#my top female characters 2023 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theheightofdishonor · 5 months ago

Text

GL Recs Masterlist

I've watched a couple hundred gls now and so I thought i'd put it to good use and help other people find some. There's not enough gl rec lists anyway

First things first, I'll like to direct you to https://mydramalist.com/list/1xrpwdW3 which is a gl rec list on mdl with more than 200+ titles + links. It's an EXCELLENT resource, kept up to date and even tracks upcoming titles.

Now for stuff that I've watched and thought are decent. I'll link all of these to their mdl page and the links to watch the show can usually be found in the comments. If you're new to gl, be warned that a lot of these are pretty short, ranging from 1-30 minutes.

1 in 10,000 (2018) Korea. This is a soulmates piece told in 3 parts following two girls through different parts of their lives. I think this got more confusing as it went on but I really liked Act I and I think it's worth watching. It's beautiful and angsty and a bit artsy. I'm pretty sure it has a happy ending but don't quote me on that.

Afraid of (2019) Korea. A short film about a girl struggling with her sexuality. Yeah, I know, there's a THOUSAND of these but I do like this one. It's beautifully shot and there's a lot of heart.

Am I the only one with butterflies? (2018) Korea. A girl blogs about falling in love with the manager at her new job. I like part ii better than part one but it's just cute and the pining is very similar to het kdramas.

Anonymous high school girl (2022) Korea. A low stakes love triangle. Good chemistry, low budget, awful kisses.

The Beauty of the Law (2023) China- If you're not familar with chinese gls, I think it's certainly something to get used to. This is like in the top 1% of the category. It's an ad for Adolph Shampoo and i'm going to let you know that they're going to appear often on this list because they make excellent gls. It's a historical about a female unlicensed lawyer trying to help a woman escape her abusive marriage. Makes great points about gender imbalances and women's historical lack of legal rights in China. (f you like this one, Sheng Wei, one of the actresses stars in 50%+ of all chinese gls, check her out)

Beguine (2018) Thailand - It's if the school dancing scene in My School President was a 30 minute sequence with two girls. No plot but adorable.

Cat in the eastern palace (2020) China - Watch this just to have the surreal experience of seeing like 3 whole cdrama arcs which normally take 20ish eps executed in a 7 minute timeframe. Also because it stars laoji who's in the other 50% of chinese gls. As for plot, it's about a cat spirit and a girl pretending to be the crown prince.

Clasper (2021) Thailand - And they were roommates! I liked the production, the dialogue and the acting was pretty decent.

Couple of Mirrors*** (2021) China- Wait to watch this because it will ruin you for everything else. This is like typical thai bl length, like 12 45~min episodes. It's a historical mystery about a wealthy woman who finds out about her husband's affair with her bff and the photographer she enlists to help her. If you watch one thing out of China, watch this.

Dear My Girlfriend (2021) Korea - A group project ft love triangle. It´s pretty classic. A girl starts dating someone who likes her only to realize she might instead be in love with her best friend. The editing is cute. It's a touch angsty as love triangles are and pretty well done.

Dear Uranus (2021) Taiwan. Another school love triangle. Does feature an adorkable female character, you know a bit awkward, a bit cutesy, if you hate this archetype, ignore this one. Personally I think the chemistry for the lead couple was lacking (genuinely shocking considering taiwan tends to be great at this) but both the love interests are hot and I am not immune to hot women

The Demonic lord and the virtuous cultivator (2021) China - Avoid this if you don't like toxic yuri. I personally love it so this is 10/10 for me. Orphan gets taken in by a benevolent benefactor who turns out to be her parents' killer and eventually....you know what go watch it.

Encore Martha (2021) Taiwan. One of the few gls about older women. A tomboy reunites with her first love. This one's only available on gagaoolala so you'll either need a subscription or sometimes they promote it for free. If you can find it though, it's worth a watch.

Family Plan (2016) Korea. This is a bit of an odd one to describe. The first half is two high school girls who are dating. And then the second half is their relationship as adults where they marry guys and use it to have a kid that they raise as theirs. I liked how this examined how two gay people would go about their relationship in in a world where they can't freely be with each other.

Favorite Girl (2022) Thailand. Very standard plot about a girl suffering from a breakup and her roommate but something about it stuck out to me.

Five steps to accept farewell (2016) Korea. Warning for unhappy ending. This is all pure angst, a 9 minute snapshot into a breakup. I like how it's done and the messiness of the situation.

Fragrance of the first flower (2021) Taiwan. A beautifully shot, beautifully acted, slightly too short show about two ex-lovers reuniting ft. all the angst about living in a homophobic society. It stayed in my head for weeks after I first watched it.

Girls Blood** (2014) Japan. A movie about 4 "girls" in an underground fight club. warnings for rape, trauma, domestic assault. One of the main characters is a trans man. There are sex scenes. It's very queer and I highly recommend.

Girls Love** (2016) China. Pre-censorship China had some very wonderful queer work and one of them was this movie It's about a girl who falls in love with her hot butch roommate ft all the tropes AND we get to see them function in a relationship instead of the movie ending when they get together. Warning for both characters being forcibly outed at the end. (nothing bad really happens to them after though). Also do NOT watch the sequel. If you go to mdl, everyone else will also tell you not to watch the sequel and I foolishly did not listen to those people because I liked these girls so much and I suffered for my mistake.

The Girls on Rela (2016) China. It's an anthology of short, I wouldn't say stories, more like moments, sponsored by a lesbian dating app. Each one's really short but the acting and scripts are all pretty good.

The Girls on Rela Season 2** (2016) China. This is sponsored by the same company but it's a totally different format. It's one long show about two girls cohabiting. Pretty well executed if a bit slow.

Graduation, Present + Propose (2021) Korea. A short about a high school girl giving a graduation present to her crush. What it does it does well. It's pretty.

The Handmaiden (2016) Korea. Historical set movie about a conman and thief girl who plot to steal a heiress’s fortune. I make it sound boring but that's only because it's a pretty popular movie and everything to be said about it has already been said.

Happy to have you here (2021) Thailand. Two friends have a sleepover and figure out their feelings. This is definitely in the top 20% for this trope, even though they rushed just a tad into the kiss.

