#this turned out kind of shippy?

[unexpectedbrickattack]

Hiding the rest of this HUGE comic behind a readmore for ur sanity

Hes got the keenest eye for these things!

Now that this is hiding behind a readmore i can justify writing an essay in here. Nothing big tho i am just very chatty :)!

Postgame where Peppino still gets visits every now and again from the bosses of the tower. I already drew one for the noise (lmao) but i wanted to draw each of the main four interacting with him in some way.

Pepperman is a refined and well renowned artist. His art is highly sought after and his advice is not taken lightly. He has many MANY fortunes to pull from to make his visions a reality and to influence anyone to do anything. Except for Peppino.

From the very first fight, Pepperman is immediately, overwhelmingly obsessed with this stout little brawler. He is much much more than what meets the eyes. He is initially extremely offput and annoyed that a human so boldly decided to waltz into his domain, and he expects to be able to steamroll and bully this…beast…out of his place of work. He is refined when he wants to be, but he is quick to use his brute strength to get what he wants if only bc he knows he can do it

And so when he decides to fully charge and thrash this little trembling human, expecting him to skitter away the second he gets struck, he is completely unprepared for when he gets launched to the other end of this room. The human looks so incredibly PISSED, like a bull seeing red, and suddenly this little altercation suddenly became a real actual ‘knock your teeth out’ brawl. This human is only like half his height, but his punches and bashes fucking knock the wind out of him.

And like ! To add insult to injury!!! After he wins the fight! He visibly deflates, the adrenaline seemingly wearing off. Hes just this trembling fuckin whelp again !!! Whimpering as he fucking runs back out through the portal to do god knows what. And Pepperman could not be any more fucking intrigued. Like this no name came in, whooped his fuckin ass, and went about his day. Its unreal

While Peppino is running around climbing the tower, Pepperman is in his room losing his mind. Hes obsessed. No one has challenged him in this way. No one has fought him and WON. He is ALWAYS able to bully people into submission either through brute force or with money, and he got his ass handed to him !! He needs to know more. Its quite literally consuming him.

Cut to the final fight, set up for a rematch; and he knows he is going to get steamrolled again but it is SO exhilarating to get another chance to see this humans form up close again. This time he can try to commit everything to memory. Its all such a blur though, and in a quarter of the time it took to end their first fight, its over. He gets to watch the human fight the gunslinger with his bare hands, no gun necessary, and he doesnt even bat an eye at what looks to be a clone of himself. He is a force of nature tearing through every single defense, and when Pepperman watches the actual final fight with the bizarre little pizza man, its like hes caught in a movie. The rain, the storm, the atmosphere. He wishes he could burn the entire scene into his mind.

So when everything returns to normal, he takes the time to travel for days to come and find this little human named Peppino. The memory is still strong and vivid but eventually, details will start to slip his mind. He needs to find this human, convince him to sit and do some still life sessions with him to help cement the humans appearance in his head. He hasnt had to resort to…asking for permission for anything in a loooong time…he bullies people into doing what he wants but Peppino is not your average person, and if he wants something from this man, he’ll have to meet him at his level.

He...can make an exception for Peppino...he supposes.

[wingsofhcpe]

me about to have mud and rotten tomatoes thrown @ me by at least half of my musketeer fandom friends when I say these two have more chemistry in that one scene than Sylvie and Athos ever did:

[phoenixyfriend]

Weird Egg?

Okay so in theory, Obi-Wan was plausibly on Mandalore when Anakin was born, right?

(this is technically a variation on a few other fics and AUs I've seen, and I'll list the stuff that came to mind at the end.)

While on Mandalore, Obi-Wan finds An Egg while hiding in a cave with Satine. And he doesn't recognize it, and Satine doesn't recognize it, and even Qui-Gon doesn't recognize it.

Which makes it weird, at the very least, and probably rare. It's the size of his HEAD and even though there's no parent around, the egg is… warm, now? He didn't notice at first, but it's definitely producing at least some of its own heat.

So Obi-Wan brings the egg with him, which is a pain in the ass in terms of maneuvering, but they do seem to have better luck avoiding Death Watch than before, which uh. Given that the egg feels warmer when they're getting lucky, and seems to glow in the Force, they think might not be a coincidence. A lucky rock, except it's alive.

Mission ends. Obi-Wan plans to take the egg back to the temple for study in case they just discovered Something, and as he's saying goodbye to Satine… the egg Hatches.

It is a dragon.

The dragon can project words into Obi-Wan's mind. It's not quite capable of complex thoughts yet, but it's a he (probably), and has a name (Anakin!), and considers the person who's been carrying him and protecting him and keeping him warm for the past six months to be his mom!

Obi-Wan protests at this. Qui-Gon decides to make his life harder with the 'correction' that Obi-Wan would be a dad, not a mom.

So now Obi-Wan has a small dragon which will be growing to the size of a house, that imprinted on him and is following him home and calling him dad and insisting on sleeping in his bed

Idk if you've ever read Septimus Heap, but… the MC of that found a Fancy Rock, put it in his bag, carried it around for a YEAR because he kept forgetting to take it out of his bag, and then it hatched into a dragon. And I kept thinking about that the whole time I wrote this.

In Obi-Wan's defense, he does Have A Plan.

Until the dragon hatches, turns out to be a sapient as a toddler (with promise of growth), and calls him Dad.

And now the plan is gone.

He just wanted to bring a cool egg back to the Temple for study!

And now the Mandalorians are pulling out old books about whatever the fuck this is because these things APPARENTLY went extinct around the same time as the underwater dragon-adjacent thing that is the Mythosaur.

Obi-Wan learns that supposedly the eggs are inert until something with the Force interacts with it in a Purposeful Manner.

Which includes "probing it a little to see if whatever is inside is actually alive."

Anakin's a standard western dragon that can breathe fire because Flyte. Also this post.

Weeeee okay small text for the references I mentioned.

Obviously, first up is the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, specifically Magyk and Flyte.

The fic series I was thinking of initially that kind of jumpstarted the AU process was Boga Service Varactyl AU, but specifically Kenobi Kafé Service Animal Boga AU.

I've been seeing a couple of dragon shapeshifter AUs, including that post I linked earlier from @ahsoka-in-a-hood, @bubblew0lf1's dragon shapeshifter AU, and @squad-724's Dragon Jedi AU has been all over my dash for the past few days.

Stubborn to the Bones by @tideswept, which was part of what had me connecting the various dots of Obi-Wan Finding Animal Anakin on a mission, though our outcomes are admittedly very different lol. (Their fic is shippy, and mine is more decidedly gen/familial with a slight nod to Obitine.)

[puttersmile]

Allister's Job

Can't think of a more interesting title, but here is some more headcanon. Eventually Allister finds steady work at Bobby's place, the Bear & Biscuits. So Picky's nagging does pay off! I think working at a bar would work well for his personality (or my guess on his personality). I think he'd be into people watching.

I wanted to write a one shot for it but somehow it turned into a weird 2nd person fic that isn't even shippy or romantic. Not sure how I feel about it but I'll post it anyway instead of deleting it like it probably should be.

