#mercurial-madhouse

[hlficlibrary]

hello, can you please recommend you’re favourite categorys and your fav fics from that categorys? Thank you!!

Oh, no this is so hard haha I'll do 3 categories and 3 fics. Oof. Okay, I'm going to go with these...

✤ Omegaverse Fics

❤️ where the lights are beautiful (series) by twoshipsdrifting / @polkadotlou {E, 48k}

Harry wasn’t wrong about that, not in a general sense. Lots of omegas did seek out rich alphas and betas, hoping or planning to go into heat at the right time. Plenty of omegas saw this as their duty, especially if their families weren’t well off. Worse, Louis couldn’t honestly say he’d never thought about it. If that had been his life, his goal, Louis would feel pretty good about himself now. As it is…Louis feels like shit.

Or the accidental bonding a/b/o fic.

✤ Soulmates Fics

❤️ Love After the End of the World (series) by @mercurial-madhouse (E, 168k)

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

✤ Humor Fics

🤣 On the Go by @phdmama (T, 2k)

Prompt: ok so i saw a truck today and i thought it said MANSCAPE but it actually said MAINSCAPE and it was a landscaping company. but then i thought LARRY AU. where louis owns a landscaping company called MANSCAPE and harry thinks it’s some sort of in-home pubic hair grooming company, so he calls to make an appointment, there’s some discussion of whether he wants his bushes trimmed as well, and then when it’s time for the appointment, harry’s like half-naked waiting around in a robe or something and louis shows up with lawnmowers. 

[allwaswell16]

One Direction fics that are slow burn with twists and turns as requested in this ask. You can find all my other fic recs here. If you enjoy the fics, don't forget to leave kudos and comments for the writers! Happy reading!

-Larry-

Truth Behind Golden Eyes by MyEnglishRose / @lwtisloved

(E, 228, royal au) A Fantasy AU loosely inspired by Merlin BBC where one relationship has the power to define the destiny of the whole land.

Love After the End of the World by @mercurial-madhouse

(E, 168k, dystopian au) When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

This Multiplicity of Powers by @helloamhere

(E, 149k, X-Men au) Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside. But this isn’t that universe.

Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices by Toomanytears / @toomanydreamers

(E, 126k, Potter Direction) A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. 

ghost of you by beckywritesthings / @beckydoesthings

(E, 109k, Star Wars au) a Star Wars AU where Harry is Obi-Wan, Louis is Satine, and somehow there’s a love story between the cracks where there shouldn’t be.

For the Right Reasons by @juliusschmidt

(E, 105k, Bachelor au) Harry doesn’t agree to be the Bachelor expecting to find love.

The Rose of Whitechapel by @itsmotivatingcara

(E, 100k, historical) Jack the Ripper au - Detective Constable Harry Styles and his partner, DC Liam Payne, lead the case on the Whitechapel murders.

Black with Autumn Rain by whimsicule

(T, 93k, magical realism) Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren't exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance.

Face Your Fears by @sadaveniren

(E, 92k, a/b/o) Harry is a single father, pretending to be a beta after his alpha mated him and left him. 

Nothing But You On My Mind by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense

(E, 83k, royal au) Louis Tomlinson is a PR manager hired to improve the image of royal bad-boy Prince Harry Styles. 

technicolor by @creamcoffeelou

(E, 81k, crime au) The slow-burn, hate-to-love, crime au where Harry is a psychic, Louis is a detective, and the world is against them.

Consequences by @allwaswell16

(E, 78k, amnesia au) Two years ago Harry let his powerful family come between him and the love of his life, something he deeply regrets. 

Let Our Hearts Collide by @crinkle-eyed-boo

(M, 76k, While You Were Sleeping au) When Harry, a lonely transit worker, saves the life of the handsome commuter he's been secretly pining for, an innocent mistake results in Liam Payne's family believing that Harry is engaged to their son.

All I Wish Not To Remember by thealmightyavocado / @avocadolouie

(E, 71k, The Count of Monte Cristo au) A tragic tale of timeless undying love, merciless revenge, and selfless sacrifice.

After Dark, After Light by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(E, 71k, historical) Harry Styles is the laird of Clan Edwards who is just trying to keep his clan afloat when they get word that the Mackenzies have been cutting a swath through the Midlands and beyond, and their sights are set on the northern Highlands next. 

-Rare Pairs-

your crimes are quiet, my love by lightswoodmagic / @lightwoodsmagic

(E, 93k, Zayn/Liam) A darker Miss Congeniality AU that follows Zayn and Liam, MI5 agents, partners since training and best friends, as they race to stop a serial killer.

Winter Light by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

(T, 57, Zayn/Liam) After his mother's death, Liam is sent to live at his estranged uncle's manor in the North of England, where new friends, mysterious places and family secrets await him. A Secret Garden inspired Soulmate AU

[they-have-the-same-va]

Marlya Noel from Fairy Gone, Suletta Mercury from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, and Fern from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End share a voice actress in both English and Japanese.

Voiced by Jill Harris and Kana Ichinose

[fuchsea]

.

[brucebocchi]

Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 3: #10-6

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here and part 2 here.

