#twisty tropes

[the-french-belphegor]

Psst. Hey. You know that very specific trope of slowly and lovingly helping someone remove armour, piece by piece? Generally it's a knights and a page, or just knights (being knights), but you know, something about intimacy, respect, devotion, trust - "I will worship you on my knees and also help you with the twisty fiddly thing you often struggle to get open" and "You are mine (to command) in very specific ways and also I put my trust and my self in your hands". I don't know, it's the first time I get the itch to draw that particular (and probably very niche) thing but it applies to Pikelan particularly well, imo.

Also, well. There are more metaphorical armours and ways to (let oneself/help someone) take it off. removing_armour.xcf goes both ways ;o)

[theagstd]

One Night Stand ; 01

➥ rundown ; as if the unexpected twist of a one-night stand turning out to be your CEO boss wasn't surreal enough, the situation takes a more challenging turn when both of you discover that you're expecting his child.

→ genre ; enemies to lovers | CEO au | pregnancy trope | slowburn

→ Jungkook x y/n

→ contains smut, fluff and angst

→ chapter one ; wc | 2.8k

primarily on Wattpad

Index ↪ next chapter

The club lights up with multiple disco colours rotating around the area, the neon, dynamic lighting, and strobes allow the people to see each other in various hues and tints, including you. There you stand, leaning your hip towards the bar while typing a letter and sipping the earthy red wine, 'Pinot Noir' with a twisty fancy straw that the club offers.

"Yeah, I'm gonna do it."

You screamed over for the second time to your friend who sits beside you, grooving herself to the music playing out loud with her champagne glass in her hand.

"There's no way you're gonna do it." Kayla is her name. The only friend you've made here in Seoul, Korea. You wouldn't exactly call her your best friend or good friend, but well, she's been there for you for a couple of months. You both worked together as an intern at the coffee store down the street, and she left for a better job while you're stuck finding job applications to work as a graphic designer that you've mastered. The boundary between your conversation was due to the loud music being played, but you managed to hear her over it. "Just a sec, let me mail my application."

It's one of the 5th applications you've filled for the day and were now sending it at a club, while you're drunk as fuck but you've tried to keep a tweesy bit of your consciousness just so this mail doesn't go all wrong, it can't go wrong. It's for a very prestigious company in Korea. You clicked on the 'send' option of email and turned off your phone to get back to why you're actually here at the club.

"Why not? You guys tried it, and now it's my turn." Picking out the plastic straw with your fake nails, you dropped it and chugged down the rest of the wine, patting your lips against the tissue to wipe off the excess alcohol that was stuck to your gloss, you moaned at the taste of the liquid hitting your throat.

"Girl, you're gonna rock it. Go ride him out!!"

The woman in the red bodycon dress with her hair tied up to a ponytail hyped you more by her words.

She was always ready for a good fuck and have always tried to push you for it too, since it's been a while you've been deprived from sex as you held strongly to your faith of being in a relationship but tonight, you could really feel yourself ready for it and so you were just gonna hit up to anyone who you think would be the best at it.

The dance floor looked so inviting with the couples and single females dancing to the sensual music played by the DJ, what the floor was missing was you so you slipped your way towards it and began to shake your body to the beats of the song. Kayla and a few of her friends cheered for you, and that only made you move harder.

the bodycon dress you wore, showed off your perfect curves that you've worked hard for throughout your life, your ideal hourglass body matched no one's on the stage, you were the woman of the night. Not only does the dress look alluring on you, but the length of it being above your knees, long sleeved, and the box neck of it made most of the men around you to drool. you enjoyed the attention that you received.

It was what alcohol makes you crave for. When the music skipped to the remix of Streets by Doja Cat, the lights dimmed to orange and red, spreading an intimate vibe between couples, allowing the ladies to feel themselves to each word, each beat of each second. The rich smoky scent of cigarettes lingered under your nose, arousing you to grab on and place them between your lips but you control yourself, not wanting to fall into the trap of tobacco once again that left you suffering for months.

What stopped you from dancing was the eyes of a man who sat distant from the dance floor, alone at the corner of the room with his champagne glass around the palms and fingertips. He looked appealing, charming, and smart. you looked over at him to be fully aware if he was, in fact, looking at you or another woman, then making eye contact with the man he looked into your eyes to. sipping his liquid while his hooded eyes never left yours, his eyes welcomed you, so you walked to him to accept his hospitality.

To get a closer look at his eyes, that warmed you, that stopped you from dancing, those eyes that made you feel unique of them all. your heels clicked on the floor, towards the man who was seated on the velvet couch that were coloured in crimson red, unmatching his jet black suit that sparkled with the ebony glitter, his black shirt unbuttoned and his hair sweaty and long that curled up and fell on his eyes, covering his right one.

'fuck, had i noticed him before, it would be me, eyeing him all the way.'

you thought to yourself while you pushed your bangs away from your eyes so you could look at him deeper. "hey?" greeting him with your deep voice, since the alcohol had left your voice box dry, you took a seat beside him, his manly vanilla scent brushed under your nose that allowed you to take a deep breath of his fragrance.

"What do you want?" he questioned you, with droopy eyes, no he did not look sleepy he looked aroused by your presence. his fingertips that gripped his glass, was taken off them as you gulped down the little liquid that he had remained in it. the man was surprised, the move was bold, unexpected yet attractive. you dropped the glass on the table and licked your lips, eyes squinting at the horrible taste of it.

"fuck, that was so bitter."

you whispered under your breath, that he heard as the music at this corner of the room was not very loud. you then looked over at him, since he had asked you a question a while ago before you chugged down his absolute bad taste on alcohol. Being confident was a positive aspect of liquor, it brought that up to you, it allowed you to be who you are within you, bringing out the inner devil. the queen of horniness, the spirit of sex.

"wanna go upstairs?"

mumbling breathly, you asked him, looking over at his eyes, now that he brushed his hair with his fingers allow you to examine his dark black eyes that glare into your soul. you didn't hesitate, you were assured that you needed him. you need him inside of you so you're gonna get it. he analysed you, from that ruby red gloss to that tight figure hugging dress that hugged your waist ever so perfectly leaving your thighs on display that had that flesh just the way he liked it,

so he could grab it with his palm while you rode him. he knew from first glance that he needed you, he could tell that you had the body just the way he liked it, just his type. However, he was not gonna take advantage of this opportunity since you're drunk. "no thanks."

He mumbled, grabbing his champagne bottle and pouring the rest of it into his glass, which you had left a lip imprint with the gloss, he could see how plump your lips were just by the stain you had left. you were not accepting a no for an answer, he dared to undress you with his eyes and he said no. You liked the play, you liked the tension, this made you grow closer to him, the man didn't move.

This, of course, means that he wants you too. "you're missing out. this is a good opportunity. Come on." you whispered, at which he caught on immediately. He was trying his best to ignore you, but he could feel himself getting hard just by this, teasing.

"don't. don't miss it out." He knew that you're doing this intentionally so you could trap him. It's working. the words coming out of your mouth breathlessly, fanning it over his ears while your lips brush on his ear lobe, the man exhaled sharply and quietly not wanting you to know that this is all getting him affected.

for the first time, he feels weak, even sipping the liquid isn't doing anything to him right now, the world seems like it's stopped and you're the only one here, working your way into his pants. he faced you only to see nothing but lust, passion, and the drive of sexual frustration. he looks for confirmation in your eyes, he sees it. he sees how you need this, and you seem conscious about this decision.

"Let's go." You hear him mumble, allowing the both of you to step up from the couch, following him to a corridor that leads to the washrooms. You internally groan at this. You want sex. full on sex not a quickie, but when you walk behind him, his hand never leaves yours. you pass by the horny couples fucking around,

the moans of the females, males and the gay couples who have almost filled up the male restrooms. he walked you into a room, the interior of it modern, ebony and maroon.

scented candles lighting up the atmosphere, rose fragrance slip into each other's breasts. he walked towards you, stopping at the doorstep while you admire the luxury of this area, where no one seemed to be around, this corridor was empty, the faint music was barely heard, just the room giving beauty and the beast vibes. his hand left yours as it snuck into his pockets. glancing over at you, he noticed your reaction and smirked, he sighed and questioned unsurely.

"Still up for it?" you faced him as he now stands in front of you, towering your height as he leans on to the door frame. "I don't second guess my decisions."

whisper and he pulls you inside, pushing you to close the door, his palm held around your wrist tightly, he begins by pressing his lips on your bare neck. his lips were warm against your cold skin, that let him easily melt against you while your hands wrapped around his neck, pushing him down for more, to be harder. a kisser as good as him, makes you crave this more, that excites you as this is just the beginning.

