#why not contribute to a rarepair

[genjishimemeda]

been going through my WIPs and i'm gonna post a couple old old old ones that i really need to finish. this one was meant as a gift for someone but i think they went on to block me (lol)? idk. it was like almost ten years ago.

it's cloudgeal with the theme of gardening

Of all the areas in the Shinra building, Cloud likes the courtyard most.

Few even realize it's there, attached to the cafeteria like some awkward, bulbous tumor that everyone passes by, probably curious about, but doesn't bother to explore. It's weird and it's honestly rather ugly, obvious sod laid down over a metal floor with weak, meager sunlight filtered through glass, supported by flickering sun lamps, its only sources of light. The grass itself on the sod is just a pitiful excuse for grass, yellow and brown for the most part. They said nothing grows in Midgar, and it's probably true.

Except, and Cloud notices this, there's one corner of the courtyard where the lamp doesn't flicker, the grass is a little less brown-and-yellow, and there's obvious signs of work.

He's drawn to the courtyard in the first place because, being a mountain-dweller, nature's in his blood. He didn't have to (and didn't want to) ask about its existence; it just sort of happened that he took the wrong door out of the cafeteria when he wasn't paying attention and wound up looking at a small patch of greenery wondering how he got there. For a brief moment, it had reminded him of when the snow finally melted and the grass hadn't yet grown back after a winter in Nibelheim; returning there, he smiles as he notices the grass is just a little bit greener than before.

And over in the corner, there's a little row of pots.

As he nears, he counts maybe six of them, sitting in neatly arranged rows. The soil's still moist and the lamps are fixed on them, but not directly. He makes a noise of curiosity, kneeling down and examining them. Nothing on them says who put them there, or even what species of seed was planted in them. Just nondescript clay pots, sitting and waiting.

A little confused, he leaves for the day.

Some time a few weeks later, he pops back in just to have his lunch in relative quiet, and the pots are still there. It's a little warmer, and he notices the thermostat is set to almost 27°—going to sit by the pots, he notices one has a tiny shoot sticking up from the center. It's not quite like the green, fleshy stem of a flower, but like a thin, bladed leaf. The soil is damp again, as if they've been recently tended to, and the watering can is, in fact, still there.

Cloud picks it up and examines it. Again, like the pots, it's nondescript to the point of blandness. He places it back down, gently, and just looks at the tiny shoot with masked wonder.

By the next time he has a chance to return, early one morning before breakfast is even ready, all the pots are bearing several little shoots, but this time, the soil is dry. He realizes the time of day and, glancing at the schedule that seemed to have mystically appeared on the wall, the plants have yet to be watered. Curious, he looks to the can, and gingerly lifts it to see if there's any water in it.

Barely…

Shrugging to himself, he goes to the spigot on the wall and starts filling it. The water is cloudy, obviously not filtered tap. He's not sure if it's the best choice, but it's all there is—maybe the plants need the extra minerals? Hoping he's not destroying anything, he sprinkles water over all of them, kneeling before them and ensuring they've each had an equal amount.

To himself, or maybe to the plants, he mutters, "That should be okay…"

He sits there a while longer, checking each one over. The original one has a few more leaves, and they're a nice, vibrant shade of green. Not too dark, not too pale. He can't be sure, but he thinks they're bromeliads. He'd only seen a few in his lifetime, as they were more well-suited to warmer climates than Nibelheim (and possibly even Midgar), but he knew what they looked like in a vague sense.

He looks at the schedule again and notices "drain the cups" written in small writing beneath the watering notes. When he glances at the pots again, he notices the bottoms slip out. Removing each one, he pours the excess water onto the grass… probably how it got so green in the first place. He continues to pour out the water as it drips down, and eventually they all stop leaking.

With caution, he picks up the permanent marker by the schedule and checks off the watering.

* * *

From then on, he checks up on the plants daily. When he gets there before their caretaker does, he completes the tasks himself. That is, up until one day he comes in and there's a note attached to the schedule.

I'd certainly like to know who's been tending to the plants, the note says. Succinct and clearly written, though the handwriting is quite obviously masculine.

Cloud pops open the marker and scrawls his name and rank onto the paper.

They exchange words in notes over the next few weeks, and the plants have become handsome bunches of leaves. Cloud is gently stroking the leaves as he waters them this morning, reading over the last note written.

It's not the first time I've planted bromeliads here, but they always die before they flower. I'd like to have this batch actually bloom this year.

When Cloud leaves, he decides to do a bit of research.

As far as he reads, bromeliads are mostly tropical, though can survive a drought if needed. Some need lots of sunlight, some shrivel up under too much. They're not supposed to soak, thus the draining, and their flowers come naturally. Cloud wonders if they're perhaps exercising a little too much care, rather than too little.

We should meet, he writes on his next note, the book from the library tucked under his arm. What's your schedule?

Unfortunately, the next note leaves him disappointed. My schedule is so spontaneous I couldn't give you a set time.

* * *

Cloud's next eating lunch with some of his squadmates, barely listening as he's thinking about the note and eyes fixed on the courtyard door. He's hoping he'll see someone go in and figure out who tends to the plants, who's been writing back and forth with him… and who shares his love of nature in this gods-forsaken city.

"Y'know that Second, uh… Zack's his name, yeah?" one of the guys says.

"Mm?"

"Heard him in the hall earlier whinin' that the guy who trains him showed up late or somethin'."

"And we care, why?"

"He bitches like a damn dog in heat, man. It was grating as hell."

Cloud just tunes out the conversation and wanders over to the courtyard door. It's not like he cares what they had to say about some SOLDIER he doesn't even know. He goes for the door, though freezes when he notices someone's in there.

Surreptitiously, he glances through the fog of the door and barely makes out a large black shape amongst the silver walls and greenery. Backing away, he tries to find a place to look inconspicuous, and waits. This is the moment he's been waiting for, swapping those notes like they were little kids or something. He tries not to stare at the door, and waits.