I didn't mean to drag this out quite so much, but I ended up writing a TON for the top 10, so for the sake of everyone's attention spans (and so I can buy some time to finish my top two) I broke it up into two more posts.

​ALSO! I've embedded a link to each show's OP in the title of each entry. I wanted to give more of a visual element to each show outside of the header images, plus there have been some incredible OPs this year. I've gone back and edited them into the prior posts as well.

10. Trigun Stampede

It’s funny, I had fond memories of watching Trigun on Adult Swim in my adolescence, to the point where I used to count it among my all-time favorite anime for a while, but I didn't realize until this year that I hadn't actually sat down and watched it from beginning to end. It’s honestly a very uneven watch, and it’s clearly split into two parts: The first, a dieselpunk western revolving around a mysterious goofball with a big-ass gun and a bounty on his head, and the second a slightly more somber revenge quest as he is forced to survive his way past a rogues gallery while vowing not to take any lives. Still, it was a hit among western anime fans for a reason, and it was formative to me even back when I thought anime was kinda cringe.

Trigun Stampede is far from a faithful reinterpretation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga nor of the original Madhouse production. Meryl Stryfe is no longer a jaded veteran insurance adjuster but a much younger muckraking journalist. She’s no longer tailed by the gentle giantess Milly Thompson, but rather following her senpai, the gruff, bleary-eyed Roberto De Niro (the names in Trigun have always rocked). Nicholas D. Wolfwood isn’t an affable priest with a dark past; he’s all dark past now. And Vash the Stampede, now rocking a fuckboy undercut, is less of a mercurial wisecracker with a soft side and more of a reluctant gunman freaking it in a sensitive style. 

Stampede wastes no time differentiating itself from any previous version of Trigun. Vash’s history is no longer a mystery waiting to be uncovered; it’s a driving factor of the plot as his brother Knives seeks revenge on humankind for their use and exploitation of “plants,” an alien race to which the two seem to be connected, as an energy source. This was always an element of the original anime that I felt went unexplored, so it was fascinating to see Stampede dive right in. It’s a great introduction to the story for people who haven’t seen the original, and full of unexpected turns for existing fans. It’s still built on the bones of Trigun as we know it, but it is very much its own thing. 

People made a lot of hay about Vash’s new appearance, but I think it works. The huge pleather trench coat, spiky flat-top, and tiny glasses remain an iconic 90s design, but I believe the 90s is where it belongs. This take on Vash is just as capable but much more self-effacing, tortured, and averse to violence. This is a younger Vash, and it’s clear that his history with Knives is a much fresher wound, rather than the dull, nagging ache in the original. This is a gentler (but no less talented) Vash, so I think the softboy look suits him this time around.

I also spent most of the season quietly insisting to myself that the original version of Meryl is much better (and cuter) than the Stampede variant, and I still stand by that, but the updated version definitely grew on me. I mean, just look at that hat. But it’s clear from the jump that Stampede’s first season is very early in this version of the Trigun story (you may notice that the bounty on Vash’s head is much, much less than the famous 60 billion double-dollars), and Meryl has some growing to do (and presumably a whole lot of professional frustration) before she becomes something like the one we knew and loved around the turn of the 21st Century.

I’m still yet to watch Beastars, but it’s immediately apparent why Studio Orange was entrusted with the Trigun IP. This show looks incredible. This is some of the best CG animation I’ve ever seen outside of a Pixar or Spider-Verse movie. Characters are amazingly expressive and oscillate between naturalistic, weighty movement and cartoony flailing. Action scenes are inventive and dynamic and stand up to even the wildest sakuga. And yet, it still looks like an anime. It still retains the classic 24fps look and even occasionally trades in the CGI for hand-drawn animation for effect. We are long past the botched Berserk revival: This is what CGI anime should look like.

It’s plainly obvious that Trigun has always carried influences from landmark western media like Mad Max and Dune (not to mention Fist of the North Star, but that one always wore its Mad Max influence on its sleeve), so it’s been an unexpected delight to see those influences take a new shape now that both franchises have seen major updates since the last iteration of Trigun went off the air. For all of the alien technology and technicolor glowing lights, Trigun takes place entirely in a desert setting, and it’s impossible to see these chase scenes and not immediately think of Fury Road, or halfway expect to see Villanueve’s take on the Fremen popping out of the dust clouds. 

Stampede is a very welcome entry to a franchise long believed to be well and truly over, and the more eyeballs on Trigun, the better. It’s evident by the end of this season that this take on the story is only just beginning, and it has already taken unexpected departures from the story as we already knew it. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, but that’s mostly because we have confirmation that Milly will be in the next season. It can’t get here quickly enough.

9. Insomniacs After School

I watched and read a frankly absurd amount of romance-centric anime and manga this year, especially of the slice-of-life variety, to the point where even by the early summer I thought I'd had my fill. I'm overjoyed to say that Insomniacs After School proved me dead wrong.

What a treat this was. It's a simple enough premise: A boy with insomnia is sent on an errand to his high school’s abandoned observatory, where he finds a classmate sleeping because she suffers from insomnia as well. They quickly find out that the observatory is a perfectly quiet environment for the both of them, and that they actually get restful sleep around one another. In order to get away with making use of the area, they resurrect the school’s astronomy club and find a genuine love for astrophotography and, you guessed it, one another.

