#manifesting ot3 fics

[scenegraph]

netto is bi

enzan is ace

and meiru... here’s my one controversial opinion... loves them both

[fullscoreshenanigans]

I wanted to ask: what are your favorite norayemma fanfics? 👀👉👈

Ooo we will be here for a bit I love promoting fics that resonated with me so deeply and continue to shape my interpretation of the series (check out my TPN Fanfic tag for snippets to longer commentary in general), though I have yet to properly comment on some of them on AO3.

Beginning with one of the realest author's notes from @hylialeia:

Can you believe they invented OT3s 🖤🧡🤍

☆ This unnamed piece set during the timeskip by @p-s-geeks:

There is a flower in your pocket. It’s wild and medicinal. You’re familiar with it. You remember white bedsheets, a pleading whine, two pairs of hands embracing you, and the flower on your forehead, working more wonders that it was biologically capable of (it wasn’t the flower, you know). The flower currently in your pocket is probably in a worse state, has probably shriveled up and wilted after hours of being plucked. It weighs lighter than a feather but feels heavier than diamonds. […] You unearth the flower from your pocket. Ray deserves to see this. Deserves to relive memories with you. And you kind of need him to. Right now, he’s the only one who’s been through thick and thin with you in majority of these trials and tribulations. He’s the only one who can look at it the way you look at it. […] “It’s alright” Ray says, pressing himself closer to you. You hold onto him like he’s the last lifeline on a sinking boat. “It’s alright. You’re not alone. You never were alone” You sleep listening to her gentle words in his gentle voice and it’s the deepest sleep you’ve gotten in a long time. (You wake up to a beautiful orange sunrise. To limbs tangled around yours. To soft snores. To groaning and complaining about morning coming too early during summers. And the hole in your heart subdues itself. It doesn’t disappear, doesn’t stop panging, but you still smile in remembrance and hope.)

How all the little things build and build until they become so deafening, and how so much solace is able to be found in those small‚ tender exchanges on one quiet night, with Ray echoing simple yet loving words he learned from her so long ago that became etched into his being after Grace Field not only by her but through the actions‚ big and small‚ of their family as well (because family is so very integral to each of them). How at first orange is such a painful reminder and how it ends on a most radiant sunrise that's the true embodiment of Emma, giving them both the strength to continue onward.

☆ Everything in banana_slug_army's library. Too much to cite in one post, but here's her tag on here and me talking about the only kind of jealously I enjoy between them:

(I do subscribe to the headcanon of Norman having a pang of jealousy over how much time RE got to spend together before their reunion in the Paradise Hideout with how he tends to navigate extremes at that age, but it’s of a very specific variety. Seeing how close the Grace Field escapees have become during their near two years out in demon world and how that shared trauma brought them together could be a mixed bag for him, with the aching reminder that he wasn’t there with them, didn’t share those memories with them after a lifetime of being together, and the initial flare of jealously turns into shame over thinking it in the first place when 1) he’s mad at not being able to have been there with them‚ not at them, 2) how selfish it is to still want that when they already went through his death once and now will have to go through that a second time, and 3) he spent so long isolated and effectively helpless in his immediate circumstances while at Lambda and suffered for no justifiable reason that it manifests in a festering internal rage, which heartbreakingly can never be given a satisfactory answer…so basically banana_slug_army’s Interwoven lol)

☆ Everything in @salsae's TPN library. Again too much to cite but here's her tag on the blog, me gushing about (so what am I defending now?) aka the quintessential Norray-focused REN fic exploring NR's relationship nine months into the search for Emma, and me gushing about her canon-divergent REN wedding fic, to have and to hold (fanart here). I am constantly citing this snippet of defending and thinking about the flashback and dream sequences Shirai went back and added to the volume release of chapter 181.

☆ Speaking of wedding fics, @carnivorouswillgraham's w.a.m.s. gushing can be found here. Also the post that inspired the fic with my silly edit.

The softness she regards them with, almost proto-shoujo bubbles. 🖤🫧🧡🫧🤍 Norman, adorably, hesitating because he’s still grappling with latent feelings he can’t even begin to articulate about his friends, but at the forefront of them is how he unquestionably gravitates to them and is attune to all their little nuances. Ray, heartbreakingly, hesitating because he’s grappling with the reality he’s beginning to comprehend and the crushing acceptance that he can’t save all his siblings as things stand now, and after already narrowing it down to just Emma and Norman, being faced with the question of if he could honestly live with himself if he chose one to save over the other. The conclusion he comes to further bolsters his resolve to confront Isabella in just a few short weeks, and foreshadows the devastation of Norman’s shipment after a lifetime of realization and meticulous planning. Really like the quiet magnitude of this both for Emma and Norman’s blissful unawareness of the farm system’s horrors conceived for them and ofc from the future romantic perspective as being the core foundational tenant of REN. 🖤🧡🤍

☆ Last of the wedding-related fics but honeynpeaches' Between Your Fingers, Between the Lines also has the first portion of Ray's chapter dedicated to it so I'll use that as a segue (gushing found here). The third chapter exploring Emma's inner monologues throughout the course of the series remains unpublished, but the Norman and Ray chapters can be read as self-contained fics. Highly recommend it and frequently to go back to reread when I need to reground myself in their character foundations.

So many little nuances and call backs, profoundly beautiful.

Additional citation of snippets in this post and this post, as well as this post for Ray angst fic recommendations.

There are so many amazing passages in here, but the "[o]ften, those eyes are blue" line absolutely fucking wrecks me every time. How the cadence of that brevity lands on such a simple fact that now evokes so much sorrow when he used to have such warm and positive associations with those eyes. Windows to the soul and everything that made Norman Norman and what he loved about him.

And then the often referenced celestial symbolism of him as the stars of the trio (to Emma's sun and Norman's moon), but a less romanticized, more viscerally horrifying perspective on it.

