#longform rec

[alive-gh0st]

ALL WORKS LISTED BELOW ARE WRITTEN BY ME

𓊈please don’t copy, translate, steal, or post without credit𓊉

@alive-gh0st

. ݁₊ ⊹. ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.���. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ .⊹ ₊ ݁. ⟡. ݁

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✰ ❝Afterglow❞ 𓊈Mark Grayson x Med!Reader𓊉

✰ ❝Hearts Don’t Miss❞ 𓊈Omni!Mark Grayson x Cupid!Reader𓊉

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✰ ❝Always You❞ 𓊈Mark Grayson x Childhood Friend!Reader𓊉

✰ ❝Corruption Complete❞ 𓊈Mark Grayson x Brainrot Girlfriend!Reader—feat. Oliver & Debbie Grayson𓊉

✰ ❝Marked❞ 𓊈Veil!Mark Grayson x Trouble!Reader𓊉

✰ ❝Lipstick Theory❞ 𓊈Eve x Reader x Amber𓊉

✰ ❝Nostos❞ 𓊈Odysseus!Mark Grayson x Penelope!Reader𓊉

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✰ ❝Too Far Gone❞ 𓊈Mark Grayson x Brainrot Girlfriend!Reader—Part 2 of ”Corruption Complete”𓊉

✰ ❝Epistrefó❞ ✍︎ 𓊈Odysseus!Mark Grayson x Penelope!Reader—Part II of ”Nostos”𓊉

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✎ᝰ section coming soon .ᐟ.ᐟ

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ᯓ★ anons, requests, fandom ramblings, or general unhinged thoughts? all are free to float in—just hit the “submit your sins” button and launch them into orbit… i’m always watching the stars!

[songofsaraneth]

re that last post about books if anyone has favorite weird and messy and dark but still beautiful and willing to actually explore/confront their premise books/short stories/etc you recommend. pls tell me your favorites (fantasy & sci fi especially!) bc. yeah. i love that shit so much. and it is harder and harder to find :(

i'll go first here's Silently And Very Fast which is a novella by Catherynne Valente (parts 2 & 3 linked at the bottom, all available online free through the publisher!)

[chemicalplants]

If Sonic The Hedgehog isn't a vision of the franchise's future nor a step forward from the franchise's past, then what exactly is it? Many say that it's a game that achieves nothing it sets out for, an unfinished demo that never should have been released, and perhaps never should have existed at all. Others view it as a tragic loss of clear potential as a strong successor, squandered by internal disorganization and poor corporate decision-making. Nonetheless, Sonic 2006 has entered a sort of mythical status in a culture that can't find the words to explain it, a conceptual black hole that almost seems to deflect description. But what’s important to understand is how these traits compose the identity and character of a game that is not only itself a failure, but is about failure, a world that is failing and the characters who fail in it. Sonic 2006 is a game where everyone loses, and where everyone leaves the story with their sense of purpose and their reason for existing fundamentally challenged. Sonic 2006 is both the most challenged and challenging Sonic game ever put to market, and it is one of the most misunderstood commercial videogames of the 2000s.

[mrcowboydeanwinchester]

hellers help i finished spirit of the west again yesterday and am desperate need of a new 70k+ fic. any recs?

[volkswagonblues]

a bibliography for us Daniel Malloy freaks

(a loosely pulled-together reading list about print journalism, New York, the 1970s & 80's, and the AIDS Crisis. Most of the credit goes to @islandbetweenrivers who started this)

On Daniel Molloy, California Boy

The show never explicitly states if Daniel went to college, but since college students were exempt from the Vietnam draft, which ended officially in 1973, it could be interesting to imagine Daniel in Berkeley.

Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion

The White Album by Joan Didion

Berkeley Barb archives (link) -- weekly underground newspaper that ran in Berkeley between '65 to '80

The Daily Cal First 150 Years (link) -- student newspaper at Berkeley

On Journalism

Iphigenia in Forest Hills by Janet Malcolm

From her reporter's seat, Malcolm observes that a trial is merely "a contest between competing narratives". (Guardian review)

The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm

“"Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible," wrote Malcolm in an opening sentence that caused a sensation in the tiny, self-referential world of posh American journalism.” (Guardian review)

The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice by Trisha Romano

“The Voice’s origins were proudly amateurish. One early contributor was a homeless man recruited from a local street; equipment consisted of two battered typewriters, an ink-splattering mimeograph machine and a waste paper basket for rejected submissions. Morale spiked when a staff member discovered that dried pods used in fancy flower arrangements contained opium, which was boiled up in the office when the time came for a coffee break.” (Guardian review)

Note: The Village Voice was THE alt-weekly newspaper and it was run out of Greenwich Village in NYC. Lots of incredible writers start there and then move onto the Times, Vanity Fair, etc. Very much the sort of crowd a young Daniel would be mixed in circa 70's and 80's.