On the other hand, he could not stop tasting you with his tongue swirling around the nape of your neck, finding your sweet spot that he got in a few seconds. allowing your moans to spill out, he groaned against you when he heard your voice. pressing a few kisses after he had left his mark on you, he held your wrist and walked you over to the bed.

you sit on it, looking up at him while he looks down at you. his eyebrow raises, letting you know what he needs, his finger gestures you to take off your clothes so you do, letting the shoulders fall off, when your hand goes behind to unzip it, he pauses you and grew closer to you, his face on your shoulder as he lets his breath fan you while he unzips it. you push it off your body, letting you rest with the lace black lingerie you had worn.

he could feel himself drooling, he eyes wandering around your body so without wasting any more time, he removes his coat and throws it away, then about to unbutton his shirt when you push his hand aside. you slowly began to unbutton for him, this gave him the wonderful opportunity to check you out more, seated on the bed, with your perfectly toned abs. you looked like a masterpiece, a piece he's never seen before, never had he seen a woman this perfect with the most mesmerising features. you threw away his shirt, taking the moment to admire his chest.

fuck, he even has tattoos that decorates his right arm arm. its captivating, distracting you with his canvas that explains his individual touch and unique stories, you want him to tell you about it but now's not the time, especially when he reminds you that you're here for sex. he looks at your eyes, wondering why i've paused, then he sees it.

you're interested in his tattoos, that had him chuckling. "shall we begin, darling?" you looked up at him, then with a smirk and a nod you placed your index finger into your mouth, wetting it with your eyes locked with his. you stroked the man's hard chest,

the man who was confused a few seconds ago, now had his eyes closed as he threw his head back, moaning as he feels his insides heating up and clenching, he felt himself grow, he loved the boldness, he never truly admired dom females but today, you. he thinks he would never get over this or find someone better.

"fuck me?"

you ask, softly, looking up at him with big round doe eyes that made him weak, he wanted to drop on his feet and beg you to fuck him but he didn't. he let himself smirk as he bent down to meet your face, leaving centimeters apart, gently he caressed your chin with his finger and then he hovered over you, slowly pushing you down on bed until you met with the silk sheets, that rubbed against your bare back.

"With pleasure, darling...." he whispers as he sucked on your ear lobe while he pushed himself inside you without any warnings, allowing whimpers and muffled moans that leave from your lips.....

-

"I'm late! I'm late, shit shit."

You woke up to the yelling of the alarm clock that had tried its best to wake you up 30 minutes ago. now showing 7;46 am. in its display. You're supposed to be at the office at 8.

No way you're late on your first day. It's certainly not your first day of work, but it's still your interview, and there's no way you could miss this opportunity. Working as a head graphic designer is all that you need. It's what you've been dying for,

You've been doing multiple jobs to make a living, but there's something you've always been good at and that's been designing and advertising. What's all the qualifications and degrees for if you can't work at what you're best at. And plus this job's description has exactly what you're looking for, so you need this job, it's a need.

It's a blessing that the building is not too far from your apartment. You took a seat in front of the ceo's room. You've been there before as some of the staff reviewed you. Hence, you're under the shortlist.

And now's the big moment, interviewing with the CEO himself because he wants to recruit the best workers for his company, and that means they have to meet his expectations.

So he takes this in his hands. You were nervous, shaking your leg vigorously, and your sweaty hands had left imprints on your files.

"Ms Lee Y/n?"

"Yes, that's me."

"You've been called in." The woman dressed in a black skirt and a white silk shirt spoke kindly to you, leading your way to the CEO's room.

She opened the door, allowing you to walk inside, for which you thanked her, and she left, giving you a bow. you clicked your heels as you walked towards the man who was seated on his luxurious office chair that had its back turned towards you. "Take a seat."

He demanded as he twirled his chair to meet the face of his applicant, with his sheet of papers and pen between his fingers. your eyes widened at the vision of the man in front of you, parting your lips and breathing, only getting heavy with the time passed. the CEO didn't meet you until he had no response from you. He raised his eyebrows, then took his eyes off the paper to meet yours, and he paused. "You?"

He muttered, and you immediately blinked multiple times, looking everywhere else except his eyes. There is no way he is the one. There's no fucking way that your one night stand turned out to be the CEO of the company you applied to. fuck.

-

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[profoundbondfanfic]

Buffer Time

Buffer Time by SundayZenith || @sunshine-zenith Rating: Teen and Up Word Count: 42k

When Dean wakes up in his town's jailcell with a disoriented Cas, he happily roles with it. Sure, he knows he'll be the laughing stock of the town for a few days -- what deputy locks himself in his own jailhouse? -- but as long as Cas is there, things are fine. Until he realizes his memory is unusually fuzzy. Until Cas starts acting strange and morose. Until he starts having brief flashes of Cas being taken from him by an inky black entity. Until Cas starts talking about plot holes and tropes. Until he wakes up by a fire in the woods, on a quests to fight a dragon --no wait, in an ambulance, late for his shift as a surgeon-- no wait- Dean's just trying to figure out why he and Cas keep waking up in different genres and why Cas seems so distant, while Sam works with Eileen, Gabriel, and a few others to do the same on the other side of a laptop. (WandaVision inspired finale fix-it)

A clever take on the finale fix-it genre, this fic is delightfully twisty. Dean and Cas keep waking up in different worlds. Is this a western? Is it a fantasy fic? It's a little bit of everything and you will spend the entire time wondering what is going on.

I don't want to give too much away because part of the fun of this fic is the journey. That being said, it's really fun to follow Dean and Cas through these different worlds, and the background cast of characters is also a lot of fun.

And, well, it's a fix it, so you know you'll get a soft landing and a good resolution.

[tiredspirals]

The truth and light being so deeply tied to christian imagery is a very western thing and I think we're not as immune to it as we'd like to be

Even I do it. My scholar-paladin dragon is from light flight, inspired by fantasy tropes that again take the concept from christianity. But FR never really advertised light that way, imo, so I'm taken back by how many people think it should be flowing feather wings and elegant twisty beasts at all times.

That might just be the nature of having a site with very basic lore, purposefully done so so we can make whatever we want. But that means the devs can too, y'know.

I love that my flight and my sister flight have bug dragons.

[artist-in-training-wheels]

Air the Tots Attendant (Swap Earth)

More info under the cut!

Name: Air

Job/Title: Tots Attendant

Height: 9’6”

Pronouns: He/him 

Sexuality: Pansexual Demiromantic

Facts/Notes:

Work

The ‘younger sibling is taller than the oldest’ trope, but he’s kind about it.

Wears one bandana on each arm that matches with Sun!

Fluffy cloud hair go BRRRRRR

Cute bow on dress!

Casual

Dusty lilac turtleneck shirt :)

4 pockets! Can never have enough!

Side Notes:

Info-wise, he's a copy and paste of Earth!

Cuffs and rings were copied and pasted (save some time)!

YES, HE HAS STUBBY FEET!

I know his color pallet would make him seem more like a "Water" person, but I just like the idea of rain/weather.

With that being said, I imagine his nickname is "Rain".

Rainbow headband -> Ponytail holder

He has a promise ring that counters as a fidget ring (one of the twisty ones)!

The ring also has the metals indented slightly, so it gives a slight texture sensation! The signs are a flower, a sun, a star, and a moon! (I didn't change out the flower cause I couldn't think of another design ^^")

The name “Air” is written in a way that I think he would write regularly!

[schmem14]

It’s my birthday! Celebrate with me by reading my top favorite fanfic discoveries this past year. (Feel free to flail with me in DM’s!) I feel so lucky to have found so many wonderful talented friends and amazing stories! 

1. flour and flesh by foxglovetonic (nocturn) Hermione x Pansy, wc: 666 rating: M

(Mind the tags) This sapphic horror fic gripped my soul from the moment I read it and it lives rent-free in my head because of its amazing imagery and masterful use of unreliable narrator. I’ll be forever creeped out by carving pumpkins and pie (but in the BEST way, I swear!) This is the #1 reason Halloween is my fav. 

2. Usually by @lumosatnight Percy x Oliver, wc: 1k, rating: E

What’s not to love about banter, chess as foreplay, and stripping down until there’s nothing left but heart-pounding hot AF sex? This pairing is fantastic, and Lani’s writing is on point, as always, and I was incredibly impressed by the real live chess match taking place in the background. Read it, you won’t regret it! 

3. drink up, boys by @emilyrickman gen work featuring Parvati Patil, wc: 1.5k, rating: M

(Mind the tags) I URGE you give this gripping revenge story a chance! Between Parvati’s confidence and the absolute heartbreaking and empowering ode to sisterly love, this story gave me goosebumps. Emily is such a great writer, and I can’t stress enough how well the feels come through on this one. Also, give the song What It Means To Be a Girl by EMELINE a listen as you read, it will elevate the whole experience! 

4. One Woman’s Trash by @nanneramma Lavender x Hermione wc: 2k, rating: T

My friend Nan can do it all, and I don’t care that coffee shop AU has been done a thousand and one times before, THIS is the one to read! Lavender is to die for in this, and the fluff is pure, gourmet sweetness. It will have you kicking your feet and squealing by the end. 

5. Head Over Heels by @vdoshu Narcissa x Mrs. Zabini, wc: 575, Rating: M

This itty bitty fic is singlehandedly feeding my Narcissa Mommy delusion. I want her to step on me SO BAD! Ugh. Doshu packs a punch with every story, and the punchline of this one is sure to have you gasping like a beached fish. Please come scream at me about it if and when you know what I mean. 

6. Welcome, Peasants by @fluxweeed Draco x Ron x Harry, wc: 15k, Rating: E

It was nearly impossible for me to pick just ONE of my favorite fics from Dronarry fest this year, but I narrowed it down to two. Strap in for an hour and immerse yourself because the payoff is WORTH IT!  This one blends the juicy polyjuice trope with a healthy dollop of mistaken identity and a pinch of jealousy. Better yet is the twisty reveal and the absolutely smut-tastic finale that follows.