Laid Back Worker

You step into Bear & Biscuits, the cozy bakery turned bar where the aroma of freshly baked goods mingles with the faint tang of cider and spirits. The place feels like a warm hug on a cold night, the kind of spot that makes you want to linger. A few regulars are seated at the tables, chatting and laughing softly, but the bar area is empty. 

You slide onto one of the stools, the firm surface is comforting  after a long day on your feet. The sound of the door closing behind you barely registers as you glance at the drink menu scrawled in cheerful chalk on a hanging board. 

The holiday specials catch your eye—mulled wine, spiced rum, hot chocolate, and something called the “Bear’s Winter Hug.” But there’s no bartender in sight. You wait for a moment, scanning the room. The low hum of conversation fills the background, but the bar itself is oddly quiet.

All you hear are the muffled shuffle of feet, accompanied by the sound of clinking glasses. Just as you consider calling out, a sharp voice cuts through the room. 

“Allister! Quit daydreaming and get to work already!” 

A tall, green gator shuffles out from the back, his posture is low, his eyes half-lidded. He scratches his head as he ambles over to the bar, his slouch making him seem even more laid-back than usual.

“Oh. Hey.  Think I recognize you. You’re one of Picky’s other friends, right?” He gives you a lazy grin, leaning against the counter.  “Didn’t notice you walk in... Guess you’re in the right place for a drink, huh?”

He grabs a towel and starts wiping the already-clean bar top, a halfhearted effort that makes you smirk. You ask what he recommends.

Allister glances over his shoulder at the shelves lined with bottles, barely bothering to focus. 

“Well, if you want my professional opinion—which I’m guessing you do—I’d go with the Winter Hug. Ms. Bearhug says it’s ‘hearty and festive,’ which I think just means it’s got enough kick to keep you warm all night.” He smirks.

“But if you’re not feeling adventurous, we’ve got plenty of plain ol’ whiskey. Your call.” The laid-back charm is hard to resist, and you laugh as you make your choice.

As Allister begins to mix your drink with a casual ease, you glance around the room.  So is this place a bakery? And a bar? Not exactly a usual combo.

Allister snorts, pausing mid-pour. “Oh, it’s all Ms. Bearhug's brainchild. She inherited this place from her family. It used to just be a bakery, but she wanted to mix things up—literally. She figured drinks would bring in the evening crowd, and honestly? She wasn’t wrong.” He shrugs, his grin widening. 

“Though between you and me, I think she just likes bossing me around.” 

He finishes the drink and slides it over to you with an impressive spin.  “And before you ask—yes, I do all the drink stuff, and she handles the baking. Not a bad setup, really. I get to stay out of the kitchen, and she doesn’t yell at me as much.” 

Just then, the door to the back swings open again, and Bobby Bearhug steps into view. Her red fur is dusted with flour, and she looks every bit the part of a baker who’s been up since dawn. Despite her exhaustion, there’s a sharpness in her eyes that makes it clear she’s paying attention to everything. 

“Allister, if you’re going to waste time, at least make sure our guest has everything they need. Are you good over here?” she asks, looking at you with a warm yet slightly pensive smile.  You nod, Allister is doing a great job.  Bobby raises an eyebrow at him, clearly skeptical. 

“Well, that’s good to know. Let me know if he starts slacking.” Allister chuckles, unbothered. “Slacking? Me? Never.”

As the night goes on, the bar fills with a soft buzz of conversation and laughter. Allister tells you stories about some of the more eccentric regulars, his jokes making even the boring parts of life sound entertaining. Bobby pops in and out, delivering trays of her famous bear claw pastries and checking on everyone, her presence adding a warmth to the room that goes beyond the fire crackling in the corner. 

At one point, Allister leans back against the counter, eyeing the dwindling crowd. “You know,” he says, “Bobby acts like she’s all business, but this place? It’s her heart. She loves seeing people come together here. I think she loves it more than sleep.”

Bobby overhears and smacks him lightly with a towel as she passes. “Stop telling critters my secrets, Allister. And refill their drink while you’re at it!”

As Bobby returns to the kitchen, Allister grins with a casual shrug. “See what I have to deal with?”

[burningcheese-merchant]

Thoughts on the latest trailer of CRK aka "Shadow stop you're embarrassing yourself-"

Shippy answer:

Non-shippy answer:

I actually really enjoy the aesthetics of the Spire of Truth and of the Beast-Yeast chapter as whole. Might just be my brain turning off when I see the colors though lol (blue is my favorite color)

Gonna provide a controversial factoid about myself: I did not like Shadow Milk's voice when I first heard it all the way back when. It grated on my fucking nerves. But he sounds way better now for some reason (might still put the Japanese audio back on though tbh. I never cared for the English voice cast outside of a handful of characters and only turned English on for Burning Spice because godDAMN. Plus a lot of characters share voices with anime characters I love. Pitaya is Uzui Tengen/the Sound Hashira from Demon Slayer, for example)

Idk why anyone is getting their hopes up about Devsis changing the story formula up in any meaningful way lol. They most certainly will not. They said they would change things for Ovenbreak and then never did so (fuck the way Story Mode is now, fuck them for leaving it like that). You all need to start expecting less from them because they care about money (which they have been hemhorraging for ages now. They are unironically in massive debt rn. You know why Shadow is here? Because people will pay to unlock him and max him out lol) first and foremost, not the story or anything else. It's why the writing is so mediocre half the time lol

Guess everyone feels vindicated about the theorized connection between Shadow and the magic academy, huh? Haha

Did big bro have a fucking beard in that one portrait? Gandalf looking ass

Ngl I really loved that "dark" look Pure Vanilla had in that one shot. Whether that's his "corrupted" form or something else entirely, I'm not sure, but he looks cool and I hope we can have it as a skin regardless

Candy Apple is adorable, no idea what purpose she'll serve though

Hope Shadow is Magic like I predicted 1000 years ago

Not really happy White Lily and the Gingerbrave gang are there. Kind of hope they get sidelined. The latter especially. I know they're the "main" characters but they just drag down every scene they're in imo, I really do not care about them at all

Not looking forward to arena meta getting trashed again. I hate this shit so much

Seething @ Burning Spice not getting a countdown while Mystic Redditor and Walmart Bill Cipher do

Last two points don't really pertain to the trailer but uhhhhhhhhhh insert excuse here

[imababblekat]

So Close

@badlywritten-stuff2 ,"i am a sucker for spiderman reader w the turtles so i was hit w a potentially galaxy brain (and. shippy.) idea; the reader and leo are about to have like, a spiderman-esqe kiss where the reader is hanging upside down on their web with only half their face showing (you know the scene-- that's ROMANCE baby!) maybe it's a little farther down the line, in terms of their relationship and it's crept into less platonic and more 'i like you' vibes but still very much leo doesnt know our beloved spidey's identity. then the boyz show up and they're all like "YALL WAS GONNA KISS??" and leo and spidey are like "NUH UH" or something idk! have fun with it i just got the sillies. thank you! i hope youre doing well!"

