelynpr]

Genshin Official Relationships and Status

Something to take note off in character relationships is what their "official and known" relationships are. So, I decided to try to make a chart of one with the playable cast and some extras.

This is a draft though. If you have criticisms and comments, absolutely please do leave them because I don't think my interpretations of these government systems are that accurate.

Anyways, here they are! The higher the placement, the higher the authority. Distance does not apply, and the legend is in each of the pictures.

Mondstadt: That's a lotta knights

They can be split between the Church and Knights, but the Church is still under the Grand Master as far as I know.

Power is surprisingly concentrated to 1/2 individuals only for a nation of freedom...Mond you gotta work on that...

Jean, Diluc, Kaeya, and Lisa are arranged the way they are in reference to the Klee summer event where they passed on who was looking after Mond.

Diluc still retains his high position because he has so many high credentials and connections (The Darknight Hero, Mond's richest man, high status in an intelligence network), despite being the Ex-Cavalry Captain.

Rosaria is an official recognized nun, but her vigilante works are by her own accord, hence the colors.

I am not sure whatsoever where Jean and Barbara's father, the Cardinal, should really be placed, or if he even still holds the position.

Poor Noelle does so much more Mond, but is lowest in status...please just make her a knight already T__T

Liyue: Zhongli and his powerful lesbians

I really am not sure if Ningguang is who Liyue's closest "leader", but that is how I felt during most of Liyues events

I'm assuming that the adepti now have a lesser status in Liyue because of the shift in power to the humans during the archon quest

How high Beidou's status is is, completely informal. She's right beside Ningguang because they do find each other to be equal competitors in their own way.

Those directly connected to Zhongli are those I assumed to have taken direct orders from him, hence why Beidou and Keqing are not included although they do respect him as their archon (Keqing in her own way)

I feel like I'm missing people here, compared to Mond, so uh, help me out here-

Inazuma: They just had a civil war...woops

I am reallyyy unsure how to label Sangonomiya island's status. Are they under the shogun? Are they their own separate territory?

Otherwise, Inazuma is pretty straightforward with its 3 factions and families

Sumeru: The whole government was just overthrown

Are there like, genuinely so sages right now, or replacement Grand Sage??? Nahida you need to do something asap-

Scara doesn't exactly have equal status to Alhaitham as Acting Grand Sage, but I felt it was more important to show that Scara is working directly under Nahida

Speaking of which, the title "shadow" is used because it's the same role that Ei served to Makoto, which I find poetic. If there is an official or better title tho, I'd love to hear it.

Hopefully, as time passes, there will be more representatives from the desert with high status. Poor Candace is carrying the desert's status on her back-

Should I have included the Corps of Thirty even if there are no playable characters...?

Fontaine: Fancy Schmancy Titles

I honestly reallyyyy wished that Neuv and Wrio were on equal standing, but in the eyes of Fontaine, that probably just isn't true.

Even so, absolute do not underestimate how important Wrio's role is in Fontaine's justice system, because without the Fortress functioning as it is, so much of Fontaine's justice would fall apart.

Despite Furina's death penalty and retirement, I still believe she deserves the title of archon with the highest status. No matter what happens, she is still Fontaine's idol and savior. (Besides, if she wanted/needed anything, Neuv would give it to her.)

How high Navia, Clorinde, and Chevy's statuses are in relation to each other in reality is...not explicit?

Really, Clorinde is just another employee under Fontaine's justice system, and isn't a head in anyway, while Chevy and Navia are actual leaders. But, Clorinde is the best Champion Duelist, so does that make them cancel out...?

Anyways that's all from me! It's pretty interesting to me just how much of the cast are part of their respective nation's government, which only makes sense given the kind of ruckus the traveler causes. Have a good day!

[leoruby-draws]

Next up is Owen Mercer aka Boomerang Jr, son of Captain Boomerang and the speedster of the TrWh Outlaw team! Get ready for another long post you guys, god my hands are hurting this week arrughhh.

Owen's a fun character to draw and has a fun personality in general. He's more angsty and dark in the comics but since Digger finds out about him early on, Owen's much more happy in this au. Digger and Owen have a fantastic father-son relationship and Owen really looks up to him. Digger is so happy he found Owen but is kinda frantic on how to raise him, being a villain isn't the best job for a dad. Not sure what age Digger discovers him, maybe 10 or so?

That mini version of Digger's outfit is what Owen would've worn if he was discovered even younger (he's 4-6 in that doodle), preteen Owen would've found that outfit a bit too silly for his tastes tho.

Honestly I'm not sure if Owen even lives with him, since Digger is a rogue and probably in jail more often than not, Owen might still be in foster care. I don't remember if Owen was shown to be adopted in the comics, he was already shown to be an adult. Btw, concerning Owen's age*, I'm slightly lowering his age to better fit with Jason's age group (he's 12 to Jason's 10). He, along with Jack Moore, are the oldest of the team, too bad Owen doesn't care about acting his age!

While Owen loves hanging out with his father, he also likes to hang out with the Flash aka Barry Allen. Barry has been mentoring Owen on and off (much to Wally's dismay) and has been slowly pushing him towards heroism. He's knows Owen's got a good heart and see's that he has the potential to access the speedforce. Owen's a character that's caught between two worlds, rogue and hero. Does he want to follow in his father's footsteps or go follow Barry?

What a conundrum, but this is a problem he had in the comics. His struggle to figure what to do with his life. Actually, I think I heard somewhere he was actually created with the intent to replace Wally as the Flash but they dropped that plot point, leaving him adrift in the comics. Let me know if that's wrong tho!

Captain Cold aka Leonard Snart isn't helping matters as you can see in that vague threat up there, I'd like to better define that relationship between those two but I'd need to read more comics with Leonard to do that.

Here I have Owen with some of his friends and his dad. I said in my last post with Rankorr, that he and Owen's friendship is a nod towards the famous Green Lantern/Flash partnership. Owen's always trying to get Jack to loosen up and have fun, Jack sometimes finds this annoying but is slowly letting Owen in his life. You can see up there Owen giving Jason a ride someplace, bet Jason wishes he took the bus lol.

You can see Owen gushing over Para Dice, his canonical girlfriend from Rebirth. Owen at some point meets her in Australia and has an instant crush on her. Para is a rather mysterious girl, but has taken a liken to Owen as well. Still too young for a proper romance tho, plus Owen would need to sharpen up his speed skills if he wants to make this LDR work.

There's Digger training Owen in the art of the boomerang, rogue or hero, any son of Cap. Boomerang will be a learn to toss a good boomerang!

Another drawing of these two, aren't they adorable?

Here's Owen bother poor Lisa Snart aka Golden Glider. Owen can be a little insensitive, tho he's never actually malicious in intent (usually). Always thought it was weird that Lisa was considered a candidate for Owen's mother, she didn't seem old enough for that (Owen was like early twenties). Anyways Lisa thinks he's an annoying little twerp...

...and not the only one. Here's Owen bothering poor Jesse. Also you can see I messed up on her shirt design, wasn't really thinking about what I was drawing I guess. I do that sometimes lol.

On the nature of Owen's and Jason's relationship, they seem to quite like each other. Neither of them had many friends before the team, and find easy camaraderie in having simple boyish fun together, which is something they kinda needed in life. You'll sometimes see them making complex plans for the next prank (Lori is invited as well).

In team dynamics, Jason can find Owen tendency to not take fights seriously kinda annoying. While Owen can sometimes disregard Jason's leadership (should Jason be leader that day I mean) due to him being younger. Friction isn't common between them though, perhaps because they got a lot in common.

From being caught between opposing morality, difficulty in finding a niche in the DC comics, even in trying to discover who their mothers are. Its can be validating to know people who understand what your going through.

Little more focus on Owen's relations, I said that Barry has been trying to steer Owen towards good but I also think that Barry just thinks that Owen is just a fun little guy in general. I'd think they get along pretty well, Wally looks so pissed tho. There was this one comic where Hal had Wally as a sidekick for a day and Barry was pretty jealous. Guess the reverse is happening here. Wally's a favored target for Owen's pranks, so this whole situation is just very annoying to him.

Here's Digger introducing Owen to the rogues, Leonard looks befuddled at all this (Digger got a girl preggo? crazy).

Wanted to have Digger and Owen watch cartoons together, so I looked up Australian cartoons, found something called Bluey. Apparently it's super popular, even adults like it. So I found some free cartoons on youtube and yeah. It really is that good. Look it up if you want to see some fun, relaxing cartoons with smart writing!