7. For I Have Found Salvation by @lumosatnight Severus x Harry, wc: 7k, Rating: E

Yes Lani, I couldn’t resist another! I feel like I have to preface this by saying I’m not usually a Snarry fan, but this filthy Priest AU fic is EVERYTHING. The dynamic of guilt and forbidden church sex (while church is IN SESSION) is so fucking delectable. I’m going to just say it and embarrass myself: Insta-Wank Bank. Yep. 

8. Nightswimming by @sweet-s0rr0w Draco x Ron (x Harry), wc: 5k, Rating: M

…Which brings me to my SECOND Dronarry fest pick from this year, and I love it so much because it’s all banter and hypotheticals. Draco and Harry are a couple, but Draco and Ron share a car ride where it comes out that maybe they’ve been considering a three-way with Ron. They don’t even fuck, but the tension of them just talking about it is too hot to handle. Bonus: There’s art at the end! 

9. Mistletoe Mojito by @amethystheart2421 Sybill x Severus, wc: 3k, Rating: E

This fic knocked me flat on my ass. This lust potion fueled one-night stand fic had me laughing and crying (from hilarity and absurdity and sadness) all at once. Such delightful writing, and the perfect example of crack taken seriously. 

10. All That Is Beautiful, Burns In The Making by @sailtomarina Narcissa x Bill, wc: 8k, Rating: E

Narcissa is hot. Bill is hot. We all know this from canon, but imagine they get together and how much hotter they are as a couple! This fic contains such delights as werewolf Bill, seduction, forbidden love, infidelity, knotting, endless refractory periods, voyeurism, rough sex, and mating. It’s not quite A/B/O but it has a lot of the elements that make it such a juicy AU.

11. A Perfect Answer by @p1013 Draco x Harry wc: 9k, Rating: E

Downton Abbey AU. Harry is Draco’s valet and the love is very much forbidden. Contains: pining, jealousy, decorum, emerald cufflinks that Draco favours, and BATHS. Something about it reminds me of Jane Eyre, though I know that’s a different time period and there’s no crazy wife in the attic. I loved this fic so much because it was a well-written AU and it brought a breath of fresh air to an old favorite otp. The angst is divine, and the ending is such a lovely payoff. Enjoy! 

[thevioletcaptain]

Day one of the @spnficrecfest called for rec lists featuring fics set in a specific season or era, so here are five of my all-time favorite Purgatory era Dean/Cas fics! I'm also including fics which deal with the immediate aftermath of Dean & Cas' time in Purgatory, as I consider those to be part of the era as well :)

The Legend of the White Light by EllenOfOz | Explicit | 50k Angsty, pine-filled alternate season 8 fic with a happy ending! This was written for the Pinefest a few years back, and it quickly earned a place on my favorite Purgatory fics list. (Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, explicit sexual content)

Ritual by takadainmate | Teen | 10.8k This is a really unique fic that follows Dean, Benny, and an extremely changed Cas through Purgatory. I don't quite know how to describe this one without spoiling it, but... possibly sentient lightning wants Cas dead? Just go read it, it's strange and lovely. (Warnings: none)

Just After, But Before by cymbalism | Explicit | 8.7k As the title says, this fic is set just after Dean and Cas escape from Purgatory -- and unlike the show, they get out together. It's a short and sweet hurt/comfort fic, with Dean looking after Cas after the journey through the portal leaves him weak and injured. (Warnings: explicit sexual content)

What Fun It All Would Be by 8sword | Mature | 22.5k A Purgatory fic that deals with the fact that Dean's half-Amazon daughter Emma must be there, and a really inventive and twisty one at that. When you start reading you're going to be confused. Stick with it. Enjoy the journey -- but mind the tags, and be prepared for pain. This one doesn't have a happy ending. (Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, major character death, body horror, supernatural "drug" use)

Tales of Brave Ulysses by snarklyboojum | Teen | 55.9k This one is just beautifully written -- one of those fics that, despite not having re-read it in a while, I can still picture specific moments perfectly in my mind's eye. It's not an entirely happy ending, but it is a hopeful one, and there's some Where the Wild Things Are stuff in there that's especially fun. (Warnings: graphic depictions of violence)

...AND A BONUS SIXTH FIC:

Redemption Road by multiple authors | Explicit | 652k Technically, this sprawling, slow-burn, round robin masterpiece was written long before Purgatory ever appeared on screen, with fans starting the project during the hiatus between seasons six and seven. The central story follows Dean as he tries to bring Cas back to him after he's been driven to megalomania by the monster souls he consumed during season six. Seeing as a significant part of the story takes place in Purgatory, and it's still one of my all time favorite fics 13 years after it was published, it gets an honorary place on this list. (Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, explicit sexual content)

Check under the cut for links to all of the rec lists I make for this fest! I'll update with new links as I post them :)

Day One - Purgatory Era Day Two - Dean's Canon Kinks Day Three - Long Fics Day Four - Alternate Universes Day Five - Rare Pairs Day Six - Case Fics Day Seven - Tropes Day Eight - Gen Fics Day Nine - Vintage Fics Day Ten - Coda Fics Day Eleven - Mystery List

[merrivia]

Okay, I have read the Captive Prince trilogy and have so many thoughts...

(And if you like this, I have another essay on Auguste and Laurent here) 

I think the question of why Damen first fell for Jokaste and then Laurent, is so interesting to me. Yes, there’s the blond hair/blue eyes (and the trope of opposites attract + rarity of that colouring), but I think crucially, Damen is smarter than he looks or seems, and I think, desires a partner who can match him. Not in complete equality but in a myriad of ways that achieve a sense of balance...

With Damen’s physique and fighting prowess and his cheerfully open sexual desires (ok fine, horniness), plus his innate, black and white sense of honour and fairness, you can see how people would assume that he is...well, not that bright. He’s so rooted in his physicality himself, so drawn to simplicity too, it can be difficult to see. He’s clearly not stupid, but it is human to categorise, and just like Auguste was probably seen as brawn and Laurent as brains, so Damen probably gets shoved into that first category. But one of the first things we hear about Damen from another person is that he is smart- he has a ‘mouth on him’ as one of the handlers warns. He isn’t brutally cutting and filthy in the way Laurent is; he’s just smarter and quicker than you’d expect. That first line to Laurent- ““I speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart.””- amply displays how he is quick; when he ironically calls Laurent’s mood “delightful”, the next day...this is not a clumsy, dumb jock. 

Even the way Damen speaks languages and understands warfare and military strategies, shows his clear intelligence- he isn’t good with the twisty machinations of Vere because it’s completely outside of what he knows. He wasn’t educated that way. Clever Laurent, as a young teenager, wasn’t good at it. No-one, we assume, is born as a ready-made Machiavellian (though arguably, Laurent’s incredibly sharp mind that is good at puzzles etc., makes him innately good at it once he learns). You also have no need for plotting and planning and intrigue, when you get what you want, by virtue of who you are. Not only is Damen the heir, and pretty much the exemplary model of Akielon masculinity, but that gives him this shield of golden self-confidence- he walks into the room, and gains love and respect immediately; failing that, everyone at least has their head on the ground. He has been given such an outpouring of love from everyone around him, he sees the world far more simply because he has never had to see it any other way. As Nikandros says, no-one has ever refused him anything. Why would he recognise the long game of political manipulation- a game to get you what you want, when you can’t have it directly? 

Over the months of Damen’s time with Laurent, he not only starts to pick up far more quickly on Laurent’s impenetrable personality but also gets a much firmer grip on Veretian (read: the Regent’s ) political intrigue- when he does, it’s often describe in terms of a radical shift in mindset, a complete tilting of his worldview. The reason why he didn’t get it before was a lack of experience of a world so cynical and dark; why he does get it after, because he is intelligent enough to start to grasp it. This might be a good time to mention also how Laurent calls Damen arrogant in Prince’s Gambit (“You, with your barbaric attitudes, your brutish, domineering arrogance, are always right”). This is actually, finally, a bit of angry honesty from Laurent. Damen has thought of Laurent as unbearably arrogant from the start of the trilogy; here, it seems, Laurent actually thinks the same thing of him. Yes partly that arrogance could be seen as body language and the way Damen holds himself, the look in his eyes, but also it’s how he speaks. He challenges Laurent with his mind.

And Laurent challenges him back. After all, when does Damen ever feel challenged? What tests the full repertoire of his skills? No-one can beat him in the field; he’s the best and he knows it. Yet, he does derive real pleasure from Laurent’s capabiilities- as a swordsman and his horsemanship. It’s why it was important that Laurent finish the okton first- and how happy that made Damen. The rooftop chase, too- Laurent can keep up, and he’s exhilarated by it. The true challenge though, lies in Laurent’s verbal repartee and his mind. Damen actually does like to use his brain, to engage in witty banter- it’s fun. The rooftop is fun. Laurent and Damen laugh together a number of times, and Damen is having a blast. Laurent is difficult, and to Damen, where everything hitherto has been easily won, this challenge is finally giving his brain and his body what they wanted. There is a whole other post I could make on why Laurent in turn is attracted to Damen, but I’ll just put here that I think, the way he pivots Laurent towards healthy relationship dynamics, where being happy and laughing freely together is how you can be with someone, is part of it.