The Night of the Gun, by David Carr

David Carr redefines memoir with the revelatory story of his years as an addict and chronicles his journey from crack-house regular to regular columnist for The New York Times. Built on sixty videotaped interviews, legal and medical records, and three years of reporting, The Night of the Gun is a ferocious tale that uses the tools of journalism to fact-check the past. (amazing rec from @archive-z)

Note: imagine if Daniel did this and then fact-checked his way into remembering that vampires existed

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe

Keefe can paint complicated portraits of victims and vigilantes alike while covering their lonely pursuit of justice. He intuits why a Dutch woman who has exposed the crimes of her gangster brother might lie about her present whereabouts. He understands why a man who lost his brother in an aeroplane bombing might spend the rest of his life trying to find the culprit. Again and again, Keefe surmises that even the most detailed of investigations can only speculate about human motives. (Guardian review)

Note: the sort of deeply human longform profiles that feels like the sort of writing Daniel does, based on his masterclass clip and what he reveals in his interactions with Louis

On New York, New York (in the 70s)

Notes from Underground, by Eric Bogosian + Perforated Heart, by Eric Bogosian

In four billion years the sun will explode. But before that we'll run out of fresh water and before that we'll all die of some mutation of AIDS that's spread by coughing. It's not my fault anyway. I can't think about this any more today. I'm going to masturbate.

Note: The OG. What else is there to say.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City by Jonathan Mahler

In the long sweep of American history, of course, 1977 is not exactly 1865, 1941, 1968 or 2001. Yet from porn shops to gay bathhouses, from Yankee Stadium to City Hall, from the blackout to Son of Sam, from Rupert Murdoch's New York Post to the rise of SoHo and Studio 54, the city was living through what Mahler convincingly calls "a transformative moment . . . a time of decay but of rehabilitation as well.” (New York Times review)

Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina, by Chris Franz (2020)

Frantz’s account of the early days, when the Heads lived in the pre-gentrified Lower East Side of New York, an almost literal war zone. While searching for a loft to live in, they viewed one building that was on fire. One spring afternoon, Frantz walked over to the now-legendary club CBGB to ask for a gig. The place smelt of “beer, roach spray, dog doo [the owner, Hilly Kristal, had a free-roaming saluki] and Chanel No 5”.

Winter’s Journal, by Paul Auster

Note: To me, Auster is one of the closest real-life Daniel Malloy analogues: born around 1950, literary career in NYC, moved to Paris in the 1970s for a few years, troubled middle-class background. Novelist though, not a journalist. There’s an anecdote in this book about a car crash that feels like a deadass Devil’s Minion fever dream. Crazy stuff. One of my personal favourites

On the AIDS Crisis

And the Band Played On, by Randy Shilts

The book chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with a special emphasis on government indifference and political infighting—specifically in the United States—to what was then perceived as a specifically gay disease

The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts, by Andrew E. Stoner

Biography of Randy Shilts that’s very helpful for imagining Daniel in the early 1980s newsrooms covering Karposi’s sarcoma

How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS by David France (2017)

It’s not easy to balance solid journalism with intimate understanding of a subject, and even harder to write eloquently about a disease that’s killing your friends and loved ones. France pulls it off, in his own words (his description of finding a college roommate’s panel in the AIDS Memorial Quilt is heartbreaking) and in letting his articulate sources speak for themselves. (SF Gate review)

Timeline of AIDS (link)

Overview of HIV (link)

And some films, just for fun

The Panic in Needle Park (1971): Drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg. Al Pacino is a heroin addict and small-time dealer in Manhattan who falls in love with another addict.

Serpico (1973): biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. Al Pacino is a hippie cop (yes, I know, its part of the plot) with one foot in the 1970s bohemian art scene

American Graffiti (1973): teen movie set in 1973 Modesto ("I'm just a shitty kid from Modesto"--Danny Malloy)

The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974): More grimy 1970s NYC stuff

All the President’s Men (1976): THE ABSOLUTE JOURNALISM MOVIE??