To finish off this mass of words, here's Owen being a goofball with Eddie and Jason. I'm slowly finding that Owen's got a pretty fun dynamic with most anyone I draw him with. So that's been fun.

All this and I still haven't gone into Meloni and Bart, but it's best if I leave that for later. Anyways, hoped you like all that!

*About Owen's age, the comics never specified what his age actually was. All I know he's in his twenties but still younger than Dick's age group. Young enough to be unsure of his place in the world, but old enough that his 'relationship' with Kara to be weird. I guess it'd be less weird in my au with a smaller age gap, but that's still not happening.

[young-royals-confessions]

Just pitching in since I see so much discourse about will they or won’t they that I think we kind of lost the essence of the story: I mean yes, Netflix is promoting the whole are they going to be endgame or not, tune in to find out but I think that’s just a generic marketing tactic.I’ve honestly been ignoring it.

Also, Lisa doesn’t strike me as the type of writer that would push only her own personal agenda or politics to a tv show, especially one that has critical acclaim as yr. That’s not what true storytelling is about. Please bear with me (apologies in advance for the long response !) but here’s my v long winded reasoning:

The theme has always been love v. duty & the monarchy is the enemy. Wille is on a Hero’s Journey - he is ultimately the Main Character; the Young Royal. What’s great about The Hero’s Journey is that it’s easy to follow and makes for great storytelling despite its predictability. I think some people here may have touched upon this so I am simply expanding:

As a viewer, we follow Wille and get to know him. He’s a likable character and we easily root for him and feel for him when we learn about the power dynamics in play; specifically how he feels caged as a prince. Then we enter into a Call for Adventure: him falling for Simon and the high stakes he enters when his brother passes and he is now Crown Prince.

This, then, propels the story forward, given the stakes are stacked up and it’s not looking good for Wille, especially after he/we find out August was the offender for sex tape leak.

After that, we enter into The Refuse to Call for Adventure; i.e, the hero (Wille) realizes he must face the challenge. We also step into the Meeting the Mentor, which is Boris, who helps Wille learn how to stand up and ultimately fight for himself (and Simon). While I see others thinking that W might push everyone away, including skipping his appts with Boris, I do not think that’s the case. Boris was set up to be the Mentor that W needs to realize the challenge he’s been facing and we may continue seeing him open up to Boris.

This will then allow W to “Cross the Threshold” and reinforce the central theme and conflict of the story - if W continues to stay with the monarchy and his obligations as Crown Prince, he cannot choose Simon. Love or Duty? Which will prevail?

S3 crosses that threshold and produces tests and obstacles that would make the fight for his relationship w S so much more complicated (basically everything we saw in the trailer). This stage in the Hero’s Journey is meant for the audience to doubt the Hero - Wille. It’s already a testament as we are debating if W is going to denounce his title or not just from the 2 mins of what we saw from the trailer. It’s intentional. We need to doubt in order for the central theme to drive home and also portrays the monarchy to be the overarching enemy of this story, without Lisa forfeiting her own political statement.

We enter the next stage of the Journey - which is the Cave - meaning the Hero and protagonists need to regroup and prepare for a counter attack (generally speaking) because the tension is continuing to rise and there are outside forces that wish to disturb the Journey (in this case, public opinion? paparazzi? Hillerska shutting down?).

Next, we enter the Ordeal - which makes the Hero break down bc he enters a mental barrier and is pushed to a corner. However, the Hero, typically comes out stronger after this stage in storytelling.

Ultimately, we reach the end: The Reward. The Hero makes the “attack” or choice and defeats the enemy/antagonist.

Imo, with how everything is set up, I do think it’s set up for W and S to be together in the end at least the end of the show (everything else after is obviously left for the audience member to interpret).

I have no doubt that W & S are going to come up on top and still be together in the end bc like some people mentioned - what would be the point? It was never a question whether they would end up together. The question is if Wille, our Hero in this story, would make the final choice and choose between love or duty. I think Wille would choose love. What better way of making history, especially with everything that’s been happening in real events, then choosing love? That would make for a strong ending.

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Shoto's First Kiss Timeline? Idk let's plot it out together

Gif Caption: Me and Shoto sitting together on the train, vibing. 💕

Hi All!!

If you're a fan of the Shoto's First Kiss series, Chapter 5 dropped at like 3:30 am EST this morning because I am an absolute HEATHEN and decided to have a late night/early morning editing session for 3 hours before posting. This was fun because I decided to add the whole Lisa Frank phone background scene for kicks and add a little more build up to the smut scene (I love a slowish burn...what can I say!?).

@brie-is-cheesy had some great questions in the comments of Chapter 5, I'm going to post it below and answer the best I can! I don't have a full answer to everything and I'm taking some ✨creative liberties ✨ here and there but lets see if I can clear some things up for my lovely readers!

Hiiiii, totally loved it; I was wondering when this is set? Like the timeline, I just got confused I'll leave the list of confusing things about the timeline,, I wrote about how much I love this in my reblog cuz this is awesome!! -since bnha is set in the mid to late 2100s I was wondering if the older songs they're listening to will include songs that are relatively new for us as of now? -when does this occur? Like you mentioned they're in their first year, and its after they've moved into the dorms but it's nearing the summer of next year, so is it after the war arc, or after the events of bnha entirely? Just wanted to ask! Thank you for the update!!<3 - brie-is-cheesy

Okay these are FAB questions and honestly I can't give you a straight answer to all of them!

Here's the background: So this story started out as a one shot - this past year, Shoto hasn't been one of my main MHA favorites. When I started the Red Riot Unbreakable Heart blog, my goal was to focus on what I've been calling "My Big Three." This includes Kirishima (lol thus my username), Hakws, and Hitoshi Shinsou (I love me an emo man). I was sprinkling in smutty one shots here and there involving other characters (ex. BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala and Beneath the Bookshelves | BakuDeku ). Shoto was one of those random one offs that I was like, huh why not!? But then I published Shoto's First Kiss (Part One) this one shot about Reader x Shoto totally took off in a way I wasn't expecting. Shoto resonates a lot with you all and the more I started writing for him, the more I grew to love him. He's so complex and in need of love and care. He has so much capacity for love!! I wanted to explore that more and figure out how he would act in his first encounters with intimacy and relationships. So I kept posting chapters, and started plotting out this wild story!

Timeline: When I started writing the one shot, I wanted the story to ambiguously take place in the 2nd or 3rd year when the characters were a little older. I was kind of working it in an AU where the war had vaguely happened and was over but everyone is okay and no one was injured/died/had their quirk impacted by AFO. In the context of Shoto's First Kiss chapter one - the war doesn't matter (at least if you re-read it I hope you don't find any plot holes mentioning the war!?). Also I have tried to say "Class A" instead of "Class 1A" because as I wrote more chapters, I still hadn't figured out what year we are in here.

Now that we're world building and have a more fleshed out story, here's what I'm thinking. Bare with me, we are going to need to suspend some disbelief here and I might need to go back and make some tweaks to previous chapters to keep everything in line with this line of thinking. But let's say this:

Timeline: The timeline takes place in the character's 1st year. I just combed through this timeline of MHA that someone put together on Reddit. I'm thinking this likely takes place at the end of Term 1. Final exams are coming up, and the students have heard a little about the training camp. Most of the MHA events so far are probably cannon in my fic universe, unless otherwise mentioned. The great thing for me is - most of MHA is in the context of Izuku's experiences, so there's a lot of wiggle room in the timeline for what could be happening between Shoto x The Reader. I haven't decided if the current chapters take place before or after Shoto/Izuku/Ida's encounter with Stain, because I can see some interesting plot points coming from that. I'll think about it!! This may change, but for purposes of continuity I think this could work as I move forward with my plotting!

Age: All the characters are at least 16. Let's just roll with that and take some creative liberties here. I'm aging everyone up.

The Dorms: In this fic universe, I pictured the students moving into the dorms at the start of the year. Like the dorms are just part of the normal UA experience - for all intents and purposes it's a boarding school.

The Songs: Okay this is a really interesting idea! I am literally just putting in playlists of music I like right now, I didn't think much about modern music flowing into the story. Lol would Honenuki listen to BRAT!? Maybe. I love him and think of him as a sweet chill cinnamon roll of a dude, though. I think he would be scandalized by Guess Featuring Billie Eilish. Or maybe he'd love it. He'd def love Chappell Roan, though. Dude is a sloot for Red Wine Super Nova and I just know it!