☆ As the Crow Flies by Goldfish_Writes I've talked about in more depth here. I'm not very big on full genre AUs, with my usual thoughts being "I consider the characters' personalities inherently shaped by the narrative itself. If you remove them from those circumstances they cease to be the same characters anymore, and I grew attached to them in part because of the circumstances they found themselves in; I got attached to this story." I'm also not very big soulmate AUs as they seem to miss more than they hit for me. But I am a big fan of REN, and I'm interested in seeing where this fantasy story goes.

The pre-established Noremma is absolutely delightful. Another thing thing I've mentioned before is my dislike of Norman being extremely uncharacteristically nebbish or aggressively confident and suave when pursuing relationships that' works in tandem's usually packaged with Emma becoming bizarrely demure. Again, I understand the appeal of stock scenarios, but it's not something I enjoy reading for them. I adore when they reach this level of knowing, playful banter with an underlying thrum of challenge, bred of familiarity at which boundaries can be teasingly skirted and which are low blows and off-limits, and founded on them being equals (after both of them, to different degrees, placed each other on pedestals).

☆ home by 81194, featuring a classic scenario of Ray, a dumbass, trying so so hard to lie to himself about his feelings for NE and failing spectacularly throughout a series of snippets before the two take matters into their own hands.

i think emma wouldn’t have been so spontaneous if she hadn’t been sure of how everything would go. things always go her way when she’s involved, after all… i love her sm.

Very much in agreement on Emma's respectful tenacity and ambition on these matters lol

☆ A Relatively Brief Reflection on Cognitive Dissonance by ribbontype is a wonderful character study of Norman up to the trio's reunion in chapter 121 executed through exquisite, deft prose, allowing one to easily luxuriate in its flow and imagery.

The way they make him whole and reaffirm his resolve to damn destiny itself. <3

☆ Tethered by SuddenWhispers is a beautifully written fic beginning during the human world arc and continuing past canon as the cast navigate what living truly means in the human world, along with what Emma regaining her memories could mean for the new promise.

Also some Ray and Barbara and Cislo interactions with the latter two acting as mentor figures to the former encouraging him on one of his weaker fronts of advocating for his wants, hello??

☆ the ambiguity of belonging by Kiss_Kiss is another post-canon fic that's smaller in scope but no less rewarding of a read with its quiet and desperate moments of vulnerability between the trio reaffirming how much they mean to each other.

Also not only is the handwave of Lambda sickness done away with for Norman, but it also touches upon what the difficulties of losing one's ear entails for Emma, something I rarely if ever see.

☆ Finally, hoping you're someone i used to know by @hylialeia

A post-canon fic delivered in gorgeous lyrical cadence. Such loving attention is paid to sentence composition that the words aren't merely a means to an end, but a reflection of a deep appreciation for both these characters and the craft itself, the weight of them meant to be lingered over and savored. Always a treat when you can find a fic like this in a fandom.

[dustdeepsea]

extended author's notes | castling

castling (Lucanis/Rook/Spite, DA: Veilguard, explicit): AO3 link

I wrote one of these notes for another fic, and I really enjoy looking back at a completed project and talking about it. Here's the DVD commentary + my process notes for anyone who's interested below the cut!

An evolving story

castling was written after a 6-month writer's block. I talk a little about it here, but basically, it started out as a drabble that I kept adding on scenes to, and it changed along the way.

The original planned theme of the story was mimetic desire. Basically—do we value a thing for what is, or because others desire it greatly as well? In an OT3 this leads to interesting dynamics that I wanted to explore.

As I wrote and played more of the game, I found my second theme: acceptance of the shadow self. This eventually became the main theme I focused on, so I'll reproduce my fevered tags here:

what if the parts that you've been taught are ugly or wrong your whole life manifested as a literal demon

but that demon also gave you the strength to do what was required to survive

what if your trauma taught you survival mechanisms to keep you alive?

what if someone understood they were as much a part of you as everything they loved about you

what if they loved them just as much as the rest of you

what does forgiveness and letting go look like?

2. Remixing canon

I didn't want to do a straight retelling of the canon Rook/Lucanis romance (lots of authors have done a fantastic job of it! I don't know what I would add!)

The challenge I set myself was to branch off from the "Minrathous is saved" decision point. In this world state, Lucanis and Rook have been flirting gently up to "Coffee With The Crows", before things get messy. I wrote a few guiding statements and motivations:

Lucanis is hardened and becomes avoidant of Rook.

Rook must win back his trust through words and deeds ("Bloodbath").

Spite is fascinated by Rook, maybe even to a worrying degree. (To him, she is Determination personified.)

Spite has autonomy and wants to separate from Lucanis.

Rook reciprocates Spite's attentions. More importantly, she acknowledges his autonomy.

Lucanis cannot tell where his desire for revenge and his attraction to Rook arises from—or he knows but is afraid to confront it.

Spite will never knowingly hurt Rook.

From there, it was easier to figure out the scenes I wanted to write, and everyone's behaviours. For example:

Spite becomes the obvious "wingman", manoeuvring situations to bring him (and Lucanis) closer to Rook.

Rook becomes the more active partner who initiates romantic gestures. There is no "almost kiss" scene in the pantry. Instead, Rook initiates a hand-kiss.

Spite uses "we" in the waking world but "I" in the Fade to refer to himself (special cookies for you if you spotted this :)

"Inner Demons" never happens in this world state. Instead, Spite and Lucanis learn to work together because of Rook.

