#i think that was just. all of my least favorite tropes roped into one you cannot be serious ToT

[mellohirust]

so we all agree that dsmp volume 1 is ours forever now right. right. i love you fanon i love you canon-divergency i love you aus i love you fanartists and fic authors and game devs and musicians and cosplayers i love you dsmpblr etc

[darlingpoppet]

Fave Fics of 2023!

A list of some of my favorite fics I read in 2023, though note not all of them are from this year. I feel like I didn’t get to do as much reading as I would’ve liked but I guess at least I was still able to put together a decent list! This isn’t a ranking, I listed everything in alphabetical order.

a bit of earth by @elemmacil (patrochilles)

Character study of Hadesgame Achilles & his time in the house of hades, pre-canon. Also, Zagreus takes care of a plant & it’s so wholesome. Lovely, atmospheric, and fueled by vibes, I adore the secret garden inspiration which slots into the hadesgame-verse sooo perfectly. This is great for the sad girlies like me who recently re-watched the movie from the 90s and thought “what if the whole movie was just us watching lord craven being a sad, pining dilf the whole time?” *clicks tongue* noice.

A Reasonable Explanation by stygius (pza)

I already read On The Ropes by red_smear last year so it doesn’t get to be on this list but I did go into 2023 continuing to seek out some of the “old classics” for this ship (yanno how reading fics that were published before joining the fandom sometimes feels like consuming media that existed before you were born? lol) this one is fun for the subversion on the “relaying messages” trope and taking god worshipping to literal (sexyy) extremes… I think if you wanted a good pza introductory fic this would be a good place to start!

Debased by youcouldbeagod (patrochilles)

Found this on a whim one day while clicking through the tags, as it is pretty much the only dedicated Troilus & Cressida Patrochilles fic on AO3 and it is ＢＲＩＬＬＩＡＮＴ！ The story is simply that Thersites stumbles upon Achilles & Patroclus having sex in their tent and he provides his usual witty and scathing commentary throughout. It truly reads like Shakespeare in prose form, I could easily imagine it being staged, it’s like a deleted scene from the play! The ending is also pitch perfect and still lives in my head rent-free. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s version of the characters definitely give it a read.

isn’t it romantic by infinitesle (dillydallybutterfly) (pza)

I was going to recommend a patrochilles fic by infinitesle that I love which is you are the currents that are pulling me onward but I’m pretty sure I read it in 2022 so it doesn’t count, sadge. So instead I’ll recommend another lovely morsel, a pza fic set in the jazz age au that a bunch of us in the pza channel of the hades lounge discord collectively came up with. Idk this might be a “you had to be there” kind of story but I think it still paints a pretty picture and if it inspires anyone else to contribute to the AU I wouldn’t complain. I’ll make my own proper contribution eventually, mark my words!

not the desperate type by @baejax-the-great (patrochilles, side hector/patroclus)

Baejax is well-known for their long fics which are all bangers ofc but personally my favorite piece of theirs this year was actually this oneshot in which Patroclus is engaged to Hector and then cheats on him with his ex, Achilles. They get caught in the act and the results are… predictable, lol. I love that it hews close to the tone of the Iliad where it’s no good/bad guys, just flawed humans making flawed choices and the AITA version of this story would totally be given an Everyone Sucks Here verdict, I’m sure. I’m STILL thinking about the ending even months & months later. Oh and of course, the sex is chef’s kiss!

One Night Of Chaos by Luddleston (pza)

This was technically a Dec 2022 read but I’m making an exception for it because I feel like it’s the flavor of pza I had been craving all along when I was reading through some of the older classics for this ship and it was key in helping fuel the inspiration for my own pza fics this year. There’s just something about Zag being invited into Patrochilles’ little world to watch their charming rapport with one another & being disgustingly in love that’s PEAK CONTENT for me and I loved this spin where he gets to meet them while they’re still alive, pre-heartbreak. Basically everything about it is my personal ur-pza text so if you’ve liked any of my own pza I’m sure you would like this one too. The sequel is also fun and was properly a 2023 read for me so I’ll mention it too haha.

Presentation by @sonderlivra (eruri)

Judging by the time stamp of my comment, I started my 2023 off right by reading this fic by one of my all-time favorite eruri authors! This is an omegaverse fic with a twist, it is well-written, hilarious, and had me guessing up until the very end. I would literally recommend anything this author writes (including the asscreed fics she & other beloved friend @zorthania have been writing this year… I don’t go here but these are my blorbo in-laws and I care them uwu)

sacramentum by fresco_k (eruri)

I didn’t take the time to read many other eruri fics this year unfortunately but I did get to beta some fics for this year’s eruri matchmaking event and this was one of them: a gladiator AU set in Ancient Rome and it was so serendipitous that I got to help with something so close to my current hyperfixation! The premise is very intriguing and it’s off to a lovely start… not to mention the author is a sweetie who knows & has a lot of passion for the time period… so check it out!

the slow mending by meikuree (pikuhan)

I finally got to dip my toes into some pikuhan fics this year and luckily my first one was a real banger! This was such a lovely little canon-compliant Hanji character study along with an exploration of their relationship with Pieck representing the two sides coming together and it was so beautifully written. It feels like the perfect introductory fic for the ship just in general because it really highlights everything that’s attractive about it! Love it!

tight fit by naxtique (zagchilles)

naxtique’s fics pretty much all scratch that itch for hadesgame dead dove of the dub/non-con variety, oftentimes laced with angst. Their particular flavor of Zagchilles with slave-to-his-passion, guilt-stricken Achilles is so compelling it always makes me stare at the wall thinking about it. And this is my favorite one, in which Achilles gets sex-pollen’d and ends up in a compromising position with Zagreus. Another one where the ending haunts my dreams (in a good way). Not for everyone obviously but if this sort of thing is up your alley, it’s great.

you’re a walking disaster, and yet— by @johaerys-writes (patrochilles)

Another patrochilles GOAT well-known for their serial longfics, and this year I’ve been enjoying their modern AU Patrochilles where the two of them grow up together in rural Greece. This one has probably my favorite ever synthesis of takes on Achilles’ character I’ve read so far—brilliant, autistic, and gender fluid. It’s definitely an extreme slow burn and gets pretty angsty & messy at times but it’s also devastatingly realistic & relatable and speaks to me a whole lot :> currently ongoing, definitely worth diving into!

[mecachrome]

Do you have any wag oscar headcanons/fic ideas? That trope is also my fave thing lol.

Just imagining uni student Oscar coming along to races when he can. Does get the occasional feature on lando jpg. Fans obviously hunt down the guy always following around lando and the only thing they get from their internet stalking is old articles of Oscar winning school competitions and an inactive facebook.

omg yes anon you have absolutely perfect taste!!! honestly my favorite "tropes" are all things that lend themselves perfectly to wag aus (mixed media, outsider pov, established & secret relationship) so it's impossible for me to not be obsessed with them 😭 also i find the voyeuristic fandom 4th wall angle sooo entertaining and intriguing despite not actually caring about wag drama irl in the least! it's just hilarious as a narrative tool LOL like i love studies in cross-platform behaviors/attitudes and seeing how authors navigate the kind of inherently unreliable nature of structuring a narrative through these microblogging microcosms. ok sorry i'm rambling

i highly support the lilyfication of oscar piastri because i truly think that would basically just be him if he weren't a driver!!! 🧡 i had an old concept of oscar being lando's longtime secret bf and like a normie programmer who takes up baking over quarantine but i think i privated the post because i didn't like my style anymore and now i can't find it... t__t nevertheless my vision was VERY similar to yours! like he has an inscrutable private ig page with 35 followers and his facebook pfp is a photo of him from when he was 12 and fans figure out that he's australian because they hear his voice on stream a few times but other than that he remains a mystery...

another hc i have is that in general if oscar weren't a professional athlete then he wouldn't be one of those corporate go-getters and instead would be perfectly satisfied with having a normal, low-responsibility job that's well-paid but not like in a high managerial position. because oscar is lazy and expends only as much energy as he needs to sustain himself!!! HLKSFDH so in my head he's perfectly satisfied with being lando's wfh househusband... brings cookies to quadrant shoots and somehow gets roped into being a model for their upcoming merch drop in which he looks absolutely terrible because he has never posed in his life. maxf is like mate these are ridiculous but ofc lando is still obsessed with him.

i feel like at some point he'd get hard launched in a proper stream or quadrant video except no one introduces him as lando's actual boyfriend so everyone like 1) is obsessed with oscar's dryness and the way he teases lando and 2) immediately ships them to lando's amusement and oscar's bemusement. help NOW YOU'RE GIVING ME FEELINGS!!! i feel like this is nothing on my end so i apologize deeply but i'll keep thinking things up and see if anything else strikes my inspiration 🥰

also love this real canon wag lando image but that is not the prompt here 🧡

[skz-streamer]

Forever Young

Simptober Romance Tropes M-list

Pairing: Felix (skz) x fem!reader

Genre: Fluff

Notes: did I use a Blackpink song? Yes.

