#mild case of unreliable narrator

[cementcornfield]

https://x.com/nfl/status/1782846910639771878?s=46&t=4nsvGMTnbYsCN_2D0a2rJg

So the text changed?!!?

lol at least it isnt drastically different and there's no lying about lying here 🥲

the point remains that they texting the whole time really 🥲

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Oct 6th

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1. Hello. I’m hoping you can help me find a fic. In it Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are poisoned at Jinlintai and fake their deaths. Their bodies are brought back to the ancestral hall at cloud recesses and they escape and live away from the cultivation world for many years. Theres two parts and in the second part the sect leaders come to their mountain thinking immortals live there and asking for help dealing with problems they can’t solve. (Ie The Lan sect is dealing with resentful ghost). Thanks!! @vegdawn

FOUND? To live with no regrets Series by Lyna_Mei (E, 96k, WIP, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, Canon Divergence, Angst, Self-Esteem Issues, Golden Core Reveal, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Developing Relationship, non-consensual marriage, CQL-Verse, Case Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Cultivation Sect Politics, Cultivation World Critical, Not JGY Friendly, Family Feels, Found Family, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian)

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2. hi this is for the fic finder! i’m looking for a fic i read which i’m pretty sure is completed. it should be wangxian, modern au, and i think wwx was living alone (maybe estranged from the jiangs?) and i think mo xuanyu and xue yang were kid brothers who lived in his building that came to hang out with him sometimes? and he was sorta like a big brother to them? this wasn’t a major plot point but it was definitely there. and a-yuan may or may not have been there, either living with wwx or the wens in the same building. does anyone know what this is?

FOUND? Visitations by Vir_Abelasan (M, 18k, WIP, WangXian, past XiYao, Modern AU, Corporate Espionage, Post-Divorce, Reconciliation, Father-Son Relationship, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Custody Arrangements, Not a revenge fic, Past Abuse)

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3. Looking for a highly specific fic where WWX is forced to wear scantily clad armour that only covers his nipples and man-bits as a punishment by Madam Yu. Wangxian encounter each other in a night-hunt sort of thing, but its not set in the jianghu but an AU where its more fantasy magic with warlocks, that sort of thing? There is a specific scene where WWX has to go change the armor and it hurts alot and makes LWJ very sad and angry at madam yu?? GOSH HELP its been stuck in my head foreverr thank u

FOUND? 🔒 His Knight in Shining Armour by celerydragon (E, 23k, WangXian, dead dove do not eat, Curses, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Slut Shaming, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, yu furen sucks, protective lwj, Hurt/Comfort, Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, mild dirty talk, Biting, Outdoor Sex)

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4. Hello, I am looking for an AO3 Fix it Fic where all the sects bring gifts to the Burial Mounds to compete showing who is the most generous. @hopefulbeardface-blog

FOUND? The Untamed: A Dinner to Remember by YenGirl (Not Rated, 33k, WangXian, XuanLi, post sunshot, Indulgent Fic, Feed WY & the Wen survivors, Some angst, Some humour, Dinner is about family and love, Some Fluff, Soft Boys, Manly Tears, JGS is still greedy, Possible OOC-ness, No hundred holes curse, Unreliable Narrator, accidental heroes, Some violence and gore in Chap 9, Redeemed JGY, Redeemed SS)

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5. HI!!!this is for a fic finder, it had madam yu as a super toxic parent idrm bt maybe she was also abusive, she sends wwx to this school owned by the lans and i think theres 2 divisions, 1 for the smart kids and one for the delinquents

the school is super weird and strict , lqr is especially mean to wwx and all the staff is aswell and they do horrible things to him and in the end i think lxc exposes his uncles school?? wwx and lzh get tg to.

Thankyou!! @jnxi839

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6. Hi! For FicFinder

The fic I'm looking for is canon divergence, I believe. I can't remember if it had time travel or not, but Wei Ying left the Jangs before the war. I think there was focus on his inventions. The only clear details I can remember are the Jins giving him multiple chests full of gold, and them sending him someone to his rooms in the night. The person gets caught in an array at the door. Also, there were two Lans assigned to help Wei Ying. Thanks in advance! @rens-shadow

FOUND? Just go forward like you mean it by tawaen (M, 101k, WangXian, WWX & WN &WQ, WWX & JYL, NHS & WWX, Canon Divergence, WWx does not attend the Wen indoctrination, WWX saves Lotus Pier, Inventor WWX, No Golden Core Transfer, Sect Leader JYL, JC Has No Golden Core, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not JC Friendly, but he gets a happier ending than canon so don’t look here for bashing)

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7. Fic finder please!🙏

A wlw wangxian where LWJ was self conscious about her body bc LQR wasn’t really helpful when she was going through puberty and bought her too small bras and stuff and then she meets wwx, much later on who encourages her to wear what she likes and love her body. There’s a scene with them on the couch cuddling and idk how it ends bc ao3 went down and I lost my tab!! 😭😭😭

FOUND? your lips, my lips, apocalypse by lily_winterwood (E, 12k, WangXian, Modern, Fashion & Models, College/University, Lingerie, Burlesque, Rule 63, partial genderswap, Not Everyone is Cisswapped, Nonbinary Character, Trans Male Character, Female LWJ, Female WWX, Trans LXC, References to conservative Chinese family values, Mild Transphobia, Body Dysphoria, Self-Esteem Issues, Brief reference to eating disorders, Sexism, Pining, Filial Piety, Masturbation, Cunnilingus, Gender Changes)

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8. fic finder help! there is a modern fic where lan zhan and Wei ying are best friends and the fic starts off with Wei ying asking lan zhan to call off work to play hooky for the day. eventually we find out Wei ying quit his job (he's working with the jiangs). it was part of a series I think. @the-marathon-continues-nip

FOUND! in good time by magicianprince (T, 11k, WangXian, Slice of Life, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Modern AU, modern with cultivation (pretty background tho), lwj has a cat, and some unresolved feelings! oh boy, "in good time" by magicianprince [Podfic] by The_Grynne)

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9. Looking for a fic where lan xichen and possibly lan qiren? go into a meeting with the elders, who have been giving Wei wuxian a hard time, and they hand out lists of rules that the elders have each individually have broken @lonelyreverances-corner

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10. hi i have a request: i want to find fanfic which included older lan wangji (i think he was older by 7 years) who meets wei wuxian in yiling and it is their first meeting. he and lan xichen are twins and it is mostly focused on lwj visiting burial mounds and wy and lz have a sex not long after they meet first time. i think it counted from 20 to 30 (or 35) chapters and it also had 18+ fanarts

FOUND? Awaiting Your Return by Karmiya (E, 126k, WangXian, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, the opposite of slow burn, Found Family, Canon Divergence, Age Difference, discussions of wwx's canonical abusive childhood)

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11. Hi! I'm looking for a fic (I think it may be a series of fics) where Wei Wuxian was accused of spying on Lan Corp. I think this is one where Lan Wangji believes in him the entire time and leaves his family over the accusations. I don't remember if he served any time or not, but the truth comes out that he was innocent (thanks in part to NHS). WWX and LWJ live with Wens, started a company with them, and live in the same building with them.

FOUND?🔒 moonlight falls Series by RoseThorne (T, 19k, WangXian, Modern, Found Family, Corporate Espionage, Bunnies, Adoption, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, References to Depression, Anxiety, Blind Character, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Confrontations, Bad Parent LQR, Dissociation, Mental Health Issues, Anniversary, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Emotional Constipation, Communication Failure, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC is Trying, WWX Needs a Hug, Implied/Referenced Sex, Food Sex, Friendship, Reconciliation, Psychological Trauma)

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12. hi! i am looking for a fic that is a juniors time-travel fix it. i know they go back in time to right before jin zixuan gets killed and save him, the juniors reveal that wangxian are married in the future, and then also there is a scene where jin zixuan and jiang yanli tell older jin ling that he is their son, too, even though baby jin ling is there. thank you so much! @whenstarsignite

FOUND! ❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

NOT FOUND! Time, Time, Time by skeletonofaplant (G, 44k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LSZ & WWX, JYL & JL & JZX, LJY & LSZ, Time Travel Fix-It, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Angst, Fluff, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Time Travelling Junior Ensemble, Junior Ensemble Shenanigans, Humor)

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13. Hi! I'm looking for two fics. I think I initially saw B on this page, but I can't find it anywhere

A) A meteor crashed near college student WWX’s house, where he finds a shape-shifting bunny/toddler alien A-Yuan. LWJ is also a different kind of alien.

B) I think it takes place in a camp after defeating the Wen. JGY spikes the Lan's tea with alcohol. LWJ and WWX spend the night together, but by morning the Jiang siblings think it was noncon. Eventually JGY confesses that it was JGS's idea to serve alcohol.

13A)

FOUND! Lost and Found by diamondbruise (E, 52k, WangXian, Modern AU, Aliens, Slow Burn, Alien LWJ, Crack Treated Seriously, Soulmates, Kid Fic…..kind of, i use that tag very loosely, Masturbation, Rough Sex, canon typical cnc elements, Happy Ending)

13B)

FOUND! The Teapot Plot by ToxicAngel13 (M, 52k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Misunderstandings, Plots, protective Jiang siblings, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Idiots in Love, Damn Jins, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Pre-Burial Mounds, Potential for M-Preg, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Idiots Everywhere, LWJ ’s Biting Kink, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Protective LWJ, Protective WQ, JGS is his own warning, Protective JYL)

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14. hiya! for the fic finder, i'm struggling to find a fic i read a few months ago - not sure if it's been deleted or not. i am fairly certain it was an a/b/o au where wwx was carrying lwj's kid by the time he ended up in the burial mounds and basically he kept control of the spirits by asking the female ghosts to help him protect him unborn baby. wen qing also refused to take his golden core because of the baby and jiang cheng ended up with wen ning's core instead going into the sunshot campaign. the wen siblings and the wen remnants live in this au and help wwx raise his daughter after she's born. somewhere along the way wwx tells his siblings and lwj about his daughter too.

second fic i've been looking for, but not as much of a priority to me as the first one, all i remember about this one was lwj found out about wwx giving up his core almost immediately after it happened and wwx lets lwj help him sooner. one scene i remember was wwx and jiang cheng were arguing and jiang cheng uses zidian on wwx and mortally wounds him and stops wwx heart (i think?)

thank you for your help in advance! <3

14A)

FOUND! 🧡 Don’t Wanna Fall by nekojita (M, 111k, WangXian, Mpreg, A/B/O, Fix-it, Lots of pining, Angst with a happy ending, Canon Divergence, Child thief WN)

14B)

FOUND! these colours fade for you only by doodlebutt (T, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everybody Lives, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, …eventually, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, bed sharing, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Sunshot Campaign)

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15. Hi! This is for fic finder. There are 2 fic that i want to read

A) It short fic. JYL and WWX likes to play the "xianxian is 3 years old". I dont remember how but NMJ knows and ask to join with NHS. JYL give them permission, thinking it was like a play between her and WWX. Then they (JYL and WWX) found out it was different. Between JYL and WWX is like a play pretend but between NMJ and NHS is different in a way that NHS transform into a 3 years old child

B) The story is between yunmeng trio and nie sibs. JGY wants to make the nies and jiangs enemy. He then found out that NHS didnt have a single blood of nie. In the discussion conference, he invite nhs blood aunt that thinking nhs deserve better than become the second young master of the nie and revealed that nhs is jfm child not the former nie's sect leader. I only remember that

Thanks

15A)

FOUND? Little by nirejseki (T, 3k, NHS & JC & WWX & NMJ, Age Regression/De-Aging, Non-Sexual Age Play, Misunderstandings)

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16. I'm hoping you guys can help me find a fic I vaguely remember. It was fox!wwx and I think he was in an arranged marriage to lwj, but before he left he cut off a tail and left it as a present for JC to find (I think) when he got back to Lotus Pier.

I think I've read #16, was the Jiangs doing a silk/cloth dyeing business and JYL was super sick, and Wei ying was conscripted to be part of the search for a mate for prince ? I'll try to find it if it is

FOUND! #16 reminds me of the deleted "Bleeding Bones, Aching Hearts " by scarletmoontears. Do you remember if Wei Ying was a war general of Yunmeng Jiang and was sent as a warprize to the Lans?

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17. Hi!! I'm looking for a fic. This is a Modern AU where WWX fakes his death (I think because of Madam Yu) and LWJ sends him voice and text messages during his grieving process. Everything changes when WWX accidentally answers one of those messages and LWJ finds out he's not dead. I don't recall more. Thank you so much for your help!! @fantasiacoral-blog

FOUND? Love Don’t Belong To Me by airinshaw (E, 28k, WangXian, Modern, Getting Together, Kissing, Intercrural Sex, Light Angst, Happy Ending, PTSD, Panic Attack, WWX’s canonical self-esteem issues, Canonical Child Abuse, not as dark as the tags imply, Past Relationships mention)

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18. Hello! This if for a fic finder

A) mo xuanyu is a ghost that stays with wwx i think he and wwx can both be concious in the body? Idrm much but it was wwx/mxy/lwj

B) this was a modern au lan jingyi came out to his parents or something like that and they gor abusive , jiangcheng ends up adopting jingyi or smth like that they tale him to a doctor too I remember jiangcheng and lan xichen were dating

18A)

FOUND? Serrated by InkSplatterM and MrMissMrsRandom (E, 194k, WangXianYu, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Gore, Past Abuse, Canon Divergence, MXY Lives, spirit possession, 2/3 men are virgin idiots, WWX is an emotional dunce, MXY is gay and tired, LWJ finds his heart is very large, Discussions of Suicide, Suicide Attempt, victim self-blame, Panic Attacks, mentions of past sexual abuse, PTSD, Past Rape/Non-con, Masturbation, Voyeurism, Outdoor Sex, Exhibitionism, light cum play, Praise Kink, gentle dirty talk, D/s elements, Under-negotiated Kink, Dom MXY, Sub LWJ)

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19. Hello! I'm looking for a modern au fic wherein i think lwj and wwx are roommates. wwx is writing a paper on the effect of spanking on children and asks lwj to spank him to experience it firsthand. i think there's a couple of instances where wwx forgets to clear out the sink and stuff and gets spanked for it and then gets aftercare??? i think there's some dialogue that goes like "my hand. no french. over the couch" idk?? I cannot seem to find it

FOUND! "The Efficacy of Spanking on Behavioural Change" by redscudery (E, 15k, WangXian, SL/WWX, Platonic BDSM, Oblivious WWX, Spanking, we all know this is not platonic, With One Exception, Bisexual Disaster WWX, Light Dom/sub, not a single brain cell was consulted, Boys Kissing, Boys In Love, Getting Together, First Time, Lube Shenanigans, mild alcohol and marijuana use, Non-graphic vomiting, big bisexual awakenings r us, Love Confessions, Modern, Canada)

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20. Hi I would like to ask if you know the title of the story in ao3 that I read back then. It’s like burial mound setting, they made a village inside the Burial Mounds but it’s hidden in the rock and no one can enter but then they invited Lan Xichen in their home. Thank you have a nice day ahead!