◌ S,p = Spider Persona ◌

~xXx~

The air felt chill across green pebbled skin, a light rain cascading down from the sky and creating a beautiful wash of colors of the city scape for Leo to gaze upon. Despite being a stickler for always staying together, especially when in the world above his home, the mutant turtle felt he exceptionally needed this moment of peace. Away from the loud bustle of his brothers, away from the grueling training he’d tunnel vision himself into in moments like these, and away from the heavy expectations of being not only the eldest but the leader put upon him.

With a heavy breath through his nose and eyes shut closed, the terrapin in blue had not noticed the quiet pitter patter of feet behind him.

“Looks like someone finally learned to get out and have some fun for once.”

Leonardo nearly jumped out of his shell, but was quick to recover and turned with a glare that quickly dissipated at realizing who his uninvited guest was.

“(S,p), what are you doing here?”, he questioned, trying his best to stop the small flutter in his chest.

Sitting on the ledge of the door that led to the roof they both now occupied, the eyes of the friendly neighborhood (S,p) motioned in a way of how one would quirk a brow.

“Uhm, fighting crime. What are you doing out here? Thought Raph was the one to go soloing about.”

Leo looked down to the city streets below, his face scrunching up at being reminded of one of his latest stressors.

“Nothing, I. . .I just needed some air.”

(S,p) frowned at this. The hunched form, stiff shoulders, and shadows beneath gorgeous blue eyes were only a few tell tales of what Leo was currently going through.

“Hey. . .”

Leo watched as (S,p) hoped down from their perch, walking only a few steps before sitting down on the edge beside him. A gentle hand had come to rest on Leo’s forearm, and even through the miraculous suit they wore, he could still feel the comforting heat of their touch.

“Remember what we talked about?”, (S,p) questioned, looking up into Leo’s cerulean(?) eyes, that of which shyly wished to look away but held firm.

“You can’t keep things bottled up, Leo. It’ll weigh you down till it suffocates you.”

Swallowing a tightness in his throat, said terrapin could no longer hold his best friends gaze, and instead focused on the smaller hand still rested upon him.

“I know. I’m still just not used to this kind of thing.”, he admitted, a dusting across his chilled cheeks in the New York night.

For a brief moment, he wondered if you were cold as well, and could not help the feeling of concern at you becoming sick for being out in such weather trying to comfort him. Though, he knew any attempt at dissuading you would be futile. The more time you and the four brothers had spent together, the closer you and honorable terrapin had grown, no way was he going to get rid of you that easily. Your gentle caringness you were about to display proving as such.

“That’s okay. That’s why I promised to always be here when you needed and were ready.”, you beamingly reminded, taking your other hand to gently cup Leo’s face and direct his focus back to you.

The flutter felt earlier returned once more to Leonardo’s chest, his wrapped hand reaching up to gently lay over the hand that still caressed his face.

How had he become so lucky to meet someone like you? He knew not of your true identity, but Leo still fully believed he could trust you with his life and vice versa. Maybe it was because you were not so normal yourself, but whatever the case may be, you never treated Leo like a freak. Not only that, but you saw more of him then some cold hardass leader. You saw past the wall he built, the façade he wore as his duty placed upon him at such a young age. It wasn’t that Leo disliked being a leader, but it hadn’t been easy on him and he very much felt alone at times. Yet, when you had stumbled into their lives, it was like a ray of sun came to cast out the rays of his lonely mind. You had always cared for him, and you still continued to do so, as he found himself doing for you as well.

There was no one he felt closer to in his whole life but you.

“So, do you feel up for talking? Or do you just wanna hang for a while?”, you quietly asked, tucking one of Leo’s mask tails aside.

With a warming smile, Leo stood, taking your hand he still held and pulling you up gently as well.

“I think I’d just like to hang, if you’re not too busy kicking bad guy butt.”

You giggled, a melody like sound to Leo’s ears as he watched you walk back to the place you once sat perched upon.

“For you? Never busy! I know this cute little roof top café we can hit up. It’s got a little private area the owner set aside for me to take breaks at. Won’t have to worry at all about any surprises.”

Watching you jump up to the higher roof ledge, Leo thought about your proposition. Sitting in a cozy area with calming night rain in New Yorker city, enjoying a nice warm cup of coffee with the one person who could light up a whole room? What could be better?

“That sounds really nice actually. They have any pastries?”, Leo asked, getting ready to follow you up.

“As a matter of fact, they do! Oooh, their honey rolls are just ab-shit!”

Leonardo's heart spiked as he saw you suddenly slip on the wet surface above, and with quick reflexes he lurched forward, ready to catch you in his arms. Unfortunately, your own reflexes had kicked in just in time for you to web your self to the dryer, bottom portion of the ledge, leaving you effectively upside down. Combining both of your quick movements, neither Leo or you had time to stop the momentum of your faces colliding together. Despite being masked, there was no doubt in either of your minds the connection you each felt upon one another's lips. As quick as it had happened it was just as quickly over; Leo stepped back faster than lightning and his face lighting up as red as his brothers mask. As for you, your whole body felt it’s only electricity, spidey senses going awry from the incident.

“I-I’m so sorry!! I was just trying to catch you and-“

“N-no, I should apologize! I’m the one who slipped!”

The air grew thick with silence, as neither you or Leo looked at the other, hearts still racing and emotions on the high end. You were still buzzing, a new feeling you had never felt before coursing through you. It was your spidey sense, that you knew, but it hadn’t been the same as every other time you’ve experienced it. It was warm, soothing, elating, like taking a nap cozied up in bed with the window open to allow for a nice spring breeze.

Taking a chance, you glanced over at Leo, the later still looking to the ground. Not aware of the eyes upon him, Leo slowly had reached up to touch his own lips, a glimmer in his eyes that had not gone unnoticed by you. The sight sent a flutter of your own though your chest, as you thought back on all the special moments that you both had shared.

Almost similarly to Leo, you had felt alone for so long. A hero with abilities never heard of before and no one to learn from. Navigating a new world and taking on responsibilities and hardships you’d never asked for. When you met the ninja turtles though, and found yourself in an ever growing friendship with Leonardo, you suddenly found yourself almost not ever remembering what loneliness felt like.

“Hey, Leo?”

Said terrapin was quick to look your way, feeling the shyness of your gaze as you called for him.

“Yeah?”

“Do you uhm. . .”

Your voice fell to a mumble, your characteristic bravado suddenly gone. Leo chanced stepping forward, and once sure that you were comfortable with him moving into your space he continued closer.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Leo felt a new nervousness within him. You both knew it was an accident, but dear god, did you hate him now? Was this going to change things for the worse? The thought of your friendship dwindling caused an ache in Leo’s heart as he worriedly waited for you to repeat yourself. However, the next words you’d speak would be the complete opposite of the turmoil within his mind.

“I-I said. . .do you want to try that again?”

Leo gulped, his eyes behind his blue mask widening.

“What? Kiss?!”

“Yeah.”

