#ultimate fav rare pair..

[valiwrites]

hi, hiii! I see you haven't gotten any requests for my ultimate fave, Pedri, so could you do like, lazy mornings with him? Thank youuuu!

yay! finally someone requests fav player 🫦

JUST US

pairing: pedri gonzalez x reader

type: fluff

warnings: none

MASTERLIST

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The first thing you noticed was the warm, familiar weight of Pedri’s arm draped over your waist, his face nestled against your shoulder. The room was still dim with early morning light, and everything felt soft, peaceful—the world hadn’t quite woken up yet, and neither had the two of you.

You shifted slightly, careful not to wake him, but even the smallest movement was enough to make him stir. His grip tightened around you, pulling you closer. “Where do you think you’re going?” he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

You laughed softly, brushing a few stray curls from his forehead. “I wasn’t going anywhere, promise.”

“Good,” he whispered, his voice a warm murmur against your skin. He buried his face in your neck, pressing a sleepy kiss there. “Stay right here.”

You didn’t need much convincing. With a sigh, you settled back into his embrace, letting yourself relax into the warmth of him. Everything felt so calm, his steady breathing, the softness of the sheets, the slow rise and fall of his chest against your back. These quiet mornings together were a rare luxury, and you couldn’t help but savor every second.

After a few minutes, Pedri stretched beside you, a lazy smile spreading across his face as he blinked up at you, his eyes still heavy with sleep. “Good morning,” he murmured, reaching to brush his thumb over your cheek.

“Morning,” you replied, mirroring his smile. You leaned in, brushing a soft kiss over his lips, which he gladly returned, his hand gently cupping the back of your neck.

Neither of you was in any rush to get up, so you just lay there together, tangled up in each other, sharing quiet, sleepy conversations and occasional, soft kisses. Pedri’s fingers traced gentle patterns along your arm as he talked about his week, about upcoming games, about whatever little things popped into his mind. You listened, nodding along, soaking up the sound of his voice and the little moments you rarely got to experience when life got busy.

“Is it crazy,” he murmured, his eyes drifting to yours, “that I wish every morning could be like this? Just… you and me, nowhere to be.”

“Not crazy at all,” you replied, snuggling closer, savoring the warmth of his body against yours. “I’d love it if we could just pause time sometimes, you know? Just freeze the world and stay right here.”

He smiled, brushing his fingers through your hair, letting them rest at the nape of your neck. “I’d do it in a heartbeat if I could.”

Eventually, his stomach growled, making both of you laugh. “Guess we can’t stay in bed forever,” he said, sitting up reluctantly. But even as he tried to get up, his hands still lingered on your arm, almost as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to let go just yet.

You finally made it to the kitchen, where he started clumsily gathering ingredients, determined to make breakfast. “I’ll handle the eggs,” he announced proudly, grabbing the carton from the fridge. “You just sit there and look cute.”

You laughed, watching as he cracked eggs into the pan, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. It was a little chaotic—he fumbled a bit, muttering under his breath whenever he dropped something, but you loved watching him. There was something incredibly endearing about seeing him so relaxed, so unguarded, just him in his sweats, cooking for you with that messy hair and that sweet smile.

Finally, he turned around, holding two plates, his face lighting up when he saw you waiting there. “Told you I could handle breakfast,” he said, setting the plate down in front of you with a proud grin.

You took a bite, nodding in approval. “I’d say you did pretty well,” you teased, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. “Guess I’ll keep you around.”

Pedri chuckled, his arm sliding around your shoulders as he pulled you close, resting his head against yours. “I’m not going anywhere.”

And as the two of you sat there in the soft morning light, wrapped up in each other, you felt nothing but warmth and peace, knowing that, for now, he was right where you both wanted to be.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - all these kisses Korea, are you feeling okay?

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized sorta by favs in each category.

Sept 2023 Wk 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 5 of 12 - I did think the sketch was done AFTER they’d become lovers. Meanwhile, I do enjoy the creepy slipping through time moments, adds nicely to the tension. I’m sublimely uninterested in all the hets but that's normal for me. Bit of a slow episode, but I'm looking forward to next week. 

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - Cohabitation trope activated. Also "lovable grandma" is a new BL archetype I can get behind. Honestly PerthChimon's dynamic is good, it’s fun to watch a Thai BL where the leads are actually both stellar actors. There’s no stilted awkwardness to their dialogue back & forth or other interactions. I also like having MarcPuwin back on my screen. NO DAMN SINGING. Finally a fun twist on the faen fatale. 

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - I like that we’re seeing actual realistic consequences of coming out. Not the big parental freak out, but the small nasties of opening up as an everyday queer. This is rare in BL.  

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 3 of 8 - Lap sitting, lots of kissing, one arm counter lift - thank you, boys. Stupid tiny dog (not a euphemism). Is it just me or does Max look extra pretty these days? Anygay, it’s all quite silly and I'm mildly enjoying it.  

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 11 of 12 - I remain enamored of Big Daddy & the Hot Doc but nothing else. 

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 3 of 10 eps - Their history and the consequences of the confession to their friendship all seems a little sad & cruel. But also it’s just this pulp, ya know? 

(10 points to the True Geek who gets that reference.)

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 6 of 10 - I want Mew’s moms’ story as a GL. (Not from this team, of course.) Ah even Sand can be a lying creep, best not to like anyone in this show... frankly, best just not to like this show. And ya know what, I'm pretty sure I really don't.

Could I make something clear? You can’t "steal a lover from someone." That's puerile thinking. That lover wants to go. It’s the lover’s fault (if anyone) not the one who stole that lover, no matter how much an asshole Top is. Sand’s ex is at fault, not Top. And screw Sand for thinking that way. Like his ex wasn't a whole person in their own right capable of making decisions?

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 3-4 Marry Go Round of 24 eps - The premise of this is dumb. The pair is fun. They still kiss great. The actors are good. Crap story. What can you do? Don’t watch it. 5/10 

I need to rewatch Destiny Seeker now. 

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - Omg. Too stupid to live. Why am I still watching this? How many more? Ugh. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Why R U? (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - SaifahZon (no matter what country) are probably the softest enemies to lovers ever put on screen. Yes they are very cute and I like them better than the original. However, no one can out do ZeeSaint for the count down kiss on the rooftop. All in all, I enjoyed the final 2 eps, very cute. I liked this BL a lot but I’d love to know what somebody thought who hadn’t seen the original.

Ultimately, what can I say about Why R U? Korea?

Korea decided to remake, of all possible Thai BLs, Why RU? And that is exactly what we got: a short form, clean & pretty, uneven chemistry, slightly confusing, all the same tropes KBL that kind of cliff-noted the original but with none of the heat or complex relationship dynamics. I just … what world is this? Because it is BOTH bizarro land, and EXACTLY what I expected. How do I rate something like that? In the end I have to go back to simple questions: did I like it, would I rewatch it, and would I recommend it? Yes. Probably. And probably not. What the actual hell reality? 8/10 

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 10 - Office romance, broken-grumpy + innocent-sunshine. (Also cutie devil meets angel bestie hotties.) Gotta say, Taiwan is awfully good at moments of recognition. I sense some whipping boy and obsession incoming, looks good on you, Taiwan. Do I like it? Of course I like it! 