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[bloodfin]

✭・.・✫

Rain Ghoul x Dewdrop Ghoul x Phantom Ghoul (plus some background polyghouls)

Rated: E for Explicit, 18+ only

Word Count: 4.347

Summary: Dew spills some wine on Rain's pretty moonrise outfit; shenanigans ensue

Pronoun tags for this fic: She/Her Rain, He/Him Dewdrop, He/They Phantom (everyone has a dick today)

Warnings: pre-existing relationships (and therefore pre-existing kink negotiations), ma'am kink, mommy kink, alcohol consumption, blood kink/drinking, spitting, aether is always a little stressed (and gets called daddy once), handjob, blowjob, anal fingering, spit as lube, anal sex, dumbification, come play, come eating, there is so much come, praise kink, knotting, breeding kink (very mild and only if you squint but just in case), horribly unreliable narrator, no beta we die like nihil; as is typical of my writing sensitive kink (mommy in this case) has been italicized and bolded for easy skipping - i know this isn't a kink for everyone, please keep yourself safe

Author’s Note: as always please mind the tags and don't read if anything squicks you out! i fear my brainrot is now terminal and i am making that everyone else's problem (sorry). if i missed a tag in the warnings or you think i should add something please let me know - i try and be thorough! enjoy, share what you can, and be well ~

additional disclaimer: this is about literal demons straight from hell and has absolutely nothing to do with the actual band members of Ghost, unless someone dyed themselves blue or gold and we all missed it

read on ao3

Vernal equinox had passed, but the ghouls were still in celebration mode, the walls of the den overflowing with small paper flowers. The pink moon was due to rise - the first full moon of spring always cause for extra celebration. It was welcomed around the abbey by all members for ushering in growth and change, solidifying partnerships of all sorts. 

Phantom, Aurora, and Dew decorated while Sunshine and Cirrus cooked, the den slowly filling with the warm smell of freshly baked bread. Mountain and Aether were arranging the plants to best receive the moon's energy, while Swiss and Cumulus worked on setting up a large nest in the center of the den. 

The only one absent from the preparations was Rain, but her packmates were certain that she would come by when she was ready if she felt so called. Every moonrise was different, but this moon in particular had a strong effect on her. Sometimes the pull was so intense she would spend the evening at the bottom of the lake worshiping in her own way, or she would slink away with the other water ghouls of the abbey. 

Today, however, she wanted to play with her pack, painting her face with a gentle pink blush and lipstick. It stood out beautifully against her navy-freckled teal skin, making her sharp teeth seem even brighter. She hummed at her reflection once she finished smudging her eyeliner, the red she put on the waterline bleeding into faded black. Predatory. 

Rain was flicking through her closet when the smell of dinner wafted under her door, her ears flickering once they picked up on the sound of quiet laughter. She huffed, passing over dress after dress, jumpsuit after crop top, nothing feeling quite right or looking as powerful as the moon was making her feel. She was fiddling with her belly ring when her eyes landed on a small black skirt next to the laundry that she had been meaning to return. One more wear wouldn’t make her anymore late on giving the clothing back to its rightful owner, right? 

“Perfect,” she smiled to herself, wriggling into the skintight black leather miniskirt, sporting a slit that left absolutely no thigh to the imagination. It hugged every part of her perfectly, highlighting where her cock was straining against a too small pair of panties. Once satisfied with its placement she put on a black lace bandeau, followed by a sheer black crop top. 

The only thing missing was shoes, and she slipped into pink heels that matched her lipstick before heading out the door, her tail wagging slowly through the air. 

When she rounded the corner into the den’s common room the air shifted, the whole pack taking a collective breath when they saw her. 

“Wow,” Swiss whispered under his breath, his foot tapping rapidly under the table. 

“Mo- mo- mom-m-” 

Phantom was stuttering, frozen in place before Cumulus clapped her hand over his mouth, whispering in their ear. 

“She will eat you alive baby. Let her get settled, she just got here.” 

Their ears started to twitch like he was going to make a move, but when they saw how Rain's teeth seemed to glow in the light he nodded, leaning into Cumulus's side, content to watch for the moment. Dew, however, was not. He wanted Rain near him always, and especially now. 

Dew was probably a little too inebriated to be attempting anything close to chivalry, but anytime he saw Rain like this his brain deflated while his blood supply funneled south. 

“Saved you a chair, beautiful,” he hummed, standing to pull out the seat beside his own. 

He should have left his glass on the table, really, but the thought didn't cross his mind until he bumped into Rain, burgundy wine sloshing out of his glass to drip down her exposed stomach. The room was still, Mountain having sucked in a sharp breath while Aether started to stand, readying himself to intervene. The sparkle of Dew's skin began to fade as his face fell, turning to run into the kitchen for a towel. 

He didn't make it very far, Rain's hand reaching out to grab the back of his neck. She pulled him back and pushed him to his knees, leaning on the chair. 

“Clean your mess, Dewdrop.” 

Aether breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back into his chair while the color returned to Phantom's face, eager to see what was next. His tail thumped quietly on their chair. 

Dew looked at Rain for a brief moment before dropping his head, speaking quickly. 

“Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am.” 

Rain's eyes dilated and her fingers flexed, breath stuttering for just a moment when Dew’s hot tongue met the cool skin of her stomach, lapping up the wine. He made sure to clean around the band of her skirt first, knowing how much she hated stains. 

Once he felt the area was thoroughly cleaned he delicately worked his way to her belly button, wrapping his tongue around the glittery, dangling jewelry and sucking it clean. He tongued around the attached belly chains, not wanting to miss a single drop. There was a quiet moan from behind them, but Dew didn't dare lift his eyes, focusing instead on the beautiful creature before him.

Rain stuck her hand out and Cirrus placed Dew's half spilled glass of wine into it, complimenting her skirt. 

She smiled while she swirled the glass in her hand, bringing it to her nose for a quick sniff. 

“Thank you, I've been meaning to return it -” 

Cirrus's laugh sounded like little bells in the wind. 

“Please, keep it. You look better in it then I do.” 

Rain smiled and bent to the side, knocking their horns together. “You're too sweet to me Cici, I'll be sure to properly thank you later.” 

She smiled back, blowing her a soft kiss before returning her attention back to Mountain, tugging him from the table and towards the nest. Chairs scraped on the floor as everyone shuffled around, still watching Rain and Dew’s exchange.  

Rain studied the glass of wine in her hand, turning it slowly. It was her favorite one, thick and full bodied, a few citrus notes at the end. 

Expensive. 

“How many dicks did you have to suck to get this?” 

Dew shrugged while lapping at her cool skin. It didn’t matter to him so he didn't keep count, he would do anything for his mate. Anything to see her smile, even if he wasn't sure she'd attend the evening festivities. 

“Four,” Sunshine giggled from Cumulus's lap. Rain purred, licking the tips of her fangs. 

Dew had finished his task and was sitting back on his heels, looking up to watch Rain take another sip of the wine. His tongue darted out from between his lips with a quiet whimper. Rain looked down at him, one perfectly done brow raised. 

“Need more?” 

Dew nodded his head rapidly before opening his mouth wide, groaning when Rain slipped her thumb into his mouth, pulling at his cheek. She took a large sip of wine before setting the glass down, bending at the waist to bring her lips to Dew's. His sharp gag as he struggled to swallow triggered a series of muffled groans and the slick sounds of hands meeting wet skin. 

“Thank you ma'am,” he panted, struggling to speak around her thumb. He rolled his head to the side, exposing his thick veins and the silvery scars of their prior couplings. 

“Got plenty for you, too, if you need.” 

Dew often begged to be bitten where his gills once were, aching to feel something there again. But now he was offering in submission, to let Rain take what she needed under the power of the moon. 

Her tongue darted out of the corner of her mouth as she looked him up and down. 

With a quick nod of her head Dew was scrambling towards the nest, quickly divesting himself of his clothes as he went. She slowly followed him, sinking to her knees to pull his back to her chest, running her nose along his neck. 

“Please,” Dew sighed, flexing his claws against his thighs.

Rain inhaled deeply against his cinnamon-scented skin, fangs fully dropping before she sank them into the crook of his neck, blood quickly filling her mouth. He groaned low, the pitch only going higher when she took his hard cock into her hand, slowly stroking him from root to tip as she drank. 

“Rainy,” Aether warned gently from across the nest, voice cracking with the way Swiss had his mouth wrapped around his cock. 

She pulled herself from Dew's neck, licking at the corner of her mouth to gather a drop of his shimmering blood. 

“Don’t worry so much daddy, Dewdrop knows his limits. Would never hurt him more than he wants, promise.” 

“All good Aeth,” Dew agreed, raising a thumbs up which quickly dropped back to the pillows with a loud purr when Rain started to clean the wounds at his neck. Her tongue slowly worked around each puncture, her fist mimicking the movements of her mouth against the quickly darkening head of his cock. 

Aether nodded and fell back on his elbows, digging his fingers into Swiss’s hair, determined to enjoy the first night off in… a while. But a set of eyes still remained fully planted on Rain and Dew, the movement of a flickering tail catching her attention from the corner of her eye. 

“You okay bug? Not in the mood to play?” 

Dew barely opened his eyes, biting into his lower lip with a groan as Rain gently stroked him. 

“Wanted to watch, if that's okay with you both mm-ma'am.” 

Dew was nodding before he even finished their sentence, and Rain was grinning like a shark, Dew's crimson blood smeared all over her lips and chin. She didn't miss the way Phantom's eyes dropped to her mouth, watching her lick another spot clean. 

“Just want to watch?” 

Phantom blinked hard before forcing their eyes away from the mess, chewing at the corner of his lip. 

“He um… He just smells really good.” 

“Would you like a taste, sweetness?” 

Phantom nodded eagerly, eyes back on her mouth. “Please ma'am, please.” 

Rain beckoned him over with two crooked fingers, stifling a laugh at the eager way Phantom's tongue licked across her chin. Dew whined in her lap, quickly hushed by the drag of her pre soaked fingers up his chest to toy with the bar running through his nipple. 

Phantom hummed as he licked at her lips and chin, quiet thank you's between their breaths. 

“So polite,” Rain smiled, holding his chin to kiss them deep and slow. Phantom groaned when she slipped her tongue into their mouth, filling him with the taste of a beachside bonfire and hot iron. It was intoxicating, and they would let her have every ounce of air in his lungs if they could stay just like this forever. 

When they broke apart Phantom was a panting mess, claws digging into his own thighs. 

“Thank you mommy -” 

They paused, blinking his eyes and shaking their head to clear it. 

“Sorry thank you mommy -”

Another huff, trying to hide a whine that would rival Dew's. 

“I'm sorry momm- ma’am. Thank you ma’am.” 

Rain just smiled as she twisted Dew’s nipple between her fingers, his keen cutting through the heavier sounds of fucking that had filled the room. The way her head was tilted probably should've sent Phantom running, but instead his cock kicked against their thigh, a shiver running up his back. 

“So dumb you're having trouble speaking and I've only kissed you. Don't worry sweet little bug, mommy will take good care of you.” 

Phantom choked on their inhale as pre blurted on his leg, and Dew whined even louder, drawing Rain's attention back to him. His cock was weeping freely, begging for release while she kept teasing at his chest, working her other hand under his chin to turn him towards her. 

“Did you lose your words too?” 

Dew groaned when she started to slide her hand back towards his cock, lifting his hips to try and meet her. 

“You know I love your voice Dewdrop, if you need a moment you can watch Phantom and I play for a while.” 

Phantom's tail smacked against the pillows so quickly it sounded like someone running down the hall. Dew shook his head, voice just starting to splinter with need. 

“No ma'am, need you. Need you please.” 

“What do you need,” she cooed, pushing a lock of golden hair behind his half drooped ears. 

“Want - need your cock, your knot. Need you to fill me ‘til I swell with you, please, need you so bad.” 

Rain hummed, tapping her fingers along Dew's length while he squirmed. Phantom crept closer, kneeling in front of the pair, fangs poking into their lower lip. 

She paused, looking across both Phantom and Dew, finally settling on an idea. 

“Phantom, sweetness, you're being so good. Do you want a nice hot dick in your mouth?” 

“Please, mommy.” 

“Excellent,” she purred, kneeling tall behind Dew as she folded him to the floor.

“Why don't you come get this skirt off, without ripping it, while I get Dew all worked open hm?” 

They smiled so wide Rain was sure his ears would fall off, scrambling to her side to examine the zipper. With careful fingers Phantom undid the clasp, gently sliding the zipper down while watching Rain run her nails down Dew's back, making him arch. 

He leaned in close to her to work the band of the skirt down, breath hitching when they caught the gentle scent of orange blossoms on a sea breeze. Rain was always dangerous, the sharp iridescent scales that framed her face and joints were a reminder of that. But right now, she was deadly. 

