#like it is very much is a rival-to-lovers subplot

[kefiteria]

hi! i very much returned and i come with a request. i. i would looove to see! a rivals to lovers sebek x reader thing from you!! one where they start off on the wrong foot, clash often, maybe even spar/swordfight (and maybe maybe, even other people teasing them about liking each other when they *clearly don't!*) and then oopsies, one of them starts to fall for the other... whether that's one-sided pining or mutual like with denial is up to you! idk i just. i love that trope. and i would love to see your take on something like this since you haven't written something like this before i think! maybe!

thank you in advance! :D

pairing: Sebek Zigvolt x Reader

tags : rivals to lover, mutual pining - denial, slow burn like glacial, emotional repression olympics, lyrical writing

a/n🍨: hallooo~ thank you so much for requesting🩷 i too love this trope! this one took me a while because im practicing my english and prose here by using classic literature as always for my writing style 🍎 was planning to make it into headcanon style but nah we need more Sebek written in this pov~ I hope you enjoyed this and thank you so much for reading my writing 🩵

To say that you and Sebek Zigvolt met under civil circumstances would be a falsehood so severe it could rupture the very stonework of Diasomnia’s northern battlements. No, you met in the manner of colliding storm fronts—loud, electric, and with an immediate declaration of war.

He had the gall—the bold, sun-blessed gall—to correct your grip before the match began, his voice a staccato of knightly contempt. “Your wrist lacks tension.” he had intoned, as though offering divine edict rather than unsolicited critique.

You responded the only way one should when their pride is called into question by a man whose hair defies gravity and whose decibel level could awaken the dead: With a smile sharp as a letter opener and the promise of utter ruin.

The duel was close. Too close. You won (technically). Emotionally, he declared victory by virtue of ‘allowing you an opening out of charitable disdain.’ You haven’t stopped reminding him since.

Though there was something in that first clash. The spark of metal? Yes. But something else too—an irritant that settled in the bloodstream and curdled into fascination.

You spar with Sebek far too often—egregiously, obscenely often. To the point that even Silver, slumped against a tree like a man who’s seen too much, once muttered through the velvety fog of exhaustion, “Do they think swordplay is foreplay?”

You both ignored him, of course paired with the practiced dignity of people who absolutely did not hear that. Both flushed with the kind of synchronized, thermonuclear embarrassment that would’ve triggered an evacuation drill at NRC, had anyone been paying attention. So you turned away like you were being pulled by magnetic shame. Sebek blushed in reverse—spine straighter, jaw tighter, voice louder, as if yelling could exorcise feelings.

He treats every duel like a divine inquisition—each swing of his blade a holy rebuke against your entire existence.

You, on the other hand, approach it like it’s the world’s most dramatic coping mechanism—why go to therapy when you can just emotionally bleed on a training field with swords and unresolved tension?

When your weapons clash in melodies only the repressed could compose. His hands, traitorous things, are always too gentle when shoving you back, like he’s afraid of bruising your pride more than your ribs. Yours, equally disloyal, linger a beat too long when helping him up, fingers brushing like they have their own subplot.

You fall? He catches you—with far too much concern for a man who calls you “insufferable wretch” between bouts.

He trips? You grab his arm and haul him upright with an intimacy that suggests a montage is about to start.

No one says anything about these moments.

Except everyone.

Constantly.

Lilia has popcorn. Silver has resigned himself to the background commentary role. Malleus has offered, twice now, to officiate “the inevitable marriage.” You’re not sure if he’s joking. You’re also not sure if you are.

Sebek’s inner monologue reads like a knight’s diary slowly succumbing to madness:

“They are reckless, chaotic, dazzlingly unorthodox. I loathe their insolence. I disdain their grin. Their hair is always in their eyes—do they not own a comb? Their footwork is distractingly elegant. I wish to see them humbled. I wish to see them succeed. I wish—no. I do not wish. I strategize.”

He often storms away from sparring matches and then broods by a window, narrating his internal agony in Elizabethan sonnet form.

You, on the other hand, are no better:

He’s the worst. He’s insufferable. He talks like he swallowed a thesaurus on fire. But when he blocks a strike meant for me, I feel—warm? No. That’s just combat fever. Not affection. Definitely not affection. He looked at me yesterday. For too long. I should punch a wall. Maybe two.

You wake up thinking of him—grumpy, green, and gallant, like your subconscious is hosting a crush-themed renaissance fair.

He trains harder because of you. He says it’s “to surpass a worthy rival,” but everyone knows that’s code for “I can’t stop thinking about their stupid face and I hate it here.”

Both of you pretend you don’t care.

Both of you care enough to write tragic ballads in the corners of your notebooks and then aggressively deny their existence when caught. His rhyme scheme is suspiciously good. Yours ends with “sword” forced to rhyme with “feelings I’ve ignored.”

Denial has never been this poetic.

The mission goes sideways, as missions often do when fate decides your emotional development needs a nudge. Blades clash. Smoke billows. Someone yells something unhelpful.

Sebek takes the hit.

A clean, heroic slash across his arm—not fatal, but dramatic enough to cue a slow-motion gasp. Blood blooms. So does your panic.

You sprint to him like a protagonist in a poorly-budgeted romance drama. “Sebek!” you shout, voice wobbling, heart lurching. “Why didn’t you dodge, you idiot?!”

You slapped a bandage on him like it's an insult and pressing too hard. Plus, also shaking and typical pretending it’s from battle adrenaline and not the mind-numbing fear that your favorite loudmouth knight might actually perish before you resolve whatever this... thing is between you.

Sebek (bless him), looks up at you with the hazy, noble daze of a man who thinks he’s about to be sainted.

“Because you were behind me...” he says, with the unwavering sincerity of someone who would die proudly and dramatically on your behalf and then lecture you about safety as a ghost.

The silence that follows is biblical. Not holy. Just really, really awkward.

You stare at him.

He stares back.

Somewhere in the background, Silver audibly sighs.

There is, undeniably, the atmosphere of a kiss. The entire battlefield feels it. Even the enemy pauses like, “Are they gonna—?”

But no.

Instead, Sebek winces like a main protagonist suppressing emotion and grunts, “Tactical body shielding is part of knightly protocol.” like that explains anything.

“I swear to the Seven if you say ‘duty’ one more time—” you nearly lose your mind on the spot.

He tries. He tries to say it again.

You hit him with the bandage roll again.

You both survive, tragically, still not dating.

Lilia has a blackboard with your name and Sebek’s written on it. Every day, he adds a new tally mark under “Still Not Kissing.” There are currently fifty-seven.

Silver has stopped trying to intervene. He just carries around tea for people who’ve witnessed your latest emotionally-loaded sparring match.

Malleus, who knows everything and nothing, once mused aloud: “Isn’t it remarkable how well they complement each other’s temperament? Like thunder and wildfire.”

You and Sebek: “WE’RE NOT COMPLEMENTING ANYTHING.”

It happens, as all catastrophes of the heart must, in the training yard—where moonlight bleeds like silver wine across the flagstones, and your breath comes short not from fatigue, but from something far more ruinous: possibility.

Sebek gleams—glows, really—with the sheen of noble exertion and catastrophic restraint, the kind that only men who scream about “honor” at 6 a.m. can manage. His hair is a mess. His tunic clings in ways your brain, traitorous organ that it is, files under archival memory: do not delete.

