#Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing It’s Another

[petz5]

tfw u wanted to be a jolteon or something cool but u accidentally max out affection w ur gf

[musubiki]

recently thinking about the concept of a new npc/semi-cryptid healer character: a little (REALLY little) old lady who rides around on a giant animal (boar or something) whose....family(??) has a long history of healing talents through accupuncture, herbal remedies, pressure points, chiropractic things, etc.

the family line/line of practice has a history of very long life BECAUSE of the healing practices, so this little old lady is maybe...150? 170? years old??? shed be the healer the guild goes to, since her remedies are BETTER than mochis magic AND limes tech junk, she can help any one of them without problem

but the odd thing about her is that shes NOT a witch, weirdly. her healing is 100% natural, which means it works on those with high magic res, since it has nothing to do with magic.

i also think the family history would have this weird relationship with witches, where theyre willing to heal them (for a price of course), but they absolutely REFUSE to give their secrets to any witch. "You'll just make it better and put us out of a job." they always say, so even mochi doesnt know what the hell is in that soup shes eating, all she knows is that its capable of instantly restoring 90% of her magic (5 day cooldown before she can drink it again though, lest she die)

[hoshigray]

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 [𝐍𝐎𝐓]!! | a JJK series

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: “GO FUCK YOURSELF, SATORU GOJO!” “BETTER THAN FUCKING YOU!” It’s no secret to anyone on this Earth that you and Gojo cannot stand each other. Despite that, the world seems amused to put these two star-crossed lovers haters in the same space. Or worse, have them dwell deeper into their feelings for one another…

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Gojo x fem/afab! reader - explicit content; minors DNI - modern + college AU - frenemies to lovers + mutual pining - fluff + angst + misunderstandings - first kiss - virginity loss - Gojo and reader are at least age 20 - secret relationships; implied friends-with-benefits - sex in shared rooms; college dorms + hotel suite - college parties - use of party games (seven minutes in heaven) - confessions - mention of drug/alcohol abuse - humor bc Gojo and college, lol - Gojo is a cocky, tactless sweetheart, nothing new - cameos of other characters + explicit content will be listed in their respective fics (within the contents).

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: when I say that I had this series planned out, I mean like mid-October last year planned out, lmaoo!! I'm honestly so psyched to do this series, as it's one of my favorite tropes + relatively short as I'll be busy irl, but we'll do what we can!! i was lowkey feeling this concept when i was re-watching Ranma 1/2 and figured it would work great with Gojo. So, here's to hoping i can properly execute my thoughts with this series, hehehe~

reblogs + comments are appreciated wholeheartedly ❤︎ gif header made by me + fic dividers used are provided by the wonderful @cafekitsune and @animatedglittergraphics-n-more!!

𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑰𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒊𝒓...

All the material below contains explicit 18+ content, so minors do not interact.

₊˚⊹♡ 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 (Feb 1st)

The start of the spring semester is supposed to be fresh and new, not be cramped up in a closet with your frenemy at a party! And what's worse: you actually like the feeling of his lips on yours!?

₊˚⊹♡ 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝 (Feb 7th)

Is it possible to wish to be in the embrace of someone who makes you want to throw them off a cliff? You seem to think so, and the same goes for Gojo. But alas, good things always come to an end, even when not meant to be...

₊˚⊹♡ 𝐒𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 (Feb 14th)

Going on a date with the guy who broke your heart is something you’d never thought would happen – especially on Valentine’s Day! But it’s just for him to be in your good graces again, nothing more…Yeah, go ahead and tell yourself that.

𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖!

Would you like to be tagged when these pieces get released? Lmk in the replies, please, and thank you!

𝑻𝑨𝑮 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻 𝑪𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑬𝑫!!! Have made a list of the first 50 ppl who asked, but don't worry!! Check back for the stories when they're posted on their respective dates!!

© 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲2024 ❤︎ These stories have been written by the original poster (me). Do not steal, edit, copy/plagiarize, or post any of my works on your own accounts, in or out of this app. Please and thank you.

[sailorblossoms-rankane]

(Posting my threads on tumblr so I can talk to fellow Akane/Rankane enjoyers, part 1) (manga exclusive, I haven't seen the 80s anime)

When Kasumi says this, Ranma has already experienced both sides of Akane. He likes both the fire and the sweetness, but he doesn't know how to get the sweet side... and therein lies the problem.

Early on we learn that even if Akane defies others' very rigid ideas of femininity because she [gaps] likes to have short hair and "acts like a boy," she wants to be beautiful. she wants to feel loved and wanted. When Ranma calls her uncute, he's picking at her biggest insecurity.

And so Akane retaliates by beating his ass. He can be a jerk, but I don't think he ever wants to hurt her (he can't think of anything else/tries to make it up to her if a line is crossed) but he picks fights with her constantly because he doesn't know how else to get her attention.

He's no fan of being punched if it feels like a rejection and/or he doesn't get what he did wrong, but he knows damn well he's going to be sent flying when he teases her, and he does it constantly anyway... you gotta consider that on some level he likes it.

I think Ranma likes it as long as it is unserious because he loves fighting, but he refuses to fight with Akane physically/hit a girl, so the pull and push of teasing her and her hitting him with toon force (gotta remember this is slapstick) is a version of sparring. Martial arts is what he knows best, after all.

Ranma likes Akane's fiery spirit. He also picks fights with her to "fire her up" because he doesn't like seeing her sad. If Akane is sad or genuinely mad at him, Ranma can think of anything else.

Another part of Ranma teasing her is that it's a way to hide his feelings and "protect himself" ... but when Akane is down, he can push through and admit he actually finds her cute. I think the first time he says it it's "easy" because he hasn't yet realize how much he likes her.

Ranma is casual when he calls other girls cute because it doesn't matter as he doesn't have feelings for them. But once it dawns on him how much it matters with Akane, it becomes very difficult to say it, because there are feelings attached to it.

But even if Ranma picks on her insecurities, a character defining moment comes with Ranma telling her that he thinks short hair (the hair Akane chooses when she's truly herself, as opposed to trying to conform to an idea of beauty/love) looks better on her.

Being sincere and vulnerable with Akane gets him her very coveted sweet side, but as simple as it sounds and as much as he wants her to be "cute" with him, it's very difficult for him in practice.