3. In character

Ada "Rook" Aldwir

Rook's personality is pretty well defined in the game so I tried to stay true to it. ("Heroic nonsense saved your grandson and is rescuing you now.") She is outgoing, intuitive, and direct but ultimately well-meaning. Rook is a Veil Jumper—and no one goes into the haunted magic forest willingly if they love the modern city and systems they live in. (She hints at this in chapter 4, and I would love to explore it in future.) This affinity for the strange and liminal makes her sympathetic to Spite. Rook is more of a cipher in the earlier chapters, but I think she came to life in the sparring scene. The way she fights barehanded was inspired by wushu and the Monk class from DnD, focused on her element of lightning. (In Veilguard, she is a Spellblade.)

Spite

Spite is sarcastic, demanding and mercurial. I took a few liberties with this character, including picking he/him pronouns to add to the blurring of boundaries with Lucanis. Spite speaks much more eloquently in-game in the Fade (in Inner Demons), and I preferred that style. He begins castling by taking over Lucanis, but once he finds equilibrium (through them both agreeing on their feelings for Rook), they start sharing the pilot seat. I knew that I wanted Spite and Rook to have a connection, apart from Lucanis, so the Fade was the natural place to set their "bottle episode". As I wrote about Spite and Lucanis' imprisonment, I realised that for a spirit who was content in the Fade, being ripped away and trapped in a limited form would be horrific. I didn't need to write elaborate, graphic torture after that—the implications for them were terrible enough. (Most of chapter 5 was me sobbing over this.)

Lucanis (I know he's everyone's blorbo, and I'll try not to step on any toes here!)

Lucanis is cautious, charming and kind. I chose to write him not as demisexual, but tied up in knots about sex and violence because of the nature of his work. I didn't want him to be an afterthought to the Rook/Spite relationship. He kept running away so much at the beginning, I was genuinely worried we would have no story, so I deliberately wrote chapter 4 from his POV. After that, Lucanis was surprisingly the easiest character for me to inhabit while writing. He's also such a naturally sweet character that his almost silly overprotectiveness of Rook just happened. I really enjoy the way they both play off each other, because Ada is such a Creature in so many ways, and he's simply moonstruck. It's one of my favourite dynamics that appears in my other stories as well.

4. Recurring motifs I enjoyed discovering

Not all of these were planned, but in no particular order: the knife to the neck, electricity, spirits/angels and demons, small repeated gestures (a lover's vocabulary), awareness of the breath, restraint/self-denial as torture, hand holding, the body as both a site of violence and pleasure.

5. In closing

If you made it all the way down here, thank you for listening to me ramble! I hope you enjoyed reading castling as much I did writing it: I learnt a lot, and I exorcised a lot of hang ups about my work in the process. I definitely have thoughts about how to improve the story (crucially, the Lucanis/Spite relationship is missing here), but I'll take that energy into the next piece.

I realise most of this is about the "framework" of the story; if you'd like to know my thoughts around any particular scenes please feel free to send me an ask anytime <3

[thegeminisage]

6 + 7 + 27 for the rook asks?

thank you <333

6: What companion are you platonically close with?

rook is a shadow dragon, so i think it's silly that she only meets neve at the beginning of the game - in my mind palace, they've been friends for years, though probably more casual friends. after they both team up with varric, they get closer. and then, you know, rook chooses the wrong city. then since they traveled together for a year, rook is also really close with harding, which makes the whole varric thing SO AWFUL. and finally we have taash! rook is a trans woman and taash figures out they're nb during the game so there was a little gentle Trans Mentoring happening

7: What companion are you romantically close with?

LUCANIS DELLAMORTE!!! e spite. this is an ot3. i actually created rook for the sole purpose of being able to write rookanis fic. i linked to this post already but i designed her from the ground up to complement lucanis perfectly:

rook is wary of abominations, lucanis is wary of tevene mages

rook has a lot of freedom (lived on a boat, frees slaves, openly trans, etc), but no foundations or safe place to call home. lucanis has a home and family to come back to but the expectations of that family acts as chains, giving him very little freedom

lucanis was a prisoner; rook frees people. rook has no stability in her life; lucanis gives her a safe place to land

she loves boats and the ocean; he canonically can't sail and probably has a mental health episode if he stares at her aquarium too long

he writes dossiers and likes to plan; she is impulsive

he is introverted and bad at social situations; she has never met a stranger

he's ace and relatively inexperienced; she is not ace and has had many partners

he can cook and loves coffee; she canNOT cook and hates it

etcetc.

27: What was their life like before the events of Veilguard?

there are two stages to her pre-veilguard life: Before And After her magic manifested. her parents are liberati who escaped minrathous when she was a baby, after which they set up on a boat and sailed the waking sea, stopping in various port cities, most of which were the free marches, to buy/sell/trade goods. and all that was very fine and then rook's magic manifested in the middle of kirkwall in broad daylight and she got dragged off to kirkwall's circle when it was already ready to pop from the pressure.

after that, anders blew up the chantry (and good for him), and in the chaos she managed to escape the circle. her parents died getting her back to tevinter (the only safe place for mages), and after that, she worked with people in the resistance, even though they weren't formally the shadow dragons yet. and kept doing that! until she did it so well that she had to leave the country.

