#also the absolute banger of a fanfic this would be

[goddess-of-silvers]

I know everyone’s mad at Aziraphale right now because of how the season’s ended but I don’t think we’ve talked enough about the fact that Aziraphale has been keeping a diary for centuries (based on the fact the entry we see is from volume 603) and he literally starts his entries with “dear diary, last month Crowley and I both happened to be in Edinburgh”.

[send-me-a-puffalope]

Headcanon that after Vanny is free of the Glitchtrap virus, she doesn’t go away and instead, Vanessa and Vanny are a system and share a body.

[softspiderling]

Hey love your work!!! Would you have any rafe fic recs?

and my work wasn't enough? 🤨 jk jk ily thank you for coming into my inbox.

have MY rafe x reader fic recs here!!

kildare split social media au / fanfic by @ghostofwriting > im literally obsessed with this and i'm so deep in the lore call me y/n at this point. the intrigue, the lies, the DRAMA, THE HURT???? chef's kiss

not my girl by @obaex > so good. situationship + jealousy + rafe's pov? (s)creaming

why are you here by @rafetopia (18+) > exes fucking in the club, slay, hot, girlboss

treat you better by @rafesmuse (18+) > bestie!rafe consoles you after you have another fight with your shitty boyfriend (and then you end up having sex🤭)

this lil blurb by @bucksdolll > i was in tears bc it was so fucking funny, like the way I could picture top being so damn defensive when rafe just looks at him i'm crying

this blurb by @tinyluvs > so good, love their dynamic

a bet's a bet by @rafeandonlyrafe (18+) > rafe participates in no nut november without telling you about it first.

can't remember anything before you by @itneverendshere (18+) > one of the first rafe fics i read. best friends!sister, tho reader is topper's sister. rafe pining after an older girl is so AGHHGHGH

fair play by @laiiaaab > omg? literally so CUTE AND HFHJJHAJHJ i was screaming into my pillow as i was reading this. y'know, normal stuff

so we won't forget by @netegf (18+) > bro. literally so GOOD. like. GENUINELY so good. reader and rafe meet in a grief support group (+ sarah/rafe reconciliation), RAFE TALKS ABOUT HIS FEELINGS🗣️

hate it when you leave also by @netegf > another absolute banger of a fic. best friends to lovers, SO SO GOOD!!! the yearning, the longing UGH

breaking dishes by @rafescurtainbangz > bro the way I didn't realize what they were doing until rafe said the thing i laughed so hard. so creative and def def a must read

orange peel theory drabble by @belovedvenom > so good and so rafe, WHEN HE GRABS YOUR FACE GOODBYE

and bc im a bitch i'm also tagging my rafe masterlist heheh

make sure to go over the rules of the blogs before you check out the fics, also tell them i sent you. and if possible, REBLOG OVER LIKE, i always love to support my fellow writers🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

[cbk1000]

So what exactly is it about Merlin and Arthur that make them so ship-worthy, sparking million-word fanfics? Why does it remain one of the most popular fandoms? Why do you never seem to tire of them as a writer? (Not that I am complaining or anything. I just find the loyalty fascinating considering how much new stuff is coming out every day).

Bradley and Colin and their chemistry together as performers certainly is an important aspect of the popularity of that specific ship, but I think the endurance of the Merlin fandom as a whole is due primarily to two main things, which are: that tragic ending, and the unrealised potential of the show.

The primary consensus amongst Merlin fans if you ask them about a piece of media they're still obsessing over, twelve years after it ended, is, "BBC Merlin is terrible; it's so good." The premise and characters are interesting. There are some absolute banger lines. There are bits and pieces of it that are good. But as a whole, it's a muddled piece of trash (I still love you, BBC Merlin, don't worry). Uther is a tyrant who has committed literal genocide, and they make the main villain a woman who is a part of the oppressed class of people that he's indiscriminately murdering. Women in general get to be one of two things: love interest, or moustache-twirling villain. Arthur grows as a person only for the writing to immediately walk back that growth, usually for a cheap joke. The major narrative arcs, the most familiar, identifiable aspects of Arthurian legend in the cultural consciousness (Lancelot, the love triangle, the fall of Morgana, Mordred's betrayal, etc.) are either barely present (see: Lancelot's two seconds of screentime) or completely devoid of believable character motivation (see: Mordred suddenly turning on Arthur because he executes a woman who committed terrorism who it turns out was someone Mordred knew as a kid and completely forgot about till the moment he saw her in her jail cell).

When something is, in some ways, quite good, and in a lot of other ways, hot garbage, it leaves a wide-open sandbox for fans to play in. I think if the show were much more well-written, and consistently so, the fandom would have died out years ago. But instead, we never saw the Golden Age of Camelot. We never saw Albion united. We never saw Merlin and Arthur reunited. We were left, at the end, with one main character dead, and the other centuries later still waiting for a person the show literally describes as his other half to come back to him. People haven't moved on because they spent five seasons watching a silly, stupid family show to see its main character fail at what he was literally prophesied to achieve and hold his best friend while he died. We don't even know for sure in the end that Arthur came back to him. We see Merlin alone, in modern day, at the lake, still waiting for him, with no indication that Arthur is rising again. And for people watching the show as it aired, the BBC delivered this nut punch on Christmas Eve.

I think it's about what the show didn't do, and the space that creates for fans to come in and do it themselves, over and over again.

Also, personally, I'm trying to self-soothe.

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

[blorb-el]

Don’t know if you made a post on this but what’s your opinion on DCAU Clark and how unapproachable(?) they made him in the later JL/JLU series without ever resolving it? Like I know the Cadmus arc hinges on him never considering himself a possible threat but it seems there was room for no much introspection outside a couple moments (that were later backtracked).

I've had like 6 half finished posts about this buried deep in the drafts for a year because I have capital B Brain Rot about this, but every time I tried to write it out I got six sentences in and wanted to rewatch the entire DCAU in order to get my facts straight. This time I'm resisting the urge, so forgive me if I forget specific episodes

Also, unfortunately for you, it’s nanowrimo, which means my brain is in Type All The Words Mode, and not Communicate Effectively and Succinctly Mode, and also I need a break from WSBF chapter 8, so. You’re getting a 3.5k essay sort of answering this question but not really. you will see

Thank you to my fellow lawyer for the defense of Rectangle Clark @januariat for helping to put this together

I do rewatch STAS and JL a fair amount, but much less JLU, so I actually don’t have much to say about the specific execution there. I’m planning on rewatching it soon. But for now…

To me it boils down to two answers. The Doylist answer, and what I think the writers really did have in mind, is that they came up with the Cadmus plot, knew it was an absolute banger of a storyline, and decided that it was worth compromising Superman's personality in order to write a good story. which is not something I can fault them for - as a fanfic writer, I make the same calculated tradeoffs every time I set out to write a fic. Characters are tools for narrative, even if these particular characters come with an additional weight of the tradition of collaborative storytelling that their most effective stories honor.