“Uhm, but your mask. Are you sure your okay with?”, Leo gestured to his own face, knowing how important your identiy was to you.

You simply nodded, gaze just as soft as the handsome one now mere inches from you.

“You can pull it down part way.”

“Are you sure?”, Leo asked once more, half lidded stare looking into the eyes of your mask, that of which he swore for but a brief second he saw (e,c) orbs.

“Yeah, I trust you.”

That was all that Leonardo needed to hear, his heart now feeling like it would explode just by your simple, but powerful statement. Ever so gently he peeled down your mask, mind a flutter at finally seeing some hint of your true self. This whole action and moment had been elating for you as well, a thrill in your heart at feeling the brush of Leo's hands across your bare skin.

With the ambiance of falling rain, glowing lights of ranging hues, and the warmth of the others breath, the kiss Leo was about to share with you, would be a cherished memory for a life time and more.

“Hey, guy’s! I found him!”

Never had you pulled your mask up so quickly, and never had Leonardo let out such a roaring groan. Foot falls came to a halt as Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo hopped onto the roof top you both occupied.

“What the hell, man?! We’ve been tryin’ to reach you all night!”, Raph glowered throwing his hands up as his brother in blue sent him the sharpest of glares.

“There’s been a Foot Clan robbery, and NYPD needs back up.”, Donnie hurriedly spoke, too focused on one of his gadgets to take notice of the same death glare sent his way.

Ultimately, it was Mikey who had come to read the room, going to give you an excited greeting when he took notice of the bashful look displayed on your mask, Leo’s deep scowl, and the close proximity between you both. The biggest, toothiest of smiles breached the youngest face, but Leo had no time to stop him from speaking out.

“Yooo!! Were you two about to do what I think you were about to do?!”

Raphael and Donnie confusedly looked to Mikey, Leo furiously making motions to get Mikey to shut up.

“What are you talking about, Mikey?”, Raph spat, not in the mood for his antics.

“Oh you knooow~ Leo and (s,p), sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Realization smacked both Raph and Donnie in the face at that moment as they quickly looked between you both, each’s expression brimming with surprise.

“Wait, seriously?! Is that why you weren’t answering your phone?!, Donnie gawked while adjusting his glasses.

“So, like. . .with mask or no mask?”, Raph questioned with a shit eating grin.

Another heavy groan reverberated from Leonardo as his brother huddled together to begin their collective teasing. How was he going to survive this? Cheeks hot with embarrassment as his brother laughed and continued to banter from a distance, Leo turned to apologize to you, only to find you suddenly absent. Leo felt a sudden sadness at your disappearance, but a ping to his phone caught his attention. A text notification, above the many missed calls from his siblings, caught his eyes.

“Meet you dorks at the robbery! Coffee after? Or will you be too busy dying from your brothers torment? ; )”

Leo let out a breathy chuckle, and with a warm grin and even warmer heart, sent a message in return.

“For you? Never busy!”

~xXx~

[fictionadventurer]

Now I kind of want to see a Mansfield Park variation where Fanny gives in and marries Henry, but instead of turning out all happily-ever-after the way the shippy fanfics do, she winds up in a Tenant of Wildfell Hall situation, because no matter Henry's good intentions, Fanny's not going to be able to change him, he's going to get bored and fall into old habits and probably start disdaining her piety as prudery, and, well, since he likes living in worldly circles it might not take much for things to disintegrate.

[lestappenforever]

So, I’m like a realist, right? Sure, yes, I ship people from time to time but I know it’s just for funsies. So, I saw a lestappen edit last week and was like “hey cute guys, what’s up with these two? I better check it out.” and have fallen into a bit of a rabbit hole it seems. So I’m back in the real world now, where Max is in a long term relationship and Charles has a girlfriend, and am wondering: how does one explain Max’s behaviour? Does he just have a friend-crush on Charles? Has he always wanted to be friends with him since they were young and it was just hard since they’ve been rivals for so long? Does he envy him maybe since his father wasn’t a pos and he still turned into a great driver? Is it a “it’s lonely at the top” kind of situation, where he’s never been able to make many friends his own age? (I’ve seen Charles with a bunch of friends outside of racing, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max with any, but that could be on me.) I mean, a blind person could see that Max takes every opportunity to talk to him or be close to him and he knows stuff about him I’d personally be too embarrassed to admit (like getting his “stupid” quote exactly right or knowing about the twitch thing with his girlfriend forgetting her keys, etc.). I guess I’m looking for the actual non-shippy explanation for this behaviour cause it fascinates me. What are your two cents on this?

Hi anon, and welcome to the world of Lestappen! We're happy to have you. ❤️

I will preface this by saying that shipping is solely for fun, and I don't actually believe Max and Charles are in a secret relationship or anything of the sort. The majority of Lestappen shippers on Tumblr are on the same page about this, with some exceptions, but there are exceptions to anything. And a big part of shipping is speculating, being delusional about them, and overanalyzing things.

Now, in terms of a non-shipping explanation as to why these two behave the way they do around each other, I think it's a combination of all the reasons you've already listed. And the thing about Max and Charles is that they have known each other for so many years. They have been in each other's orbit, in one way or another, for the majority of their lives, and there is no denying that they have seen each other as one of — if not the — biggest rival they've had since they were children. Despite the fact that a lot of the current drivers on the grid have raced each other at some point before F1, there doesn’t seem to be any of them that have the same sort of rivalry that Max and Charles have, which goes so far back. And that kind of bond is one that I believe sticks with you forever.

Now this is not a delusional take at all, as this quote by Armando Filini, manager of the Maranello Kart, the first team for which Leclerc raced, proves: “They were always fighting. It didn't matter if they were competing in a tie or in a final, if it was raining or if the track was dry. Once we were in Genk, Belgium, in the first free practice, and they went on track. Charles and Max met, began to push each other and almost hit each other, with the risk of being left out. Jos Verstappen and I were glued to the fence to look at them and he turned around and said to me: 'These two will fight forever. They will fight even in F1′. A prophecy”.

Even though Max and Charles obviously haven’t been best friends for the majority of the time they've known each other, and they've only started building what appears to be a genuine friendship in the last few years, they share a connection that has been evident to people around them since they were little.

Max's comment from last season where he said that he wasn't surprised both him and Charles were sitting in that press conference together because he always thought that if he made it into F1, Charles would too, is just another testament to how tied together they actually are. And Charles' fond recollections of their karting days in the past season shows that it's a mutual thing: that Charles feels that same bond with Max that Max feels with him. And I think this is the whole baseline for why they've never been able to be normal about or around each other: because they go so far back and their lives are so intertwined that I honestly don't think either of them is fully capable of treating the other as just any other colleague or friend, because they don't see each other that way. They're something more, and by that I don't mean they're secretly in love with each other — they just have this bond that goes beyond normal friendship, forged through years of rivalry, envy, conflict, mutual growth and respect, and eventual friendship.

