#I don't think I ship this alternate version of them; I still enjoy this bit of interaction

[lawleon]

Complete FuniFuni Collection!

After many years of hunting I was finally able to complete my FuniFuni collection! I almost never see these plushies discussed in comparison to Fumos so I thought I'd talk about what I understand about them since the Circle that made them, Phantasm Screen, seems to be completely defunct. The initial run of Reimu, Marisa, and Sanae first showed up in July 2009 and the most "recent" additions, Satori, Orin, Remilia, and Flandre first showed up in August 2010. The only record of legitimate online sales of these plushies I can find is an old entry on Melonbooks for the hanging strap version of Orin from 2010. Some evidence suggests they were sold on Toranoana and at IRL events as well. They were most likely distributed at a few more events and probably at IRL bookstore/doujin shops after the final set was made before the Circle closed up shop. I would reasonably expect that all of these plushies are roughly a decade old, and no more new ones have been made since then. As time has passed it has obviously become more difficult to find online auctions for some of these, you can still find auctions for Reimu, Marisa, and Sanae somewhat often, but the plushies released later don't show up as often since there were fewer distributions of them. The full sized version of Satori was particularly difficult for me to locate, I think I won the only auction for the full sized Satori plush I had seen in 5 years? (For the absurd price of $12 plus shipping.)

These plushies are smaller in comparison to Fumos.

In my opinion the Funis are generally a bit more detailed than Fumos. More fabric types are used, with a lot of the frills Touhou outfits are known for are made of lace on the Funis versus the satin ribbons that Fumos use.

Additionally, if you'll forgive me for talking about plushie tooshie, Fumos generally stick with the exact same basic design for the area where the plushie sits, but Funis are willing to go into detail even down to the footwear. The bloomers are modeled like actual clothing, and look at Satori's socks and house slippers!

Let's talk about tags. In a world with bootleg Fumos, the presence or absence of a visible tag was probably the first thing people attempting to obtain one were taught to look for. Scalpers are not trying to duplicate Funis for fat stacks of cash so whether or not a Funi has a tag is more of a personal preference, or for a feeling of reassurance. I was able to obtain 12/13 of my Funis with tags, pictured below. (Did you think I was going to let the absence of a tag prevent me from buying the only Satori I had seen in like 7 years?)

Anyways, I've been hunting these for a long time and I'm very happy to have completed my collection. If you also enjoy Touhou plushies and are annoyed/infuriated with the resale market Fumo prices, and a character you enjoy is available in the limited selection, consider a FuniFuni instead. They are a highly detailed alternative plushie that generally sell for a fraction of the price of a Fumo. If you're interested in picking up any of these cuties you'll have to hunt on auction sites, but with the existence of Buyee now making proxy services easily accessible to most people, it's easier to get Funis for decent prices from JP Yahoo Auction. If anyone else out there is hunting for these I do wish you luck. Anyways, I need to get back to being mad about the fact that there aren't any Shinmyoumaru plushies, or goods in general. See'ya around!

[imagoddamnonionmason]

Hey love! Hope you're having a great day! This is for the Oc couples ask game!

For Sarah Mason/Alex Mason (you know I love the masons hahaha) and Jodie/Woods (my favourite couple of yours!)

23, 40, 49

Hope you have a great day love! No pressure! 🧡🧡✨

Hello my dear!! It'll be a pleasure to answer these for ya!

Also yes, agreed, I have such a soft spot for the Masons and I got very happy that Frank and Jodie are your favourite couple of mine- put a smile on my face <3

Here we gooo!

Alex and Sarah Mason

23. who said 'I love you' first?

You know, I reckon it would have been Alex. Sarah would have held off, not wanting to rush headlong into her emotions because she's done that before and got burned and she really was smitten with him.

Part of her was like 'if I come on too strong, say I love you too quickly, it might scare him off and I don't want to do that because he's literally asdfghhjkl oh my god I am so in love him aaaaaaa'

But the shock on her face when he says it first, so naturally, like it was meant to be said to her, by him, like the stars aligned- DAMMIT. Yeah. He said it first and he meant it.

40. what is a song that reminds you of the OC's relationship?

cw: mention of death

(Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

Unfortunately, this couple's ends aren't great and death is deeply ingrained in their narrative - but this song is about embracing death because there is love waiting for you, just trust the process and you'll end up with those you belong with (or at least... that's what I get from it).

Like, it's a bittersweet song that reminds me of them - it's hard to explain the exact reasons why, other than just the vibe.

There's also another-

Where's My Love - Alternate Version by SYML

Again, it's sad... but their story is sad (despite the good bits yk?)

This song kinda reminds me of Alex and his feeling towards Sarah, especially when he loses her. Then... obviously with how Alex's story ends these lyrics hit me particularly 'if you bleed, I bleed the same, if you're scared, I'm on my way'.

I apologise in advance for the sadness.

I REALLY WISH I HAD HAPPY SONGS I ASSOCIATE WITH THIS COUPLE but apparently I'm a sad lil Goose. honks sadly.

49. Is there a word or gesture that makes either of them melt?

Ha ok, right- any. WAIT. No, I mean- OK BEAR WITH ME, I'm writing exactly how my thought process is working.

Any gesture will have Sarah melting - she enjoys PDA and she enjoys whenever Alex is touchy-feely with her. Hugs from behind, holding her hand, hand on her waist/lower back as he's moving behind her. If his hands are on her, she will melt.

For Alex? Whenever she cups his face in her hands. That has that man like putty in her hands and he is weak. It's also very grounding for him and it's associated with a lot of comfort for him.

Frank and Jodie

23. who said 'I love you' first?

Frank. I have a feeling that it's going to be blurted out in their first argument (this has been vaguely planned). I'm still figuring out the nuances of that argument and where exactly it takes place in their narrative, but yeah, it's that trope of 'why would you do that?' 'Because I lo-.... because.. I love you.. dammit.'

Cut to Jodie trying her best not to cry. Silently nods thinking to herself, 'how fucking dare you take the wind out of my sails with that sentence now I can't be mad at you and all I want to do is kiss you- UGH stupid handsome man-'

Yeah, I love these two. Why does writing take so long *sobs*

40. what is a song that reminds you of the OC's relationship?

Oh boy. Well, let's just say that I have a playlist for their 'canon' universe and then one for the pirate au and then one for the terminator au-

What I'm saying is there are a lot of songs and I found it difficult to find just one and also I have like... three versions of their ship floating around inside my head rent free lmao. But, these are two songs I tend to associate across the board with them.

Can I by Tedy

Simple, really, the lyrics are about someone asking if they can be vulnerable, if they can love and trust the other person. Literally the epitome of Jodie in the relationship.

But also,

I Was Made For Lovin' You by KISS

It's a feel good song, has cheeky vibes and I love it - I can't tell you when I started associating this song with them but... yeah, it's a good one and I can only think of them.

49. Is there a word or gesture that makes either of them melt?

When Jodie calls Frank 'darling'. She doesn't say it often, but damn, when she does he's gooey inside. And it's never just 'darling' it will always be 'Frank, darling'.

When Frank hugs her. She just melts. Like, not only because it's affection, but Frank's hugs can cure disease, Jodie is certain of it.