I think this is also why, tragically, Jokaste, despite her self-sacrifices to save Damen, was never The One for him. As beautiful and cold and clever as she is, there’s nothing mischievous or light-hearted about her- you can’t see her and Damen having a laugh together. He likes how smart she is, and her ruthlessness because that is how she radiates power and that feels like equality to Damen (something he can never get from a romantic partner, as he outranks everyone), but she isn’t fun. Not only that but, ruthless-as-a-result-of-trauma-and-for-survival, is very different from ruthless-because-I-am-purely-ambitious; Laurent as the former, does get to retain a sense of honour and compassion that Jokaste seems to lack. Mostly though, Laurent gets to be Damen’s near-equal; where they don’t quite match, they complement. Where Laurent needs incisive, perceptive honesty, he gets it through Damen’s mind not his muscles. The moment that Laurent actually tips Damen into the first throes of love is when he gets out Volo’s cap- the sheer cleverness of it, makes him feel the “first dizzy edge of a new emotion”. In the end it is a mutual intelligence that binds them together as much as physical desire. 

[horsetailcurlers2]

addison montgomery fanfiction recs by pairing

(although i am *relatively* new to the greys fandom, once i finished season three i immediately obsessively scoured the internet for any addison montgomery centric fanfiction i could get my hands on. here are just a few of my favorite ones for each of my addison ships (of which there are many). this is by no means an exhaustive list. my qualifications for this are that i’m cool and have good taste and spend way too much time thinking about fictional people)

ADDEK:

-“The Climbing Way” by winter machine (this is actually probably one of my favorite fanfictions of all time, period. this author is just absolutely brilliant at capturing their dynamic and all of its complexities. the entire thing is actually from derek’s POV which i was surprised how much i enjoyed considering i can sometimes be a derek hater lol but it provides some really good insight into his character without being as forgiving as canon or as bash-y as some fics (if that makes any sort of sense?). it also combines two of my favorite addek tropes: “sad baby backstory” and “traumatic event forces them to actually confront their issues”. it is also a very captivating portrait of derek and mark’s realtionship and has lots and lots of flashbacks. big angst warning especially for the early chapters.)

-“Some Bright Morning” by winter machine (i just can’t get enough of this author. i love any addek fic that heavily features savvy and weiss bc i think they should have made more appearances in canon. or savvy should’ve at least lmao. weiss was kind of a dick. but i like him in this fic! this is a very very interesting AU because it takes place largely outiside of canon settings and features a lot of OCs. it also takes place around early season one so the mark wound is still very fresh. its set entirely on a small island in georgia during savvy’s mother’s funeral so there’s plenty of forced proximity and bed sharing. the original setting and cast of characters are really fleshed out and completely captivating. like, i would read a whole separate story just about this island and its inhabitants. also features lots of background on savvy and addison’s friendship. and plenty of angst of course. you may be sending a pattern with these recommendations)

-“do you think i have forgotten (about you)” by crime_wives (this one legitimately made me sob. like, my body produced actual tears. angsty one shot. not happy-addek. a perfect snapshot of their tragic ending)

- “Unhinged (AddisonandDerekandMark)” by RulerOfAllThatIsEvilChiFlowers (very dark. very twisty. somewhat non linear.)

- “This Hurt Can Teach Us Both” by darlingwrecks (oh my lord this one is so so addek- bittersweet, sexy, nostalgic, painful and delightful all at once. my favorite thing about this writer is the way they write backstory, especially for the Med School Trio. this is also kind of fun because we never got to see how these two dealt with their post divorce logistics. derek was just kind of like “take all the property and fuck off” which is not at all how these things work lol)

MEDDISON:

- “lately she’s undressing for revenge” by emilyprentits (only read this if you want to be driven to tear your own hair out by the emotions this will make you feel. this is one of the fics that fully convinced me to ship meddison. so so so good and it’s like it was written from inside of meredith’s actual brain)

-“i’ll show you every version of yourself tonight” by withpeopleinperson (two words: stripper addison. read it. be forewarned it’s only one chapter and has not been updated in a few years but it’s a GREAT chapter regardless)

-“the seven stages of intoxication” by theprincessdiarist (meredith grey doling out meredith grey levels of emotional dysfunction. featuring loads and loads of delightfully frustrating mutual pining)

-“Sex and Caring in Seattle” by Bluefall (meredith once again having totally normal and regular feeling about her ex boyfriend’s wife. i love this one because they are both just kind of bisexual disasters and derek is just Also There. i love the way this author perfectly captures meredith’s perpetual inability to navigate her own emotions)

*EDIT: i also realized i forgot to add that these last two were recommended to me by @crime-wives !!!

-“open the floodgates up” by SugarsweetRomantic (this has EVERYTHING you could want in a meddison fic: mutual hurt/comfort, bed sharing, friends to lovers, these two being absolute dumbasses about each other. had me crying and also kicking my feet. genuinely)

MADDISON:

-“Make This Go On Forever” by darlingwrecks (i am so in love with this universe. i usually don’t gravitate toward kid/family centric fics but this one is so so much more than that. it’s maddison, if those two had made a real go of things, stayed in new york, and kept the pregnancy. there’s even some background merder eventually (which is not usually my jam but i like in this context). very very fluffy at times, a bit angsty at others, super in character but iirc i think this was written pretty early on in the show so addison and mark’s backgrounds may be a smidge different than in canon. this is the link to the rewritten version (i think?) on ao3. the author had the original up on live journal back in the day and i could have SWORN i read a sequel that i found a link to in the depths of their LJ but i cannot find it anywhere rn)

-“When I Grow Up” by winter machine (another maddison-if-they’d-stayed-in-new-york-and-addison-kept-the-pregnancy, but with a twist that brings them to seattle to see derek, who they haven’t spoken to in seven years. a fantastic plot but also sort of just a brilliant exploration of how mark and addison would be as parents given their own childhoods and how they have pretty much been cut off from the one healthy(ish) family dynamic that either of them have experienced. there’s also background merder in this one and it actually kind of made me like merder which is a major feat)

-“Celery” by winter machine (a fun little one shot featuring Derek Being An Idiot, Drunk Addison, and Mark Crossing Boundaries. a little bit sad and a little bit funny. again, everything by this author is just great)

JADDISON:

- “A Certain Slant of Light” by darlingwrecks (this is for those of us that were weirded out by addison’s convo with amelia in season 18. a more fleshed out exploration of addison’s mental health during the pandemic. it’s a very raw and honest portrayal of depression and anxiety and how someone like addison would navigate it while being a doctor in a global pandemic and raising an 8 year old. it’s not nearly as bleak as it sounds though. lots of fluff, a little smut. also touches on how addison might’ve grieved mark and derek. and archer makes some appearances which i loved (i know he’s an asshole but i really like addison’s brother lol))

-“Diamonds in the Sky” by Ziaaaaa_sdc (there’s so few jaddison fics out there, probably because of how compressed their relationship timeline was as they tried to wrap up the show, but this writer has several and they’re all so good. there definitely aren’t enough fun AUs for them so i was really excited when i first found this. its Ballet School Jaddison and there’s actually only three chapters atm. no idea if it will be updated ever again but it’s still more than worth a read. a smidge angsty so far. also seems to be setting up a little enemies to lovers arc)

CADDISON:

-“Help Me (With The Butterflies)” by BlackRoseMatron (a very sweet one shot. this author is single-handedly keeping the caddison shippers fed and i love it. they also have some really great meddison stuff)

[youhideastar]

Deastar’s 5 Most Re-Read Fics of Last Year

My New Year’s resolution was to rec more, so I’m starting with my 5 most re-read fics of the past year!

1 and 2: Blooded Crown and Misethere by Astolat (The Witcher)

Look, I don’t even go here. I’m not even in this fandom. I first read these before the TV show had come out, and let me tell you, it made said TV show very disappointing. But I have re-read these two fics (they’re not related to each other but they’re similar enough that I’ve grouped them together) probably 10 times each over the years. I absolutely fucking love their twisty-ass plots. I love the “what if Wolverine and Machiavelli fell in love” takes on the characters. I love the combination of humor and deadly serious political shit going down. I have a problem and it’s that I can’t stop reading these fics and probably never will.

3: i’ll be your girl by plonk (The Untamed/MDZS, ~30K)

This fic is everything. It’s funny. It will make your heart sore and tender. It has smoking hot sex scene after smoking hot sex scene. It’s pining while fucking (top three trope for me!). It has the absolute most ridiculous premise, and then executes it beyond your wildest dreams, never losing sight of how ridiculous it is. Said premise: Wei Ying seduces Lan Zhan, who he thinks is straight, while dressed up as Britney Spears for Halloween. They continue to hook up, with Wei Ying in a series of themed seasonal drag outfits, while Wei Ying falls in doomed love with a straight guy (or so he thinks), and Lan Zhan tries to figure out what the hell is going on but is too gone on Wei Ying to stop. My all-time comfort object fic.

