#ohtze

[onewomancitadel]

I've tried to research the Usurper and the Holy Mother archetypes Ohtze discusses in her Reylo meta but I can't find much else beyond what she's written, despite that:

While leashed the Usurper’s physical power is often contrasted by how emotionally brittle they are. They are ordered by their masters to do terrible deeds in the name of power, and are regarded by the general public as brain-dead villains unworthy of redemption, driven solely by their bloodlust. The universe has given up on them—despite the Usurper craving for love—so they resort to nihilism. If love is unobtainable, what’s the point? The Usurper wants the Holy Mother’s adoration, but she’s not there. In this spiral of nihilism, he become even more unbalanced.

It's actually sort of weird how much Usurper and the Holy Mother fits Knightfall (it's just Cinder is the Usurper and Jaune is the Holy Mother, which works oddly well given his Joan of Arc background). I was just rereading this and it struck me pretty hard.

Even the uncomfortable Oedipal-esque undertones are made weirder by the fact both Madame and Salem (before she was corrupted) are blonde and blue-eyed, it's just Jaune looks more - pure and realised? I'm not sure what the word is, his colour palette is just more saturated.

Anyway, I'm sure someone's going to take this post out of context and call me a freak. Sigh. It's not my fault Blake looks like Raven.

[ruiniel]

For FanFic Ask: N, R and S, please.

Thank you for sending in! Now the ramble:

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Wasn't sure when reading if this one's about my own stories or others' stories which I still hope will get an update! There's so many but now a few come to mind:

The Moth and The Flame , an Aegnor/Andreth modern-AU I read years ago but still think about. There are some fantastic soul-wrenching flashbacks from the First Age, and a sweet story for Aegnor and Andreth, and a plot! A couple other *well loved* characters in The Silmarillion make an appearance too.

Between the Rivers: A Tale of Haleth was such a delightful Caranthir/Haleth read and I still hope for a continuation, after all these years.

And! Red and Black (to say nothing of Ginger Cat), a brilliant Maedhros/Berúthiel fic! I love how they made it work.

If it's my own stories... sometimes all of them I have this Maeglin/Idril fic called 'Within these walls' which I keep wanting to get to but never quite manage!

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

I grew up on classics like novels by Alexandre Dumas and the Brontë sisters so I think that must've left an imprint. The Professor T himself is one, from whom I also allow myself the profuse use of ';' nowadays. I'd read anything by Terry Pratchett and I love the style of Milan Kundera, Neil Gaiman, and more recently Madeline Miller. There are so many others I'll probably only remember after I post this hah!

On fanfic side, yessum. Antiheld(@pickingfightswithsprites) wrote a LOTR fic that is still an all time favorite in characterization. Ithilwen of Himring with a wrenching Maedhros series. Others that come to mind are Ohtze, Dawn Felagund, Anais Lacquestar, Tehta, Ziggy

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

We gotta bulletize!

enemies to (friends) lovers - the evolution to the payoff! The tension! The romantic angst!

found family - characters met/were thrown together by some dire circumstance or other and stuck together through good or ill, sometimes despite insurmountable differences, and grew to care for each other? I'll crawl on my knees.

The sunshine and the grump - they're different, but the differences are exactly what the other needs? Yes more

Isekai/trapped in another world/portal fantasy - MC lands in an unfamiliar place and has to navigate the situation, with funny/dangerous/sweet/angsty results? I'm game.

I have others, I bet

Thanks again!

[basedsakura]

s-tier sasusaku fics

disclaimer: not all of these are necessarily romantic sasusaku, or even healthy sasusaku

these are my all time favorites for different reasons, but i guess i should establish some sort of standard according to which i judge fanfics: 

characterization: i don’t expect the characters to be identical to their canon counterparts, otherwise i wouldn’t be reading anything other than the original material. however i’m also not fond of fics in which the only aspect of the character the author had gotten right is the name. i don’t like fanfics in which sakura is a cold and calculated genius or ones in which sasuke is a sexually deviant casanova. you might as well create a whole new character and write original work

prose: ok so obviously this is very subjective and considering my taste has changed immensely from the start of this year, let alone during the last 5 years, all the fics below are going to differ greatly. i like to read stuff that hits the spot between purple prose and bland just right. vivid descriptions, exposition, world-building, all that jazz, but without treating me like an idiot. leave some stuff up to the reader. a bit of negative capability didn’t kill anyone

grammar: i mean -- yeah. not much to expand upon here. i’m not a native speaker, so i’m not exactly an authority on this, but solid grammar is a non negotiable for me.