You couldn’t have picked a more apt studio to adapt this work than Liden Films. Call of the Night made a splash last year for its saturated, vibey nightscapes, and Insomniacs’ gorgeous astral visuals carry that mantle. The nighttime backdrops of the quiet suburbs, wide-open beaches, and lush countryside are nothing short of stunning, and Isaki’s adolescent wonder at the world’s hidden beauties reminded me, and I do not say this lightly, of something Miyazaki would’ve animated.

On a couple of occasions this year, I’ve been able to step back from an anime, take a breath, and simply say “That was beautiful.” Insomniacs gave me one such occasion. Even putting the visuals aside, the story itself is lovely and would have made this the feel-good anime of the year, if not for the next entry on this ranking. I would have more to say, but Insomniacs After School speaks for itself. Give it a shot.

8. Skip and Loafer

There are so many standalone adjectives I could use to describe this one, and most of them are ones that would normally make me want to impulsively run the other way like “comfy,” “feel-good,” “wholesome,” what have you, but I think the most comprehensively I can boil it down to a single word is “lovely.” Everything about it just gives you the warm fuzzies, and almost makes me think that the “I want more stories with no conflict” dorks might actually be onto something.

It’s a simple one: Mitsumi, a dorky teenage go-getter with her entire life planned out, moves to Tokyo from her no-horse beach town to attend one of the country’s best prep schools, but much like everyone who played the first two hours of Persona 5, she quickly gets lost in Shibuya’s subway station on the first day of school. She runs into Sousuke Shima, a laid-back boy from the same school who’s also running late, because that’s, like, what he does, and manages to wrangle him into running to school with her.

Mitsumi quickly draws attention from her classmates, not only from delivering a speech as the incoming class representative (and subsequently barfing all over her teacher), but because she inadvertently made fast friends with the hottest, most popular first-year in the school. This attracts the attention of social climbers and jealous hangers-on, but Mitsumi hardly notices. She’s used to knowing everyone in her school back home, so she wastes no time reaching out and seeing what’s up with anyone who’ll give her the time of day.

A lot of Skip and Loafer revolves around the roles for which we think we’re destined in a controlled social environment like high school, and how easily the preconceptions you have of other people can be shattered if you just get to, like, talk to them for 20 seconds. Mitsumi’s friend group quickly fills itself out with people who wouldn’t give each other so much as a passing glance at first, but come together so naturally that you almost can’t believe they weren’t friends already.

Shima, for his part, also struggles with those preconceptions; for as laid-back as he seems on the surface, he’s a habitual people pleaser and is constantly playing a role. He’s so caught up in the performance that he doesn’t quite know what’s going on half the time or how he really feels about most things. Mitsumi is so naturally magnetic, though, that he does seem to genuinely enjoy his time with her, and vice versa. You can see where this is headed, if the gorgeously-animated dances they do together in the OP weren’t enough of a tell.

Everything about Skip and Loafer is just downright pleasant. Character models are simple and sketchy, the color palette is awash in pastels and neutral tones, and the soundtrack is peppy and whimsical. It’s a warm hug of a series, and at no point does it feel cloying or manipulative. High school slice-of-life is pretty bloated as a genre, and I watched a ton of those this year, but there’s just something so charming and magnetic about Skip and Loafer that instills in me a sort of false nostalgia for the ideal high school experience I never had.

Also: Nao-chan. Exceptional trans representation. We do not get enough of that in anime and she is a breath of fresh fucking air. I would die for her.

7. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

And now for something much less wholesome.

I really don’t seek out harem anime. Tenchi Muyo was formative to me as a tween, and a rewatch last year ended up being a major catalyst in getting me back into anime, but despite it being widely considered the second-ever harem anime, it hasn’t left much of a legacy in the ones that followed. Harem anime from the 00s onward has largely been formulaic wish-fulfillment slop that runs itself in circles as a perpetual money-making machine rather than developing any sort of plot (see: Hina, Love and Girlfriend, Rent-a-). I know I covered Girlfriend Girlfriend earlier, and while that’s nothing like Tenchi either, it does scratch an ever-present itch for stupid, madcap, relentless anime bullshit.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, [...] Really Love You, meanwhile, sees that itch and takes a fucking chainsaw to it. To say everything about it is over-the-top would be an understatement: The top is Hyakkano’s floor. This show gives you everything you could ever want in a harem comedy, but to the extreme: It is your dad making you smoke the whole carton. It is Hell’s donut machine, and you are Homer Simpson. Satire is often at its best when it pushes the boundaries of absurdity, and 100 Girlfriends revels in that push like a horny bulldozer. This is not genre subversion, it’s genre explosion.

The headcount isn’t the only wildly outsized element of this series; every single member of the titular harem, each a tick on the checklist of every -dere archetype you can imagine, pushes the slider of each of their character tropes so far to the right it’s breaking the track. The deredere is a ball of deranged horniness, the tsundere betrays her intentions so compulsively that she’s functionally incapable of lying, and the kuudere is so robotically devoted to pure efficiency that it’s salient to mention that her name is literally pronounced “Nano A.I.” If you can think of an anime girl archetype, she is in this (or will be in future seasons), and she is the apotheosis.