I have a childhood friend sort of like that: obviously not with the rivalry and drama that comes with the surroundings in which Max and Charles met and grew up, but someone that I share a bond with that I don't share with any of my other friends, old or new, and it's honestly my most treasured friendship because it has helped shape me as a person in a profound sort of way. He's not my closest friend and not the friend I talk to the most since we live on different sides of the country and our paths haven’t crossed much in the past few years, as is often the case when you grow up and become an independent adult. But when I do talk to him and hang out with him, it kind of feels like coming home. And to me, it seems like Max and Charles share that same type of bond.

This is just my personal take as I obviously don't know Max or Charles, and this is all based off of watching their interactions and watching their relationship develop over the past few years, as well as deepdiving into their history in the past. But this is the explanation that makes sense to me.

[lai-mar]

I think. For me L+M is another example of a male+female pairing that seems a little too straightforward to ship in canon and hence some fans view it as “boring” and “low hanging fruit”, and as a result the ship is less popular despite having canon crumbs that you can interpret in a shippy way. So the ship being low hanging fruit turns around? In canon they have a strong friendship and lots of moments, and that’s what I like them as, friends (and they are canonically friends). Shipping these “straightforward straight pairings” can be a bit squicky (because I tend to think they are more interesting nonromantically) but it turns out in the end I will blatantly blaze through my squicks because I am desperate for content. And also because shippers actually care about them and their bond.

However, for these pairings people SOMEHOW usually impose a familial interpretation (siblings, in-laws) even though they are not related in canon either by blood or marriage. It’s more acceptable in DM because F/M certainly gets a lot of crumbs but it also kinda makes me salty to see people reduce L+M to being in laws only, like their only connection is through Falin, and that is just plain wrong. I have seen so many male+female pairings that get stuck in the fanon “sibling-coded” area and it’s like… guys it’s okay to not like them as a ship and not make them siblings. Guys. Not every kind of love has to be romantic or familial. I think sibling coding is fun and all that but sometimes it does feel like a “gotcha! I totally do not ship them because they’re like SIBLINGS to me and if you ship them you’re WEIRD”.

L+M would still be funny if it’s the fanon “lesbian elf teams up with her gf’s autistic brother and they squabble but work together to save the day” but canon L+M just drives me crazy because they obviously develop a bond outside of the other people they love, and they’ve basically known each other for two years only which is short even for a tallman lifespan, let alone Marcille’s. Actually I think what really gets me about L+M is that every time they get a moment that can be interpreted as shippy (eg. succubus, M wearing the dress in the Golden Country, even M knitting in the room with L in the Kensuke extra just like her mom used to do with her dad), there might be a few blushes and nervousness, but they quickly return to the status quo of being comfortable and physically affectionate with each other. Which you can interpret them as not seeing each other romantically, in deep denial, or they’re just so comfortable with each other that they don’t need to define their relationship, they just are.

Tbh the widespread DM fanon did mislead me a bunch, I thought we would get obvious F/M shipping or even confirmation after the bath scene but nope. I thought L+M would kinda stay the way they were pre Ep 11 and have a fun back and forth bit noooo they had to go and save each other and learn about each other’s deepest desires. I was shocked that they weren’t being discussed on such a widespread level considering how much screentime and importance they both get. Saw someone say “the romance between F/M is the catalyst and main plot driver” and I want to bang my head against the wall. DM has ship crumbs for a ton of ships but nothing has ever been confirmed canon and I’m happier because of it and it’s fun to explore.

I would say L+M needs better PR but honestly just read the manga, it does all the PR lmao. I can forgive anime onlies but if you read the manga you surely cannot ignore the elephant in the room.

[silviakundera]

The Double ep 15-16 reaction

I'm glad they added another flashback of her brother and included his escort friend from the novel. Minor character and a small tragedy but it humanizes him for me. He was just a sincerely nice guy who wasn't kind to her as an aim to possess her, but because he was a good person. And so she never forgot him. She thinks he forgot her - only to learn he never cut ties with her; he was killed. Little tragedies, small people that royalty step on like ants.

To me it feels important that as much as the drama gives her husband depth and makes us sympathize with his situation, it shouldn't allow us to forget that her family was destroyed. We didn't see it happen, like the shovel to her head, but her father was his teacher. Xue Zhao was his brother in law. Their names may no longer matter to anyone else, but our protagonist will not allow them to go unavenged. [lil note from the novel I liked - novel!Duke Su being perplexed and unable to figure out how FL is getting this successful escort to assist her, when even he seems to respect how impossible it is to get a handle on the woman - because she has a secure position as a popular escort & enough money & is satisfied being exactly where she is (doesn't want to fight for favor as someone's treasured concubine), independant and unable to be threatened or bribed. so what could possibly move her?]

(Now this is sorta thematically tying in with the backstory drama created for ML with this bandit. ML's general dad was a good person and so he wasn't forgotten by this person whose life he touched, so presumably he'll do ML a favor. FL and ML have turned into schemers and are willing to get their hands dirty; but are aided in their quest by the fact that their dead family had a positive impact on some people who still remember it?? Be interesting to see if this does become a minor theme 🤔)

ANYWAY let's get to the good stuff: Last episode ML started realizing he's catching feelings. This episode FL feels jealousy and isn't shy about it ('can't I?'). We're making real shippy progress here!

He very much still enjoys watching her strut and perform. But the distance between them is slowly closing. That whole drinking game scene was pure gold.

"Are you not upset now? "Huh?" THE LOOKS THEY EXCHANGE AT THIS.

He's entered the play, joining her on stage instead of coldly manipulating from a high vantage point. Her walls are down for a moment and he's not even hiding his bias. Blatant flirting and she has him smiling. Yes, he has 2 agendas here but unlike the last failed 'date' they were playing together, not her in the role of pawn. I love a smart ML. Boy is not gonna fumble this chance to have his schemes AND a woman who's perfect for him.

I found this subplot of FL foiling the Li clan's plans for Ye clan her most clever manuveuring in the translated novel (up to ch 113). Though it's being compressed for time & tweaked, still satisfying to see her outflank the corrupt local government. As well, very glad to see the ML point out that she has a double-motive... to intentionally make the Jiang and Li irreconcilable. (They're not her real family, they're her enemies!) Nooooooo don't have multiple layers to your plans, it's too sexyyyyyy

[class1akids]

Shipping/Yuri aside, do you think what helped the Ochako & Toga plot-line be so well-received by fans compared to the Deku & Shigiraki one is that both of them are girls, so therefore they’re allowed to be “sappy” with each other which in turn made their interactions feel more genuine? Since this is a shounen manga and obviously you can’t have the male MC embracing his male arch-nemesis with both of them crying in each other arms and floating in the sky while being surrounded by pink energy/clouds.

Not saying it HAS to be that exact scenario for it to be genine, but I always felt that Horikoshi didn’t put enough effort into Deku forming any deep connection with Shigiraki and I can’t help but feel that maybe toxic masculinity might have played a role in it?

I don't think the tgchk fight was that well-received by everyone - some people loved it, some people hated it, some people were indifferent. On IMDB, it's not even in the Top 10 highest rated episodes of S7.