style: i’ve got some serious pet peeves in regards to formatting (when the author doesn’t want to separate their paragraphs for some reason for example) but another thing is i hate when there’s random japanese throughout the fic. it’s fine if the author decides to use suffixes the way the characters do in the manga, or if they want to use japanese words for terms that are well known in the fandom (shinobi, bunshin, hitai ate, jutsu etc.) but stuff like ‘’teme’’ ‘’ hime’’ ‘’baka’’ ‘’kami’’ is cringe (to me (especially since its mostly used improperly))

pacing: obviously this is a matter of preference, i personally love slow burn, but pacing is SO crucial for a good romance fic. the writing can be great, the characters can be on point, but if i feel the relationship is moving at an unnatural pace, if the development feels unearned, it instantly throws me off. i understand a lot of authors wanna get to the sauce quickly, but if sasuke is a rogue ninja focused on revenge, no he’s not going to want to marry sakura as soon as he sees her again. he would be impartial, nostalgic at best. there’s nothing wrong with letting the feelings develop naturally

there’s probably more but im honestly too lazy and i wanna get to the fic rec part. these are in no particular order: 

blind by ObsidianSickle

It was almost time, Orochimaru was going to take his body as a vessel. He hated being used...he refused to be used. With that thought, he took the kunai in his hand and slashed across his eyes.

this is like a classic imho. i’ve read it after 5 years and while i do have some issues with the writing, it’s nothing terrible. it’s a sweet, sweet character-study slowburn

monomoth by Ohtze

Everything ends, eventually. Eight years after the war, Sakura's unhinged and Sasuke's obsessed. The fields are filled with corpses. AUish, canon-divergent, Sakura-centric.

this MAY be my all time favorite. the story, the pacing, the atmosphere -- probably one of the most serious and talented authors in the fandom. it’s a pretty dark AU-ish fic, definitely not the healthiest either sasuke or sakura have been, but a hell of a read. still not finished though

instant message by Keelah

She gave him names to kill, in order not to be killed herself. But having blood on her hands was turning out to be much worse than dying. "…There's still round 2…3…4…" When does this game end? She asked. "Don't you see, Sakura?" He said, "It never does."

i can’t believe that a first person POV, highschool! horror stalker AU fic is probably the finest slowburn i’ve ever read. each interaction feels so earned, you genuinely feel like you’re reading about sakura and sasuke from naruto and how they would act in this AU situation, not some random characters the author decided to call sakura and sasuke. possibly abandoned

once more, with feeling by jinnyskeans

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

this is a fun ballerina!sakura and tattoo artist! sasuke fic. the characters are not all that IC, but it’s definitely a fun read, and while it’s not a current favorite, i remember i used to cry over this shit when i was 14 lol. so there’s definitely some quality here if this seems like your thing. plus the author is an SS fic powerhouse, so plenty where that came from

i let it fall, my heart by arabesque05

Sasuke's memories of Sakura are not based on sight. No: Sakura was a press of desperation along his back, a sob to "please, don't hurt them". Sakura was a cool hand around his wrist, startling against his feverish, new-cursed skin. Sakura was the taste of apples; the breeze of an open hospital window; the stinging pain of a third Chidori. Sakura resides in the heart.

from their ss anthologies to their meta, this author came and went and left me with a gaping hole where their writing has been. honestly some beautiful stuff. this is a oneshot, but i seriously recommend everything this author has written 

shinobi: team 7 by gallyrat

while this is a team 7, not a sasusaku fic, it’s worth reading for both the world building, the team 7 dynamic, the sasuke and sakura as the author imagined them. i felt like their relationship was very ic, among many other things that are great with this fic. unfortunately discontinued

string theory by diwata

The aftermath of the war brings many things to Konoha; Sakura copes poorly. (1970s AU)

“He’s a war hero, now. So are you. It’s nice to have you home, Sasuke-kun. Welcome.” “Things are different now. But -- I’m home, Sakura.”

this is an anthology, but same as arabesque05, i recommend literally everything this author wrote. so incredibly good

ok im getting tired and bored i’ll probably update this but here you go for now

[doodley-bug]

“How dare I? I am the King!” Fingon seemed enraged by something, or his lack of control over it.