Just like how Akane sometimes jealously hits him, Ranma picking on her can also be jealousy. Plenty of examples with Ryoga but this sets the stage. Look at him trying to get her attention when the doc makes her blush. He wants her attention on him, not on other guys.

Adding to their fights (Ranma picking on her, Akane hitting him) being like sparring: part of it is not wanting to "lose" ... Ranma reacts to Akane hurting his feelings, and Akane also reacts to Ranma hurting her feelings, and so neither can "give in" and admit shit.

So much is going on in their dynamic, and much of it is set up in the first couple of chapters (including that if Ranma gets comically kicked by Akane, he likely had it coming... they even spell out that this is how it's going to work, and boy does he earn some of those punches)

Another thing playing into Ranma shielding his feelings so much I think is that when he meets Akane, some of the first things he learns about her is that she's immensely popular and than she liked someone else. That would fuck with anyone's confidence.

I've said Ranma teasing Akane is like a kid pulling on the pigtails of the girl he likes, and in one of the first chapters he literally pulls her hair ribbon to get her attention lol

[olderthannetfic]

Opinion on the comments in some of the the @ao3topshipsbracket polls: a wildly popular ship is not the same as one that had an actual impact on fandom history. Most popular ships have little to no impact outside their own fandom. Which isn’t to say that ships can’t have impact on their own fandom history, just that they don’t have much impact on general fandom history as a whole.

I understand that the polls aren’t actually measuring fandom history but this got me thinking about what has actually and I think these are the ones:

Spirk - origin of slash fandom shipping and laid the groundwork for fandom/shipping in general

MSR - responsible for the term ‘shipping’ and was the driving force behind the beginning of fandom/shipping on the internet and the creation of fanfiction.net

BTVS - (unfortunately) gave rise to the idea of being ‘anti’ something and ship wars

Harry Potter - most affected fandom on livejournal by the censorship which led to the creation of ao3

Thoughts? I couldn’t think of another fandom/ship that has huge impacts outside of their own fandom.

--

Strikethrough made people more eager for AO3, but the original inspiration was a for-profit fic archive made by venture capitalists.

The X-Files' big archive was Gossamer. Was MSR really influential in the creation of FFN? I don't remember that.

What ships have a big impact really depends on era and how you're looking at things. K/S and MSR are the obvious ones from long after the fact, yes.

Starsky/Hutch was what really split Media Fandom from literary SF fandom. Star Trek started the split, but it was people getting into a buddy cop show that made it clear that fanfic zine types weren't just about science fiction anymore, not even "mass media" SF in place of book SF.

Bodie/Doyle was the moment people stopped being media fans and started being Slash Fandom specifically. The US fandom had barely even seen the show: they were there for the slash zines.

Jim/Blair fandom gave us sentinel/guide AUs. The Sentinel as a canon sure as fuck didn't.

Ranma fandom set the pattern for every dumb "which girl will he end up with?" fight in anime fandom forever after.

IDK if we can blame 1x2 as opposed to Gundam Wing fandom for inspiring people to many other incomprehensible math equation ships in every anime fandom with dumb number names.

Popslash popped a bunch of prudes' RPF cherries, then LOTRiPS did, then J2 did, then hockey did, then BTS did.

Free! and then Yuri on Ice started the long slide from anime fandoms mostly refusing to leave FFN to newer anime fandoms being on AO3. YOI also lured a lot of people into anime for the first time.

Wangxian got a bunch of "Ewww, no anime ever! Western fandoms 5eva!" people into Asian fandoms at long last. (Whether this was a good thing is a matter of opinion. Hahaha.)

--

I really think it depends on frame of reference.

[pepperstrawberry]

Ranma and Akane getting married. XD One part inspiration from another art friend posting in the fanart part of the Ranma discord I'm on. One part needing to finish anything to ride some good vibes and get other things done. Kinda feel like I made Ranma a bit too buff (though, honestly not only should she have some tone on them bones, but both of them deserve buff sexy cute wives. And you know Akane is buffer under that jacket XD)

[n3kk1tty]

Imagine getting the X-Men into anime.

Your three friends had been trying to find you for hours. They had no clue where you had hidden yourself away in though I guess in hind sight checking your room would have been productive. Behind the door they could hear you singing along to some song that definitely wasn't English. When they cracked it open all three peaking in like some Scooby doo level of stacking on top of each other they spotted you bouncing along as you sang the opening song. Pajamas and messy hair evident with snacks galore no wonder they couldn't find you.

Kurt immediately took the opportunity to teleport standing above you snagging the chip bag from your hand as you tried rescuing your beloved snack from the blue fiend. " Hey not fair. Unhand my salty treat you fuzzy snack taxer." The man laughs at you shaking his head as he starts shoveling chips into his mouth. "Nein. It is your tax for disappearing after training." You blow a raspberry at him as you pull him down onto the oversized bean bag with you. " I got my new anime box set I'm doing some mental relaxation. "

Remy eyes the screen plopping down on his designated bean bag before Anna Marie joins suit. " Well this don't make no sense there not speaking English. How are you supposed to watch if you're reading at the bottom of the screen. " You let out a chuckle towards the Cajun as Kurt situates himself in your lap and the bean bag like a cat finding it's seat. " Aw I'm sorry Remy. I forgot you can't read but you did interrupt my bum time." The man huffs in response chucking one of your empty soda cans at you. Anna Marie can't help laughing as you two fight him throwing cans and you use your mutation to absorb the scrap metal. Kurt to tuned into the animated figures on screen to mind the constant movement going on.

After the three kept asking too many questions of what was going on after getting too invested you decided it wouldn't hurt to just restart the series and continue your binge fest with your friends. " If we're gonna binge anime y'all need to do this right. I'll put the first tape in and get the episode ready but you three need to go get pajamas on as well and fetch us some more snacks. " You pause throwing your wallet to Anna Marie. " I ordered chinese food for us all, make sure Remy doesn't steal my cash Anna when you guys see the delivery guy. " As you say this you can spot Jubilee heading back to her room across the hall. " Hey Jubes. You wanna come watch Ranma 1/2 with us. I just got the box set in today."