OH- a little spicy, maybe? But whenever Frank hugs Jodie from behind, slinking his arms around her waist and pulls her to him, he'll plant a kiss on her neck. He'll do it on purpose 'cause he knows how that simple gesture both causes her to fuckin' turn into a puddle. In more ways than one. Yeah... if he wanted bedroom eyes, then that's one way to achieve them.

If they were to have a tiff, that's a tactic he'll use to say sorry, too. All animosity would leave her body the second he does it lmao. Girl down bad and I don't blame her damn.

[eviltothecore13]

willsker (will/wesker I think?) and wenclair :3

Basically I STRONGLY headcanon that these two were in a relationship at some point, and while by the time canon starts Will is married to Annette (and I like that relationship and don't want to break it up or put actual cheating in there), Wesker and Will are still very close in a very queer way. And I alternate between yelling about how Wesker trusts Will with his life, going all "wait, technically, Wesker is the undead monster that Will the mad scientist reanimated", and writing silly ficlets with banter and Will complaining about the snow. (I haven't been through the whole ship tag in...a while...but I have done so, and there are some great ones in there but also still not enough, especially when we filter out the ones with Wesker characterisation that's very jarring to me, or the ones heavily based around cheating, and the ones where it's unrequited...)

I like their dynamic, I love how they grew closer over season 1, they're fun, I enjoy the ship... also saw a great post about the werewolf transformation+rescue scene paralleling Gomez rescuing Morticia in the first film, and there's also potential to contrast between Tyler (who transforms into a murderous monster--which would normally be something Wednesday would be into--but who kills people for motivations based in bigotry/resentment of a marginalised group and/or following orders from a bigot--very much not an Addams thing) vs Enid (who transforms into a much cooler monster and beats Tyler in a fight, and does it to protect someone she cares about, which is far more Addams)...

But at the same time, while they're compatible in some ways (Enid being kind and accepting for the most part towards Wednesday, and Wednesday encouraging Enid to stand up for herself more) and certainly have a great friendship by the end of s1, when it comes to them ending up in a long-term romantic relationship... there's definitely content I enjoy and if it happened in canon I'd be very happy about it, but I'm not 100% sure how much I definitively ship it yet. Their interests are very different, so when they're not investigating a murder I do wonder just what they'd do together. And I can also see the argument for it being a qpr rather than romantic. When it comes to my own fics, I still don't know if I want Wednesday to end up in a romantic relationship with Enid, in a qpr with Enid, with Joel, married to Lucas from the musical, married to a genderswapped version of Lucas from the musical, or what, and I'm just waiting to see how future seasons of the show develop things.

I'm also a bit...eh...about the insistence from some corners of the fandom that if they don't get together it's inherently queerbaiting (I think it would at this point be queerbaiting if they were both depicted as definitively straight and forced into boring straight relationships, and I am concerned about the possibility of that, but there are lots of ways to depict one or both as queer even without the two of them ending up in a definitively canon romantic relationship), and I'm outright uncomfortable with the "they MUST both be lesbians, if they're not both lesbians this show SUCKS AND IS HOMOPHOBIC, Wednesday could DEFINITELY never be into MEN I mean look at her she is OBVIOUSLY a lesbian and if you think otherwise you're wrong" I've occasionally encountered because like...bi people exist and depicting a character as bi isn't homophobic or "less representation" than her being a lesbian. And if anything there's more evidence in canon for Wednesday being bi than there is for her being either exclusively gay or straight (not that I really see any Addams as straight), since she's definitely interested in boys in various other adaptations but some productions of the musical have made her also into girls. The idea that she cannot be bi or it would be homophobic for her to be bi is just really uncomfortable to me.

Anyway it's a ship with great potential but also not one I'm insistent on as the only good option for her?

[versadies]

i found your fic "evermore" by chance, and golly, i hope you don't mind me spilling everything about it.

now to clarify...i am someone who's distant with genshin impact (as in, ive put a ton of hours into it, played it an launch even!) but due to the overwhelming fandom and hoyo being....like that, I haven't been able to get into it with good feelings. its still a fun game, despite it all.

so when I got into your fic, I had....how do you say.... less attachment to the characters. I didn't think much of ayato, since his banner started when I quit playing. but I was intrigued with the plot! I'm super familiar with angst! I thought to myself, this will be a fun read.

and....quite frankly...your fic made really invested in these characters. I could feel the reader's pain reminiscing their time with ayato, the small dips and feels with diluc, how thoma has been pining for them this whole time- a very fresh, very interesting perspective to these characters, in a scenario that you couldn't see ingame.

while i expected the "im in a arranged marriage" plot with ayato, I certainty didnt see the twist with diluc! I can see why you said he wasn't leading on, and the revelation makes a bit more sense with ayato's comment of "the wind is going strong" because not only there were rumors, but the fact that those rumors could've reached jean before she could arrive. it would've been messy if she knew, right?

although...on that note, I might be misremembering on my part, but everyone else seems to be...pushing? or rather, interested with how diluc and the reader's relationship. rather than feeling he was leading us on, it was rather you who "lead us on" (im putting this in quotation marks bc i dont like the connotation of the word) which is why I can understand people feeling disappointed because it wasn't clear, even if there was shifts into diluc's pov- why hasn't there been an instance of him thinking about her? i think something like that would better ease in the readers about the ship, but also, since you never mentioned diluc's plus one, i assume this was the road you wanted to take- which isn't bad at all! i respect your decision, and im amazed you went through with it, even if it can cause backlash. many respects for you, even moreso you were willing to write an alternative version.

anyways, all in all, amazing fic. I cant wait to see what's next on the board. maybe more angst? haha!

hii !! this is such a late response so you probably thought i ignored this ask, but im not one to ignore ppl’s thoughts on my fics sooo here’s my response :DDD !!

im glad evermore managed to bring you attachment to the characters and how you enjoyed the things evermore has <333 there was acc a few more “hints” (i wouldnt consider these hints seeing how it doesnt hint the fact that diluc is engaged, but rather there’s something secretive about him) i put in some chapters — as for the shifts where the pov is on diluc, ig thats for you to find out in chapter 14 🤫🤫🤫

but overall, it was my bad that i lead you guys on in hopes in hiding the secret plot twist 😣😣 i didnt consider the fact that doing so would lead ppl to be very disappointed so i apologize for that 🙏🙏 thanks for respecting my decision and for staying until this series ends, i hope youll enjoy what’s to come for the future chapters <333

[diminuel]

Late to the game but 16, 30, and 37 if you're still playing Fic Writer Questions! ❤

Yes, I'm still playing! :DD I just finished a task and am taking a break before tackling the next, so this is very welcome! ♥

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

So many! I am very partial to I'd say three tropes that are always a win for me: arranged marriage AUs, especially if there's an element of danger involved that needs to be overcome (their marriage might be arranged, but they got to work for their relationship), "post apocalyptic" AUs focusing not on the major apocalyptic event but the aftermath, the rebuilding efforts in particular (so EndVerse AU once the threat is gone for example? Would love that. I think it's about community and hope after disaster that attracts me.) And of course, last but not least; coffee shop AU where you least expect it - take a random trope and throw a coffee shop in it. They're pirates on the high sea, but then they come across a coffee shop ship, that's just hanging out. Deserted island? No there's a coffee shop called "Desserted" on it. Stuff like that. I just enjoy a bit of silly fun with genre and expectations~)