A whine bubbled up from their throat when the band of her skirt caught on her cock, unable to bring it any lower. Rain glanced down to find Phantom gently pawing at her, looking up at her with big sad eyes. 

“Wanna be good and help you, but it's stuck. Don't wanna ruin your pretty skirt.” 

“Sweet little bug.” 

She smiled as she stood, gently ruffling their mop of hair before letting the skirt pool around her ankles. She stepped out of it and her shoes, returning to her spot behind Dew. Phantom's mouth watered at the sight of her cock hard and leaking into delicate pink lace, barely contained. 

She brought two fingers to his lips, tapping them as she spoke. 

“Get these nice and wet for me, then you can have a taste.” 

Dew groaned loud, wrapping his tail around Rain's free wrist. He pushed his ass further up, hips swaying slightly. 

Phantom moaned around Rain's fingers, wrapping their tongue around her long digits while sucking at the tips. When they pulled away he made sure to leave a thick line of saliva up her fingers, watching with rapt attention as she smeared it around with her thumb. 

She nodded her head towards Dew's exposed hole, telling him to spit. They were happy to oblige, sticky with want themselves, aching to make Rain happy. He trilled when she hummed with approval, bringing her wet fingers to Dew's hole, pressing the tip of her index finger inside. Dew's gasp was anything but quiet. 

“You're both being so good for me,” Rain praised, shifting on her legs to make the bulge of her cock more prominent. Phantom couldn't help the thin line of saliva that dripped from their fangs and down his chin. 

“Come have a taste, Ant.” 

Phantom eagerly licked across his lips, dipping down to settle against Rain's lap. They began to mouth at her cock through her already too wet panties, running his tongue up and down her length. She purred low, her free hand working into their hair while the other pressed into Dew. 

“Just the best bug, sweetest little thing,” she cooed. 

“Rainy,” Dew whined, wiggling back onto her fingers. “I need -” 

She curled her finger up, stroking against his prostate while shushing him gently. 

“I know baby, I know.” 

Dew adjusted his arms so he could rest his face against them, his back making a pretty arch. His golden skin always seemed to glitter most in dim light; he’d certainly be glowing once the moon fully rose.. Rain hummed as she worked a second finger into him, quickly followed by a third. She scissored them as much as she could, making sure Dew was starting to stretch. He was already leaking, a leftover trait from his time as a water ghoul, the slick sound filling the space. 

Phantom moaned at the sight, his drool further wetting Rain's cock. She rolled her hips gently against their chin, his attention quickly returning to suckling at her tip. 

“Please,” Dew whimpered, claws flexing into whatever poor cushion he latched on to, “ready for you now. Need to feel you, want it to ache.” 

Rain purred as she pulled her fingers from Dew, her other hand still nested in Phantom’s curls. 

“Don't worry baby, it's coming. Being so good for me. Showing off for Phantom, huh? Showing them how good you can be?” 

“Only for you ma'am,” Dew sighed, wiggling his little hips. 

Rain pinched at his nearly non-existent ass cheek before returning her attention back to Phantom, gently pulling him away from her cock. 

“Do you want to watch, or would you like to play with Dew?” 

Dew trilled, his answer obvious. Phantom had the sense to at least look like he was thinking about it before planting a kiss to her cheek and shuffling towards Dew's head, settling on their knees in front of him. 

Dew stretched out as much as he could, wrapping first his fist and then his tongue around Phantom's cock. Plum-flushed like Aether gets, although the purple was swirled with grey instead of gold. He hissed when Dew took them into his mouth, head dropping back at the heat of his tongue. 

Rain smirked as she watched them, taking her own cock in hand and pressing the head to Dew's hole. He leaned back into her, stretching himself between his partners, urging her to give him more. 

She wrapped her long fingers around the base of his tail and tugged, using the extra leverage to slide inside with a guttural moan. Dew responded with one of his own, muffled by Phantom pushing themself deeper down his throat. 

“Not gonna last,” Phantom grumbled, his hand locked around Dew's bun. “Feels too good.” 

“Mhm I know,” Rain smiled, rolling her hips to drive her cock straight against Dew's prostate. He popped off of Phantom with a little whine of protest, his breathing heavy when she began to pull at his puffy nipples. 

“Dewy isn't gonna last so long either, huh baby?” 

She asked with a particularly hard thrust into him, Phantom's eyes wide watching Dew's roll back into his head. They pulled from Dew’s mouth to rest for a moment, unwillingly to reach his end so soon. Dew’s mouth was legendary for a reason, after all. 

“Go ahead, get that pretty mouth on Dew's little cock, he wants it so bad.” 

Rain's words pulled them from their trance, blinking a few times with his head tilted just to the side before nodding quickly, shuffling back down to take Dew to the back of his throat. 

Rain wrapped one of her arms around Dew's waist and the other tangled back into Phantom's hair, rubbing gently at the sensitive skin behind their ear. Dew's hands were everywhere, flying from Rain's head to Phantom's, digging in his own thighs and pressing on Rain's, lifting his hips to help guide her into that perfect spot while desperately trying to not choke Phantom. 

She didn’t need the help, she knew Dew's body as well as she knew her own. Maybe better, even, with the way she had him moaning while dragging her cock over the perfect spot. Each roll of her hips was punctuated by one of his breathy sighs, adding to the cacophony of the room. 

Phantom for his part was chirping happily, licking long trails across the thick veins on the underside of Dew’s cock. When Rain pushed them forward he happily followed, swallowing around Dew's length with a pleased hum. Rain cooed at him from over Dew's shoulder, scratching behind his ear again before grabbing the back of his head. 

“Tap twice if you need to breathe, yeah?” 

Phantom brought his tail up and tapped the spade twice against her hand, rolling their hips gently into the nest of blankets below him. 

Rain smiled that far too toothy grin, thrusting into Dew and driving his cock further into Phantom's throat. Dew was all but jelly between them, held up by Rain's arm around his waist and Phantom’s hand pressed into his chest, his tail slowly tangling with Rain's in search of something more to hold onto. 

Phantom's tongue was good, great actually, Dew's thoughts on the matter filling the space as choked off babbling. When Phantom wrapped their tongue underneath Dew's head and sucked Dew was certain he'd open his eyes and be back in the pit, unholy pleasure running hot in his veins. 

Rain hooked her chin over Dew's shoulder, nuzzling at the space below his ear. 

“Don't swallow sweetness, let him dribble out of your mouth, down your face. That okay?” 

Phantom moaned in affirmation around Dew's length, nodding his head as best he could. It wouldn't be long now, Dew's balls were heavy in their hands, getting tighter with every thrust of Rain's hips driving him further into their mouth. 

She drove harder into him, and Dew's hands fisted Phantom's soft hair right next to Rain’s. 

“Rain, Rain, Rainy, fuck -” 

Dew's voice went high until it broke off, dying out as he painted inside Phantom's mouth. Phantom hummed as he took every drop, careful to not swallow. Once Dew had stopped pulsing they pulled away, sitting back with their head slightly tilted slightly forward before smiling, Dew's spend trickling out of his mouth and down their neck. 

“Fucking nasty,” Rain mumbled, pressing herself hard against Dew, grinding her hips to his ass. “Just how you like it, huh?”  

Dew nodded in agreement, his voice breaking on every whimper Rain pulled from him as she chased her own release. 

“Lay back bug, slide closer to me.” 

Phantom melted for her, nearly pressing themself into Dew's chest before dropping onto his back, tail shifting to rest on Dew’s thigh. They moaned when Rain wrapped her talented hand around his length, back lifting from the pillows. 

“Haven't even been touched yet,” she cooed, and Phantom shook their head. “Such a good, patient little thing.” 

Phantom nodded hard, like he was trying to say waiting for you. 

“Whenever you like, sweetness.” 

Their voice was trapped in his throat, muffled by every unholy sound Rain could pull from them as she worked his cock at the same tempo she nailed Dew, who was putty at this point. He was limp in her arms, begging for her release, her knot. For everything, for nothing, for all of it at once. 

Phantom wasn't sure how long they'd last, and when Rain rubbed her finger across his slit to gather a pearl of pre just to taste it they knew it wouldn't be long. 

She hummed in pleasure at the tang of him, mixed with the carbonated vanilla of their benzoin scent. Her hand quickly returned, long manicured fingers wrapping around their length, pulling in the most devastating way. 

Phantom could feel their eyes crossing as he watched, Rain's hand firm against him, the other tight around Dew. They brought their tail to where Rain and Dew’s were tangled together, joining the heap. 

Dew was crying now, his cock hard again, gold skin glistening. He begged, Rain purred, Phantom tried to keep their claws to themself but he looked so pretty, eyes screwed tight under a crown of sweat, his golden bun no longer neat and tidy. So they reached out, grabbing Dew by the base, feeling his little knot start to inflate under their hand. And if Phantom thought Dew had been crying before, well… He was really going now. 

“Little bug is being so sweet to you, aren't they,” Rain purred, licking below the shell of Dew's ear as she slowly ground her knot into his rim. 

“Yeah, yeah you both are. Need it ma'am, need your knot, need to cum -” 

The movement of Rain's hips became more frantic as she pressed more firmly into Dew, hissing when his tight body finally swallowed her knot, enveloping her in delicious heat. Dew keened, high pitched and devastated as he came into Phantom's hand, a string of thankyouthankyouthankyou falling from his wine stained lips. 

Dew was babbling, words broken and punctuated with breathy moans. Phantom wasn't much quieter, egging Dew on with their own muttering. C'mon Dewy, come for mommy. Make a mess, make me a mess. 

Rain followed quickly, the squeeze of Dew around her knot too much, biting into his neck with a groan from the depths of her throat. 

Phantom wasn't sure what brought them to the edge. Dew's hot come, the scent of his blood, the noise Rain made when she slid fully into his body. Maybe it was the way her calloused fingers rubbed against their frenulum with a talent flick of her wrist. All he knew was that they were floating, high in space, coated from the chin down in their own and Dew's release. 

He stirred when they heard Rain shuffling on her knees, laying down next to them with Dew tight in her arms. He hissed a little at the shuffle but it was good natured, her knot still buried tight inside his hole. Dew shuffled a bit closer, admiring the mess that was Phantom before turning his head to bat his lashes at Rain. 

“Go ahead Dew,” Rain smiled, blood dotting her lips. “Clean up your mess.”

[radicalfemimist]

gonna delete my other interactions with That Person because I don’t think it’s worth arguing with them. and honestly I feel bad for the nice or like. the normal bisexuals because SO. many. of these bisexuals are aggressively annoying about it. every lesbian I know has had a bad run-in with a bisexual.

Because this particular bisexual person also seemed to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how writing fucking works in a way that makes me SO mad.

Because like— you can headcanon that any character with straight hair really has curly hair and straightens it. You can. Word of god can even confirm that’s the case! But that STILL doesn’t matter if canon doesn’t portray them with curly hair. Because even something as seemingly insignificant as curly hair is going to have a domino effect on the character.

If they straighten it, why? Are they insecure? Have they been made fun of? Is it because it’s too much work? Why does Word of God say they have curly hair, but none of their childhood pictures have curly hair? Why isn’t there a hair straightener in their bathroom?

If there’s none of those things— then the character doesn’t have fucking curly hair, now do they? Even if later in the series their hair becomes curly, is there any evidence to support that the hair is naturally curly? Do they have a hair regimen they follow? Do they have curly hairbrushes? Sleep in a bonnet? No? Then they’re not written to have curly hair.

Only thing is, romance is a whole fucking lot more noticeable than with ever or not they give a curly character a bonnet. Romance can make or break a story. And it’s pretty fucking important for the characters to be attracted to each other.

There are SO, so many ways to showcase sexual attraction. Even in kids shows, you can! And it doesn’t have to be with their endgame romance, either! Luz Noceda, a bisexual character written by a bisexual woman, shows attraction to Shirtless Angsty Boy, Edric and Emira and Amity, blatantly. The last of which is her endgame relationship. (Because if a bisexual character is ending up in a relationship, it’s waaay better to have it be a same-sex relationship— considering Lumity is probably why Disney cancelled the show in the first place.)

And like, for shows actually about adults— New Girl. All the men in this are bisexual. Nick Miller is definitely bisexual. It’s not stated explicitly, but he’s explicitly attracted to women and seems to have feelings towards men he is actively in-denial of. Psych — Shawn Spencer’s actor has literally said he played him to be bisexual, and it shows. I’ll believe he’s attracted to women for Abigail alone. I’ll believe he’s attracted to men for everything else.

I’ll believe Sokka is bisexual. His romances with Suki and Yue are believeable enough. Like, I’m not saying nothing can be bisexual— I AM saying that it has to actually be bisexual to be bisexual, though.

Anyway. Zuzu isn’t canonically gay but it makes more sense if he is and for a more compelling story— the fire nation is canonically homophobic, so if he’s gay then that’s another thing for his father to consider wrong about him, since he can’t fall in love with a woman. And Mike? Well, if he were bisexual he’d be a filthy, filthy cheater and I’m personally against media portraying bisexuals as cheaters. As it is, he’s like aggressively gay-coded.

And I am soooo tired of seeing bisexual Jamie Kelly allegations. I know hardly anyone seems to talk about these books but.

she’s LYING to you! she doesn’t actually have a crush on Hudson! She’s literally supposed to be an unreliable narrator. She calls him the 8th cutest boy in her school and calls Angeline the prettiest girl in the world. She thinks it should be illegal for girls to be too pretty. She went through a year-long phase as a kid of drawing nothing but naked Barbies. She describes Angeline as causing “everyone” to feel a “mild, but pleasant burning sensation.”

Like YES, yes it DOES offend me for people to interpret these characters as bisexual— and you know why? Because comphet is a universal gay experience. Because people STILL cite the comphet things I said as a kid as proof of my “heterosexuality”. There’s so many gay people who have been in straight relationships before, or who have pretended to have straight crushes.