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 5 of 13(?) - Taiwan never met a trope it didn’t wanna play with. Teacher student + secret relationship, there’s only one bed but they slept together on the floor anyway... it’s a trope gum ball machine. I'm not mad, a bit confused, but who cares.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Uh-oh baby is sad. Yo is such a drama queen - I respect that in a boy. Also, I love it that W took it as and excuse to play Real Boyfriends. Also leaning v obsessive stalker there Japan. As expected you had to go there. Carry on, you do (and track on your creep app) you.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - Ugh. I kind of enjoyed seeing Minato in pain and having to work for the relationship for a change. But that’s just because I’m so frustrated with his character this season and I want him to SUFFER. Sides are cute tho. I like them better this season. 

It's Airing But...

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I just can’t. The sound. DNF 

Bump Up Business AKA Bump Up Project (Korea movie) original cinema release was 9/15 but MDL indicates it's been moved to October so I'll shift my dates. Last status update. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency (based on a webtoon). Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf signed on to star. They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. It’s from Idol Romance who will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You).

In case you missed it?

What Did You Eat Yesterday? is now available on Gaga. If you enjoyed Our Dining Table, you will enjoy this. 

I did a quick analysis of 2 different acting styles based on these 2 boys here.

Boyband, I finally watched the 6 eps that are available. It aired earlier this year and was hard to find. For good reason it turns out. Yes it’s about a Thai boyband so I skipped all the singing bits. I like the actor playing Juju (Brothers). Also hi Art, are you actually ageless? Lots of other familiar faces popped up like Copter, Max, Fluke. It actually started as a solid little story (if not much of a romance). The stuff with the organizers was v boring and there were 2 het sides but the rest of it was palatable. Operative word being was. Something happened around ep 3, like they lost funding as well as distribution and it just... fizzled. No real ending, no character dev, no story resolution, just blank. It’s like it DNF’d itself. 3/10 I don’t know what I just watched and neither does it. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still To Come In September

9/26 I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other.

9/27 Absolute Zero (Thai iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally bring us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance. We don’t always get HEAs from them, so I'm on my guard.

9/27 Bon Appetit (Korea iQIYI) - from 2022, 8 eps from GoGo Studio, romance between an office worker who lives off junk food and the man next door who cooks well.

9/? Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam YouTube?) - it's Vietnam so your guess is as good as mine.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Just look at the PRETTY! His makeup is flawless this series. I don't know who GMMTV hired new for makeup recently, but this ain't Thai style, this genius trained at the feet of Korea's finest. You keep that bitch (hon. gender nu) around, GMMTV, ya hear? (Hidden Agenda)

Gah, I love Yai so much. He tries so hard. He's such a sweet earnest character. He's like the angel-baby opposite of Chan (devil-baby) but they both my 2023 babies. (I Feel You Linger in the Air)

You know I love it when a BL gets meta about tropes. Here's Why R U?K calling out enemies to lovers.

Kabedon!

Yes we like all the snacks, thank you Korea. Your BL is basically snack food anyway. I'm not mad about it.

SWITCHES! I love it when we get this kinda thing. (All Why R U? Korea)

It me in all horror movies and whenever a boy starts to sing in a BL. (Venus in the Sky)

(Last week) 

[melancholitas]

The naivety of the me a few months ago really thought

"it's just catching up with one piece, Melan, what could possibly happen"

AHAHAHAHA

What I imagined:

~finally getting through wano

~leisurely catching up on the manga

~being happy & excited to be up to date

~sob a little about the story and crews

What actually happened:

~inhaling the episodes and chapters

~cursing at the screen although I KNEW what would happen

~one glance at Law reawakened my undying love for Cora-san (one of my ultimate fav characters) (that new technique was NOT fair on my heart, at all)

~getting keelhauled by the dormant one piece feels

~reawakening not only old ships I hold dear, but my love for the Hearts just went up in flames (faster than Cora-san ever managed)

So now I'm sitting there, slurping my coffee.. and instead of breaking my braincells over my uni courses like I woud definitely need to, my headcanons about these ridiculously lovable characters flood my mind.

It's disgusting how many fanfic and art ideas my brain is currently cooking up rn.

So instead of being a responsible adult, I'm reading the longest, most heart shattering fanfics I can get my hands on. My ao3 bookmarks are clustered in rare pairs right now.

Please send help (or recommendations, the procrastination is stronger than Laws survivor's guilt, istg)

[yourleastfavoriteguyinthechairr]

MARVEL SHIP MEME!

(art by ✨moi✨)

FAVE SHIP: sylki! ↓

i personally don’t view this ship as selfcest for multiple reasons, but atp i’m too tired to argue about it, so please don’t give me hate for it, ty :)

LEAST FAVE SHIP: thorki! ↓

it was a tie between thorki and starker, but i ultimately put thorki. look, they’re brothers, and i just don’t see them as anything but.

FAVE COMFORT SHIP: sylki! ↓

technically my fav comfort ship would be me x loki, but i don’t think that counts, so sylki it is! (i love them anyways <3)

FAVE CONTROVERSIAL SHIP: brutasha! ↓

absolutely in no way does natasha romanoff need a man, but that doesn’t make brutasha any less cuter, or an invalid ship. thank you for coming to my ted talk, in this essay i will-

FAVE RARE PAIR: happy x may (happmay)! ↓

happmay is so underrated imo. i can’t find any fanart or ship content about them and it makes me so sad, so i think this legally qualifies as a rare-pair!

PAIR YOU DON’T SHIP, BUT THINK IS CUTE: lokius! ↓

i have zero hate for this ship, i can see why people like it and i respect it.

WEIRDEST SHIP: bugborg! ↓

in all honesty, i don’t really have a ‘weird ship’, soo i suppose bugborg would fall into that spot! imo mantis and nebula would make an adorable couple.

FAVE MLM SHIP: parkner! ↓

ngl this ship is one of the reasons i’m alive rn-- yes there’s never been any on-screen interaction and yes spideychelle is canon and a wonderful ship but if any of y’all cared about canon i doubt y’all would be here- /hj

FAVE WLW SHIP: bishova! ↓

i will die with this ship. that’s it.

ok but they would be so CUTE together PROVE ME WRONG--

FAVE STRAIGHT SHIP: mobius x ravonna (ravonbius)! ↓

ok, so, i wouldn’t die with this ship but i love it nonetheless. tell me there didn’t seem like there was something more than “ friends ” there.

go on, do it. /j

-/-/-/-/-/-

these are simply my ship opinions, please don’t hate on me for them, ty :))

fee free to jump in and add your own marvel shipping opinions on this if you want, just use the blank template below (which is not mine, btw) (or use your own template)! (also, you can just put pictures or words in the boxes, i only drew them bc i wanted to ;p)

[daddymus-mamatron]

Thoughts on Megatron/Soundwave, Megatron/Rung, Megatron/Ultra Magnus and my ultimate rare pair; Megatron/Skywarp. I pass around Megs alot 😈🔥

MegaSound = Should be more popular, c'mon feral general and his unflappable right hand man?!?!?! I eat that shit up lmaooo Plus throw in all the cassettes and you got a nice erm... OT8? xDD

MegaRung = In IDW it works so well because M is such a special meow meow ofc he's Primus fav blorbo and Rung would be all over that. Can we throw Roddy in the mix for all of Primus' favourites?!?! (Not OP, OP is in the time out corner with his plastic bag of War crimes because he's a cop [ACAB])

MiniMegs/MegaMags = Y E S!!! YES YES ASLJHFASSAGSAD OLD MAN WRITING POETRY?!?!?! Again, throw Roddy in there to make it more spicy~~

MegaWarp = You know, the best thing I've read is that fic where Warp just teleports with his servo in M's helm and rips his processor killing M instantly. That was SO HOT. So give me M scared shitless of what Warp can do so he does his best to keep him in his good graces.

