#figured might as well make a new post for the reread

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Discord Server: The Gregs

18+ Grishaverse book specific server! All ships and sides of fandom are welcome, just keep things civil. I’m aiming for a chill environment so please also keep canon bashing to a minimum.

We’re currently partly through a series read through! We’re starting Siege and Storm tomorrow!

Feel free to message me for a link

[mochie85]

As part of your 1k celebrations I would like to submit the following prompt for consideration 😁♥️ feel free to bend it to your will.

Your colleague Loki finds himself in your rooms at Stark Tower for (fairly) innocent reasons.

You arrive back unexpectedly. He hides, at first.

✨✨

Fairly Innocent

One Shot Masterlist | Follower Event Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

A/N: I apologize, with my whole heart, that it has taken me this long to finish this request. So long, that I have reached a new milestone since this request was made. But I hope you enjoy it. Pairing: Loki x Female Reader Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Explicit. Smut, hand job, oral (female receiving), slight DOM vibes, voyeurism, shower scene, mention of 'toys'. Happy ending. Dividers by: @firefly-graphics

Your room was dark and cold. The curtains were shut leaving a small sliver of light shining from the cityscape outside. There was a stillness in the air from being untouched the last two weeks. “Now, where did she put you?” Loki hummed while looking around your room. He wandered in, using the access code you had given him. His prying eyes scanned and noted how orderly you left your room. And even after some time away, the room still smelled like you. Like citrus blooms on a winter morning.

Loki lent you some practice daggers a while ago and was keen to get them back. They were dull and lightweight. Perfect for beginner enthusiasts like the Widow, who wanted to add a new skill to her ledger. Whom Loki had promised to train, alongside you, in Asgardian combat.

Loki rummaged through your bookshelves, thinking you might have stashed them along with your books and souvenirs from your travels. He knew you loved to read. Your voracious appetite for mysteries and novels rivaled his own. He noted Robert Frost and Agatha Christie situated alongside the many romance novels.

Peculiar, he thought. He’d never known you to be interested in such fiction. You two had always discussed classic literature or Asgardian poetry. A Cheshire grin appeared on his face as he took a book with brightly colored Post-it notes sticking out of the top pages. He opened the paperback to a dog-eared page that was clearly read and reread extensively.

Lucy moaned as Cade’s fingers dipped inside her wet pussy. Trills of pleasure ran up her spine, making her unable to stand any longer. He gently stroked her as he whispered on her neck, “Don’t fight it, baby. Let go for me.”

Loki shut the book closed with wide eyes and a wider grin on his face. “Well, well, well. Who knew that the Avenger’s little darling liked to read smut?!” He said to himself looking at the volumes of romance books you had. He was quite impressed by your ability to surprise him. He thought he had you figured out. He might have to tease you about this when you return from your mission.

Loki searched your closet next, but he couldn’t find the daggers. He combed through hangers of clothing and shelves of shoe boxes till he stumbled upon several silk bags with rope tie enclosures. One bag had the length and shape of the daggers he was searching for. How sweet of her to care for the daggers and stash them in a silk purse. Loki opened the bag and reached in but was again surprised at what he found.

He pulled out a black, patent leather collar with a gold buckle. Glistening under the bright closet light, was a heart-shaped tag, hanging from the center. The name ‘Darling’ was inscribed in cursive. Stunned, Loki looked inside the sateen bag and pulled out what he mistook for his daggers- a short, riding crop that matched the patent leather of the collar. Hanging from the handle was a gold chain that had a tag etched, ‘Darling’s Master.’

An intrusive fantasy came unbidden in his mind. It was of you on all fours, with the collar adorning your neck and him standing behind you rubbing the tip of the crop against your dripping heat. “What other deliciousness are you hiding, my dear?” he whispered as he stowed the collar and whip and reached for another silk purse. Every bag he opened had a different set of negligees. Each one was more lascivious than the last.

The smile on his lips got darker as his body started responding to the different scenarios playing in his head. Each scene- novel and unique, to the set of lingerie he opened. More than once, he had to stop himself from reaching inside and rubbing the fine lace between his fingers. “Nope! No,” he chided himself. “Focus. I’m here for the daggers.” Loki took one last look and walked away before he could swipe one of your lace panties and put it in his back pocket like some pervert. “Daggers. Daggers…where are you daggers…”

He couldn’t stop smiling at the revelation he found. Memories of his last interaction with you played in his head under a new context. It was as if he was seeing you in a different light. Truth be told, he did always find you attractive. But he never once pursued it thinking it wouldn’t be favored by you, or any of the team. You didn’t get the title “The Avenger’s Little Darling” for nothing. You were beloved by all. And he was the untrustworthy, extra baggage that the team had to deal with so they could have Thor on their side.

He knew he couldn’t have you.

One last place he looked was your bedside table. If it’s not here, she must have taken them with her. Opening the drawer, Loki shouldn’t have been surprised at what he found, but he felt an exhilarating chill crawl throughout his body, nonetheless. A vibrator. A large, blue, silicone toy that was tapered at the end, was resting neatly inside. You naughty little minx.

Loki couldn’t help the state of arousal he was in. He stood up and stared at your toy, his fingers running puzzled against his lips. He imagined you spread on your bed, lost in the throes of your passion. What do you think about when you have your toy tucked inside your wet cunt? Who’s name do you moan when you’re at the edge of your climax about to fall? And how can he conspire to make sure you think of him?

Surprised, Loki looked up as he heard the keypad of your door unlocking. In a senseless rush, he closed your drawer and cloaked himself invisible. He didn’t want anyone to find him snooping around your belongings. He stood still as he blended with the shadows of your room.

He shouldn’t have hid. You did give him the access code to your room. You trusted him enough to be in here. But there was something so intimate about the things he found. He felt exposed and guilty. Loki didn’t want anyone to think of him being nefarious with you.

A small sigh of relief flooded him when he realized it was you, back from your assignment. He opened his mouth to speak and announce his presence, but he couldn’t. So many questions rushed through his mind. He wanted to ask all of them! Yet, he was struck immovable by your presence.

Had you always been so lovely? Had your eyes always been that bright and alluring? Your smile, an invitation for his lips?

Were his discoveries about you finally shedding light as to who you might be, underneath the perfect façade you seem to have cultivated for yourself? Everything he found was, he swore to the gods, erotic and arousing. But it was the fact that you surprised him that made his level of attraction to you grow.

You walked in with a heavy sigh, setting your duffel bag down on your bed and your boots onto the floor. You didn’t bother turning on your lights, as you zipped your body suit down and peeled off your armor. A rather tame set of black lace underwear shaped your body. Your exposed skin turned a rich shade in the darkness of your room.

Loki noted some bruises and scars peppering your body. The fresh welts were colored green and blue indicating they were recent and most likely acquired from your latest mission. You massaged your neck and rolled your shoulders trying to ease the ache settling into your bones.

Loki watched as you made your way, routinely, to your en suite and turned on the lights. A loud rush of water from the shower rumbled through, disturbing the silence that had enveloped you both. It took his entire strength as a god to keep standing where he was and not follow you to watch.

New fantasies came unbidden in his mind of you naked and wet in the shower. I need to leave. I need to depart before I do something that both of us would regret.  He waited till he heard you close your shower door. The water made loud splashes as it hit against different curves of your body.

A few more minutes and Loki found he could move again. With a shaky breath, he exhaled and made his way to your door. He would’ve continued if it weren’t for your small sighs. Soft moans and whimpers traveled to his god-like hearing. She’s touching herself?!

Loki balled his fist to elicit pain. His fingernails dug deep into the pad of his palms, trying to overcome the overwhelming state of arousal he was in.

“…Loki…”

He stopped and nearly fell to his knees. You said his name! The honeyed tones of your moans dripped over him. Coating his entire body in primal need until it reached his cock and hardened.

He couldn’t leave now. He wouldn’t. He turned on his heel and slowly lifted his cloak, risking everything by pushing the door slightly more open.

Loki licked his lips at the sight of you lost in your orgasm. Your head was thrown back as water trickled down your body. The droplets guiding his eyes down…

…down…

…to where your fingers played with your aching cunt. Your hands explored your curves. Every dip. Every hollow. Every scrumptious mound that he wanted to devour himself.

He stood at your en suite door, his arms holding the frame above his head. He didn’t trust himself to come closer to you. Not until you allowed it. Not until you saw how his eyes became ravenous at the sight of you touching yourself to thoughts of him.

“Loki!? What the hell are you doing?” you screamed out, startled. His eyes traveled back up to yours as you finally acknowledged his presence. Your body turned flush from the heat of the water and the embarrassing situation you found yourself in.

Loki freed himself from your door and tried to answer. Nothing came out but a quivering breath and a small growl of desire. His eyes narrowed and he bit his lip. He took a step forward and closed your bathroom door behind him making your heart drop.  He slowly made his way to you. Sluggish feet carrying him across your tiled floors. “Don’t stop on my account, Darling.”

“Why are you here?” you demanded.

“I heard you call out my name. And I am nothing if not a benevolent god who answers your prayers.” It was as if a switch was turned on and Loki couldn’t stop until he had you.

He watched you back into the tile of your shower. You looked like a caged animal put there for his viewing pleasure. “Why are you here?!” you repeated. It’s too late to be demure. He’s seen everything.

“I came looking for the daggers I lent you. I looked everywhere in your room. I couldn't find them.” Loki’s voice was deep but clear. You could hear the dangerous desire in his tone as he reached for the door to your shower. On instinct, you reached for the handle, stopping him from opening it.

The chase became real. He had to have you. The last hour he spent combing through your suggestive belongings had built a naughty little version of you in his head. Like a puzzle. It was the most erotically charged moment he’d ever spent. And now? Now, you were denying him!

“Last chance, Darling. If you want me to leave now, say so,” he said with a smile. “But I promise you this. I won’t stop till I have you.” His breath steamed the glass doors. Your heart pounded inside your chest as you looked into his dark eyes.

You let go of the handle and stepped back. Loki opened the door slowly, anticipation building up and pooling in between your thighs. “Good girl.”