He hardly notices when a SOLDIER Second with hair rivaling his own comes marching through the cafeteria and opens the door.

"Angeal, what the heck?" the Second half-whines. "We were supposed to train like twenty minutes ago."

"I'm sorry, Zack," came the voice from inside, and Cloud cranes his neck a little. "I had… business to attend to."

"More important than me?"

A deep chuckle. "Just a little."

The black-haired young man just sighed. "I'll see ya in the VR room, then." He then muttered something under his breath about 'Genesis' and 'bugs.' Cloud doesn't know what to make of that, but he has a name!

Angeal… Where does he know that name? As he's mulling it over, he misses the man pass entirely, only shaking out of it when he doesn't hear any shuffling anymore.

Armed with half of the identity of the man he was looking for, he scampers off to see if he can actually nail down just where he heard that name.

* * *

A SOLDIER.

Not only that, a SOLDIER First.

Angeal Hewley.

Cloud's mouth goes dry as he reads the SOLDIER roster again, and doesn't find another instance of the name. He can't believe he's been corresponding with one of the triumvirate of SOLDIER Firsts (and subtly thanks the gods it isn't Sephiroth, he'd die of a heart attack even at such a tender young age). He'd never be able to approach him, even if they planned the meeting, and dear gods he was alone and he was shaking like a leaf.

When he returns to his room, he looks to the library book sitting on his bunk looking, for all a book could be, so forlorn. He flops down on the bed and opens it up, looking at the card inside and reading through the names.

Sure enough, multiple times, Angeal's name. Going back several years, at that.

He closes it slowly, then rolls over and looks at the bunk above his. He kicks his one leg, not fully on the bed, and tries to think.

After several hours of tossing, turning, trying to nap, and grinding his palms onto his eyes, he makes his decision.

He may be shy, but gods-dammit, Cloud knows he's not a pussy.

[the-dead-gay-oscars]

Welcome to the Dead Gay Oscars!

(Also known as the Marauscars)

This is the public blog for the FIRST ANNUAL MARAUDERS' OSCARS, where we award awards in 23 categories for Special Marauders Merit or Great Contribution to the Fandom. Please send an ask if you'd like to nominate anybody for one of the categories-- the only prerequisite to this is that you've read the whole thing or whatever the equivalent is for that piece of media.

We aren't voting for a "winner," but all nominations will be revealed in a post with their superlatives on the specific days. For more information why, please see 'IMPORTANT NEWS' below the list-- this is meant to celebrate, not put somebody on a pedestal!

Categories 2024:

Best Hurt/Comfort Fanfiction

Best Angst Fanfiction

Best Fluff Fanfiction

Best Classic-Trope Fanfiction

Best Alternate Universe

Best Fandom Crossover

Best Marauders Cosplay

Best Skittles Cosplay

Best Valkyries Cosplay

Best Side Character Cosplay

Best New Writer

Best OC

Best Fansong

Best Series

Best Fanfiction Overall

Best Fanart

Best Supportive Marauders Moot

Best Beta Readers

Best Shortform Fanfiction Overall

Best Playlist

Best Podfic

Best Wolfstar Fanfiction

Best Jegulus Fanfiction

Best Dorlene Fanfiction

Best Rosekiller Fanfiction

Best Jily Fanfiction

Best Side Pairing Fanfiction

Best Rarepair Fanfiction

Best Non-Romantic Fanfiction

Please ask for details on each category, updates will be provided on a constant basis on the nominations and extra info for each category will be posted at similar time intervals as well. We hope that this will be a really fun way to show our appreciation to the amazing fans who give us so much, and we hope you enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not be accepting any media which is PWP (Porn Without Plot.) We will be putting Explicit labels on content which may include sexual content. Explore at your own risk and Minors please dni with Explicit content.

IMPORTANT NEWS: https://www.tumblr.com/the-dead-gay-oscars/775169294909784064/news?source=share

Started: Sunday, February 9, 2025

(Interested in being on the Marauscars Board, to run this program and nominate extras if there aren't enough? DM me at @janeiscompletelyfine for more information, we'd LOVE to have anybody!)

We wouldn't be here without YOU ALL, so please do not hesitate to interact if you have suggestions to make this the best it can be!

❤️The Committee

(Credit for pictures goes to: guine_evere on Instagram, alley_rqsee, almondmilkfrog, and unknown on Pinterest.

[amaranthdahlia]

happy holidays everybody ! i dont have anything on theme to celebrate with, so instead have this months worth of kudoichi art :] !

[i recently got an ipad for christmas so im practicing using a stylus for the first time and also procreate :D this is one of my practice sketches]

[two types of people after the end of a month long gay situationship]

[so i have this kinda cheesy headcanon where since kudou called afo demon lord in chapter 407, what if he ....... hear me out......... calls yoichi 'angel' ...... atleast by accident]

[redraw meme from twt]

[all of these is to contribute to a rarepair poll from twitter (which btw, they won, only after a series of botting from the other side and drama lmao)]

[some miscellaneous stuff]

[below are some kdch au doodles]

[tallichi has hit the 2nd tower again]

[kudoichi fankids from an undisclosed family au about kdch being katsuki's great grandparents, which is not related to any of the family aus ive posted before (bc god am i Obsessed with designing fankids, these two arent even the only ones, theres 5 more kids that i havent drawn yet. and if ur wondering why that amount, this just to follow the ofa user count. and to also reinforce the thing where the much older generation had so many kids back then LMAO)]

commissions

[lesmisshippingshowdown]

Introducing... Steal Off... 2!

That's right. We all love poll stealing, and although we've made the decision to discontinue it for the grand final of the Les Mis Shipping Showdown, we couldn't just let it go entirely. Which is why we're overjoyed to announce Steal Off 2, an absolute free for all to determine which ship from our original bracket is The most loved when it comes to dedicated creators of excellent fanworks.

You heard us, ALL 32 SHIPS entered into this tournament WILL be eligible for submissions, regardless of when they were eliminated. So here really is how [your OTP] can still win.

