#and it's so popular and recced everywhere

[llycaons]

“You have to stop critiquing American imperialism in public, baby,” Wei Ying says, covering his mouth with one hand. “You know how it gets me going.”

scream

[hiemaldesirae]

i have less than 24 hours left before i have to go through one of the most stressful days of my life so. heres a list of my fav radiostatic fic recs in no particular order

clarification: by radiostatic i mean fics where vox is 100% not the dom in the relationship. most of these dont contain explicit sex though, and im not recommending any straight porn fics here because you can easily find those with a click and search through the bottom vox tag lmao

most of these fics are unfinished, so be warned that i will not take accountability if you get attached to these without them being finished properly. in fact ill just laugh at you because then we'll be suffering together

now, that aside- starting off strong with some of the more popular fics:

RHTVS / Radio Healed the Video Star by Aspiring_Forest_Witch

notes: LONG fucking fic. like this guys almost 700k words long fic. one of the best things ive ever read in my life though and it has a plotline thats frankly more engaging than the actual showing of hazbin on amazon. so. you know. if you have the time to read it Please do you wont regret it

Unraveling Emotions by Xaelei

notes: one of my favourite fics ever on god. started my brainrot for dad!husk, portrays one of the most scrumptious radiostatic dynamics and is generally so very well written that i might end up trying to recreate one of the scenes in comic form. genuinely in love with this fic and im so glad i can say i was the first comment on this fic because my God its such a treat to see new chapters drop for this. unfortunately i havent had the time to write out a detailed comment as of now but if someone wants to let the author know that im still in love with their fic and will continue supporting it until i drop dead go ahead for me

Safe with Me by rillyrillo

notes: the prequel and main fic of this series is human radiostatic, though the sequel is set in hell. it comes with gorgeous gorgeous art and frankly one of the most exhilirating endings ive ever had the pleasure of witnessing play out. i recommend you guys check out their other fics too, the art continues in them + their radiostatic is written wonderfully across all universes!

A Month of Rut by Vylad

notes: this fic is very self indulgent to me. i love the way radiostatic is written in this one because theyre very soft and sweet, but others may not prefer it if theyre looking for freak4freak radiostatic. if you just want something to indulge in and relax with at the end of a heavy day though this is my #1 rec. i read this sometimes when i find myself crying at night lmao

Down, Up, and Back Down by CowboyEnthusiast

notes: made me sob like a baby. 10/10 no notes whatsoever read it for yourself because you WILL not regret it. i genuinely am always at a loss for words whenever i reread this because it is among the most gutwrenching but beautiful and poetic works that ive ever read and i think it deserves some recognition

Mind the Gap by ZLynn

notes: again, to reiterate, i do very much dislike the abusive!staticmoth portrayal i see in a lot of fics. but in this one... it's written so perfectly, i can definitely see it actually happening. i enjoy the way that val does still seem to care about vox, albeit in his own twisted way that eventually breaks and fractures their love and trust, and its just. Ugh. So fucking good

+ with the less popular but still wonderful depictions of radiostatic that i love to indulge in:

i'll give you a show (cause it helps fill the seats) by dead_and_dreaming

notes: absolutely shameless plug from me for my dear mk's work because i cant stop thinking about the way that she's portrayed al here. its actually insane how fucked up that stupid little deer is and i just. i really fucking love the way that their alastor is written, it's genuinely probably my Number One depiction of alastor ever. i demand more of this stupid little freak RIGHT NOW!!!!

Any of the fics by Rachello344 in the Hazbin Hotel Fandom Tag on their profile

notes: so remember when i told you guys i wouldnt be linking straight porn. looks away... okay in my defense though i read the smut for the characterization and their unique dynamics. its sooo interesting to see how their radiostatic is explored here and im honestly refreshed by the depiction of their relationship. im here for it !!!

The Read 'Em and Weep Series by TooManyPseudonyms

notes: so from what i was able to piece together (everything flies over my head when im reading, forgive me for my low media literacy) this is an au set before the hotel where (in the first work) al and vox are in a qpr relationship. in the second work this evolves into a romantic relationship, and the exploration of their dynamic through this is just... Yeah. please read it its 100% worth your time and so underrated it hurts my heart

Uneasy by Saezs

notes: this fic is one of the first radiostatic fics i read (the others being RHTVS and... i think i tried the 666 series, but it didnt appeal to me lol) and its actually just wonderful. i really love saezs's genderfluid vox and how supportive the other vees are of them <3 their portrayl of the characters puts a smile on my face whenever i reread their work

Heat Waves by HappyPRAWN

notes: i'll be fr dsmptsd hit me like a truck when i read the title but it is such an interesting debut! only at one chapter as of me making this post but the way the author wrote this is so engaging and it really makes me wonder what they have next in store for the fic

Do I have your attention now? by Chi_Chi25

notes: wow no way we have the same name... anyway ahem. ill be completely honest this ones a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. this fic is a bit fragmented and short, so for people who click off fics when they see imperfect grammar this one may not be for you. however if you can look past that, it has an engaging storyline and quite the juicy concept :)

Killer Ex by FanGirl48

notes: gorgeous, gorgeous little human! radiostatic oneshot. i love the relationship that vox and al have here... the reasons why they both stayed away from each other even though theyre still so very clearly down bad for each other... anyway. i think about this one a lot and i still go back to reread it sometimes lol

Negotiations by FanGirl48

notes: i didnt realize until i started making this list that this fic was also written by fangirl48.... go off queen keep feeding us (me). this one was a fic recommended to me initially by link nonny, and i can 100% vouch for how good it is. its got appletv interactions, radiostatic plus lucifer trying to navigate heaven, angels... basically everything needed for a very varied and well packed with flavour story

The diary of a Serial Killer by ShippersCave

notes: okay im running out of brain juice at this point but. yeah this fic is soooo self indulgent to me. this ones another human au, with al as a serial killer and vox as the journalist trying to conduct interviews with him. its got SUCH a good dynamic between al and vox, i encourage you guys to check it out and give it a chance even if youre not really into human aus.

My heart's been pierced by Cupid by ShippersCave

notes: pirate/siren au !!!!!!!!! RAAHH !!!!! i dont have to say anything else for this if thats not enough to get you to click then i dont know what is

System Shutdown by Swoolie

notes: i cant believe i nearly forgot about this one LMAO... vox goes onto a temporary hiatus and everyone goes crazy about it. im not really sure if this counts as radiostatic frankly because of the way its tagged but its so good i think you should give it a read anyway

Together in Radio Static by Anonymous

notes: QPR media husbands radiostatic au !!!! i love this one especially because it opens off with vox slapping alastor across the face for leaving him LMAOO (deserved)

What Has Been by Tianren

notes: another human au (YEAH YEAH I KNOW. JUST HEAR ME OUT OKAY i swear im cooking) look, as someone with religious trauma deeper than i can properly express and the worlds fifteenth worst parental issues, the depiction of vox in this fic just really hits home. i really adore the exploration of voxs past and how the themes of religious guilt and cults are woven in so far- and it blends very seamlessly with their human au, despite the characters eccentricities

you're too sweet for me by awestruck_atrophy and moonbeanies

notes: basically, vox and al make a deal where vox tries to help him out of the shackles or whatever that are bound to him because of his stupid dumbass lusting for power. its very intriguing so far and i love the setup and worldbuilding the authors have done, so you should check it out if you want a unique perspective on radiostatics relationship

candlelight by curtailed

notes: the best way i can think of to describe this one is like... fake marriage but instead of fake marriage its. fake roommates??? the author probably puts it better than me tbh. its super interesting so far, i cant wait to see where this one is headed especially with how unique its premise is!

Zero Day by Anonymous

notes: this one is like those time regression manhwas. you know, the ones where the protag goes back in time and proceeds to try and avoid everyone who made their life miserable- only to fail because for some reason now they're paying attention to them more than they would have had they stayed the same person. its certainly very promising, though! i do love indulging in time regression stories, especially when the mc is someone i love like vox. i really cant wait to see which direction this one is headed in :)

Never as Good as the First Time by IComeForFanficsNowin403

notes: okay. so, uh. um. so- this one is in spanish. HOWEVER its premise (serial killer alastor meets television star (?? i think. its not quite clear) at a party hosted by rosie, moves into his neighborhood to keep an eye on the pretty prey) is just so unique i honestly think its worth the experience to pull out google translate and try living the machine translated life. really. give it a chance. also its got beautiful art to go along with, so.. you know. thats just a bonus!

+ honorary staticmoth and one-sided/past radiostatic fic rec:

Freak-A-Zoid by Femalefonzie

notes: this fic deserves every single piece of praise its ever gotten because good lord. its SO good. i was not seeing the radiostatic twist come in, but it *is* mostly staticmoth. and also a/b/o but i mean. who *hasnt* indulged in a little bit of a/b/o before honestly

there are other fics that i personally like to indulge in, but i frankly wouldnt recommend to anyone else because they're either the kinds of fics that i myself can only bring myself to read after ive spent 8 hours at work crying into my pillow and need to look at something entertaining, or when im starved of content and cant be bothered to cook myself so i pull out the translator and start going at it. (technically i should know how to read french by now but. urgh. anywway..)

[00kittenz]

── “ get to the car, we’re leaving ” ( lhs ) 🥃

๑ In which Heeseung doesn’t take it lightly to you getting too close to one of the frat guys at a college party…

pair: jock!heeseung ㅊ thick gf!reader | warnings: smut, pwp, angst ??, fluff, mentions of drinking & smoking (weed), jealousy, upset heeseung but also soft, argument, hee almost fucks things up (relationship wise) + hot makeup s.x, spanking, shaking, fingering, oral (f. rec), piv, creampie | words: 2.6k

decided to make another jock!hee fic bc the first one i made got rlly popular ! i wanted to showcase more of what goes on in their lives and relationship lol, enjoyyy <3

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

you were chosen as tonight’s designated driver, per usual. one of your roommates invited you to her senior’s after exams party and of course you had to bring your significant other along with you for protection. though you weren’t planning on doing anything crazy, there was no way in hell heeseung wasn’t getting high tonight; plus with all the heavy drinks jay managed to sneak into his dorm, you wouldn’t be surprised if he’d gotten drunk either.

“jake, it’s your go !” heeseung slurs a bit, sipping from his red solo cup. “shit, my bad, it’s my win anyway.” jake places his play in a set of three on the table, a sly smirk fixed on his features, flexing his cockiness.

“oh, fuck you..” heeseung spits, dramatically tossing his cards onto the table, earning a light chuckle from you.

“where are you going ?” you watched as his body elevated from his last position.

“out of drink.” he pouts, ruffling his hand through your hair. “you coming with ?” his hand lifts yours in a way to pull you upwards.

“no.. don’ feel like it,” you gave him a soft smile, tapping his waist. “but make it quick !”

with that his slim body conjured into the kitchen, where a small bar had been made. everyone else who’d been playing terrible plays of poker kingdom were either now making out, drinking, smoking, or just left in general. yet here you are, bored out of your mind and couldn’t drink at all, pulling out your phone as you waited patiently for your boyfriend to come back.

it’s been 20 minutes… what could possibly be taking so long? that’s all that ran over your mind before you actually got up to go find him yourself. you feel like you need a leash on that boy sometimes.. scanning each crowd, different colonies of people in groups, some even scattered. that’s when your eyes landed on a familiar figure— jay, but this time he seemed free.

๑ ๑ ๑

“i really do have a girlfriend,” heeseung said loud enough for the random girl to hear over the blaring music.