A misstep—perhaps yours, perhaps the gods’—and suddenly gravity conspires to write fanfiction.

Your faces are intolerably close—shared air close, bad decisions are whispering close. His breath ghosts across your cheek like an unfinished line of poetry. Both are no longer sparring. Both are performing the prelude to a scandal.

His hand finds your waist, firm and immediate, like he was born to catch you.

Your fingers, in a poetic act of betrayal, fist in the collar of his tunic as though you’re anchoring yourself to the last shred of common sense you possess. (Spoiler: you are not.)

Your lips part.

He says—blessedly hoarse, devastatingly sincere— “You’ve improved.”

“So have you.” you replied while blinking like someone who just got emotionally stabbed.

It is not flirting. It is courtship by blade. It is foreplay by tragedy. Your noses nearly touch. Your eyelashes brush.

This is it.

You are going to kiss him.

You are going to ruin everything gloriously.

And then—snap.

A branch. A singular, petty piece of wood.

Both your heads whip around.

Lilia hangs upside down from a tree like a particularly smug gargoyle, idly eating a pear with all the nonchalance of someone watching a telenovela.

“Fascinating,” he murmurs around a bite. “I was wondering which of you would cave first.”

Both of you did not scream.

Did not kiss.

Swiftly, you launch backward like startled cats, scramble away from each other as though struck by lightning and shame in equal measure. Fleeing the scene in opposite directions with the velocity of people running from emotional growth.

You do not speak for two days.

Not out of anger—oh no. Out of terror. The what if of it all haunts you both like a melodramatic ghost with excellent timing.

Sebek trains louder.

You train longer.

Silver watches it unfold like a war documentary. Lilia starts sending fruit daily, each pear labeled with unhelpful advice like “Try again, cowards.”

You remain professionally repressed.

But your eyelashes remember.

You are still not together.

You are still sparring, still arguing with the vehemence of two people who have never touched but think about it constantly. You parry his blows like you're trying to teach him tenderness through violence. He retorts with all the intensity of someone who knows if he loves you, he will ruin it by saying it aloud.

The space between your hands is shorter now.

Tragic, really—how your knuckles brush when you pass swords. How his breath hits your neck when he corrects your stance and you pretend not to shiver like some Victorian ghost-wife locked in a duel with decorum.

The insults have changed. Softer.

"You're reckless." he says, voice like a prayer that fears being answered.

"And you're insufferable." you whisper, like it's the most beautiful thing you've ever meant.

Sebek dreams of your grin and wakes up shouting into the forest, as if the trees might scrub it from his memory. They don’t. They never do.

You draw his face in the margins of your notes—again, and again, and again. "It’s anatomical," you claim. As if your hand hasn't memorized the shape of his jaw better than your own name.

The dorm holds its breath every time you're in the same room. It's become a sport. They're all tired. Someone bought confetti. It's in a drawer. Waiting.

And still—no kiss.

But the wind knows.

The swords know.

The gods know.

Your bones know.

It will not be planned, nor even permitted by either of your better natures—those poor, trembling things that have, until now, kept the floodgates intact with little more than denial and discipline. No. It will unfold with the slow horror of prophecy fulfilled, of stars finally drawing their long-promised alignment.

A duel, yes. Like so many before it. Steel ringing against steel, breath stolen from lungs already too full of unsaid things. The tension between you drawn tighter than a bowstring, vibrating with something ancient—something not born of rivalry, but of recognition.

So the blades lock and breath tangles, as the sky seems to hold itself mid-inhale— there will be a falter.

A slip, a stumble, some divine error in footwork, but it is not a mistake—it is the hand of the inevitable pressed gently to the small of your back. Thus when collision comes, it does not arrive as chaos, but as revelation.

Lips meet.

Not in hunger, nor haste, but in that stunned hush reserved for relics.

As if the moment itself had been sculpted, chiseled from marble and myth, ordained by hands that do not tremble. There is no hesitation, no softening of impact—only the terrible, tender exactness of contact that has been fated since first clash, since first glance, since the first cruelly barbed exchange beneath the training yard’s bruised light.

It is a kiss that unmakes. A kiss that knows.

But when it ends—when the breath returns and the sky resumes its spinning—you will part as though something sacred has been shattered between you. Not broken. No. Merely… too magnificent to remain in mortal hands.

Hands still clutch at tunics as if to steady the world.

When denial arrives with all the conviction of habit, but none of its former strength. Words fall between you like dulled blades, unable to wound now that truth has been glimpsed and briefly held.

Whatever existed before—the brittle pride, the righteous fury—no longer fits the shape of this new silence. Something has shifted. Not loudly, not visibly. Just enough to tip the axis of the world.

Sebek does not meet your gaze. Not out of shame, but reverence, like one who fears the sun might vanish if stared at too long. The moment lingers, impossible to dismiss. Beneath the scent of metal and sweat, something gentler has begun to bloom.

Not surrender—something far rarer. Recognition. And though the duel may resume, though steel may rise again, the air around you no longer belongs to war. It belongs to what comes after.

[kaylopolis]

Alastor's Shadow (18+) - Afterword

Alastor x F!Reader

Synopsis: There’s a new Overlord in town and it isn’t the Radio Demon. Six years after you fell into Hell, you have finally earned your seat at the table as Pentagram City’s newest and baddest and with the Extermination coming six months earlier than planned, it is now time to implement your ultimate endgame. After all, who doesn’t love a bit of power and chaos? Your plan brings you to the doorstep of the Hazbin Hotel as Charlie’s newest Redeemer, but who you find waiting for you will not only turn your entire plan upside down but also challenge your grab for power… 

Tag List: Slow burn, rivals to lovers, eventual smut

Masterlist Link: Masterlist

Spoiler Warning: Please read this after the Epilogue

Dear Hoteliers,

Before we begin, there is one thing I’d like to address: why did I kill Alastor?

Alastor’s death, believe it or not, was not about Alastor.

While you were dying, your thoughts were not fixated on him, nor were they fixated on Mary Marie if you read that alternate ending. They were about the abuse you experienced as an Angel of God. After all, this story, the very first thing that brought you to the Hotel was revenge.

But this was not a story about revenge. That all changed in Chapter 14 “Picking a Fight,” when you and Alastor finally caved and gave in to your feelings for each other.

No longer was your Endgame plan clear cut. Things got complicated. Alastor had to accept you and the plan or it didn’t work. Why? Because, again, you thought your story was one of revenge.

Alastor’s death - the demon saving you, looking after you over the years he was “dead,” and the lengths you went to revive him - changed that narrative. Because now it was not about Alastor accepting you and the Endgame plan, but you realizing that your story could not go on without him.

Literally, hence the time jump.

I did this for your character development, closure of your character’s arc, and because it has been the theme from the beginning of this work: power born from love is a thousand times more powerful than that born from fear.

Hence, the power, chaos, and love modified mantra I ended with.

So, if love was the solution/closure you needed why were you so fixated on the abuse as you died? Why did you not find resolution in those final moments (hence the “your fault” present during this scene)? Why was there no healing from your triggering past during this fic?

I intentionally did not want that sub-plot to find an ending because that’s not how trauma works. It’s an ongoing process - a battle to fight everyday. We have our good days and our bad, and we do not let it dictate our lives, but it’s a battle nonetheless.

I’ve always taken issue with movies and books romanticizing trauma and a character becoming empowered from it, using it as willpower to take down kingdoms literally and metaphorically. Culture wraps up trauma in a nice pretty bow and sticks it on a shelf and calls it a day when, in reality, that’s not how healing works.