And yet, this show still bothers to make each one of them an actual character. Harem anime has such a low bar to clear on that front, yet most entries in the genre still bang their dicks against it. Hyakkano's titular girlfriends, at least the ones introduced in the first season, are actual characters with actual backgrounds, actual motivations, actual growth, and actual reasons to like the protagonist beside the premise. They’re all founded on stock anime tropes, to be sure, but the original manga’s author actually put in the work to give them, you know, personalities. And above almost all else, they actually like each other too! This isn’t exactly a full-on polycule (though two of the girls are prone to making out with each other on occasion), but for as deeply weird as this family unit is on paper, they actually come across as a group of people who love and care for each other rather than everyone cattily jockeying for the same position. 

And not for nothing, but Rentaro is easily one of the best harem protagonists I’ve ever seen, and again, this is coming from a Tenchi Muyo fan. I do enjoy Naoya’s over-the-top earnestness in Girlfriend Girlfriend, but Rentaro is the gigachad version. He is exceedingly patient, kind, and understanding of each of these girls’ unique quirks and qualities and quickly grows to learn to manage them in conflict and help them work through their insecurities, and he loves them back in kind and puts in the work to make equal time for each of them. He doesn’t want to “fix” these girls; he sees them for who they are and proactively does everything in his power to accommodate them. He's like if Tadano from Komi Can’t Communicate actually got the harem he deserved. Putting aside the fact that he’s, y’know, 100-timing his girlfriends, he comes across as just a really good partner.

I also want to be clear: For its rampant, fanservice-laden anime bullshit, this show is genuinely hilarious. It’s not some kind of “how did this shit even get made” trainwreck; it is a comedy first and foremost, and the comedy hits exactly as intended. The comic pacing is buckwild, the visual gags are so rampant that they’re almost difficult to keep up with, and the translators, at least in the version I watched, did an outstanding job of localizing the constant wordplay. It’s also so unapologetic in its horniness that you can’t help but admire it a bit; 100 Girlfriends knows exactly what it’s about, and it dares you to say something.

There’s a very good chance this won’t be for you. 100 Girlfriends is constantly pushing the boundaries of good taste, but never in an offensive way and never truly at its characters’ expense. Geoff Thew calls it the “most 'harem' harem anime,” but I'd argue that it’s the most "anime" anime: It is every trope you’ve ever seen in romcom anime cranked up to a thousand and smushed up against your nose. This shit hits like Panera lemonade. It is peak trash. If you have a tolerance for anime bullshit, this show may very well test that, but I still cannot recommend it enough.

6. Heavenly Delusion

Didn’t think I’d be getting into more than one post-apocalyptic anime this year, but I’d seen this one recommended so many times that I felt this list would be incomplete if I didn’t watch it. Don’t ask me about Pluto.

Heavenly Delusion (Hulu lists it under its Japanese title, Tengoku Daimakyo, for some reason) splits its runtime between two different stories: The first, a pair of young travelers making their way across a ruined Japan in search of nebulous goals neither is sure even exist; the second surrounding a group of adolescents in an unnervingly idyllic walled garden in some sort of school setting. The narrative flips between these two sporadically, rarely ever showing its hand in how they are even remotely connected.

On the post-apocalypse side, we follow Maru and his bodyguard-for-hire, Kiruko, as they trek across the country to deliver Maru to someplace called “Heaven,” while at the same time, Kiruko is in search of a pair of men from their youth. They are often beset by bandits, cults, and most crucially, horrifying monsters called “Man-Eaters,” which Maru has the unique ability to kill. On the school side, we see a group of gender-ambiguous kids in an enclosed space, constantly monitored and kept in a very controlled environment. Everything feels… wrong. Nobody seems entirely human. There is a lingering and seemingly taboo curiosity about what lies outside the walls. I hesitate to say any more.

There is phenomenal human drama in here, and sparks so many conversations about transhumanism and human nature, gender, trauma, community, all things I’m not smart enough to really dive into. But to even address these topics here is to give the game away, and Heavenly Delusion is a story better left unspoiled, even if, a full season in, I’m still not 100% sure what’s going on.

This show is gorgeous in ways I’m still struggling to articulate. The character designs, animation, lighting, and cinematography are so immaculate that I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a movie. Heavenly Delusion looks like a grungy Shinkai film: Character models are immaculately realized and fluidly animated, the light and shadow effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen in TV animation, and action sequences are visceral and unpredictable. Maybe all I needed to say is that it was made by much of the same Production IG staff in charge of Psycho-Pass.

I want to say as little about what happens as possible, because the mystery is the main draw of Heavenly Delusion, but I feel the need to warn that there is a very dark and sour turn near the end of the season in the form of some strongly implied sexual violence. It was thematically unnecessary, and once that side of things is resolved, everyone just kinda… moves past it. It doesn’t ruin the show, I still recommend it heartily, but be forewarned. I found it upsetting, but more in the “did this REALLY need to be in there?” sense. The mounting tension and slowly-unfolding existential horror in this series are otherwise expertly woven into the narrative, and this part landed with a wet thud.

