#otp: damaged souls

[pinkyjulien]

Valentin & Mitch | 625/?? Let me take care of you, like you take care of everyone else Upcoming poses by @arcandoria beloved 🧡

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Nov 21st

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1. Hello! I'm trying to find a fic that I've read a long time ago. it was a modern/reincarnation au where Wei Ying is hired at an academy as a (history?) teacher but is unaware that the academy that hired him is actually a modern cultivation school where they practice cultivation secretly and learn the history of the canon mdzs timeline... Also Wei Ying can see ghosts/spirits. Thanks! @sheepie9967

FOUND! Retrouvaille by wxparoxysm (T, 75k, WIP, WangXian, XiCheng, Modern)

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2. Hi, I am looking for a smut fic. Lan Zhan is having an orgy with multiple versions of Wèi Wúxiàn, including a yiling laozu version, and Lan Zhan is pregnant. Eventually even more Wei Yings show up.

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3. Hello!! I am trying to find a WangXian fanfiction, but I really can't seem to find it. From what I remember, it was an arranged marriage when they were about fifteen, they haven't met each other yet as it was pre-cloud recesses study arc. The Gusu Lan Sect came to Lotus Pier to negotiate the betrothal. WWX made a condition before accepting it, he wanted to duel LWJ to see if he was worthy or not. I think it also has some JFM, YZY critical/bashing/canon characteristics. @lonelynebula5149

3 is a Preludian_Staves fic im pretty sure but it may be one of the ones they hide in that collection

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4. Hi so this fic is that wwx take Wēn Yuàn to Jin ling 100 month celebration with him and there's this particular scene where he comes in jin tower with Jin what's his face that has the 100 souls curse and the peacock

And Wēn Yuàn was clutching his robes and they were all arguing until leader Nie shuts everyone up and then Ask wwx to show them his chest so wwx hands his little radish too the ghost general and show everyone his chest that's a scene that I could simply remember @constancebloodstone

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5. Hiiii! Hope you're having a great day/night! So I've looking for this one particular fic in which wy see lz with a woman who had her hand around his elbow while walking together on night then smells some foreign sweet smell on him in another night plus lz keeps coming home late so he starts thinking that lz is cheating on him but instead of getting angry he feels hurt and start blaming himself and thinking ofc lz is perfect so he deserves someone just as perfect and beautiful and eventually he confronts lz about it then find out that he was just escorting an elder Immortal ancestor wtv and spending time with her before she chose to end her Immortality since she lost her will to live after all her beloved ones died during her seclusion

FOUND! White Flag by incendir (T, 37k, WangXian, NHS/NZH, OMC/ OMC)

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6. Thank you for existing! I'm looking for a fic, modern au, where it turns out the reason Wei Ying got hit by a car (I think it was a car) was because he's deaf/hard of hearing on one ear so he didn't hear it coming. The cause of his damaged hearing is physical abuse from Madam Yu. Please help! @ilolatthis

FOUND! misunderstood 'verse by sysrae (M, 7k, WangXian, Modern, College/University, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, getting hit by cars, Past Child Abuse, Friends to Lovers, Abusive YZY, Caring LWJ, Injured WWX, partial hearing loss, the real OTP is everyone x therapy)

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7. I'm begging you to help me. I cannot for the life of me find the fic in which Lan Zhan has been asked by his brother to act in a PSA that Xichen wants to film at school, where he works. Xichen always ends up having sex with everyone at work, so when Wei Ying, a teacher at the school, comes in as Lan Zhan's scene partner, Lan Zhan assumes Xichen and Wei Ying have slept together. The PSA is about global warming, carbon emissions, etc. They shoot the scene several times and each time they get increasingly familiar with each other. The shooting ends with Wei Ying asking Lan Zhan out.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP

FOUND! Worship you till morning comes by feyburner (E, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, Meet-Cute, First Dates, First Time, Fluff, Kissing, Hand Jobs, Falling In Love)

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8. Hi! I only remember one specific scene from the story I'm looking for. Modern AU, JC and WWX are yelling at each other, and JC says something like "where did you get these stupid self-deprecating ideas/ the idea that you're not wanted in this family from" and WWX goes, in the same tone as a grade schooler, "your mom."

JC: NOT FUNNY.

WWX: IT KINDA IS THOUGH

And then they both cry and laugh at the same time and that's the reconciliation.

I think the main story might have been Wangxian? Pretty sure I only read that back then, but I can't remember anything else and I've looked everywhere. @rights-for-redshirts

FOUND! say it’s here where our pieces fall in place by Lirelyn (E, 68k, wangxian, Family Feels, Modern, Angst with a Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Adoption, Foster Care, most of the angst is backstory and we’re working through it, several characters have had therapy thank god, there’s a good amount of domestic fluff but also a lot of crying, Often at the same time, oh yeah eventually there will be smut, possibly also with crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Podfic Available)

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9. Hi again, Team! I’m going to feel absolutely /stupid/ but there was a fic I read where LZ secretly rates other people’s dicks & WY keeps trying to score 10/10 but is unable to do so. The only other things I can recall are NHS had a starring role & WX got together at the end! Any help would be appreciated! @arisuamichan

FOUND? Thank You for Submitting by westiec (M, 3k, WangXian, Dick Pics, Getting Together, Humor, NHS is here too, but he's mostly offscreen, Modern, United States, Podfic Available)

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10. For fic finders: the start of it is that a class of lans including LWJ were affected by a curse placed on the platform/building they were in and WWX and LXC tried taking them to the cold pond

That doesn’t work so they head off to LWJ to see how he’s handling it and the two Lans wonder why WWX doesn’t seem to be affected when he was also there. He laughs his way through having the same mental fortitude or whatever as LWJ before just coming out and saying that no one noticed he’s been missing his core for years and without a core it didn’t affect him

I think the curse was placed by JGY but that was kinda secondary detailing since WWX and LWJ got together because of this situation. A completed one shot, no multi chapter casefics here

FOUND! Stainless by Fahye (E, 6k, WangXian, Sex Pollen, Yuletide Treat)

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11. Hi! Please help me find this fic. I'm becoming desperate! Wei Wuxian is somehow turned into a kid. Some plot happens and Wei Wuxian turns back into an adult but in his original body and everyone is shook by this turn of events. They celebrate or something and then at the end WangXian adopt a baby named Yanli and the juniors and Jiang Cheng adore her. Please I loved it but firgot to bookmark it and can't seem to find it 😭 @pancakeshitdifferentat4am

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12. hi im looking for a wangxian fic i read a while ago and i cant find it so i forgot the name but i remember that lan wangji lost his golden core he was attacked by wen zhuliu on his way back to cloud recesses after he and wei ying were rescued from the xuanwu cave , he manages to kill wen zhuliu but he lost his core and wei ying was the one to find him. thats all i remember i hope you can help me find it . Thank you so much in advance.

FOUND? stay, fury, your wrist wrapped in silk by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 228k, WangXian, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Canon Divergence, YLLZ LWJ, LWJ loses his golden core, yiling wei sect, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Temporary Character Death, War Crimes, Wen Remnant, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Revenge, LWJ goes dark for a while, WWX has a hard time with the bad shit going on around him, JGS is a bastard, Protracted Sunshot Campaign, War is war and hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse, temporary impotence, growing intimacy, LWJ & WWX and the Wen Remnant live in the Burial Mounds together, WWX travels with LWJ and stays at his side post-Sunshot, Spanish Translation)

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13. Hello! I've had this scene running through my head from a fic that I, for the life of me, can't find.