As a reminder, here's the original bracket (we'll also include a plain text list of ships under a Read More at the end of this post for anybody unable to see/read from the image.)

Did your favourite niche ship like Valjean/Fauchelevent or Fantine/Favourite not make the cut? No worries! As part of Steal Off 2 we will also be holding a separate Newcomers' Championship for those of you who want to show your love for the rarepairs, crackships, etc. that didn't make it to the bracket proper - and who knows, perhaps the steals we receive could be used as supporting evidence for their inclusion in future mini tournaments? 👀

Now onto the boring but vitally important part:

Da Rules

Submissions for Steal Off 2 will OPEN at 00:01 BST (UTC + 1) on Monday 21st April 2025, and close at 19:30 BST (UTC + 1) on Wednesday 30th April 2025.

Any works submitted late OR early will not be counted. Even if it's early or late by one (1) singular calendar minute. If you submit early we might be niceys and politely remind you to resubmit your fanwork once the submission window has opened, but as this rule is intended to avoid overloading the mods during a period where we are both very busy IRL, we might also just get annoyed with you and say you've wasted your chance and your fanwork doesn't count anymore. So don't take that risk!

The submission guidelines and scoring system remain exactly as they did for steal works submitted as part of the bracket, with one exception - ONLY brand new works (or brand new chapters/instalments of existing works) will count for this submission period, with the previous backdating clause now null and void.

As per our post from the other day, works deemed as egregiously low effort, designed to exploit loopholes in the scoring system, or which contribute to a pattern of spamming from a specific fanbase or creator may see their scores reduced or the offending works disqualified from the contest entirely. Part of the reason we have given you a) a nearly ten day submission window and b) almost three weeks' notice before submissions even open is to allow you to focus on creating quality fanworks with real time, effort, and love put in, as opposed to focusing purely on The Points of it all. Think of this as a fandom-wide fanworks fest that just so happens to have a winner at the end ;)

Finally, please note that points from previous rounds WILL be carried over and added into the overall total, so here's your current leaderboard by overall steal points:

1. Cosette/Éponine (168) 2. Enjolras/Combeferre (88.6) 3. Jehan/Montparnasse (76.1) 4. Valjean/Javert (70.3) 5. Turning Woman #3/Musichetta (19.1) 6. Courfeyrac/Marius (18) 7. Enjolras/Grantaire (15.6) 8. Combeferre/Courfeyrac (5.5) 9= Marius/Cosette (5.3) 9= Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta (5.3) 11. Éponine/Montparnasse (2.7) 12. Enjolras/Feuilly (2.2) 13. Combeferre/Grantaire (0.7)

Have fun and happy stealing!

List of ships from the original bracket for ease of reading:

Enjolras/Grantaire

Bahorel/Grantaire

Courfeyrac/Enjolras

Marius/Éponine

Jehan/Montparnasse

Fantine/Valjean

Bahorel/Feuilly

Jehan/Grantaire

Combeferre/Courfeyrac

Turning Woman #3/Musichetta

Courfeyrac/Marius

Feuilly/Jehan

Courfeyrac/Grantaire

Enjolras/Éponine

Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta

Bahorel/Éponine

Valjean/Javert

Feuilly/Éponine

Éponine/Montparnasse

Bahorel/Jehan

Combeferre/Eponine

Enjolras/Marius

Courfeyrac/Éponine

Cosette/Éponine

Azelma/Combeferre

Cosette/Marius

Combeferre/Grantaire

Enjolras/Feuilly

Combeferre/Enjolras

Combeferre/Joly

Courfeyrac/Jehan

Bahorel/Bahorel's Laughing Mistress

[mirensiart]

Ever since I started engaging into fandom spaces when I was a teenager I've always naturally gravitated towards the rarepairs or the unpopular character or the ignored friendship/dynamic

And I suppose it's cause like, my brain already sees a lot of content for the popular ships/popular characters/popular friendships in canon, so there's no need to contribute to them cause like, the rest of the fandom has it covered

Which is why my brain always latches onto the unpopular things cause like, those poor guys need some loving too I may as well do it for them lol

Anyway, basically if it is a fandom favorite, most chances are that I won't hyperfixate on it lol

[shiroganeryo]

My spouse's contribution to this year's BSD Rarepair Week! We have a whole AU dedicated to animal forms (most of them are dogs, similar to Wan!) so naturally, there are also couples 😌 I’m his official reposter for Tumblr, so please do not repost; support the original instead!

🐶💖 I drew some dogs for the #bsdrpw2024, day 7: Free Day!higugin and #fukuran for me, and #chuuaki for my spouse. Thank you for hosting such a fun event!! ´ v `//

There's always a reasoning behind each breed pick, so under the Read More are the explanations my spouse wrote for each character:

"I choose breeds based on their traits and appearance. Here's why I chose each of these:

🏵️ Higuchi: Goldens are popular for being goofy, ray of sunshines, but they are also very capable working dogs. Higuchi is usually a comic relief, with her obsession over her senpai and 'girl failure' attitude, but she's also very capable and stands in a kinda high position in the Mafia, so I thought it was a good parallel. 🗡️ Gin: I wanted a breed that would fit both the Akutagawa siblings: a black dog, with a sleek look and possibly lethal. As one of Ryunosuke's titles is "Black-Fanged Hellhound", and dobermans are the popular image of a hellhound, I went with it. (I hope to post dog Ryunosuke someday as well!)

🐺 Fukuzawa: welp his title is 'Silver Wolf'. 🔎 Ranpo: When we think about detectives, we think about scent dogs. Beagles are excellent scent dogs, with a small size, friendly face and love for treats! Reason why they are used on airports to inspect luggage (so they won't scare the travelers) and why I picked one for Ranpo.