Loki walked into your shower, still clothed. The scalding water penetrated through his white cotton shirt making it translucent under the spray. You could trace the lines of his muscle underneath.  His hair became slick and affixed itself against his face. He towered over you, as he leaned over with one arm against the shower wall.

Fuck!

He lowered his face. His nose brushed against the tip of yours and you could taste his breath against your lips. “What were you thinking about?” he asked looking deep into your eyes. “And remember, I can tell when you’re lying.”

You quivered at his voice. You looked down embarrassed. “No, no. Look at me.” He said grabbing your chin and forcing you to look back at him. He kept his fingers on your face, gently stroking your jaw.

“I was thinking about you,” you admitted. Your voice was so small. You felt so fragile in his hands.

“Go on, sweet thing. What prayer can your god answer for you tonight?” he encouraged. You were mesmerized by his stare. His voice lulled you to a sense of heat and longing.

“I pictured…touching you,” you started. “I fantasized about your body holding mine.” Loki licked his lips and the tip of his tongue brushed against your mouth. It tingled and the sensation moved throughout your body, awakening every cell within it.

“Like this?” he asked, grabbing your hand gently and placing it underneath his soaked shirt. He guided your hand up his torso and held it there. You could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he guided you over his stiff nipple and then down his lean abs.

Loki didn’t take his eyes off you once. He watched how your eyes widened at his boldness. How your lips parted when you finally touched him. How your whole body moved just a fraction closer to him, capturing him in a lust-filled haze of his own.

He continued steering your hand down his body, past the hem of his pants to his aching bulge. He was big. And hard. You couldn’t imagine what he would look like, what he would feel like, once he took it out. He kept your hand on his cock, driving your hand up and down. “Keep your hand on me,” he instructed. The steam from the shower did little to prevent the shiver that ran down your spine. Nor did it hide the wetness that was now dripping from you.

“Can you feel how hard I am for you?” his arms encircled your body, pulling you closer to him. His mouth incased your lips in an uncontrollable kiss. He weaved his deft fingers into your wet hair, pulling your head back to kiss you at a deeper angle.  He inhaled deeply, smelling the clean scent of your soap and shampoo.

He groaned into your mouth when he felt your hand reach inside his pants and squeeze him tightly. Loki’s eyes rolled back as you expertly palmed his stiff cock. You felt the veins pulsing in your fingertips as you pumped his dick mercilessly. He leaned over you, caging you between the wall and his eager body.

“Don’t stop, Darling,” he whimpered in your ear. “Don’t stop.” Loki bucked his hips into your hands. He captured your lips one last time before he moaned your name, releasing the pent-up arousal he’d been holding in. He fell apart in your hands, and you continued till you milked every last drop from him.

Before the water could wash away your efforts, you licked off two of your fingers, tasting his offerings. “There she is,” he said with a devilish grin. He was waiting for the real you to come forth. You seemed so demure and shy at the beginning. Nothing at all like what he found out you were. The one who reads erotic novels over and over again. The one who hides their toy on the bedside table, ready to go. The one who has a patent leather collar with their pet name etched into it.

Loki growled at the memory. He will see you in that collar. He’ll make sure of it. “But for now, I want a taste,” he said to himself. Loki started with your mouth, sampling himself in your kiss. You winced slightly when he reached for your waist. Reacting from a sensitive bruise that you acquired from your mission.

“Do you think your body can handle a couple more bruises from me, Darling?” he asked earnestly. You swallowed thickly and nodded. Loki proceeded to grab your hips and hold you in place, while his mouth eagerly marked your neck. He continued down to the base of your throat as he knelt in front of you. He captured your breasts with his tongue, paying them each attention. Your hands rested on his shoulders, gathering the white cotton in your hands as you fisted it.

When he reached your stomach, he was gentle and sweet. His hands secured your waist, pushing you slightly higher. “Wrap your leg around me,” he directed. You obeyed and placed your left leg on his shoulder.

Drips of water still fell from the shower. Loki licked and slurped each drop that fell onto your thighs. He flattened his tongue and licked a wide stripe on your warm cunt. “Fuck…Loki,” you screamed when he latched onto your nub, flicking it with the tip of his tongue. He looked up at you and watched you as you threw your head back, your ecstasy showing through.

“Did you like that, Darling?”

“Mmyes,” you whined. “God, yes!”

Loki repeated his actions, holding onto your thigh, as he savored your clit. You couldn’t hold yourself up any longer. Your knees were weakening, and you had nothing to hold onto as your hands slipped against the tile of your shower wall. “Loki, please,” you panted.

“I need to be inside you,” he moaned. The sooner he can make you cum in here, the sooner he can properly bed you on top of your sheets. He looked deep into your eyes and you almost didn’t recognize him. Hunger and desperation were hanging on his brows. The sight of him in between your legs, the feel of his lips latching onto your folds, the weight of his fingers thrusting inside you. It was all-encompassing and all too consuming.

“Oh, God! Loki!” you screamed as he inserted another finger. You laced your hand through his drenched hair, pulling every time his tongue flicked your nub. “Please, I need you inside me too. I need…” your breathing came in harsher. The steam almost suffocating you as you come closer and closer to that edge, waiting to fall.

“Don’t fight it, Darling. Let go for me,” Loki quoted your book, making you clench around his fingers. One last thrust into you and you screamed your release. Loki lapped up your swollen pussy with a greedy smile, making you shudder.

Hours later, you and Loki were lying on the floor of your room. Blankets and pillows surround you while your legs and arms tangle with each other, holding each other tightly. You were running your finger up and down his chest as he read aloud a passage from one of your “smutty romance books,” as he called them.  

His voice was magnetic and hypnotizing. Every word he said came to life inside your head. “Hmm, we might have to re-enact this one,” he teased after he finished a scene.

“Yes, sir,” you whispered, hoping he didn’t hear the last word you said. It just came out. You couldn’t stop yourself from saying it. From bending to his will and wanting to please him.

“I was curious about something,” he grinned, biting his lip. “Which I hope you can enlighten me...”

“Yes?”

“When I was looking for the daggers, I came across this.” He conjured up your patent leather collar and held it up against the dim light. He next conjured up the matching riding crop and showed you the tag that was hanging from the handle. “Who was your master?” Loki asked, unsure whether he wanted to know the answer. “Why do you have this and not them?”

“I never had one,” you admitted sheepishly. “I bought that in hopes of using it one day. But we never worked out.”

“I see,” he said with a devious smirk.

“It was so pretty. I couldn’t just get rid of it.”

“Sit up. Hold your hair, while I put this on you.” You obeyed his instructions. A pool of desire is already forming in between your legs as he tightens the collar around your neck. The heart-shaped tag, ‘Darling’ felt heavy and cold as he placed it neatly on the base of your throat.

Loki wiped his thumb over the tag of the whip. Newly etched, in bold letters, was his name instead. “Well, it’s mine now, darling,” he grinned as he tested the switch on his hand. The sharp thwack stung his palm. Your heart started beating quicker.

“On your knees,” he growled.

“Yes, sir.”

🏷️ @emarich7 @michelleleewise @coldnique @psychospore @lokisgoodgirl @silverfire475 @fictive-sl0th @springdandelixn @wheredafandomat @goldencherriess @peaches1958 @salempoe @thomase1 @kkdvkyya @a-witch-with-words @mischief2sarawr @sarawr-reads @vbecker10 @peachymallow @irishhappiness @cakesandtom @simplyholl @here4thefanfics @tallseaweed @immersed-in-mischief @joyful-enchantress @lokisninerealms @kikster606 @glitterylokislut @loz-3 @slytherclaw1227 @chantsdemarins @the-lady-amphitrite @eleniblue @km-ffluv @lokidokieokie @n3rdybirdee @melsunshine @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokischambermaid @cjand10 @asgards-princess-of-mischief ++

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Favorite Books I Read in 2023

I read a ton of good novels last year- 36 in all (and uh, 78 manga/graphic novels, but we'll examine that in another post). Here's a link to my Goodreads year in books (the manga is at the beginning, the novels start with Siren Queen) and my storygraph wrap up.  

I reread a ton of Discworld this year, and it's as spectacular as ever. But what about new reads?

Well, here are my favorite books I read in 2023!

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is an autobiographical memoir about the abusive relationship the author went through with her ex-girlfriend. It's absolutely gut-wrenching, and at times, achingly beautiful. Machado uses the house she shared with her girlfriend, which she calls the "dream house", as a back drop. It's a place she always wanted and also a place she became trapped in, Machado's language is beautiful as she explores the relationship from different lenses-- The Dream House as Lesbian Cult Classic, the Dream House as Noir, the Dream House as Creature Feature, the Dream House as Stoner Comedy....All facets of the relationship are explored in a way that grips you by the throat and makes you remember everyone who ever tried to suffocate you-- but it also explores the hard work of moving on, of picking up the pieces, of living and embracing tenderness along with hardship.

I especially related to Machado's struggle to talk about abuse between queer lovers because of her fears of giving homophobes more ammunition...and when she says "we deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity", I felt that deeply.

This wasn't just one of my favorite books this year, it goes on the list of all-time favorite books. I wish I had this kind of writing style. I'll be returning to this again and again.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

A middle-grade novel about a Chinese-American teen who feels a bit alienated from his heritage, which becomes a bit of an issue once he finds out the First Emperor of China has possessed his A.R. Gaming Headset. Now he needs to close a portal to the underworld with the help of other kids possessed by emporers.

This was a whole lot of fun, and often quite poignant. I was unsure if I could really enjoy middle-grade books as an adult, and this absolutely proves I can. There's a lot of really interesting Chinese history blended with action-packed fantasy, and exploration of the complicated feelings a kid can have about their own heritage . The dynamic between Zachary and Qin Shi Huang was so entertaining with the Emperor being villainous, heroic, charismatic, detestable-- and Zachary realizing how his complicated feelings about him mirror his relationship with his culture at large. There was also a lot of fun with other historical figures, and Xiran's take on Wu Zetian is a joy. (Also, if you like Yu-Gi-Oh!, you'll probably like this, since Xiran says it was one of their influences).

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Rose is young woman who's raised in a fundamentalist Christian household, and she's a devout, obedient daughter. But some weird things are happening. She's seeing a terrifying demon everywhere, insects are coming out of her mouth....and she's possibly having feelings about other girls. What's going on?