“Not my King,” Lucy snarled before she could help herself.

- The Hematic, Chapter 35, by @ohtze​

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

Fingon x Lucy as requested by anon!

[flowerslut]

LMAO okay star wars

[reyloart]

REYLO META

Hey fam, I encourage you to read @ohtze‘s new meta Kill the King and take the Crown: Kylo Ren, Rey, and the Usurper/Holy Mother for some fantastic analysis on Reylo as it stands after The Last Jedi’s release. 

[onewomancitadel]

No jokes probably two of my favourite experiences I've ever had in fandom was the Force bond reveal (Ohtze predicted it in January 2016) in TLJ/the whole entire Reylo of it all and the whole thing Volume 6 of RWBY had going for it. I don't know if it's possible to ever replicate those feelings because they were especially unique in that I'd suffered terrible fandoms, and with Reylo in particular it seemed like such an absurd thing to a vocal part of the fandom and V6 in general I'd sworn off the show because again, Cinder's apparent death lol.

I can think of other narrative events where I've got up and run around the room because I was so excited (most pronouncedly The Expanse: Julie/Miller; Amos... if you know you know) but those in particular were special, I think, just because my hopes were beneath the floor.

[reylo-playlo]

“mother-lover”

[unolvrs]

lotr fic recommendations owo

wonderful question, my friend. trigger warnings for some of the recommendations here because i have a very particular taste. make sure to read the tags for each fic >:( i only like mammoth fics !!

❝  the hematic by ohtze

It was crucial, Tommy had said, that they arrived in the Third Age. The Third Age was the best age. That sweet spot in the timeline where they could do the most good without destroying the future. Tommy was dead though, and Lucy was lost: deposited unto the care of one hapless Glorfindel. The Noldor were not to be trifled with, she learned belatedly. Doom was never far behind them. AU.

>  note: i think lots of us know who ohtze is, the author of monomoth which is another naruto fanfic that i really, really am in love with. but what i like the most about this is how differently maeglin was written and how unique and just wow the original character is. i’m very into the type of ocs that are very much not okay and quite problematic in nature, flawed, and humane. i love them and i find them very intriguing to read about so when i say i love lucy, i really mean that. her relationship with tommy is just chef’s kiss, and glorfindel? chef’s kiss. i don’t even like maeglin normally but maeglin here is chef’s kiss.

❝  the skipper by linzrw

Converting elf fans to dwarf fans one chapter at a time.

>  note: yes, i was successfully converted. well, ngl, to be fair, when i first started reading / watching lotr, i was already more into the dwarves because of thorin (he just seemed so cool okay) and was wary of the elves because they intimidated me. but anyway, this is honestly my first love and so well-written, and very, very realistic too. it’s also entertaining but not in the way that you’ll end up getting turned off because it’s not forcefully done!

❝  wild war child by thatdamnuchiha

It is meant to be simple, but nothing ever is when it comes to the twisted tangled thread of fate which ensnares a small number.

Haruno Sakura dies.

That is meant to be the end of it all, but that’s not quite the truth. Haruno Sakura dies, yes, but that is not where her tale ends. Rather, that is where it all begins – the beginning of a strange adventure all of her own. Haruno Sakura dies a bloody death, in a grey world marred by war where man kills man, each fighting for their own beliefs, and she is subsequently made anew in a world where the boundaries between good and evil are so clearly defined.

Ever there is a question resounding in her mind—

“Oh Child of War, will you ever know peace?”

>  note:  this is my favorite of thatdamnuchiha’s glorfindel/sakura fics, to be honest, because of the time they took to build up the family. and i’m a sucker for big families. i usually don’t try to recommend crossovers wherein it’s hard to recognize the character in question (don’t attack me i love their works so i’m going to keep my opinions to myself). the writing is as well-written as always. i love it, but what i liked about this the most is the family. the family. and ofc, osse. i love it when fics highlight who fucked up maiar, ainur, and the eldar can be because facts.

so you must be wondering: what? uno? that’s it? yes, that’s it. i don’t wanna recommend something that i’m going to have lots of “buts” with and to be honest, these are the only lotr fics that i can confidently suggest because it checks out the boxes that i like: long / completed, writing that i dig, and, etc etc. 

my personal favorite is the hematic. i love you ohtze. i worship your writing. big kiss to you. big mwah.