🍷 Chuuya: I wanted a dog with short legs for Chuuya, so Dazai could make of fun it (sorry!). As hearding dogs, corgis have a sturdy physique that suits him pretty well. I went with the cardigan because of its fluffy tail and their older origin, from the rough terrains of the Wales. 🦋 Yosano: I couldn't think of any breed that's directly related to medicine other than 'test' dogs, which I didn't want, so I went with a working breed. From all the working dogs, I thought Dalmatian would be a fun choice because I could make some of the spots shaped like butterflies! They were also one of the breeds used in warfare, a detail that goes well with her backstory. Their flop ears would also mix well with Yosano's hair."

[technarchussy]

August 26th - September 1st, 2024

Monday, August 26th - Rescue // Doppelgänger // First Time

Tuesday, August 27th - Moving in Together // Multiverse // Sex Accidents

Wednesday, August 28th - Scars & Disabilities // Ex's // Aftercare

Thursday, August 29th - Double Date // Phobias // Secret Rendezvous

Friday, August 30th - Superfam & Flashfam // Fourth World // Control

Saturday, August 31st - Realizations & Confessions // Only Lovers Left Alive // Fuck Nasty

Sunday, September 1st - People of Manchester, Alabama & The Ravers // Nightmares // Accidental Kink Discovery

Purpose?

Continuing to celebrate the BartKon Renaissance in the modern era. Since the ship has historically been a rarepair since its conception in the 1990's, this fanweek acts as both a way to celebrate the BartKon narrative in DC Comics, as well as engage new fans in our small yet mighty collective.

Why should we participate in this?

Because you like BartKon. Because you saw fanfiction and fanart and shitposts, and decided you wanted to see what's poppin' in the BartKonosphere. All creators are welcome. Our romcom lovers, the darkfic connoisseurs, and of course, our smut specialists.

So how does it work?

The release date for fanworks is from Monday, the 26th of August through Sunday, the 1st of September, 2024. 

You have four months to write, draw, and create fanworks. On top of fanfiction and fanart, we also encourage meta, essays, ship manifestos, playlists, and poetry.

This is also an opportunity for new fans to engage with an old ship with a robust body of work, hence why this fanweek is dedicated only to BartKon depicted in DC Comics from 1994-2024. This is not a YJ-centric week, nor it is a BartKon+third week, nor is it a my-ship-is-better-than-your-ship week. Please be courteous and treat each other with respect when engaging with fanworks and their creators. If you misbehave, I will be cursing you with ten thousand years of bad luck on top of car/train/transportation trouble every day for the rest of your life.

BartKon of ANY comic book universe is acceptable. If you want to spend the entire fanweek exploring Luthor-El and Bart because you love horrific love, then be my guest! If you want a crazed version of Bart to kidnap Kon from Gemworld, go for it! Let that imagination run WILD!!!

Both safe and not-safe-for-tunglr dot hell tropes are welcome. Just make sure that you post any Mature content on a landing page that doesn't restrict Mature content (like AO3). I don’t want anyone getting their blog banned. We cannot defeat our capitalist overlords, but we can definitely work around them.

This fanweek will not have a dedicated blog. These prompts are free for anyone to use. Because it is a non-traditional, non-monetized, and free-to-opt-in casual event, there will be no mods but moi, no advertising of paid services, and no ratings or participant restrictions. I will open a collection on AO3 in August for anyone who wants their work collated for this event.

In order to ensure that both creators and the audience are making informed decisions about what they engage with, all creators are encouraged to include triggers and any other squick warnings. 

Please utilize the read-more function for fanworks that are longer than 250 words. We're tryna read yer stories, not get spammed with a wall of text. Please Be Courteous.

And last but not least - if you are engaging with any of the fanworks, reblog, reblog, reblog! Share the work with your followers. Send all the love to the creators for crafting their masterpieces!!

What can I contribute?

Fanart (standalones, comic strips, etc.), fanfiction (one-shots, multichapter, etc.), fanmixes, gifsets, graphics, meme collections, fanvids, ship essays and meta, songifics, playlists, poetry, whatever your heart desires! Go wild!!!

Can I create/write not-safe-for-tunglr dot hell content?

Yes!!! All creators are encouraged to include triggers warnings, sub-genre specifications, and other warnings in their posts. I will not discourage you from writing your 16k Bart Goes Insane Over Kon fic, but please... Be Courteous and tag your fanworks appropriately so people can make an informed decision about what they're comfortable with engaging with.

What does (X) prompt mean?

Each day has three prompts!! You can either pick a prompt OR you can combine prompts in different ways. Although the prompts range from The Basics, to Things That Frighten The Barts and Kons, and end with They're Fucking Nasty in Cissie's Basement Because They Can't Afford a Motel, I challenge you to let your imagination take you where you want to go with each prompt!! If you want to explore all three in the same fanwork, then be my guest!! I will not stop you :'>

Mainstream Canon, Elsewords, and AU content is acceptable! Just make sure to stay within the comicsverse. We have SO MUCH BARTKON MADNESS IN THE COMICS, SO PLAY AROUND WITH OUR BEAUTIFUL CANON!!! Creativity is key! Have fun!!!

Can I crackship/multiship/harem/OT3/polyam the characters?

No. It's literally BartKon Week, Heart & Bones Edition. There's like six active fans left on this bitch of an earth. Don't do this to me :'<

Does this have a tag?

During release week, use the general “bartkon” and "konbart" tags to share your work with the wider BartKon fandom on tunglr. You can use whatever other tags you fancy. The best way to share, however, is to directly @ me so that I may reblog it.

I didn’t read a damn thing before this, Ava.

TL;DR: Nearly four months until the fanweek!!! For all fanwork creators out there, now’s the time to start thinking about what prompts you want to utilize for your creations. There are no creative restrictions, but I do ask that you follow these posting tips:

All fanfiction should be under a read-more.  

Not-safe-for-tunglr fanwork should be LINKED to whatever landing site the content is being hosted on (Twitter, AO3, etc). This includes both fanfiction and fanart. I don’t want your blog getting flagged bc tunglr hates gay people.