It's a canon divergence fic where WWX brings the Wens to Gusu and humanizes them to the rest of the cultivation world in the proceas. The fic talks about PTSD and I could have sworn I bookmarked it but here we are! The scene I can't forget is:

On the way there, WWX makes A-Yuan a whistle that he can blow whenever he's afraid. At first the whistle blows often, but eventually A-Yuan gets more comfortable.

Any help would be most appreciated, thank you! @theonlysureprediction

FOUND? Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts) The whistle part could be Grave dirt by Esama (chapter 2)

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14. heLLO its my first time doing this and ive no idea how tumblr works im usually just here to browse

anyways just the other day i read the desc of a fanfic where wwx was forced to top by a lz who was riding him and wwx was yelling hELP rAPE RAPE IM BEING RAPED lol

but i forgot to bookmark it and now i cant find it if you could help PLSS thank u ily guys🥺😭

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15. Okay so this will be for fic finder.

I swear I had this bookmarked but I spent 2 hours searching and can't find it at all.

What I remember is that wwx makes a clay doll for a-yuan. It falls into the lotus pond, but falls apart. A-yuan is distraught, of course. Sometime during the following night though wwx is woken up by a baby screaming. The burial mounds somehow turned the clay baby to a real baby girl. Wwx raises her and she ends up going to koi tower with him. I think wangji escorts wwx, the baby, and wen ning??

Please help me find this! @grainstealingthot

FOUND! An Old Cardboard Produce Box for a Cradle by julomaiboulomai, mischiefseven (T, 25k, WangXian, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Canon Divergence, Sentient Burial Mounds, Golden Core Reveal, Everyone Lives)

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16. for ficfinder

I swear I have thus marked some where but I just can't find it

it'd the fic where lsz/wen yuan has a twin who's raised by lwj and lwj n wwx think that the other twin died. it's a parent trap au @bunnycoffeeumcat

FOUND? 🔒❤️ kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst, [Podfic] kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by contributor-sky (deepestbluesky), esbielle was also here (esbielle), glittercracker, GodOfLaundryBaskets, jellyfishfire, kisahawklin, Koontyme, Rionaa, semperfiona))

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17. i have not used tumblr so sorry if i am asking in the wrong place- but i am going crazy trying to find this fic! it has some explicit scenes, it is an omega/alpha type fic, where alpha lan xichen and omega wei wuxian are married. alpha lan zhan lives with them, but struggles seeing/hearing their intimacy and closeness because he was attracted to wei ying on their first meeting. wei ying gets drunk and sleeps with lan zhan thinking hes lan huan twice while lan huan is gone, but claims to forget

FOUND? they call me homewrecker by sweetlolixo (E, 12k, XiXian, WangXian, Modern AU, Omegaverse, Dark LWJ, Dark WWX, Pining LWJ, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Dubious Consent, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual WangXian)

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18. Hello, I have another request please, there was a modern day no powers fic where WWX was a baker, who also delivered his cakes, idk what kind of social media he had, because all I remember a girl was looking at his post and he leaned in and said smth like "that Yiling Patriarch is pretty cute" or smth, and there was a skateboard, maybe? That's all I got. Thank you so much!

FOUND? i swim in hollow lakes carved from memories by spookykingdomstarlight (T, 154k, WangXian, XiYao, Modern AU, Coffee Shops & Cafés, Music, Baking, Social Media, Misunderstandings, Consequences of Fake Dating Schemes, Flashbacks, Vlogger WWX, Professional Musician LWJ, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mistakes, Pining, Matchmaking, Romance, Illnesses, Slow Burn, Background SangNing, POV Multiple, Second Chances) I think it was wc not jzx who was hired, otherwise matches

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19. Hello!!! Thank you for your hard work!!!!

I'm looking for a fic where it mostly canon compliant but the only thing I vividly remember it's that when LWJ appear at the Mo Mansión to rescue the Junior it's that he has some grey/white hairs and maybe it was a omega verse (not very sure about that).

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20. Hi. I’ve been trying to find a fic where WWX decides to take the imperial examinations, live as a magical farmer in the south and later found out Wei Changze was the son of the Emperor and WWX ends up taking in the young princes for tutoring. Also I don’t remember how he meets LWJ but they ended up being engaged and the Emperor sends like Imperial Auditors to the sects because of what happened to his grandson… It may or may not be a time travel fix-it, can’t quite remember 😫 @skycookie472

FOUND? Starting Over by SplitGirl28 (M, 69k, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Back to Childhood, Change his life, Different lifestyle, Unrestrained WWX, Living his ideal life)

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[pandorascripts]

heyyy :) can i request wednesday x reader where she sneaks into wednesdays room to sleepover and enid was sleeping in yokos room for the night and forgot smth and went back to their dorm and walks in on them making out?

fugly slut

summary: enid catches her OTP (who said they weren’t together) snogging. she’s pissed and had Mean Girls on her mind.

warnings: making out, wee bit spicy, swearing

paring: wednesday addams x reader

note: written quickly, proof read a bit, not sure if there’s any mistakes :^

————

You watch as Enid’s retreating form bounces merrily off the walls. Wednesday had told you to come over tonight, it’d be safe seeing as her roommate was crashing with a friend. Most people would’ve told you that it’s a bad thing to go into a relationship and hiding it, but seeing as you and Wednesday are academic rivals, the two of you don’t want the school knowing. 

You tap on the door four times, letting Wednesday know it was safe, and a second later you’re dragged through. A rough yelp is muffled as Wednesday presses her lips against yours, her left hand fumbling to lock the door.

You hold her head with both hands, pressing her back into yourself. With the door now locked, Wednesday grabs your hips, hiking your shirt upwards. She doesn’t take it off, much to your dismay, instead she pushes you around and against a wall. 

“No one likes a tease, Wednesday,” you whisper, donning an uncontrollable smirk.

“You’ll get what you want in due time, no need to be greedy.”

You chuckle, although it doesn’t last long. With Wednesday’s lips now on your neck your laugh dies out, a shaky sigh taking place. Featherlight lips make their way down, pressing into the small portion of your shoulder that was exposed. 

Wednesday’s hands grab your shirt, lifting it up and off, before quickly attaching her lips to yours again. Your hands grab Wednesday’s jacket, wanting it off as well, but then the worst thing you could imagine happens. 

The door opens. 

Enid liked to say she loved people. She loved how no matter how moody or damaged they were, there was always an innocent soul underneath. No one was truly evil, no one truly wanted to hurt others, they had unfortunate incidents in their lives in which cause them to act accordingly. 

But as Enid walked into her dorm, after forgetting a blanket, and saw her two best friends, who had both assured Enid they despised each other, making out, she realized people were liars. They were crude, and pests, and no one deserved to be on this Earth. Liars suck, and a thought crossed her mind. That thought happened to be a line from Mean Girls.

“You are the nastiest skank bitch I’ve ever met!” she shouts, stomping over. “You two told me you weren’t screwing!”

Wednesday takes off her jacket, handing to you so you were at least decent for this conversation. 

