#slash or gen

[glacierclear]

Your art, (even long before the Life is Strange stuff, like for years now), makes me wish I was a lesbian woman instead of a cis, bi man.

anon im gonna hold your hand when i say this

[ao3demographicssurvey2024]

In the AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 - an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users - the "Mature" rating was ranked most enjoyed by consumers, while those posting works most frequently posted "Teen and Up". Only 16% of those who had posted works to AO3 said they had never posted M/M, while 69% of consumers "Strongly Enjoyed" M/M works.

To see more analysis, including transcripts of all the data shown on the graphs, please view the full results on AO3 for both ratings and relationship types.

[employee052]

[cw eyestrain] countdown

"this is not a challenge, its a tragedy."

[dailyfrank]

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Pas de deux

Sam didn’t consider herself to be a liar. After all, you didn’t need to lie if nobody asked you about stuff. At least that was how she had justified keeping her family’s wealth from Danny and Tucker, and also why she hadn’t told them upfront about her playing Doom.

It was also why she’d never told them she did ballet. 

To be clear, she wasn’t embarrassed about it. Ballet was fucking hardcore, and anyone that had anything to say about it could try pointe shoes. She just didn’t think they’d be interested. So, really, there was no point in bringing it up.

Ballet had been the only respectable hobby her parents had tried to interest her in that had stuck. However, Sam had agreed to do ballet only if she didn’t have to be in a class. Hence a private instructor. Camille was a former professional ballerina and was a very good teacher who seemed to enjoy having only one student. She liked Sam’s dedication and determination to get things right. The one thing Sam knew Camille disliked about the arrangement was that Sam having no partners to practice with meant she couldn’t do pas de deux or lifts.

And as any self-respecting former ballerina, Camille had trouble accepting such a badly-rounded set of skills. And she was a very dedicated woman when it was about her students success. It was a trait that had helped many of her students get into prestigious ballet schools and that now left Sam a few states over at a ballet convention about to dance for the first time around other people since she was six.

Sam was feeling so calm about it too.

The man in front clapped twice to get their attention "Hello to all, my name is Juraj." He said before gesturing to the room. "Everyone find a spot, we’ll be starting with a barre work.’

As Sam walked up to one of the barre in the back of the room, she started feeling more and more out of place. What if she sucked compared to these people? She’d never really had the chance to compare her skills so she had no idea if she was actually any good. And that was without mentioning that she didn’t know how to do any lifts, which was embarrassing for someone who’d been doing this for over a decade. 

This was definitively a mistake, and she should never ever let Camille convince her to do anything ever.

Just as she was considering making a run for it, a girl walked by her and broke her out of her thoughts. 

The girl was a bit taller than Sam, and very muscular. She had short black hair and seemed to walk with a unique grace, even amongst ballerinas. They made eye contact and Sam froze a bit under the intense stare. However, she quickly shook herself and looked around, but it seemed like the two of them were the only ones by themselves, as people had already separated into groups. Sam looked back to the girl and felt a sense of kinship, if only because she also clearly knew no one here. 

So, Sam offered the girl a small smile. After a second, when the girl only blinked in response, she started feeling foolish.

But then, the girl’s lips stretched up and mirrored Sam’s expression perfectly. Sam looked at her curiously, tilting her head, and the girl’s face shifted to match hers, her head matching Sam’s tilt. 

Unbidden, a giggle escaped Sam at the sight. The girl halted her copying to study the sound. 

Sam raised a hand to stifle the laughter before she spoke up.

"I’m Sam," she said. "It’s nice to meet you."

The girl’s eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Nice," she finally repeated.

Sam smiled again. 

Maybe this would be more fun than she’d thought.