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Hm, no, I don't think so. I'm a bit of a comfort seeker when writing, I think, even though I enjoy torment. There are uncomfortable topics I deal with IRL that I work through with fanfic, but there are certain things that I dare not approach explicitly. (One example: I am autistic but I wouldn’t dare to write a fic that centers a character’s autism or is tagged as such.) However, the story I hope to write soon will tackle two things that are out of my comfort zone and I'm curious to see how it'll go. :D

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

Oooh. I don't actually know. I write niche stuff and taking that into account my fics are relatively well received (and those that weren't I'm not sure I would call them underrated *lol*)

One of my faves that is pretty niche but I still think of fondly is "Black Dove", my first DCBB and the one I poured the most work into, even though it might not be obvious when reading ;3 I like that it's a case fic, set in canon and picking up on an "updated" (deteriorated if that's even possible) end Verse situation. I used this fic to work through my issues with season 6. I think if I made certain changes then it would have been better received! (Cas doesn't have to shape shift into a female version for the fic to work. I could have easily cut that out. I was just too drunk on my power and wanted to add it *lol*) One of the things I like the most in the fic is Frank ;D And one of the things I like the least is its open end. It’s generally pretty bleak for the characters that Dean leaves behind in the alternative 2014. I wanted to go back to this fic and write the "fix it" second part for years but never did.

I would love to rewrite/ edit this story, but I'm not sure how to go about it because the original version is also good, just... very 2012 me. If anyone has any advice on how to tackle making “editions” of your work, let me know! Do you just edit? Do you tell your readers that you’re going to be making extensive edits so they should save a version of the fic as it is if they want to? Hm hm hm.

Thank you for providing this interesting distraction! If anyone else wants to give me something to look forward to while I edit my cover letter for a scholarship application, be my guest! (The cover letter is 3 pages long, much of it is a mess. I want it to be one page. Can it be done? We'll see!)

(Ask game)

[babyrdie]

since the ff ships theme has been introduced what do you think of artemis x callisto? it's a bit controversial

Firstly, I thought it was funny to get this ask because I have an Artemis WIP (because of other ask)!

Secondly, I admit that I don't really care. I don't shipp them because toxic relationships are usually not my vibe, but I don't really care about the interpretation of them as a couple. I don't mind toxic shipps, what bothers me is when people try to pretend said shipp isn't toxic.

This has been a controversy for years, although I don't know if it's a popular topic on Tumblr since I admit I don't research myths involving deities here and therefore don't see what people say (but it used to be a topic I saw being talked about way back in 2015 I think. But…it was on Amino). I know it's controversial because it's a mess of relationship, after all Callisto was raped and depending on the version Artemis has a horrible reaction (depending on the version, Artemis was deceived). And that's why there can be such a shock when seeing them being portrayed from an LGBT perspective, often people even think "wow, but why are LGBT shipps like that?" And I actually understand that reaction (this relationship was really bad), but at the same time I think it's a really superficial thought if you're an adult (idk if this is a hot take).

Yes, it's undeniably toxic, but I see people surprised that they're portrayed by some as a couple or as if the people who do this always don't understand that they're toxic and to me that surprise is funny. I don't understand why it's shocking to discover that LGBT people also enjoy consuming interpretations of toxic relationships. As if this had been going on for so many years! Would people be shocked by the content of the acclaimed Dorian Gray? Are people aware that Carmilla and Laura are a popular couple? Has anyone watched the cartoons with LGBT characters in focus? Because even in these children's cartoons there are portrayals of toxic relationships. Has no one followed LGBT people in fandom who write fanfics and draw fanart with toxic dynamics as a theme? Why is this so "wow" like it's something rare?

Being so completely uncomfortable with any possibility of exploring toxic LGBT relationships seems to me simply to be an attempt to sanitize LGBT existence, as if, for example, sapphic relationships were always healthy. But they aren't, and demonstrating this in the media isn't wrong. There is abuse and toxicity in sapphic relationships as in other types of relationships because in the end it's still a relationship composed of two people, often this violence even has a social issue and it shouldn't be hidden. Showing this isn't wrong, it's exploring a reality. I think there are ways of approaching that may not be the best choice, but the theme itself is valid (for example, I've seen people talk about Artemis x Callisto as an example of a cute relationship, and yes, in that case it's really stupid. It's not cute, there's no point pretending it is. When they're just a cute shipp, then I think it's kind of a waste of theme). Wanting to erase toxic representations of the LGBT experience sounds to me like trying to sanitize too much, as if such relationships should always be portrayed positively to the general public because there is a need to prove that these relationships deserve respect, and how will this be proven through toxic relationships? As if in the end nothing was created for the consumption of other LGBT people, but only for the lens of society and, therefore, it's always necessary to think about how society will see this. Because you need to be a “model minority” to be "respected".

You DON'T have to like consuming media that portray toxic relationships, it's your right! I actually much prefer healthy couples, I won't lie. And if you're an LGBT person, it's also completely understandable that you want to see a better alternative reality in fiction. No toxic relationships, no prejudice, no nothing. It’s understandable, I don’t think it’s wrong. What I find wrong is this behavior that some people have, especially people who aren't even LGBT, of "I'm better than you because I recognize that this is toxic and I would never shipp something toxic" (I see this especially happening in Japanese media fandoms. I don't think it's common among Greek mythology enthusiasts…at least I don't see it). Especially it's more frustrating when you see that these people are willing to like content about toxic straight couples, but when it comes to LGBT couples, you have to be healthy (I'm talking in general, not just this shipp in specific).

Anyway, I don't shipp them for the following reasons:

I don't feel connected to the divine characters in Greek mythology, so it's difficult for me to shipp things with divine characters. Especially if they are greater gods like Olympians, then it is even more difficult for me to connect compared to nymphs.

Particularly, I interpreted that Artemis simply had no interest and Callisto's feeling was unrequited. To me, Artemis has no interest in relationships of this kind, and Callisto was the only sapphic of them.

Despite my defense of toxic representation, I'm part of into the group of people whose shipps are mainly healthy, so super toxic couples don't usually attract me. This, as I've already shown here, doesn't mean that I mind when other people are interested in it.

And yes, I think it's a waste to just make them a cute, wholesome couple. Like, come on! You have an opportunity to explore something different, why change everything for that?

Also, Artemis is a goddess, she isn't really a woman. She isn't supposed to act the way a mortal woman like us would act.