“Enid —“

“No! I’ve been trying for months to get you two together, and you don’t even tell me when it happens? What am I, chopped liver?”

“We’re trying to keep it on the down low, Enid,” you speak up, looking charmingly disheveled.

Enid’s eyes flicker away from Wednesday’s settling on yours. “You told me you’d rather die than get with Wednesday.”

You shrug. “I’d rather die than do anything, really.”

“Not helping!” Wednesday whisper shouts, looking over to you. In a much more hushed tone, she says, “You look very attractive in my clothing. Look through my closet later.”

An angry grunt from Enid cuts off your reply, your smirk dropping as you stare at your socks. 

“I hate the both of you.”

“Enid, I’ll buy you that Squishmallow you’ve been begging for if you go back to Yoko’s.” Wednesday turns to you, out of sight from Enid, and winks. 

“Really?! OH-EM-GEE!” she squeals, rushing up to Wednesday as she hugs her. “I love you. Alls forgiven, be gay do crime!” 

With that, Enid leaves the room, waking all of Ophelia Hall with her screams.

You lean back against the wall, sighing. 

“Well.” You pout, night spoiled and one more person knowing your secret. 

Wednesday walks up to you, the devilish smile you love so much and the mischievous glint in her eyes back again.

“Well, the dog has left, and we’ve got this huge dorm to ourselves…”

Wednesday’s hand brushes against your arm as she rests it on your bicep. Her other hand holds your waist. 

“And you look so incredible in my clothes.”

You smile, leaning down into her face. Neither of you say anything, sharing hot breaths and mischievous smiles. With your lips practically against hers, you know damn well what she’s thinking. 

[maranigai]

Do you still accept characters for that ask meme? I saw you only answered an ask about Messmer so far! How about Morgott for that ask meme? (not sure if asking DS characters counts since like 80% of info about them has to be manually hallucinated by the fan themselves, but I can if that's okay with you!)

Yep, I'm still doing character ask meme, Messmer simply was the only ask for me by now lol Also DS characters are fine too, of course they would be like 95% headcanon based, but that's why we love DS, isn't it?

But anyway, Morgott. My absolutely favourite of favourites of all ER characters...

favorite thing about them

First of all, Morgott is such a beautifully contradictory character. He's a demigod shardbearer and a cursed being, a proud monarch and a monster in his own eyes, a defender of all that is holy and a warlock shrouded in illusions. And all these things are actually logical and completely understandable given his story. Because, above everything else, Morgott is a broken creature, not as a result of his own deeds or guilts, but because of the things beyond his control, some ancient sins and crimes he's not aware of, some old vengeance that existed even before he was born. And this break, this pain, is a spiral, you know? Morgott hates his nature because he was convinced he's a monster, he supports the system that oppresses him because he believes that he's oppressed rightfully and this system is the best remaining option for the world as a whole, even if he and people like him have to suffer for it, and in doing so he causes even more harm, more oppression and misery for himself and everyone around. I love how he's a loyal, determined, faithful person, and this is exactly what makes him a villain in the story. He's an extremely tragic character, but completely consistent in his tragedy, his brokenness, and I have a deep weakness for broken things.

least favorite thing about them

I don't think there's anything I don't like about him as a character, I mean, he's certainly not flawless, but his flaws are what make him so interesting in the first place. So I say that my least favourite thing is his bossfight. Don't get me wrong, Morgott is one of my favourite FromSoft bosses in general, but I have a feeling that they made his moveset (super-complex and interesting) first, then remembered he's a mandatory mid-game boss and panicked to balance him to this level by drastically reducing his damage and hp.

favorite line

May the curse seep to thy very soul.

I just love his spiteful tone in this one, sorry.

brOTP

I could write Mohg or Godwyn here and it would be legit, but allow me to be more exotic this time and mention Malenia. They have many things in common, if you think about it: two cursed, yet somewhat noble beings, bitterly determined and endlessly loyal to their masters of choice. I can absolutely see how they can respect and understand each other, even if not sharing each other's cause. I also love the idea of a young, sick, not-yet-swordmaster Malenia and her Cool Big Brother Morgott, the only person around who takes her seriously.

OTP

Banished knight Oleg. Literally the mix of my favourite tropes of "liege and their a bit too loyal knight" and "my majestic, scheming wife and me, committing whatever crimes she wants me to commit today". Also Oleg dies before Morgott, so my inner angst enjoyer appreciates this as well.

nOTP

Mohg! I just can't see them as a pairing, their sibling relationships is everything to me. I'm also not a fan of Tarnished/Morgott, mainly because most of such arts/fics imply some level of self-indulgence and this just doesn't work for me (though I've seen several very cool works with this pairing too).

random headcanon

Three for the price of one: Morgott's hobby is creating clockwork automatons (a more detailed post about this hc); his favourite half-sibling is Malenia and this is mutual; he also shares Mohg's sense of fashion, but refuses to admit it.

unpopular opinion

While most people hc Morgott to be the elder twin, in my hcs he's the younger one (and the youngest of Godfrey's sons). Ironically enough, this isn't an important headcanon for Morgott himself, but it's an essential part of my perception of Godwyn and (especially) Mohg.

song i associate with them

Мельница - Что ты знаешь

My personal theme song for Morgott as the Veiled Monarch.

favorite picture of them

There're so many cool arts of Morgott that it's really hard to choose the most favourite one lol

So for now I pick this one by Cruentum_Noctis

[danpuff-ao3]

Thanks for the tag @cindle-writes!

"Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free to pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗"

Tagging: @perverse-idyll @writcraft @lizzy0305 @ripeteeth @lqtraintracks @threadbearao3 and whoever else might want to play!

It was hard to narrow down, as I've written well over 100 fics in my time (most available on AO3, but I still have some secrets). This has been good to look at and think about in light of my recent writerly struggles. Gave me a nice reminder of what I love and what I've accomplished.

1.) Contempt | Devotion

I'm counting them together, since they're the same story from different perspectives. Nothing will ever top them for me. They are THE Snarry story for me. They've been my OTP for 20+ years, and those works are years and years of dedication (and devotion, ha) to this ship. It's all the feelings I've ever had about them. It's the version of them, as individuals and together, that most resonates with me.

It is, as I often say, the story of my soul. I ripped these words out of my teeth, out of my bones, and wrote them with my blood. It was an agonizing process, and one I would do again and again, because I could not be more proud of anything, and it still amazes me that I created this story. That I finally pulled it out of my soul and put it to words. All of the passion I have for them, all of my history with this ship, all of it is right there.

(Also shoutout to the other little ficlets in the series; this version of Snarry will always have my heart.)

2.) Collateral Damage

While Contempt is the Snarry of my dreams, Collateral Damage is the DRON of my dreams.

Draco and Ron are my secondary OTP, and while I could write and rewrite Snarry to death, I have a hard time revisiting Dron as the main relationship, because I feel like I put everything I had for them into this one story.

The fic is written in Draco's POV, which I loved and was such a treat. I loved exploring Draco and Ron as individuals, and as a couple, and considering them more than I ever had before. It was fun playing with some real enemies-to-lovers, and seeing it become something really passionate and loving and fun (but also angsty, because I'm ME, hello).