Unpopular opinion but I do not care for MegaStar BUT throw in the Trine or OP and it's fine (need some balance or it's just abuse and yeah....)

Other M pairings I like not mentioned: MegOPLita, QueenFerno and last but not least MegaRav (that's like in top rarest pairs with TC/Rumble lmao)

[amchara]

I'm a bit late with this but thanks for the tag @whenshesayshush!

How many works do you have on ao3?

71 (with an additional 10+ on ff.net, and a lot of scattered on livejournal and elsewhere on tumblr, as I am old-school)

What’s your total ao3 word count?

357,732

What fandoms do you write for?

Active: Fate: The Winx Saga, The Shadowhunter Chronicles, Shadow and Bone/Grishaverse

Past: Supernatural, Harry Potter, Gossip Girl, Star Trek (movieverse), misc smaller fandoms

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Effortless (TSC)

Trouble Seems to Follow (TSC)

Something I Need (Shadowhunters TV/TSC)

When I Go Quiet, You Say I Look Good in the Silence (TSC)

Hideaway (Fate: The Winx Saga)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! But I've really fallen behind in the last year - it's not great. But I aim to reply to most comments even if they are massively late. I feel if someone has taken the time to leave a lovely comment, I should acknowledge it.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This is hard to choose because many of my stories have bittersweet endings or endings where ultimately it may end up being okay but by the current end of the fic, it's ambiguous.

In terms of longer stories, Trouble Seems to Follow leaves the main pairing in limbo, with secrets between them that are almost certainly going to have terrible consequences. Or maybe A Darkly Lit Path as the corruption arc is set up but never full explored.

Overall- it may be, You Have to Let Go, one of the Whumptober 2021 ficlets but lol, pretty much that whole series is an an angst-athon. I kill major characters, there's several possessions, some deals with demons, etc.

But I was looking through my archive and umm, yes. Many many angsty stories. The next question is going to be interesting to answer.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Heh. So the thing is, I rarely write pure fluff. Big believer in making the characters work for their happy ending! Ummm - let's go with For How Long. My fav The Last Hours pairing was not going to be canon, so I wrote them a happy ending.

Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. I've had a couple comments where commenters seemed confused on why I wrote certain characters or situations but they've never been hateful.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yep! I used to write more mindfuck/hate-fuck and dub-con inhibition lowering fics but I think nowadays I tend to write smut where it's integrated as a conduit for exploring messy, intense feelings, and some good examples would be Talking Bodies and Shadow to the Light.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Very occasionally! I think the craziest one I wrote was a loooong time ago. A Black Donnellys/Supernatural crossover called Shake on Your Luck about Dean winning some luck in a poker game with a leprechaun and I had an absolute blast writing it in a folkloric, storytelling style!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A long time ago in Harry Potter, I wrote a few. More recently @belle-keys and I started a co-writing project that may or may not ever see the light of day, but it's been fun so far! I've also done some collabs on Big Bangs - most recently with @widadsadki and @skloomdumpster. I enjoy them! But wouldn't consider myself a regular co-writer.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Let's go with one of my longest-standing ships, who I've never written for but they likely inform/influence a LOT of my id when I'm writing - Eugenides/Irene from the Queen's Thief series.

What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

None! I still have plans to return to all my current WIPs on Ao3, it just may take time.

What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding/expanding on canon. Exploring minor character backgrounds. Characters finding catharsis through challenging situations. Angsty/ambiguous endings.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Straightforward happy endings or fluff/slice of life fics. Humorous writing, I don't feel I'm often great at dialogue - sometimes it does click but I have to work at it. My writing background is journalistic so my style feels often quite 'workmanlike' and sturdy without being lyrical.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've done it before but only in languages I have passing knowledge of - French and Spanish. I don't have strong feelings either way if authors do it?

First fandom you wrote for?

The second Xman movie, X2. Yes, the one that came out in 2003. Yes, I've now been writing fanfic for 20 years!

Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ooh, this is the toughest question - I think stylistically Effortless and Confluence are my best works and so they are probably my favourites. But I have a fondness for Love Letter Scorecard too!

Tagging: I think most people in FTWS fandom have done this oen so- let's go with TSC and other fandoms @themimsyborogove, @ibrushmyteeth-donttellanyone, @bookishjules @lifeofbrybooks, @jesse-is-spiralling @dontmindmyshadowhunting and anyone else who'd like to do it!

[bittersweetresilience]

What do you like about MatsuKoma? It's also one of my fav rare pairs so I'd to hear you're opinion ‼️‼️

anon… you have such good taste. some rambling. below.

i don't even remember if i read danganronpa zero before or after i became acquainted with matsuda and matsukoma through starrylitme's fics. HELLO. rewired my brain forever etcetera etcetera i'm sure you know all about it. there's something so perfect to me about the idea of the ultimate neurologist and a patient with neurodegenerative disease... so much potential... their FATES are interTWINED ‼️‼️ it's too perfect ‼️‼️

i'm too shy to talk tooooo much about them but some of my favorite things to explore in this kind of relationship are trust and power dynamics, responsibility, taking care not only of the physical body but also of the will to live and to get better, healing and tragedy... and i just think they look cute together 👉👈 HEHEHE

although canon compliant matsukoma would have to happen pre canon i deeply enjoy the idea of despair era or neo world program matsukoma. somehow. it's fanfiction we can figure this out.

[roughentumble]

B, I, N, & X!

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

hmm. this happens a lot with homestuck ships, just because there are so many possibilities that it's hard to think of them all on your own, but once someone comes in with their reasoning it's like *slaps forehead* how didnt i see it sooner! that sounds cool!

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

SO many, mostly just due to overexposure. stranger things is the first that comes to mind. there's another fandom on the tip of my tongue, but i just cant recall it right now unfortunately... if i can get my memory to cooperate, i'll reblog this post with the thing im trying to think of

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

1) being nice to geralt. this already happens ofc but he's my favorite little guy and i can always use more of people being nice to him :)

2) s2 rewrites. fix-it fics, rewrites from the ground-up, fics that completely ignore canon events they didnt like. seems pretty widespread that people didnt like s2, so some sort of fan reaction where they take it and mould it into what they'd like instead could be fun!