It is a battle. An ongoing battle many of us spend our entire lives fighting.

How fitting that Mikaela’s a soldier…

But I’m not here to rehash this subplot. I’ve said my peace for you all to synthesize on your own because I find writers have many hidden motives we don’t catch while reading, and, as a writer myself, it makes me incredibly sad when a reader misses it because the story is SO much better if you understand them.

That being said, I’m here to reflect. After all, it’s what an “Afterword” is for.

I’ve never written a fanfic before but I am a fantasy writer. I decided to use this piece to explore romance, smut, and to fantasize about Alastor because how can you not? Vivienne inadvertently dropped us a hottie who has taken the fandom by storm!

I started this piece off as an “eventual smut” piece. Trying to practice my writing in a way the great Alastor Fictive writers on here would be proud to read: @minkdelovely , @hazelfoureyes , @hurthermore , @krahk , @fraugwinska , @macabr3-barbi3 (seriously go read their stuff, it’s AMAZING). Yet, around Chapter 14 (I call it the “Golden Chapter” in my head because I consider it to be the climax of not only the fanfic but of my writing as a whole. I’m quite proud of that chapter and honestly spent a long time debating ending the story there, but so many things were still unfinished) I found that I didn’t particularly have a talent for writing smut, nor did I enjoy it in the same way I enjoy writing fantasy.

This entire project was a discovery and a challenge for myself, and I grew A LOT as a writer.

Looking back, if I had to do this again, I would change quite a bit after Chapter 14. Maybe I will in the future, but as of right now, I have school and another manuscript to complete.

That being said, I have fallen in love with Mikaela and plan on using her in the future for my own book. (I will obviously not use any of Vivienne’s stuff because copyright laws exist, but I just love the character’s personality.)

I’m not planning on writing more on Tumblr anytime soon, but the series will stay up for future readers to find and enjoy.

My only goal with this was to reach a few people and have one person - just one - say they liked my writing. :)

Thank you, Hoteliers. Without you, this project wouldn’t have happened.

To power, chaos, and love!

As always, stay smutty <3

kaylopolis

Btw looking for feedback, feel free to send me a message!

-> Link to Masterlist

Tagged Hoteliers:

@sirens-and-moonflowers @wonderlandangelsposts @saccharine-nectarine @goyablogsstuff @mommymilkers0526 @eris-norwega @missgirlsstuff @alastor-the-radio-demons-blog @sillywormtrixareforkids @its-a-dam-blue-brick @cloverresin20 @blue-bird251 @speedycoffeedelight @littlebluefishtail @sawi1987 @mopeyghost @beelz3bub @fraugwinska @minamilinaqueen @demoarah @diffidentphantom @divineknightmare @animecrazy76 @sleepykittycx @graunta @reath-solia @satansdaughter123 @mysticatto @freshonyourpages @chibistar45 @rapunzelbro @stephydearestxo

[moonwaterart]

I’m writing a book and ngl, it’s so hard to find good writing inspo for published slowburn romance when the majority of romance books are all about getting to the sex as fast as possible. Especially when it comes to queer romance novels. Don’t even get me started on the tacky writing.

Like yes, I get you need some cheese with your romance, but can we PLEASE bring back the romance novels that told a story and where the romance was a subplot?

Anyway if anyone can point me towards some good modern slowburn romance, especially in the LGBTQIA+ category, I’d very much appreciate it. Bonus points for enemies/rivals to lovers.

[anotherttpfanaccount]

an MLB AU i put way too much time and thought into

.

here are some changes i've already made:

there are only 8 miraculous

the roles will be altered from the canon

the relationships will be altered from the canon

all ages are the same ( 18 and up ), so the setting is college

for right now, i have no images, but expect the costumes to look different, as i hate most of them

disclaimer - i don't watch or support the show, i am merely a viewer from afar ( aka via fandom ) and i like the base concepts, so i decided to give in and indulge myself.

.

Characters . . .

Marinette - Amir ( Sir Ruby ) Adrien - Rupert ( Vesper ) Chloe - Cecily ( Lady Wasp ) Alya - Joan ( Vixenary ) Nino - Percy ( Terraperc, but Rupert said that was a terrible idea, so now it's just Terrapin ) Luka - Darling ( King Serpentine ) Natalie - Chamberlain ( Mr. Plume ) Gabriel - Lavinia ( Queen Admiral )

rest are various other side characters that will serve the main plot and subplots, rather than me making up a bunch of bullshit on the fly.

-

Key Relationships . . .

Amir .

Rupert - strangers to friends to lovers Cecily - one-sided awkwardness to friends to 'lovers' Joan - childhood best friends Percy - cordial acquaintances to... sorta friends? Darling - absolutely hate each other Chamberlain - polite strangers to... Lavinia - polite, but on edge strangers

-

Rupert .

Amir - strangers to friends to lovers Cecily - friends to best friends Joan - respectful acquaintances to friends Percy - no one knows why they're friends Darling - awkward exes ( like, bad awkward ) Chamberlain - father // son-like dynamic Lavinia - cordial at best

-

Cecily .

Amir - 'we're so friends!' to actual friends to 'lovers' Rupert - early teenhood friends to best friends Joan - unknown to friends to lovers, somehow ( it was Cecily ) Percy - chaotic friends Darling - 'you're on thin ice, mister' Chamberlain - they think the other is funny Lavinia - only met her a few times, very tense

-

Joan .

Amir - childhood best friends Rupert - respectful acquaintaces to friends Cecily - unknown to friends to lovers, somehow ( Joan has no idea ) Percy - that one meme of A having B on a leash Darling - they haven't met ( yet ) Chamberlain - respectful and agreeable ( they talk about work ) Lavinia - Joan kinda sorta idolizes her just a little bit ( she has no idea what Lavinia is doing )

-

Percy .

Amir - "rivals" to tense acquaintances Rupert - not even he knows how they're friends, he just rolls with it Cecily - chaotic friends Joan - 'tense' friends Darling - thinks he's pretty, but doesn't know him that well Chamberlain - friendly-ish acquaintances Lavinia - has only seen her once, and it was on a bad day

-

Darling .

Amir - they hate each other Rupert - awkward exes ( Darling keeps trying ) Cecily - keeps getting vaguely threatened by her Joan - they haven't met, but only doesn't like her because of her relation to Amir ( yes, he's that petty ) Percy - thinks he's cute, but doesn't him that well either ( way too focused on Rupert ) Chamberlain - used to be friendly, but now also gets vaguely threatened by him Lavinia - hardly cared for his existence, even after the breakup

-

Chamberlain .

Amir - polite strangers to... Rupert - father // son-like dynamic Cecily - thinks she's hilarious Joan - respectful and agreeable, almost colleagues Percy - is only nice to him because of Rupert Darling - displeased at best Lavinia - haven't gotten along on personal levels in years

-

Lavinia .

Amir - judgmental, but won't say it ( Rupert knows ) Rupert - loves him very much, wishes he'd understand Cecily - doesn't see her enough to care a whole lot Joan - likes that she feeds her ego Percy - got on her nerves once, hasn't seen him since Darling - does not give a fuck Chamberlain - frustratingly opinionated ( the irony )

.

Extras . . .