-please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately face claims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people

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

You had known each other through a mutual friend

you met together at a cafe w some other friends

you and your friend were planning to go on a camping trip but you needed at least 6 people for the trip

your friend said she had some other people she could rope in so you said yes

so you were sitting in a cafe with your friend waiting for the newcomers to arrive

one girl and and three boys walk in together in a group

your friend waves to them and you smile shyly

they all turn out to be really nice, especially one guy. Felix

as you plan the trip you set the date for next week

As the week approached you had previously swapped some phone numbers with the new people that came

while you texted some of them you mostly texted Felix

in fact he was the one to text you first

you ended up texting him day and night, it was like the two of you had an instant click

and just over a weeks time you two had gotten insanely close

by the time the trip came a round the two of you spent literally every-moment together

it was like you had immediately spotted your missing piece

almost like a soulmate...

it felt weird to catch feelings so quick but in a months time you were head over heels for him

and he was too

From the moment Felix saw you he thought you were cute

that's why he eagerly asked you for your number and texted you literally the same day he had gotten it

he had hoped to get close to you in a quick matter of time, gosh you were just so pretty to him

after the trip it was like he was such a heartthrob for you

there literally wasn't a moment in his day when he didn't think about you

texting calling, holding, kissing, cuddling

he just wanted you

he hoped you wanted him back

About 2 ish weeks after the camping trip you got a text from Felix asking if you wanted to meet up somewhere for lunch

was he asking you out? no way,,,,right?

You decided to meet at a small restaurant

you decided to dress nice, I mean why not right?

it wasn't like he was gonna ask you out or anything.....

you sprayed you favorite perfume before running out of the door and rushing to your car

you reached the restaurant a little late but gladly there was a small wait time

you spotted Felix sitting outside

he looked good

he was wearing pale beige cargo pants and a lightblue hoodie with the words Seaside on it

cute you thought

somehow your white sundress seemed to match his outfit perfectly

you sat down next to him and made some small talk

when the waiter came to lead you to the table you linked you arms in Felix's to get up

he hugged you into him

once you sat at the table Felix immediately broke the silence

I like you.

you were bit shocked but flustered at his words

you held you hand out form on top of the table

me too... you said trailing off your words

you felt like a kid who was just told they could get any toy they wanted

so is this our first date? he asked

you giggled and you giggle turned into a laugh as the two of you burst. out laughing from the awkward tension

the waiter walked up to your table, asking what you would like to drink

you cleared your throat and smiled

I'll just have a water, and my boyfriend,... uhh

what do you want lixie?

he smiled back at you, a blush creeping up on his cheeks

uhh yea, a water works for me too he said back

lixe? he asked you

yea, thought it was cute, you said pouting a little

he smiled and grabbed your hand from under the table

I know its too early, heck its kinda weird to say,,, but I love you.

you squeezed his hand back you knew you loved him, something inside you just clicked with him

I love you too lixie, I knew it from the moment I saw you

and with that he lifted you hand from under the table and gave it a light kiss

@anny-bah@eee5533@mixtape-racha@weedforthoughtz@ren0325@felixvsp@hwangrimi @sanriiolino @painstakingly-juno@herarcadewasteland@dabiscrustyfeet@kai-jilee@sungiesoonie@slvtty4channiee@revelaffee@buckys-pillow, @staygirl86 @chlodavids@jinnie-ret@bbygrlhannie@rebecca-johnson-28 @turtledove824@interstellarairwaves@yearofthetiger25@minhos4thkitty@fiqire@kpopmenace143@liknws@tinyelfperson@aaasia111@yangbbokari@hafsah-ali@sleepyleeji@skzhoes@yamaguchiwestad@leonswifesstuff@nappynapnaps

[cornbake]

Hi! Can I request a Vax x reader? They are enemies to lovers, you can decide the plot, but maybe with a one bed trope ( although I don't think Vex would allow that!) If you of course like it and want.

One of my favorite tropies when it comes to romance ngl. So most gladly I will do so!!

Splitting this one up too. Helps my thought process!

Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: language (like always thou)

Spoilers: None

You had been with the twins for a while. A little before the rest of Vox. Your affliation with the clasp and them is how you first met. And how you kept together was more so due to skill than personal attachment. After all. Why would the twins like a cocky arrogant prick like yourself?

At least thats what Vax was thinking as you droned on and on about old stories to the others. You and him never got along. Always rivaling in your skills, and rivaling in your feats. If he had done some death defying act, you where sure to do the same not but moment after. You always had to rub your stuns in his face, boasting about them any moment you got after doing so. It made Vax wish he wipe that smirk off your face any moment he saw it.

Brooding in his room, one at the only inn the group could find in this small town. He was finishing up matnance with his daggers as his sister entered.

"Hopefully you aren't too far down that dark pit of yours." She wandered over to her bow to start to restring it for the journey ahead. "We need you present and not swallowing in your own thoughts, brother." His eyes didn't meet hers as she cast him a glance. His brows knitted together as his focus kept to the blades.

"I am aware of what must be done. But mind you, I am not the issue of this party." He could hear the soft scofting from his twin. "My focus is kept to the task at hand. Much more that what some of the others can say."

"Please. I still say you are over thinking this. No one is trying to steal the other's spot here. Maybe you just need to speak with them to understand them better." Her words only gain a huff from the raven-haired rouge. Sighing, Vax gathered her stuff to get ready for the road again. "Just... promise me you won't be distracted, brother..."

He took a moment to sigh. Hearing the hint of fear in his sisters voice made his heart twing with guilt.

"I promise to try, stubby..."

She can't get mad at him, he said he would try and here he is! Trying! Trying so very hard!

They had all been tasked to clear out the mine shaft next to the town so the miners could get back to work. The group needed the coin, so they took the job. You and Vax took up scouting ahead, something you both had been paired up to do countless times. Not that it meant you both enjoyed the other's shadow next to your own but sucking up your pride, the pair of you made do.

A simple scout ahead and come back, that's all it was! And what do you do? You go on further ahead without him and now he has to clean up YOUR mess.

"I swear I'm going to kill them if they are still alive after all this." The raven haired man grumbles as he assassinates a figure posted by one of the entrances. The Gnoll being dragged away just as another comes out to see what was going on, scratching his head in confusion at the missing ally. Giving the rouge just the perfect moment to slip by.

He kept to the shadows, feet stepping quickly yet lightly to make no sound. He could barely see, his Darkvision only helping him so much in the nearly pitch darkness. Both an advantage and a disadvantage.

The more he crept the further from the light he got, but his ears could here the struggles from a certain someone.

"I hope you know you are in deep shit after we get out of here."

"Oh great, my savior and my demise. Save your sharp tongue for the rope asshole."

There you, quick witt and annoying voice included. He had some hope that the Gnolls would have taken one of the two from you at the very least but seems that he can't get everything he wants all the time.

Making quick work of the lock that held you in the rusted cage like structure he pulls a dagger out to get the tightly bound rope cut. His rough treatment of your hands making you hiss.

"That hurt fuck nut"

"Well I'm sorry that you were the one to get you into this mess. Be grateful I came at all."

He had gotten the blade under the rope just as a pair of fur matted paws roughtly grab his face and chest, pulling him back away from you.

"VAX!" Your voice pierces the void that now engulfed his vision. Claws digging into skin as the Gnoll behind him struggled to hold onto his fighting form.

He kept trying to fight off the fish scented beast but he couldn't out flex something that could rival Grog in a fight. He could hear the mutt talking to other Gnolls. Gods save him.

It didn't take long for him to be bound next to you in the same cage. Sitting across from you, and while you can't see it, glaring into your soul. He was going to kill you the second he could. You got him in this mess. Something that had a very low chance of getting out of.

"I can feel you staring. Stop it. It's not gunna undo your loud ass boots."

"My loud ass- why. Best count your blessing while you can, I would gut you where you were if I wasn't bound. All because of your doing!"

"MY doing? Oh? And that includes, what? Me sa-"

A loud and harsh CLANG, rings from the metal cage. One of the Gnolls snarling at you two to get your bickering to stop.

"Once I am free from this you are dead, raven boy."

He sulked, not sharing any more words. His anger boiling his blood, he will make sure you never forget this moment. Whether this be the last moment the two of you share with one another or a scar to remind you of your mistakes. He will make sure you have a reminder.

[miraculousstories]

List of my fav mlb fanfics no one asked for:

(this is a very long list btw, and all links are to ao3. I try to include as many warnings as possible, but I may forget some so please read the tags before reading the fic.)