3) more mom yen and daughter ciri bonding moments! i know s2 shot that in the foot by making yen try and kill her, but cmon. thats her momma!

bonus 4) because i forgot about it until the end. everyone shut up about the mountain forever. and that includes having hard feelings at geralt or making jaskier gloomy n shit. ougughghh disliked forever by Me

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

MIND MELDS!!!! mind melds, mental connections, soul bonding, anything at all like that. if two people in two seperate bodies are forced to share a mental space. the ultimate invasion of privacy, and yet also the ultimate intimacy, not even your thoughts are your own. everything forced to the surface. to an outsider it looks as normal as ever, but inside there is turmoil. and then-- and this is important-- the AFTERMATH!! the delicious, delicious aftermath. maybe the mental connection is severed, and they find theyve gotten used to it, and now their minds are too silent without the constant hum of their partner's thoughts. or perhaps they adapt to it and it never goes away, and to outsiders it looks like everything they do is a coordinated dance. how do they know so much? how do they work together so seamlessly? because their minds are one.

it's sooooo rare, i cant even think of any fics that have done it off the top of my head, despite it being a fav of mine. and yet. oh how i adore it. stories where theyre born that way and never know another way to be, stories of outsiders uncomfortable with their unnatural closeness, stories where it's new and fresh and they dont know how to navigate it, stories where it's old and solid and they rely on it in battle. stories where they have to work to stay seperate people, because the melding wants them one mind in two bodies, and if they let themselves get too close, they start to lose their own individuality. anything! all of it! oh how i adore it!

[sirofreak]

Fav romantic ship : Hayconrisa, love them so so much and they’re just so incredibly sweet. Miracolina and Lev are a close second though, loved seeing their relationship develop throughout Unwholly!

Fav platonic ships : Connor and Lev, the ultimate bros. Also Hayden and Bam

Rare pair/ crack ship of mine is Nelson and Roberta. Idk why but I think it would work

Once again glad you’re feeling better!

Ok I'm back from my depressing Episode

I have a question for yall what's you fav ship in unwind??? It can be platonic or romantic it doesn't matter maybe even both

Especially rare pairs

[qingxin-dream]

Burning for You

a/n | BASED ON GENSHIN 3.0 LEAKS!⚠️ …okay, so i have a confession. two things… one, i believe in love at first sight. and two, i am hopelessly in love with tighnari. <3 wrote this in a few hours high off of my new fav dendro main so i hope it’s okay! (art credits: u/murasakisumire on reddit)

warnings | character leaks, slight profanity, probably ooc tighnari but i’m having fun with it anyway :)

genre | fluff, smug tighnari likes to tease you

word count | 1.1k

pairing | tighnari x reader

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

In the humid wilderness of Sumeru’s lush rainforests, there was no room for error as a forest ranger. It was a matter of life or death—eat or be eaten.

The vast majority of the rainforest was relatively untouched by civilization and teeming with vibrant creatures of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. As a ranger, you were expected to be an expert in animal and vegetation identification, and able to sense danger through disturbances in the surrounding ecosystem.

You had been reminded of this requirement on numerous occasions by your superior, yet somehow you defied all natural laws with how you constantly attracted trouble. Sometimes it’s a simple, easily avoidable mistake on your part, but other times it turned into a horde of enemies charging in your direction with no obvious escape in sight.

As a result, you were assigned under the direct supervision of the Lead Forest Ranger, Tighnari, for special training. But it wasn’t your fault you magically invited danger everywhere you went. At first, you were quite intimidated by the long-eared ranger. You knew he was the best of the best, so the stakes were high. If you messed this up, maybe you really were hopeless.

Expeditions were extremely silent and awkward with your new companion. After a while of suffering from solitude, you had tried to get to know him more, but it proved to be difficult.

“Hey, ‘Nari,” you would inquire softly as he was focused on referencing an encyclopedia from his pack.

An ear would twitch accompanied by a nearly indiscernible hum, eyes not breaking from his work once. “Yes, (Y/N)?”

“Um, do you ever take a break?” you sheepishly asked, rubbing the back of your neck nervously. He raised a brow, promptly closing his book, and touched his chin in thought. Worried you had offended him, you continued, “L-like do you do anything for fun?”

“This is fun, is it not?” Tighnari replied nonchalantly. “I love my work.”

It was true. All Tighnari would ever discuss with you was about Dawson Rainforest. Such was the extent of any line of questioning you could think of. You could rarely ever get a reaction out of him, not that you wanted to tease him—well, maybe you wouldn’t mind to see the quiet and clever Tighnari devolve into a stuttering, blushing mess at least once.

But that is beside the point. You felt ignored and lonely. Breaking the ice was useless. You were going to have to be a lot more forward if you wanted to get Tighnari’s attention.

Which ultimately led you to this moment months later, as you snap out of your thoughts staring at the burning embers rising from the campfire. You like to think your relationship had improved or you understood each other better since then. At the very least, your skills were improving and working with him in a team wasn’t as bad as it used to be.

You both had set up camp together less than an hour ago after completing your duties since you were too far from the main base to lodge for the night. Tighnari had just set his ranger journal aside, pale green eyes locked onto you.

A strange rush of heat spread across your cheeks in embarrassment. You prayed to the Archons it wasn’t noticeable. Had he said something and you completely missed it? Why is he looking at you like that?

You cleared your throat, unsure of what to say since he still scarcely gives you the time of day, “What?”

Perfect. You were such a great conversationalist, you reprimanded yourself silently.

“You were lost in thought,” he observed, lips pursing slightly in disappointment. “I… apologize if I have come across as rude in the past.”

“No!” you insisted, shaking your head frantically and laughing it off. “That’s not why at all. Don’t worry about it. Just feeling bored I guess?”

“You must always remain vigilant. As you can tell, none of the wildlife here seem bored in all their clamoring even in the darkness of night,” Tighnari notes out of habit, but he pauses for a second before shaking his head too and scooting next to you. “But we aren’t on a mission so I suppose I may entertain your antics this time.”

Did the flame of the fire suddenly grow hotter? Your cheeks flushed with another intense wave of heat when Tighnari grew near, surely it wasn’t your Pyro vision acting up. Then again, every time the lead ranger draws close, you swear you can feel the fiery pulse of your vision on your chest. Or was that your heart leaping?

His bright jade eyes flickered knowingly from your vision to meet your skeptical gaze, a playful, smug smile threatening to tug at the corner of his mouth.

“Do you enjoy this, ‘Nari? Making me—!” you accused in shock, words abruptly trailing off as you find yourself nearly admitting your embarrassment. “Argh. This is what you actually do for fun, isn’t it?”

“Me? I could never partake in such fruitless endeavors,” he responded with an innocent wave of his bushy raven tail, rotten mischief dripping from each word on his tongue.

“Oh, but the excitement is just radiating from you, go ahead. I’m ready to hear the great Tighnari speak to me finally,” you retorted sarcastically in a huff.