It's a tale of revenge and insecurity, and fooling yourself while you try to fool others. I tried to really love on Draco and Ron both, while also diving into their respective flaws, and while I already loved them, writing this fic made me love them all the more.

3.) The Curse of Anteros

Another Snarry, of course. This one is such a love story, in some ways, though there's plenty of questionable (objectionable) content there. But for me, that made it all the more romantic, this sort of love conquers all, even in the worst of scenarios. My boys survived toxicity, and a curse, and life.

It's also a concept I've played with for quite some time, inspired by a Charmed episode (which was itself inspired by a film called Ladyhawke). It was a fun exercise in watching them grow, and watching time move on, with their connection unchanged. The story spans decades, and really, I'm not sure I've written anything more romantic!

Also features art by my dear friend @mrviran which is phenomenal and I am still totally awed by what they created for this story!! It was fun inventing a creature together, too <3

4.) A Matter of Time

Another Snarry which also holds a special place in my heart. It was a unique experience of trying new things. For one, it was alternating POV, which I don't normally care for; for me it's hard to maintain flow along with maintaining character voices. But ALSO it was told in reverse chronological order, which I'd been dying to try! Also...the angst. I love it.

And the END!!!! The end kills me and I love it. </3

5.) Cruel Summer

I waffled with choosing 5, because I felt like it should be Orange Blossoms, and I think part of me was scared to put this one on the list. You know...devastating and dead dovey as it is. It's a Sirry fic, one that I'd been cooking up in my noggin' for a few years.

I wanted to play with a darker side to Sirry, and portraying a very unhealthy and troubling relationship which really only felt natural with all that Harry and Sirius had been through. I wanted to do them and the concept justice, which I really think I did, and I'm really proud of how it came out. There's more story to tell...the real story, I think, will be the aftermath, but we'll see if it ever actually comes to fruition. In the meantime, I really love this story, awful as the content is.

[ichinoue]

Do you feel that the weird IR filler/IH erasure especially in the canon storyline of the anime was less of a problem after the Soul Society arc? I might be remembering wrong but I think it got better once Kubo started supervising the script, I don't know if IR was pushed after that? All I can come up with is that one ice skating scene and personally I don't view that as some kind of 'agenda' rather a tame interaction between two friends.

Yeah, I think things got better after the SS arc. I think once the arrancar arc started with all the Orihime/IH-centric scenes, the animators just couldn't ignore it anymore. It was becoming too obvious for anyone who didn't already have a strong IR bias that IH was where the romance was (the vow to protect followed by a love confession, etc). If you watch the AotS and SS arcs, it feels like the animators were intentionally cutting Orihime out and downplaying her importance, taking moments where she talks about Ichigo and having her talk about food instead, etc. while super embellishing canon IR scenes by adding in a bunch of flowery backgrounds and soaring music, on top of all the IR filler they added in (like the random filler shinigami guy who asks if Rukia and Ichigo are dating, and Rukia's just like "that's none of your concern" pffft.) I think the animators thought that Bleach was going to be a typical boy meets girl, main male/female duo that fall in love and that Orihime was just some bimbo who would never become important to Ichigo or the story as a whole (and interestingly, a lot of anime-only fans seemed to walk away with that impression as well). Things got better over time (albeit it still wasn't great), but I feel like the damage from the first two arcs was already done. People had already declared IR as their OTP in chapter one and were reluctant to jump ship (especially when it meant jumping to a ship they had already spent years hating on).

[holydrakes]

Been thinking about why the idea of platonic soulmates 4lyfe Soma give me a huge deal of psychic damage lately and it's not just because I ship these two (hell, I have OTPs whom I don't mind just being platonic soulmates for life, so this is one is a big deal and comes with the way they are both written) because how much it wastes all those romantic undertones they already had within the text.

The fact that overcoming the idea of 'infidelity' is literally part of their arc and it was set since the very beginning with Maka learning to trust Soul and Soul declaring he'd never cheat on her, for this to be truly meaningful they need to enter the relationship where this specific type of commitment is required. And that is for them to become a long-term couple, since if you are simply friends why would the idea of 'infidelity' matter? This is why them being simply platonic soulmates is...ugh. They're already made out of these very specific themes that would be much more meaningful when applied romantically, we gotta use it.

(That said though, I don't mind that SE merely explored this through Maka and Soul having essentially a Pseudo-Romantic Friendship throughout the series. I think it's the most appropriate given their young ages. These kids had basically learned the basics before they become mature enough to enter a more serious relationship in the future. That's why if Ohkubo ever says something stupid like these two ain't meant to be a thing in the future either I'd say fuck that. You fumbled a gold here)

Hell, I've seen canon couples whose platonic soulmatism I'd have easier time to accept, because romance is just irrelevant to what their arc symbolizes for example. The other partnerships in the series made better platonic soulmates for me because of this reason, Black Star and Kid are simply meant be better versions of their fathers who made morally dubious acts in their lives, and their weapons offer them the support they need to balance out their personality traits that'd otherwise lead them to that same dark fate (it helps that their arcs don't involve them avoiding that same path altogether but just tackling it in different ways, Black Star still seeks power but makes it so he wanted to use that power to protect other people, Kid still becomes a Shinigami but decides to be more diplomatic) You can get the point across just by simply having friendship this way.

But Maka and Soul are supposed to be 'a better version of Maka's parents' and I'm not sure how you can thoroughly prove that without actually following them into the path where they specifically failed: which is the romance (it will follow how Black Star and Kid still choose to follow their fathers' paths and just avoid the mistakes they did when threading said path) And then have them face the same problems that might arise by committing themselves into this type of relationship, and see if they are able to handle it better than Maka's parents did. Like I'm sorry, yes SoMa being platonic when they are teens I can accept it, but for them to stay that way for life (like they even got together with other people and stuff) made their relationship feel cheaper than if they actually do get together since that makes it so there's never any real meaning behind Maka trusting Soul as a man who would always be committed to her in every sense of the word (be it as her weapon partner and romantic partner, a line that the 'cool guys don't cheat on their partners' specifically blurred) these two actually call for their relationship to eventually become romantic to come full circle imo.

[olderthannetfic]

Nothing is more disappointing than clicking on a fic for your OTP and it turns out to have what I call OC Stand-In Syndrome, wherein Character A and Character B have had their backgrounds, personalities and motivations changed alongside plopping them in an AU setting to the point where their names are just about the only thing tying them to who they were originally.

To use an example from a fandom I am not in now but saw a lot of this in when I was, take literally any MCU ship. Stony, but Tony and Steve are in the 1950s and Tony is a shy emotionally damaged Omega uwu and Steve is just a nice guy but not the badass who canonically would fight you for more or less any injustice you committed in front of him. Were their names changed to Antonio and Stefan, you would not recognize that they were supposed to be Tony Stark and Steve Rogers at all. Or it's Stucky, but it's a modern day AU and Bucky is a banker who falls for barista Steve and neither have any personality traits in common with their original namesakes outside of being I guess nice and arguably friendly with each other, though of course in addition to their childhood friendship being erased, so has their poverty, plopping them both into comfortable middle class backgrounds often with supportive living families, making them unrecognizable as far as origins go. Clintasha but Clint is a CEO of a company and Nat is a secretary with no dark backstory and they've never met until one day their soul marks activate and they go on a series of dates where they reveal personalities, backstories, interests and desires that do not match canon Clint and Nat to the point where you don't know why these two were chosen as the named characters.