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

Cruising (1980): 1980 crime thriller written and directed by William Friedkin. Al Pacino is a cop (again) but this time he goes undercover in NYC gay leather clubs

Almost Famous (2000): Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William, an unabashed music fan who gets the chance to write for Rolling Stone

Spotlight (2015): More journalism movies! The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese

everyone say thank you to @islandbetweenrivers for starting this, I just polished up our google docs and posted it on tumblr.

Also if anyone has something to add please let me know!

[ponett]

Do you have any youtube recs for video game analysis/critique in the vein of gmtk?

I do! Well, maybe not 100% in the same vein as the very focused design analysis that GMTK does, but I follow a lot of YouTubers who do thoughtful video game analysis from various angles.

Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games - An obligatory rec if you haven't already watched Sakurai's videos.

Errant Signal - A longtime pillar of video game video essays, Chris Franklin focuses on interpreting video games as art and critiquing how design decisions contribute to (or detract from) a game's themes and artistic goals.

Matthew Matosis - Less active these days, but he's another legend of longform, in-depth video game analysis on YouTube.

New Frame Plus - A channel about studying and appreciating video game animation from professional animator (and former host of Extra Credits) Dan Floyd. I love all of his videos, but in particular I love his series about the evolution of Final Fantasy's animation.

Video Game Animation Study - And if that's not enough video essays about game animation for you, here's another channel! I enjoyed his recent video about the animations in the Sonic Advance series, which have always been favorites of mine.

Jeremy Parish (Video Works) - I absolutely love Jeremy's chronological retrospectives on classic game console libraries that put them in their historical perspective, explaining how games of the '80s built on the design ideas of previous works and set the stage for future successors. His main focus is his ongoing retrospective on every game in the North American NES library, but he also talks about Sega and Atari releases from the same era, as well as some extremely obscure old Japanese consoles I'd never even heard of.

hotcyder - A fan of weird and quirky games, with a particular interest in exploring the burgeoning "Wario-like" scene.

8-Bit Music Theory - I will admit that half of what this guy says goes over my head as a musical plebeian, but it's still really cool to see formal music theory analysis of video game music.

Scruffy - And for something perhaps a little more digestible for a general audience, there's Scruffy's similarly good videos about video game music theory.

And that should be enough for now!

[tartppola]

mx tartppola do you read twst fanfics,, and if so do you have any good ace fic recs,,

omg... it shames me to say this but... not as much... bcs these days all i read r google translated fics of crowley & the yuulis fics i commission from my mutuals 😭😭😭 IM SORRY GHGHHGG i will!! also i mostly stick to x reader... rarely do i go for canon/canon fics for twst... but !! i'll still give recomendations! of fics i rlly like ( it's all one shots 😭 )

oomf nepotism + writers i think r rlly cool!

@traumxrei-archive

@stormgardenscurse

@spadecentral

@ceruleancattail

@fluffle-writes

tumblr fics i rlly like ( mixed so some headcanons, some oneshots, all x reader )

otome isekai au villainess reader ( ft ♠️ )

encouragement from beyond ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

blanket hog ( ft ♠️)

rainy day ( ft ♠️)

ace doing your makeup

ace and deuce having the same crush ( ft ♠️ )

firsties slipping to a sleepover that fem reader is in ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

pomefiore!ace

basketball club w s/o who eeps on their chest ( ft 🦈 🐍 )

and there was ONE bed 😳

undisclosed passion

ace patching you up

adeuce walking with you ( ft ♠️ )

heartslabyul jealousy headcanons ( ft 🌹 ♠️ ♦️ ♣️ )

angel ace

adeuyuu hcs ( ft ♠️ )

cuddling with ace

kissing adeuce when they ask ur lipbalm flavor ( ft ♠️ )

how adeuce fantasize abt their crush ( ft ♠️ )

adeuce bday kisses ( ft ♠️ )

adeuce fighting to confess first ( ft ♠️ )

things you do that make adeuce fall harder ( ft ♠️ )

model ace

aceyuu ramble

another aceyuu ramble

lovestruck ace

ring in orange proposal

adeuce period comfort hcs ( ft ♠️ )

ace jealous of others falling for you

hot things ace does

housewarden ace

streamer ace getting a gf

you're what's missing in my life ( ft 🦈 🐍 )

when you know you know

love beyond words ( ft 🐺 🐙 )

shenanigans ( ft ♠️ 😼 )

sweet sleep ( ft ♠️ )

ace with knight reader

traitor ace ( cw yandere )

good luck kiss before match ( ft ♠️ )

tropes to lovers ( ft all nrc boys )

best friend ace

"someone" decides to ask you for your opinion about "their friend" and you decide to tease them. ( ft ♠️ ⚔️ )

cupid is so dumb

soft mornings

devotion of a contrarian

airheaded s/o ( ft 🌹 ♠️ )

another beautiful day ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

"what outfit should i wear for the date?"