Hello, spring is coming (2019) Korea. I'll let you read the synopsis for this one. What you need to know is that it's pretty, well acted, has good chemistry and is as brightly colored as a lollipop. It's a bit disorienting, parts of it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's a fun time.

I broke up because of you (2023) Korea- A bartender and their client catches feelings for each other. The dynamic is nice, the kiss less so but it can be forgiven.

I’m her weapon (2022) China- It's kinky, it's angsty, it's 3 minutes long and still fits in a separation arc. I would pay money for an extended version.

Kanojo no Kuchidzuke Kansensuru Libido (2022) Japan - two girls fall in love in a hospital. I like the tone of this one.

The L Bang** (2015) China- Another Rela production. It's a 4 episode comedy about a bunch of lesbians + (1) gay man who live in the same apartment complex. It's got queer friendship, queer acceptance and queer love. It's just wonderful. It feels like 2000s American sitcoms but queer and Chinese.

Led Astray by Love (2022) China- Fairly long for a cgl. A girl gets transported to a manhwa and falls in love with the ruler. Sunshine/grumpy. This baby is 52 minutes long and covers like the same amount of plot as word of honor does in 30 something episodes.

Legend of Yunze (2021) China - A human and a half demon vanquish demons from a village. It has a second season and a special that I haven't watched yet.

The Lost World** [Xia Ye Zhi Dao Feng De Tian] (2023) China - After watching as much cgl as I have, I was shocked to see Laoji in a modern piece. This is a college setting running-into-a-childhood-friend trope. The pacing and chemistry are both pretty good. It's one of my favorites from her.

Love in the Tinder Age** (2019) Korea- A black comedy about a bullied lesbian's failed suicide attempt ft psychics, ghosts and a teacher/student relationship. It's not really a gl because the main character doesn't get a romance BUT it's really fun so you should watch it anyway.

Love of Secret** (2022) Thailand- More of a slice of life than a love story but it's cute and fluffy and the main character very much is in a relationship. The actual plot is about a med student who's hiding both her relationship with her best friend and her dreams to be an idol. I found it positively charming.

Lover’s Concerto** (2002) Korea- Calling this a gl is a stretch. It's more just queer? The girls were most likely in love but they don't end up together and the movie itself doesn't really have a happy ending. I did find it beautiful though.

Mayfly angel (2024) Korea- Classic discovers-feelings-for-bestie-after-a-breakup plot. Warning that this is angsty and they don't end up together. But I found it realistic and I liked that they felt like two real people. Take that how you will.

Miss shen and the woman warlord (2023) China- a woman cross-dresses as another young woman's fiance and they fall in love. Despite how i describe it, there's a decent amount of plot and some political commentary.

More or less than 75 celsius (2019) Korea- A tea master and her supervisor fall in love. It's sparse and short but cute.

My Dear (2021) Thailand. A drunk girl confesses to her friend and luckily for her, it's mutual. It's 5 minutes long but it uses its time well and the acting is nice. It feels a bit like gmmtv's confessions. If you like it, the production company ShakeShoulder makes TONS of gl shorts and i'd recommend checking them out.

No distance left to run (2022) Hong Kong. a 15 minute short film about how fame causes issues in a pop star's relationship. Unhappy ending. The song's a bop though and it's well done.

Nü er hong** (2023) China. I forgot to mention but this one, the legend of yunze and the lost world are all produced by the same studio. They do a lot of fairly long chinese gls. The story is about these two beings from an alien world who crash land on earth and are hunted. One is a healer and the other is a killer, they're in love, the killer goes insane so her lover kills her. Unbeknownst to them, they're immortal so the killer wakes up with no memories 200 years later. The pacing is better than some of their earlier stuff but it's not quite perfect here yet. It is one of my favorites from the studio though and it ends happily.

Our relationship ended before it began (2022) Korea. A barista falls in love with her manager at a coffee shop ft gender roles, miscommunication and the classic "cool one picks on the nice one to show affection" trope.

Pyramid Game** (2024) Korea. This is more gl adjacent like Devil Judge and Beyond Evil. There is a secondary gl couple that's more explicitly canon though. If you've watched other kdramas about school bullying, this is pretty similar except it's an all-girls school and everyone is so gay. It's got so much heart and is one of my favorite shows of the year.

Really, Lily? (2019) Korea. A 6 minute short about two girls who visit a cafe and beats up two men who were making homophobic remarks about them. It's surprisingly comedic and the coloring is bright to match. Features a pretty decent kiss. Watching it, I wished it was longer but what's there is still good.

Secret of us (2024) Thailand. The only longform thai gl that i've liked enough to finish. It's about an idol who comes back to win over her doctor ex. It falters from ep 6 onwards but until then, the show is really good at showing the emotional thought processes of the characters and the way they construct the story is compelling, even though I don't even like second chance romances.

Shackles (2023) China. Another one from the Chinese shampoo ad. The pairing itself is not my favorite but it's so cool that this is basically a warning against nuclear pollution AND features chinese mythology that's used in the brand's marketing. Like a 3 in 1. It's so interesting.

She Makes My heart flutter (2022) Korea. Baby lesbian finds out her aunt runs a lesbian bar and starts working there. It's so goddamn cute but it has this weird relationship with homophobia where everyone in the show is apparently 100% ok with queerness but a lot of the aunt's actions is so driven by her being a queer person in an unaccepting society. A bit like how Moonlight Chicken deals with Jin and Li Ming's different attitudes towards being queer except they don't dwell on why the aunt is the way she is or what she's been through. Anyways, it's worth a watch.

Sleep with me (2022) Philippines. A 6 episode series about two girls who are disabled in different ways fall in love. One of them can only sleep during the day and the other is in a wheelchair and the show does a pretty decent job at showing how these disabilities affect their lives and their relationship

Soshite, Yuriko wa Hitori ni Natta** (2020) Japan. If you follow me, you may have seen me talk about this show earlier this year because I found it and promptly fell in love. It's not quite gl but Mizuki's actions are all driven by the fact that she's in love with Yuriko. It's queerer than you would expect, less queer than you might want. It's a supernatural-adjacent school horror about a girl who's new school has a weird thing where every year, a girl named Yuriko becomes "Yuriko sama" and rules the school while everyone else in that year with the same name mysteriously dies. Yuriko's best friend Mizuki plots to make the sweet innocent Yuriko the newest Yuriko-sama to save her life. It's weird, there's plot holes everywhere by the end, it definitely vilifies it's gays and the ending is weak but it's such a compelling watch.