“oh, trust me i wouldn’t take a guy as handsome as you to not be taken,” she spoke, “but it doesn’t seem like she’s here right now.”

he’s now come to realize that it had been awhile since he were waiting on his drink, and started to scan the area looking for you. you were with jay, a kind but natural flirt, hell, owner of this party. you asked him to help you look around for your boyfriend, since you were growing concerned. and he did so, checking everywhere even all the rooms.. once heeseung’s eyes bounced to your figure, he was visibly upset at what he saw.

“yeah no, fuck outta here” he scoffs, the drink became completely irrelevant to him now and ditched the annoying girl. you could be fucking around with his close friend as of now and that thought alone sobered him up to a peak. why the hell are they going into a room, at a party..? he knew his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him and he may be a little drunk/high but he’s not stupid. he wanted to come up with a logical reason but he couldn’t, that’s all he could think as he stepped closer and closer to the door you and jay hid behind.

you both had vanished from the hallway of doors before he’d even gotten there, opting to check the bar instead, only to find the perky girl who’d talked to him before. heeseung was so confused, but it didn’t stop him from rummaging from room to room. only making him angrier that you weren’t in any of them, and neither was jay. his hand dove into the back pocket of his jeans to ring your number. when you answered, his voice immediately aired through the speaker.

“y/n, where the hell are you ?! ” he drunkenly grumbles. you only laugh, you couldn’t help yourself. “hello ? .. ” you laughed again.

when you began to worry about heeseung being intoxicated and wandering around a party full of girls the panic settled in quickly. so, jay being the gentleman nobody thinks he is, tries to ease your mind with jokes to cheer you up as you kept looking around. that being while you were still on the phone, struggling to answer. “hello?..”

“y/n, can you hear me ??” he says for the millionth time already, voice laced with aggravated undertones.

“hello ? who is this ??” you hadn’t checked the caller id and you were far too occupied with finding heeseung. the music was far too loud and as you couldn’t hear any responses, you just hung up.

“what the actual fuck…” heeseung was more pissed off than confused, he couldn’t believe you’d just hang up on him like that. were his suspicions actually true ??

๑ ๑ ๑

“wanna try the balcony next ?” jay suggests as he’s slowly running out of options of where he could be, he knew he had to be in this house somewhere— heeseung would never just up and leave without you.

“sure!” you nod, following behind him as he lead you outside.

meanwhile, heeseung’s driving himself to a new level of insanity from not being able to find you. he thinks of anywhere else you could’ve run to and the last and only place he hadn’t checked yet— the balcony. he could only hope you were out there or he’s going to be worried sick. his fingers curl around the handle of the sliding door opening it to a surprised jay, and an even more shocked, you. both of your eyes darting to heeseung as soon as his figure leaned into frame.

“get the fuck up.” heeseung’s eyes glared at your being in utter annoyance.

“hee, i was looking for you!” you followed as he said, capturing his arms in yours only to your surprise he’d let go.

“jay, do you mind ?” the extra had gotten the message quickly and he just headed back inside to his packed habitat.

“where did you go baby, i couldn’t find you..” you say, looking into his eyes in honesty noticing the atmospheres gotten heavy.

“where did i go?? y/n, where did YOU go ?!” his figure shifts, staring at you in utter disgust. his mind was taking him to all kinds of places, places he never wanted to see, think, or hear of.

“to look for you? i said that already.” your brows furrowed.

“hmm, that's crazy cause i was doing the same thing.” he wanted to cut to the chase. “couldn’t find me so you just wandered off with jay ?? huh?”

“what ?? is that how low you think of me ? heeseung ??” your hands reach your hips. you can’t help but be offended. your boyfriend thought you were jacking off with his friend of all people. you had a reason to be.

“i mean it’s what it looked like !” he crosses his arms across his chest as he gritted through his teeth. “knew you shouldn’t have worn this outfit, it’s too revealing, bet you were the talk of the whole night..”

“wow,” you scoff, your body now facing another direction. you couldn’t believe him right now, first he accuses you of being with jay and now he’s acting insecure all because you wanted to wear a cute skirt. you don’t wear those quite often so it took a lot of courage for you to, but now you’re just second guessing everything.

“i’m talking to you, y/n. look at me.” you were flabbergasted, talk to him ?? what about how he openly admits you would cheat on him, or how he’s criticizing you for simply wearing something out of your comfort zone.

“well, i’m done talking.”

“fine, get to the car. we’re leaving.” you completely ignored him but had done as he said. he was fully sober by now, you were sure. he followed you not so long after storming out of the front door and once in the car, he slammed the door behind him.

๑ ๑ ๑

the drive from jay’s place was filled with a weird tension in the air, you noticed heeseung giving you glances from time to time checking up on you, but you weren’t to budge until he apologized to you. he thought you were for the team, when he knows you’re his, and only his. the car pauses once in the alignment of your driveway. to your dismay, you hear the doors locking while you’re still inside.

“let me out, hee.” you sigh heavily, gripping on the door handle.

“babe, can we talk first..” you couldn’t believe it, he wants to talk to you ?? really ?? the ‘friend fucker??’ how funny, you glare at him.

“what heeseung, i’m really tired.” you avert your gaze into the window.

“i’m sorry, i-” you cut him off. “you’re sorry ?! wow ?? when you should have been earlier ?? where was this apology earlier heeseung, when you actually hurt me.” your voice raised a notch.

“you know it was the heat of the moment, what’d you want me to think?? ‘oh she’s definitely not with the flirtiest guy on campus, yeah he totally doesn’t wanna fuck my hot girlfriend’.” he mocked a slight pitch change in his voice.

your mouth gaped. “are you really sorry or do you just wanna sleep next to me ??” you asked, you knew he couldn’t sleep alone, he needed you by his side.

“how about both. you know i mean it y/n. you’re just upset.” he plays with the steering wheel.

“dont tell me what i am, now let me out.” you grimace.

he clearly got upset by this, “you aren’t even trying to ease up the problem here ! and then later on you know you’re gonna pin everything on me. knowing damn well i tried fixing things.” he wavered his hands in the air as he spoke, he was kinda right yet you just didn’t like the way he was going about it. yes, he is trying to apologize, but you couldn’t help but still be mad.

“i get that, thanks for your apology.. but i don’t like how you spoke to me earlier.” your eyes fixate on his own. you felt the air tighten, you always did. there was genuine remorse in his eyes, you felt it.

hell, your man had the prettiest face you’d ever seen. and hell, he looked so sexy when he’s mad, and especially now, when he’s sorry. you simply wanted to tear him apart. his hand reaches yours and as he got the chance he wanted to show you how sorry he truly was. the softness of his lips caressed yours. you’d be lying if you said you weren’t wet right now. how couldn’t you be…

๑ ๑ ๑

“mm.. hee ..” you whined as the weight of his lips on yours lightened.

“i don’ wanna apologize to you in here,” he finally unlocked the doors. “get your pretty ass upstairs.”

his eyes traced your body, longing towards the way your pretty thighs look.. then gazing up at your ass as you complied, leaving your skirt riding up it’s soft exterior. an immediate tent grew in his pants. the one thing he loved most about you body wise, had to be your ass. it molded into his hands just perfectly. and it replied to any friction he applied to it on command. he loved how red and bruised it got once his hands launched across it’s surface. and how he’d sometimes be able to see his own handprints. you were the sexiest woman he’s ever laid his eyes on.

๑ ๑ ๑

“nggh, hee.. yes, please..” you drool out at the sound of his balls slapping against your ass as he pounded against you. “fuck me baby, fuck me!” you yelp when you feel his nails gripping into your waist.

“you want it baby, huh, you want it so deep in you don’t you, huh ???” his lips caressed your neck as he grabs onto your leg to inch himself more into you.

“you’re close? mhm, you like how i fuck you sloppy? such a dirty slut for me ..” he chuckled as he felt you clench around his length at his dirty words. “open your mouth. when i speak to you” his fingers lazily run circles around your clit.

you couldn’t mutter a single word, he’d fucked you completely dumb, your orgasm swelled up so deep inside you. you felt like you could puke but you didn’t want it to stop. you never wanted it to end.

“hah.. shit baby, ‘m gonna cum..” your nails grip his forearms, your arms pushing your boobs together caging them in.

he groaned at the beautiful sight below him, leaning down onto your nakedness caressing one of your nipples with his tongue. your stomach tingled, by the time you knew it your orgasm peaked, leaving his cock all messy of your juices. you whined as he pulls out, looking down at your folds and spreading them before grazing his mouth over your heat, flicking his tongue on your already overly sensitive bud. you could cry right in this moment from just how heavenly your boyfriend was making you feel. you held onto him for dear life as he buried his face between your plush thighs, the lewd sounds filling the room as he drank you.

“turn over.” he demands once coming back up for air again, you obey straight away, laying onto your stomach, letting out heavy breaths as your body ached.

heeseung lifted your hips, putting you on all fours.

“can you take some more for me baby? ‘m close..” he puckers kisses all over your ass and waist, heeseung hadn’t came yet. he kinda has this weird game in his head where he tries to see how long he can last until he physically just can’t take it anymore. it’s oddly satisfying in the end because not only does he cum so much more but he gets to fuck you even longer, it’s a win win in his book !

“mhm.. more baby !” you respond quickly, you were greedy as fuck for his cock and he loved that you were just as horny as him.

with that, he were thrusting like no tomorrow into your tight cunt. a loud slap to your ass comes with full force, barely giving you any time to react. your body jerks forward, jaw locked in place as you grab onto the sheets to keep you stable. your head was empty, no thoughts other than how good heeseung was fucking you like his life depends on it.

“pussy made just for me, you feel so good baby. you love milking my cock, don’t you?” his moaning reached another level of loud. it was so sexy..

“all yours baby, please come in me ! fill me up hee !!” he pulled out before thrashing back in, noticing the white ring around his dick changing sizes everytime his length swipes through your core.

“that’s right, yeah baby, where do you want it ??” his pace quickens, you can barely catch your breath. you felt your high returning, his high approaching quicker as you clench around him, once more.

“inside ! oh please inside me !!” you turn your head towards him giving him a pleading look, a look that stroked his ego a little too much. you felt his jizz filling you up and leaking from your open as he slid himself from you.

“baby!.. i’m not done..” you pouted.

“i know, i know. don’t worry princess.” you felt two of his digits thrusting into you, biting your lip as he made your back arch in surprise.

your hand grips the sheets of the bed even tighter as the other played over your thirsty clit. and with just a curl, you bursted. whines filling the room, your body collapsing and a shaky sigh leaving your body as you rub your legs together to stop the throb, your lover felt accomplished with the result.

“shaking orgasm.” he chuckled, his fingers traced lines along the slope of your waist and his lips finding place on yours.

what an apology. you felt lush. (つω`｡)

THNX FOR 450+ FOLLOWERS YA’LL WTF, it’s only been like 2 weeks on this acc :’)) i appreciate all of u for reading my content hehe ♡︎

[kiyoomi-levin]

here for you (yan!Suna RinatroxF!reader)

a/n this has been a wip for so long... enjoy! i'm working on a atsumu [nsfw] fic so be on the lookout for that next (unless adhd takes over and i start working on a different one instead)!

summary:: As a pro athlete and model, he's nice enough. And yet...there’s something in your gut that says you should stay away. word count:: ~4.4k warning(s):: non-con (no smut/SFW), suna's a grade A creep/stalker, yandere!!, isolation, stockholm syndrome, horror??(i tried to make this scary but it's really not lol) Music rec:: joke's on you - charlotte lawrence

As an aspiring journalist, your dreams had all but come true when you were hired as an intern at the most prestigious sports media center in Tokyo. 

You get to shake hands with athletes you see on television daily and most importantly, you had received an actual assignment. 

Gone were the days of running around to get your manager coffee and spending the day shredding documents. Instead, you had been tasked with creating an in-depth piece into the most popular athlete of the year— Suna Rintaro of EJP Raijin. 