[the-firebird69]

Mystical air powered motorcycle

With two high pressure steel canisters about the size he's holding but that's aluminum you need to go steel he could probably go 40 miles you can add a third on top and go about 60 it's a bicycle it's very light and the guy looks heavy but if you had a 150 lb person to go about 70 miles with two tanks and about 150 with three cuz you lose weight with the tanks deplete but that's high strength steel that's 5,000 PSI it's dangerous and the average about 20 miles an hour the way it's got set up just simply put gears in the back and you go about 80 on compressed air and you can compress the air using water wheel it makes a little noise but not too much when you're on your way and he's thinking of it but it's not really practical and it costs a lot of money and the way he's made it the plastic it's going to break pretty soon but he said what if I use the compressor would it be more efficient than other motors in the sun says and compressor can be gas or electric we did the calculations and compressed air takes more energy than a regular motor you'd be running a compressor Non-Stop and it takes a lot of power so he started thinking about it compressed air is not really that good and it's not but it does work and to make a compressor out of water wheel which it looks like you do does work and you want to deliver these tanks and we understand that and it will get you pretty far on a bicycle unfortunately it's illegal because it's still a motor and we see what you're trying to do but they got onto it with the electric motor and the most revolutionary thing you can do is make a pas level 3 two or one you can change the levels manually and you can do that with electronics it's a bigger control box and just have a switch and you can pull the cops by making a blank or a black spot on the three or what have you but really three is legal most places and take the small battery and a high performance alternator and you run the motor on the alternator and you run the right voltage and the right current and you put in a voltage regulator just like in a car and you can make it look like an e-bike and you can go indefinitely and the speeds would be incredible if you bypass your system and you can simply put a button on there or a key and it'll be like an emergency bypass but you don't have to tell anybody and you can go very fast on our son's Big e bike with that system in a thousand Watts hooked up to the mid drive he'll go about 85 miles an hour indefinitely from here to Tampa and it would take 3 hours at 85 now he'll be gone about 60 but he can get up there and if you're riding along and you see a cop just slow down and they can't tell how fast you're going most of the time and it's hard to get a reflection off a bicyclist it's a good idea and you need to attack and Max say you can't use it and when if you had that you could do your stupid idea with two batteries carry the spare is a tank and just put a different one on that's empty as a blood box glove box and giving these ideas out because we need the stuff

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues Hera

His friend on the big ones high performance and Hera says that it could be modified to have real brakes and high performance tires and rims and hubs without too much trouble and it's true he put on a motorcycle version that are light and they make them and there you have it and people can do that and it's very hard to tell and the tires would be a little bit thinner about three and a half and you'd move real fast

Thor Freya

I said a lot of the above but I get what you're saying and they are gearing up and the three billion have not moved yet they are being attacked and it's drawing in more ships to oppose them there's about 7 or 9 billion ships opposing them just in case and they heard us

Hera

That's good news I was a little worried because they are getting a little odd and desperate in the times are calling for it because of the announcement of the max and if they overwhelm them it'll be too late to stop them and we need it on the interior too

Zues

We have gotten to that and we do have systems in place we do hear what you're saying

Thor Freya

We're closely monitoring them they're going to be working closely together at any time could you align and that would be a problem and it's Mac Daddy his style it is dangerous and we are we're prepping for it

Olympus

[mcfiddlestan]

Ship it/Don't ship it Ask Game:

Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanoff

Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark

Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanoff

Don't Ship It

I like them as besties, and I know they're canonically romantically involved, but I have a very weird reason for not shipping it. I blame being a Scorpio because Scorpios have notorious jealous streaks. LOL. I wasn't jealous of Natasha! It's just that I really dislike her portrayal by ScarJo (plus I downright don't like ScarJo for a myriad of reasons) but I had a partner that RP'd Bucky and liked having multiverse versions of him and he was often romantically involved with a different person in each one. I RP'd a Loki in one of those verses, but I had a hard time dealing with the other versions, especially the Natasha one. Probably because that RP was super important to me; we literally fell in love while writing Bucky and Loki falling in love. So I was kind of possessive of him. My partner didn't feel the same and was very verbally affectionate with their other writing partners. And even after I shared that I didn't particularly like that ship, they continued to kind of shove it in my face. So I grew to kind of hate the ship. I don't hate it now, but I still don't ship it.

What would have made you like it?

I'd probably enjoy it if it was a different actress in the role of Natasha. Bc I have seen some of the comic panels and I do like some of the SLs they had going on in the comics.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Despite not shipping it, I've still inserted it into some of my fics. Well, two of them. In Don't Think I Don't Think About It, Loki and Tony rekindle their romance at Bucky and Natasha's wedding. I needed to write a couple getting married and I didn't want to use Steve and Peggy or Thor and Jane/Sif again. So I used Bucky and Natasha. In another, Black Light Special, I had them as a past relationship, making it hard for Clint to accept Steve's request that Bucky move into the Tower. I guess I don't mind thinking of them as exes. I just prefer Natasha with Clint (and in one WIP with Sam...for a while) and I prefer Bucky with Loki, Steve, or Tony.

Bucky/Tony

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Same as most of the ships I ship -- RP'ing. My ex-partner and I Rp'd a lot lol. But we did alternative versions. I don't remember who they had as Bucky (but it wasn't Sebastian) but I had Jared Leto as my Tony. There's just so much to explore with them emotionally and, if you're doing basic canon, their intertwined backgrounds. I mean, can you imagine being in love with the man responsible for making you an orphan?

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Similar reasons I love Frostiron probably, i.e. sarcasm and smarts. But also, there's a bond there over shared trauma. They were both forced to endure body mutilation they didn't consent to -- Bucky's arm, Tony's reactor. Guilt over the number of lives destroyed by their hand -- Bucky as the Winter Soldier, Tony as the "Merchant of Death." They both suffer from PTSD, but they also both keep trying to redeem themselves and put themselves on the line to get that redemption. Both joined the fight in Infinity War even though they'd found some semblance of peace.

On the more positive side, they're both science nerds. I've always thought Bucky had a bit of the amateur mechanic in him with a love of cars -- especially the beauties from the 1930s and 40s -- and Tony would be eager to show off his collection and maybe fix up a car or two with Bucky. Plus, there would be time spent nerding out over Bucky's arm, in Tony's case anyway.

I just think there's a lot there to provide both angst and feels.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Mmm...I don't think so.

Thanks for asking!

[riddlememix]

And here we have what are arguably the two most brilliant minds in Gotham duking it out with canes and pistols.

I sure know how to pick 'em!

[almightyrozenidiot]

*points at you* akira & ryuji for the ask game if u want :)

I'm gonna put everything under a read more so I don't clog up people's dashes.

describe their canon relationship/dynamic

Canonically they're best friends. It's not so prevalent in Persona 3 but definitely in Persona 4, there's a tradition of having the first human male character the Wild Card protag meets be their bestie and confidant. They're usually a bit of an outcast that could fit in with society/a friend group but for one reason or another, has lost their place in it. Whatever happens, they are "second banana". They're a bit of a jokester but not to the extent they and the protag are a manzai comedy duo (but they should be). At the end of the day, they will be there by the protag's side through thick and thin.

your ideal/headcanon version of it? how does it differ from how it is in canon & why is this your favorite version? any other alternate versions of it you enjoy?

I don't think my ideal version of it really differs that much from canon? They're just two dudes who happen to be dating to me. I guess in my head they get up to more wackier hijinks and Joker is willing to carry Ryuji around more.

what do you like about their relationship, why is it interesting or enjoyable to you?

I know I go on a lot about how LGBTQ+ relationships should be allowed to be messy and complicated, but that doesn't mean I can enjoy a simple, cute ship from time to time. And these two fit that niche for me. I mean they're still morally grey and do crimes and shit but compared to, say, Akeshu or even Ryugoro, they are homies that kiss and do crimes.

what about the individual characters involved? what does this relationship mean to them, what makes it unique among their relationships?