[sajirah]

Lucy and Glorfindel, from Ohtze’s The Hematic. 

Finally finished this. Hurray! 

[cassatine]

ohtze replied to your post “i’m going to get very very drunk”

On a scale of 1-10 how bad is the French Dumpster fire

15? it’s the results everyone expected (technically it’s still estimations but well) but like. half the country vted for out of europe but at opposed ends the spectrum which is bad. the real surprise is how close the first four candidates are - Macron is 24%, Le Pen nearly 22, Mélenchon & Fillon between 19 and 20, this is, thre’s never been an election showing that deep and nearly even a divide. Macron is already celebratin like he won the second turn but that’s not so sure and there’sll be way more abstention at the second turn a lot of the left won’t want to vote Macron so it’s not good either. Anyone who passes second turn will probably face lots of oppositoon, which is not good excepted that if Macron wins there are chances he’ll alienate part of his electorate which would open the door even more for Le Pen next time. oh and traditional parties are imploding, socialists are gonna tear themselves apart, republicans are going to tear fillon apart and there’s gonna be some change in that party too. mélenchon didn’t even call to vote against Le Pen which is a sucky move, and hamon’s speech was very nice but i would fucking feed it to him. there’s already antifa protests in paris and police answered violently, and this kind of things is likely to happen moreover the next days which will no help the climate 

the next two weeks are oing to be decisive but overll its a shit show and im not nerly sober enough togive a good overview

[dark-london]

Quick sketch after re-reading one of my favorite fan fics by @ohtze

I can never get enough of Maeglin. . .

[doodley-bug]

“Lucy, ná varna. Avon malad, ná varna [Lucy, it’s safe. I won’t hurt you, it’s safe].”

...They fit together in a familiar sort of way, and the manner in which Glorfindel held her was practiced, like all his actions before...Being held by Glorfindel was like being enveloped in the literal embodiment of warmth: in the gentle, distant rays of the sun. The Hematic, Chapter 14

So everyone’s read The Hematic by @ohtze right? It’s only the most amazing LOTR/Silmarillion fanfic ever, and I wanted to draw one of my favorite scenes from it. 

[theladyvalkyrieskyeart]

Reading @ohtze latest meta last night (link here http://theladyvalkyrieskyeart.tumblr.com/post/169094682059/kill-the-king-and-take-the-crown-kylo-ren-rey give it a read. It's a solid read and very informative. It’s long and very gif heavy so read on a desktop if you can.) And these two points here basically encapsulated my anger at The fandom at large for years regarding how they treat female characters. Treating them like sacred pure figures and anything less than that then they are cast aside (and lets be honest they would not do this to their precious male leads i.e. the Poe Dameron fans hate towards Rose Tico and Amilyn Holdo)

TL;DR Female characters are held to a different higher standard (much like real life) and anybody telling you different is in denial or lying.

[fruitchakra]

a naruto fic rec list!

i want to preface this by saying i enjoy darkfic >>>> fluff or humor so this may not be your usual rec list. i have read a lot of the popular fics recced by others but they are not the sort of things i enjoy reading. that isn’t to say they aren’t good - i’m thankful for anyone who contributes to fandom with their gifts BUT i am creating this because there are so many good fics out there that are underrated and undiscovered.

every writer has their niche and i hope you can find something new here that interests you!

SNS

Tabula Rasa by some_random

"The jutsu will seal everything a ninja has ever learnt. It'll be like him getting a blank slate," Tsunade folded her hands and leaned forward to rest her chin against her knuckles, "Tabula rasa."

In which, Sasuke's memories are temporarily wiped after the war as part of his incarceration.

i love this so very much. the plot is genius and it’s hurt/comfort in the best way.