This is a much longer story than most of the season would have you believe, and it ends with far more questions than answers. One side of the story leaves off with an open end, and the other with a massive cliffhanger, which left me a little cold but with interest piqued for the next season. For what it is right now, though, Heavenly Delusion is a nearly perfect, endlessly thought-provoking mystery and one of the most gorgeously ugly things I’ve seen this year.

[twopoppies]

Hello,

Love After the End of the World by

mercurial-madhouse has been deleted on AO3 😭😭😭😭!

Does anyone has the e-pub 🥺??

Please 🙏

Hi, darling oh no. I don’t have that one, I’m afraid.

Does anyone have this fic? @shippingalongnicely @leah3477sblog @londonfoginacup Anyone?

[larryyouknow]

Last Line Challenge

Wow, I haven’t done this in a long, long time. But I’m actually working on one story and looking into my doc, the last line is worth sharing, so thank you @berzerkshires the tag. Hopefully one day, this rollercoaster will be finished. So, here you go.

Feeling the jitters, Louis quickly turned his head to Zayn who mouthed words “You’re welcome” and finished off his drink.

Share yours, @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @haztobegood @boosbabycakes28 @jaerie @lululawrence @sadaveniren @louandhazaf @greenblueish @fallinglikethis @theirgoldenfool @parmahamlarrie @beanno28 @mercurial-madhouse @zannithinks @louieshalo @jacaranda-bloom or anybody else who is writing and wants to share!

Happy writing everyone!

[thelarriefics]

MAGICAL REALISM FIC REC: Below you’ll find fics that have magical elements to them that blend fantasy with reality in their own ways. 

📖 Three Days in February by @mercurial-madhouse (187k)

How close is too close? Harry and Louis are about to find out after a drunken night leaves Louis cursed. With only a week before tour starts, the race is on to fix things before they lose Louis forever. Oh, and Harry has to keep his long-time crush on Louis a secret while the lad can literally hear his thoughts. Easy, right?

Featuring ridiculous amounts of banter and angst, a healthy dose of OT5 friendship, and one very magical weekend.

📖 hymn for the wretched & divine by @wlwmermald (126k)

Death loses a bet with a mischievous and lively mortal by the name of Louis Tomlinson, who loves his old cat too much, the price being he must unconditionally befriend Louis. Death ends up getting more than he bargained for.

📖 Si Pudiera Volar by by @softfonds (69k)

When Harry’s fiancé leaves him for his cousin, he looks the other way for the sake of his happiness. He’ll do anything to forget about him, including joining a monastery. It isn’t until his cousin’s former lover, a pirate, appears that he realizes everything is not as it appears, and an honest pirate might be the only person worthy of his heart.

Or, a fic loosely based on Corazón Salvaje.

📖 Take on Me by @haztobegood (60k)

Actor Harry Styles is preparing for his next leading role as Antonius the Gladiator with the help of Louis Tomlinson, Hollywood’s top stunt coordinator. When the demands of Harry’s career get in the way of their training, the pair head to a secluded cabin to complete their training. Then, Louis begins to share senses with Harry. What is causing this mysterious connection and can Louis and Harry figure out how to stop it before they leave the cabin?

📖 Driftwood by @justanothershadeofblue (51k)

Eroda was all Harry knew. He lived there all his life, but he always knew he was peculiar. He had dreams that go beyond this small, cold, and lonely island. He wanted to leave; he HAD to leave. But that meant leaving Louis...

Harry is a lonely and depressed popstar who sailed out of his hometown on Eroda years ago to chase his dreams. He comes back to the island only to find his shining childhood best friend Louis just as cold and dreary as the island they grew up on.

📖 Chasing, Searching, Dreaming by @parmahamlarrie (46k)

Everyone is chasing, searching, dreaming of their soulmate.

Harry has known who his soulmate is since he was twenty years old, and ever since, he has been waiting for Louis to be ready for him. The unexpected passing of Louis' mum, and the fact that now he is the guardian of his twin two-year-old little siblings, just means that Harry is going to have to wait a bit longer.

A soulmate AU full of cute kids, house building, therapy, and a lot of dreaming.

📖 Soul of the Sea by @vurdoc (32k)

Louis lives a nomadic lifestyle. Never settling down in one place for long, he finds himself caught in a storm, as he’s passing through a small Scottish seaside town.

Everywhere is full, except the old B&B perched up on an isolated hill near the coastline, where the recluse owner isn’t what he seems.

Then again, who really is?

A fic about belonging, supernatural beings, and finding your own home.

📖 Fate & Chance by @zanniscaramouche (31k)

Haunted by his own ghost, the Duke von Tomlin fears for his safety and sanity as the days tick down to his certain engagement with the Crown Prince of Vienna. Meanwhile the travelling magician Hassenheim takes residency in a well established theatre, drawing mass crowds with his awe-inspiring illusions. Is it fate or chance that entwines their paths?

📖 The Honeycomb Bed and Breakfast by @daggerandrose (8k)

“I’m sorry, but where did we land?” He asks one of the flight attendants when he reaches the door.

“We’re in Bucharest.”