The girl looks excited but pauses for a moment. " Man I haven't finished the sailor moon set you let me borrow last week yet." You share a chuckle with the young girl ruffling her head. " Don't worry about it sparkler. It's not like no one's watched two series at once before. This is the last call though when they get back with the snacks I'm not restarting the series again. " The girl gets the message running into her room to change into some comfy clothes as you get another bean bag set. Staying in the mansion even quiet time alone can turn into a mini party.

You're not sure when Logan had joined the party but he had strolled in behind Remy when he had gone to pick up the Chinese. Thank god you got used to ordering bulk food because you never knew when someone would want some of what you were eating. Plopped on your bed Logan digged into the food making passing comments about the anime eventually getting sucked into it as well long after the food was gone. It was nice to be surrounded by friends while sharing something you enjoyed. After that night having anime nights became a thing in the mansion some how a revolving door of characters would show up.

It became such a thing you and Kurt would often mimic the fights on screen.

[palabraasinnecesarias]

maybe someday...

ao3 | ff.net

ship: ranma/akane words: 2,171

Maybe someday it’ll be more than touching hands without the worry of being shoved against one another by their binding families.  

Akane fanned herself as best as she could, trying to outbeat the mild heat thanks to the air conditioning having a minor malfunction. It’ll be up and running in a few hours, but until then, the Tendo household sprawled about the family room and along the engawa while Kasumi and Auntie Saotome prepped cooling snacks.  

The weather wasn’t horrendous by any means, in fact the breeze clanking the wind chimes offered a nice ambiance, and if it wasn’t for daytime TV entertainment, she probably would have joined Nabiki as she enjoyed her magazines next to her father and Uncle Saotome while they played another round of shogi. But instead, the young girl watched whatever was playing. And when it cut to commercials, she succeeded in not glancing at Ranma who had decided to join her – even as she knew that he was probably looking at her.  

She had caught him a few times now and then, and he’d look away almost instantly, with a hint of blushing cheeks that made her smile just as excitedly. She hadn’t actually paid attention as to how it started to happen, but it had become their thing to hide behind closed doors and share an intimate stare or reach towards each other to hold hands for just a moment. But as soon as someone walked through it, they’d unlatch and look away, pretending like nothing happened and nothing ever would. 

That evening hadn’t been any different. When they believed that no one was paying attention to them, Ranma’s hand had accidentally pressed against hers, and he didn’t look at her directly, but she knew he was probably color matching with a beet. And Akane tried not to react as she wrapped her pinky around his, risking one glance at him through the corner of her eye with a timid smile.  

His hands had always been bigger than hers, and could probably crush hers without much effort, but he was so gentle in the way he softly squeezed back. She knew he could be awkward about touching, and it always elated her beyond words when he willingly initiated the first move.  

“Freshly squeezed lemonade, everyone!” Kasumi chirped, and that was enough to pull them out of their trance as Akane quickly released her pinky’s hold around his as she jumped to her feet and merrily made her towards her older sister to help distribute the drinks. All Ranma could do was exasperate a sigh as he let himself lay on the wooden floors.  

Maybe someday it’ll be more than touching hands without the worry of being shoved against one another by their binding families.  

Ranma had gotten so much better about waking up earlier in the mornings to make it in time for school, when he wanted to, of course, and definitely not because of Akane knocking at his door every two minutes.  

Some time ago, they had needed to reroute after some unexpected shenanigans landed them a few blocks further from their school, coming across a newly installed vending machine stocked with canned beverages.  

Occasionally, the duo had begun detouring a couple left and right turns to indulge themselves in a can, finding that they shared a preference towards the canned coffee over the rest; it wasn’t overly sweet, and tasted like coffee although not bitter by any means. They would slip some spare change into the vending machine to enjoy a treat on their way to school.  

“C’mon Ranma,” Akane rushed as she was already walking out the door while still trying to adjust her foot into her shoe, having a craving for the canned coffee that morning. Ranma yawned, mildly annoyed that he couldn’t quite enjoy his breakfast because she wanted to make sure they had enough time to get to the vending machine. Still, he followed suit, bidding his goodbye for that day as he closed the door behind them.  

To their dismay, the vending machine hadn’t been fully restocked, and offered a small variant that morning. Ranma didn’t get a drink, insisting he just wasn’t wanting anything as they made their way towards the school. Still, Akane took a sip before offering him a taste. Maybe he didn’t want a whole can, and she didn’t mind sharing by any means.  

“I know what it tastes like, ‘Kane,” Ranma scoffed, pushing her offer away, edging her to stick her tongue and blow a raspberry at him.  

“Geez, just trying to be nice, in case you did want some.” He mocked a face, and Akane couldn’t help but muffle a laugh, feeling like such a kid at how goofy he seemed for just a moment. “I won’t share with you ever again,” she groaned, pretending not to care that he had rejected even just a sip. She took another drink, and mid-gulp she could feel the can getting taken away from her mouth.  

Ranma was now drinking, his Adam's apple bobbing twice before returning the now-half-empty can, utterly confused as she took her drink back. “It’s good,” he said, and she scoffed. She offered him a taste, and he says ‘no’; she takes it back, and suddenly he wants the whole drink.  

“Honestly, Ranma,” Akane rolled her eyes, narrowing her eyebrows at him, seemingly bitter, “if you want to kiss me, you just have to ask.” Of course, she was completely kidding, but according to Yuka and Sayuri, sharing a drink could be considered a form of indirect kissing. She believed the concept of indirect kissing to be a cute way of communicating in public without outwardly displaying it, but the real deal tugged at her more than sharing a straw and calling it kissing. She and Ranma hadn’t kissed – officially, that is – considering they hadn’t done more than hold hands under tables and steal glances at one another.  

“Wh-what? Kiss you?” His stuttering jumble of words wasn’t much of a defense against her accusation, especially when his now blushing face almost camouflaged with his top, and she did laugh out loud this time. The comment had slipped out of her mouth mindlessly if she were being honest, but it enlightened her to see him in such a flustered state, even if it was short-lived as he grumbled and began walking away.  

“Are ya’ saying you don’t want to kiss me?” She teased, walking faster to match his step until bumping her shoulder against his arm. She was grinning from ear to ear, like a Chesire cat, quite enjoying the deflating of his usual substantial ego.  