🎉rook questionnaire to celebrate posting the last chapter of the ossuary🎉

[jaynecygan]

when the light in our hearts call out to each other [writing process]

i thought to just jot down my writing process as a fun documentation of what i did, my thought processes, and the notable edits i've made along the way. for brevity's sake, i'll just refer to when the light in our hearts call out to each other as the yoriichi ot3 fic from now on (even though, as you may have noticed, there is no explicit ot3 content of sumiyoshi/yoriichi/suyako here, but pls give me this one).

late 2022 happened to me, and i had to take a break from writing because of Major Life Events, which turned into a massive writing burnout where i couldn't write any creative pieces for around 2 years. the idea for this fic was shelved in that same year of 2022 when my friend wrote an essay about demon slayer for her class centered around the theme legacy, and it sparked a thing in my head about the thirteenth form of sun breathing.

i was also massively inspired by those who touch the sun by beecalm, so please do check out their works!!! they have such a lovely catalogue of kny fics but those who touch the sun especially has something special in my soul and heart (just like a part of yoriichi's heart that is stolen by sumiyoshi AUGH PLEASE READ THIS FIC), with the sun breathing is transformed into the dance of the fire god and subsequently passed down generations of the kamado, written with elegant and beautiful poetry-like prose of yoriichi's pov/pining over sumiyoshi. i do want to say that while i am absolutely inspired by those who touch the sun esp in terms of yoriichi's legacy (and ending it with tanjiro), i tried to take a different angle to it with more focus on what happened in chapter 186 + using the kagura in its literal meaning to summon a god.

i only got around to writing this on april 27th 2024, where i was basically trying to push myself to write Something and not just wait for divine inspiration to strike me with creativity. found the idea written somewhere in my notebook, hence, yoriichi ot3 fic was born!

i had to admit that i don't really know how to shape and where to bring this fic. the same feeling came upon me when i was writing my mdzs song lan/xiao xingchen fic On the Heart as well, but i like to think that i am better equipped in plotting this time, instead of just writing the vibes out (although i did just Vibe It Out for more part of this fic than not).

i knew that i wanted to write about several things: 1) sun themes (no kidding); 2) the hinokami kagura as yoriichi's legacy through the kamado family; 3) the kagura itself as a form of invocation to amaterasu-o-mikami and the shinto spirituality surrounding it (hence the inclusion of omamori, yoriichi thinking of himself as a tatarigami [or calamity god], and the reference to takamagahara, etc); 4) yoriichi seeing his dead loved ones in the kamado family whom he'd saved (yoriichi's mom-sumiyoshi, uta-suyako); 5) the parallel of yoriichi's and sumiyoshi's eyes + tears; and most importantly, 6) love, between yoriichi and sumiyoshi, yoriichi and suyako, and yoriichi and sumiyoshi and suyako (delicious, triangle love).

actually, kidding! some of these sprang up later after i finished up some scenes, but once these ideas manifested they would not stop sticking in my head, haha. so i just needed to figure out a way to include all of them and arrange them in a neat manner so that this fic wouldn't sound like the ramblings of a maniac going "LEGACY.... SUMIYOSHI LOVES YORIICHI AND IT'S SEEN IN THE PASSING OF HINOKAMI KAGURA!!!!!!" even though i wanna just write that as a manifesto.

anyway, Planning.

this time, it's one of those disjointed fics where i wrote out of order and have to come back to the skeletal scenes so i can buff them up with more meat. but the core is this: yoriichi is expelled from demon slayer corps (circumstances happened) -> he thinks about the people he cannot save (loss of purpose) -> but he once saved sumiyoshi -> he found relief in sumiyoshi and suyako's existence, as he managed to save their lives (healing/catalyst) -> it gave him more reason to keep slaying demons (regaining purpose). and then, contrast that with sumiyoshi's regret over the things he did not do for yoriichi (inaction) -> sumiyoshi passing down the fire god kagura as a form of prayer for yoriichi (action).

to be honest, i was lost while writing this most of the time. i was in tears. shaking. why do i write, i ask, who gave me the free will to do this voluntarily. it's only now when i come back to it that i realized, wow, i actually managed to cobble some pretty coherent structure, even in sumiyoshi's pov. but skeletons can be cobbled together. how do i pad it up with the meat (writing)?

it's genuinely thanks to eve @evetheindecisive bc they beta-read this fic and gave amazing suggestions about what scenes i could add in (like the details about kamado fam preparing a yukata for yoriichi and the scene about yoriichi sleeping over in the same room as the kamado fam). i really couldn't have written this fic without them holding my hand throughout the entire process.

writing it from yoriichi's pov makes me consider several things: 1) the special way he sees the world with his see-through vision, 2) his lack of self-worth, 3) his seeming detachment from humankind (either from his inability to process his emotions (not crying when his mom passed/freezing only holding uta and his unborn child's bodies when they died/from chapter 186, referring to his dialogue with sumiyoshi "I'm happy to see you all happy. When I see happy humans, I feel happy as well." as though he is exempt from experiencing the happiness firsthand). however, i really have grown rusty with my writing, so most of the fic is mostly "telling" instead of "showing". i just realized this when i went back to my old writings trying to figure out what had seemed so odd with the current narration. so i patched up some of yoriichi's pov, and added more physical descriptions related to how he feels emotions through his body rather than comprehending/intellectualizing them, because i thought that might be more natural to him to think of emotions in terms of what they did to the body.

lo, my realizations:

it feels good when you solve a problem in your draft! as you can see, i was not as calm writing this fic as i am currently writing this process down.

finally, i finished the draft on dec 5th 2024! i did a couple edits here and there, especially revamping some stuff on sumiyoshi's pov so that it'll flow better.

but yeah, that's the thought process behind when the light in our hearts call out to each other. thanks to anyone who read this post up 'til this point!!

[zeico]

Nine Mutuals I'd Like to Know Better

Tagged by @un-local

3 Ships

OCXCanon - Like everything I do is this. Idk this is what fuels me. Tbh let me gush about 3 of those here.