oooo you wanna kiss me so bad ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

it's definitely, absolutely, not love

you wish to kiss me? ( ft 🌹 ♠️ ♦️ ♣️, genderbend )

red and blue ( ft ♠️ ) ( cw yandere )

falling too deep too fast ( ft ♦️ 👑 🐊 🐍 ) ( cw yandere?? )

the joker and the queen ( ft ♠️ )

behind the teacher's back

heart-shaped kisses

tell it to my heart

"i'm losing my appetite" ( cw hurt/comfort )

nightfall ace

ace + sun

movie night

haunted house date with ace

you doing ace's makeup

amuse me ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

what made your friends think you're dating him ( ft 🦁 )

high school romance with ace

how he says i love you

he's absolutely smitten with you ( ft 🍩 )

poly with adeuce ( ft ♠️ )

fooling no one

heartshackle relationship analysis ( ft ♠️ 😼 )

stay by my side ( ft ♠️ ) ( cw yandere )

christmas with poly adeuce ( ft ♠️ )

cuddle pile! ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

^sequel to the cuddle pile ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 )

stars by the pocketful ( ft 🌹 ♠️ ♦️ ♣️ )

poly adeuce with affectionate s/o ( ft ♠️ )

waking ace up in the morning

adeuce yan teamup ( ft ♠️ ) ( cw yandere )

sending your crush a survey form ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 🐊 )

can i go where you go? ( ft ♠️ 🐺 🍎 )

come close, i won't bite

unrealized feelings

foxboy ace

your speckled face

reader confesses and immediately runs away embarrassed ( ft ♦️ 🦈 ☀️ )

competition ( ft ♠️ )

come inside of my heart!

longform fics/series

a reverie until recently ( i commed this! poly oysterjuice post nrc au i put it here bcs it's my list!!!!! u dont have to read it )

hearts held out of harm's way ( same author! reccing the tumblr version instead bcs cool logo :D poly adeuyuu )

three people, who share one soul ( fic series, will they won't day adeuyuu )

how to get the boy : a guide by yuu & ace ( first adeuyuu fic i downloaded on my phone aside from my comms and nath's sebek one shots!!! i love it sm even after all this time GRAHHHHH i liked it even during my malleus phase bcs it was so cute! )

[unsolicited-opinions]

do you have any books rec by people who are both pro-palestinian and pro-zionist and pro-peace, like you? basically, i'm looking for a longform version of your blog

...that's such a great question.

My approach has been to try and read anybody who is intellectually honest, regardless of their perspective. I try to read people who I may think are wrong, but who are not arguing in bad faith.

I don't know that I can recommend any book which I think covers more than one perspective well.

I think maybe this is the sort of topic which genuinely requires reading many books...which will contradict each other.

But I like the question a lot and am hoping someone else has recommendations to share.

[utilitycaster]

please tell me what to do if I frequently think about how i would have preferred a different ending to cr3 and feel a powerful yet deeply buried raging frustration deep inside me

sure!

Your feelings are valid and if you are moved to write fanfiction go for it, but I find that fix-it fic rarely speaks to me because on some level it's like, what's done is done, it should have been better, and fic written out of spite rather than because of a great idea tends to suck. So if you have a great concept for an ending for C3 write it; if you just wish it were different, continue on.

There are many things in my real actual life to which I would have preferred a different ending, and I can't change them, I can only live with the life I have, and there are many benefits to that too; such is the way of the world. At least when a fictional work ends like this you can be like well, on to the next one. See point 4.

Good outlets for buried raging frustration just generally include: exercise, building things (literal, physical), and volunteering/political action, all of which are productive and meaningful. Honestly these are good outlets for a lot of negative emotions and tend to transform them into positive ones. Building things (figurative) can be good but see point 1.