Amir and Darling already did not like each other, due to wicked bad vibes, but after Amir is noticeably developing feelings for Rupert, Darling becomes a bitch.

as a society, we simply don't know if Percy and Darling will get together. not even i know. only time will tell.

there are Miraculous swaps, but only if necessary and // or akumatized with that miraculous ( for ex, there's a thing where Darling gets akumatized with the fox miraculous ).

Joan isn't necessarily like Alya in terms of personality, but she is very interested in documentation of abnormal // supernatural events, reporting, etc., and does become a fan of Sir Ruby and Vesper.

the Kwamis are the animals within the podcast or based off other characters ( Rupert's kwami is a cat-version of Fitzroy, Amir's is a ladybug-version of Porridge, etc. ), and it's unknown if the Kwamis can actually choose their holders or not.

there are not many side villains. to be honest.

Rupert isn't very flirty as Vesper at all, that's more in line with Darling // King Serpentine. similar thing with Amir, he's not nearly as awkward ( or creepy ) as Marinette.

.

this AU is very focused on the relationships of the characters rather than the superhero-y stuff, but i do dabble in that every now and then in my train of thoughts.

feel free to ask me any questions.

[physalian]

9 Years Yearning: A Gay Fantasy Romance | Review

By @topazadine!

This was such a fun departure from my usual reads. A fantasy story with a war backdrop and child soldiers sets you up for an action-heavy drama with a romantic subplot, but so much of the details surrounding the greater conflict at large are the background. What’s left is a series of insights across nine years of a relationship and for what I thought would be a standard enemies/rivals to lovers ended up being so much more.

If you’re a fan of high fantasy, 9 Years Yearning drops you into the world immediately, serving up a steady stream of little immersive details and fantastical terms without heavy exposition dumps, letting the reader marinate and draw their own conclusions without everything being spelled out for them.

The character descriptions and names are fun, too, if not intentionally inspired by anime. It’s so distinct from the usual western-based British fantasy with standard features for the human characters. For example, the hair colors of the main duo fit the classic “blond/brunet” dichotomy, except it’s the inverse of green and red, which I thought was a nice touch paying homage to a very old trope without making anything too foreign to alienate readers who might have not read too much fantasy before this. While the names are just a touch outside something easily pronounceable, I leaned completely into it to embrace something unique and not “Americanized”.

As a writer and reader who adores fast pacing, the framing style of this already short story cuts out a lot of the fat that might be spent on superfluous fluff and redundant introspection, skipping ahead one year at a time per chapter and picking, what I think, are solid moments from their lives to focus on without leaving readers feeling like there’s a crucial deleted scene somewhere. The framing also means that the plot doesn’t rely on “if” something will happen but “how” without wasting time trying to fool the audience, which was fantastic to experience.

The main duo themselves, particularly early on, reminded me of Mike and Sully in Monsters University—which was such a cute movie! Their dynamic of the “shorter non-gifted student who has to work extremely hard to gain clout and recognition and who wants very badly to graduate with acclaim and the job of his dreams” vs “taller gifted entitled student who can succeed effortlessly and is all the teacher’s favorite and the ‘cool’ one everyone else looks up to and aspires to be, but also has his own demons to fight when having the world handed to you on a silver platter isn’t quite the blessing it looks like.” But, you know, gayer.

Despite having such fast pacing, little character nuances and behavioral ticks are packed in to make them feel like real people and not cardboard cutouts. It still flies by without feeling rushed, deliberate but not pedantic.

Nor is that to say that while the action is in the background, it’s not at all lacking. The variety of action scenes, from fistfights to bigger engagements, all perfectly stay their welcome if action isn’t your genre, and are vivid enough to hold your attention and not get lost if fantasy wartime is your bread and butter.

The poetry, too, the perfect amount and complexity that fits right in with the rest of the narrative. When I read that the sister would be a poet, I fully expected the prose to dance around the inclusion of any actual poems, but there’s a couple and they do feel like they were written by different people for different audiences and they were great, and not just there to be there. The whole concept of poetry is woven into the very lore of the world.

Uileac himself is not without flaws, and while they sure are frustrating, they’re realistic as he goes through his teenage years, fraught with teenage drama, making teenage mistakes. The story doesn’t waste pages on forced miscommunication or manufactured drama—the drama is realistic and makes sense when it takes place and is fitting for their characters.

—

I read the whole thing in just a couple hours. It’s a short, sweet read about two queers spending nine years pining, both assuming their feelings are unrequited, in a fantastical setting that gladly lets them have a happy ending presented to you in the very first chapter.

[mermaidsirennikita]

how come there’s not that many academic rivals to lovers romances? whether subplot or main tbh… i feel like there are some (that i think arent good at all) but there’s no academic/studying/learning/important knowledge part… or it doesn’t even take place at high school/college

I think part of this, honestly, is that it's hard to write those settings without it coming off a) very Harry Potter-esque/magical school, or b) very YA (which kinda links into point a, but you get me).

Now, I say all of this as someone who isn't PARTICULARLY into academic rivals myself, and I'll tell you why as this may offer some insight.

I am very academic, mentally. I got into romance novels and I took it apart like a study, even as I enjoyed them. Sometimes? I think I do it way too much. But it's genuinely my personality and I have to snap myself out of it and force myself to not think of everything as a project, a paper, etc. I don't really want to read about that, and I don't really want to write about it, because it's in my head all the time anyway.

I suspect that some writers may have that same issue. And those that don't may just not feel like it's their thing.

I personally like Ali Hazelwood's books, even though they don't lean very hard into the rivalry all the time, because I can tell when she's writing about STEM things that she knows what she's talking about, at least on a broader level. Not everything is her niche, but I believe she's a neuroscientist. But they're also quite light, which probably isn't what everyone is looking for.

[tm-trx]

currents.04 [2025]

selections from my week in media [19-25 january 2025]

[ listening ]

[ reading ]

Fall For Him by Andie Burke {5 stars} - This book was the highlight of my week. It made me cry and it made me laugh out loud. I would LOVE to see a movie adaption.

[ watching ]

Lee Mujin Service ep 149 feat. Onew of SHINee - What can I say about his voice that hasn't already been said by much more eloquent people than me? Nothing. His voice is a dream. Listen on headphones, especially 14:54 for an excerpt of Nessun Dorma in acapella.

And the full 2010 performance he talks about in the interview:

The Boy Next World, ep 3 - I really really hope this is going where I think it's going. Namely, that the male lead we started with is not the male lead we're going to end with. It'd be amazing if parallel!Cir ends up being the bad guy because he refuses to go back to his own world where his lover is (presumably) dead. The more I think about it, the darker it gets. And I think Boss could easily pull it off, so I hope that I'm at least partially right.

Perfect 10 Liners, ep 13 - If any episode of this show was going to get me to write meta, it'd be this one.

The Rise of Ning {finished: 3.5 stars} - I've been trying to find a way to describe this style of drama without being mean, because I like them, but not much happens and they aren't super dramatic, plot-wise. The emotional tone is almost a flat line, with very few highs and lows, so the episodes run into each other one after the other, and then it's over before you realize. Easy listening, but for dramas?

The two leads in The Rise of Ning have great chemistry together and they were very cute. (I'm deeply enamored with Zhang Wanyi's voice now and will be checking to see what else he's been in. Also, his pouty face rivals Cha Joo-wan's from Love For Love's Sake.) But I wish the big 'not siblings' reveal had either happened earlier or there was a time jump+Luo Shenyuan goes off to war or something to force them to build a new relationship dynamic. My other issue was they didn't fully explain what the heck went on between Wei Yining and Lu Jiaxue in the past. They dropped the ball with that subplot and it was an important one that drove half the conflict of the show. It felt pieced together on the fly just to add emotional stakes at key moments.