Yes, this is by the Chuck Tingle who makes all those Tinglers. But THIS one... will make you tingle with fear! It's a great horror novel! It's skin-crawlingly creepy at times, but also does a great job digging into how fundamentalist dogma harms queer people, and the hypocrisy of such beliefs. The conversion camp aspect is handled tastefully, and overall it was a great spooky read that's also ultimately very affirming, cathartic, and hopeful.

Qualia the Purple by Hisamitsu Ueo

You might go into this thinking it's just a quirky yuri light novel about a schoolgirl and her crush who sees everyone around her as robots (like literally, when she looks at someone she sees a robot instead of a human). But it quickly becomes surreal queer psychological horror steeped in absolutely wild applications of quantum mechanics and thought-provoking time travel.  Some of the quantum mechanics  exposition dumps were a bit much but I deeply enjoyed having my mind cracked open by this book. 

It's one of the most interesting takes of time loop stories I've seen. But it definitely covers a lot of rough subject matter, including a relationship with a serious age gap and extremely messed up relationships, so be cautious if you have triggers.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

This book follows Miri, whose wife goes missing on a deep-sea submarine mission for six months. Miri thought her wife dead, but she miraculously returns one day...but her wife has changed. She's like a stranger. She may have bought the horrors of the sea home with her.

This is a gripping exploration of grief and loss combined with a delicious, slow horror that creeps under your skin. There's excellent Lovecraftian and body horror elements to the novel, but it works very effectively as a metaphor for a loved one going through trauma, and a relationship starting to crumble because everything seems different. A moment that really stuck out to me is when Miri copes with her wife's disappearance by frequenting an online community where women roleplay as wives with husbands missing in space. The way the online drama of the community interacted with her grief was  both funny and heartbreaking. 

This is another example of a book that makes me deeply jealous with its lyrical writing, and another one for the ever-lengthening all time favorites list.

Otherside Picnic Volume 8: Accomplices No More by Iori Miyazawa

The latest entry in a series about two girls exploring an alternate dimension full of creepypasta monsters, while also falling in love with each other. See my other reviews here and here.

This volume has the payoff to a lot of careful character work and relationship building, and it was completely satisfying. In fact, it was...show-stopping. Spectacular.  Incredible. I loved the exploration of how love, sex, and romance are so different for different people and it's impossible to put it in neat boxes. The frank and messy conversation our leads have about their relationship was perfect and so was that absolutely  bonkers, wonderful finale. This is another one for the all times favorite list, and I loved it so much I wrote a extremely long review/recap here. 

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer

This was a well-researched, well-crafted, easy to read book that explores queerness (mainly homosexuality, bisexuality, trans and genderfluid expressions in animals, and even the question of if and how animals can related to gender) in the animal kingdom. Though it's definitely aimed at teens, I learned a lot from it (who knew female bonobos were such life goals) and it presented its information in a fun way. It included some interesting examinations of how proof of homosexuality and bisexuality in animals was historically suppressed and filtered through homophobic assumptions. If you want to learn a little animal science in an accessible format, definitely check this out.

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin

The story follows Mia, a woman in her 20's living with her vampire mother. Her whole life revolves around not drawing suspicion towards her Mom. She also has to make sure to feed her Mom some of her blood every night--lest her mother fall back in with her abusive boyfriend and start hunting humans.  But when Mia meets a cute girl, she starts to dream of living her own life...

It was a really interesting use of vampirism as a metaphor for both living with a parent struggling with addiction and having an abusive parent. It's just a well-told, heartwrenching tale that got deep into the character's mindsets. I thought the ending was bit abrupt and rushed, but it did make more sense once I realized this was the first in a duology. It's a fascinating take on vampires, and I'm interested in seeing more.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

This novel follows a middle-aged Muslim female pirate living around the Arabian Peninsula. She's supposed to be in retirement, but wouldn't you know it, she's lured in for one last job! I she rescues a kidnapped girl,  she'll have all the riches she needs to set her family up for life. So Amina begins her adventure of fighting demons and monsters and ex-husbands. But the job might not be all it seems.

This novel is full of all the entertaining swashbuckling action and shenanigans that any pirate story should have. It's a rollicking good time, and feeds my craving for middle aged women going on quests and kicking ass. Amina's journey is a fun, wild ride full of dynamic characters and interesting mythology!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Juniper is friends with a successful Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, and has always been deeply jealous of her. When Athena dies in front of her, Juniper decides to steal her manuscript rooted in Chinese history and claim it as her own. But plagiarism might catch up with her...

This is a strong example of a book I thought was really well-done, but one I'm probably never going to read again. The way it depicted Twitter drama is just too accurate and I got anxiety. It did such a good job putting you in Juniper's awful shoes so you can feel the pressure close in along with her. The book's commentary on the insidious racism of the publishing industry was effective, and it made a horrible character's journey fascinating to follow. I was so intrigued yet anxious I had to force myself to finish the last few pages.

Bonus read:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldtree

A very cute novel about an orc named Viv who decides to retire from the violent life of a bounty hunter and run a coffee shop instead. She ends up getting a lot of assistance from a succubus named Tandri...and my, is that a slow-burn coffee shop romance brewing? This book reminds me a lot of various cozy slice-of-life anime, and it's nice to be getting more of that feeling in book form. I wish there was a little more specific to the fantasy world rather than making it a coffee shop that line up 1 to 1 to a modern day shop, but it was definitely a sweet read.

[moonshynecybin]

do you have any motogp fic recs?

yeah sure man. im gonna keep it simple (ao3 only) because i am a capricious bookmarker and refuse to wade through the weeds of tumblr fic as im not a natural tagger. no order just vibes. all of these i love and reread !

cant change that, cant change you by kingsquarding

Marc at the ranch for the (second) first time.

this fic is the platonic ideal of marc and vale post reconciliation being TOGETHER and at the RANCH and trying to make it WORK but they are also. still being a little messed up. themes include: guilt. injury. marc trying to get vale to stop treating him like glass and FUCK HIM already because he doesnt want to admit that their relationship/his body has changed since he was twenty. delicious.

Che Spettacolo! by serve_cunt

“What do you think,” Vale says, and leans against the doorframe. “Will he come?” Uccio stays silent. Of course he will come, he wants to say. In what world does he stay away? In what world can he resist?

sending uccio to the cuck chair. outside POV rosquez always hits for me becuase they match each other's freak in so many ways its fun to see what antics they engage in as obsevered by someone more normal. in this case. uccio. also helps get around vale's shit ass communication because its him through the eyes of someone who KNOWS that vale is being WEIRD. even if marc doesnt. fun and SEXY. academic au by the same author ALSO slays

of crashing and burning (and falling for you) by Anonymous

It has always been Marc and Valentino, Valentino and Marc. Two rivals inseparable on- and off-track throughout their careers, their story so closely intertwined they might as well have been the same person, dominating their beloved sport between the two of them. Then Marc breaks his arm, Vale loses their championship, and they are left trying to pick up the pieces. AKA a rosquez same age AU.

someone wrote out. elle and i's same age au. and it was so perfect i legit struggle to answer asks about this au now because im just like. its in the AU !!! its all here !!! really nails vale in this specific scenario imo... all the love and resentment and self-imposed walls and. my favorite of all. the exact way these guys talk in press conferences. like their exact diction. hits the spot beautifulperfect

arms out like an angel by yekoc

“Does Marc still work here?” he asks. He can’t think of the word for performing. “I dunno, man,” the guy says. “Sorry, I’m new.” Vale blinks at him. “Find out,” he says, and then, annoyed at himself for the impatience, “if you can. I came a long way.”

the efficiency of word choice in terms of characterization in this one really moves me... every line has implications !!! sexy ones even !!! and theres so much baseline CHEMISTRY and inability to really STAY AWAY from each other but also. a tense little undercurrent of slight misunderstanding and hurt that makes it stand out... i also just love fics where marc pushes back just a lil and vale has to like. figure out what to do with that. in a horny way. yekoc's bezzcele also goes crazy if you wanna think about nipple piercings as much as i do

All I Wanted by agnst-crrnt

The first time it happens is just after Marc’s 10th birthday. He’s about to complain to his parents about how Álex always finishes the milk and then puts it back into the fridge, when the faces of his parents’ blur in front of him. Marc closes his eyes, trying to make it better and grabs onto the edge of the table. He can hear his mama ask him if he’s okay, before everything stops. or Rosquez Time Travel Au, where Marc randomly gets teleported through time, always ending up somewhere around Vale

hey thats my friend. rosquez time travel au as ive said my favorite thing to think about maybe EVER !!! really love the strict marc POV on this one and how you REALLY see the. youre in love so you go. and his just. his ceaseless romanticism and optimism wrt to vale and their relationship that fits this fic concept SO well. guest appearances from pedrenzo as well yayyyyy

i give into the fall series by lestelledreams

Her and Pol were good; they did win a gold at Junior Worlds after all, and that’s not something anyone can just go out there and do. But her and Valentino – they could become great. Mar’s never been more sure of anything in her life. or, The first year of Mar's and Vale's partnership.

genderbend figure skating au where marc gets to have all his weird injury complexes explored AND it gets slutty AND we get to see his freak ass ambition. imagine if motogp was a pairs sport (like actually not just in a fake way) and marc had the option of pairing up with vale. imagine how crazy he would go trying to make that happen adfhdflk

a hundred ninety-nine degrees by hardlythewiser (sequinedfairy)

“You should fuck me again,” Bez says. It trips out, all his defenses worn down by the long, annoying day of meetings, by the feeling of Cele above him, pressing him down into the couch, by Cele’s bright clear gaze. Above him, Cele doesn’t smile with his whole face, scrunching up his eyes, like he did the first time Bez asked. He doesn’t smile at all, just keeps looking at Bez. “Really?” he asks. “I didn’t know – did you like it, last time?”

cele tops lets GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. some fics just. have an ability to pierce directly towards what actually and precisely makes a pairing or a situation or a dynamic SEXY, while also revealing a new facet of said dynamic that i've never thought about in depth before. this is one of those. fuck him!!! make him cry !!!! perfect !!!

i was having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy (whose reality i knew was hopeless to be had) by babynflames

In Motegi 2005, Hiroshi Aoyama wins his first race during his home GP, Dani Pedrosa gets second while hiding a fractured humerus and Jorge Lorenzo is handed a one race ban for riding in a irresponsible manner after nearly colliding with Dani and causing de Angelis to abandon the race, leaving the third position to Casey Stoner. The haircutting is incidental.

dyke PEDRENZO. fic that is fun and funny and filled to the BRIM with the kind of homoerotic tension you can only have between two teenage dykes in direct competition who dont even know theyre horny about each other except they REALLY kind of do. also. the best sports rpf to me always engages with a sport on a sociological level... also just love the writing style on this. direct and avoidant at the same time. very dani in sexuality crisis to me aljfdhl

[madamevirgo]

Hi! This might sound really… outlandish, but I have been thinking about Thena using her cosmic energy in bed ;) Could you write a jealousy/ angst smut fic with Thena x reader , please?