Consume Good (in the sense of execution, not morality) Media Instead. C1 and C2 rewatches are underway; I can provide some longform AP recs for other shows as well; and like, there's a lot of good TV and even more books out there. There are plenty of stories that have a satisfying ending and compelling conflict and characters; find them and think about them instead. I've been thinking about this as a separate problem but I feel actual play and ttrpg discussion suffers from people either being weirdly ignorant of heroic fantasy genre norms; or only familiar with heroic fantasy genre norms; and of course Terminal Fandom Brain (ie, everything is shipping) and reading or watching something outside of fandom or even as a lurker on the fringe is like a reset. I am now simply thinking about Trinity Santos and Aelis de Lenti and Neve Gallus and Helly R all the time instead.

Taliesin Jaffe said on last week's Weird Kids that there is an idea of three deaths (I forget to which culture or ideology he attributed it): the literal one of the body; the death of the last person who knew your personally; and the last time your name is said. From this we can infer that the less we talk, think about, or discuss Campaign 3, the faster it dies; and the more people complain about those of us who did not care for Campaign 3, the slower we die. Be the psychopomp you wish to see in the world.

[chanse-mccrary]

hi!! i saw that youre interested in sfth. i just discovered them this past month and have been wanting to get into their longform stuff. what your favorite that you rec?

omg hello!!!!! welcome to the club!

where to start? there are way too many to choose from...

i guess my top are prob *the grape depression* and *the detective vs the Christmas tree bandits* from their recent show!

(to other sfth fans reading this, rb with your fav longform!)

[traumacatholic]

Request for faith/theology book recs

I've been wanting to get back in to reading religious books but I've been trying to figure out where would be a good place to start. So I'm seeking recommendations of any books to do with the faith. But particularly:

For those that converted/returned to Christianity, what where the book/s that brought you there? (also if you left Christianity, I'd be curious to know what books contributed to you leaving)

For those that converted denomination - what were the book/s that made you choose to convert to another denomination?

For those that were torn between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, what were the book/s that made you choose one (or neither)?

What are the books that were/are most impactful to your faith (outside of the Bible)

What book/s were particularly helpful for you developing your understanding of the Bible itself? (I do have a Catholic study Bible and an Orthodox study Bible so recs outside of these)

I'm just really looking for book recommendations because I can't concentrate on podcasts or longform video content for this kind of material.

Please don't think any book is 'too obvious'. Even if it is a book that I have read, someone else that may be looking for similar recommendations might appreciate it. I also don't mind if books are 'simple' or much more 'advanced'.

I'm seeking recommendations from all denominations of Christianity, although if you can specify what denomination you are (and were at the time if that applies) then that would be great, same goes for if you were a different faith entirely at the time :)

[eye-may]

idk if you even read fanfiction lol but do you have any recs from the cats fandom, i love your headcanons so i trust your judgement lol

originally I had two paragraphs ranting about how mad I was at my past self for not bookmarking some of the fics I wanted to recommend, and how categorically worse than useless google is in times of crises, but I'm happy to report that I did manage to trundle through enough digital ether to eventually find the elusive yarns. I did it for you, anon.

so yes btw needless to say I do occasionally partake.

anyway, I have extremely unregulateable, tunnel-visioned interests, so these are all at least somewhat mistoffelees or tuggoffelees centric.

after deliberation I have decided to confine this list to longform bc I am too indecisive to cherrypick which oneshots/shortforms to include and tumblr simply does not have the character capacity for me to log them all. might just have to make a whole separate ass post for that.

this list is incomprehensive and in no particular order. fuck it we ball?

I think all my ducks are in a row but if one of the links turns out to be wrong or smth pls lmk, I will fix it and then call the police on myself

I Call Out Your Name, But You Don't Call Back by Anonymous - COMPLETE / 43.8k words

Misto wakes up thinking he was kidnapped by Macavity. Luckily Tugger is there to assure him it was just a nightmare.

a good long look at some quite literal psychic damage wrought by Macavity. really delves into how his sith mid tricks fuck with Mistoffelees, who struggles to discern what's real and what's not. I love how this fic focuses on the depths of Macavity's ostensible hypnotic powers and how well it grapples with psychological fuckery via the pov in a literary sense. and also it has tugger being devoted and comforting. I could hardly ask for more. (also it includes cool art).