Wol/Estinien - My Warrior of Light Ahya is a monk first. She learns the healing arts of the stars later. I want to rewrite first steps of faith where she like grabs on one of the dragon killers and launches herself onto the dragon's back. This actually doesn't work and Ahya injures herself p badly. Like NEEDS time to rest and recover before like... doing her monk shit again. Estinien actually finishes the job of killing the dragon here and is like 'ur reckless wtf was that you're not a dragoon' (would make a good dragoon later. yes he will train her in that way later). But during recovery she studies astromancy to help her own healing. Anyway these 2 are like

Remilia(my sorcerer)/Ennui(dnd npc)/Mordecai(dnd npc) - (yes at this point its ocxocxoc but I love them). 3 nerds together. Remilia learned the divination magic she so craved from Mordecai. She learned a lot of basic survival and like magical creatures from Ennui. And like theres a level of vulnerability Remilia feels she can have with them instead of like current party bc of how she was kjinda dragged in. I've (in character) have been writing letters to them for the whole mission (just over a month in game time)(we aren't even done)(have just 'been gathering allies to stop the cult')(still have to like.... actually do that whole siege sequence)(I BELIEVE IT WILL COME BACK I AM MANIFESTING THIS). Even tho this campaign has been on hiatus for like years I do not care I still think about them. I am a fandom of 1 so I'll keep ship sailing myself if I gotta.

Castlevania OT3 (Alucard/Sypha/Trevor) - I REMEMBERED A CANON CHARACTERS ONE HOLY SHIT. Idk their dynamic was real good in the show that i still gotta finish maybe someday.

Also remembered like D/Rogier, Rogier/Tarnished (there is not enough english fics for my favorite mageboi),

First ship

Dude I have no clue. Prolly like Ed/Winry or like... Hien/Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho. I've been smooshing characters together like dolls for years.

Last Song

So this is Remilia (Vampire Bloodline Sorcerer) asking Bael'eari (High Elven Light Domain Cleric) to come back to Dawnhurst (city where she lives) Notably he worships the sun goddess Zephella. ("Its called DAWNhurst Bael!")

This has been in my mind rent free for past few days and I just am in mad dokis for this elf.

Currently Reading

The last thing I read was Dungeon Meshi. Which is a perfect fusion of my interests in food and fantasy.

Last Film

I...cannot remember tbh.

So last game I played is En-Garde! because its basically a lighthearted videogame version of my rogue in Curse of Strahd. Yes I bought it because her and the main character have basically the same model (my girl only just doesn't wear a hat at this point in time to which the DM showed me the haberdashery's shop inventory)

Currently Craving

Meat. I desire meat cooked over fire preferably on a stick. I want to taste the char. I want to taste the smoke.

I'm too tired to tag people rn if thou wishest to participate please feel free to do so. I doth not have the mind to think of people's names at this time.

[teafiend]

(Disclaimer: full credit to the GIFs creator. I am sorry, but I have no idea who made them, just sharing them. Will properly credit if I have the info. Thank you)

I am repeating myself, but these scenes were hard-hitting and impactful. Beautiful character moments and interactions which stayed on long after the plot had moved on.

These scenes fueled the need for these characters to have a measure of peace and joy after all they have gone through.

(I don’t have any wish for more seasons because the story ended on a hopeful note, and all I could ever want it need. I have no wish to see them go through more cycles of struggles and pain. They already have to live with the pain which will haunt them until the day they die. Why the need for more hurt?)

I admit to wanting more warm/fluffy post-canon fics though, which alas… great authors for the “fandom” prefer the angst/suffering 😰 No matter, am very grateful or each and every story created for this wonderful, if tiny, fandom. Thank you.

[suddenrundown]

wait a second, i wrote a “doctor paul” character that eliot knew in “as whole as we could be”....did i personally manifest this

[reineyday]

finished the last season of manifest and some ship thoughts!

ive been saying it since drea showed up but seriously, mick x jared x drea ot3 come on!!!! poly detectives pls let hope have three parents 2k24

i was surprised they gave benvi a canon moment but i was here for it :') that one episode where saanvi kisses him for a cover but ben doesnt even seem phased and only gives her a Look at the end of the episode has very strong "this never occured to me before but actually this makes more sense" vibes from ben 😂 like even his reaction after they kissed for cover felt so platonic (imo) but then later on he realizes that subconsciously he's been heading there this whole time and he has an "oh" moment, but it's more like an "oh, duh" moment

niche but that scene where jared gives joe's kid a hug and then later on in the season when joe is so lovingly showing jared (and the stones) photos of charlie makes me think jared x joe would be cute, esp cuz jared wants kids so bad and he was so good with charlie

EAGAN AND ADRIAN AM I RIGHT????? man i was already thinking they'd be funny to ship together because they're both kinda self-serving disasters that have hearts deep, deeeeeeeeep down, but that moment when they held hands with the necklace between them? and then starting a business together when they land back in 2013??? so many options for them 😂 even just adrian showing up to angelina and eagan being married and being like dude wtf??? with the added emotional plot of being lowkey jealous and not sure why is a really funny fic idea

ultimately, i liked what they did w the ending tho! it was really cute what they did with tj and the girl older!cal dated, esp cuz both their s.o.'s kinda de-aged on them 😂 i also really love drea so im glad they had jared meet her right then, and it was cute how mick searched the cabs for zeke :') and it's not often we see a bi girl end up with the girl in her love triangle so that was nice for saanvi too yayay 🥰🥰

[itsbinghebitch]

tag people you want to get to know better -> thank you @theblissfulchaos and @justafriend-ql for tagging me!

three ships: vegaspete, nuengpalm, jimwengaipa (i am manifesting this OT3 into existence. i dont care how unlikely you think it is, it will happen. if not on the show then in my mind as i self medicate with fic)

first ever ship: probably l/light which is. a contentious classic to say the least

last song: meditation by goldlink

last movie: parasite (which i rewatched for a third time with @commonharlotwatchesbl)

currently watching: moonlight chicken

currently reading: inciting joy by ross gay

currently consuming: fuel and excess metabolic energy because im on a bus back from a weekend getaway and i've had more coffee than advisable

currently craving: (for reasons above-mentioned) leg space

tagging @vegaseatsass @charliespin @sapphicblight @ladymcres @lesbianasukalangleysoryu . sorry if you've been tagged already!

[faorism]

3, 16, 20 for the fic writer ask!