However, I do think it’s possible to, post-hoc, cobble together a Watsonian, narratively satisfying (if fucked up and sad) character arc for DCAU Clark if you also take STAS and JL into account. I think the key to understanding his character arc is his relationship with control. Throughout STAS, JL, and JLU, and then one more time in Batman Beyond for good measure, over and over again, he's manipulated and his powers and body are used as resources for other people. Obviously that’s not much of an excuse for becoming more authoritarian/overbearing/etc, Fascism Is Bad and I personally think a more IC superman would retreat more than double down (as in Kingdom Come), but looking at the totality of things that have happened to him before Cadmus, it's a little more understandable why he'd get close to snapping under the strain. Here's my personal reading of his arc, and the events that might have led to Clark behaving so irrationally in JLU.

cut for sheer length, but also mentions of manipulation, sexual assault, victim blaming, that sort of thing

One of the recurring themes in the DCAU is villains dehumanizing, depowering, and/or manipulating Clark. In STAS, Parasite, Lex via Bizarro, Talia and Ra’s al Ghul use him as a source for their own power. The Preserver and Maxima treat him like some exotic prize, disregarding his wishes. Jax-Ur and Mala use him and then betray him. But the most impactful, by far, is Darkseid.

In Apokolips Now, Darkseid defeats Clark, puts his bleeding body into public stocks, and drags him through the middle of Metropolis. Clark’s only rescued by the last minute intervention of the New Gods, and as a parting shot Darkseid murders Clark’s friend in front of everyone. Even though Clark prevents Earth from turning into Apokolips, it’s a huge emotional loss, and they don’t shy away from showing his rage and helplessness. But it’s when Darkseid returns in Legacy, the finale of STAS, that Clark’s life truly takes a turn for the worse.

Forgive me if this is all plot recap to you, anon, but I feel like a lot of people don’t know that STAS ends with Clark being mind controlled, heavily implied to be sexually assaulted, and forced to try to take over the Earth, killing god knows how many people in the process. When the military finally brings him down with a Kryptonite warhead and imprisons him, they nearly kill Supergirl in the process. Then Lex almost gives him a lethal injection, with a US general looking on, implying that the government approves of killing him. Lois breaks him out, he tries to get help for Kara from Dr. Hamilton, and then goes to Apokolips. Most fights in STAS have him shrug off blows. He ends this one bleeding from his mouth, looking almost dead. When he finally casts down Darkseid, tells the Hunger Dogs (the slaves on Apokolips) that they’re free… they turn away from Superman. They cluster around Darkseid to protect and heal him.

Those universal truths of a lot of Superman stories, that goodness and liberty and the American Way* always win? They don't in STAS. A representative of the US government (as far as he knows) has tried to kill him. He lost his temper and spoke in a harsh tone of voice once, because Kara was dying and he was hurt and desperate, and now his friend Dr. Hamilton, the man he trusted to repair the Kryptonian ship, study his body and his powers, one of the people who knew him best in STAS, is afraid of him - and, as we find out later, takes immediate, drastic, and violating action against Kara and against him. The series ends with the small town man standing on the roof of the Planet, hearing people hate and fear him, wondering how people will ever trust him again.

*I hate this phrase personally when used as a Superman Motto, but it's used here as a contrast to the fascistic imagery of Apokolips Now and Legacy (as well as Brave New World, which, hoo boy, we aren’t even getting into that one).

Six months (iirc) after the STAS finale, in Secret Origins, the US government has agreed to let a visibly older and wearier Superman help disarm the nuclear stockpile - only for this to backfire on him because it was a Plot by the White Martians. Clark’s let down the country again. He’s helped aliens invade again, and to make matters worse, he sped away in the middle of an attack to break into an official government facility to free J'onn. Clark founds the Justice League beginning from a place of personal failure, as a check on himself. Clark has power and wants to help people with it, but he’s been turned against people he cares about, and has twice now failed to protect the world. It’s worth noting that Legacy put him into the world stage; before, in STAS, I can’t think of any true worldwide threats besides maybe Jax-Ur and Mala.

Most of the rest of season 1 of JL isn’t particularly Clark-focused, although he does appear in a lot of episodes, but the themes of some of these episodes are potentially relevant to understanding his character later, so: brief bullet point summaries.

During In Blackest Night, Clark sees his respected colleague turn himself into an authority that turns out to be incompetent investigators looking for a scapegoat. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here. 

During The Enemy Below, on Clark’s advice, Aquaman tries to solve his problems peacefully with diplomacy and is immediately shot in a life threatening assassination attempt.  Peaceful diplomacy doesn't work so well for him.

During Injustice for All, Lex is dying of cancer. Clark tries to reach out and is rebuffed, with Lex going on to try to found a team to kill him and the rest of the League.

During Paradise Lost, Clark sees his respected colleague turn herself into the authorities and immediately get banished from her home for the crime of trying to save it with all the resources she had at her disposal. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here, again. 

During War World, Clark’s again captured for exploitation. This is essentially a retread of The Main Man from STAS, doubling down on how some people see him as a thing to be exploited.

During Fury, Clark’s completely ineffective at preventing an attempted genocide of half the world’s population.

Season 2 opens with Twilight, one of the most important episodes for understanding Clark’s mindset during the Cadmus arc. Imagine, if you will, the above happening to you. Darkseid shows up at your workplace. And the man you’ve worked with the longest, your friend, your ally, tells you to cry him a river, build him a bridge, and get over it. Tells you to get over being brainwashed, manipulated, and humiliated. Tells you to get over having your broken and bleeding body paraded around the streets of Metropolis, tells you to get over having your friend killed in front of you for trying to defend you, tells you to get over almost getting your cousin killed. Sure, Brainiac is a planetary-scale threat; Darkseid and Apokolips are in real trouble. Clark was wrong to write off Apokolips and its people, and the League should absolutely have intervened in the situation. But the way Bruce went about it was… one of the harshest things DCAU Bruce has ever done, and one of the only times the narrative seems to actually agree that he was an asshole about it. And even then, you really need the context of STAS to understand why Clark is so furious and hurt in this scene.

Clark relents and goes along with Bruce’s plan to trust Darkseid, only to end up betrayed again, the whole ruse just another ploy for Brainiac to gain control of Clark, torture him, and use Clark’s body to upgrade himself. Clark had spared Darkseid back on Apokolips at the end of Legacy, on Kara’s advice. But now Darkseid’s come after him, again. Used him again to put not only Earth but who knows how many other worlds at risk, now that Brainiac’s even more powerful. It’s the downfall of Krypton, over and over again. And when Clark goes to end it, I think he doesn’t care that the base is about to go, as long as Darkseid goes down with it. That isn’t a price Bruce is willing to pay, so he teleports Clark out. And he’s wrong, again. “No one could have survived that.” Well… no, Bruce. Darkseid does, and Clark knows it.

During Tabula Rasa, Lex manipulates Amazo the exact way he tried to use Bizarro. Clark once again fails to guard against a terrible, potentially world-ending threat, and in fact makes the situation worse by his very presence.

Then we come to Only a Dream, another key episode in understanding this version of Superman. Clark’s deepest fear is that his powers will keep on growing beyond his ability to control them, eventually destroying everything around him. In his nightmare He kills Lois and Jimmy, destroys the Daily Planet, and grows into a brutish, hulking, clumsy figure, first crying out for someone to help him, and then losing hope. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He goes back to the Kent farm and curls up in the spaceship in the fetal position, convinced that he’s only going to hurt anyone who tries to help. Is it any wonder, since that’s literally what’s happened to him in Legacy? Is it any wonder that he’d want to give up, to retreat? If we’re to take the World of Cardboard speech literally, he’s already having to focus on this restraint every day, in every interaction. This is my personal explanation/hc as to why in every single fight he lets himself get knocked around a bit first; he’s calibrating how hard he can hit back without doing irrevocable damage. Anyway. Deeply fucked up 2 minutes of horror. Wish they’d explored this a little bit more in later seasons.