If you want to write original fiction, by all means, go for it. Write your 1950's A/B/O M/M romance with an emotionally broken, shy uwu boy and his skinny sexy chivalrous Alpha. Write that coffee shop M/M middle-class-without-the-uncertainty thing. Write your busy workaholic cutesy secretary who fate has wed to a CEO and aaaah she's so nervous aaah why is this so awkward. Those are things with audiences who will love them and were they not presented to me with the names of other characters on them, I might like them, too.

But when I go looking for A/B fic and I just find a fic with a character borrowing Character A's name and they're into a character borrowing Character B's name, my thought isn't, "Wow, what a great A/B fic!" it's "you must've accidentally used find-and-replace to put in the wrong names on your OCs".

I got out of Reylo for exactly this reason. I like Reylo. I don't like the latest Sad Girl OC with a different backstory and either much more wallflower or viciously snide personality (depending on what the author thinks is cute/cool) and Sad Boy OC who lacks the rage issues, familial issues and ongoing flaws that make Kylo interesting.

And now it's creeping into my latest fandom and I'm just so tired. Please, I just want to read fic of two characters, not two of your OCs who you haven't named yet.

--

They probably find their portrayal IC, but yes, this often irritates me too.

[autumnslance]

Year of the OTP - November 2023 - Missing Scars

(An unusual look at the "De-aging" prompt, perhaps, but Shadowbringers' resolution for the Scions sits with me. 980 words.)

The differences were so subtle, it was difficult to explain. Six years all told had passed, which was not many, but just enough.

In six years in the First, he had watched children and adolescents grow up—had watched Ryne grow up, most importantly. Yet now, looking out over the Toll, local children exactly as he remembered them played in the yards and through the streets of their small frontier town.

Animals too; six years could be quite some time for many a beloved pet or farm animal. In dangerous lands and uncertain areas, six years was an entire lifetime for many. Yet the same dogs and cats scampered through the Toll after their masters.

The external similarities, where he expected changes, were not the only ones, of course. He turned back to the hand mirror and inspected his eye once more.

After his misadventure in the Lifestream, and all that had followed in Coerthas, and then their participation in liberating Ala Mhigo, he just hadn’t taken the time to let it rest and heal. The best he had done, that he could do, for so long was to keep it covered and unused, or at least as little as possible. His depth perception had suffered, and even now he had to practice to get back to using both his eyes, instead of compensating for missing one.

His body’s enforced slumber, tended to by their excellent healing staff, had finally allowed the aetheric damage time to heal. He didn’t see so much as a wisp of aetheric underlay, there was no eye strain, no clouded vision. He had been concerned about that, returning from the First to his own body once again. But the damage was finally healed.

A few other aches and pains he thought he ought to have seemed to have vanished as well; he couldn’t be certain if it was due to the rest, or if their healer team had taken advantage of his soul’s absence to repair some old damages.

Not to mention missing scars; he knew when he had arrived in the First, his mental image of his Self had neglected a few minor ones, or those he did not see and think about often.

Aeryn had noticed. The first time they were together as lovers again, she had noted the differences in his scars; some missing, some new—to her anyroad, there in Norvrandt, and his misadventures over the years he had spent caring for Ryne while missing Aeryn.

He had not asked yet about the changes to his scars again now. The ones they had forgotten, the ones that were now missing—all the evidence of his time in that other realm. Scars were stories, and so he had always been proud of his. Evidence of times he had survived, his years of experiences.

Six years wiped away and lost forever.

He finished shaving, cleaning and packing away his kit, tossing the soapy water. “You look years younger, clean-shaven and with your hair cut” more than one person had told him, in more or less those words. He had, perhaps, let himself go a bit, after Dravania.

After the Antitower.

Aeryn had never minded the stubble and long hair, but Ryne had quietly bullied him into shaving and trimming up. And it had made him look more fitting to be her guardian in the First, rather than a rough wilderness scout.

He turned, and found Aeryn silently watching him now, arms crossed, leaning on the doorway as he stood on the small balcony. “The washroom not bright enough?” she asked.

He shrugged. “That, and I didn’t want to disturb you, sleepyhead.”

“As if I ever mind being woken by you,” she pouted.

“Oh, you mind. I simply know best how to distract you from your ire,” he teased.

She blushed, as he knew she would, tracing her finger down an old scar on his bare chest. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Fit as a fiddle—though we shall see if Krile agrees, and allows me to train with Radovan yet.”

“Just don’t overdo it, old man,” she joked.

“Oh, don’t you start that again,” he grumbled as she giggled. He frowned, looking down and away in thought. “I do keep forgetting how old I am now. I have to think about it.”

Her fingertip hooked under his chin, turning his gaze back to her lovely gray eyes. “Old enough,” she said gently, pulling him in for a kiss.

He hummed thoughtfully as they broke, leaning his forehead on hers. “There is some time before I’m due to see our healers,” he noted. “Perhaps a private demonstration of just how young and healthy I feel right now is in order.”

“You’re incorrigible,” she murmured, blush tinging her ears now. She traced another scar, still reacquainting herself with his reset appearance.

“That isn’t a no,” he pointed out, slipping his hand under her shirt to touch her skin, fingertips finding a scar that she had earned in the First, that she got to keep, having been there in both body and soul, only five physical years between them now instead of six. It wasn’t much time at all really, and yet—

His thoughts came to a stop as she pulled away, clasping his hand to draw him after her. Her face was very red now, the ease with which her blush appeared ever endearing. “It wasn’t, and there is time,” she said.

Five of those years had been spent missing her. There had been an underlying fear of growing old—worse, growing old without her.

But only a handful of moons had passed in the Source, those years he spent in the First reset, only the memories good and bad remaining. And here she yet was, here they both were, finding what had changed and what remained the same for all those years that had passed in no time at all.

[dangermousie]

Farscape rewatch: 2x05 The Way We Weren’t

One of the best eps and so wonderfully Aeryn-centric.

If I didn’t love Pilot already. I would have fallen in love with him after this ep. The scene where he says ‘but I so desperately wanted to see the stars’ to justify to himself his prior course of action, really breaks my heart. You know, one of the biggest reasons I wouldn’t try Farscape for years, not until S4 in fact, was the ‘muppets.’ No way could I watch a scifi show with puppets. But that’s the thing. I forget Rygel and Pilot are puppets. They are complicated characters, like the rest and their arcs and their emotional heft is no less than that of human characters.

Another thing that I was thinking about with this ep, is how Farscapian. There are no true innocents here. Not really. Farscapian universe won’t let them be. Anyone who starts out innocent is forced to lose it, sooner or later. Crichton and Pilot are both innocents we see lose it. Pilot’s actions led to the death of the previous Pilot, he compromised to serve Peacekeepers. Crichton started the show out as a wide-eyed idealistic pacifist and look what he became end of S4, strapping a nuclear bomb on himself, offering the Universe to Scorpius for a mere chance to get Aeryn back. Pretty much everyone has some breaking point, some driving obsession that can override morality (I mean, Pilot wanted to fly badly enough he agreed to work for evil, in s4 John promises to give wormholes to Scorpius and thus bring war and destruction to untold innocents, to save Aeryn.)