“I would be more inclined to say it’s written all over you, (Y/N),” his voice lowers as he leans in ever so slightly, tall ears towering over you in an almost intimidating manner. “I’m… not as oblivious as you may think.”

Fuck, the fennec fox never cared to talk to you and the minute he opens his mouth it was your downfall. Your breath hitched subconsciously, the only confirmation Tighnari needed, a sharp-toothed smirk adorning his smug expression. You hated it.

You had quickly learned long ago he had a penchant for teasing and trickery, and you always walked right into his traps. After all this time pushing you away and reeling you back in at will with his wit, he knew he had you wrapped around his finger. You were utterly touch-starved and Tighnari reveled in it, lightly grazing the back of his fingers against your hot cheek.

His pearlescent irises glimmered and marveled at you—a predator helplessly enamored with his prey.

“This isn’t fair, ‘Nari,” you whispered, lidded eyes watching with longing as he slowly inches further toward you. The instinct to pull away crosses your mind, just to deny him the victory, but how could you when the promise of his lips was so imminent?

He brushed his nose against yours gently in a loving nuzzle, whispering onto your lips, “Neither is this burning in my heart for you now, is it?”

Tighnari could hardly restrain himself any longer, drinking in your scent like this so intimately, inevitably succumbing to your sweet lips in a passionate display of desire. When he held your cheek or trailed his hand down to your waist, you felt that familiar burst of your Pyro vision glowing alongside his Dendro one—his touch consuming you with an aching need for more.

You almost considered caressing his long ears when he nibbled at your bottom lip, until he broke the kiss with a soft smile and couldn’t resist indulging in your addicting taste once more.

thanks for reading! reblogs are appreciated! my masterlist.

[greenmegsnoham]

Megs!! 💖 6 & 9 for AO3 Wrapped: Reader’s Edition!

When I decided it would be fun to do this, I immediately realized I have read SO many works this year, it is all a blur, but I will do my best!!! 💕

6. What's your absolute favorite works you read this year?

🔒 Collateral Damage by @danpuff-ao3

Draco Malfoy/Ron Weasley | E | 16k Fandom: Harry Potter

Yes, I realize you are the one that tagged me in this and asked the question, BUT I cannot discount the fact that this was one of my first 2022 reads and ABSOLUTELY one of my favs! I've reread this... I have no idea how many times at this point. It truly made me fall in love with Dron, and as many as I have read since then, I always come back to this one. It was so well written; you can tell you enjoyed every word!! 💕

an unsteady sun by @museaway

Nanase Haruka/Matsuoka Rin | M | 15k Fandom: Free!

I did a rewatch of Free! thanks to @makeitp1nk and re-fueled my love for RinHaru! 💕 Of course, that meant I needed to go searching for fic and stumbled upon this lovely amnesia fic! I'm planning to podfic it when I'm able! 😍 Thank you muse for being my intro to the Free! fandom, and I absolutely love it here! 🦈🐬

i'm just a guy whose intentions are good by @phenomenalasterisk for @hpcestfest

Harry Potter/James Sirius Potter | E | 9k Fandom: Harry Potter

So Phe doesn't write often. She's a fantastic Podficcer and the world's greatest cheerleader, but when they *do* write - damn. Just. Damn. I was SO in love with her characterization of James in this fic. Just a sweet chubby boy trying to ignore his crush on his dad, and then finding all the love he deserved in return. It was absolutely "wholesome incest" and I loved it so much. I'm so glad you were able to finish it!

9. Favorite rare pair you read works for this year?

Insert airhorn noises here 📢📢📢📢📢📢📢

🐍S N A M E S🦁 (Severus Snape/James Potter)

Good god, I could go on for days regarding my love for this pairing. From the very beginning of my entry to HP fandom I adored Snarry. I was definitely one of those Snape fans with a grudge against the Marauders, but as my multi-shipping grew, my love for James Potter blossomed into a burning adoration that I cannot get enough of.

I can thank GoldenEmpire's The Friend of a Friend for introducing me to this pairing and convincing me of soft, redeemable James. It has since been removed from AO3, which breaks my heart, so I'm thankful I had it downloaded as I reread it CONSTANTLY.

I'll supply my next favorite fic as a recommendation, because, holy shit, this is the wildest of rollercoasters that makes you feel ALL of the feelings in one story... from anger to hope to despair, to anguish and optimism and that ultimate happy ending. I had to take some breaks when the road got rough, but it was so worth the journey!!

Revenge is Sweet by BlueHorizon6 (FFN | AO3)

James Potter/Severus Snape | M | 120k Fandom: Harry Potter

AO3 wrapped: reader edition

[ct-sxphdjarin]

have some soft post-order 66 Vox—my ultimate fav rare pair of all time—where i fixed it and they get to be happy✌️😌

idk who to tag in stuff like this- pls lemme know if u want to be tagged in these, i have some more that i’m almost done with that i’ll be posting(: Vox and a few others😏

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - A New Entry My Top 10 BLs of All Time

March 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 7 of 10 - the plot remains much the same and I am getting very concerned they extended this one as it’s starting to flag. Might have been my first high heat 10/10 candidate if they had kept it at 8 eps. Bummer. I mean it’s still good and I’m still enjoying it, but... character development is a thing.  

Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 2 of 5 - Drunken gathering is such a hallmark of this franchise. Tiny bit of James flirting! (He’s my fav character ever since Love Mechanics original and the punch). Fuse is right to be worried about getting drunk bc he wants to be able to take care of Ana. I love the actor who plays Top (the ex). I’ve said it before (Remember Me) I really want him to get his own series. Also adventures in translation, Top did not say “I can’t believe you’re dating this man”, he said “I can’t believe you’re dating this kid/child”. These two are the ULTIMATE over dramatic college gays. Their relationship has NO drama but they will make it anyway. 

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) 4 of 12 eps - I like it more and more each new ep. The leads are developing a fun playful relationship. It’s a bit slapstick for me but it’s not offensive or boring. 

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 5 of 12 - I don’t know. I’m just finding this one kind of boring now. Although, it looks like we are getting cute boyfriends next week so that might be nice. 

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga & iQIYI) ep 6 of 12 - Side couple advanced into lap sitting and tongue kisses out of nowhere. Good tongue kissing, even if surprising. Higher heat! Yay! They’re a great pair, but would it kill Thailand to give us character development with our high heat?

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - the confusing whateverness of waisted chemistry continues to confuse. 

The Promise (Thai Weds YT) ep 5 of 10 - I don’t know what’s going on with this show. That’s it? He just fell in love with bestie and then punished bestie for his own feelings? Seriously? WTF. ON HIATUS UNTIL APRIL 19. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dating Sim (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 7-8fin - Absolutely wonderful. There is a time laps but it’s the good kind - NO SEPARATION. Couple of moments when I doubted they could pull it off. But CONGRATZ! We have a new entry into the very rare 10/10 club. I have go change all my best of lists but this was worth it. Final thoughts below. 