You still vividly remember your first time meeting him. 

You’d been star-struck— a tall, gorgeous man you had only ever seen through a screen was standing in front of you. 

Smiling. Holding out his beautiful hand for you to shake. 

Despite his casual demeanor, there was something off about him. Maybe it was your nerves, or the cold air circulating in the office, but there was a tug in your stomach that was warning you. 

At the time, you had plastered an excited grin on your face and scolded yourself. 

But looking back— his eyes were quite cold, weren’t they?

You just can’t explain why you feel sick whenever you see him. In fact, despite the great task ahead of you—interviewing and writing up an article on Suna— you had been avoiding him. 

There’s just something in you that dreads looking into his sharp green eyes.

It doesn’t help that in spite of your best efforts, you strangely run into him everywhere-- on and off the court.

“Suna?” 

Your voice comes out squeaky and clearly nervous.

Are your eyes deceiving you? Why would he be here, in the middle of the cereal aisle, at the small grocery store next to your dingy apartment? You have to do a double take before you can confirm that yes, it is in fact him.

It’s late, and it’s only you, Suna, and the tired store manager. Though, at this moment, it feels like it’s only the two of you in this world. 

“Oh. Hey, y/n,” Suna says casually, flashing you his famous smirk— the one that has his fans screaming and crying. He’s on his knees, reading the back of a granola cereal. 

Suna turns back to the aisle in front of him, finally placing a box into his basket. Your brain registers it as your favorite flavor (the unhealthy, chocolate-y type that you’re sure athletes shouldn’t be eating). 

What a coincidence. 

“What are you doing here?” 

You live on the edge of Tokyo, an unfortunate 30 minute subway ride to get to the sports arena you’re working at. And you know, from Suna’s player profile, that he lives in a luxurious high-ceiling apartment only a few blocks away from there. 

“What do you mean?” Suna asks, frowning. He seems genuinely confused. 

Are you the crazy one? 

“Oh, it’s just… so random, you know?” 

Your throat is tightening now and you feel unable to even swallow.

There are alarms blaring inside of your head, as if every fiber is irrationally telling you to run.

Suna glares at you, sharp eyes studying your smaller stature. 

God. Another reason why you don’t like this man— he’s just too difficult to communicate with. 

“You live quite far away, right?” 

Seconds pass and you’re beginning to worry you’ve said something wrong or offensive when Suna finally stands, sighing as he turns toward the registers. 

“No. I just moved to Kamikitazawa.” 

You feel that tingle again. 

“What a coincidence!” You say, recovering quickly.

Fuck. You sound especially stupid right now. 

But could you help it? Suna, a multi-millionaire, moved into your apartment building? The one inhabited by broke college students and poor retirees? 

Was he struggling financially? Did he have a secret child like some rumors alleged? Wait, is he—

“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but whatever it is, you’re wrong.”

Suna and you are standing at the cash register now, and he turns to gently smile at you. You feel yourself softening. 

Why were you scared, anyways? He’s a world-famous athlete and model. 

Your premonitions have been wrong in the past— like when you thought your boss, Kuroo, would be upset with you accidentally deleting his PC files. 

“I see,” you murmur, “well… the apartment is kind of… there’s a lot of problems, you know?” 

The words tumble out of your mouth before you can stop them. You sound like a broken radio.

There's an awkward silence as you and Suna both try to find the words to say. 

This is why you hate talking to him, he expects you to do all the work!

"You should know that the third elevator isn't that good. It always gets stuck on floor two. And the garbage chute at the end of every hall is kind of hard to open. You have to," you make a pulling motion, "really yank, ya know?"

Silence. Suna stares at you blankly.

You're just an absolute loser, aren't you?

He's gonna cringe, or worse, tell your advisor that you're being overfamiliar with him, an athlete 5 years your senior…

As you stand in your cheap winter boots, shivering, Suna suddenly laughs.

It's not the quiet chuckle you see him release when he's joking with Komori, but a head-throwing, mouth widening laugh.

"Uh..." you stutter, nervous.

It takes a full minute before he finally stops, silently pink at the face.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," he says, lifting his shopping basket. 

You nod repeatedly, nerves subsiding.

"Wanna walk back together?" Suna asks. 

You hesitantly nod. Why not? It's late and dark, and though the neighborhood is calm, it never hurts to have a walking buddy.

On the walk home, to your surprise, Suna begins to talk about his team and compliments you for your article on the top liberos. You’ve never seen this side of him. There’s a reason why he’s so beloved— he’s a mystery.

You’re nearly zoning out as the two of you reach your apartment complex. 

"Am I boring you?" Suna suddenly asks.

It's such an unexpected question, you falter for a second.

"No! I'm just... I feel relaxed. I like hearing your voice," you say, surprised.

Suna lets out a sigh of relief as he punches in the door code to the building. 

"So. As I was saying, you want me to give you a ride tomorrow?"

"What?” 

"A ride. To the arena." He says, enunciating every word as if you're a child. 

"It's okay," you start, “I—”

"Take the subway, yeah. But it's a hassle, right?"

No, it's not. In fact, it's pretty nice, seeing strangers off to their desired destinations.

But it's as if he can read your mind.

"I’ll give you a ride." 

It's not a question anymore.

"Alright," you murmur.

The short journey to your floor is now awkward, and you’re wishing you had turned down his offer to walk together. 

The two of you are almost at the end of the hallway now, at your apartment door. To your horror, Suna doesn’t continue walking.

Instead, he simply turns around and reaches for the doorknob of the apartment just across from you. 

Strangely, you’re just now noticing just how narrow and dark this hallway is. 

Under the cheap fluorescent lights, you can only see the man in front of you. Suna’s pale hands flex as he easily readjusts his heavy grocery bags, reminding you he could take you out in a moment.

“Wow. Looks like we’re neighbors, huh?” Suna says, stepping into his flat.

You’re blinking up towards him, breath cut short.

“See you tomorrow, y/n.”

Funny. He didn’t sound surprised. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're just tying your hair when the doorbell rings.

"y/n, you ready?" 

Who would’ve imagined hearing the Suna Rintaro’s voice at 9 AM.

You sigh as you take a final glance into the mirror. You couldn’t completely hide the dark eye circles from your lack of sleep— who’d be able to sleep after learning a celebrity lives practically next door?

Taking a deep inhale, you push open your front door.

You instantly feel yourself healing as you take in Suna. It’s a similar effect to watching your favorite idols perform on stage— good looks work wonders on your tired body.

Suna leans against the wall, wearing a pair of black sweats and a thin blue hoodie. With a start, you can't help but notice it's almost a couple set with your blue sweater and black skirt.

"Good morning," he says, sliding his phone into his pocket. You nod in response. 

As you walk down the hall together to the elevators, you can't help but flush. Is this what it'd be like to have a boyfriend? As a student dedicated to her craft, you’d never felt the urge to date, remaining single your entire life. You can’t help but wonder what it’d be like to be Suna Rintaro’s. 

“Oh! What’s this!” Kiana, a middle-aged woman, calls out as you and Suna wait for the elevator. 

“y/n! You never told me you got a boyfriend! And such a handsome one, too! Oh, if I was only a little younger…” 

You and Suna make eye contact and you blush, quickly turning towards the smiley woman, ready to retort.  

“We’re—” You barely make out a word before Suna suddenly takes your hand.

“Good morning, ma’am. I’m Suna Rintaro, y/n’s boyfriend. I just moved into apartment 306.” 

At his words, both your and Kiana’s eyes widen.

Yours in confusion, hers in wonder as she recognizes the handsome stranger. 

“I know you! I know you! You’re Suna, from that team! Oh, my son is such a fan! I can't believe you're living here! He’ll be so excited."

As Suna and Kiana make small talk, you try to discreetly shake your sweaty hand out of Suna’s grasp. To your bewilderment, he continues gripping onto it, so hard you can feel his short fingernails digging into your soft skin. 

To your relief, the elevator chimes, and as Suna waves goodbye (you do too, out of habit), you gasp as he yanks you into the elevator.

"What was that?" You ask, nervously looking up at your ‘boyfriend.’ 

Suna’s eyes are hard as he stares down at you, but he’s glowing all the same, as if he’d just received a gift. 

“Saying we’re a couple. What was that about?”

Suna hums innocently. 

"I just thought it would be most convenient to tell her that. People will see us together from now on." 

No, they won't. 

“It would confuse them to have to explain you’re an intern.”

Was that so complicated?

But with his mischievous smirk and the way he taps his foot against the elevator floor, you just can’t find the courage to refute. 

“Alright… but could you let go?” You ask uncomfortably.

"Ah, right," he says, letting you free. 

You rub your hands together, easing the circulation back. 

Strangely, it feels especially cold without his grip on you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up." 

Awakening with a start, you rub your eyes. 

You can't help but admit you could get addicted to free rides with Suna. 

His car is just too nice; the seats are fluffy and he turned on the heater to just the right temperature and there's soft piano playing from the speakers.

How long have you been out? 

Taking in your surroundings, you're surprised to find you're already at the Tokyo Volleyball Arena. You almost jump in shock as you realize what’s warming your lap— a box of your favorite strawberry waffles. 

���What’s this?” You question as Suna wordlessly hands you a fork. 

"I thought you might be hungry.” 

Suna slides a cup into your open hand— matcha. 

So he is a nice man, after all. 

“Wow, Suna! Let me please pay you back!” 

Your stomach grumbles as you take a bite of the sweet breakfast. 

“No, no, it’s on me.” 

How could you make it up to him? Maybe you should bake him cookies or something… you shift in your seat, frowning as you realize your bare thigh is strangely damp. Rubbing your thighs together, your eyebrows furrow.

“Oh,” Suna says, biting into his scrambled eggs, “sorry. That was me, I got some coffee on you while you were sleeping, so I wiped it away," he says sheepishly, gesturing towards the pack of wet wipes in the glove compartment.

He looks embarrassed, avoiding eye contact, so you don't push it any further.

He's kind of cute, you think.

It kind of feels too perfect– the plush comfort of Suna’s luxury car, the sweetness of the waffles, and the delicious matcha, albeit slightly salty.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, y/n, which movie should we watch?" Suna calls from your couch. 

You're in the kitchen, preparing popcorn in your small microwave.

"Studio Ghibli!" You shout back, stirring the hot chocolate, “I have a whole bunch downloaded, just choose one.” 

It's become a regular occurrence for the two of you to spend much of your free time together. At first, Suna had gently coaxed you into spending time with you under the guise of doing more research for the article you’re writing about him, but now you’ve grown to genuinely enjoy his company.

From morning rides to office lunches to casual dinners, it's like your life has been consumed by Suna. Your gut had been wrong, after all, because Suna treats you like a girlfriend— although you’d long shook away that silly thought— he’d never see a younger, broke student that way. 

But despite your brain knowing everything is just fine, your heart has yet to be rewired. It still pounds with discomfort, as if it knows that fundamentally, something’s wrong. 

You just can’t identify or place a label on that problem. 

More recently, you’ve been getting hit with strong deja vu from that one night at the grocery store months ago. 

As if it’s only the two of you on this planet. 

Sighing, you take your place next to Suna, glancing at your phone. It remains still, screen dark.

“What’s wrong?” Suna asks, frowning. He pushes up his black glasses, running his fingers through his damp hair.

You hesitate. It’s fine to share this, right? After all, it feels like Suna’s all you have right now.

“Well… I’m not sure why, but I think my friends are mad at me. For the past few months, they’ve been silent. They don’t really respond to me anymore, and when they do they just say they’re busy.”

Suna nods, reaching for your hand. You welcome the warmth of his fingers, blinking back tears.