When the Stars Gossip, ep 5-7 - This is turning out to be plot twisty on the level of The Vampire Diaries. And I say that with love.

previous Currents posts

.

[amethyst-geek]

Just thinking about how if Heather and Alejandro wee to have kids (for argument's sake, let's call the kids Eric and Selena), the kids would probably have a hard time making friends because of their parents' reputations. Even if Heather and Alejandro were to keep their kids in the dark about Total Drama, I can see some of the parents of their kids' classmates recognizing them and discouraging their own kids from befriending Eric and Selena, leading to the twins having a hard time growing up. Then when the twins finally learn about their parents' actions on Total Drama in a very public and humilating matter, like a classmate, perhaps a romantic rival, dedicating making an entire presentation revealing it, this leads to Eric and Selena being shunned by the few friends they were able to make and they become even more obstrized then they already were. Eric and Selena respond to this in different ways. Eric basically becomes a shut-in while Selena takes the "Then Let me be evil" route, becoming as ruthless as her parents, if not more so.

Then when Chris decides invite the various TD offspring within a certain age range (like 14-17) to compete a next gen season of Total Drama, Selena (who along with Eric is about 17 at this point) is more than happy sign up and she convinces Eric to sign up as well in an attempt to get him out of his shell.

I would want to give both of them romantic subplots. As mentioned in a previous post, I hc Selena hooking up with Mimi (the daughter of Tyler and Lindsay) while Eric hooks up with Jodi (the daughter of Geoff and Bridgette), and I think these romantic subplots woudl be crucial to the character development of the twins. As the daughter of Tyler and Lindsay, I imagine Mimi would often be assumed to dumb and/or unathletic, leading to people to underestimate her (which proves to be a mistake is Mimi is both smart and and a top athlete, and part of her motivation for signing up for Total Drama Next Generation was prove this to the world). So I can see her bonding with Selena over living in the shadow of their parents' reputations (though they might be on separate teams, so this may be an enemies-to-lovers thing).

Meanwhile, Jodi (fearing that Eric might try to do something similar to what Alejandro did to Bridgette) decides to flirt with Eric in an attempt to keep an eye on him and to keep him from flirting with the other contestants. However once he gets to know him (and he also helps her problems as well), she starts to fall for him as well. Not only that, but she (along with other other friendly contestants, like Mike and Zoey's daughter Shirley and whoever Ella's kid is) also help Eric come out of his shell.

Oh and by the way, I imagine Eric starting out the game as wearing a dishelved look like a hoodie and also dying his hair in an attempt to make the resemblance between him and Alejandro (though he still has pretty much the same build as seen when he's wearing a swimsuit) and over the course the season, he starts wearing more flattering clothing to reflect his coming out of his shell. He also wears glasses, which he'll continue wearing even after he comes out of his shell.

Edit: by the way, I picture Alejandro and Heather moving to London, England sometime after All-Stars, so I picture their kids having British accents.

[illogicallyx]

Have you watched pride and prejudice? I was like thinking imagine a scene from it with Mr darcy (don’t come at me I hel the enemies to lovers brain rot I’m having rn-if I dint find me an academic hot rival I will jump)

Haan so a scene where it’s just like some fluff and reader says smn smn about darcy not calling her “my dear” cuz that’s what her dad calls her mom when he’s mad at her—so she gives him suggestions onto what to call him and when

So he’s says like what should I call you when he’s cross with the suggestion of “Mrs darcy” and she says that he must onky do that when he’s like idk very very happy and then he like leans and he’s like “how are you this evening Mrs darcy?” AND THEN FOREHEAD KISS AKHDKWJAKHSM (yes sorry for explaining the whole scene especially if you have watched it already💀)

So yes like imagine this with Nanami <3

i have read the book instead of the watching the movie (idk how i managed that feat ok dont even ASK me) bc our school had a huge library and there were loads of jane austen books. i love hearing her stories not reading them bc classics are very hard to read for me.

BUT YES YES OMG THIS WITH NANAMIIIIIIIII and also idk i feel megumi and choso would suit this too.

also if you LOVE enemies to lovers. you should deffo read "divine rivals" aldoe in my opinion the enemies part doesnt enemy as much as it does in other books but its still a good read regardless so heyy book rec!!! ALSO the poppy war too - although theres not much romance in that series sooooo do not go into it expecting romance its not even a subplot its just....breadcrumbs but even those breadcrumbs are WEW (she bashes his head in the ground repeatedly until she's forcfully pulled away from him ;))

also these are recs i just gave u uncalled for are series so if u or whoever reads this - just know these are series and PLEASE check the tws for the poppy war series!!

sorry romee hehehehe i cannot stop talking once enemies to lovers is mentioned <33

[tinygumdrops]

what r ur fav tropes!!

Hi there, anon! Omg I had to Google for trope bingos for this ask, but unfortunately after 20 minutes of searching it seems that trope bingos don't have the specific ones I'd love to talk about T-T Anyway, I absolutely love:

Found family or families of choice - I don't really give much importance with blood relations, in stories at least. A character with absentee parents isn't as tragic to me as them not belonging in a loving, supportive group of comrades (for life! ;-;). Honestly, stories where the parents/relatives are dead or fucked off to god knows where and the MC goes on a life-changing adventure with their precious gang? Yup, definitely my jam!

The [Insert Greek/Roman Myth here] trope - One of my favorite books to reread constantly is Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Spotting mythology references in contemporary fiction makes me giggle and geek out aloud. Really takes me back

Super long adventure journeys with subplots that connect to the main theme

Depressing af story, super happy ending

Sentient animals and plants ;-; Plus points if they can talk!

New kid comes to town, unravels the old system and creates progress

Characters that are emotionally intelligent, cheerful and kind despite their grim, twisted past. Sometimes their suppressed emotions will rear its ugly head, but reality is reality and they keep their heads afloat and move tf on.

But I also love characters that are as fake as a two-dollar bill and keep us guessing! And morally grey MCs (that are written very well ofc)

Battle Duos or Trios where they're equally as powerful but not in the same category? I'd love it even more if their abilities are complementary

I'm more of a friends to lovers >>> enemies/rivals to lovers kind of gal, but they both gotta be slow burn romances for me to even consider the romance plot/subplot.

Battle Royale stories/arcs like in HxH and Hunger Games ;-;

Thank you so much for this ask! I had a blast answering this! :D

[tokumusume]

First impressions: “The Longest Promise”

I would be lying if I said I’m watching for the plot because I’m totally here for Xiao Zhan.

Spoilers for episodes 1-3.

Christ on bike, it’s been only five minutes, I know, but I have no idea of what’s happening here. Like, why is this girl wearing full bangs in one scene and a middle part immediately after, then back to full bangs? Do you know how hard is to make full bangs look good after you part your hair? Those things are stubborn.

(Also, fakest hairpiece in the history of cdrama 👇)

Ren Min has a very unique face but this hair does her no favors, she looks a thousand times better with the middle part.

An eternity eight minutes into the episode we finally see Xiao Zhan’s beautiful face, aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh (me and mom fangirled so hard).