The Vibe: @ all of my beloved readers - I realize that this story means a lot to people, and I love that!! Even though we explore complex and serious subject matter at times, this is still a goofy silly story that I write for fun! Please don't hold me to these ideas that I'm throwing out in a semi-public brainstorm. I am but a simple fanfic writer who churns out most of the Shoto pages at midnight after I work two jobs. Shoto's First Kiss is a project that I write purely for fun and to build community with other adult MHA fans. I'm not like going to publish this as a book or put it on Patr*on behind a paywall or something. So let's keep it light! That being said, I love interacting with everyone so if there are fun questions that you think would be interesting for me to answer in this story, let me know! I'm very open to hearing thoughts and considering new ideas here :)

Okay okay SORRY FOR SO MUCH INFO! Thanks again @brie-is-cheesy for being so thoughtful in your reading and for asking these great questions! This is def going to help me guide the next few chapters of the story as I plot things out and as we get a satisfying next chapter in The Party arc. I'm going to post this reply on my Master List so we can all keep track of it and come back to it easily if needed.

As always, thanks for reading!! Sending good vibes to all ☺️

XOXO,

Red Riot Unbreakable Heart ❤️

Shoto's First Kiss Series:

Part 1: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋

Part 2: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 2

Part 3: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 3

Part 4: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 4

Part 5: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 5

My Master List

Red's Recos: If you're looking for more fun smutty stories from my writing desk, I'll share 3 of my all time favorites from my Master List. These are all fairly long and have a lot of sexual tension/build up with some satisfying smut scenes:

How to Suck Your Best Friend’s D*ck 🍆💋

BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala

A Long, *Hard* Night with Eijiro Kirishima

[allwormdiet]

Arc 7: Buzz, Concluding Thoughts

Jesus fucking Christ

Man, remember when it was just Taylor and Rachel hanging out with like twenty dogs? I miss that. Can we go back to that. Please.

God it's so sad to see that Taylor is legitimately the first Undersider to make any inroads with Rachel and now that progress might have been well and truly fucked by her departure

It was cool to see Taylor developing more with her powers, figuring out new ways to use it. Also very cool of her to stab a fucking Nazi in the hand.

Another reminder that Taylor's bullies are all fucking maniacs, and also that Taylor's newfound confidence is seeing some unintended consequences.

Brian... okay. The kiss was really presumptive on Taylor's part, that sucks and that's not on him. But that man's got his wires crossed something fierce if his "sisterly affection" for Taylor reads as romantic attraction not just to Taylor's desperately lonely self (which, easy to fool I think) but also Lisa's interpersonal capabilities. Like, the social manipulation power thinks you're hot for her, my guy, what's that supposed to mean?

(Also what the hell would Aisha think if she heard the sister line, like for real)

Fuck the Empire, fuck Purity, fuck all of these Nazi rat bastards, I hope the Endbringer eats them all because apparently that's what we have to rely on for sticking it to them when the Protectorate can't send in one assist to put literally any of these guys away.

No significant gripes about the actual fights against the Empire, taking down Stormtiger and Cricket (plus fending off Hookwolf) was very cool, and the rooftop tangle with Rune and the alley fight with Night and Fog had some really neat and tense moments.

And then there's fucking Coil. I fucking hate this guy so much, he's so stupid and so cruel and for fucking what. Being the mayor of crime? And the mayor of heroes? And the boss of the actual mayor? What the fuck is even his problem, truly. Can't even doxx a bunch of Nazis without almost getting his subordinates killed, and when they confront him about it his defense is basically "i forgor," what the hell.

Dinah's scene is good in one specific and interesting way, providing both short-term information about Skitter's mounting dissatisfaction and the slightly longer-term information about the approaching Endbringer, but it just. Mm. Dinah's written weirdly, like that's not how twelve-year-olds talk. And I hate every word that Coil says to her.

Skitter's departure from the team is hard to read and hard to reread, honestly. She just. She finally had something going right in her life, for once, and she was willing to gamble everything on that continuing to go right. And she lost. And now she has to go back to them with the weight of that confrontation, that departure, hanging over every interaction, because she's doing what a hero would do.

Getting insights into Miss Militia and more of a look at the Protectorate was interesting, but mostly it's just pity for Hana and, yet again, concern about Armsmaster. Mfer can't stop coming off as concerning.

So, I was told by some friends that when the sirens start is a good time to consider the end of "Part One" of Worm. The Endbringer comes with a significant change in status quo, although I only know some of the details, so if I'm going to ruminate on the story so far, this is the time for it.

I might do that tonight or else give myself time to ruminate on it. We'll see how it goes.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hi, sorry if this has been asked before but, regardless of trope, your favourite historicals of all time???? I was gonna say top10 or something but I read and love literally every one of your recs so top100 would work just as well <3

First off, thank you so much, you're too kind. I don't know if I can give you my Top 100 just yet (though I wish I could lol) but I CAN give you a good cluster ;).

It's been a whiiiile since I've thought of this, and it changes, so I'm happy to answer! I'm going to have some repeats, because I'm true my heart and some authors just write a good few bangers.

My top... 28, I think? In no particular order.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas—Easy answer, I adore this book, it changed the way I look at romance and it's so, so definitive re: my taste. Beautifully written, angsty (and kinda funny too), made me realize one of my core couple dynamics is "somewhat crazy woman and stern man who just doesn't know what the FUCK she's doing and is totally thrown off by her shit".

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt—Another easy one, virgin hero (which I love) who's nonetheless quite stern, jaded older heroine (another thing I love—a jaded heroine), it has the Zorro masked man vibes, the high stakes, INSANELY good sex scenes that only Elizabeth Hoyt can write... And perfectly written angst that isn't magically resolved. Gorgeous gorgeous GORGEOUS.

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath—Another angst machine, has a scene that never fails to make emotional, a crazy setup that turns out to be deeply emotional. Icy proper woman/secretly deeply pining rake. AINSLEY!!!!

Princess by Gaelen Foley—A recent favorite; supremely angsty, supremely sexy, supremely BONKERS. He feels unworthy, which, please, is crack to me. She's a literal princess, giggly and flirty and horny to the max. He's a good bit older, they've known each other for YEEEEARS (... literally all her life), he works for her father. It's very ILLICIT AFFAIRS. Everything I love.

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley—Every single one of the first four Mackenzie books is a bANGER and this is the best one for me. I love a second chance romance. I love a growly hero and a heroine who absolutely owns him. I love that they've both been around the block (and have had sex before, three times, as he reminds her). Hart needed a woman who could MANAGE him and match his freak, and Eleanor is that. She boops his nose and he growls! He does a striptease for her! Perfection, even better if you've read the first three books.

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean—Another one I read early in my return to romance, and I adore it. Bourne is the most dickish hero MacLean has written (imo) and Penelope is such a a sweet heroine who nonetheless doesn't put up with it. He has to work so hard to earn her love, as he should. I adore the childhood friends to at odds vibe, another thing I'm sooo into.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale—A pretty dark historical? Allegreto is CRAZY, Elena manages him perfectly. I love a good kinky romance, and this one is so, so sexy? The femdom is perfect, but it's also beautifully written and has a lot of deep themes. The fact that he thinks he's going to hell and she's like "Whatever, I'll go there with you". It has both corruption and redemption vibes.

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe—One of the books I hyped to a ridiculous degree before it came out, and somehow it delivered on everything. Has a touch of kink (mostly through rough sex, biting, etc) but it's honestly so soft in many ways. Lockwood isn't a pushover or a cinnamon roll, but he does have so much heart and he falls so hard. Nellie being the resistant, rakish one delights me. It has a great world (we need more Gilded Age books). It's another one where everything isn't resolved PERFECTLY, and I love that bit of realism. Just a big sigh ROMANCE romance. "I'm keeping you, Eleanor" PLEEEEASE.

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall—Definitely tonally an unconventional historical, but my God, I love it. It's so funny. It's one of the only nb/nb romances I've read, and I love that it's a historical. Definitely the only one that has a castrato soprano lead, and we should honestly have more because they FUCKED. Like. Read it up. Castrati FUUUUUUUUUCKED. It's really tender and it has one of my favorite climactic moments. A very unconventional ending that made me smile so hard.