If a character’s only proof of heterosexual attraction is comphet, then they’re not experiencing heterosexual attraction. If the only proof is a forced, stale straight romance that the writers threw in there effortlessly, of which the character is not shown to be into? Then that’s not a character experiencing heterosexual attraction.

[askmerriauthor]

Hyrule's Future - Letting Go of the Past

ToTK lore chatter, mild spoilers below the line break.

I've mentioned it before, but something I really enjoy about both BoTW and ToTK is how they've addressed the timeline as a whole. The games basically scoop up all the events of the past titles, toss them into a blender, and dump out the rendered scraps into a big pile together. So it's become unclear exactly how much of the established lore is actually true and how much of the Legend of Zelda is just actual legend.

This has some interesting implications for how exactly Hyrule will grow going forward from the BoTW/ToTK point, especially considering Nintendo has confirmed that the BoTW-style games is what they want to aim for as a series standard. It also makes for a facet of story telling specific to these games' direction that I really enjoy. That, for all the importance of history and heritage in the Legend of Zelda, the way forward is letting go and accepting change.

There's a bit of a gag going that Link is essentially the Tony Hawk of Hyrule, in that just about nobody recognizes him and he's constantly being "mistaken" for the Legendary Hero Link. NPCs flat-out don't know who he is at all, or brush it off as a funny coincidence he "just happens to have the same name as the Hero", or even gaslight themselves into refusing to believe he could be the genuine article. Very few NPCs in the game actually know who Link is, what he looks like, or properly acknowledge what he's done.

A bit of the same happens for Zelda. While it seems that everyone knows who she is by reputation, if nothing else, everyone is also very easily fooled by the doppelganger Zelda running around causing chaos post-Upheaval. Zelda is essentially a new entity in post-Calamity Hyrule; everyone knew of her as a legendary figure holding back Calamity Ganon, but actually having her around as a flesh-and-blood person working to build a new future for Hyrule is a new thing for the general population. So much so that, for the youngest and newest generations of kids in Hyrule, they don't really hold interest or reverence for the past whatsoever.

Another thing we come across around ToTK is rumors. Things like the fabled "Master Gourd", or characters gossiping about legendary beasts, weapons, and ghost stories. People fear the notion of a vengeful spirit lurking in the wilds, or a man speculates that the ghosts of slain Gerudo haunt the alleys of their town. Others dismiss the very idea of ghosts outright as fanciful nonsense and "unscientific" when there are very clearly actual ghosts in existence within the setting. The establishment of a newspaper and the ability to quickly spread long-form written information across Hyrule is a new thing and welcomed eagerly by the citizenry, but it's up to intrepid reporters and researchers to find the information to report. And, as is shown in several quests, sometimes they get things completely wrong and end up utterly confusing the whole situation.

What this all culminates toward is a very clear indication that the lore of Hyrule and the literal legends of Zelda, in all their forms, is entirely unreliable narrative in-universe. How much of Hyrule's own past has been completely lost to time or disaster? How much of it has mutated through repetition or been exaggerated far beyond what it originally was? The events we've played through in previous titles have been pretty wild in many cases, often cartoonishly silly; were those events actually things that happened, or just outlandish retellings and mixed-up tales? Are the drastic tonal differences between "Twilight Princess" and "Wind Waker" a case of different times or were they simply the personal preference in delivery as told by a given narrator? Are the repeated instances of many characters sharing names and natures truly coincidental reappearances, or are they because a person became a symbol and popular story element that crossed over into different tales? There's a firm sense in ToTK that Hyrule is growing toward a new future of its own making and that the past, while very much an important part of the world's identity, is far from set in stone. That it shouldn't be given so much power and importance over the future that's yet to be seen.

In ToTK, the heroes and the citizenry are looking toward the future. They're building - not rebuilding, but starting new. Side quests like Cece's mayoral race emphasize the importance of making a sustainable balance between the old and new. Mattison's parents respect the old traditions of the Gerudo by letting their daughter go off to learn of her roots in Gerudo Town, even as it pains them to do so, and even as Gerudo Town itself is changing from its old ways. The established language itself is being updated as the new generation of Gerudo kids abbreviate it (much to the chagrin of some elderly Gerudo). Link, a man, is freely admitted to defy the Gerudo's core "no voe allowed" law because of his proven loyalty to their people - a boon that was denied a hero of the Gerudo in the past, as we learn from the side-quest exploring their history.

Throughout all the communities we see a shift from the old to the new without tossing out their roots. The Zora welcome new leadership and combining of communities. The Rito show a proven rise in the next generation to maintain their way of life. The Gorons work with their changing environment and industry, maintaining a firm inter-generational cooperation throughout. The Gerudo gradually open themselves up to greater interactions not just with men, but with the world in general, joining more into the core of Hyrule rather than secluding themselves to their old ways. The Sheikah - by far the most deeply rooted in traditional standards of all - are rapidly changing with the times and set themselves at the bleeding edge of social development. Paya taking the Sheikah in a new direction as their chief, Impa stepping aside for the greater good, Purah and Robbie and Josha recycling all the old Sheikah Tech in order to build new Skyview Towers and develop technology that everyone - not just Link - can use and benefit from. The Zonai culture itself holds core belief in proving one's potential in rites of passage, of growing and rising to challenges, of building and progressing by use of the foundations laid by those who came before. Even the Bargainer Statues, seemingly beyond-ancient spirits or gods who predate even the Zonai, are all about helping the lingering souls of the dead move on without judgment or criticism. In the past, we see Zelda, Mineru, and Rauru all surrender themselves to a necessary change, giving up what they knew and held dear, in order to help move toward a positive future for all even if they wouldn't be there to benefit from it themselves.

It's the villains and antagonists we meet who are stuck in the past or who can't see a sustainable way forward. The Horned Statue - a demon who was petrified by Hylia for its crimes - emphasizes that it proudly refuses to learn its lesson and thus remains a statue for all time. In Hateno Village, Cece and Reede are at extreme ends of valuing vapid, short-sighted progress and hollow, rigid tradition because of pride, even while lying to themselves and others about their true feelings on such things. Kohga and the Yiga Clan are straight-up trying to undermine Hyrule as a society and ultimately end the world itself, abusing the progress of technology and tradition alike to achieve those ends. But these are minor compared to the big man himself.

Ganondorf is very much an anchor on the ship of progress. He's not just stuck in the past; he's literally defined by it. He is the past and an outright denial of the future. His entire M.O. is establishing a state of unchanging chaos, as contradictory as that may sound, where nothing ever advances from the state he's put it into. He saw a flourishing utopian society as an affront - an effort to control him, a waste of "potential". Rather than join it and grow with it, he rebelled and destroyed it. His transformation into the Demon King and birthing of monsters into the world ensured a cyclical status quo of endless strife. Every Blood Moon, the monsters rise anew, undoing any efforts to purge them from the land. After he was sealed, his sole goal was to return to his heights of power. When he was challenged and defeated by Link and the Sages, he was so consumed by his attachment to the past that he literally threw away everything that made him who he was in order to try and retain that power. Ganondorf refuses to let Hyrule grow in any fashion and, in the end, his utter destruction is necessary in order for the world to have any hope of moving forward.

I like that as a theme. There's an emphasis on respect for the old and new alike. That it's important to understand one's history and roots, and that there's wonders to be found in the past. But that the future too holds so much, that change is inevitable. That it should be welcomed rather than scorned or feared, and that embracing that undeniable momentum is the way to thrive. That sometimes what we think we know isn't the truth and we need to be accepting of new ideas or corrections to our previously-established beliefs.

That digging in your heels and latching desperately to the past - to the lore, to the legends, to the canon - ultimately does more harm than good.

[ao3feed-jaydick]

Mission Report

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/53271463 by byrdsofthenyte Dick can’t quite believe the mess he’s gotten himself into but as he tries to smooth things over with the team one by one to stop the fallout, he gets the most shocking surprise of all. Words: 8462, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 4 of Nightwing 60th Anniversary: Dick's Bingo, Part 2 of The Mystery of Feelings Fandoms: DCU, DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Dick Grayson-centric, Background Case, Everyone Loves Dick Grayson, Jealousy, Love Triangles, Unrequited Love, Pining, Miscommunication, Angst, Mild Language, Unreliable Narrator read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/53271463

[kenobster]

For ao3 wrapped: 17 & 18!

From AO3 Wrapped [Writers' Edition]

Thank you very much friendo!

#17. Your favorite character to write this year?

Hate to be a cliche of myself, but definitely Anakin! I really never expected to enjoy his POV as much as I have. In fact, at the time of starting the fic, I really wanted to write in Obi-Wan's POV! But I decided that Anakin's POV would be the easiest in the situation because Anakin is the one with the most room to grow in that story (meaning both in the post-Miraj/Hardeen way and the pre-Sithling sort of way lmao). After reading a lot of Husborth's fic at the time, I also kinda wanted to play with a style that was driven by memories of past trauma. Not in flashbacks but in trivial references that were constantly being caused by whatever setting he found himself in. Like, sort of a constant struggle to separate the horrors of the past from the horrors of the present. (Which, sidenote, also happens to be why I chose present tense - present tense is definitely what I'm most comfortable in, but it was a very deliberate choice in this fic. :D) And Anakin's past (re Tatooine, Miraj, and Hardeen plus him being so angry about the injustices of it all worked for that better than Obi-Wan's would have).

What came as the biggest shock (and joy) of writing in his POV was how unreliable it was. I knew that would be the case to some extent but not to the extent it was, purely because he normally has a strong grasp of what's real and what's not (most humans do lol). However, Anakin is unreliable in a way that kind of expanded how I think about the term "unreliable narrator." It's really interesting the way he sort of twists some truths to berate the shit out of himself while twisting other truths to make himself look better. As a character, he's both arrogant/reckless and insecure/self-loathing, which is a total contradiction. So, in his POV, when he twists truth to justify those two contradictory traits, the lies he tells himself become contradictory too. For example, in 5PE, he has had (at least) one mild-to-moderate concussion, the symptoms of which he at first exagerates in order to cope with the guilt for what he feels he caused to happen to Obi-Wan in chapter 7. But when he realizes how bad Obi-Wan's own cognitive symptoms are, Anakin's truth-twisting transforms from the "I need to get away with this" guilt into the self-loathing guilt... and he starts to deny that he suffered concussion at all... as a way of inflicting punishment/hatred upon himself (because, without a concussion, he can say he had "no excuse" to act the way he did).

Anyway those lies are only two amongst many in 5PE, of course. And all of these contradictory lies all delicately balanced by his refusal to think about any of them too hard. Like, if he were to pause for a second and consider everything, his mind would probably rip itself to shreds—no wonder he doesn't like to meditate. It's a clusterfuck in there. XD So yeah, it's fascinating how he is just layers upon layers of contradictions and how much he casually hates himself (but lies to himself about hating himself). I'm very much enjoying Anakin just constantly gaslighting himself and trainwrecking his own life. Super fun.

#18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Boy, I mean, if we're being fully honest, I had the hardest time writing Mace Windu. I love Mace Windu so much and desperately wanted to do his scene in 5PE justice. At the time, I'd noticed that fandom often tends to use him as the stereotypically strict & lawfully good Jedi, and I definitely see that facet in his personality... but really Mace Windu's capacity to forgive, empathize, and show compassion is boundless. And so much more intense than people seem to give him credit for. He's harsh because he knows the world will be harsher; he's harsh because he cares and wants the young ones to be ready; he's harsh because someone has to raise the concerns that no one is considering; he's harsh because he's fighting for a world that he wants more than anything to be gentle. That's always been my favorite thing about Mace Windu. But when I went to write in his POV, I realized I only understood his character in relation to other characters. I didn't really know what made him tick. In order to understand him better, I actually read the entire book Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover, which I highkey recommend. I originally was only gonna read a few chapters to get the hang of his POV, but then that book was so damn intense and well written that I couldn't help but finish it. My breath was absolutely blown away.

I also really struggled with Obi-Wan's character. In 5PE, Anakin's POV is so self-centered that trying to see anything outside of him is like trying to see through some kind of thick honey. So he's really hard to like... understand. I spend hours trying to dig my way out of Anakin's POV in order to figure out what Obi-Wan's thinking and going through lmfao, and I've had to ask a lot of help. In Every Shadow, he was also frustrating because while Anakin's POV is there and in your face and all-encompassing, Obi-Wan's POV is very featherlight and it kinda dances around you no matter what you try to do. Every Shadow was originally meant to be a very flashback-driven fic. I realized within one chapter of Obi-Wan's POV that the man was refusing to have a flashback, and that, between the two of us, he was the more stubborn one... and that his evasive strategies knew no limits... and that I would never be clever enough to catch him in an actual flashback lmfao. So I gave up on that altogether and had to rework the entire story I'd planned in order to get where I needed to go lmao. In other words, this bitch is s l i p p e r y. Both to characters IN the fanfic, and to ME, the FANFIC AUTHOR. I can't get a fucking grip on him. And he knows it. Makes my life hell lmao, I love him. Luckily @kcrabb88 has kindly betaread a lot Obi-Wan scenes I've struggled with lmao, and I appreciate her dearly. Her Obi-Wan is perfect, and I highkey recommend her fic.