Stand-in love (2023) Philippines. 2 best friends have a ‘stand in’ relationship where the straight one helps the lesbian one learn how to court someone but they end up falling in love with each other. Like 20 min long and I love it.

Ti Shen** [The substitute] (2017) Taiwan. The mdl synopsis can describe the plot better than I can but it's a romance between an idol and a normal girl that's split into two parts. The first half is about them meeting in high school, the second is when they reunite later on a movie set where one of them is the other's stunt double. I think the first part could've been a bit longer but it's a great movie.

Transit Girls (2015) Japan. Stepsisters. Happy ending though and it's fairly long. I liked this mostly because I like Japan's moody stuff. I also liked how they handled the male love interest.

Truth or Dare (2022) Korea. A 10 minute short about two girls who like each other playing truth or dare. It does a great job at building tension and revealing things without saying it.

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna** (2022) Japan. A woman who loves to cook comes to an arrangement with her neighbor who loves to eat. Japan does food-centered dramas better than everyone else and this is no exception. The romance itself is slow and you watch how their dynamic changes through this and the season two that came out this year.

The Twelve flower gods: Camelia (2020) China. A xianxia romance about a girl falling in love with a flower but it's a minute twenty so I promise you're not watching for the plot. You're watching to witness the ridiculous amount of innuendos that they manage to fit in under two minutes.

Twin souls of destiny (2023) China. Xianxia romance between two elves, one who is made from the memories of the other's past life. I want someone else to watch this so we can discuss whether or not this is selfcest. The color combination is interesting because I very rarely see lovers in red and purple. The time travel is confusing but it's a good time and laoji is in it.

Until Rainbow Dawn** (2018) Japan. Movie about two deaf girls falling in love ft homophobic parents. The director is a deaf lesbian herself so the movie does a wonderful job in how it depicts deafness and their relationship. It's really well done

When the light pours (2022) Korea. A girl's boyfriend wants her to sing him a song so she enrolls in guitar lessons and ends up falling in love with her teacher. The girls don't get together and I really wish they had! So if you watch this, don't watch the ending and pretend that they did end up together.

#gl series #wlw #gl drama #thai gl #korean gl #gl recs #sapphic media #until rainbow dawn #fragrance of the first flower #couple of mirrors #she makes my heart flutter #sleep with me #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #secret of us #love of secret

172 notes · View notes

phantasia69 · 1 year ago

Text

As a female gamer, one thing I love about Fromsoftware games is their female characters.

For me, a game having decent female characters is a huge selling point. I literally bought Elden Ring (and therefore got into souls games) just because of Malenia. She is literally the sole reason why I bought the game. I even bought the collectors edition of the game so I could get the figurine of her, which sits at the top shelf of my glass display shelf along with a figurine of Lady Maria.

I love how fleshed out the female characters are in Fromsoftware games. I love how the female characters are allowed to just be people, and not have their entire character revolve around them being female. They're allowed to be kind, mean, caring, selfish, deceitful, cunning, mysterious, vulnerable, strong, weak, and so many other things.

Even in the modern age, there are still so many games coming out that use female characters for just fanservice. All the time, I see games underutilize their female characters or just set them to the side entirely. Not once have I ever felt like a female character was used for fanservice in a Fromsoftware game, or at least, their entire character wasn't based around it.

I'm not saying that fanservice is inherently bad, I'm just saying that it gets a little exhausting when all of your favorite female characters, especially in video games, get over sexualized to the point where there's NSFW content of them everywhere. I know the same thing happens with some male characters, but I see it a lot more often with female characters.

I feel like a lot of newer games should take some notes from Fromsoftware when it comes to making female characters. It's 2023, after all.

#fromsoftware #dark souls #ds3 #elden ring malenia #malenia #lady maria #sister friede #soulsborne #bloodborne #elden ring #games #rant #female characters in video games #i could write a lot more about this but if i did this post would become too long #resident evil #dmc

564 notes · View notes

averagewriter-inthedark · 10 days ago

Text

You Are My Strength 💙 | Johnny Storm Imagine

Link to my Marvel masterlist

Characters & Pairings: JosephQuinn!JohnnyStorm x Super Soldier!reader (romantic), the Fantastic Four (platonic).

Content Warnings: fluff, angst, insinuated torture and mind control, happy ending, profanity, flirtatious banter, mentions of canon violence, canon divergence | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 3.9k

Requested 📨 yes/no | matching headcanon

Premise: Johnny Storm always has his work cut out for him when he spars with his love who knows a thing or two about putting him on his ass. More often than not, he finds himself looking back on the days where he and the Fantastic Four discovered she was not just a missing soldier, but an asset desperate for freedom.

Note: okay so I just CA:BNW and my marvel fix is back full force like it was back in 2018-2023. This piece is definently inspired by Bucky Barnes and has a spin on the Winter Soldier which you'll see. Hope you like this!

Johnny’s back met the mat with a loud grunt, limbs sprawling out making him look like a starfish. “That was unfair,” he called out with his eyes shut, but he knew she was smirking when her chuckle reached his ears from the opposite side of the mat.

“You gave me the open,” the sound of footsteps indicated she was beginning to approach him. “I took it.” Peeking one eye open, Johnny beamed at Y/n, towering over him with hand extended to help him up. Accepting it, Johnny let out a small yelp by the force of her hauling him to his feet, stumbling a bit before he gripped her shoulders to steady.

Y/n patted his shoulders fondly, “When you attack you have to make sure to watch your blind side. Otherwise you’re giving your enemy a window.” A finger tapped his nose, “don’t give them that window,” then the middle of his chest, “now again from the beginning.”

Johnny bit his lip, letting his eyes wander down her figure as she went to take her place in the middle of the mat. Lingering on her arms that were on display by the black tank top she wore, traveling down to her legs which were covered by grey sweatpants. Y/n must’ve felt his gaze on her because she snapped her fingers, “If I turn around and you’re not in position then you’re doing fifty push-ups, Storm.”

Now that had him moving his feet.