Baby Boom by ShawnaCanon

It’s about an akuma that causes everyone in Paris to… do the deed… (not graphic) and every woman to get pregnant. It somehow evolves into a timetravel fic-

400,000 words- def recommend for readers who are okay with vague references to sex.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23034028/chapters/55083382

Dearly Despised (I Love You) by snacc-noir

Lovely fic. A nice take on the adrienette enemies to lovers trope, and it adds in some fake dating. Cn and Lb start out as (more or less) lovers in the beginning, and it evolves from there. It’s not a finished fic, but still, if you’re willing to wait then read.

73,000 words so far (I’ll update as time goes on) and 33 chapters- totally clean fic, I recommend if you love enemies to lovers trope.

(Last update on the fic was 10/20/2023)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28711611/chapters/70393941

Turn Loose the Mermaids by bookskitten

WONDERFUL. That is all I have to say about this. One of my personal favorites for sure- it’s a mermaid au where Marinette is a siren hellbent on dragging the captain of a ship (who just so happens to be Adrien- aka Captain Noir)down to the depths of the ocean… but you know it won’t end that simply.

64,000 words- WARNING- GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF SEX. I do not recommend for anyone not comfortable with that sort of thing. But if you are, go read! I promise it’ll be worth your time.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8238214/chapters/18879793

Cut My Life into Pieces, This is My Last Resort by Silver_fox_fyre

This was… an interesting one to say the least. In this, Marinette is at the end of the rope- struggling with being both Marinette and Ladybug. So, of course the logical decision would be to fake her own death. Well, Marinette’s death, that is. Be warned, some of the excuses are kind of a long shot (for instance, she fakes her own death by using the mouse miraculous- only she doesn’t actually have the costume, she just looks normal.)

114,000 words- completely clean- characters do fall asleep on each other like…once, but nothing happens. Some passionate kisses, but that’s all. Lots of violence though, and blood and gore are a given. Character death is included as well. I recommend for braver readers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44353420/chapters/111546223

In Case You Don’t Know Me Tomorrow by thelibraryloser

This one is… an interesting one at best, a strange one at worst. The idea itself is that this is a universe where you can pay to have your memories erased. (No plot spoilers there) everyone is aged up in this, maybe around 20, 25. Non-magical universe as well.

56,000 words- a good fic, I’ll say, but it is a bit weird and I got bored of it at times. But stick around to the end and you’ll be rewarded, I promise. Clean as well, don’t worry.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41522079/chapters/104136594

Miraculous Magic: First Year by spetember

*gasp* Is this- it is! The mlb/Harry Potter crossover you’ve all been waiting for!! Marinette and Adrien are 11 year olds who have just received their Hogwarts acceptance letters. They receive magical artifacts- and are told by Headmaster Fu that they must strive to defeat the Dark Lord Hawkmoth. They are 11, so while Mari does develop a crush for Adrien near the end of the fic, there isn’t much love. But honestly? I didn’t miss it. There’s so much action- I loved it. I’m thinking of writing spin-off fics about the other years, so if I do I’ll post the link in the reblogs.

58,000 words- wonderful. Simply wonderful. Mild violence, but no worse than the actual Harry Potter. Nothing related to love, as I mentioned. They are 11 after all. If you are in both the hp and mlb fandoms, I def recommend.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558436/chapters/25960689

Longest Night by P_Artsypants

Whump fic. Must I go on? Jokes aside, this fic is amazing. Marinette and Adrien are captured by some psychopath, and are tortured. I mean really tortured. Like I had to walk away at times it was so much- and this is coming from the person who regularly reads violence and smut. But if you can make it through, it’s a wonderful story. I don’t wanna spoil anything… but they do make it out alive. Well… kinda. I’ll let you read to find out.

210,000 words- Okay, I know I like to joke around a lot, but this time I’m serious. This is a very graphic fic which includes torture, and I mean real torture- not just the stuff you see on TV, but the stuff you see in R- rated horror movies. The fic actually references that the plot is similar to a horror film that actually got banned from almost every country in the world because it was so horrible. (The fic isn’t as bad as the film, but it is kinda horrifying.) Just for reference, here’s some torture tactics they use: Forced piercings, locked in a closet for a month, food loafs (a bunch of leftover food that’s baked with poison that makes you hallucinate) and.. well, there’s blood. I’ll just say that much. PLEASE use caution when reading, I will not say that again. For extremely brave readers only. Oh, and a side not- not completely clean. There is a sex scene at the end, which is skippable but if you are comfortable I would read it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19855210/chapters/47019550

The Strings of Fate by sailortwilightt

OKAY BACK TO THE NICE FICS. This is actually a two-parter, and it’s nail-biting good. It’s a soulmate AU, naturally, where an invisible red string takes you to your soulmate. Please note that this is an older fic written before the more recent seasons, so Emilie, for example, is not dead. This also evolves into an alternate dimension AU, and it has a great plot.

120,000 words- counting both fics. As warnings go, there isn’t much to warn. It’s clean as far as smut goes, and, while there is definitely some graphic violence scenes, nothing too bad. I recommend for the reader who isn’t too bothered by the canon-fanon differences.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/919836

Miraculous Moves Underground by LadyDi1980

Okay, so I’m sure you’ve seen the post about this fic floating around. It’s a dancing au, which features the clashing worlds of ballet and hip-hop. Non-magical, but I didn’t miss it. Wonderful au, really, and I def recommend.

104,000 words- clean fic. No violence (except for a few slaps initiated and recieved by none other than Gabriel Agreste) and no smut. There are some songs and images that don’t work attached to the fox. So be prepared for some disappointment in that department. Also, the music is mostly BTS.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7203476/chapters/16346582

Blanks by DipStick45

For those of you who stayed around until the end, you’re amazing. This is my favorite fox by far, and it’s absolutely incredible. It’s a zombie apocalypse au, but it’s much more sophisticated than the usual zombies one. The actual word zombie isn’t used once in the fic. Oh and by the way, this fic made me cry. I have never cried from any book, tv show, or other fic in my life, but I cried in this one. Why? You’ll just have to find out!! Oh and also, this is only 2 chapters. Apparently they were doing a one-chapter challenge, but ao3 has a word limit for chapters. READ. I WILL PERSONALLY FORCE YOU.

103,000 words- okay so despite what I said- here are the warnings: major character death. I won’t say more for now. Violence. As expected, only times 10. Someone gets beheaded, another gets themselves split in half. The actual zombie bite’s effects are also quite graphic. There IS one smut scene, but it’s not detailed. And Adrien was high anyways. Oh yeah, alcohol use, and… I mean… they do describe the human body in some detail, but it’s not that bad. Chloe is insane, by the way, so there’s that. I think that’s it. If you’re okay with that, then read. I beg of you.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43755576/chapters/110030079

And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this very long list of fics! Lemme know what you think of them!

[fixfoxnox]

I have no problem with dead roach fics, but for the love of GOD be original with his death and have it actually mean something, most of the time fics are “that’s one less loose end” esque and just have Ghost survive bc reasons, or his death doesn’t actually contribute to the story long term, like it impacts the first 3 chapters and then dissapears

Activision come on, bring our big boy, GIVE US SOME FOOD

I have many problems with dead Roach fics, but my two biggest one are:

1. They are almost always tagged wrong.

If Roach is dead the entire fic and only mentioned or in like a brief flashback, he should not be tagged as a character. I'm sorry, but if he's dead, he isn't a character in your fic! He's not there! Tagging him as a character just means that you're clogging up his tag with fics that don't actually have him in them!

A lot of authors also tag their dead Roach fics with GhostRoach when, again, Roach is dead! There is not going to be any GhostRoach outside of like mentioning it. The ship should not be tagged! If I'm in the GhostRoach tag, I'm there to read GhostRoach, not stupid SoapGhost bullshit that kills my favorite character and uses his death as a shitty plot device. Don't tag GhostRoach if the fic isn't about them!!

2. A vast majority of dead Roach fics use him just to create drama in the SoapGhost relationship.

His death serves no meaning beyond being an obstacle to GhostSoap. They treat Roach like a villain who is somehow at fault for Soap dating a man who is very clearly still grieving and Ghost dating despite the fact that he clearly isn't ready. Its stupid, the relationship is never healthy, and Roach is always somehow a bad guy for being dead!

The people who write these clearly don't give a shit about Roach and only want to use him to create drama rather than just making an oc or some shit. And these are the same mfers who will claim that Roach is one of their favs, the fucking bullshit he is. Its frustrating and its only made more prevalent by the first point!! THEY KEEP PUTTING IT IN THE WRONG TAGS!!

Ignoring all the other shit that I think is stupid about the trope such as Ghost somehow being alive despite a loose ends situation happening (yeah, sure, cause Ghost who was shot in the neck and fucking killed instantly would have survived instead of Roach who was alive at least long enough to see the fire burning AND to attempt to stop Shepherd from getting the DSM. All after being blown up AND shot. Sure, Ghost would have survived but not Roach) or the absolute damage that it does to the characterization of characters like Soap and the relationship that Soap had with Roach in the OG games or the absolute unoriginality of it or the fact that tagging the fic GhostRoach seems like a passive aggressive way to shit on the ship or the fact that these people somehow write the most toxic shit known to man then call it romance or the way that the rope has been so overdone its fucking burnt (if one of you tags some joke about Ghost and Roach?? Its a block /j)

Ignoring all that other shit plus some, my biggest problem with the trope is the improper tagging. Because it wouldn't be a big deal to me if I never had to see it because people would tag their fics correctly. But people never do, so I have to see their shitty dead Roach fics, so I will continue to complain about their shitty dead Roach fics.