Unintentional Love Story (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 5-6 of 10 - (here’s how I’m getting it) KBL rarely gives quality sides dishes but these two are legend. Poor tattooed player hottie is always getting punched. Don’t get me wrong the leads are great too. It’s fun to watch two sets of bisexual identity crisis being handled entirely differently because of good characterization. I say “ouch” a lot while watching this show. Also “awwwww.” I do worry their cafe has no customers tho. 

The Eighth Sense (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 10 - With 10 episodes of about 40 minutes each this has got to be one of the longest BLs Korea has ever given us. However from tone, filming style, opening credits, and trailer I am guessing this could be sad. If its KBL doing JBL style then we are in His the series territory, but it could be more in the Blueming vein. I’d give it 50/50 odds. There’s always a chance it wants to be “taken seriously” which is the death knell of BL. Also if a lead smokes it means that one or both will cheat. (I don’t make the rules, the Japanese yaoi gods do.) OK, but do I like it? Yes, actually, it’s... interesting. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, the acting is great, characters complex, good chemistry and tension. It’s a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBL (do I detect a touch of Taiwan?). This one is deploying BL tropes (messy eater, shoulder sleep, protective seme, there’s even some hyung-slinging) but it isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges, we may get a coming out sequence or even a bashing. It certainly will stay interesting. But proceed with caution. 

A Shoulder to Cry On (Korea Tues Viki & Gaga) eps 5-7fin - What both these kids need is a little affection and a lot of therapy, not romance. The punishment for flirting in class thing was funny. They are such boyfriends by ep 5 - Sitting together, sharing a glass etc…Terrible awful grueling confession rejection. 2 year time gap. Much needed in this case. Then another 2 before the epilogue. Honestly, the most unlikely thing about this show (after the casting) was the prospect of an out gay Korean cop. No kisses for us. Narrative indicated that there should have been at least a fish kiss, but not happening with them in the same Kpop group. I’m starting to think I really just prefer KBLs where they use actors and not idols (Semantic Error excepted, of course). I’m assuming the next 2 eps are bts. Final thoughts below. 

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi and I can watch him in Tin Tem Jai - see above pic, awesome side dish action) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was cute, classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, it totally holds together as it’s own little short story too. 

Cafe In Love (Thai ???) 10 eps on Ch3+ - Thai pulp, about trying to save a coffee shop. FairyGodBLer came through for me, but I’m collecting to binge just in case. It’s my new policy with the grey stuff. 

Destiny Seeker (Tues WeTV Thailand) 10 eps - it’s not on any WeTV I can get ahold of. Bad Buddy the pulp rebirth meets Japanese handsome host club action. Same as above.

Make a Wish (Thai Weds ?) from WaGa Creative staring Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. It seems to be a light-hearted romance with a comedic flair. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). Too hard to find.

Finished this week

Our Dating Sim (Korea Viki) I enjoyed every aspect from the casting to the very simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s very low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story. Do we call this cozy BL? Why not? This one is going to live in my rewatch pile, I can tell already, and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent. It perfectly suited KBL’s short-length tendencies. Full review. 10/10 I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS SHOW HIGHLY ENOUGH

A Shoulder to Cry On (Korea Viki & Gaga) - Adaptation of a manwha, high school set bully romance, staring Jaehan & Yechan BOTH from Kpop group OMEGA X, so no kissing. All in all this was a painfully awkward watch for me, and while beautiful and decently acted, the story and characters rendered it ultimately disappointing. I think we shouldn’t let Korea do bully romance. 4/10 FATALLY FLAWED 

Jack O’Frost It was fine. I never really cared about the characters or their relationship. Not to slag off the acting (which was superb) but the narrative bored me. 5/10 WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO 

In Case You Missed it

Ai Long Nhai got a special ep on iQIYI. 

Eternal Yesterday is getting a movie version with additional content if you want extra suffering. 

A few things have been announced but mostly Thai, Japanese, and 2 (yes, 2) Chinese Omegaverse (Desire and Couple or Not). It’s doubtful these will pass censorship, so I’m not gonna bother tracking until they actually get international distribution. For Thailand, I’m excited about Waterboyy 3, which NOT a remake (hally-fucking-luya) but a new installment, and stars KaownahTurbo (Love Stage!!! et al). Although why the fuck they don’t put Est Supha (swim champ) into one of these is a mystery to me. For Japan, they’ll start airing sooner rather than later, so expect me to start tracking those. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

04.06 Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Gaga) - I AM SO EXCITED I LOVE THE MANGA 

04.07 My Beautiful Man Eternal (Japan ????) - 3rd installment, movie which means it’ll be a pain to get hold of. 

No proper post for April but remaining releases are: 

04.14 Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Gaga) - not really my thing but yes I’ll watch it 

04.15 My Story (Pinoy YouTube) - not my fandom but I will give it a go

04.18 Step By Step (Thai WeTV) - office age gap, I am all in! Even though it’s WeTV. Sigh. 

April is looking a bit slender so I might start watching Destiny Seeker or Cafe in Love, or both. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

Adventures in Captions

Ai Long Nhai special both reviewing its own plot and having fun with English. 

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The danger in dating an older boy. (Future) 

Love triangle in one photo! (Promise) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Nada, the comebacks have been disappointing recently. 

[kxmssblog]

ULTIMATE FAN FIC COUPLE/PAIR UP.

XiuHo

My ultimate bias and biaswrecker. Yep! I have finally admitted my dirtiest secret to the world!

EXO's eldest hyungs.

The quiet calm, behind the EXO chaos.

Most compatible powers- Frost and Water.

The two most suited to their powers, too.

In my view, the leader and his second-in-command.

My favourites by far for fluff with heavy angst.

There's something wholesome about these two personalities.

The most private and the most outgoing members.

They may be my unlikely duo, but they just fit.

The little interaction I see between the two (compared to their other ships), I look forward to, the most.

Did I mention that I love them, to tinsy-winsy bits?

Favourite XiuHo fan fic? 'THE HEART YOU GAVE ME' by acastle (on AO3)

Other very honourable mentions...

Xiuho by xiubeans

And when it's right by acastle

Love is blind by sunnysidechen (Oh! This is another personal fav, for its humour.)

Just watch, it's like magic by Lolistar92 (Tbh, I loved the storyline and the showcase of their powers here. Its a XiuChenHo pair up with a side of Baekhyun. It's beautiful.)

ULTIMATE FAN FIC SMUT COUPLE/ PAIR UP

SeXiu/ XiuHun

Eldest hyung and the maknae.

My favourite by far for smut.

Frost and Wind, an ice windstorm is just killer.

Another unlikely duo, then the Ko Ko Bop era happened. The rest is history.

The most judgy pair of EXO,

With killer RBFs.

The one hyung, Sehun is most protective of despite the hyung's resolute independence.

The maknae easily melts at the hyung's rare moments of PDA.

Gosh, I love their sass, a little too much sometimes. But I got it under control. I think...

This pair, fuels my daddy kinks. For sure!

I'm a little shy, to share my kinkist fan fic faves, but I have a few that I really enjoy by this pair. My ultimate fav is STAY by lostmyg (IKnowWhat_YouDid) (have read it once, and it was enough, for now. Too heart breaking!)