A lot of the hype came not from the storyline, but the yuri-bait shippy looking art, which made the bk/dk fandom very excited about it, seeing it as a possible sign that izch will be abandoned as endgame ship.

Hori used a lot of sentimental tricks - including a copious amount of "girls as cute little kids" and big erotic-looking panels to boost the emotional content.

To me, their interactions didn't feel all that genuine tbh - it was some of the most contrived, cringe dialogue I read in my life - and also it was a disappointment, because it shifted away from their PLF-war "Who is saved by the heroes?" - "Who saves heroes?" dynamic and built instead a simplistic "oh people find me creepy" "you are cute" kind of dynamic. All the rage / grief Toga carried about Twice, a possible confrontation with Hawks, etc. was thrown out for whatever we got.

But because it's simplistic, people can understand it easily and Hori bloated it as well with large extra panels - which let the emotions breathe.

I think in Izuku vs Shigaraki he was in trouble because he wanted to make Deku look both like a badass MC kicking the butt of his villain, but also as the compassionate person he is supposed to be.

To be fair to Izuku, I think he went even further than Ochako in reaching out - literally losing his arms in the process to respond to Tenko's need for validation, but all he got was a crappy little panel, where even the flashback is way bigger than what is actually happening.

Still, Tenko and Deku did get the equivalent of the floating girls panel.

But because their dynamic wasn't a 2-way dynamic, but they carried the AFO vs OFA plot with AFO, the vestiges, Deku as the MC carried every extra's highlight they didn't get a full chapter like 395 which did nothing but linger on naked Toga's emotions to make a decision to save Uraraka.

They got instead AFO comeback, Tenko's life being invalidated after Deku just validated it, the whole "everyone is becoming heroes together". There are 5 chapters worth of speedy checklist of plotlines:

Pointless AFO gave

Sero, Satou, etc. group

Aizawa - Mic - Kurogiri

Deku has no arm - Eri's horn -Deku has arm

Everyone arrives

Todorokis come back - Sero spotlight

Everyone helps Deku get to AFO with hasty spotlights on several characters

All Might / US pilots

The fucking US president - why? who knows

Ochako on the helicopter

Then we get more AFO flashbacks

Bakugou surprise return - obligatory glazing session - pointless reference to rivalry plot

And then, only then do we get back to Izuku and Tomura/Tenko. And if Hori had the same interest in drawing them as he had in drawing girls' bodies, he could have put this comeback in a chapter of its own like 395 - where he shows Tenko being saved by Nana, where he gives him a POV in joining the attack against AFO, where he acknowledges what Deku did for him, etc. But instead of luxurious and drawn in detail double pages, the boys get empty panels with awkward dialogue and some low quality doodles.

Like it's the same storybeat - but Horikoshi put effort into drawing the girls and next to zero effort into drawing Izuku and Tomura.

And yes, he's burnt out and what-not, but then he had 4 months to fix the volume, and still did only very little corrections to the Shigaraki - Deku scene. He could have expanded on Tenko and Nana (I expected he would), but instead, all he drew was more Toga and Uraraka.

At this point, there is no other explanation than Hori just got obsessed with his female characters and was drawing them for his own pleasure rather than fixing the lackluster treatment he gave to his MC and Shigaraki.

[jimpagne]

Do you have a favorite photo of Jikook? Or video/moment/etc. Also I know in your bio you have “diet delulu” but what made you go from nothing to “maybe there is something here” ??

Hello anon!

Well, hm... do I have a favorite photo of Jikook? Not in particular. I think any photo that I can get of them together is a blessing, however I really do love the Jeju-do set I have of them outside in their swimsuits. Something about it is just so... warm.

Also... thighs. I am a human, after all.

Some other fun little ones I really enjoy!!

When it comes to videos, I know a lot of people will go for the more "shippy" ones, like Black Swan, Rose Bowl, maybe their more intimate moments on 이게 맞아?! ... but truth be told, some of my favorite clips of Jikook are when they're more nonchalant, or more in their passive element. It's when they're doing acts of service or being domestic in ways that don't immediately catch the eye of regular viewer.

For example, take this one from IN THE SOOP:

[But Jungkook doesn't care.]

What a subtitle.

The gentle wrapping of Jimin's hand (Jungkook's affection seems to manifest itself best through acts of service!), the funny banter, Jungkook just sitting to the side in silence while he smiles gently at the story being told. Things like this really make appreciate the more gentle sides of their relationship, whether they be romantic or platonic. To have someone who softens in your presence even when you scream at the top of your lungs about their snoring is truly a blessing.

As for my feelings regarding Jikook... Hm, where to begin. I mean, I entered this fandom in 2015 and immediately engaged with the creative space of it, mostly with fanfiction. However, when I wrote fanfiction, I didn't really ship any of the members that I was writing about, I was more or less going off their dynamics. It wasn't until 2021 that I began to delve a little deeper into the Could This Possibly Be a Thing™ zone.

I'm not really sure what moment/thing did it for me, but again I really enjoy Jimin and Jungkook's dynamic, and I think how they treat one another and how they work together really just made me think that they could be something else. Something more.

But, I am not without my doubts. Hence the "diet" part.

I think it's healthy to have doubts when you've been presented something with no true/confirmed conclusion, otherwise you could risk turning into a rabid dog chasing its own tail, making up lies to satisfy a narrative that you've entirely made up yourself. Sound familiar to anyone?

Hurt dogs bark. They bark reaaaaallll fucking loud.

Personally, I don't necessarily entirely agree with blatantly announcing that "They're Real!!" because I myself cannot really confirm that. I'm autistic, so sometimes when I see posts of people stating that someone is feeling a certain way just because of a "look in the eye" or a "facial expression", I start to get a bit upset, because we don't really know what they're thinking at the end of the day. I've had many moments where neurotypical people have accused me of something based on my face, and it kind of just ... drives me nuts.

Of course, my grievances stem from more abstract presentations of human emotions, whereas actions/words can be a little more clear. Decipherable to a considerable degree... if you know what I mean.

I wouldn't be devastated if things turned out to be different; I'm not rooting for Jimin and Jungkook because I enjoy entertaining myself with the possibility of their relationship being true. I have loved BTS for nearly TEN years now, and their music, their message, and their close bond as a team has drawn me to them in a way where sometimes my only reason for getting out of bed in the morning is to check if they've posted.

It's the little things that really matter for me.

Thank you for your ask, anon <3

[countdowntotwinpeaks]

First edition in a lighter, smoother fest format! Same wild prompts, less bureaucracy involved!

How does this fest work? It’s a prompt fest. Participants write up to eight prompts that they would like to see realized, and then in turn pick, at their discretion, something that someone else prompted to draw or write. All works are ultimately posted by their authors on February 24th, to celebrate Twin Peaks day. When does it run? Prompting opens: January 9th, 2025 Big fanfare about prompts being published: January 23rd, 2025 Works are posted: February 24th, 2025

How do I take part in this? There is no formal signing up - anyone can join in at any step of the process.