Fireworks

Pairing: Thena x (f!)reader

Words: 2443

Warnings: (bad) smut, top Thena, jealousy, public sex, bit of angst, so much cheesiness I might puke, don’t read if you’re a minor but I’m not your mom so do what you want.

A/N: Tis I! Madame Ghosts Virgo coming to you with my first post in months (?) life has gotten insane. College, work, whoever decided we had to actually do something for a living? Got sick, got sick again, and as I was laying in my sick bed (let me tell you, the flu decided to remind us that she was indeed THAT bitch) my mind came up with the most horrifying car sex scenario and I remembered this request and kinda ran with it? (@poeticgal5 I’m so sorry if this doesn’t live up to your expectations but thanks for the inspo). It is 2:42am so even though I reread myself like a million times, you might find some mistakes. Also, welcome to my first public smut. Okay horn-dogs, enjoy.

The Eternals through the years had learned to fit in. They molded and changed as was asked of them by the times. Even Gilgamesh, in his own peculiar way, adapted to the years. They all did, with the exception of Thena. Blame it on Mahd Wy’ry or her stubbornness to let go of a time where human connection was valued above all; she simply refused to immerse herself in today's world more than necessary.

Then came you. Innocent in a way but with eyes full of pain and trauma. You were determined to have her experience all the joys that this world had to offer. Not that you had much experience with them yourself. A Black Widow since birth, born and raised in the Red Room, you knew nothing but darkness. You craved some light, maybe that’s why you latched onto Thena the moment you met her. She shone bright, literally and figuratively.

Since the moment you met her, you had only one goal: experience all the joys in the world with who turned out to be the love of your life.

It wasn’t an easy task. Thena was stubborn (and scary), but you were persistent and perhaps even more stubborn. A trait you’ve always paid heavily for in the Red Room.

So you didn’t let her disinterest affect you. You’ll admit that her initial harsh words gave you a pause and stung your heart a bit, but you didn’t let that stop you. Soon, she started to give in.

Thena would never admit it, but she enjoyed experiencing life with you. Although she always did so with an air of disgust and boredom, behind each sarcastic and sassy comment could be found appreciation.

Appreciation for you, and surprisingly: life.

With the holidays, came new experiences. Tons of endless new experiences. Every year, it was something. One year it was baking, another it was skiing, another it was carolling (which she learned had nothing to do with the movie with that blonde actress with the fur coat). This year, it was a New Year’s Eve party.

Of course, Kingo had been the one to come up with the idea.

Of course, you’d been more than happy to jump at the opportunity to experience something new. As always.

Of course, Thena had agreed to it in the end. As always.

Because you could show her everything there was to see in every universe, but nothing would top the joy she felt seeing a smile light up your face.

So she helped plan, she got dressed, and she made nice with the people. Even those who insisted on calling her ‘Athena’.

All in all, things were going as well as they could go given that you hadn’t been paying attention to her all evening since you’d been running around playing the perfect hostess. Things got significantly worse when some leggy blonde started following you everywhere and making you laugh.

She tried to keep her cool because if she didn’t, things would get bad and she didn’t want to ruin this night for you. But the way this girl kept touching you was testing her control. She must’ve zoned out for a second because she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. Of course, she’d recognize your touch no matter what state she was in.

“Come with me?” You asked once her eyes met yours. And she nodded. Being with you was one of the greatest joys of her life.

You dragged the blonde goddess out and into the garage, and soon enough, you were driving away from the loudness of the house. Thena had not yet been able to grasp the concept of driving. She said it confused her. You suspected that she liked being a passenger princess.

“Where are we going?” She asked as it seemed like you were getting further away from the house, and into a road she’d never taken before.

“You’ll see. We’re almost there.” You said with a smile in her direction.

Soon enough, you pulled up to a cliff that overlooked the city. The view was magnificent and the air pristine.

“If you’re planning on going sky diving, let me stop you right now. My healing abilities don’t extend to others and I don’t fancy burying my girlfriend.” She said as she gripped your wrist to stop you from getting out of the car.

“I’ve jumped out of a plane before - without a parachute, might I add.” You said with a frown.

“Yes, I know, you’re a big bad Black Widow. I don’t care. Once was already too much. I’m so glad you know how gravity works.” she insisted, making you roll your eyes.

“It was more than once.” You mumbled. Which only made her deadpan. “Would you just let us get out of the car? I’m trying to be romantic.” You finally snapped a bit. After a few seconds, she relented and you stepped out of the véhicule, breathing in the fresh air.

You glanced at Thena and saw her with her eyes closed. Taking it in. She always felt best when she was surrounded by nature. You leaned against the hood of the car and watched her for a few moments. She was majestic. A fact that you knew, but never ceased to leave you in awe.

“You wanna talk about what made you almost have an episode?” You finally asked.

“I’m surprised you even noticed.” And although she didn’t open her eyes, you could sense the storm behind them.

You leaned forward, grabbing her hand and pulling her into you. Both of you, leaning on the car for support.

“What could possibly stop me from noticing you, my love?” You wracked your brain trying to find what she was talking about, coming up blank.

“That leggy blonde, she was all over you.” Whispered your girlfriend, not meeting your eyes. It finally clicked.

“Thena, are you jealous?” That was a first.

Thena and you had experienced many emotions, jealousy had never been one of them. It had to be noted that you never really interacted outside of your small circle of comfort and they all were respectful of your relationship or too afraid of Thena to try anything. So this was definitely new. Your heart filled with warmth at another manifestation of Thena’s love for you. You grabbed her chin and gently made her face you.

“Nobody has my attention but you. Although my eyes may not always reside on you, my mind and heart always do. Worry not my love, for me, there’s no one else but you.” And you sealed that promise with a kiss.

“Cheesy,” said the goddess as you pulled away, but the bright smile on her face showed her true sentiment even as she rolled her eyes.

“Only for you.” And you added a cheeky wink.

“Is there a particular reason why you’ve brought us up here? Or did you just want to get me away so I wouldn’t lose control around the humans?” She asked once you both settled down.

“This is the best place to see fireworks in the whole city. Another joy for us to experience. You know, other than the ones caused by bombs or actual explosions.”

“You do know I’ve seen my fair share of fireworks, right? During our time in Babylon, Sprite would create some pretty phenomenal ones. Nothing has compared ever since.” At times, you would catch a glimpse of sadness in her eyes as she reminisced about the past.

In this instance, you couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected. She must have seen the look on your face because she amended quickly.

“But this one will be even more special and incomparable because I’ll be sharing it with you.” She caressed your cheek with her hand, and you reached up to grab it in your hands.

“I’m sure.” And you knew that the smile you gave her wasn’t convincing, perhaps to someone less versed in the subject that was you; but not to Thena.

With a sigh, you lay down and pulled her next to you, on the hood of the car. It occurred to you that you should have grabbed a blanket for comfort. You suddenly worried that her back would hurt. This whole experience was turning out to be the opposite of what you had hoped it would be.

“We should head back. The others will be wondering where we are.” Before you could fully get up, she grabbed your hand, making you look down at her.

“I’m sure they’ll manage. Besides, I thought you wanted to see the fireworks.”

“I just realized that we came a bit too early and I forgot to bring blankets. I don’t think the hood of the car will be comfortable for long.” You wanted to cry. Like everything you planned for Thena, you wanted tonight to be perfect. It was, however proving to be an utter failure.

“I’m very comfortable, but if you’re not, we can go. Although I was hoping to have you experience something new, and you’ve set the scene for it so beautifully.” She got up and before you knew it she was standing next to the passenger’s door. The glint in her eyes told you she was up to no good, and the shiver that ran up down your spine told you you’d love every second of it.

“I’m sure they can go without us for a little bit longer.” You whispered as she slowly approached you, like a hunter creeping on its prey.

“Uh huh.” She wrapped her arms around you and claimed your lips with hers.

If it wasn’t for the car, your legs would have given out. Every time she kissed you, you turned to mush; but there was something in her energy tonight that was different.

“I have so much energy pant up from not killing that leggy blonde. I think it could be better invested in you. Don’t you agree?” She pulled back from whispering in your ear to bite the lobe and your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

“Yes.” Was all you could manage to say as you wrapped your arms around her to steady yourself.

This seemed to be all the answer she needed before letting loose. She pushed you down on the hood of the car and the telltale gold of her powers that occurred when she was manipulating cosmic energy appeared at each one of your wrists, restraining you to the car.

“I don’t know who will enjoy this more. What I know for certain is that neither she nor anyone will ever be able to make you feel as good as I’m about to make you feel.” If that was her certainty, yours was that your pussy was currently the Nile river.

She rolled up your shirt over your head and locked your lips in a searing kiss that made your head spin from lack of oxygen; before slowly, tortuously kissing her way to your boobs. Neither of them was left without attention. She was sucking and biting on one while squeezing and palming the other with her hand, making your back arch in pleasure.

Thankfully, you could feel that she wasn’t in a teasing mood tonight. Right when you thought it couldn’t get any better, she started sending bursts of cosmic energy into your body with each bite and pinch.

You were suddenly grateful that you had driven you both up here so no one could hear the noises you let out.

“Thena, please. More.” The way you were doing your absolute best to trap her between your legs told her exactly where you needed her.