What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long. Just a classic, perfectly written age gap romance. This one doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it hits everything it needs to hit perfectly. Has a great mix of humor, emotion, and heat.

Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas—While there are the classic Kleypas issues with depicting the Romani people and I do dock this book a little for that... Look. The romance aspects are perfect for me. I know that Kev is too angsty for some people, but I love angst and I love the childhood friend devotion and the feeling of unworthiness and Win being ridiculous horny and determined to have her own happiness. Has one of the greatest love confessions of all time. One of the best "the dam has broken and they are FUCKIN'" moments. Just GORGEOUS.

When the Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath—Another one that gets me super emotional. I love the horrified realization Lovingdon has as he realizes that he's so attracted to Grace. The intense desire. The denial of his feelings soooo far into the book, even when it's painfully clear to everyone that he's madly in love with her. This book also is one of the best when it comes to dealing with the Dead Wife Question. Of course Lorraine pulls it off.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall—Another one that's so unique and great and has amazing trans representation (at least to me, as a cis person, I could be wrong). It has this AMAZINGLY romantic moment that I always find SO FUCKING SWOONY. A great mix of old school vibes and modern sensibilities.

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt—Truly bonkers. Maximus is my ultimate alpha hero; a dick, aggressive, super stern, super resistant to love. Artemis just isn't intimidated. There's a lot of angst in this book, and honestly? I find the fact that he is a dick and Hoyt isn't afraid of embracing that really admirable, from a writing perspective.

Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath—JACK DODGER I LOVE YOUR WORK. A perfect "rogue meets uptight lady" book (I hesitate to call Jack a rake because he pays for sex pretty much exclusively, but he's definitely roguish). There's a wonderful dynamic here, Olivia being in denial of her attraction.

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught—A gorgeously written book! You can see the groundwork being laid for other historicals here. A fabulous setting. The way the romance becomes so vicious at points, in a frankly hilarious way. Royce dragging Jennifer to the altar like "I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ANYMORE THAN YOU DO" is amazing.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. Classic, everyone loves this book (well... not everyone) but with good reason. It's so very good. The perfectly executed rake/virgin book, with iconic moments, iconic characters, iconic SPIELS. The moment when Sebastian staggers out of bed trembling after the first time they have sex lives rent-free in my brain.

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. Just a fucking knockout of a book. Another "rake/practical virgin" book, backed by beautiful prose and impeccable historical research (nobody does it like Ms. Bev). There's so much seduction in this book. A great rooomance, but then it has a fun bonkers villain situation (I know some people don't like this... I do, I'm kind of a sucker for this type of controversial and perhaps dated villain). The ending makes me cry a lot.

Scandal's Bride by Stephanie Laurens—Kind of a new one for me, and it's here because it's so fucking bonkers. Constantly entertaining, Catriona is such a difficult heroine who... crosses the line a lot. Has a scene where Richard draws a sketch of her ass birthmark to be like "I WILL SHOW EVERYONE THIS TO PROVE THAT I HIT IT FROM THE BACK IF YOU DON'T MARRY ME". A delightfully fucking weird book and I loved every minute.

Hyacinth by S.M. LaViolette—The more I think about this book, the more I love it. One that I loved originally, and it rose in my regard over time. A scarred hero (who likes it rough). They're both switches. Hyacinth is neurodivergent and very much unconventional, and doesn't even think herself capable of love because of what society has told her she is. The climax of this book? Incredible.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. A gorgeously done book, so ambitious, has an iconically HORRID hero (in the best way), executes the rare feat of offering both an amazing primary romance and an absolutely fabulous, emotionally affecting secondary romance. It just hits so hard, dude. It's so good. It's probably Kleypas's BEST book in terms of general quality (though DoY will probably always be my favorite).

Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley—A great marriage in trouble book! That's also super horny! I love so much that though there was a big breaking point in Mac and Isabella's marriage, there were very normal issues beforehand that had less to do with horrible behavior or ridiculous tragedy, but... Like... Them just not being ready for marriage? Especially him. The passion was always there, but passion and great sex isn't enough for a good marriage, and I love that in this book they do have the passion and great sex but also have to build a stronger relationship on an emotional level.

Regarding the Duke by Grace Callaway—Another delightfully bonkers romance. I love that they've been married eight years and she thinks it's enough but learns that it ISN'T. He has to open to her emotionally. There's amnesia. There's VILLAINY. I also love that the hero in this one has to. not only become a better husband, but a better father? I haven't read a lot of historicals where the hero and heroine aren't just married, but have kids.

A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell—Ummmm I read this very recently but it's been sticking in my heart? It's more lighthearted than a lot of the romances I've loved. But i just love this story of a hero and heroine going on a bicycle race lmao. I love how funny it is, and how the villain kind of... grows? I love that the hero is a rake and trans. I love that the heroine is a widow who decides to like, have good sex for the first time ever and go with it (and suddenly there are feelings). It's just really good.

Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt—Helloooooooo emotion. This is one of the best "healing from trauma" books I've ever read. Asa Makepeace is just a perfect rake who's secretly so deep and so gentle. The way he introduces Eve to sex is fucking gorgeous. His patience, his tenderness, his love of what SHE'S okay with it.

A Rose at Midnight by Lisa Kleypas Anne Stuart—This is what I'd call a dark historical. It's true enemies to lovers. The hero is a rat bastard for most of the book. The sex... is very dubcon for much of the book. But man. I think it's so bold, the writing is so good, the story is so different from what I've read in the genre. It just hit a lot of buttons for me. And it has a great secondary romance, something Stuart excels at. Ummm also the fact that the secondary romance is fueled by the secondary heroine wanting to save the primary heroine, her best friend? LOVE THAT.

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt—Sorry dude, Mickey and Silence are just for Me. He's a ridiculous rake. She's a Quaker widow. There's that element of like "I'VE GOT YOU MY PRETTY". I actually love the baby in this book, and that can be a hard sell for me. (Several of these books include kids lol, but man, it's just this thing where you need to get it right.) It has one of my bad boy/good girl books.

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath—Lol sorry, Gorilla Twins is a banger all the way. It's fucking insane. It's super romantic. It has one of the best "angst horizons" I've ever read. It does that Lorraine Heat Thing where you're like how THE FUCK is this gonna work. And then it does! It's just everything, for me. Edward Alcott, you beautiful idiot.

[jeanvanjer]

Hi, I hope you don't mind the question, but do you have a list of (historical) romance novels you recommend somewhere? I'm pretty new to the genre and would like some recs to start off with.

Thank you!

Of course I dont mind! I dont have a list here (but if you check the book recs tag or reading romance im sure youd find books ive read or books friends have recommeded) so I'll just post a few here.

Fair warning! I am horrible of keeping track of the books I've read so my recs will be a just a bunch of random books I like. @mermaidsirennikita and @triviareads are far more organized in their book recs than I am so you can always check their pages.

Please let me know if you'd like specific tropes!! Or more importantly if you have any TWs!

The Chief (the entire Highland Guard series actually) by Monica McCarthy. Tor MacLeod is a highland laird very much focused on helping Robert the Bruce with his secret plan to free Scotland from English Rule but his sudden marriage to sweet Tina is distracting him. They're forced to marry after she's found in his bed (her dad blackmailed her into getting herself ruined instead of her sister). The entire series is honestly a banger. It marries actual history with romance in a very clever way. The Chief is 1 of 12 so you have a lot of different tropes and stories to choose from if this one isnt for you!

Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven - A TRULY WONDERFUL book with great disability rep. Harry (Harriet) is probably the biggest STEM heroine Ive read in HR (I know you love those based on your writing) and is on the spectrum. On paper Thomas is a rake that cannot fathom committing to only one woman but he needs to marry for money fast and she just wants to solve Fermat's Last Theorem. They enter a marriage of convenience and this book is just plain lovely. The very few books that have made me cry. Its emotional and the relationship that builds between these two is just🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽

The Winter King and The Sea King by CL Wilson. CL Wilson is an amazing writing imo. I haven't read romantasy since high school and these books were the first ive read and enjoyed after such a long time. The first book is a marriage of convenience/ forced marriage situation. Her brother killed his brother and fiance?? I dont remember the specifics. But he wants a bride as payment and Thasin (our herione) father is an ass and decided TW there is dubcon. The first sex scene is the wedding night and there are aphrodiacs involved. Second one Dilys is a merman. Thats always fun. Super feminist too. Dont remember the exact details but did have a great time reading this one too.