By filling this form, you can add prompts for other people to fill. Honor system: if you submit some prompts, please try, in good faith, to then pick someone else’s prompt and give it a spin. If RL then gets in the way, it happens and that’s okay.

What if anything goes wrong? Please contact me immediately through tumblr and explain the situation! We’ll sort it out.

Can I fill more than one prompt?

Always!

How do I format my requests?

Through the form, you can submit up to eight separate prompts, anonymously (“Laura and the opening credits wren”) or listing your name at the start of each one if you would like to be tagged in any potential fills (“laughingpinecone - Laura and the opening credits wren”). You can also specify fic or art if you want (“laughingpinecone - Laura and the opening credits wren (art)”). If nothing is specified, the prompt is meant for either medium. In each prompt, please write in a loose description of the character(s) you would like to receive and of the situation(s) you would like to see them in. The prompts don’t have to feature completely different characters and situations - you can prompt eight takes on the same relationship if that’s what tickles your fancy. Or you can Crossover prompts are allowed. AU prompts are allowed. As always, you can look at last year’s prompts for inspiration. If you want to avoid something that might come up in filling your prompt (maybe you are prompting a scenario that might lend itself to a shippy reading but you don’t like that ship, or you are prompting something shippy but don’t want explicit porn of it), state it simply and politely in the prompt itself as this time there is no separate field for likes and dislikes (“laughingpinecone - Diane and Albert’s night out. Please no ship (fic)”). If you use / and & to indicate character relationships, use them like you would on AO3: “/” indicates a romantic and/or sexual relationship, while “&” indicates a platonic relationship of any kind (“laughingpinecone - Diane&Albert’s night out. (fic)” conveys the same thing as the ‘please no ship’ wording) .

Fills that you might want to post or crosspost to AO3 can go in this AO3 collection, which will reveal on the event's posting date.

So, in short…

Fill the form to prompt up to eight scenarios for other people to write or draw.

Whether you’ve prompted or not, look at everyone else’s prompts to see if something tickles your fancy. Make that fanwork by February 24th, when we’ll all celebrate Twin Peaks day by posting a bunch of cool stuff!

These new, lighter rules mean that you are free to pick what you like and work with the prompt(s) of your dreams. However, there is no guarantee that one of your own prompts will get picked. All the same, I sincerely hope that among the works posted on Feb 24th we will all find something that’ll make us happy, regardless of whether we prompted it ourselves or whether it came from someone else with similar (or surprising!) tastes.

[taffingtons]

edward deegan - elle days - cabot house kitchen

sometimes, you're trying to hold up walls to keep from getting too attached, because you know you have to leave one day and you're worried you'll be rejected if you tell the truth of your story anyway. and sometimes, you get sick on the job. and, sometimes, you're in the process of getting adopted by an immortal family, and your walls are crumbling and you feel miserable and just need to hug your boss

y'know. normal stuff

(despite all appearances, this is not actually shippy! elle is just cuddly by nature and this is the first time since vault 111 that she lets herself have this. it's easy to feel safe with edward — he's very good at making himself safe when he wants to...)

ficbite, then headcanons & photoshoot commentary under the cut:

—

It takes Edward a moment to process what’s happening. He’s in the middle of doing the dishes when...

A warmth at his back, a firm press between his shoulderblades. Bony fingers curling into the folds in his clothes.

And a loud sniffle from his sick mercenary.

When he told Elle she could come find him in the kitchen if she needed anything, this wasn’t what he expected. Honestly, he thought she wouldn’t reach out at all. For as long as he’s known her — all of a few months, a wastelander’s eternity — she’s maintained a white-knuckled grip on her independence. But ever since she took that plunge into the river on their last job, and this illness settled in after her injury... She hasn’t had any choice but to rely on others. On them.

It’s unorthodox for the Cabots to let one of their mercenaries stay at the house, even if hurt in the line of duty. But from the beginning, this one’s been different. Edward’s never seen the family take to one of his hires like this — Or for the hire to take to them.

Elle listens to Jack’s theories, engages with him in full sincerity. She can’t keep up with him intellectually — not that Edward would expect most wastelanders to — but she matches his energy. Or... Now that Edward thinks about it, it’s more accurate to say Jack draws energy out of her, when he’s mostly known her to be measured.

The bigger surprise, though, comes from watching her with Emogene. He’s not sure what happened when he sent Elle to bring her home, but he’ll never forget the first time he spotted them giggling at the bookshelves together. Emogene doesn’t even employ her usual condescending attitude with her. It’s not quite the same as watching her with Magnolia, but it reminds him of it, some different kind of camaraderie kept secret between them.

Even Wilhelmina is warming up to her presence, her aloofness unable to hold up against the sight of Elle, small, underfed, and deflated this way. He thinks it’s tapping Wilhelmina’s maternal instincts on the shoulder, waking them up, reminding her that motherhood is more than making demands and chasing after Jack to eat occasionally.

“Welcome to the family,” Jack told Elle, and it’s become increasingly clear he meant it. They’re taking the opportunity to properly fold her into their lives, and on a personal level, and Edward’s watched Elle’s defenses dissolve like punctured sandbags in real time.

Maybe his impression of her was wrong. She isn’t afraid of letting go of the reigns. That’s a feeling he understands well, so he assumed that’s what this was. But no... No, instead, it’s more like she’s clinging to the edge of a cliff. And she doesn’t seem to know what to do with herself now there are people at the bottom, ready to catch her.*

“You okay?” Edward asks, more courtesy and invitation than concern.

“Mm.” She sniffs again.

“Need a drink?”

He feels her shake her head against his shoulders. He returns to his task for the time being and scrubs a pot clean. He could let the Mr. Handy do this, but with the Boston winter in full force right now, it’s not like he’d have much else to do otherwise.

He hears her mumble something over the noise of the water, but barely. He turns the faucet off and turns his head to try to look at her over his shoulder without dislodging her. He can kind of, sort of, see the top of her dark hair.

“Sorry, couldn’t hear you.”

She doesn’t try again for a long moment. When she does, she balks. “Just...”

Edward gives her the space to find, or maybe choose, her words.

“Don’t wanna... be alone. Or... bother them.”

He huffs quietly, one corner of his mouth quirking up. He could tease her about that — considers it. So you wanna bother me instead? He knows that’s not what she means, but it’d be funny to hear her flounder. But... It’d be a little too much like kicking her while she’s down, too. So he’ll show her mercy today.

“Okay,” he says, voice low and warm, and turns the faucet back on.

She isn’t hugging him, not exactly. Her arms aren’t around him — Instead, her hands are holding onto his shirt, there at his sides. She wants to be close, apparently, and feels safe enough with him to let herself have this, but isn’t willing to cross too far over the line.

That’s alright. Edward can be patient. She can take her time.