No one starts out evil, or damaged, or guilty in FS. Even Scorpius, much as I loathe him, we really find out later what made him who he became. But (and that is why I love Farscape), not only does the show stick to “an explanation is not an excuse” belief, but there is always a possibility of grace. Of moving on, damaged and tarnished, and making new happiness and actively trying to find peace and goodness. Aeryn gets a chance to rediscover herself away from the brutality of PKs. She gets a chance to be a full-fledged human being (but also how much do I love that her deadliness does not diminish one bit.) Pilot gets the bond with Moya. Crichton, messed up beyond any recognition by the end, gets a chance at family, peace, and rediscovering innocence through his child.

So much of this ep is about choices and past and that’s another thing I love about the show. It’s not big on ‘fate.’ Aeryn and Crichton is my huge, huge, unrivaled OTP but they are not ‘destined,’ ‘fated,’ or any of that junk. They met at the time there was a possibility and their relationships developed from there. If Crichton did propose to Alex and she accepted and they stayed on Earth, I can see him being happy. He’d never have hit his full potential for feeling (or for suffering) but he would have been a happy guy. And for Aeryn, the moment was right. She loved Velorek but she couldn’t really allow herself to express it or to feel it fully, in PK society. Ironically, it’s her experience with Velorek, combined with her experience with her mother telling her she is special, that was that little push that prompted her to take to Crichton’s words of ‘you can be more’ in the Premiere. It’s actually so interesting to me btw that Aeryn has a type - techie with a core of steel but a soft soul and someone willing to buck all norms for what he thinks is right (Velorek, even Larraq to a degree) and John is basically the apotheosis of the type, but that Aeryn is so far from John’s default type prior to her - blond, easy going, chill. 

I really love the scene where he comforts her after she’s had an exercise session and her hands are raw from the punching bag. He just holds her, as she cries. And she cries messily, unprettily, very real. 

I love that so consistently, no matter how deadly he gets, he is the soft one in the relationship, the emotionally more open one, the one who wants to talk. She started out as a machine and discovers the beauty of vulnerability and humanity as the show progresses and he starts out as a vulnerable soft sweetheart who has to armor himself to survive - being with him restores to her, oh so gradually, the humanity that he society stole from her but later on having her is what keeps in him the humanity that is being so brutally and thoroughly ripped from him. He restores her soul and she restores him after the universe does its best to destroy that in them. They meet somewhere in the scarred middle and the equality of it is beautiful. (But also, achieving their full potential is riven with loss - John would have never shown all this drive and devotion and capability as a scientist on earth but he would have also not been tortured and driven to madness; Aeryn paid for her soul by loss of everything she knew.)

And that shot of them sitting across the PK symbol from each other, as she quietly tells him about the past, and they are not touching (I love that he knows it’s not the time for cuddling, that she needs her space to collect herself) and it’s so symbolic: that red stripe between them.

One of my favorite quotes occurs there, actually:

It’s just the way they say it. Quiet.

This is a gender reversal in their relationship, isn’t it? She is the one who has problems opening up (Crichton is the only one she allows herself to be vulnerable with and it’s been a long hard process to earn it, for him). He is the one who comforts her, who wants her to talk.

He is the emotional one, the one with the heart like a carpet for her to walk on. She prefers action and it’s hard for her to navigate the emotional landscape. And yet, Crichton is never weak. He is never diminished because of caring, or being the emotional one. I like it.

I also love the attitude everyone has on discovering Aeryn has been aboard Moya before (which looks grey and dull, not the gorgeous colors of now). I love that the show doesn’t shy away either from confronting that no, she did have an ugly past, it’s not just the words, and the fact that ultimately what she is now wins over for her shipmates from what she was then. China is 100% on point when she asks did they all think she did nice things while the rest of Peacekeepers tortured and murdered; this is a question not just for the characters but for the audience - it would be so easy to sweep her past under the rug but the show won’t do so. And so Aeryn did horrible stuff and she has to live with it.

The thing with Velorek, the betrayal. I think the scene with her Mother when she was a child was so crucial for her actions post-Velorek. If she didn’t have that ‘differentness’ implanted, she could have become even more martinet like after Velorek. But instead, it gave her a sliver of an opening…And again. I love the show for going there - for giving Aeryn a horrific betrayal in her past - perpetrated by her to advance her career against a man who loved her and who she loved and who was doing something good - and showing she is not just a victim, she is a perpetrator and that if you live in a monstrous regime, are brainwashed by a monstrous regime, you have no chance but become a monster.

The grace and the hope is that when given a chance to take a new path she does (and it’s even more stark with Crais - who was many more times a monster but even he is shown to be warped by the regime and after enough time on his own he becomes if not good per se, then at least a real human being capable of doing good things.)

To get back to the Velorek thing - it is also such a theme that being good does not guarantee reward or a happy ending. There is no easy grace - Aeryn betrayed a good man, a man she loved (as much out of panic because she felt herself deviating from prescribed path as to get advancement - I don’t think she’d have become “more” even with her capability for it if her choice to return to default was not taken from her until she had some chance to reflect and transform, and that is so realistic, brainwashing and societal conditioning are pervasive) and he was executed and she has to live with it.

And how do I love that so much of this ep is turning defaults on their heads - from reminding us that Aeryn was a perpetrator not a victim but also with Velorek who first seems a peacekeeper psycho and then we realizes keeps his humanity as much as he can in that mad place. It’s like their sex scene where it starts and we assume he will try to rape her and then we watch and realize they are lovers, in love (and Aeryn is as always in charge, heee :P) and it basically screams at us - don’t go for easy defaults, look behind the assumptions.

Btw I love this show for allowing Aeryn romantic agency and history - she loved someone before John even if she was not ready to fully commit. And there is no jealousy in John, just a little wonder and just the fraughtness of discussing love with her.

Also - very true to the whole story that for Aeryn physical is easier than emotional and comes first (as Chiana points out to John in s3 because that girl gets relationships.) She is from a society where sex is easy and meaningless but emotions are terrifying and forbidden so of course. For her to admit that she loved Velorek shows how far she’s come; she’d have never been able to realize it in the peacekeepers (and the story of her mother in s3 shows how even people with capacity for love will eventually have it brutalized out of them so safest not to love, it’s self-preservation.)

Also, we see how far the characters have come from the pilot episode but also how far they have yet to go. Look at Zhaan here and yet less than a season later, she will give her life to bring Aeryn back, not just because of her love for John but because of Aeryn herself. (And also, the show is A+ for calling Zhaan out for hypocrisy but also the continuity was always so good!)

I could go on and on and on forever, but I’ll just mention two little things here. One is, I love the shot when Aeryn and John drop from the ceiling into Pilot’s den in unison. Two? The tag. First time I saw it, it killed me dead. When Aeryn and John are talking and she tells him that he reminded her of Velorek and he asks ‘And you say you loved that man?’ and they stare at each other and away with all the questions and answers they are afraid of saying, in their eyes. 

[cuddlyreader]

I'd love to hear your top 7-10 OTPs! I'm guessing Leyton and Delena are both on the list?