[frownyalfred]

love all the tiktok folks following me on here because they saw a screenshot of one of my posts on some fuck ass Minecraft video and are shocked and horrified to find out that I’m one of those god awful “pro shippers” who doesn’t exclusively post about gen/platonic topics

[fansplaining]

Our June piece is live! 😎 Jay Castello reports on the Starsky & Hutch Fiction Archive—which has been archiving S&H fic for decades—and how the show's onscreen relationship has inspired relationships within the fandom, too:

The Starsky & Hutch Fiction Archive continues to grow, preserving stories about love 50 years after the pilot first introduced this special relationship to viewers. New Starsky & Hutch fics appear both there and on AO3 at least every few days. At SHareCon, fans in their 20s meet fans in their 80s; the former often tell Lisa that they were introduced to the show by their grandmothers. “I’m so inspired,” she says. “I would like to think it could be around for another 50 years.”

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version via the link above!

[theranilord]

Reading fan fiction releases a chemical in your brain that, like endorphins and dopamine, makes you feel super happy and oblivious to any emotional or mental anguish...

It's called Cope-ium.

[dxmianwaynesstuff]

i'm just speaking my truth

[lumenblou]

this was an arc right

[sofiadragon]

The Stars Rewound is becoming a Series!

Part 2 will be from Senkuu's POV, and I'm planning on it being a one-shot. The timeline of events in the anime from the end of the Grand Bout to Ruri taking Senkuu to the graveyard is a single evening and three days and a month all at once. Look, the show is fire and I'm in full brainrot mode, but that whole sequence of events makes no sense. They are still celebrating Senkuu becoming the chief of the village when Hyoga attacks for the first time, but it took a couple days to make the antibiotic, but also Ruri made a full recovery after first getting worse before she took him to the graveyard...

Obviously, they mixed up the timeline for drama, I get it, but it's so chopped up you might as well throw it in a wok with some egg and rice. I stretch things out and pull it like taffy to get it back into a somewhat linear state for my fic.

Also, I've been spelling it Senkuu because of my subtitles and the AO3 tags. Should I find and replace his name to remove the second u? Does anyone care about that?

Sneak peak below:

“Yeah?” Senkuu asked, keen to tear his thoughts away from long-ago things he couldn’t effect and talk strategy for the upcoming battle. "What does the ancient wisdom say we need for this war?” Gen affected a thinking pose, a fake serene look on his face. The old chief and Jasper clearly heard Senkuu and stood up to join them.

“Sieges are the worst, don’t do that ever because even if you take the town it won’t be worth the cost. Make opportunities to frustrate enemy plans, take their territory without fighting by breaking their spirits as much as possible. Treat prisoners well so that they will eventually join you gladly. If you dispute the loyalty the state inspires or the authority of the leader of the enemy empire then, without losing a man, you can be triumphant through strategy. Prepare well, and calculate your enemy’s strength carefully. Never fight when outmatched, flee if necessary, and press every advantage” Gen said, his tone light.

“Those are wise words,” Kokuyo said as he sat down.

“It’s advice as generic and free of detail as you can expect when someone didn’t study for the test,” Senkuu teased. Gen’s whole body shifted from his well-practiced affectations to an uncharacteristic steady seriousness. When he spoke it was obviously his natural voice, which was noticeably deeper and richer than what anyone was used to hearing from him.

“If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the outcome of battle. Right now we have an overwhelming information advantage, but that won’t last long. I won’t be able to maintain my cover much longer. That’s why I brought that big basket with me this time. I left nothing of any great value behind, only the blanket on my bed and enough odds and ends that it won’t be suspicious, but I really doubt that I will have my cover intact by the end of the first battle. The real trouble will be in giving orders. It will take time to get any messages across any distance, and we will have to use indirect tactics to beat their superior martial skill, so coordination between strike teams will be key. I may not be strong, but I can cover distance well. Ginro has similar endurance for swift and stealthy long distance travel. One well-aimed arrow would be the end of either of us, though, and I don’t know how Ukyo will take my defection. We’ve had some interesting conversations and I think he is unsettled by Tsukasa breaking living statues, but like most people he was dissatisfied with the old world and had troubles in his old life that Tsukasa has promised will no longer bother him under his rule. He’s a skilled archer, have I said that before? Even just me reporting what I know of Tsukasa’s Empire is so tedious and clunky, and I’ve already lost track of what I have and haven’t already said. You don’t know how many days ended with me wishing I could lounge in bed texting you instead of saving it all up for when I could safely visit.”