It takes a minute for Harry to process the location. “Romania? I was supposed to go to Rome, not Romania! How does that happen?”

or the one where Harry's work trip to Italy makes a tiny detour to Bucharest, Romania and he has to find a place to stay.

📖 i was at an all night diner by @yoursongonmyheart (5k)

"I know. I was there. I saw the great void in your soul, and you saw mine."

//or, the one where none of the boys can sleep and they all meet at a diner where it's always 3 a.m.

📖 The kaleidoscope of your eyes by @greenblueish (4k)

They are greeted by a young, handsome man in his late twenties, dressed in wide black trousers and a purple silky dress shirt. Usually Louis is quick to judge such daring pieces of clothing, as this colour in particular can easily look like a cheap Halloween costume imitation of a computer game character, but at this sight, he can think of no criticism. Except that there’s no way in hell that this man has the medical knowledge to cure his neighbour’s tumour.

or, the one where Harry, disguised as an alternative practitioner, uses his magic to cure people's health issues and Louis doesn't believe in the faith healer until he meets him himself.

📖 'Cause I Just Wanna Feel Alive by @goldenkinglouis (3k)

“Oh, cheers, mate, but I don’t do dates.”

Harry’s brow furrowed. “Are you–” he waved vaguely.

Louis shook his head. “No, it’s just… been too long for me.”

“And how might I convince you otherwise?” Harry asked, his eyes glistening under the lights.

OR: Louis is a lost, lonely vampire. Harry is the witch who brings him home.

📖 Just a little taste by @lunarheslwt (3k)

Harry is a vampire that comes home one night, grappling with the darkness that comes with being one. Louis offers him unwavering love, acceptance and the one thing he needs but is reluctant to ask for; permission to bite for the sake of comfort and safety seeking.

📖 all was golden in the sky by @daydreaming-sunflower (1k)

The Sun and the Moon are in love.

[honestlytrulycompletelysteady]

• the school of extraordinary lovers by @aliensingucci | 191k

• PROMETHEUS RISING by @mercurial-madhouse | 5k

• Love After the End of the World by @mercurial-madhouse | 162k

• Golden by @sunshineandhisrainbows | 128k

• Say Hallelujah Say Goodnight by @alivingfire | 110k

• Harry Styles Cooks... by @magicalrocketships | 61k

• Love Is a Winning Game by @all-these-larrythings | 47k

• here comes the sun (little darling) by @nobodymoves | 45k

• The Stars Look Very Different Today by @kingsofeverything | 43k

• there now, steady love (so few come and don't go) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | 42k

• Missed Connection by @littlelouishiccups | 39k

• Say It Back by @quelsentiment | 39k

• Don't Go In The Woods by @harryeatsburger | 39k

• In Your Black Heart (Is Where You'll Find Me) by @graceling-in-a-suit | 35k

• Rub Me the Right Way by @kingsofeverything | 3k

• As You Wish by @kingsofeverything | 25k

• where sirens fear to tread by @aliensingucci | 28k

• Where the World has Come Together by @londonfoginacup | 26k

• learned to lose you (can't afford to) by @lt2soon | 23k

• With the ghost of Lou by @sun-tomato | 19k

• Thought The Song Was Sung by @100percentsassy | 12k

• Stuck In The Middle With You by @greenfeelings | 11k

• Worth the Wait by @all-these-larrythings | 10k

• serve me up a little hope on the rocks by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | 10k

• Crystal Fighters by @loveloveolivia | 9k

• All I know is I'm in trouble ('cause the atmosphere's so cold) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | 8k

• I Won't Let You Forget by @graceling-in-a-suit | 7k

• Are We Destined to Burn (Or Will We Last the Night?) by by @fallinglikethis | 6k

• Impress Me by @lightwoodsmagic | 5k

• Somethin' Old and Red by @absoloutenonsense | 5k

• Our Garden Grows by @londonfoginacup | 5k

• you and I love like it's a secret by@so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed | 4k

• Souperhero by @londonfoginacup | 4k

• Let's Raise a Cup by @louandhazaf | 4k

• Threadfinder Threadwinder by @londonfoginacup | 4k

• Been Waitin' (After Weekend After Weekend After) by @absoloutenonsense | 3k

• Staring At The Blank Page Before You by @loveislarryislove | 2k

• Your Heart Is the Biggest Gift You Can Give Anyone by @fallinglikethis | 1k

• Cursing the Daylight by @londonfoginacup | 1k

• Falling For You by @louandhazaf | 1k

[zanniscaramouche]

The Devil's Backbone - Sunday Snippet

this is a touch overdue for the @1daboficfest, but hopefully will still make the cut. Sadly (?) my fics keep turning into novels when they're supposed to be one-shots, oops