03. what work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? a the first answer to this will be what i'll talk about in the answer to 20, so the next up is new world to be won [leverage ot3, rated e]. it features small dick short king eliot. i feel like when people say size kink they are thinking about huge schlongs, and this fic was my way to be like yall get on my level and appreciate. well, that was the intention. while that certainly happened, what im most proud of is how funny the fic is? the summary says a lot about the fic: "Parker and Hardison love a short king… right until, along with Eliot, they have to establish an alternative reality post-French Revolution socialist state in their bed."

16. what’s your most common “additional tags” tag? fanart, submissive eliot spencer (wow i... have published less fic than i thought?? i really have been just drawing drawing drawing huh)

20. which work of yours have you reread the most? absolutely with a love so deep and warm and true [leverage ot3, rated e]. this 55k beast consumed me for months. it began as a short bulletpoint list of, oh what if i wrote about parker sharing beds, won't that be neat. and it just grew and grew and grew. i think the length in and of itself is enough to be proud of. but more than that, i think i really got into parker's head. i really thought about parker's life and presented forty years of characterization and history, that also ties into the expansive world in my head for my of hearth and home series. and i did so while handling some really heavy concepts, most of which i can completely understand why i think most people are hesitant to read it or engage.

while i think i did not come up with wildly original backstory points for parker (meaning, the violence she faced growing up, and her being autistic), i am so proud of how intricately, seriously, and attentively i wove the story. i had so many motifs going, so many emotional tie-ins, that i genuinely think its (to kinda toot my own horn) a smart piece of writing? like, if you look at bre's section, you can tell how much i was thinking about the sections with parker's foster siblings. if you look at how i discuss archie, nate, and parkers foster father, you can see how i always held the three together in dialogue. and tbh the thing im most proud of is that i believe i presented a fully realized, paced story of a survivor of violence reckoning with her trauma. it manifests in different ways, many of which i dont explicitly say besides that they are all written within a single fic. but, idk, i do a lot of work around recovery, healing, and trauma so this really did right by my nonfandom research and writing.

BASICALLY i love this fic and it was so much fucking work and i wrote it for me and it includes all of my most precious headcanons, and there's this one line that eliot whispers to parker to tease her that literally fucking gives me goosebumps with how scandalous it is. i think its sexy and funny and sweet and thoughtful and yEAH IM BRAGGING, LEAVE ME ALONE, i wrote a 55k oneshot omg.

[izartn]

This morning I woke up having dreamt a girl genius fix-it at mechanisburg with gil and tarvek taking point to do whatever with-against Klaus with the help of others in castle wulfenbach while Agatha was with vanamonde fighting for the city and the other factions. It was nice, but uh. Unexpected. Lots of details that have been gone with the pass of the day, but I remember a pizarra and tizas and lots of fuzzy SCIENCE! So.

At siesta I had also a dream about Gil trying to convince people marrying Agatha wouldn't make him a terrible storm king oh no. Pinky swear. Tarvek was, for some reason, arguing that it was good for Gil reputation as the tyrant of Europe. (meanwhile the ot3 was totally happening, so I think this was tarvek trying to get a counselor behind the throne position and his fave people together. dunno it was fuzzy, I was dreaming) (canon the last thing in my mind of course.)

This is bc all the fic I've been reading recently. It won't let me sleep XD that it has manifested in a sort of fix it dream is surprising though. I usually don't directly dream about characters. My own wacky sequences of stories yes, but not from a fandom, usually. Im really obsessed, am I not? Wosh.

[editoress]

the gay pirate flag show~, legend of zelda, unsounded, suitor armor, star wars + pick your poison

From this most dangerous ask prompt. Salt for each under the cut. Half thoughtful attention to my favorite medias and half proof that I'm simply contrary.

Our Flag Means Death

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Sadly, fandom has largely trashed my appreciation for Steddyhands (the ot3, you know). When I first saw it, I was instantly intrigued! They looked so happy; I wanted to know more! But the majority of what I found at the time was 'perfectly healthy Ed/Stede where they have to housetrain that awful Izzy,' and that was such a turn-off. I have found just enough good content since that I don't immediately scroll past the stuff, but it remains dire out here.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

It's the deadly combo of the way people make Izzy out to be the very devil with the way they make BLACKBEARD out to be an uwu sad boy who can't help his own actions. This comes as a package deal more often than not, and I can't stand any of it. Can't they just be a couple of homicidal assholes?

Legend of Zelda

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

This Hylia and Demise stuff? Would be gonzo. Wind Waker probably had one of the best, most heartbreaking approaches to the cycle, and I want to keep canon along those lines. Less ancient spirits manifesting as people to duke out their cosmic battle. More people born into roles they struggle to understand and resist. Zelda as a smart woman who questions her own destiny. Ganondorf as a Gerudo, in a way where that context informs his actions, not where he's just some incarnated demon disguised as a Gerudo.

Unsounded

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

DUANE ADELIER FUCKS. HE FUCKED THEN AND HE FUCKS NOW. AND I WOULD FUCK HIM

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Probably all of them. Cope just makes baller characters that I love to see, excepting the occasional 2D hate-target like Starfish. In particular: people can't wrap their minds around Bastion's mad scientist morality, but the fact is he's fantastic both as a character and as an entertaining, badass drama queen; and several people got nasty at Leysa for remarrying, but she ALWAYS has my full support. She's always done what makes sense for her, and she is full of love.

Suitor Armor

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Honestly? The protagonist is on thin ice. And it's not because she's a bad character; I'm having a great time writing Lucia in my ongoing fic. It's the protagonist bias in the story. We get so few scenes away from her, because only what Lucia does matters, yet she does so little. It's a slow court romance story. Not a lot of plot. Which is fine, but it means following one person around gets boring, and giving a single person all the narrative weight in a fantasy court setting is a weird move. Most of all, I'm getting impatient with the way the narrative supports everything she does as absolutely correct, no consequences to be found.