“’Course I do.” He retaliated, his words too fast for his brain to catch up, and all Akane could do was smile sheepishly as her eyebrows scrunched amused by his answer. What was she supposed to say to that?  

“Well,” she cleared her throat silently, smiling softer this time, unable to stop the heat from rising against her cheeks at the thought that, nevertheless, they had indirectly kissed, “good.” He was looking at her now, not as flustered but just as embarrassed by what he had candidly admitted, and she couldn’t help but take a sip before looking away. 

Maybe someday she’ll get the courage to be the one to actually kiss him without the worry that the misfortunate of a bicycle’s front wheel struck at the back of his head for the umpteen time that week.

When Akane walked into the dojo she hadn’t been expecting to see Ranma self-training, although it seemed he was working out more than anything else. She had caught the pigtail wearing martial artist on the last set of his pushups, quietly awaiting by the door, both knowing that he had detected her the moment she walked in.  

Within a minute Ranma sat up, reaching for his small towel to wipe the running sweat from his forehead and temples. He was flushed, his hair sticking at the sides of his face and mild sweat spots about his tank top. “Hey, ‘Kane,” he greeted, feeling her knees wobble monetarily as she waved at him like some lovesick junior high student.  

“Working hard, or hardly working?” She winced at the way she was trying her best to remain composed, as if not caring that she thought him quite cute at the way he smiled at her.  

“Hard to say,” he chuckled, now sitting by crossing his legs as Akane walked toward his space, taking a seat next to him before beginning some floor stretches. “It ain’t like I gotta’ work much to be good at what I do.”  

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, groaning a sigh although she was grinning like some fool, “Well, all you were doing were pushups.”  

“I do more than simple pushups!” Ranma scoffed, offended, more than ready to debate against her had he needed to. “I could even do some with you on ma’ back!”  

“As if!” Although, she believed him wholeheartedly; mainly because she had been prime witness to the capabilities of his brute strength. She hadn’t known why she had been wanting to pick a fight, but the childlike pout he aimed at her ruffled her up and she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Prove it.”  

“What?”  

“Do a set of pushups with me on your back.” She didn’t know why she continued talking, but there was now some sort of gleam in his eye that told her he was accepting her challenge. She adjusted the strap that held her gi from being too loose, and maybe because she could feel herself getting nervous. This was silly, actually. She opened her mouth to tell him just that, but although he had just finished doing pushups, Ranma readjusted himself in position.  

“Okay, hop on, tomboy.”  

“Ranma, I’m not getting on your back,” she chuckled nervously, watching him continue to wait for her.  

“C’mon, ‘Kane,” he insisted, a mischievous smirk overtaking his face, and she couldn’t help but shiver at his determined demeanor.  

“I was joking, you dope.”  

It took some convincing, but evidently the young boy had managed to get Akane to agree. And he was in position, his body planked as he waited for the young girl to get atop of him. And with a heavy sigh, pushing strands of short hair behind her ears, Akane softly placed her behind on his back.  

“I know you’re not putting your whole weight on me, idiot, don’t be scared.” She was, in fact, trying her best to not rest her entire weight on him, as he claimed.  

“You better not nag me about it later, okay?” She readjusted herself, deciding that lying on him rather than sitting was probably a better idea. And so, Akane pressed her chest against his back as she latched her hold against his shoulders, wincing when hearing him mildly groan. Although, before she could get off, Ranma began the exercise.  

He wasn’t going fast by any means, but he also wasn’t hesitating, and his performance was immaculate, as it always tended to be. She shouldn’t be blushing as much as she was, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the heat that his body emitted onto hers. His pace was steady, and if she hadn’t been so self-conscious, she probably could have taken a nap on him, like some cat. She chuckled mindlessly at that.  

“What’s so,” Ranma groaned inwardly, “funny?”  

Akane leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his sweaty temple, “Nothing,” she promised.  

“I could go faster, ya’ know.”  

“I never said you couldn’t.”  

But he was already speeding up his pushups, and Akane had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck. “You idiot,” she yelped, bouncing off him and onto the floor before he could reach another set. He gasped inwardly, turning to face her but she was laughing, softly and low at first and then loudly, outwardly with her brown eyes squinting at him and the corners of her mouth pushing her cheeks so high they were rounder than usual. And he chuckled along, ignoring the way she sat up and bopped his head as she called him an ‘idiot’ again.  

When the laughter died off, they continued sitting on the dojo floor, not remembering when Akane had reached for his hand to hold. She opened his palm and sprawled her own palm against his for a moment, dragging her fingertips about his skin for a minute before intertwining her fingers in between his, lost in thought. His hands were long, rough, but they were so comfortable to hold.  

“’Kane,” Ranma called, and she hummed a response as her drowsy eyes blinked up at him, waiting for him to continue talking, “I’m thinking about going to the market for some snacks,” he told her, very aware of his hand still being possessed by Akane’s, “wanna’ come with?”  

“Sure,” she smiled with a nod at her head.  “Kasumi wants me to grab some items for tomorrow’s breakfast.”  

Maybe someday their walk to the market would be more than just grabbing some errands, but until then she’d relish on small moments as such.  

[subtextsays]

Speaking of Ranma 1/2, I'm now picturing Kim with a gender-switch curse. Wik as a legit secret identity unknown even to his family. (Wik as a woman or afab Kim, works either way.) Younger Kim going on hits and changing bodies to enter places he otherwise couldn't, or to escape after without being recognized. That one hit that goes wrong and his curse is exposed via accidental trigger and he has to kill every witness to keep his secret, because the only thing worse than being considered expendable by Korn is to be uniquely useful. Kim getting weird disphoria when an injury he sustains in one body carries over to the other, blurring the distinction between his selves. Kim approaching Chay, because it's mafia business, and also because it's easier to rope a fan into conversation if he's only wearing Wik's face on a t-shirt. Kim fishing for Chay's contact info and another meeting, and another, only to end up in Chay's bedroom beneath the Wik Wall discussing rare merchandise and favorite outfits and what Wik's music means to them. Kim realizing that Wik is a refuge for other people too. Kim resenting himself even more, wanting to be just Wik more than ever, never wanting Chay's illusion to shatter...