BTW this is no hate to anything you said, I also agree with what you said I just wanted to use your ask to rant because I like to rant and I like to shit on this trope and its been a while since I've gotten to do either.

Now, as usual:

Activision bring Roach back, GhostRoachSoap best ship, fuck the dead Roach trope I hope it fucking burns, and Roach I'm your biggest fan

[beta-adjacent]

Playlist Makes Brain Go Brrrrr

First off, the playlist in question here was created by the amazing @softomegaposting. They did and excellent job I'd highly recommend listening to it first, especially if you weren't familiar with the songs like me!

Vibe Assessment

I was really struggling to describe the tone of this playlist. To solve that, I....may or may not have roped in some of my irl music-loving friends.

I challenged myself to describe this playlist without mentioning omegaverse. These are the phrases I came up with: "utopian domesticity and All its vile implications", "calming your lover down like they're a feral animal", "you've been reduced to your body and pray you will transcend physicality", "bawling your eyes out as the credits of an indie romcom roll", and "healing a debutante of her tuberculosis despite knowing her illness is prized".

After many listen-throughs, I still stand by these descriptions, except for the tuberculosis one (though it has great potential to be for another dynamic).

I think it's interesting how you found songs that have shockingly great parallels to omegas. "Froot", "Calm Me Down", and "One Day Robots Will Cry" FLOORED me when I first heard them because of this. I thought the religious aspect to some of the songs was interesting; not only were they good portrayals of that nuanced worship, but it also fit into the late 20th century domesticity theme?? I don't know, it's just *chef's kiss*

Song Reccs

Dicslaimer

What this is: Chai trying their best at using their and their friends' knowledge to find songs that Chai would include if this were their playlist. Chai is heavily biased by their musical background, and tries their best to explain the issues they have with each recc What this is NOT: Chai stating that these songs should actually be added, that these are the perfect/most-fitting songs for the playlist, or that these songs were chosen purely through an objective pattern-seeking lens

Friend's picks:

"Video Games" by Lana del Rey, "Abandoned" by Alexander Ryback,

Putting this category first because it's the shortest and also incomplete since I'm still waiting on another friend's reccs. To be fair, my friends had way more suggestions than this, but these were the only two I felt really fit the themes described? But they're, naturally, missing the canine edge

My picks:

"Sweet Nothing" by Taylor Swift, "Grenadine" by Dreadlight, "Impostor Syndrome" by Sidney Gish, "Los Angeles" by Sugarcult,

"Sweet Nothing" hurts the most if it's played directly after "Hey Good Lookin", which is what took it out of the Honorable Mentions category tbh. It is the only song I believe actively captures one of the listed descriptors

"Grenadine" feels like it has the most on-the-nose for feral animal energy, but I also feel like it doesn't nail the theme 100%? It has more of a 'man-eater' vibe than anything

"Impostor Syndrome" is just a personal favorite of mine, omegaverse aside. Content-wise, a song about feeling disturbingly different/lesser than others feels very omega-coded, at least by many verses' standards. Lines like "these sweet instincts/ruin my life" and "for canine/grossly overqualified" are just icing on the cake

LISTEN!!! “Los Angeles” is THE typical omegean heat story. This is the hardest song to place in the descriptors, since it's describing a common trope instead of the psyche of an omega, but I've thought about this song for too long to not mention it. There's something very omega in struggling between intimacy and just getting through the day, especially as you try to fight against the "heat".

Honorable mentions:

"Summertime" by Dutch Criminal Records, "Sirens" by Elefant, "Sanctuary" by Utada, "The Detail" by Delta Sleep, "Self Defense" by Paul Westerberg, "The Garden" by the Crane Wives

Out of all of these, I think "The Garden" is the strongest, but I couldn't sit down and explain why to you if I tried :')

"Sanctuary" is here because I listened to FOB's "Church" and heard the singular word 'santcuary'. And then I read the lyrics and debated for 20 minutes on if this was a good addition, so I compromised and put it here

"Self Defense" first entered the scene for the 'cheekbones and hormones' line, and remained because it felt on-theme in its somberness

"Summertime", "Sirens", and "the Detail" were just ones that stood out when I was pilfering through Spotify, and fit the musical themes enough for me to say "fuck it, someone could reasonably interpolate this probably"

A few other artists I listened to on the quest for suitable reccs: Owl City, The Smith's, Crystal Castles, The Pierces, Melanie Martinez, the Front Bottoms, and the Barbie album (haven't seen the movie yet either oops). I wish I could've gone through so much more, but life really caught up to me

[ouatnextgen]

Curious Archer/ Mad Archer Ship Headcanons

One of two canon Next Gen ships, Alice Swan-Jones and Robyn Hood/Mills!

These two were one of the only things I liked about S7. Initially, I wasn't going to have Alice here at all, since I took the multiverse out of my re-write, but I love her waaaay too much to cut her out.

Tropes: True Love || Hopeless flirts || Fairytale romance || Love at first sight || The grumpy one falls for the sunshine one || Protective Couple

Songs: Dead Sea- The Lumineers || Mess is Mine- Vance Joy || Yellow- Coldplay || Still Into You- Paramore || Love Me Like You Do- Ellie Goulding || All of Me- John Legend

Headcanons Under the Cut: (Changes from canon) (Also keep in mind I changed Alice's parents to Killian and Emma in this AU)

Since both girls are teenagers in this AU, their relationship is going to have a different dynamic than in canon when they are both adults. I just wanted to make it clear that I’m not trying to infantilize Alice due to her mental illness or time stuck in the tower, but because she and Robyn are still teens, and it’s only been a year since Alice escaped her tower.

They met a year after Alice escaped from her tower. Since they had Snowing’s “I caught you in a net” meeting in canon, I gave them the “smacked you with a rock” meeting for this AU.

Alice ended up in Storybrooke, trying to find her lost family. Robyn saw her and thought she was a spy, chasing her down and tackling her in the woods. Robyn was surprised that she was a (pretty) girl, and Alice wacks her with a tree branch to escape. True love, baby.

After everything settles, they do a formal introduction: “I’m Robyn Hood. The new Robin Hood, anyway. The old one was my dad.” “New Robin…so Nobyn Hood?” “...no.”

Robyn was a goner from minute one. Unfortunately, she can’t flirt for shit. Alice, on the other hand, flirts by just being herself, which makes Robyn incredibly flustered, which makes her flirting worse, and on the cycle goes.

Alice knows that Robyn likes her, but she finds herself being cautious about growing close to anyone, not wanting her “bad days” to ruin any relationships she might have in Storybrooke.

Once Alice gets settled at Storybrooke High, Robyn takes it upon herself to show her the ropes and protect her from any perceived slight. Faces have, and will be, punched.

Everything is slow for them, as Alice has never been in a relationship (of any kind), and Robyn is trying reeeeeally hard not to fuck this up.

Robyn calls Alice “Tower Girl,” “Lovely,” and “Starlight,” because she’s a sap. Alice calls Robyn “Nobin,” “Yobin (Robyn with a ‘Y’),” and “Love,” because she is also a sap.

The first time Alice has a “bad day” in front of Robyn, she freaks out and thinks that Robyn will think she’s a psycho and leave. Instead, Robyn talks with Alice and comes up with plans to help her during her “bad days,” and episodes.

Alice has dragged Robyn out of bed to go stargazing with her more than once. True to form, Robyn complains, but she won’t ever say no to Alice’s smile.

They practice their magic together, though Alice is much more gifted than Robyn. Robyn tries not to let that get to her.

Alice’s favorite activity is to watch Robyn do archery. She loves how focused and passionate she gets.

Robyn’s never been all that touchy-feely, but Alice is touch starved from being alone in a tower since she was twelve. Robyn suddenly becomes VERY touchy-feely. With Alice, at least.

Robyn has previously dated Alex Boyd, before they came out as aroace, but that ended real quick, much to Robyn’s heartbreak. Alice hasn’t dated anyone, but during her time in Wonderland, developed a crush on Will and Anastasia’s daughter, Penny, which never went anywhere.

Both Robyn and Alice knew pretty early on that they were Not Straight. Robyn had a brief stint when she was considering she might be bisexual, but decided that lesbian fit her better. Alice just flat-out knew she liked girls when she accidentally conjured some non-heterosexual romance books while trapped in her tower.