Provide content warnings for all triggers, squicks, and sub-genres. Unfortunately, in my ten odd years away from DC Comics, the fandom's seen a resurgence in puritanical behavior and tons of censorship and self-censorship. Please list content warnings on your work but do not be discouraged in sharing your work. If a fancop gets on your ass, block them. Please block as MANY as you can. They're like pests, they're always gonna be there, but their influence can be diminished by staunch blocking and reporting.

You can participate as much as you want!! Maybe you only wanna create for one day? Cool! Maybe you’re an overachieving corporate clown insomniac like myself, and wanna create for every day of the week? Go for it!!! 

The most important thing is to have fun :)

Closing Remarks

Like all my other events I host, this event, too, is entirely selfish. I've loved BartKon since I was a child when I was first introduced to it in the form of Bart/Clark on Smallville. Although I only recently came back to reading DC's mainline comics, BartKon still holds a special place in my heart even after all these years, and the few who still create and engage in their fanworks inspired me to host a little something-something for our small community.

Take your time, look through the prompts, and get your creative juices flowing! I will be sending out reminders until the go-live date.

For the people who showed interest during the initial interest check, I hope you're able to participate. To the people who hate me, your mom's a hoe. Thank you.

[sonny-boiiii]

Here is my contribution to rtc rarepair week! So the prompt was wlm and i thought to do Monique and Misha's character (who i called Michel) not so sure if it counts, but i wrote it anyway. Also i used a prompt by @me-writes-prompts so thank you for the idea!

I hope you guys enjoy this more than i do bc tbh i hate it but here you go!

Monique and Michel lay on the grass in a field, looking up at the stars. 

Monique likes it like this, just them. Her job leaves most of her nights booked, but when she has free time she always uses it to spend time with Michel. 

“Do you know what constellation that is?” Michel asks, pointing to a formation of stars. 

Monique looks to where he’s pointing. “No, what is it?”

“I don’t know, I was hoping you could tell me.” 

That got a light hit from Monique, but he just laughed.

“I love you,” Michel says.

“I love you too.” She pauses for a second. “You know, I had to force myself to not believe it when you said that for the first time.”

He turns to her. “Really?”

She nods. “That was when you were just a client. I had to deny my feelings for you just because I knew not to fall for clients. I’ve been hurt before and I didn’t want it to happen again.”

She turns to face him and takes his hands.

“Irene, right?” Michel asks.

“Yes. How I hate Irene. But I used to love her.” Irene was an old client of Monique’s, she said that she loved her, and Monique believed her. Irene left for another girl after about a month of being with Monique. They never actually were together, Irene was just a loyal customer, but it still hurt Monique. But she didn’t have to worry about Irene now, she has Michel, and he’s infinitely better than her.

“I am really sorry for what she did to you.” Michel says.

“Don’t be,” Monique replies, “it wasn’t you who did it. You did nothing wrong.”

Michel brings up her hand and plants a kiss on it. 

“I just don't know why you stayed. You waited so long for me.” Monique says.

Michel smiles. “I knew that I loved you and I wasn’t gonna give you up until you turned me down. I’m glad you didn’t.”

“I am too.”

Michel pulls Monique into him, allowing her to rest her head on his chest.

“The stars sure are bright tonight.” Michel says, playing with Monique’s hair.

“Not as bright as you, my love.”

They laugh at the statement. 

Monique couldn’t help but think about how lucky she is to have someone like him. In life full of tragedy and betrayal, she finally found someone who let her forget about that. She could finally just live.

[lych33dragoncookie]

Hi, I've recently been some what obseesed with burningchesse content and I saw that you like the ship too, share headcannons pls, pls, plsss. *does 50 backflips to convince you*

Oho, OOOOHHHOOOHOHOHO. Oho.

Okay, I don't have too much on these two as far as minute details go, BUT I can point you to two posts in particular; this one by my beloved mutual Sunny, and this one which also happens to relate to a particular super-rarepair that happens to be a favorite of mine.

Generally, the outline of the concept shown in Sunny's art is inspired by my own ramblings; the cheesebird thing is all theirs though and frankly a genius move. So on that end: I think that, as it stands in canon right now, the ship is impossible. Burning Spice Cookie, with his soul jam and power and immortality still present, will not improve. I DO NOT FUCKING CARE THOUGH. That ending was COMPLETE ass and I'm WELL WITHIN MY RIGHT to ignore it!!!!!!!!!!!! So yeah as far as I'm concerned; she took his soul jam, then stored it away god knows how deep in those cheesy desert catacombs, never to see the light of day again. Past that, I think Burning Spice would have had to survive on his own in his very own lands, with no army, no one to follow him, having lashed out at his former general for not preventing any of what happened there (irrationally so mind you), a general who frankly is not all that intimidated by him now that his power is gone. Specifically, I like to think he would have had to survive on his own aaalllll the way up until the point Dark Enchantress is defeated. Only being able to, at most, pick up some of the fight from afar purely due to sheer scale and proximity to beast yeast. Why in that timing specifically? Well, because I fucking LOVE LilyEnchant, and I think it would make narrative sense for a more developed (post-awakening) White Lily to want to give Dark Enchantress another chance rather than destroy her or anything of the sort. So yeah that aside; Golden Cheese would keep up what would have become a trend by that point, visiting Burning Spice to check up on how he's doing and also to have fun poking and prodding at him now that his power is gone and that he has to survive on his own, teasing things like that if he just set aside his pride he could very easily live comfortably in her kingdom but she knows damn well he would never do that.

THAAAT would be until during one of those visits she finds him horrendously injured, likely either caught by some wild spices or caught up in a spice storm or both. Bleeding, probably way closer to death than she would be quite comfortable with seeing. So yknow pick that beautiful butch woman up and carry him all the way to her kingdom to have his wounds tended to and give him a roof to stay under so that won't happen again, UNDER THE CONDITIONS that he works for her now and is gonna help with the kingdom's restoration. Yknow a sort of little ironic punishment for the so-called Great Destroyer

Aaaand that's pretty much where the relationship actually starts . Veeeeery very very slow burn but I do think ultimately now being mortal and actually contributing to something tangibly again and having someone constantly showing genuine care for him (somewhat snarky and smug as it may be very often) would genuinely help him heal. I do think eventually they would grow to love each other unconditionally a LOT and all the shit that happened back there would pretty much become a blur, since Burning Spice is someone who only got to the point of corruption that he did because he cared so goddamn much, and the grief that drove him to this point clearly still weighs on him.