Johnny rushed to the center of the mat. Readying himself just in time for Y/n to turn around and raise her arms. “Come at me with full force and don’t hesitate,” she spoke with seriousness, but he caught the spark of playfulness in her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Johnny charged forward, putting all his might like she said to block any incoming attack while working to get the upper hand. Y/n anticipated most of his moves which wasn’t a surprise, but Johnny managed to surprise her too. Pushing her to the edge of the circle within the mat that they often used to indicate who won the match, but never quite getting her out of the circle.

Y/n was not using her full potential despite telling him to. And Johnny knew that. Even when Ben challenged her in a sparring session Y/n always toned it down, fearing she’d unintentionally hurt them if she allowed herself to go full super soldier mode.

Whenever they sparred Johnny often thought about the events that lead to where they were. It’d been three years, but it still broke his heart remembering that at one point in time, Y/n had no control over her own mind. That her life had been taken away from her, forced to become a machine of unstoppable nature…..

“Who is she?” Johnny spoke out of breath, an ice pack pressed against his head to soothe the swelling of his inflamed skin. Entire body sore and desperate for rest. The state of him matched his fellow teammates, his family, who were all bruised and deflated from the battle they’d experienced that morning.

Sue’s hair was disheveled, lip and chin busted, holding an ice pack of her own to her ribs. Reed's arm was in a sling, dried blood painting his ear. And Ben, the one to come out with no noticeable injuries of course thanks to his rock exterior, had a distant look in his eyes. As though all the light had drained from them.

Gathered back at Baxter Building in their conference room, their gazes were pinned on the projector displaying a black & white image of the woman responsible for their condition. The woman who caught them by surprise when they were focused on the group of anarchists they’d been tracking for weeks. Allowing the anarchists to escape and continue their terror on the country.

“Her name’s Y/n L/n,” Reed grunted, lifting himself off the chair he was sitting in to approach the screen. Tiredness plagued his voice, a combination of the fight and spending the last five hours since returning to Baxter Building finding everything about the mystery woman he could get his hands on. He had to break through a dozen government firewalls, but eventually Reed uncovered secret files the secretary of defense did not want brought to the surface.

Reed pressed a button on the remote, the screen moving the image from the center to the side to display information. “Ex-military--Special Forces out of California. Got her degree in Intelligence & National Security from Georgetown. Joined the service shortly after.” Hesitating, Reed removed his glasses and refused to look at his family, “She was part of the highly coveted strike team called the Winter Soldiers.”

Ben visibly reacted, rising from the couch with a hardened expression that made even Johnny’s skin crawl. “She’s a Winter Soldier?”

The way Ben said the name sent chills up Johnny’s spine, confusion etching his face as he turned to read for an answer. “What does that mean?”

“It means we’re looking at a ghost,” Ben spoke before Reed had the chance to, causing the man to scowl at him before turning to Johnny.

“The Winter Soldiers were a special team assigned to conduct classified operations the government didn’t want other countries knowing about,” he explained, pressing another button so the projector pulled up a file like image detailing the Winter Soldier program. “They picked the best of the best from each branch of the military or agency. All highly intelligent who were masters when it came to marksmanship and combat--fluent in a dozen languages. They could dismantle governments, assassinate political leaders, bomb enemy installations all while never tracing it back to the U.S.”

Reed paused, bringing his not slinged arm up to rub a hand on his bruised jaw, sighing as he finished with, “Ten years ago the whole team was killed in action during an ambush in Europe.” The Storm siblings’ eyes widened, face filled with shock, “The government couldn’t risk recovering the bodies--it’s rumored they set it up--so they left them and hid all the files deep behind firewalls. Erasing the program as though it never existed in the first place.”

The conference room fell silent, Reed’s words lingering in the air. For the siblings the news was riveting. Eerie. How could a government have a team as lethal as the Winter Soldiers, potentially wipe them out, and make it to where they never existed? And now that they had proof one survived, what did it mean for the Four?

Deep in his gut, Johnny felt there was more to the story than Y/n going rogue. Part of him couldn’t blame her, the logical reasoning being if it was true that the government was responsible for the ambush and her goal was revenge. But his intuition told him there were other forces at play.

Because when their eyes met during the brawl, Johnny swore he saw a flicker of guilt behind her steel gaze. Not to mention the way she moved reminded him of a video game character being controlled by a player. Stoic. Robotic. In a constant daze.

The thought made his stomach turn.

Sue sighed in defeat, “so we are, quite literally if I must say, chasing a ghost.” Wincing, she adjusts herself in the chair, “What do we do now?”

“If she’s a Winter Soldier then we might as well pack it up,” Sue flinched at Ben’s tone, anxiety rising just by the visible alarm he spoke with. She and Johnny shared a worried look. “And after what we saw earlier--the strength,” Ben emphasized, recalling the way Y/n caught a car he threw at her like it was nothing. “That wasn’t normal, Reed. Whatever happened in the time between her disappearing to now obviously is why the anarchists have been keeping her hidden till now.” Ben moved away from the screen, feeling sickly just looking at the long list of things Y/n did and was rumored to have done. “We don’t know what we’re up against--ah--and frankly I don’t like not going in blind.”

Ben had a point. They knew better than to attempt going after the anarchists and Y/n when they lacked all the information. Currently at their disposal was her record with the American government as a Winter Soldier. Anything from the past ten years was up for debate. Based on the track record of the anarchist group, Y/n likely someone they only unveiled as a last resort. Given what happened to the Four, they initially had the upper hand until Johnny heard the leader speak into a radio, “call in the asset.”

Not even five minutes later, a stainless steel clamp caught his foot mid air and dragged him to the Earth.

Then Sue was thrown into a flower shop, Reed’s arm got broken, and Ben was smashed into a brick wall by Y/n taking a light pole and using him as batting practice.

So, they needed a plan. A good one. To ensure none of them lost their lives at the hands of a fucking super soldier. And that innocent people are not caught in the crossfire either. Easier said than done.

What Johnny was not expecting, however, in their strategy plan was for Y/n to be the one to confront them two weeks later by breaking into Baxter’s Building in the middle of the night. Disabling their security system to sneak inside where Johnny found her in the living room when he was on his way to get a glass of warm milk. Freezing in the entryway as a resounding *click* filled his ears.