She removed her mouth from your boob and continued trailing kisses until she reached the gates of absolute pleasure. One kiss, two. It was like a silent prayer that she sent to the universe; thanking it for the feast she was about to taste.

Then she dived in and you could have come right then. You let out a loud moan and the hand that had been left on your other boob disappeared before two fingers were shoved in your mouth for you to suck on.

Again and again and again she cherished your clitoris, drinking you up like the last glass of water on earth. Her powers had always intrigued you. The beauty of it all. But the way she was using it to pleasure you right now? You would’ve given what you didn’t have to keep this feeling from ever ending.

And then she stopped. You were quick to open your eyes with a glare. How dare she deny you such pleasure? Of such a euphoric feeling? It was yours to take and hers to give.

“Relax, my love,” she pressed a kiss to your lips and then your cheek, making your gaze soften. “I’m not quite done with you yet.” And then she pushed into you.

Thena and you had used a strap more than once, but never one made from cosmic energy. It was almost alive; an extension of her, pulsating inside of you and that energy was spreading in your insides. It was pleasure like you’ve never experienced, and it felt almost sinful not to die immediately after.

“Fuck, right there Thena. Rig-” you couldn’t breathe, in the most fabulous way. It was like breathing, speaking, would take away from your experience of this feeling, this moment. You couldn’t have that.

Thena was a dancer, graceful yet impactful in her movements. They were precise and direct and carried everything that couldn’t be said. You saw it in her fighting style, and you felt it in the way she was fucking you.

“I love you”

“We are now one.”

“I love you.”

“You are an extension of me.”

It almost felt like she was speaking all these thoughts directly in your head. You honestly didn’t want to think about the probability of that. Mostly because you reached your peak and as you came undone and felt warmth unleash inside of you, you had to open your eyes to make sure you weren’t going crazy when you heard fireworks above you.

“Happy New Year,” said your blonde girlfriend, as she tried to catch her breath.

“The happiest.” You mumbled as you pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

You could have fallen asleep right there, consequences be damned. And you would’ve if it wasn’t for Thena speaking.

“I think we dented your car.” She mumbled.

“That’s okay. It’s one of Kingo’s.” You mumbled right back.

You would get up eventually. But for now, you wanted to enjoy this new bond that had been formed between you two.

[thelosers-club]

thoughts on the bill and mike bicycle scene?

OKOKOK lets go, this is a scene i havent always focused on when thinking about mike or bill so this was fun !!

Some things I just generally remember liking or finding interesting was when Mike and Bill were wondering if the club would all return that night, and how Mike had been considering that some of them might silently leave or even die- that part he didn’t voice specifically but that’s just what I had interpreted from the trailing off.

When I was thinking about this I feel if I were Mike I would just continue, because with everything I’d read up to that point it really does seem like there is a higher being and I think at this point Mike very much knows (to some extent) about the turtle, and it’s clear the higher being is on our side and whatever happens is meant to happen. Everything that happened- like Stan dying- was meant to happen, even if we don’t fully know why. And that may also just be because I know the story ends well enough for the losers, but yknow. While I was rereading, a part I noticed a lot was where Bill accidentally sprayed a deck of cards all over the floor and two ace of spades were the only ones facing up on the ground. Which is impossible because it was a brand new deck, which I’ll comment on in a second. In a deck of cards, the ace is the highest card- most powerful, it beats everything, even the king. and i think that this happening was to symbolize how they beat IT once, and they are going to do it again. Also, an ace in Tarot means victory that was achieved through hard work and luck, and along the lines of the last thing I said, I think that could also symbolize that they are going to win, specially through those two things as well. And I think the fact there were two, and the fact that Mike pointed out it was impossible, might also have been to point out that their chances to win were also practically impossible, and they still did!

Later, Mike and Bill are eating, and Bill asks what the phrase he had gotten stuck in his head since he’d seen Silver in the window of the secondhand rose/secondhand clothes. The phrase, if you don’t remember, was “He thrusts his fists against the posts, and still insists he sees the ghosts.” Mike allows Bill to know, and tells him the origin of the phrase, and how Bill’s Mom had taught him it to beat his stutter- and that Bill was always mumbling it to himself, so it seemed he was very determined to please his mother. And in the end, Bill had never been able to do it, but Bill knew he said it, he just could not remember when.

personally to me, Bill not being able to remember just kind of nails in this one theory I have where the Losers really had to revert to their childhood mind a lot in order to defeat Pennywise. Bill could not remember when because he had to do it again at somepoint, and he does. Like when he had yelled it as a kid to ward of Pennywise as Georgie and to ward off his own fear, he yelled it at Pennywise while in the void so he could get that sense of power he’d had back then back, to help get him back in that mindset he’d had when he’d come so close to killing It the last time.

If you guys want to hear me ramble about the mindset theory more please tell me i could go on for days about it :)

all of that was more of a serious analysis, so here’s just what I like and think of the scene in a more light sense.

I do think that this scene was a good kind of connection wink* moment between these two. Like, bonding time between too close buddies.

I’ll add anything more I think of in the comments, but right now thats all I got

(thank you for asking as well!! i like to think about IT and this was a new scene I hadn’t thought about a lot so it was nice to reread and figure out)

*the scene is named Mike Hanlon Makes a Connection, im making a pun here. laugh

[vickyvicarious]

This morning, as I was sitting on the edge of my bed cudgelling my brains, I heard without a cracking of whips and pounding and scraping of horses' feet up the rocky path beyond the courtyard. 

Last year we all joked about cudgelling his brains, but that line struck me again this year for another reason. The way he says it feels so routine somehow. And obviously that makes sense, of course Jonathan is spending all his mental energy (leftover after interacting with the Count) on trying to figure a way out of here, but... I dunno, something about the implied routine of it is really sad. Jonathan sitting miserably at the end of his bed, thinking over the same few facts and cycling through and discarding the same ideas, trying and trying to figure out some new detail that will help him. Maybe he rereads his own journal again and again. Maybe he finds it hard to actually look at it or gets lost in his own fear at the memories, finds himself spiraling into deadly what-ifs. Maybe the depression and exhaustion is wearing on him and he simply can't focus for long in any helpful way, not when the situation remains the same as ever, but he just keeps trying to force himself because he refuses to give up.

And then something does change, hence this entry - but only for a short while, and not for the better.

I ran to the door, intending to descend and try and join them through the main hall, as I thought that way might be opened for them. Again a shock: my door was fastened on the outside.

Jonathan's brief joy at the sight of people is cut short when he's unable to get downstairs, and all the more when they laugh at his misery. But in this post I wanna zoom in on the fact that the door was locked and he didn't notice until now. It's entirely possible Dracula locked it while Jonathan was sleeping, and he just hasn't tried to leave his room yet this morning so hasn't noticed. I'm not sure if that would be more or less creepy than him sneaking up and locking it silently while Jonathan were awake, but in either version it's definitely creepy and contributes to his inability to feel safe anywhere in this castle. Even the typically comforting ability to lock one's own bedroom is turned against him; not only can he not keep the Count out but Dracula can use it to keep him in. And once again, the situation can change (for the worse) any time he looks away even for a moment. He can't afford to relax at all.

But I also think this could reinforce my headcanon, which is that over time Jonathan tends to just stay in his own rooms a lot. Sure, it isn't really any safer, but at least it is supposed to be a private area and he's less likely to unexpectedly run into Dracula. I feel like he is trying more and more to avoid interaction as much as possible and to just think of a way out. Sits there and cudgel his brains, then sits there in misery when inevitably he cannot come up with any viable strategy. Maybe he's even missing meals (I've seen it theorized that maybe Dracula's cooked meals are getting less frequent/less healthy or filling as time goes by as well).

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Luigi and the Beast Chapter 14

Hi!!!

Ha. Somehow, I have returned. How long will I remain here??? Hard to say honestly, this might be the last chapter I ever post of this fic, if I can't find motivation to finish it. But this chapter was like... 95% done, and someone commented on a few chapters of L&TB and I was like... hey why don't I at least finish the last chapter I have written, huh?? So, I did. And I posted immediately so I didn't forget, or run out of energy/desire to post later.

Anyway, it's late, and I want to start rereading this fic to see if I can figure out where to go from here, so I'll leave y'all with this. The fabled chapter 14 of L&TB. Warning, it's short (for me), about 3-4k words, since it's just an interlude from Mario. But... it's something at least? I do have part of a potential chapter 15 written, we'll see if I can finish it or not.

You can find the chapter here

Summary:

Luigi is a simple man who lives a simple life. Every day is the same as the last, with nothing ever happening that changes the status quo. While some may think his life is boring, Luigi enjoys it well enough, relishing in the simple monotony, not needing endless adventure and excitement to make his life have meaning.

Unfortunately, everything changes when he gets the news that his beloved brother, Mario, has been kidnapped by a fearsome beast in a far off kingdom that he’s never heard of before. To make matters worse, in his endeavor to save his brother, he ends up making a deal with the beast where he has to stay as a prisoner in his brother’s place. Will he be able to survive his captivity in the castle of a beastly king? Or will he find that maybe there is more to life than simplicity, and that sometimes the best things in life require a little risk?

Chapter 14

From the beginning

[impossiblefangirl0632]

do you have encanto fic recs? every time I watch encanto I think about how much potential there is for fic but then I never actually read any...I figure that you might be able to give me a place to start if I ever decide to make the plunge! thanks

That insane cackling you heard in the distance was me upon reading this ask. Um. Yes. Yes I do have many encanto fic recs and I’m so glad you asked! I’m limiting myself to 10 of my all time favorites. Should you choose to delve in I’d be happy to rec more. I tried to do a smattering of the types of fics I like.

Note, Bruno is my favorite character and as such most of these are Bruno-centric or he plays a major role.

The Sandman by @cthene Rated G 30K Complete

Bruno explores his Gift. 

Just trust me on this one. It’s fantastic. I’ve literally reread it 5 times. If Bruno as a time wizard plus a really great look at the relationship between him and Mirabel sounds like your cup of tea I cannot recommend this one enough. 

Nos Sigue la Noche (The Night Follows Us) by Thornvale Rated T 36K Complete

Post canon, Mirabel can’t help but feel as though something is going to go wrong; mysterious Tío Bruno is behaving more strangely than usual and something about the magic seems to be changing. Not only that, but an old danger is lurking in the shadows of the mountains surrounding the Encanto. 