[danaty-consolation]

Nagisa Shiowatari, the misconceived character.

Since Nagisa's episode is coming this thursday, is time for me to come out an explain more about his character based on the manga characterization.

This is a way to point out some things that were not seen in the Ova adaptation and how his character is often targeted of being one of the worst love interest and characters in Urusei Yatsura as a whole.

The flaws of their first meeting

Ryu meet Nagisa first as an appearing ghost, who scared her when she was taking a bath and then he disappeared.

If people are calling this meeting problematic, I think they need to read Ranma 1/2, where Ranma's male form meets Akane which is way more problematic even if is an accident.

Also I think there is more of a problem with these three if we put if realistically, after all she is a scared girl and rather than reafirm this elsewhere these three are with her in a vulnerable position, making her feel more alert rather than more relaxed after that scare.

After that we have a more kinda normal meeting, they scare the gang with this joke

and this is when, we get to know that Nagisa is Ryu's fiancée

The thing here, is that Nagisa had probably grown up by the idea of meeting his fianceé since he was a kid or preteen, the thing is he already knew about his compromise Ryu before meeting her...compared to Ryu who just got told just now, add to the point that here Ryu still thinks Nagisa is a girl meanwhile she thinks that Nagisa sees her as a boy.

Meanwhile I think is way more problematic that Ryu's dad hits his daughter while trying to manipulate her with tears just because she say no to Nagisa.

Changing once again into Nagisa, we see how his last wish before fully disappearing is to kiss the person he likes.

Everyone has one last wish, even tho his wish is innocent to him and quite selfish, it really is uncomfortable to Ryu, because she just meet him and she still thinks he is a girl who thinks she is a boy.

Is it a pretty selfish wish? Yes but is his last one, it doesn't make it ok but when you are about to fully disappear you want to do something you wanted to do when you were alive.

It's believable he would want a kiss, we had seen in the last date, how Nozomi wanted a last date with Ataru. The difference here is that Ataru accepts the date to help her move on meanwhile Ryu doesn't want to be obligated to do something she doesn't want.

Nagisa has a romantic look of what fiancés are, he must think that since both like each other (probably a lie by his father) it must be ok for them to kiss. Nagisa thinks that is okay if he kisses Ryu because they are official, probably his father fault since he is cut with the same scissors as Ryu's father so he omitted some important information like consent in both parts.

Here another misunderstanding, Nagisa thinks that she doesn't like him because he is a ghost, a totally understandable fear because he is dead but she is alive. He must think he is repulsive to her because of being a ghost meanwhile Ryu is trying to explain to him that she is a girl.

Also we see how the others know how this will pass if she just kisses him, Ataru and Lum have more experience thanks to the date with Nozomi so is reasonable how they can see it work. After all if they kiss, he will be out of their lives.

Meanwhile, we see how Nagisa's father is an incredible manipulator by his words, trying to guilt trip Ryu in kissing him when Nagisa doesn't have all that thanks to how he exploited his own son's "feminine look" and put him to work rather than taking him to a school, giving him only hope in the romantic love with Ryu's engagement.

In short Nagisa gets told that she was persuaded when it was just her father that knocked her out in a moment of weakness, Nagisa believes it sadly. Since we had seen how he doesn't rebel to his father says and doings, he takes it all at face value.

However when he notices that he cannot kiss her because he is a ghost makes him super sad.

Nevertheless, a sudden legend with a big urchin that Ataru and Mendou even think about how stupid that legend and action sounds

Makes Nagisa had a physical body again and he is so happy, since this means he can kiss Ryu now.

Ryu doesn't want to and Nagisa tries to stop her in the way he was educated by, a very wrong move of course.

However, by his words, we see that he thinks his situation with his physical body is temporarily. He thinks he will become a ghost again so he wants to get his kiss before disappearing completely.

Then here comes the twist, Ryu shows him her breast, still thinking that he thought of her as a boy, this is Ryu big evasive strategy to stop his kiss, showing that she is indeed a girl and Nagisa by knowing that, back off because he may not be interested in her being a girl since in Ryu's mind she thought that he seen her as a boy.

But it backfired.

Since Nagisa shows that he is indeed a boy and sees nothing wrong with kissing her.

Ryu asking the real questions.

Finally, we see once again Nagisa trying to force himself to Ryu because he thinks his time is running out however, Ryu understandingly says that she has not had time to process all this and doesn't want to do it.

But they notice that he doesn't go with his father because he is kinda alive now with a physical body so now it is shown that he can take it actually slow, with no pressure of disappearing.

2. Nagisa's Character before meeting Ryu and the others.

Nagisa's actions and way of acting represent the way he was raised by his father. It was shown how he has always worked for him while accepting his feminine side that his father had always preferred and promoted out since he thinks Nagisa is a girl, Nagisa is the same as Ryu.

Nevertheless, the real difference here is that Ryu made friends with people who knew her real gender and even had a kinda normal live in school where she became more sociable and seen more normal behavior patterns compared to what she lived with her father, compared to Nagisa who never went to school or have people who knew his real gender. The only person with whom he interacted the most besides the clients who thought he was a girl was his father.

He didn't have anyone else to tell him that his methods were forceful or wrong, he only followed what his dad did.

Ryu and Nagisa are victims of their fathers wanting to make them look the opposite gender, to try to manipulate them into thinking they are from the opposite sex.

Nagisa is more passive than Ryu, he accepts what his father says most of the time.

After all he is more obedient to his father compared to Ryu's open vocal rebellion with her father, the only thing when he contradicts his father is when he shows that he knows that he is a boy and doesn't negate that fact. Sure he act, behaves and is emotionally like a woman but even if he acts like that he knows and is comfortable on being a boy.

That is his only rebellion.

3. Nagisa's and Ryu's relationship while living together.

One night's battle is a small arc that is more to the point about Nagisa's personality and his dynamic with Ryu.

The beginning show Nagisa's dream:

A married life with Ryu.

But the reality is quite different

In this one it is presented how Nagisa is a pretty flawed character.

He is really emotional, like a girl but more over the top. He also eats a lot and is a person who wakes up late.