Curiosity Killed the Cat by StarFar - INCOMPLETE / 222k words

Munkustrap and Tugger's relationship had never run smooth, mostly thanks to their very different personalities, but when Tugger takes an interest in the newly arrived nephew of the esteemed Bustopher Jones things get complicated. Quaxo himself has little interest in making friends. All he wants to do is to look after his twin sister and keep his magic hidden, he didn't think that was too much to ask. But things get even more complicated when even more new arrivals show up, this time with links to the long banished Macavity. Despite this the Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat who just can't help but get involved, and it turns out Munkustrap isn't so different to him after all. And we all know what they say about cats and curiosity.

first of all, yes it's incomplete, BUT I honestly think it leaves off in a satisfying place. as you can see by the word count it is VERY! long, so it's hard to describe it succinctly, but I will try lol. it's dark, it's dynamic, and it expands extensively on two relationships that I hold dear: tugger+mistoffelees, and macavity+mistoffelees. and it also runs a wider gamut of varying, fully-realized relationships(i.e., Mistoffelees and Bombalurina having an intriguing, and sometimes funny, friendship). this fic deals a lot with an abusive false imprisonment and shows a lot of self-sacrificiality on Mistoffelees's part, as well as his attempts to both endure, and outsmart, Macavity. and in that vein, it explores moral ambiguity and the Batman/Joker trappings of the infinitely juicy Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain web of drama. amidst which is a lot of focus on the specificity of Mistoffelees's powers, his limitations, and shows how he evolves with (mostly coerced) practice and training. also it contains some of the most extensive and unapologetic whump and angst I have seen in any CATS fanfiction, and a luxuriously long recovery section. the fic is not without levity however (the BEEF between bustopher and skimble is so fucking funny to me)...suffice to say it contains multitudes lol. starfar...you have done the lords work.

A Different Kind by TheGirlWithBrightEyes - COMPLETE / 52.2k words

Quaxo is a cat with powers - and a lot of problems. When he escapes from his new owner's house in an act of desperation, he finds himself brought into a tribe of mostly stray cats and has to come to terms with his new life and the loss of his family. At the same time, Quaxo's powers that were not under his control from the start are quickly spiralling out of control making him a danger to the others. He needs to gain control fast before anyone gets hurt - including himself.

A really heartwarming "origin story" with an ADORABLE explanation for how Quaxo came to adopt the name "Mr. Mistoffelees." including a wide variety of soft, fluffy friendships and an intriguing interpretation of the difficult journey Mistoffelees had to take in order to ingratiate into the junkyard and get his powers under control. incidentally contains really cute friendship moments between Mistoffelees and Alonzo, which is a pairing I wish to see more often. and the most hilarious and believable depiction of Tugger I think I've ever read lmao

Kidnapped by the Fire by Anubis44 / INCOMPLETE / 39.6k words

"They all stood there. Dead silent. Nobody was moving a muscle. Only thing heard was a faint growl. The unconscious body of Mister Mistoffelees was hovering just above the ground right next to The Hidden Paw himself." Macavity desides to torment the Jellicle Tribe (and his brothers) as revenge for the Jellicle Ball and leaves everyone hurt in one way or another.

evidently never going to be finished, but what's left to us is marvelous. unambiguously Evil Macavity and lots of whump to go around if you're into that lmao. pretty much everybody amply suffers, as promised in the author's summary.

Gold Rush by millenari / COMPLETE / 174.7k words

In the aftermath of his bout of heroics at the Jellicle Ball, Misto finds himself with a newfound -and unwanted- popularity brought on by his and Tugger's performance. After one too many incidents from which Misto escapes his new fans by the skin of his teeth, Tugger informs him that he needs to change things up. The plan they end up hatching in order to do so is unconventional to say the least. But brought to the end of his rope by his new admirers, dreading the approach of the yearly heat season, and busy tending to his sister in the aftermath of her own abrupt transition into adulthood, Misto figures that pretending to be mates with his best friend since kittenhood couldn't possibly make his life any more harrowing. And it's not like such a small lie is going to actually hurt anyone. Right?

my fav. slice of life! expansive glimpses into the banalities of Jellicle culture! angst! levity! contains some of my favorite descriptions of Mistoffelees struggling to understand and wield his own magic. and what if I told you that the most relatable, accurate, meticulous, sensitive, and believable depiction in writing of neurodivergence and social anxiety I've ever encountered can be found in a longform tuggoffelees fanfiction? what then??