Ryuji was one of the first people that didn't immediately go ballistic at Joker for being arrested, which is the key to their relationship - platonic or otherwise. They're also in a similar position of wanting someone to stop lauding other others by abusing their power for personal benefit, but lacking the means to achieve it, so even if he doesn't outright state it, Ryuji is one of the first people Joker would go ride or die with. Also I think what's interesting is when Ryuji gets a bit drunk off of the popularity of the PT, Joker seems hesitant to tell Ryuji to calm down (at least afaik). Whether it's because he's scared of the consequences of deflating Ryuji's enthusiasm and putting a wrench in their friendship or because he trusts Ryuji will see eye to eye with him is juicy either way.

Joker is the catalyst for Ryuji's life changing and looking better. Like it's very clear he wants to do something about his situation but every time he tries something he goes about it the wrong way and it never works out for him. Also from Ryuji's confidant and after the Kamoshida incident, you can tell he's learned from the whole ordeal and while he is still a bit brash in his methods, he knows he can make a change as long as Joker is there for him in some capacity. This comes full circle when he risks his life to lower the lifeboat when Shido's Palace is collapsing because he built up confidence from all of his experiences - none of which would have come to be if Joker didn't give so much of himself to make all this happen to begin with. Also also I forget the line in question but when Ryuji is like "wherever I am with you is when I'm at home"... I am actually physically tearing up typing this aaaaaaaaaaa

Even if he takes his safety of being anonymous as a Phantom Thief for granted when shit hits the fan around Sae's Palace, never once does he take Joker for granted. He's just as angry when he learns about Joker's circumstances and is willing to do anything to make Shido pay.

favorite interaction they have in canon

I think I pretty much described it with the line that I don't properly remember due to my shit memory lmao. I'm also a fan of Joker and Ryuji's awakenings because they mirror each other in how helpless they both felt but were able to turn a dire situation around and protect each other.

favorite interaction they have in your head/a situation you want to put them in

I just like imagining them hanging out and doing mundane shit in my head. I like imagining this meme with a lot of my otps but in this case, the third wheel is either Ann or Morgana. Morgana more often than not (just imagine there's a table or something IDK).

[klug]

lemres, and rafially, for the ask memes you rb'd last night

Lemres

Sexuality Headcanon: Not sure honestly! Gender Headcanon: I've been seeing transfem Lemres floating around lately and I kind of love it especially considering his backstory A ship I have with said character: I do not...have one this is very funny. he's just kind of hanging out. A BROTP I have with said character: Lemres and Aya :)))))) For headcanon reasons A NOTP I have with said character: Lemres/Accord because that's. A thing in some circles. Not only do I not vibe with it for personal HC reasons but just their relationship still feels very teacher/student A random headcanon: Related to above: Him and Accord are distantly related and share the same ancestor. There's a lot of bad blood between her family and his, but he feels like she understands him better than his own family does and she offered him a safe space when he was in the process of getting away from his parents. Lemres is an only child so he didn't really have people to rely on but he met Accord at a big family meeting and he started to secretly see her to vent about his home life and not wanting to be a dark magician anymore lol General Opinion over said character: Overrated but I still have a soft spot for him, I wish people wouldn't insist that he's extremely deep/well-written when I think a part of Lem's character is him trying to kind of escape that spotlight. (wow a lot of puyo characters really just wanna be normal huh)

RafiAlly/AllySol

describe their canon relationship/dynamic

In canon there probably is not much unless you squint. I know Ally is a cardboard box to most people but I think her philosophy on love and how she still extends her friendship/affection to Rafisol in spite of how Rafisol hurt her is really important... Especially since Rafisol is pretty fatalistic and can't perceive herself as being capable of loving or receiving love because of what she was "designed" to do. It's not necessarily romantic and while I lean towards romantic interpretations of Ally/Rafisol I think they also make great platonic partners lol

your ideal/headcanon version of it? how does it differ from how it is in canon & why is this your favorite version? any other alternate versions of it you enjoy?

LOL well. My headcanons for puyo always go off the walls but I prefer thinking of Ally as being someone who also struggles to understand love and feels a bit out of place because she's never really had friends. Tying in the whole idea that Ally was the original hero of the book she was in, I think there's a disconnect Ally feels towards herself and like other inhabitants of her world that she's never really been able to explain that only became larger after Satan rewrote her story to fit his needs... Conversely I haven't though much about Rafisol's past or why she was born from the pendant of luwa, I think because I don't think that's necessarily important for Ally to know or forgive because that's in Rafisol's past and Rafisol in the present now is trying to learn how to exist outside of the "purpose" she believes she was given... I really like thinking of Ally delving more into her philosophies of love and why that matters to her as a hero, even if she doesn't realize it herself, and Rafisol learning about accepting it and learning that it's a two-way street that involves both parties giving/receiving soemthing from each other. I don't really know any other versions besides my own, lol, I don't see many people shipping them together (I see more people insisting they're canonically related which? confuses me.)

what do you like about their relationship, why is it interesting or enjoyable to you?

I like Rafisol. I like Ally. I think it's enough for me to just Like them and want to do something with them. I think they were underutilized in their games, and I'm mad constantly that chronicle did not have a proper writing team. Rafisol's an interesting villain and god I've been through so many fantasy scenarios in my head where I rewrite chronicle's plot and give it more meat, because I think they deserve it. Anyway I think also the whole idea of becoming human and connecting to others is just soemthing that innately appeals to me (looks at Aya) so I got really invested in their relationship following Rafisol's master quest

what about the individual characters involved? what does this relationship mean to them, what makes it unique among their relationships?

I think for Rafisol specifically Ally is like, just something she never imagined could happen to her since she's spent her entire life assuming and believing she was evil and only designed to destroy things to sustain her existence. For Ally I think Rafisol is someone that can finally be a companion to her on her adventures and

favorite interaction they have in canon

That one Valentine PPQ manzai I helped to TL where Rafisol's wondering what love means to her and she just, remembers all the different Ally alts talking about love. And freaking out because she still doesn't get it.

favorite interaction they have in your head/a situation you want to put them in

Really want to work on my rewrite where Rafisol is a more active antagonist that uses the power of the villages' stars to try and break free of the fictional confines of their storybook and get into the real world where she can destroy things LOL. This is probably a bit of a spin on Septem on Dies (the latter specifically) from Arle no Bouken but I think chronicle was a weird half-reference to that game anyway. I think Ally being more explicit about remembering she's the hero would also be cool, since that seems to have gone over most people's heads and it bothers me. A lot. Anyway in this scenario they have a slightly more dramatic confrontation than the one in game. (Playing around w/ the idea that Ally sealed herself within the book alongside Rafisol to protect the world and how Satan's rewrite weakened the seal... but I feel like that might be...drawing too much from my personal interests?)

[kitkatopinions]

🌹💚💤💦💣 :3c

Ship that you have as an OTP: 🌹

Ironwood x Qrow is probably my top ship in RWBY, but I wound up loving Mercury x Whitley too, which sucks, because it's so niche. XD And also, lately, I've been torn between Freezerburn and Weiss x Pyrrha as my top Weiss ship. I can't decide which one I like more.

Ship that you secretly like: 💚

Okay, so I haven't talked about this, and I really hope the RWBY fandom doesn't kill me for it, but I've started to like the idea of AU-Only Blake and Adam. I absolutely hated this ship in any context for a very long time and it made me feel uncomfortable to see it even in AUs and re-writes. But while I was trying to think about what I'd do with a re-write, I started to enjoy my version of Adam (who I would drastically change and probably redeem at least a little bit,) and enjoy the possibility of him and Blake's dynamic including their romantic past. It's still one of my least favorite canon ships though.