The thing is until now Ryu and Nagisa hadn't had any development romantically or even as friendship, Ryu is not interested in him in that way and doesn't want to kiss him.

Althrough it is proved that Nagisa is protective of her and doesn't like Ataru trying to make a move on Ryu.

The thing here is, that Nagisa is gullible, he is straightforward to convince because that is his personality and he doesn't know Ryu that well yet. He only meet her recently compared to Ataru and the others.

Nagisa wants to be in Ryu's good side, he wants to know her more but Ryu is pretty stubborn and closes herself because of how they meet and since she sees this as a way to rebel to what her father imposed her, being romantically involved by Nagisa.

That is why when Ryu friends tell him this

He believes in them and feels much better, knowing that he finally has a chance to be on her good side.

And when it shows that Ryu gets interested in him in some way, her father comes out and ruins it by pulling them into a uncomfortable situation.

[karizard-ao3]

It’s time for the school play and it’s Romeo & Juliet. Mikasa gets the role of Juliet and Eren couldn’t give a fuck about the play until he found out Romeo and Juliet kiss, in front of everybody. And now Eren is obsessively after the role, only he can’t act to save his life

There's this animanga from the late 80s/early 90s that I adore called Ranma 1/2 that has a Romeo and Juliet high school theater production arc and all I can picture is that but with Eremika as Ranma and Akane. I'm going to try to break free from that restraint.

Okay, so first things first, if Mikasa got the role and Eren didn't, that means she auditioned and he probably didn't bother. So he's shit out of luck by the time he finds out the guy cast as Romeo (Jean??? Maybe???) is going to be kissing Mikasa. This means Eren has two options: to make sure the kiss doesn't happen or to steal the role.

So, what does Eren do?

He gets himself appointed to the stage crew, of course, and begins doing everything he can to make Jean's life a living hell.

He's smacking into him with set pieces, sabotaging his props, he is orchestrating wardrobe malfunctions left and right. During rehearsals, every time they get to the kiss he knocks something over and interrupts them. The director is getting fed up but they also can't help but love watching the drama unfold before them, so they let Eren do his thing for the most part and wonder what is going to happen when the boy can't delay the kiss any longer.

Eren's already on top of that. He knows he can't keep dropping set pieces when there's an audience because he doesn't want to ruin the play for Mikasa, but he also would rather die than see her kiss another guy. Therefore, he needs Jean out of the picture. He concluded long ago that if he's going to keep Mikasa's lips for himself he has to give Jean mono. What better way to put him out of commission and prevent the kiss than the kissing disease itself? Eren loves the irony. Or, he would if he paid attention in English class long enough to know what irony is.

And so, Eren's quest to give Jean mono is already well under way by the time he enters the scene as a member of the stage crew.

But wait, you may say. How is Eren going to infect another kid with mono if he doesn't have it? You forget that Eren's father is a doctor. Eren knows from dinner time conversation that there's been an outbreak of it at a nearby high school and tons of those kids have it. All Eren has to do is get in touch with one of them and obtain their spit. He is not bound by the strictures of common decency or shame, so he starts hitting kids at the other school up, trying to find one who is just as depraved as he is who is willing to sell him their diseased saliva. And you know he manages to find one.

He cuts school takes the bus to the next town over , exchanging fifty dollars for a baby food jar full of saliva from a fellow unhinged teenage, then hurrying back to campus before the virus loses potency.

He arrives just in time for lunch and immediately gets busy contaminating poor Jean's food when he isn't looking.

Then he sits back and crosses his fingers that Jean's symptoms will hit before opening night (it takes 4 - 6 weeks for the infection to brew). He also makes sure to keep Jean's putrid lips off Mikasa. His on-stage kerfuffles have been protecting more than just his own tender heart. He's got to keep Jean from infecting Mikasa, lest Eren find himself onstage as Romeo without his Juliet.

Jean is looking concerningly healthy as opening night approaches, though, and Eren is beginning to think he's going to have to go back to the other kid's house and demand a refund when, with only two days to spare, Jean succumbs to Eren's machinations and falls ill with mononucleosis.

The director is freaking out. Jean can't be in the play if he has mono but who is going to fill in for him?

Eren to the rescue. Surprise, surprise. He has the part memorized.

The director has no choice. The show must go on even if it means Romeo recites all his lines like a robot and everyone in the audience can tell he's slipping Juliet some tongue when he kisses her. At least, the audience all tentatively agree as they try to find a bright spot in the mess of a play they just witnessed, the two leads have tons of chemisty.

[petz5]

it always makes me sad when ppl accuse akane of being homophobic just because she very clearly struggled to accept being bisexual. esp when its used as an argument to say shampoo "has always loved all of ranma" bc she, checks notes, hugs him in girl form sometimes. like bestie??? shampoo did not canonically have a sexuality crisis. ranma's curse is a problem that can be fixed in her eyes instead of an intrinsic part of who he is. shampoo does not see it as hugging another girl, and 9/10 times she pulls out a kettle and changes him back to a guy mid hug anyway

akane couldn't stand guys save for one man who was a very safe choice for a crush (ie completely unrealistic, obviously never going to happen, like gay ppl irl arguing they can't be gay bc they find a celebrity hot), she was basically told by kasumi "if you keep acting like that people will think you're gay", when nabiki told her she thinks ranma's curse is cool akane immediately was like "but what if people see us together and think I'M a pervert too?" LIKE.. this isn't a series where the whole cast can be some flavor of lgbt bc akane coming to terms w being bisexual and ranma coming to terms w being a girl is such an important part of the story and that just falls apart if its totally safe and normalized and they're just being weirdly conservative about it. akane getting to the point where she can say she likes him the way he is (with the curse), and point to him in girl form and lovingly say "that's my fiancé" feels earned bc she had to grow as a person to get to that point and stop worrying abt everyone else's opinion of her. which, again, would not be a problem in a society where homophobia didnt exist. like damn are you gonna call me homophobic next bc when i was 11 and questioning i told a friend if i realized i was gay i'd just keep it to myself and die alone??? most people don't instantly make peace w those kinds of things

[jaquik]

Hi, I'm writing some Ranma 1/2 fanfiction

I suppose I might as well put this here too.