—

behind the scenes talk:

dont talk to me abt how long it took me to remember how to do posing........ 😭 or how theres definitely color editing here but its not super obvious despite how long i spent on it 😅 and i had to manually curl each knuckle of her fingers so that's why i made absolutely certain to have a pic to showcase that dfjkdjf

BUT! I ALSO GOT TO MANUALLY SET EDWARD'S EXPRESSION! i headcanon that his smile is typically lopsided, so i'm very excited to get to put that to visual use

additional edward headcanons: his facial expressions are usually fairly subtle! bc when he was human he had one of those cartoonishly expressive faces, so if he smiled just a little bit, it looked bigger. so he adjusted accordingly — slight smiles, small frowns, etc. and then he just kept doing it after becoming a ghoul, which is unfortunate since ghoul features do the exact opposite. so once you get to know him, it's easier to pick up on his facial expressions — which match his vocal mannerisms, too. his humor is very dry and not quite sarcastic so it can be easy to miss when he's joking and think instead he's being serious. (this is going to be hell on elle in particular, who used to struggle with figuring out when raul was serious or being cantankerous for the bit)

god elle is so fucking tiny. i wish i noticed how MUCH smaller it makes her limbs compared to him bc i could have increased the scale on her everything, which mightve prevented her looking. kinda like a kid fjsdkf... ah well i'll know to try it in the next photoshoot!

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

hello and welcome to the niche corner

hello i'm néide and this is my blog, which mostly consists of me being grumpy about niche things. i have multiple degrees in medieval irish literature and while sometimes i use these to be vaguely educational, more often i use them to write incredibly specific fic about characters nobody else cares about, and this fic can be found on ao3 (for logged-in users)

so this is a guide to my incredibly specific fanfiction, which i feel also gives a reasonably good introduction to the kind of thing i'm likely to be yelling about on this blog

i am reliably informed that you don't actually need to know anything about the source material to have fun with these fics (or suffer from the angst), but also they can be more fun if you do. some have bibliographies/refs/explanations so i also know a few people have used them as a way to get started with medieval Irish lit which will never not be extremely funny to me

current WIP: chasing someone else's dream (16k, WIP): a cú chulainn/láeg reincarnation fic. they have been reincarnated, not for the first time. they've also been cursed, and thus, unlike in every life before this one, they've never met. ngl this fic contains some of the best prose i ever wrote, please read it

group chats of the ulster cycle, or, the in loco parentis series

a modern AU of the ulster cycle. sort of a college AU, turned into a ballet AU halfway through. consists of:

in loco parentis (135k, complete): my magnum opus. cú chulainn and láeg are university flatmates; group chats featuring all your favourite ulster cycle characters and also some you probably never gave a shit about; cú chulainn as a tiny trans ballet dancer and ferdia as his pas de deux partner; baking; everybody hating on conchobar; nobody dies; way more feelings about both ballet and shostakovich than anybody was expecting, including me; and much more. comes with explanatory notes / bibliography because i'm just Like That

getting the dee (9k, in progress/abandoned): a prequel to ILP, sort of a longes mac nuislenn fic except nobody dies and there are more sex toys. naoise/deirdre with guest appearances from conall. one day i'll go back to this but also i'm a coward

valentáin's day (4k oneshot, complete): a prequel to ILP, featuring láeg and cormac in the pub on valentine's day making fun of all their friends in relationships. they make out, fortunately their friendship survives the experience.

and when you move, i move (2.5k oneshot, complete): a sequel to ILP. just a horny lil cú chulainn/ferdia oneshot set a few months after ILP wraps up.

miscellaneous ulster cycle oneshots

i will be honest, most of these are sad fics of oidheadh con culainn ("the death of cú chulainn") because i just love writing angst, but there's a couple of others in there

a moment's silence (3k): smutty cú/láeg fic set during táin bó cúailnge, inspired by this picture. the most explicit fic i've written

to walk this world alone (6k): extremely niche fic featuring láeg after cú chulainn's death. some otherworldly happenings. sad but not as sad as it was originally going to be.

counterweight (3k): cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. this one's pretty sad too.

dindsenchas (3.5k): missing scenes between cú chulainn and láeg during táin bó cúailnge. narrated by the landscape of ulster and addressed in second person to cú chulainn himself because the best sex scenes are the ones narrated by a tree.

in one dwelling place (2k): láeg/cú chulainn/emer. vaguely smutty, vaguely fluffy.

we'll say goodbye, today (2k): cú chulainn and láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. big sad hours.

glorious as the sunrise (3k): this is just angst. cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn again. not particularly shippy but they love each other very much.

a marriage of inconvenience (3k): modern AU. cú chulainn wants to marry emer but unfortunately never bothered to get divorced after he married láeg for househunting purposes. a very silly fic.

of grief and glory (1.7k): cú chulainn deals with the aftermath of táin bó cúailnge, especially fer diad's death. more sad times lol.

flight risk (2.3k): teenage cú chulainn and láeg steal a spaceship. they get caught. fun scifi AU.

other medieval lit fics (non ulster cycle)

patron saint of toasties (2.5k): finn cycle fic. oisín took time out of uni to travel and now all his friends have graduated and he's lonely enough to text the christian union's "text a toastie" hotline. which is how he meets patrick. very silly modern AU gen fic mostly taking the piss out of st patrick

two birds of a feather (2.8k): yonec (marie de france) | togail bruidne da derga crossover fic. bird dad support group. conaire and yonec hang out and bond over their dads having maybe been birds. stupidest thing i ever wrote and i adore it.

quiver and shake (1.8k): fourth branch of the mabinogi fic. gwydion and gilfaethwy's special brotherly bonding time. canon typical content warnings apply.

other

absent thee from felicity (11k, WIP): hamlet | romeo & juliet crossover modern AU in which horatio and benvolio attempt to deal with the aftermath of their respective tragedies. sad at first, will gradually get sillier. haven't updated in a couple of years but that doesn't mean it's permanently abandoned, i'm just busy

a guild doctor and an abolitionist walk into a bar (5.5k, complete): mortimer sark/daragh vernant (the butterfly assassin by finn longman). in which they become friends while coparenting their fucked up assassin child and pretending they're not doing that. blatant pro-mortimer propaganda tbh and i'm not sorry

if you've never read any of my fics before and are wondering where to start, i firmly believe the reincarnation fic (current WIP) is a good one because it has a solid mix of angst, shenanigans, and weird fuckery, so you can experience the tonal whiplash of the rest of my fics all in one place! but it is a WIP and i make zero promises about upload schedule, it happens when it happens, so not so good if you're impatient haha. plenty of others to get you started though

[starrycrown]

closed shippy starter for @potestmagice

It's been a few weeks now that Thinya's destiny changed completely. After finding out that the man she loved fooled her and married another woman, Thinya, hopeless and broken, met The Professor. Little did she know that this encounter would change her life for good. Her heart grew fond of the man, and it was now time for her to admit the true nature of her feelings to him.

As she walked in the gardens of her house, Thinya smiled at The Professor. Her parents were kind enough to host him for as much time as he wanted. Thingar secretly hoped that his daughter would eventually choose him to be her suitor. The man had grown fond as well of The Professor. As she sat on the bench, Thinya looked at The Professor and took a deep breath. "I must admit that ever since we met, my life turned out to be a beautiful one. I am very thankful for your presence, Professor."