[godtier]

and now for something completely different—

so I'm playing through ffxvi and I wanted to Rant about my experience so far so spoilers

so firstly, and not actually spoilers lmao, idk why this game makes my ps5 so warm. it's honestly not... *that* impressive graphically? which isn't necessarily a dig at it; I'll play anything as long as I can tell wtf is going on and it's fun to play. so idk if it's just yet another AAA game that isn't optimized well or what, though typically console games are *more* optimized... idk! just a gripe.

other than that, I'm seeing some Issues developing narratively... I'm not what I'd call an Expert Writer but yknow it's been noticeable so far. here are few thoughts and gripes with the story:

the inconsistencies in the story. the biggest one so far, and this is what I'd consider p big spoilers, is clive's whole "I gotta come to terms with the fact I killed Joshua" which is like... okay *fair* I suppose, but once he figured out that he was ifrit, yknow after killing benedikta, he... I mean he kinda *did* immediately accept it?? so... the whole "I gotta accept this" part was odd. I have heard tell that it was meant to represent a jungian acceptance of the shadow, or at least that's what people are alluding to in their own theories (and this is all secondhand btw bc I have the tags blocked til I finish)

to elaborate on what jung's interpretation of the shadow is for those who don't know: the shadow is essentially the suppressed subconscious, the things you don't want to acknowledge, for better or worse. it's most typically applied to things like traumatic events, but jung specifically does not commit to the idea that the shadow is *only* bad things. when you confront the shadow, the next step is to integrate the shadow to the conscious mind or ego, which you could argue was why they may have written it the way they did; clive isn't just acknowledging that he did do that (which he pretty readily did when he figured out he was ifrit's dominant) but he's also accepting it as irrefutable fact and integrating it to the ego so it cannot be repressed again.

now... having said that, the *problem* narratively that I'm seeing is that... well. Joshua isn't dead. clearly if Joshua had died... well, that'd be one thing. now they're saying "well ACKCHUALLY 🤓 he didn't die at all!" so that, to me, renders the entire "journey" pointless. what exactly is he accepting? if he didn't actually do it, why or how could he feasibly accept ifrit in that context? wouldn't his subconscious mind, his shadow (ifrit in this case) remain unincorporated? it's just very clunky and I think it was meant to show Clive as an unreliable narrator.... but there's really no one there but Joshua to confront this false accusation. and Joshua is MIA currently at the point I'm in so! who knows!

moving on, Jill is currently nearly a non-character at this point. what I mean by that is she's always just sort of... there. the only times she's shown depth is her speaking about hating herself for what she did with her powers while in captivity. even then, it doesn't appear to be given the attention smth like that deserves; we see a handful of flashbacks from when we fight her at the very beginning... and that's really it. I would like to see more but I have a feeling they will not be showing us

benedikta died way too early. she seemed like she was going to be a character of mild intrigue, but she was killed so very quickly. her and cid's past relationship (whatever that might have been) was only just elaborated on (we know cid saved her from slavery but little else), but I feel it could have been fleshed out beyond that. they spoke in broad terms about how she was and then what she became... but nothing I would consider to be substantial enough, given her connection to a major character. we also don't see enough of her and hugo, just that scene where they practically dry hump in the hallway. we know he cared a lot about her, esp during the scene with her uh. severed head? which... who did that, exactly? they blame it on cid, but we know he would not have done that. but anyway, fleshing out their relationship would have been nice

cid's death. now, it's not that I'm saying something as basics as "he could have lived" which, maybe? and it's not even that they did the whole "oh [mystery person] (it's Joshua) shows up to save them but he's too late!" trope crap. what bothers me the most about his death from a character perspective is his lack of *any* mention of the daughter he supposedly loved so much as he lay dying. now yes, up til that point, we only know that cid has a daughter via a sidequest that people could miss. but that in and of itself is an issue. why introduce that aspect of his character... and then never do anything with it while he was alive? why did they feel it sidequest worthy? they could have just slipped it in as banter or something, maybe gav teasing him or something?? anything?? basically the fact that he dies without nary an utterance of his so beloved daughter, not even her name, was a huge sour point to me. sure, you could argue that he wanted to get pertinent information to Clive as quickly as possible since he knew he was dying, but I would have been satisfied with just a whisper of her name (which I don't remember them mentioning during the sidequest?) and they could elaborate on it later, maybe in a follow-up sidequest??? maybe you find the letter he meant to send her back?? anything??? it just seems so weird from a characterization standpoint to introduce this concept of him melting for his daughter, his daughter being such a soft spot, etc, and then... never addressing it in a meaningful way when he's on death's doorstep

OK this is a dumb thing and not necessarily a negative thing but how the fuck did tomes, a geriatric librarian, survive the raid on the hideout but a bunch of younger, much more spry characters just croaked and couldn't escape lmao. IDK I LOVE TOMES DONT GET ME WRONG but it was just so... idk. funny? I also get it's a game mechanics contrivance as well, given that they built an entire mechanic around him, but idk I wanted to mention it bc it makes me laugh

that's about it for now. if you message me about this tho, pls no spoilers beyond the iron kingdom crystal raid. thank. 🙏

[agentnico]

Beau Is Afraid (2023) Review

A few days ago I read an article that proclaimed Beau Is Afraid to be a 3 hour long anxiety attack. So naturally I thought - that sounds fun, I want to go see that. So here I am.

Plot: Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home.

I have had mixed opinions on Ari Aster’s previous films, as Hereditary was a mediocre horror film with one memorable sequence involving a certain decapitation, and Midsommar was basically a modern day take on The Wicker Man. But I also appreciate their existence now more than ever, as were it not for the critical and financial success of those movies, A24 would have never justified giving Ari Aster a $30 million budget to make a film like Beau Is Afraid. For this movie is absolutely bonkers insane! This is sorely Ari Aster’s unique vision, and one that you’re either willing to jump on the ride with, or you won’t get it and find it pretentious and ridiculous. 

This is a movie that demands a lot from its viewers. What starts as a simple premise with Beau planning to go visit his mother after not seeing her for a while becomes this overlong surreal, grotesque and unpredictable odyssey and very much an interpretive challenge as it is shown through the eyes of the titular Beau. However Beau struggles from multiple anxiety disorders, as such everything he sees, hears or feels is always under question of what is reality and what isn’t. Beau is what I’d call an unreliable narrator. You know that feeling when you’re anxious about some worst case scenario happening that you’ve built up in your head, but then reality strikes and it’s never anything as bad as you brain expected it to be? Well for Beau every craziest scenario that his brain assumes becomes reality, as such everything around Beau is very over the top and macabre mad. Especially since all of Beau’s thoughts and insecurities stem from his very dysfunctional relationship with his mother, and as such everything Beau does is an attempt to emancipate himself from this toxic connection. The result? Well the result is one really weird f-ed up movie!

Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly cast as the broken and lost Beau. Phoenix is able to deliver so much with his eyes and expression, showing off Beau’s desperation to get out of this hell that consistently finds himself in, and all he wants is to be left alone. Yet as befit of the Kafkaesque reference in the synopsis, Beau simply cannot ever catch a break. He’s like the cockroach from the famous Kafka short story Metamorphosis, that is stuck in a room, not being able to get out of it. Beau’s life is one big messed up nightmare. And during this nightmare journey that is split into these episodes of sort, Beau meets a whole array of colourful characters, which I won’t spoil, but I will say that the whole cast in this movie do a fantastic job of embracing Aster’s mentality. The likes of Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey, Richard Kind, Stephen McKinley Henderson are just a few examples, each bringing in their own peculiarities. Zoe Lister-Jones and Patti LuPone both a responsible for bringing to life the younger and older version of Beau’s mum, and both are very great at delivering one super manipulative and deranged creation. 

From a technical standpoint this movie is a pure filmmaking dream. Ari Aster definitely took advantage of A24′s big pay-check by creating some really trippy sequences, ones that are definitely inspired by the absurdist takes of David Lynch. A highlight it a scene where Beau is watching a theatre performance, and mentally puts himself into it, and we are then treated to a most beautifully bizarre semi-animated sequence. Beau is whisked into the on-set scene and then proceeds to traipse through fable-like villages, living out a long imagined life full of pure love and abject terror. It’s delicate movie art rendered as psychological weaponry. It’s a visually stunning piece, and one that only adds to the questions of what the hell we are watching. Another example is closer to the end of the film where Beau is forced to go up into this mysterious attic he’s been avoiding all his life, and what he sees there is something so random and twisted, yet at the same time a great use of practical effects and once again an example of Ari Aster’s willingness to create something truly different.

That’s what Beau Is Afraid is - different. Every viewer will leave having a different interpretation, but there is no doubting that this is Ari Aster’s very own distinct director vision, and one that feels like you’re being thrown face first into someone’s deep subconscious. It’s a truly exhilarating viewing experience. Do I get all of it? No, but I don’t think I need to. Some things are meant to be misunderstood. Is the movie a bit long? I mean yeah, it’s three bloody hours! Though that may tread a bit into the element of self indulgency from Aster, I still can say with certainty that this was a strangely enjoyable watch, and also surprisingly funny too. In a twisted way, Beau Is Afraid is a hilarious comedy of errors. And by gosh go see it on the big screen at the cinema. This movie deserves your undivided attention, don’t wait for it to go to streaming. Cinema is where it’s at, even if at my screening there was this very annoying fly that kept flying from the projector to the screen, making the in-movie anxiety correlate pretty effectively with my anxiety of that stupid damn fly!!

Overall score: 9/10

[skelstmntsideblog]

Day 11 of cringetober is 5+1 things and day 16 is something you were bullied for. Thus, a short fic based on my feelings of isolation for being autistic and trans growing up in 5+1 format

Content warnings for: abelism, internalised abelism, mild unreliable narrator, death of parents, foster system, trauma, foster care based trauma, self destructive self soothing behaviours and related self injury, bullying

5 times Enny learned they weren't wanted, and 1 time they truly were

By the time Enny first joined high school, they'd already learned there was something wrong with them. Something they couldn't stop, that everyone but them could see. It made them dirty, and weird. It made them a little bit broken. 

And the first time they learned that was when their father told them to their face.

Enny still isn't sure how old they were, but it was before their parents passed away. Still tottering around, too young yet for school. Not much older than a toddler.

They always liked to sit by the big patch of grass that was rarely mowed. Little chirping bugs and beetles seemed to be endless there, stretching as far as their little eyes could see. The previous few days it had been raining. 

They stuck their tiny little fingers into a puddle near the grasses, marveling at the little spindly bugs skittering across the waters surface. The slugs that had been summoned by magic, at least it had seemed that way to Enny.  Every creepy crawly they knew from those big picture books. 

Digging their fingers into the mud in the puddle had given such a satisfying squish they couldn't help but tap their feet. Young enough that doing so threw off their balance and they tumbled right into the puddle.

Their father, face unknown to Enny now and blurred into obscurity by time, grabbed them by the arm. Yanked them out of the water. Hurting their tiny little arms with the force.

Of course they promptly began crying. But not because of the pain, or getting wet. But because they wanted to keep looking at the bugs. Their little friends. They blubbered about it to their father as he pulled them inside and to a tiled room they barely remember.

All they remember is him yelling. What was wrong with them? Why won't they stop crying already? Just over some measly insects? Why were they such a menace?

Why couldn't they just be a normal kid?

Even back then, it broke their tiny little heart. And it still hurts, because that's the only real memory they have of their father.

------

The second time they were at the orphanage. Just arriving. Something bad had happened. They were supposed to go to school for the very first time. Instead everything was wrong. And different. It wasn't at all like they'd been told.

All the night prior they had kept excitedly going over the stuff in their bag. A box of beautiful crayons they kept plucking out to stare at. A big pencil case filled with food-shaped erasers they couldn't wait to use. A large new notepad they kept excitedly opening and closing, flicking through the empty sheets and marveling at all the space to draw.

Now it was cold, and the wooden chair hurt their legs. The lights were too bright and kept making an awful constant buzz that made them groan and fold their hands over their ears.

A lady in a fancy suit with a filthy attitude marched over. Heels clacking on the tiles like stones down a cliff. A look of disgust across her face.

She yanked their hands down, and they wriggled. Trying to get loose. Her breath smelt like coffee and her suit kept brushing against their arms like sandpaper as they struggled.

Get a grip of yourself you little squirt, stop doing that. Stop making those noises. Be quiet for god's sake. 

They wanted to be sick. It was all so much. Bad textures and sounds and lights. They couldn't find any words so they just began groaning and trying to headbut the mean lady. She grabbed their head and pushed them away. Fingernails sharp. 

Shit up you little beast, or I'll leave you here until you can act properly.

And she did. By the time someone else came and picked them up, packed them away into a little car and sent them into a strange scary life, hours had passed.

Enny clawed their tiny fingernails into their legs over and over. Cried a little bit. Slammed their arms against the hard wooden armrests that were too high up. 

Until finally they just sat there and stared at nothing until someone else came. Moved, but not moving.

------

The third time was in the orphanage. They were supposed to call it a foster shelter or children's home, but all their favourite characters got wisked away by fancy loving families from orphanages. Not Foster shelters. Not children's homes. So that was what they called it. 

No loving family ever decided to save Enny, not they knew it back then of course. Back then they still had stupid blind hope.

They'd been there not all that long, sharing a room with mostly younger kids like themself. Bunk beds. It wasn't supposed to be permanent, most people got picked up by a family for a bit and only stayed at the place few weeks at most. Some, like Enny, stayed at the shelter more often than not. But not many. Enny to this day isn't really sure how the foster system worked for most people, they suspect they were a mild anomaly. Because Enny rarely ever left. 

Even when they were young and cute, their social workers struggled to find anyone willing to even temporarily place them. As they aged... Even less.

So the orphanage was as close to home as any. The first was the one they stayed the longest, before the government moved them to another and switched their social worker. And where they really began to notice the separation between themselves and others.

It was a slow building of realisation. That same disgust they saw in that random care workers eyes. Subtle yet pervasive. In every word others spoke, every move Enny made, they felt failure.

Failure to be good enough, to not cry when emotions got so big and loud in their chest it felt like their skin was tearing off and their brain was leaking out their ears, and failure to be... Normal. 

So it wasn't a surprise when, still young and ignorant, every kid treated them like the plague. But only one voiced it.

Amelia was her name, or something begining with an A. She pointed at them asked why she had to stay in the same room as the slow one. Amelia had seemed a friendly when Enny first met her. Now she was pointing them out to her care worker like they were some horrid fungus.

That was the third time it really hit Enny. She had been their age, she'd had such a similar life. And yet there was this unquantifiable divide beetween the two.