23. Unpopular character you love?

The villain, of course! Every single time he shows up, I think of the line, "Have you thanked a villain for your plot today?" He's fun. He has style. But most importantly, he's carrying the plot on his back and I'm grateful for some juicy conflict in between the scenes of pining. A lot of fans hate him because they think a cartoon guy should be judged on real life morality. You've seen the type of fan

Star Wars

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

I never hated Reylo, but fandom definitely cannonballed me from casually liking it to actively, deeply enjoying it. 99% of my dash became utterly obnoxious whining about how Reylo, the basic baby's first enemies-to-lovers, was scandalously abusive, etc. Out of annoyance, I really dug into the themes and AUs, and I super enjoyed myself!

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

If I ever meet Dave Filoni and His Cronis, they will all pay for the pacifist Mandalore arc.

[darkfinch]

in honor of me having a chronic pain flare up so bad i cried during math, i want to talk abt the ot3 and how they hold/cope with their pain.

hardison is the heart of the whole thing, so ofc he tries to make things for his people when he's hurting, to sorta assure himself that he can still be useful/be worth their attention. as much as i rant abt parker and eliot, hardison 100% has inferiority issues that manifest in Making Things. so he makes stuff to subtly convince people to stay.

parker is more of the person to run from their pain. or in their case, literally hide away where no one can find them. at the very least parker will pull away from their boys and almost burrow?? like yk how foxes make tiny dens to hide in?? they do it Like That. when they're ready they'll come back out but i feel like parker needs the security of knowing they can leave.

eliot doesn't acknowledge his pain. he def ignores it until he absolutely has to or until it interferes with a mission/job. it was trained into him to ignore it and now he just does it out of habit. it's canon to me that sophie sat eliot down and made him verbally catalogue everywhere that hurt after seeing him wince just so that he could be Aware of what was going on in his body. eliot is protection-based but he never learned how to protect himself. if that makes sense???

as a spoonie i have a Lot of thoughts abt the ot3 and how they'd handle their pain plus this gives me a distraction

dorian!!!!! i'm so sorry ur having to deal with that my dude, flare-ups when you're stuck somewhere are the absolute worst.

these are SUCH good thoughts...in my heart hardison has adhd so i really like the idea of him being like..."okay well i feel like garbage so lets make somethin cool for my people :) as a distraction :) to cheer me up & not feel like im wasting time etc" except he. the. the executive function button broke and the flare up is getting worse and he cannot stop typing, uh oh, uh oh, and parker has to drag him over to the couch because it's Lie Down Time

parker dropping off the face of the earth to curl up in a comfy tiny space when they're hurting is a Lot and i am Feeling things. it makes them feel safe but also!!! this tracks and im upset about it.

also !!!!!!! yes!!!!!!!! eliot does enough first aid for maintenance (gotta keep the body Functional At All Costs) but long-term stuff gets ignored because like. whats he gonna do. take an advil? what's that gonna do? he'd need enough otc painkillers to shred his stomach lining and the problem'll still be there tomorrow so like. might as well just suck it up

there's a very good fic called Make it look like you don't mean it by andalucite where eliot's in the habit of tuning out injuries, and parker pokes him directly in his busted ribs to Draw His Attention To It and make him take care of himself.... which u may perhaps enjoy :)

as i fellow spoonie i too have the Thoughts and they are a Lot To Think About thank u for sharing <3

[marzipanandminutiae]

13, 25, 24?

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

I have a whole playlist on my phone called "beware of," with songs that have Fandom Vibes to me at the moment:

Li'l Red Riding Hood (Amanda Seyfried)

You Belong To Me (Cat Pierce)

Butterfly (Christina Perry)

Poison and Wine (The Civil Wars)

Still Here (Digital Daggers)

Rose Red (Emilie Autumn)

Castle Down (Emilie Autumn- I titled a fic after this one)

Your Guardian Angel (Fatin Majidi cover)

No Light, No Light (Florence + the Machine)

Bedroom Hymns (Florence + the Machine)

Howl (Florence + the Machine)

Counting Stars (Gardiner Sisters cover, ft. Kuha'o Case)

Tainted Love (Hannah Peel cover)

Like Lovers Do (Hey Violet)

Wolf Like Me (Lera Lynn cover, ft. Shovels and Rope)

Monster (Meg Myers)

Keep Your Heart Broken (The Rasmus)

Apres Moi (Regina Spektor)

War of Hearts (Ruelle)

Can't Help Falling In Love (Tommee Profitt cover)

Ship to Wreck (Veer Gilder cover)

The Hymn of Acxiom (Vienna Teng)

Holy (Zolita)

Touch (Daughter)

24. favorite fic you read this year

Oh geez, that's really hard. It's not exactly my favorite, but The Cherry Hung With Snow has become my comfort fic. How a modern rock star AU with an extremely different tone than canon took on that role for me, when I'm normally all about the High Victwardian Gothic Drama, I have no idea. But it is a very good story, as well as the only modern AU in the tag and the longest OT3 work I've yet found. 89 chapters and still going.

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

who manifest their presences by shadows, by marypsue. Just a great, solid ghost story oneshot, with a splash of reincarnation AU. love it so much

Send me a number from this list of fanfic asks.

[onepickyreader]

Favorite DekuBaku fanfics (32 fanfics)

HELLO. SO. I did a list of my favorite doujinshi here. Just know that I usually read only complete stories, so these are all complete! I also tend to love angst mixed with fluff, long stories, and protective!Izuku (and BIG SPOON IZUKU). 

I also love LOVE gen fics, so I am going to add gen fics that have some interesting interactions between Izuku and Bakugou at the end of the list. 