Sorry, I see no chemistry between them, I don’t buy them as lovers, only friends. I hope I’m made wrong later.

We are treated to an episode long flashback to Xiao Zhan Shi Ying’s childhood where he meets Ren Min Zhu Yan, but she doesn’t know he’s the prince, palace drama ensues, he’s accused of murdering his father’s concubine (mind it: he’s a child here). His mother creates a copy of him, sends him away with some guy and sets herself and the copy on fire. He’s presumed dead (his mother somehow survived this??)

Zhu Yan is mourning Shi Ying when this fella gives her a rose that’s clearly not a rose. I thought he looked familiar, then I thought he looked like the snake guy from Ashes of Love. Turns out Fang Yilun was in cpop/kpop boygroup M4M with Yu Bin aka Wen Ning. Listen to Sadness btw, it’s really good, very BEAST (both were in Cube).

(PS: Netflix subs are wrong, his name is Zhi Yuan)

Makeup on point.

I love him already.

The little kid playing young Shi Ying, Jian Yuxi, is killing it. A face to watch for.

The plot here is very complicated but apparently Shi Ying will be sent to cultivate in the mountains and he can’t see women because his destiny says he’ll be killed by a girl (idk if it’s specified it’s Zhu Yan or any girl will do) so he must kill her on sight, how romantic.

Five years later Shi Ying is now Xiao Zhan and is somehow still underage. Now, Xiao Zhan does look younger than 32 but he can’t play 17. Anyway, he’s gorgeous and I’m drooling.

I really want to like Chong Ming because he’s cute and reminds of that guy from Ashes of Love (again) but he’s oh so insufferable. I’m against animal cruelty but I want to kick this bird.

Xiao Zhan finally smiles, I love him so much.

Bad CGI bird (it’s Chong Ming btw) but I’ll forgive it because it’s cute and reminds me of my cat Yuki.

Subplot about sister drama and magical dancing competitions, who cares. Wang Churan, who plays the bitchy sister, was in Guo Jingming’s Painted Skin, 100% recommend this short film. Nice sister is better at dancing than bitchy sister so bitchy sister throws her special dress down a forbidden valley and of course Zhu Yan will retrieve the dress.

She meets Shi Ying down there but he can’t speak to her because of his celibacy vow prophecy. He recognizes her as the girl he met in childhood. Chong Ming shows up and is all like “omg a girl kill her now!!” Shi Ying bends his fingers and prepares to kill Zhu Yan when bad guys with Wolverine claws arrive and tries to kill both of them, lol. A fight ensues, Shi Ying breaks his vow and hides Zhu Yan inside his magical head space (???) when his master arrives. She touches an illusion of him inappropriately. Fuck, I’m jealous.

Back in their shared house, Shi Ying tells Chong Ming that he has no time for pussy, all he wants is to rescue his mother and avenge her.

Bitchy sister also went down the valley to search for something but Chong Ming stops her. She happens to be Shi Ying’s cousin and he asks about his mother. The news are not good. Shi Ying decides to help his mother immediately only to learn she just killed herself. Xiao Zhan gives a performance to rival Nightless City.

I forgot to say earlier but Xiao Zhan’s voice is markedly different from CQL. I don’t know if he’s using his real voice here or if it’s a different voice actor but it’s jarring, to the point where I can’t concentrate during his scenes. I watched CQL five times, Wei Wuxian’s voice is burned into my brain.

Shi Ying’s master is a master of psychological torture. He brings Shi Ying to listen to some officials disrespect his mother in order to strengthen him???? Btw, I thought this guy

and Shi Ying’s father

were the same person until now, lol.

This scene was probably done using this chemistry trick (trigger warning: fake blood, fake cutting) as you can see his hand is wet before.

Finally we see the return of the evil black smoke as Shi Ying screams that the world doesn’t deserve saving (I agree with him on that) and looks gorgeous.

I hope this is a sign that Shi Ying will go bad and mad and sexy in his quest to avenge his mother.

[mariejordans]

Do you have any TV show recs with really good romances?

oh boy, do i! one thing about me? i’m gonna watch a show for the romance subplot. but also this is such a broad topic, i’ll try to narrow it down into two categories: show recs with romance as a main plot, or at least a good majority of the plot, and show recs with romantic subplots that aren’t the main focus! so without further ado…

starting with the former:

bridgerton. i know there’s a lot of mixed feelings about this show, a lot of them are definitely valid, and while the first season romance is kinda meh (and questionable), the second season makes up for it completely imo. i was obsessed with kanthony for a good few months after s2 came out, just because the chemistry between the actors was just so potent and explosive. it’s a true enemies to lovers trope if i’ve ever seen one and it’s just so well done imo

one tree hill. early 00s cheesy teen dramas are kind of my kryptonite and oth is probably the king teen drama of all imo. i wouldn’t say the romance is the main plot of most of the show (and not a lot of the romance is great 😭), but it is a major plot point of a lot of the seasons. i’m recommending this for one reason and one reason only: nathan and haley. it’s a classic popular guy x nerd girl and they get together after she starts tutoring him in secret and i just love what their relationship turned out to be. haley is a badass and i Love her and naley basically raised me, so that’s why it’s here :)

doom at your service. honestly, i could recommend quite a few kdramas, bc a lot of them do have what i consider “true” romantic main plots, but i thought i would narrow it down to one. it’s about this young woman who has an extremely shitty day and wishes on a shooting star for the world to end, not knowing that the spirit of Doom himself is actually listening. idk how else to describe this show honestly, the main couple between the young woman and Doom is just soooo so so so good, it’s so sweet and very romantic, i just really can’t recommend it enough.

as i was starting this list, i realized i didn’t have very many true romance shows so let’s move onto the next category, which are the romantic subplots 😭

marvel’s runaways. i think i would maybe recommend this show before everything else just because it has a lot of similarities to gen v and the romantic subplots are *chef’s kiss*. i LOVED karolina and nico, one of my favorite wlw ships, and i also really loved gert and chase as well. it did, unfortunately, get cancelled pretty early but still well worth the watch imo.

agents of shield. another marvel show, honestly one of their most underrated shows. i’ve never really been super interested in the mcu, but i loved some of the older, adjacent tv shows (aos, runaways, CLOAK & DAGGER.) my favorite romantic subplot in this show is fitzsimmons, one of my FAVORITE friends to lovers ships, i think the way they were developed was so perfect, had just the right amount of pining, angst, and slowburn. i also love mackelena and may and coulson!

the wilds. okay, so i have a complicated relationship with this tv show, but just know that s1 is AMAZING. shelby and toni are another one of my fave wlw ships and don’t even get me started on leah and fatin…they weren’t a crackship, it was real to ME. i don’t wanna talk about s2, but s1 is definitely worth the watch.

anne with an e. gilbert and anne. that’s all i have to say. if you liked the rivals to lovers aspect in limoreau, you’ll love shirbert. also, it’s just a very cozy and comforting watch.

the good place. this show had me fucked up but in a good way. the romance between eleanor and chidi isn’t the main focus, but i think it adds so much to the characters development and to the plot of the show. even the crackships are good, tahani and eleanor had great chemistry, and jason and janet were just hilarious.

alchemy of souls. another kdrama and i want to preface this by saying kdramas, especially costume dramas like this one, can be super hard to get into. they’re very long (episodes can go up to an hour and a half) and often veeeery slow, but it’s TOTALLY worth it in my opinion because this show has one of my favorite romances EVER. that first season ending? oh it’s so good. i binged this in like a week and i couldn’t watch anything for a while after because i couldn’t stop thinking about it.

mozart in the jungle. probably the most obscure show on this list, and FARRRR under appreciated. as a classical musician who is currently studying music in university, this show was right up my alley when it came out. the romance between hailey and rodrigo is slow and a bit subtle at first but they were such a fun and dysfunctional duo that somehow fit together perfectly. they just got each other perfectly, imo. the ending left me heartbroken a bit, but i’ve since come to realize it was the best possible ending they could’ve given us and i’ve made peace.