Also one of the early ships in RWBY that I enjoyed that I've never really stopped liking the concept of is Yang x Neptune. It's not in the list of my favorite ships for either character, but I actually really enjoyed their working together scenes in volume 2, and I thought they could've been good together.

Ship that is canon but you don’t ship: 💤

Renora is the only ship that has reciprocated feelings on both sides that is canon that I don't like, I think. I used to love it, but I hate how it was done in V7 and V8 so much that it's colored how I view even their interactions in the earlier seasons. Also, I don't think Harriet and Clover is quite canon, but I absolutely think this ship on its own is badly done in the show, and not enjoyable at all for me even outside of it. I don't mind Harriet x Clover if Marrow is thrown in there as a poly ship, but on its own, I really don't like this ship.

Ship that is taboo: 💦

Outside of the already mentioned Alternate Universe Only Blake x Adam, I don't actually have very many ships that I like that I would consider taboo. Before anyone knew Neo's official age, I thought she and Ruby might be cute together if she turned out to be around the same age as Weiss, Yang, and Blake, but I never really got into it. Most of the ships I like that are policed are only policed in this fandom. Like Oscar x Whitley would be considered 'taboo' by some members of the fandom who think Oz being in Oscar's head means Oscar can never have crushes on people. And Mercury x Whitley would be considered 'taboo' since Mercury is probably nineteen in canon and Whitley is 'anywhere from fourteen to sixteen' in the show, despite the fact that my sister and I started shipping the two of them after A. having been writing for the characters to have started the show at sixteen the entire time because MKEK hate timelines, B. having already headcanoned Mercury as actually fifteen at the start of the show, Cinder having had him lie about his age to get into Beacon. And C. Us having written volumes 4-6 to only take up a logical time period of *less than a year,* landing Merc at just sixteen to Whitley's assigned fifteen by the time we had them meet. Also, I've started liking the idea of Elderburn, Marrow x Jaune, and Marrow x Weiss even though not really in canon and only in fanworks, and I still have no idea how old Neo is supposed to be and I only know she's an adult, but I honestly don't hate the idea of her with Emerald. Shipping 'ambiguously young adults' with nineteen year olds is only taboo in this fandom, I swear.

Ship that pisses you off: 💣

I've already talked at length in other posts about my severe dislike of Blake x Yang as a ship and my newfound dislike of Renora, so... Here are the other ships that piss me off. Cardin x Velvet. I get that people change him for re-writers, but this ship still makes me feel even worse than Blake x Adam ever did, because of how horrible he was specifically regarding her Faunus traits. Anything that's Jaune with more than one woman at a time or Jaune with any of the villain women. The Jaune Harem writers ruined even the concept for me. Qrow x Summer doesn't always piss me off, but if I see it in a 'and that's why Qrow is Ruby's dad' context, that instantly takes me from 'not my cup of tea but cute enough' and into 'I should block this tag' territory. Robyn and Qrow is a ship that I absolutely hate. I can only stand Salem x Oz when it's 'in the past she used to be better,' but most of the time, this ship makes me want to kick something into the sun. Honestly, most Cinder ships, but especially Emerald x Cinder and Neo x Cinder. Hazel x Oz is the worst. Scarlet x Sun or Scarlet x Neptune (both boys deserve better than Scarlet.) Umm... Oh, definitely Coco x Velvet. I'm sure the ship can be done well in fanworks, but boy howdy I hate it so much especially in canon. I have my problems with Velvet in the books, but she deserves so much better than Coco. I would pair her with Nora, Ruby, Blake, Sun, May, Octavia her temporary partner in Before the Dawn (I never read After the Fall, so if Octavia is worse in that book, I don't know about it,) or pretty much anyone else before I would ship her with Coco. Oh, another one that I really don't like is Robyn x Any of the Happy Huntresses, but I especially hate Robyn x All of the Happy Huntresses. They all deserve better.

Thanks for the asks! <3

[orionsangel86]

100% agree on the selfcest, like

Marvel don't have the balls

They're don't have gay people because they're afraid of backlash, you really think selfcest is the way they're going to go????

Things I wanna know:

WHERE IS B-15 MY BELOVED

They??? Kidnapped an CHILD??? how the fuck did a child step out of your ridiculously drawn boundaries??

Of course they were androids, can't be that easy to contact them. That basically means that Ravonne(?) was in charge. Get the truth out of her, Sylvie

Actually, does this mean that "Time Keepers" don't exist at all?? And this is all a play by a mortal Man™ to keep Order™? A Thanos 2.0?

Fuckin' KNEW pruning wasn't death. Like FIRST of all - pruning? Weird name and in Gardening doesn't it mean to cut away the extra leaves to allow new growth? That doesn't mean the cut part of the plant is dead

What do you think that place is? Also, can't believe they Wandavision and didn't bhage mid credit scenes until EP 4

Ahhh I've only just seen this ask and OOooh I have sooo many of the same thoughts here!

On the selfcest - I don't think using their lack of gay people is actually a great argument against them going for it. Remember that this is selfcest between a man and a woman (well, a male presenting and female presenting Loki anyway which means straight people get to look at them and consider it "normal")

I actually totally think Marvel WOULD choose selfcest between a male and female presenting Loki over any "gay stuff" because I just think Disney are that nasty.

Remember how in Supernatural The CW signed off on Dean textually showing sexual attraction to a DOG (which was very clearly shown to be a female dog) and yet threw a MASSIVE homophobic hissy fit when the show tried to imply he reciprocated Cas's gay feelings to the extent that they totally butchered and ruined the plot of the last two episodes of the show to cover up the gay?

These networks are more willing to support the concept of bestiality between male and female presenting different species than explicitly gay scenes between two consenting men (Looking at you Beauty and the Beast)

So yeah, I would totally believe that Disney would choose the path of "heterosexual appearing" selfcest over anything remotely gay

(yes I know that Loki being attracted to women doesn't make him heterosexual yes I know bierasure is a very real problem and as an actual real life bisexual person I am well aware of this but do NOT give Disney this pass okay.)

That being said, whilst I totally think Disney WOULD choose this route over say, canon romance between Loki and Mobius, I still don't think Loki and Silvie will be a thing. Mobius even called it out in the episode as being twisted and nasty (it IS guys even if you think it's in character for Loki, it's just weird and icky...) so I think it's a misdirect. Its basically this:

"I have feelings for you!"

"I have feelings for you too!"

Narrator: "The feeling was friendship, but neither of them had ever experienced it before."

Anyways, enough about the selfcest!

1. B-15 IS GONNA KICK ASS AND BE AMAZING

2. Oh I actually think there is gonna be a good explanation for that based on Ravonna's refusal to tell Sylvie what the reason was. (Still think maybe it has something to do with the fact that Sylvie isn't actually a Loki? (Please Disney, if you are going for the Loki/Sylvie love pairing route at LEAST reveal her to NOT be a Loki but the Enchantress instead! THAT would make sense!!!)) Otherwise it's probably going to be because she was a GOOD Loki. Like, a Loki who was raised with love and knew who she was and was growing up to make good choices and be a good person and that just didn't fit the timekeepers narrative (which actually makes the whole child abduction thing even worse...)