Zelena, Regina, and Emma (and Robin, when he comes back to life) all ship the heck out of them. Killian, old fashioned man that he is, is concerned, but comes around eventually.

[salsakiyoomi]

Hiyo! congrats on the 1k followers!!

I'm usually a lurker and more active on twt but Ive been easing back into tumblr again to post fandom stuff, theres a niche corner on tumblr where I got comfy in and I happens to find/followed you there! I hope I'll be seeing ur posts around! I want to throw a hat in this event for fun! Thanks for the oppertunity!!

Fandom: Spiderverse/JJK Name: Gato ヾ(•ω•`) About myself: I'm a 5'2/ 160cm, Taurus/Capricorn rising, 24yo bi INTJ-T I'm 88% introverted and I work from home so I don't usually see the sun unless it breaks into my house. I love natural documentary videos and random analyzes videos on yt if they last more than 2 hours (play in bg while I'm working) My taste in music is whatever yt auto play next, I'll listen to J-Rock, Kpop, indie to folk but I will also work in complete silence for 8 hours straight if i forgot to put on anything. ( the grind dont stop )

I'm pretty easy going and I definitely know what I'm doing @ work, I love to show people the rope if needed. Anything kind of socialize outside my job, I'll run out of wits. I've never flirt my entire life and I won't start now ( I might be aroace but its debatable lol)

Ideal type: My type of guy and gal is definitely the no-nonsense one who tell me straight up what they want. I can't say I'll give them the same treatment tho I'm not always honest with myself :))) but I'm deeply devoted and I don't do anything half way.

It's very difficult for me not to challenge any kind of authority figure on sign, I'm allergic to condescending people. Still I find assertive people very……..hot!! (please pair me up with one, itll be so funny)

Season: whenever it rain! Summer, late autumn Favorite trope: Shared room! team up! Hurt/Comfort, maybe a truce? or 'we both stuck between a rock and each other and we might not get out alive'

HONEYMOON MATCHUP WITH : MIGUEL O'HARA

— honeymoon :

– miguel was an asshole, a certified one at that — your first day at hq wasn't very thrilling with him throwing you nasty looks left and right, the worst part is, he didn't actually say anything rude or mean to you, but he wasn't all that friendly either, so when you came up to him with a scowl on your face and demanding that he tells you why he keeps looking at you like you just spilled the milk over, he simply looked you up and down and said something along the lines of 'just get back to work' not really offering much context or explanation before leaving you to head back to his 'office' and from that day on, you were sworn enemies — you couldn't stand his authority figure persona and he couldn't stand your stubborn self because you never abided by his rules, so everyday was to you was a back and forth argument with him, and it didn't help that you'd get paired up with him for alot of missions — talk about bad luck.

– slowly but surely, the two of you eased up to eachother, yeah it took like nine months but it worked out — your arguments started to turn from actual heated conversations to more of a fun back and forth bickering — miguel would deny it any moment you or anyone would ask him about it, say something about how he thinks it's annoying but the small grin on his face when he talks to you doesn't go unnoticed, no matter how much he tries to hide it — yeah, he's a tough shell, closed off and repulsive but he isn't all that bad after all, at least that how you were starting to see him — like hey, he brought you empanadas from the cafeteria with him, he doesn't do that with anybody else.

– soon enough, it's been a year and a half since miguel has known you — you still don't really know him that much but you settled for a truce and you warmed up to eachother. the day came where your walls were broken down and the rain was pouring over your head, seemingly amplifying your bad mood because it felt like such a cliche for it to heavy pour on the day you felt at your worst — but you were soon shielded from the icy cold droplets when an umbrella came over your head, and surely enough it was miguel who was holding it, he threw you a glance, his face the usual blank expression he worse but his eyes were soft, he mumbled something about 'don't want you catching a cold, you have a mission tomorrow' and the rest of the walk to your place was in silence, not the heavy kind, miguel wasn't a talker after all, but you appreciated his presence — no matter how silent it was, it was still comforting.

what's on the radio : art deco, lana del rey

a/n : had to pair your up with miguel after you said you didn't like authority figures 😭 i like a good enemies to lovers — although it's more like office drama but whatever — THE NAME GATO IS SO CUTE I LOVE IT SHSJWJSK, and yes so true the grind don't stop 💪💪 must keep going no matter what's the circumstances are ✊✊ i love miguel sm too also look at the way he's lowkey pouting in the second pic he literally looks >:c ahhhwhee i wanna play with his cheeks 😭 tysm for the request gato, hope this did you justice i also really love your blog <33

[melodythebunny]

Your favorite ships. What are they? Why do you like them? Your favorite headcanons about them? What's the sweetest scenario you can think of for them?

-inhales-

Favorite ships ( i only listed Some of them bc i have a lot) -

Tobecky - its the enemies to lovers trope that got me.

Plasma rope - it started off as a crack ship but i really got invested into it. Girl boss male wife trope

Bigslie - okay so even as a kid i thought they were married or at least dating. Seeing Bigslie art by @bunny-carrothunter just resparked that Headcanon.

dont want to Make this super long <- lies/hj

Pb and wham - i blame my bestie @spaaceeboyy /pos /j

Tbh i like most two brains ships. it like having a plate of different types of cheese-

But my top ones are experimental cheese (im a DIY shipper-) and then i saw @djsadbean 's art of amazing cheese and i was like :0000 and. Saw a bunch of other ppl making Headcanons about Amazo guy and steven (you were one of them tbh) and art then got hooked to that ship. Its angst and fluff ;v; it's beautiful. Another ship would be the star crossed cheese ship made by my friend @ninjastormhawkkat

I did start shipping provoclone at one point (Still do hehe)

-some headcanons/fluff stuff-

For tobecy- When they do start dating (like in their teens) they mainly have library dates. Or just go somewhere Generally calming and relaxing to be at. Tobey and Becky and gush over their favorite story/authors

-mr.big has a habit of buying truck loads of gifts for Leslie. She doesnt mind however just prefers he wouldn't do it so much since he has gotten bank rupt a few times like the time he brought a bunch of squishy bunnies

Oh yea and

AMAZO GUY TURNING OUT TO STILL BE ALIVE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND REUNITING WITH STEVEN AND- (sobs into hands)

I mean he is in my everything's alright au. No angst allowed there.

[katierosefun]

Fruit salad attack!! Vitamins!! 🍓🍑 🥭🫐!

thank you for the ask, iva!! // from these asks

🍓 What’s a fic you’ve written you feel is underrated?

probably night shift, just because i feel like dong sik and jae yi don't get a lot of appreciation so i always focus a lot more whenever i'm writing their interactions.

🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?

so this is actually an excellent time for me to plug the moment that like. i'm currently writing a daisy jones & the six au of sorts for beyond evil crew--but it feels less like it's based off something just because dong sik did want to pursue music, so! it still feels like a tribute to that path somehow, except now dong sik actually wound up doing music and roping his friends into a band, plus yu yeon's alive and doing the keys, and now for some reason, sang bae (who is a producer in this au) is like "hey btw. you are going to include this random soloist now. no i am not going to explain myself. i think you need him and he needs you though."

and even though like. this all takes place in korea, i feel like i might include some interesting cameo where like. maybe dong sik and billy dunne cross paths / joo won and daisy jones cross paths, just because haha i think it's funny that they have some initials in common--and not that billy dunne and daisy jones have too similar personalities to dong sik and joo won, i think there might be some common ground between them (ie. billy dunne and dong sik are both very charismatic people and very deeply loving of the people around them, but also i think they both feel broken very deep down, except they might be more in denial about it than anything else--and while i think billy dunne is absolutely more selfish than dong sik ever could be, i do think they might be able to relate to each other in like. "i have to make up for the fact that i wasn't good to my family" somehow, because even in this au, lol, i'm giving dong sik MORE PROBLEMS . . . and alternatively, daisy jones and joo won are both incredibly prideful and maybe a little bit oblivious about how easily they get people's attention, but also, i think they have incredibly addictive personalities and that kind of obsessive "i can do it better" attitude that either makes them great or spiral).

this has gotten incredibly long, but all that to say: i think it'd be cool for them to run into each other in their respective brooding sessions. (esp. on like. the topic of. not wanting to be drawn to someone and hating that you are drawn to someone but also like. what do you do when you recognize yourself in another what do you do when no one can deny that sparks are flying but also. you can't. you can't and etc)

🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.

hm, most enjoyable to least: angst, smut, fluff, crack. just because i feel like i get a little bit tired trying to play with situational humor (which is so common in crack), and i feel like i'm always trying to not be saccharine with fluff, so i think i struggle with those two a lot.

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

hm . . . i think i'm just incredibly intrigued by hyuk's character? especially now, as someone who like. is pursuing law and idk something so fascinating about him, and i'm glad that there are at least a handful of other people who are fascinated about him too!

[dancing-to-architecture]

14 of 1001

Today's album: The Byrd's - Mr. Tambourine Man.