Would he ever get his soul jam back? Likely not. Not because Golden Cheese wouldn't be willing to after seeing him tangibly and noticeably improve, but because he wouldn't want it anymore. Being immortal, being forever while nothing else is, that constant never-ending grief, that's what got him to this point. He wants to live a good life, grow old, and then let it all wash away when the time comes. Which would in of itself be quite a test for Golden Cheese, who is inevitably gonna have to deal with the exact same problem Burning Spice did all those millennia ago, but ultimately. I think she would make sure to remember him, no matter what, even after their time together is over. Most likely through some highly treasured object to remind her of him, that she would make sure to keep safe no matter what.

... THE VERY HEAVY NOTE OF MORTALITY AND LIFE AND DEATH (one that follows golden cheese around everywhere she goes) ASIDE. I don't know if i have very many cute headcanons for them? Other than the fact Golden Cheese would absolutely have that guy*(*butch woman)'s hair situation sorted out like as soon as she can because in no world could you ever convince me that that giant mane ISN'T full of knots and generally isn't taken care of at all. Burning Spice is getting a proper bath and haircare session as SOON as it starts bothering his GF and it's completely non-negotiable, to his undeniable frustration. Hairstyle gets to stay almost intact though because she does think the long mane look is admittedly absolutely gorgeous. Oh yeah and in the event that White Lily spares Dark Enchantress (WHICH I REALLY HOPE HAPPENS) this ship would be a big part in how Golden Cheese comes to term with the fact that ultimately White Lily's decision is understandable and not at all invalid no matter how much she just can't see eye to eye with her on it; ultimately allowing her to trust her extremely-long-time buddy (probably girlfriend honestly. polyancients 4 life) again. All because the red dipshit put up a genuinely good point about the whole affair just to fuck with her.

Basically ummmmm relationship starts rocky and very "i'm going to cooperate but i'm not going to be nice about it" to over time slowly evolve into a really vivid mutual unconditional love where both adore every second they spend together. yea :o)

[castielkissah]

So MHA ended! Yes Ik it ended 2 days ago but yesterday was my birthday so this took a while to get written 😭 I wanted to talk about how ANNOYING the fandom has been about it. I love the MHA fandom but it seems illiterate at times 😓

First off everyone keeps complaining about Izuku not being a hero anymore. Did you all miss the end?? He IS a hero. He had a suit made and he became a hero with the rest of his class. PLEASE read.

Another thing is Izukus suit, yes Bakugo was the heart of the operation but he was not the only one to pay. The rest of the class did contribute and probably others Bakugou just did the most. (No hate to bkdk I do like the ship!!)

Why are all of you acting like Izukus friends js ditched him?? 😭🙏 They are pro heros and he's a teacher they are both VERY busy jobs. Yeah he may be lonely but they really can't help it and they probably do try to keep in touch it's just hard.

Shipping. I am SO glad Horikoshi didn't make any ships canon ‼️ as someone who does like rarepair it's SO amazing and I really hope it stays that way <3

In conclusion: the MHA fandom NEEDS to learn to read 😓💔

[its-a-me-mango]

SMG4 Q&A

How long have you been watching SMG4?

I’ve been watching SMG4 on and off since about 2014, I’m pretty sure my first ever SMG4 video was R64: A Dose of Dr. Mario lol. I’ve tried my best to catch up on everything but I still haven’t watched much betweem 2016 and 2022, one day I’ll catch up on it. I do watch each episode that comes out every Saturday and I aim to watch them as soon as they’re posted, I do tag any episode spoilers for the Saturday just to give people a chance to watch it.

Who are your favourite SMG4 characters?

My favourite SMG4 characters are SMG3, Karen, Mr. Puzzles and Tari! Mario is my favourite Mario character overall so he doesn't count as a fav SMG4 character, I always love Mario! I also love every other character too I think they’re all so fun and silly! :3

What are your favourite ships?

I don't ship a lot of characters but I have a particular soft spot for SMG3 x Karen, I'm a sucker for rarepairs lol. I do also like SMG34, I’m the only person ever who truly understands their dynamic /J. I don't take shipping too seriously, not in a negative way, just in a silly goofy way, so any posts I make towards any ships are entirely light hearted and for fun, I’m always happy to take suggestions on pretty much any ship, gotta provide food for any hungry shipper out there lmao.

Do you dislike any characters/ships?

Yes, but that's for me to know and to keep to myself, I'm not someone who easily blocks anyone over fictional characters/ships, if I dislike or disagree with someone's choice of characters/ships I just move on, it's never that serious at the end of the day.

Do you have a favourite SMG4 AU/headcannon?

No! I cannot pick favourites, it's impossible for me, especially with so many amazing and talented creators in this fandom! It would feel really unfair to me if I started picking favourites, obviously I have my preferences, but those stay with me and me alone. If you are actively posting in the tags about your AU/headcannon, I have seen it and I think it’s awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!

Do you like/dislike any SMG4 fans/creators?

Why would I answer that? Same reason as before, I cannot pick favourites as that feels unfair to me, and any dislikes I have towards people stays with me and me alone. I am not one to go out after people at all, I prefer to get along well with everyone

What do you think of current events happening in the fandom?

I think it’s great! Unless it’s bad, in which case I think it sucks.

Anyway to be serious, I like to keep away from too many interpersonal happening within the fandom as much as possible, it’s just not my thing, so I usually have no fucking clue what’s going on at any one time, I don’t like to get involved too much. I have the mentality of an old lady throwing bird seeds at pigeons when it comes to my “contributions” to this fandom, I throw my stuff in and leave, what happens around and after that ain’t none of my business.