Then, directly after this, it’s A Better World. After we’ve just seen that his worst nightmare is hurting people by being unable to control his powers, we come face to face with a world where he’s hurt people by the precise and controlled application of his powers. Justice Lord Clark uses the same Superman Robots we saw Kara use in Legacy. He’s become quite adept at his lobotomization techniques. Later on in JLU, we see ‘our’ universe’s Clark attempt to lobotomize Doomsday the exact same way Justice Lord Superman did. Again, Clark fails to protect the world from himself, and to make matters worse, the guy to save the day is Lex Luthor. I’d be a little miffed if the maniac who wants to kill me so so bad turned out to be instrumental in saving the world and now I owe him some unspecified favor in the future. Clark’s met with failure and distrust trying to fix things his way, now he tries to do things in an uncharacteristically sneaky way and… gets met with more dislike and distrust.

Eclipsed continues this trend of hurting his friends; he’s temporarily mind controlled and hurts Wally.

In The Terror Beyond, he fucks up and puts the world in danger again, all because from his point of view, he tried to prevent Solomon Grundy being manipulated and used (like he himself has been used over and over again).

In Secret Society, his frustration comes to a peak, amplified by Grodd’s telepathic manipulation. He’s been trying to do his best, but he snaps that he’s had better luck fighting armies alone (dubious plural there, but he did pretty much evaporate an army in Legacy, so at least once, ok) and that he’s had to hold back his abilities in order to be on the League. Again if we take the World of Cardboard speech at face value, this is true, and we see it in the episode when he accidentally hurts Shayera with heat vision despite shouting a warning beforehand. It’s also telling how other members of the League have the ability to constantly voice doubts about its usefulness and cohesiveness as an organization (hi Bruce) but when he expresses the same doubts everyone gasps. When he expresses his doubt and frustration, when he steps away, the organization that’s collectively saved the world several times falls apart; they’re reliant on him, and he has to be aware of the entire existence of the League as an extra burden of responsibility.

Since both this episode and the Cadmus arc as a whole are meant to show his flaws as a leader, it’s worth examining the foundations of that leadership as established in the DCAU. Clark’s the leader of the League, but narratively, Bruce is its brains and its ethics and Wally is its heart. As a result, Clark is filling the role of leader of the League without the narrative scaffolding that gives him the respect comics incarnations of the character are generally accorded. (I’m admittedly only drawing here from the JLA runs I’ve personally read, Morrison/Porter 90’s JLA and the early Fox/Sekowsky 60’s JLA). Superman might not technically be the First Superhero according to these continuities, but he is respected as though he is (and as we comic book nerds know him to be). The League in these comics treat him as something of an ethical standard bearer, a primus inter pares, as well as being the muscle. In the DCAU, Batman, having founded the DCAU with BTAS, is the First Superhero, and the entire plotline of the Justice Lords centers Wally as the emotional anchor of the team. Clark doesn’t have that pre-established stature. What really qualifies him to be the leader, besides the fact that Bruce doesn’t want to do it? His position seems precarious, relying more on Superman’s pre-established reputation than his actual onscreen characterization. Centering Bruce and Wally are legitimate creative choices I don’t even necessarily disagree with, but it means Clark-as-leader functions quite differently than more traditional JL structures.

Hereafter is something of a healing point for him. It’s a little fucked up that Superman almost bashes Vandal Savage’s head in with a rock, but you take what you can get at this point. He comes out of it fine, but everyone else is forced to reckon with what he means to them. Hereafter coming directly after Secret Society is a very good reunification for the League. Shame about what’s gonna happen in three episodes.

In Wild Cards, he’s useful to address the immediate threat but ineffective to stop the real, countrywide (worldwide?) threat. (I should note that of course I don’t expect every episode’s threat to be solved by Clark; I’m just pointing out a trend that I think his character would perceive as failures on his part. If the writers ever let him reflect.)

JL ends as it began, with another massive alien invasion that Clark helped facilitate in Starcrossed, by working with the Thanagarians during the first part of their plan. As a fellow exile, a fellow alien, he’s hurt and angry with Shayera’s betrayal… even though, in the end, in probably one of his best moments, he votes to allow her to stay in the League.

(Sidenote: almost every interaction Clark has had with other aliens have been despotic societies or individuals: Jax-Ur and Mala, Apokolips, Maxima’s planet, War World, and now Thanagar. The Guardians built robotic police/foot soldiers to enforce their will. Even New Genesis is ruled by a benevolent dictator. Martian society is nearly extinct, overrun by… more alien despots, surviving only with J'onn. Argoan society is nearly extinct, surviving only with Kara. At least Lobo isn’t a fascist? Small consolation.)

JLU begins after a short time skip. I’m not as familiar with JLU episodes since it’s been a while since I’ve watched them, so I’m not going to attempt an episode-by-episode breakdown. Also this post is already way too long. But the point of this post is to look at Clark’s overall arc until this point, and see how it informs his decisions in JLU. For a more JLU-specific informed point of view check this post by januariat!

What we have is a man who naturally wants to take responsibility on his own shoulders, a doer and a fixer who wants to get into the ring and solve problems, who wants to use his abilities to help, being confronted over and over again with a string of personal failures, manipulation, and betrayal. When he tries to set a boundary about not being willing to help the man who took over his body and forced him against his home in Twilight, he’s told to get over it by his most trusted ally. When his deepest fears are revealed in Only a Dream, we see them having been already realized in Legacy. And when he’s presented with his dream of a peaceful life farming, a family that loves him, and no responsibility to save the world, it’s ripped away from him in For The Man Who Has Everything.

Ultimately, I don’t have a good answer for exactly how he doubles down in JLU S2, because I need to rewatch all of it with this understanding of the character. But I think you can see the shape of a traditional Superman character in there, trying and trying again and again to do the right thing, putting himself on the line - only instead of learning from his experiences and letting them inform his actions, he’s carrying the weight of years of suppressed trauma while trying to hold up the entire Justice League. This long, long run of failure, manipulation, betrayal, and distrust adds up. And there’s only so much weight one person can hold on their shoulders, even if they are a Superman.

(And then as the nice little capstone to his story, in Batman Beyond's The Call, he’s kept under alien mind control for years! With the way Starro clings to his chest, he probably hasn’t been touched in years! Trapped in his own mind, forced to watch as yet another alien species uses him as a tool to hurt his own teammates and invade the Earth! And that’s the last we see of DCAU Clark! What a fun little ending to his character arc that doesn’t make me go insane whenever I think about it. Very very very normal about this.)

[robin-the-robo]

Okay so @steriafluff asked me for Red Hood recommendations and I apparently have a lot of those, so...

Do keep in mind that these are very much My Opinions, but this is what I think is worth reading if you're getting into Jason Todd/Red Hood and don't wanna end up reading the... Really Weird Stuff.