ALRIGHT THAT’S IT THAT’S THE LIST (pt. 3)

i had fun making this! anon, i hope you find that one of these shows works for you and also that you still think i have great taste after 😭

[reni-reads]

Reni Reviews

Love Points to You by Alice Lin

Finished: 27th May, 2025

Genre: Romance, Romcom

May be for you if you like: Otome games, art, rivals to lovers, music, bi4bi romance, ace rep, family subplots

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Lynda Fan has the skills and the drive to get into the Rhode Island School of Design—but not the money. Her parents are too busy paying off her stepsister's violin lessons to help Lynda get into art school. So when her rich and arrogant classmate, Angela Wu, offers to hire Lynda as a character designer for an otome game—a love story-based video game—she jumps at the opportunity.

Lynda isn’t exactly a romantic, but in pursuit of her dreams, she discovers things she never knew about herself while also finding love with every heart she draws.

Review

This is one of the cutest romance novels I've read in a long time!

The premise had me hooked from the start, and I got even more than I expected! The story focuses a lot on art as a general topic - current art "culture" with online presence and fame, pressure to get into a good school, rivalry, the different options you have with art, and so on. It was great! While I'm myself am no artist, I do have my favorite artists, as well as several friends with an art background, so this angle was super interesting to me. The best thing was the focus on otome games though - even though the protagonist herself isn't much into otome games, her best friend Bora, her sister Josie, and (obviously) Angela are, and the way they talk about it is soooo relatable to me, as I love otome games myself lol. Especially Angela had so many great quibs about otome games, and my personal favorite was: "I play as if I'm Cupid shooting my arrow." because YES that's what I love about any romantic media (such as this book)!

The otome game storyline is a bit delegated into a background story as Lynda's relationship with Angela becomes more relevant - her complicated family dynamic becomes increasingly important too. While I didn't mind it too much, as I was very interested in Lynda's family life, it did disappoint me a little bit. I would have liked more focus on the otome game aspect of it all, since it's the hook of the novel. Overall, the story is very sweet and enjoyable though, with good pacing and developments throughout!

The characters were all well-developed and feel very authentic. Everyone has their flaws, and everyone undergoes believable development!

Lynda, the protagonist, is very practical, determined - and judgemental of anyone who isn't as driven as her. Her resulting lack of empathy annoyed me on occasion but it made sense given her backstory - and she does change a bit! Angela is a great foil for her, because she (even though she's supposed to be an arrogant type-A person) is very reflective and aware of her own faults, while also being endearingly romantic.

The side characters are all great as well - Bora, Lyn's best friend, is a spunky and fun character who tells Lyn off when needed, but she also has her own hobbies, wants and interests and didn't only exist to be a best friend character. My favorite character was Lyn's stepsister Josie - a talented violinist who struggles to find her way amidst pressure and expectations.

There are some other characters (mainly family members) who add some more depth. Overall, the cast is really great with several highlights!

So yeah, I absolutely loved this book, and I think everyone who is into romance and slightly into art or otome games will greatly enjoy this!

Rating: 🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

Plot and Storylines: 🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

Characters and Relationships: 🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

Writing Style and Narration: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Setting and Worldbuilding: 🧁🧁🧁🧁

Entertainment: 🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

[inspiredbyhelena]

Book Review: I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang

Spoilers Ahead!

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang introduces us to Sadie, a character who initially comes across as a "mean girl"—cold, distant, and sharp in her inner monologue about the people around her. At first, she seems unlikable, critiquing others in a way that makes her seem judgmental and standoffish. However, as the story unfolds, we learn that Sadie’s behavior is more complex. Her struggles with people-pleasing and being guarded stem from deep family trauma, particularly after her father left, making her believe she was the one who tore the family apart.

Her rival, Julius, is the "golden boy" at school—charismatic, well-liked, and seemingly perfect. But as the story progresses, we realize he’s not necessarily better than Sadie; he’s simply more amiable, and this makes him more popular. While Sadie views him as someone she must constantly outshine, their rivalry is more based on her perception of him than any real competition.

The story really picks up halfway through when Sadie is forced into closer contact with Julius due to a school intervention after an accidental, scathing email she sent about the student body goes public. From this point, the book shifts from rivalry to a more nuanced exploration of their relationship. I never completely understood why Sadie harbored such intense dislike for Julius, other than her desire to one-up him. However, as they spend more time together, Sadie begins to see Julius as more than the "perfect" golden boy she had imagined, and their dynamic begins to evolve.

Personally, I think this is a good, casual read, but it’s not exactly a romance. There’s no real romantic development until the last chapter, where Sadie and Julius finally realize their feelings for each other, culminating in a kiss in a dark cabin room. But even this moment feels more like a slow-burn shift from rivals to maybe friends, to possibly something more. It’s a drawn-out process with little focus on the romance until the very end.

But to be fair, I did have high expectations going in, as I was told this was a rivals-to-lovers romance story, but it's not really that. The book leans much more heavily into Sadie’s personal journey—her internal struggles and her attempts to heal from her family dynamics—than it does into the romance. While the romance is certainly present in the last chapter, the story focuses more on Sadie’s growth, especially with the resolution of her misunderstanding about being the cause of her father’s departure and the tension with her mother and brother.

While I appreciated how the book addresses Sadie’s emotional healing, I couldn’t help but feel like the romantic aspect was underdeveloped. The book wraps up Sadie’s personal story, but leaves her relationship with Julius feeling a bit unresolved. We don’t get to see where they go from the kiss at the end—are they going to start a relationship? What happens after they realize their feelings for each other?

Overall, I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is a light, casual read that explores themes of personal growth and emotional healing. If you’re looking for a traditional rivals-to-lovers romance, though, this book might not be for you. The romance is more of a subplot, and while Sadie’s journey is satisfying, the relationship with Julius feels incomplete. But if you’re in the mood for a character-driven story about healing and overcoming family trauma, this book has a lot to offer.