Catalyst by FlyingFritz / COMPLETE / 47k words

There's a shift in the air. Quaxo can feel it. A strange, alluring presence taunts him in his dreams despite his attempts to ignore it. The more he tries to push it down, the more insistent it becomes, leading to explosive, dangerous results. Meanwhile, Tugger tries to puzzle out the enigma that is Quaxo and learns that there is more to this cat than meets the eye. Misto/Tugger

first of all this took me HOURS to find. ig it's not on ao3 or if it is I can't find it on there. but anyway! this was one of the first CATS ffs I read and it has a really neat take on the quaxo-eventually-embodies-and/or-becomes-Mistoffelees pipeline. ik there's a handful of fics out there that grapple with the concept, but I particularly enjoy how this one interprets the separation (or lack thereof) between the two personas. I want to get it into it further but am gallantly restraining myself to avoid spoilers. also: tugger kind of bumbling through the entire convoluted series of events is funny and cute. AND you get a lot of good pounce and tumble.

He's Always Wide Awake! by Maliex / COMPLETE / 14.7k words

The Jellicle Cats are settling down again after the intense Ball where Grizabella went to the Heaviside Layer. Important conversations are had, and Mistoffelees adjusts to his new power levels and position in the Clan. But he knows - a storm is brewing on the horizon, one that he will have to be in the middle of.

again!! I searched for HOURS!!! I was so mad at my past self for not having bookmarked this fic for whatever god foresaken reason. hopefully my devotion to hunting it down is a sufficient indication of the impression it left upon me lmao. before I continue, it's worth noting that this is a part of a series, but this is the only installment of the series that I've read. so I can't speak to its predecessors or how worthwhile it is to read the entire trilogy in succession. idk do w that information what you will.

anyway, this fic has one of my fav interpretations of magic and the ways in which Mistoffelees and Macavity differ regarding their relationships with it. the author also has an infinitely interesting and juicy take on Macavity's backstory and why he is the way he is...and the ways the characters and their interpersonal dynamics evolve are riveting. also this version of Mistoffelees is really curt and just like...Done With All Bullshit Ever and I think it's funny lmao. btw if you're into Deut Family Dynamics (tm)...plenty here!

okay that's enough *for now* ig. shout out to fanfiction authors...yall are really out here providing hours of entertainment for FREE?!! all of you are amazing.

[helloarchivist]

Random but do you have any Eustass Kid fics that you like? I struggle to find ones where he's not written like an asshole (nsfw is okay too btw!) I also like kidkiller/kidlaw or character study/coming of age type ones or modern au...just anything please<3

Oh man, okay!!! :"D I know tryin to find stories where he's not written as like some kind of abusive shithead is like. hard as fuck. I feel very lucky to have stumbled on the little Kid Enjoyers community that I have, and I'll try to give you some good recs. Just as a disclaimer, a lot of what I read and engage with tends to be like nsft stuff, so that's going to be a lot of what's on the list. Also there is the possibility for spoilers for the current arc, I'm not sure where you are in your one piece journey alsedkjfasld

Okay, so:

@quinloki : Has pretty much my favorite characterization set for Kid of all time. They write mostly smut and op x reader stuff in both shortform and longform formats, and have a variety of faves, so if you like their style and have faves other than Kid there's more stuff in there too. c:

Some of my fave pieces of theirs are shorter ones, so they're good starters, I'll link em here, here and here . (the links are gonna open to punks-never-die205, that's one of their sideblogs)

@swampstew : Writes STUNNING work both short and longform, absolutely loves Kid, and if you like her writing she has a huge backlog of stories both on her blog and on her wattpad. A++++ 10/10, she also runs a blog and is writing a longer series for Killer, KillerCook, which is SO splendid.

She also does headcanon lists, a TON of events, and x reader things, I'll link some starter ones here, here, and here. (the last one is to an anthology of short stories and drabbles on her wattpad that is a ton of fun)

@standfucker : good GRACIOUS me, okay listen. Standfucker does it all. A+++ Kid characterization. Hot, well-balanced, well-written stories. They write for a bunch of characters and also do like, multiple people in a pairing/scenario stuff, and it's all phenomenal.

First one is one of my personal favorites, which involves all the Kid Pirate officers here. This is also one of my fave pieces, you get Kid all to yourself in this one here.

@wyvernslovecake : If you'd like something a little more crew-oriented and a little less x reader smut oriented, PLEASE I am begging you look into their Kid Pirates and Cross Guild little drabble posts with their character Shriek (who is the cutest little bat mink on the Grand Line), and the named characters Gabriel and Gryphon who are [spoiler characters for current arc] and adopted by the Cross Guild. Everything they write (and draw!!) is so delightful and fun, it will brighten up your day by AT LEAST tenfold.