FAMOUS XIUMIN SHIP

XiuChen/ ChenMin

EXO's most quiet ship.

The first EXO ship I noticed and fell for.

Most mature, reserved and grounded pair. Like and old married couple, together for decades.

Xiumin's most famous EXO ship.

The hyung and his favourite dongsaeng.

The loudest and the most calm.

The talker and the listener.

Arguably the most warm and most cold in EXO.

Frost and Lightning. Is there any other unique phenomena, such as this?

A beautiful friendship, on and off stage.

They possess the most intangibles, one seeks after in a friendship.

Okay, most of their fan fics, happen to deal with the heaviest amount of angst, and they are either beautifully written or the storyline is as beautiful too. My ultimate fav being, MIRACLES IN DECEMBER by milk_shake

Other very honourable mentions...

Our Beautiful Goodbye by MochaDae (moved to tears)

Dear my Dear by jazzaiko

It's just you and me (and us three) by xiuchens (the only light hearted one, on my list. Featuring Mark Lee).

All of these fics messed me up for days, after I had read each one of them. I'm always a sobbing mess after reading them, but most I have had the stamina to read just once, for the sake of sanity and emotional stability.

All on AO3

Part 2

[phantomato]

Assembled thoughts on softening characters

I want to talk for a bit about what makes a character soft. (And not in the impotence-kink way, unfortunately.) Spurred on by some discussion on reddit and a reminder of the time I broke down what it meant for a character to be sympathetic, I’m revisiting my thoughts as one of those villain authors who writes them “soft.”

I want to discard, right off, the extremes of the form. Fics that suggest that up is down and the evildoers were actually the morally-good ones all along might be a softening of the characters, and might be the initial thing to which a “I like my villains hard!”-person might object, but I’d argue that these are just doing their own thing. It’s a separate genre of villain fic, the not-really-a-villain fic, and the characters within can be as soft or hard as they like with respect to things such as “does this person employ violence towards their goals?” or “does this person have good interpersonal communication skills?”

Rather, softness seems to be in the same realm as OOCness. A villain being soft seems to mean (per my reading of that reddit thread, and related discussions), a villain who does not fulfill certain assumed-canon qualities: the villain does not perform enough on-screen torture and violence, the villain does not engage primarily in nonconsensual or dubiously-consensual sex, the villain is not sadistic enough, the villain is not fucked up enough or unabashedly evil enough. I struggle with this. There’s so little room left over, if one is confined to this space in order to not face the accusation of having softened a villain.

It comes down to the idea of realism or humanity, I think. I’ve met a great many terrible people in my life, and they are terrible in just a subset of their actions. Yes, yes, Hitler loved dogs. We’ve heard it before. But it rings true—the abusive boss has children that she cares for, and she shares fond stories about them at the office. The racist parent loves playing strategy games with their family. The nasty person in the friend group has a silly habit of indecisive clothing purchases. That guy in your industry, the one about whom the whisper network was formed, has strong and decades-old friendships with people you respect. Badness coexists with standard and relatable parts of the human experience. To preserve the fucked-up-evilness of the hard villain, one has to take care not to give too much space to the idea that the villain does anything else in the course of their life.

And I suppose that if the ultimate goal is to kink on your fav being paired with the physical embodiment of all human cruelty, yes, those relatable moments are entirely unnecessary. Live your id. I always come back to being a fan of the villain, though, and finding myself dissatisfied when that villain is more object than subject, more deliverer of whump than focus of an emotional arc. That’s on me.

But it brings me back to the idea of denoting something as soft, because to make someone one of your main characters, with a sense of progression and growth and intimacy, is to humanize them to a non-trivial extent. I see this in my fic comments with some regularity: shock! that my villain feels like a person or might care about mundane things. I like these comments. They bring me amusement, and I hope those readers continue to enjoy thinking about villains as a little bit relatable. What I’m less keen on is the conflation of these writing choices with providing redemption to a villain—I rarely make an effort to redeem, I simply write the parts of the villain’s life when they are least-actively murdering other people. I usually don’t put the murders on the page.

Usually. Perhaps in response to my frustration around being an author of “soft villainy,” I’ve expanded my range in gore.

What I refuse to give up on is the idea of a villain’s personhood, around and outside of the acts that have defined their badness. Unfortunately, the mere acknowledgment that such a thing exists seems to land one solidly in the realm of softening a villain, the association of a redemption arc that does not exist, and an implicit peerhood with those not-a-villain fics I shunted aside early on. It’s a dissatisfying state of arrangement—someone searching for not-a-villain fic will be disappointed to find a villain who still murders but plays cards on Sundays, and someone who wants the exploration of a villain who might play cards likely prefers the murder remain present. It is, as with most (all?) of fandom’s binary classifications, overly-broad and imprecise.

So, although my position is ultimately impotent in the face of decades of fandom norms (ha, you can’t keep me away from the sexual dysfunction metaphors), I am rattling the bars of this cage and demanding a little more thought about how villains are discussed in fic. Subject or object? (Perhaps there is entirely another role for main characters that I have yet to identify?) What is the goal of the villain’s inclusion in the story? Which canonically-evil actions, if any, does the villain disavow in this fic? What behavior takes place, on-screen or off? These are all more useful to me for determining the nature of a villain’s portrayal than a judgment of their softness.

[lululawrence]

hello!! i was wondering if u had a werewolf tag for fics? i would search it but not sure how to use tumblr that well :)) if not do u have recs? LOVE U HAVE A NICE DAY<333

hi babes! i don't have one here... damn that's a fucking great idea. hahaha i'm HORRIBLY unorganized when it comes to tags for fics on tumblr. i mostly use ao3 for the organization of fics. so! that said, i defo DO have recs for you!

you didn't specify pairing, which makes me smile because i get to rec rare pairs in addition to larry and hope you read them hehe okay, here we go!

He Carries The Key by me (8k, NR, niall/louis) - this fic is the only one of mine i'll include, okay? promise haha but it is also one i wrote for wordplay just a week or two ago and it's werewolves and a pack fic and i just had a lot of fun. very soft. much fluff. many feels. i hope you enjoy. lol

There's Fur Everywhere by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (4k, G, Harry/Louis) - this is a 5 times fic, and it's HYSTERICAL. it feels slightly spoilery for me to even be including it on this list, but also... it's still fucking hilarious. emmu is queen of the crack fic that makes you feel all the soft and wonderful things, and she doesn't disappoint with this one.

I Hear Them Calling for You by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic is... not for everyone. like at all. please please please read the tags and the summary and if you don't like it or it makes you uncomfortable, then close right out of it. as for ME i loved what she explored with it, all the emotions and the story and worldbuilding of it all. i thought it was fantastic and incredibly interesting. it is A/B/O, pack fic with claiming and... yeah. it's amazing.