“And even worse, my family hardly contacts me. I used to call my mom basically everyday. I think there’s something really wrong, Suna, I’m really worried.”

“How long has this been going on?” Suna has the movie paused now, full attention on you. He gently strokes your hair and the kind gesture has tears pooling in your eyes.

“For a few months… maybe… four? I didn’t realize it at first because of how busy I’ve been at work and with the article I’m writing on you,” you mumble, allowing Suna to embrace you. 

He’s gently rocking you back and forth now, rubbing your back, whispering kind words into your ear, telling you it’s okay and they’re probably just busy too…

Minutes pass before you finally look up, eyes widening as you take in his facial expression. 

Despite his sweet words, Suna’s eyes are completely blank and there’s a questionable, small smile on his face. You barely recognize him.

“y/n?” 

You blink, and take in an inaudible breath as you stare at Suna. 

He cocks his head, confused. He looks at you with nothing but affection and concern, thin lips pressed into a frown. 

Your heartbeat slows as you realize that, yet again, you’d just been seeing and feeling things wrong— whenever you’re around Suna, it’s as if you lose sense of your surroundings. 

Smiling, you sniffle as you wipe away your tears. 

“Sorry for getting emotional at movie night.”

Suna grins, giving you a final gentle hug before turning back to the television.

“Don’t be. I’m always here for you, y/n.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: Suna, this question has been long requested by your fanbase. How do you express love? 

A: Dedication. I give my all to my lover, no questions asked.

Oh, and I don’t like to share.

There’s suddenly a knock at your door, causing you to jump. You put down your laptop, where your open article draft sits nearly complete. 

The lightning storm outside has you shaking and you just wish Suna was here, holding you and laughing at his silly responses to your even stupider interview questions. 

Another knock at the door. 

Strange— Suna’s practice runs for extra long today for his upcoming tournament. Maybe he finished early. 

“Suna, why didn’t you call before practice finished? We could’ve gone out for dinner,” you scold as you pull open the door. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

Standing in front of you is your furious older sister, drenched from the rainstorm outside. 

“Oh my god! Come in!” You say, alarmed. You reach towards her wrist, but she remains planted in place. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

She’s angrier than you’ve ever seen her. 

“How could you tell us to fuck off? You really think your journalism is that important? Your writing isn’t more important than family, you asshole! It’ll never be important!” 

Taking a deep breath, your sister lets go, immediate regret evident on her face. She opens her mouth to apologize, but you’re not having any of it. 

Anger is coursing through your body now and you shove your sister away, causing her to stumble against Suna’s door. 

Your family has never supported your career— from when you were just a child, you’d had to work hard for your own future. 

So this is why they had shunned you? Because they can’t stand seeing you successful? Because you had moved away from the countryside to make something out of yourself in the city?

Tears stream down your face as you tremble.

“My writing is important,” you whisper. Your sister nods quickly, opens her mouth again—

“Don’t come by anymore. Don’t consider me a part of the family anymore.”

“No, I’m sorry— I think there’s a miscommunication, y/n! Wait!”

Slamming the door on her shocked face, you stumble towards the couch. 

It feels as though you’re going to die— the room spins as your lungs strive for air and your vision is becoming increasingly blurry. 

The sound of rain and your sister pounding on the door intertwine, and as you bury your head into a pillow, you really just wish Suna was at your side. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“y/n?” 

Someone’s tugging at your sleeve, and you glance up, blinking uncomfortably at the bright lights of the living room. There’s dried tear streaks on your face and you’re sure you look like a miserable ogre, but Suna looks at you with nothing but compassion as he hugs you, alarmed.

He’s slightly damp—probably a combination of sweat from practice and the rain outside—but you hold onto him eagerly as he eases you onto his lap. 

“What happened?” 

You shake your head, explaining what had happened in the few hours when he’d been gone. 

Suna’s furious on your behalf, jaw tight and fists clenched. 

“Thank god I told your sister to fuck off. She was standing at your door, yelling curses and threatening to call the police,” he mutters.

Tears spring to your eyes again. This only confirms the reality of your life now— your family (and probably friends, too) absolute despise you. 

 “Don’t worry, y/n. I’ll always be here for you,” Suna whispers. 

His words are somewhat like a relaxant to you. Taking a deep breath, you lean into his chest, sighing. 

“I don’t think I can write anymore, Suna. I don’t want to. What have I been working towards my whole life?” 

Suna remains silent for a moment, studying your sorrowful face, before leaning in to brush his nose against yours. Your eyes shift, admiring his gorgeous olive ones.

“Your journalism is amazing, y/n. And… if you hadn’t worked so hard, we might’ve never met, right?”

You smile sadly.

“I guess…”

“y/n, how about you wrap up your article tonight? You’re almost done, aren’t you?”

You gesture towards your open laptop on the coffee table. 

“It’s done, but it’s shit. My sister’s right, it’s not worth anything,” you say, embarrassed. You’ve always known you were talentless, which is why you’ve always worked harder. But it amounted to nothing in the end. 

You press your cold hands against your burning eyes as Suna picks up your laptop, skimming through what you’ve written about him. 

If even he hates it… that’s it. You’re not sure how you’re supposed to go on. 

“y/n, will you look at me?” 

Suna’s gently tugging at your hands covering your face. Biting your lip nervously, you let him take your hands into one of his. 

“Want my honest opinion?” He asks, placing the laptop onto your lap. You nod, staring down at the bright screen.

“This is the best thing anyone’s written about me.”

You close your eyes, shaking your head. 

“Don’t lie.”

“y/n. I’m serious. This shows exactly the side I wanted the public to know about me. It’s intimate, but written formally enough to be taken seriously by the media.” 

When you don’t respond, Suna sighs sadly. 

“I guess you don’t want the opinion of a dumb athlete, though…”

Frantically, you look up, shocked.

“Of course not! Suna, your opinion is everything to me!” 

Relief settles in your stomach as Suna grins, eyes shining. 

“Really?”

“Of course! Thank you… That really means a lot to me.”

Suna nods, rambling about how much he loves that sentence here, the use of punctuation there…

“What’s wrong?” He asks, noticing you look down again. 

“I… just feel like I have nobody but you, Suna.”

Suna smiles at you, waving towards the polaroids of your friends and family hung on the wall. 

“I’m sure they’ll come around again, y/n.” 

Your nose crinkles as you cringe at the photos. You want them gone. You want all of the references towards them gone. 

You want to get out of here.

“I hate this apartment, actually. They helped me decorate it and everything,” you sigh.

“Well then, how about we move out together?” 

You fiddle your thumbs, headache threatening to return.

“I don’t have that type of money,” you say, frustrated. It’s easy for a world-class athlete like him to just up and leave, but you’d never be able to, not unless you dropped out of school and found a job elsewhere. 

“y/n, I’ve just remembered. I have an apartment near our stadium, right? How about you move there for the rest of your internship?”

You hesitate. Intruding into the home of a man you’re not even in a relationship with? While the offer is tempting…

“Don’t worry about anything, y/n. Don’t think too hard about it.” 

Suna’s gently rubbing circles onto the side of your hands and you feel like melting away, exhausted. 

All that crying and anger has truly taken a toll on you. Your eyelids flutter as you finally nod.

“Okay.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you sure?” 

Now that it’s come to actually burning the photos, you’re hesitating. Aside from the few photographs on the walls, your apartment is completely bare, all of your belongings now residing in Suna’s luxury condo.

“y/n. You don’t need them anymore.”

You pause, the lighter in your hand feeling heavier by the second. With this, you’re truly erasing all parts of your former family and friends. Just then, your phone buzzes— you barely need to look at it to know it’s a string of curses from your ex-best friend. 

Suna grimaces as he deletes the message, examining you out of the corner of his eye.

“You’re right, Suna. I don’t.”

You watch as the pictures go up in flames, holding back tears. 

Looking around your now empty apartment, Suna wraps his arm around your shoulders. 

“I always thought your walls would look better bare.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In and out. 

In and out.

There’s something so comforting about the way you breathe. 

You’re lying motionless on Suna’s large bed, curled into a ball. 

Adorable.

Sighing, Suna collapses next to you, admiring your eyebrows, the curve of your nose, your lips…

When was the last time he’d felt this content? Reaching out, Suna gently tucks your hair behind your ears, admiring the small s shaped earrings adoring them. 

Bringing you here was the best option. It’d taken him a little longer than he’d hoped, but now you were truly in the palm of his hand.

He’d almost slipped up a few times (your gut was much smarter than you) but everything had worked out, hadn’t it.

Since the day he’d first met you nearly a year ago, Suna knew you’d be his. 

He’s not sure why, but there’s this thing about him— sometimes, when he sees something, he wants it. 

And he’ll do anything to make sure it’s entirely his.

You mumble in your sleep, rolling over to face the large windows that present the city of Tokyo below his feet. 

He has it all now. 

His phone vibrates— messages from your concerned father. 

Rolling his eyes, Suna silently reaches over to your phone, which lies innocently next to your small hand, and unlocks it (the password being his birthday, obviously). 

Without hesitation, Suna begins wiping out all traces of the code he’s implanted into your phone. 

There would be no more reason to reroute your messages to himself anymore.

Next, Suna makes sure all of your family and friends’ contacts are blocked. 

Ensuring your safety is a top priority of his. 

He squeezes your device in his large hand, wondering if he should just break it. 

If Suna had it his way completely, he’d rather you not have a phone at all. 

Tossing your phone back onto your side of the bed, Suna smirks as he unlocks his own device. 

Desperate messages from your sister pop up, warning you of your tall neighbor, he threatened to kill me if i didn’t leave y/n please get away from him and go to the police!

Suna slides his thumb across the screen, removing the messages from his screen, and disconnects his phone from yours.

After all, you wouldn’t be getting contacted by those nuisances anymore. 

Almost done, then he can sleep peacefully with you—Suna sends the email he’s been working on: a PDF attachment of your final draft of your article on him and a short message of your resignation as an intern, written by yours truly. 

Turning over, Suna locks the bedroom door, smiling. 

There’s no need for anyone else. 

Not when he’s always going to be here for you.

[orchidego]

ao3 has taken me places I wouldn't even go to with a g*n

smoking on that dramione pack

( @ailenach asked me for a dramione rec list so that's what this post is, anyone else read at your own risk )

Compiler’s note - skip down to the list if you don’t need to know why/what exactly I like in fic!

aka my dramione ethos: The most compelling dynamic in a ship, for me, is when it comprises of two people giving each other the strength to be the people they need to be.

Before he can be loved, Draco must be redeemed. In a way, he’s awfully bad at being a blood supremacist (lacking real conviction). Draco’s Slytherin morality, at least as a teen, compels him only in the direction of protecting and preserving himself and his own; he doesn’t seem to have a morality outside of this. Everything else is borrowed from his fear and desire to conform to his loved ones’s expectations. Contrast with Hermione, who has an outsized sense of morality—she knows exactly what is good and right, and she throws herself into her causes with self-righteous conviction, headstrong and beautifully off-putting.

Draco, the boy who belonged everywhere, watched his fragile worldview turn to ash and became unmoored. Hermione, the girl who belonged nowhere, bent the world towards her through obstinate radiant willpower, and established herself. Two people who could, maybe, find a home in each other.

A Draco in love with Hermione might wrap his morality around her courage, might steady himself while in the service of her. A Hermione in love with Draco might be preserved by him, may be bolstered against burning out or being misunderstood or unseen. They’re both industrious with their respective tasks (she researches! he toils!), which lends itself to them having intellectual parity. They’re both kind of intense. Then there’s the general enemies to lovers appeal, the idea that at no point in time were these two characters ever indifferent towards each other. The banter potential alone…!