Decision made up, Louis steps to the riverbed and shucks his boots. “If you want a bath before you get on the train, this is your last bet.”  Styles’ face hardens.  “You’re taking us through the canyon,” he says like an accusation, gaze cutting to aforementioned canyons from which the stream stems.  “Aye,” Louis huffs as he tosses off his shirts and works on his trousers. He does so without grace or finesse, he’s damn tired and his ass is saddle sore. He wants to soak and sleep and be done with this annoyance for the rest of his life. Seeing as how he’s not gonna get any of that for quite some time, he makes do and doesn’t make a show of it when he’s down to the pink skin he was born in. “After today there’ll be no water and no fires ‘til we make the other side, so hop to it.”  Styles doesn’t move. He’s staring. Louis fucking hates alphas.  “Are you listening or what?" he snaps. "If you want your shirt to dry before nightfall you’re gonna need to move it.”  Styles blinks and raises his eyes, face blank as his hands slowly begin to work at his own clothes. He’s awkward and undignified as he works with his bound hands to strip his lower half, but Louis makes no attempt to help him. Serves him damn right. 

would love to see a snippet from @zjofierose @mercurial-madhouse @larry-hiatus @nooradeservedbetter

[pinkmoondoll9shihtzu]

my dreams have been so all-encompassing since the sun went into pisces 6 days ago, maybe cus saturn is in pisces this year too ( saturn my chart ruler) so he's getting all charged up rn from the sun's energy? (and mercury currently in the mix too) .. these past few months i been lucky if i get one vivid dream a week but then these last few nights its like Non Stop Crazy Town Madhouse Party Download Fest

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Omegaverse Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find the library's other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ Cold Little Heart by seducedbycurls {T, 194k}

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.

In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham Louis really could use the help

2️⃣ Swim In The Smoke by whoknows {E, 101k}

“What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth. He misses by a mile and tries again, just as ineffectively.

Harry looks down at him, at the way the sun streams over his face and shoulders, at the way the gag stretches his mouth, lips pink and chapped. He’s lithe and pretty, smudged all over with dirt. They had found him tied up below deck, mostly unconscious, next to a barrel full of gold. He’s clearly a prisoner, but there’s something familiar about him, something that niggles at Harry’s brain. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Put him in my cabin,” Harry decides, turning back to deal with the rest of the loot. The boys screams out jumbled curse words at Harry’s back, muffled by the gag, and Harry can’t understand any of it.

3️⃣ With love comes strange currencies by mediaville {E, 16k}

One day One Direction will be over and Louis won't be around Harry every waking moment. He'll be able to finally get some space, let their bond dissipate as it's bound to do, if they don't mess up again. He can move to Costa Rica and forget that Harry Styles popped his first knot inside him. Until then, he's going to have to deal with this.

or, They're Accidentally Mated and Dealing With It Rather Badly.

4️⃣ You Smell Like by mystic_believexx {M, 185k}

For her part, Jay took everything in her stride, barely batting an eyelid when Louis came into the kitchen the night Harry left and said, “I seem to have accidentally become the pack’s Alpha”. 

Ever since Harry left town, Louis’ found himself with the role of pack Alpha, despite being human. So he can’t wait to hand over the reins when Harry returns. Except, it’s not quite that simple…

OR The one where Louis is the Alpha’s mate and everyone is aware of it except for Louis and Harry. Go figure!

5️⃣ Queen of Arizella by seducedbycurls {M, 277k}

Stealing from Royalty is punishable by death.

Louis starts over, doing his best to keep his hands at his sides but he is hungry and he tries stealing from the wrong Royal.

Harry is King of Arizella, he needs a Queen and who better than an omega on the run from death? Louis will learn to become the perfect Queen -the perfect fake Queen, but only for a few months.

A fake lover, a fake Queen, but a real bond.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 Love After the End of the World by @mercurial-madhouse {E, 162k}

“Wait. Just so I’m clear in me fucking noggin,” Niall says. “An international worldwide takeover is well under way and the only thing standing between having hot showers and a second end of the world is us five fuckers?” 

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

💎 Unveiled by @phdmama {M, 65k}

The train grinds to a halt and Harry leans forward in his eagerness to take it all in. It’s a gorgeous Spring day, the sky the same intense blue that he knows from home, which comforts him. There’s much here that looks almost familiar, but then so much that is new and strange to his eyes. The bustling station platform and winding streets beyond paved in cobblestones look much like home. There are vehicles ranging from small to very large, some with strange and unusual shapes of which he can only guess the purpose. But most surprising are the people. There is a crowd gathered, filled with men and women, some in what looks to be a military uniform, some in what must be the street clothes in this Land.

There are no robes. And not a single one of them is veiled.

💎 dip you in honey by delsicle / @eeveedel {E, 28k}

Princess Harry, the pearl of England, is set to be married to the youngest prince of France in just six months. Anxious about his performance on his wedding night, he enlists the help of his loyal handmaiden Louis to help him practice everything he needs to know

Omega/Omega AU

💎 I'm Weaker Without You by The_Halcyonic_Lachesist / @chai-hat-tea {T, 20k}

Alpha Lord Louis Tomlinson is a rake who refuses to settle down. Will he settle down for the Society's most talked about Omega? What about the enticing scent that belongs to the Beta? How will he react to said Beta pursuing the Omega too?

💎 Where I'm Meant To Be by Halos_Boat / @halohamilton {E, 6k}

Harry and Louis have been sleeping together casually for a while. As two Alphas they never wanted to define it as anything more.