3. Yeah the time keepers being fake seemed a bit obvious to me, but I still don't think its Ravonna who is in charge. I think it's gonna be a wizard of Oz type situation where it's just some man with an over inflated ego in charge of the whole thing. I've heard rumours about a dude called Kang? But I don't know enough about the comics to really going into any further detail about that.

4. OMG that is such a great point about pruning. You prune plants to keep them neat and growing the way you want them to rather than leaving them to just grow crazy and chaotically the way nature intended. The point is that pruning is a form of control which is technically against nature. But you're right that the pruned pieces aren't dead technically, you can prune, propagate, and regrow.

I think that place is gonna be some sort of dumping ground for all pruned things, both pruned people, and the items on the timeline that were "reset". So you know how young Sylvie was playing with the toy ship? They took Sylvie, and "reset" the timeline which caused the toys to disappear. I think the toys will also be in this place that Loki is now in with all his alternate versions. It's gonna be like a weird pocket dimension or something.

I was so annoyed about that midcredit scene lol! I wasn't expecting it so just stopped watching when the credits first rolled and didn't know Loki came back at first! It was only when I saw people talking about it on here that I was like wait a sec... and went back and watched it! Urgh! What a sneaky trick!!! Lol!

Aahh this answer got long and rambly but please let me know what you think about all this! I am still really enjoying this show even with the icky selfcest implications and can't wait to see the next episode!

[jasmine-tea-latte]

(Some of) My Favorite Zutara fics

Warning, looong post ahead!

Zutara Fanworks Appreciation Week snuck up on me, so sadly I haven’t had time to properly contribute anything. I’d love to participate next year or maybe even before then (I play by my own rules, folks!)

Still, though. I wanted to at the very least pay tribute to some of my all-time favorite Zutara fanfics that I’ve enjoyed and have inspired me over the years.

(Click here for my post on Self-Love Saturday, where I shamelessly promote my series The Phoenix and the Dragon and share a bit of backstory behind how it came to be in the first place.)

I’ve shipped Zutara ever since Fall 2006, and I have been fortunate to read so many excellent fanfics since then.

Some have made me laugh, others made me sob, others straight up made my heart burn like it was shot full of lightning:

So in honor of @zkfanworkweek​, below are 13 of my favorite Zutara fanfics, in no particular order:

~*~*~

Rated G(eneral)/T(een)

Engulfed by Luaburachid

Zuko finds himself engulfed by love.

A sweet one-shot of our favorite firebender discovering how deep his feelings are for a certain waterbender. It’s just pure fluff and always brings a smile to my face.

 we hold our hearts in silence by psychedelic_aya

Seventy years later, Korra tries to figure out Zuko and Katara.

Oh, this one is so bittersweet but oh so good. It alternates between flashbacks and Korra’s POV watching an older Zuko and Katara interact. Just… ugh. My heart.

 Day 6: Found by SooperSara

When Sokka comes up with an idea to get rid of Joo Dee, Katara finds herself in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se with a tea server she did not expect to meet.

I love a good Jasmine Dragon AU where Katara / the Gaang actually interacts with Zuko while he’s undercover as Lee from the tea shop instead of what happened in “The Guru.” This is so much fun to read, and my only complaint is that it’s not longer.

 Celestial by SooperSara

An unexpected dip into the koi pond at the North Pole brings Zuko in contact with the spirits and grants him insight to his destiny. A destiny he isn’t sure he wants.

Another by the talented SooperSara! Actually, you should check out all of her stuff. It’s all so good, and I absolutely adore this one. It’s pretty canon-compliant and the ending… oh, the ending makes me tearbend. Ma’am, I’m still weepy.

 this little fuse we lit made something in you by SecondStarOnTheLeft

There's a secret door in the wall of Katara's room. Things go a little further than planned, once she opens it.

What happens when Katara discovers a secret tunnel (secret, secret, secret tunnel, yeah!) that leads directly to the Fire Lord’s bedroom? Reading this fic is like settling down to drink a hot cup of Iroh’s tea – it’s soothing, sweet, and thoroughly warms the soul.  

 Dancing in the Dark by damagectrl

Post-Season 2 AU: While in Ba Sing Se, Katara and Toph hear a rumor about two tea servers in the lower tiers of Ba Sing Se and sneak away go to investigate only to have their suspicions confirmed. On her personal time, Katara tries to teach herself to dance and fails so badly, a masked man takes pity on her to try to help.

This is one most OGs will probably remember. It’s also one of the first ZK fics I ever read, back when I was a wee lil bb Zutarian! It was originally posted in Oct. 2006 and takes place between “Appa’s Lost Days” and “Lake Laogai.” One of my all-time favorite Bluetara AND Jasmine Dragon AUs. Heck, all of damagectrl’s works are fantastic reads, for that matter. I highly recommend checking them out, especially this classic.

 such selfish prayers by andromeda3116

Katara's ambition, so long set aside for the good of others, breaks free and sets fire to her soul. Or, Katara has a vision of her canon future, casts it aside, and becomes a world-changing politician instead.

There’s a reason why this fic is one of the highest rated on AO3, if not THE highest. It does right by Katara and gives her the ending she deserves. 10/10 would recommend.

 better than things dreamed of in the forest by catie_writes_things (SERIES)

As a child, Bumi knew: his mother was a waterbender, his father was an airbender, and he was a firebender. Something about these facts did not add up, but it would take him a long time to understand.

Hands down, one of the most heartbreaking fics / series I’ve ever read. The author describes this as the adultery fic for people who hate adultery fics, and it certainly packs an emotional punch in the gut. Personally, I’m not one for the “Zuko and Katara have an affair while she’s with Aang” fics in general, but this one examines the fallout caused by a single night of passion and all of the consequences that stem from it, especially how the ripple effect of their choices impacts everyone. Even though it breaks my heart all over again every time I reread it, I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

  ~*~*~

(More fics, several with high ratings, are listed below the cut)

Rated M(ature)/E(xplicit)

Moonlight and Sunshadow by GrapefruitTwostep

The dragon offered Katara a deal: protection for her family and tribe if she lived with it for a year and a day. And she said yes. Because what other way was there to save her people? But there was more to the dragon than Katara bargained for. An "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" retelling.

A fairy tale AU in which Zuko is cursed to live as a dragon and Katara is certainly no damsel in distress. You’ve probably heard some version of the original fairy tale before that this fic is inspired by, and it’s such a delight to read.

 The Blackfish and the Dragon by ama

Katara grew up in the Southern Water Tribe under the tutelage of Hama, the only waterbender ever to have escaped Fire Nation captivity. When Zuko arrives at the South Pole, seeking the Avatar, they are more than ready to defend him. Then one day, the Southern Water Tribe receives a petition for peace, and a proposal of marriage.

One of the best arranged marriage AUs I’ve come across. Iroh is crowned Fire Lord after defeating Ozai, and Katara must find some way to peacefully coexist with her hotheaded new husband as she also finds a place for herself in the Fire Nation.

 Confused by thispieceofwork

Zuko stood. "You told Aang you were confused. Are you confused because of me?" Katara was silent, arms crossed in front of her. "Don't make me answer that."

Starts during “The Ember Island Players” where Zuko overhears Aang and Katara’s private conversation on the balcony. This is another fic that will shatter your heart into a million pieces but it’s oh so worth it in the end.