So this is some of the kind of exploration I like in fic, pressed in many different tones; ff is especially unique in that we can play around with the elements (AUs, contrived circumstances, tonal shifts, narrative beats) and be more experimental because the weight of canon grounds it.

My rec list:

Before I truly begin, I feel like I have to comment on it: I did ultimately enjoy Manacled. A "Voldemort wins" fic with a Handsmaid Tale twist; it has compelling structure, with a D/Hr dynamic suited to my tastes and what I find interesting about the characters. However, it's dark (mind the tags) and I’m still not certain if the content was handled as effectively as the author meant it to be, and so I don't think it's a universal recommendation despite its staggering popularity. If you do want to read this I would recommend downloading it because she's going to delete it off ao3 once the novelization of it comes out next year.

My quintessential dramione recommendation is, of course, The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. It's a full Deathly Hallows rewrite where Draco goes Horcrux hunting with the trio and as far as I'm concerned, it's canon. Unlike every other fic on my list, I would recommend this to everyone. Written very closely in style to the books, I think it has universal appeal and it’s the perfect jumping off point for the pairing while being convincing. Sometimes I would find myself wishing that this was the direction the books had taken. PG-13, in terms of violence and sexual content, which I find significant enough to bring up since there’s usually a lot of sex in popular ff.

My favorite humor-based rec: Bad Omens. Written in the vein of Terry Pratchett. I would describe this as a "star-crossed morons" kind of story. It's literally perfect.

Remain Nameless. Caveat that this sort of trailed off for me once the central tension with the relationship was resolved but I think in terms of an adult redemption arc it was very sweetly done. Sometimes achingly tender.

The Fallout is probably my favorite “extended wartime” fic of all time. The intimacy in this makes me want to kms, in a good way. I'm linking to a downloadable pdf here since it's been removed off other sites.

Love in The Time of Zombie Apocalypse. Zombie outbreak AU. Strays from canon characterization but. Plot goes crazy. Complex character work. Hooked me all the way through.

Thirteenth Night. Post-war, Hermione assigned to monitor a memory-charmed Draco. Less epic than a lot of the other recs on this list because the scope of the world is small, but it’s quietly good.

This is just my plug for anything PacificRimbaud has ever written, but particularly the historical rom com Love and Other Historical Accidents, the raunchy and funny One and Done, and the tender romantic one-shot Les Pelerins.

BLOODY, SLUTTY, AND PATHETIC. Listen to me. Listen to me. The title sort of explains the tone and it carries entirely throughout. I am obsessed with this version of Draco. All men should be bloody slutty and pathetic. Post-war, ministry employee Hermione, marriage law AU (which tbh I don't tend to love usually, so this really is exceptional).

She Whom He Harbors. Ok before you read the summary/tags and judge me, yes, this is basically a "fuck or die" fic. I figured I needed to make the rec in case this is a vibe anyone is interested in pursuing. But it's not just gratuitous smut, I swear, there's a compelling plot here. Lot of orgasms. But there is a plot.

Brand New World. Epic in scope. Diverges in plot while they're still at Hogwarts. Great Draco redemption arc (which is important to me!)

The Gloriana Set. ThebeMoon is my personal queen of Hogwarts Eighth Year fics. I would also rec The Darkwood Wand, by the same author. Both very fun reads.

Things Without Remedy. Time travel! Adore the serious relationship build in this one.

Tea & Necromancy. Sort of an experimental tone. Equal parts funny and morbid.

Sucker Punch. Also would classify this as experimental; you'll know if you jive with the writing within a few paragraphs.

Choice and Chance. Absolutely delicious plot divergence at the point of Hermione's torture at Malfoy Manor. Involves multiverse elements.

Beyond Recall or Desire. If you like soulmate bonds!

Malfoy Shrugged. On the shorter side; just a great two-shot.

Tromp as Writ. While I'm recommending perfect one-shots.

Mindbound. This author has a series of very short works based on fairy tales. This one is my favorite but I'd recommend the others too.

Past / Present / Future. Barbara Kruger AND a perfect adult Draco characterization? J’adore.

My very last recommendation is something that is so important to me, but I'm separating it like this because it's a WIP whereas all the others are completed fics. Please don't let that deter you, if at all interested.

Lionheart. !!!!

What can I say about Lionheart, except that its author somehow resides in my brain and created something for me, specifically? I've really so rarely read fic that is so perfectly balanced in dialogue, character understanding, narrative arc, plotting, action—when I read this, I feel like how I felt at 11, reading Harry Potter. For real. It's a whole series rewrite, truly epic in scope, asking the question: what if Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor? Currently the storyline is complete as to book four, partially through book five, and being updated. The character work is especially stunning to me. This is the sweetest slowburn friendship-to-lovers of my dreams; obviously heavy on the friendship arc since we're not all the way through, and yet I find that my emotional investment in this is so heightened it doesn't even matter to me. I want to read thousands of words of this (luckily, it's already got 600k+ of those). Thank you greenTeacup, for my life.

I obviously have read more than this so if there are any specific tropes/interests/limitations you want a rec for, I'm open to give an opinion. Also I have my eye on a few fics that I just haven't read yet, so alas, this list is not perfectly complete. The next thing I want to read....Détraquée....

[twig-tea]

TWIG! Friend! I couldn't help but notice your tags in my excitement post about getting to La Pluie -- I see that you and I are YYY mutuals. :) Let's call YYY... say... zany or offbeat -- off the beaten path of the usual romance-dominated field of Thai BLs. What are some other "zanier" BLs (not just Thailand, but everywhere in Asia) that you love and would recommend for an off-the-wall experience? And, why?

@waitmyturtles I'm so sorry you sent this a million years ago and then I kept letting it languish. And it's extra rude because I love this question! It's so hard to add something like YYY to a rec list without a billion caveats, so this is a great chance to shout out some of the series & shorts that don't get as much attention. A few of these I know you've seen but I have to include them for completeness.

First, for the sake of other people reading this, as Turtles has written about, Cheewin brings his own kind of zaniness to almost everything he works on; my faves of his other than YYY are Make It Right and Secret Crush on You (the exception is Bed Friend, which is not in any way zany but I still liked it).

Also going to mention that since Turtles asked for off the beaten path zany, I won't be mentioning any of the popular comedies (in case you're wondering why I Became the Lead in A BL Drama or Man Who Defies the World of BL aren't on this list).

Alright now that's out of the way, let's get into the other recs!

Zany lesser-known BLs other than YYY

Ossan's Love Franchise (Japanese, 2016-2024, GagaOOLala)

It is... less true now that this series is lesser-known than it was when I started writing this draft (in uh... August 2023) but I shall persist! The franchise details alone for this series are complete crack:

A 2016 45-minute short [skippable imo];

The 2018 original series which builds the short into a zany 7-episode comedy series about a man in his late 20s who suddenly finds himself the love interest of his older boss (in his ~50s) and his coworker/roommate (in his mid-20s);

The sequel film Ossan's Love: Love or Dead (2019)which turns into an action film halfway through for no clear reason but also remains a romantic comedy in which the mains from the original season decide if they want to stay together

The AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019) which has the same characters of the lead and his boss from S1 and the short, but this time they work in an airport and all of the surrounding cast is different and leads to a very confusing love rhombus. Incredible 10/10 no notes [people hate this because they like the mains from S1 & the film but I loved the mess]

The sequel season to S1 and the film, Ossan's Love Returns (2024) which you can absolutely watch in isolation and is about the main couple re-establishing their relationship and their found family friend group after being long distance for a few years.

It's truly excellent comedy, and gets better every outing; there are some barriers that might prevent some enjoying the earlier seasons but the most recent one is really delightful. You can hear me talk more about this series with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup on The Conversation podcast!

Diary of Tootsies (Thai, 2017, grey/Netflix (for the movie))

I love Diary of Tootsies and the follow-ups so much. SO much. One of the best laughs of my life was the opening to the movie, and I cannot be in a long car ride without thinking about the purse incident in s1. This show doesn't get a lot of BL fandom attention because the romance arcs are not typical for BL (but that's one of the things I love about them). And the friendship in this series is truly what sells it. Season 1 is self-contained, a lot of people dislike the romance plot of S2; I really like the arc across s2 to the movie (as established above, I tend to be less invested in a particular ship across a franchise or multiple franchises). The movie plot is all about reconciling who you thought you wanted and who you are with (amongst all kinds of shenanigans).

HeHe and He (Hong Kong, 2018-ongoing, YouTube)

This mockumentary sitcom-style series does tackle some serious topics and is also absolutely hilarious nonsense across its 3 seasons. The very simple premise is that a gay guy ("hehe" is slang for gay) and a straight guy who are old friends become roommates when the gay friend breaks up with his longterm boyfriend and needs a place to stay, and hijinks ensue. They do direct-to-camera confessionals spliced in with scenes from their lives. I love this show so much, and it would actually be high up in my indie BL rankings if it were completed. I lose it at least once an episode. It's very queer (if you want a show that tackles everything from hookups to turning everything into a joke to being so, so mean to each other while also loving each other dearly to even chemsex, look no further), and I am in love with all of the wacky characters that have formed a love-hate found family that is deeply relatable. The creators posted a video a few months ago saying they're struggling to end it in a way that they're happy with so I'm not sure we'll ever get an ending for the show. But if you like comedy and queer content it's worth a watch even incomplete! I've been very patiently following this project since 2018 and it's legitimately one of my favourite shows.

Rainbow Prince the Series (Filippino, 2022, YouTube)

This is a musical; it is a lot of campy nonsense. There is royalty, political intrigue, a dog, kidnappings, and so. much. singing. The songs are surprisingly catchy and it's all extremely good fun. Also a lot of the dialogue is very clearly improvised.

Hey! First Love (Vietnamese, 2019, YouTube)

This series of shorts are mostly just silly fluff. The very tenuous plot is that these shorts are slice-of-life moments from a young established couple, but it's all really just excuses for Vietnamese comedy and BL romance tropes. If you haven't watched anything from Vietnam, this is a very low-stakes commitment (I think it's under 30 minutes of content all told; there are 4 "episodes" which are spliced together shorts, each of which has a tiny plot but there is not much of an overarching narrative, and then a Q&A with the actors at the end) and gives you a sense of the Vietnamese sense of humour. Both of these actors have gone on to continue to be in other Vietnamese BLs, so if you have watched Vietnamese BL you may recognize them! The production quality on this is charmingly low.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (India, 2019, Amazon Prime)

This film was such a joy to experience in a live theatre. Billed "the first Gay Bollywood RomCom", this movie was a riot of chaos, dance numbers, shenanigans, hilarity, and cuteness. I loved the way this film incorporated the very real legal change to decriminalize homosexuality in its story. Arguably not "BL" as it very much fits in the bollywood tradition not the BL tradition, but OP did ask for all of Asia!

Like Love (China, 2014-15, grey)

And no I don't mean censored--this is from before China started censoring its BLs. This show has kisses as shown in the gif, and even (poorly cropped) sex scenes. It also is super bizarre. I was so confused by this show, the characterization, the fourth wall breaks, and how disjointed it was so I went to read the source material and...it turns out it's one of the most perfect adaptations I've ever seen, the book is in fact exactly like this. The characters are caricatures, there is no bridging between scenes, and the plot is the most absurd take on 'loserfail no-thoughts-head-empty character who doesn't admit he's gay but still ends up in a dedicated and loving relationship with a rich handsome domineering man ' I've ever seen. It's a bewildering experience. Note the sound quality on this one is suuuper miserable. I like s2 way more than s1 (s1 is getting together and includes a lot of the bullying-teasing and I'm-not-gay-I-just-need-him-to-pay-attention-to-me stuff, s2 is the honeymoon phase + getting the homophobic parents on board) but S1 is definitely the zanier of the two. That being said, if you wanted, I think you can dive right in to s2 (there's a direct-to-camera explanation of what happened in s1 at the start of it). Note that they set up a cliffhanger at the end of 2 in anticipation of s3 which was going to be made in 2016 but was cancelled because of the political changes in China in 2016 (this is one of the reasons I went to read the source material; they do get a happy ending in the books).