When Louis helps Harry out with his rut so he can get it done in time for his exam, they're forced to face feelings they were harbouring for a while.

[allwaswell16]

Hey! I was wondering if you had a copy of one of your recommended fics, Love at the End of the Workd by mercurial-madhouse? It is my favourite fic of all time but it seems like it was deleted and I never saved a copy. Thanks!

Hi! So that is one of my favs, too, so I ran to see if it was truly deleted and was devastated to find out it was. BUT I am friends with the writer, so M got a frantic dm after your ask lmaooo. So I have good and bad news for you (and me!). The bad news is yes, a few of her fics are deleted. The good news is that's because she's reworking them into original fiction which is so cool and amazing! And also, the good news is that she is absolutely fine with me sharing a copy of the fic with you and anyone who wants it <3

[ladyaj-13]

WIP Wednesday

So over the past little while (cough, five months, cough) I have been tagged in WIP wednesdays and Sunday snippets by @nouies @allwaswell16 @mercurial-madhouse and @zanniscaramouche - thank you all so much!

I've found writing more of a struggle this year, but I have now signed up to the @louisrarepairfest so this one has to get finished. Here's a bit of my magical cat transformation Nouis fic:

“I’m telling you,” drifts through the cracked door, and Louis’ ears prick, twitching with interest. It’s the first time the door has been left ajar, and the voice belongs to one of the kindlier staff members, a man with bleached blond hair and an Irish accent. He talks to himself and the animals, and he laughs with the other workers but among the residents he moves with a quiet gentleness. He also doesn’t take any crap from Rumpleteaser. “There’s something wrong with that cat.”

“Have you talked to Liam?” asks another voice, worried. Louis thinks it’s the tall one with curly hair. Taller one. They’re all tall when you’re ten inches high.

“Not medically wrong,” the blond one says. “But I swear, and I know this sounds nuts, but I don’t think he’s a cat?”

Louis’ heart thumps. The tall one laughs. “If this is about calling him Treacle-”

“He’s just not a Treacle!”

“-you lost the right to an opinion when you folded against two pairs.”

“Another week and your reign of terror ends.” There’s a pause. “And it’s not about the name, although you’re completely wrong, Haz. He should be called, like… Sparta. Or Thor, or something. You heard how he went for Liam.” 

Louis’ nose twitches with satisfaction. He would make an excellent Thor.

I'd love to see what you're all working on now, plus @reminiscingintherain @pocketsunshineharry and @jiksax if you want!

[louloubabys1992]

my louis rare pair fic!

When you love someone, you make room

Jamie Cambell Bower x Louis Tomlinson

‘’Liking the view?’’

‘’Like your eyes actually,’’ Jamie says which…surprises him. He tilts his head, back and realizes how tall Jamie is up close. Their height difference is almost staggering.

‘’First thing I noticed across the room,’’ Jamie informs him.

‘’My eyes?’’

‘’They’re really pretty,’’ Louis is surprised again when Jamie turns shy, eyes cutting away, like him calling Louis’ eyes pretty is something of a secret. ‘’Surely you must have been told that by a lot of admirers,’’

-Jamie Campell Bower is a big deal, of that Louis is sure. He's a walking charmer with a jawline to die for. So, it's a bit of a surprise when Jamie looks his way, let alone approaches him to chat him up. Now that, Louis finds very, very interesting.

part of the @louisrarepairfest

Check out my new fic :D

@sunflowervolh @larryfanfiction @hsgucciking @soldouthaz @fallinglikethis @lululawrence @allwaswell16 @thelarrylibrary @theisolatedlily @mediawhorefics @travelingwinchester @ohpleaselarry @mercurial-madhouse

@hometothecanyonmoon @pocketsunshineharry @hereforlou @2tiedships2

@blouisparadise @zannithinks @falsegoodnight ​ @haztobegood​ @hsgucciking @starsweredible @thepolourryexpress

[lululawrence]

7/7/7

i'm behind on everything so i'm treating this as my way of posting a snippet AND the 7/7/7 challenges i've been tagged in recently haha i'm sorry i've been so bad at this but that's how it goes i guess haha

so i was tagged for snippets or 7/7/7 recently by a glorious collection of authors: @allwaswell16, @imogenleefic, @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed, @absoloutenonsense, @kingsofeverything, @alwaysxlarrie, @muldxr, @nouies, @crinkle-eyed-boo, and @boosbabycakes28 (and probably others, but these are the ones i found from the past month eek)

Rules: When you're tagged, go to one of your WIPs. Start on the 7th line of the 7th page and share the next 7 sentences without any context. Then, tag 7 other writers to do it as well.

this is actually a bit spoilery because the fic barely has 8 pages hahaha but it'll post for @wankersday so it's fine right? hahaha ENJOY

Laughing a little and hanging his head, Louis said, “I’ve only been working myself up to finally saying it since forever.”

“What? Really?” 

“Yes!” Louis cried, shaking his head. “Literally all of our friends know just how long I’ve been waiting to make my move. I really thought you knew.”

Harry shook his head.

and with that i tag... @londonfoginacup @becomeawendybird @disgruntledkittenface @marastarfar @greenfeelings @mercurial-madhouse and @beelou if you're so inclined!