ALSO, please, check the tags and the ratings. Many of these stories might be for a teen up audience, or be directly nsfw. 

The AWWW fics (school edition)

be loved: after Kamino, Bakugou doesn’t like people touching his neck, so Izuku decides to help. This is one of my favorite stories, also because of all the other characters that appear in it and try to understand what is going on between Izuku and Bakugou.

the floor ain't so bad (when you're looking up): Bakugou and Izuku start to train together almost every night. This has so much angst and fluff and adorable feelings.

everybody wants to be a cat: I adored this story because it uses the “Bakugou gets hit by a cat quirk” so well. This is tagged as KiriBaku and DekuBaku and can also be read as gen or pre any of those relationships. Some adorable misunderstandings in the story as well!

(more under cut)

the great katsuki bakugou textmergency: This story is hilarious and adorable. Bakugou figures out he is in love with Deku, and decides to text it to Kirishima for support, except that he accidentally sends it to Izuku. Featuring, the Bakusquad trying to delete the text from Deku’s phone, and the Dekusquad helping!

katsuki bakugou is incapable of love. or so they thought: the whole class starts to see some weird things happening between Izuku and Bakugou and they decide to investigate.

diversion tactic: Deku and Bakugou are following a villain, and Deku pulls the old “kiss as a diversion tactic”.

too much at stake but too late to change: the classic “test turned bad” (in a snowy mountain), where Izuku and Bakugou have to work together to get back to safety.

izuku midoriya’s ultimate plan to woo kacchan: featuring a lot of misunderstandings, and a less than helpful All Might, this story is the funniest thing!

dry lips: this is adorable (also it is explicit) and funny at the same time. Established relationship, where Izuku doesn’t know how to tell Bakugou that kissing doesn’t have to be a fight.

izuku has a crush on the hot guy in class: Izuku is hit by an amnesia quirk and he forgets Bakugou. Now he has to find out what the relationship between them used to be (also at the end he gets his memory back, no worries!).

the art of saying you’re sorry: Bakugou tries to find a way to apologize, Izuku is just convinced something is wrong because Bakugou is acting weird.

The AWWW fics (pro heroes edition) - established

flats, thigh straps, and bdidge-wide gaps: Bakugou and Izuku start dating and end up moving together. (featuring adorable domesticity and Izuku misunderstandings)

with loving hands: Established relationship, nightmares and panic attacks.

once upon a time an instagram story: established relationship, where the public finds out about the relationship between Ground Zero and Deku.

okaeri: adorable fluff and domesticity.

take care: Izuku figures out Bakugou’s love languages (to quote the story:  Emotional constipation manifested as over-the-top housewifery)

The AWWW fics (pro heroes edition) - getting together

volume: this can be also read as gen. Bakugou starts to loose his hearing. Izuku starts to learn sign language. Also, they are the action wonder duo of hero society.

the scientific method: GUYS. This is my all time favorite, I reread it like once a week. It has so many feelings mixed in it. Izuku’s pov, where he has a thing for tears and in particular Bakugou’s tears. Mind the tags, this has d/s themes.

i just can’t pretend we were lovers first: because of a misunderstanding, Deku has to ask Bakugou to pretend to be his boyfriend. This is a series, with the first story complete (and can be read as a stand alone). It also has explicit scenes, so read the tags and rating. Plus, asexual Bakugou, which is one of my favorite headcanons.

and it all keeps coming back to you: Bakugou is still a virgin because he never really cared for sex before. Now he has decided that Deku is strong and worthy enough to be his first time. Features: the bakusquad, accidental dating, feelings.

percentages and probabilities: now pro heroes, Bakugou and Midoriya end up accidentally becoming neighbours. 

four times bakugou katsuki doesn't intend to sleep with midoriya izuku (and the one time that he does): The title says it all. This has a lot of ignored feelings and trying not to talk about feelings, and sex.

Heroes action and violence

abscod: this can also be read as gen! Where Bakugou finds himself kidnapped once more, and really just needs to see Deku again. Check the tags, this has blood!

the absolute truth: Bakugou is kidnapped by a hero with a truth quirk, and his bullying of Deku (plus All Might secret) risks getting out to the public. This has a lot of violence, and just read the tags before starting the story (it’s not exactly DekuBaku). But the good thing is that it has the comfort part of h/c as well.

Some OT3s

jack of all hearts: TodoBakuDeku. Bakugou doesn’t really believe he fits very well in this relationship him, Todoroki and Izuku are sharing, plus he insists he doesn’t love Todoroki.

Alternate Universes (no quirks)

room 1217: college au + soulmates. I usually don’t read AU for BakuDeku because what I like of this pairing is their angsty history. Thankfully, this story keeps their history! Bakugou used to bully Izuku for not having a soulmate mark. Now in college, they end up becoming roommates after years apart.

bluebird: modern au. Bakugou calls a friend to rant about his job, and accidentally calls a stranger (Izuku). They start a friendship and flirting made of texts and calls. This has misunderstandings and angst and it is absolutely lovely. Plus, poetry,

Gen stories (be mindful of the tag, most of them have violence/blood)

scortch: Bakugou is captured by someone who wants to make him pay for his pride at the Sport Festival.

our hero: This starts with the class finding out about Bakugou and Izuku’s past, and ends up in villains attacking, and Mina and Bakugou finding themselves trapped and wounded under the ground.

put on your war paint: Izuku and Bakugou working together against a villain.

it’s so easy (to leave me): Izuku and Bakugou stop some robberers and end up trapped underground, with an injured Deku.

your hands protect the flame: this has hints of KiriBaku, and a lot of Deku and Bakugou as their weird friends/enemies thing. This has STRONG TRIGGER WARNINGS (r*pe. assault), so read them before deciding to start the story. Bakugou is assaulted by a villain when he chases after him alone, the story is about his recovery.