The Duke Gets Even by Johanna Shupe. Shupe is a great writer and from the very few books I've read of her, The Duke Gets Even is probably my favorite.

Anything by Lorraine Heath but the most recent book I remember reading is The Duchess Hunt where the hero appoints his secretary (who secretly loves him) to find his a wife. Preferably one who is as organized, wonderful, and knows him as much as she does LOL. Lorraine one of the best writers in the genre and they always hit emotionally. You won’t go wrong with anything by her.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. An all time favorite book of mine. Think Persuasion but with a revenge plot. Aline drives McKenna away when they were younger to save him and he comes back a rich ass bitch ready for revenge. The chemistry between Aline and McKenna is insane. One of the few times I truly believed the “soulmates” thing. These two are definitely soulmates. And there’s a wonderful secondary romance as well.

What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long. An Age Gap romance where Alexander plans to seduce Genevieve as revenge against her brother (who slept with his mistress) but she susses him out quickly from there they become sort of friends? he helps her win over her crush, he tells her she has stars in her hair, and along the way they fall in love. Alex is one of my all time favorite heroes.

Lord Of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. As much as I love the hero of this book, Dan I recommend this book a lot solely for the heroine. Jessica Trent has my heart. She is that bitch.

Heartless Duke by Scarlett Scott. An intense romance between Leo, an agent for England and Bridgit, a fenian rebel. Lots of angst and sexual tension. So good.

Lost in Your Arms and That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd. These books were one of the first books I read when I started my own reading journey so these hold a special place in my heart. LIYA is about Enid who���s living her life as a widowed caretaker but then someone comes to tell her husband is alive and on the brink of death so she’s forced to nurse him back to health. The love confession that happens is honestly one of my favorite confessions of all time. TSE is about Jane who is back from self imposed exile after a scandal that ruined her ten years back. Ransom, the cause of her scandal and her last crush, suspects of being a spy and tries to stop her. With his heart (and dick).

[creweemmaeec11]

Jealous of the stars

"So why were you acting all weird this morning?" Villain asked as they lounged on the rooftop, gazing at the stars.

"What do you mean? I wasn't acting weird,"

"Yes, you were. We were talking about superhero and you suddenly got quiet and fidgety," they rolled over onto their side, supporting their head with hand as they looked at the other with a raised eyebrow.

"I just had something cross my mind, that's all," they tried to deflect.

"Yes, I could see that, I have eyes believe it or not," villain replied sarcastically, "I'm asking *what* that 'something' was,"

They mumbled something under their breath.

"Pardon?"

The hero groaned, throwing their hands up to cover their face for a moment, "It really isn't that important! Honestly, I barely even remember what it was! Something about-"

"And *that*" villain interrupted, "was too conflicting statements, if you remember enough of it to deem it unimportant," they raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

Having had enough, villain shifted sideways, climbing over the other to straddle their hips and gaze down at their quickly reddening face.

"What are you-" the hero sputtered, stopping when the villain grabbed their wrists, pinning them close to either side of the hero's head and using it to support themselves as they leaned over the hero blow.

Before the hero can attempt to ask what they are doing, the villain leaned down, dragging them into a dizzying kiss.

When they parted, the villain stayed hovering close above them, "What was bothering you, hero? Really?"

Hero blinked, trying to get the motor in their brain running again. Damn villain and their stupid effective disarming tactics.

The hero instinctively went to cover their face again, but their wrists were still being held by the criminal on top of them.

The hero only kept getting redder.

The silence was almost worse than the accusations. Now the villain was simply hovering, their expression somewhere between a genuine gentle smile and an amused grin as their eyes drifted over the hero beneath them. Their eyes wandered as if trying to memorize all the details, tracing every curve and angle of the hero's face so well they could draw it with their eyes closed.

It made the hero's heart roar in their ears. They would never get used to being looked at like that. Like they were worth so much. Worth examining like an art critic might the mona Lisa. Worth the time to savour like you might a really good meal.

That was half the reason hero didn't want to admit what was actually wrong with them this morning, because it was so silly, so juvenile and unimaginable with the way villain was looking at them now. But in the moment...

The hero's thoughts got cut off with another kiss, bottom lip caught between gentle teeth in a way that made them shiver. Their arms strained to reach up and link behind the villain's head, to pull them in for more or at least tangle into their hair.

Based on the way the villain smirked into the kiss, they could feel the hero's arms trying to move. This was torture in its own right, because the villain kept pulling back just enough before the hero could fully catch their lips in their own. Teasing.

"Come on," the criminal cooed when they pulled back slightly, "tell me what I want to know,"

"Or what?" The hero asked, trying to deflect to something, anything else. They would swear up and down that their voice didn't shake while they asked, but they would be also be lying.

"Or you might never fully lose the red tint to your face by the time I'm done with you tonight,"

The hero's face already felt like it was on fire, and that statement, paired with the villain's grin only made it worse. Which had been the intention, of course.

At this point, it seemed like the hero was choosing between embarrassing themselves now, or losing half the night and embarrassing themselves later.

The hero sighed, looking anywhere other than the villain's eyes, "okay, okay, fine- it's just- Iwasjealousofsuperherookay?"

"What was that?" The villain asked innocently.

"I said I was jealous of the way you were talking about superhero," they bit out through grit teeth.

Above them, the villain blinked owlishly, processing what they'd heard, before they burst out laughing. They sat up fully, releasing the hero's arms.

"Don't laugh at me!" The hero snapped self-consciously, "You can't force me to tell you something and then laugh at me! Why do you think I didn't want to tell you in the first place!?"

"No, no, it's not-" the villain replied as their laughter started to die down, "I spent all day so worried it was something terrible, and then you tell me it was just over that,"

Finally, the criminal's chuckles died down, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it *is* absolutely adorable. I didn't know you were so possessive,"

The hero was fairly certain they had never blushed this hard "I'm not... usually,"

The villain gave a light laugh again, "but I can assure you, there's only one hero that's won my affections, and it certainly isn't superhero,"

The hero beneath them simply nodded, feeling silly.

"Stop pouting," the criminal hummed, leaning down to give them another gentle kiss, "and don't feel ashamed either; we're all human," they smirked, "I just happen to have the cutest one pinned underneath me on a rooftop late at night,"

Before they could say anything to fluster them even more, the hero yanked the villain on top of them down for another kiss, for teasing them earlier. They wondered what they were so worried about this morning. Sure, maybe Superhero could fly, but they certainly didn't have *this*.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Tried to think of some Miraculous Gaang names! You may want to Google a few of these, fair warning.

Ladybug!Sokka - Captain Harmonia/Harlequin/Beetle

Black Cat!Katara - Painted Jaguar

Turtle!Aang - Lion Turtle, Tortiseshell

Snake!Suki - Pythonic, Tealtime, Naga, Aspen, Tock Viper, Medusa/Stheno/Euryale, Teal Gorgan

Tiger!Toph - The Blind Tiger

Dragon!Zuko - Seiryu 

Fox!Azula - Inari, Kistune, Silver Reynard, Kuma Lisa, Blue Ren (“the tale of Miss Ren”)

Pig!Jin - Babirusa

Bee!Ty Lee - Bumblebee (there is literally a “Dance of the Bumblebee” music score), Honeycomb

Mouse!Mai - Rat Queen (based on the “Rat King” from the Nutcracker Ballet. Kind of as a slide parallel to her canon thing, here, Mai’s parents signed her up for ballet, where she met Ty Lee and Azula.)

Ox!Haru - Oxenfree (all I got right now)

Horse!Teo - got nothing but “Pegasus” which is taken

Rabbit!Yué - Luna Lapine, Luna Angora, Satin Moon, Velvet Moon

Monkey!Kuzon - a bit more explanation here. Mostly, I was trying to fill out the miraculous roster, cause AtLa only has a few “main” characters, I was trying to find some named characters the Gaang is shown being friends with who are roughly their age. I didn’t list Jet or his friends, cause, honestly, what exactly would their story be?? How do they integrate? Like, I’m sure you could do something, I just couldn’t really think of anything at the time. But also, I realized all the friends of the Gaang belong to Katara, Sokka, or Suki, later Zuko - Aang and Toph don’t really have any that are unconnected from them. In Toph’s case, she was raised super sheltered, and never got a chance to meet anyone, while Aang HAD friends, but they’re all mostly dead, except Bumi, because of the 100 years in ice thing. And we already have Bumi here being an old man. The only other friend Aang really mentions is Kuzon, the Fire Nation kid who … I think there’s a short story about the pair of them fighting off poachers? Anyway, I was basically imagining Kuzon as “Le Chien Kim, but Animal Lover and Environmentalist Advocate”. He would have grown up next door to Aang and Gyatso, and that’s how the pair are friends. As for names … I want to say Tarzan or Mowgli, but I feel like, even in universe, those would get him visits from lawyers.