 A Heated Exchange by Smediterranea (SERIES)

Katara had not considered herself to be someone who would have earth-shattering sex with a guy whose name she didn’t even know. But here she was, certain that she had never made a better decision in her life.

An AU two-part series of Katara getting familiar with a certain handsome guy who lives down the hall in her college dorm. It’s funny, cute, and cuddling while watching Planet Earth has never been hotter.

 Bonus day: Tea Shop by cincilin

"Hello and welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. Today's special is—" he cut himself of with a sharp intake of breath, at the same moment that Katara placed the voice and looked up.

'He has hair.' was her first thought. Then the rest of her brain caught up with her and she started to get up, sending Momo scrambling to hide under the table. Season 2 AU, during "The Guru."

I told y’all, I *LOVE* a good Jasmine Dragon AU fic, and this one-shot checks all the boxes: heart-to-heart conversations? Witty dialogue and banter? Bending match that turns into a makeout and something steamier? It’s got it all.

~*~*~

This was only going to be a list of maybe 5-7fic recs, but well… oops. I also kept the above list to completed works only, just because this post is already long enough.

Several of my other favorites that get honorable mention include:

Thinking Out Loud (WIP)

The Summit (WIP)

Sparrowkeet (Series)

Purr

The Nature of the Blue Spirit

Rhythm of the Rain

Fault Lines

Clarity

Seriously, there are just SO MANY good Zutara fics out there. I had to cut myself off from adding even more, because I could go on and on and on. Much like Admiral Zhao, I have no. self. control. 

I love you all, my fellow Zutarians ❤️💙💜 Mwah! Happy ZFAW! 

[know-the-way]

Hi, writing to you because you have such a clear head and have been so very good at untangling my messy responses to Caos.

My question is whether it is wrong to feel thrown under a bus as a Spellwood fan when Miranda Otto comes out in a live to say she doesn't only ship MS but thought from the start they should be endgame, and a reason for part 5? She also said something about relationships once established being uninteresting in dramatic terms. And it was implied the reason for other relationships was that MS should not happen too early.

I personally don't think MS makes any sense but support all fans to love all the ships. I completely disagree about the dramatic potential of established relationships. It's what happens next that intrigues me personally.

So obviously it's her privilege and her love for MS has been no secret. It may even be a way to promote part 5 but if that's true about her ideas about Zelda and MS from the start I feel truly manipulated and it's not a good feeling, especially when I consider how dishonest certain emissions made in some paid-for video messages (really Q and A about Caos) feel to me in hindsight.

Hindsight is 20/20 and I already learned from you my not seeing the bi potential of Zelda in part 1 was because it wasn't part of my life experience and expectations. And it's quite clear the whole keeping actors and characters apart in terms of fandom is even more important than I already thought. Lessons learnt I guess. After all I'm generally completely fine with my ships being alternate universe. But damn, Zelda and Faustus were so good and interesting together, it feels such a shame their relationship was apparently discard material from the start for at least one of their actors. Whose wishes may well have influenced the character's arc.

And since my love of Spellwood was somehow part of a personal grieving process it wasn't great to lose them as canon, too. But that's nothing anyone could have predicted while creating of course.

I suppose my question is whether it's stupid to feel so stupid. And for feeling manipulated, and not liking it.

And whether we, who love Spellwood fictions and art or create them, need to be influenced by the creators' intentions if we also really respect them as creators. But have other choices and preferences. Especially when actors come out so strongly in favour of one version. It's their embodiments that made us ship these characters after all...

I'd love to hear your take on this.

*slow exhale* I’ve gotten several questions about this over night and let me just start by saying - I can’t speak for Miranda, I can only try and discern her intentions from the things I have observed in the past.

That being said, I did not take her saying she and Michelle were “endgame” as a “fuck you” to all other ships. Tbh, I’m not entirely convinced - and I don’t mean this as an insult in any way - that Miranda fully understands what endgame means in the fandom world. Because, to us, it means “character a and character b are soul mates and should end up together forever.” But I got the impression, from the way Miranda used the word, that she perhaps thinks it’s just the relationship that happens last lol (“I thought we’d have another season and that would be our endgame thing!”).

Could you read this as Miranda giving fuck all about the other ships in favor of MS? Sure, I guess. But I rather think, given how generous and kind she’s been to fans of every ship, that she just wanted everyone to have a little bit of something on the show. MS is the only main ship yet to have any romantic moments of substance after four seasons, and I think Miranda - knowing how large that part of her fan base is - wanted to change that. To give them something, because it means something to them, just like any other person’s ship means something to them. It appears she thought part 5 was going to be that opportunity, and anticipated that being the last season, so MS would be endgame because it very literally happened at the end.

I could be interpreting it all wrong, of course. But this is the same woman who declared “all ships still sea-worthy” in the middle of shooting part 4, the same woman who posts cheeky teasing photos on instagram for every ship (Zarie, Spellwood, and MS), and the same woman who I believe, given past interactions - if asked about Spellwood or Zarie directly the way she was MS - would have equally positive things to say about them. Because she’s a lovely, considerate person who wants everyone to enjoy themselves and be happy.

[silent-rabid-writer]

I hope you don't mind a whole bunch for the ask game ahaha J: fic is midnight game K L T X Y Thankiew sil-senpai!!

Hey! :> Not at all, thank you for sending those in!

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to “Midnight Game”.

This is actually pretty easy since I did have an alternative ending in mind. I toyed with the idea of just having Dazai throw Akutagawa out of his room with Chuuya on his heels. But since I’m a sucker for softer moments between them I went with the version that is online now. 

(Also, this way I have a lot of room for a sequel that I’ll write once I feel like writing straight-up smut again)

 K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

It’s hard to decide on one actually. I think I usually use a fair bit of angst but without going too hard in that direction? If that makes sense. I have one fic where I just describe a potential death scene for Akutagawa, which is not the most original thing but it is pretty angsty. 

I’ve also written one thing where I delve a little deeper into Dazai’s suicidal tendencies, which is probably more sad than angsty. 

I do have an idea for a Soulmate!AU at the back of my mind, which will probably turn very angsty, but it’s not ripe yet so I can’t really tell.

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

This varies so much. If it’s something I’ve written on a whim, I usually don’t care that much. Especially if it’s something I know people won’t care much about and that I’ve mainly written to satisfy whatever urge I had at that time. 

If it’s a fic that I’ve put a lot of work into or that I’m very attached to, I’ll revise it multiple times, to get it as good as I can.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Oh god, yes. 

I’ll come out and say it, I don’t really like skk that much. I do enjoy them, given certain circumstances but I really can stand it when they’re being portrayed as the perfect lovey-dovey couple. 

Another thing in that line, I don’t like it when Chuuya gets cast as the mum™ or the fragile maiden in need. He cares about others, but he’s still part of the Port Mafia.

I think that is it for me. But on that note, I don’t judge others who like those exact things. To each their own, and if it makes people happy, then it’s the right thing for them.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

I mean, I’d like to say I don’t enjoy making my characters suffer, but I ship Daaku so the answer is obvious. Apparently, I enjoy making Akutagawa suffer.

Y: A character you want to protect.

Obviously, Akutagawa despite how contrary this is. And Higuchi, the girl is just trying her best and ending up as comic relief doesn’t do her justice. She deserves the best and gets overlooked too often.

Once again, thanks for sending these in! I hope you have a good day :D

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