So I think everyone should start by reading Batman 1940 from issue #408 to #429, which ends with Death in The Family, to see what Jason was like as a kid and as Robin (an absolute delight).

Then obviously you gotta read Batman: Under the Red Hood, (and deal with a 19 y/o being drawn like he's 40. Yeah.) but I would also recommend Red Hood: Lost Days, which basically covers what happens between the Lazarus Pit and Under the Red Hood.

Then we have... Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011). Look. I'll be honest. The """characterization""" for Starfire in that comic is painfully sexist. It has its moments and we somehow managed to pull a pretty cool friend group (and/or polycule if you wanna interpret it that way) out of it, but I would never blame you for skipping it. Red Hood/Arsenal, which covers the time after the original Outlaws broke up, is pretty decent tho.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth (2016), on the other hand, I think is cooler than people give it credit. I like that they're a play on the DC trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) but as antiheroes. The plot goes in some weird directions from time to time, but the characters keep their personalities all the way through it and I think it's just really fun. Tbh the worst thing about it is that they ended it.

Now I'm gonna give you a few wildcard picks that you're either gonna love or hate, but I think there's something cool in each of them:

Batman: Urban Legends, from issue #1 to #6. Look, it's got Bruce and Jason struggling to cooperate, they're realistically tense but ultimately on the same side, I wrote a whole fanfic about how delightful Jason's interaction with a kid he saves in this comic is, so yeah.

Batman: Three Jokers. This one is quite dark and potentially triggering I think, so be careful. It also has a little bit of Barbara x Jason which No Thank You, but the art is GREAT and it has some banger moments in there. Read at your own peril.

Robins (2021). It's got ups and downs, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want to see all five Robins interact it's a pretty interesting read.

Knight Terrors: Robin. Hey do you want Tim and Jason interacting and being brothers and actually talking through some of their personal issues while battling their own nightmares? If yes, then you'll enjoy this. A lil bit on the nose but good nonetheless.

And then finally we have Red Hood: The Hill, the new RH comic currently ongoing. We only have a couple of issues out yet so it's a bit early to judge its quality. Atm i agree with someone here on Tumblr who said that it feels like it's more about the new characters than about Jason himself, but maybe that'll change later on. We'll see.

So yeah these aren't all the comics I've read about him, but they are the ones that get his characterization right, or better than the rest at least. Hope this helps some new (or simply confused, which is very fair) fans out there.

[magicaldreamfox1]

Do you have any vegaspete fanfic recs for someone getting into the ship?

hi! i'm so glad u asked!! i famously love having opinions and have great taste so absolutely i would love to recommend some fics!

so i don't know exactly what u're looking for and since u mentioned getting into the ship i tried to give u a wide variety of recs to choose from!

let's get started!

Plain & Pleasure (Series) by @onstoryladders

fantastic tattoo parlor au. just trust me on this it's really good

Black Velvet (Series) by @kerrikins

black velvet is a canon divergence from the ep 7 torture scene until the end of the series and it is one of the most famous works of the fandom i think. like it is to me. u can read the first two chapters of black velvet the work as a standalone but why would u am i right. don't be intimidated by the length it's amazing!

i fill you up, drink from my cup by @petes-vegas

mmmmmmm pwp? pwp. post-canon vegaspete attend an event both pissed at each other and they start trying to make each other jealous. this might have u thinking uhmmm this is getting worrying they're really doing the most is this gonna go into cheating territory? and fear not the answer is no.

in your eyes, in your arms (series) by @pressignore

great post-canon series about vegaspetemacau bonding in the hospital. very cute very fluffy 10/10 would recommend.

Blood & Lust (Series) by @kerrikins

taking a dark turn after the last one this is a series abt. horny torture. honestly all u need to know. #justvegaspetethings and so on and so forth. might be ur cup of tea might not be. only one way to find out

Visiting Home by @raelle-writing

another fluffier turn. u gotta keep up here i move fast. so this is post-canon vegaspetemacau visiting pete's grandma. everyone is experiencing feelings. look me in the eyes. do u see the tears. it's fantastic. i especially love the buildup we get thru the whole fic and it pays off so beautifully in the end and it's just. an amazing fic i loved it very much

If You Had Something To Lose by @raelle-writing

now pay attention! this is an ONGOING fic. but it makes the list bc man. MAN. so it's an au. the theerapanyakuls are in the mafia, peteporschechay are not. one evening pete finds beaten up vegas in a back alley and saves his life. love at first sight? no u misheard. horny at first sight. shenanigans ensue. raelle plays with my feelings. now disclaimer i haven't read the most recent like. 4 chapters bc i'm depressed scared of sad cliffhangers i just can't deal with it 😭😭😭. but really this fic is fantastic it had me hooked from the very beginning and it just keeps going on amazingly and i have no doubts it will continue being great until the end.

discothéque rouge by @lu-sn

now i read this one recently and yeah YEAH. classic vp shenanigans it's such a good time. post-canon mafia shenanigans starring vp.

the weight of it's like hands around my neck by @wegathpete

now listen! i'm not a member of the peteporsche ride or die besties agenda but i know a lot of people like it and this fic is just so good. i hope op knows the babygirl paragraph lives in my head rent free. it's a post-canon introspection of vegaspete which also includes porn. aren't we lucky ❤️

Silly Secrets by @raelle-writing

have u ever wondered what vegas would do if he walked in on pete's preferred exercising.... routine. well u don't have to wonder any longer! it's exactly what it says on the tin! post-canon vegas discovers pete's silly secret! whatever will he do abt it!! only one way to find out 😌😌😌

Your Secrets And Lies by @kerrikins

another banger by kerri. post-canon vegaspete in the hospital. pete thinks vegas is holding back and decides to do smthg abt it. very simple very fun!

we've now arrived at the shameless self promo part of this post!

so i happen to write as well and i happened to have written some vegaspete fics!

best stranger by me

so this is more like. vegaspete adjacent but it still counts in my humble opinion. gotta promote myself! it's set post-canon in the hospital. arm visits to check up on pete. my armpete besties agenda ❤️

after the dust has settled we must pick up the pieces by me

my most recent series i've started! it's also set post-canon and contains oneshots of moments in their lives. they can all be read as standalones but in my mind they take place in the same universe (it's not an au this is just how my mind works. they're connected but they're not connected. u know?) it's not a finished series i will be uploading new fics so feel free to subscribe to it if u would like!

i hope this helped! if u liked one fic/series specifically and want more of that kind or would like more recommendations in general feel free to ask!

[owlespresso]

do u have any fic/author recs at the moment? for any of ur fandoms!

TONS, but here's a short list of authors and fics that I adore. All of the following authors are absolute inspirations to me and I thank them for putting their creations into the world, for us to read.

Just a heads up, I adore dark content so a lot of the writers and fics I will recommend will contain said content.

@seoafin writes for Jujutsu Kaisen, but they also have some writings for Trigun. Their characterizations are incredibly on point and I adore their takes on Geto and Gojo, including the dynamics between them + the protagonist of their AU ripverse.

@strawberrygodzilla has a fic about Zenos that BEATS ASS and their character voice for Zenos (and every other character including the WOL) is so clear and accurate like every time they write Zenos's dialogue I'm like... "wow, he really WOULD say that". I've teared up several times reading their fic here, at the end of all things.