As they learn to see by @cannibalthoughts Rated T 67K WIP

Four and a half years after hiding in the walls, Bruno has an accident bad enough for Casita to call for help, and the family’s problems stop being ignorable. 

aka: Bruno slips and knocks over about a dozen family crises on his way down.

I adore everything about this fic. Cannibalthoughts writes Bruno’s internal headspace SO WELL it’s the perfect blend of humor and angst.

a hair on the head of john the baptist by icarusinthesand Rated T 4.5K Complete

Unsettled in the new Casita, Bruno goes to the usual place wayward prophets seeking solace go.

This one leans into the fact that they’re all Catholic and explores how Bruno feels about being a prophet. Also has a fantastic conversation between him and Mirabel. This one has my whole heart and I’ve reread it many times.

A Prophet In His Own Land by @madrigaljail Rated T 33K Complete

Part of the Madrigal In-Laws Verse that flushes out Felix and Agustin’s families. I highly recommend everything in this series but Prophet is my favorite.

Growing up in the close-knit community of the Encanto, Bruno Madrigal is many things to many people: a dutiful and difficult son, a loyal, irritating brother, a shining star, a lurking menace, a dear friend, a familiar mystery, and an object of scorn. Shouldering the burden of all these contradictory roles, he struggles to find his place in both the town and his family.

A Miracle Is Not Earned but Freely Given by @wildlyironicbee Rated T 57K Complete

A bit of an Anastasia/verrrrrrrrry loose beauty and the beast AU

I love this one SO MUCH Please read it it’s got amazing characterization and some really excellent angst and family bonding.

Mirabel grew up listening to the stories her Abuela would tell her about the Encanto and her family's magical house, Casita--and of how it was lost, her Abuelo and Tío sacrificing everything to keep them safe. When she's presented with an opportunity to finally see the ruins of the Encanto for herself, she leaps at the chance. But what--or who--she finds there will alter the lives of her family forever. 

Stars Lost Down The River by @ramblesanddragons Rated T 87K Complete

A ‘what if Mirabel ran away after her ceremony, Bruno went after her, and they both got swept down the river and lost their memories’ AU it features them reuniting with the Madrigals and it is just absolutely excellent. Rambles has a lot of Encanto fics and I love all of them.

Bitter Blood by ashtreelane Rated G 19K Complete

Post-Canon. Bruno is only technically the youngest. Really, it's by fifteen minutes, but he is also the smallest, and prone to sickness. The fainting spells probably don't help the weakness his sisters see. Bruno is hypoglycemic, which is annoying, but not dangerous. It gets much worse when he enters the walls.

Excellent Madrigal kids stuff and excellent angst

Never Shall We Die by archive_rat Rated M 99K WIP

Young triplets pirate AU. Pirate queen Pepa, ship’s doctor Julieta, & navigator Bruno. Listen, come closer, have you ever read something that left you just sitting in awe and wonder, something that every time you reread it you pick up on something new because there is just SO MUCH amazing detail? Because this is that. I cannot sing this fic’s praises enough. Also if AU’s aren’t your thing go read archive-rat’s other Encanto fics set in canon verse (do that even if AUs are your thing) I was very tempted to rec them individually. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus and Axolotl are my favorites. 

Just Your Ordinary, Everyday Miracle by @16magnolias Rated T 283K WIP

Bruno/Original Female Character post-canon fic that starts with the question of ‘where did Bruno get the horse?’ at the end of the movie. 

A candle. A living house. Magical powers. A 15-year-old girl named Mirabel. Miracles can come in all shapes and sizes, and Bruno's latest miracle may just take the shape of a 41-year-old widow named Lucía and her daughter Josefina. And – uh – maybe also a horse. 

This fic has my whole heart. Lucia is such a well written and flushed out character and Mags’ writing is so cozy and I love it so so so so so much. If Bruno/OFC sounds interesting definitely give this one a read.

(Obligatory plug for my own (with @optimistic-violinist) fic Take Back the Kingdom, a modern/fantasy AU where Bruno and the kids have to save their kingdom from an evil wizard with humor, hijinks, and angst galore)

[cleolinda]

Varney the Vampire: A Preface

I want you to think back to what it’s like to reread your old work from years ago—your old stories or poetry, your old school papers, or even your old tumblr posts. Sometimes you’re actually kind of pleased, sure, but I want you to really go back and locate yourself in the heady cringe of that feeling.

In related news, I'm going to pick back up with the Varney the Vampire recaps I started in late 2010 CE. I got about nine chapters in, and then something, who knows what, derailed my life, as things tend to. Like, I'm used to this, it happens with the regularity of a lunar cycle. But I like writing about vampires (clearly), and since I feel like Dracula has been tread pretty thoroughly in recent times, I figured I might go back to something different; we had some lively discussions about Varney back then.

But 2010 was a time before A Lot of Things happened. I was in my early 30s at that point, so I won't say, "Oh, I was so young," but I had a very different energy as a blogger 12-13 years ago. So I've decided to rewrite the recaps a little—some more than others, some not much at all. I just feel like I have a really different perspective on the first chapter in particular, in 2023.

As before, I'm using the full, unabridged text. It is hideously long, something like 230+ chapters, but go big or go home, I figure. The thing is, I was using the files hosted at the University of Virginia, and now you can only get those through the Wayback Machine, but they are still usable for now. I have various backups saved, but I do want you to be able to see that I am, as ever, Not Making It Up.

I'm also not going to quibble anymore as to whether James Malcolm Rymer or Thomas Peckett Prest wrote this behemoth. Per Wikipedia sources, scholars seem to agree that it was all or mostly Rymer. When it's mentioned that they figured this out based on his dialogue style, I went... yeah, that checks out. Because it sure is A Style, and I'll be honest, the repetitive filler dialogue in chapter 10 was such a speedbump for me that I just threw up my hands and said, "I don't know how to recap this. Something I can't remember now is going on in my life and I Cannot. I no longer Can."

Well, it's the 2020s and we're gonna. Like I can't tell you how much stress I do not have about this. I've had covid three times and also spinal surgery. Varney the Vampire can no longer hurt me.

To start, this ordeal has a preface—apparently written upon the occasion of collecting the serial into book form—wherein The Author expresses his gratitude for "unprecedented success of the romance of Varney the Vampyre." First off, Rymer uses "vampire" and "vampyre" interchangeably, because fuck me for caring about consistency, I guess. Second, as Wikipedia notes,

It first appeared in 1845–1847 as a series of weekly cheap pamphlets of the kind then known as "penny dreadfuls." The author was paid by the typeset line [YEAH, I NOTICED], so when the story was published in book form in 1847, it was of epic length: the original edition ran to 876 double-columned pages and 232 chapters. Altogether it totals nearly 667,000 words.

For comparison, all of Lord of the Rings plus The Hobbit is 576,459 words. I sure do blanch every time I see those numbers! It's fine. We're gonna be fine. Back to the preface:

The following romance is collected from seemingly the most authentic sources, and the Author must leave the question of credibility entirely to his readers, not even thinking that he is peculiarly called upon to express his own opinion upon the subject.

"Seemingly" is doing a lot of work here.

Nothing has been omitted [for real, nothing down to the tiniest fly-swat has been omitted] in the life of the unhappy Varney, which could tend to throw a light upon his most extraordinary career, and the fact of his death just as it is here related, made a great noise at the time through Europe, and is to be found in the public prints for the year 1713.

I've seen more than one Dracula multimedia art project where people recreated the letters and diaries and recordings in the book (have you heard my whole thing about how Dracula actually was a cutting-edge techno-thriller back in 1897?), but I've never heard of anyone creating ARG-style media for the Totally for Actual-Fact Real tale of Sir Francis Varney the Vampire, and I think it would be hilarious if someone did.

I won't belabor the entire preface, but what I do want to touch on is Rymer's mention of "unprecedented success." Varney is actually standing on the shoulders of a vampire giant, and it's not the one we would think of. Nowadays, our big touchstone—the influence so great that most works either evoke it or take the trouble to say "Our vampires are different"—is Dracula, obviously. Which was published exactly 50 years after Varney, in 1897. But Varney's touchstone is Polidori's short story "The Vampyre" (1819). And for most of the 1800s, this was everyone's touchstone. Per Wikipedia (which I'm going to lean on for how concise it is, but I concur with this from my own research as well):

An adaptation appeared in 1820 with Cyprien Bérard's novel Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, falsely attributed to Charles Nodier, who himself then wrote his own dramatic version, Le Vampire, a play which had enormous success and sparked a "vampire craze" across Europe. This includes operatic adaptations by Heinrich Marschner (see Der Vampyr) and Peter Josef von Lindpaintner (see Der Vampyr), both published in the same year. Nikolai Gogol, Alexandre Dumas [note: I have the Ruthven play he wrote around here somewhere] and Aleksey Tolstoy all produced vampire tales, and themes in Polidori's tale would continue to influence Bram Stoker's Dracula and eventually the whole vampire genre. Dumas makes explicit reference to Lord Ruthven in The Count of Monte Cristo, going so far as to state that his character "The Comtesse G..." had been personally acquainted with Lord Ruthven. [...]

In England, James Planché's play The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles was first performed in London in 1820 at the Lyceum Theatre based on Charles Nodier's Le Vampire, which in turn was based on Polidori. Such melodramas were satirised in Ruddigore, by Gilbert and Sullivan (1887); a character called Sir Ruthven must abduct a maiden, or he will die.

Back when no one gave a shit about copyright, Polidori's work was spun out into a cottage industry of knock-off stories and plays, an entire horror zeitgeist. Lord Ruthven was, for 78 years, who you copied, who you riffed on, who you parodied, what Count Dracula is to us now: the archetypal vampire. The Big Guy. And Varney is clearly cut from his cloth—the ostensible gentleman who worms his way into the lives of respectable, unwitting people. Unlike Dracula, there's no foreigner Othering, no "historical basis," no undercurrents of contagion and infection, no ambition to make the world his wine-press, none of that; Ruthven is a simpler figure, but the dominant one of this time no less. He is a stranger who shows up in the middle of London high society, icy and distant, his eyes “dead grey”—stern, yet somehow compelling when he cares to be. And when he cares to be, you're in trouble.