Eight months later Amelia was adopted by a foster family that had taken her in. Enny had been fostered for a total of three whole days by a family in the same time. And then... Sent back once more. 

-----------

The fourth time they were once again being sent back by a foster family. Or rather, the fourth time was what that family said to them as the reason why. Just before they were sent back.

Most didn't explain themselves, assuming them too stupid or young to understand. But these ones...

The two were nice enough. Italian family, they made such fun food. Most of it didn't even feel like a punishment to eat. It felt like a reward, like a treat. They had been so gentle. Kind. Clear that Enny wasn't theirs, not really, and that it wasn't forever. But good people.

The mother of the family sat Enny down one evening, after they had to go for a quiet moment in their room to stop themselves from causing a scene for no reason, and put her hand in their knee. She'd been so gentle that a little part of them dared rear its ugly head and hope. Maybe this time they would get to stay. At least for a little while. A whole year in just one school.

She and, when words failed her, her husband explained that they were too much. Too much work. Too hard to manage. They had been so good. But it wasn't enough. Still too different. 

They'd be sending Enny back by the end of the day. They'd already called the school. That they were sorry they couldn't be their forever home, but they felt they couldn't properly provide for their needs.

It was fine, the fourth time. Packing up their garbage bag to head back to the foster facility, all they felt was empty sorrow. That they could fix themselves.

That they'd always be born wrong. 

By the fourth time, they realised they'd already deep down expected it.

----------

The fifth time wasn't a person. It wasn't told to them in words, but in writing. And it was the answer to why.

Why nobody wanted them.

Not just a nebulous, unquantifiable sense of difference. Of loneliness. 

Tangible explanation.

Their social worker at the time was a lazy prick, who didn't give two damns about Enny. But they did give them one thing at the very least. The worker had left Enny's file on the desk. And of course they took it. Read it cover to cover by the time anyone came back. One part stood out in particular. "Complications and needs".

Written down was all the things wrong with them.

Neurodivergent, non gender-conforming, prone to illness, prone to emotional outbursts. Outspoken, but refuses to explain themselves. Prone to skin infections. Prone to infections in general. Dislikes change. Dislikes other people. Dietary restrictions. Failure to thrive. 

They had needed to Google what some of those words meant. But essentially their brain had formed differently. Their body had formed differently. The weren't like everyone else. And they wanted to understand.

Every book they could find on genetics or development. Health, surgeries, biology, medicine. All the stuff they'd already been fascinated by, it was almost nice to be apart of it. To be their own little puzzle to solve. With no wrong answer except outright fallacies. 

It had hurt, somewhere deep down, to know it wasn't even their fault. That they had done nothing wrong.

But they did what they'd learned to do, and dove right into knowing everything about it. No need for feelings when hard facts could be there instead. Because if they can explain it, then maybe they could fix it.

Maybe.

----------

In between they got harassed. Obviously. Playground taunts and the astonishing cruelty of children fully exhibited.

But it was not long after the finally made a friend.

Dia.

Dia had come into their life as most people did for Enny outside of school. Sharing an orphanage. Or children's home, whatever. But she was different. Unlike anyone else, she had the exact same problem.

She was disabled, much more so than Enny. Not that there's a scale for suffering, but it intruded on her life much more than Enny's frail nature intruded on their own. She had something wrong with her heart and nerves. Something that meant she couldn't run and play like everyone else.

She was also wired differently in her brain too. Just like Enny was.

Dia had bounced around homes, somehow never landing in Enny's path until now. Both less than a year apart in age, but in different school years. Getting put into different age brackets because of it. 

And Dia was lovely. Because she actually liked Enny. Not just despite what made them all weird, but because of. Because it was something they shared. 

The first time the two met was in silence. The only two in that particular room. It lasted until Dia saw their precious tiny plastic bug collection, which they had begun unpacking and gently placing on the cabinet so the bug-toys could breathe. 

Dia loved bugs. Adored the things. 

Enny had always felt a vague shame at their love for the little critters. But not anymore, because if Dia, the coolest person ever, thought that bugs were cool then they absolutely were.

The two were almost immediately inseparable. Attached at the hip. Enny had experienced very few real friends in life, and they had truly treasured Dia's friendship.

It took only a few months before Dia and Enny got their files changed. Making it so that if you foster one, you take the other one too. Nobody left behind.

The already slow foster placements became rare, even more so when Enny fell off a scooter and practically cracked their chin open, but it didn't matter. Because Enny was wanted. 

By the time Enny entered high school they knew there was something objectively bizarre and uncanny about them. The also knew they would never be alone. 

Because Enny and Dia were a package deal. And they would always have each others backs.

[inktrailing]

‘Wrecking the Natural Order’s not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it?’ Death had once asked Dean. Dean wonders if Death knew back then that he might one day have to up the brothers’ “global” disruption to the “cosmic” level they had taken for themselves. Death had said a lot to Dean that day that Dean thinks parts of him embodied and called upon when he took on the King of Hell mantle. Death had said and taught him a lot. He wishes he could have the chance to tell him, one day. But, Dean thinks, watching Kaedence pull up a portal to Hell, fighting against Avalon’s ever-resistant walls, he focused on some of the wrong words. Oh, looking back, he can’t blame his past self. Too distraught over failing, made worse by his tongue once again getting the better of him, defiance flaring against those that see him as nothing more than a worthless fly, and then too lost when Death would still retrieve Sam’s soul from Hell. No, Dean should have burned the words 'it’s about the souls’ into his mind and never let them go.

–ACT IV, Chapter 88

2024 has had my body dragging with the weather as it is so this took way longer to post than it should've. I just had a total of glances 131 words worth of Extremely Important Plot Details that I had to add and man, was my brain adamantly refusing the process.

Sorry this took so long!

Chapters: 116-130 (out of 130) [COMPLETE] Rating: M Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Explicit Language, Mild Sexual Content Relationships: Dean/Lucifer, Dean & Original Characters, Lucifer & Original Characters, Sam Winchester & Eve, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester & Castiel, God & Death, Minor or Background Relationships

Characters: Dean Winchester, Lucifer, Castiel, Sam Winchester, Michael, Background & Cameo Characters, Original Characters Additional Tags (this is a lot I’m so sorry): Season 9 AU, Explicit Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Rated for Violence, King of Hell Dean, Knight of Hell Lucifer, Viceroy of Heaven Castiel, Duke of Purgatory Sam, High-Powered Dean Winchester, High-Powered Sam Winchester, mantles of power

Fae Courts, Court Politics, Case Fic, Hell, Heaven, Purgatory, Avalon, Demons, Hellhounds, Monsters, Fae, Changelings

remembering your humanity, Background Canon Characters, POV Multiple, Unreliable Narrator, Non-Linear Timeline, Angst with a Happy Ending, I Swear, I Do What I Want, in medias res

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Mission Report

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/d74haye by byrdsofthenyte Dick can’t quite believe the mess he’s gotten himself into but as he tries to smooth things over with the team one by one to stop the fallout, he gets the most shocking surprise of all. Words: 8462, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 4 of Nightwing 60th Anniversary: Dick's Bingo, Part 2 of The Mystery of Feelings Fandoms: DCU, DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Dick Grayson-centric, Background Case, Everyone Loves Dick Grayson, Jealousy, Love Triangles, Unrequited Love, Pining, Miscommunication, Angst, Mild Language, Unreliable Narrator read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/d74haye

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

~*~

1. Hii! This is my first time asking for a fic, well cause usually other fans ask the same thing.

Any fic with JC/Jiang Sect bashing in the canon era.

Thanks a lot! I love all the work you guys do! @ffaddictsrn

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX)

A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 84k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, graphic depictions of violence, underage, LWJ pov, JC pov, dark LWJ, manipulation, grooming, teen body adult mind for LWJ, happy ending for wangxian, problematic consensual underage sex, blood & violence, insane LWJ, manic LWJ) lwj is BRUTAL to jc

💖 Return to Sender by Thesaurus_with_no_words (M, 73k, wangxian, not JC friendly, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, YLLZ WWX, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies AU, Temporary Amnesia, Partial Memory Loss, Literal Emotional Manipulation, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon typical horror and gore, Slow Burn, WIP)

🔒💖 Resilience. by Vrishchika (T, 7k, wangxian, time travel, not JC friendly, golden core transfer fix-it)

🔒💖 After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 10k, wangxian, WIP, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives AU, Getting Together)

🧡 Never Again by Hauntcats (T, 67k, WangXian, WWX & WQ & WN, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Angst, Not JC Friendly, BAMF WWX)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence)

Go Hiking With a Blindfold On by Hauntcats (M, 12k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, not JC friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, No Golden Core Transfer)

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WQ & WWX, WN & WWX, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Eventual Wangxian, No Golden Core Transfer, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Canon-Typical Violence, Not JC Friendly, Tagged just in case because there is no redemption arc here, What if WWX saw the first siege of the burial mounds and said Nope to the war, Original Character(s), OC point-of-view for one chapter for plot reasons)

Symmetry by Vir_Abelasan (M, 13k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, One-Sided ChengXian, One-Sided ChengZhui, Canon Divergence, LSZ is raised by wwx, Wwx still dies sorry, Revenge, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Dark LSZ, Manipulation, Power Imbalance, Torture, Not JC Friendly, JC’s Canonical 13 Years Murder Spree, BAMF LSZ, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, LSZ Gets to Go Apeshit)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, wangxian, fix-it, darker gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way?, golden core transfer fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, or anyone friendly, except wangxian, cultivation world critical, fluff, sunshot, politics, courting rituals, genius WWX, no demonic cultivation, talismans, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, WIP)

Get it right (mdzs time travel) Series by AmiraAlzilu (M, 85k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Fluff, Not JC Friendly, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Getting Together, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Jiāng Family Bashing, Character Death Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grieving LXC, Grieving LQR, LQR Is So Done, Dead LWJ, Dead WWX) (link in #2)

~*~

2. heyyy thanks for all your hard work! itmf for fics that the lan clan finds out about wwx abuse from the jiang sect. thanks in advance!

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX) link in #1

🔒🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) link in #1 Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, wangxian, fix-it, darker gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way?, golden core transfer fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, or anyone friendly, except wangxian, cultivation world critical, fluff, sunshot, politics, courting rituals, genius WWX, no demonic cultivation, talismans, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, WIP) link in #1

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

Get it right (mdzs time travel) Series by AmiraAlzilu (M, 85k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Fluff, Not JC Friendly, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Getting Together, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Jiāng Family Bashing, Character Death Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grieving LXC, Grieving LQR, LQR Is So Done, Dead LWJ, Dead WWX)

~*~

3. Hello!! Itmf/does anyone know of any canon-compliant fics where when WWX comes back to life it is like no time has passed for him so he still feels and acts like a teenager/young adult? Where he gets along better with the juniors rather than his generation because he still is young at heart? Thank you!

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4. heeyy mods, hope youre enjoying the holidays!!

this is for itmf

A) I recently read audience of one which is basically being XiCheng being sweet babies, so I would really love if someone could rec good XiCheng fics

B) are there any good modern wangxian detectives au!!?? @mercurygirlwt28

4B)

🧡 CSI: Gusu Edition Series by Stratisphyre (M, 39k, WangXian, WWX & LQR, Modern with Magic AU, College AU, Golden Core Reveal, Single parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Hospitalization, Allusions to violence and murder)

Moonlight as My Guide by BromeliadDreams (M, 32k, WangXian , Case Fic, Body Horror, Modern with Magic, Academia, (book) canon-typical desecration of the dead, actually far more soft domesticity than the previous tags imply, background/implied xiyao, grey-ace wwx)

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5. hii, tje next Itmf can I ask for fics which feel the song. "dark red" by Steve Lacy.

thank you!!

~*~

6. Hola! for the next itmf, I have two requests please, they are kind of similar.

A) pls rec the good modern aus!! the fluffy, tje ones w angst, anything.

B) modern aus which also deal w depression.