Initial thoughts: Well, i know the title track at least.

Love the extreme fisheye lens shot on the cover.

Mr. Tambourine Man-

Having never really been fond of the sound of the tambourine the very concept of this song fails me. It's a much prettier and honestly sadder song than i remember it being though. Sounds like a man at the end of his rope in parts.

I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better-

This project is giving me so many good "we should break up/stay broken up" songs, for real.

It's a "shattered mirror" situation for me just now, i don't think i had really realized just how common a trope it was in songwriting.

Pretty good tune, though.

Spanish Harlem Incident-

Probably not the best aging on the lyrics considering he's softly using what's now considered a slur, but it's sweet enough all in all.

You Won't Have To Cry-

Aww, a "fuck that zero, get with me, a hero" song. Don't see many of them anymore. Thankfully.

Here Without You-

And she's not here and I'm sad. Aww man aww shucks aww beans.

The Bells Of Rhymeny-

It's a pretty enough song, but i feel I'm missing a good amount of British cultural knowledge regarding the bells they're talking about to really get it.

All I Really Want To Do-

Somebody bought a rhyming dictionary.

Otherwise, it feels a little creepy in the modern day, incel vibes.

I Knew I'd Want You-

Pretty standard love song. Not terrible, but nothing to write home about.

It's No Use-

And back to a breakup song. Interesting surf styling, and a nice little guitar solo. I really dig this one.

Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe-

I really the lyrics for this one, tbh. The world sucks and it will beat you down but you know you have what it takes to keep on going.

Chimes of Freedom-

Okay yeah, here we go, a song that has something to say! Oh, it's a Dylan cover. Yeah, that'll do it.

We'll Meet Again-

It's an alright enough version. Not my favorite. Not much to say about it.

She Has A Way-

And we end the album with a honestly ho-hum "she done me wrong but i still love her so" kinda song.

Well, I'm still not a fan of the tambourine.

The album was decent enough, but I'm not that big a fan of most of it.

Favorite Track: it's the Dylan cover, go figure. Out of THEIR songs, Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe.

Least Favorite Track: You Won't Have To Cry.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

May 2021 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Close Friend Ep 6 fin: (Imagine You/KimmonCopter) - Fan gets a VR of his idol, they fall in love, but does it transfer to reality? A unique story and great casting of Kim & Cop into roles that stretched both actors. My favorite of the series and a good closer. Close Friend as a whole is so uneven I can’t recommend it, but individual episodes (3 MaxNat, 5 JimmyTommy, 6 KimCop) are okay.

Top Secret Together Ep 3 - no subs as yet but I still found it enjoyable. I like this series, it’s quiet. Sure, the only really unique touches are the office setting and the gay advice dads, but honestly I’LL TAKE IT. Of course my favorite couple is the hazer + freshie back at uni. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the old OLD tropes. (Should I just do a SOTUS+S rewatch this weekend to get it out of my system?) 

Y-Destiny Ep 9 - Look, I’m just not a fan of the rake archetype BUT my favorite combo for this is another player, and BL almost never does that. But ta da! Y-D wins with f-buds + high heat pulp (well I suppose this is university-set Cheewin). I don’t love honest-gay messy in a long haul series (Friendzone... shudder) but I don’t mind it in short form. So I think this may be my favorite installment in this series so far.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 8 - *big fat sigh* I thought they were going to redeem Pi by having him be genuinely nice to Meen, but no it was all to do with a dumb pin. Even though he suffers from crazy stalking in this ep, I still don’t like Pi but I’m TOTALLY on his side. Is FUTS taking us on a light weight The Effect journey? Because at this juncture I think I’d prefer that. 

Nitiman Ep 4 - honestly it’s like Nitiman is vested in showing FOTS exactly what it’s doing wrong. Both shows introduced faen fatales this week. But Nitiman did theirs with a sympathetic character, genuine interest on both sides, bisexual confusion, and sweetness. In every way the opposite of (and superior to) FOTS. Even claiming, outing, and stalker characters are happening but treated differently. It’s like parallel universes. Not sure how I feel about the ending kiss though. Still, this is my favorite currently airing show. I look forward to @heretherebedork explaining to me my own feelings and why I want to forgive Bbomb the kiss but not Mork for anything. Since I’m evidently morally hypocritically confused. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love is Science? (Taiwan) Ep 10 (BL subplot) - Taiwan is experiencing a C19 surge right now so this series will be delayed at least 20 days. 

Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan) Ep 3 - dropped with subs thank heavens, all the usual tropes when you pair grumpy + tsundere: challenges, bets, crashing into beds, veiled threats... oh my! Gay boys in stripped sweaters giving advice in cafes is my new favorite thing. It’s the BL version of the “bartender is my psyche” trope. Still finding the boss character creepy. About Hank Wang (plays Shi Lei) anyone else obsessed with his sanpaku eyes? Just me? Fair. Also he keeps reminding me of Pluem Purim, I have no idea why. Something in the mannerisms, I think. They don’t really look alike. (This show may also be delayed.)

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 8 - continues to be good, we now have 2 faen fatales, blackmail, worried friends, and the secret identity slowly devolving. Looks like we get at least two more episodes and could be as many as 12? Very much enjoying this show. 

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 3 (AKA 6) fin - it was fine, they always rush the ending a bit in Vietnamese BL. I found the first season much stronger than this second one over all. But since they aired in the same year and there’s only six total I feel like they should be judged as a whole. So I guess I’ll say, RECOMMENDED with serious pacing issues and some plot drag particularly in the second half. 

Gossip 

The cast of Until We Meet Again met together, ostensibly for their own amusement but speculation is that it has something to do with Between Us AKA Hemp Rope. 

Breaking News

Singto’s next starring role BL got announced Paint With Love. Between him and Ohm, they seem to be attempting to corner the market. I’m in favor. Singto plays Met, a wedding organizer, who hires Phap, a poor artist, to work on a wedding painting. Phap messes something up and ends up having to work for Med on a more permanent basis. Yet another office set BL from Thailand, following in Japan and Taiwan’s well suited footsteps... we hope. Phap is played by Tae (the original Forth in 2 Moons). No side dishes announced as yet. 

Pornographer Playback is airing, the third in the series from Japan (first 2 = The Pornographer AKA The Novelist & Mood Indigo). Not recommended unless you want non-BL gay cinema with high heat, and don’t mind the mess Japan always doles out to go with it. Such as: morally flexible characters, crass manipulation, gaslighting, cheating, seduction of a minor, so much smoking, het porn, and ambiguous, sad, or depressing endings. Part one of this final installment has dropped, part two is not yet available. No subs (even if they say they have them, they’re autiogen nonsense.) 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Things are looking dire. What will we do with our lives? 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

[razorblade180]

RWBY Vol8 Finale Review

Okay so I just wanna say right away that this review would’ve been out sooner, but the ending credit song is watch pushed me over the edge and made me cry. So I’m little drained.

Of course the episode starts off with Salem finally coming back. Honestly I’m shocked. She’s only been gone for a little over an hour I believe. That’s way faster than I thought considering the blast she was hit with.

90% of this episode is fighting which I’m perfectly happy with, so breaking down scenes is a little scarce and far apart. But I will say I like a bunch of the fighting. I thought James’s gun was stupid, but then he swung while detaching one pistol to pistol whip Winter and I’ll admit it, I said “yoooo!”

Okay...the Ace Ops stuff is probably the biggest thing I’m “meh” on. I totally get what they’re going for and I’m actually one of the few people who likes Harriet, but this scene fell pretty flat for me. We barely see the Ace Ops interact with one another that isn’t them threatening RWBY or talking about following orders. Like I never had any doubts that they do in fact care about each other beyond a coworker level but the show didn’t really show that. It would’ve been nice if despite them saying they aren’t friends several times, CRWBY added gentler moments with one another.

Like if Harriet calms Elm down on the way to to whale, Vine senses Marrow’s uneasiness and pulls him aside to tell him that he’ll watch Marrow’s back and they’ll talk when the job is done. It could’ve been neat if Harriet was about to move and scream Marrow’s name right before Ironwood shoots, but Winter was a step ahead. Just little things like that to show these characters really do value one another and don’t actually buy the crap their selling about being completely professional. Plenty of real life military soldiers will tell you that like it or not, it is impossible not to learn the life of their teammates and essentially become family when they’re overseas. Even if they don’t necessarily like a certain individual.

I actually didn’t expect Cinder to betray Neo this episode until Neo fell off the ledge. I thought we were building to Cinder valuing having people as teammates to raise hell instead of looking at them as pawns. To an extent she still does, but I guess it’s more of she has to work well with people and use actual teamwork in general, not with specific individuals. Power of teamwork yes. Power of friendship, no....

Cinder gets bonus points in my book for doing what most don’t, cut Blake’s ribbon! I’m so used to anime tropes letting heroes recover that I wasn’t expecting a genuine good play.