“Don’t move,” her voice followed, causing every muscle in Johnny’s body to stiffen. He didn’t have to see Y/n’s face to know it was her. He recognized her silhouette in the darkness due to the moonlight peeking through the blinds. Then confirmation came upon her flicking the switch of the living room, Johnny’s gaze landing on a gun trained on him that had a nozzle so big it looked like a cannon.

“You’re the one they call the Human Torch,” her hands and eyes never wavered, pinning him where he stood. “Johnny Storm, correct?” He didn’t know whether to answer or not, so he simply nodded. Slow, like a snail would. Y/n relaxed her posture, but didn’t lower the gun. “I’m here to warn you and your friends,” the tone of voice caught Johnny off guard. On one hand it was serious, but on another it was pleading, “you need to back off. Stop coming after the Anarchists--they are becoming impatient with you getting in their way. Things are going to escalate, and more people are going to get hurt as a result. So, I highly advise you to let them go.”

Johnny raised his hands up, taking a hesitant step forward and when she didn’t tighten her hands on the gun he sighed in relief. “You know we can’t do that.” Her face tightened, so hard he was sure a vein was visible. Johnny spoke cautiously as to not trigger her, “they are terrorists, Y/n. They’re hurting innocent people to fuel their agenda, and it has to stop.”

“You know my name?” He nodded, nervous at how she straightened her posture the second her name left his lips.

“We know you were part of the Winter Soldier program that was wiped out ten years ago. We know you were labeled KIA, and your entire record was buried by the government to hide their role in what you did.” Johnny lowered his hands to show he was not a threat, even though she was glaring at him like he was, “but we don’t know how you survived or why you are with the group we’re after.” He contemplated saying the next words, but knew the team needed insight to her length of her suspected powers. “And don’t know what they did to you for you to become….” he trailed off, but it was enough for her to get the implication.

Y/n’s breath hitched, biting the inside of her cheek as she slowly lowered the gun, placing it back in its holster. “All you need to know,” her voice went an octave lower, “is that the next time they let me loose won’t be child’s play. The first was just a warning,” Her jaw ticked, face consuming with both regret and shame, “it’s why you are all still alive.”

Johnny’s face turned with confusion, disturbed by the statement and the suggestion that Y/n had no control over the matter. “What are--what are you saying?”

“Look,” she strained like it physically hurt to be telling him these things. “I’m risking everything by coming here tonight. You and your friends seem like good people, who want to protect the world, and I admire that despite what you may think. I’ve given you every reason to believe I am a rogue soldier but that is far from the truth.” The way her eyes shined made his stomach turn. “I cannot guarantee the next time we meet if you continue to pursue the anarchists, that they won’t make me…” she trails off, unable to finish the sentence leaving Johnny perplexed.

He attempts to reason with her, offering a comforting smile and ignoring the alarm bells in his head, “Y/n, I promise you can trust me--trust us. We can help you if you tell us what they have on you.” She shakes her head.

“You can’t.”

Johnny refused to accept her answer. “Please--.”

“They’ll know I snuck out any minute, I must go now,” she straightens, swallowing thickly and Johnny stiffens when she reaches into her pocket, where she removes a silver flash drive and gently places it on the coffee table closest to her. Then the gun is trained on him once more and Johnny gulps, stepping back with his hands raised as Y/n backtrails toward the glass windows he now realized was missing a plane. Must’ve been how she got into the building in the first place.

“Y/n….”

“Remember my warning, Mr. Storm,” one foot stands on the edge, hand not holding the gun retrieving an object holstered on her back. “Don’t let our paths cross again.” Another gun-shaped weapon raises out the window, Y/n releasing the trigger where a grappling hook shoots off in the opposite direction and she finally breaks eye contact with Johnny to jump off into the city.

Wide-eyed, Johnny rushes to the window, catching himself on the edge and is shocked to find no trace of Y/n. She vanished out of thin air. With a huff, Johnny backed away from the open plane and ran his hands through his air. ‘What the fuck just happened?’ he kept thinking, trying to wrap his mind around the fact Y/n was right there.

‘Oh shit, the flash drive.’ Johnny stumbled over to the coffee table, tripping on the rug as he snatched the damn thing and raced out of the living room to wake up his family. As expected, they were irritated to be woken up in the middle of the night, but that annoyance turned into dumbstruck at the revelation Y/n was in the building and gave Johnny a flash drive.

Yeah, they were curious to say the least.

Gathering in the conference room, Reed plugged the drive into the computer and geared up the projector. They hovered close to the monitor, not wanting to miss a single detail of whatever the device contained. And boy were they in for a shocker, because the contents of the drive would be ingrained in their memory forever.

“Oh my God,” Sue whispered in horror. Frozen in her chair as she stared at the image of Y/n strapped and gagged onto a stretcher with dozens of needles attached to IVs containing blue liquid embedded into her skin, and electrodes taped to her head. Dated the month after her squadron was killed.

From beside Sue, Johnny matched her affright, “What the hell did they do to her?”

“So far the subject does not appear to be negatively affected by the infusion of the serum into the blood,” a voice spoke through the speakers, sending chills along their arms. Serum? “Usually by now the subject's heart would cease--for the body is unable to handle the radiation and heavy dose of potassium.”

Johnny’s head spun with a sudden wave of nausea that if he’d been standing instead of sitting it would’ve put him on his knees. Consumed with disbelief by what he just heard. He was no stranger to radiation, but unlike the Four who were accidentally exposed to it in space, Y/n was intentionally injected with it along with a lethal dose of potassium. Infusing the chemicals in her blood to purposefully alter her DNA.

Reed stroked his jaw, frowning at the monitor, “No wonder they’ve kept her hidden all these years. She was the first.”

Johnny narrowed his brows, heart skipping at the tone of Reed’s voice, “The first what?”

“The first super soldier.”

An eeriness fell over the room as the footage continued. The date now months later, Y/n still strapped to a stretcher--this time with steel chains and not leather, and electrodes attached to her temples. “Now that we’ve successfully completed phase one, it is time to begin phase two.” A man spoke off camera while another approached Y/n to check her vitals. “The sequence of the selected words must be repeated in the order for which they were installed. Once all have been relayed, the subject conscious shall be restrained, and fully at the disposal of its handler.”