6A)

🔒 Wangxian Tax Universe series by adrian_kres, RoseThorne (T, 5k, wangxian, modern, Getting Together, Americana, Family Dinners, Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Announcements, Therapy, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Crack, Fluff)

Extracts from the diaries of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, relating to the case of Lan Zetian (Nov. 4 to Nov. 27) by Accidental_Child (T, 6k, wangxian, modern cultivation, Case Fic, Epistolaryish, Diary/Journal, WWX-centric, LWJ-centric, Slow Burn, (academic), Enemies to Lovers, academic rivals i guess?, Rivals to Lovers, Mentions of Murder, mentions of abuse, mentions of assult)

🔒 Standing By by Prince_kun (T, &lt;;1k, wangxian, WIP, Modern, Mutual Pining, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Strangers to Lovers, Past WWX/Other(s), Airports, Airports can be romantic and not just meant for the dramatic breakup scene, Rich LWJ, CEO LWJ, Bisexual Disaster WWX, WWX is LSZ's Parent, Fluff, Light Angst, Everyone Lives AU, Developing Relationship)

Lessons in Belonging by Nyatci (M, 12k, wangxian, Modern, Childhood Friends to Lovers, POV LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Homophobia, Good Uncle LQR, background 3zun, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Asexuality, but it’s just an assumption, some mild non-overly-explicit smut, LWJ really wants to put a ring on it, so he does, Domestic Fluff, wangxian adopt a-yuan, 5+1 Things, softer than how the tags make it sound)

The extravagant wedding, the gorgeous brother, and other reasons you should listen to your uncle by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 5k, wangxian, Modern, Kid Fic, Soft Wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Matchmaking, Fluff and Humor, shark week)

The Art of Communication by mrcformoso (G, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Meet-Cute, Engineering Student WWX, Music Student LWJ, Swimmer WWX, Martial Artist LWJ, POV Outsider, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Communication Issues, But Wanxian Makes it Work, LWJ has limited words, WWX has too many words, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Love Languages, Requited Love)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Sex as Self Worth Reaffirmation, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Se,x Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good)

🧡 Hello, IT. Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again? By overmountainandmeadow (T, 65k, WangXian, Modern AU, Office, Modern office AU, IT Director! LWJ, Graphic Designer! WWX, Father!LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Juniors as interns, Light Angst, Mistaken Identity, Identity Porn, Rabbits, Cloud Recesses as a company, Happy Ending, Single Parent LWJ)

🧡 Yiling Salon: Hair, Nails and Piercing by TriviasFolly (T, 22k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hairstylist AU, Hairstylist WWX, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Experimental style)

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, wangxian, modern, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic LWJ, neurodivergent WWX, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you've met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the asshole dog, setting out to make the neighborhood safer for your crush and accidentally building community, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation, the chef's assortment of partnered sex acts) (link in #17)

🔒some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

oh brother by lanzhans_rbf (skzinger) (G, 5k, LXC & LWJ, WangXian, Modern AU, POV Outsider, Twin Jades of Lán Dynamics, Twin Jades of Lán Feels)

A Soft Storm by AvoOwO (Not rated, 47k, wangxian, modern, hurt WWX, LWJ pov, protective LWJ, not SS friendly, car accidents, hurt/comfort, heavy angst w happy ending, sexual harrasment, stalking, crying, blood & injury & gore, major character injury, college, slut shaming, insults)

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, wangxian, rape/non-con, modern, ABO, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, WangXian play the long game, UNTIL THEY DON'T, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Office au, Mpreg)

I know what my heart wants by yakuso5u (Not Rated, 28k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Father LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Accidental Child Acquisition, Domestic, Slice of Life, Christmas references)

flight of the birch tree by bleuett (T, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, liminal spaces, Subways, dreamy vibes, Meet-Cute, kind of)

i know who i want to take me home by ScarlettStorm (E, 16k, wangxian, modern, bartender WWX, drunk LWJ, caretaking, meet-cute, fluff, comedy, smut, minor angst, major shenanigans)

spoke like we meant it by BlackWiresOnHerHead (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1, Fluff, oh my god they were roommates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Pining, Cuddling, Accidental Confession, Humor, Abandonment Issues, Light Angst)

Keep Track of Losing Days by giraffeter (T, 74k, WangXian, Modern AU, Case Fic, Police, Missing Persons, Mystery, Getting Together, Flashbacks, Rooftop Conversations, Detective LWJ, antifa WWX, Endgame NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, First Kiss, First Meetings, Seattle, Mutual Pining, nonfatal car accident, mafia wens, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers)

6B)

🔒 moonlight falls series by RoseThorne (M, 15k, wangxian, SL/XXC, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, NHS & WWX, Found Family, Modern, Corporate Espionage, Bunnies, Adoption, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, References to Depression, Anxiety, Blind Character, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Confrontations, Bad Parent LQR, Pre-JC & WWX Reconciliation, Dissociation, Mental Health Issues, Anniversary, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Emotional Constipation, Communication Failure, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC is Trying, WWX Needs a Hug, Implied/Referenced Sex, Food Sex, Friendship, Reconciliation, Psychological Trauma)

Welcome to the Family series by jiejieaini (E, 231k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, JYL/JZX, modern, Wangixian Get a Happy Ending, LWJ is best dad, Bunnies, London, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Adopted WWX, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Reunions, Hand Jobs, Tears, Gay Sex, Consensual Non-Consent, Dom/sub Undertones, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Christmas, Praise Kink, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, WWX & LWJ Have a Breeding Kink, First Time, Public Blow Jobs, High School, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, Birthdays, Blowjobs, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Drowning, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Dubious Consent, Rimming, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, A-Yuan is adorable, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, Nightmares, Adoption, Pregnancy)

Lessons in Belonging by Nyatci (M, 12k, wangxian, Modern, Childhood Friends to Lovers, POV LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Homophobia, Good Uncle LQR, background 3zun, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Asexuality, but it’s just an assumption, some mild non-overly-explicit smut, LWJ really wants to put a ring on it, so he does, Domestic Fluff, wangxian adopt a-yuan, 5+1 Things, softer than how the tags make it sound) link in #6A

12 Hours In Hell and Paradise (Or: Lan Zhan’s Distinguished Guide to Seasonal Depression) by demonicsalad (T, 4k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, Modern, Friends to Lovers, Developing Relationship, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Love Confessions, POV LWJ)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Sex as Self Worth Reaffirmation, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Se,x Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good) (Iink in 6A)

💖 you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry (T, 150k, wangxian, modern, College/University au, Social Media, Mental Health Issues, Healing, self-care, Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, the mortifying ordeal of self-acceptance, Falling In Love, Depression, Slow Burn)

KILF (Knits I'd Like To Fuck in) by ScarlettStorm (E, 168k, wangxian, modern, sex work, fiber arts, 2nd in series)

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)

~*~

7. Itmf some fics that are just plain funny! Rec me any fics that made you lol please @peebls

Lan Wangji Gets Harassed by a Pack of Children by hyacinth4maria (G, 9k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX & WCZ, CSSR/WCZ, Madam Lan & LWJ, LWJ meets the Wei family, the Wei family consists of OCs and strays, Modern, High School, Young Love, Fluff and Crack)

rerun from the outside by Eicas (T, 2k, wangxian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, POV Outsider, JC POV, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX has timetravelled! unbeknownst to him so has LWJ!, JC gets to be there for the glorious moment when the penny drops, Mojo's post)

❤️ Wangxian’s Time-Travelling Shenanigans series by pupeez4eva (G, 18k, wangxian, time travel, love confessions, humor, Mojo's post)

The Twelve Days of Christmas, OR, How to Drive Your Brother-in-Law Insane by Following One Traditional Carol by Hobbsy3 (T, 3k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Twelve Days Of Christmas, sending someone six geese and seven swans is definitely not an act of love, OR IS IT, Christmas Fluff, JC is So Done, LWJ is a Little Shit) link in #16

Deep Dive by MimiSpearmint (E, 24k, wangxian, JC & WWX, modern, therapy au, twin prides of yunmeng feels, angst w/ happy ending, career ending injuries, counsellor LWJ, eventual smut, crack, discussion of domestic abuse)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse) there's a reason it's recced all the time!

To Woo a Yao by Iamnotawriter (G, 8k, WangXian, Some Humor, Investigations, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Secret Letters, Mystery, Crack)

WeHateDogs by trippednfell (T, 3k, WangXian, Modern AU, Inspired by Twitter, Social Media AU, WWX is a professional dog hater, Fluff and Crack)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Modern AU, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

~*~

8. Uhm hi. I’m looking for a fic where instead of Jiang Fengmian, Yu Ziyuan was thought to be Wei Ying’s parent. Or where yu ziyuan adopts Wei ying

Hope series by RoseThorne (T, 57k, wangxian, WWX & YZY, WWX & JFM, WWX & JYL, YZY/JFM, JC & WWX, LQR & WWX, LXC & JYL, Madam Jin & YZY, LQR & JFM, LXC & LWJ, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Illnesses, Family, Scars, Memory Loss, Angst, Crying, Music, Nosebleed, Fear, Recovery, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Flirting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Blood and Gore, Monsters, Sexual Tension, betrothal, Arranged Marriage, Grief, Adoption, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Clairvoyance, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Food, Secrets, Resentful Energy, Cultivation Sect Politics, Character Death)

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9. Hi! Do you have rec fics where Wwx has a sibling/sister? (This part added to FF) Thank youu!! @gideonmorningstar

We Meet at the Thousandth Step by Admiranda, Rynne (T, 163k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, WIP, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, CSSR & WCX Live, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Different First Meeting, Night Hunts, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Plot, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Strangers to married, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Everyone LivesAU, Developing Relationship, Minor Violence, Case Fic, Mystery, Flirting, WWX's Canon-Typical Flower Flirting, Arson, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, First Kiss, Meeting the Parents, Resolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Romantic Tension, WWX Is a Good Big Brother, New Relationship Bliss)

Lan Wangji Gets Harassed by a Pack of Children by hyacinth4maria (G, 9k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX & WCZ, CSSR/WCZ, Madam Lan & LWJ, LWJ meets the Wei family, the Wei family consists of OCs and strays, Modern, High School, Young Love, Fluff and Crack) link in #7

~*~

10. ITMF fics that changed your minds about tropes/settings/characters you had previously disliked? I am trying to try new things but I tend not to pick things for myself outside of plain plain status quo. TY!

mating rituals by detectorist (E, 16k, WangXian, XuanLi, Modern AU, College/University, Humour, Pining, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, The Rituals Are Intricate) Never cared about jzx until I read this fic

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Omegaverse, Alpha LWJ, Omega wwx, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Modern Setting - Office, Mpreg) This is the abo fic for anyone who’s never liked abo

symmetry by bleuett (M, 44k, WangXian, Space, Science Fiction, Happy Ending, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Holding Hands, Blow Jobs, Hand Feeding, Cultivation in Space, Yearning, Reunions, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Injuries, Grief/Mourning, Unconventional Time Travel, Burial Mounds) Never liked fics set in space but this one was so good

Twin Demons of Mò by XiaoFeiFei (ArfBarkWoof) (M, 358k, MXY & WWX, wangxian, JL & MXY, XY & MXY, JGY & MXY, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury, Abuse, Death, Twin Demons of Mo, MXY Lives, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Minor Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon Divergence, Self-Harm, Found Family, Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, POV Alternating) Twin Demons of Mo was my first foray into the super heavy angst that can pop up in the fandom, and since I'm very empathetic, heavy angst tends to be difficult for me to read, but TDOM was beautiful and now I can handle fics like Concord with more ease

TAKOYAKI by ariskamalt (E, 3k, wangxian, modern, Established Relationship, PWP, Tentacles, Tentacle Sex, First Time, Semi-Sentient Tentacles, Anal Sex, tentaclejobs?, Podfic Available) please don't let the tentacles scare you😆

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11. hello! i just finished this fic on ao3 called 'like speaking to my heart' by SnowshadowAO3.

it has suibian and bichen as daemons and i've really enjoyed reading it.

i wanted to ask if it's possible to find more fic's where suibian and bichen play a major role either in their sword forms or are like these aus where they take a different form.

(not really necessary but are there any fics where suibian and bichen share a really close bond with lwj and wwx, respectively, too?)

thank you so much!

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

~*~

12. hi hi! i'm in the mood for fics where lwj feels insecure over his "bland and stiff" personality and wwx reassures him

~*~

13. Could you suggest some multi-chapter fics of genre Fox Wei Wuxian and Dragon Lan Wangji. @lostsoul234

(Dreaming of) Being Human by Harleydoll (M, 109k, JC & WWX, NHS & WWX, LXC & WWX, LXC & LWJ, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Soft Wangxian, Pining, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, Oblivious WWX, YLLZ WWX, Fox WWX, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Huli Jing, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, , Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Literal Sleeping Together, Sharing a Bed, Nudity, WWX is a Lán, WWX is Loved, Gremlin WWX, Shapeshifting, POV WWX, Qíshān Wēn Indoctrination, Not Lánlíng Jīn Sect Friendly, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Post-Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Explicit Sexual Content, Oral Sex, First Time, First Kiss, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Sunshot Campaign, Fox Spirit WWX, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Really Character Death)

🔒Due Process by Kytrin, Mslead (E, 279k, WangXian, XiChengSang, Poly Junior Quartet, Modern AU, Foxxian, dragonji, Genderfluid WWX, WWX identifies as male, Organized Crime, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of child abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Reincarnation)

To lurk, to lie in wait by trippednfell (M, 124k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Huli Jing, strangers to co-parents to lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, background NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Fox Spirit WWX, Dragon LWJ, Blood and Injury)

The early bird gets the worm, the early fox gets the bird. But the dragon wakes the earliest of them all. by sekhmetpaws (E, 52k, WangXian, XiYao, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Royalty, Prince LWJ, dragon lwj, fox wwx, dragonji, Arranged Marriage, but not really, Mistaken Identity, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Foxxian, slowish burn)

~*~

14. ITMF a fic where wangxian bond over both being Chinese / having similar experiences?. It can just be a small moment in a bigger story or it can be whole story @zerokogane

Ticket to Ride Series by mistresscurvy (E, 21k, wangxian, modern, online dating, road trips, service top, phone sex, dick pics, wedding banquet, shower sex) Also it has a killer meet cute

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15. Hey!! I’m fairly new to the fandom and I’m still trying to navigate through your blog so idk if you’ve already done this ask but can you recommend a fic that follows the junior quad as they accidentally give travel back to Wangxian at cloud recess??

Thank you so muchhh

~*~

16. Hey any Christmas wangxian fics that are not too smutty and just wholesome and pure @veryfoxyfulwuji

The Twelve Days of Christmas, OR, How to Drive Your Brother-in-Law Insane by Following One Traditional Carol by Hobbsy3 (T, 3k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Twelve Days Of Christmas, sending someone six geese and seven swans is definitely not an act of love, OR IS IT, Christmas Fluff, JC is So Done, LWJ is a Little Shit)

Ornaments Under the Stars by trippednfell (M, 57k, wangxian, Modern, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, the wangxian Hallmark Movie AU no one asked for, plot and title were randomly generated, Kidfic, Disabled Character, debilitating injury as substitute for missing golden core, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst with a Happy Ending, Guest starring LWJ's sky blue coat, The Coat deserves its own tag, disordered eating habits)

We Wish You A Logical Christmas by little_ogre (M, 9k, wangxian, Star Trek AU, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Going to Vulcan for Christmas, WWX is Vulcan, LWJ is human, what could go wrong, Pon Farr)

Christmas Eve at Number 16 by liulans (T, 9k, wangxian, Christmas Fluff, Modern, Getting Together, Mistletoe as an icebreaker, Fluff, neighbors to lovers, Friends to Lovers, Christmas Eve, snowstorm date)

~*~

17. Hi! I recently saw a DIY where they printed out their favorite fanfic and they (did book binding, sorry, I don’t what the English word for this is) so I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend fanfictions wich are 1. long enough (so it makes sense to bind it into a book) and 2. good/awesome/ wholesome,etc enough ( so I will actually want to bind it).