Now, briefly into ships - this is just me spitballing my random headcanons, PLEASE TO ALL READING THIS, WE ARE HAVING FUN, LET’S NOT BRING THE ATLA SHIPWARS HERE! THIS IS JUST ME SPITBALLING! THEY CAN ALL BE CHANGED!

so, Katara/Aang. Aang I see as non-binary - they don’t mind which pronouns you use, but mostly uses he/they when referring to himself. Katara believes she is straight, but is actually bi with a bigger attraction to males.

Sokka is poly-pansexual. His relationships start with Sokka/Yue, until Yué realizes she’s actually AroAce, and they break up. Then later Sokka/Suki, which morphs into Zuko/Sokka & Sokka/Suki, which changes to Zuko/Sokka/Suki. Suki’s bi, while Zuko is … Zuko (demi-pan, but never has the words for it till WAY later).

Toph is Aro, or at least grayromantic, as is Teo. Teo I also see as trans, but that might just be me.

Mai/Ty Lee eventually becomes Mai/Ty Lee/Azula. (Sexuality uncertain, but my cousin does call them the “Deadly Lesbians”.) There’s a brief Mai/Zuko, but only to get Mai’s parents to back off and leave her alone.

Haru is our only totally straight guy, congrats man, you are our cishet+!

Thoughts, Feelings, Opinions, New/Different Ideas?

(Also, side note. We still have Cabbage man, right?)

-

OH SO

Loving the names! I think I’m gonna make a masterpost of the names here once I finalize them.

Totally get the thing on Kuzon. Like yeah I’m trying to think of other characters to fill out the Hero team and other than Jet’s group there aren’t a lot. There’s a reason I dragged Jin into this(other than the fact that I love her)

And yeah I’ve been turning Jet and co over in my head trying to think of what they’d be and I can’t think of anything for them because there’s so many changes to the base setup.

AS FOR SHIPS

I have my ships I like and while I do take suggestions it’s my au and I get the nonsense!

Obvs the Aang/Katara stays.

I see the Zuko/Sokka/Suki and raise you adding Jin in there.

Swinging to Yue: I always have mixed feelings in some AUs because I love her and Sokka in Canon but most AUs they never really work out. And in this one idk why they wouldn’t exactly? Like nothing gets in the way. Maybe if I write Sokka starting the Suki relationship first and then while they’re poly they’re not at a ‘hey how do you think about another person?’ discussion stage when they meet Yue? And then by the time they are at that stage either they’ve moved on or Yue has her own partner?

That said. Yue/Azula. Any time I have the chance for them I take it. Like the equal opposite you see my vision.

I also have this weird soft spot for Toph/Ty Lee. Probably has something to do with that post of ‘Ty Lee teaches Toph to walk on her hands’ thing because as funny as that post is these two are menaces it’s great, the amount of trust involved in it!

Haru is def our token straight though.

My one original thought:

So like. The Gaang has a range of ages. And in atla that’s fine due to the circumstances. But here it’s kind of a question of ‘how do they all meet/become friends/etc if they never really meet’? so I’m gonna make shit up to squish them into the same grade in school. 

Aang and Toph skipped a grade. Homeschooling put them a bit ahead of their peers in public school so they just got placed ahead.

On the flipside, Zuko got held back a grade due to the whole ‘being kicked out and horrifically scarred’ thing. Like between the mental and physical care he’d need he missed a lot of class that year so just. Repeat the year.

[netherfeildren]

i’m in a smut rut, pls recommend ur best fics (fanfics or published works i don’t mind) to give me peace 🫨

yall are probably SICK of hearing me recommend her but lisa kleypas is it for me honestly any time i’m sad happy feeling whatever — meet me at midnight is the first of her hathaways series and my favorite and cam rohan is the ROMANCE HERO OF ALL TIME

there’s a part where he fucks her against a tree and i see stars every time i read that scene

but also her contemporary series is very good too and it’s about cowboys soooooo think a family of billionaire joel millers — series is called the travises

fic wise… and very VERY different i read this the other day, mind the tags, and it was sort of creepy but fucking GOOD — 90s era wannabe cheer captain makes a deal with the devil. i love it when a book fic whatever depicts a figure like an angel demon vampire what have you in a modern setting i find it so funny so engaging etc etc

this is not necessarily funny but there’s something very cheeky about it amidst the sort of horror and the mc’s voice is so sarcastic and sassy

OH!!!! also little rabbit by alyssa songsiridej is hot in a way that will change your life and brain chemistry and also probably make u want to die

[triviareads]

Can you recommend any books where they get right into the sex?

Either historical or contemporary

Sure! I'm all for an instant gratification moment (and for the purpose of this ask I stuck to early sex scenes between the main couple because there's a decent amount of het romances out there that begin with the hero and another woman..... though predictably not many with the heroine having good sex with another man :/).

Contemporary:

Minx by Sophie Lark: There's some fabulous, very hot sex (and pet play) a few chapters in, after Blake agrees to take on Ramses as a client. And once the ball gets rolling, it really doesn't stop.... and only gets better from there.

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez: Roxanne basically *mounts* Mateo (if there's one thing Angelina loves, it's a mounting moment) right after their agreement that she'll get her pregnant in exchange for money is finalized. It's very.... economical and Mateo hates it, but gets off on it. He's soooooo conflicted and I personally loved that.

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez: The other mounting moment sex scene; Alex hops on Jeremiah literally two minutes after arriving in the dead of the night at her family's bar. It's honestly made hotter because Angelina writes a (kinda hilarious) premature ejaculation coupled with Alex getting off after. It works and I'm all for it.

Sherwood by Sierra Simone: Such an underrated book imo; the prologue has our "Robin Hood" (she's a woman here) about to be deployed, and "Maid Marian" tries to dissuade her by eating her out. Very emotional, very hot.

Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey: An early face-sitting scene after she's cuffed him in her foyer. Brent puts his "middle-class mouth" to gooood use.

Scorching to the Touch by Ofelia Martinez: There's hate sex about two chapters in; Erica makes Friedrich eat her out in the bathroom of an event and when he whips out his dick and is all "what am I supposed to do with this?", she points to a stall. Honestly, a winner.

The Risk by Caitlin Crews: She's a ballerina pretending to be a stripper-escort who gets her fantasy of being "bought" fulfilled and she and her billionaire have sex pretty much right after.

Crashed Out by Tessa Bailey: Like a couple chapters in, Jasmine sees Sarge's dick and books it to her car and tries to get off, but then Sarge catches her and lends a helping hand all while asserting he's a Grown Man now.

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert: Jafar kills Jasmine's mob boss father in the beginning and within the next chapter, there's a CNC scene where he chasing her down while she pretends she doesn't want it.

Give Me More by Sara Cate: Sara immediately sets up the throuple by having the married couple, Hunter and Isabel, have anniversary sex while listening to their friend Drake have sex with two other women, with Drake also getting off while listening to Hunter and Isabel.

Historical:

The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe: A fabulous anonymous encounter with neither Preston nor Katherine realizing who the other person is (right after Preston rejected his arranged betrothal to Kat) and they're pretending to be Louis XV and Madame Pompadour while they get each other off at a French Ball.

Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway: The book starts with Helena following her husband to a brothel disguised as a prostitute, and Nicholas fully doesn't recognize her when he (successfully) has sex with her for the first time.

Passion by Lisa Valdez: An erotic romance; the literal first lines describe Mark groping Passion during the Great Exhibition, and he has her "pinned to the wall like a butterfly" within the next few pages.

The Virgin and the Rogue by Sophie Jordan: Charlotte is (allegedly) under the influence of an aphrodisiac when she mounts Kingston (can you tell I have a thing for this) in the library in the middle of the night, dry humps him, and runs away. Unironically one of my favorite Sophie Jordan sex scenes.