All the blood drained from Johnny’s face as the temperature in the room dropped, sending a chilling blast amongst the Four. Not even his godly levels of heat Johnny produced helped. It was as though they were drowning in the Arctic circle.

“Meadow…..Decimal….Skyscraper,” The voice off camera articulated each word slowly and clearly. And the Four witnessed with dread as Y/n began to convulse against the restraints. Whimpering against the gag around her mouth as she fought to escape.

“Reed…” the blonde stammered, leaning in his chair as he gripped the arms so tight his knuckles turned white. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“You said when she spoke to you,” Reed spoke an octave lower, becoming pale as his chest tightened and hands clammed up. “She seemed different. More in control of herself.”

“Nocturn….Alpine…”

“Yes,” Johnny murmured as his breath hitched, his worst fear coming alive.

Y/n’s muffled screams grew louder, thrashing so hard the metal squeaked. “Omaha….Windmill…..” Johnny heard Ben swear under his breath when the woman started banging her head against the hard surface of the stretcher in a desperate attempt to keep a grip on her mind. “Inferno…” Johnny felt the need to throw up, not taking his eyes off the screen as he tried to get the words out of his mouth.

“Reed, did they---are they--?”

“Ladder….”

Reed finished for him, saying the unfathomable reality they were now faced with. Why Y/n seemed to be a robot during their first meeting, but normal not even an hour ago. Reed’s voice interlaced with the man they now knew was her handler.

“They’re controlling her.”

“Severance.”

Johnny yelped, landing on the mat with Y/n’s weight pinning him down as she straddled his hips. He doesn’t even attempt to throw her off, conceding with a sigh, “I yield.” Her beautiful smile that Johnny adored plastered on her lips, head tilting as she chuckled.

“So quick to admit defeat?”

“Maybe I just like having you on top of me.”

Y/n rolled her eyes, but they were filled with amusement and Johnny smirked in victory considering she did not move. “Cheeky. That’ll get you killed, you know, if you’re not careful.” Johnny laughed, hands going to her waist where he let his thumbs skim over the skin showing from where her tank top came loose.

“That’s why I have you there to save me.”

“And when I can’t be in two places at once?” she challenged, palms on his chest, feeling his warmth through the white t-shirt.

Johnny playfully squeezed her, “Please, we both know we don’t let the other out of their sight.”

“Touché,” Y/n laughed, leaning down to kiss his cheek before hauling herself off despite his protests.

“Come back.”

Y/n slapped his hands away giggling as they reached for her, standing up straight and gesturing for him to follow. “You know the rules, Storm. Condition then cool down and then you can get your hands on me.” Johnny moved faster than the speed of light, pushing off the mat to stand.

Together they did their normal conditioning routine. Five reps of five exercises. 10 Pushups that went into minute long planks. 10 Crunches that turned into 10 V-ups and 10 sit ups for a total of 50 altogether of each exercise. They ran sprints. Then ended with a ten-minute cool-down stretch.

Once they were done they were out of breath and sweaty, desperate for a hot shower and food. Right on time too because as they went to retrieve their bags, Y/n tossing Johnny a towel to wipe the moisture off his forehead, Sue entered the gym. Smiling at the two as she said, “Oh good you guys are done for the day. Reed and Ben were thinking of oven roast chicken and vegetables with rolls for supper. Are you okay with that?”

“As long as it’s paired with a nice glass of chardonnay,” Y/n mused, screwing the top of her water bottle in place.

Sue playfully rolled her eyes, amused by the joke considering they were all aware alcohol did nothing to Y/n. The serum unfortunately did not allow her to get drunk if she pleased. Still, Sue went along with the jest, “I’ll pour you the finest glass we have, Y/n. It’ll change your life.”

The soldier winked, dropping the bottle in her bag and sliding her bare feet into her slides. “You always know the way to my heart, Storm.” Suddenly her vision was obscured by the same white towel she had given Johnny. “Hey!”

“That’s enough flirting you two,” he scolded, tone lacking any anger. “For one, you’re married,” he pointed at his sister. “And two,” his finger moved to Y/n. “You’re also married. To me in case you’ve forgotten.”

Y/n snorted, matching Sue’s amused expression and wrapped an arm around Johnny’s waist while the other hauled the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “Alright, baby, let’s get the hell out of here. I recall you promising me a night on the town after dinner?” She felt his arm go around her shoulders, pulling her close to them as they followed Sue out of the gym, lips attaching to her temple.

“Prepare yourself, darling, for the best night of your life.”

Y/n’s face turned serious, staring at him with a look that made his heart race. It was full of devotion, the type of love one dreams for with the person they were meant to be partners in life. Like when there’s a star in the night sky shining brighter than all the others one can’t help but stop and stare.

“Every night is the best night with you,” she interlaced her fingers with the hand resting on her shoulder. “Ever since you saved me from them and gave me the chance when the world told you not to, I’ve cherished every minute spent with you. The serum might have made me strong, but you are my strength, Johnny Storm.”

#johnny storm x reader #johnny storm imagine #johnny storm x you #johnny storm x y/n #johnny storm #johnny storm fluff #mcu johnny storm #joseph quinn johnny storm #joseph quinn imagine #marvel imagine #johnny storm angst #fantastic four imagine #fantastic four fanfic #fantastic four fanfiction #marvel fanfiction

73 notes · View notes

olderthannetfic · 11 months ago

Text

I thought it would be interesting to see if I could easily determine which ships had the most works updated in 2023.

It turned out to be fairly easy, though a little time consuming. I think these results should be reasonably accurate.

Some points to note:

I did this on my own account, and I have like 2 people muted. So I am capturing the effects of archive-locked works, but my numbers might be off by one or two works due to muting.

Works updated in 2023 is a number that constantly changes as works are deleted or updated again in 2024.

I didn't scrape the entire archive or anything like that, so it's possible I missed a ship that would bump one of these down below 100. I'd take the last few at the bottom there with a grain of salt. But I think we can be reasonably sure the top ones are accurate and that the kinds of numbers that we see at the bottom there (eighteen hundred plus works updated in 2023) are about where the cutoff will be even if we find a ship I missed.

As for how I did this, I went to the category tags and the rating tags, filtered for updating in 2023, then excluded ships in the sidebar till I got to 130-150 ships excluded. I also grabbed ships that are big in general from tag search, which you can use to find all relationship canonicals, ordered by frequency.