To keep it short, please recommend your favourite long fics. Thank you so much!

An addition to my ask because my dumbass accidentally send it before adding detail.

If anyone knows a fanfiction with a great plot, good writing or one you think deserves to be a book (because some of them honestly feel more professional than most real books do) I would be super thankful to them &lt;;3 @desperation-is-my-middle-name

Twin Demons of Mò by XiaoFeiFei (ArfBarkWoof) (M, 358k, MXY & WWX, wangxian, JL & MXY, XY & MXY, JGY & MXY, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury, Abuse, Death, Twin Demons of Mo, MXY Lives, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Minor Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon Divergence, Self-Harm, Found Family, Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, POV Alternating)

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, wangxian, modern, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic LWJ, neurodivergent WWX, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you've met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the asshole dog, setting out to make the neighborhood safer for your crush and accidentally building community, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation, the chef's assortment of partnered sex acts)

💖 Magical Marriage Ribbons series by starandrea (M, 1M, wangxian, animal transformations, weddings)

Fallen series by Jaywalker_Holmes (M, 150k, wangxian, major character death, underage, time travel)

💖 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, immortal WWX, slow burn, pining, arranged marriages)

The Scarlet Lotusby rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics)

how to be a heartbreaker by sweetlolixo (E, 122k, wangxian, Sugar Daddy AU, Modern, Sugar Daddy LWJ, Sugar Baby WWX, Dark WWX, Dark LWJ, Pining LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Crossdressing WWX, Seductress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Dirty Talking LWJ, They Do Fall In Love and there’s Fluff, Dark Wangxian Power Couple, Off the Charts Sexual Tension, Size Kink, Daddy Kink, degradation kink)

🔒 Silver & Gold  by beeswaxing  (E, 162k, wangxian, post-canon, de-aging, fluff & angst, happy ending, fix-it of sorts, family bonding, established   relationship, non-sexual intimacy, BAMF WWX, pining, protective WWX)

A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 84k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, graphic depictions of violence, underage, LWJ pov, JC pov, dark LWJ, manipulation, grooming, teen body adult mind for LWJ, happy ending for wangxian, problematic consensual underage sex, blood & violence, insane LWJ, manic LWJ) link in #1

Meet Me Friday At Seven by craftyTrickster (luoxiaobai) (E, 128k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Friends to Lovers, Blind Date, lots of texting, almost a chat fic, WC and WLJ aren’t evil but they are annoying, Kissing, Masturbation, Anal Sex, romantic sex, Bi WWX, bi nhs, Single Parent WWX, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) by bwyn, Yuisaki (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Actors, Multimedia, Online Friendship, Drunken Shenanigans, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Underage Drinking, Drinking Games, Families of Choice, Ensemble Cast, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Catfish AU)

finally safe (for me to fall) by sassybluee (E, 77k, wangxian, modern, sugar daddy au, age difference, sex work, rich WWX, older WWX, service top WWX, poor LWJ, single parent LWJ, sugar baby LWJ, family issues, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, slow burn, cockblocking, anal sex, blowjobs, no lube & lube, addiction, compulsory heterosexuality, implied/referenced abuse, wangxian + others)

it rains, it pours by jublis (Not Rated, 130k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Case Fic, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Soft WangXian, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, The Junior Ensemble Love WWX, Protective LWJ, Protective WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, YLLZ WWX, Rogue Cultivator LQY, LQY & WWX Friendship, BAMF LQY, Horror, Friendship/Love, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Ambiguous/Open Ending, for the mystery, Our boys are fine) is dripping with atmosphere, and being able to hold a physical book and read it by the fire on a stormy night would enhance that so well

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[sofiadragon]

Hi! Thinking back to your poll on concrit, I want to share my approach. When I am confused by a story, I might say "when X happened, I expected Y only for Z to happen." Or, "I'm not sure why X happened. Maybe A or B?" I never want to say that the writing is wrong, or make judgements about how to improve it. So far, people haven't even interpreted what I'm doing as criticism, even though imo it's the most valuable kind of feedback an author can get!

I'll be honest: I got a little frustrated about the most popular reblog basically saying "sit down internet rando, shut up, and say something nice or nothing at all. No questions, no additional commentary." What they seem to want is just another kudos button that works per-chapter. What they were describing as constructive criticism was full analysis beta reading, which, yes, gives good concrit in a supportive safe space. However, not all concrit is the sort of deep dive into plot, themeing, and characterization that should only be given in a dialog with someone who knows the writer's goals. I've gotten unsolicited public analysis of Hiraeth and that was just awful to experience. We do not suggest plot lines or additional scenes in the comments of a story - especially a completed story as was the case for my Doctor/Donna fic.

However, what you are describing is also constructive criticism. So is "I lost track of who was saying what around X line, was it A saying This Thing and B saying That Thing to C?" So is "I'm a nurse and I think you used the word catheter when you meant canula." I think there should always be an equal amount of attention given to what worked really well when you point out what doesn't, but for more superficial things writers should expect a few comments that aren't just "good job" or a star emoji. We shouldn't be telling our audience that we don't want feedback at all. Some of the best comments I've gotten contained questions about the story that would count as "unwelcome criticism" by the standard of that hard-line post.

Look, I don't want to sound like a crabby old woman griping about this new generation, but you are going to feel slightly inconvenienced or mildly irritated from time to time and that is no great crime against you. Curate your online experience with a sledgehammer to protect yourself from things that would cause you great emotional harm, fuck terfs and all that, but if something is just a mild irritant put the sledgehammer down and shoo it away with appropriate prejudice. So no, sorry if that makes me an asshole, but I think "don't be rude" is the better advice than "only say positive things."

As someone who writes unreliable narrator stories staring sneaky little shits like Loki, Tony Stark, Merlin, and so on I know people are going to speculate a bit in the comments. Heck, ffn calls them 'reviews' so when I post over there people are sometimes going to rate me out of 10 and write up an actual review. I'm going to get questions, and I'm going to give cryptic answer. A lot of time that's fun, but sometimes people get pushy or rude about it and I have to:

Deal with feeling slightly icky.

Ignore the comment or handle it with grace.

What I don't do is reply "no criticism accepted" and go at them like they ripped my baby apart or act like they had no right to irritate me. Take the nurse example. The specific comment I am thinking of came across a bit rude, it was just that I used one word and needed to have used another phrased like they were my elementary school teacher, but it was a 2/10 on the scale of rude things someone has said to me. I replied that sometimes I use the wrong technical word on purpose because the character doesn't know better, and then moved along because they were clearly trying to be helpful and just failed to communicate tone. We're writers, we're good at communicating via text. Not everyone is.

Opt-in is an approach that requires the audience know about it, but it is the right answer. It's people management. Signal to readers you know where you want the story to go, or if you are open to chatting in the comments. Set expectations and people will comment more and give feedback (mostly) on whatever you opted into. Otherwise turn the comments off, if you really just made it for yourself and don't want anyone to talk to you about it and you can't even handle a spelling correction.

[lunova-rambles]

Just binge-read the “My Aunt Is a Monster” graphic novel by Reimena Yee and it is one of my new favourite graphic novels omg

Like not only is the art (especially the colouring) INCREDIBLE but the story is so good to?? The phrasing/storytelling makes it clear with there is some unreliable narration at times, so before you finish chapter 1 you could be led to believe that it’s like “oh maybe the aunt isn’t really a monster, it’s just because the girl telling the story is blind” BUT NO they make it very clear by mid-chapter 1 that the aunt is, in fact, actually a monster. (The cover makes it obvious, but ofc it could just be misleading.)

I guess this is sort of spoilers, but I’m pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t a twist that there was no magic and everything was real (in-universe). In the forward, the author does thank blind/visually impaired people & their allies for making the world more accessible to the former, so I think it’s great that the main character (Safia)’s disability isn’t used as an explanation of sorts on how the magic is happening

And then there are different POVs too omg I love how they show the different perspectives AND ALSO LITTLE HINTS/FORESHADOWING!! Or a callback technically but I’ll discuss that under the cut.

Side note, I gotta try some dondurma sometime…

!! SPOILERS ahead !!

Just a couple mild spoilers first, Aunt Whimsy is cursed to be a Makara which is a nice way of including some Hindu culture! (The author mentions in their biography that they like to include irl cultures in their work, so props to them!)

Tbh I felt like the ending of the ancient city was a little rushed, though. We’re told that the “scourge” has been released and that they need to go inside somewhere to protect “Paradise,” but then cut to the next scene and they’re outside of the place and there’s no explanation as to how that fits with the ending/epilogue. I understand this is most likely a setup for a sequel, but like, the end and epilogue don’t make it seem important if that’s the case. Other than Hebe having a Makara hand now, though honestly that could just be something she has to live with and left ambiguous.

But MAN can Reimena Yee draw some nice fire omg, any time Aunt Whimsy is in her full Makara form, the colours/line art are so cool!! I’m biased because my favourite graphic novels are in similar styles lol but either way, very neat that certain special pages have coloured Lineart instead of black.

ANYWAY I love callbacks and so in this book, my fav callback is the Bureau of Suspicious Intent’s logo being an apple. This is my favourite kind of callback too, where it’s technically a Chekov’s Gun but the writing makes it seem more like foreshadowing (because the callback itself is a build up rather than just the payoff)!

Idk if they establish that Ms. Cathryn bakes apple pies before they reveal she’s ex-Bureau (since they mention it after), but if they do, then that’s the first lil breadcrumb

Yee also shows a gold apple on Hebe’s journal/notes when she’s first introduced, but tbh I didn’t recognize it as an apple because of the style/size lol it was kinda just a blob

Then they introduce the Bureau with the gold apple logo but make no mention of it!! So it’s a callback that works only in a graphic novel since it’s a visual thing!!

so on the cruise ship, you can start to catch onto the ploy about to happen just because there is a suspicious amount of people wearing gold [apple] accessories… 👀 *squints eyes*

ALSO the other great callback is Lord Fauntleroy being a stowaway on the ship/adventure! I think his is a good example of the more overt Chekov’s Gun where they make a note several times that he sheds and call it out again when Hebe gets allergies (without explicitly saying he tagged along)! You can infer pretty easily what’s gonna happen since there’s a panel where they mention leaving Fauntleroy outside yet the taxi driver notices the fur, but it’s nice that it isn’t really mentioned until Hebe’s allergies (since, realistically, the characters would not think Lord Fauntleroy is there).

Anyway I love books and have been on a graphic novel binge 😍 hoping one day I can make one myself or use it to practice visdev work!!

[leandra-kinard]

This is a good post and I agree 90%... however, hard disagree on the Natalia bit.

I don't even think it was "subtext" that she wasn't right for Buck. Buck has always been an unreliable narrator; he often got called out for it by his team members, and the same was the case here, just more subtly.

When he said "I feel like she sees me" the scene very clearly tells us how Eddie feels about this. He looks at Buck with a very obvious and blatant "Bitch, what?" glance. Buck's statement stands in stark contrast with how the text of the episode showed us very clearly Natalia was interested in him on a surface level, because of his brush with death and nothing else.

Whether that was supposed to mean Eddie was the one who truly saw Buck and therefore his right partner, that is up for interpretation and very certainly not a clearly intended subtextual/textual addition. But Natalia being nothing more than a fleeting and still very surface level fling was CLEAR in the text at that point.

(The only reason she was "endgame", I would assume, is that there was no time to explore anything different, and the possibility that 911 was not going to be picked up was there, so the choice was made to have them be together and leave it to the audience to imagine what happens next - just a very surface level happy ending for each character to wrap things up.)

That is really very surface level text/mild subtext and nowhere near the "Oh did you see the red and blue street sign in the back? This means Buck and Eddie are in love," or, yes, pasta metaphor analysis that should be no more than a crack theory but is taken too seriously, by too many in the fandom.

911 may not be as deep as high brow movies, but they have shown us again and again that characters say one thing and deep down feel something else. I could list examples of that for each of them (Athena saying she's fine and doesn't need therapy, but slowly spiraling downwards because of her Hudson trauma so far that she slaps her own child, for example).

That's a pretty simple and common tool of storytelling that you'd find in even less deep creations like daily soap operas.

the reason I can recognize canon v fanon is that I watched Scorsese and Nolan movies but when i'm watching 911 I know I'm not watching a Scorsese or Nolan movie.

I know it sounds dumb but this year i realized how many people don't know they're not watching Shutter Island or Inception and they try to apply BigMovie logic to written-in-5-days WeeWoo show episodes.

this means if the show explicitly tells you a character is happy or a relationship is going well you're not supposed to infer they're actually miserable and on the verge of a breakup because they're wearing blue and subtextually blue means unhappy and also they're eating pasta and this means the break up is past-a due.

I love doing it and writing metas and speculating but I know it's fanon and there's a 90% chance that's not what the show means so i'm not gonna be disappointed if my meta doesn't get confirmed.

i'm not saying 911 doesn't have subtext, i'm saying they probably don't use it to deny explicit canon because most people won't pick up on it. and if they went with the kind of theories we come up with on here 90% of the audience would be blindsided and think "where the hell is this coming from".

i remember having this argument when people kept saying that despite Buck insisting Natalia was the right person for him we were supposed to know she was wrong because of subtext and he was gonna realize it. but he didn't and she wasn't. she was supposed to be his endgame because when 6x18 was written and shot they had no idea if they were gonna get renewed and that's how they chose to end the show (and in the end they only broke up because the actress wasn't available).

when you're at the movies sometimes the curtains are shown to be blue but you're supposed to understand they're red and it's actually a dream because the character is always wearing sunglasses. but I don't think that kind of brain power is required to watch and understand abc procedural show n.4636367 airing at 8 pm on thursdays.