@chickenparm, whose profile I religiously check on ao3 and just discovered has a blog on tumblr, writes BANGER Genshin fanfics with to die for smut. Their fics about Childe are among my favorite. Give of Yourself has stuck with me in particular.

@softagenda has been providing the Touchstarved fandom with easily some of its best fanfictions, expanding on concepts introduced in the demo and adding some of their own world building. My favorite fic of theirs is silver linings.

@ddarker-dreams just has a way of writing and worldbuilding that really takes my breath away. The amount of depth and forethought put into her Blade fic, Nexus, still stuns and awes me a month after its completion. She's written heaps for Genshin Impact and is now starting on a JJK series. She also writes a lot about Chrollo Lucifer, from HxH. I haven't watched a single episode of the show, but she has somehow made me invested in this character. Whenever I see mention of him elsewhere, I go "ah, the man ddarker-dreams writes about".

@lorelune writes for Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail and JJK. I love their work but their little blurbs they post every now and then also completely have my whole heart. their hybrid AU Blade fic hell is a hound without a chain has been living in my head ever since they dropped it. I adore their characterization of Blade and Jing Yuan in particular! Their Gojo fic dawn instinct hits me so hard.

@agent-cupcake writes for FFXIV AND JJK but I found them through Fire Emblem Three Houses. I've been following their work for awhile and I adore each and every piece. Their prose is beautiful and their dark content is to die for. I'm biased so my favorite piece is Asteria, but I also am continuously obsessed with Raison D'etre, Vae Victis (FFXIV), Femme Fatale and living idly and dying as if dreaming.

@hawnks is a fantastic writer who I discovered through her soulmate AU fics. coincide and the first law of motion are absolute classics, but she's been writing a soulmate series for Gojo which has been utterly fascinating for far. I would also like to thank her for introducing me and many others to Guideverse which I would love to write something on in the future!

[spectralsleuth]

What are any rise fanfic recs that you have?

I got so excited for this ask. Okay so, I'm not going to recommend things with over 1k kudos on Ao3, because they're easy to find. 'Tale of Spirits', 'Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now', 'Ronin Discord Admin', etc. (I would also LOVE to rec things besides RoTTMNT if anyone is interested...) But here's one's I've reread MULTIPLE times.

tried to grow up good by @sroloc--elbisivni Absolutely banger of a Casey Jones fic. The pinnacle of Casey Jones fics. It's the second in the series, and the first one is very good as well, but this one reads just fine as a stand-alone. Casey Jones Jr. stealing cars is just very near and dear to me.

The Whispering Forest and Other Tales ALSO by @sroloc--elbisivni, as well as Waywayrdwitchcat. (If they have a tumblr someone let me know please.) I NEED EVERYONE TO READ THIS FIC SERIES. it's probably my favorite ROTTMNT fic series of all time. (I'm going to say that a lot in this list but it's all true.) The whole series is absolutely wonderful, spooky, romantic, and set in feudal era Japan in a world similar to the Usagi Yojimbo comics. If you're worried about not knowing Usagi Yojimbo comics, don't be. I didn't and had no trouble following along; it provides all the context you need, and blends it with the ROTTMNT universe anyway.

BuzzfeedUnsolved: The Strange Disappearance of Lou Jitsu Self explanatory, a fic in a Buzzfeed Unsolved True Crime episode format. Hilarious, and the author did a FANTASTIC job of capturing what I love about cheesy crime youtube. Lighthearted and short!

Things That Ought To Crawl by @thisonesforturtles Sep!Donnie AU, wonderful Draxum adjusting to rehabilitating effectively completely feral and very young Donnie who doesn't remember much, and a lot of very cool and incredibly smart mystical head canons. Hugin and Munin are absolutely wonderful in this as well. It actually takes the idea of what a feral child growing alone would result in, and digs into it. (Not completed)

No Rest For The Weary by @plothooksinc POST MOVIE FIC probably my all time favorite post movie fic actually. THIS HAS EVERYTHING. I won't say anything about it because most of the twists and turns are so interesting I don't want to ruin them. Mind the tags though! (Not completed)

And LASTLY Empathy is Learned by @alicat54c If you enjoyed LSoW, you'd enjoy this but in a different way I think! I don't want to spoil too much, but it has a lot of cute fluff, turtley nonsense, and little April O'Neil. (Not completed, locked to AO3 users)

If anyone every wants any fic recs, please feel free to ask. I have PLENTY, and not just for ROTTMNT.

[dollypopup]

You are obviously THE Stein/Marie person of the Soul Eater fandom. Couple questions if you’d be so kind.

Any fanfics besides your own you’d recommend for Stein/Marie?

Also, would you mind sharing whatever your thoughts are on Stein and Spirit’s relationship?

(I finally finished the manga, so I can dive into your fics at last without fear of spoilers! 😊)

Oh wow! I am? Haha, I just love them so much as a couple! I think they bring out the absolute best in each other, and several years after the fact, I do still get giddy about them as a pair! That warms my heart that so many years later, people think of me when they think of this pairing <3

I have soooo many fanfic recommendations! I made a post ages ago about them, you can find it HERE but since making it there have been several great stories that have come out.

If You Read Anything, Read This

Worthy by @flourchildwrites (the best SteinMarie fic ever written. Period. and I'll say that with my entire chest over and over again. An exploration of them growing up together as Meister-Weapon pair. Poignant, perfectly in character, and so so well written)

Marie's Guide to Dating a Self-Proclaimed Sociopath by @ohmytheon (anything ohmytheon writes that's SteinMarie is a guaranteed BANGER. every single time. other fantastic fics by them include Just Breathe , From Great Heights , Who Did I Think We Were? , and if M and E are more your style, Sexology and there's something at work in my soul (FMA AU!!! brilliantly made)

Some one shots that are fun reads

Fluff

20/20 vision by supine_with_stein (eclaire_and_pocky)

Study Buddy

False Alarm! by benedicteggs

I Simply Must Be Loving You by lukieee

Cold Hands, Warm Heart by thehopelessunromantic (DoctorCannoli)

Kid Fics

Room for Two by MicrosuedeMouse

Paradigm Shift

Father Figure by benjaminfinns

Angst

Not Quite Lichtenberg by Webtrinsic

Becoming Naive by raspberryfanfics

Smut

Stitched by secret_wanderer19

As for Stein and Spirit, I'll put that one under a read more

I have some complicated feelings about Stein and Spirit. I think what Stein did to him is an irreparable harm, honestly, to the point where even at the end of the Manga and Series, Spirit has a lot of complex PTSD to work through regarding him. He's his watchdog, his babysitter, chained to him through circumstance whether he wants it or not. Spirit is a lonely man. I don't know how often that's discussed, but by the end of the series, truly, Spirit has lost everything.

At the start of it, this dynamic is different. Stein is the one who has nothing to his name save his talents when he first comes to and leaves the DWMA, and Spirit is the one who has everything. He has friends, a family. A daughter and a wife and a good job, a good meister. THE best meister, arguably, considering he is Lord Death's weapon. And then he ends it with nothing: a shattered relationship with his daughter he is still in the midst of attempting to fix, an ex-wife who cannot stand to be in the same country as him, friends who roll their eyes at his antics, a dead meister, a dead God.