I combined those lists of ships, cleaned off the works numbers, and generated a list without duplicates. That got me three hundred and something (yes, they were mostly duplicates). I generated the relevant AO3 URLs, opened them in batches with Open Multiple URLs, and copied the works totals into a spreadsheet. Not as tidy as using a script but honestly pretty easy if you know a few spreadsheet formulas to clean up data.

The key here is that if you're only going for pretty good and not accurate beyond a shadow of a doubt, all you need to do is generate a list of likely ships, then check them.

It's possible that there's some much-updated ship that is so evenly spread across these various other tags that it just missed showing up in the sidebar. Hopefully, grabbing more than just the top 100 avoided this problem.

This method also doesn't take into account backdated works. If a whole archive was imported in 2023 but all backdated, there could be some ship that didn't have new works but where AO3 users experience in 2023 was of an influx of content.

I also did this just now, in late March/early April, so some 2023 works have inevitably been deleted or updated again. So the exact work counts don't represent the experience of using AO3 throughout 2023. A fandom active in early 2023 might not have much updating in early 2024, while a fandom active in late 2023 would. This could demote the latter a few places in the rankings since I didn't grab numbers on January 1st.

Even if a person scraped AO3 every day or was monkeying around in the databases, you also have to ask what conceptual answer you're after. Is it works a user could have read at some point during 2023, whether they were deleted by the year's end or not? Is it new-to-AO3 works or only newly-created ones, not including imported archives? Does it matter if the works are fic? If they're in English? What about accidental double-uploads or translations of a single work?

I hope this makes it clear why a definitive ranking is not actually possible.

However, despite these drawbacks, I am confident that the rankings above accurately represent the broad trends on AO3 in 2023. Just don't get too fixated on whether a ship should be at number 73 or number 74.

And, of course, I excluded these from the top 100:

Original Character(s)/Original Character(s) - 20,026

Minor or Background Relationship(s) - 16,187

No Romantic Relationship(s) - 8,052

Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s) - 7,195

Original Male Character/Original Male Character - 6,283

Other Relationship Tags to Be Added - 5,618

Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s) - 3,990

Original Character(s) & Original Character(s) - 3,210

Here's a spreadsheet if you want to see the actual numbers not as a shitty screencap. I left the next few below 100 for context.

213 notes · View notes

dilebe06 · 2 years ago

Text

My Top Female Characters of 2023

7 notes · View notes

queen-of-deans-booty · 4 months ago

Text

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1k

Warnings: minor fluff, angst, murder (implied), character death

Summary: One good deed turns into your worst nightmare, one that you can’t stop from coming.

Square Filled: heartbreak (2023) for @spnaubingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

Before you can leave the bedroom, Dean pulls you in again and kisses you. He knows exactly what to do to get you to stay, but you promised your friend you’d go shopping with her. You wrap your arms around his neck and allow yourself to get lost in the kiss for exactly five seconds before you pull away.

“I gotta go, Dean,” you giggle.

“Come on, stay. I’ll do that thing you like,” he smirks.

“No. It’s not fair to use sex to hold me here. I’ll only be gone a few hours at most. You’re so clingy,” you laugh and push him off you. “You’ll survive for a few hours. I promise.”

“Okay, fine, but you’re not leaving my bedroom when you get back.”

“Deal,” you chuckle. “If I’m not back by seven, you have my permission to come get me.”

You kiss Dean quickly before leaving the bedroom. Dean won’t let you take his precious car so you opt to take one of the other older ones in the bunker’s garage. They’re all vintage classics that Savy fell in love with when she first saw them. She’ll appreciate you taking the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Savvy is only in town for a few days on business so you only have a few days to hang with her before she goes back home on the East Coast.

“How are you and Jerry doing?” you ask when you pick her up.

Normally, the drive to the mall is only twenty minutes if you take the main roads and the highway. The weather is nice so you opt to take the back roads which will add another thirty minutes to the ride. Neither of you mind.

“We’re trying for another baby, so that’s exciting.” She already has four kids so you’re surprised she wants to bring another one into the world. “What about you? Any kids for you and Dean?”

“Savy, we’ve only been dating for six months.”

“So? You’re not getting any younger.”

“I don’t want kids, and I don’t think Dean will have an issue with me not wanting kids.” Kids don’t fit into the hunting life. “Plus, we’re taking things at a nice pace. He just asked me to move into the Bunker last week.”

“That must be easier for hunting.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Are you happy, Y/N?”

“Very. Are you happy?”

“I am,” she smiles.

“Good.”

You turn the music up and let the wind blow through your hair as you drive down the desolate road. You turn the corner and see a gray car parked on the side of the road about one hundred yards away. There is a man standing by the car with his hands on his head like he’s stressed about his car situation. You slow down and turn the music off when you approach the man.

“Car trouble?”

“Yeah. My tire is flat, my phone is dead, and I don’t know how to change a tire. I know what you’re thinking. A man doesn’t know how to change a tire? I was never a car man, and no one ever taught me,” he chuckles nervously.

“Do you have a spare?”

“Yeah, in the back.”

“I know how to change a tire. I can help you.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Thank you.”

You pull up in front of the car, and Savy looks at you with concern.

“Are you sure you should be doing this?”

“I’m just changing a tire. It’s fine. Ten minutes tops.” You get out of the car. “Stay here.”

“Thank you for stopping. I would have had to walk home,” the man chuckles. “I’m Peter.”

“Y/N. That’s Savy, and it’s no problem. I’d want someone to stop for me.”

You take the spare from the back and get started on taking the current tire off the car. You have just undone the lugnuts from the rim when your phone rings from your car.

“Dean is calling you.”

“Answer it. Tell him I’ll only be a minute.”

Savy grabs your phone and answers his call.

“Y/N’s phone. How may I help you?”

“Where is Y/N?”

“She’s busy right now. Can I take a message?”

“Just tell her to call me when she can,” Dean says and hangs up. Dean puts his phone down and looks at his brother who is looking at his iPad. “So, you thinking ghost possession?”

“Well, the witnesses claim to see black goo coming out of the victims’ ears before they killed themselves.”