So I’ve said she was going to die ever since she came back, then I said it when she hacked, and one more time she was human. I never had faith she’d make it through the volume. So when I tell that it still broke my heart to see this. I never wanted her go. Penny is like my second favorite character. I’m a bit surprised Cinder didn’t get the power. This is the second time she’s nabbed Penny. I would assume she has at least a bit of the power though.

Winter really did become the Winter maiden. We were right from the start. I do like that Penny choosing how she wanted to die and who to give the powers to mirrors Winter’s conversation with Weiss in V7 a bit about being roped into something but still gaining the control to actually choose how go about the situation by deciding the terms.

Skipping ahead a bit because once again, I was just floored by the fights. Next real thing that really hit me hard was so many people think other people are dead for varying reasons, and only some of them are true. I do not know how Ren and Nora especially are going to cope with hearing Jaune fell. That’s their second teammate. Out of those two, Oscar, and Emerald, I don’t think any want to or fit to lead as a new team of four. Maybe Nora really will step up and kick off the active part of her self discovery. Then there’s Winter. Maybe she’ll keep them together. If anything I hope her and Whitley finally have this genuine moment because they think they lost their sister. And who knows, maybe to a certain level Jacques dying as well conflicts them in a way because they didn’t love him but it’s still a shock he’s dead. Like I’m pretty sure for Whitley at least that the hate for his father didn’t run deep enough to wish him dead. Pietro is gonna die of broken heart and I don’t know how Qrow or Tai will react. Hopefully Raven gets involved.

Not gonna lie, I thought the crash was anticlimactic and Ironwood among others could still be alive, but then the rushing water came....

I am shocked nobody actually killed James. Pretty sure he’s dead though. Just like how Arthur burned to death which is by far the most unsettling thing this show has done period. Even though the villains lost members, it doesn’t really feel like they lost at all. Especially when the ones who died were killed by their own people basically.

All in all I really liked this finale. I’m relieved the reason team RWBY fell wasn’t because they jumped after Yang because that’s not risk people should take and would be a middle finger to everyone they leave behind. Wasn’t expecting Jaune to fall. That’s nuts. Not mad about it. Now he has to explain to Ruby that he personally stabbed Penny on request. Like good lord, he’s not going to cope. The only saving grace I personally have is CRWBY might be nice to me and the path towards comforting certain characters may lead down a path with Lancaster or Whiteknight at the end of it. I’m not gonna hold my breath. Can’t believe we lost Nuts n Dolts twice...

Also Neo might wanna kill Cinder more than Ruby now.

[thelastspeecher]

Spirit Touched - Chapter 1: Little Prince

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6   AO3

Uhhhh so this is the first time I’ve written and posted something for ATLA, and of course it wound up being because of a fanart of a fanfic that I adore.  Basically, yesterday I saw this art drawn by my pal @agent-jaselin.  And that art appeared to apply one of my all-time favorite tropes (de-aging) to one of my all-time favorite fics (Salvage, by @muffinlance).  And dagnabit, I...got inspired.

So, without further ado, here is my interpretation of a theoretical Zuko being de-aged after Chapter 8 of Salvage.  Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

              Praying to the spirits for guidance was a mistake.  Hakoda could see that now.  He pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to dispel the headache already forming.

              This is what I get for thinking the spirits might make things easier. Their actions are rarely convenient for us mortals.

              “Bring him to Kustaa,” Hakoda said after a moment.  Toklo nodded and hurried for the healer’s room, his friend in his arms, buried in a pile of furs.  Bato looked at Hakoda.  He raised an eyebrow silently.

              “That’s new,” he said.  The casual tone made Hakoda’s headache pound in full force.  Bato was treating this as just another matter of fact.  Like seeing the former Prince of the Fire Nation reduced to a toddler overnight was just as common as…

              Hakoda’s head hurt too much to even think of something that was common.

              “Yes,” Hakoda finally said.  “It is new.” He was struggling to align the grumpy teenager of yesterday with the toddler he’d just seen drooling in his sleep.

              “How could this have happened?” Bato asked quietly.

              “I asked the spirits for help last night.”  Hakoda scowled.  It was help he’d desperately needed, after Zuko had broken down in front of him and renounced his crown, maybe even renounced his own nation.  And it was help he was obviously not getting. “Apparently, they didn’t want to make things easier.”

              “The spirits work in mysterious ways,” Bato said.  “It’s best to trust in their judgement.  Eventually, you’ll understand why they’ve done…this.” Hakoda eyed his second-in-command.

              “Since when are you so spiritual?”

              “Since meeting the bridge between the spirit world and ours,” Bato said flatly.

              “Fair enough.”  Hakoda sighed.  “I should go speak with Kustaa.”

              “I might be best if you were there when the little prince woke up,” Bato agreed.  He thumped Hakoda on the back.  “At least you’re good with children!”

----- 

              Unlike every other day since he’d recovered from his illness, Zuko didn’t wake up with the sun.  If he didn’t remember how much his own children slept at this age, Hakoda would have been concerned.  He sat in the infirmary, having a hushed conversation with Kustaa while Zuko continued to snore.  The sight of a toddler swimming in furs was painfully cute and reminded Hakoda of when Sokka was young.

              “I’ll be able to get a better examination done once he’s awake,” Kustaa said in a low voice.  “But from what I can tell, he’s perfectly healthy.”

              “He’s a toddler,” Hakoda said.

              “A healthy one.”  Kustaa glanced at Zuko.  “By my estimation, about four years old.  So, almost out of the toddler years.”  Zuko rolled over in his sleep, mumbling something.  Kustaa and Hakoda held their breaths.  Zuko didn’t wake up.  “From what he’s told me, he didn’t get that scar until a few years ago, so I’m not completely sure why he still has it.”

              “The spirits are testing me,” Hakoda moaned.  Kustaa chuckled.

              “No, Chief.  The spirits are testing all of us with this stunt.”  He sighed and leaned back.  “Now would be a good time to have a waterbending healer, to examine his spirit and chi.  But the odds of finding one of those…”

              “Aren’t good unless we stumble across a Northern Tribe ship,” Hakoda said, finishing the healer’s sentence.  Kustaa nodded.  There was movement from Zuko’s pile of furs.  Hakoda and Kustaa looked over.  A small hand fought its way out, followed by a head.  Zuko’s regular scowl was replaced by confusion as he stared at Hakoda and Kustaa, who most likely seemed larger to him than they had yesterday.

              “You’re up,” Kustaa said calmly.  Zuko shoved away the furs he was buried in.  His eyes widened at the sight of his body.  Hakoda grimaced.

              There was a split second of dumbfounded silence before the screaming started.

----- 

              Kustaa wasn’t sure whether he preferred Zuko like this or not.  On the one hand, it would be difficult to run the ship with a literal toddler on board.  But on the other hand, it was much easier to handle Zuko.  He could literally be picked up and carried somewhere else if needed.

              “This doesn’t fit right!” Zuko whined.  Kustaa glanced over at his young charge.  Zuko had insisted on dressing himself in the smallest shirt they could find on the ship.  That smallest shirt came down to past his feet.

              Then again, so will everything else.  Kustaa beckoned Zuko to come.  Zuko scowled but walked over.  Kustaa fought back an amused grin at the firebender’s toddling gait.  While not as severe as it would be for someone younger, it was still evident.

              “Nothing is going to fit right until either we adjust clothes to fit you or purchase ones already in your size,” Kustaa said.  He adjusted the shirt as best he could by pinning it up and wrapping rope around Zuko’s waist to act as a belt.  “Now that you’re dressed, we need to go see the chief.” Zuko’s eyes went wide in horror.

              “No!  I’m not going outside like this.”

              “Everyone knows what’s happened to you,” Kustaa said, getting to his feet. He took Zuko’s hand.  It was small and warm.  “Most of them saw you already, and the rest were informed by either the chief or Bato.”

              “…Fine,” Zuko grumbled.  Kustaa led him out onto the deck.  The moment eyes landed on him, Zuko dropped Kustaa’s hand to hide behind his legs.

              “Wow, you’re barely older than the babes we left at the South Pole,” Panuk remarked.  Zuko didn’t move or speak.

              “I think he’s adorable,” Toklo said firmly, marching over.  He crouched down to Zuko’s eye-height.  “I always wanted a baby brother.”

              “I’m not a baby,” Zuko snapped.  At his high-pitched, youthful voice, Toklo beamed.  “I’m sixteen.”

              “Four,” Kustaa corrected.  Zuko scowled.

              “Either way, that’s not a baby.”

              “Aw, no need to pout,” Toklo cooed.  Zuko’s scowl deepened.  “It’ll be fun having a little kid on board.”

              “Will it?” rumbled Aake.  “We only let men join the crew for a reason.”  Zuko let out a small squeak as Toklo lifted him up and held him out for Aake to see.

              “Try saying ‘no’ to this face,” Toklo said.  Aake’s deadpan expression didn’t change.