You contrast this with Stein, who begins with nothing. A belief he cannot love, cannot be close to anyone, who experiments on his partner like a lab rat, distancing himself from the realities of this breach of trust. And then he ends the series with everything Spirit once had, on the up and up. A loving partner, close connections, a position of authority in his workplace, a daughter on the way.

Stein and Spirit are foils, when one is heads up, the other is tails. And I think there's a lot that Spirit wants to say to him that he can't, because he still has fear toward Stein. Very justifiable fear. And in truth, though I think Stein has some form of comradery with Spirit, he doesn't view him as a full person, which leads to a very strained relationship between them, if it can be truly called such. They're drawn together partly against their will, partly through circumstance, partly through the past. They have a lot to work through if they actually want to be friends (something I personally wouldn't consider them), but I think the reality is that Stein wasn't sorry, and that will always be a wall between them that will be insurmountable. He doesn't have remorse for what he did to Spirit, and I think Spirit may always feel some kind of way about 'What was it about me? You could do that to me but not to someone else? To Marie?'

Spirit has a lot to work through, personally, and Stein exacerbates that because he is the wound that Spirit cannot ever fully heal. Stein was, in many ways, Spirit's first heartbreak. Part of why he drinks, part of why he looks for escape in other things, other people. And though time has softened that, though Spirit may show up to a wedding (if there is one) or to visit Baby Shelley (my own HC for the baby girl he and Marie have), there will always have to be some distance there, so Spirit doesn't fully break.

And for Stein? I think Stein considered Spirit his friend at first, and then his warden afterward. Come to check on him to make sure he hasn't found his end at the wrong side of a scalpel. Wandering into his home with deadened eyes and distance on Death's account. At the end, on the Battle of the Moon, when Spirit says he watches out for him more than he does his own daughter, it's not born out of tenderness, but obligation. And with Death dead and the world beginning in new form, I don't think even that will be in place, anymore.

And truthfully? I think that distance is what may truly help him heal.

Thank you so much for your ask! <3 <3

[byooregard]

good ace attorney fanfics.

according to me. im the worlds pickiest fanfic reader tho so if i say its good its good. mainline series; here's good dgs fics

Trilogy centric:

and we'll toast these stunning ruins by ohallows [~9k; oneshot]

He pulls the door open and all his thoughts grind to a halt. Miles Edgeworth is standing there, dripping with rain and looking a bit like a drowned cat. If Phoenix was being honest, he’d almost forgotten about him being back amidst the chaos of the day and the conversation with Maya. It’s a novel experience, actually; he can’t remember a time when Edgeworth wasn’t hovering, wanted or not, near the forefront of his mind. But he’s here - he’s real, standing on Phoenix’s doorstep in his dingy hallway in an apartment complex that probably costs less than Edgeworth’s entire salary, looking awkward as all hell.

[wonderful expansion on the whole Thing Phoenix & Edgeworth have going on during Farewell my Turnabout. its so messy i love them. General stamp of approval also on everything this author writes.]

Marriage, Magic, Misunderstandings by theacegrace [~20k; oneshot]

When Mr. Nick gets disbarred, Pearl decides there is no better opportunity than this for him to finally move to Kurain Village so he can be with Mystic Maya. With the help of Mr. Nick’s new daughter, she decides to plan the perfect wedding for the two of them, and won’t let anything get in her way. After all, Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya are in love… aren’t they? (AKA: Pearl and Trucy plan a wedding, and neither parties involved want it.)

[Love how this one takes a joke from the games that is stupid and often uncomfortable and gives it such depth and weaves a beautiful story out of that. Shoutout to ao3 user theacegrace everything they write is a banger.]

A False Start by theacegrace [~50k; 5 chapters]

Twenty-one year old Miles Edgeworth finds himself reconsidering his perceptions of State vs Fawles after running into an old friend at a train station, carrying a suspicious necklace and in a relationship with a suspicious woman. And perhaps he could ignore it, except it’s a little hard for him to ignore a particularly clingy, emotionally volatile Phoenix Wright. AU. Miles and Phoenix meet while Phoenix is still in college. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

Apollo Justice (game) centric:

Alternative Dispute Resolution by FaustianAspirant [~19k; 5 chapters]

In a fit of impulsiveness, Klavier asks Apollo on a date. Unexpectedly, Apollo accepts, but under one condition: in the interests of avoiding further awkwardness, Klavier must resolve his remaining differences with Phoenix Wright. What follows is excruciating for everyone involved.

[This is my favorite Klavier fic. It has everything a girl could want: exploration of the small glimpses we got of whatever the hell is going on with Klavier Gavin (& his brother) in aa4, resolution on Klav and Phoenix's relationship, and the best fake Gavinners song & album titles I've ever had the pleasure to read. If nothing else, read this one for this line:

How fitting, though, that he is destined to be a martyr for love! It’s just like in that track on the Gavinners’ third album, ‘I Would Do Anything for Judicial Impartiality (And Also Love)’, or that other track on the Gavinners’ third album, ‘Stop in The Name of The Legal Authority I Legitimately Wield (And Also Love)’.

Also like, the rest of it. Perhaps the best thing about this fic is how it manages to weave absolutely insane ace attorney bullshit like the Gavinners song titles with such depth of characters and emotions.]

Fuel for the Funeral Pyre by MoominQuartz [~7k; oneshot]

Kristoph Gavin wants him dead? That’s fine. Phoenix Wright wants him dead a thousand times more. If he expects Phoenix to lie down and let the snake bite him, that just means he won’t be looking for the trap lying in wait. A look into Phoenix's head during the seven-year gap

Everything Good (Eventually Hurts) by Wildfey [~10k, oneshot]

Phoenix: I'm talking about evidence that shouldn't have existed. A naughty magician's trick...

The second time that Trucy's life falls completely, irrevocably off its rails, it’s a Friday, and she doesn’t even notice. A story about what Trucy was doing during the events of Turnabout Trump.

[everything by this author is also good 👍]

The Phoenix, and Other Early Birdsby Wildfey [~100k; 16 chapters]

Wright grimaces. “Sorry to tell you this, but as of six hours ago, I’m officially a stay-at-home dad rather than a lawyer. I might be able to recommend you someone else if-” “That’s why I’m here!” Apollo half-yells, and then feels the tips of his ears flush because he just shouted over Phoenix Wright. “I know we’ve never met before, Mr Wright, but I think you’re being framed, and I want to help you clear your name!” ~*~ In which Apollo is 15, Trucy is 8, and Phoenix is very confused as to where all these children keep coming from. (Also known as the 'Apollo goes to the Enigmar trial AU')

Wrong from Right (Wright from Wrong) by Wildfey [~9k; oneshot]

“I’m not sure what exactly you want, Herr Wright,” he says instead, flattens his voice down so neither anger nor tears leak through, and tries not to wince at the fact it defaults to friendly but distant charm instead. Like Wright’s an overenthusiastic fan who’s caught him while he’s busy and won’t take a hint. Wright knocks a fist against the doorframe, somewhat absent-mindedly. “I want lunch,” he says, finally. “The bus takes forever, give me a lift back into the city, will you?” In which Klavier and Phoenix are smart enough to finally have that conversation about the past, and dumb enough to do it in two parking lots and a burger barn drive-thru. There's no accounting for taste.

disillusioned twenty-something(s) by kitelines [~2k; oneshot]

She’s known him only a week, but it’s already clear to her that Klavier Gavin has high expectations of the world around him. And Ema hates people who have high expectations. It’s unrealistic. It’s blind naïvety. You have high expectations, and you set yourself up to fail. It’s something she’s seen time and time again. And it’s a lesson Gavin needs to learn, starting off small—because it’s 8AM at a murder scene in a 7/11 and he’s already dipped his hand into her bag of Snackoos that she’d taken the only one grieving. (Post AA4, Klavier-centric, not shippy.)