Hello! I'm reusing my answer from an old post for this because I am proud of it. :)

Brenda and Dylan (Beverly Hills 90210) - As I have said before, I love Shannen Doherty. This show is the reason why. Brenda was my favorite character from day one, and her romance with Dylan was so intense and epic. This one has to be the first time an emotionally damaged character stole my heart. He needed her screaming and crying at him to understand that someone loves him because no one did until then. She needed his recklessness to temper her own. They grounded each other with their love.

Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Watching these two fall in love and be unable to resist it was so much fun. They were actually doomed from the start. I mean…a vampire and a vampire slayer…that has tragedy written all over it. She literally killed him, and he came back from a Hell world (sounds familiar). Then, they fell right back in love (hmm, also familiar). They loved so hard, and their world was always in peril, which kept the angst level pretty high. For years, Angel wallowed in the torment of guilt that his soul provided. She gave him a purpose…her purpose. Her entire reason for being was to save people. She made him want to do that, too. He made her realize that not all monsters are evil and not all “good” guys are good. In my mind, they found their way back to each other and lived happily ever after.

Willow and Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - These two had the most beautiful and sweet love, and I am bitter that the idiot writer killed off Tara. Shy, bookish Willow really grew into a powerful and strong witch because of this relationship. She could fully be herself, and it was amazing. Tara, sweet Tara, was so kind and compassionate. She held Willow accountable in her magic, which turned out to be pretty important. I won’t even get into the fact that at this time, there was very little LGBTQ representation on television. Yep, I’m still angry.

Pacey and Joey (Dawson’s Creek) - Dawson’s Creek is my comfort show. I watch it all the way through several times a year. There is nothing that soothes me like it does. When this show aired, there was nothing more enjoyable than watching Pacey and Joey fall for each other against their own wishes. Pacey knew first, and he tried not to act on it for the sake of their friend Dawson (I won’t go into how annoyed that makes me given that Dawson didn’t want her.). Joey fought it with everything she had for the same reason and also because it was so real that it scared the hell out of her. He pushed her to grow and become the person she was meant to be, and she accepted him as is without any expectations other than they would do it together. They had the best dynamic. They bickered and laughed and cried, but they worked at their relationship like you do in grown-up relationships. Even when they broke up, they cared about each other consistently. My favorite episode is when they get stuck in K-Mart overnight. Joyously, they were also endgame.

Max and Liz (OG Roswell and Roswell, New Mexico) - By now, I have established that I love intense love. That’s exactly what og Max and Liz had. Liz was very structured and academically driven. Max was very closed off from everyone including Michael and Isabel. He opened her mind and heart to possibility. She made him feel and be open about it. They loved so intensely that even supposed alien fate couldn’t keep them apart. I was so sad the show was canceled so soon, but I am eternally grateful that they were endgame and that I got to see it. They sort of switched the emotional roles of new Max and Liz, which I like. They would still do anything for each other, so they are still my OTP. Admittedly, I haven’t watched the last season because I’m sad about it being the last.

Peyton and Lucas (One Tree Hill) - Look, they were always drawn to each other, but their timing was awful. I loved how no matter what, they were there for each other, even if it was just as friends. Peyton was the broken one in this relationship. She lost too much at too young an age. Feeling so deeply terrified her. And let’s face it, Lucas was intense. He felt everything and didn’t shy away from it. It was immensely gratifying to see them finally be happy together.

Logan and Veronica (Veronica Mars) - Logan was a real ass at the beginning of this show, and they were full-on enemies. So, I can honestly say I did not ship them at first. The metamorphosis that Logan goes through to be a better man is truly remarkable. To be fair, they both have emotional damage in this one. Veronica copes with her losses by saving others, but her love for Logan scares her. They both had to work out their own stuff before they could successfully be together. Thankfully, we got to see that they made it. I have no comment about the killing of my beloved Logan.

Damon and Elena (The Vampire Diaries) - Anyone that follows me knows that these two are my current obsession. Damon has literally spent over a century and a half being abandoned and rejected by his father, mother, brother, and love. To say that I love him is the understatement of the century. He had no intention of falling in love with Elena. He wanted to save Katherine, and her rejection nearly killed him. He feels everything so much that he can’t cope, and then he snaps. Elena saves him. Period. She makes him feel human because she treats him like one. She expects him to care and makes him want to do better. And he does, starting with her. He loves her so much that it is palpable. Damon makes her look at herself and the world differently. He pushes her to be and accept her true self no matter who that is or who she is with. I am elated that they got their long and happy human life together.

Clary and Jace (Shadowhunters) - I love Jace with every fiber of my being. I just want him to have love and happiness. He did not get that deserved love from his parents, and he never felt like he deserved it after that. Clary brought him to life. She was caring and compassionate for everyone: mundane, shadowhunter, or downworlder. Loving her opened Jace’s heart to everything. I choose to believe that the ending we got means they find their way back to each other and live happily ever after. I know I could finish the books, but I honestly cannot read Cassandra Clare’s writing anymore. Besides, where they are in my mind is good for me.

Magnus and Alec (Shadowhunters) - Magnus is one of my favorite characters ever. He’s loved many times over the centuries he’s lived, but what he has with Alec is so much more. Like all shadowhunters, Alec doesn’t trust downworlders, but for him, it’s more than that. He believes he has a duty to his family, and being with Magnus flies in the face of that duty. Magnus not so subtly or easily pushes past Alec’s defenses. Once they get together, they make each other better, and it’s literally magical. Their wedding was everything I could have hoped for as far as endgame goes.

[littlewhispersofsolitude]

Imagine Your OTP #546

Person A: I am a healer of the soul. Come closer and I will tell you how to fix the damage that has been caused.

Person A: *Rests a hand on B's heart*

Person A:

Person A: My advice to you? Throw it out and get a new one. That one's broken

*A few years later*

Person A: And that, my children, is how I met your parent.

[ifishouldvanish]

My love for Alucard x Olrox is all your fault. And I hope it creates a storm inside Mizrak seeing them happy together.

I don't even hate Mizrak. I fully believe him encountering Alucard (and maybe later the vampire turned Tera), will have him questioning his assumptions of Olrox and the vampire species as a whole. But that don't matter. That takes time, and I want Olrox happy NOW.

And if it's true that Alucard was in the long sleep due to...well... *everything*, then dammit, I want him happy, too. Two birds, one stone!

Hahahaha... *rubbing my filthy little hands together* YEESSSS 😈😈😈

Absolutely! Like, it's nothing to do with being anti Mizrak or wanting to narratively punish Mizrak or whatever. I know I've taken a few shots at him over his parting words to Olrox but like... it is in good faith and about dissecting the ways Mizrox as a ship has some groundwork to lay down first. Which I fully expect them to do because I trust that they are endgame.

Mizrak's whole arc is so clearly going to be about reevaluating the beliefs he holds about a lot of things and I 10000% agree that meeting Alucard will be a catalyst for him accepting that vampires can 'have a soul' and are capable of loving and caring for others, etc. I like to imagine him having a moment of realization of all the times he sort of rebuffed Olrox's expressions of care and being like, "Oh. Oh wait, that was the beginning of something real, actually 🥺"

But adsfdhkkkl RIGHT??? And it's not that I see Alucard x Olrox happening quickly and sweeping each other off their feet right away (or in terms of canon, like ever, lmao), but I AM something of a sucker for the trope of: "we could have been so good together, but the timing just wasn't right/I wasn't quite ready; now you've found someone else who makes you happy and who am I to take that away from you"??? Ugghh the angst is just too good, I'm sorry that makes you collateral damage to the Alurox agenda, Mizrak 😩😩 You're hot and strong tho, you'll be okay

And lmao yes, Alucard x Happiness the ultimate OTP 🥹🥹🥹

[aurora-313]

If you wanted to do it: for the Give me a Character thing: gonna pick the obvious, Kaien, and also Ukitake if you want more than one.