And this is the cultural consciousness when Francis Varney shows up.

[Chapter one will go up sometime this week, March 8-10 or so.]

[hugsandchaos]

Remember the episode “Two Good To Be True”? How there’s an alternate universe where Knuckles and Sonic are sort of switched, Dave’s a good, smart guy, and Eggman’s color is actually green? I decided to make some headcanons and ideas for it!

To be honest, this is partially for the 6 people who always like these kinds of posts of mine, which I appreciate. You guys are sweet!

•Sonic is dumb, sure, but he’s surprisingly knowledgeable about first aid, a bit of cooking, and the basics of wilderness survival. He mostly knows it because he looks after Tails.

•This Knuckles lives in a treehouse. I can’t explain why, I just think it’d be fitting.

•Both Sonic and Tails live in a house built inside a cave, and Sonic has a hammock inside and outside.

•Dave does his best to make sure Meh Burger’s food isn’t a health hazard and works on his inventions in his spare time.

•Dave’s mother disapproves of him being a hero instead of a villain and they’ve fought about it before. The fights are slowly getting more frequent. Dave is considering the possibility of moving out, and he’s told Knuckles and Amy about this. They both plan to support their friend every step of the way, whatever he chooses.

•Dave tries to insist that his friends don’t have to pay, but knowing how bad the pay sometimes is for him, the group will sometimes put money in the tip jar or on the table and run. Basically the good version of eating and leaving without paying. (Sonic: *whispering* Quick, Tails! While he’s not looking! / Tails: *puts a ten dollar bill in the tip jar* / Sonic: *picks him up and runs* Come on!) I like to think that they were both stifling some giggles, and when Sonic runs, Tails lets it out and it’s this really wholesome scene.

•Tails is obsessed with airplanes. He likes all of Dave’s inventions, but airplanes hold a special place in his heart. Sonic takes him to the library every week to either reread the books he’s already read about them or check out any new ones.

•Knuckles grew up on Bygone Island.

•Tails and Sonic both washed up on the shore one day. (It was a nightmare when they woke up because they both thought they were in danger and panicked.)

•Knuckles looks down on Sonic a little, and not in an ill-intended way?? He just makes comments sometimes. For example, what he said in the beginning of Two Good To Be True: “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the grownups have a job to do.”

•This Sonic simply has to keep at least some of his sass, okay? I really liked that part of his character.

•Tails sometimes figures out the flaws in Dave’s inventions. He’s crazy smart for his age, and Sonic’s proud of him for it.

•Sonic, like Original Boom Knuckles, does have his moments where he says something sensible and smart. Example— Knuckles: Wow, Sonic! I expected you to have more trouble with leg exercises. / Sonic: Knuckles, I run, hit, and kick at the speed of sound. If my legs weren’t strong, they’d be broken to the point where they might as well be amputated a long time ago. / Knuckles: …You make a fair point.

•Instead of Shadow, the “rival” in the story is Rouge. The reason is largely unknown, but my guess is because she keeps stealing stuff. (I wonder when they’ll notice the pattern of the things she’s stealing…)

•Yes, like in the episode, it seems pretty likely that Amy x Knuckles will be a thing. And honestly, I can see them being a pretty healthy relationship. Don’t get me wrong, Rouge and Knuckles being shipped in this AU would be interesting, but I think the main one is going to be Knuckles and Amy.

•Knuckles has Phasmophobia, and there’s definitely a Halloween episode or story of him trying to face this fear. Sonic dresses up as a ghost to try to help, but the costume wasn’t convincing enough to instill any true terror.

•Knuckles is unfortunately a “hit first, ask later” when someone’s causing trouble. Sonic is the opposite, he tries to reason and ask the trouble maker about their motives, usually by disguising it as a joke or jab at the enemy.

•As for Shadow… Well, I guess you guys would have to wait and see, huh?

[moonshine-nightlight]

Will all of Dale out, I took the time over the past few days to reread all of it (pretty much all I did because sleep work and eat!) And oh man, I wish I could experience it anew again! To see how far you as a writer had come during the entirely of this, and seeing how sana and Dale grew and changed together.. it was just so well done!

Do you have plans to visit them again, in the future? Couldn't help but notice some things were left unfinished ;) and also I would LOVE to hear certain parts of the story from Dale's perspective. Those last few chapters when we finally *finally* got to peer into who he really is just made me want more!

And again, thank you for all the time and effort you put into this series. I don't think I'll ever forget it! (I also really like some of your shorter series, I went back to read them again too!)

@watch-out-for-them

thanks for sending this in! that's so sweet! i've hoarded this for a month because december flew by so fast

i do have some idea for little bonus stories and for full stories that take place in the same universe/setting (with a name-drop or mention of Dale and Sana etc), but no proper sequel is currently planned. One of the bonuses would be what you mentioned - specifically Chapter 6 (Walk in the Garden) from Dale's POV - as well as other ideas. it is hard to write companions stories from another POV if the main POV is 2nd person lol. I've helpful sorted my handful or ideas into categories because i lov to organize in excel instead of writing (the categories are: pre, mid, & post story; AU; Parody; and Outside POV)

one in particular i wanted to get out before the year ended, but i'm not quite done with it. originally after Chapter 24 (Assassin Aftermath) Sana was going to have a spicy dream about Dale, which is referenced in Chapter 25 as having happened, but which was originally going to be in the story proper. however, not only was a behind in writing with the story ending up longer than i planned, but it became hard to figure out how it would work since Sana thought Dale knew but he didn't and i didn't want be to get confused about that, also Sana wouldn't know the truth of how the Depths worked or Dale's backstory so i couldn't include much of that (because i didnt want ppl to think Dale could lik dreamwalk etc or something). It jsut got to be a weird balancing act that i didnt have time to figure out so i didn't. however, i decided to make a bonus/AU divergence where I changed the fight scene and did have Dale come to talk to Sana after the fight alone and stuff~ happens~.

this side path/AU story is what i wanted to get out over the holidays and which i have made progress on, but still isn't finished. i will try to get it out within the week (the modified end-of-fight to have an obvious reveal is done and i might put out today or tomorrow since its just a tweaked chapter 23). I've got over 3k for the new chapter and have been making progress, it just will not be done today lol

thank you so much for reading and sending in this ask! getting messages and comments and tags like this make all the effort worth it! ^^

[corpocyborg]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Tagged by @merge-conflict! (Thank you!)

CURRENT WIPs LIST

CYBERPUNK 2077

Secure Your Soul: AU in which V never left Arasaka but still ends up tangled up in the story of the Relic heist.

Beyond the Event Horizon: Post-Devil Ending fic in which a war between the humans and rogue AI occurred while V was in Mikoshi, and she is brought back to life in an artificial body as Arasaka's new future weapon.

Crawling: Post-Tower Ending fic in which V accepts a job at the FIA with Reed and ends up unraveling the mystery of what really happened to Songbird.

MASS EFFECT

Ruthless Remainders: A series of Post-Destroy Ending vignettes in which Garrus and Renegade!Shepard finally have time to deal with the consequences of all the ruthless war-time calculus.

Hounds of Hell: Mass Effect 3 AU in which Shepard stays with Cerberus and winds up indoctrinated.

I thought it would be fun to share a bit from all 5 of my current WIPs so... Bear with me... I tried to keep 'em short but this may still be a bit lengthy haha...

From "Secure Your Soul," Ch 5 - The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

"Bein' heir to the Arasaka empire," Jackie grumbled under his breath. "Sure as shit better'n bein' the son of Raúl Welles." Despite the severity of their situation, it took conscious effort for V to prevent herself from smirking. There it was. That fundamental truth. Deny it as they might, she thought, everybody wants to be us.

From "Beyond the Event Horizon," Ch 2 - New Future Weapon

As she waited backstage, she watched a video feed of the main set on a large television screen. The crew was still prepping. The set looked decent, though. She'd been worried they'd make it too flashy, but the marble columns and crimson drapery actually exuded the same inborn, self-assured authority she was aiming for herself. That was the value of working with professionals like WSN News. 

From "Crawling," Ch 1 - A Hazy Shade of Winter

"Reed," she said, her voice thin. "Thank you." He paused in the doorway, but he didn't respond right away. Although she could see only his backside, she still had the sense that he looked as drained as she felt. "That's all right, V," he said finally. "You have nothing to thank me for."

From "Ruthless Remainders," Ch 1 - Tuchanka

Watching her sitting in Tuchanka's red dirt, he understood why she had wanted to be here alone. He still remembered the conversation they'd had on board the Normandy, during the height of the war, and the way her face had looked when she'd realized he'd figured out what she'd done. Her jaw had tensed, but her eyes had never changed. They'd stared unflinchingly into his, and his initial reproaches had died on his tongue. He'd almost said, "How could you?" But instead he'd said, "Damn war."

From "Hounds of Hell," Ch 1 - Art of War

"Shepard," A familiar voice from behind her said. "I was hoping it would be you." "Illusive Man," she responded, without looking up from her work at the terminal. "I came here with the Alliance. Had to take down some Cerberus troops to maintain my cover." "Any one of them would have laid down their life for you if they’d had to, Shepard." "Well," she paused at the keyboard for a brief moment, rereading the last line of code. "Luckily, they didn't. They're in a biotic stasis. You get here fast enough, you should be able to collect them."

Okay... so there we go... a bit from all 5 WIPs. Hope you enjoyed!

Now for my tags...

@fereldanwench, @illusivesoul, @ghostoffuturespast, @luvwich, @gamerkitten. As always, no pressure!

[just-prime]

WondLa ep 1 : go sit in the corner and think about what you've done

Prepare yourself for two things : A) Wow this story beat was so much better in the book + B) Wow this artstyle really sucks the life out of the world

Okay, if nothing else, Eva's design is really really cute. Though I don't know why they're pronouncing it Eh-va instead of E-va...like Eve which was what I always assumed was the reference.