Campus Creatures by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything and @louandhazaf / YesIsAWorld (25k, E, Harry/Louis) - werewolves! vampires! fae! university! frat houses! science research positions being vied for! enemies to lovers! like... not sure what more you could ASK for, but there's also a fuck ton of humor and nudity and sexual tension and... it's just a lot of fun. can't go wrong, really. haha

From What I've Tasted of Desire by @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28 (72k, T, Harry/Louis) - okay so i'm including this one even though like... harry and louis aren't werewolves. but it's a twilight au, so there ARE werewolves and i'm ASSUMING you know twilight and therefore know that means you know they're pretty involved and... that's true for this fic too. ahha for real, though, i love evi's writing and this fic was one of my first introductions to it and it was a fun read, so i wanted to include it in case it had enough of the werewolf flair to entice you haha

Compete Against the Stars by @daggerandrose / amomentoflove (31k, M, Harry/Louis) - omg okay so this one is like ANGSTY AF and i FUCKING LOVE IT because it's one of those fics that you HOPE you have figured out, and you probably do, but also there's SO many twists and turns to it all that you just have NO idea how it's all gonna work out and omg are they gonna just ruin it all for themselves by being stupid and ahhhhh the tension of just FIGURING OUT HOW THEY GET IT ALL TO WORK OUT!!! and of course it does. hahaha but HOW??? this is a RIDE and in my mind feels like a longer fic than 31k in the best of ways, they did an amazing job of packing a LOT of world building and storytelling into those 31k.

the straight for your heart (wolfpack au) series by foreverkneeld and foundfamilyvevo (96k, T/G, Multiple or No pairings including Niall/Louis, Zayn/Liam, OT5, and Shawn/Niall) - This series is the ultimate hurt/comfort and healing pack fic series omg. it was recommended to me when i was in a super hard time and my anxiety was so bad i couldn't focus on anything. These short fics that all focused so much on healing and found family were exactly what i needed. so so soft, so lovely. I still haven't read them all because i'm saving them for when i need them. they're glorious.

when the air ran out and we both started running wild by darlingjustdont (48k, M, Nick/Louis) - OMG OKAY LISTEN THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVS. a tomlinshaw werewolf pack fic?! ahhhhhhhhh i was SO happy when i discovered this one. louis is alpha of the pack and things are... shaky, shall we say. there's a lot going on that he's worried about and then he meets nick and it's kind of enemies to lovers? okay, more than kind of. but omg the FEELS. SO. MANY. FEELS. but also danger and a;lsdgkhas;ldfkja just please read this and rave with me because i don't have many i can talk about this one with and i LOVE IT.

You Smell Like by mystic_believexx (185k, M, Harry/Louis) - i had no idea this fic was so long hahahaha wow ANYWAY louis is human, but he's always been close with harry and therefore basically a part of his pack. but then one day harry leaves and louis kind of accidentally becomes the pack alpha. even though he's human. but there's SO much more to it. there's just sooooo much with the friendship and the pack bond as well as the danger and trying to figure out what the hell is going on... it's just a LOT and one of those epic fics that i still think about even though i read it...a year and a half ago i guess. but it's amazing and i highly recommend it if the word count doesn't scare you away haha

Canyon Moon by @eeveelou / delsicle (41k, E, Harry/Louis) - this is a lion king au, made a/b/o werewolves! i really enjoyed this one a lot, actually, because i could absolutely see the parallels, but also the way it was adapted made it so it wasn't always obvious how it would all play out. it was a really interesting and cool world building as well.

The Truth I Can't Explain (Smoke and Mirrors) by @fallinglikethis / FallingLikeThis (9k, M, Harry/Louis) - ohhhhh this one is SO cool cause it's by tabby so she made it incredibly fun and fascinating to try to figure out. there's magic and mages and werewolves and feuds and they're basically on the eve of battle and holy cow it's just SO cool.

One Touch Is Never Enough by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything (4k, E, Harry/Louis) - once again lauren delivers and there's just so much i keep giggling about with this because it is SO fun. there's a lot that louis is dealing with in this fic hahaha and the way she writes it all is so funny. the poor man just wants a fucking massage! lololol it's lighthearted, humorous, and basically filled with fluff, crack, and smut. hahaha

Knot Safe For Work by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis) - a;sldkgha;lfdkjas listen i forgot about this fic until i found it in my bookmarks for werewolves because jenna writes so many fucking amazing fics that when i think of werewolves, i think of at least two others first, but i could NOT do this rec without this fic because now that i remember it exists i am going to have to go and read it again! hahaha harry's a werewolf, louis is a wizard, there's knotting dildos and table sex and... just read it. lolol

Saving's What I Need by @jaerie / jaerie (17k, M, Harry/Louis) - writer louis is out for a drive one day and he hits a dog. THIS POOR DOG! he takes it to the vet and tries his best to take care of it... but things are not as they seem. because yeah, harry is defo not a dog. lollllll this fic was hilarious and sweet and omg there's just so much to love about it. there were so many more emotions in it than i expected. loooove!

Out of the Wild by @jaerie / jaerie (22k, E, Harry/Louis) - this fic has such fun world building, which is actually a huge strength of jenna's fics and you'll hear me rave about it with all 50 of her fics that will end up on this rec list (not really 50, but ya know lol). louis is a fairly wild and undomesticated wolf and harry's from the city and they end up as roommates during the x factor process. oh my word this fic is so fun because of all the challenges they're going through PLUS the wolf side of things and just... the way they work together and navigate it all as well as falling for each other is pure gold.

Out With The Old, In With The New by, you guessed it, @jaerie / jaerie (7k, E, Harry/Louis) - listen, just. this one is smutty as hell and it's gonna take you some places that some people will be uncomfortable with, which is totally valid and fair. please be sure to read the tags and make your decision on whether or not to read accordingly, but also know that its written in a super interesting way that is also pretty amazing if you do decide to give it a shot. lol

Instincts by @marastarfar / StarFar ( 100k so far - it's a WIP!, T, Harry/Louis) - omg listen. i LOVE mara's fics so much and when this first posted it was a one shot little thing that was FASCINATING. i loved it! and then i was happily surprised when i learned more was added to it. and then it was turned into a wip and omg i am so far behind now but i trust mara with my life because i love everything i've read by them and what i've read of this so far is INCREDIBLE so just. yeah. lollll

There's a Power in What You Do by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (7k, T, Harry/Louis) - i just read my comment i left on this one and it was just mainly me begging for time stamps because there wasn't any way for her to improve upon the perfection of this fic (nesting! softness! even a silly comment in her endnotes to perfectly cap it all!), but i still wanted to remain in the story just a bit longer and learn more about them. hahaha anyway, those time stamps aren't happening, but this fic is still complete perfection.

amaryllis by @hattalove / hattalove (147k, E, Harry/Louis) - for a long time this was thought of as THE werewolf fic. if anyone was talking about a werewolf fic, it was probably this one. is that still the case? probably. i'm not sure. ANYWAY. there's a REASON it was THE werewolf fic and that's because this is amazing. it sucks you in and you feel like you're truly a part of the action. it's filled with the vibe of found family and wanting to figure out what happened while also adjusting to your new life and just... so many feelings. so much angst. SO fantastically epic.