This is an extremely silly but also touching franchise with a lot of tropes I don't love, but also a lot of things I do (and just neat to see some stuff so early in BL: Underwater kiss? Helicopter ride? Femme fatale becomes friend of the faen? Supportive grandparent? It's all here). There are some fantastic speeches in s2 about supporting your gay children; I liked how in this the kids didn't give up on their parents but try to reconcile their filial piety with their dedication to each other. If you do watch S1, highly recommended you watch the series version rather than the film. For "S2"/the follow-up film, make sure you look for the uncensored film version.

The Lover Room 709 Cut (Korean/Japanese, 2016, grey)

This starts extremely silly, plays with BL tropes, and gets a little bit serious at the end but is mostly just full of puns and innuendos. Includes one of the most hilarious takes on kabedon, and egregious use of the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. Also: fart jokes. Folks worried it was going to stay teasing the audience but it does commit and we do get an actual resolution that is satisfying. I admit I've never seen the whole series (which includes stories of 3 other couples in the apartment building) but the BL cut is readily available if you search. Make sure you look for the deleted scene with the lotion application--this scene walked so IFYLITA could run (I'm kidding, but it's very funny seeing this scene now and thinking about that one).

The Boy Next Door (Korean, 2018, YouTube)

This is another older series playing with censorship (similar to The Lover) in which the two characters end up in BL romance tropes but are not actually in love...or are they? The shenanigans are very fun. This one is left more ambiguous than The Lover, which is one of the reasons it's further down the list.

Go! Go! G-Boys (Taiwan, 2006, grey)

I debated between this and another quirky comedy from Taiwan in the early 2000s, Formula 17, but while that's unequivocally a better movie, this one is lesser known and more zany, so it technically better fits the bill for this ask (but if you haven't, go watch Formula 17!). The plot is a bit cringe--straight boy signs up to gay beauty contest to pay off his girlfriend's debts (accompanied by his gay childhood friend who is in love with him) and finds his truth. Meanwhile a homophobic police officer has also infiltrated the contest for investigative purposes. Amongst all that admittedly not great setup, however, are several bizarre sequences including the incredible Lord of the Rings recreation scene (complete with Gatchaman of course), a killer soundtrack, a random delivery of poultry, someone slapping a cake, and, most absurdly unbelievable at all: police taking harassing death threats to the gay contest seriously. It does a great job of setting up what should be a dramatic scene and then immediately undercutting the tension with something absurd. It's not narratively good, but it is a fun ride! And yes, there is a happy ending. Stick around for a fourth wall break (literally) after the credits.

Something Crunchy Crunchy (Korean, 2018, GagaOOLala)

Extremely bizarre little musical short in which snacks are anthropomorphized as hot guys and they sing songs about being eaten and wanting to be eaten. Played entirely sincerely, but the concept is screamingly funny. Fascinating. Also, kind of poly?

Dom (Korean, 2016, GagaOOLala)

Another hilarious and weird Korean short, this time in which we see the protagonist's sex life from the perspective of the condom boxes that are anthropomorphized and given personalities based on their brands.

And since we can't leave out the ladies,

A few zany GLs:

Lily Fever (Korean, 2015, YouTube)

I wrote about this one a little in my GL rec list; it is absolutely bonkers nonsense. There is not really a plot, it's a fever dream of a show. Chaos! Not so much a romance as an excuse to see cute girls flirt and make out.

Legend of Yunqian (China, 2020, grey)

I debated including this one because only the middle is really the zany part, it's sandwiched with more serious xianxia drama. But in the middle of this miniseries is an extremely cute interlude in which xianxia characters time travel to present day for ~reasons. It's censored but there is very little uncertainty about feelings, and manages to be absolutely charming. Worth the short runtime for this kitten quickcut (subbed "Whomst?!" in the show for ultimate comedy). Warning for character death (but it's ok because time travel to reincarnated character!) Subtitled by the indispensable @douqi7s [see their pinned post for links].

BetCin (Filippino, 2022, WeTV)

A lesbian couple with a YouTube following decide to break up but then find out there's a contest for couples, and they decide to pretend to still be together to try and win the contest rather than tell their fans they've broken up. This series does some really interesting things by starting with a breakup and then looking at how two people who are no longer dating manage BGP while also managing their feelings. There's a lot going on in this show, and the hijinks definitely ensue!

Perfect One Night Stand (Korean, 2020, GagaOOLala)

This is a cute Strongberry GL short in which a friend agrees to help her other friend find a girl to have sex with before the day is over; they go through several quirky candidates looking for the titular perfect one night stand.

[goformoony]

some random head cannons i have for the marauder characters, but it’s not random i actually believe these whole heartedly! and will cry if told otherwise that they aren’t true.

regulus:

regulus goes by he/they

regulus has ocd, but doesn’t care to fix it and kind of likes the discipline because they feels like he needs it/deserves it

regulus absolutely loves the rain

ballet is the only thing that they like that his mother put him in.

disassociates a lot to the point you have to get their attention a lot.

they forget to share their thoughts and experiences a lot because his parents never really asked, and since sirius left they just don’t see a point.

cat person

they love kids actually, but is very awkward with them, but if he evens smiles at one they’re automatically that kid’s favorite person

marlene:

where’s different socks, doesn’t care kind of likes if they’re mismatched

emotional support necklace

lesbian

german roots

loves braiding her hair

loves cheerios

knows sign language

hates wearing bras

james:

deaf james

he reads often, that’s how he actually got close to remus, and they exchanged book recs and whenever someone is shocked by this news he just shrugs.

chocolate cake kinda guy

he actually smokes (i don’t get the whole james doesn’t smoke cause 🤨😧? anyways)

loves ear piercings

dated sirius for a couple months, but they both decided they’re better off as best friends (moe not hating romantic prongsfoot?? shocker! (not really) anyways)

dorcas:

she collects bottle caps

is a cigarettes after sex song

favorite class is potions

is a ravenclaw, but almost got into slytherin

remus:

wears red nail polish

is really fucking awkward

is the it boy for hogwarts, and genuinely gets shocked by this news when mary and lily tell him this

uses a cain/walker a couple days before the moon and about the first week after

you wouldn’t think his space is organized, but if you asked him to get something specifically to see he could easily in a matter of 2 seconds grab it for you

can sleep anywhere

has a bag he carries around everywhere and since first year his friends have been decorating it

nightmares frequently

this boy has really bad anxiety to the point he steals some fidget toys from regulus

anger issues

to the contrary of popular belief his first best friend was regulus.

mary:

sleeps with a stuffed turtle

is an older sister to one sister

has older sister guilt, but feels the pressure of one frequently

likes gossiping, but not as much as people think

she’s actually really smart, but her mental health gets in the way

hates being alone

has a sibling relationship with sirius and james

fast talker

she doesn’t trust easily, but she’s so outgoing to the point it seems like it

I HAVE SO MUCH MORE FOR THESE PEOPLE AND CHARACTERS I JUST DONT FEEL LIKE PUTTING THEM ALL BUT YEAH

[triassictriserratops]

What's your headcanon for Katniss and Peeta's children?

How old was Katniss when give birth to their daughter?

How many years apart between them in age?

Your headcanon for their name?

Who gets the singing and art skill from their parent?

Bonus question : please give recs of your fav everlark post-Mockingjay fanfic.

Thank you :)

@curiousthg

@curiousthg (thank you for the ask! I have to say, it's still wild to me that ANYONE gives a shit about my opinion AT ALL.) AS A DISCLAIMER. THESE ARE ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINIONS. I FULLY RESPECT OTHER OPINIONS AND HEADCANONS. THESE ARE JUST MINE, PERSONALLY. Q.) What's your headcanon for Katniss and Peeta's children? A.) Just a few things I kind of like to think about: - There is a third toastbaby born after the epilogue. - Toastbaby girl grows up to become a veterinarian. She's quiet and serene but wildly clever. Dangerously smart. And Haymitch Abernathy is probably her favorite human being in existence. - Toastbaby boy is a wild menace to society and makes Peeta specifically tear his hair out. Constantly pulling him off of cabinet doors, scaling building walls, pulling him out of hiding places where he camps waiting to scare someone (usually Peeta) They judged parents who used child leashes until they had their boy. Likes to follow the Cresta-Odair spawn everywhere whenever he's visiting them.

Q.) How old was Katniss when give birth to their daughter? A.) Just based on the math from the book she would have been 32/33 when her daughter was born.

Q.) How many years apart between them in age? A.) In my mind it's about 3-4 years. Katniss says that her Good Things List is tedious after more than 20 years and mentions that they teach the Hunger Games in school and that Toastbaby girl knows her parents played a part in them, so i'd say she's about 7 in the Epilogue. And she specifically calls out Toastbaby Boy's "chubby toddler legs" struggling to keep up with his sister, and that he'll be learning about the Games too in a few years, so i'm thinking he's anywhere from 3-4 at the time of the Epilogue.

Q.) Your headcanon for their name?

A.) I'm so sorry to say this, i don't actually have any! I personally don't like to give them names. I FULLY AND TOTALLY respect the names other people come up with and I've seen some that are quite popular. But I've actually always REALLY connected with the fact that Katniss specifically chooses NOT to give us their names. She was forced to give so much of herself to Panem, to other people, even (on a meta level) to us as readers. Within the 1st Person POV we are privy to her every personal thought and experience. The capitol denied her autonomy and privacy. The rebels did the same. And, in the end, so did we as the reader. It's a FASCINATING lens to look at the books through! (Especially if you follow the fun idea that this series are her memoirs.) But here, at the end, Katniss is choosing to close the curtain. We're not allowed to have her children's identities. Because those are precious to her. Because they belong to them and them alone. I just find that kind of beautiful and so I've made a conscious effort to never pick names for them. Q.) Who gets the singing and art skill from their parent? A.) Toastbaby boy is the singer (and hunter). The third toastbaby is the artist. Toastbaby girl loves baking with her poppa.

Bonus question : please give recs of your fav Everlark post-Mockingjay fanfic. I'm going to be lazy and direct to this post I just wrote where I include a list of Post Mockingjay Fic Recs!!!

(BUT one VERY specific callout recommendation, just in case people don't click into the link, for Us Among the Living by the WONDERFUL @vasilissadragomir. It's beautiful and I have so much love for that story. The characters are lovingly preserved and the tone so realistic I sometimes feel like i'm reading something Suzanne Collins might have written. HIGHLY recommend!)