4: All Old Things Are New Again by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (@thefeelswhale) (The Untamed/MDZS, ~52K)

This fic is WAY too long to be a habitual re-read, but that never stops me. “Full-time necromancer and part-time cam boy, Wei Wuxian, finds himself unexpectedly homeless. An enthusiastic patron comes to his rescue. Conversely: Immortal Cultivator Lan Wangji has been waiting a long time for his deceased husband to be reincarnated again. In retrospect, he should have anticipated that this is how it would go.” It is SO satisfying to watch Wei Wuxian slowly lower his (very reasonably raised!) guard and let Lan Wangji take care of him; in many fics, that trope ends up stripping away Wei Wuxian’s inherent badassery, but not here: this Wei Wuxian is so smart and capable and tough as nails, oooh, I like him so much!!! And it does not hurt that the numerous, exquisite sex scenes feature a delightful blend of (a) my favorite all-time kinks and (b) stuff that is not on my usual menu but that magically rocks my world as applied to these characters in this story.

5. This Tornado Loves You by FeelsForBreakfast (@rabbitcrimes) (The Untamed/MDZS, ~9K)

Want to get way, way up close with Lan Zhan’s brain while he realizes that his ferality about Wei Ying does, in fact, go up to eleven? This is the fic for you. I can’t do better than the author’s own summary: “Hanguang-jun is dating a mild mannered, non-cultivator named Wei Wuxian. The Yiling Laozu rolls up to a nighthunt on a motorbike, no relation at all to the previous statement.” This author’s Lan Zhan/Lan Wangji voice is so fucking good, it makes me mad. And SO FUNNY – I have read these jokes probably a dozen times and they STILL make me laugh out loud. The awesome modern cultivation worldbuilding is so casually done that you sleep on how good it is. Finally, this fic is tagged “you will say ‘Yiling Laozu hot’ or your money back,” and let me tell you: you are NOT getting your money back.

[burins]

I wrote up half of my Eisners roundup back in May and then my arm crapped out profoundly. But here is the rest of my thoughts about all the comics and graphic novels I read this year, of which there were many! As usual particular faves are bolded.

JAN

Delicious in Dungeon v6-12

FEB

MAR

The Chromatic Fantasy - HA

I think that if you are following me you will probably like this book. Great stuff on gender and sex and religion in a deeply fun art style. (Best I can describe it is the really trippy bits of Alice in Wonderland.)

Gleem - Freddy Carasco

Fluid, delightful linework.

APR

A Guest in the House - E M Carroll

E M Carroll has been doing some of the best horror comics in the business for about a decade and this continues the streak. Twisty, turny psychological horror

MAY

Where I’m Coming From - Barbara Brandon-Croft

Collection of Brandon-Croft’s wonderful 90s newspaper strips about Black womanhood. 

Roaming - Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

Love letter to being messy and gay and young in the city.

Local Man v1-2 - Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs

This is a fun little deconstruction of comics tropes. Inga, the love interest slash female lead, is the best part of the comic.

Danger and Other Unknown Risks - Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Great story, great characters, great art. What if you were in charge of preventing the second end of the world, and also your mentor figure was SO dubious, and also you had the world’s biggest, cutest dog?

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam - Thien Pham

First of a number of immigration memoirs nominated for the Eisners. The storytelling here is excellent; the art wasn’t my personal favorite.

In Limbo - Deb JJ Lee

I always have such a hard time judging memoir comics, but I think this walks a good line between gesturing at and directly portraying its fairly heavy subject matter, and the art is stunning.

Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century - Adrian Matekja and Youssef Daoudi

Probably my favorite thing I read in this batch. Lyrical, poetic art that plays with paneling and pagination to incredible effect. Does not shy away from the everyday brutality of either boxing, racism, or Johnson’s personal life. 

Messenger: The Legend of Muhammad Ali - Marc Bernardin

I read this right after Last on His Feet and boy did it suffer for it. Unfortunately, this is just an entirely forgettable bio of Muhammad Ali. 

Sunshine - Jarrett J. Krosoczka

I wish I liked Krosoczka’s art. This did make me cry but it’s a memoir about working at a camp for kids with cancer, so it would be pretty hard for it NOT to.

Blackward - Lawrence Lindell

This would have been a perfectly serviceable 2010s-era webcomic. Not everything needs to be a book!

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics

Graphic anthologies are deeply hit or miss for me but this one was extremely solid!

Frontera - Jaco -  Salcedo and Julio Anta

Excellent story about the violence of the border, deeply undercut (for me) by a very jarring ghost subplot. 

A First Time for Everything - Dan Santat

Sweet little story about a class trip abroad with glowing art. 

Shubeik Lubeik - Deena Mohamed

I'm so bummed I couldn't hear Mohamed speak at MICE because I LOVED this. Uses genies as a vehicle to explore the fault lines of class and politics in Egyptian society. 

A Boy Named Rose - Gaëlle Geniller

Lovely art but this was entirely nothing. Remember Teahouse? This is that but sfw and also without any narrative tension. 

Comics for Ukraine

Almost universally bad, with the exception of "Talking to a Hill."  I think sometimes the medium of superhero comics is not the one with which to tackle every issue, 

Parasocial -  Erica Henderson and Alex de Campi

Tense paneling, solid art, I didn't care for the ending of the story. 

Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? - Chris Oliveros

This relies almost entirely in first person accounts, which I like as a device for exploring who gets to claim historicity, but it means that the actual narrative is kind of incoherent. 

The Great Beyond - Léa Murawiec

My other favorite from this batch! This is a story about celebrity and fame and being remembered, but the art is some of the most fluid and expressive stuff I've seen in years and the creativity of the conceit keeps it from ever feeling run of the mill. 

Memento Mori - Tiitu Takalo

I am pretty down on illness memoirs, but I liked this more than I thought I would. 

Swan Songs - W. Maxwell Prince et al

This collection of stories about endings was going to be a winner for me and then the final comic was SO bad it soured the whole experience for me. 

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story - Sarah Myer

This (like a lot of the comics in the teen category) did make me cry! The art is a little too scratchy for me at times- it's intentional, but not always deployed to best advantage. 

Phantom Road v1 - Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernández Walta

Is this basically Alice Isn't Dead with a guy as the driver? Well, yes, but it is good. Lemire always nails creeping dread and Hernández Walta's art is ominously flat in an excellent way. 

Black Cloak v1 - Kelly Thompson and Meredith McLaren

Compelling story undercut by webtoony art that's way too cute for the fantasy noir vibe of the narrative. 

My Girlfriend's Child v1 - Mamoru Aoi

It's always kind of wild to me to see a completely bog standard teenage pregnancy narrative get nominations like this and then I remember that most people making these nominations do not like, know a lot of people who were pregnant as teens. 

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons - Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda

This is simply not very good art or story. 

The Cull v1 - Kelly Thompson and Mattia de Iulis

The story here is really intriguing! I wish we had a little more time to get to know the characters before getting thrown into Plot but it's real solid. I don't always love this hyper realistic 3D rendering but it works for the story. 

The Summer Hikaru Died v1 - Mokumokuren

I could wish that the translator hadn't rendered all of the dialogue as weirdly southern but this is a really good gay rural horror. Came back wrong simply hits! 

Mabuhay! - Zachary Sterling

Cute! Didn't really slam me but I would have had a lot of fun with this as a kid. 

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir - Pedro Martín

This was both lovely and deeply felt and also laugh out loud funny. 

Saving Sunshine - Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan

Extremely sweet sibling story. 

Fire Power v1-4 - Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee

The Good Asian v1-2 - Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi

Eden II - Kenny Wroten

This has great moments and is also deeply irony poisoned. I would love to read a weird queer comic by someone who was not Online. Also I could not tell any of the characters apart, because they were all thin white-presenting people from fake Seattle. ALSO the speech bubbles were so clearly added in after the fact that it was often difficult to tell who was saying what. I'm not a purist about speech bubble rules or anything but I gotta be able to tell what order to read your dialogue!

Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller: The Man Who Created Nancy - Bill Griffith

The frame narrative is solid, but the best part of this was just the actual Nancy comics included within.

The Horizon v1 - JH

This is just apocalypse torture porn tbh. 

Thing: Inside the Struggle for Animal Personhood - Sam Machado

Here's the thing. I think there are compelling arguments for animal rights. I would also like to see us put that same kind of energy towards ensuring full rights for people first. Also the art and writing here are simply not very good.

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons - Kelly Sue deConnick, Phil Jiminez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott

I wasn't sure I would love this because of my noted Picky Feelings about feminist Greek myths but I liked it more than I thought! The art is phenomenal.

Superman (2023) v1 - Joshua Williamson 

The annual is what was nominated, but the single issues are the actual stars of this trade. Williamson does a really solid job of situating Clark in community.

Wonder Woman (2023) v1 - Tom King

I find the story pretty grating (why does Diana need to be fighting the entire US government?)

Poison Ivy (2022) v1 - G Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara

YAY we love an ecoterrorist getting her due. Takara's art leans full Annihilation. 

My Picture Diary - Maki Fujiwara

This suffered in comparison to last year's alt-manga diary comics from a similar era, Talk to My Back, which was one of my favorite books of the year. Fujiwara's art is very stolid and pretty simplistic and while it works for the subject matter it wasn't my favorite.

River’s Edge - Kyoko Okazaki

This is SO messed up! We are right in the violence and emotional mess of teenagerhood. 

The Yakuza’s Bias v1 - Teki Yatsuda

This gets a little one note by the end of the collection but yakuza falls right into Kpop stan culture is such a funny premise that I didn't mind.

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings and Relationships for Everyone - Alex Norris

This is much cuter and more charming than I thought it'd be.