The Rake Gets Ravished by Sophie Jordan: The story begins with Mercy breaking into Silas's bedroom to retrieve the deed to her family home, and when Silas finds her, she seduces him and fucks him into such a deep sleep that when he awakes, all he's left with is an apology note and her *virgin blood* on the sheets.

[howlingday]

Lib(er)el Media

Lisa: There you are, Rose! Where have you been?!

Ruby: Sorry, Mrs. Lavender! I got here as fast as the wind could take me. I got those pictures of The Red Hero for you.

Lisa: Mm, okay, let's see what you have. It's a good thing you showed up, because we're still trying to figure out the title for today's headline.

Lisa: Ah, perfect! "The Red Hero and Roman Torchwick Rampage City!"

Ruby: What?! I-I mean, hang on just a second, Mrs. Lavender, but I'm pretty sure The Red Hero was trying to stop Roman Torchwick!

Lisa: And look at all the damage she caused! By the Brothers, Rose, how many times do I have to explain that Vale News Network doesn't operate on opinions, but on facts!

Ruby: Oh, come on! You can't blame everything on The Red Hero.

Lisa: Oh no? Watch me, then maybe you'll realize that if you looked just a bit deeper, you'll see that everything wrong with Vale can traced back to that flower petal fleecer! Someone give me a story!

Weiss: Statistics show that car jackings are at an all-time high.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Does Nothing to Stop Car Jackings!"

Ruby: W-Wait, hang on. That's not fair-

Weiss: The Stinger broke out of prison.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Lets Bad Guy Friends Get Away!"

Ruby: Now hold on a second-

Weiss: The headmaster of Beacon Academy was diagnosed with cancer.

Lisa: My god...

Ruby: See, Mrs. Lavender! It's just not possible that-

Lisa: ...The Red Hero gave that poor bastard cancer.

Ruby: ...How?

Lisa: "The Red Hero Giving People Cancer!" That's the best headline I've heard in my life!

Ruby: How would she even do that, though?!

Lisa: Ah, you're not opening your mind to the possibilities, Rose! She can split into tiny rose petals, so you shouldn't put anything past her! C'mon! Keep 'em coming!

Weiss: Uh, people have been throwing trash into the ocean.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Pollutes Remnant Water Supply!"

Ruby: Mrs. Lavender, just hold on-!

Weiss: Dust sales went up 15%.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Raises Dust Prices!"

Ruby: How would she- Actually, you know, it might not be a bad thing. I mean, those miners are being treated so poorly, so maybe she's looking out for them?

Lisa: Damn, I didn't think of that. "The Red Hero Ranked Worst Humanitarian on Remnant!"

Ruby: Are you honestly telling me The Red Hero cares less about people than Jacques fucking Schnee?!

Lisa: Now you see the problem!

Ruby: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!

Weiss: Taxes are up.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Raises Taxes!"

Weiss: There's a lot of gang violence.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Leading Gang War!"

Weiss: Uh, my nana is in the hospital.

Lisa: "The Red Hero Wants to Kill Your Grandma!"

Weiss: Oh! There's been an increase in Grimm activity!

Lisa: BINGO! We have a winner! "The Red Hero Hates-"

Ruby: ENOUGH!

Lisa: Excuse me-

Ruby: NO! You listen to me, Lavender! People rely on our network for the news, for their information! It's people like you in your position that makes the average citizen lose faith in everything in this world. You're a worse person than you make The Red Hero out to be. Dammit, Lisa, how can you stand for this?

Lisa: I can't.

Ruby: O-Oh! So there is reasoning with you!

Lisa: No, Rose, I mean I can't stand. Like, at all. Physically, I cannot stand.

Ruby: You... You can't stand?

Lisa: Honestly, Rose, when was the last time you saw Lisa Lavender standing up and walking around? NOT behind this desk or the camera? I have been sitting for so long that my legs don't work.

Ruby: Oh god...

Lisa: I eat, sleep, and shit here, Rose. You wonder why I'm so pissed off at the world? At The Red Hero? Because I'm sitting here, paralyzed, while she's out there, flying around all fucking carefree.

Ruby: But why-

Lisa: I haven't seen my husband in three years, Rose! But he understands that! He understands the kind of woman I am to make sacrifices like- (Phone rings) Oh, speak of the Grimm! He's probably calling to congratulate me on my pursuit of the truth!

Lisa: (Picks up) Hello, Roman! ...Yes? ...Yes. ...Alright, thank you. (Hangs up)

Lisa: New headline; "The Red Hero Ends Marriage of 22 Years".

Ruby: ...

Lisa: Tagline; "He's taking the kids."

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

Rating Performances from the last hour and a half of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert as I watch them

Tie Your Mother Down (Joe Elliott& Slash): yesss

I Want It All (Roger Daltrey & Tony Iommi): also yesss I liked this

Las Palabras de Amor (Zucchero): very pleasantly surprising ngl, I thought it was pretty

Hammer to Fall (Gary Cherone): I literally just watched it and somehow can’t remember it. I’m blaming that on the Covid I’m stuck with rn

Stone Cold Crazy (James Hetfield): YES

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Robert Plant): better than Innuendo (which isn’t even on this recording lol). Not bad, not amazing

Too Much Love Will Kill You (Brian): honestly almost cried. 9/10 (nothing beats his studio track but this was damn good)

Radio Ga Ga (Paul Young):…..no

Who Wants to Live Forever (Seal): this is a hard song and he actually did it loads of justice. Am impressed

I Want to Break Free (Lisa Stansfield): hell yeah! Extra points for the vacuum lol

Under Pressure (Annie Lennox & David Bowie): THEY 👏🏼DID 👏🏼THAT👏🏼

All The Young Dudes (David Bowie, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson (also Joe Elliott jumped here for some reason): when the hell did David Bowie learn how to play the saxophone. Anyway yeah that was a good time

Heroes (David Bowie): YES 🙌 (bonus points for “god bless Queen” that’s so real my guy)

‘39 (George Michael): SLAYYYYYY

These Are the Days of Our Lives (George Michael and Lisa Stansfield): AGAIN SLAY

Somebody To Love (George Michael): HANDS DOWN THE BEST ONE I LOVE THIS PERFORMANCE SO MUCH 10000/10

Bohemian Rhapsody (Elton John & Axl Rose): I’m so happy they put this song with, Elton he really did a good job

The Show Must Go On (Elton John): DAMN I was a little skeptical at first but that was FIRE

We Will Rock You (Axl Rose): I don’t really like Axl Rose live that much but he kinda ate

We Are the Champions (Liza Minnelli and everybody): I really want to like it but it falls a little short for me. Not bad though. Everyone on stage at the end was really nice I loved that part

[p-taryn-dactyl]

Yayyy! Mick so deserves more love, honestly his character is so good, he's just m'wah 🥰

do you mind if I ask for mick angst s1, like something to do with the whole chronos thing. I'm not really sure about plot maybe reader is snarts sister. when chronos!mick captures and threatens len by saying he'll kill Lisa he mentions something about how he'd kill y/n too but he can't find her. And len says the reason he can't find her is cuz she left the ship to try and find mick when len 'got rid of him'. And later when the team have mick imprisoned on the ship they find y/n and don't trust her not to free mick so they put her in the cell with mick. Mick asks why she spent so long looking for him and left the team to find him and then she confesses that she loves him and that the only reason she agreed to join the team was to keep an eye on mick and leonard?

I'm not super great at coming up with plots lol so really just any chronos mick and snart!reader angst would be great ♡♡♡♡♡

(The angst potential micks character has is astronomical I don't understand how there isn't more mick angst on tumblr!)

a/n: hi! thank you so much for this request, I love writing for the legends!! I tried my best to follow the prompt but it might've gone off the rails at some point lol (also I agree, he has so much potential!! I hope to write more for him in the future!! word count: 1.2k

Safe and Sound

You sat in the corner of the cell, arms crossed as you stared at the man across from you. Mick deliberately kept his gaze away from you, your icy stare unnerving him. Your foot tapped against the floor, the metal against your boot echoing throughout the still air. He fidgeted his shoulder, a nervous tick you had observed over the years, indicating he was uncomfortable or even nervous. He felt the stillness in the air as a noose whereas you thrived in it, turning it in your favor. You leaned forward, bracing your arms on your knees as you cocked your head to the side. Finally, Mick broke, turning his head towards you, eyes wide in his signature angry expression.

"What?"