Hello, my name is Jaqui. I'm a transwoman and I'm a fan of Ranma 1/2 (I suppose that's redundant). I first read fanfiction for Ranma in the early 2000s while I was still firmly an egg. Then, in May 2020, a couple of years after I came out, I got back into it thanks to AO3. I devoured as many fics as I could and started to meet people on twitter and discord that were also into Ranma. Eventually, in early 2021, I finally decided to take a shot at writing my own fics. Now I find myself currently at 10 stories and counting. If you are interested, you can find my fics on AO3.

I also have commissioned several pieces of artwork for my fics, done by the fantastic writer and artist Fern Bedek, some of which are included below. You can find more of her work and commission her for you own stuff at https://beedokart.tumblr.com/

Finding Oneself (https://archiveofourown.org/works/29627430)

Akane is feeling down after the failed wedding, so Ranma (who is currently figuring things out about herself) offers to take her on a girls day out.

My very first fic, a post-canon story inspired by the common yuri staple of the two girls spending the day together on a definitely not date. While trying to figure out how to set up Ranma making the suggestion in the first place, I ended up breaking her egg wide open in the first chapter. Not much of a slow burn there. I still think I did well with the story and am glad my first attempt at writing my own thing was positively received.

Mothers and Daughters (https://archiveofourown.org/series/3412471)

What if Nodoka had some additional information before her first visit to the Tendo household? And what other secrets may she be hiding?

My first attempt at an AU. Basically, I wanted to try my own alternate take at Nodoka's first meeting where she realizes who Ranma is right away and is also completely accepting of her child. While working out the details for why she knew, I came up with a twist that seemed to throw everyone by surprise and let me take some interesting directions with Nodoka's past.

Genderfluid Mechanics (https://archiveofourown.org/series/3285123)

Taking things from the top with an extra twist: What if the youngest Tendo had a little something extra in common with Ranma.

Another AU, this time with Ranma and Akane's first meeting. I decided to explore what it would be like if both of them were actually genderfluid. Also my first time writing a story purely from one person's point of view.

A Butterfly's Wing (https://archiveofourown.org/works/38048443)

Ranma is given a chance to change one event from his past, and now is left wondering what the change actually was. As well as what surprise is in store for her next.

This time, I went a little further with the AU concept by having the character know they are in an alternate universe. This is my own stab at the 'character makes a wish and now things are different' subgenre. This has given me a chance to explore a bit of mystery writing, seeing what hints to give to guide readers as to what actually happened in this alternate universe.

An Honorable Lie (https://archiveofourown.org/works/42611670)

Shortly after her first meeting at the Tendo house, Nodoka has a realization about the girl named Ranko. Now she is ready to reunite with her child …as soon as she can figure out how to honorably deal with the contract hanging over both their heads.

Artwork done by the amazing Mariana Nicoleli

Another retake on Nodoka's first meeting. This time, she realizes who Ranko is a little later after already revealing the whole contract thing. While she's accepting of her trans daughter (as far as she knows), she feels she cannot reveal it out of fear that she would have to enforce that contract. This one is from Nodoka's POV and it's been fun trying to gauge her thought processes.

Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū Tenka'ichi Budōkai (https://archiveofourown.org/works/43678938)

Roshi ends up with a new student along with Goku and Kuririn. How will this strange gender switching martial artist affect things at the upcoming tournament?

First stab at a crossover, this one with Dragonball. A difficult thing with mixing these franchises is how to deal with power gaps. My solution was to go back to the beginning, as in the 21st tournament. At this point Goku, while very strong, was still quite beatable by regular humans. This also gave me the chance to play around some more with gender (Anyone order an agender Goku? Cause you're getting one).

Secrets and Truths (https://archiveofourown.org/works/43993947)

Akane has a secret meeting with a certain rival. Where they can openly discuss things that they cannot divulge to anyone else.

A chance to play around with Kodachi a bit, along with having her interact with Akane. I couldn't help but notice they shared a blind spot around not noticing someone's curse, albeit a different person each, so I decided to make a little twist on it.

Cute As A Pig (https://archiveofourown.org/works/45134467)

Akane makes a comment that Ranma does not take well. Will a certain sumo pig raising farm girl be able to clear everything up?

Inspired by this lovely art piece (https://www.tumblr.com/ylvasart/708079407910223872), I decided to explore what would happen if Akane and Akari were girlfriends before Ranma showed up, and what would happen to Ranma because of this. Being me, it naturally ended up very trans and lesbian.

The Wild Wind And The Scarlet Sea (https://archiveofourown.org/works/48352432)

What exactly did happen in the pasts of Haruka and Michiru? And how are those pasts connected to a certain pigtailed martial artist and their tomboy fiancée? A lot more than you might think it turns out.

Another crossover and my first attempt at a fuku fic. For this one, I set about making Ranma as Sailor Uranus, something I haven't really seen done before, which is very odd to me. Uranus is described as being both a man and a woman and Ranma and Uranus both utilize wind based attacks. So, this is my stab at writing it.

Dear Diary (https://archiveofourown.org/works/50489872)

A secret, hidden away diary, containing a single entry, written by a girl who no longer exists.

Based on the probably most well-known anime episode Am I Pretty, this was a chance for me to play around with formatting by trying to match the style of a teenage girl writing things down in a physical diary to a digital page.

So, if any of these stories have managed to pique your interest, please check them out and I hope you enjoy them.

[pollypoirate]

Fields of Mistria evokes a strong feeling of "lost nostalgia" in me. Like when I see Sailor Moon stuff, Ranma 1/2 stuff, etc. I never got to be a little girl, I never got to be a cringy teenage girl that found all the weird anime, made fanart, bought the merch. In part because, I didn't know how to find it, it wasn't common where i was, and also, because I wasn't allowed girly things. Looking at Fields of Mistria gives me such a strong feeling of "I want to have a stronger nostalgia for this" but at the same time, I'm so happy that I am the age that I am that I can appreciate it as much as I do. I might have missed one way to enjoy this game, but heck if I'm not enjoying it immensely another way right now.