Kaien

How I feel about this character: I theorize he's the Maes Hughes of Bleach. He's kind, charismatic, dedicated to his family to the umpteenth degree, freely offers advice and support to others when they need it. And I think he somehow discovered the Big Bag's plans but was murdered/'killed in action' before he could do anything about it (Killing his wife then destroying his zanpakutou so the Hollow could corrupt him? And if we consider Metastacia was Aizen's creation, that felt targeted and personal). Goodest good boy, with a heart a dozen sizes too big for his own good and too precious for this world.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Miyako, his wife, obviously. And Lisa Yadomaru... sometimes both at once.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Ukitake (Hi Work dad!) and Ichigo (Big bro mode activated).

My unpopular opinion about this character: Why, of all things, did his possessed corpse have to go out on that note? What did he do to deserve that desecration? I understand the thematic importance of Aaroniero's fight with Rukia and finally unburdening herself of that guilt, but Rukia couldn't have collected the remnants of Nejibana later and laid them to rest in Soul Society, where they could truly rest in peace? Why was the last vestige of his soul allowed to languish and rot in the den of cannibalistic monsters?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Kind of two variants of the above; 1) Rukia retrieves Nejibana's broken remnants and returns it to the Shiba family so they can lay it to rest. 2) Rukia rescues Kaien from Aaronerio's clutches and helps this broken lost soul try and find a new place in the world that's moved on without him, as a magnificent role reversal to how they met. (also standing headcanon that he Maes Hughes' the crap out of Aizen's schemes and was killed to cover it up)

Ukitake:

How I feel about this character: Tragic wasted potential seems to be a theme with the 13th. I liked Ukitake as a character and one of the few authority figures Ichigo actually liked and respected in the other world. He's chronically ill but managed to gain captaincy and hold it for many years, even close to retiring a little before Bleach started had fate going a little differently.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: None, really. Him x peaceful retirement?

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Kyoraku (brother from another mother), Kaien (Hi Son, are you winning?) and Rukia (go, my child. Do crime~!)

My unpopular opinion about this character: Making him host to a Soul King fragment was a mistake. It was stupid. I know many characters were struggling to find relevance in the last arc, but like with many others I could mention; killing off one of the most powerful players for the sake of drama was absolutely ridiculous. Especially with his Zanpakutou power. Its literally the most ideal counter to the Quincy, right up there with the Visoreds.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That Ukitake actually had a proper battle and cured his illness. Following the above of removing the SK possession rubbish: We've seen in Soul Society that technology is actually quite backwards if its not military application. Maybe as part of their growing understanding and progressive change for the better, at some point, either they or Uryu poits out the human world has diseases similar to the one Ukitake suffers. Not only that, but they've a name for it and developed treatments and cures too. Imagine how reinvigorating that second lease on life would be. I'd still have Ukitake's lung weakened, permanently damaged from centuries of illness, but it gives him a chance to function as a front line commander.

[scattered-winter]

For the ask game: owen from 911ls and zuko from atla 👀

owen

sexuality headcanon

bisexual

otp

billy/owen because they fucking hate each other and I think it's hilarious

brotp

poor judd is always dragged into his bullshit 😔

notp

gwyn deserves so much better I'm not sorry

first headcanon that pops into my head

he probably has a tattoo in a very embarrassing place

favorite line from this character

ok I will give him this one win: "126 is a family. These uniforms bind us tighter than blood. Like family, we argue, screw up, let each other down. But as long as we keep fighting for one another there is no challenge cannot rise to, there is no crisis that we cannot overcome. This building stands today not because of its bricks and mortar, but because of the heart and soul of the family inside of it" because fuck yeah, they are a family <33

one way in which I relate to this character

annoying bitch representation ig

thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

literally everything?? but especially how he makes EVERYTHING about him. even things that are completely unrelated. like. does he ever get sick of the world revolving around him??? does he???? and the other thing is how when he had cancer, the biggest thing he was worried about was his hair and his dick. like. maybe I'm just biased because my family is full of people dying--literally dying--of cancer but that shit was like a slap to the face. I'd be so embarrassed if I was him. imagine telling your son to his face that you care more about your hair and your fucking abilities more than you care about the very real, very damaging trauma that comes from watching a parent wither and die right before your eyes. the ls cancer storyline isn't just annoying, it's offensive (to me, at least) and a big part of it is because of owen's attitude

cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

problematic. not my fav. just problematic <3

zuko!!!!!!!! my baby boy!!!!!!!!!!!

sexuality headcanon

he's the gayest little guy I've ever laid eyes on. I've stayed silent on this issue long enough

otp

I'm a zukka truther at heart but I also think jetko has the potential to be funny

brotp

zuko and toph!!! lowkey wish there was an ep before sozin's comet where they hit the town and caused some problems together

notp

zutara. I'm sorry but it's true ,, it's just. a painfully straight ship no matter how you twist it. doesn't pass the vibe check

first headcanon that pops into my head

he's also the most autistic guy to ever exist so jot that down

favorite line from this character

"they don't see our greatness. they hate us, and we deserve it" yesssss boy recognize the wrongdoings of your people and fight for redemption not just for yourself but for your nation yessssssssssss

one way in which I relate to this character

autism <3 also family issues (I haven't been burned in the face tho <333 thank fuck)

thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

ghsldkfjsg every time I watch him re-introduce himself to the gaang in s3,,,great job little buddy that's the worst anyone's ever done it <3

cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

he's both. he's my cinnamon roll and he's also a problematic fave. he contains multitudes <333

character ask game

[burntbeebs]

For the Character ask: Foreman Spike. 😏

You know AAALLLL about my thoughts on him, but for all of China, let's begin B)

favorite thing about them What an absolute, pain in the ass, frustration and brain damage inducing penicular fellow he is in Wrecking Crew. And I love it. Design wise, his big goofy nose and cool shades and big beard :>

least favorite thing about them The hang ups officially and on the fandom side about him.

favorite line Mans put his whole heart and soul into that "IT'S A MEEEE!!!" But also if I'm allowed to do this, "Wow, Chuck Norris?" from the fic never fails to get a laugh out of me

brOTP With Mario and Luigi, them all reconciling over the past issues and brain damage and being homies is all I want. Also Gao the king Gotchawrench

OTP You know DAMN well, him and his goblin snifit wife of cours-

nOTP Uhh idk him and Bowser, but that's like half of literally every notp I have in this series. Yeah it exists, yeah I wish I didn't know it did.

random headcanon He is absolutely related to Booster in some way, and nobody can convince me otherwise

unpopular opinion I don't think Blackie was a bad name. It was like a pirate thing, obviously referencing his beard.

song i associate with them Once again, you will get no explanation from me

favorite picture of them

Image I can hear, and it also lives rent free in my mind.