The Talk - Darrin Bell

Bell is best known for his political cartoons and this brings the same kind of incisive political wit to a longform piece while adding a great deal of empathy.

Transformers (2023) v1 - Daniel Warren Johnson

I am so sorry to DWJ who did his very very absolute best to make me care about Transformers. The art and writing are great I just don't go here. 

Kill Your Darlings - Ethan Parker and Griffin Sheridan

Pretty mid dark fairytale.

PeePee PooPoo - Caroline Cash

Diversity win this lesbian alt comic is just as annoying as the straight ones!

Superman: Lost - Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan

Ugh. Superman: Lost was one of my favorite takes on Superman and Lois last year and I still think the first like… five issues are phenomenal. As soon as we get the weird infidelity/assault/pregnancy narrative I was out. 

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees - Patrick Horvath

I simply hate cutesy animal horror. 

The Devil’s Cut, edited by Will Dennis

I know I read this but I have no memory of it. My notes say I liked it, and I'm generally in support of DSTLRY and creator-owned comics as a concept.

Marvel Age #1000, edited by Tom Brevoort

Deeply masturbatory.

JUN

Deep Cuts - Kyle Higgins et al

I liked this so much it was my end of the year staff pick! It's hard to do comics that really capture the collaborative and improvisational feeling of a good jazz session but this anthology absolutely does.

Somna: A Bedtime Story - Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay

Tula Lotay's art is absolutely gorgeous but I was kind of bored by "what if a Puritan housewife was fucking the devil." 

Watership Down: The Graphic Novel - James Sturm

I think these rabbits are too cute to really capture the horror of Watership Down.

Delicates - Brenna Thummler

It's really difficult to tell a story about a kid who is bullying someone else and have it land sympathetically for both parties and Thummler manages it with an uncommon emotional depth.

Buzzing - Samuel Sattin and Rye Hickman

OOF this hit me right in the psych kid feelings. Very sweet and really captured the feeling of the complicated family dynamics that surround kids with mental illness.

#DRCL midnight children v1 - Shin’ichi Sakamoto

Insane choice to make Lucy Westenras a bishie.

Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise - Tradd Moore

Did not think I would ever be rooting for a Doctor Strange comic but this is the kind of psychedelic universe bending art I would love to see more of from his whole character premise!

Bea Wolf - Zach Weinersmith

Absolutely delightful adaptation of Beowulf for children. Weinersmith really captures the feeling of the old English language in a story about a bunch of little kids defending their treehouse.

HP Lovecraft’s The Shadow over Innsmouth - Gou Tanabe

I don't feel qualified to examine the choice by a Japanese artist to adapt a story about Lovecraft's fear of Chinese and Pacific Islander genes entering Massachusetts. I haven't read much actual Lovecraft but did we all know it was that racist? I mean, I knew he was racist but my god.

The Monkey King v2 - Chaiko Tsai

EXCELLENT adaptation of Journey into the West! I couldn't get v1 in time for voting but the art and the pacing here are just so much fun.

It’s Jeff! - Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru

This is extremely cute but it is ultimately just a cute animal comic.

Earthdivers v1 - Stephen Graham Jones and Davide Gianfelice

I hope you don't need me to tell you Earthdivers is good. It's good.

Birds of Prey (2023) v1 - Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero

I was so dubious about this one that I ended my yuri zine piece talking about it. And then it was in fact really really good. The team dynamics are excellent here and the art is perfectly suited to it (except for one issue with a guest penciller where the art is execrable.)

Shazam! (2023) v1 - Mark Waid and Dan Mora

Waid and Mora are sort of the DC powerhouse couple at the moment and I know that at any minute Mora is gonna switch to only doing covers, which will make me very sad. This was way more fun than I expected to have with a Shazam comic but the kids here are delightful without being cutesy and Waid does a great job balancing Billy being a real character and also a believable hero.

Four Gathered on Christmas Eve - Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Becky Cloonan, and James Harren

Becky Cloonan's was the story that was nominated in this but unfortunately I didn't really care for it. 

Spa - Erik Svetoft

This was hard for me to read because it is just body horror from start to finish. I think it runs a little long but as far as the horrors of capitalism and the tourism industry go it doesn't get much better than this.

JULY

The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont Drawn by New England Cartoonists

Really, really good cartooning and storytelling. Vermont is not really what you think of as the front lines of immigration but it's a farming community!

Green Arrow (1988) v1-9 by Mike Grell and others

Honestly the highlight of these for me is that the scans on (website redacted) maintain the letters pages! Grell's Green Arrow tackles a lot of capital I issues with mixed results but I do enjoy seeing the attempt. And it comes off a lot better than Batman comics of a similar vintage that attempt the same thing.

Robin (2021) v1-3 - Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, and Roger Cruz

Honestly? Delightful. I love to see Damian come into himself and I love to see his cute little romance and I love to see him reading shoujo manga.

AUG

Are You Listening? - Tillie Walden

Tillie Walden always hits!

Hunter x Hunter v 1-13 - Yoshihiro Togashi

Sometimes you read 38 volumes of manga in two months after watching 130 episodes of the show and listening to hundreds of hours of podcast about it. And that's just what HxH does to you. It's normal, and fine.

The Yakuza’s Bias v2 - Teki Yatsuda

The bones of the premise are starting to show - I think this really would have been better as a single volume. Still very charming but probably not gonna pick up any third volume.

The Boy Wonder (as it came out) - Juni Ba 

BOY WONDER COMIC OF ALL TIME! Wonderful take on Damian wonderful art wonderful Al Ghuls.

SEPT

The Summer Hikaru Died v2 - Mokumokuren

Hunter x Hunter v13-38 - Yoshihiro Togashi

OCT

The Concierge At Hokkyoku Department Store, v1 - Tsuchika Nishimura

What if working retail was not a horror show but was instead deeply fulfilling for everyone involved? This can only happen in a world where the customers are animals. 

NOV

Iris: A Novel for Viewers - Lo Hartog van Banda and Thé Tjong-Khing

The gender of this is kind of crazy (derogatory) and it could not more clearly be from the 60s. I don't think I'd recommend it but I don't regret reading it as like, a historical document.

Space Mullet - Daniel Warren Johnson

DWJ really doesn't miss. This is a very classic grungy space noir in the vein of a Cowboy Bebop or an Expanse but I liked it quite a bit despite being made to feel sympathetic for a space Marine. 

DEC

Nightwing (1996) v1-3 - Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel

Flush! Those! Blood pressure! Meds! Is Nightwing 96 a good comic? Who can say. Babs is there and Dick Grayson is experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion deep in his #failgirl 20s so I'm having a great time. 

[lawsofchaos1]

WIP Wednesday

(on a Saturday because who cares)

I have been tagged by the ever lovely @foodsies4me! And, speaking of Foodsies, if you aren't reading their two most recent WIPS - omg you are missing out. Their Daemon AU (Apollo: Blood Wars) is so twisty and delightful and full of foreshadowing for something I still can't figure out just yet, and I love that I'm still on the edge of my seat every chapter trying to guess what's coming next. Their Arranged Marriage AU (Bridges over Lakes of Salt) basically just went down my list of favorite tropes to check all of them off (Misunderstandings! Good Parabatai Jace Wayland! HoTI Alec!) and is incredible.

Anyways, a bit of of angst has been requested, so please have a little snippet from the final chapter of Laudanum:

The loft is bright, the windows flung wide to let in in the late afternoon sun, and the living room looks so completely normal that it takes Catarina three full heartbeats to turn her head towards the flung open doors to Magnus’ apothecary and understand what she’s seeing.  His heavy oak worktable has been hastily cleared, the several sheets of parchments underfoot and a shielded light-crystal wedged partly underneath the central bookcase speaking to the urgency in which it was done. Magnus sits askew, cross-legged, at the head of the table cradling Alec’s head in his lap. Alec himself is on his stomach, clearly hovering somewhere beneath full consciousness, eyes clenched shut in agony, his struggles weak and uncoordinated as small wordless noises of pain and confusion escape his mouth. Catarina catches only the barest glimpse of liquid gold eyes as Magnus bends over nearly in half, frantically trying to soothe the wounded nephilim. "Alexander-" the desperation in her best friend’s voice pierces her heart, “all shall be well, my love, I promise, just hold on, my darling, Catarina is coming - help is coming and all shall be well, I swear it, just hold on, my love, please,-" And Catarina jolts into action, berating herself already for even the momentary unforgivable pause. A bare two steps forward and she’s in the apothecary, pulling magic to her hands and taking an assessment of her patient.  Magnus doesn’t so much as look up, acknowledging her presence only with a slight change in the distressed jumble of promises and pleas as he promises Alec that help is here, he’ll be alright now, help is here. At the other side of the table is a second Shadowhunter, older than Alec - maybe in her early forties - with her hair pulled back in a complicated plait and lips pressed in a tight, white slash across her face.  The woman glances up to assess the new arrival, her muscles tensing in preparation to act until the meaning of the change in Magnus’ rambling words sinks in and she realizes precisely who Cat must be.  Twin trails run down both pale cheeks as she holds her Head’s hands to to the table, keeping him from injuring himself further. "Please," the woman begs, but Catarina has yet to stop moving.