The Devil's Brother by ItsyRoyal [~6k; oneshot]

When Vera is lost in grief and afraid to face the empty studio where her father should be, Klavier offers her a place to stay. She quickly realizes she's not the only one grieving. (Post AA4, Klavier-centric, not shippy.)

In Better Light by cosmogyral & sunsmasher [~60k; 7 chapters]

Apollo’s been stationed at the Los Angeles Shatterdome for just over a week before a young woman his exact height pops out of a basement stairwell and says, “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

* AA4/Pacific Rim fusion. Apollo and Trucy save the world. Phoenix and Edgeworth help.

[I think about this AU every fucking day. there's goddamn themes and narratives in here; this is the absolute pinnacle of what fanfic aus can do. someday in the distant future i hope to be able to create something half as incredible as this. also; both of the authors generally have good works]

forty years in the wilderness (and the following holiday weekend) by sunsmasher [9k; oneshot]

Miles Edgeworth comes home five weeks after Phoenix finishes rebuilding the jury trial system with his own two fucking hands.

[bookmarker's note: augh, yeah.]

no feeling (is final) by zombiekittiez [5k; oneshot]

Mr. Wright marks the date on their official wall calendar, a freebie from the grocery store that features seasonal produce. “Not every day you get to see a murderer marry the guy she framed for it,” he quips. ~~ Alita Tiala serves three years in the state penitentiary; Wocky Kitaki marries her anyway.

[bookmarker's note:👍👍👍]

Misc:

selected conversations from the magisteel discord server by liilllyyyy [~30k; oneshot]

A comedy of errors, ft. Discord shenanigans, friendship, gay pining and more!! aka. Miles Edgeworth and Maya Fey co-run a Steel Samurai/Evil Magistrate discord server; neither knows who the other is. What happens next will shock you

[This is the only chatfic ever. no chatfic will ever be this.]

The Catch-Up Game by theacegrace [~60k; 9 chapters]

With his daughter away for the year on a magic show tour, Phoenix’s life is upended enough as it is. The realization that his childhood best friend and courtroom rival may be in love with him, and the complicated feelings that come with that, are the last things he needs. Written for narumitsu week 2020, each chapter loosely based around the prompts: family, marriage, free day, pining, opposites, AU, hurt/comfort, and future.

[I've read this one multiple times, and it's still the Definitive Phoenix Fic in my head. This is the culmination of his development throughout the games that I had wanted so badly, and for that it has the absolute highest honors a fanfic can get in my head. 10000/10]

pressure (pushing down on me) by ApprenticeofDoyle [~130k; 7 chapters]

Dahlia Hawthorne is going to prison, and Phoenix Wright is a free man. Mia Fey takes one look at the glassy-eyed teenager collapsed on her couch and thinks, by the Mother, this kid needs therapy. Luckily, she knows somebody. (Or: Six times that Phoenix Wright needs help, and one time he gets it, without even having to ask.)

The Art of Personal Transfiguration by estelraca [~9k; oneshot]

Athena convinces Simon to stay at her place for a few days while he's getting his feet under him after his release from prison, and the two of them spend some time trying to get to know each other and themselves again. Post-Dual Destinies.

Of Haircuts, Pocketwatch Chains, Other Uninteresting and Undesireable Things, and Generic Wholecloth Christmas Magic by ribbontype [~9k; oneshot]

Phoenix finds an old gift lying around that he had meant to give to Edgeworth years ago, and Edgeworth finds himself obligated to return the favor. Meanwhile, Phoenix continues to live his life. Neither of these things are particularly easy. They are also not as hard as Phoenix and Edgeworth are making them.

[bookmarker's note: this guy fucking gets it]

The Turnabout Job by ribbontype [~15k; 2/6 chapters finished]

“Please, Mr. Edgeworth! Please! You know how the police in this country are - how our laws are. You’ve seen the way people are rewarded when they try to do the right thing the right way,” In a kinder world he could have disagreed with her, but they’re not in a kinder world, they’re in Los Angeles. “I don’t need the police. I need a good man who wants to help.”

Edgeworth makes a mistake that has him straying farther from the path of the courts than he ever has and, even worse, it could mean other people are going to go down with him. After seven long years abroad, his ill-advised stint back in Los Angeles forces a reunion of allies who had long since gone their separate ways. It'll take one last big turnabout to right the wrongs they've done. Just one big job, then everything can go back to normal

[grabs you. ace attorney leverage au]

i havent written anything ace attorney really but i've been your host ao3 user kaetor if you want to see. idk my other bookmarks

[rottingraisins]

could you recommend me some (any and all) scp fics to put on my to read list? im trying to get back into the fandom after not really keeping up with it for a while and now i cant fund anything that isn’t incredibly confusing or like 7 years old

also. the way you draw meri is absolutely gorgeous shes so fluffy

First of all thank u i love deer woman hehe! 2nd of all by god I sat on this for over 3 months bc, like, see, the thing about scp is that the line between fanfic and canon might as well not exist. I sincerely recommend that if youre trying to get back into it you start with the actual site itself bc most of the good writers who are into scp are just straight up on there.

However (!) there’s still a handful of offsite scp writing deemed “too soft” for the site or written by someone unwilling to engage with the wikis greenlighting process (which I respect massively, same hat) that im very fond of that I put under the cut 4 you. I hope you find something you like in there!

Peanut Butter Cookies by bandtrees

Possibly my favorite SCP fanfic on all of AO3. Follows Troy Lament during the events of In His Own Image, but with a few more glimpses into his private life and inner workings than he is afforded on the wiki. Also features some really charming appearances from miscellaneous senior staff, most prominently Agatha Rights. An examination of what it would actually be like to work for the Foundation, especially under one of its old legends, carried by very real-feeling character interactions.

the delicate art of sleeping through the night by thefriendlyvandal

I feel like everyone already knows about this one but it deserves to go here anyway by virtue of making me so thoroughly unwell (in the very best of ways). Clef/Kondraki fic taking place in the same universe as SCP-4231, and in fact written by the same guy. Perpetually unfinished, but what's there is enough to tear my heart out thrice over. Those old men can be so doomed.