His voice was rough but you heard the undertone, the quiver in his words. You shook your head in response, leaning back against the glass, moving your eyes up to the ceiling, making direct eye contact with the not-so-hidden security camera. Wiggling your fingers in hello, you smirked a bit.

"You know why you're here?"

Mick's question was hesitant, like he was annoyed in the fact that he didn't know. You nodded, pursing your lips as you examined your hand. After a bit, you once more returned your stare to the fire-tinged man.

"They don't trust me. Looks like we got that in common."

Mick scoffed, shaking his head.

"Come on. Don't give me that bullshit. You probably have them wrapped around your finger, especially your brother."

You smirked, shrugging your shoulders.

"Of course I do. That's why we're not dead yet. You forget not everyone aboard the ship is a hero."

Mick turns his head to you, raising a singular eyebrow. He sighed in defeat, shaking his head.

"Alright, Y/N. Why don't they trust you?"

"Because they think I'll let you out, so," you raised your arms, "here I am."

Mick looked like he was about to respond but the door to the brig opened, revealing your older brother.

"Lenny!"

You waved at your brother, not making to stand up.

"Y/N...Mick," Len's eyes barely left yours to acknowledge Mick, "Just checking up on you."

You scoffed, zero malice in your tone.

"You mean you were sent on damage control duty. Don't worry, brother, we're both in one piece."

Len's eyes strayed over to Mick where they hardened with pain and apologies. He nodded stiffly before walking out of the brig without another word, very out of character for him you noted. It stayed silent before you felt Mick’s eyes on you. Stubbornly, you kept your eyes on the entrance of the brig. You had been in the cell for what felt like forever, why would he only want to talk now? 

“I threatened Lisa.” 

His rough words and tone made you stiffen before you forced yourself to relax, turning your head to face Mick, one eyebrow raised. Mick seemed to wait for your response before realizing you weren’t going to answer. Letting out a small growl of anger, he continued. 

“I threatened you as well, Y/N. But unlike Lisa, you were nowhere to be found.” 

You heard the hidden question in his words. Where were you? 

Gritting your teeth, you position your body away from the assassin, the atmosphere of the room no longer giving you comfort. You no longer had the high ground, with one question, you no longer held the power. 

“Y/N.”

Just your name.

That’s all it took. 

“I was looking for you. I didn’t believe Len when he said he took care of it, didn’t believe the team when they said you were dead. I was trying to get you back.” 

To your horror, your voice started to waiver towards the end of your words, breaking your composure. You were sure Mick noticed your weakness and you braced yourself for the taunting words of Chronos. But when you built up enough courage to finally look Mick in the eyes, all you saw was him. No Chronos, no time lords, no manipulation. Just the man who protected you for as long as you could remember, the man who had buried himself so deep in your heart you knew no one would ever take his place. 

“Why would you leave?” 

Before you could reply, he continued. 

“Why would you care so much to leave your family?”

At that you broke, allowing your emotions to show on your face.

“You are my family, Mick. I love the team, I really do but I lo-”

You stopped before you could let the words finish, Mick’s gaze becoming intense as his mind filled in the words where you stopped. Clearing your throat, you steadied yourself and then continued.

“We all promised each other we would stick together. I don’t break promises, you know that.”

The air was thick with tension and unanswered questions as you continued to feel Mick’s eyes boring into you. Scoffing, you waved your hands in the air, as if you could swat away your words like you would a fly. 

“Anyways, I think we-”

“What were you going to say?” 

Mick’s voice once again made you pause. You chuckled nervously, another weakness you internally scolded yourself for. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mick.”

Mick scoffed. You heard him stand up to walk the few steps to stand in front of you. You felt your heart beating so loud that it was the only thing you could hear. You slowly raised your head to look up at Mick, his eyes full of confusion. That surprised you. He knelt so that he was eye level, not letting you look away. 

“I-,” you swallowed, steadying yourself, “I was saying that I lo- oh, shit, am I really doing this?” You whispered to yourself as you put your head in your hands.

“I love you, Mick. That’s what I was going to say.”

The silence was loud as it stretched between you. When you finally worked up the nerve to remove your hands from your head, Mick’s eyes were filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite determine, while also shining with a dimmed hope. 

“Why?” 

His question rattled you to your core. Which was evident in how you started sputtering. 

“What? What do you mean why? Mick, you’re amazing! Do you not know that?” 

The look in his eyes answered that question. 

“Oh come on,” you whispered under your breathe, deeply disturbed by the thought of Mick not knowing how incredible he is, “Mick, you’ve been through things that would make most people insane, you’re always there to be a support, no matter how hard you try to hide it, you genuinely care. That’s something that’s so beautiful about you. You give your all to your relationships, so much so that it burns you. I’m constantly amazed by you and if anyone has told you otherwise then-” 

You were interrupted by Mick pulling you into his arms, hiding his face into the crook of your neck. The only coherent thought in your mind throughout the internal screaming was how out of place this felt. That Mick was willing to drop his guard down to show his affection and gratefulness towards you. With tears in your eyes you returned the hug, knowing that while you and Mick had a long way to go, this was an incredible start.

a/n: i am so sorry for how rushed the ending is! i hope this was semi-ok

[kitkatt0430]

hello :)) for the fandom ask game, 2, 4, 23 and 24 for Cisco please

2.) OT3?

Hmmm, for Cisco I've probably got a few OT3s.

There's Hartley/Cisco ~ Lisa and Kamilla/Cisco ~ Lisa, both of which having Lisa part of the relationship as more of a Queer Platonic Partner to both of them while the Cisco/Hartley or Cisco/Kamilla part of the relationship is intended as a romantic relationship.

Then there's Barriscowest. Truly a classic relationship right there, Cisco and Iris have so many parallels in their respective canon relationships with Barry that honestly it'd be weird if i didn't ship it.

Similar to Cisco/Kamilla ~ Lisa, I also like Cisco/Kamilla ~ Caitlin, though I haven't written this one yet. I just... don't like Cisco/Caitlin as a romantic ship because I love their platonic ship so much but as QPPs? Yes, that's lovely. ^_^ And I just want more reasons for Kamilla and Caitlin to spend time together. Cisco's girlfriend and bestie really should spend more time together...

And Barry/Cisco/Hartley - it's got some fun dynamics in there and I want nice things for all three guys so shipping them together? Makes giving them nice things so much easier.

4.) Is there a popular pairing you don't necessarily dislike but aren't too invested in?

Cisco/Cynthia. I thought they were cute in canon but my issues with her job got in the way of truly embracing the ship. The actors had great chemistry and I loved how adorable they were about each other on screen but... i don't think I've ever actually sought out any fics about this ship. I think if the show had actually acknowledged the ethical nightmare that was her job and had her choosing to leave it behind... I'd have one hundred percent loved the ship moving in that direction. Cisco supporting his girlfriend in recognizing the line of work she's in is actually really, really bad and choosing to do the right thing with regards to it? That would have been such an excellent arc for him and would have been a way better reason for him to be distracted throughout season 4 than... Breacher trying to poach him for a job.

It was just one of those ships were the baggage outweighed the cute and... it missed me entirely as a result.

23.) Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

Well, Cisco's been my favorite character from day one and he still is now, so that part? Nope.

Ship wise... I think Hartmon is still my favorite because of how complex it can get based off their history and the weird friendship they seemed to have post timeline change in S2 and just how similar they are no matter how much they'd deny it. But I do have a lot of shift in which ships I like secondary to that OTP. Barrisco is pretty commonly up at the top though. I do enjoy Harrisco a lot as well, though that's a ship I can totally understand why some people hate it. (Barrisco though... who could hate Barrisco??? that is weird to me when I stumble across someone who doesn't like that ship...)

24.) What's your favourite thing about [character]?

What initially drew me to Cisco was his nerdy references and t-shirts. This was someone who just got me. Whose fandoms clearly overlapped significantly with mine. This was nerdy representation of people like me in a super hero show. I adored him on sight. And then he's just the kindest, most loyal person on the show. It takes a lot to make him truly angry and even then more often than not what is really making him so angry is feeling so let down by someone he loves.

He prioritizes platonic relationships pretty heavily too - much as I enjoy the Barrisco ship as romantic, being aro I love the ship as read as platonic too. There's so much amatonormativity in tv shows - and CW shows, oh wow CW is so awful about this - so for Cisco to be able to be so willing to tell his best friends how much he loves them is something I crave more of on my favorite shows. He's so confident about it too. They're his friends, of course he loves them and why shouldn't he say it?