Tagging @arialerendeair, @spiritsflame, @alexanderlightweight, and @dr-lemurr (and yes I know you only do art, but art WIPs should totally be a thing too - it's so cool to see the process!)

[starpiastri]

for the trope mash up, may i request summer camp au + accidentally married + martian? :P

hello!!!! you’ll have to forgive me for both the time this took and the brief accidentally married bit but it made it in there and it’s sweet i think!!!! i hope u like it :)

seb and mark as camp leaders! they both have their own group of about ten kids and their groups go together on adventure walks in the mornings (an hour for the kids to get all their energy out and then do nice quiet things in the afternoon). the groups joining together is not by choice.

it’s a problem because the two group leaders bicker. a lot. the camp is very underfunded so a lot of the equipment is missing and/or on its last legs. they mostly argue about silly things like Well you had the stove last night so can my kids have it tonight? But we’re toasting marshmallows! You toasted marshmallows last night!!!! no one seems to think why don’t we just collaborate and share a stove. (one of the other camp leaders will sigh and push their own stove towards whoever’s moaning abt it)

they are also deeply competitive on behalf of their camps. children are children and love games and winning and beating each other and seb and mark sort of might maybe use this as an excuse to wind each other up. the whole ethos of the campus is Be Kind Everyone’s a Winner Teamwork all that rubbish. seb and mark, upon hearing there’s a egg and spoon race across the wider camp, are strategically planning who is best suited to compete for their team.

it always comes down to Webber vs Vettel and the kids love it because children are desperate to shout and cheer at anything that moves, especially when the thing moving is their friends and in the background their camp leaders are elbowing each other when one wins and the other loses

anyway. one day they’ve gone on an adventure walk. afterwards one of the kids comes and taps mark and has a very sad little look on her face. she’s lost her camp backpack and it had all of her stuff in it (the way kids bring every item they own everywhere). she’s all teary eyed and nervous and so mark says don’t worry, i’ll go and look for it. can’t have sprouted legs and walked off!

but then mark realises the girl is from seb’s group. so he goes and tells seb and he’s like Oh we’d better go look for it. mark is like Um. We? seb shrugs. says Well she told you so. You have to come with me. It’s only fair actually. Anyway, two sets of eyes are better than one!

(lots of flimsy excuses to spend time with mark, who he’s had a little bit of a crush on since seb started working here last summer, that’s irrelevant, though.)

cue plenty of huffing. but off they go! into the woods! they follow the same trail they did in the morning, up the hill, through the twisty trees, as they’re colloquially named for the way they wrap around both the sky and themselves, the huge and constantly muddy puddle on a concrete path that the kids delighted in getting their boots in.

and it’s a nice day so maybe they take a little longer on the way, while also peering around bushes in case any passersby have been kind enough to drop the backpack in for safekeeping.

maybe seb takes a little longer in the dirt, checking behind trees because when he turns around mark’s got one hand on his hips, squinting into the sun with the other hand covering his eyes and he’s actually really toned and his arms are very nice. he’s noticed before obviously. how could he not. he’s just a guy. but this is different, especially when mark turns to look at him and seb feels particularly caught out when he grins knowingly. Shut up. Keep walking.

and maybe mark lingers a bit behind seb as he runs ahead thinking he sees a glimpse of red on a fence post. maybe he watches because seb’s hair turns golden in the light like a halo and it’s very beautiful. like art, mark thinks, and he wishes he had a camera. or maybe he can keep it all to himself in his memory

seb turns back around when he sees it isn’t the backpack, just a bit of a torn fabric from a tent, and mark sighs but they’re nearly at the end of the trail (a big loop around the campsite) so Surely it must be ahead!

the last part of the walk is always the children’s favourite, a big hill leading into a sunken in field, a valley of sorts. there’s a footpath worn out by adventurers over the years but they all, everytime, get on their stomachs and roll down on the grassy part, tufts sticking to their shirts as they land at the bottom, giggling. seb looks as if he’s itching to recreate it but they carry on down the grown up route.

something catches their eye in the middle of the field, and there sits a bright red backpack, looking very lost. they run towards it as if it’s some precious artefact and they cheer and hug each other and then laugh it off nervously. because they’re stupid.

the running wore them out, though, so they sit on the grass. the kids are fine with the other camp leaders, probably being better behaved than they do for mark and seb themselves, so they’ll take a break. seb notices (after he stops looking at mark who’s leant back on his forearms and looking sweaty and handsome) that there’s little braided stems littered in the grass.

Oh, she must’ve got distracted when making the daisy chains! Easy to do, replies mark with a smile, eyes shut as he soaks up the sun

seb picks one chain up, inspects the way they’re intricately laced into one another, finds some half finished ones too. he gets to work piercing a hole through the stem with his nail, threading it through, over and over until it fits neatly on his wrist. flimsy and delicate but he grins and shows it to mark

mark will smile and say, Can I have one? and seb would say Make one yourself you lazy arse, and then mark would pull himself upright and scramble to launch at seb, who laughs loud and bold like it’s so easy to do. he fights because because he’s no quitter and the smell of grass and the sun beating down on them mixes in their lungs and Oh, look, you’ve snapped it!

seb frowns but stops when he realises he’s now on top of mark, was pinning his wrists to the dirt when he notices his bracelet has broken and fallen off. mark doesn’t say a word, just breathes and looks straight up at seb. they both breathe like that for a while, seb in two minds, a dozen fleeting thoughts while mark looks so calm. how can this be so easy? how can it be so hard?

Pull me up, then. Sure, sorry. S’alright. I’ll make you another bracelet.

so then they sit quietly against each other, knees touching, and occasionally mark let’s out an exasperated sigh as he splits the stem (big hands, clumsy) but eventually there’s a semblance of a bracelet for the both of them. they gather up some of the smaller rings too, to bring them back for the kids. finally, seb hoists the little red backpack over one shoulder, and they make their way back to the camp

it’s late afternoon so they’re getting ready for dinner around the fire, and some of the kids are comforting the little girl who lost her backpack. It’ll be okay! They’ll find it! Mark found my hat, remember! Yeah, and Seb found my pencil case!

when seb and mark return it’s as if they’ve brought home a golden trophy. the girl hugs seb’s knees and they both scruff her hair and say Be careful next time!

the kids crowd around them, hailed as heroes, and one points to their arms and gasps, turning to their friend and giggling. then they’re all in fits of laughter.

What’s so funny? says seb, putting a chain that’s far too long on his hair. everyone keeps laughing and mark looks at him like he’s an angel, with his crown of daisies atop his head. You’re married now! says one of the little boys, and he smacks his hand over his mouth as if he spoke without thinking.

How does that work, then! mark laughs but doesn’t look at sebastian, who’s looking at him with pink cheeks and a wide smile. Because you both have the bracelets on! It’s fairy magic, it means you’re married forever! one girl chimes in, her tone of voice as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I can’t be stuck with him forever! and all the children cackle with laughter and run back to their seats around the campfire as dinner is called, plastic plates on their laps.

and they both should go and help serve the food but instead they just stand there for a little while, watching the flames dance in the pit.

and then maybe mark slips his hand into sebastian’s, just gently, the daisy chains sliding against one another. and seb squeezes, once, and doesn’t let go. like it’s easy.

[reyreadersblog]

TIME FOR AUGUST READING WRAP UP (PART 1.)

Well summer ended like a week ago, so here is all the books i've read and my reviews of them.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Never lie was the first book i read at the start of August and it was very easy quick and twisty read. Finshed it in a day, the dual POV was really fun and it added more tension to it.

However the plot twist was very unexpected, and that's not the reason i disliked it, the reason is that it didn't really make sense. I mean her whole monologue was lie...

Overall i did like the book, i'd say if you want something fast paced read it, but it was kind of a dissapointment tbh.

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so good! (Gave me major tig vibes)

I love any book that involves a kind of treasure hunt, and this book had added stakes with an inheritance hidden somewhere in the town. It was entertaining and very dramatic, although I wouldn't necessarily say that it was suspenseful, because it felt very over the top at lot of the time, so I wasn't exactly concerned with the characters' safety, if that makes sense. However, it is fast-paced and twisty, and I was excited to find out what was going to happen in the end. It had found family trope which i ADORE! It was so cute and fun to read about the team and what they went through in order to get the treasure. I also loved how many LGBTQ+ character were in the book.

The grieving part was done very realisticly, as someone who is going through grief rn, i fully realate to Lily.

This book was an example of how someone can take an inspiration from another author's work without fully coping them...*cough* Lauren Roberts *cough*

Raiting: ⭐

I love you Lynn Painter BUT WHAT WAS THIS😭😭😭

The main character was unlikable and obnoxious. She was not like other girls, she was just ✨quirky✨ and ✨different✨

The mmc was SUPERRR boring, liks his character revolved around being hot and rich, literally nothing more.

What did i like about this book? NOTHING.

Raiting:⭐.5

I can't tell you one thing that i liked about this book, tbh i read it because someone said it was about a heist and a game...and i'm all for that (the hunger games habit i can't get rid off😔) but oh well...it was not good.

More telling, less showing. The fmc always talked nonsense, i couldn't understand half of what she was saying.

I get that romance wasn't the main focus but it was...so dry, so boring...it felt like she saw someone with the same skin colour as her and ✨immediatly fell in love✨ and i'm not saying any hate or something, i'm a poc but it was done so poorly and unrealisticly.