I do, however, love to bitch about things, so uhh if that happens it's never targeted or vaguing anyone in particular so don't feel like I'm trying to call anyone out, I just like to make jokes outta things.

[tloupride]

The Last Of Us Pride Event: Calling All Fandom Creators

Are you involved in the TLOU fandom and have a creative hobby? Are you actively involved in the fandom and want to spread the positivity? Do you wish you could be more involved but don't know where to start?

If you answered yes to any of the above, or you're simply just curious about what a TLOU pride event could entail: the admins of this account (@consultingzoologist and @roselees) invite you to join in the fun ❤️🌈

This event encourages creativity of all types, and throughout the rest of Pride Month and beyond we will be providing themed prompts for the community to use. You're welcome to use as few or as many as you would like, and to interpret them however you see fit; the blog will also be open to submissions, and any prompt ideas are welcomed too!

Need ideas? Any creative response to the prompts would be lovely, but to name just a few examples:

Fanfics 📝 and Podfics 🎧

Whether you write long form works or exclusively one-shots, canon complaint or entire AUs - any of the prompts can be used for TLOU themed fan works.

Fanart 🎨

Do you draw digitally? Or do you hand paint your art? Either way - any of the prompts can be interpreted into art works, however you see fit.

Moodboards ✨️

A fandom classic and a lost tumblr art; how do the prompts make you feel? How would these translate into pictures?

Playlists 🎵

Like the above, what songs do the prompts make you think of? Compile a playlist of what pride in TLOU means to you, or maybe the vibes a certain character gives you.

Meta / Discussion 🤔

Maybe you just want to discuss the relationship between pride and the plot of the game, or the importance it has within the show; whatever the prompt makes you think of, we'd be happy to hear it!

Headcanons ✒️

Do you have headcanons to do with pride and the show? Now is the perfect time to share!

Of course all of these are just a guideline, if you have any other ideas to fulfill the prompts, we'll be happy to see them!

All shared fan works should be tagged with '#tlou pride exchange', and they'll be reblogged and shared here. Let's spread some more positivity within the community, and celebrate all of our brilliant creators! ❤️

(The work doesn't have to have been made exclusively for this event, either. If you have a queer themed fanwork for TLOU you want to share, regardless of when it was made, just tag us for a reblog!)

And now for the prompts...

Coming out

Queerplatonic relationship

Platonic soulmates: what platonic relationships from canon are meaningful to you?

Domestic bliss: write a fic or draw some art about your favourite pairing, romantic or platonic, enjoying some much deserved peace.

Queer romance

Queer joy

Found family: would it be Pride Month without the family we choose? Maybe talk about the meta of the trope, or your favourite instance within canon. Or how it comes into play in an AU.. the possibilities are endless!

Rarepairs: pick a pairing you wouldn't normally write/edit for, and see where the inspiration takes you! Maybe you only write TessJoel... why not try your hand at Ellie/Dina? Or perhaps you want to engage with a new platonic ship; why not take two characters that barely interact in canon, and see how it unfolds? What would happen if Joel had met Anna? How about Sarah and Ellie?

Gender identity: exactly what it says on the tin.

Pride Meta: What does queerness in The Last of Us mean to you? How does it contribute to the story?

"Nature held me close": Based on the quote from Leslie Feinberg, how does nature and queerness come together?

Pride AU: whether it be canon divergent or a modern AU, go nuts!

Remix: create some fanart, or a playlist, or even an edit for your favourite queer fic, old or new!

Music: create a fanwork based around your favourite queer anthem - bonus points if its canon complaint to the show (released before September 2003) or the game (September 2013)!

Of course, all of these are just guidelines and by no means have to be strictly adhered to, let your creativity run wild! We're excited to see what you make, and be sure to share them under the tag so we can reblog and spread the positivity further ❤️

Any comments, ideas, or want to submit a prompt of your own? Send it our way!

[fanlore-wiki]

Ship Sunday: Widowmaker/Mercy

This Ship Sunday, we’re looking at the femslash pairing of Widowmaker/Mercy from the Overwatch fandom. The ship features Amélie Lacroix, a French sniper and assassin, and Angela Ziegler, a doctor and field medic, who work against each other.

It is unknown if they have met in the canon lore, which is why the ship has struggled to reach the popularity of others from the fandom. The duo was considered a rarepair for a long time, but has now grown to be an established niche pairing within the Overwatch femslash community.

Are you curious to learn more? Head on over to their Fanlore page!

___

We value every contribution to our shared fandom history. If you’re new to editing Fanlore or wikis in general, visit our New Visitor Portal to get started or ask us questions here!

[aerodaltonimperial]

Listen, Imma be real with y'all for a second.

In 2022, the Chrono Cross remaster came out for PS4. And that summer, I wrote a 50k epic about my two favorites from twenty years ago and dropped it on a long-dead fandom for an absolute rarepair. It was one of the most ridiculous, fruitless things I've ever written. I knew very few people would read it. I think I never got more than 50 hits on it. I did it anyway, because it was fun and I had a great time and I knew it was good. And then I got into wrestling, so I sort of never looked back at it, because I was writing other things.

I cannot tell you how many times I have opened up my AO3 account in the past... 6 months or so, and thought, so, people were only my friends while I was writing what they wanted, huh? I stopped writing this, and people just fled? I have opened up my old Hookhausen fics and sat with one finger hovering over the delete button so many times, because if that's all people cared about from me, I was gonna nuke it out of spite. I'm not necessarily proud of it, but it's felt awful this past half a year writing in such a bubble, and as my therapist can attest to, when I feel hurt, I lash out to hurt other people in turn. Vamp is the only reason I won't do it. But it's been so hard being plunged back into writing alone after so long of people caring what I was doing. It felt like writing that CC fic again, only this time, I knew that people had simply lost interest. In me as a person, really.