[wifegideonnav]

I'm new to Tumblr. How do Tumblr users usually engage with each other?

well first of all welcome haha. the main ways to engage with people are:

liking and reblogging. platforms like instagram and tiktok run on likes and an algorithm, but on tumblr, people almost exclusively use their dashboard and turn off suggested content, so they’re only seeing what people actually reblog onto their dash. that’s why people on this site are so adamant about reblogs, because likes basically do nothing. i saw someone say once that anything you would like on a different social media, you should reblog on here, and i totally agree. and don’t worry about how old a post is, or about reblogging something you’ve previously reblogged. there are posts from 2014 that i regularly see on my dash a decade later, so literally don’t feel awkward, it’s 100% normal to engage with old posts.

tags. there are three main ways tags are used: labeling original content so people find it in searches, internal organization systems when reblogging or posting (for instance, many people have a tag for their original posts, and will tag reblogs by fandom or character or whatever - important note that reblogs do not show up in search results), and to make sotto voce comments on a post. it’s normal for people to make jokes, add their own commentary, ramble about something semi relevant, or say something to op in the tags on posts they reblog.

reblog additions. every time you reblog, you have the chance to add something to the post, which unlike tags will be retained when someone reblogs from you. a good rule of thumb is to comment instead of tagging when it’s something you actually want other people to engage with, as opposed to tags where you’re just kind of expressing yourself lol. don’t be surprised however if you see people’s tags getting screenshotted and added to a reblog. if this happens because the screenshotter likes what the tag writer said, it’s jokingly referred to as “passing peer review.” (and of course people screenshot tags to criticize or mock them as well.) essentially, tags are like being at a big group dinner and saying something to the person next to you as an aside, and then sometimes that person goes “hey everyone listen to this”

post comments. there’s also an option on every post (unless op has turned it off) for people to comment on the post itself, not on a specific reblog. mostly this is useful for talking to people on personal posts or posts with reblogs turned off. on a bigger post, just reblog it and put your thoughts in an addition or tag.

asks. seems like you figured this one out! lmao. asks are used for a wide variety of things, but essentially it can either be a prompt for someone to make a post or a way of having an interaction/conversation with someone without dming them.

dms. these work like dms everywhere else, except the functionality is limited and it kinda sucks.

games. there are also many varieties of games that people play with each other, ranging from ask games (things like “rec me some music” or a post with prompts and people send you some from that list), tag games (typically there are questions you answer then you tag other people to fill them out for themselves) handwriting tags, follow chains, giveaways, name/url playlists, and more. with the addition of polls, brackets have gotten popular too (eg the tumblr sexyman bracket). there also used to be a lot of in-character ask blogs, where a user would set up a blog and roleplay as a specific character that people could send questions to (there still are some but way fewer and way less popular than there used to be)

to be honest i feel like i have to put “discourse” and “drama” on this list too. people on this site loveeee having the most insane arguments of all time and then everyone else memes the hell out of it. google “sonic for real justice” for an example lmao. (of course there’s also very unfunny political and fandom discourse that goes on as well. i would advise you to avoid discourse blogs as a general rule regardless of whether you agree with their position or not)

tagging people. you can also @ people in posts you think they’d like or if you feel like they have relevant input. typically this is something you would do either to people you’ve spoken to before, or a big blog with an established persona and rapport with their followers (eg if you follow a blog about snakes and you see a random post with snake info that seems wrong but you’re not sure, so you tag them to ask for their expertise).

and this isn’t a specific “mode” of communication but it’s also a thing to “interpret” (for lack of a better word) other people’s posts. for instance, people drawing a photo from the original post (i cant find it but there was a post going around recently where op posted an aesthetic photo of an egg cooking and then several people painted it), or people trying/recreating something a post was about (example). it was also a thing for a minute there where people would rewrite funny exchanges as shakespearean dialogue

those are all the ways i can think of, although im sure i’ve missed some (if other people think of any pls add on!). good luck, and i hope you’re able to meet some cool people!

[yeyinde]

I saw you mention in your most recent ask that you like mythology, and I was wondering if you maybe had suggestions for where to start? I keep trying to get into it but it's so overwhelming and I never know when/where to start with it all. (Thank you if you reply, and I love your works!!!)

i can definitely try to help!! but i think i got very lucky since i had stuff like Mystery Hunters, the Lost Tapes, and Tutenstein to watch as a kid which really helped shape my interest in mythology. and we have pretty rich folklore and mythology within my cultures/backgrounds so growing up, it was just kinda everywhere lmao

but i usually start with what appeals to me (usually creatures/monsters/cryptids within that culture; and then the myths they told to answer the questions they couldn't, or the things they feared the most: the sea, death, sickness, famine). so i'd suggest starting with something that interests you as well. maybe narrow it down to a certain culture's mythology first, and their narrative stories (creation, death, afterlife, rebirth), or maybe their mythological beasts/animals, any gods/goddesses of particular type, etc., and then slowly branch out more as you find the core folklore that draws you in. it gets easier when you know what you want to find/learn about.

you don't have to know everything all at once. and a lot of the popular mythologies are super accessible and very easy to find, so just go at your own pace! i really hope this helps!!! and i had an ask about mythology recs before which you can find here if you want some mythology book recs.

[zmediaoutlet]

re: your fic recs post, what does reading for spite look like? to spite who?

you know the feeling where you've watched some truly fantastic shows over the course of the year -- like, real beautiful award-winning stuff -- and then when you look at the "top streamed shows" list it's still The Office and Friends and America's Next Whatever? or, say, when you've read some amazing books, like things you'd put up for a Pulitzer, things that make you spark and fizz and leap for joy that someone could be so creative and compelling and make you think in ways you've never thought -- and then the "top selling books" list is Dan Brown and Colleen Hoover? or when you went to a little show in your city and you saw this musician who really poured their soul into their work, or you found some little-streamed artist on YouTube who made your jaw drop with their sincerity and musicianship, and you wish you could shout from the rooftops -- everyone, come and see! come and see and hear this outstanding thing! -- but then you look at the "top streaming musicians" and it's that weird racist country fuck and popqueen with eyeliner that can kill a man and someone who's never actually written their own music in their life?

my spite is that there's a lot of stuff out there in the world that's, whatever, fine for what it is, but it seems to be popular somehow because it is popular. I don't want to read Colleen Hoover and frankly I'm tired of other people telling me I should. I've tried it, I don't get the appeal, and there's SO MUCH lovely true wonderful stuff that's unloved because it never manages to appear on one of those damn lists, and it's true in fic the same as it's true everywhere else. let's rec some different stuff at least.

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Underrated historical pieces (for when you're looking for recommendations)

I don't know if it's just me, but historical movie rec lists have become supersaturated with the same few titles lately (yes I have seen Hacksaw Ridge, yes I have seen Little Women, leave me alone) - so I thought I'd come up with a shortlist of my own! Below the cut are a few titles I haven't seen anyone talk about anywhere NEAR enough in my opinion, in case you need something new to watch!

Summerland (2020), dir. Jessica Swale

Summerland is set in Devon, England during the Second World War, and follows Alice Lamb as she is forced to take in Frank, a young evacuee boy, against her will. As their relationship develops, Alice learns to open herself up to others, and her budding friendship with Frank leads her back towards another relationship she thought was lost forever. If you're looking for an LGBT period drama - THIS ONE RIGHT HERE!!! Alice Lamb, you are my favourite grumpy lesbian academic. Seriously though, this movie is so so lovely - definitely a good one if you're looking for a happy-cry.

This is England (2006), dir. Shane Meadows

This is England follows Shaun, a young boy struggling to fit in in 1980s England, who finds support and friendship among a gang of local skinheads. At once gritty and sensitive, it provides a personal look at the darker side of British culture and the process of indoctrination into racist ideologies. This movie arguably receives the attention it deserves within the UK, but falls into the underrated category everywhere else. Despite being almost 20 years old, it remains alarmingly relevant, and every single member of the cast puts in an incredible performance. (I'd recommend checking for content warnings before giving this (or its subsequent TV shows) a watch)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018), dir. Mike Newell

Set in the aftermath of the Second World War, this movie follows writer Juliet Ashton as she travels to the island of Guernsey to meet a group of locals who found solace in her book during the Nazi occupation. However, as she grows closer to the group, she begins to uncover the tragedy at their core. This is such a perfect comfort movie. Every character is so so lovely, and honestly I've wanted to visit (/live on) Guernsey since the first time I watched this. It's a really wonderful watch, and sheds a nice insight into the experiences of the Channel Islands during WW2, which isn't something I've seen covered in other films set during this period.

Small Axe (2020), dir. Steve McQueen

Small Axe is an anthology series documenting the lives and experiences of London's West Indian population as they struggle through and fight against racial discrimination. I feel like the hype for this show died as soon as the year's awards season finished, and that's a CRIME. Britain's history of racial activism is generally overlooked in popular media, and this series did a wonderful job of showcasing both the pivotal and personal events that shaped the experiences of the Windrush generation. My personal favourites from this series were Education and Mangrove, but every episode is unique and well worth the watch.

Detroit (2017), dir. Kathryn Bigelow

In Detroit, public outrage is sparked when a police raid is carried out against black patrons of a local club, which grows more violent as the night progresses. This movie is terrifying. Every performance is excellent and harrowing, but Will Poulter's in particular has stuck with me since I first watched Detroit because it's just horrifying to watch. It's intense and brutal, but an important representation of the kind of violence that acted as a catalyst in the American civil rights movement.

Gosford Park (2001), dir. Robert Altman

Gosford Park follows a group of 1930s English aristocrats as they gather at a country estate for a weekend of socialising. However, when a member of the party is murdered, suspicion is cast upon everyone, and illicit secrets begin to come to light. Think Downton Abbey with murder. But then again, both were created/written by Julian Fellowes, so it makes sense. Almost painfully British, Gosford Park is a quick and clever indictment of the English upper classes that is thoroughly entertaining the whole way through.

Alias Grace (2017), dir. Mary Harron

Alias Grace follows Irish immigrant Grace Marks as she sits down with a doctor to attempt to recall the details of a murder she was accused of committing a decade prior. Based on Margaret Atwood's fictionalised retelling of a controversial, real-life case, this series offers an interesting insight into the oppression of Victorian working-class women, and the enduring cultural fascination with female violence. It's been a few years since I watched this show, but GOD I was so obsessed with it, so it's definitely time for a rewatch. Sarah Gadon is an absolutely brilliant lead, and Grace's recounting of events will leave you forever wondering what truly happened in this story.

Pride (2014), dir. Matthew Warchus

Set amidst the 1984 miners' strikes, Pride follows a small LGBT group from London as they raise money to support a small Welsh mining town, whose lives are badly struck by Thatcher's threats to close the mining pits they have built their lives around. Through their efforts, the group finds an unlikely community of supporters, breaching social barriers to lift each other up in times of hardship. Evidently I believe in saving the best for last, as Pride is definitely my personal favourite on this list - hell, it's one of my favourite movies EVER. Surprisingly niche despite its excellent cast (Andrew Scott, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton - to name a few), this movie is just utterly wonderful, and I guarantee you will spend the entire time either grinning or sobbing - trust me, I always do.

(not-so-subtle letterboxd plug, but for anyone interested, I've compiled a larger list of movies about British history HERE)

[vergess]

a break from the anti semetic nonsense - because i am buying all my Computer Parts from Amazon (my REDACTED pc part shop keeps selling out of mobo ram cpu bundles and if i give jeff bezos money it will at least get to my house all at once) and i also need thermal paste, rec me some good thermal paste on Amazon. (giving you a Task to Distract you.) Asking publically so that other people can see your good taste in thermal paste and other computer goods.

I have two (2) separate recs for thermal paste.

If you are an every day PC user looking to do a standard hardware upgrade and you want something cost effective, easy to use, hard to fuck up, and perfectly sufficient for most gaming, you want Thermal Grizzly's Kryonaut. This is available basically everywhere, including Amazon. It's super popular and for good reason.

It's a non-conductive grease paste. That means it has a thick texture that is unlikely to squish out between your processor and heatsink, and even if it did squish out a bit, it wouldn't cause an electrical short.

But let's say you're on that next level shit. You know want some Fucked Up thermal paste for Pushing Limits, and you're ready to take some risks.

Oh baby.

Oh baby.

For that, I have to recommend Cool Labs Liquid Ultra

This is a highly liquid, highly conductible thermal paste. It is NOT safe for all coolers! If you have an aluminum heatsink you MUST NOT USE THIS TYPE OF PASTE. It will destroy your heatsink and possibly your processor.