[neteyamsilly]

HI ITS UR FAV ANON WITH A BLOODY EAR INFECTION 🫀!!! A LITTLE LATE TO THE PARTY BUT THATS CAUSE MY PHONE BROKE😍

ANYWAYS

I CRIED DURING CHAP 4 OH MY GOD the way Jake actually cares but gets such bad tunnel vision that he actually looses sight of what he's trying to protect:(

what if the conversation he has with reader at the tree of souls isn’t like any actual conversation??? but it’s like a barrage of memories and visions, possible futures and dreamlike visuals that portray both people’s feelings.

like obviously there would be a conversation but like when Kiri went to see grace, their location and physical state changed, so what if since jake and reader are both very emotional but also emotionally constipated they can’t get everything out through actual words?

when reader finds out Ikran (my vote is for the name is yom’tsyeyk cause it means “eat jake” 🙏) can’t fly anymore :(( maybe the ikran can just get really good at running… OR PULL A HTTYD ‼️ either way you go the metaphorical and emotional meaning behind it can do a LOTTTT. i just love the way you write, it’s so GOOD

like the way you describe emotions, actions, thought processes??? i’m currently writing my own fic and i aspire to be you fr

The anger Neytiri felt and how she lashed out at jake, THE ADOPTION CEREMONY THING??? i love the way ur brain works, are the kids mad at jake too?? like they’d probably never show it cause of how intense it gets when reader does but i can’t imagine the anger the kids might feel, wether it be directed more at Jake or reader or if it’s just anger at the situation and their relationship, id actually cry if we got some sibling angst up in there.

as someone who watched many conflicts between their sibling and authority figures, there’s always that kind of habit unconditional siding with the sibling even if they might be wrong. The sibs are definitely gonna be traumatized by this but how are they gonna respond and how will that manifest? isolation? attachment? anger? Would Kiri stay the pacifist or would she try and become some kind of protector or shield for reader? each kid would def have their own response and opinions and what if they clash?

Bro imagine the tension if the kids’ emotions manifest negatively like that :( would reader feel responsible?? WILL THIS BE THE REASON THEY MOVE TO THE REEF??? (assuming we’re going in that direction) THE DRAMMAAAA

tbh it could have a tiny little romance subplot 🤭

(SAPPHIC READER???? TSIREYA😍😍 Rotxo being sweet and balancing reader out??? rivals to lovers ao’nung with a not really secret soft side??? the possibilities are endless)

IM GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF AND RAMBLING SO MUCH😭😭 anyways, that’s just my thoughts and theories abt how this could go, im sooooo excited for the next chapter and where you go with thisssss :)))))))

-🫀

EAR INFECTION ANON, WELCOME BACK AHAHAHSJDSJKD AND ITS OK, UR HERE ANYWAYS!!! WOULD NEVER FAULT YOU FOR ANYTHING!

OUF so. from movie-canon its like a blend of the souls living in their best memories, neteyam wasn't aware he died but the moment jake didnt follow the memory his soul knew something was wrong, but jake put things back in order again. grace, however, knew she was dead - and we saw how the sceneries could change. im planning to take FULL ADVANTAGE of what we've been given AHAHAHAH

about jake and sister!reader's conversation though, HHHHHHHH its hard to have a heart-to-heart, but im sure you'll like what ends up happening since it's hurting me to write it BDBSBD

ALSO "EAT JAKE" IM HEJHKJSKDS AHSDHBSDBD BAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPECTATIONS I HOPE I CAN MEET THEM BDBSDSBD

About the siblings-parent conflict... I haven't written much of it because I don't think it's in character for either of them to be angry at Jake for it, they never are for Jake's actions even in TWOW. Lo'ak's generally frustrated and Neteyam gives the slightest bits of attitude, and Kiri is moody. They are too young for the kind of anger you're talking about, in my opinion. Sully family also is one of the healthier families in media. But there are tidbits of it in the new chapter, but it doesn't really go anywhere because Jake isn't his old self where wouldn't listen any of it. He takes full blame of it, and sort of reconnects with Neteyam and Lo'ak through it because Neteyam full on blames himself and Lo'ak is flabbergasted as to why Jake isn't affected. Jake listens to Neytiri's advice on transparence here. I'm going for sort of a healing-route! Though of course they'll be traumatized in their own way.

And this IS heading to the awa'atlu plot! I'm just making it more solid.

Also I've NEVER considered what kind of romance plot there would be, but sister!reader to me is kind of fruity LMAO She has a mix of Korra, Ellie and Vi vibes in my head. Like, girl-preferring with stupid attraction to men she gags at. Idk if I'll ever write it though BSHDBSS The general outline in my head is that she sees tsireya as a goddess and aonung as a pest she'd like to step on. rotxo is nice though she rocks with rotxo

ALSO!! ITS ALRIGHT ILY <3333 Have an amazing day!

[veneritia]

9 serial comics/manga that live in my head rent-free

Thank you @yvesdot for tagging me!!!

With the exception of one, all of these are manga/manhua that I've greatly enjoyed and have read more than once (yes, even the unfinished ones).

From the top left corner going across, we have Akatsuki no Yona, Lout of the Count's family, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Full Moon wo Sagashite, Who Made Me a Princess One Day, SPY x FAMILY, Fiancee's Observation Log of a Self-Proclaimed Villainess, My Dress-Up Darling, and Abandoned Empress. And because I'm extra, below the cut I'm gonna give a (very bad) explanation as to why I love them.

Tagging: honestly anyone who wants to have a go!

Akatsuki no Yona

Yona's character development is just *chef kiss* Seeing her grow not only as a person but as a princess, while on the run, is honestly so gratifying. The majority of characters are quite complex, with different goals, motivations, backstory, that all end up playing into each other. And despite the fantasy elements of four of the main characters having the powers of legendary dragons, very little of the story actually has to do with fantasy/magic. A lot of it is Yona learning what her kingdom is truly like, the people living in it, and how she could help make their lives better.

Lout of the Count's Family

Cale Henituse is so aroace. I love him. This man is literally manipulating the events of the world and gathering up as much power as possible just so he could avoid getting punched in the face. I honestly just love how little to no romance this story has. It warms my heart.

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

Mix Jeanne d'Arc, Kaito Kid, and heavy artistic licenses on Christianity and history, and you get this story. It's a fun magical girl manga starring a highly competent main character and an entire rivals-to-lovers subplot. That and it's written/drawn by Arina Tanemura whose works were basically my gateway into shoujo manga.

Full Moon wo Sagashite

Another work by Arina Tanemura! This one made me bawl my eyes out. It stars a young terminally ill girl who dreams of becoming a famous singer and finding her first love but only has one year left to live. She makes a deal with 2 death gods to fulfill her dreams in exchange for quietly coming with them once her year was up. It's heart-wrenching, it's beautiful, AND THE SONGS THEY INCLUDED IN THE ANIME ARE GOOD OK. Eternal Snow my beloved <3

Who Made Me a Princess

Just really, really beautiful art by Spoon and an amazing Father-Daughter story. Also every time Diana appears on screen I am swooning.

SPY x FAMILY

THE PINNACLE OF FOUND FAMILY COMEDY. You know how in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, they both had no idea that the other was an assassin? Take that plot and dial it to an entire family except for nobody (but the kid) knows and everybody is trying to figure out how to act like a Normal Family TM.

Fiancee's Observation Log of A Self-Proclaimed Villainess

An early subversion of the Villainess trope where the entire story is told from the Villainess' fiancee. It's fun, it's wholesome, Bertia is best girl. I've read this thing 3x and it never fails to make me laugh.

My Dress-Up Darling

A cosplay romance story! A girl who loves to cosplay enlists the help of a classmate who knows how to sew. I've learned so much about how much effort goes into cosplaying because of this manga, and wow I have so much more respect for cosplayers now. It features a very wholesome classmates-to-friends-to-lovers plot.

Abandoned Empress (derogatory)

But Maddie, you ask. Why put this on the list if you hate it? It's because Abandoned Empress is the equivalent of a squatter who WON'T LEAVE. I have very strong opinions on this manhua, and overall don't recommend it. It had a somewhat strong beginning but the ending absolutely ruined what goodwill I had for it. Don't recommend unless you want to be cursed with its presence.