              “No.”

              “Were you saying ‘no’ to Zuko or ‘no’ to saying ‘no’ to him?” Toklo asked. Aake shrugged and continued to sharpen his spear.  Zuko squirmed in Toklo’s hold.

              “Let me go!” he snarled.  He broke loose, falling to the deck with a soft thump.  Kustaa waited for the tears that would come from a toddler being dropped. But Zuko didn’t cry.  His eyes were glistening in a way that suggested he was holding back tears, but he remained otherwise stoic.  Kustaa filed this observation away for now.  He walked over to Zuko and pulled him up.

              “The chief needs to talk to you, remember?” he said.  Zuko nodded silently, allowing Kustaa to lead him to Hakoda’s cabin.

----- 

              The moment they set foot inside the cabin, Kustaa could tell Hakoda was going to struggle with not seeing Sokka every time he looked at Zuko.  At least Bato was there to help mediate things.

              “Take a seat,” Hakoda said.  Zuko toddled over to the chair he normally sat in.  After a moment, he climbed onto the seat with obvious difficulty.  Bato stifled a laugh.  “Zuko, we’re not sure why the spirits have done this to you.”

              “Probably because they hate me,” Zuko muttered, crossing his arms.

              “Well, no matter why you’ve been turned into a toddler, the fact of the matter is that it has happened to you.  Generally, we don’t allow children your age to be on our ships.”  Zuko paled and opened his mouth to make his case. Hakoda held up a hand.  “Given your…extenuating circumstances, we won’t be dropping you off at the next port or something like that.  Who knows, maybe you’ll wake up tomorrow sixteen again. Until we have a better understanding of your condition, including how long it might last, you’ll be staying on the Akhlut.  Do you understand?”

              “Yes,” Zuko said with a nod, visibly relieved.

              “Good.  Now, just because you’ll still be on board, don’t expect things to stay the same for you. You won’t be required to do any chores on the ship.  If you want to help, you can, but the crew has been instructed to stop you from overexerting yourself or doing something that might hurt you at your current age.” Zuko’s eyes boggled.  “Additionally, you’ll be sleeping in the infirmary with Kustaa for the foreseeable future.  It will be more comfortable for you.”

              “Understood,” Zuko mumbled.

              “Another change is that you will be expected to do what a child your age must in order to remain healthy,” Hakoda said.  Zuko tilted his head curiously.  “In particular, you will have to take naps.”

              “What?!” Zuko shrieked.

              “We can’t have a cranky, overtired firebender on our wooden ship,” Bato said.  Zuko crossed his arms, scowling.

              “Those are the major changes.  We will adjust things as we see fit,” Hakoda said.

              “Okay.”  Zuko fidgeted in his seat, an abrupt reminder to the men in the room of how hyperactive toddlers were.  “Um, about my clothes…”

              “Go see Panuk and Toklo.  They offered to try to cobble together something for you until we can make port,” Hakoda said.  Zuko ducked his head.

              “Thank you.”  He slipped off his chair and left the cabin, his head held high in an attempt to maintain any dignity.  Once the door closed, Kustaa looked at Hakoda and Bato.

              “He’s not going to act like a toddler if he can avoid it,” Kustaa said. “He’s almost certainly going to resist the reduced workload and naps.”  Hakoda nodded.

              “I agree,” he said solemnly.

              “This won’t end well,” Bato said, shaking his head.  “There’s a reason we wouldn’t normally have someone his age on board.”  There was a loud ruckus from the deck; clattering, heavy footsteps, and Toklo’s voice.

              “Come on, Zuko, it’ll look so cute!”

              “That,” Bato said, “is the reason.”

-----

              Hakoda begrudgingly agreed with Toklo’s assessment.  Zuko was cuter than he had any right looking, walking around the ship with a blanket draped over his shoulders like a cape.  According to Toklo, Zuko had begun shivering while he and Panuk were working on finding something for the new toddler to wear. Toddlers tended to get cold easier, and Hakoda supposed that being a firebender might make Zuko more vulnerable to cold as is.

              “Are you hungry yet, little prince?” Panuk asked.  Zuko looked up from his fumbling attempts at making a net.

              “Don’t call me that,” he snarled.  Panuk patted Zuko’s bald head.

              “All right.  You hungry yet, Zuko?” he asked.  Zuko’s stomach rumbled loudly.  “I’ll take that as a yes.”  Panuk got up. “Come on.  Let’s fill you up with sea prunes.”  Zuko got to his feet and eagerly followed Panuk.  Hakoda watched Zuko toddle across the deck and to the kitchen.

              “You’re getting soft, Chief, I can tell,” Aake, standing nearby, said quietly. Hakoda looked at him.  Aake sighed.  “But I’m getting soft, too.  We left when Sitka was about that age.”  A weary and wistful expression settled on Aake’s face.  “I miss my son.”

              “I miss mine as well,” Hakoda said quietly.  Suddenly, Zuko burst onto the deck, his arms full of sea prunes, running from Panuk.

              “Hey!  You don’t get all of them!” Panuk protested, coming onto the deck as well.  Zuko merely sped up.  Hakoda and Aake’s eyes widened as they realized the former Fire Nation Prince was giggling as Panuk chased him.  Zuko’s lighthearted, childish peals of laughter filled the air. He rushed belowdeck, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.  Panuk followed.  A silence fell.  After a moment, Tuluk, who was swabbing the deck, spoke.

              “Well, that was adorable.”

----- 

              Hakoda expected Zuko to hide belowdeck, embarrassed by behaving like a toddler.  But Zuko returned to the deck after a while, seemingly unaware of how childish he had acted. He walked up to various crewmen in an attempt to do some of his old chores.  Each time, he was turned away.  His regular scowl settled on his face, chubby with baby fat.

              “Can’t do anything,” Zuko muttered as he stalked around the deck, his blanket trailing behind him.  He finally sat down next to the mast, pouting.

              “It’s good that you can’t do anything,” Hakoda said, walking over. Zuko looked up.  “Leaving a task in the middle of doing it doesn’t usually produce good results.”

              “Why would I not complete a task?” Zuko asked.  He crossed his arms.  “I’m not really a child, I can focus.”

              “You’d need to take a break for your nap,” Hakoda informed him.  Zuko’s eyes widened.  “I saw you yawning just now.  You’re tired.”

              “No, I’m not!” Zuko said, jumping to his feet.  He shed his blanket cape.  “I won’t nap.”

              “You agreed to take naps.”

              “Only if I needed them.  I don’t. I’m not tired.”  Zuko’s argument sounded eerily like those Sokka made as a child.

              “There’s nothing for you to do anyways,” Hakoda pointed out.  He reached for Zuko’s hand.  Zuko darted away before he could be grabbed.  Unfortunately for his millionth escape attempt, Aake was nearby. Aake picked Zuko up as he ran past.

              “Let me go!” Zuko said, twisting in Aake’s grip.  “Let me go!”  A breath of flame escaped from his mouth.  He suddenly stilled.  Aake handed him over to Hakoda.  Zuko didn’t make a peep as Hakoda carried him across the deck and into the infirmary. Kustaa looked up from the book he was reading.

              “Is it time for my nephew’s nap?” he asked.  Hakoda nodded and set Zuko down.

              “Sleep,” he said firmly to Zuko.  “That’s an order.”  Zuko nodded, visibly cowed.

              “Yes, chief,” he mumbled.  Hakoda turned to leave.  “Sir, I apologize for firebending earlier,” Zuko said suddenly.  Hakoda looked over his shoulder at the toddler.

              “You firebending on accident wouldn’t have anything to do with agreeing to nap, would it?” he asked.

              “Uncle says that sleep works in concert with meditation to control your inner fire.  Children who are too young to know how to meditate only avoid burning down their house by taking…naps.”  Zuko scowled slightly.  “That’s the excuse he gives for being so lazy.”  Kustaa chuckled softly.

              “Judging by what happened on deck, your uncle might be right,” Hakoda said, feigning a casual tone.  Zuko nodded. “Sleep well, Zuko.”

              Hakoda poked his head into the infirmary after he had checked on the rest of the crewmen.  Some of the crew felt Zuko’s current size was an improvement.  Hakoda could see where they were coming from.  Zuko was yet again buried in a pile of furs, his minute arms wrapped around Scuttles.

              “He went down almost right after you left, chief,” Kustaa said quietly.  “I didn’t even need to make him any tea.”

              “Hopefully he won’t argue against naps in the future.”  Hakoda continued to watch Zuko sleep.  The toddler let out a soft snore.  “It’s foolish to expect that he’ll ask for a nap, though.”  Kustaa nodded.

              “I would agree with that.”  Zuko rolled over in his sleep with another snore.

              “Let me know if anything happens,” Hakoda said.

              “Of course,” Kustaa said.  He picked up another book, opened it, and began to read.  Hakoda left the infirmary, closing the door behind him as softly as he could.