But if you have 1) a copper heatsink 2) a steady hand 3) a lot of acetone 4) qtips?

Bro liquid metal gets you fucked UP cooling effects. Like 10x the cooling effect of a grease paste.

You must be extremely careful when applying it, however. Because it is liquid and metal, it can squish out from your heatsink and processor, and onto the motherboard or processor pins. If this happens, you may be able to clean it up with immense patience and acetone.... and you also may permanently destroy your computer with an irreparable electrical short.

You HAVE to be CAREFUL.

That said, it's not brain surgery. If you can like... draw a straight line, you've probably got enough dexterity to pull it off.

Some people use masking tape or electrical tape borders around their processors when applying liquid metal as a protective measure; you do then have to clean all the adhesive off with acetone, but it's a nice safety if you're anxious.

Though, tbh, for anyone who isn't like.... IDK, livestreaming 4K games or something, kryonaut is more than sufficient for your purposes.

[i4iuvs]

COCO WITH BTS

: ̗̀➛ INCOMING FROM DEE: im back!! hopefully i will start posting more regularly but no promises i fear....send an ask to be added to the taglist!

: ̗̀➛ TAGLIST: @itzy-eve

⃕ . . . coco’s masterlist !

˗ˏˋ JIN ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . najin

☒ popularity . . . 90%

jin has been saint’s number one fan the moment she joined the group and that hasn't changed at all over the years. with both of them sharing the dream of becoming actors before they debuted (coco on stage and jin on screen), they bonded over that. she used to have a crush on him and everyone still teases her about it to this day. he is undoubtedly her favourite member and there is nothing that she can keep from him. she’s his baby fr and he will never miss a moment to bring up how he raised her

˗ˏˋ SUGA ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . yooledi / soco

☒ popularity . . . 89%

saint was just instantly comfortable around yoongi when they first met. they didn’t talk much for a while due to the language barrier and the two of them not being the most outgoing people in the world, but that never stopped her from joining him on the couch to study while he watches a show. the effect hobi has on yoongi that gives him energy is the exact opposite effect yoongi has on naledi. put her with him and she will become so sleepy. (this is actually a hack that jin and namjoon figured out during their early days and on their way back from a schedule they would make sure she was sitting with him)

˗ˏˋ J-HOPE ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . naseok

☒ popularity . . . 89%

hoseok was the one who suggested adding coco to the group in the first place. he saw her potential immediately and after she joined, he sort of took her under his wing. she attributes all of her talent to him and is grateful that he didn’t give up on her. he reminds her the most of her older brother in the sense that he makes it a point to look out for her but also acts more like a best friend. she takes him shopping with her a lot and he is always the first person she goes to when she wants opinions on what she is working on.

˗ˏˋ RM ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . namledi

☒ popularity . . . 95%

as joon was the only member who could speak english and naledi was still learning korean, she used to follow him everywhere. in the beginning they weren’t exceptionally close, naledi already having jin and hobi looking after her, but she did need somebody to talk to and joon was that person. this ship is definitely a talks x listens one with saint being able to sit and listen to namjoon talk about whatever new thing he read for hours on end. he is the smartest person she knows and she never fails to tell him.

˗ˏˋ JIMIN ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . namin

☒ popularity . . . 93%

naledi and jimin grew close naturally as they were both the newer members and thus they kind of banded together. they used to train and practice together when everyone else was busy and even to this day, they dedicate a specific day in their schedules to visit the practice room, even if it’s just to mess around. you will always find them cuddling in the background of a bts video in their own little world. a very affectionate duo and fans are obsessed with how comfortable they are just giving each other kisses.

˗ˏˋ V ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . taeledi / vco

☒ popularity . . . 90%

naledi is tae’s favourite drinking partner. these two act like college kids when they are together. restaurants, parties, events and they are always going together. spontaneous trips to jeju! they go on a lot of trips together, just the two of them. there have been many dating rumours surrounding them because of how often they have been caught going out together but they have made sure to not let them affect their friendship. they are such music nerds and exchanging artist recs and vinyls is their own special love language.

˗ˏˋ JUNGKOOK ´ˎ˗

☒ ship name . . . nakook / cokook

☒ popularity . . . 100%

obviously, being the youngest members automatically makes them best friends. except not quite. saint joined bts during the month when jungkook was in the us training so imagine his surprise when he returns and there is not only a brand new maknae in the group stealing his hyung's attention, but she's a girl. it took a while for him to warm up to her but once he did, they became inseparable. basically brother and sister at this point and if you can’t find one, just look for the other.

[readreactrant]

Hello, just want to say, thanks for your recs and reviews. I started Yatagarasu because of you, and I love it so much.....The story and characters are all amazing... I did not see the plot twist at all until the end....

Also, Yukiya and Wakamiya's dynamics are just so great....Found a new fav ship from the series....Thanks again, @readreactrant ....🤩😆

Oh, have you watched "Delico's Nursery" (maybe you'll like it, too)....?

Tf is a Delico's Nursery?!

Is what I would ask if I was uncultured 😏

More on that soon.

Dnana my precious you are very welcome, and I'm so happy you like Yatagarasu, helping people find some underrated shows they'll enjoy is definitely something I can’t help but be a lil stupid passionate about. Especially in a season that just seems to be choked with generic isekai and het incest/pseudo incest romance anime.

The queers, when will our generic gay isekai incest fantasy start 🥲😭 (More on Wistoria wand and sword in another post.)

Glad you like the ship too, let us all manifest them becoming popular so we might have some fics, fanart and doujins 🙏

I'd do it all myself but I'm in a writing slump and my art could give Satan nightmares.

Moving on lmao...Delico's Nursery is...all I would ever want from a vampire centred baby sitting anime.

I genuinely wanted to talk about this when I had draft and screenchots sorted out but fuck it we ball!

Imagine Buddy Daddies but Vampires with four dumbass homosexual fathers instead of two!!! What more can you ask for?!

"But Ren, they have/had wives 🤓☝"

Have a cup of whimsy once in a while is all I say to that.

If I had to pick 2 things I gripe with it very rarely those would be the names and the way the animation does my boys' faces so dirty at times.

They literally look like they're in agony in some still frames so be prepared for the plot, the ✨DRAMAAA✨ and character interactions to do some heavy lifting at times. Settings though are drop dead gorgeous with the most immersive atmospheric feel to them, everywhere is so washed and somber like I'd expect a vampire world to be, no shade to Case study of Vanitas, execution is key and both shows are nailing their moods for me.

Now for the names...tf name's their child Dali Delico??? Sounds like some Italian deserted I'd eat without hesitation.

Know who else I'd eat (out) without hesitation???

Gayhard Fra. (I know that's not how his name is spelt but it might as well be correct).

He is blond, he's a tsundere and his outfit is literally too sexy for me to think straight. Full coverage ain't hiding that snatched waist and the fact he would degrade me only makes it hotter. Not mention his son is absolutely the most adorable thing ever oh my God 🥰😍

Other members in our team of hopeless dads are *checks notes* Dino Classico and Henrique Lorca.....

All I have to say is, Behind the name probs wasn't used in the writer's room cuz these might have a sort of relation to the characters but they sound dumb, I'm sorry 😶

Now I'm done dissing names and simping for Gayhartron, go and watch Delico's Nursery I BEG OF YOU, ITS ACTUALLY GOOD RN. I really don't think it'll be disappointing but what will be is if we don't get a season two cuz it didn't turn a profit so move move move!!!

I don't have much to say rn without spoiling cuz this show is definitely something you should watch for yourself, unlike buddy Daddies though, I know it won't be for everyone, especially the animation. It seems like it's an anime original, or adapted from a stage play (I might be thinking of another show don't sue me) cuz I couldn't find a manga on my sites, so yeah if things don't end this season, our chances of getting more hang in the balance.

The opening is a bop though so stay every episode for that and the cute kids if nothing else interests you.

Thanks for reading my word vomit as always, and Dnana it's a pleasure anytime 💕

[hpsaffics]

💐 WLW Wed: Flowers 💐

A biweekly HP femslash rec list made by the lovely members of the HP SAFFICS (18+) discord server. See all previous rec lists in the WLW Library.

Currently: Flowers Previously: Cissamione (see list & list)

—

🌹 Long (>10k) 🌹

Speaking in Flowers by orphan_account [Hermione/Pansy, T, 27.7k]

Hermione has lived in Hogsmeade for many years and has never once seen Pansy Parkinson until she starts showing up everywhere.

Orange Lilies & Black Dahlias by moonyfest [Mary/Lily, Pandora/Mary/Lily, T, 14.1k]

Together, [Lily and Regulus] opened a book/flower/coffee shop, and it was fairly popular. It wasn’t until one Mary McDonald stormed inside and demanded an unusual bouquet that their relatively boring lives took a wild turn.

—

🌻 Medium (3-10k) 🌻

A Language of Our Own by @ladyblack3 [Narcissa/Ginny, E, 9.9k]

Disappointed with a recent break up and dealing with the growing feelings for your friend's mother-in-law can be a bit tricky but perhaps it's time for a fresh start. Ginny didn't think helping Hermione plan her wedding would bring her closer to the Malfoy widow but as they say, love finds you when you least expect it.

A Garland of Pansies by @agentmoppet [Hermione/Pansy, E, 8.3k]

Pansy has always been dogged when it comes to getting what she wants. When Hermione Granger walks into her flower shop, it seems what she wants is dinner, a show, and a shag with a long-time crush—not necessarily in that order.

Lavender for Morning by @lumosatnight [Lavender/Hermione, T, 5.3k]

Everyone thought Hermione was jealous in her sixth year because she was in love with Ron. Everyone was wrong.

A Study in Violet by tofugumball [Hermione/Angelina, Hermione/Luna, M, 5.1k]

Flowers in amber are scentless. Hermione realised that years ago. But now, for the first time, it hits her how truly dull they are when compared with a colourful, breathing garden. Or. Five times Hermione pines after a fantasy and one time she finds real love.

—

🌷 Short (<3k) 🌷

Goodbye Until We Meet Again by @carpemermaid [Fleur/Tonks, T, 2.7k]

Tonks thought that Meet Cute was something that was only heard of in the movies. Her life was only full of Meet Ugly. It worked out for the best, anyway.

Tattoo Blues by charlotte123456789 [Narcissa/Lily, T, 2.7k]

Lily runs a tattoo shop. Narcissa is a florist. What more needs to be said?

Widow's Weeds by @phantomato [Walburga/Minerva, E, 1.9k]

Minerva McGonagall can’t let an injustice go unchallenged.

lilies of my devotion by poppystars [Alecto/Lily, G, 1.9k]

Lily recalls her memories of her being in love through the flowers of her garden.

Because They Are So Unromantic by anxiousgoat [Pomona/Rosmerta, G, 1.7k]

Take: One Sensible Herbology Professor. One Flirty Barmaid. A Handful of Fireworks. The Entire Language of Flowers. Add to a candy floss machine, and stir.

A Sprig of Heather by @hermioneclone [Minerva/Pomona, T, 1.7k]

“Minerva’s the best in the business,” Dumbledore told her. “She’ll make sure no harm comes to you or the Aibrisiscus orchid.”

The hand that beckons by @bluesundaycake [Narcissa/Lily Luna, T, 1.5k]

A young woman with hair like burning coals enters into gardens guarded by fire. Or, in which Lily Luna Potter is offered a feast and pomegranate seeds from one Narcissa Malfoy.

—

🌼 Want more femslash flower fics? 🌼

@hp-flowers | AO3

@starflowerbingo | AO3

Language of Flowers: Tag on AO3

WLW Library: Tumblr | Tag | AO3