U-Turn by IsolaVirtuosa

Naruto's pretty sure he's straight.

reads really realistically and it’s like a hot bowl of chicken soup. very comforting and easy to read.

simple glory by kincaidian

Directly after Itachi's death, Sasuke is captured by and forced to join Root, under Danzou's command. What follows are three years of relentless fighting, with one goal in mind: Naruto's safety. A story of priorities and homecomings. 

chef's kiss these types of canon divergent fics are so amazing and this is my fave anbu/root sasuke fic.

The Spaces Between Us by stripeypirate

The year is 1985. Sakura Haruno waitresses at a local diner and wonders if dropping out of nursing school means she'll be stuck in sleepy, small-town Bedford Falls for the rest of her life, forever in her best friend's shadow. Sasuke Uchiha's a man on the run, thrust into a world deeper and darker than he ever anticipated.

The chilly Northwestern wind brings change as lives collide, and hearts are bared (as well as broken). The Double R Diner sits at the center of it all- but its foundation will need to be strong enough to weather the storm

(Falling in love with your best friend can be just as bad as falling in love with your worst enemy).

i don’t read many AUs and enjoy even fewer of them (every AU i like is here) but this is one i will rec forever because the atmosphere is sublime and the plot is tight.

After The World Fell Down by zephyras13

Naruto has been fighting a war for the life of his neighborhood for the past four years, with no end in sight. His world is violent, arbitrary, and ruthless, but it is simple. It makes sense. And then Uchiha Sasuke fucks everything up. 

another modern-ish AU and such an underrated piece that made me cry at the end. it is really emotional and that good.

Vertigo by aurrai

Five years after Sasuke leaves the village, he comes back of his own accord and no one knows why. Captured and put under house arrest, Tsunade tells Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to live with him, take care of him, and make him better. But Sasuke isn’t the same Sasuke they remember.

idk if i can say i recommend this or not because i didn’t have fun reading it, but the execution and writing and how the story unfolds is astonishing. there are some fics that are easy to read and digest, and this is not one of them. you read some fics because you need to.

definitely not something i will reread and even for someone who prefers darkfic, this is unflinchingly dark. but good. very good. naruto and sasuke’s relationship is built upon shared trauma and an undercurrent of darkness (and that’s the main reason why i love them so much) and this explores their relationship in all its dysfunctional glory.

NON SNS

Monomoth by Ohtze

Everything ends, eventually. Eight years after the war, Sakura’s unhinged and Sasuke’s obsessed. The fields are filled with corpses. AUish, canon-divergent, Sakura-centric.

this is tagged as SS but it reads more like a sasuke character study (and a sakura one). it’s cosmic horror which is really hard to write and it’s so dark, creepy and surreal and one of the few fics that have really stayed with me. imo it’s a must-read for those interested in a realistic, darker sasuke whose fate is not intertwined with naruto’s.

Dogs by bizzylizzy

There were the Uchiha.

There were the Dogs: those Uchiha of disreputable age and intent under constant scrutiny of ANBU.

And then there were Itachi and Shisui.

this lives in my head rent-free. i would be going about my day and randomly i’ll think about this and it’ll just crush me. it explores the political implications of the uchiha's existence in konoha and it’s incredibly dark and real. i cannot state how dark this is and i love it a lot a lot a lot.

also there is just something about this title and how short and simple it is that is so effective after title after title of pretty sentences and accompanying parenthesises.

[never-mess-with-the-uchihas]

Do you do FanFic recommendations?

If so, I was wondering what are some really well written Mondern-Set (and as well, Blank Period) Multiple Chapters SS FF?

If not, then don't worry!

Blank Period/ Post-War Fics

Actually, I have never recommended fanfics before. ^ - ^'

But, I these are some good post-war sasusaku fics that I have read. (Not in any particular order)

1. Approaching Sun by ANerdInAllHerGlory

2. Monomoth by Ohtze

3. King of Gods by Mrs. Scorpius Malfoy

4. Rise by soulaire

5. For when the Fire burns bright by soulaire

6. It's a humble Path by A m r a k l o v e

7. Liberosis by A m r a k l o v e

8. Vengeance by sincerelyLen

9. Seek by Cloverhoney

10. When the flowers Cry by TCOOKIES777

11. Hate Me Hate Me by KyliEisMC2

12. This is Heartache by xHeartofBlazexX

13. For Everything There Is a Season by SouthSideStory

And, There are more, But I don't remember the names XD.