[actuallysaiyan]

sticky situation~

warnings: smut, creampies, mentions of cum, overstimulation, multiple fandom, hickies, slight subspace, Agedup! characters

a/n: this is just a fun little thing I wanted to try out. Also the art isn't mine, but where do people find those sexy manga panels? I don't want anything too suggestive, but it would be nice for a multifandom post like this. There will be a part 2. I wanna tag @beneathstarryskies for helping me with this one.

fandoms: Naruto, DBZ, JJK, Castlevania, DMC, Demon Slayer, FF7/Crisis Core, Ranma 1/2, Chainsaw man

His lips are on your neck, nipping at the tender flesh there. He intends to leave a mark on you, But he finds himself faltering as the way your walls flutter around him for the umpteenth time sends him close to another mind blowing orgasm. He whines, a sound not uncommon to grace your ears. It makes you moan in response, and your walls clench around him again. Another nip at your neck, and this time he sinks his teeth in a little more to try to ground himself.

“S’too good,” he lets out between breaths. “Stop it,”

You giggle again, and he swears he’s fucking the devil right now. You’re too damn fucking sexy for your own good, and you make him go crazy whenever you fuck like this. It’s been a few hours and the bed is definitely wet and sticky with your mixed juices. How you haven’t been completely fucked out this whole time is a mystery to him. He’s just not able to really hold on for long periods of time, and he just keeps cumming in your pussy.

Your labia is all puffy and red, and you’re absolutely leaking his seed. It started as a slow dribble, coating his red cock, and then it smears all over your labia and his pelvic area. It’s so sticky and wet, and only adding to the lust and arousal you both are feeling right now. Strings of your mixed juices keep you connected, stretching slightly with every shaky thrust he takes.

“Y’gonna make me cum,” he whines once more, and you know he isn’t lying.

“Cum for me, my sweet baby.”

Your voice is so mocking, and he rolls his eyes back in pleasure. It’s too much for him to take at this point. Another pitiful mewl falls from his lips, and his hips begin snapping harder and faster as the pleasure begins to build. His pace only gets harder and faster, and those pitiful noises he makes just add to the ferality of this situation. Your walls clench around him purposefully, making him cry out.

“Fuck yes! I’m cumming! Oh fuck, I’m cumming!”

Shot after shot of hot, sticky cum pumps into your cunt, rendering it into an even bigger mess than before. You cling to him, and you moan along with him. It’s all just making his brain melt, and after he comes down from his high, he slumps against you and takes one of your nipples into his mouth for comfort and grounding.

“What a good boy you are,” you praise him, and it makes him blush. A soft huff falls from his lip, but he doesn’t move from his position.

Finally, you managed to get him overstimulated.

dante, nero, alucard, hector, kyojuro, giyu, tanjiro, inosuke, zenitsu, naruto, itachi, gohan, zack, cloud, megumi, denji, ryoga

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/739335177994747904/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic739061849135#notes

I'm the anon on this post. I fully get the point here in this person's reblog and your addition, and I can see how my ask came across as gatekeeping, but I think what I meant more was in response to the previous anon (that Il inked) seeming to think that a LOT of hetero men needed to enter fandom for F/F to become more popular. As I said, there is some good F/F content written by men; I encountered that even in the brony fandom. (That said, that was a fandom where I very strongly was NOT interested in smut, which is not the case with most of my other F/F fandoms, so that's probably part of what influenced my preferences there.) Like, there was a lot of garbage, but there was so much content that there happened to be a decent amount of good stuff as well even following Sturgeon's Law.

I think what I meant more was disagreeing with the idea that the "solution" to lack of F/F is to have fanfiction become a *much* dudier space. I was trying to give my experience of having been in a fandom like that to suggest that it's a very fundamentally different experience than the generally less-dudey places that fanfiction fandom is in most fandoms, and I don't know that that's necessarily better just because we get more F/F, because in effect it still ends up marginalizing lesbian and bi women F/F fans because so much of the content is not only not for us, but often even hostile to us. (In a very different way from the arguments that are made about women writing M/M, where a lot of it is just stuff that isn't what gay/bi men are looking for. I'm sure any lesbian or bi woman who has had to deal with the kind of men who have lesbian fetishes irl, on dating sites, etc. can relate, but I really hate when people compare those things because it is truly apples and oranges.)

I hope I'm being clear, but I just think there's a distinction to be made between "I do not want F/F fanfiction fandom to become a *primarily* male space, and I think there are some big downsides that people who've never been in a fandom like that haven't seen" vs. "We need to gatekeep F/F so it's exclusively queer women writing it." I'm fine with some guys doing it, of course, but I don't think the fact that fanfiction is a primarily female and queer and nonbinary space is a "problem" to be "fixed" even if it means less F/F. I think that's a big part of the draw, in fact. That's what I was trying to say, but maybe not very well.

--

I think the point of the other comment isn't so much that anyone wants fic fandom to become dude-y... It's that for f/f numbers to look like m/m numbers, you'd have to have the reverse situation.

Whether that's desirable is another question, but it puts the endless focus on stats and numbers into perspective.

I don't think we really disagree all that much. They were just putting it provocatively to get people to think about why they waste their time yelling about AO3's overall stats "looking bad" and what the so-called solution to that would be.

It's pretty much bait is what I'm saying.

--

Obviously, as a woman, I only rarely encounter women who are mega annoying about gay men and reasonably often encounter those pestilential men in bars who think "bisexual" means "porn star who wants a threesome". I certainly think they're more of an actual problem IRL... but I'm still not convinced it is entirely apples to oranges when we're discussing online fanfic spaces or... like... stories with plots more complex than "I'm here to fix your plumbing".

Ranma fandom was full of dudes writing f/f that was a little anatomically suspect but reasonably in-character and that sounded like other fanfic with the usual "I like this blorbo and want more content about them" motivations. I haven't seen many fandoms like this, but I run across one now and then. (I agree MLP is fairly distinctive even out of these.)

--

I think the basic thing here is that a lot of (hostile, loud) people do see the absolute f/f numbers as the problem to be fixed.

And you are right and they are wrong.

There is no real fix if people keep looking at it from this "Winning at AO3 numbers" perspective. The cure would be worse than the disease for many of the people complaining.

Better to focus on the usual "How do I get my specific blorbo to have more content by encouraging authors and writing it myself?" strategies and let someone else worry about the global AO3 numbers.