The First Year by existentialterror

Arguably not fanfic at all by virtue of being written by Light's author, but it fits the above-mentioned criteria of being offsite writing that I think is really underrated. Light and her assistant Vaux's first Christmas at their newly acquired Site up in Scandinavia where they look at ghosts and contemplate the past and the Foundation and their place within it. Wonderful little character study and full of the humanity that authorlight imbues all of her writing with

Then and Now by bondsmagii

In the same weird not-really-fanfic-limbo as the above Light story since it's written by authorkondraki, but who cares. Set in the same universe as Quiet Days, Kondraki and his twin sister explore the ruins of Site-17 some few years after the end. A bit hammy, but I think about it a lot.

feathers and lonely cells by Nacho

Iris angst set in the Devils Advocate canon but not necessarily requiring having read it to understand what's going on. Wingfic, which I didn't know was like, a whole thing, before stumbling across it but it sure does take the concept of "people having wings" places. Ongoing, I'm acquainted with the author and they're planning on continuing it!

Also I fail to pick just one but I think everyone should check out my friend John @handsome-john's entire ao3 gallery he is such a skilled writer and I think everyone should clap and cheer for him. Known on this blog mostly for Mann/Kondraki cannibalism yaoi so far but he's been letting me peep his works in progress and he's dropping some massive bangers soon it looks like. Haha John you are on my tumblr blog

[yallmakemyassitch]

Let us reminisce...

(aka never ever dump)

#1: "Lee" Cassette Goon

Okay this one was honestly just a pipe dream; CG in lee mood. Didn't look all that deep into it and just thought it would be cool to draw considering her personality lol

#2: Underfell Papyrus?!

Yeahhhhh lemme explain. So there's this person on DeviantArt who made BANGER tickle fics of Undertale, especially Underfell and I fucking loved how they characterized Papyrus as this mean, tough soldier when in reality, he was a softy who loved tickling his bro. The fics are so heartwarming and while the account has laid stagnant for a while now, I absolutely recommend you read them. Can't remember the username so just search up "Underfell tickle fanfic" and the first result should be called Brother Monster. Anyways I wanted to do a digital drawing with UF!P absolutely annihilated Sans but I fucked shit up with the second panel so.... Just imagine Sans is being destroyed right now

#3: Torture

Gypsy was essentially being interrogated for information after being captured and kidnapped to the AAHW. Obviously, when it comes to the tickle torture it wasn't anything she expects and Gypsy quickly learns that the Auditor will not stop his until he gets what he wants

#4: Ironic situation

Pretty funny how he was a ruthless leader just three images ago. I had a Soldat OC in mind and made him the lover of the Auditor, someone he can be soft with behind closed doors but also have fun with. Essentially, Auditor liked being tickled and used his own powers just so the Soldat can come over and do the t h i n g ᕦ⁠(⁠ò⁠_⁠ó⁠ˇ⁠)⁠ᕤ. I actually want to make him real so expect him to show up real soon (+)

#5: The final zerbert for dessert

I had a lot of trouble with p.t 2 of the TxA post and this happened to be the panel that got scrapped, nothing much to say about it other than I thought it was too bland.

Anyways sorry for the lack of new content, exams start next week and I've been mostly focused on school. What you saw was just some old art that never made it out alive, most of my never ever really are just sketches or art so old it'll make you age 10 years just looking at it. It's cool though, I'm still working on Chapter 1 of my fic and the release date should be out soon. Isn't that so exciting?!!! Anyways hope y'all's year has been starting off pretty well, byeonara for now! (⁠ﾉ⁠≧⁠∇⁠≦⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠ ⁠ﾐ⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻ 💕

[sollucets]

2023 bl wrapped GO

tagged by my beloved @raypakorn & @khaotunq x

i have a poorly-maintained mdl if people would like to see it.

so, to be clear, all but three of all the bls ive ever watched i watched in 2023 (and maybe two depending on if you count between us as 2022 or 2023) and as such this sample size is. skewed. but also still somehow less than the other folks who i've been seeing. i tend to go Deep into obsessions instead of wide; i'm aware i havent seen a lot of genre classics but i also have done my best to watch important highlights hehe

Number of BLs this year and hours: 26 completed shows! im also still in the process of watching last twilight. my probably messed-up math on this means that the hours of that is about 226? apparently?

You primarily watched BLs from Thailand. yes ok who's surprised

You spent way too much time thinking about these characters: ayan love of my life star of my heart!! forever!!! always!!

++: akk (uncomfortable beloved mirror), sand (favorite chewtoy), black (i love my bitch wife), charn (cutie little lawyer), jaewon (perhaps the saddest boy ever to do it), & alan (sad wet cat)

Your favorite show was the eclipse, obviously, which it might surprise some of you to know i DID watch in 2023 (barely, i started in early january, but it was this year). only friends if it has to be a 2023 release.

Your overall BL mood was .... chaotic? i think? i'd say chaotic. i don't know what i'm doing and neither do any of these bitches

You read the most fanfiction about: by volume it's probably only friends -- it's not true anymore but for most of the airing period i very much had read or at least tried to read every single fic in the ao3 tag. lmao. eclipse & not me fanfic also beloved to me. return shoutout to you, jay, whose ray sustained me

Another of your favorites from this year was: i LOVE our dining table. so cozy and warm and beloved. my school president, which i did not start watching til 2023, also counts for me. both of those shows are like.... like throwing a cozy blanket over your shoulders

The soundtracks you listened to the most: let's try was my number one on my Actual wrapped, surprising absolutely no one forever. i also listened to the msp soundtrack a lot. another winner for me is the dark blue kiss soundtrack, which is full of incredible bangers

Your favorite acting pair was: hm. i,, i wonder. i wonder who it could possibly be ..................,,, yes of course it's firstkhao. of course. obviously. if i must be predictable i must; you all know this about me

other contenders include bounprem and earthmix, and other actors i like and care for include tay tawan & mark pakin.

thanks for asking me everyone !! it's been a wonderful 2023 of making friends through this lovely hobby and i care you all very much. mwah

[galwithalibrarycard]

Time for DW Opinions: 8th Doctor Movie Edition!!!!

- oh noooo not Unnecessary Surgery! Anything but Unnecessary Surgery!

- could do without the entire first 20min tbh

- Comparing the Doctor’s regeneration to the birth of Frankenstein’s Creature is genius and my literature nerd self is living for it

- “they fit perfectly!” = the exact moment I realized/believed that this is the same person as Nine/Ten/Eleven

- the above point makes me way less apprehensive about Old Who as a show, and more interested in watching it, if it means I’m more likely to love/connect with the classic incarnations like I do the new ones

- why can Eight absolutely Get It though

- his hair has major Enjolras-from-Les-Mis vibes for me, look at those curls

- I just…. I just like to look at him, ok?

- I like Dr Grace Holloway a lot too, but her quitting her job bugged me, how is she going to explain why she left when applying at other hospitals??? (never apply logic, I know, but I can’t help it, I don’t want her career to suffer)

- This plot with Eleven and a version of River that’s also Elizabeth Corday from ER would be a banger of an AU fanfic that i will never write but would probably read ngl

- I can see why anyone with no background knowledge/love of Who would have thought this movie was bad, and why it couldn’t find an audience

- it is, however, a DELIGHT

- sad to find out that these companions don’t at least show up in the audio dramas, justice for Grace and Lee. (Also eightgrace is v cute I’m a little surprised I buy it but I DO)

- also did they know about Y2K yet in 1996? Bc if not, it’s very funny that they wrote the Doc averting a crisis on New Years 2000, without knowing about all the real computer programmers needing to try to avert a real potential disaster on the real New Years 2000 (idk, I was a very small child at the time so)