Fic is the only place I feel worth anything as a writer. Years of failure, and fandom is my only source of positive feelings about my own words and my own work. It's hard to lose that, especially in the wake of giving up a decade-long dream. It's HARD to lose the only thing keeping you going with a hobby, and I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been handling it well. I used fandom interaction on my fic to help fill all the pieces left exposed and smarting from failing at trad pub over and over and over. It's not a bad thing to do, really - a lot of writers suggest doing this, to help build motivation and confidence while trying to get published. But it only works when there are people there to read your fic, haha. Fandom, for me, has been contributing to my depression symptoms big time. At one point, my therapist suggested maybe I should step out of fandom and fic writing, because it was spiraling my mental health. And to have him tell me that, after our years together, really opened my eyes to how bad it had gotten for me in regards to my self-worth and self-confidence.

I got a comment on that CC fic this morning. It happens so rarely that it really caught me off-guard, but it was one of the nicest things ever, and I sat reading it thinking... okay. This is worth it, isn't it? That fic has been there for years, garnering so little attention it wouldn't have mattered if I had deleted it. I was reminded this morning that it does matter. That single comment on an obscure fandom that peaked twenty years ago and still never had many people in it, made me feel like spending my time in fandom is still something worth doing. I can't thank that reader enough for taking the time to leave it for me. If you ever think that your interaction with people's work doesn't matter, I hope this helps you feel differently. Maybe people aren't reading your fics right now, but maybe they'll find a fic you poured your heart and soul into a couple of years later.

Not sure why I am posting this LOL. I expect people will unfollow me. Sometimes, I feel like I can't talk about these things without seeming like a bitch, but y'all already know I'm a bitch anyway. 🤣 We write fic because we love it, because we adore the source material, because we have passion for the characters. But we post because we want to share and connect with people. It just feels so much like that second part has somehow gotten lost recently. Anyway. Back to your regularly scheduled Tumblr lives. 💚

[lesmisshippingshowdown]

Poll Stealing: The Reason for the Season

Hi guys, just another quick update/reminder before we hit the semi finals.

We are all absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm and dedication you guys have shown since we introduced the poll stealing dynamic. In every round we have seen some absolutely stunning fanworks created with love, care, and creativity, and we cannot thank and congratulate you all enough for getting on board with the idea.

With that said, I just wanted to go into "vicar at Christmas" mode for a second and remind you guys of why we introduced poll stealing.

Especially in the early rounds, there were an awful lot of rarepairs, or pairings that haven't seen a huge surge of fanworks for a while, in the bracket. I'd be searching for artwork to use in steal polls and discover the most recent fanworks in a given tag were posted in like, 2016! So first of all, introducing poll stealing felt like a fun way to encourage a new outpouring of love for ships that, despite being popular enough to make the bracket based on AO3 stats, weren't really seeing that love reflected on Tumblr in the year 2025. (Turnchetta nation, you are a prime example of getting right into the spirit of this one!)

Secondly, I think we can all look ourselves in the eye and say that Les Mis is a fandom where a lot of ships have gained considerable popularity through fanon default, pair the spares, background shipping, whatever you want to call it. Many, if not most, if not all of these ships are compelling in their own right thanks to Hugo's ability to craft such brilliant characters no matter their canonical significance, but they don't always get to stand in their own spotlight in fanworks. So with poll stealing, we wanted to switch that up and give you the opportunity to say "yeah, I'm not just voting for [ship] because I'm fond of their background appearances in my favourite [bigger ship] fics, I love them because [xyz], and to prove that here's 5000 words of fanfic where I explore their dynamic in detail!"

All this to say, the real reason why we introduced poll stealing is not for the statistics or the drama or the gamesmanship - it's because we wanted to see heartfelt, real world applications of the love you feel for ships that don't always get to see that love in day to day fandom activity, and reward that genuine love (and contribution to the wider fandom ecosystem) by giving you a leg up in the polls.

Basically, to be a little bit less hippy dippy about the whole thing, and with the caveat that we are NOT calling out any specific ships or creators here and are moreso remarking on a general trend we've seen over the past couple of rounds, please think about the reasons why you're creating steal works and try to ensure each one is crafted with love rather than as a means to get As Many Points As Possible By Any Means Necessary. We don't want to get to the point of disqualifying works we feel are egregiously low effort or which appear to have been deliberately crafted to exploit loopholes in the scoring system, but we are a little concerned that, with the current steal deadline modus operandi of posting as many works as possible 5 mins before the deadline, it might end up getting to that stage, and that's honestly just completely antithetical to the spirit of what we're attempting to do here.

So basically I'll restate my points in a nice way and a mean way:

Niceys TL;DR: let's remember why we're all here making steal works - to show our love for our favourite Les Mis ships by spending time and effort and care creating fanworks that we'd feel proud to post in their own right & pass down to future generations, or something like that.

Meanies TL;DR: look i know we're going to get gamesmanship and vote rigging when we literally introduced a "here's how you can rig votes" system but please don't take the piss with it okay?

[the-southlands]

The Rings of Power Summer Celebration 2024

WEEK 6: July 8 - 14

Time flies by so quickly... We have arrived at the last week of our celebration.

This is a special week, since the doors are open for characters and relationships that may not enjoy high popularity, but are still important to somebody, including those you have come up with yourselves. Original characters are often overlooked, so this is your chance to make them shine!

This week’s prompt is MINOR CHARACTERS, ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND RAREPAIRS.

Important remarks:

The event is not limited to creators. If writing, drawing, etc. is not your forte, feel free to come up with character song lists, text posts about what you love about a character and why, post a link to your favourite fanfic, reblog your favourite art created by others... literally anything you can think about counts as long as it’s related to the prompt.

There is an ao3 collection where you can post your stories or artwork.

If you do not manage to finish your fanwork by July 14, do not be troubled! You can also post it later.

Remember to tag your contributions as #ROPCelebration24 or #ROPSummer24

You can find more details on the event in the dedicated post.