Also, having just reread the book, the first chapter starts off in such a facinating way because you have that split second of "Oh no is she actually dying?" before the simulation is revealed. And I get that they want to run us through Eva's entire childhood, but the book does such a better job of showing us the world through Eva's eyes. Also I hate the new design/talkativeness of the Omnipod.

NO NO NO NO NO, WHY are they doing all of this context with Cadmus??? Cadmus was never even fully explored until book 2! Eva being in the dark about Cadmus's role in everything is kinda pivotal. Cadmus is a mystery that Eva has to figure out over the course of the books. Teased in the first book, explored in the second and third. Having Holo-Cadmus show up is just giving the game away. As well as the explanation about Earth.

As assumed, I hate hate hate Muthr's new design. Book Muthr is very clearly not human, a cool looking robot. It gives a sense of unease for anyone familiar with the genre, and makes us instinctually weary. And yet those expectations are subverted as Muthr's devotion and love for Eva is explored and cemented. By making her this lovable very human looking smoothed out plush, it robs the story of being able to have those more subtle interactions with the audience.

Surprise surprise they've aged Eva up, from 12 (in the book) to 16...for some reason. So much of the joy and fear of the book comes from Eva's fearlessness, a sort of recklessness only found in children. She has meetings with toys that she hides away in a shaft of the Sanctuary, she's held onto the WondLa since she could walk, she's terrified a good 2/3rds of the time and yet continuing in.

This Eva seems to just wander into things.

INCLUDING BESTEEL! Instead of him attacking on his own, it's Eva waving a light at him which shows him where to break in!

Aaaand she just fell off a cliff.

~Post Ep thoughts~

Wow, I kinda hate everything about this. I know I said I would watch all 7 episodes but honestly I might bail.

They've added in a few weird things.

First off, Eva just found the WondLa. In the first episode. None of her holding on to it for years and wondering. Nope, she's just exploring the service tunnel (which she also only found just now) and finds a fucked up hatch to the surface. Stuck in the hatch is the WondLa and it had a note on the back that said "EVA FIND ME" which is just very strange and I'm guessing it's connected to the main second change.

Secondly, instead of all the sanctuaries being connected, there are just meant to be 6 kids per sanctuary with their own wing. What Eva finds is the tunnel to the rest of the main sanctuary. Unclear what happened to the other kids, though it's implied they are either dead or never existed. This is such a strange way to go about it, and means that the world lacks the isolating feeling that Eva experiences when she realizes that she is the only human, and while fellow book readers will know that Eva is not exactly alone either the whole point of the first book was to drive home the alien aspect of the world and the Eva being very much alone.

Fucking hell these episodes are only 20 minutes but it took me a full hour given how much I was pausing to angrily write down my notes.

Okay, onwards to episode too. We'll see how this goes

[throughalleternity]

Hi what is your writing process like for your one shots?

In the past it was mostly riding on spur of the moment momentum lol, tho I've been taking more time to plan more recently.

First I figure out why I'm writing the fic and what I think is interesting about it. That can take a while! I like to have a general sense of the entire fic or where it's going (not as bad to plan bc these are short). Once I have a theme or emotion or idea I want to capture, I think about a scenario or scenes that I think would convey that well. I also consider whether I know of a similar fic in the same fandom/ship and try not to adjust my fic to be less similar since it helps me to not compare and to feel motivated that I'm writing something more different (just a me thing, def do not be afraid to write similar scenarios as in other fics). I might reread other fics with similar vibes to help me pick the mood.

Sometimes (often?) I briefly outline those general ideas and/or specific lines, especially if I'm writing multiple scenes, or tackling a topic that's harder for me to write where I might be brainstorming and writing down multiple preliminary ideas. That keeps me organized and prevents me from forgetting things. I might also reference the general character notes doc I have to figure out how the characters will behave. And if I know I need/want to do any research because it goes beyond my own experience/knowledge, I also start that before writing. I usually don't go back to canon (the exception is like, Pool Cues because I wanted it to be very close to canon).

Then I write! Usually in bursts, from beginning to end. I'll be thinking about what makes sense next and what I would like to read in a oneshot (mostly relevant for the unplanned parts). With really detailed stuff, like body positioning/blocking, I'll just wing it based on what feels right. And I do try to keep a mental image of where the important people and things are so that there's continuity. I use OneLook for finding better/different words when wording feels off, and otherwise just try to focus on maintaining the focus and tone I want to capture the right emotions. I've written pretty intuitively from reading a lot, but I've definitely picked up some educational writing tips along the way too.

If I'm procrastinating/stuck, I might plan out the AO3 tags, but I always wait to do the summary and title until right before posting (and then get annoyed that I still need to write those too before posting lol). And then sometimes for the fics I'm more stuck on, they sit as outlines... or I make new docs to start writing fresh... Usually this happens when I'm not super set on the idea or where I want to take the fic, so being confident from the beginning definitely makes things easier. Also, for any long/interesting sections that get deleted, I try not to completely discard them, but instead move the cut lines into a designated doc so that I can repurpose them for something else, or as outtakes for myself.

Once it's done, I might let it sit overnight and then go back to do some light editing, usually just line edits for better phrasing and clarity etc. (Sometimes I post and then reread and frantically edit before it's been up for a while 😅) And that's it!

[mellancholy-morose]

🥤🍄🍬☁️

i will restrain myself i wanna ask at least half of these XD'

🥤 recommend an author or fanfic you love

Hmm hard to choose so I'll leave a couple

Pretty much anything by Sleepmarshes @marshofsleep is good shit, most people that have been in the fandom for awhile will probably already know their stuff, most of what's up is soma stuff. They're a master of emotional whiplash and can go from comedy to serious in 5 seconds flat in a way that is both satisfying and devastating.

The Moments We Touch by tastewithouttalent

A really good Stein/Spirit longfic that has them as kids, and then later as adults going through the events of the anime while dealing with their complicated relationship. It's also one of the few times I've read a fic that shows anime scenes that hasn't bored me because it was just restating what we've already seen. The scenes we see replayed in this show new context to what's happening and reframes what we've all seen before in different light.

Pray for the Wicked on the Weekend by thought

@thought-42

Stein/Spirit again. A rare second person fic, and one that uses second person in a really effective way. I'm a sucker for second person fics after Marsh subjected me to it, and they are very rare to see. I love Spirit's characterization and thoughts in this, it's very good and honestly I should reread it again.

def pacts by LikeAFish

Stein/Spirit, one of my favorites, it's from Spirits pov and has him dealing with his relationship with Maka as well as figuring out his feelings about Stein, and their past. It sadly hasn't been updated in awhile, but its still worth a read for how good it is.

I have a bunch more I could recommend probably but this is already a lot lol

🍄 share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

This is a little hard for me cause there are very few head canons that are consistent for me, I tend to change my mind on things depending on the fic I'm writing. And most of what stays consistent my brain has grouped under characterization, not head canons.

That being said after digging through my brain a bit heres what I've got that does stay consistent. Stein is a very introspective person and so is very aware of boundaries with Spirit. While he loves pushing buttons and seeing how far he can go with something, he's also very conscious of how what he did in the past affected Spirit and attempts to not further damage their relationship/make Spirit seriously uncomfortable. (Like a lower level of uncomfortable for a joke he'd be okay with, the kind that isn't wholly negative. but if it was something more than that he'd be very aware and cautious about it.)

As for Spirit I see him as being very confident with women, but the moment it comes to Stein there's always a lack of it, some form of nervousness. Which tends to change depending on the situation I throw them in, but there's always something, sometimes its because it's men, and he has less experience/is just realizing he's gay. Sometimes it's because it's Stein and their past is so complicated how does one navigate that amidst developing feelings. Sometimes it's because of what happened in the past leaves him with complicated feelings in the present. And sometimes it's cause he has no idea what Stein's feelings might be towards him.

🍬 post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Man idk I mainly have opinions on unpopular characters I can't really think of anything for the popular characters, so I guess I'll give you something that I think is unpopular for my usual idiots.

First thought was my perception on Stein saying he doesn't understand love when fighting medusa, that he's not being very truthful with that comment. But I've already kinda voiced my thoughts about that here, while the post isn't directly related to that comment I said anything I would have touched on for it.

The only other one I can think of is that Stein and Spirit are both switches, neither one of them are purely a top or bottom. Which I only assume is unpopular based on fics always picking one or the other. But Spirit's a hedonist and Stein would want to experience anything he could just to know what it's like. And they'd both like both roles for different reasons. Spirit would like being more of a top/dominate cause making Stein who's usually so stoic into a mess of pleasure or teasing him till he's practically begging for it would make Spirit giddy, and uniquely proud of himself.

Spirit would like being more of a sub/bottom cause he's more of a sensory based guy. (like he's more on the sensing side of the perceiving axis of myers briggs typing if you get my drift, but I digress I could make a whole in depth post about both of their myers briggs types) And Spirit is the hardworking type, I don't think he remembers how to relax sometimes, so being "forced" to relax on occasion by his partner being more dominate and taking the lead is something he'd really appreciate.

Stein is used to being more dominate/leading things (meister, teacher, ect) it's a role he's used to and comfortable in outside of the bedroom, so inside would likely be no different. (Even if the universe in question he had little experience with this stuff, the moment he does he'd be comfortable with leading things) He also seems the type to me to know and remember the little things about a partners body (like an arrangement of freckles on a shoulder or something) and being in a dom role gives him a good position to observe his partner and memorize them, and their reactions to things.

As a sub/bottom Stein would like actually being in touch with his body for once, and not having to be in charge of things. He'd be happy just to bask in the sensations for awhile, or he'd have fun pushing Spirit's buttons by being a brat (if we're talking more bdsm flavored dom/sub style)

☁️ what made you choose your username?

At some point when I was a kid I was flipping through TV channels and caught a glimpse of a Shakespeare adaptation (which to this day i cannot figure out which one it was) where a character was monologing in the woods, which was first where I heard the word melancholy. I looked up what it meant, and being a bit of an edgy teen went 'yep sounds like me' I started using it for mmo's and such shortly after, which is where the double L and the Morose came from, i added the extra L as melancholy was taken a lot, and then decided I like the aesthetic's of, and the Morose came from MMO's that required a last name for your character. Idr why Morose is what i went with besides i liked the alliteration, and it sounded better than macabre.