“Yeah, ghost possession. We’ll leave in an hour. We’ll pick up Y/N on the way.” Forty-five minutes later, Dean enters the man cave to grab something when he sees you sitting on the couch staring at the TV that’s turned to the news. “I thought you’d be gone for a few hours. When did you get in?”

“A few minutes ago.”

“Oh, well, Sam found a case a few states away. He’s thinking ghost possession. You in?” You don’t answer and continue to look at the TV. “Are you okay?”

“Look what’s on the news.”

Dean walks closer to you and pays attention to the news reporter.

“While on a car chase, authorities discovered a 2003 gray Honda Civic abandoned on the side of the road. When authorities looked closer, there were signs of a struggle. We’re not clear as to what may have taken place, but they found two women’s purses on the ground. It is presumed that two women are missing, but their identities remain a mystery as of right now. Back to you, Sam.”

The news coverage changes to another news reporter who is already on the scene.

“Yes, Jill, what happened here is a tragedy. Local authorities are doing everything they can to locate the two women, hopefully alive.” Shouts from the officers can be heard, and Sam looks behind him to see what is going on. “This just in, I think they found a body.” Sam turns back to the camera. “I am unsure if they are able to identify the body. When we have more information, you’ll be the first to know. Back to you, Jill.”

“Wow, that’s so sad,” Dean says.

You look at Dean with unshed tears in your eyes.

“I’m at the bottom of Waconda Lake.”

“What?”

“Who are you talking to?” Sam asks when he pops his head in. Suddenly, you mist away, and realization dawns on Dean’s face. His knees buckle and he has to sit down before he crumbles to the ground. “Dude, you okay?”

“I think Y/N’s dead.”

Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

#dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester angst #dean winchester fiction #dean winchester fan fiction #dean winchester fan fic #supernatural #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fan fiction #supernatural fan fic #supernatural fluff #supernatural angst #supernatural fiction

146 notes · View notes

lively-potter · 1 year ago

Text

— nepenthe ; jjk

@lively-potter

— synopsis ;

in which solaris celeste vesper, a sad girl with an unfortunate upbringing meets a man far older than her and, within his presence, her sorrow fades into nothingness.

Also in which jeon jungkook finds the sun he so desperately needed in his life.

— genre ; age gap, they both fall but he falls harder in the beginning, angst, fluff, guaranteed HEA, CEO jungkook, mafia/gang vibes ( kinda/sorta )

— disclaimer ;

You may not reproduce,

distribute/and or adapt

any part of this work

without my permission

I only own my original characters and the plot.

— warnings ;

violence, blood / gore, descriptive abuse, mature language, mature themes, fluff, angst, age gap. the MFC has been sheltered her entire life — and due to that, keep in mind she will have a slight childlike innocence. She cries a lot in the beginning ( and if you went though all the shit she did, you would too, as I won’t hear any complaints )

— playlist ;

— greedy ; tate mcrae

— yes or no ; jungkook

— closer to you ; jungkook

— somebody ; jungkook

— hate you ; jungkook

— lost ; BTS

— my time ; jungkook

— serendipity ; jimin

— stigma ; taehyung

— MAMA ; j-hope

— please don't change ; jungkook

— fever ; enhyphen

— spring day ; BTS

— love me again ; v

— mmmh ; kai

— after like ; Ive

— blood sweat & tears ; BTS

— lilac ; iu

— extra info ;

started ; January 19th, 2023

posted ; January 21st, 2023 ( on Wattpad )

completed ;

edited / revised ;

— extra info for those not familiar with the academy series by c.l. stone ;

I know I'm gaining more readers, those who aren't familiar with the academy, so I'll do a short explanation of what you'll be seeing from the academy!

In short, the academy series is a reverse harem/polyamory series set in Charleston, South Carolina.

( so you'll be seeing multiple men date the same women in this book, so don't be shocked lmfaoo ) most of this won’t happen until we are well into the story — but I’d hate to confuse all of you! I’d like every single one of you to enjoy and understand the story completely!

The academy ( that MFC won't be much involved or at all ) is basically a top secret organization that specializes in helping men, women, and children who are in an abusive relationship or homes and help them get out of that — most join the academy to help others in the same situations.

There are teams that work together and are basically a family in all but blood; and "family is a choice".

The men in teams are referred to as "dogs" and the female team members are referred to as "birds".

'Ghosts', whether birds or dogs, are children without much history to their names. They are priceless to the Academy.

The Academy's system works on a series of favor and financial debt. Everyone in the Academy starts out with financial debt. It's the value of the education an Academy student requires to become the best at what he does. If it was a private investigation training class or an eight-week boot camp, or you were starving and needed groceries to get through a human biology class, the Academy took care of it. Your debt can't just be paid off directly, it requires completing various Academy missions. Whatever it is, there is a price tag.

Favors though are the real core of the Academy. Favors are anything that doesn't have a price - usually family problems within the Academy that other members can't handle alone. New members owe ten favors immediately, with the maximum owed being thirty. The value of a task in favors varies depending on the task.

All Academy trials are comprised of the same parties: the whole team, plus five randomly selected members from other teams, presided over by a manager who has collected all the data. There is no age minimum for the randomly selected members, the only requirement is that they had to be past initiation and a full member of the Academy. The ultimate goal at a trial is to keep the family together as much as possible.

Each team has two leads. The first is the main contact for the Academy, they track the jobs the members go on, and let them know what jobs are available. The second is the family lead, who keeps track of all the team members, and makes sure that everything runs smoothly for them - ensuring they have food, bills are paid on time, and everyone that needs a job has one.

Most of this information is from the academy wiki site ( 'cause it's fuckin' complicated to explain it all )

but I want you all to be able to understand it enough to enjoy the story without being confused!

Most of the time, I'll explain through River and my other characters.

I hope this makes sense!

River won't be very involved in the academy, but there will be mentions and most of River's story revolves around, not only Jungkook and Moon, but River's brothers, friends, and family!

Please let me know if there is anything that you'll misunderstand and I'll explain to the best of my ability!

✨ HAPPY READING ✨

— find me on Wattpad at @/LivelyPotter! The first two chapters of Nepenthe are already out!

Also, do any of you mind giving me some pointers on how to post more aesthetic chapters or a master list on here?? I’m so lost and new to this app! 😂😂😭