Here, here, and here are some good examples <3.

@eustasssimp : She has a lot of like shorter form x reader and headcanon posts, and write Kid like the gruff secret softie he is. <3

Some examples here, here, and here.

@cyborg-franky : Again, he has a truly prodigious backlog of writing, so if you enjoy his Kid stuff and have other faves, you could truly spend hours and days enjoying some excellently written fun stuff here.

here, here, and here are some examples.

**

I am absolutely certain I'm forgetting people lmfao, my working memory is very bad and I'm nursing a concussion, but hopefully this gives you at least a bit of a start!! Everyone listed, and really everyone in this little section of the community, is lovely, sweet, and wildly talented. There's a lot of friendly open sharing 'round these parts, and I hope you find somewhere to land and enjoy the big guy too. If none of these does it for you, or if you'd like additional recs, just let me know and we'll figure something out.

Thank you so much for your lovely ask!!

[hexonthepeach]

Do you have nct fic rec? Or anything you are currently reading or have read?

i haven't been able to read much nct fic lately since writing/editing has been sucking up all my free time outside of work, and lately i've been reading more ateez (yunho just has a grip on me) but there are a few authors i'll drop everything for so here's the latest i've read from them/started reading but haven't gotten around to reviewing:

@sluttyten - you in my arms (haechan voyeurism/exhibitionism, haven't had the strength to read the last chapter but absolutely a work of art in terms of longform storytelling and mixed perspectives)

@ncteez - expert adversary (taeil office au, adorable read i went down a taeil hole lately for obvious reasons)

@jnnul - ric flair drip (jaehyun college au, this was so fun/fresh/flirty i enjoyed it even though campus/frat stuff is kind of low interest for me)

@yutaholic - there will be blood (yuta assassin/thriller vibes, beware major character death warning. luna writes villain!johnny the best, control is my all-time favorite fic in this vein, it haunts me, i will never be over it)

anything omegaverse, anything johnny, anything at all from @neopuppy, like that's the GOAT there, another godtier johnny fic that lives in my head is dumb, dumb dilf johnny with an age gap ilu i've been meaning to revisit

also i accept recs if you ever want to send anything my way!

[crooked-city]

It's NotN so everyone share their background noise recs to listen to/half watch while grinding!!

I am of course obligated to share my friends' creepypasta and internet horror podcast, Creepypasta Book Club. Jonah and Wednesday are insightful, funny, and charming. And that's why I'm friends with them, I am not biased I prommy.

Probably a classic for the last couple years, there is of course, QuintonReviews' Long Bois playlist, a fine collection of his own funny and interesting reviews, along with a number of other extreme longform reviews and video essays he's curated

And for a single video, I recommend this 8 hour compilation of KamSandwich's Board Game reviews. You will learn about Board Games so bad and bizarre it boggles the mind!

Everyone feel free to share your own favorite NotN podcasts, videos, story readings, and anything else!!!!!

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Hello! I've spent the last few days combing through your account, and I gotta say, it slaps so fuckin hard mate. I really love the comics. Since I think you've got great taste in whump, I was wondering if you had any longform comics from other creators to rec since I'm all caught up on your stuff :)

Thank you so much!! As far as whump comics, there aren't many long form ones I know of, at least not on Tumblr, but there's plenty of oneshots that are amazing if you search the "whump comic" tag!

Other than those, here are some series I can recommend:

The Woods by @whumpcateyes

Just found this today when scrolling the tag! The artist has a few more comics in their masterpost, but this one caught my eye. It's about a guy named Leo who gets trapped in an endless forest, and has several pages completed

Mediwhump May by @demondamage

Interconnected oneshots featuring a demon who's been captured by angels and is subjected to endless experimentation. All the characters are really cool! warning for gore and mature themes

The Perfect Agarthan by @squidlife-crisis

Longform comic that takes place in a distant, post-apocalyptic world. Follows Fauno, an exile, and Ulloriak, a centaur who helped him learn to survive. Has a high amount of pages and plot

For longform comics that contain whump, outside of Tumblr, I can recommend The Purple Hyacinth, Suitor Armor, Not Even Bones, Look Homeward, and Covenant, all on Webtoon

If anyone else knows a comic series I missed, please add on to this!