Uhmm the plotholes???

The characters were just too insufferable for my liking.

I didn't feel connected to any of them.

The authour kepr describing every single detail like it depended on her dear life.

I wanted to dnf so bad but for some reason i kept believing it would get better...it did not.

THE ENDING WAS SO DRY?

Raiting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The book was very disturbing but so so good!

Long story short it's about Ellery and Ezra are the Corocan twins, siblings that live every day hoping that their addict single mom Sadie Corocan comes home every night.

Usually she does.

But one night, Sadie crashes into a jewelry store while drunk and high. She's sent to rehab while the twins are sent to live with their maternal grandmother in the sleepy town of Echo Ridge

What love about Karen MCmanus' books is her writing. It's really interesting to read a mystery/thriller book with dual POV because occasionaly author drops clues and hints in each of their chapters.

very honestly speaking, this book was a thousand times better than One of Us is Lying. i was even one of the ones who really liked One of Us is Lying, and Two Can Keep a Secret was LEAGUES better.

one of the main things that really set Two Can Keep a Secret apart was the characters.

I loved the characters. I loved how cracked and broken they were. How they didn’t come from perfect families. How they made many, many mistakes. How they grieved for those they lost, but they also let it fuel their desire to find the killer. How they overcome their pasts.

This book has 2 plot twists, and the first one...did surprise me, i expected something better tho. THE SECOND ONE??? THE ENDING? Had me GAGGED and literally almost threw up.

Let me tell you.

The last line.

THE LAST FUCKING LINE.

*spoilers*

✨i thought she was your mother✨.

This woman dropped the most disturbing line in the book history and thought it was fine.

Overall, totally recommend🙏🏻👭

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐.5

I did like this one more than some of the others, but let's talk about its big turn-off: Brynn and Tripp. I love when a mystery book has romance subolot, tbh i can't read a book that has 0 romance in it, but it's kind of annoying when you can feel the author is forcing two characters towards each other.

Brynn and Tripp have no chemistry at all. One of them was in love with the other, then Brynn leaves town for five years and when she comes back they try to resolve this mystery in their life. One of them declares itself to the other, and the other thinks its look has improved with time. They kiss and then they live happily ever after.

What's the point, exactly? Why should they be together when they’re clearly better as friends? What’s supposed to happen now, they’ll have three fantastic months and then break up before college?

It was entertining but the "plot twist" was not it. Like what was the point? If you gave the book "that" kind of ending, what is the point?

Raiting:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

IDC THIS BOOK TRILLOGY WAS ABSOLUTE 6 STAR READ. (Go read it! Now!)

"Ash Princess is a trope-filled book with a very common story line. Theodosia, or Theo, was six years old when she witnessed her mother's (the queen) brutal murder and had her country conquered from her. In her country there are magical caves that run underneath the temples. For fire, air, earth and water. These are very sacred and only those who have proved themselves to the gods completely can go and get the magical gems. Now, Theo's people are forced to work as slaves in these mines and dig up the magical stones.

For ten years she has been living under the Kaiser and his brutal rule, living quietly and trying to please him to survive. All of that ends when she's forced to kill someone and her childhood friend comes and offers her an escape and make things right for their people. She's filled with hate and determination to take back her kingdom and avenge her mother and people."

The fmc in this book, Theodosia has become one of my favourite fmc! An example of fmc that doesn't need to be a bloodthirsty monster from the beggining to be considered as strong, mindful and brave.

CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!

Even tho it's YA there are some serious and heavy topics in this book so be aware of that!

THERE IS A FOUND FAMILY TROPE!

There is such cute and heart warming found family trope..*cough* with traumatised kids *cough*

I loved literally every character! (Well except for a few...)

LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATON OMGG!!!

The ROMANCE!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

One of the main reasons i loved this book,

Oh no, my guys, this has a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! [cue the groans of every person on the planet] LISTEN, I know y'all hate love triangles and I DO TOO!! but this one is somehow bearable, even though it annoyed me a lot. It's like one of "those" love triangles where it's obvious who MMC is. Theo has feelings for the Prinz and her childhood friend, some dude, whose name I forgot, because I DON'T FUCKING SHIP THEM. He's a really good guy, but Prinz Soren and Theo all the way, bitch. Like, they're both good boys, but idk something about the Prinz, man. HE IS BLONDE TOO!! It's a slow burn + forbidden romance.

Overall, I LOVED THE BOOKS, IT'S ONE OF MY FAV READS OF THE YEAR, and if you like high fantasy with great world building + found family + strong character + lgbtq characters + feminism elements GO READ IT ASAP.

Well this is part one! Also not proof read so please don't mind the mistakes🙏🏻

[bropunzeling]

Since you say you love to chatter, I hope you don't mind being asked a few questions :)

what's a scene/detail/piece of dialogue etc that you really wanted to include in [fic of your choice], but you couldn't find room for? here's your chance!

if you had to write an epilogue (or sequel!) to any of your fics (that you are NOT currently planning on writing an epilogue for), which would it be and what would happen?

for the ships you're currently writing about (and have written for in general), is there usually one character you like more than the other? (will you tell us who? has it ever changed?)

what's a ship/fic idea you want to read about but don't want to write yourself? maybe somebody will be inspired!

share anything you'd like about a wip!

aw thank you anon! especially for the opportunity to procrastinate on working on my current wip :) answers under the cut:

some dialogue that i ultimately cut from the spain scene in marriage bets where they were having tapas (originally there was going to be ALL this flirting over the tapas and then it went on too long so i got straight to the questions):

"You're not going to eat that?" "Hey, I tried it." "You're so American." "It's the texture--" "Such a wimp." "I'm sure plenty of people aren't into eating octopus." "Uh-huh."

if i had to write an epilogue or sequel:

oh gosh. i think a lot about the one where marriage bets matthew and leon get married for real for real, with suits and their families present and everything. it WOULD involve matthew finally telling brady that he was not, in fact, the first tkachuk to get married. the other one i think about is, of course, rat baby in a cup. she reigns eternal.

is there a character in a ship that i like more than the other?

i think it's hard for me to enjoy a ship where i don't actually like one side of it! that said, there are definitely characters where i find it much easier to get into their headspace than others. i've probably said this before, but leon is such a straight line thinker and so easy for me to get that for a long time it was hard for me to try and write anything from matthew pov because his is a little more twisty-turny. they're both equally complex! but it requires different skills to get the effect i want, which is normally the pov character not having a clue what the other one is thinking. it's a lot easier to have leon misreading matthew than the other way around. except now of course i've written a lot from matthew pov so finding my way back to leon pov has been a challenge.

a ship/fic i want to read but don't want to write:

god what DON'T i want to read. lmao. i would love for someone to write a good achy jamie/trevor post-trade fic. i would love for someone to write a long slow friends-to-lovers matthew/sasha fic! i would REALLY love a brady/quinn future fic. especially if it features divorced brady. i feel like future fic especially is a trope/concept that i just feel less comfortable writing so whenever someone else writes it i eat it up with a spoon :)

share anything you like about a wip:

well the wip is going SO SLOW and is VERY HARD for me because im challenging myself by writing a slow burn and cant rely on sex scenes to do the chemistry work for me this time rip rip. but here is a wee snippet:

“Draisaitl. Tkachuk,” Coach says, gesturing at the starting line.

Leon gets ready, bracing his stick over his thighs. He’s already raced Jordan and Gourde—beat Jordan, beat Gourde—but he hasn’t had to go against Tkachuk yet. Hasn’t had to do much of anything with Tkachuk yet. Yesterday they were at the other end of the line from each other, or opposite sides of the rink. It had lulled Leon into a false sense of security.

Now, though, Tkachuk is watching him with that way that he has, like—

One time, while making kebabs, Leon got a splinter from the bamboo skewer under his nail. It hurt like a bitch, had him cursing for five minutes until Jenna told him to stop squirming and tweezed it out. The splinter had been miniscule, almost impossible to see, and Leon had wondered how something so tiny could be so aggravating and painful, would make him do anything just to get it to stop.

That’s how it feels when Tkachuk looks at him. How it’s always felt. Like his gaze is digging in under Leon’s skin, until Leon’s entire body is red and inflamed. It makes Leon want to scratch at his shoulders, his chest, until he can finally tear Tkachuk out.

[artist-in-training-wheels]

Earth the Tots Attendant

More info under the cut!

Name: Earth

Job/Title: Tots Attendant

Height: 9’6”

Pronouns: She/her 

Sexuality: Pansexual Demiromantic

Facts/Notes:

Work

The ‘younger sibling is taller than the oldest’ trope, but she’s kind about it.

Wears one bandana on each arm that match with Lunar!

Fluffy hair go BRRRRRR

Cute bow on dress!

Casual

Made her sweater a dusty pink and an off-the-shoulders one!

You can’t really tell but her hair is pulled into a high ponytail!

Side Notes:

I like the stubby feet from the first form she had- I understand she has feet now, but shush!

Changed out headband for bandana because… yes 😀

She has a promise ring that counters as a fidget ring (one of the twisty ones)!

The ring also has the metals indented slightly, so it gives a slight texture sensation! The signs are a flower, a sun, a star, and a moon!

The name “Earth” is written in a way that I think she would write regularly!

OG design by @/ayyy-imma-ninja