“A phone with a message app isn’t something we could easily make.” Senkuu couldn’t help the smile that crept over his face. He’d already been planning to fix the communication issue, but Gen came at it from a completely different angle than how he’d arrived at the idea. “I didn’t read the original book, but my old mentor was very military minded and I read a modernized version of The Art of War. I’d already planned to fix our communication issues, the road map is all drawn up back at the lab ready to go first thing tomorrow. We’re going to make a cell phone.” Senkuu took another bite of his meat. For a meal made without any spices, it was pretty good.

“What is a cell phone?” Chrome asked.

“What about guns, or maybe explosive artillery?” Gen asked, voice flat and Senkuu choked on his food. Did the silly clown man just request fucking howitzer? “I know, I know, I hate having to ask. I hate blood and violence, and I really don’t want anyone to die, but a show of force would make a lot of them stand down. If we pair that threat with enticing glimpses into the luxuries and comforts science can offer, we can have a classic carrot and stick approach. We wouldn’t need many, the katana should freak them out plenty, but if you had a sidearm I’d sleep better.”

“I can’t make a gun,” Senkuu said flatly.

“As… as a knowledge issue or a moral one?” Gen asked, his tone gentle. “I will respect it if you refuse to create something so easily misused. They were illegal for normal people to own for good reason.”

“Neither, it’s a resource issue. Firearms require black powder, which requires nitric acid, which is also the main ingredient of the revival fluid,” Senkuu said.

“That’s…” Gen looked up sharply, leaning back on his good arm. His voice was thick when he continued. “How poetic. The miracle that can restore life to the dead is also the scourge that can kill a man with the twitch of a finger.”

[tizeline]

you give me cass vibes. I wouldn’t be surprised if you became a finalist in the competition.

I'M GONNA EXPLODE

[treasureguardingdragon]

my art for @aroaceteagirl ‘s incredible fic!! this is my second @bbcmerlin-reversebang entry, and was so much fun to do!!

Summary:

When Arthur gets sent away by Uther to secure a treaty between Camelot and Tir-Mor, what should have been a normal diplomatic trip turns into more than Arthur could have expected.

Along the way, he learns valuable lessons about trust, friendship and the weight of duty.

LINK

here is some propaganda from me to make you read it:THE STORY THAT WAS CREATED HAS IT ALL- friendship, evil plots by evil people, the power of gossiping, friendship x2, arthur trying to be the best prince he can despite the entire world seemingly being against him, arthurs internal monologue consisting of endless compliments for merlin, friendship so magical that you’re absolutely certain they’re in a qpr and can knock down cities with the power of it, magic reveals, scheming (both evil and good. it’s possible), FRIENDSHIPPPP, the perspective of a merchant having their wares mocked by two idiots

CHECK OUT THEIR STORY HERE I PROMISE ITS AMAZING

[n-fblog]

Is anyone else a little bit surprised that Charles actually is blonde ? Or was it just me 💀 I was bracing myself for him to have green hair or smth

Regardless, he looks adorable

[wuntrum]

so grateful to have a partner that believes in me :')

[smal5504]

wow that really sucked everybody that episode really sucked i really hate pin for that everybody have a have a psaba ahaavasvasbshs hey everybody that was an epissoe wow everybody that was really a

i think earth should just explode rigjt now ithink the entire planet should just convinceiently explode right this second and kill the world and bfdia and they should just press the big red button right now this millisecond and deploy the nuke and obliterate the planet because i think it should happen right now and

i hate them and hate them and i hate them and hate them and hate them and i hate them and hate them and i hate pin and book and i hate